Maharashtra churches ask worshippers to sign forms as conversion law takes effect

Some churches in Maharashtra are asking people to sign declarations that they came to pray voluntarily as the Indian state’s new anti-conversion law takes effect. The forms are a precaution adopted by congregations around Mumbai, not a government requirement. Church leaders say they want a record to show when prayer meetings are challenged and organisers are accused of trying to convert attendees.

The BBC reported on 29 September that it had seen copies of the declarations, which have no official standing. Worshippers write their names, sometimes give an identity-card number, and sign a statement that nobody forced or enticed them to attend. Churches keep the paperwork in case questions arise about a service.

What the law requires

Maharashtra’s law prohibits religious conversions brought about by force, fraud, coercion or inducement, according to the BBC. It also requires people seeking to convert voluntarily to notify authorities in advance. An unlawful conversion can carry a prison term of up to seven years, rising to 10 years for a repeat offence. Attending a prayer meeting and changing religion are different acts; the church attendance forms described by reporters are not a statutory step for worshippers.

The Maharashtra government says the law is intended to protect people, particularly those who are socially or economically vulnerable, from being forced or deceived into changing religion. When it was passed, state minister Pankaj Bhoyar said the notification requirement was meant to establish whether a conversion was voluntary and did not infringe the right to change religion. The government did not respond to the BBC’s repeated requests for comment on the concerns raised in its latest report.

Why churches introduced the forms

The Indian Express reported in August that it found declarations circulating in English, Marathi and Hindi among congregations in Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar, Palghar and Thane. One form said attendance was a personal, voluntary decision and asked for a passport photograph and an Aadhaar or PAN identity number. The newspaper reported that churches began collecting the forms after disruptions to prayer meetings, before the law took effect.

At New Hope Church in Virar, pastor Steven Rozario told The Indian Express that he wanted completed forms available if anyone alleged worshippers had been forced to attend. Around 30 people were present when he handed them out during a Sunday service, the newspaper reported. Worshipper Anita Patel said it was the first time in 16 years of following Christianity that she had been asked to put her voluntary attendance in writing. She called it strange, while saying she accepted it in light of disruptions to prayer meetings.

The Indian Express documented nine police cases linked to five disrupted Christian prayer meetings between April and July: seven cases against worshippers or organisers and two against Bajrang Dal members. Those figures describe registered cases, not findings of guilt. The newspaper reported that Bajrang Dal regional official Gautam Ravariya said his group monitored meetings and informed police, and alleged that some prayer groups encouraged vulnerable families to convert after providing assistance.

In the BBC’s latest report, Devdan Tribhuvan, who helps Christians obtain legal aid around Mumbai, said people had approached him with accounts of interrupted services and questions about whether simply gathering to pray could expose them to conversion allegations. His account describes the concerns brought to him; it does not establish how often such incidents occur across the state.

Different practices, unresolved questions

The practice is not universal. Christianity Today reported in September that some churches retained completed forms, photographs and identity-document copies, while major denominations in Mumbai were not asking worshippers to sign. Its account of a migrant worshipper at a home church showed another concern: he feared what could happen to the personal details being collected, even as he valued the community he found at Sunday services.

The forms may document what a worshipper says about attending a service, but the available reporting does not establish how police or courts would treat them if a conversion complaint were made. The BBC said police did not respond to detailed questions about the cases it cited or the action taken. For now, the documented change is at the church door: some congregations are collecting written assurances of free choice before worship, while the legal effect of those papers remains untested in the reporting available.