The United Christian Forum (UCF), an ecumenical group, has demanded urgent judicial and government intervention to check what it says is the rapid rise in incide-nts of violence, coercion and false arrests that traumatize the community.
The persecution is most acute in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka; the UCF said June 13, citing data collected from its National Helpline Number 1800-208-4545 and human rights groups.
Although 2022 is not even halfway over, the helpline has received 207 cases of violence. Just in May, it recorded 57 cases. In 2021, the forum documented 505 cases, with Christ-mas seeing 16 acts of violence, including desecration and breaking of statues of Jesus Christ at a historic church in Haryana.
“This data flies in the face of statements by government functionaries and leaders of the ruling parties at the center and in the states that there is no persecution, and that there are only a few stray incidents by fringe elements,” the forum’s national president Michael Williams said.