Churches have reportedly been vandalised and pastors assaulted in India’s West Bengal state since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured victory in the state elections in May.
Hundreds of Christians staged a protest march in the state capital, Kolkata, on Thursday, raising concerns over what they described as a growing pattern of attacks against their community.
Herod Mullick, a representative of Bangiya Christiya Pariseba (BCP), which organised the demonstration, said Christians had faced systematic attacks over the past five months under allegations of unlawful religious conversions.
Christian groups have repeatedly been accused of attempting to convert Hindus to Christianity. However, representatives of the Christian community have strongly rejected these allegations.
According to the last national census, Christians make up less than one per cent of West Bengal’s population.
The BCP said it had recorded 48 incidents of vandalism and violence targeting prayer gatherings, worship centres and churches over the past five months, describing the situation as an unprecedented crisis.
Although the reported figures could not be independently verified, other Christian organisations and research groups have also raised concerns over alleged attacks in the state.
The ruling BJP has dismissed the accusations. A state minister, however, said religious freedom must be protected and that allegations of forced conversions would be investigated.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Association of the Archdiocese of Delhi expressed serious concern over what it described as violence and intimidation against Christians in West Bengal.
The All India Catholic Union also condemned a mob attack on a Bible conference in Nadia district on October 9. According to the organisation, around 200 people stormed a church, damaged decorations and injured at least six individuals.
In a separate report released in September, the Washington-based India Hate Lab said it had documented 60 incidents targeting Christians in West Bengal following the BJP’s rise to power in the state. The reported incidents included physical assaults, vandalism and raids on prayer meetings.
Mullick said he was seeking a meeting with the head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu-nationalist organisation regarded as the ideological foundation of the BJP.
The RSS and BJP have repeatedly accused Christian groups of forcibly converting Hindus, allegations that Christian representatives have consistently denied.
India has a population of approximately 1.4 billion, with Christians accounting for more than two per cent, according to the last national census. Christian communities maintain that their religion has been present in India for nearly 2,000 years.
