{"id":1093,"date":"2025-07-31T05:43:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T05:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ambedkarsociety.org\/assa\/?p=1093"},"modified":"2025-08-01T06:06:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T06:06:51","slug":"india-persecuted-for-faith-the-growing-hostility-toward-christians-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ambedkarsociety.org\/assa\/india-persecuted-for-faith-the-growing-hostility-toward-christians-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"INDIA: Persecuted for Faith: The Growing Hostility Toward Christians in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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On July 26, 2025, two Catholic nuns \u2013 Sister Preeti Mary and Sister Vandana Francis of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI) \u2013 were arrested at Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh. The charges? Alleged forced conversions and human trafficking. The real crime? Their identity as Christian religious workers in an increasingly intolerant India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arrest sparked an immediate public outcry. Within 48 hours, over 70,000 people had signed a petition demanding their release and condemning the growing persecution of Christians in India. The incident was not isolated \u2014 it is symptomatic of a wider trend: a surge in hate-driven, state-tolerated aggression toward Christian minorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manufactured Accusations and the Abuse of Law<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sisters Preeti and Vandana were booked under Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for \u201cunlawful assembly,\u201d and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act, 1968, a law frequently invoked against Christians accused \u2014 often without evidence \u2014 of \u201cforced conversions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These laws are vague, overbroad, and ripe for abuse. According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), over 600 cases of violence or intimidation against Christians were reported in 2023 alone \u2014 the highest in recent history. \u207d\u00b9\u207e Many of these were linked to local vigilante groups emboldened by the rise of right-wing Hindutva ideology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This particular case echoes the 2017 incident in Madhya Pradesh, where another group of Catholic nuns was falsely accused of conversion and detained by police during a train journey. They were later released without charges \u2014 but the trauma and reputational damage lingered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Broader Climate of Religious Intolerance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

India\u2019s constitutional promise of secularism and religious freedom is increasingly undermined by a culture of hyper-nationalism fused with religious majoritarianism. Christians, who make up about 2.3% of India\u2019s population, are frequently branded as \u201coutsiders\u201d or \u201cconspirators\u201d \u2014 their educational institutions, hospitals, and humanitarian work dismissed as veiled proselytism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, Christian missions have been at the forefront of service to India\u2019s poor \u2014 especially Dalits, Adivasis, and marginalised rural communities. Their work is often where the state has failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet they are now routinely harassed, beaten, arrested, or shamed on national media. In December 2021, a Christian school in Madhya Pradesh was attacked by a mob of 500 men, incited by online rumours about conversions. \u207d\u00b2\u207e Police were present but did little to stop the violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Open Doors USA, India ranks as the 10th most dangerous country in the world to be a Christian. \u207d\u00b3\u207e Reports from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International echo similar findings: religious minorities are being systematically targeted under the current government\u2019s watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal Cover for Communal Impunity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anti-conversion laws exist in at least 11 Indian states, including Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. They are framed to \u201cprotect\u201d against coercion \u2014 but in practice, they criminalise voluntary faith expression and enable vigilante justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once accused under these laws, Christian leaders face arbitrary detention, media defamation, and legal intimidation \u2014 even if no convictions follow. There is often no credible evidence, just accusations supported by communal groups with political links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These laws have a chilling effect: Pastors cancel services, families are afraid to gather, and Christian charities scale back work in tribal areas where accusations are most common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the Petition Represents<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The petition, initiated by activist Sathyam Jayathae on Change.org, isn\u2019t just about freeing two nuns. It is a collective voice calling for the restoration of constitutional protections. It reminds India \u2014 and the world \u2014 that religious freedom is not a favour granted by the state, but a non-negotiable right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arrest of Sisters Preeti and Vandana is deeply symbolic. It reflects how even those engaged in peace-building and service are no longer safe. The silence from top political leaders \u2014 including the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Commission for Minorities \u2014 is deafening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Call for National and International Response<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

India must be reminded of its obligations \u2014 not only to its own Constitution but to international conventions on human rights and religious freedom, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n