– Abdul Bari Masoud
New Delhi, March 21: As violence committed against the Christian community by Hindutva radicals has increased dramatically, the United Christian Forum reports that the year 2024 has not brought any comfort to them. One hundred sixty-one acts of violence against Christians were reported on the UCF toll-free helpline number 1-800-2028-4545 between January 1 and March 15.
The first 75 days of 2024 have seen a significant degradation of basic rights and protection for Indian Christians, with only a few weeks left until general elections. January witnessed 70 incidents of violence against Christians followed by 62 incidents in February and 29 incidents in 15 days of March.
With 47 recorded instances of violence against Christians, Chhattisgarh is the top state for attacks against Christians. Christians are not allowed to use the village’s communal borehole for water. Unfortunately, many Christians who were denied burial according to Christian customs are not spared in this state, even if they are dead. As a last act of Gharwapasi, the local people have been threatening to cremate the dead. Similar to Christmas 2022, Christians are once more being driven from their own homes. Locals are destroying their homes, threatening their lives, and physically abusing them.
At number two among states where Christians face persecution is Uttar Pradesh, which has 80 Lok Sabha seats and as many as 36 incidents of violence reported therefrom. The police have filed bogus accusations of conversion against pastors in this state, even for praying at birthday parties and other social gatherings – clear proof of state-sponsored harassment of Christians. More than 30 instances of pastors being arrested and detained under the UP Freedom of Religion Act have been reported to the UCF helpdesk (UP FORA).
Other states witnessing incidents of violence against Christians so far this year are: Madhya Pradesh 14 incidents, Haryana 10, Rajasthan 9, Jharkhand and Karnataka 8 each, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh 6 each, Gujarat and Bihar 3 each, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Odisha 2 each, Delhi, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal 1 each incident.
