Christians decry persecution in India's heartland
N Hannan in Shahjahanpur
DW
With Christians in India increasingly targeted by Hindu vigilantes, victims say police often side with the attackers.
In Uttar Pradesh, over a hundred pastors were detained (and eventually released) over claims linked with the state's anti-conversion laws (file photo)Image: Prabhat Kumar Verma/ZUMA/IMAGO
On a humid Sunday afternoon in July last year, a small gathering of Christians inside a modest home in India's Uttar Pradesh state was interrupted by a mob.
"At least 50 to 60 people associated with a Hindu right-wing organization came when people were receiving a religious message," said Jaynendra (name changed), the pastor leading the prayer.
What followed, he said, was chaos. The mob "created a ruckus and closed the prayer hall," Jaynendra said.
The gathering, held inside his home in the Shahjahanpur district, was not unusual. Like many Christians in northern India, Jaynendra hosts what is known as a house church, a quiet form of worship common among small and impoverished Christian communities. But in recent years, such gatherings have increasingly drawn the attention of Hindu right-wing vigilante groups who accuse Christians of carrying out forced conversions.
India's Christians make up just over 2% of the country's population, compared to around 79% for Hindus and over 14% for Muslims, according to the 2011 census.
Data compiled by rights groups indicates a disproportionate rise in violence against Christians over the past decade. In 2025 alone, local monitoring groups documented nearly 900 incidents across multiple Indian states, including physical assaults, disruptions to church services, and threats targeting worshippers, as per a report by Christian Solidarity International, a global Christian rights organization based in Switzerland.
Pastor arrested after attack on home church
Jaynendra's account is one among many that suggest a recurring pattern. Mobs descend on prayer meetings, raise allegations of forced conversion, and then the police are called. Often, victims say, it is the worshippers rather than the violent mob who are detained.
Following the attack in Uttar Pradesh, the police "took around 10 to 11 people to the police station and detained them," Jaynendra said. "They kept my family and others the whole day." Among those detained, he said, was a 13-year-old girl.
"The police questioned them and found out that they had no money or pressure to attend the gathering. Everyone came here to pray with their own will," he said. "But still they kept them."
The pastor himself was later arrested. He spent more than four months in jail under charges related to Uttar Pradesh's anti-conversion law. The law is a controversial state legislation that criminalizes religious conversions deemed to be carried out through force, fraud, or inducement. Critics say the law is often weaponized to target minority communities. Courts in the region have also noted a similar "disturbing trend" in false claims.
"There was no evidence against me," he said. "But there was a lot of pressure." DW did not receive a response from Uttar Pradesh police, despite several requests for comment.
This photo, taken in 2024, shows the grave of a Christian who died when mobs rampaged through parts of India's eastern state of Odisha after the murder of a Hindu priestImage: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP
'They started beating people'
Across northern and central India, similar stories are emerging. In Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district, Vinay Patil (name changed) described an attack on his congregation during a Sunday service earlier this year.
"About 35 to 40 people came," he said. "They were young boys. They started talking in abusive language and said that 'you are doing forced conversions here.'" Some of the attackers, he said, were intoxicated. Many carried sticks.
"They started beating people. Women, children, everyone," he said. "Someone's shoulder was fractured. Someone's head was bleeding." By the time police arrived, the attackers had fled. But instead of pursuing them, Patil said, officers detained the victims and accused them of carrying out "forceful conversions."
"The police picked us up and took us away," he said. "Our people had made videos. It was visible that they were beating. After that, the police did not take any action."
Patil said that fear has become part of daily life. "Today a Christian, especially a pastor, cannot even sit at another person's house," he said. "We have to think before stepping out. Even going to someone's birthday can become a problem."
Violence rising under Modi's BJP
Rights advocates say such incidents are no longer isolated. Michael Williams of the United Christian Forum said the organization recorded 134 incidents of anti-Christian violence in 2014, the year India elected Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power, compared to around 900 in 2025.
"What you can see now, which we could not see earlier, is that the people who are doing these crimes have no fear on their faces," he said. "They are stopping in broad daylight, in public spaces, with no fear. This is a growing trend."
Williams and others link the rise in violence to the political climate following the ascent of the BJP in 2014. The party, which promotes a Hindu nationalist ideology, governs in several states where anti-conversion laws have been enacted.
These laws, intended to prevent forced or fraudulent conversions, have been criticized by rights groups for their vague definitions and potential for misuse.
One of the Easter traditions practiced in India's city of Guwahati is the reenactment of Jesus' crucifixion
Image: Anupam Nath/AP Photo/picture alliance
Attackers act with 'sense of impunity'
Jaynendra was charged under one such law about forced conversions. "They applied the same charge twice," he said, denying the allegation. "We do not have money to pay our own rent. How can we give money to someone to convert them?"
The Indian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, including the right to practice, profess, and propagate one's faith. But activists argue that this right is not being protected.
"People are walking inside a church and breaking things," Williams said. "They have no right to take any law into their own hands."
John Dayal, a veteran human rights activist, said the violence follows a consistent pattern that dates back decades but has intensified in recent years. "The actors involved have consistently stayed the same," he said. "But when the BJP is in control, there is a sense of impunity."
Dayal said the widespread use of cellphones has also changed the nature of these attacks. "Almost all crimes are committed on camera now," he said. "The filming is part of the crime. It is to show power, to get support."
Videos of such incidents have circulated widely on social media, sometimes sparking outrage but rarely leading to swift accountability, victims say.
'The police took their side'
In many cases, police response has come under scrutiny. "There is this peculiar thing that people are attacked and the cases are registered against the victims," Dayal said. Patil echoed that sentiment.
"The mob that had come, their associates came to the police station and talked to the officer," he said. "Our people were thrown out. The police took their side."
AC Michael, another leader of the United Christian Forum, said the lack of action has emboldened perpetrators. "They have no fear of law because they have protection behind them,” he said. "In so many places, no action has been taken."
"Last year, we had close to 900 incidents. That means there are more than two incidents of attacks against Christians every day."
More than 100 pastors in Uttar Pradesh arrested, then acquitted
Back in Shahjahanpur, Jaynendra said tensions in his area were not always so high. "There were small problems over time, but not so big," he said. Now, he said, the message to his community is clear: "There is no freedom for you here. India is only for Hindus."
Government officials have repeatedly said that India remains committed to protecting all religions. They have also defended anti-conversion laws as necessary to prevent exploitation.
But critics argue that the laws have created an environment where accusations alone can trigger violence. "Even serving one cup of tea and two biscuits can be called allurement in some places," AC Michael said. "How can someone convert for that?"
He added that in many cases, those accused of forced conversion are eventually acquitted due to lack of evidence: "More than 100 pastors were arrested in Uttar Pradesh. All of them have been acquitted."
Still, the process itself can be punishing. Jaynendra spent months in jail awaiting bail. "My wife also went to jail on July 25 and was released in October," he said. "I was released on December 13." The case against him is still ongoing.
Christian children stay out of schools
For many, the impact extends beyond legal battles. Patil said fear of violence is now interfering with the education of Christan children.
"My own children are so terrorized that they have not gone to school for 15 days," he said. "Some people were beaten and forced out of their houses. They had to leave their villages."
Despite the risks, both men say they intend to continue their work. "Our job is to spread the message," Patil said. "It is on the people to decide whether they want to listen."
For Jaynendra, the experience has been transformative but not deterring. "The atmosphere has changed a lot," he said. "I have been living here since birth. This is the first time I had to go to jail."
The reporting for the story was supported by a grant from the HRRF Journalism Grant Program.
Edited by Darko Janjevic
