Top 10 States where Christians face the most persecution in 2013

A recently-released report published by Mumbai-based Catholic Social Forum (CSF) has listed top 10 states in the country where Christians face persecution the most in 2013.

Karnataka continues to stay on top despite the "change of government," the report stated. Karnataka had 43 cases of anti-Christian attacks or violence out of the 200 major incidents documented in 2013. In the second spot is-- surprisingly Maharashtra, which the report claimed is the new 'Hindu laboratory' with 25 cases, Andhra Pradesh with 25 cases and Odisha with 14 cases continue to remain high.

The report which was released in a booklet titled, 'The CSF India Report on Christian Persecution 2013', authored by Mr. Joseph Dias, the general secretary of CSF highlighted that these attacks are not stray incidents but there is a "systemic and institutional persecution". The report which runs into several pages noted that many attacks went unreported due to various reasons.

The top 10 States are listed below with the number of major anti-Christian violence incidents:

Rank - State - Number of incidents/cases
1. Karnataka - 43
2. Maharashtra - 25
3. Andhra Pradesh - 25
4. Odisha - 14
5. Chhattisgarh - 13
6. Madhya Pradesh - 11
7. Tamil Nadu - 10
8. Kerala - 10
9. Rajasthan - 6
10. New Delhi - 5

The 200 major anti-Christian violence incidents were reported across 19 states in the country. Documented range from being murdered for the faith and being brutally assaulted to being raped and jailed for propagation of what one believes in.

Other states from which are persecution hot spots include, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Gujarat, Manipur, Tripura and Assam.

The report has recommended the concerned authorities to take necessary measures to stop these persecutions.