The United Christian Forum of India (UCF-India) has documented 834 incidents of violence and hostility against Christians in 2024, marking a significant increase from 734 cases reported in 2023. The organisation submitted these findings to Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, during his week-long visit to India in a memorandum dated 16 July 2025.
The Vatican foreign minister met with Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar last week, with the Indian minister describing their discussion as covering “the importance of faith, and the need for dialogue and diplomacy to address conflicts”.
The report highlights false allegations of fraudulent conversions as the primary driver behind attacks on Christians. Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of incidents with 209 cases, followed by Chhattisgarh with 165. These figures signify a dramatic escalation from 127 incidents recorded in 2014 during the Modi decade, with the UCF noting that “the alarming frequency of attacks translates to more than two Christians being targeted every day in India simply for practising their faith”.
Several deadly incidents underscore the severity of the situation. On 21 June 2025, a mob of 300-400 individuals from nearby villages violently attacked a group of Christians who had gathered to pray for their crops in Malkangiri district, Odisha. The unprovoked assault left over 30 people injured, with at least 20 requiring hospitalisation.
In January 2024, Bhagwan Singh, associated with a church in Jalandhar, Punjab, was violently attacked during a prayer service. He sustained critical injuries, including severe head trauma, and died on 19 February 2024 despite medical efforts.
The memorandum details particularly disturbing violence against Scheduled Tribes in Chhattisgarh. Since December 2022, a series of attacks have displaced Adivasi Christians who are threatened to denounce their faith and convert to Hinduism. In one incident from January 2023, three Adivasi Christian women in Narayanpur were stripped naked publicly and physically assaulted to force them to abandon their Christian beliefs.
The forum also documented cases where Christians have been denied burial rights. In November 2022, an elderly Christian woman named Chaitibai was buried according to Christian rituals, but her body was later exhumed due to village opposition and reburied elsewhere by police.
Anti-conversion laws, currently enforced in 11 Indian states with Rajasthan expected to become the next, have come under particular scrutiny. The UCF reports that since the Uttar Pradesh law’s enactment in 2020, over 280 cases have been registered against Christians, resulting in nearly 750 arrests. The recent amendments to the UP law prescribe a minimum 20-year jail term for forcible conversions, whilst in March 2025, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav proposed death penalty for fraudulent conversions of girls.
These laws reverse the burden of proof, requiring the accused to prove that no coercion, allurement, or fraud occurred. Rights activists point out that in many cases, no First Information Report is filed despite police complaints, while victims often fear approaching police who might side with perpetrators and file false charges against them instead.
The organisation analysed over 100 FIRs filed under anti-conversion laws, finding that 63% were registered following third-party complaints, including 26 from extremist groups. Several cases involved mass arrests, including one incident where 42 Christians were booked in a single FIR.
Women and children have not been spared from persecution. The report documents cases where pregnant women and young children were arrested during birthday celebrations and medical camps that were falsely reported as conversion events.
The United Christian Forum has called for immediate Vatican intervention, requesting bilateral human rights dialogues with India and independent monitoring of anti-conversion law trials. The organisation argues that these laws have been weaponised against religious minorities, undermining constitutional protections for religious freedom.
AC Michael, National Coordinator of the United Christian Forum, told Christian Today that the organisation regularly approaches visiting dignitaries to highlight Christian persecution. “UCF has always taken advantage of visiting dignitaries to update them with the information about incidents of violence against Christians that are happening in our country,” he stated.
“We expect these dignitaries to take up with the Indian government authorities to stop these incidents and false allegations of forceful conversions which no court of law till today found anyone guilty,” Michael added.
He pointed to a Supreme Court directive from 1 September 2022, when the court asked the Modi government and eight state governments to submit lists of those who had been forcefully converted. “Till today none of these governments have submitted such a list which goes to prove that no forceful conversions are happening in our country,” Michael said.
