The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 is a central law enacted by the Parliament of India to preserve the religious character of places of worship as they existed on 15th August 1947. It prohibits the conversion of any religious place (e.g., mosque, temple, church, gurudwara) from one faith to another. The law aims to promote communal harmony and peace by freezing the status of religious places to what it was at the time of India's independence.

Objectives of the Places of Worship Act, 1991:
1. To Maintain Secularism - Upholds the secular character of the Indian Constitution by discouraging religious conflicts.

2. To Prevent Communal Tensions - Stops the re-litigation of historical disputes over religious sites that may provoke communal unrest.

3. To Freeze Religious Status - Ensures that the religious identity of any place of worship as it stood on 15 August 1947 cannot be changed.

4. To Promote Harmony and Peace - Aims to create a peaceful coexistence among religious communities by respecting historical realities.

5. Legal Safeguard for Worship Places - Provides a statutory protection to religious places from being altered or claimed unlawfully.