Christians in India suffered high levels of violence and discrimination in 2024, with 640 cases marking a continued increase over prior years, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India’s Religious Liberty Commission (EFIRLC).
The 640 incidents compared with 601 cases documented in 2023 and marked nearly a quadrupling of incidents from the 147 incidents recorded in 2014, continuing a decade-long trend of mounting hostility toward the religious minority constituting 2.3 percent of India’s population.
“The systematic and organized persecution of Christians has risen to crisis levels in several states,” the Rev. Vijayesh Lal, EFI general secretary, told Morning Star News. “What most concerns us is that on average, four to five churches or pastors are attacked every day, with attacks coming close to doubling every Sunday when believers come to worship.”
The EFIRLC report, “Faith at Risk: Examining Violence and Discrimination Against Christians in India (2024),” found Uttar Pradesh state remained the hotspot of persecution with 188 incidents, followed by the states of Chhattisgarh (150), Rajasthan (40), Punjab (38), and Haryana (34).
“We’re not asking for special treatment but for the religious freedom guarantees under the constitution to be enforced on an even-handed basis,” said Lal. “All Indians must be able to practice their faith without violence and intimidation. We urge all state governments to enforce the rule of law and bring offenders of religious violence to justice whoever they are or from whatever religious and political background they belong to.”
Patterns of Persecution
Besides the murders of four Christians last year, the EFIRLC documented 255 incidents of threats and harassment, 129 incidents of arrests, 76 of physical violence, 60 relating to gender-based violence, 46 incidents of disruption of worship services and 41 pertaining to vandalism as the most frequent types of persecution.
January saw the highest number of incidents (71), followed by September (68), March (64), and October (62). Despite general elections in April and May, which might have prompted restraint, persecution continued with 45 reported cases in each month.
This story was originally published in christiandaily.com. Read the full story here.