The group assures pursuing all available legal and advocacy avenues to ensure accountability and justice
NEW DELHI — The Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) has condemned the alarming rise in incidents of targeted violence, harassment, and systematic persecution directed against Christians across the country during Christmas.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, it said the widespread nature of these incidents shows that they are not isolated acts of communal discord, but the result of a systematic effort to demonise and incite hatred against Christians as well as their beliefs, practices and religious institutions. “These incidents are also representative of a coordinated and escalating assault on religious minorities in India, through continuous and systematic violation of the constitutional guarantees of religious freedom, dignity, and equal protection under law,” the rights group which monitors and defends human rights and challenges discrimination said.
Grave Incidents and State Failure
Christian watchdog organisations have documented over 60 incidents during the Christmas period alone. APCR’s monitoring of hate crimes and hate speech has also revealed several incidents of mob violence, vandalism, and institutional complicity.
The APCR cited a 20 December Christmas charity programme for disabled children at Prince of Peace Church in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh wherein BJP District Vice-President Anju Bhargava brutally assaulted Safalta Karthik, a visually impaired woman. “Video footage shows Bhargava physically striking her, verbally abusing her, and making dehumanising remarks about her disability, including stating that she “deserved to be blind in her next life.” Around 200 visually impaired children present were also subjected to humiliating and traumatic verbal abuse.
The group cited several other incidents where mobs allegedly affiliated with the RSS and Bajrang Dal torched churches, set Christian homes on fire, and destroyed prayer halls.
These actions, the rights advocacy group said, reflect a systematic effort to restrict, delegitimise, and criminalise Christian religious expression. “The targeted violence against Christmas celebrations across India has taken place in a context of increasing hate speech and intolerance against religious expression and practices of people belonging to religious minority communities, it said.
APCR called upon the Government of India and all state governments to take immediate and decisive action, including:
• Independent investigations and swift prosecution of all perpetrators.
• Police accountability, including disciplinary action against officers who failed to intervene or colluded with perpetrators.
• Prosecution of hate speech by public figures who justify or incite violence against religious minorities.
• Establishment of an independent statutory body to monitor communal violence and ensure impartial investigation.
• Mandatory human rights and constitutional training for law enforcement officials.
• A national framework for religious harmony that guarantees equal protection for all communities.
The APCR said it stands in full solidarity with Christians and all religious minorities who have faced violence, intimidation, and discrimination. “We will continue to monitor these developments and pursue all available legal and advocacy avenues to ensure accountability and justice,” the group said.
