At least two attacks on Christians are being reported every day in India this year, according to new figures released by a Christian advocacy group.
A total of 313 incidents were recorded between January and May alone, based on calls to a toll-free helpline run by the New Delhi-based inter-denominational body United Christian Forum, according to the Union of Catholic Asian News.
The pattern of violence has intensified steadily over the past decade, UCF data shows. The organization logged 834 incidents of attacks on Christians in 2024, up from 734 in 2023 and 601 in 2022.
A.C. Michael, UCF’s national convenor and a former member of the Delhi Minorities Commission, told UCA News the incidents include “viral hate, brutal mob violence and rampant social ostracization,” pointing to Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as the most severely affected states.
In 2024, Uttar Pradesh reported 209 incidents, the highest in the country, followed by 165 in Chhattisgarh. By the end of May, Chhattisgarh had already recorded 64 cases of violence against Christians, with Uttar Pradesh close behind at 58.
Christian activist Minakshi Singh, based in Uttar Pradesh, was quoted as saying that a large number of these attacks are driven by accusations of forced conversions.
Singh rejected the claims, calling them baseless.
“In 2022, the Supreme Court of India asked for reports on forceful conversions from the federal and state governments, but till today, no government has been able to provide documentary evidence,” Singh said.
Twelve of India’s 28 states have laws that restrict religious conversions. Most of these are governed by the Hindu nationalist BJP, which Christian groups accuse of enabling Hindu nationalist attacks under the guise of anti-conversion enforcement.
Christian leaders argue that these laws are often misused by Hindu nationalist groups to harass and intimidate Christian communities.
“If this trend is not stopped immediately, it will threaten the identity and existence of the Indian Christian community in its motherland,” said Michael. He alleged that the legal and judicial systems are failing to protect Christian minorities and said many victims avoid reporting assaults out of fear of reprisal.
The UCF maintains a log of complaints received through its helpline and contact network, recording a steady year-on-year increase in incidents since 2014 — the year the BJP came to power — with 127 cases that year.
In December, Michael called on the Indian government to appoint a secretary-level official to lead the investigation into a sharp uptick in incidents of persecution.
Christians constitute 2.3% of India’s population, based on the 2011 census. The UCF says the Christian minority has been facing growing hostility in recent years, particularly under laws and narratives advanced by Hindu nationalist groups.
In Chhattisgarh, Christians were arrested in March after dozens of hardline Hindus attacked a church in Raipur and cut the electrical power. Rajesh Sharma, one of the Christians arrested, told Morning Star News his plea for anticipatory bail was rejected in the state lower and high courts.
