An NGO of Catholic scholars and social workers from the Northeast has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to express his “disapproval” of the attacks on the Christian community in the country over the past two years.

The Guwahati-based North East Catholic Research Forum (NECRF), in an eight-page memorandum to Modi, has drawn his attention to the “834 attacks” on the Christian community in 2024 and “706 attacks” between January and November in 2025.

“Additionally, in the lead-up to Christmas and also during Christmas this year, the Christian community suffered much in the hands of the VHP, Bajrang Dal, and other organisations of the Sangh Parivar,” the representation said, listing ten incidents that occurred during this period in states such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Assam and Rajasthan.

One incident from the Northeast featured on the list — on December 24, when “members of the local Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal barged into the campus of St Mary’s School, Panigaon, in Nalbari district (Assam) and destroyed the nativity crib and pulled down other decorations inside the school campus. This violent incident mentally traumatised the handful of Christians in the locality so much that the midnight service had to be cancelled”. Police had arrested five members of the Bajrang Dal and the VHP in connection with the incident.

While appreciating Modi’s outreach to the Christian community, including his attendance at the Christmas service in Delhi, the representation said “these are not stray incidents by nondescript
lumpen elements, but well-planned and systematically executed incidents by organisation(s) who had (no) qualms about naming or identifying the organisation they belonged to”.

The forum added: “We therefore, appeal to you for urgent intervention. We are confident that a word of disapproval from you against such deplorable activities will certainly change this sorry state of affairs. We also appeal to you to kindly direct states to refrain from misusing anti-conversion laws to torment the poor, innocent, and helpless Christian public.”

The forum also noted: “The RSS, which shares a common ideology with your (PM) esteemed party — the Bharatiya Janata Party, has come to our notice for using their front organisations to target Christians, not only to restrict their religious activities, but even services to humanity.”