Unchecked persecution, government silence will threaten Christian identity, says civil society group

The unchecked persecution of Christians in India and the silence of the government in such cases will threaten the Christian identity, the civil society group United Christian Forum said on Friday.

In a statement, the group said that attacks against the community had become more frequent, brutal and systematic.

It referred to a report it released on January 10, which said that the number of attacks against Christians had increased from 127 in 2014 to 834 in 2024.

The group said that if the trend was not stopped immediately by “political will and concerted government action, it will threaten the identity and existence of the Indian Christian community in their motherland much before 2050”.

Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh recorded the highest number of attacks on Christians and had become “the hotspots of viral hate, brutal mob violence, rampant social ostracisation in which elements of the law and justice apparatus is complicit”, the group said citing its 2024 report.

While Uttar Pradesh recorded 209 attacks against Christians in 2024, Chhattisgarh reported 165.

The United Christian Forum on Wednesday said that the number of cases reported in the two states merely scratched the surface. “Across the country, the crimes that come to our notice may be from thrice to ten times at the grassroots,” the…

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