From angry mobs livestreaming their attacks on Christians to laws changing the definition of national citizenship, the many manifestations of religious nationalism in South Asia are working to pressure and eliminate Christianity’s influence throughout the region.
Under growing religious nationalism and Islamic extremism, Christians increasingly face discrimination and violence. Strict blasphemy laws in Pakistan and some Indian states are weaponized against Christians, leading to violence and imprisonment. In South Asian countries, Christian women and girls are vulnerable to forced conversions and marriages. Law enforcement often neglects to protect Christians, emboldening extremist groups. ICC’s 2025 Global Persecution Index featured Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan.
Despite all of this, Christians in South Asia continue to proclaim the gospel of Christ, even to their persecutors. See regional updates and projects below.
Our Efforts
Our Emergency Relief Program supplies immediate aid to Christians who have suffered violence and persecution. Relief packages cover medical expenses, groceries, child support, and living expenses for up to three months.
Amid rising persecution and tightening anti-conversion laws, front line Christian workers urgently need practical tools to stand firm in their calling and respond wisely to hostility. We prepare pastors on how to respond well when they face persecution.
Across rural India, many Christian children face systemic educational barriers, poverty, and marginalization. Our Hope Houses break these cycles by creating safe spaces where children can thrive.
The incubator is a nonprofit initiative to help young Christians build business ideas into real-world startups. Through the incubator, students develop entrepreneurial skills and grow their ideas under experienced mentors.
The Vocational Training Center that ICC partners with provides free, comprehensive training in high-demand fields, empowering students to secure better-paying jobs and creating stronger families and communities.
Read more inspiring testimonies of faith
March 19, 2026 ICC News — The Maharashtra Assembly passed a bill this week to legally regulate religious conversion. Ironically titled the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill 2026, the legislation imposes stringent restrictions on individuals’ rights to...
March 18, 2026 ICC News, Project Highlight — On Jan. 21, 2025, Hindu nationalists attacked Pastor Ishan Prasad and his family during a prayer meeting in their village in India, severely injuring each family member. Following the attack,...
March 16, 2026 ICC News — Twenty-eight Christian families in Chhattisgarh were brutally assaulted on March 10 after demanding justice from government authorities, who have denied them food rations for months. From November 2025 onwards, the...
March 13, 2026 ICC News — By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow Persecution seeks to isolate, weaken, and erase. It destroys farms and businesses, blocks promotions, weaponizes laws, and fuels hostility. Yet across the world, persecuted Christians continue to rebuild....
March 11, 2026 ICC News — By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow Laws and court systems create the framework for economic persecution. Social hostility often carries it out. Even when laws appear neutral, communities can make it clear...
March 11, 2026 ICC News — Christians in Nepal are anxious as they look at the results of the March 5 elections. Yet, many remain hopeful that the new government will value religious freedom and provide...
March 10, 2026 ICC News — By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow Economic persecution rarely operates in isolation. It is sustained, protected, and often legitimized by legal systems. These systems quietly encourage discrimination to continue unchecked. When...
March 9, 2026 ICC News — For centuries, Christian marriage and divorce law in Pakistan has been governed by legislation inherited from the colonial era, with little meaningful reform. The primary law regulating Christian marriages, the...
March 9, 2026 ICC News — On March 5, the Maharashtra government approved a draft anti-conversion bill requiring prior permission from a designated authority for religious conversion. Titled the Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam 2026 (Religious Freedom Act,...
March 9, 2026 ICC Fellows, ICC News — By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow When persecution is discussed, it is usually framed in images of violence: burned churches, imprisoned pastors, mobs chanting in the streets. These images are real, and...
March 5, 2026 ICC News, Project Highlight — On Sunday, Jan. 18, Pastor Jagadish Mishra prepared to lead a worship service at his home in Odisha, India, with his wife and their 8-year-old daughter. With nearly 30 Christians...
March 5, 2026 ICC News — A mob of Hindu nationalists in central India attacked a Christian family after the family refused to deny Christ. The incident occurred on Feb. 26 in the village of Erramangi...
March 3, 2026 ICC News — The government in the North Indian state of Bihar recently announced a plan to review the anti-conversion laws of other states and, if required, implement one in Bihar as well....
February 28, 2026 ICC News — A Christian legislator in Pakistan’s Punjab province has introduced a bill to protect the property of religious minorities, including Christians. Falbous Christopher, serving as a representative in the assembly of...
February 27, 2026 ICC News — In Nialijharan village in Odisha State, India, Jitendra Soren’s family became the third family to convert to Christianity in the last year. When all but the eldest daughter converted, relatives...
February 24, 2026 ICC News — The Supreme Court of India passed an interim order on Feb. 18, restraining the forcible exhumation and relocation of dead tribal Christians’ bodies away from their village burial grounds in...
February 16, 2026 ICC News — The Allahabad High Court (AHC) in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh ruled on Feb. 10 that caste, determined by birth, remains unchanged despite religious conversion or inter-caste marriage....
February 10, 2026 ICC News — Maria Shamoon, a Christian assistant commissioner in Balochistan, Pakistan, was briefly kidnapped during violent attacks conducted by Baloch rebel groups on Jan. 31. The attacks occurred in different parts of...
February 9, 2026 ICC News — The Supreme Court of India, on Feb. 2, issued notices to the government of India and 12 states on a fresh public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the National Council...
February 5, 2026 ICC News — A concerted effort to rewrite, slander, or outright ban the Bible is happening around the globe. Some attacks are fully exposed and out in the open, while others are more...
