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Bill to curb forced religious conversions tabled in Chhattisgarh Assembly

March 19, 2026 5 min read Polity & Governance Social Issues GS2 (Polity Governance Fundamental Rights)
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What Happened

  • The Chhattisgarh state government, led by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, introduced the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026 (also referred to as Chhattisgarh Swatantraya Vidheyak 2026) in the state Assembly.
  • The bill targets religious conversions carried out through force, coercion, undue influence, allurement, misrepresentation, fraudulent means, or marriage — including conversions facilitated via digital platforms.
  • Key penal provisions include: imprisonment of up to 10 years for illegal conversions, up to 20 years for conversions targeting minors, women, persons with disabilities, Scheduled Castes, or Scheduled Tribes.
  • Mass conversions — defined as conversion of more than two persons through force or coercion — attract a punishment of life imprisonment under the bill.
  • The opposition protested the tabling of the bill in the Assembly.
  • Chhattisgarh already had an older anti-conversion law; this bill is designed to replace it with significantly stricter provisions and higher penalties.

Static Topic Bridges

Multiple Indian states have enacted Freedom of Religion Acts or anti-conversion laws since Odisha passed the first such statute in 1967. These laws do not ban religious conversion per se but prohibit conversion achieved through force, fraud, inducement, or allurement. Their constitutional validity has been contested but largely upheld by the Supreme Court, with important nuances.

  • States with active anti-conversion laws (as of 2025-26): Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Karnataka (among others).
  • The Supreme Court in Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1977) upheld early anti-conversion statutes, ruling that the right to "propagate" religion under Article 25 does not include the right to convert another person.
  • A constitutional challenge to multiple states' anti-conversion laws is currently pending before the Supreme Court.
  • Some states require prior government permission (notification to District Magistrate) before any conversion — a provision that critics argue effectively allows state surveillance of religious practice.
  • The laws' constitutionality hinges on whether the state government's entry in the Seventh Schedule (Concurrent List, Entry 1: public order; State List, Entry 1: public order) extends to regulating conversion.

Connection to this news: The Chhattisgarh bill follows the broader legislative trend of state-level anti-conversion laws, but with significantly enhanced penalties — particularly life imprisonment for mass conversions — which may attract fresh constitutional scrutiny given its severity.

Freedom of Religion under the Indian Constitution (Articles 25-28)

The right to freedom of religion is a fundamental right guaranteed under Part III of the Indian Constitution. Articles 25 to 28 collectively protect individual religious freedom while allowing the state to regulate associated activities. The balance between individual liberty (to convert) and state power (to prevent coercive conversion) is at the heart of debates over anti-conversion legislation.

  • Article 25: Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion — subject to public order, morality, and health, and to other Fundamental Rights.
  • Article 26: Freedom to manage religious affairs for every religious denomination.
  • Article 27: No person shall be compelled to pay taxes for promotion of any particular religion.
  • Article 28: No religious instruction in wholly state-funded educational institutions.
  • The Constituent Assembly explicitly debated and rejected a proposed clause that would have made conversion by coercion a fundamental right — leaving it to Parliament and state legislatures to regulate.
  • Article 25's right to "propagate" religion has been interpreted by the Supreme Court as the right to spread religious beliefs, but not the right to convert others.

Connection to this news: The Chhattisgarh bill derives its constitutional legitimacy from Article 25's phrase "subject to public order" and the state's power to prevent coercive practices — but the sweeping definition of prohibited methods (including marriage and digital platforms) and the severity of penalties may be tested in court against the fundamental right to freedom of religion.

Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Vulnerability in Conversion Debates

Both historically and in contemporary debates, Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities have occupied a central position in discussions about religious conversion. Conversions out of Hinduism by Dalits and Adivasis — often to Christianity or Buddhism — have been a major social and political flash point. At the same time, a Constitutional order of 1950 restricts reservation benefits for SC members who convert out of Hinduism (later extended to Sikhism and Buddhism, but not Christianity or Islam).

  • The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 originally restricted SC status to Hindus. It was later amended to include Sikhs (1956) and Buddhists (1990).
  • Dalits who convert to Christianity or Islam lose SC reservation benefits — a long-standing demand for reform from Christian and Muslim Dalit groups.
  • Anti-conversion laws typically specify enhanced penalties for converting members of SC/ST communities — treating these groups as particularly vulnerable to "allurement."
  • Adivasi (Tribal) regions in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha have historically seen both Christian missionary activity and organised Hindu reconversion (ghar wapsi) campaigns.
  • The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution gives special protection to scheduled areas inhabited by tribal communities, and state governments have used this to argue for stricter conversion regulation.

Connection to this news: The Chhattisgarh bill's enhanced penalties specifically targeting conversions of SC/ST members reflect the political and social salience of tribal religious identity in the state — Chhattisgarh has a significant Adivasi population (~31%) and has seen conversion-related tensions in its scheduled districts.

Key Facts & Data

  • Bill name: Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026 (Chhattisgarh Swatantraya Vidheyak 2026)
  • General conversion by prohibited means: up to 10 years imprisonment
  • Conversions targeting minors, women, differently-abled, SC/ST: up to 20 years imprisonment
  • Mass conversions (more than 2 persons through force/coercion): life imprisonment
  • Prohibited methods include: force, coercion, allurement, fraud, misrepresentation, marriage, and digital platforms
  • Chhattisgarh's tribal (ST) population: approximately 31% of the state
  • States with anti-conversion laws: at least 10 states currently have active legislation
  • Supreme Court precedent (1977): right to propagate religion does not include right to convert others (Stainislaus v. State of MP)
  • Constitutional reference: Articles 25-28 (Right to Freedom of Religion)