A mob vandalised Christmas decorations at the Magneto Mall in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, on Wednesday, December 24, raising fresh concerns about attacks on Christians ahead of the festival. Videos circulating on social media show around 80–90 people, reportedly armed with sticks, barging into the mall, threatening employees, and destroying festive installations. Security guards tried to stop them, but the mob reportedly charged at anyone who intervened.
The incident coincided with a call for a state-wide “Chhattisgarh bandh” by the Sarva Hindu Samaj to protest alleged religious conversions. The bandh followed communal tensions in Kanker district, where a Christian burial on December 16 led to clashes and vandalism of a prayer hall. Sarpsanch Rajman Salam had buried his father according to Christian rites on his private land after being denied permission by village elders. Clashes escalated over the next few days, with police deploying barricades that were later breached by armed mobs, according to reports.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed deep concern over the rising attacks on Christmas celebrations nationwide, calling them deeply disturbing and highlighting incidents in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Jharkhand.
Similar attacks were reported across India in the past week. In Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, members of Hindutva groups staged a sit-in outside a church, chanting Hanuman Chalisa and shouting “Jai Shri Ram.” In Assam, Bajrang Dal members destroyed Christmas decorations at St Mary’s School in Nalbari district. In Kerala, an RSS worker was arrested after a children’s Christmas carol group was attacked in Palakkad district. In Uttarakhand’s Haridwar, a state-run hotel cancelled a Christmas event following protests by the Ganga Sabha.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj shared a video from Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar showing men threatening women and children wearing Santa Claus caps. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) condemned the attacks, saying the incidents “gravely undermine India’s constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and the right to live and worship without fear.”
Meanwhile, the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government announced that schools in the state would remain open on Christmas, December 25, to mark the birth centenary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Basic Education Department directed schools to hold speeches, cultural programmes, and remembrance activities honouring Vajpayee, making attendance mandatory for all students.
