Members of the People’s Tribunal on Violence Against Christians in India at the public hearing held in India’s national capital, New Delhi, on June 2. (Photo courtesy John Dayal)
A fact-finding team of prominent rights activists and journalists has warned that constitutional guarantees of freedom of conscience, religious liberty and equal citizenship were facing unprecedented challenges in India.
The People’s Tribunal on Violence Against Christians in India, in a statement issued on June 2, said: “When institutions entrusted with protecting constitutional rights fail to act, discrimination becomes normalized and systemic.”
The statement was issued after a public hearing held in the national capital, New Delhi, which marked the culmination of a wider investigation that included field visits and public hearings by the tribunal members in Chhattisgarh in central India and Odisha in eastern India in April-May this year.
“The tribunal met hundreds of individuals from affected communities, particularly among Adivasi and Dalit Christians, documenting incidents of violence, social boycott, displacement and denial of constitutional rights,” its member John Dayal, a veteran journalist and activist, told UCA News on June 2.
The other members of the tribunal included human rights advocate Harsh Mandar, historian Tanika Sarkar, senior journalist Pamela Philipose and activist Vidya Dinkar.
“Survivors alleged instances where police failed to protect victims, delayed investigations, registered cases against those who had been attacked, or encouraged informal settlements rather than legal action,” the statement said.
It further raised concerns that judicial and legislative developments in recent decades had often failed to provide adequate protection to vulnerable minorities in India.
Mander said the incidents documented before the tribunal could not be dismissed as isolated acts of prejudice or spontaneous expressions of hostility.
“Rather, they revealed a systematic pattern of exclusion that threatened the constitutional promise of equal citizenship and eroded fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Indian Constitution,” he said.
Sarkar warned against the normalization of majoritarian intolerance and the shrinking space for religious freedom and democratic citizenship.
The tribunal also screened a documentary on the growing violence against Christians in Madhya Pradesh state in central India.
Produced by Karwan-e-Mohabbat (Caravan of Love), a people’s campaign to uphold the universal values of the constitution, it was filmed during the fact-finding mission in May across six districts — Jhabua, Burhanpur, Indore, Dhar, Khandwa and Sehore.
The film documents first-hand accounts of attacks on churches and prayer meetings, intimidation of pastors and worshippers, arrests under anti-conversion laws, social ostracization, denial of burial rights, and the pervasive climate of fear affecting Christian communities.
Evidence presented before the panel “detailed the alleged role of Hindutva organizations as well as the response of political leaders, police and judicial institutions,” the statement noted.
Survivors shared emotional accounts of intimidation, isolation and economic hardship, while emphasizing their determination to continue practicing their faith peacefully despite ongoing challenges, it added.
Chhattisgarh and Odisha have witnessed some of India’s worst anti-Christian violence in recent decades, Christian rights groups say.
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