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The Wire
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Wire
Rights Group Writes to Vatican Over Rise in Violence Against Christians in India
New Delhi: Civil society group United Christian Forum has submitted a memorandum highlighting targeted attacks against the Christian community in India to the Vatican, the Hindu reported. The letter was given to Vatican foreign minister Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, who is on a week-long visit to India to meet with church officials in the country. The letter urged the Vatican minister to bring up rising crimes against the minority community during his talks with Indian officials. Gallagher held a meeting with Union external affairs minister S. Jaishankar last week. The Indian minister took to social media after the meeting on Thursday and said that he was pleased to meet the archbishop, adding that they had 'good conversation about the importance of faith, and the need for dialogue and diplomacy to address conflicts'. In January, UCF had released a report which stated that 2024 witnessed 834 hate crimes against Christians, up from 734 such incidents in 2023. In the Modi decade, such crimes had increased from 127 in 2014, the report further said. 'The alarming frequency of attacks translates to more than two Christians being targeted every day in India simply for practising their faith,' UCF had said. In their submission to Gallagher, UCF said that the 'primary reason for these attacks has been false allegations of fraudulent conversions'. According to the report, the highest number of incidents in 2024 were reported from Uttar Pradesh (209), followed by Chhattisgarh (165). In many of these cases, rights activists have pointed out, no First Information Report is filed – sometimes despite there being a police complaint on the matter. In other situations, victims are afraid to approach the police because they believe that the police will try to turn the matter around, and side with the perpetrators while filing false charges against the victims.
Scroll.in
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Civil society group submits memorandum to Vatican on ‘targeted violence' against Christians in India
Civil society group United Christian Forum has submitted a memorandum to the Vatican about the increase in 'targeted violence and hostility' against Christians in India, The Hindu reported on Saturday. The memorandum was handed over to Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, foreign minister of the Vatican, on Thursday during his week-long visit to the country to meet Indian officials and church functionaries. It urged Gallagher to talk about attacks on Christians while meeting Indian officials. On Thursday, the archbishop held a meeting with India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. After the meeting, Jaishankar on social media said that he was pleased to meet the archbishop, adding that the two leaders had a 'good conversation about the importance of faith, and the need for dialogue and diplomacy to address conflicts'. Pleased to meet Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Holy See. A good conversation about the importance of faith, and the need for dialogue and diplomacy to address conflicts. 🇮🇳 🇻🇦 — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 17, 2025 The visit comes months after the United Christian Forum released a report on January 10, which said that the number of attacks against Christians had increased from 127 in 2014 to 834 in 2024. In its memorandum submitted to Gallagher, the civil society group referred to the report on the rise in 'incidents of violence and hostility towards Christians', adding that the 'primary reason for these attacks has been false allegations of fraudulent conversions', The Hindu reported. Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were the top two states where such allegations had led to 'either attacks on people at prayer or their illegal arrest by the police', the civil society group said citing its report. 'A large number of Catholic priests and nuns faced arrests, attacks, and legal actions in northern India,' the memorandum added, according to The Hindu. 'It is an alarming situation for missionaries.' Jose Vallikkatt, a Catholic priest based in Punjab's Bathinda city, told the newspaper that while the 'physical and mental torture is abominable, what is more alarming is the denial of religious rights of Christians. That's a constitutional violation'.
