At one time there were 6.000 missionaries in India; there are now only a few hundred.

Christians to India total some 15 million, or 2.4 percent of the population of 630 million. but the community is growing faster than those of other religions. The Christians are concentrated in the poverty‐bound state of Tamil Nadu, in backward tribal districts of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar, and in frontier tribal states. The bill also applies to Moslems, but there have been only mild protests by Moslem leaders.

The measure was introduced in the lower house of Parliament in December by O. P. Tyagi, who belongs to the rightwing Jan Sangh, a leading member of the bloc making up the Janata Party. The bill is likely to be debated later this week.

Prime Minister Morarji R. Desai has assured Christian delegations that their right to propagate their religion will not be taken away. But he indicated that the bill would be accepted by the Hindudominated Government, though in a modified form. He stated earlier that such legislation was necessary in India.

Some Party Members Oppose Bill

Some members of the Janata Party who oppose the Jan Sangh also oppose the bill. Madhu Limaye, a party secretary and member of Parliament, has declared that he and his associates will work vigorously to defeat it.

Legislation to check conversion was adopted in Madhya Pradesh in 1968, but only one arrest has been made under the provision prohibiting conversion by inducement. A Roman Catholic priest was arrested when he defied the law by refusing to register a conversion with the local magistrate.