(ZENIT News / New Delhi, 07.04.2024).- The United Christian Forum (UCF) presented a Report at the end of March 2024, about the increase of violence against Christians in India, given the attacks registered between January 1 and March 15 of this year. The organization took the data from calls and complaints received on its free telephone.
The United Christian Forum is an association with headquarters in New Delhi that, since 2014, brings together Christian organizations to defend Christians’ rights in India. It already made an appeal to the President of India in February 2023, to execute the Constitutional Rights of the Christian community, which has been suffering an escalation of violence since 2022.
Among the regions registering more attacks against Christians are the north-western State of Chhattisgarh and the northern State of Uttar Pradesh.
On April 11, 2019, during the Chrism Mass in the diocese of Miao, in Arunachal Pradesh State in the far northeast of India, AsiaNews received a statement of A.C. Michael, President and Spokesman of the UCF organization, saying: “Unfortunately, in this State, even deceased Christian are not spared, as many of them are denied burial in keeping with Christian rituals. The local villagers threaten to cremate their bodies. Just as during the Christmas season of 2022, Christians are being expelled from their homes. Local residents attack them physically, threaten them and destroy their houses.”
The UCF created a free telephone line to receive the complaints of minorities in January of 2015, in order to defend their fundamental rights. The calls have increased and the number of incidents directed against Christians between the first 75 days of 2024 was 161. There were 70 incidents in January, 62 in February and 29 in the first two weeks of March.
A.C. Michael commented: “as we move away from the general elections, the first 75 days of 2024 have witnessed an erosion on a large scale of human rights and the protection of Christians.” Chhattisgarh is the State with the largest number of attacks against the Christian minority, especially given the prohibition of Christian families’ access to water wells in the villages.
The government in the State of Uttar Pradesh is headed by extremist monk Yogi Adityanath of the Hindu Nationalist Party, of which the President of India is also a member. The UCF’s spokesman said that, in the State, “there is clear evidence of harassment against Christians with the State’s complicity, as the police present false accusations of conversions against Pastors, including for offering prayers in birthday celebrations and other social gatherings.”
The UCF’s Report gives clear evidence of threats against Christians in 19 of India’s 28 States for practicing their faith. The relevant data is as follows: “In just 75 days in 2024, 122 Christians were detained or arrested for false accusations of conversion. On behalf of the UCF, we appeal to our leaders to put an end to this violence, taking strict measures against the perpetrators of all these crimes, and we hope and pray for peaceful and just elections.”
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