Season’s grievings

Dear Readers,

This Christmas, while visiting relatives in a small town in Madhya Pradesh, I was struck by two sets of headlines running side by side. One featured Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the Christmas morning service at the Cathedral Church of the Redemption in Delhi, offering greetings that “the spirit of Christmas inspire harmony and goodwill in our society”. The other, unfolding across BJP-ruled States through the week, told a different story—of disruptions, intimidation, and hostility directed at Christian celebrations.

Some numbers for context: According to the United Christian Forum (UCF), 834 incidents of violence against Christians were recorded in 2024, up from 139 in 2014. As of November 2025, the forum had documented 706 incidents, with Uttar Pradesh (184) and Chhattisgarh (157) leading the count. Of the 579 incidents reported between January and September 2025, only 39 resulted in police cases—a 93 per cent gap in the documentation of these complaints.

This Christmas week was no exception. In Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) members sat outside the church at Bishop Conrad School, reciting the Hanuman Chalisa and shouting “Jai Shri Ram” in full view of the police. In Nalbari, Assam, VHP and Bajrang Dal activists stormed St Mary’s School in Panigaon, chanting “Jai Shri Ram” and “Jai Hindu Rashtra” before setting fire to Christmas decorations. VHP district secretary Bhaskar Deka stated: “We don’t want Christian festivals here.”

In Raipur, Chhattisgarh, a mob armed with wooden sticks vandalised Christmas decorations and smashed a Santa Claus figure at Magneto Mall on Christmas Eve during a State-wide bandh called by Sarva Hindu Samaj. The bandh followed a burial dispute in Kanker district’s Bade Teoda village, where a Christian man’s house had been torched and churches vandalised. Police registered an FIR against more than 30 unidentified persons.

In Odisha, viral videos showed men harassing street vendors selling Santa Claus hats, declaring: “This is Hindu Rashtra. You can’t sell Christian items here. Sell Lord Jagannath’s merchandise.” In Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, BJP city vice president Anju Bhargava was filmed confronting a blind woman at a Christmas gathering for disabled children, holding her face, twisting her arm, and telling her she would “remain blind in her next birth”. The incident occurred on December 20 at a church behind Hawabagh Women’s College.

In Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, four Catholic parishes were denied permission for Christmas carol singing after police refused to accept programme applications. The diocese of Jhabua approached the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which clarified that carol singing within Catholic homes is private religious practice and requires no official permission. Justice Jai Kumar Pillai noted that police approval is needed only for programmes held in public spaces.

In Haridwar, Uttarakhand, a Christmas event scheduled at Hotel Bhagirathi, run by the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department on the banks of the Ganga, was cancelled after objections from Hindu groups. Ujjwal Pandit of the Ganga Sevak Dal warned that Christmas celebrations on the riverbanks would “not be tolerated”, calling them an insult to Haridwar’s sanctity. The RSS echoed the sentiment, with State official Padamji opposing “events related to foreign culture” on the Ganga.

In Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, Bajrang Dal members confronted Christian women and children wearing Santa Claus hats on December 22, accusing them of “proselytisation” and ordering them to leave. Videos show activists shouting “Go home” and “Celebrate it in your own homes”. Delhi Police later described the episode as a “minor and momentary verbal disagreement”.

In Kerala’s Palakkad, RSS worker Ashwin Raj was arrested for attacking children aged 10–15 years, who were carolling from house to house. The provocation, according to the complaint, was the word “CPI(M)” written on a drum the children had borrowed from a local party office. BJP leader C. Krishnakumar later claimed the children had consumed alcohol—a claim their families rejected.

In Rajasthan’s Dungarpur district, RSS and Bajrang Dal members disrupted Sunday mass at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Bichhiwara village on December 14, storming in mid-service and accusing the parish of “forced conversions”. Parish priest Fr Rajesh Sarel said about 50 people entered during his homily. Police were present, Bishop Devprasad Ganawa of Udaipur noted, “but they were just onlookers”.

On Christmas Day, Bajrang Dal members created a disturbance at a private school in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district, allegedly threatening children and assaulting the principal, Shaitanram Changal. Nearly 40 students were present. Police detained three persons.

In Haryana’s Fatehabad district, police dispersed a Christmas celebration at the home of a teacher, Chiman Lal, after objections from outsiders alleging conversion activities. Lal later clarified that December 25 was also his birthday and that the gathering “posed no threat to anyone”.

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien responded to the Prime Minister’s church visit with a post on X: “Love? Peace? Compassion? Harmony? Goodwill? Christmas?” A question arises: are these cadres exceeding their brief, or has the BJP, in its third term, acquired what might be called a Bhasmasura problem? In Hindu mythology, Bhasmasura’s boon eventually turned against its giver.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India condemned what it called an “alarming” rise in attacks, describing them as “egregious and dehumanising”, and demanded the immediate dismissal of Anju Bhargava from the BJP. It also flagged hate-filled digital posters in Chhattisgarh calling for a bandh against Christians on December 24.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves of the Human Rights Law Network noted that anti-conversion laws offer “cover” to police and right-wing groups. Of 283 cases registered under Madhya Pradesh’s law between January 2020 and July 2025, nearly 70 per cent remain pending. Of the 86 concluded cases, 50 ended in acquittals and only eight in convictions.

Not everything was bleak. A painting by Pakistani-American artist Hamama Tul Bushra depicting Mary and Christ circulated warmly online. A video of Mumbai’s 300-year-old St Thomas Cathedral opening its Christmas choral evening with the national anthem also went viral, the Wild Voices Choir transitioning from Jana Gana Mana to carols.

Those policing Christmas might consider what prominent Hindu figures have said. The Vrindavan-based saint Premanand Govind Sharan has spoken of Jesus as a great soul and a powerful spiritual presence, while warning against religious disparagement.

Ramakrishna Math and Mission centres across India continued their long tradition of celebrating Christmas in the spirit of sarva dharma sambhav. Ramakrishna Paramhans viewed Jesus as a divine incarnation, a vision carried forward by Swami Vivekananda, who regarded Christianity with deep respect. Vivekananda travelled India carrying onlythe Bhagavad Gita and The Imitation of Christ, translating parts of the latter into Bengali in 1889.

Do those attacking Christian symbols claim to know Hinduism better than Vivekananda? He opposed forcible conversion, but he also urged Hindu society to introspect rather than externalise blame.

The contrast between the Prime Minister’s cathedral visit and the conduct of Sangh Parivar cadres raises a question for the ruling dispensation. Christian groups argue that symbolic gestures must be matched by action, including protection of constitutional guarantees of religious freedom. The UCF has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleging that police often collude with Hindutva groups or look away.

Where, in any religious tradition, is such hostility sanctioned? The pattern this Christmas—from malls to schools to private homes—suggests more than isolated excess. It points to a climate in which declarations of “Hindu Rashtra” are made openly, repeatedly, and with little consequence.

We would like to hear your views on the pattern of incidents this Christmas season.

This article was originally published on https://frontline.thehindu.com/newsletter/poll-vault-anand-mishra/india-christmas-attacks-hindu-rashtra/article70439045.ece/amp/