More than 80 incidents of violent attacks, hate speeches, and tensions were reported during the Christmas week across several states of India, putting holiday celebrations under a cloud of fear and hostility.

Most of the incidents have been linked to groups affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other right-wing Hindu organizations, most notably the Bajrang Dal, a militant wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and others.

Reports of attacks, intimidation, and disruptions targeting Christian gatherings, schools, and decorations surfaced from several states, including Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand, New Delhi, and Kerala.

The VHP publicly urged Hindus to avoid participating in Christmas events, describing such engagement as a threat to “cultural awareness.” Critics argue that these appeals have fueled a sense of exclusion and emboldened fringe elements to harass vendors and disrupt Christian festivities nationwide.

While the blatant attacks and hate speeches blazed across the country, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who heads the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), calmly attended two Christmas events. One was a Christmas Mass in a prominent New Delhi church, and the other a luncheon hosted by Roman Catholic priests.

Modi drew criticism, saying that he has not taken any concrete steps to end the spate of violence against Christians, but quietly attended Christmas celebrations.

Many of these violent incidents, which turned Christmas celebrations into horror stories, were not reported to the police by the victims but have received wide coverage in national and international media and have gone viral on social media.

However, the authorities where these incidents occurred made little effort to curb them or warn the perpetrators.

In the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur, Christmas decorations at a shopping mall were vandalized by a mob of nearly 90 men believed to be Hindu nationalists.

On Christmas Eve, an umbrella body of tribal and social organizations known as the “Sarva Samaj” called for a statewide shutdown of Chhattisgarh. The organization demanded strict action against “illegal conversions.”

This jeopardized many people’s Christmas shopping. Shop owners were upset at the possibility of losing business.

In the southern state of Kerala, considered safe for Christians, a group of children taking part in a Christmas carol procession was attacked. Their instruments were destroyed by a man reportedly associated with the RSS, The News Minute reported.

Kerala BJP state leader C. Krishnakumar dismissed the Kerala attack by labelling the minors as a “drunken criminal gang” and suggesting political motives behind their caroling.

In one widely shared video from the eastern state of Odisha, a group of Hindu men is seen harassing roadside vendors selling Santa hats.

The men claimed the sale of “Christian items” was not allowed as India is a “Hindu rashtra” (Hindu state), which excludes Muslim and Christian minorities.

In another central Indian state, Madhya Pradesh, right-wing vigilante groups attacked churches, leading to violent confrontations.

A group led by a regional leader within the BJP was also filmed storming into a church in the city of Jabalpur, again in Madhya Pradesh, and assaulting a visually impaired woman.

In the Hindu pilgrimage town of Haridwar in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, a government-run hotel, UP Tourism, was forced to cancel its “Experience Christmas” event scheduled for Dec. 24. The cancellation came after priests from the Ganga Sabha alongside other Hindu groups protested, claiming that celebrating Christmas near the holy river of Ganges was “anti-Hindu” and against local traditions.

In the Northeastern state of Assam, a mob affiliated with the Bajrang Dal and VHP stormed St. Mary’s English School in Nalbari. They burned the school’s nativity scene and destroyed Christmas decorations, leading to the arrest of four district-level leaders.

In the town of Bareilly, in Uttar Pradesh, groups gathered outside a cathedral to protest the Christmas prayers, alleging that the gathering was a cover for conversions. Amid a police presence, the group recited Hindu chants and slogans.

Religious and political leaders condemned these incidents, urging authorities to safeguard the constitutional right to freedom of religion.

Rajdeep Sardesai, a noted television journalist, condemned the attacks on prime time, saying the attacks on Christian groups in different parts of the country, particularly in tribal parts, being browbeaten, threatened, and even assaulted by self-styled Hindu vigilante groups, reveal what the normalization of the hateful propaganda can do to a civil society.

“Christmas is a festival of joy celebrated across the world and in India with good cheer. To then target a minority in this country with such impunity exposes the mindset that to me is bigoted and anti-constitutional,” he said.

He also called out the police authorities, whom he said are, in many cases, complicit bystanders.

“Rather than acting sternly against them, their political patrons in power today simply look the other way or worse still seem to endorse this wild behavior,” Sardesai said. “Make no mistake, these goons are a national and global shame and embarrassment to the idea of this great country as a plural, inclusive society.”

Indian National Congress Parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor expressed “deep concern over the rising fear and anxiety among Christians in India.”

“Sadly, there are attacks on Christians in different places of the country,” he stated on X. “Even in Kerala, there was an attack on a carol singing group in Palakkad, which is truly shocking.”

Kerala Chief Minister M. Pinarayi Vijayan said, “There were also reports of pressure and threats from RSS-affiliated organizations against celebrating Christmas. The rise of such forces in Kerala is a matter of serious concern. Any encroachment on the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution cannot be accepted.”

Spokesperson of the Bombay Catholic Sabha, Dolphy D’Souza, said, “Attacks (on Christians) are not isolated law-and-order issues. They strike at the heart of our Constitution — at the freedom of conscience, the right to profess and practice religion, and the right to worship without fear.”

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