{"id":7202,"date":"2026-08-12T18:53:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T18:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/?p=7202"},"modified":"2026-09-02T18:55:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T18:55:32","slug":"christians-persecuted-in-indias-growing-religious-nationalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/christians-persecuted-in-indias-growing-religious-nationalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Christians Persecuted in India\u2019s Growing Religious Nationalism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucanews.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UCA News<\/a> reporter<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tension gripped the tiny community of Christians in a village in the northern Indian state of Bihar after Hindu nationalists publicly threatened them to \u201ceither return to Hinduism or leave the area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The announcements were made on Aug. 8 in Gopalpur village in Bhagalpur district through a public address system fitted on a three-wheeled autorickshaw that made rounds of the village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 42 Christian families in the village were called <em>samaj drohis<\/em>, or traitors to society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The village, located in Sabour block, has a total of 411 families and a population of 2,387, according to the last census held in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maryknollmagazine.org\/2024\/08\/religious-leaders-call-on-state-department-to-address-religious-persecution-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hindu nationalists<\/a> alleged that the presence of Christianity and churches threatened the social fabric of the village and urged the villagers to sever all social ties with Christians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They argued that \u201cif churches were permitted today, mosques could follow tomorrow,\u201d and would ruin the village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The speakers asserted that the village had historically been inhabited only by Hindus and only Hindus should continue to live there in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Village residents said the announcements were heard across the village and created anxiety among <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maryknollmagazine.org\/2020\/07\/anti-christian-violence-on-the-rise-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Christian families<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A local Christian told UCA News on the condition of anonymity that they have been facing such threats for quite a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut recently, public announcement systems are being used to warn us that we may be punished if we do not abandon the Christian faith,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have placed our trust in the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Activists warn of growing hostility toward Christians<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/berkleycenter.georgetown.edu\/people\/cedric-prakash\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Father Cedric Prakash<\/a>, a Jesuit priest and rights activist, said this was not merely a disagreement over faith but a direct call for social and economic isolation of a religious community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen people are told to abandon their faith or leave their homes, it raises serious concerns about religious freedom and constitutional protections,\u201d he told UCA News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Father Prakash, who is based in Gujarat in western India, said the incident was not an isolated one, but part of concerted efforts to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maryknollmagazine.org\/2025\/12\/from-nigeria-to-belarus-2025-marks-a-grim-year-for-religious-freedom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prosecute Christians<\/a> across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThose doing it are very well aware that they have impunity for doing such acts,\u201d he said while adding that civil society should raise its voice against such fanatic groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The incident comes amid growing concerns about hate speech and hostility directed at religious minorities across India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to data compiled by the India Hate Lab, in-person hate speech events targeting religious minorities reached <a href=\"https:\/\/indiahatelab.com\/2026\/01\/13\/hate-speech-events-in-india-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1,318 incidents in 2025<\/a>, a 97 percent increase from 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some 88 percent of those incidents occurred in states governed by India\u2019s ruling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maryknollmagazine.org\/2022\/02\/prominent-indians-want-end-to-religious-anti-conversion-laws\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bharatiya Janata Party<\/a>&nbsp;or its political allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies rule Bihar, where Christians are a very small minority of about 0.12 percent of the state\u2019s more than 130 million people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rights groups say accusations of forced or fraudulent conversions are often leveled against Christians to justify harassment, disruption of prayer meetings, and legal action against pastors and Christian workers in the state, as in several parts of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maryknollmagazine.org\/2020\/07\/assam-churches-struggle-to-help-victims-of-flood-in-northeast-india\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">northern India<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPublic calls for social exclusion can deepen communal divisions besides undermining the right to choose and practice one\u2019s faith as guaranteed by the Constitution,\u201d Shibu Thomas, founder of Persecution Relief, told UCA News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The developments in Gopalpur reflect broader anxieties among minority communities, and increasingly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maryknollmagazine.org\/2025\/10\/attacks-on-religious-liberty-increase-say-cardinal-papal-foundation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">aggressive public rhetoric<\/a> is making them feel more vulnerable, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Feature image: A file photo shows thousands of Christians at a rally in Jabalpur, central India, to protest against religious persecution. (OSV News\/Thomas Saji, UCAN)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the state of Bihar, Hindu nationalists threaten 42 Christian families as hostility rises against religious minorities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":7204,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1053],"tags":[3275,3273,3276,3277,3274,3278,3279,3280,3282,413,3283,3281,3284],"class_list":["post-7202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bhagalpur-district","tag-bharatiya-janata-party","tag-christian-faith","tag-christian-families","tag-community-of-christians","tag-father-cedric-prakash","tag-gopalpur-village","tag-hindu-nationalists","tag-hindutva","tag-india","tag-prosecute-christians","tag-social-exclusion","tag-state-of-bihar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - 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