Minorities Aren’t Safe in India: Khan Family Flees Village After Son’s Lynching; Christmas Vandalism Adds to Fear

New Delhi, December 27, 2025 – As India grapples with a surge in targeted violence against religious minorities, the festive season has been overshadowed by widespread reports of vandalism during Christmas celebrations and brutal communal attacks, raising alarms about the erosion of secular protections and communal harmony.

In a stark illustration of fragility, the Khan family—one of just four Muslim households in a Maharashtra village of over 600 Hindu homes—has fled after five generations of coexistence. Their 20-year-old son, Suleman Rahim Khan, was lynched on August 11 in Jalgaon district. Dragged from a café near a police station, he was beaten to death by a mob of 10-15 men, including childhood friends, amid communal slurs. Eight suspects linked to Hindutva groups like Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan and Bajrang Dal were arrested on murder charges, though four secured bail by November amid allegations of investigative bias. Last month, as neighbors watched in silence, the family loaded their belongings and left forever, ending 150 years of shared village life once hailed as an "oasis of communal harmony."

This incident underscores broader patterns of vulnerability for Muslims, with monitoring groups reporting hundreds of communal attacks in 2025, often involving lynchings tied to perceived interfaith interactions.

Compounding these concerns, Christmas 2025 was marred by an "alarming rise" in attacks on Christians across multiple states. Groups affiliated with Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and other Hindutva organizations vandalized decorations, disrupted carol singing, and harassed worshippers from Kerala to Assam.

In Chhattisgarh's Raipur, a mob stormed Magneto Mall, smashing Christmas trees, nativity scenes, and a Santa Claus figure while raising slogans. In Assam's Nalbari, four VHP-Bajrang Dal members were arrested for torching festive items at St. Mary's School and shops. Madhya Pradesh saw a BJP district vice-president allegedly assault a visually impaired woman at a church prayer, alongside mob intrusions chanting "Jai Shri Ram." Similar disruptions hit Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Delhi, with protests outside churches and threats to vendors selling Christmas goods.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) condemned the incidents as undermining constitutional guarantees of religious freedom, noting over 700 anti-Christian attacks recorded in 2025 by groups like the United Christian Forum—up sharply from prior years.

Opposition leaders, including Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, described the violence as "an assault on all Indians," warning of a "national trend of intolerance" fostering fear even in traditionally harmonious states like Kerala. Human rights monitors, including the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, have flagged persistent discrimination against minorities, urging global scrutiny.

While arrests have been made in some cases, critics point to perceived impunity, slow justice, and state-level anti-conversion laws often weaponized against minorities. As 2025 ends, these events fuel debates over India's secular fabric, with calls for stronger protections amid fears that unchecked vigilantism is making minorities increasingly unsafe.