Human rights groups in India said between January and September this year there were 300 incidents of Christian persecution in the country, Christian Post reports.
The National Coordinator of the United Christian Forum, A.C. Michael, stated at a conference in Delhi, that the attacks on Christians during the period took place across 21 states.
Groups that jointly held the conference are the United Christian Forum, the United Against Hate, and the Association of Protection of Civil Rights.
They released a fact-finding report titled, “Christian Under Attack in India.”
“The brutal attacks have taken place across 21 states. Most of the incidents are taking place in northern states and 288 instances were of mob violence,” Michael said.
“This is a scary situation, raising critical questions over the role and the position of the National Human Rights Commission and the Home [Interior] Ministry and their failures in stopping this violence. Over 49 FIRs [police complaints] have been registered, too, but no substantial action has taken place.”
There are 2.3 per cent Christians in India while Hindus comprise about 80 per cent of the 1.3 billion population of the country.
Christians have in recent times come under attack from radical Hindus. There have been instances where Christians were attacked for allegedly using monetary reward to convert Hindus to Christianity.
Many of the 29 states in India have “anti-conversion” laws, which presume that Christians “force” or give financial benefits to Hindus to convert them to Christianity.
India ranks 10 out of 50 countries where Christians are most persecuted, according to Open Doors USA 2021 World Watch List.
The group said the persecution of Christians has been on the rise since 2014 when Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to office.