NEW DELHI, India — Persecution of India’s Christians has risen exponentially in 10 years and continues to climb, a report revealed.
In 2024, India saw 640 documented cases of persecution toward Christians, according to the report “Faith at Risk: Examining Violence and Discrimination Against Christians in India (2024),” released by the Evangelical Fellowship of India’s Religious Liberty Commission. Morning Star News noted that number is up from 601 documented cases in 2023 and 147 in 2014.
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Christians represent 2.3% of India’s populace, stated Morning Star.
According to the report, the state of Uttar Pradesh led in the number of cases, followed by the states of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.
Four Christians were murdered in 2024. Other cases of persecution involved arrests, threats, harassment, violence, disruption of worship and vandalism, the report said.
“The EFIRLC report identified the misuse of anticonversion laws as one of the primary drivers of persecution,” stated Morning Star.
In Uttar Pradesh — which strengthened its anticonversion law in 2024 — a leader told the news outlet, “These laws … have been misused to restrict freedom of religion of the minority Christian community. … There are over 60 Christians who are currently in jail because of the provisions of this law.”
India is No. 11 on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
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