India: Hindu Supremacist Groups Intensify Attacks on Christians

Read The Diplomat, Know The Asia-Pacific From church vandalism to grave desecration, assaults against Christian minorities are increasing in the large state of West Bengal since the BJP, an RSS offshoot, came to power in May. Screenshot of a Facebook livestream shows the altercation at Goutam Bera’s residence in Ranichak village, West Bengal, Aug. 26, 2026. Sutahata is a rural place in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, which has been ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since the May 2026 state elections. There, on August 26, about 50 people gathered at Goutam Bera’s residence in Ranichak village. It was a house fellowship gathering that involved Bible study and prayer. Many attendees were Hindus, mostly friends and acquaintances of the Bera family. The news of the gathering reached members of Hindu supremacist organizations. One of them broadcast a live video on Facebook while on his way to Bera’s place. They had heard a Christian priest had gone there to convert Hindus. “Let’s see what they are up to,” he said. By the time the livestreamer reached Bera’s house, some of his fellows were already there. They barged into the house, abused those present and threw people out, before allegedly manhandling the rest of the attendees. “You are Hindus. You have idols of Hindu deities at home. How could you bring in a Father and practice Christianity?” one can be heard shouting. “They have started this Jesus business now. See, we have recovered a Bible! My God, they have a Bible here!” One video shows the intruders – carrying saffron flags – ordering the prayer attendees, rather rudely and loudly, to chant “Hare Krishna, Hare Ram” and “Jai Shree Ram.” Another video shows the cops taking the prayer attendees to a police vehicle. At one point, people from the crowd can be heard shouting: “Thrash them, thrash them!” According to Joy Kumar Ghughu, the pastor who was reading from the Bible, the police first took 17 prayer attendees, including him, to the Sutahata block primary health center for treatment and a medical check-up. They were then taken to the Sutahata police station, where everyone was interrogated about the intention behind the gathering. Their mobile phones were examined. At about 8 p.m., they were told they could go. “We did not lodge any police complaint against the attackers because Jesus teaches forgiveness. We will pray for their well-being,” Ghughu told The Diplomat. He, however, asked why propagating Christianity should be objected to, when Article 25 of the Indian Constitution says that all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion freely. “We are not paying anyone to become Christians,” Ghughu said. The RSS Link Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya described the incident, along with two others, as “isolated local objections to prayer gatherings… peacefully resolved by the police.” However, videos posted on social media platforms by those involved in the attack tell a different story. The intruders identified themselves as members of Shree Ram Janmotsab Samity (Lord Ram birthday celebration committee). The Samity does not hide its links to the RSS, the BJP’s ideological and organizational parent. Its Facebook page regularly posts invites to events of the RSS and its affiliates, like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). At Sutahata, a person recording on the spot identified himself and his fellows as belonging to the VHP. Showing videos of the organizers of the prayer gathering and the pastor present there, one of them told the video’s audience: “Beat them up with brooms whenever and wherever you see them. They are worse than terrorists.” In another video from the incident, uploaded to a Facebook page of Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the VHP, the intruders said: “We are from VHP Chaitanyapur unit… Sanatan Dharma is the world’s greatest religion. Whenever you spot people we identified in our videos, just inform us.” The Hindu supremacists usually refer to Hinduism as Sanatan Dharma (eternal religion). A few hours later, in a Facebook post, the Samity said, “Let this serve as a warning to those who spread religious propaganda under the guise of ‘God the Father’: if we catch you, you will face severe consequences.” Its based on actions like these that a recent database described the RSS family of organizations, popularly called the Sangh Parivar, as “the largest far-right network in history.” Modi called the RSS the world’s largest NGO (non-governmental organization). That discrepancy gets to the heart of the RSS’s attempt to paint a very different picture of itself abroad. Home and Abroad: A Contrasting Approach Hindu civilizational identity rests on the idea that diversity and unity can coexist, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said in London at the beginning of September. “We must never lose sight of the fact that we are one.” During a September 6 event in London as part of a U.S.-Canada-U.K. tour marking the organization’s centenary, Bhagwat said, “I heard some people say intense hatred is the basis of our work. It is just the reverse. ‘Shuddha Satvik Prem’ (pure and divine love) is the basis of our work.” Before landing in London, he had visited New York and Toronto. In New York, while addressing a “Universal Oneness Celebration” at Madison Square Garden on August 29, Bhagwat said, “To call oneself Hindu, one must believe that all paths lead to the same destination and that every human has dignity, with no difference between human beings.” He described diversity as a “decoration for our innate unity” that has to be accepted: “It has to be respected. It has to be protected.” In West Bengal, the next day, activists belonging to different RSS-linked organizations disrupted three separate Christian prayer gatherings and abused and heckled the prayer participants. Here are some of the incidents, in just one Indian state, that took place during the same weeks Bhagwat was spreading the message of love and oneness abroad: August 23: A mob broke into a church premises at Uluberia in Howrah district, vandalized the prayer room, and attacked several prayer attendees. Bajrang Dal activists went to close down a Christian house prayer ceremony at Baniberia area in Mograhat of South 24 Parganas district. August 30: Bajrang Dal activists thrashed a lawyer for hosting Christian prayers at his residence in Baripur, South 24-Parganas. Miscreants stormed the Sunday prayer gathering at Jagatballabhpur, Howrah district. Another prayer venue was vandalized at Hingalganj in North 24 Parganas. September 1: Hindu Jagran Manch, another RSS affiliate, locked up a school run by Christians at Hasnabad Rupomari bazar in North 24 Parganas district. Protesters told the media: “Their walls are full of Jesus’ photos! No Hindu deities at all! Why should it be so? Why are they teaching kids about Jesus’ life? This school must be closed down.” September 7: A group of activi