- 24 December, 2025
Dec 24, 2025: It was the rarest of rare ‘Christmas gift’ that the Christians in India never bargained for. Several Churches were torched and their personnel are harassed and intimidated across the country, especially in BJP-ruled States, reportedly by the Hindutva forces during the last fifteen days. The hooligans are going around wreaking havoc, damaging churches, disrupting Christmas carols, celebrations and thrashing Christians. They run amok with a vengeance; it is a clear message to those who still believe that the minorities are in safe hands of the present government.
Let us look at a few incidents.
1. Dungarpur, Rajasthan:
Disrupting a Sunday Mass, members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bajrang Dal entered St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Bichhiwara village of Rajasthan’s Dungarpur district on Sunday 14 December, accused the parish of forced religious conversions, and confronted clergy and worshippers during an ongoing worship service.
2. Palakkad, Kerala:
Christmas carol teams were attacked and verbally abused. Members associated with right-wing groups allegedly disrupted carol singing, leading to police complaints and the arrest of RSS-linked workers.
3. Haridwar, Uttarakhand:
A Christmas celebration planned at a hotel run by the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department on the banks of the Ganga was cancelled after objections from Hindu outfits, who claimed the event hurt religious sentiments in a “holy city.”
4. Delhi:
Members of the Bajrang Dal accused Christian women wearing Santa hats of “proselytisation” in a public place and forced them to leave, despite the women stating they were only spreading Christmas cheer. The incident was captured on video and circulated widely.
5. Bhubaneswar, Odisha:
Street vendors selling Santa hats and Christmas accessories were harassed and threatened by men claiming India is a “Hindu Rashtra,” telling them they had no right to sell Christian items. Videos of the intimidation triggered public outrage.
6. Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh:
Pastor Raju Sadasivam and his wife were intimidated by Sri Satyanisht Arya, in a public space, questioning their faith, making derogatory remarks about Christianity, and filming the couple in an aggressive and provocative manner.
7. Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh:
The Uttar Pradesh government has announced that schools across the state will remain open on December 25, 2025, departing from the usual practice of observing Christmas as a holiday.
8. Raipur, Chhattisgarh:
Local opposition to a Christian man’s burial at a Chhattisgarh village reached a violent crescendo in which a mob set a Christian man’s home on fire, vandalised churches and torched churches.
9. Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh:
A viral video from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, which allegedly showed a visually challenged woman attending a Christmas programme being publicly abused and physically harassed by Anju Bhargava, identified as the city vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
10. Jhabua , Madhyapradesh:
Four Catholic parishes in the Diocese of Jhabua were denied permission to conduct Christmas carol singing after local police refused to accept programme applications, prompting the diocese to approach the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which protected the right to conduct carol singing.
11. Kolkota, West Bengal
Addressing a programme commemorating 100 years of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Mohan Bhagwat stated that India is, and will continue to be, a Hindu nation, asserting that this reality does not require constitutional endorsement so long as Indian culture is valued in the country.
12. Trivandrum, Kerala:
An official Christmas programme for postal employees in Kerala was abruptly cancelled this year after a reported demand to include an RSS-associated anthem during the celebrations, leading to objections from staff and the withdrawal of the event.
What makes these attacks particularly alarming is the larger political and ideological backdrop against which they are occurring. Calls for India to be declared a “Hindu nation” are no longer whispered on the fringes; they are made openly, repeatedly and unapologetically by influential figures associated with the ruling establishment. In this climate, constitutional secularism—one of the foundational pillars of the Republic—is being steadily hollowed out, reduced to a technicality rather than a lived reality.
The Indian Constitution does not grant conditional citizenship. It does not ask minorities to prove loyalty, gratitude or silence in exchange for safety. It guarantees freedom of religion, equality before law and the right to live without fear. Yet, when Christians are targeted during Christmas, when mobs decide who may pray, sing or gather, the message is clear: some citizens are being told they belong less than others.
Equally troubling is the normalisation of these assaults through silence or justification. Even as Christians are becoming sitting ducks to Hindutva activists, what is frightening is the indifference of law-enforcing agencies. When right-wing mobs take law into their hands and hound Christians, police personnel turn a blind eye to them. Instead of arresting the culprits and putting them behind bars, they are asking Christians to refrain from assembling for prayer services.
The same law enforcement agencies spring into action when trumped up charges are levelled against minorities.
Allegations of “forced conversions” are thrown around without evidence, weaponised to legitimise harassment and violence. Law enforcement often appears reluctant, if not complicit, choosing to lecture victims instead of protecting them. This selective application of law corrodes public trust and emboldens extremist elements who act with a sense of impunity.
However, the Church hierarchy does not seem to have grasped the gravity of the situation. They are yet to realize that sand is slipping beneath their feet. Their knee-jerk reaction, through press releases without touching the real issues, is tantamount to turning a blind eye to the attackers. The government might try to sweep the attacks under the carpet, terming such incidents as isolated ones indulged in by fringe elements.
It is time for every Christian denomination to come under one umbrella to protect the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion.
By Fr. Suresh Mathew
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