The way the anti-conversion bills under the guise of 'freedom of religion' are being passed in various states in the Indian Union—the latest being Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh—one wonders whether the country has a Constitution at all. It is, of course, obvious that the one minority community in the country most affected by such measures is the Christian community, judging by the near silence of the various other minority communities. Yet, the reactions of various segments of the Christian community, per se, have been woefully tame so far. Given the worsening situation, it is difficult to figure out exactly what we are waiting for, or even what we can expect.

Threat looming large ...
It isn't difficult to see that there's a sword of Damocles hanging heavy over our heads as a community. So if now isn't the time, our revered bishops enrolled the support of all the bishops (i.e. of all the other denominations) in protesting against what is happening, when might we be doing that – when India is finally declared a Hindu Rashtra?

Even as atrocities against the people of the Way, as we were once called, continue to mount, the Maha and Chhattisgarh governments' anti-conversion legislations are all set to prove how much more suffocating and torturous it's going to be on our community across the length and breadth of our beloved country.

Indeed, it's time we realised that any protest on our part, whether written, verbal or demonstrative, ought to be organised by Christians of all denominations, be that in Maharashtra or anywhere in India. That is where the CBCI, CCBI, the AICU, the various Catholic Sabhas, the Evangelical Council of India – not forgetting bodies like the Indian Catholic Press Association – come in. The Prelates of every denomination in the country must urgently unite at both the National and State levels. Only then will our protest truly serve as the backbone of social justice.

Whither our commitment?
The Lord, through Isaiah 6:8, is frantically saying: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" It is pertinent to note that quite a sizeable number of Christians in the country, including priests and nuns, are practising advocates, some of them supposedly journalists as well, a few genuinely living their calling as Advocate-Religious-Journalists.

Are we each willing to say, "Here I am Lord – send me"? Perhaps the Catholic Lawyers' Guild of Bombay could take the lead in bringing about this unification among the Christian legal fraternity at the city/diocesan and state levels, with others across the country following suit.

At the time of writing this, the FCRA AMENDMENT BILL 2026 is already in the offing. Are we willing to urgently take the bold step needed? Unless, of course, we would much rather prefer to watch the Hinduization dream of the powers-that-be silently become a sordid reality before taking any action at all. By then, of course, we shall have our voices and our freedom completely throttled into silence.