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With anti-Christian attacks surging across India, International Christian Concern (ICC) is urging believers worldwide to pray and speak out, warning of a mounting campaign of religious persecution under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.
In a press release obtained by CatholicVote, ICC President Jeff King described a “growing radical Hindu movement that wants to stamp out any and all non-Hindu beliefs” in India — a country once seen as a symbol of religious coexistence.
“We cannot stay silent in the face of this unwarranted persecution,” King said. “The time to speak out is now.”
According to the United Christian Forum, more than 300 attacks on Christians have been reported in the first five months of 2025, averaging over two per day, setting the country on track to exceed record levels of religious violence seen in 2023 and 2024.
The worst-hit states include Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where Christian communities endure “viral hate, brutal mob violence and rampant social ostracization,” according to ICC.
Twelve of India’s 28 states now enforce “anti-conversion laws,” which ICC says are weaponized to target Christians under the pretense of preventing forced conversions. The laws are largely enacted in regions controlled by Modi’s pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Just as Christians are committed to living in peace with all people,” King added, “it is imperative that non-Christians in India recognize that peaceful coexistence pays dividends within communities and for the nation as a whole.”
ICC urges American Christians to pray for India’s embattled believers and to pressure US leaders to hold Modi’s government accountable for violating religious freedom.
