Christian leaders are calling for the provincial government in West Bengal, eastern India, to take action to halt an escalation in violence and harassment by extremist mobs against churches and believers.
The Bengal Christian Council (BCC), which represents more than 1.3 million believers, said that in the three months to mid-September there had been 26 attacks against Christians, churches and prayer gatherings.
These included the disruption of a Christian burial in Purba Bardhaman district in which mourners were assaulted as well as the abduction of a pastor and an attack on a house church by extremist mobs.
Leaders of the Bengal Christian Association [Image credit: Up Words Mag/YouTube]
In a memorandum sent to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on 17 September, the BCC said that Christians in several districts are facing “systematic false narratives, malicious propaganda, physical violence, and targeted harassment”.
The group stated that, out of the 26 cases of persecution it had highlighted, only 11 had resulted in the registration by police of a First Information Report (FIR).
It claimed victims were “blocked or discouraged” from filing FIRs and raised concerns that the actions of vigilantes were being justified as “public protests”.
The BCC is seeking an urgent meeting with Adhikari. It is urging him to order police to conduct impartial investigations into violence against Christians, and to provide adequate protection for churches and prayer halls from “unverified fundamentalist propaganda”.
How you can pray
Pray that Chief Minister Adhikari will intervene and order increased protection for churches and prayer halls in West Bengal. Ask that our brothers and sisters will stand firm in their faith, in spite of adversity, knowing that God is with them (Joshua 1:9).
