DINDORI, India — A court in India’s Madhya Pradesh state sentenced seven Christian men to five years of rigorous imprisonment — including hard labor — and fined each INR 100,000 (more than $1,000) after finding them guilty of forced conversions at what the host and defendants said was a private birthday party.
The convictions, reported by the U.S.-based monitoring group International Christian Concern, stem from an incident on April 27, 2024, when a mob of 100 to 150 Hindu nationalists surrounded the home of Suday Singh Maravi in a village in Dindori district. Maravi had gathered friends and relatives for a birthday celebration. The mob, led by a neighbor identified as Angad Singh, trapped the guests inside, shouted threats, and accused the believers of conducting forced religious conversions.
Maravi called police for protection, but officers arrested seven Christian men — some of them pastors — rather than charging the mob members, who were dispersed without consequence. The seven sentenced are Amit Kumar, Chhot Singh Dhurve, Jeet Singh Dhurve, Karan Singh Maravi, Pramod, Sanjay Markam, and Santosh Paraste. The prosecution alleged the men attempted to persuade attendees to convert to Christianity with cash offers, though Maravi maintained throughout the two-year legal battle that no religious conversion had occurred and that the accusations were fabricated by the uninvited neighbor.
The case was prosecuted under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, one of the earliest anti-conversion laws in India, dating back to 1968. Human rights advocates have grown increasingly critical of such laws for shifting the burden of proof onto the accused. Under their broad definitions, a family gathering or prayer meeting carries the risk of being reclassified as criminal conversion activity. The court handed down the maximum penalty permitted under the statute.
The sentences have had immediate consequences across Dindori district. The pastors among the seven served congregations in six different villages, all of which have now been forced to shut down, leaving local believers without spiritual leadership. The seven men were the primary breadwinners for their families, and their wives and children face financial precariousness. The total cost of obtaining bail for the group is estimated at approximately INR 600,000, or $6,300 — a sum ICC described as an insurmountable barrier for the impoverished rural families.
Anti-conversion laws are now in force across several Indian states and are increasingly being used to target Christians for attending private family functions, worship services, or prayer meetings. The convictions in Dindori represent the sharpest application of these statutes to date, with the maximum sentence imposed despite the host’s testimony and what ICC called a lack of coercive evidence. Appeals are expected to move slowly through India’s higher courts while the seven men remain behind bars.