West Bengal Christians Warn of Attacks
Christian leaders in West Bengal say their community has faced systematic attacks over the past five months, after a spate of church vandalism and assaults on pastors in the Indian state. The West Bengal Christians documented 48 instances of attacks on prayer meetings, worship centres and churches, and hundreds of them marched through the state capital Kolkata on Thursday.
The leaders spoke to AFP on Friday. They said the attacks began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won state elections in May. West Bengal is a Hindu-majority state of 100 million people, and Christians account for less than one per cent of its population, according to the last national census.
“For the last five months, we’ve seen systematic attacks being organised against Christians, and the pretext is unlawful conversions,” said Herod Mullick of the Bangiya Christiya Pariseba (BCP), the group that organised the march.
48 cases in five months
The BCP said it had documented 48 instances of “vandalism and atrocities targeting prayer meetings, worship centres and churches” over the past five months. It called the situation “an unprecedented crisis”.
AFP said it could not independently verify that figure. Other Christian organisations and research groups have also reported alleged attacks in the state, which lends weight to the claims even though the exact count is disputed.
Christian groups in the state have been accused of trying to convert Hindus to Christianity. That accusation sits at the centre of the dispute, and it is the reason the community says it is being targeted.
The ruling BJP has rejected the allegations. A state minister has said freedom of worship must be protected, but that complaints of forced conversions would be investigated. The two positions show how far apart the two sides are: one side sees a pattern of organised attacks, while the other sees complaints that need to be checked.
West Bengal Christians march in Kolkata
Hundreds of Christians marched through Kolkata on Thursday to draw attention to the attacks. The march was organised by the BCP, and it came after months of incidents that the group says have gone unpunished.
Mullick said he was seeking a meeting with the chief of the Hindu nationalist RSS, or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological fountainhead of the BJP.
The RSS and BJP have long accused Christians of forcibly converting Hindus, allegations the community vehemently denies. The conversion question has been a flashpoint in Indian politics for years, and West Bengal is the latest state where it has turned into a public confrontation.
Condemnation from church groups
The Catholic Association of the Archdiocese of Delhi said in a statement it was “deeply shaken by… the terror being inflicted upon innocent Christians in West Bengal”.
The All India Catholic Union condemned a mob attack on a Bible conference in West Bengal’s Nadia district on October 9. Around 200 people stormed a church during the conference, smashing decorations and injuring at least six people. That incident is one of the most serious in the list the BCP has compiled.
The Washington-based India Hate Lab research group said in a September report that it had documented 60 incidents targeting Christians in West Bengal after the BJP took power. The incidents included assaults, vandalism and raids on prayer meetings. The figure is higher than the BCP’s count, which suggests the scale of the problem depends on how incidents are counted.
The wider picture
India has 1.4 billion people, and more than two per cent are Christians, according to the last census. Christians say their religion has been present in India for nearly two millennia, which makes the community one of the oldest in the country.
The dispute in West Bengal is part of a wider argument about religious freedom in India. The state has seen other large public gatherings this year, including a stampede at a Durga Puja event in Kolkata that killed 17 people, which shows how crowded and charged public life in the city can be. Cyclone Arnab made landfall in Andhra Pradesh last month, and protests over Delhi’s voter roll have also kept India in the news. A visit by Indian politician Bhagwant Mann to Pakistan was welcomed last month, a reminder that ties between the two neighbours continue alongside these tensions.
For now, the community is waiting to see whether the state government acts on its complaints. The BCP wants protection for worship and an end to the attacks, while the BJP says the allegations are false. Until the two sides meet, the march in Kolkata is likely to be the first of more public protests.
How many attacks have Christian groups documented in West Bengal?
The Bangiya Christiya Pariseba says it documented 48 instances of vandalism and atrocities targeting prayer meetings, worship centres and churches over the past five months. The India Hate Lab research group reported 60 incidents in a September report.
What triggered the march in Kolkata?
Hundreds of Christians marched through Kolkata on Thursday to protest the attacks. The march was organised by the BCP after five months of incidents, including church vandalism and assaults on pastors.
What does the BJP say about the allegations?
The ruling BJP has rejected the allegations. A state minister said freedom of worship must be protected, but complaints of forced conversions would be investigated.
How many Christians live in West Bengal?
Christians account for less than one per cent of West Bengal’s population of 100 million, according to the last national census. Across India, more than two per cent of 1.4 billion people are Christians.
