The mobs of Hindu nationalists prowled the streets, yelling: “Take revenge and slaughter the
Christians!”
A week before Christmas, on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, a wave of attacks began against
Christian converts among India’s indigenous population in Chhattisgarh, one of the most
remote and poor states in India. Angry villagers beat Christians, ransacked churches and
forced hundreds of Christians to flee from their homes.
While sporadic attacks against Christians have occurred for decades, the recent violence is
unprecedented in its scale and organization. The Hindu nationalists are led by a group calling
itself the Janjati Suraksha Manch, who have used the attacks against Christians as a rallying
cry to mobilise Hindu voters. But also outside of Chhattisgarh, violence against Christians
have flared up across India, with churches in Mumbai and Korean missionaries in Uttar
Pradesh being attacked in January.
Militias affiliated with the influential Hindu nationalist organization, the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have targeted Muslim
communities across India in recent years. Now, mobs in Chhattisgarh state, one of the most
remote and poor regions, offer a preview of rising hatred against an even more vulnerable
minority in India: Christians.