Bikaner, India — A Sunday congregation in Bikaner City, Rajasthan, was violently disrupted when approximately 200 individuals raided a church, leaving several worshippers wounded with injuries inflicted by iron rods. The assault occurred towards the end of the service on February 16, leaving three individuals severely injured and many others bruised, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a U.K.-based group.
The attackers reportedly vandalized the church property and fled the scene promptly as police intervened. Subsequent to the attack, the police examined the wounded and interrogated them about allegations of forced conversions—a charge frequently leveled against minority religious communities in various parts of India.
Local police also took the pastor, his wife, and several congregants to the Mukta Prasad police station for questioning regarding the mob’s accusations. Fortunately, no charges were pressed against them due to a lack of evidence supporting the allegations of forced conversions.
The assault aligns with a tense backdrop of increasing legislative actions aimed at regulating religious conversions in India. Notably, the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill 2025 was proposed recently in the state’s legislative assembly. This proposed law mandates that anyone desiring to convert to another religion must notify the district magistrate at least 60 days in advance, treating any deviation as a non-bailable offense that could attract substantial fines and imprisonment up to 10 years.
Moreover, the bill places the onus to prove the voluntary nature of the conversion on the accused, a stipulation that could potentially deter individuals from converting due to the legal hurdles. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom notes that similar anti-conversion laws are already in place in twelve other Indian states, mostly those governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
In a broader context, these legal frameworks reflect a significant trend across India where enhanced penalties under existing statutes, such as the recent amendments in Uttar Pradesh in 2024, have been implemented to strengthen the oversight of religious conversions.
Statistics provided by the United Christian Forum highlight a disturbing increase in violent incidences against Christians in India, rising from 127 incidents in 2014 to 834 in 2024. This escalation in religiously motivated violence underscores the growing tensions and challenges faced by minority communities in a country with a complex tapestry of religious identities and affiliations.
Human rights organizations and international observers continue to express concerns over these developments, arguing that such laws could foster an environment of intolerance and aggression towards minority faith groups, further exacerbating the existing societal divides.
The ongoing situation in Rajasthan and similar contexts across India calls for an urgent examination of the impact of such legislative measures on religious freedom and interfaith harmony in the world’s most populous democracy. As religious communities reel from the effects of these policies, the dialogue between various stakeholders appears more crucial than ever to ensure the safeguarding of fundamental rights and to promote peace amongst diverse religious groups.