India: 400 violent attacks on Christians in first half of 2023
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A new study published by the United Christian Forum (UCF) shows there were 400 violent attacks on Christians in India in the first half of this year alone, the Christian Post reports. Documenting a surge in violence against Christians in India, the study shows the month of June saw an average of three attacks per day.
According to the UCF report, attackers are emboldened to assault Christians because they are allowed to do so with “impunity,” CP reports. India has been ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014, and now ranks 11th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted; prior to the BJP’s taking power, India had ranked 31st on the list.
The UCF report attests that mobs of Hindu extremists “criminally threaten, physically assault people in prayer, before handing them over to the police on allegations of forcible conversions.”
In its report the UCF noted that this year’s 400 attacks between January-June represent a marked increase from the 274 incidents reported over the same period last year, CP reports.
The state of Uttar Pradesh had the most attacks this year, with 155 incidents, the UCF report showed. Chhattisgarh followed with 84 cases, Jharkhand with 35, and Haryana with 32, CP reports.
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