Indian Christians across the country are protesting today to highlight growing violence against them.
The peaceful rally has been organised by the National Christian Front (NCF) and hopes to draw attention to the issue, along with partners the All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) and Bharat Mukti Morcha.
They have also sent a letter to Christian leaders nationwide, urging them to stand united against violence.
The protests are in response to the country's anti-conversion laws, which are state-level rules intended to prevent people from being forcibly converted from one religion to another. However, despite freedom of religion existing in the country, the anti-conversion laws are often used by mobs to target Christian and other minority communities as well.
Many of those groups will be at the protests today, including the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
Protesters hope that bringing different groups together will alert the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that Christians are united against the increasing violence they face.
A statement from NCF, reported by International Christian Concern, said:
“Our Christian brothers and sisters are enduring brutal attacks and growing intolerance from anti-social elements. This is not merely a Christian issue it is a grave concern for humanity, for peace, and for the values enshrined in our Constitution.”
Anti-conversion laws in India date back to the 1930s but gained momentum post-independence, with the state of Odisha enacting the first in 1967. They aim to prevent conversions by "force, fraud, or inducement" and exist in twelve Indian states. But critics argue they’re used to harass Christians and suppress religious freedom more generally.
As of 2021, Christians make up about 2.3% of India's population (approximately 28 million people), with communities concentrated in Kerala, Goa, the north-east and parts of central India.