At present, such a law has been enacted in just eight states to stop illegal conversion while the problem is nationwide, he added.
The core issues to be settled -- access to Hormuz, Israel's aggression in Lebanon, the question of Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and compensation -- are thorny enough to require weeks of patient negotiation. The most likely outcome of the opening sessions is that both sides take the measure of each other, establish what is and is not negotiable, and return home without having broken anything. That would count as progress.
Ahead of the Maha Kumbh, a senior cleric has written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressing fears that mass conversions of Muslims will take place during the event, while other community leaders have flagged the alleged demand raised by some Hindu seers' body to keep Muslims out of the mega gathering.
A madrassa principal in Uttar Pradesh has been arrested for allegedly converting a minor boy and enrolling him under a changed name. The incident came to light after the boy's father, recently released from jail, created a disturbance at the madrassa.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala also issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on the appeal filed by Mathew Samuel and others challenging an order of the Allahabad high court which refused to quash the proceedings in the FIR filed against them by the state police.
Two Union Ministers visited the family of a 23-year-old woman in Kothamangalam who allegedly took her own life due to harassment by her lover. The family is demanding an NIA probe into the incident, alleging forced religious conversion.
'No one can wipe-off our glorious collaboration in The Kerala Story and Bastar, from Indian cinema.' 'When we create history and are scrutiniSed in public, we must be extremely responsible in our behaviour and conduct.'
There has been an increase in violence against Christians over the past 12 years -- from 147 cases in 2014 to 706 in 2025 (till November).
'The BJP is keeping its options open and that the final decision is still tightly held.' 'That is consistent with the party's tendency to preserve suspense, avoid premature factional conflict, and use leadership selection as a way of resetting internal hierarchies.'
A special NIA court in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district has reserved its order on a bail application filed by three persons, including two nuns from Kerala, arrested on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.
'The nuns were subjected to abusive language and all types of mental torture.'
'India is at a critical juncture in this century. I want to be a part of the diplomatic team that works to make India great.'
Justice Renu Agarwal made the observation while rejecting a Hindu-Muslim couple's plea for police protection.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday took note of religious conversions, saying that an anti-conversion law should be made to stop such acts.
He had ordered probe into the allegations against the private school that it made students wear hijab-like headscarves, Chouhan told reporters in Morena.
Terming religious conversion a silent invasion, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said the menace of conversion should not be allowed to grow in society.
The incident took place on Saturday, when the four people were allegedly propagating Christianity at a house in Kolar.
An additional chief judicial magistrate sent the accused to nine days of police remand on Monday.
Alleging that the NGO allows its name to be used "at the behest of some selected political interest", the Union of India told the top court that it is guilty of collecting huge funds by exploiting the agonies of riot-affected people.
A prominent Islamic shrine in Bareilly has issued a decree banning religious conversion by force or allurement, endorsing Uttar Pradesh's recent ordinance aimed at curbing inter-faith marriages as an alleged ploy for conversion.
The Chhattisgarh State Women Commission has directed the Director General of Police to file FIRs based on complaints from three women who allege assault and molestation by Bajrang Dal workers. The women were initially involved in a human trafficking and forced conversion case.
The arrest of two Catholic nuns from Kerala in Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion has ignited a political controversy, with opposition parties criticizing the arrest and the Chief Minister defending the police action.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
A 30-year-old woman with three children converted to Hinduism and married a 12th-grade student in a temple ceremony in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha district. The woman, previously known as Shabnam, has been married twice before and has no living parents. Police are reviewing the circumstances surrounding the marriage, but no legal complaints have been filed so far. The woman's previous husband was left disabled after a road accident and she obtained a divorce last week. Her new husband's father supports the marriage and wishes the couple happiness.
India has slammed Pakistan at a UN debate by drawing attention to the heinous crimes of gross sexual violence against women in erstwhile East Pakistan in 1971, adding the pattern continues with impunity to this day.
The Chhattisgarh high court has disposed of two petitions seeking the removal of hoardings prohibiting entry to pastors and 'converted Christians' in eight villages, holding that they were installed to prevent forced conversions through allurement or fraudulent means and cannot be termed as unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a petition seeking a direction to the Centre to take steps to curb fraudulent religious conversions in the country.
FCRA registration will also be cancelled if any NGO is not utilising foreign funding as per the aims and objectives of the NGO or if it has not uploaded the annual returns, the ministry said.
The 'Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill' was passed by the Legislative Assembly in December last.
'They should be given a strong message that they are not the ones who decide the rule of the land, and they are not the ones who decide what justice is.'
Similar bills in the recent past have been passed in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states.
The top court granted the relief to the accused noting that he was in custody since May 21, 2023, and the charge sheet has been submitted on July 19, 2023.
The Kerala BJP has contradicted the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister's justification of the arrest of two Keralite Catholic nuns, stating they were not involved in human trafficking or forced conversion attempts and promising to help them.
Sources in the AAP claimed that the chief minister was 'extremely displeased' with Gautam.
The state cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had earlier this week approved the draft ordinance to curb forcible or "dishonest" religious conversions including those for the sake of marriage, which could land violators in jail for up to 10 years.
The face-off between Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee and West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose intensified further on Wednesday after the politician lodged a counter-complaint against the state's Constitutional head at the Hare Street Police Station within 24 hours of the latter having filed a first information report (FIR) against the former at the same PS.
Three years ago, the accused started exerting pressure on her to undergo religious conversion and perform 'nikaah' (marriage). But when the woman opposed, he threatened to kidnap her, Tikaram alleged.
India has previously rejected the US state department's annual human rights report on the country, saying they continue to be based on "misinformation and flawed understanding".
'The implementation of the judgment has largely been left to the discretion of the very executive authorities it sought to restrain.'
