A district vice president of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stood over a visually impaired woman at a Christmas lunch for blind children, grabbed her face and accused her of converting to Christianity on Dec. 20 in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, in central India.
Anju Bhargava told the woman she would remain blind in her next life for attending the Christian event. The attack, captured on video and widely shared online, became a flashpoint for national outrage.
The Jabalpur incident was among nearly 50 verified attacks on Christians during the 2025 Advent and Christmas season, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI). Violence erupted across Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Assam, Haryana, Gujarat, Odisha and Uttarakhand states. Groups linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist umbrella organization, carried out most incidents through its affiliated groups the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
In Chhattisgarh, church buildings burned, homes were destroyed and Christian families fled for their lives. On Wednesday (Dec. 29) alone, mobs attacked eight families in one village and demolished a dozen homes in another.
Jabalpur Attacks
Pastor Dharmendra Jena organized his annual Christmas lunch for 26 visually impaired students from various institutions at the Johnson School compound in Jabalpur’s Katanga area on Dec. 20. For eight years, the event had featured songs and gifts of walking sticks, Braille devices and other such things for children who eagerly anticipated Christmas.
“On Dec. 20, a mob stormed our gathering, beat me, cursed these blind children, and disrupted everything based on false allegations,” Pastor Jena told Christian Daily International (CDI). “The children could not even have their lunch. Even the police found no evidence of conversion. These children just came for Christmas lunch and small gifts. Watching them leave hungry and frightened broke my heart.”
Around 1 p.m., several people arrived with police, questioned the gathering and then left. They returned shortly with about 25 others who barged in alleging forcible conversions. The mob questioned children directly and refused to listen when students explained they came only for Christmas lunch.
Safalta Kartik, a visually impaired woman attending with her 8-year-old niece, became the target of Bhargava’s assault. Bhargava approached the child and grabbed her hand, Kartik told media. When Kartik intervened, Bhargava accused her of converting to Christianity despite her wearing Sindoor (red vermillion mark, sign of a married Hindu woman), alleged she engaged in prostitution and then grabbed Kartik’s face while shouting insults.
“What hurt me the most was that she mocked our blindness,” Kartik told media. “She didn’t just target me; she shouted that all of us would be born blind again for attending a Christmas lunch.”
Police detained Pastor Jena for several hours but released him by evening. No action was taken against attackers.
A day later, roughly 50 people stormed Pastor Rajesh Chaudhary’s Prarthna Bhavan church during Sunday worship. The 23-year veteran pastor told CDI that attackers destroyed property and beat worshippers, including women and children. When congregants resisted, the mob withdrew.
“The attack on our worship service has deeply shaken our community,” Pastor Chaudhary told CDI. “The atmosphere has become increasingly polarized and vitiated, making it difficult for us to worship in peace. We are disappointed by the lack of adequate police action to protect our constitutional rights and hold the perpetrators accountable.”
Despite written complaints from both pastors, police filed no First Information Report (FIR), the formal complaint initiating criminal proceedings.
Chhattisgarh Violence
Violence in Chhattisgarh centered on Christians being boycotted socially and being denied the dignity of burying their dead.
Rajman Salam, 36, an elected village leader (sarpanch) who converted to Christianity years ago, rushed his 70-year-old father to hospital in Kanker District on Dec. 15. His father passed away a few hours later.
Village elders refused traditional tribal burial rites and space in the village burial ground because of Salam’s Christian faith, even though his father was not a Christian, he told CDI. On Dec. 16, the family buried his father on their private land following tribal customs, led by Salam’s non-Christian elder brother.
“But even this infuriated the villagers who have been provoked and mobilized by Hindu nationalist groups,” Salam told CDI.
On Dec. 17, a mob of 300-400 attacked a condolence gathering of roughly 100 people. Salam, his brother, sister-in-law and others were severely beaten. The mob also engaged in roughing up police personnel who had been called to intervene. Police vehicles were damaged and officers injured in the mayhem.
“Things have become very bad here. My own church was closed down forcibly by Bajrang Dal people in November,” a Kanker pastor who attended the gathering told CDI, requesting anonymity.
He was present when Salam’s family was attacked, he said.
“We had gone there to offer condolence, and we were about a 100 of us sitting there with him and the family when the attack took place,” he said. “One day later, the mob burned three churches, and now they have burned many more houses. People have left their homes due to fear and have fled for their lives. The administration is in the pocket of the Hindu groups and is not doing anything to protect us.”
On Dec. 18, authorities exhumed the body without family permission. Salam told CDI on Dec. 26 he still didn’t know where his father’s remains had been taken.
Later that day, more than 3,000 people gathered and torched Salam’s house and church building. The mob also burned two church buildings in nearby areas.
Salam told CDI that authorities removed his father’s body without consent and mobs burned church buildings and his home while police watched, and he stressed that families should have the basic right to bury their dead. Hindu organizations called a statewide shutdown for Christmas Eve, demanding action against alleged forcible conversions.
For decades, Christians buried their dead in shared village graveyards used by tribal and caste Hindu residents. Under pressure from Hindu nationalist groups, Christians are now barred from these spaces. Most villages lack designated Christian cemeteries, and where they exist, they sit 80-100 kilometers away. Families lack transport and time to travel such distances with decomposing bodies.
Escalation
Violence surged on Monday (Dec. 29) with simultaneous attacks in two villages in Chhattisgarh state.
In Mardum village, Lohandiguda block, Bastar District, assailants went house to house at 11 a.m., assaulting eight Christian families. A formal complaint filed that day states villagers beat residents, stole approximately 10,000 kilograms of rice plus wheat, corn, chickens and household goods, and then locked families out of their homes. Attackers spat in prepared food and threw sand into stored grains.
Families including young children spent the day and night outside in severe cold. Ulleswari, six months pregnant, lost consciousness after being attacked and remains hospitalized.
“Law and order have broken completely here,” a Bastar pastor told CDI anonymously. “Every day some or the other Christian and their family is targeted. We are unable to cope up with the number of incidents happening against the community. The Christmas season has turned deeply sorrowful for us with these happenings. There is misery instead of happiness, but our faith is not shaken. God is with us, and we will persevere.”
Reports from the ground allege that police were present but didn’t intervene and, while officers watched, attackers loaded grain into vehicles and reportedly sold it at market.
In Pusagaon village, 15 kilometers from Kanker, villagers called a meeting demanding Christians renounce their faith. When families refused, roughly 80 people armed with bamboo sticks and iron rods destroyed 12 homes. Videos show attackers tearing apart thatched roofs. Families fled.
Kanker police superintendent told media officers obtained video evidence and would act “once the situation normalizes.” No FIR has been filed.
Forced Reconversion in Dhamtari
Puniya Bai Sahu, 65, died in Borai village, Dhamtari District on Dec. 24. She had embraced Christianity two years earlier. Villagers blocked burial, then crowds at the sub-district headquarters filled in a grave the family had dug.
On Christmas night, authorities forced the family to sign an affidavit renouncing Christianity in order to dispose of their loved one’s body.
The document stated: “We family members, being misled, were participating in Christian religion and Christian community programs from Hindu religion. Therefore, this family will support mainstream Hindu rituals and worship of regional deities and village customs. And our entire family will not have any kind of relationship with Christian religion or preachers again. The entire family apologizes to all communities in the Borai region. If we return to Christianity again, we will leave the village on our own and go elsewhere.”
Only after signing could they cremate the body on Dec. 26, according to Hindu rites. Police said the dispute was “resolved socially.”
Other Major Cases
In Palakkad, Kerala state in southern India, RSS worker Ashwin Raj attacked children under 15 who were caroling on Dec. 21, destroying their musical instruments.
Police arrested Raj, but BJP state leader C. Krishnakumar defended the attack by falsely calling the children a “drunken criminal gang.” Schools across Kerala cancelled Christmas programs after RSS pressure, with some returning money already collected from students.
In Nalbari, Assam state in northeast India, VHP and Bajrang Dal members entered St. Mary’s School on Christmas Eve, burning student decorations while chanting “Jai Hindu Rashtra [Hail Hindu Nation].” Four were arrested.
In Hisar, Haryana state in northern India, Hindu groups on Christmas Day held a Hanuman Chalisa recitation and fire ritual directly opposite the 160-year-old St. Thomas Church, disrupting services and requiring heavy police presence.
In Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh state, members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad protested outside St. Alphonsus Cathedral Church on Christmas Eve, chanting the Hanuman Chalisa and raising the Hindu slogans “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” at the church gates. They claimed a cultural program linked to the Christmas celebration had offended Hindu sentiments or negatively portrayed Hindu society.
Also in Uttar Pradesh, schools remained open Christmas Day by government order, though traditionally Christmas day has been a holiday. The state government designated the day to honor former Prime Minister and BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee and made school attendance compulsory.
Throughout December, police arrested multiple pastors on forcible conversion charges. Bajrang Dal disrupted numerous services.
Uttar Pradesh recorded 209 anti-Christian incidents in 2024, the highest of any state. Since 2021, authorities have arrested 420 Christians under the state’s anti-conversion law with zero convictions.
VHP Boycott Call
On Dec. 13, VHP’s Surendra Gupta issued a letter urging Hindus to boycott Christmas, claiming participation in other faiths’ festivals enables conversions. The organization called on Hindus to avoid shops displaying Christmas greetings and sent letters to malls and schools opposing Christmas decorations.
Following the appeal, vendors in Puri, Odisha state faced harassment for selling Santa hats and were told India is a “Hindu nation” where Christian items aren’t allowed.
In Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, the VHP forced St. International School to remove all Christmas decorations and targeted four other schools. Activists later vandalized a mall’s Christmas tree.
In Haridwar, Uttarakhand state, a hotel cancelled its Christmas event after Hindu groups threatened protests.
Christian Leaders Respond
During Advent and Christmas, EFI received verified reports of close to 50 incidents affecting Christian communities in India.
“What is most concerning is the pattern: prayer services interrupted, Christmas celebrations questioned, burials contested, and ordinary Christian life placed under suspicion,” the Rev. Vijayesh Lal of the EFI told CDI. “These were not theological disagreements but signs of growing intimidation. When such disruption is tolerated, religious freedom does not collapse suddenly; it erodes quietly.”
The National Council of Churches in India welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Dec. 25 visit to Cathedral Church of the Redemption in New Delhi as a “reassuring signal” but called on government to “unequivocally distance” itself from violence and initiate decisive police action against attackers.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) condemned the attacks in Jabalpur on Dec. 23, highlighting the targeting of blind children and demanding Bhargava’s dismissal from the BJP.
“These targeted incidents, especially against peaceful carol singers and congregations gathered in churches to pray, gravely undermine India’s constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and the right to live and worship without fear,” the CBCI statement read.
The BJP reportedly issued a show-cause notice to Bhargava on Dec. 24 but filed no criminal charges. She retains her party position.
Prime Minister’s Visit
Prime Minister Modi attended Christmas morning worship at the Cathedral Church of the Redemption, a Church of North India congregation, on Dec. 25. The service included prayers, carols and a special prayer for Modi led by Bishop Paul Swarup.
“A Christmas church visit does not cancel a year of dog whistles – the hounds knew what they had to do,” veteran human rights activist Dr. John Dayal told CDI. “If Mr. Modi’s appearance was intended as a message of goodwill, it rang hollow, because the violence on the ground continued unchecked. Symbolism cannot substitute for governance. When those who invoke power feel protected enough to intimidate Christians openly, the message they receive matters far more than a carefully staged photograph. The good thing is the obscene violence has not shaken the community’s faith.”
Police Failure
Police were often present during attacks but failed to intervene. When Christians filed complaints, authorities delayed or refused FIRs. In multiple cases, police arrested Christians on conversion charges instead of protecting them from mobs.
In Jabalpur, no FIR followed video evidence of the BJP official assaulting a disabled woman. In Badetewada, police exhumed a body without permission but ignored mobs burning churches. In Mardum, the complaint alleges officers watched attackers loot grain.
Christian leaders report that when they call for help, officers explicitly state they’re under “official pressure” and advise against seeking police assistance.
Open Doors reported over 2,900 persecution incidents from January-November 2025. India ranked 11th on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List, down from 31st in 2013 before Modi took power.
Christians comprise 2.3 percent of India’s 1.4 billion population. The ruling BJP promotes Hindutva ideology, which defines India as a Hindu nation and frames religious minorities as threats.
Christian families in Chhattisgarh remain displaced. Heavy police deployments continue in affected areas. Despite complaints, video evidence, and media coverage, no arrests of attackers have been reported. Authorities have issued no statements on compensation or timelines for families to return home.
