Mob Attacks Christian Bible Convention in West Bengal, India
A crowd of roughly two hundred people attacked the annual Santali Mega Bible Convention on October 9 at the Divine Love Retreat Centre in Jalalkhali, in West Bengal's Nadia district. Witnesses said the group arrived by vehicle, shouted anti Christian slogans, threw stones and bricks, and struck believers who came out to protect the church grounds with bamboo sticks. Several people were injured, and organizers ended the four day gathering, which usually draws more than two thousand Christians from the Santali people group, ahead of schedule.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India called the attack a violation of the constitutional right to worship freely and asked state and national officials for an independent investigation and stronger protection for religious minorities. The Bengal Christian Council, which is providing legal aid to those affected, criticized what it called police inaction. The watchdog group India Hate Lab has recorded dozens of similar incidents against Christians in West Bengal since the state's governing party changed after elections earlier this year, though no arrests had been reported as of this writing.
