Christians mark Christmas amid rising attacks across India
Christians across India marked Christmas under heightened tension as Hindu nationalist groups targeted prayer services, carol singing, and public festivities. Attacks and intimidation were reported by several states, including Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Delhi during the final days of Advent.
In Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur city, a local politician from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Anju Bhargava, led a group that entered a church and assaulted Safalta Kartik, a visually impaired woman attending a prayer service on Monday, according to The News Minute. The incident drew widespread attention as video clips circulated on social media showing Bhargava confronting Kartik in front of children and other worshipers.
Responding to the incident, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India issued a statement on Tuesday expressing concern over rising attacks on Christians during the Christmas season. It called for Bhargava’s removal from the BJP and condemned hate-filled digital messages circulating in states such as Chhattisgarh. The statement urged both central and state governments to take urgent action against organizations spreading communal hatred.
Tensions were high in the southern state of Kerala as well. In Palakkad district on Sunday, Ashwin Raj, a worker affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS, allegedly destroyed musical instruments and attacked a group of children under 15 performing Christmas carols. Police later arrested Raj, but senior BJP leaders in the state defended his actions by accusing the children of misconduct.
In Chhattisgarh, the Hindu nationalist group Sarva Samaj called for a statewide ban on Christmas Eve, citing allegations of forced religious conversions. Earlier in December, violence erupted in a local village over a Christian tribal man’s burial, further deepening fears among Christian communities.
According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, Hindu vigilante groups disrupted at least 60 Christmas events across the country. These incidents ranged from church raids during services to street-level harassment of vendors selling holiday items.
In several cases, groups affiliated with the Hindu nationalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad urged Hindus to avoid participating in Christmas celebrations, warning that such involvement would promote “social acceptance of other faiths.”
Multiple videos showing physical assaults, verbal threats, and intimidation have been widely circulated online. One video from Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar area shows women carolers wearing Santa hats being accused of proselytizing by members of the Hindu nationalist group Bajrang Dal. Another clip from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, captures men ordering vendors to stop selling Christmas items, declaring that India is a “Hindu rashtra,” or Hindu nation.
Further reports of disruption emerged from Rajasthan’s Dungarpur district, where on Dec. 14, members of the RSS and Bajrang Dal entered St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and interrupted a Sunday mass while accusing clergy of forced conversions, according to Catholic Connect.
Elsewhere, in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, a government-run hotel cancelled its scheduled Christmas celebration following objections from local Hindu groups. In Trivandrum, Kerala, an official Christmas event for postal workers was called off after organizers were reportedly asked to include an RSS anthem, sparking objections from staff.
Religious gatherings were also curtailed in parts of Madhya Pradesh. In Jhabua, local police denied permission for carol singing in four Catholic parishes. The diocese challenged the decision in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which ruled in favor of the churches’ right to hold the programs.
In Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, Pastor Raju Sadasivam and his wife were harassed in public by a man identified as Satyanisht Arya, who filmed the encounter and made derogatory remarks. Around the same time, the Uttar Pradesh government announced schools would remain open on Dec. 25, breaking from the usual practice of declaring a public holiday for Christmas.
Kerala also saw reports of canceled school celebrations. In Thiruvananthapuram, one school returned money collected for Christmas events after being ordered to do so by a Hindu nationalist group.
Data compiled by the United Christian Forum show there have been over 600 attacks against Christians across India in 2025 alone. The incidents include public beatings, vandalism of churches, disruption of services, and threats against worshipers.
Human rights lawyers and advocates have pointed to the misuse of anti-conversion laws as a key factor enabling these attacks.
In Madhya Pradesh, authorities have registered 283 cases under the state’s anti-conversion law since January 2020. Of these, only seven have resulted in convictions, while 50 ended in acquittals.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves said such laws allow right-wing groups to intimidate church leaders and pressure them into canceling Sunday services. He added that many legal cases never reach trial and that the process itself is used as a form of harassment.
In its 2025 report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged the U.S. State Department to designate India as a “country of particular concern,” citing systematic and ongoing violations of religious freedom.
