Chhattisgarh, on 19 March, passed its Freedom of Religion Bill 2026 to replace the 1968 law from when the state was part of Madhya Pradesh. (Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

By John Dayal

Last year on International Women’s Day, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav promised he would introduce the death penalty for any man who seduced the state’s Hindu women, married them, and forced them to convert to another religion. Everyone knew which men he was referring to, and there was applause from his audience.

If passed, that will be the gold standard for the 12 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states to amend their anti-conversion laws, some of which were passed in more benign times, and till very recently, had not seen anyone being punished.

But, for the moment, the record has been set by neighbouring Chhattisgarh, which, on 19 March, passed its Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026 to replace the 1968 law from when the state was part of Madhya Pradesh.

This story was originally published in thequint.com. Read the full story here.