The attacks increased after September 2021 when leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) declared of an "anti-conversion bill" in the state to check religious conversions.
[1][2] The Human rights organisation, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) documented 39 violent incidents against Christians in Karnataka from January to November 2021, all carried out by Hindutva organizations such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Hindu Jagrana Vedike, Bajrang Dal, and Banjara Nigama.
[2] In many cases, the local administration and the police told Christians to stop holding prayer meetings in order to avert violence by right wing groups.
However, officials conducted a survey in Hosadurga and concluded that there was no forcible act of religious conversion and Christians attend prayers in churches voluntarily and without coercion.
[16] In the aftermath of numerous attacks on churches by right-wing organizations, the BJP administration was able to get the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2021 or anti-conversion law passed in the lower house of the state legislature on December 23, 2021, in the winter session in Belagavi.
[22] The New York Times reported that the anti-conversion laws are part of the BJP's strategy of using religion to polarize the people and gain support from the Hindu majority.
[24] The attacks increased after September 2021 when leaders of BJP including Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai declared of an "anti-conversion" bill in the state to check religious conversions.
[1] Incidents of Hindutva activists affiliated to right-wing organisations such as the Bajrang Dal and Sri Rama Sene barging into churches and Christian prayer halls were reported across several places including Udupi, Chikballapur, Kodagu, Belagavi, Kanakapura and Arsikere.
[2] In many cases, the local administration and the police told Christians to stop holding prayer meetings in order to avert violence by right wing groups.
The report noted that in nearly every case of mob violence, the police actively attempted to criminalize the lives of Christians and prevent them from holding prayer meetings.