In a disturbing trend, Hindu extremists in India are increasingly targeting Christians, with a surge in hate speech and violence against the country's small Christian minority. This alarming development comes as religious tensions escalate, fueled by the rhetoric of Hindu majoritarian groups and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
On Christmas Eve, Hindu hardline groups affiliated with the BJP announced a shutdown in Raipur, central India, citing allegations of 'forced' religious conversions by Christians. This claim, despite lacking evidence, has been a frequent accusation against the Christian community. The same day, armed men stormed a shopping mall, vandalizing Christmas decorations and disrupting celebrations. The police filed a case, but only arrested six out of 30-40 unidentified attackers, who were released on bail and celebrated by the public.
This incident was not an isolated case. According to a new report, religious hate speech and violence in India are on the rise, with Christians emerging as a visible target alongside Muslims. The India Hate Lab's research found 1,318 hate speech events in 2025, an average of over three per day, with a 97% increase since 2023 and a 13% rise over 2024. While Muslims remained a primary target, the report noted a sharp rise in anti-Christian rhetoric, with hate speech events targeting Christians increasing from 115 in 2024 to 162 in 2025.
This was evident in the violence unleashed by Hindu supremacists on Christmas celebrations last month. Instances were recorded across India, including in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh. The attacks on Christians included disrupting Christmas lunches for visually impaired children, intimidating women wearing Santa caps, and threatening schools to cancel Christmas celebrations.
Christians make up only 2.3% of India's population, while Muslims account for 14.2%, and Hindus for 80%. Hindu supremacists have fueled suspicion, anger, and hate against religious minorities, based on conspiracy theories and incorrect claims. This escalation in religious hate is a new development since the BJP came to power in 2014, according to experts.
The BJP's ideological mentor, the RSS, believes India must be a 'Hindu nation', an idea that contradicts the constitutionally enshrined value of secularism. Historical Hindu nationalist ideologues, like Vinayak Savarkar and MS Golwalkar, insisted that religious minorities were 'unwanted' and 'internal enemies' of India, calling for a 'permanent war' against them. This rhetoric is mirrored in the recent hate speech report, which presents Muslims and Christians as 'dual threats'.
The report also highlights a rise in hate speech against Muslims, with 1,289 of the total 1,318 hate speech events referencing Muslims in a hateful, violent manner. Speakers often invoked conspiracy theories, such as 'land jihad', 'population jihad', and 'love jihad', leading to calls for violence against the Muslim community. The large-scale dissemination of these conspiracies is a deliberate strategy to create an environment of perpetual Hindu victimhood and enable the passage of anti-minority laws.
Since the BJP's rise to power, several Indian states have introduced laws criminalizing coercive religious conversions, but critics say these laws are veiled attempts to prevent interfaith marriages. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom highlighted discriminatory legislation in India, including on citizenship and religious conversion. The hate speech and violence are linked to the BJP, with 88% of events taking place in states governed by the BJP or its allies.
The author and president of the Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism, Ram Puniyani, links the rise in hate to the BJP's electoral fortunes. The attacks on Christians are seen as an attempt to consolidate the BJP's base among tribal and Dalit communities, where Christian missionaries predominantly work. The situation is dangerous, as hate speech eventually leads to violence, and the BJP's return to power has emboldened Hindutva foot soldiers.
