A series of recent incidents across Madhya Pradesh have brought to light the increasing pressure faced by religious minorities, particularly the Christian community, as Hindutva organisations intensify their efforts to curb what they claim are forced conversions and the promotion of non-Hindu values in educational institutions.
In Ratlam district, two incidents within a span of two days have raised concerns about religious freedom for the minority Christian community. On Sunday, 28 July, members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) disrupted a prayer meeting in Amlipada village, accusing the organisers of conducting forced religious conversions under the guise of healing services. The event, which took place in a structure described variously as a “church” or a “hall” built on agricultural land, had reportedly gathered over 200 tribal individuals.
VHP district secretary Gaurav Sharma alleged that people from different villages were being lured to the site for ‘conversion activities.’ Upon receiving information about the alleged conversions, VHP members, along with local police, arrived at the scene. The police took Pastor Prabhu Machar, who was leading the worship, into custody for questioning.
However, the tribal attendees at the gathering vehemently denied any forced conversion attempts. Several individuals spoke to local media, stating that they had come voluntarily for prayers and healing. One attendee, Rupa Bai, said, "our ancestors followed the religion of Jesus Christ. I had stomach pain, which improved after coming here." Another participant, Thavari from Haldupada, claimed she had been ill for a long time but felt better after attending the prayer meetings.
Despite these testimonies, the police registered a case against Pastor Prabhu under sections 3 and 5 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021, based on a complaint filed by VHP district administrative chief Pankaj Chauhan.
Just a day earlier, on Saturday, 27 July, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), targeted St. Peter's Higher Secondary School in Jaora, Ratlam district. ABVP members entered the school premises, accusing the institution of promoting Christianity and neglecting Indian cultural symbols.
The protesters demanded that students chant "Bharat Mata ki Jai" (Victory to Mother India) after morning prayers and objected to Christian religious imagery in classrooms. They took matters into their own hands, removing Christian images from classrooms and installing pictures of Bharat Mata (Mother India) and Saraswati (the Hindu goddess of knowledge). They also conducted a group prayer to Bharat Mata on the school grounds, effectively imposing Hindu rituals in a Christian institution.
ABVP district coordinator Satyam Dave justified their actions, stating that they had received complaints about the school not promoting Indian cultural values. The demonstration lasted for two hours, with local police present to maintain order. ABVP members warned of further protests if their demands were not met.
These incidents in Ratlam are not isolated events. On 25 July, a separate incident in Indore further underscored the mounting pressures on religious minorities in the state. At the Khajrana Ganesh Temple, five individuals allegedly from the Christian community underwent a "ghar wapsi" (homecoming) ceremony, converting to Hinduism. This event followed a similar ceremony just a week prior, where 14 Muslims had reportedly converted to Hinduism at the same temple.
VHP leader Santosh Sharma, who has been instrumental in organising these conversion ceremonies, boasted that over 100 Muslims have undergone "ghar wapsi" so far. The converts from the Christian community were given new Hindu names: Angel is now known as Aryan, Rosie as Bulbul, Mary as Usha, Ronaldo as Rahul, and Ruhi as Ritu.
One of the converts, formerly known as Ronaldo and now called Rahul, told the media that they had always been drawn to Hinduism and were devotees of Lord Ram. He claimed ignorance about when his ancestors had converted to Christianity.
These events underscore a broader pattern of pressure on religious minorities in Madhya Pradesh. The state's stringent anti-conversion law, passed in 2021, has been criticised by rights activists as a tool to harass and intimidate religious minorities, particularly Christians and Muslims.
The law requires individuals wishing to convert to another religion to submit a declaration to the district administration sixty days in advance, allowing authorities to investigate the reasons for conversion. Critics argue that this legislation has emboldened Hindutva groups to interfere in the religious practices of minority communities under the guise of preventing forced conversions.
The targeting of Christian educational institutions, as seen in the St. Peter's School incident, is also part of a larger trend. Hindu nationalist groups have long accused Christian schools of using education as a means of proselytization, despite these institutions' long history of providing quality education to students of all faiths.
