Pastors in India are shamed and arrested under their country’s anti-conversion laws, but they continue to proclaim the Good News of Christ even in prison.

Twelve of India’s 28 states have anti-conversion laws that are intended to eliminate any non-Hindu activity in the majority-Hindu nation. Radical Hindus and government officials use these laws to persecute Christians in their attempt to make India a purely Hindu country.

While the specifics of these laws vary from state to state, they have three aspects in common: prohibitions against the conversion of Hindus, requirements to notify the government before changing religions, and an automatic presumption of guilt with the burden of proof on the accused rather than the accuser.

The laws criminalize conversion — specifically leaving Hinduism — through force, fraud or allurement, but the definitions used are broad and vague. In Gujarat state, for example, the definition of allurement encompasses the promise of “divine blessings,” including salvation, forgiveness of sins and eternal life that are central tenets of the Christian faith. Under these laws, a pastor can be arrested based on an unsubstantiated accusation.

In the past 10 years, the political victories of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is affiliated with the right-wing paramilitary organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), have emboldened authorities and many Hindu groups not only to enact anti-conversion laws but also to initiate violence and other persecution against Christians.

On Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021, police and members of a radical Hindu group entered Pastor Sawan’s church, detaining him and another church member for questioning. A local Hindu priest had complained that Sawan tried to forcibly convert him to Christianity.

When he became sick, he was transferred to a government hospital, where authorities chained one of his legs to his bed. Though Sawan had no Bible, he still meditated on verses he had memorized. And during morning recreation time, he shared the Gospel with other prisoners. “I shared the love of Christ and prayed for them,” he said. “I was able to bring four inmates to Christ.”

It was nearly 10 months before Sawan’s sixth request for bail was granted, in September 2022. Though his accuser eventually swore before a judge that he did not file the complaint, the case has proceeded, and Sawan is at home awaiting trial.

Although the harsh laws and questionable procedures have made it difficult for many accused pastors and other Christians to prove their innocence, they have used the persecution to further the Gospel. Sawan’s son Samuel said their local church grew by more than 50% during the 10 months Sawan was in jail. And his father and other imprisoned Christians have used their arrests to proclaim the Gospel to police, prisoners and prison officials.

On Feb. 6, 2022, as Rajiv’s congregation prepared for Communion, three members of the RSS entered the service and began making a video accusing the church of conversion activities. Then the police arrived and took Rajiv and another Christian to the police station. The police questioned Rajiv about his work, even though the church was officially registered with  and had permission to meet. Eventually, based on the RSS claims, Rajiv was charged under the state’s anti-conversion laws and put in jail.

While Rajiv was reading the New Testament in his cell, other prisoners became curious about what Rajiv was reading. He told them he was reading about Jesus, and some became interested. With permission, Rajiv’s son brought 60 more New Testaments to the jail, and Rajiv gave them to his fellow inmates. He started a fellowship among the prisoners, sharing the hope of the Gospel with them.

On April 24, 2022, after several requests for bail had been denied, Rajiv was released from jail. His church remains closed until the court rules on his case, but Rajiv continues to visit and encourage church members while awaiting a verdict.

Growing up as the son of a Hindu priest, with a temple in his home, Aarav expected more persecution from his family when he first became a Christian. But they had all witnessed his miraculous healing when Christians prayed for him, and eventually the whole family came to faith in Christ. Aarav’s father tore down the altars in their home and destroyed their idols. The family then began using their house as a church, which by 2020 had grown to about 250 members.

But their house church soon became a target of vandalism, attacks during worship services, and bureaucratic battles over meeting permits. Aarav believes these incidents are what ultimately led to his arrest on Oct. 11, 2022.

After filing paperwork requesting permission to meet as a church, Aarav was summoned to the police station to provide his signature so the permit could be issued. At the police station, he was told to wait while they completed the permit.

Instead of coming out of his office with a permit, however, an official presented Aarav with a warrant for his arrest. The police had prepared their entire case before calling him to the station, and within a couple of hours Aarav found himself before a judge, charged with converting Hindus to Christianity. He remained in jail for 31 days before being granted bail.

Several radical Hindu groups posted wildly fictitious reports of Aarav’s arrest on social media, claiming that he had been arrested in a market and had a large amount of money on him to bribe Hindus to convert. “It was a planned plot, a total fraud against me and my ministry,” Aarav said. The church, which had endured a steady stream of harassment, stopped meeting after his arrest, but he continues to visit believers at home to encourage and pray with them.

For months, Aarav was traumatized by the stigma of his arrest and the social-media smear campaign that followed. He is currently awaiting trial on the anti-conversion charges.

With their future freedom uncertain, these Christian leaders who have been persecuted under India’s anti-conversion laws continue to follow Christ and faithfully serve their Christian brothers and sisters.

While in prison, Aarav found comfort through contemplation of the life and death of Jesus’ disciple Stephen. “I want to feel confident and concentrate in my ministry to serve God,” he said. “And I believe God is going to give a miracle.”

Rajiv, too, is focused on living daily for the glory of Christ. “Our lives are Christ’s, our days on this earth are numbered,” he said. “So all of our days, we need to be faithful to Christ and live for him.”

And as Sawan expectantly awaits his trial, his youngest son reflects the family’s faithful perspective. “The Bible says we need to forgive our enemies,” he said. “We just want to follow and continue with what God calls us to do.”