AN ORGANISED REFUSAL TO BURY CHRISTIAN DEAD -- says Wada Na Todo Report
AC Michael
AN ORGANISED REFUSAL TO BURY CHRISTIAN DEAD - Christians see a disturbing trend in all of this – the emergence of a system designed to silence faith. Fabricated FIRs are being filed, often by individuals who aren’t even the alleged victims.
With over 840 reported cases of violence against them in 2024, of which 640 were verified, and as many as 121 new cases in just January, February and March 2025, the last 15 months have been the most traumatic in the life of the Christian community in India.
The persecution of Christians has been assiduously documented and analysed by several groups and human rights activists, including the Evangelical Fellowship of India, the United Christian Forum, Persecution relief and senior activists.
Violence against minorities — particularly Christians — is not new to Odisha or to Chhattisgarh. Odisha is notorious for the 1999 triple murder of Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two young sons. Odisha also witnessed the 2007-2008 mass violence against Christians that left more than a hundred dead, thousands injured, over 75,000 homeless as murderous mobs ravaged 4000 houses and 400 villages, destroyed 400 churches and institutions and raped a Catholic nun and other women. What is new in the last 10 years since 2014 is the seeming licence given to political elements professing a pro-Hindu religious nationalism. They believe they are above the law.
The newer and increasingly widespread forms of atrocities by religious bigots, illiterate village gangs, and dominant religious groups, often aided by political actors, are deeply concerning. These groups display blatant disregard for religious minorities and legal authorities, violating several fundamental rights.
These cases include attacks on Priests and Nuns, and protestant clergy, apart from vandalism against churches, forcible curtailment of worship, violence against common people which included pressure that families do not bury their dead in their villages, forcible social boycott of Christian families, denial of community resources, and targeted arrests under the anti-conversion laws.
At least four Christians were murdered for their faith and 113 injured, including 60 women, in 2024. Reports indicate that on average, four to five churches and pastors face attacks daily, with incidents nearly doubling every Sunday.
Additional data on arrests by the police in various states is deeply worrying, the statistics devastating. As many as 197 First Information Reports (FIRs) filed against Christians, 128 of these complaints under anti-conversion laws. There were 724 instances of imprisonment or illegal detention including 129 cases of pastors arrested. The data shows 11 cases of forcible conversion to Hinduism, and 18 cases of social boycott, again mostly from Chhattisgarh.
Each statistic tells a heartbreaking story – one more devastating than the next – a family torn apart, a church forced into hiding, a believer unjustly imprisoned for their faith.
For a detailed report please refer to page numbers 103 to 107 in the attached report released by Wada Na Todo Abhiyan
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