Around 2,000 Christians from across India gathered in New Delhi to protest rising, sustained and systematic violence against the religious minority community. Speakers at the gathering called attention to a 500% rise in reported violence since 2014, and largely with impunity.

Representing over 200 denominations, civil society groups and legal advocates, the Christians rallied under the banner of the National Christian Convention on Nov. 29, affirming their faith in the Indian Constitution, and calling for unity, justice and hope.

From 139 reported cases of violence against Christians in 2014, the number rose to 834 in 2024, with nearly 5,000 incidents documented over the past decade, according to the United Christian Forum, one of the organizers of the convention.

The 2014 baseline marked the start of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party’s ongoing tenure at the federal level.

The organizers resolved to draft a national manifesto demanding protection for all Christians and justice for those facing persecution, which will be submitted to the president, the prime minister, the chief justice of India and other concerned ministers.

The reported incidents included murders. Between 2016 and 2020, more than 21 Christians were killed, including a pastor who was intentionally electrocuted in Rajasthan state.

While post-2020 statistics on murders were not shared at the rally, such incidents continued. On May 4, 2024, a man named Kosa was killed in Chhattisgarh after villagers objected to his Christian faith, though police registered the case as a land dispute. In Punjab, Bhagwan Singh, a church member, died on Feb. 19, 2024, weeks after a violent assault in January.

Between January and September 2025, at least 579 violent incidents were reported, yet only 39 criminal complaints were filed, according to the United Christian Forum. In one case in January from the Bastar region in Chhattisgarh state, a pregnant Christian woman named Kunika was assaulted while praying, resulting in a miscarriage.

Participants described a climate of impunity and fear, citing that 93% of incidents went unpunished due to police inaction and threats of retaliation.

Denial of burial rights was another major concern raised by the participants, particularly in tribal, or indigenous, areas where Christians reported being barred from cemeteries and forced to exhume their dead.

In one 2025 case from Odisha state, a mob blocked the burial of 20-year-old Saravan Gond, later forcing his family to dig up his body. The family fled the village, and Gond’s remains disappeared despite a formal complaint.

In January, the family of Ramesh Baghel, a Dalit (formerly “untouchable”) Christian, was denied burial permission. With no relief from the High Court, they approached the Supreme Court, which allowed the burial but failed to address the larger issue of religious discrimination in tribal areas.

Tribal Christians also voiced concern over campaigns seeking to revoke their tribal status if they convert to Christianity or Islam, a move that threatens their access to legal protections and affirmative action benefits.

In Odisha state’s Balasore district, two tribal Christian women were stripped, smeared with cake, and tied to a tree by members of a Hindu nationalist group during a prayer meeting.

The protest also drew attention to the misuse of anti-conversion laws in at least 12 states, which protesters said criminalize peaceful prayer and charity work. 

In the Indore area of Madhya Pradesh state, a nun named Sister Sheela was arrested at a medical camp under anti-conversion charges. In the Azamgarh area of Uttar Pradesh state, six Dalit women were arrested during a birthday prayer.

Several cases involve FIRs filed by third parties rather than alleged victims.

An analysis of over 100 FIRs found that many contained identical language, and several cited possession of Christian literature as evidence of forced conversion. The Supreme Court has ruled that such cases, in the absence of specific allegations or direct victims, constitute abuse of criminal process.

In one 2023 case from Uttar Pradesh, Santosh Nishad was arrested for hosting a prayer meeting. The complainant later testified in court that he had been coerced into filing the report. In another case from Chhattisgarh in 2024, a family attempting to bury their mother faced obstruction from villagers and failed to receive help from local police, despite High Court intervention.

Protesters also pointed to restrictions under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, or FCRA, which regulates the acceptance and use of foreign funds by individuals, associations and nonprofits in India to ensure they are not used in ways that harm national interest, as another method of suppressing Christian institutions.

Between 2019 and 2023, more than 20,000 NGOs, including 1,626 Christian organizations, lost their FCRA registration. World Vision India and the Evangelical Fellowship of India are among the groups whose licenses were canceled due to allegations of “indirect conversions.”

The 2020 FCRA amendment requires all office bearers of NGOs to submit affidavits declaring that they have not been prosecuted for conversions. Critics say this requirement, coupled with the misuse of anti-conversion laws, allows authorities to cancel registrations without due process.

Another focus at the rally was the denial of Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians under the 1950 Presidential Order, which currently applies only to Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist Dalits. Protesters said this exclusion traps Dalit Christians in poverty by denying them access to education and employment quotas.

Testimonies included that of Shubran Paswan from Uttar Pradesh, who was publicly assaulted by right-wing groups and forced to chant Hindu prayers. Police refused to register his complaint, and he was later arrested under anti-conversion laws. In Madhya Pradesh, four Dalit Christians were stripped and paraded by a mob before being arrested themselves.

Participants also criticized the application of “magic remedy” laws to criminalize Christian prayer practices. A 2024 law in Assam state has been used to target evangelists under vague definitions of “healing fraud.” In November, a Baptist evangelist in the Golaghat area was arrested based on accusations of false promises of healing, but the FIR was later quashed for lack of evidence.

The speakers included Archbishop of Delhi Anil J. Couto, Dr. Michael Williams of the United Christian Forum, Rev. Richard Howell of the Caleb Institute, activist Dr. John Dayal, Catholic priest and activist Fr. Cedric Prakash, lawyer Siju Thomas, Rev. Vijayesh Lal of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, and activist Arun Pannalal.