VIOLENCE against Muslim minority has become a regular and recurring phenomenon. Its form and intensity vary but the intimidation goes unchecked, unrestrained. The other substantial minority, Christians, are also not spared, though violence against them is not in the news most of the time. The major reason being its sub-radar nature. Though it’s sub-radar most of the time, around Christmas time, its overtness becomes more apparent.
One recalls that in the decade of the 1990s, the violence manifested in Odisha and Gujarat. And it is around that time that former prime minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee commented that there was a need for national debate on the issue of conversion.
Conversion has been the major pretext for attacking various events related to the Christian community. The prayers, church meetings, and celebrations are occasions when these attacks are constantly orchestrated. This year again, it became manifest around Christmas celebrations.
The foot soldiers of Hindutva had a gala time attacking footpath vendors selling Christmas wares, such as caps, dresses and associated things. In some places, they attacked the replicas of Santa Claus, in other places, they vandalised churches and showrooms selling Christmas wares.
Columnist Tavleen Singh wrote in The Indian Express, “The more intrepid of these Hindutva warriors stormed into churches and disturbed services with vandalism and violence. Videos of these ‘accomplishments’ were uploaded on social media. In one of them, I saw a BJP legislator enter a church in Jabalpur and harangue a blind woman, whom she accused menacingly of trying to convert Hindus to Christianity…there were nearly a hundred attempts to disrupt Christmas festivities and nearly all of them occurred in states ruled by the BJP. Nobody was punished and no chief minister openly deplored the violence.”
These events have been covered in the international media also. A few newspapers commented about the possibility of retaliatory violence against Hindus in those countries. The interesting aspect of the Indian states’ attitude on these events is their loud silence, and it is no coincidence that most of this violence took place in BJP-ruled states. Fortunately, we have a non-biological prime minister who, in the face of all this, visited a church and offered prayers! It was an interesting phenomenon that inside the church, the Hindutva top leader is creating the optics of respecting Christianity, while his followers are doing anti-Christian vandalism on the streets and in churches.
The Citizens for Justice and Peace (December 24, 2025) report very aptly summarises the tremendous rise in anti-Christian violence over the years. “Between 2014 and 2024, documented incidents of violence against Christians rose from 139 to 834, an increase of over 500%. In 2025 alone (January–November), more than 700 incidents have already been recorded, affecting families, churches, schools, hospitals, and service institutions. Dalit Christians, Adivasi Christians, and women are among the most affected.”
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom again recommended designating India as a Country of Particular Concern in its 2025 report, citing concerns over religious freedom. The Human Rights Watch and other bodies also documented issues affecting the minorities in India.
Christmas eve violence is not new. One Bishop reminded people of this while cautioning the churches in Raipur: “In Raipur, however, the Catholic archbishop, Victor Henry Thakur, was very worried. He sent a letter to local churches, schools and other institutions urging caution, ‘In the light of the call for Chhattisgarh Bandh tomorrow, I feel and suggest that all our churches, presbyteries, convents and institutions should seek protection in writing from the local police. Please consider my suggestion because it seems to have been planned just before Christmas, as was the case at Kandhamal in Odisha.’”
This reminds one of violence around Christmas in Odisha in 2007 and 2008. The one which was orchestrated in 2008 took a massive proportion as nearly 70,000 Christians had to flee and nearly 400 churches were vandalised.
In the face of this, one could have expected the Church hierarchy to have expressed their concern about the attacks on Christians, but their silence on this serious matter shows either their lack of concern for their community, or some other hidden vested interest in keeping mum on the issue.
One has also witnessed state after state adopting anti-conversion laws, titled ‘Freedom of Religion Acts’. This is putting rigorous conditions on the religious conduct of the community. Pastors and priests are arrested on pretext of conversion activity and face the legal rigmarole for years.
The propaganda that Christians are converting needs to be visited yet again. Christianity is an old religion in India, having come here through St Thomas in AD 52 on the Malabar Coast. The social perception that it came with British rule has no basis. From AD 52 to 2011, when the last Census was held, the percentage of Christians rose to 2.3%. It is nobody’s case to deny that some conscious conversion work might have taken place. Have a look at the figures of the Christian population from 1971 to 2011. In 1971-2.60%, 1981-2.44%, 1991-2.34% and 2001-2.30%. That tells an interesting tale.
Pastor Graham Staines was burnt alive with his two sons, Timothy and Phillip, on the pretext of his indulging in conversion work in Odisha. The Wadhwa Commission that went into this ghastly murder, in its report points out that there was no statistical increase in the number of Christians in Keonjhar, where Pastor Staines was working among leprosy patients.
There are many Christian education institutes and hospitals, which are very much sought after. The conversions that have taken place are more among Adivasi and Dalits, who have been thronging to the education and health facilities in the remote areas. It is true that major conversions might have taken place while seeking these facilities in remote areas where State facilities are sparse.
The hatred constructed around conversion is now widespread. The attacks on celebration-related events is a horrific phenomenon. The State in such cases is either mute or absent. The compliant State machinery is the major cause of gradual intensification of the anti-Christian activity in diverse forms.
This years’ attacks are a warning signal of the silence and doublespeak of the ruling dispensation. On one hand, going to pray in a church, and on the other, allow vandals to do their job. One hopes that international repercussions will be in the form of government to government, responding to appeals of religious freedom and conceding to those appeals.
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Ram Puniyani is an eminent author, activist and a former professor at IIT Mumbai. The views expressed here are author’s personal and Clarion India does not necessarily share or subscribe to them.
