The mobs of Hindu nationalists prowled the streets, yelling: “Take revenge and slaughter the Christians!”

A week before Christmas, on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, a wave of attacks began against Christian converts among India’s indigenous population in Chhattisgarh, one of the most remote and poor states in India. Angry villagers beat Christians, ransacked churches and forced hundreds of Christians to flee from their homes.

While sporadic attacks against Christians have occurred for decades, the recent violence is unprecedented in its scale and organization. The Hindu nationalists are led by a group calling itself the Janjati Suraksha Manch, who have used the attacks against Christians as a rallying cry to mobilise Hindu voters. But also outside of Chhattisgarh, violence against Christians
have flared up across India, with churches in Mumbai and Korean missionaries in Uttar Pradesh being attacked in January.

Militias affiliated with the influential Hindu nationalist organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have targeted Muslim communities across India in recent years. Now, mobs in Chhattisgarh state, one of the most remote and poor regions, offer a preview of rising hatred against an even more vulnerable
minority in India: Christians.