Kolkata (AsiaNews) – A shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary has been vandalised. The incident, discovered yesterday, 9 November, took place next to a church in the village of Khari Bamuner Chak, in Raidighi, in the South 24 Pargana district of West Bengal. The incident has sparked outrage and fear within the local Christian community, partly due to growing reports of intimidation and attacks against the faithful and places of worship in the Indian state, which this year elected, for the first time, a government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an ultra-nationalist Hindu party.
The Marian shrine was situated within a fenced-off compound that forms part of the Baruipur pastoral region. According to local residents, the grotto was damaged during the night. For the Catholics of the village, which has a Christian majority, it was a place of prayer and devotion.
The church authorities have lodged a complaint with the Raidighi police. A team of officers carried out an inspection and launched an investigation, but as yet no suspects have been identified nor has a motive been established. Some members of the Christian community suspect the involvement of right-wing groups.
Fr Ujjwal Mondal, head of the pastoral region, visited the site following the incident. He told the daily The Telegraph that the act appears to have been carried out by intolerant individuals with the aim of hurting the religious feelings of Christians. He therefore called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, in order to preserve harmony amongst the various sections of society.
The desecration is one of a series of reported attacks on churches and Christian institutions in West Bengal, recorded since the BJP came to power in the state last May. Christian organisations have long been calling for impartial investigations, the identification of those responsible and effective action by the police, rather than simply recording complaints after each incident.
The previous week, numerous Christians from West Bengal and neighbouring states had gathered in Kolkata for a large prayer rally, calling for an end to attacks on the faithful and rejecting allegations that peaceful prayer meetings were being used to force religious conversions. The rally, which took place on 5 November on Rani Rashmoni Avenue in the Esplanade area, brought together representatives of various Christian denominations and at least 12,000 people, according to the organisers.
In his address during the event, the Archbishop of Kolkata, Elius Frank, emphasised the unity of the various denominations and the need to respond to persecution without renouncing prayer and forgiveness: “Although the Churches within our Christian community may differ in their religious practices, traditions and administrative structures, we are all one in Christ. What unites us is our shared faith, love and compassion for one another”.
“In recent months,” he continued, “our faith has been put to the test in many ways. We have witnessed various incidents of persecution and suffering inflicted upon our brothers and sisters in faith. In these difficult times, the words of St Paul come to mind: ‘If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it’”.
“Today we have gathered not only to express our solidarity and compassion to those who have suffered, but also to pray for them and their families,” the archbishop added. “At the same time, we also direct our prayers towards those who have been responsible for these acts of persecution. Our faith, in fact, teaches us not only to stand by those who suffer, but also to respond with love, forgiveness and prayer.”
Organised by the Bangiya Christiya Pariseba (BCP), the gathering was attended by church leaders and the faithful from West Bengal, Orissa, Nagaland and Mizoram.
Herod Mullick, secretary and founder of the BCP, described the current situation as an unprecedented crisis for Christians. According to the figures he cited, the organisation has received 48 reports of incidents of intimidation, but the actual number could be considerably higher; he explained that the police had failed to register complaints in 16 cases.
The issue of attacks was also addressed during a meeting held on Wednesday 4 November between representatives of the BCP and Jishnu Basu, a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a paramilitary organisation that serves as the main ideological reference point for the Hindu nationalist movement and the BJP.
Mullick described the meeting as constructive and reported that Basu had said he was willing to bring the community’s concerns to the attention of the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari. The BCP also expressed a desire to meet the head of the RSS, Mohan Bhagwat. A dialogue between the organisation and representatives of various Christian denominations is scheduled to take place by the end of November to address misunderstandings regarding worship and allegations of forced conversions.
