More than 400 Christian leaders, including activists, lawyers and scholars, have urged India’s president and prime minister to take immediate action to address what they said was increased persecution against Christians. The appeal comes after 14 violent incidents against Christians were reported across the country during the Christmas season, a Dec. 31 statement from the group said. Statistics from the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFIRLC) and the United Christian Forum (UCF) for 2024 highlighted the increase in violence Christians are enduring, the statement said. It said that between January and mid-December last year, more than 720 violent incidents were reported to the EFIRLC, while UCF recorded 760 cases by the end of November. The figures showed a steep rise in such incidents over the last decade, from 127 incidents recorded by the UFC in 2014.The UCF is an inter-denominational Christian organization in India that fights for the rights of the Christian minority.
A letter emailed on Dec. 31 to Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by 30 Church groups calls for immediate and decisive action to curb the acti-vities of violent mobs, terrorizing communities and tarnishing the image of the country. The letter was signed by A C Michael, a former member of India’s minorities commission, Supreme Court lawyer Sister Mary Scaria, and UCF President Michael Williams.