Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Christmas morning service at the Cathedral Church of the Redemption in New Delhi on 25 December, 2025. The Cathedral was built in 1930 near the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Indian Parliament house. It is considered as the prominent places of worship in the capital. This marked as the second occasion when Prime Minister Modi attended the service in a church, first time being two years ago at the Sacred Heart Cathedral at Gole Market in Delhi.
In his remarks, Modi stated that the service reflected the timeless message of love, peace and compassion and expressed that the hope of the spirit of Christmas may inspire harmony and goodwill in the society. Earlier, he conveyed the Christmas greetings through X on Christmas, saying that the teachings of Jesus Christ strengthen harmony.
Christmas related events across the nation have always underscored the Indian religious diversity. At the 307-year-old St. Thomas Cathedral in Bandra, Mumbai, the Wild Voices Choir India began the Christmas choral evening with a rendition of the National Anthem following the traditional carols. This was widely shared on social media and was received as a harmonious blend of patriotism and festive observation.
The video, shared by photographer Malcolm Stephens on social media drew user comments praising this gesture.
In Meghalaya, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma made an unannounced visit to Tura market on the Christmas day, ditching protocol while interacting with the residents and providing assistance to the specially-abled individuals. This visit was widely noted with the emphasis on the compassion and community engagement during this festive season. (https://www.facebook.com/reel/1631482791504184).
However, there have also been media reports about sections of Christian community expressing concerns to their safety and freedom of worship. Media had also highlighted incidents of intimidation and disruption of religious activities in various parts of India. According to Data collected by United Christian forum, such incidents have increased in the country.
According to other reports, the PM’s visit to the Cathedral Church of the Redemption would send the right message to the society.
Several commentators have drawn attention to policy decision and symbolic gestures such as the 25th December being marked as the “Good Governance Day” and 26th December as the “Veer Bal Diwas”.
These measures have received a wide range of perspectives from several journalists and columnists. While some appreciated the high profile inter faith gestures from political leaders, others have pointed that these events often coincide with electoral cycles, regional sensitivities, or international considerations. As a result, symbolic acts are frequently read through multiple lenses — cultural, political and strategic.
Critics contend that symbolic visits must be evaluated simultaneously with the developments on the ground. Media reports have highlighted incidents of disruption or intimidation surrounding Christmas celebrations in various states, as well as statements by civil society groups documenting a rise in reported cases of violence or harassment against Christians over the past decade. For these commentators, the Prime Minister’s visit, does not by itself address concerns related to safety, freedom of worship, and consistent law enforcement.
It is certain that political context plays a role in how such gestures are interpreted.
At the same time, broader debates on development, land use, environmental protection, and local governance intersect with questions of community relations. Protests related to mining, forest land, and infrastructure projects in several states illustrate that concerns about rights and security extend beyond religious identity alone.
An article published in Tribune India “When the PM went to Church, The Vishwa Hindu Parishad held a ‘havan’ on Dec 25 in front of St Thomas Church in Hisar”
(https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/when-the-pm-went-to-church/), highlights the contrast and disparities in regards to the PM’s visit.
The article stated the following points:
- While the PM was attending the service at the Cathedral Church of the Redemption in New Delhi on December 25, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) performed Tulsi Pujan in front of the 160-year-old St. Thomas Church in Hisar, which was built in 1864. (It is also imperative to mention Tulsi Pujan Diwas is also commemorated on 25th December).
- In early 2025, the United Christian Forum released a statement saying it had recorded 834 acts of violence and intimidation against Christians in India in 2024, up from 127 incidents in 2014.
- On Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birthday in 2014, the Modi government had announced that December 25th would henceforth be called “Good Governance Day,” and that Christmas would no longer be a national holiday.
- In the same vein, December 26 has been named “Veer Bal Diwas” by the current Government, whereas the Akal Takht believes the name should be “Sahibzade Shahadat Diwas” denoting the two youngest sons of Guru Gobind Singh were bricked alive by the cruel Aurangzeb’s cruellest satrap Wazir Khan in Sirhind on this day in 1704. Sikh MPs have been told to raise the matter with the Centre, and a meeting of the Sikh clergy is being called.
- Modi had first called for the observance of “Veer Bal Diwas” on January 9, 2022, which is the “prakash purb” or birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh — mere six weeks after the Centre was forced to withdraw Punjab’s farm laws on November 21, 2021. All this is aimed at the Punjab Assembly elections scheduled 14 months from now.
Additionally, a senior journalist and columnist AJ Phillip taking to Facebook tried to highlight the growing concern for Christian community, posting that he had received several messages wishing him “Safe Christmas”, rather than the Happy or Merry Christmas. (https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10163819353604445&id=777744444&post_id=777744444_10163819353604445)
He further added:
- Akbar’s welcome of the Jesuit priests at his court in Fatehpur Sikri in 1580, engaging them in theological dialogue and cultural exchange.
- Phillip’s next-door non-Christian senior secondary school celebrated Christmas with aplomb every year, but not in the past year.
- Statement from a VHP leader asking business establishments to cease decorating shops for Christmas because it was “not an indigenous celebration”. By that logic, neither trousers nor neckties should be worn, and no one should drink tea or coffee.
- Reports from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha were mentioned indicating radical vigilantes storming churches, tearing down decorations, disrupting prayer services, and preventing roadside vendors from selling Christmas caps and Santa Claus masks.
- In Madhya Pradesh, a hefty district BJP woman vice-president was filmed physically attacking a visually challenged girl sitting quietly outside a church.
- In another video, two dozen men barged into a church, shouting Hanuman Chalisa loudly to disrupt the service.
- In one church, a “ferocious” man with a long tilak on his forehead questioned the priest on immaculate conception; how a certain King had four famous sons.
- Contrarily, PM Modi attended the Christmas service at the Cathedral Church of the Redemption, with visuals beamed into millions of homes in India and abroad.
- A Prime Minister’s visit to a church is welcome but not mandatory. What is mandatory is ensuring that Christians can celebrate Christmas without fear. That is Raj Dharma, about which Atal Bihari Vajpayee once lectured Modi in the aftermath of the Gujarat riots.
- If the PM wished to not speak directly, he could have requested his Sancho Panza to issue clear instructions and arrest of those desecrating churches.
- The world is watching. It cannot be fooled by symbolic church visits while stormtroopers terrorise minorities.
- Christians in India are not asking for privileges, but protection under the law; their churches not vandalised, prayers not interrupted, their women not assaulted, and their children not terrorised in the name of culture.
- A Prime Minister doesn’t need to enter a church to prove his commitment – he proves it when the weakest citizen feels safe enough to pray without fear.
The VHP (founded in 1964), member of Sangh Parivar, formed and led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is the ideological parent of the BJP. The VHP has been associated with violence against minorities, namely Christians and Muslims. With the RSS and BJP inexorably linked, it provides the ‘muscle’ for both albeit operating under the Dharma Sansad. The main objective of VHP is "to organise, consolidate the Hindu society and to serve, protect the Hindu Dharma", but violence potential of the VHP, combined with the Bajrang Dal (associate arm of VHP) enables the BJP to practice a dual policy; the Indian version of Mutt and Jeff to consolidate power with the focus on elections.
The BJP-led government has come into spotlight as some have criticized or blamed the current government for eyeing lands associated with Churches, similar to the already grabbed defence lands.
But the bogey that the Christians will carve out a separate state in India’s northeast (with American help?) is truly laughable, given the size of Indian Armed Forces and a radical Islamist government in Bangladesh with calls to integrate the seven northeastern states of India into Bangladesh.
Given the official figures of Christians hovering around 2.3% of India’s population as of 2025, if Christians can still establish a separate state in northeast India, then our union ministers should be hiding in shame under their chairs in the Parliament, not thumping tables and shouting about taking back Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK) and Aksai Chin.
One example of the government’s dual-faced policy is its approach towards Mahatma Gandhi. The social media has been full of choicest expletives for him for favouring Muslims, the reason behind formation of Pakistan, sleeping with women and the like. Both Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have said on multiple occasions that Sardar Patel, not Nehru, should have been India's first prime minister, accusing Gandhi of the machinations. All this while Modi has been paying floral tributes at Rajghat with cameras covering every angle.
However, a distinct change is visible now: in a March 2025 statement, Modi praised Gandhi for transforming India's freedom struggle into a mass movement (Jan Andolan) by harnessing public power (Jan Shakti). Modi stated he follows a similar approach, ensuring public participation (Jan Bhagidari) in government initiatives to create modern mass movements: in July 2024, Modi mentioned that Gandhi had praised the song "Vande Mataram" in 1905, highlighting its emotional force during the Swadeshi movement; on October 2, 2025, Modi lauded Gandhi’s ideals as "timeless" and guiding principles for building a "Viksit Bharat" (Developed India), emphasizing Gandhi's demonstration of "how courage and simplicity could become instruments of great change," along with a belief in the "power of service and compassion".
The above change is because elections are expected to be held in Gujarat in December 2027 to elect all 182 members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. For the same reason the BJP is sponsoring 15 army veterans to walk the 400-km commencing January 3, 2026; the Dandi March Mahatma Gandhi undertook (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/follow-in-bapus-footsteps-15-ex-armymen-to-replicate-dandi-march/articleshow/126206715.cms), as disclosed by a RSS member.
Modi’s outreach to minorities is not limited to Christians alone. He has visited mosques during his foreign visits in Brunei, Egypt, Indonesia, Oman, Singapore and the UAE. In India, in September 2018, he visited the Saifee Mosque in Indore and met the then spiritual head of the Dawoodi Bohra community. With the Kerala Legislative Assembly elections to elect 140 members expected to be held in April 2026, Modi now plans to visit Kerala’s Cheraman Juma Masjid. Earlier, when the calls went wild to bring down the Shrine of Mu'in al-Din Chishti, also known as the Ajmer Dargah Shareef, which could have caused political upheaval in Rajasthan, Modi sent Union Minister Kirin Rijiju to offer a chadar at the dargah on the 84th Urs of Khwaja Mu'in al-Din Chishti, which began on December 22, 2025. Rijiju was again dispatched to offer a chadar at the Ajmer Dargah Sharif. (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSkPO68k5wQ/).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is the only safe place for Christians in the Middle East (https://www.facebook.com/reel/884356070993267), Given the strong India-Israel bonds, Israel has not said anything about the violence against Christians in India. But Israel has approved immigration of 5,800 members of the Bnei Menashe community from India's northeast, including Manipur and Mizoram, by 2030. The politico-corporate nexus is sparing none in Central India and Ladakh, mining operations included. Chhattisgarh recently witnessed massive protests against coal mining, with a concocted public hearing (https://www.facebook.com/reel/869229462469803). The mafia is now focused on Aravali Hills, with over 1,230 mining leases already issued in Rajasthan alone, and every possibility of issuing more backdated or fresh leases – damn the environment. In BJP-ruled Goa, some 1,000 residents are protesting against 3,00,000 square metre forest land grab, that threatens their village (https://www.heraldgoa.in/goa/our-hills-are-not-for-sale-arambol-lights-torches-against-forest-land-development/458663/#google_vignette). Do these villagers stand any chance against the powerful land mafia?
While the United Christian Forum had reported 834 acts of violence and intimidation against Christians in India during 2024, the Kerala Catholic Daily reports 734 incidents in 2025, as up to November 2025 (https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1322690036566313&id=100064759867007&post_id=100064759867007_1322690036566313&rdid=JHL8H5BH6OExh6XL#). The incidents of intimidation and violence against Christians during December 2025 would need to be added to get a full picture of 2025. A noted strategist and economist observed on Facebook that Modi’s visit to the Cathedral Church of the Redemption was a signal to the US. But Donald Trump is watching, and tariffs apart, he will try harder to destabilize India.
The author is an Indian Army veteran. Views expressed are personal.
