PM Narendra Modi attended a mass at the Cathedral Church of the Redemption, where Christians from northern India gathered in Delhi on Christmas. He prayed that the festival of joy inspire 'harmony' and 'goodwill' in society. His message comes at a time of rising targeted attacks on the Christian community, especially in the festive season. These Hindutva groups disrupted Christmas celebrations across several states, including Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala.
Hate crimes have steeply risen against Christians since 2014. The United Christian Forum (UCF) wrote an urgent letter to Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his intervention to restore justice and protect constitutional rights. UCF also reported that such cases rose from 127 to 834 in 2024. The attacks are rooted in false claims of forceful religious conversions by the Sangh parivar.