By A Santhanam

Madurai, Dec 28, 2025: The National Lawyers Forum of Religious and Priests (NLFRP) has strongly condemned the alarming escalation of anti-Christian and anti-constitutional activities across India during December 2025, particularly targeting Christmas celebrations.

“These incidents are neither isolated nor spontaneous. They reflect a disturbing and systematic pattern of intimidation, criminalization of faith practices, disruption of worship, and economic and cultural pressure carried out by extremist Hindutva forces with near total impunity,” the forum asserted in a statement.

The forum bemoaned the repeated failure of law enforcement agencies to act decisively. “In some cases their active complicity represents a grave abdication of the State’s constitutional duty,” its December 24 statement warned.

The statement listed a number of anti-Christian incidents.

On December 8, in Bichhiwara, Dungarpur district of Rajasthan, eight Christians were arrested following a prayer meeting conducted inside a hut, accused of religious conversion without any credible evidence or due process.

On December 14, in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, ten Christians, including women, were detained under the state’s anti-conversion law merely for participating in a prayer gathering, prompting protests by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India. These arrests highlight the routine misuse of conversion laws to criminalise Christian worship and instil fear among minority communities.

In Madhya Pradesh, authorities denied permission to four Catholic parishes in Jhabua district to conduct traditional Christmas carol singing, citing imaginary threats of conversion. Only after intervention by the Indore Bench of the High Court on December 18, these unconstitutional orders were quashed, reaffirming that carol singing within private Christian homes does not require state approval.

Just two days later, on December 20, a Christmas lunch organized for visually impaired students at a church in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh was disrupted by Bajrang Dal activists. A BJP city office bearer was seen on video verbally abusing and physically harassing a visually impaired woman while making baseless allegations of forced conversion.

This incident reflects a disturbing convergence of religious hatred, political patronage, and blatant disregard for the dignity of persons with disabilities, the forum said.

Kerala, long regarded as relatively immune to overt communal violence, also witnessed troubling developments. On the night of December 21–22, a children’s Christmas carol group in Palakkad was verbally abused, physically assaulted, and had musical instruments damaged by persons linked to the RSS.

Young children were traumatized, and although one arrest was reportedly made, the targeting of minors and cultural expressions of faith raises serious concerns about growing intolerance.

In another instance, Christmas celebrations planned in post offices across Kerala were reportedly cancelled after an RSS affiliated union demanded that employees sing an RSS anthem, exposing attempts to ideologically capture even festive and secular spaces.

In the national capital, on December 22, Christian women and children wearing Santa hats were harassed in Lajpat Nagar market by Bajrang Dal members who accused them of proselytization. Though no physical assault was reported, the forced dispersal of women and children in a public space demonstrates the normalisation of mob policing of religious identity.

Around the same time in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, roadside vendors selling Christmas items were intimidated and forced to shut down by individuals invoking “Hindu Rashtra” rhetoric. Ironically, the vendors themselves were Hindus, exposing how communal hatred is weaponised even to destroy livelihoods and impose cultural conformity.

In Chhattisgarh, a dispute over burial rites in Badetevda village, Kanker district, escalated on December 18, into mob violence, arson of Christian homes and prayer halls, and injuries to over 20 police personnel. Survivors alleged instigation by Hindutva groups, pointing to the deepening vulnerability of tribal Christian communities.

In Uttar Pradesh, the decision to keep schools open on December 25, cancelling the traditional Christmas holiday while mandating celebrations of a political leader’s birth anniversary, sends a deeply exclusionary message to minority communities and further erodes the secular ethos of public institutions.

A disturbing confrontation was reported in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, where Sri Satyanisht Arya (formerly known as Sunnyur Rahman) waylaid Pastor Raju Sadasivam and his wife in a public place, subjected them to aggressive questioning about their faith, made derogatory remarks about Christianity, and levelled unsubstantiated allegations of religious conversion, while filming them without consent.

The pastor and his wife were visibly distressed during the encounter. The incident, captured on video, subsequently went viral and triggered widespread public outrage. While no physical assault was reported, the episode constitutes clear intimidation and harassment in a public space. As of December 24, there has been no reported police action or formal investigation, despite repeated demands for accountability.

These incidents collectively constitute direct violations of Articles 14, 15, 19, 21, and 25 to 28 of the Constitution of India. Freedom of conscience and religion is not subject to the approval of mobs, political organisations, or local authorities. The repeated misuse of anti-conversion laws, arbitrary arrests, denial of permissions, and failure to protect minorities represent a systemic breakdown of constitutional governance.

NLFRP is constrained to observe that while the Prime Minister and the Vice President of India publicly participate in Christmas celebrations, such gestures remain hollow symbolism unless accompanied by firm action against those perpetrating violence and intimidation on the ground. Public celebrations at elite venues cannot conceal the lived reality of ordinary Christians, such as children, women, priests, persons with disabilities, and even street vendors, who face fear, humiliation, and criminalisation for celebrating Christmas in public spaces.

The forum urgently called upon the federal home minister to intervene without delay, issue clear directions to all States and Union Territories to prevent harassment of Christians during Christmas and New Year celebrations, and ensure strict action against organizations and individuals involved in hate speech, intimidation, and violence.

Adequate protection must be provided to churches, prayer halls, carol groups, and community celebrations, particularly those involving children and charitable activities. Police and district administrations must be held accountable for illegal detentions, denial of fundamental freedoms, and failure to prevent mob violence. Above all, the misuse of anti-conversion laws must cease, and no arrest should be made without credible evidence and prior judicial scrutiny.

India’s Constitution does not permit a hierarchy of faiths. Christmas is not a threat to national culture, and Christians are not second-class citizens. The States’ continued silence and inaction will only embolden extremist elements and normalise mob rule, placing the very constitutional fabric of the country at risk. NLFRP stands in solidarity with all victims and reaffirms its commitment to pursue legal remedies until justice and the rule of law are restored.