SW News: A total of 525 assaults on Christians in India were reported in the first eight months of 2023, according to a study issued by the United Christian Forum (UCF), a civil society group located in Delhi. This troubling number underlines the precarious circumstances in which the country's Christian population finds itself.
In recent years, India has experienced an alarming rise in attacks against Christians, which have mostly gone unnoticed owing to the prominent emphasis on vigilante violence against Muslims and Dalits.
According to the UCF, violence against Christians has increased since 2014, with 147 instances in 2014, 177 in 2015, 208 in 2016, 240 in 2017, 292 in 2018, 328 in 2019, 279 in 2020, 505 in 2021, 595 in 2022, and 525 in the opening days of 2023.
Violence against Christians has been recorded in three major northern Indian states, with Uttar Pradesh reporting the most incidences (211), followed by Chhattisgarh (118), and Haryana (39) accordingly.
Based on a news release published by the University of Central Florida, recent acts of violence have been mostly attributable to mob violence orchestrated by vigilante organizations connected with a particular religious belief. These groups allegedly get aid from people in positions of authority.
Given the turmoil in Manipur in the previous four months, where hundreds of churches have been destroyed, this year's estimates are anticipated to be extremely high.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that Indians are happy to host the G20 meeting under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, UCF has warned that some people experience religiously motivated violence.