Eleven Indian states now have laws restricting religious conversion, variously requiring government permission before a person may change their faith, criminalising conversion "by force, fraud, or inducement," and in some cases mandating that family members be notified. A twelfth state is currently debating such legislation.

The framing of these laws as protective — defending vulnerable communities from predatory missionaries — sounds reasonable on the surface. It is not. In practice, these laws have been used overwhelmingly against Christians and Muslims, almost never against conversions to Hinduism. The "inducement" provision is so broad that providing a cup of water to a person before praying with them has been cited as grounds for an FIR.

The Catholic Church in India, through the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and individual dioceses, has issued statements of concern. But statements are not enough. What is needed is a coordinated, legally sophisticated, ecumenical response: challenging the constitutional validity of these laws in the Supreme Court, documenting every case of misuse, and building alliances with Muslim, Dalit, and secular civil society groups who share the concern about freedom of conscience.

The Constitution of India guarantees the right to "propagate" religion in Article 25. That right is not a courtesy — it is a fundamental right. The Church must defend it as such, with the same clarity and courage that the Church in Kerala has historically brought to its engagement with public life.