Christians in India’s eastern state of West Bengal have reportedly come under attack in the weeks following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s election victory, with churches, prayer gatherings and private homes targeted by mobs.
The BJP’s win, announced on May 4, marked the first time the Hindu nationalist party gained control of West Bengal, ending 15 years of rule by the Trinamool Congress. Critics have questioned the election process, pointing to a revision of voter rolls that removed more than 9 million voters before the poll.
At least four attacks were reported last Sunday, making it the worst day of violence so far, according to Matters India.
In Murshidabad district, a mob reportedly stormed the home of a Christian widow and pressured her to renounce her faith while demanding that she give up her land for a Hindu temple.
In Bankura district, a group seized Bibles and detained worshipers during a Protestant prayer meeting. In Suvas Gram, near the southern edge of Kolkata, attackers damaged the altar and musical instruments of a Presbyterian congregation.
The violence reportedly began the previous day in Palbari, located in West Midnapore district. According to Telegraph India, men said to be affiliated with Hindu groups attacked women guests, both Christian and Hindu, during a July 4 thanksgiving service for a newly married couple. Police officers allegedly failed to intervene and later arrested the pastor, the Rev. Anup Ghosh, accusing him of carrying out conversion rites.
At Grace Church in Faridpur, in East Burdwan district, a stick-wielding mob attacked the pastor and worshipers during Sunday prayers on July 5 before stealing cash, mobile phones, trophies and identity documents.
Church officials had reportedly received a demand for 200,000 Indian rupees, or more than $2,000, the day before the attack. Police allegedly failed to act on an earlier complaint.
That same day, another group entered a partially built church in the Buri Bot Tala area of South 24-Parganas district, threatened worshipers and destroyed three rooftop crosses. Sonarpur police recorded a complaint from local Christian Swapan Purkait only after a church legal cell became involved. The complaint included charges of criminal trespass, mischief and criminal intimidation, though no arrests were made.
Local residents told Telegraph India that the attackers claimed affiliation with the Hindu Jagran Manch, an organization linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of the BJP.
Three people were briefly detained in connection with the unrest but were later released, allegedly after pressure from a Hindu nationalist group.
West Bengal’s population is 71% Hindu, 27% Muslim and 0.7% Christian.
