According to the Evangelical Fellowship of the India Evangelical Religious Freedom Committee (EFIRLC), Indian Christians suffered high levels of violence and discrimination in 2024, with 640 cases showing a continuous increase over the previous year.
640 cases compared to the 601 cases documented in 2023, marking almost four times the incidents from the 147 cases recorded in 2014, continuing a decade-long trend of hostility towards religious minorities, which make up 2.3% of India’s population.
“The systematic and systematic persecution of Christians has risen to crisis levels in several states,” EFI general secretary Pastor Vijayesh Lal told Morning Star News. “One of our concerns is that on average, four or five churches or pastors are attacked every day, and when followers come to worship, they are nearly doubled every Sunday.”
Efirlc’s report, “Faith of Risk: An Investigation of Violence and Discrimination against Indian Christians (2024),” found that Uttar Pradesh remained a hot spot for persecution in 188 incidents, followed by Chhattisgarh (150), Rajasthan (40), Punjab (38) and Haryana (34).
“We don’t want special treatment, we want the guarantee of freedom of religion under the Constitution to be enacted by chance,” Lal said. “All Indians must be able to practice their faith without violence or intimidation. We urge all state governments to enforce the rule of law and bring criminals of religious violence to trial, whoever they are, from the religious and political background to which they belong.”
Pattern of persecution
In addition to the murders of four Christians last year, Efirlc recorded 255 cases of threats and harassment, 129 cases of arrests, 76 physical violence, gender-based violence, destruction of worship services, and 46 cases of vandalism as the most frequent type of persecution.
There were many incidents (71) in January, followed by September (68), March (64), and October (62). Despite the general elections in April and May, it may have spurred restraint, but persecution continued with 45 reported cases each month.
On February 12, 2024, in the Skama district of Chhattisgarh, villagers threatened the family of Aaytu Podiyami, demanding that they abandon their Christian faith twice within a week. The village council then summoned them and submitted an ultimatum. Abandon Christianity or the consequences of faces. When Christian refuses, the villagers brutally defeated them and were seriously injured by Aaytu’s father, who needed hospitalization. The attack forced the family to flee the village and resettle elsewhere as manual laborers.
On May 4th, at the Buster in Chhattisgarh, the mob killed 22-year-old Kosa Kawashima in front of his wife because he refused to abandon his Christian faith. A few weeks ago he had reported death threats to the police, but they ignored his plea.
The attack began after villagers were banned from the tribal festivals. Around 20 people, including Kawashi’s uncle and cousin, raided his home and abandoned his faith. When he refused, they beat him with a wooden stick, then stab him and attacked him with an x. His wife fled after being assaulted.
That same day, five other Christians fled to save their lives.
Local hot spots
Uttar Pradesh is the epicenter of anti-Christian incidents, and pastors and other Christians were frequently arrested on charges of forced conversion.
Police usually detained Christians after prayer gatherings, family gatherings and celebrations without reliable evidence. The report highlighted several cases of arrests that disrupt religious activities and instill fear in the community.
On March 24, a militant crowd disrupted the fellowship on Sunday evening in Jamui village in Maharajganj district, with Pastor Shailesh Kumar present. The attackers pose a threat before turning the violence, causing the gathering to be awful. Pastor Kumar was seriously injured and needed to be hospitalized. As his condition deteriorated, he was later transferred to the Medical College of Gorakhpur for further treatment.
On October 3rd, four attackers attacked a prayer gathering of man Singh and six villagers in Gadpur village in Tesil Kalnal Gangj in Gonda district. The mob attacked them violently, forcing them to drag them 200 meters away before continuing their attack.
The assailants seized their belongings, including cell phones and Bibles. Man Singh suffered multiple injuries, including partial hearing loss. When police arrived they did not intervene. Instead, they reportedly joined the attackers and detained the victims until midnight before releasing them with warnings about holding a future prayer meeting.
In Chhattisgarh, extremist groups targeted tribal Christians by denial of physical violence, social boycotts, denial of basic resources and denying burial rights to pressure them to abandon their faith.
In June, relatives killed 32-year-old Bindudi in a district of Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, drawing x blowjobs and stones against a land conflict fueled discrimination against Christians. Sodi and her family had converted to Christianity several years ago, so her parents had denied access to them, claiming they had no right to their ancestors’ property. Police later prevented sectarian fears to bury their families 19 miles away, and refused to recognize the religious motives of the crime.
In Punjab, which recorded 38 incidents, 11 took place at Christmas alone. On December 25th, in the Philospur district, the group attacked the pastor, who was identified only as Vijay and his congregation, while preparing for the Christmas program. Previously, on April 18 in Sultanwind village in Amritsar district, the pastor was identified as Gurujiit and his brother Gardep as attacked by his neighbour Avtar Singh Nihan, following a conflict over the pastor’s faith.
Nihan attacked Gardep with Kalpan, a ritual Sikh dagger, causing injury to his head and limbs, while Pastor Garjith was injured to his toes and fingers. When they asked for medical care, doctors reportedly refused to treat them.
Efirlc’s report details the lawsuit in Sipa village, Bihar from May 5th. There, extremists locked up Christians inside church buildings during worship, attacking worshippers and falsely condemned forced conversion. Police detained four individuals before releasing them later that night. It was the second attack on the same church in just three months.
Harassment tools
The EFIRLC report identified misuse of the Persecution Act as one of the major factors in persecution.
“These laws, known legally as religious freedom laws, have been misused to limit religious freedom in minority Christian communities,” the Uttar Pradesh leader told Morningstar News on condition of anonymity.
The Uttar Pradesh government strengthened its anti-fusion law in 2024 and revised the ban on Uttar Pradesh in the 2021 Religious Illegal Conversion Act, 2021, increasing penalties and preventing violations from being unbelievable.
A significant change in the law allows “anyone” to file a complaint on suspicion of violation, not just the victim or their relatives. Hindu nationalist groups have used this provision to file an increasing number of cases against Christians across the state. This created an environment of fear and doubt about Christian worship.
“We have over 60 Christians currently in prison due to the provisions of this law,” the leader said.
The report mentions an incident that occurred in Fatepur district on December 27th, when a mob assaulted Rev. Shivbalan Paswan, forcing him to shave and parade his village. Instead of protecting him, police charged him under the state’s anti-fusion laws.
On October 20, Hindu nationalist mobs in Uttar Pradesh beat a Hindu nationalist mob in Meerat, confused the service of pastor Biju Matthew. Police initially took him and his wife to the station, but they released them. However, on October 26, authorities arrested Pastor Matthew under the anti-uniform laws of Uttar Pradesh.
As of February, he remained in prison while his wife, Lini, cared about her two school-age daughters. Within two weeks of his incarceration, a group of Hindu groups allegedly “reformed” 30 families from his church to Hinduism, and local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders issued provocative statements and warnings against conversion.
“These cases often force the accused to hold the burden of proof,” the report states.
In 11 states, anti-conversion laws are in effect, and more states are pursuing similar laws. The BJP government in Rajasthan recently passed an anti-fusion bill awaiting implementation, but in Arunachal Pradesh, authorities began reviving the Prevention of Dormant Prevention Act since 1978.
A growing crisis
By the end of 2024, 400 Christian leaders had united with United, issued a strong wording letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, denounced Christian targeting during the Christmas season and appealed to end the surge in violence.
“It makes us deeply saddened that almost every political leader from the federal government and state’s highest (level) have chosen not to blame them,” their December 31 letter said. “The rise in hate speech, particularly from elected officials, has encouraged violence against Christians.”
Efirlc stressed that 640 verified cases are likely to represent only a small part of the actual incident as they fear that they will report attacks due to concerns about police omissions, threats and retaliation.
“A climate of terror prevents many Christians from seeking justice,” Lal said. “Even if the victim registers the case, this process often results in delay, innocence, or most unsettling, unlawful imprisonment of the victim on behalf of the perpetrator.”
Seek action
The Indian evangelical fellowship urged authorities to protect at-risk Christian communities, take responsibility for extremist groups, stop misuse of anti-connection laws, strengthen legal protection measures for victims, and ensure fair and equitable legal procedures for religious minorities.
“The Indian constitution guarantees religious freedom and the right to live without fear of persecution,” Lal said. “These freedoms are not mere legal principles, but the very foundation of our diverse and pluralistic society. We are committed to working with all our stakeholders to ensure that these rights protect all Indian citizens, regardless of their tradition of faith.”
India ranked 11th on the 2025 World Watchlist for Open Doors, the Christian aid organization that is the hardest to become a Christian. The country was 31 years old in 2013, but its position has steadily deteriorated over the past decade.
Defenders of religious freedom point out that the hostile tone of the Hindu Democracy Alliance government has encouraged Hindu extremists in several parts of the country to attack Christians, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May 2014 against non-Hindus, led by Hindu nationalist BJP.
