By The Wire Staff
New Delhi: A group of Christian women leaders, along with religious heads, community representatives, and Christian organisations, have written to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu seeking protection against escalating persecution after a six-month pregnant tribal woman in Chhattisgarh suffered a miscarriage after being attacked over her Christian faith.
On January 2, 2025, 25-year-old Kunika Kashyap, was in Bade Bodal village in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, praying for a sick relative when she was assaulted by village headman Ganga Ram Kashyap, his wife and their adult daughter for professing her Christian faith, as per the letter.
The headman had followed her and began recording her conversation with her relative on his phone, suspecting she might pray. When the woman objected to this, he got annoyed and allegedly launched a violent assault. His wife and daughter joined in, beating her with a wooden bamboo stick, kicking her in the abdomen, chest, and head.
She was hospitalised with severe injuries. Later, she suffered a miscarriage.
“Of the approximately 120 families in the village, 50 are Christian, including Kunika and her husband, who have been practicing their faith for over 20 years. This incident has stunned our sensibilities. But this is not the first incident of its kind,” read the appeal to the president.
The letter goes on to list a series of reported incidents of violence against Christians in states including Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Manipur. “The situation in Manipur deserves special attention, where violence against Christian women has taken on devastating proportions since May 2023 and continues to affect our community,” it stated.
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