SHILLONG — Christian prayer meetings, homes and churches across West Bengal have faced repeated disruption since the BJP came to power, with allegations of forced conversion used to challenge gatherings.
India Hate Lab documented 60 incidents across 13 districts between 13 May and 20 September. Of these, 52 were raids on prayer meetings, homes, churches and other Christian gatherings. Eight involved physical assault, mob violence or vandalism. The organisation also recorded five public hate-speech events targeting Christians and three protests built around conversion charges.
The pressure has not been evenly spread. South 24 Parganas and Paschim Medinipur accounted for 13 prayer-meeting raids each. Groups named in the accounts include Hindu Jagaran Manch, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Suraksha Samiti, Hindu Ekta Manch and Hindu Sanghati.
In several cases the confrontation began with questions about conversion. Prayer gatherings were interrupted. Worshippers were asked about their faith and, in some places, told to produce Aadhaar cards. Incidents were recorded in Chandrakona, Gosaba, Basanti and Canning.
In Sandeshkhali, residents were questioned about leaving Hinduism. In Hingalganj a prayer meeting was stopped after worshippers were asked why they were reading the Bible instead of the Gita.
Christian women were targeted in some of the episodes. Women were questioned over sakha-pola and sindoor and, according to the report, pressured to remove the symbols. On 19 September in Barrackpore several Christian women were physically assaulted and publicly humiliated on accusations of facilitating conversion.
Some confrontations turned violent. A church in South 24 Parganas was vandalised. A church under construction in Subhashgram was damaged. Violence was reported during a raid in Magrahat.
In Howrah on 25 August two people accused of facilitating conversion were detained and assaulted by a mob. In several cases police were present during the raids and Christian worshippers were later taken into custody after conversion complaints were filed.
The change of government has been invoked directly. In Panskura on 3 September, VHP and Bajrang Dal members interrupted a Christian gathering and warned that conversion would not be allowed in “New Bengal.” In Barasat on 12 July, Hindu Jagaran Manch members told Auxilium Salesian Sisters that their activities would not be tolerated “now that BJP is in power.”
The incidents continued into September. India Hate Lab recorded five raids in 48 hours on 19 and 20 September, including confrontations in Barrackpore and Bhatpara. In Bhatpara, members of Hindu Jagaran Manch allegedly intercepted a prayer meeting and handed attendees over to police.
Bangiya Christiya Pariseba, which represents Catholic and non-Catholic Christians in the state, has submitted a separate memorandum to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari alleging 26 cases of persecution over three months, of which only 11 resulted in FIRs. It has sought protection for churches and prayer gatherings and called for investigations.
India Hate Lab’s count is its own documented figure, not an official crime statistic. Individual allegations remain subject to police investigation and the courts.
The volume of reported disruptions, the repeated use of conversion charges, and the concentration of incidents in several districts have placed Christian groups under sustained pressure over the conduct of private worship.
