Growing violence ‘threatens’ Christian existence in India

Light of Truth

Indian Christians face an existential threat if the government fails to act immediately to stop the spiralling incidents of hate crimes, says an ecumenical Christian group. Incidents of anti-Christian violence rose steeply from 127 in 2014 to 834 in 2024, revealed the latest report released by the United Christian Forum (UCF) on Jan. 24. “If the trend is 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,” the New Delhi-based body of several Christian denominations said in a statement. A.C. Michael, a UCF office-bearer, said practicing the Christian faith in the country is going to be a challenging task unless the government reins in the right-wing Hindu groups. “Chri-stians are being treated like they do not belong to this country,” Michael told. Michael, a former member of the Delhi state’s minority commission, said that the Church’s charitable works were falsely portrayed as “a façade for religious conversion through false narratives” by the right-wing organizations.
Michael Williams, president of UCF, said the attacks against the community have become “more frequent, brutal, and systematic.” “Christians who have long been a peaceful and integral part of India’s diverse society are now living in fear,” he said. Williams said the data collected by UCF wasn’t just numbers. “They are the stories of real people, individual lives shattered, families torn apart, and communities destroyed because of their faith,” he added. The findings of the latest report are “very disturbing” as there has been no let-up in violence against Christians in states like northern Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in central India.

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