Alarming increase of cases in Uttar Pradesh and other states.
By Morning Star News’s India Correspondent
NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – India’s Christians suffered an alarming escalation of violence, hatred and systematic oppression last year, according to the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI-RLC).
The 601 cases of persecution against Christians in India in 2023 marked a 45 percent increase over the 413 instances recorded the previous year, according to EFI-RLC’s annual report.
While no area of India was unaffected, several emerged as hotspots. Uttar Pradesh state remained the most hostile environment with 275 incidents, up from 147 the previous year. Chhattisgarh saw 132 cases, actually a decrease from the previous year’s 141, while Haryana had 44 incidents, up from 22 the prior year.
“The rapidly deteriorating situation for religious minorities is a matter of grave concern,” EFI General Secretary Rev. Vijayesh Lal told Morning Star News. “Christians, especially pastors in rural areas, faced assaults, disrupted prayers and damaged places of worship throughout the past year.”
The grim findings come atop data from the United Christian Forum (UCF) showing persecution has continued unabated into 2024. The UCF documented an additional 161 incidents of violence against Christians from Jan. 1 to March 15, including 70 cases in January, 62 in February and 29 in just the first half of March.
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