WHEN THE RULERS LOOK AWAY: THE RSS, THE BJP AND THE WAR ON INDIA’S CHRISTIANS

June 20, 2026

News graphic from WE News English showing men on the roof of a church painted with a red cross, raising a saffron flag, headlined “India’s RSS Activists Continue Attacks on Christian Minorities”

A report and a call to stand firm, based on January 2026 news

The year 2026 began in India with Christians being beaten, accused and arrested, while the people responsible were rarely held to account. This is what was reported in January, and what it means for the church.

What happened in January 2026

Carolers beaten with stones. A mob of Hindu nationalists attacked Christmas carolers in Nalthur village in Telangana on December 21, 2025, pulling Pastor Simon to the ground and beating him unconscious with stones. The mob claimed the Christians were carrying out conversion work as part of their Christmas celebration, and many independent and house churches stopped caroling out of fear. (International Christian Concern)

An evangelism bus smashed. In Andhra Pradesh, a minibus carrying a Christian evangelism team was attacked near the village of Korrakudu. A video that spread online showed the attackers beating the Christians, shouting slogans of Hindu gods and smashing the vehicle with stones and rods. (International Christian Concern)

Christmas under fear. Open Doors reported attacks, threats, false accusations and cancelled celebrations in the run-up to Christmas, mostly by Hindutva extremists who disrupted church events. In Lucknow, nearly a thousand Christians were at a cathedral service when a Hindutva group disrupted it with loud religious songs at the entrance. In Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, two pastors and five other Christians were falsely accused of forced conversion. (Open Doors UK & Ireland)

Homes demolished. A U.S. government commission on religious freedom said in early February that January alone saw a series of horrific attacks on Christians, including a Hindu nationalist mob demolishing the homes of four Christian families in Maharashtra after they refused to renounce their faith. (USCIRF)

The numbers behind the stories

The Evangelical Fellowship of India recorded 747 incidents of violence, intimidation and discrimination in 2025, up from 640 in 2024 and more than five times the 147 recorded in 2014. (The Baptist Paper)
As of January 2026, at least 110 Christians remained in jail on charges under anti-conversion laws, after more than 600 were released in 2025 following legal help from faith-based groups. (Christian Solidarity International)
Hate speech events targeting Christians rose from 115 in 2024 to 162 in 2025, an increase of 41 percent. (Al Jazeera)
Open Doors’ local partner reported more than 2,900 incidents of persecution across India between January and November 2025. (Open Doors UK & Ireland)

Different organizations count differently, so the totals don’t match, but all of them show the same direction: it is getting worse each year.

The weapon: anti-conversion laws

As many as 12 states have laws banning conversion by “force, fraud, or allurement,” and the last term is often defined as any form of evangelical persuasion, with attacks on Christians routinely justified as stopping conversions. Others count more states, and the total keeps rising. (AEI)

In practice, the pattern is that a group of vigilantes makes an accusation, and the police act on it. In February, a pastor from Kerala was taken into custody in Uttar Pradesh on a complaint filed by Bajrang Dal members, and another report noted that police in Maharashtra arrested a CSI reverend, his wife and relatives during a Christmas prayer meeting after complaints from Bajrang Dal activists. An activist told AsiaNews that 75 Christians, including pastors, were in prison in Uttar Pradesh on false conversion charges. (AsiaNews)

This has only deepened since January. In June 2026, seven pastors in Madhya Pradesh were convicted under the state’s anti-conversion law and given the maximum five-year sentence, after being arrested at a child’s birthday party. The group confirmed it was a purely social gathering. (Barnabas Aid)

How the RSS and Bajrang Dal hold power indirectly

Many people ask how a group with no seats in parliament can shape the lives of millions. The answer lies in how the movement is built.

One family of organizations. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is the parent body of what is called the Sangh Parivar. Its affiliates include the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the VHP’s youth wing the Bajrang Dal, and the BJP. The RSS does not run for election, but it trains cadres, shapes ideology and supplies people to its affiliates. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself came up through the RSS as a full-time worker. So the party in government and the street-level groups share the same movement, the same worldview and many of the same people.

An ideology that names Christians as outsiders. Al Jazeera notes that early Hindu nationalist thinkers such as Savarkar and Golwalkar, whom Modi has publicly honored, called minorities like Christians and Muslims “internal enemies” and presented them as foreign threats. That idea is what the foot soldiers act on. (Al Jazeera)

Street power without government responsibility. The Bajrang Dal can disrupt a worship service, beat a pastor or file a police complaint, and the movement’s political wing does not have to be seen giving the order. One analyst told Al Jazeera that the foot soldiers have grown bolder with the party’s return to power, and that the attacks help the BJP consolidate its base among tribal and Dalit communities where missionaries work. (Al Jazeera)

Impunity. In the Andhra Pradesh case above, police filed a case against 30 to 40 unidentified attackers in one reported incident but arrested only six. When the attackers face few consequences and the victims face arrest, the message to the vigilantes is clear. (Al Jazeera)

An honest caveat. There is no public proof that RSS or BJP leadership directly orders these attacks, and both deny encouraging violence. What Christian groups, human rights bodies and many observers say is that the movement’s ideology, its affiliates’ conduct and the government’s failure to protect minorities together create the conditions for the violence. That is why this post speaks of power being used indirectly, and it is a serious charge on its own.

The response of governments abroad

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has urged the State Department to designate India a Country of Particular Concern for systematic, ongoing and egregious religious freedom violations. India rejects this kind of criticism and calls it interference. But the record is public, and it is not only Christians who are saying it. (USCIRF)

Church, stand firm

If you are a believer in India, you are not facing something new, and you are not alone. Scripture prepared us for this.

Expect it. Jesus said:

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” (Matthew 5:10-11)

“If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:20)

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” (1 Peter 4:12)

Do not be afraid.

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Romans 8:35, 37)

Keep gathering and keep praying.

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another.” (Hebrews 10:25)

“And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word.” (Acts 4:29)

The early church did not pray for the threats to end. They prayed for boldness.

Stand.

“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” (1 Corinthians 16:13)

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood.” (Ephesians 6:11-12)

Our fight is not with Hindu people, and our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Many Hindus have protected their Christian neighbors, and many oppose the violence. Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44), and that includes the men who raise a hand against us.

Remember how this story ends.

“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10)

Churches in Kandhamal were burned in 2008, yet local Christian leaders report that there are twice as many churches there now as in 2008. The church in India has been through fire before, and it has not died. (International Christian Concern)

Practical steps

Document everything. Write down dates, names, places, and keep photos, videos and medical records.
Report it. The United Christian Forum runs a toll-free helpline, 1-800-208-4545, that you can call for legal guidance. (Catholic Connect)
Don’t go alone. Tell your church leaders, and don’t confront a mob by yourself.
Support one another. Give toward legal fees, rebuild what is destroyed and care for the families of those in jail.
Pray for those who persecute you, that the Lord would open their eyes.

To those who don’t know Jesus

If you are reading this and you don’t yet know Christ, understand why believers are willing to endure all this: Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again, and He offers forgiveness and eternal life as a gift.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

No law, mob or government can take that from a person who has it.

They can arrest the pastor, burn the Bible and break the church door, but they cannot silence the risen Christ.

Glory to Jesus Christ, the one true and living God.