Christians protest against attacks in India.

Thousands of Christians were joined by Hindus and Muslims on April 12  in India’s financial capital Mumbai to protest against increasing violence against Christians and their places of worship.

The protest rally of 7,000-8,000 people comprising a federation of 80 Christian NGOs under the banner of Samast Christi Samaj (All Christian Community) submitted a memorandum, listing 20 demands, to Eknath Shinde, chief minister of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital.

“There are continued waves of hate speech and targeted violence against religious leaders, desecration of places of worship, disruption of prayer services and restrictions on religious gatherings, and false accusations of forced and fraudulent religious conversions,” the memorandum said.