By Matters India Reporter
Kolkata, October 12, 2026: A fact-finding team has expressed concern over a series of alleged attacks, threats, and acts of intimidation targeting Christian communities in different parts of West Bengal.
The team comprising Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose, Sirsanya Bandyopadhyay, and Maria Fernandez visited several locations across Kolkata and rural Bengal following reports of growing hostility against Christians.
Among the recent incidents are the alleged intimidation of two Christian families in Paschim Arjunda village under Christ the King Mission Church, Balichak, on October 11.
According to the report, the families were threatened by alleged members of the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bajrang Dal organization and pressured to renounce Christianity and return to Hinduism.
They were also allegedly threatened with violence, social boycott, and denial of government benefits if they failed to comply. On October 9, Divine Voice Retreat Centre at Jalalkhalli near Krishnagar was attacked.
The delegation also met with the Archbishop of Elias Frank of Calcutta, who reportedly voiced concern over what he described as increasing attacks on Christians and democratic values.
During the team visits to Bamanpukur in North 24 Parganas, Simultala in Barasat, and Balichak in Paschim Medinipur, the team heard accounts of threats against clergy and religious communities, obstruction of church activities, vandalism, and difficulties faced by Christians in accessing burial grounds and other civic rights.
The fact-finding exercise highlighted reports of fear and insecurity among Christian communities, with residents and church leaders alleging that aggressive campaigns by groups linked to Hindu nationalist organizations were disrupting long-standing traditions of peaceful coexistence.
Calling the developments a threat to Bengal’s pluralistic heritage, Sagarika Ghose urged greater public attention to the situation and appealed for the protection of constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and minority rights.