After Muslims, the Christian community of India is now under attack by the Hindutva right-wing groups in India.
On a daily basis, the report of attacks on Christians is pouring in from various parts of the country.
The attacks are rooted in the baseless claim of the extremist Hindu nationalist groups that Christians are fuelling conversions of Hindus by luring people by means of cash payments, foreign trips, and medical assistance.
The continuous increase in violence committed against Christians by Hindutva groups has largely been unnoticed in the media.
On 21 October, the Association for the Protection of Civil Rights, United Against Hate, and United Christian Forum jointly released a fact-finding report highlighting the series of attacks on churches and hate speech against Christians across India.
The report records at least 305 incidents of violence against Christians in the first nine months of 2021, but only 30 FIRs have been registered so far in these cases. The report mentions that September alone recorded 69 such incidents, followed by 50 in August, 37 in January, 33 in July, 27 each in March, April, and June, 20 in February, and 15 in May.
Clearly, targeted violence and hate crimes against the Christian community is a rapidly rising trend that must be taken into cognizance and nipped in the bud before it spreads even further.