The United Christian Forum (UCF) reports that the Christian community in India has endured 400 incidents of violence within a span of 190 days this year.
According to the UCF, attacks occurred at a rate of at least twice per day during this period, escalating to three times per day in the month of June alone.
During the month of June, UCF documented 88 instances of violence specifically targeting the Christian community, primarily originating from Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
AC Michael, the National Coordinator of UCF, expressed concerns about the government's "indifferent" response to the situation in Manipur, stating that this has emboldened right-wing factions and contributed to the increased number of incidents in June.
"Month of June alone has seen 88 incidents which are largely from North Indian states like Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Looks like the indifferent attitude of the government to the violence in Manipur has embolden the violence perpetrators in these states," said Michael.
The UCF's half-yearly report for 2023 reveals a significant rise in the number of incidents compared to the same period in the previous year, which documented 274 acts of violence against the Christian community.
Among the 23 states that reported violence against the Christian community in the country, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of incidents with 155 cases, followed by Chhattisgarh with 84, and Jharkhand, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh with 35, 32, and 21 incidents, respectively. Punjab, Karnataka, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat, and Uttarakhand recorded 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, and 4 incidents, respectively.
Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, and Maharashtra each reported 3 incidents. Odisha and Delhi documented 2 incidents each, while Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chandigarh, and Goa reported 1 incident each.
Michael alleged that there is clear evidence of the involvement of the right-wing in the top two states that have reported the maximum number of incidents.
"In states like Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh there is clear evidence to show that some organisations belonging to the Sangh Parivar (family) are aligned with violence perpetrators," said Michael.
The Sangh Parivar consists of over 200 groups associated with the Hindu supremacist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) serving as its political arm.
Michael further claimed that these states witness well-planned acts of violence, and no action is taken against them.
"These states see well planned and organised incidents of violence and the perpetrators enjoy protection from local authorities," Michael alleged.
The frequency of incidents has shown an upward trend throughout the year, with 62 reported in January, 63 in February, 66 in March, 47 in April, 50 in May, and a substantial increase to 88 in June. The first ten days of July have already seen 24 incidents, according to UCF's data.
When asked about the significant rise in incidents this year, Michael attributed it to the escalating trend since BJP came to power in 2014.
"It is a given fact that since 2014 the incidents of violence against Christians have increased drastically. One cannot deny that there are continued efforts to polarise communities for political gains by the people in power. The bogey called 'forceful conversions' has helped them much. Hence, they have resorted violence like that of Manipur this year and Chhattisgarh last year," said Michael.
