The latest report points to incidents in UP and Chhattisgarh as constituting more than half the number of verified cases.
New Delhi: In a significant finding, the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFIRLC) has said that it has documented 334 incidents of systematic targeting against Christians across India between January and July 2025. The group says that these cases, all verified, “reflects an alarming consistency, with incidents occurring every month and affecting Christian communities across 22 states and union territories.”
Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, enjoy the dubious distinction of being the top states for atrocities.
Uttar Pradesh recorded 95 incidents while Chhattisgarh documented 86 incidents, together accounting for 54% of all violations. The “geographic concentration of violence remains deeply concerning,” These states have “emerged repeatedly as primary hot spots where Christian families face not only immediate violence but prolonged legal harassment under anti-conversion laws. The misuse of these laws has become a primary weapon of intimidation, with threats, harassment, and false accusations representing two-thirds of all incidents documented during this period.”
Run by BJP’s Adityanath, UP has been in the news for so-called forced conversion cases for some time but most recently, in Chhattisgarh, run by the BJP’s Vishnu Deo Sai, the case of two nuns, Vanada Francis and Preeta Mary being attacked by Bajrang Dal activists for alleged forcible conversion and then being jailed sent shock waves through the Christian community. They managed to get bail by the NIA court only over the weekend.
Particularly disturbing, says the report, are the “13 cases involving denial of burial rights, with 92% occurring in Chhattisgarh alone”. The report minces no words and alleges targeting and planning, both. “Christian families are prevented from honouring their deceased according to their faith even on private property. The systematic nature of this targeting is evident in timing patterns, with many incidents strategically occurring during Sunday worship services, suggesting organised monitoring and disruption of Christian religious gatherings,” it states.
The report notes the “the escalating nature of persecution.” In July, it says six pastors in
Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, were “not only wrongfully detained but severely beaten with wooden batons inside Durg jail simply for identifying themselves as pastors during routine questioning. Despite documented evidence of torture, charges against the pastors remain active while no action has been taken against the attackers or jail officials responsible for the abuse.”
The role of BJP-run state governments has been under the scanner of Christian groups, as allegations of conversion against Christian pastors and nuns have been on the rise. The deputy chief minister of Chhattisgarh, Vijay Sharma has continued to harp upon the fear of ‘conversions’ and of a “strict law to curb illegal religious conversion.” BJP MLA Ajay Chandrasekhar said in the assembly on Monday (August 4), that innocent, helpless and poor are being converted through allurement, in the guise of changai sabha (healing meeting).
Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are no doubt “the primary hot spots” for anti-Christian incidents, continuing a troubling pattern with frequent reports of arrests, false accusations, physical violence, and social boycotts. They are followed by Madhya Pradesh (22), Bihar (17), Karnataka (17), Rajasthan (15), and Haryana (15).
State-wise number of verified incidents of atrocities against Christians. Photo: EFIRLC
Types of incidents against Christians in India. Photo: EFIRLC
The documented evidence indicates urgent need for intervention to restore constitutional protections. Law enforcement agencies must fulfill their constitutional duty to protect all citizens regardless of faith. The systematic misuse of anti-conversion laws requires immediate review to ensure alignment with constitutional principles. Authorities must ensure extremist groups cannot disrupt religious gatherings and intimidate communities with impunity.
The report notes that the 334 documented cases “likely represent only a fraction of actual incidents, as many go unreported due to fear of reprisals, intimidation by local authorities, or lack of access to documentation channels.” In addition, it maintains that the pattern reveals “a coordinated effort to suppress Christian religious expression through both legal mechanisms and social pressure, creating a climate of fear that extends far beyond the immediate victims to entire communities.”
EFIRLC has said it documents incidents through several channels including “direct victim reports, local partner networks across India, media monitoring, and official sources where available. Each case is verified through multiple sources where possible.” This is done by including “police reports, medical records, witness testimonies, and photographic evidence.”
In January, the United Christian Forum had recorded 834 attacks on Christians in India in 2024, which is 100 more than in 2023. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom in March 2025 has designated India as a “Country of Particular Concern” for its attacks on religious minorities, Muslims and Christians in particular.
With elections due in Kerala in less than a year’s time, where the BJP has yet to get within sniffing distance of power, its strategy rests on persuading Christians to get onside. That explains why after a BJP state (Chhattisgarh) which sent off two nuns to jail for so-called ‘forcible conversion’, the BJP’s state president in Kerala,
Rajeev Chandrashekhar was standing in line to meet the two nuns after they secured bail, hoping to score political brownie points.
It remains to be seen if the BJP’s stance of keeping its anti-conversion cadre charged in central Indian states and in states of north India, alongwith the policy of “wooing Christians” in Kerala will yield fruit.
The large-scale destruction of churches in the Manipur violence, from May 2023, with over 300 churches burnt in the state has been tough for the BJP to live down.
