In India, life imprisonment introduced for desecration of Sikh sacred scripture

A Sikh reader reciting a passage from the Guru Granth Sahib. Photo: Creative Commons

In the Indian state of Punjab, amendments to the blasphemy law have come into effect. Now disrespect for Sikh scriptures is punishable by life imprisonment. The new regulations have deprived Christians of the right to bail and granted police the authority to make arrests without a warrant. This is reported by the Christian Daily.

Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria approved the law on penalties for sacrilege. The minimum sentence for desecrating a shrine is now seven years in prison. In case of conspiracy to disrupt public harmony, defendants face life imprisonment and enormous fines. Meanwhile, Article 6 of the law completely exempts government officials from responsibility for any actions in cases concerning the protection of faith.

Christian leaders in the region have called the legislation discriminatory. The law protects texts of only one religion and ignores the interests of other denominations. President of the Christian United Federation Albert Dua stated that the new regulations will become a tool for persecuting Christians. Human rights activists fear mass repressions based on false accusations from hostile structures.

In 2023, police already subjected two pastors to torture on false charges of desecrating a Sikh book. At that time, the clergy were protected by federal law with a maximum sentence of three years. However, one of them was on the verge of death in prison. Now local police regularly threaten Christians with new arrests at every incident involving sacred texts.

As the UOJ reported, 80 attacks on Christian communities were recorded in India at Christmas.

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