Mar 09, 2023

Thousands of Indian Christians protest amid worst persecution to date

Around 22,000 Christians staged a peaceful protest in the Indian capital Delhi on February 19 to draw attention to a sharp escalation in targeted hate and violence against their minority community. They emphasized that 2021 and 2022 were the most violent years to date.

Around 22,000 Christians protested against persecution in Delhi on February 19, 2023. csi

India’s Christian community, known for their peaceful attitude, has only resorted to protests a handful of times since India gained independence over seven decades ago. The rare protest rally was attended by representatives of almost all denominations in the country, from the Catholic and episcopalian churches to evangelical, Pentecostal and independent churches.

Previous protests have been in response to the rape of nuns in the 1990s, the burning alive of Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two sons Philip and Timothy in 1999, and mass violence in the eastern Kandhamal district in 1998, among others.

The United Christian Forum (UCF), a Delhi-based group that monitors atrocities against Christians in India, reported 598 incidents from 21 states in 2022. In 2021, UCF recorded 486 such incidents, making it the most violent year for Christians in India’s history.

Of particular concern in 2022 were six states: Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the north, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in central India, Jharkhand in the east, and Karnataka in the south.

Memorandum to Modi

The Christian community submitted a memorandum addressed to Indian President Draupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the chief ministers of all Indian states, and other officials.

The memorandum raises concerns about impunity that has “crossed all limits.”

“Even senior politicians and members of various non-state actors call for the blood of Christians and threaten to purge various states of every Christian child, woman and man,” it said.

Hindutva, a Hindu nationalistic political ideology, asserts that Christians and other religious minorities cannot be true Indians because their religions originated outside of India. It argues that the country should be purified of their presence.

“Christianity has existed, peacefully with other faiths, since the first century when the apostle Thomas came to India, and was martyred on Indian soil,” Dr. Michael Williams, the UCF chairman, said.

“The narrative that Hindutva radicals propagate that Christianity is a ‘foreign culture’ is extremely hurtful and alienating to the Christian community and must be rubbished, and its propagators held accountable in legal as well as public forums.”

Immunity from prosecution

The UCF found that almost all reported incidents in 2022 revealed a pattern of threats, coercion and aggression by vigilante mobs composed of religious extremists, who seem to enjoy immunity from the rule of law, as the police and local media often accompany them.

Another trend, according to UCF, is that the mobs forcibly enter prayer gatherings or round up individuals, falsely alleging forcible religious conversions. With impunity, they take the law into their own hands, using long sticks and rods to injure men, women and even children.

On occasion, they are armed with deadly weapons, it adds. “It is difficult to understand why the police remain silent and then arrest Christian victims on charges of illegal religious conversions.”

In 2022, at least 111 police complaints against Christians were registered alleging “forcible” conversion, mostly by religious extremist organisations, according to UCF.

In December 2022, armed mobs laid siege to Christian homes in Chhattisgarh villages on trumped-up charges of mass conversions, it said, adding that the villagers have been forced to flee for their lives, and many have not been able to return home.

Steadily increasing violence

The number of reported incidents of violence against Christians in India has been steadily increasing since 2014, when the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party won the general election. At least 127 incidents were reported that year, 142 in 2015, 226 in 2016, 248 in 2017, 292 in 2018, and 328 in 2019. In 2020, the number of incidents dipped slightly to 279, only to peak the following year.

“Despite the repeated pleas to the authorities, the violence and hatred continue to rise drastically,” said Christian activist Dr. John Dayal.

The Christian community has urged the president of India to ensure the rule of law, and to assure religious minorities that their constitutional rights will not be threatened.

Christians make up only 2.3 percent of India’s population, and Hindus comprise about 80 percent.

Anugrah Kumar

Article comments
Your comments on this article are welcome. Please note that off-topic, insulting or disrespectful comments will be deleted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Kommentar erfolgreich abgesendet.

Der Kommentar wurde erfolgreich abgesendet, sobald er von einem Administrator verifiziert wurde, wird er hier angezeigt.