Photo: Nikita Jain/Maktoob
Attacks on Christians have increased in different parts of the country. However, in Central India’s Chhattisgarh, particularly, there has been a massive campaign to brainwash young Hindu men into attacking the community for alleged “forced conversions.”
In its report, the Evangelical Fellowship of India says violent incidents against Christians rose from 601 in 2023 to 840 in 2024, including assault, church vandalism, and wrongful arrests under the anti-conversion law.
Violence against Christians in India surged in 2024, with over 840 incidents reported last year, 640 of which were verified, according to data from the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI).
The EFI’s Religious Liberty Commission (RLC), in its annual report released on 10 March, highlighted a sharp rise in targeted attacks, including physical assaults, disruptions of prayer meetings, church vandalism, and wrongful arrests under anti-conversion laws.
The report Hate and Targeted Violence Against Christians in India Yearly Report 2024 showed that the number of cases jumped from 601 in 2023 to 840 in 2024, a stark contrast to the 147 cases documented in 2014.
On 3 March 2025, a mob of a Hindutva group supported by Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) reached WRS Colony located in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur and demolished a church that was constructed nearly two decades ago.
Videos showing men wearing saffron scarves and breaking the walls of a building, allegedly a church, located in the colony, went viral.
When Maktoob went on the ground, they saw the walls of the church being broken and rubble everywhere. The windows were broken and one side of the wall was completely shattered.
A few young girls who were present during the time of the incident said that only a handful of people were at home, as everyone had gone to work.
Seema (name changed on request), a class 9 student, was at home when she heard commotion outside the church. Located amidst the narrow alleys and joined with small houses, the church is a one-room space, where people from various areas have been coming to pray.
“They were shouting Jai Sri Ram and came with big hammers in their hands. There were only a few women and children from the community, the rest had gone to work,” Seema said.
The people alleged communal slurs were also used by the mob.
The colony consists of both Hindus and Christians, who have been living together for years. Over time, as many people accepted Christianity, the same families had members from both faiths.
However, in the past few years, the situation has become tense, with Hindu family members accusing the Christian family members of converting for money.
Seema and other women who witnessed the demolition also alleged that the police had accompanied the Bajrang Dal members.
“We heard them tell the men that they can demolish the structure above the church, which was being constructed illegally. However, the men started breaking the walls, doors, and windows of the entrance of the church,” Seema said.
The women alleged the men, whom they claim numbered more than 50, also abused them when they tried to intervene.
As one walks to the alley where the church stands, a huge saffron flag is tied to the same building, with the face of “angry Hanuman” – a representation of rage among the youth in the community – printed on the saffron flag.
“While some were demolishing the walls, a young man was tying the flag from the church,” Sunita, who is in her 30s and was standing with Seema, said.
At the time, the church was locked, and the men had broken the lock. The church is built on railway land, just like the colony, which is located near the Raipur Railway Station.
According to police officials, the church had started constructing another floor above the church, which was illegal.
Meanwhile, in a complaint by the Christian community members, it has been alleged that the men also robbed materials such as rice and oil kept inside the church.
No one has been arrested as of now.
People from both communities in the area work as daily wage labourers. The pastor of the church, Benu, while speaking to Maktoob, said that the situation is tense, with members of Bajrang Dal giving continuous threats to them almost every day.
The flag still hangs from the church. The pastor and other members do not dare to move the flag.
Local boys and Bajrang Dal involved
As the correspondent walked out of the colony towards the main road, a group of young boys, aged between 10 to 20, stood talking and laughing with each other.
On approaching them, all of them went stiff. When asked about the incident at the church, the boys started avoiding questions.
However, on pestering them a little bit, one of the boys said that they were part of the mob that had demolished the structure of the church’s wall.
“There is a senior leader from Bajrang Dal after whose support we did that,” the boy said.
Another boy, who did not tell his name, said he was the one who hung the flag from the church.
“Whatever I was asked to do by the seniors, I did. Rest I do not know anything,” he said.
All the boys were school or college dropouts and had no jobs at the moment.
As the correspondent stood talking, one of the young boys, who identified himself as Deepak, said that if “these people have to live here, then they will have to accept Hindutva,” he said.
“We will do what was done to Christians in Manipur. They have to accept Hindutva, if they have to live here, otherwise they can leave,” he said.
On saying the Constitution allows people to follow their own faith, Deepak dismissed it and said, “I do not care. This is Hindu Rashtra and we will work towards it.”
Deepak, who was 20, is a school dropout and is currently trying to find a job, but is not getting one.
According to one of the boys, “a senior” from Bajrang Dal, whom they did not want to name, comes to the area every Sunday to “inspect.”
Near the colony, meanwhile, is a huge board that had pictures of almost all the young men we met. The organisation named “Jai Bajrang Yuva Ganoshatsav Samiti” had pictures of the young boys.
Meanwhile, this is not the only place where this happened. Merely a few kilometres from the colony is another area, where a pastor was beaten and a church attacked.
Pastor Benu said that the situation is hard, and there is no help from the authorities.
“Despite all the evidence, these men go free. That flag is one step towards the harassment we face,” he said.
Since the incident, the police have come to the area a few times, but have not taken any stern action.
According to the report by the Evangelical Fellowship of India, January 2024 saw the highest number of incidents, with 71 reported cases, followed by 68 in September, 64 in March, and 62 in October.
“The general elections held in April and May coincided with 45 reported cases in each month, indicating that religious minorities remained vulnerable even during politically sensitive periods,” the report said.
The violence was widespread, with Uttar Pradesh leading with 188 recorded incidents, followed by 150 cases in Chhattisgarh, 40 in Rajasthan, 38 in Punjab, 37 in Madhya Pradesh, 34 in Haryana, and 27 cases in Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu respectively, 22 in Karnataka, and 21 in Bihar.
With the imposition of the anti-conversion law in many states, the situation has become worse, with many people, including pastors, jailed for forceful conversion. The law is yet to be implemented in Chhattisgarh.
Earlier in March this year, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced that a stricter law to curb religious conversions will soon be introduced in the state, a week after the BJP-led government faced tough questions in the state assembly on the issue.
Confirming that a more stringent anti-conversion law is in the works, Chief Minister Sai said, “Several states have tightened their laws, and the Chhattisgarh government will also introduce a stricter law against religious conversion soon. The government is considering it and will bring a strict law.”
Referring to the existing Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968, which is currently used to address cases of forced conversions, Sai further stated, “Action is being taken wherever complaints of religious conversion arise. There is already a law against it, but it will be made stricter.”
Pastor Benu said that the idea of forceful conversion is weird and that many people came to the church of their own free will.
“These are testing times for us, it seems,” a resident, Vivek, standing with Pastor Benu, said.
Chhattisgarh has become a hotspot, with 150 recorded cases of violence against Christians, according to the report. Tribal Christian communities faced not only physical violence but also economic and social exclusion, as “extremist groups” attempted to force them to renounce their faith, the report added.
In Narayanpur, a pastor, who did not want to be named, said that even though the number of instances is low, he has himself faced difficulties with Hindu groups.
