On Constitution Day, Catholic bishops urge Modi government to protect minority rights amid rising attacks on Christians and erosion of secular guarantees.
Newsroom (27/11/2025 Gaudium Press ) India’s Catholic bishops marked the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution on Tuesday with a pointed appeal to the federal government to “genuinely put into practice” the document’s guarantees of equality, dignity and religious freedom for minorities and marginalised communities.
In a statement released on Constitution Day, observed annually on 26 November to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution in 1949, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) described the Constitution as the embodiment of “the hopes of a diverse and plural society” that promises equal opportunity “regardless of religion, caste, or background.”
“The constitutional guarantees, especially for religious minorities and vulnerable sections, must be valued and genuinely put into practice,” the bishops said, stressing the need to preserve the independence of democratic institutions such as the National Human Rights Commission, the National Commission for Minorities, and the Election Commission of India.
The statement stopped short of naming the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but the timing and language echo widespread concerns among rights groups that constitutional protections for minorities have been systematically weakened since the BJP came to power in 2014.
A.C. Michael, convener of the United Christian Forum and a former member of the Delhi Minorities Commission, was blunt. “This reminder comes at a time when our country is seeing the Constitution being sidelined by those in power,” he told UCA News. “It is important we remind ourselves of its importance.”
Michael pointed to a National Christian Convention scheduled for 29 November in the capital, where church leaders and activists will address what organisers call an “urgent constitutional crisis.” The three-day gathering will focus on:
- A sharp rise in attacks on Christians and church institutions, often justified by state-level anti-conversion laws;
- The continuing exclusion of Dalit Christians and Muslims from Scheduled Caste benefits available to Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist Dalits;
- Growing demands by Hindu nationalist groups to strip Scheduled Tribe status and affirmative-action benefits from Indigenous people who convert to Christianity or Islam.
An estimated 60 per cent of India’s roughly 25 million Christians belong to Dalit or tribal communities, making these policy battles existential for large sections of the Church.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a two-decade-old public interest litigation challenging the 1950 Presidential Order that denies Scheduled Caste status to Christians and Muslims of Dalit origin – a discrimination critics say violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equality.
Meanwhile, grassroots efforts are underway to educate affected communities. Ratan Tirkey, former member of Jharkhand’s Tribal Advisory Council, said teams have already reached more than 150 villages to raise awareness about constitutional rights among poor tribal Christians.
Reaffirming the Church’s role, the CBCI pledged to continue working for the uplift of marginalised groups, promoting interfaith dialogue, and contributing to national development – a reminder that, for India’s second-largest religious minority after Muslims, defence of the Constitution is inseparable from defence of their own existence in an increasingly polarised nation.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCA News
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