Representative photo.
New Delhi: West Bengal witnessed at least 60 incidents targeting Christians across 13 districts between May 13 and September 20, 2026, according to a report by India Hate Lab (IHL), a project of the US-based think tank, the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH). The incidents increased since the BJP came to power in the state, the report said, and some of those involved in the attacks even cited the change in power.
Of the 60 incidents documented by IHL, 52 involved raids on private prayer meetings, homes, churches and other Christian gatherings, while eight involved physical assaults, mob violence or vandalism. During the same period, there were also five public hate-speech events targeting Christians, at times alongside Muslims, and three protests focused on alleged religious conversions.
While the attacks were spread across 13 districts, South 24 Parganas and Paschim Medinipur recorded 13 raids each on Christian prayer meetings. Moreover, the organisations most commonly involved were Hindu Jagran Manch/Bangiya Hindu Jagaran, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, Hindu Suraksha Samiti, Hindu Ekta Manch, and Hindu Sanghati, said the report.
There was a pattern to the raids. Local members of Hindutva organisations entered homes, churches or rented venues where Christians gathered for prayer, accused the organisers of conducting religious conversions, and questioned attendees about their religious identities. In several cases, they also demanded to see Aadhaar cards. IHL documented this in Chandrakona, Gosaba, Canning, and Basanti in May and June.
Similar incidents were documented from Sandeshkhali this July, with the perpetrators clearly VHP and BJP members. In Hingalganj, Uttar Dinajpur, it was Hindu Jagran Manch members who raided a prayer meeting, even asking why the Bible was being read instead of the Gita.
Christian women have repeatedly been targeted, said the IHL. It said women have been questioned even about wearing sakha-pola, bangles traditionally worn by married Bengali Hindu women, and sindoor. The report has documented such instances from Ramnagar, Purba Medinipur, Kulpi, and Baruipur. In Barrackpore, VHP and Bajrang Dal members assaulted and “publicly humiliated several Christian women, accusing them of facilitating religious conversion”.
The IHL pointed out that several of the raids quickly snowballed into physical violence, mob attacks, or destruction of Christian religious property. “On June 10, Hindu Jagran Manch members vandalised a church in South 24 Parganas. In Subhashgram on July 5, Hindu nationalist supporters attacked a church under construction and broke down multiple crosses installed while chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’.”
The report cited similar incidents from Magrahat and Howrah.
IHL also noted a pattern “in which police were present during vigilante attacks and, in many cases, subsequently detained Christian attendees following allegations made by Hindu nationalist organizations”.
In Raniganj, a mob led by VHP leader Shubham Raut assaulted attendees at a Sunday Prayer Meeting and “handed over 20-25 attendees to the police, who launched an investigation over allegations of religious conversion”.
Likewise, in Midnapore, police detained individuals named by Hindu Jagran Manch members in a complaint alleging conversion. The VHP and Bajrang Dal held similar raids in Purulia, Hijla, and Kulpi. In Bhatpara, North 24 Parganas, Hindu Jagran Manch members intercepted a prayer meeting, handing over attendees to police.
“Several hate speech events targeting Christians were also documented alongside the surge in vigilante raids,” said the report.
All the incidents documented by IHL were recorded and shared on Facebook or Instagram by those involved, the report said. In several cases, members of Hindu nationalist organisations uploaded videos of raids and confrontations, while some incidents were even livestreamed. According to IHL, Meta’s platforms were used to document, publicise and amplify activities targeting Christians.
Insisting it is not a new problem, the report said, “Social media platforms have repeatedly failed to adequately enforce their own rules against hate, incitement, and extremist activity in India, despite longstanding evidence that their services are used by extremist actors to organize, document, glorify, and amplify harassment and violence against religious minorities.”
The report also noted that before May 2026, “none of the individuals or organizations identified by IHL as participating in these incidents had posted about similar raids or other vigilante attacks targeting Christians”.
Adding that these incidents began in May, it said, “The escalation was particularly pronounced in September, with five raids documented within a single 48-hour period on September 19-20.”
This post was last modified on September 26, 2026 6:48 pm