By C M Paul
Siliguri, December 24, 2025: Christmas 2025, meant to be a season of joy, turned into a season of fear for Christians in several BJP-ruled states. From Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh to Kanker in Chhattisgarh and roadside stalls in Odisha, Hindutva extremists unleashed intimidation, violence, and humiliation. These were not isolated incidents—they were symptoms of a deeper rot in India’s political culture.
Jabalpur: A Shameful Spectacle
In Jabalpur, right-wing activists stormed churches days before Christmas, alleging “forced conversions.” A viral video showed a local BJP functionary physically harassing a visually impaired woman inside a church.
Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), condemned the incident: “The harassment of a disabled woman inside a church is not only inhuman, it is a direct assault on the dignity of worship. We demand immediate action and protection for our congregations.”
Yet the state leadership remained silent. When ruling party members themselves are implicated, silence is not neutrality—it is complicity.
Chhattisgarh: Churches Burn, Faith Tested
In Kanker district, violence erupted after a Christian burial was challenged by mobs. Reports from The New Indian Express confirmed that two churches were torched, a grave dug up, and clashes left several injured in Amabeda village. International advocacy groups such as Christian Solidarity International documented that three churches were torched and scores of tribal Christians attacked after a mob exhumed a body buried with Christian rites in Bade Tevda.
Scroll.in and The Hindu further reported that at least 20 police personnel were injured and a prayer hall vandalized during the clashes.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi remarked: “What we are witnessing in BJP-ruled states is organized intimidation. The government’s refusal to act decisively emboldens those who attack minorities.”
In BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh, mobs dictated burial rights and destroyed places of worship while the state looked away. The CBCI warned: “The government must act not with token detentions, but with real accountability. Anything less is complicity.”
Odisha: Intimidation in Broad Daylight
In Odisha, a viral video showed men forcing vendors to shut stalls selling Christmas hats and decorations, declaring “Hindu Rashtra.”
Father Dominic Gomes, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Calcutta, warned: “When extremists can openly intimidate vendors in broad daylight, it shows how fragile our freedoms have become. This is not the India envisioned in our Constitution.”
A Pattern of Enablement
These attacks are not random. Advocacy groups documented 834 hate crimes against Christians in 2024. Christmas 2025 has only deepened this trajectory. The BJP’s refusal to confront its own cadres and affiliates signals political enablement. When leaders fail to condemn, they condone. When they remain silent, they sanction.
The Republic at a Crossroads
India’s Constitution promises freedom of religion. Yet Christians celebrating their holiest festival are met with violence and fear. This is not merely a law-and-order failure—it is a moral collapse.
As Archbishop Thazhath reminded: “The government must act not with token detentions, but with real accountability. Anything less is complicity.”
Christmas should proclaim peace on earth. Instead, in BJP-ruled states, it proclaimed the fragility of minority rights under majoritarian rule. If India is to remain a secular republic, silence is no longer an option. Accountability must be demanded—not tomorrow, but today.
(C M Paul is a senior journalist and columnist who writes on issues of democracy, minority rights, and the intersection of faith and politics in contemporary India.)