Christmas 2025, traditionally a season of worship, prayer, carol singing, and communal celebration across India, has been overshadowed by intimidation, harassment, and targeted violence against Christians.
Across Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and other central and northern states, congregations have faced disruption of prayer meetings, physical assaults on carol singers, and arrests on allegations of religious conversion. These incidents are not isolated expressions of communal tension—they are symptomatic of a systematic effort to criminalise religious expression and intimidate minority communities at a time of sacred observance.
In several states, Christmas celebrations have been marred by violent disruptions. In Chhattisgarh’s Raipur, right-wing activists stormed a mall on Christmas Day, vandalising Christmas decorations and questioning people’s religion and caste—despite the mall being closed in support of a bandh called over unrelated violence in Kanker district. Videos and eyewitness accounts show mobs using rods and sticks, causing property damage running into lakhs of rupees and terrifying vendors and visitors alike.
In Nagaur, Rajasthan, right-wing activists entered a school’s Christmas celebration, overturned furniture, vandalised decorations, and assaulted staff under the pretext of alleged religious conversion. In Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, members of the Bajrang Dal protested outside a cathedral on Christmas Eve and recited the Hanuman Chalisa while demanding action against organisers for “hurting religious sentiments.” In Hisar, Haryana, a Bajrang Dal-linked event involving Hindu rituals and chants was held directly opposite a church, creating a climate of intimidation that reduced church attendance and disrupted worship.
In Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur, a video surfaced of a visually impaired woman being manhandled by a local BJP functionary after entering a church for Christmas festivities; she later said that celebrating Christmas did not mean she had changed her religion, challenging the presumption that religious celebration equates to “conversion.”
Reports from Christian advocacy groups and civil liberties organisations show that such incidents are far from sporadic. Between January and July 2025, 334 verified cases of targeted attacks against Christians were documented across 22 states, with Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh alone accounting for more than half of them. Many of these involved threats, legal harassment, and mob violence under the guise of anti-conversion laws that are in force in a dozen states.
The misuse of anti-conversion legislation—laws that purport to prohibit religious conversion by force, fraud, or inducement—has become a primary weapon of intimidation. In Uttar Pradesh alone, at least 82 Christians are estimated to be in detention this Christmas under such laws, with prayer meetings and festive gatherings disrupted and participants arrested on vague accusations.
What does it mean for a festival rooted in joy to become a battleground for ideological contestation? For many Christians, Christmas has transformed from a time of communal warmth to an occasion of fear and uncertainty. School celebrations have been cancelled, carol groups disrupted, and vendors selling Christmas items threatened or harassed. These are not merely law-and-order problems; they reflect a broader climate in which minority religious expression is viewed with suspicion and hostility rather than respect and inclusion.
Political reactions to these developments have been starkly divided. Opposition leaders, including senior figures from the Congress and regional parties, have criticised the central government for what they describe as a failure to protect minority communities and uphold India’s secular ethos. Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister condemned the violence and urged decisive action to curb divisive elements, while the Trinamool Congress highlighted the apparent contradiction between official messages of harmony and the lived experiences of Christians during the season. Defenders of the government argue that isolated incidents do not reflect broader policy and that law enforcement is responding appropriately where required.
The crisis of Christmas 2025 is not just about disrupted celebrations; it is about the lived reality of constitutional freedoms in a diverse republic. When worship becomes contentious, when festivals invite suspicion, and when citizens fear harassment for practising their faith, the foundational promise of India’s constitutional democracy is called into question.
As the season of peace and goodwill draws to a close, India must confront not just the visible violence but the underlying political and social currents that make such violence possible. Protecting the right to worship freely, upholding the rule of law without prejudice, and ensuring that every citizen can celebrate their faith without fear are not only constitutional imperatives—they are the moral bedrock of a plural and democratic society. Only by reaffirming these principles can India ensure that the next Christmas, and every festival beyond it, is truly a time of unity and joy for all its people.
Ranjan Solomon is a commentator on rights and freedoms. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.