How uptick in anti-Christian violence threatens Indian democracy

Somu Avaradhi has led mass at a local prayer house in India’s southern state of Karnataka every weekend for the past several years. But one Sunday last October, as he parked his car in front of the small building, the pastor noticed something was off. A group of unfamiliar, agitated men had gathered outside. From within the building, he could hear others singing Hindu prayers and chanting “Jai Shri Ram” – a phrase that literally translates to “Victory to Lord Ram,” but has increasingly become a dog whistle for attacks against India’s religious minorities. 

As soon as he crossed the threshold, a mob of Hindu fundamentalists attacked Mr. Avaradhi with verbal abuse and allegations that he had forced people to convert to Christianity. He and some church members tried retreating to a police station, but a crowd waited there as well. A man whom Mr. Avaradhi denies knowing had filed an official complaint against the pastor for luring him to convert. Mr. Avaradhi was sent to the hospital for injuries sustained in the protest, and arrested soon after.

Similar stories have played out across India, where documented attacks against Christians jumped 81% from 2020 to 2021. Mobs have vandalized churches, attacked missionary schools, disrupted prayer meets, and assaulted pastors and practicing Christians, accusing them of forced conversions. Survivors and activists say authorities have failed to investigate these incidents, often filing charges against the victims themselves, turning a blind eye to the violence. 

“We step outside our homes with a lot of fear now. What wrong have we done to deserve this? We just pray, and people come of their own will. We aren’t forcing anyone,” says Mr. Avaradhi. “So why is the government not allowing this?”

Religious tolerance has long been a contentious issue in Hindu-majority India. Christians constitute just over 2% of India’s 1.4 billion population – a demographic that has not significantly changed over the decades – and Muslims make up roughly 15%. The violence against these minorities has increased as politicians from the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have pushed controversial anti-conversion laws. 

Altogether, these developments are raising alarm among experts, who say Hindutva – a political ideology that sees non-Hindu religions as a threat to Indian culture and identity – betrays the promise of a secular democracy made by India’s founders. 

“Hindu nationalism is relying on force, government force or state force, and simultaneous vigilante action to generate fear,” says Ashutosh Varshney, professor of international studies and social sciences at Brown University. “If it fully succeeds, it would reduce India’s [religious] minorities to second-class citizens.”

A violent year

Last year saw 505 documented cases of attacks against Christians and their places of worship, according to the United Christian Forum. They describe these acts as “well-orchestrated and pre-planned” with the aim to “divide the country on the basis of religion.”

The persecution of Christians isn’t new, says A.C. Michael, national coordinator of the United Christian Forum, but it is becoming more political. 

Since 2017, six BJP-ruled states have passed or updated anti-conversion laws – sometimes known as freedom of religion acts – that prohibit religious conversion by force or deception. Nine Indian states have such laws today, with the oldest dating back to 1967. Mr. Michael says that no Christian has ever been convicted of forced conversion. 

“Those making these laws are failing to take into consideration … why people convert in the first place,” says Narender Kumar, chairperson of the Centre for Political Studies at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University. “There would probably be no need for such laws if they did.”

Surveys show Indian Christians disproportionately hail from lower castes, especially the Dalits, who were formerly known as “untouchables” under the traditional Hindu caste system and continue to face discrimination today. 

Critics say these laws are vague, ripe for abuse, and go against the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to profess, practice, and propagate one’s religion. A number of legal pleas challenging the laws’ constitutional validity remain pending in India’s courts. 

Hindutva rallying point

Although lacking evidence, anti-conversion rhetoric remains a powerful motivator for Hindutva groups. 

“For every action there is reaction. That is the case now,” says T.A.P. Shenoy, a leader with the Hindu right-wing organization Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), whose members have carried out several attacks in Karnataka, including against Mr. Avaradhi. The pastor spent 10 days in prison before being released on bail.

“What about Christian atrocities on us? Conversion, cunning attempts to convert, prayers in houses,” says Mr. Shenoy. “That is the action. For that we have to react. People are reacting. VHP has no control in that.”

Similarly, in the central state of Chhattisgarh, several rallies in 2021 attended by the BJP and opposition leaders focused on the issue of forced religious conversions and promoted violence against Muslims and Christians. One speaker at a rally in Chhattisgarh’s capital instructed the audience to “stop them, warn them, and if it doesn’t work, shoot them.” 

“It’s not an attack, it’s reacting to an act,” repeats Amit Sahu, state president of the BJP youth wing in Chhattisgarh, in reference to rising attacks against Christians in the state. He claims that targeted conversions of Adivasis, or tribal communities, by Christians threaten Indian society, culture, and religion.

“We are creating awareness among our people,” he says. “For the protection of religion even our gods had picked up weapons. We will do everything to protect our religion.”

Finding community

Even when they are not being accused of forced conversions, members of religious minorities face serious consequences for openly practicing their faith.

In one Chhattisgarh village, a large group assaulted several fellow villagers for refusing to renounce their Christian faith. The families were threatened, locked out of their homes, and pressured to leave the village. They have since been living with well-wishers next to the police station, waiting for officers and village council to act on their complaint. 

“I accepted Christianity of my own will. It is not wrong to do so,” says one of the assaulted villagers, ​​Ramchandran, who asked to be identified only by his first name in order to protect his identity. Although daunted by the possibility of having to rebuild his life somewhere new, Ramchandran says the attack did not shake his faith. 

“I resolved that even if I die, I’ll stand for Christianity,” he says.

Akhilesh Edgar, coordinator of the Chhattisgarh Citizens Joint Action Committee, says instances of social boycotts – the act of ignoring a group or individual and refusing to include them in typical social or economic activities – have worsened in the last few years. In many villages, Christians and other non-Hindus were barred from collecting water from community wells, denied government food rations, and ostracized from the community. The police and local administrations often did not take adequate action against perpetrators, Mr. Edgar says.

“The only kind of relief we can get is from the courts. Sometimes even for small cases we have to go to the high courts but it takes time; it takes money,” he adds.

In the meantime, advocates find hope in those who embrace India’s religious pluralism. 

“There are a number of Hindu religious leaders and civil society advocates from the majority community who are taking initiatives to bring people together and trying to speak up against the hatred agenda,” says Mr. Michael. “That is why we are able to survive this.” 

Moving forward, he says it’s crucial to elect leaders who won’t exploit religious differences for political ends. “Mindsets have to be changed,” he says.