Barasat – The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India , has expressed its “deep concern” over the intimidation suffered by the Salesian Sisters in Barasat, a town in the Indian state of West Bengal. In a statement sent to Fides, the Conference called on the civil authorities to ensure the safety of the religious sisters, uphold the rule of law, and safeguard the constitutional rights of all religious communities.
Father Stephen Alathara, spokesperson for the CCBI, urged everyone “to reject violence and to resolve any disputes exclusively through legal channels and democratic processes.”
According to the sisters, on July 12 a group of around 60 people broke into the congregation’s property and demanded the immediate demolition of a memorial chapel and a cemetery currently under construction, threatening violence if their demands were not met. The FMA stated that the cemetery, intended for the burial of members of the congregation, had received all the necessary required permits from the competent authorities before construction began, under the previous state administration. Following the recent change of government, now led by the Bharatiya Janata Party —the nationalist party that also governs India at the federal level under Prime Minister Narendra Modi—the project is being contested.
In a statement issued after the incident and sent to Fides, the All India Catholic Union , an association of Indian lay Catholics, condemned the attack, claiming that “the sisters were intimidated and verbally insulted.” According to the AICU, some members of the group told the sisters: “Your government no longer exists; now it is our government.” The Catholic association explains that the remark is referred to the BJP’s recent electoral victory in West Bengal, adding that such statements “represent an attempt to replace legal procedures with intimidation.”
The AICU linked the incident to a broader pattern of harassment and violence against Christian institutions in West Bengal and called for full respect for the constitutional rights of religious minorities, including “the right to profess their faith and to administer their institutions and properties.” It therefore urged the state government to ensure protection for the Salesian Sisters and their works, safeguard the chapel and cemetery, which had already received all the required legal authorizations, and prosecute those responsible for the threats.
The incident comes amid growing concern within the Catholic Church in India over repeated episodes of violence and intimidation targeting Christians in several states across the country, an issue that Church leaders have been discussing with civil authorities.
In recent days, a delegation of five bishops led by Cardinal Anthony Poola, President of the Bishops’ Conference of India , met in New Delhi with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. During the meeting, the bishops voiced their concern over incidents of intimidation and violence against Christians and Church institutions, often accompanied, they said, by allegations of forced conversions.
According to CBCI spokesperson Father Robinson Rodrigues, Minister Shah assured the delegation that he would personally intervene in cases where police authorities fail to register complaints filed by Christians. The Minister also urged victims to report incidents in which law enforcement refuses to initiate proceedings directly to his ministry, pledging that justice would be ensured.
The meeting also addressed recent amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act . On this issue, the minister reportedly assured the bishops that the new provisions would not be used against Christian communities and would not be applied retroactively to Church institutions established with foreign funding.
Christians make up approximately 2.3 percent of India’s population of more than 1.4 billion people.
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