Hundreds of Christians marched through Kolkata on Nov. 5 to protest Hindutva mob attacks on churches and prayer meetings across West Bengal.The march ended at Esplanade. Demonstrators described a growing pattern of attacks against their community over the past five months.
The BangiyaChristiya Parishad (BCP) reported at least 48 incidents against Christian prayer gatherings and places of worship in the state since May. Police registered FIRs in only 15 of those cases.Seven of the 48 incidents involved churches of mainline denominations. Six were Catholic churches and one belonged to the Church of North India.
The BCP held a mega prayer rally on Nov. 1 at Rani Rashmoni Road in Esplanade. People walked from Sealdah, Birla Planetarium and Howrah to express solidarity with the community.
On Nov. 5, a BCP delegation met Jishnu Basu, RSS chief in West Bengal. The delegation discussed attacks on churches and Christian congregations. According to the delegation, Basu called attacks on and vandalism of places of worship unacceptable and unjustifiable under any circumstances.The meeting came days after a mob from Hindu organisations vandalised a newly constructed church in Basanti, South 24 Parganas. The attack injured several priests and the church’s bishop.On the same day, a mob attacked a prayer meeting in Harishchandrapur in Malda. On July 5, a mob vandalised an under-construction church in Subhashgram, South 24 Parganas.