Amid growing reports of attacks, intimidation, and disruptions targeting Christian communities during the Christmas season across several states, a peaceful protest was held on Friday, December 26, evening in Mumbai’s Goregaon West to condemn what organisers described as a “systematic assault on constitutional freedoms.”
The peaceful gathering of about 100 people was organised by the Samvidhan Jagar Yatra Samiti (SJYS) in collaboration with The Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCS), one of the city’s oldest Catholic lay organisations. The protest took place outside Hotel Ratna on S.V. Road, drawing community members, civil society representatives, and concerned citizens who stood silently with placards denouncing hate and religious violence.
“An attack on the Constitution itself”
Organisers said the protest was not merely about individual incidents, but about a broader pattern of hostility against Christians during one of their most significant religious periods.
“Such attacks are not isolated law-and-order issues. They strike at the heart of our Constitution — at the freedom of conscience, the right to profess and practise religion, and the right to worship without fear,” wrote Dolphy D’Souza, spokesperson of the Bombay Catholic Sabha, while inviting people to join the protest. President BCS Norbert Mendonca said it was the beginning of a systematic campaign on the issue. Norbert Mendonca, president, BCS said that this was the start of a campaign on the issue.
Placards at the site referenced constitutional values, religious freedom, and the need for state accountability, while deliberately avoiding slogans or speeches, underscoring the silent and dignified nature of the protest.
Among the prominent faces present were Prof Arvind Nigle, Sridhar Shelar and Iqbal Shaikh, convenors of SJYS, former corporator, Shiv Sena (UBT), Samir Desai and Teesta Setalvad, human rights activist.
Passersby stop, read, respond
What made the protest particularly striking was the spontaneous engagement it drew from the public. Women on scooters slowed down, pedestrians stopped mid-walk, commuters paused to read the placards, and several expressed solidarity with the cause.
According to organisers, many passersby quietly acknowledged the protesters, some offering words of encouragement, others simply folding their hands or nodding in approval. The peaceful street protest of the demonstrators appeared to invite reflection rather than confrontation — a deliberate choice, organisers said, in a climate increasingly marked by polarising rhetoric.
Photographs from the protest capture these moments: about a 100 citizens standing still in a bustling Mumbai street withmessages against hate, as some passerby seemed visibly moved by the gravity of the issue.
Christmas season under shadow
Over the past week, multiple reports from different parts of the country have documented disruptions of Christmas prayers, vandalism of churches, intimidation of worshippers, and threats issued in the name of preventing “forced conversions.” Christian groups have warned that such actions are becoming increasingly normalised, often occurring with little immediate intervention.
Detailed reports of these attacks may be read here and here.
Friday’s protest sought to draw attention to this pattern, emphasising that religious freedom is not a concession granted by the state, but a fundamental right guaranteed to every citizen. The organisers stressed that the protest was as much a call to citizens as it was to authorities.
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