DEHLI: Christmas celebrations were violently disrupted in India this week as Modi’s Hindutva mobs targeted Christian festive displays in separate incidents, raising fresh concerns over religious intolerance.
In the capital city of Chhattisgarh, Raipur, a pre-Christmas act of vandalism shocked the community. According to reports, a mob of 30 to 40 masked men, armed with wooden sticks, stormed a shopping mall on Wednesday. They systematically tore down and destroyed Christmas decorations and installations that had been set up for the upcoming festival. The attack occurred during a state-wide bandh (shutdown) called to protest unrelated alleged violence. Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) based on a complaint from mall management, but the perpetrators remain unidentified.
This incident was not isolated. In Assam’s Nalbari district, members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, far-right Hindu nationalist groups, reportedly vandalized a school during its Christmas preparations. The groups damaged and torched festive items and staged protests against the celebrations, as per local media.
Hindutva goons associated with Far-Right organizations vandalized Christmas decorations at Magneto Mall in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. #MerryChristmas2025 #MerryChristmas pic.twitter.com/QsHx1zZ0ZA
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) December 25, 2025
These acts of intimidation arrive amidst a contentious international debate on religious freedom in India. Last month, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended that the State Department designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern.” Its report cited serious violations, including discriminatory policies against minorities and the promotion of a Hindu nationalist agenda by groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its political wing, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The report alleges that the BJP government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has advanced policies aligned with the Hindutva ideology, which marginalizes non-Hindu communities. It also links the RSS to decades of violence against minorities, including Muslims and Sikhs. While the Indian government has consistently rejected such international assessments as biased, the timing of the Christmas attacks adds a disturbing, real-world dimension to these allegations, leaving the Christian community feeling vulnerable during their most important festival.
