Around 2,000 Christians in India have gathered in the nation’s capital to protest the increasingly hostile environment they face from discriminatory laws and neighbours.
The treatment of Christians in the country has become of increasing concern. This year alone has seen Hindu mobs attempt to prevent the burial of a Christian man in his home town, missionaries attacked and Christian shops boycotted, and people driven out of their villages and refused access to basic services.
The situation is such that democratic India is currently ranked by Open Doors as the 11th worst persecutor of Christians in the world, worse than Islamic autocracy Saudi Arabia (12th) and Communist China (15th).
On 29 November the National Christian Convention took place, bringing together 2,000 believers from over 200 denominations.
Speakers told of the plight of Christians in vulnerable areas of the country and also said the situation had deteriorated significantly. Between 2014 and 2024 attacks on Christians increased by 500%.
Attacks ranged from vandalism of churches to physical assaults on church leaders. Yet less than 20 per cent of the cases were investigated by the police.
One key point of conflict is the issue of conversion. Many states have anti-conversion laws. In theory such laws are designed to prevent coercive conversion from one religion to another.
In practice they are often used to prevent people from converting away from Hinduism, whether forcefully or of their own free will.
Hindu mobs often take aggressive action against Christians for even the rumour of a “forced” conversion. Such attacks often go unpunished.
Speakers at the rally also raised the issue of non-Hindu Dalits being denied the benefits afforded to other Dalits. This, the speakers argued, trapped millions of Christians and Muslims into generational poverty. It also provides a direct financial incentive for Dalits to convert back to Hinduism.
The meeting put together a manifesto for the protection of Christians and all of those facing persecution. Equality for Dalits was also on the agenda. The finalised manifesto will be submitted to the Indian Prime Minister and other key politicians.
Mervyn Thomas, the Founder President of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said, “CSW stands in solidarity with India’s Christian community and joins them in their call on the government of India to uphold constitutional protections for freedom of religion or belief, to ensure accountability for perpetrators of targeted violence, and to remove discriminatory provisions that impact vulnerable communities.”
