- Published
Some churches in and around India's financial capital Mumbai have begun asking worshippers to give a declaration in writing - "I came here to pray of my own free will."
asserted
I → publish → will
Visitors write down their names, sometimes add an ID card number, and sign to say that nobody forced or enticed them to attend church.
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nobody → write → church
The forms, a copy of which the BBC has seen, have no official standing.
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BBC → see → standing
Churches keep them in case a prayer meeting is challenged and its organisers are accused of trying to convert those inside.
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organisers → keep → those
The practice began at some churches in late August, just before a new law against religious conversion took effect in Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital.
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Mumbai → begin → which
The law prohibits religious conversions brought about by force, fraud, coercion or inducement.
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law → prohibit → force
It also requires people who want to convert voluntarily to notify authorities in advance.
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who → require → advance
An unlawful conversion can lead to a prison sentence of up to seven years, rising to 10 for a repeat offence.
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conversion → lead → offence
Maharashtra's government says the law protects people, particularly those who are socially or economically vulnerable, from being forced or deceived into changing their religion.
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who → say → religion
But critics say its broad definitions, severe penalties and scrutiny of even voluntary conversions risk drawing the state and the police into one of the most private decisions a person can make.
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person → say → decisions
The state government did not respond to the BBC's repeated requests for comment.
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government → respond → comment
While the law applies to all religions, the anxiety is being felt most deeply at places where minorities, especially Christians, worship.
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minorities → apply → places
At the heart of the debate is a long-running tension over allegations, usually made by right-wing groups, about people being coerced or induced to change their religion for benefits.
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people → run → benefits
Devdan Tribhuvan has seen some of that anxiety up close.
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Tribhuvan → see → anxiety
A fourth-generation Christian in Vasai, a suburb of Mumbai, he is part of an organisation that provides legal aid to Christians in and around the city.
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that → provide → city
In recent months, he says, people have increasingly approached him not about court cases, but with accounts of disrupted prayer meetings and questions about what they are still free to do.
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they → say → what
Some have described strangers walking into churches and questioning those inside: "What is your name? Why are you here?
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you → describe → those
Has anyone offered you something?"
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anyone → offer → something
The questions can become more pointed, Tribhuvan said, when a worshipper has a name that does not sound Christian: "Has anyone forced you to come?
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anyone → become → you
Has anyone offered you an inducement?"
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anyone → offer → inducement
Many who contact him are not looking to take legal action.
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who → contact → action
They want to know whether simply gathering to pray could leave them vulnerable to an accusation of conversion.
uncertain
gathering → want → conversion
In July, an investigation by The Indian Express, external documented five disruptions of Christian prayer meetings around Mumbai between April and July.
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external → document → April
Nine police cases followed - seven against worshippers or prayer organisers, and two against members of the Hindu nationalist group Bajrang Dal.
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cases → follow → group
Police did not respond to detailed questions about the cases or the action taken.
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Police → respond → cases
"Is gathering for prayer itself conversion?" Tribhuvan asks.
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Tribhuvan → gather → prayer
In Mumbai, Tribhuvan's question carries particular weight.
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question → carry → weight
The city grew by drawing people from across India and beyond, bringing their gods and rituals with them.
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city → grow → them
A church bell can sound within earshot of a mosque's call to prayer; a shrine belonging to one faith can draw followers of another.
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shrine → sound → another
People of many faiths make their way to the Muslim shrine Haji Ali.
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People → make → shrine
Hindus light candles at Mount Mary, a Catholic basilica overlooking the city.
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Hindus → light → city
Crowds fill the streets around Lalbaug during the Hindu festival of Ganesh Chaturthi and stream to Siddhivinayak temple throughout the year.
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Crowds → fill → year
Maharashtra is the latest of more than a dozen states to restrict religious conversion.
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Maharashtra → restrict → conversion
The laws differ, but their reach has expanded in recent years, particularly in states governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.
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reach → differ → Party
Several are being challenged before the Supreme Court.
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Several → challenge → Court
Behind that expansion lie claims long made by Hindu nationalist groups, that Christians use money, schooling or medical care to draw poor and tribal communities away from Hinduism, and that Muslim men court Hindu women to convert them - an alleged conspiracy they call "love jihad."
uncertain
they → lie → conspiracy
Critics say such accusations have fuelled harassment of Christian prayer meetings and interfaith couples, and that the laws give those making them a way to draw the police into questions of prayer, marriage and belief.
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laws → say → prayer
Maharashtra's government says the new law leaves people free to convert by choice, while addressing what it says is a rise in forced conversions that existing laws have failed to curb.
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laws → say → that
Critics question where it draws the line between force and choice.
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it → question → force
"We do not support forceful conversions, if any," said Samsuddin Tamboli, president of the Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal (Muslim Truth-seeking Society), a reformist organisation.
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Tamboli → support → Mandal
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
