The incidents underscore a broader pattern of persecution against Christians In India, who face increasing hostility from Hindu nationalist groups amid accusations of forced conversions.
Newsroom (23/09/2025, Gaudium Press ) Christians in India continue to face unrelenting violence and harassment, with two significant incidents reported over the weekend in Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, highlighting the growing hostility toward the minority community.
In Jharkhand, a Catholic nun, two staff members of a non-governmental organization, and 19 girls, aged 13-19, were detained at a railway station in Jamshedpur on September 19. The group was traveling to attend a training program on adolescent health and skill development, scheduled for September 20-21, when police acted on allegations of religious conversion leveled by right-wing Hindu groups. Father Birendra Tete, director of Catholic Charities in the Jamshedpur diocese, told UCA News on September 22 that the girls carried consent letters from their parents and national identity cards, but seven lacked complete documentation, prompting Hindu activists to escalate the situation. The detainees were held from Friday morning to Saturday morning before being released after negotiations with authorities.
Father Sushil Dungdung, diocesan chancellor, accused Hindu hardliners of fabricating conversion allegations to tarnish Christians’ image and advance their agenda of transforming India into a Hindu theocratic state. Jharkhand, with a population of 33 million, includes approximately 1.4 million Christians, predominantly from tribal communities.
In a separate incident on the same day in Uttar Pradesh, 14 Christians were arrested in Prayagraj district and remanded to judicial custody following accusations of violating the state’s stringent anti-conversion law and provisions of the national criminal code. The arrests stemmed from a complaint by hardline Hindu leader Shantanu Tiwari, who alleged the group was converting Hindus, defaming Hindu deities, and encouraging religious conversion. Pastor Joy Mathew, who is providing legal aid to the accused, told UCA News that the Christians were holding a routine prayer meeting when Hindu activists stormed in, falsely accusing them of conversion activities. Police are now searching for four additional individuals.
Mathew condemned the arrests as a “gross violation of fundamental rights,” alleging police collusion with right-wing groups. He claimed the activists forcibly took the Christians to the police station, where authorities charged them without preliminary investigation. Uttar Pradesh, home to over 200 million people, has a Christian population of less than 0.5%. The state recorded 209 incidents of anti-Christian violence in 2024, the highest in India, according to data from Christian advocacy groups.
The incidents underscore a broader pattern of persecution against Christians, who face increasing hostility from Hindu nationalist groups amid accusations of forced conversions. India’s Christian community, constituting roughly 2.3% of the country’s 1.4 billion population, continues to grapple with legal and social challenges in states with strict anti-conversion laws.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCA News
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