Christianity and Christmas celebrations have a century-old history in South Asia. From colonial-era churches to missionary schools, Christians have long been woven into the social fabric of both India and Pakistan. Yet Christmas has increasingly become a stress test for religious freedom in the region, revealing how minorities are treated when faith moves from private spaces into the public square.

In December 2025, the world witnessed two sharply contrasting stories of Christmas celebrations in Pakistan and India. These were not merely seasonal differences but narratives that shaped international perception, diplomatic discussion, and the confidence of Christian communities living under very different political climates on either side of the border.

This Christmas was not only about lights and carols. It became a mirror reflecting where each country is heading on religious freedom, social cohesion, and minority citizenship.

In Pakistan, particularly in Punjab, home to the country’s largest Christian population, Christmas was not simply tolerated. It was performed openly at the level of the state. The most striking image came from Lahore’s Liberty Chowk, where a forty-two-foot Christmas tree and festive installation were erected on the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif. The display quickly became a national and international talking point.

Whether described as symbolism, soft power, or astute politics, the message was unmistakable. The provincial government chose to place Christianity visibly in the public square. This mattered because Punjab is not just another province. It is the historical, demographic, and political heartland of Pakistan’s Christian community, home to generations of Christians who have served as teachers, nurses, sanitation workers, civil servants, and contributors to the country’s missionary-school and healthcare systems.

Maryam Nawaz did not frame Christmas as a concession to a minority. She framed it as part of Punjab’s identity. In public statements and church visits, she spoke of a minority-friendly Punjab and repeatedly stressed that minorities must receive an equal share of provincial resources, dignity, and state protection.

For many Christians, the Liberty Chowk tree was not simply decoration. It was a signal to bureaucracy that minorities are citizens rather than administrative burdens. It was a signal to extremists that the state is watching. And it was a signal to Christians themselves that they belong in Punjab’s public life.

 

 That signal travelled beyond Pakistan. International Christian media noted the shift in tone. Coverage highlighted the scale of celebrations and the role of provincial authorities, while also cautioning that symbolic inclusion must be matched by consistent policy and long-term protection.

Another powerful image followed when Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Syed Asim Munir, attended Christmas celebrations at Christ Church in Rawalpindi, with the military’s media wing publicising the visit. In Pakistan’s context, where minorities often fear not only mob violence but also institutional indifference, this appearance carried weight. It reassured minority communities while sending a deterrent message to those who might threaten them.

Internationally, the visit shaped perception. It read as a signal of how the Pakistani state wished to be seen on minority protection and coexistence. Notably, there were no major Pakistan-wide headlines of Christmas-related attacks this year. This does not mean Pakistan’s minority challenges have disappeared, but it does mean that the dominant narrative this Christmas was different, defined by state-level celebration, visible protection, and comparatively calmer reporting.

In India, the contrast was stark. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended Christmas prayers at Delhi’s Cathedral Church of the Redemption, projecting a message of peace and harmony. The optics were carefully managed, and images of national leadership inside a church circulated widely.

Away from the cameras, however, Christmas increasingly resembled a security concern rather than a festival. Multiple credible reports described celebrations being disrupted across several states through intimidation, vandalism, forced cancellations, and arrests linked to anti-conversion accusations and pressure from Hindu extremist groups.

Indian media reported vandalism of Christmas decorations, including a high-profile case in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Elsewhere, protests were held outside churches, sometimes accompanied by religious chants and heavy police deployment. In Assam, Christmas preparations were disrupted, while in Nagpur, arrests at a prayer meeting triggered political controversy amid allegations of pressure from nationalist organisations.

International and Christian outlets echoed the pattern. Reports described Christians marking Christmas amid heightened tension, with disruptions to prayer services and carol singing in several states. British and American media cited watchdog data documenting intimidation, vandalism, and interference with religious gatherings, while Catholic publications reported churches being stormed, decorations destroyed, and warnings issued to Christian schools.

Data collected by monitoring groups underlined the seriousness of the trend. The United Christian Forum documented hundreds of attacks against Christians annually, with hundreds more recorded during 2025. Open Doors UK reported thousands of incidents of persecution in India over the same period. While methodologies vary, the trajectory is clear. Pressure on Christians is rising, and Christmas has become a predictable flashpoint.

A recurring feature of these disruptions is the use of anti-conversion allegations, sometimes even during prayer meetings or Christmas charity events. Investigative reporting suggests many of these cases eventually collapse in court. Yet the damage is already done. Arrests, public shaming, police custody, and years of legal uncertainty punish communities long before any verdict is delivered.

In this environment, the failure of timely justice becomes politically explosive. Even when acquittals come, the process itself becomes the punishment, especially for pastors, nuns, and economically vulnerable Christians who lack the resources to endure prolonged legal battles.

Pakistan is often criticised internationally for minority-rights failures, and that reputational burden remains real. Yet this Christmas, Punjab’s government and the military offered a counter-image, one in which minorities were celebrated publicly, senior leaders were present, and the country’s largest province visibly owned Christian festivities.

India, by contrast, has long relied on its reputation as a secular democracy. Repeated Christmas disruptions, combined with rising violence statistics, are feeding a different global story, one of a major power where religion is increasingly policed by street groups and conversion politics.

For Christians, the long-term impact is not only physical security but psychological confidence. In India, repeated disruptions change behaviour. Churches become cautious. Public celebrations shrink. Charitable activity hesitates. Over time, this produces a quieter Christianity, marked by reduced visibility and increased legal vulnerability.

These dynamics also carry broader implications for democratic credibility, social trust, and international partnerships, particularly at a time when both India and Pakistan seek global investment, strategic alliances, and moral authority on human rights forums.

Christians in Punjab are not outsiders to the province’s political history. Christian leadership, most notably Dewan Bahadur S P Singha, played a recognised role in Punjab’s legislative dynamics during the 1947 partition. That history strengthens today’s moral claim. Christians are not guests in Punjab. They are stakeholders.

Christmas 2025 offered a stark civic mirror. In Pakistan, Christianity was placed visibly in public life and reinforced by state authority. In India, national leaders projected harmony while Christmas on the ground was shaped by intimidation, disruption, arrests, and vandalism.

The world is watching. If India does not confront the normalisation of intimidation and the misuse of anti-conversion laws, it risks exporting a reputation it once resisted, not the India of plural promise, but an India where minorities can be photographed at prayer in the capital while being pressured into silence elsewhere.

Religious freedom is not a slogan. It is whether a child can sing a Christmas carol without fear, and whether the state treats that song as a right rather than a provocation.

(Nasir Saeed is freelance writer and human rights activist)