New Delhi: In a significant finding, the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFIRLC) has said that it has documented 334 incidents of systematic targeting against Christians across India between January and July 2025. The group says that these cases, all verified, “reflects an alarming consistency, with incidents occurring every month and affecting Christian communities across 22 states and union territories.”
Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, enjoy the dubious distinction of being the top states for atrocities.
Uttar Pradesh recorded 95 incidents while Chhattisgarh documented 86 incidents, together accounting for 54% of all violations. The “geographic concentration of violence remains deeply concerning,” These states have “emerged repeatedly as primary hot spots where Christian families face not only immediate violence but prolonged legal harassment under anti-conversion laws. The misuse of these laws has become a primary weapon of intimidation, with threats, harassment, and false accusations representing two-thirds of all incidents documented during this period.”
Run by BJP’s Adityanath, UP has been in the news for so-called forced conversion cases for some time but most recently, in Chhattisgarh, run by the BJP’s Vishnu Deo Sai, the case of two nuns, Vanada Francis and Preeta Mary being attacked by Bajrang Dal activists for alleged forcible conversion and then being jailed sent shock waves through the Christian community. They managed to get bail by the NIA court only over the weekend.
Particularly disturbing, says the report, are the “13 cases involving denial of burial rights, with 92% occurring in Chhattisgarh alone”. The report minces no words and alleges targeting and planning, both. “Christian families are prevented from honouring their deceased according to their faith even on private property. The systematic nature of this targeting is evident in timing patterns, with many incidents strategically occurring during Sunday worship services, suggesting organised monitoring and disruption of Christian religious gatherings,” it states.
The report notes the “the escalating nature of persecution.” In July, it says six pastors in
Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, were “not only wrongfully detained but severely beaten with wooden batons inside Durg jail simply for identifying themselves as pastors during routine questioning. Despite documented evidence of torture, charges against the pastors remain active while no action has been taken against the attackers or jail officials responsible for the abuse.”
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.