Many press articles attest to the reality of the anti-Christian attacks.

India’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to provide details of attacks on Christians in eight states.

In the September 1 hearing, Supreme Court Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to verify allegations of attacks against Christians in 8 states in India: Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Indian authorities have 2 months to provide information on the actions taken to respond to this incident.

A petition was filed in March

Peter Machado, Archbishop of Bangalore, together with the India National Solidarity Forum and Evangelical Fellowship of India filed the petition in March. Their goal: to end violent attacks against Christians, which have risen sharply in recent years. According to the United Christian Forum, 2021 was the worst year for Indian Christians, with more than 500 attacks. The court order, the court said, sought to establish the facts after the government in an affidavit denounced reports of an alleged increase in attacks as baseless and ‘self-serving’ against Christians.

In the face of denial, upholding the truth

“Given the government’s complete denial of the increasing attacks on Christians in India, the Supreme Court order for further verification is a positive step. It is critical to the outcome of the case that the authorities provide truthful and correct information within the time allowed,” an Open Doors official commented. He determined:

“This will prove that these attacks are not limited to a few individuals, but are aimed at the entire Christian community.”

AC Michael of the United Christian Forum, one of the petitioners, told Catholic news site UCAN that he was “satisfied” with the Supreme Court’s order. “We have submitted complete documents related to each case to the high court,” he said.

The next hearing is scheduled for December 6.