United Christian Forum Urges Home Minister to Cancel Chhattisgarh Bandh Called Against Christian Community

Dec 23, 2025: Voicing concern over what it described as increasing targeted violence and hostility against Christians across India, the United Christian Forum (UCF) has written an urgent letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking immediate intervention, including the cancellation of a proposed “Chhattisgarh Bandh” scheduled for December 24, 2025, which it said was being organised against the Christian community.

In the letter dated December 23, UCF stated that the bandh had been called by certain groups in Chhattisgarh as a protest against Christians. The forum warned that targeting a specific religious community through such a call could seriously harm social harmony, deepen inequality, and create an environment of fear and insecurity.

The forum cited data compiled by it to underline what it described as a disturbing trend of persecution. According to UCF, 834 incidents of violence against Christians were recorded in 2024, averaging 69.5 incidents per month. As of November 2025, the organisation said it had documented 706 incidents targeting Christians or persons with faith in Jesus Christ. It stated that allegations of fraudulent religious conversions were cited as the primary reason for many of these attacks.

UCF identified Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh as the states reporting the highest number of incidents, with 157 and 184 cases respectively till November 2025. The letter highlighted burial-related disputes in tribal regions, stating that Christians were routinely denied burial space and, in some cases, forced to exhume the bodies of their dead.

According to the forum, 23 burial-related incidents were recorded in 2025, including 19 in Chhattisgarh, two in Jharkhand, and one each in Odisha and West Bengal. It further stated that around 40 such incidents were recorded in 2024, with 30 reported from Chhattisgarh, six from Jharkhand, and others from Bihar and Karnataka.

The letter cited specific incidents, including one on December 15, 2025, in Kanker district, Chhattisgarh, where a body buried according to Christian rites was allegedly sought to be exhumed by a mob. It also referred to a burial being denied in Balod district in November 2025 and another incident in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district in April 2025, where a body was exhumed and burnt after the family reportedly refused to renounce Christianity.

UCF referred to a report by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Karnataka, which documented alleged police collusion with Hindutva groups, disruption of Christian prayer meetings, and the filing of complaints under sections 295A and 298 of the Indian Penal Code. The letter also noted that freedom of religion laws, commonly referred to as anti-conversion laws, were in force in 12 Indian states and stated that, in practice, these laws target religious minorities.

The forum cited an analysis by Article 14 of FIRs registered under conversion laws in Uttar Pradesh, stating that many were based on third-party complaints. It also referred to recent incidents in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh involving arrests, demolitions, and cases registered during prayer gatherings and Christmas celebrations.

Expressing concern over the proposed bandh, UCF urged the Union Home Minister to immediately cancel the Chhattisgarh Bandh called against the Christian community, stating that immediate intervention was required to safeguard constitutional rights, dignity, and social harmony.

By Catholic Connect Reporter