The coverage of Christmas being celebrated by Christians living in Pakistan and India this year could not be more stark. Dozens of incidents of men from Hindu nationalist groups like the RSS and VHP harassing fellow Indian Christians celebrating Christmas were posted on Twitter/X, and these were from all over India, mostly from states ruled by the BJP.
Christian communities in New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh (several cities and towns), Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Odisha reported assaults on carollers, harassment of vendors selling Christmas items, and disruption of church events. In Assam, police arrested four people connected to an attack on Christmas celebrations at a Catholic school.
In India’s capital, New Delhi, Christian women wearing Santa Claus caps and distributing pamphlets were intimidated by Hindu men who accused them of proselytisation and aggressively asked them to leave. In Chhattisgarh, a Hindu nationalist group ransacked Christmas-related displays and props at a mall in the city of Raipur. Videos of all these attacks and disruptions have been widely shared on social media, especially Twitter/X. Only in a few cases have police made any arrests, and in several instances, police stood by as virtual onlookers.
Many such cases also involved groups of Hindu men singing bhajans and dancing outside churches in an attempt to harass and intimidate those celebrating their own festival inside. This prompted even some sensible Indians to comment that such actions only serve to expose the ignorance of Hindu nationalist groups, because they seem to be doing all these things outside churches – and mosques at other times – but do not practise them inside their temples.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did attend a church service on Christmas Day in New Delhi, but many Indians criticised him and his party on social media, saying that this reflected hypocrisy on the part of the government because, by and large, it was doing nothing to arrest and punish those behind the harassment of Indian Christians celebrating Christmas.
2025 has not been a good year as far as India’s public image, especially in the eyes of the world, is concerned, and 2026 appears unlikely to be any different
Contrast this with the way Pakistan’s Christian community celebrated, with members of the community taking out special celebratory rallies in various parts of the country, especially in cities and towns where the community has a sizeable presence, such as Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi. There was even a clip shared on social media showing members of the Christian community handing out copies of the Bible on the street. The Punjab government setting up a 42-foot-tall Christmas tree at Liberty Chowk in Lahore also gained considerable traction on social media, with universal praise for Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
The year gone by has seen a precipitous fall in India’s public image, and much of it has come from incessant posts and clips – many of them going viral – shared on social media of Indians doing things frowned upon by most people. Because of the size of its population – 1.4 billion at last count – Indians make up the highest proportion of immigrants to Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. Rising anti-immigrant sentiment has meant that Indian immigrants are under attack, often accused of not assimilating, not respecting local laws and customs, and not displaying civic sense. Several fatal accidents have occurred in the US in recent months, almost all involving drivers who were recent (mostly illegal) immigrants.
Right-wing handles on Twitter/X have amplified all of this to build a particular narrative that increasingly shows Indians in a poor light, with a growing crescendo in many Western countries calling for them to leave and “go back home”. The most recent example is the strong backlash to the Indian government requesting the US to expedite visa appointments for Indians “stranded” in India because their H-1B visas are in limbo. The backlash has centred on the question of how citizens of a country can be ‘stranded’ in their own country, and there is a point to this. Further, why should a country not seek to retain its best professional talent instead of encouraging them to work overseas?
2025 has not been a good year as far as India’s public image, especially in the eyes of the world, is concerned, and 2026 appears unlikely to be any different, not least because the circumstances and perceptions that have shaped this transformation are unlikely to disappear or reduce in intensity.
Relatively speaking, for Pakistan, the change has been for the better, especially in terms of how its geostrategic value is perceived globally. Operation Sindoor, and the manner in which Pakistan gave a serious beating to the Indian military in four days, has significantly increased its strategic value. Most notably, its relations with countries such as America and Russia have seen a marked improvement, with Pakistan’s army chief repeatedly referred to as ‘my favourite general’ by the world’s most powerful man, US President Donald Trump.
Pakistan has played a key role in the resolution of the Iran–Israel aerial war and is set to play a strategic part in the US President’s Gaza initiative and its associated International Stabilisation Force. It has now unequivocally made public its stance that while it is ready to contribute to the ISF, it will only do so if the mandate excludes disarming Hamas.
The challenge for Pakistan will be to ensure that this improvement in its global image is sustained, and that can only happen if it undertakes actions and enacts policies to further cement its enhanced standing.