By Team
8/12/2025 India (International Christian Concern) — Following violent attacks against 14 Christian families in a remote village in Maharashtra, India, Christians in nearby towns are gripped by fear. Some are reportedly reconsidering their Christian faith.
Anti-Christian sentiment has sharply increased in the state since a legislator belonging to the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) publicly announced a cash reward for anyone who kills a Christian attempting to convert Hindus to Christianity.
That same day, the state’s chief minister said that legal action would be taken against members of scheduled castes who receive benefits from government programs if they convert to Christianity. The chief minister also expressed the government’s intention to enact an anti-conversion law in the state to curb conversions to Christianity.
“I am very anxious and troubled in my heart,” a local pastor said. “There is a rumor making the rounds among villagers that the police and the village leaders are going to summon all the Christians on Aug. 15 to question them about their conversion process and to check their religious status on the government records.”
Local Christians are suspicious of such an event, fearing it would lead Hindu nationalists to attack them.
“Families in my congregation are quitting one by one, fearing violent attacks against them, on that particular day,” a second pastor said.
About 20 miles away, where the pastor leads his church, a mob of Hindu nationalists brutally beat 56 Christians on July 17. The mob reportedly broke into the homes of Christian families, dragged them into the streets, and beat them with sticks and other objects. Women and children were among those assaulted. Many believers sustained lacerations and fractured bones.
This story was originally published in persecution.org. Read the full story here.