Christian Leaders Meet RSS Chief After 48 Bengal Attacks

On 6 November 2026, a five-member delegation of Christian leaders in West Bengal sat down with Jishnu Basu, the state chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to ask for his intervention after 48 attacks on churches and prayer meetings in five months. Basu condemned the violence, said attacks on churches cannot be justified, and promised to raise the matter directly with the chief minister. Both sides agreed to hold a special advisory meeting by the end of November.

For a community that makes up less than one per cent of the state's population, the meeting was almost unheard of: church leaders and the Hindu nationalist organisation, suddenly in the same room, talking face to face, with Christmas approaching and the attacks still going on.

An Emergency Prayer Assembly Before the Meeting

Earlier the same day, Christian leaders gathered for an emergency prayer assembly in Kolkata to address the escalation in targeted violence. Protestant Archbishop Joseph D'Souza, president of the All India Christian Council, and Catholic Archbishop Elias Frank of Calcutta were among those present, alongside regional bishops and community representatives.

The numbers were stark. Community groups have documented 48 incidents of attacks, vandalism and harassment against churches and worship centres across West Bengal over the past five months. In 32 of those 48 cases, victims were prevented from filing formal police complaints, the leaders said.

The organisers also rejected the allegations of forced conversions that have been used to justify many of the attacks. They called the claims a false narrative manufactured to excuse assaults on peaceful prayer gatherings.

A Rare Dialogue Across a Deep Divide

The meeting with Basu was facilitated by Charles Nandi, a member of the Bangiya Christian Parishad, the Bengal Christian Council. Matters India called it a rare dialogue between church leadership and the Hindu nationalist organisation.

The RSS is the ideological fountainhead of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won the West Bengal state elections in May. Both organisations have long accused Christians of forcibly converting Hindus, allegations the community vehemently denies.

Herod Mullick of the Bangiya Christiya Pariseba, which organised the 5 November march in Kolkata, had said publicly that he was seeking a meeting with the RSS chief. Hundreds marched through the state capital the day before, as reported in Hundreds of Christians March in Kolkata After 48 Attacks on West Bengal Churches, and the march was the public pressure that made the private conversation possible.

Basu did not defend the attacks, the delegation said. He condemned the violence and pledged to take the matter up with the chief minister himself. The two sides then agreed to hold a special advisory meeting by the end of the month, bringing together RSS leadership, denomination heads and the Bengal Christian Council to address security concerns and review the operations of independent religious groups in the region.

Why Leaders Fear the Christmas Season

The timing matters. Leaders expressed growing apprehension ahead of the Christmas season, when churches fill with worshippers. They said appeals to the chief minister had gone unheeded and there had been little administrative action against perpetrators.

The fear is grounded in recent events. On 9 October, around 200 people stormed a church during a Bible conference in Nadia district, smashing decorations and injuring at least six people, according to the All India Catholic Union. The Washington-based India Hate Lab research group said in a September report that it had documented 60 incidents targeting Christians in West Bengal after the BJP took power, including assaults, vandalism and raids on prayer meetings.

AFP, which reported on the crisis on 7 November, noted that it could not independently verify the figure of 48 attacks, though other Christian organisations and research groups have also reported alleged attacks. The ruling BJP has rejected the allegations, while a state minister has said freedom of worship must be protected but that complaints of forced conversions would be investigated.

The Catholic Association of the Archdiocese of Delhi said in a statement that it was deeply shaken by what it called the terror being inflicted upon innocent Christians in West Bengal.

What Happens Next

The test of the meeting will not be the words spoken in the room. It will be whether Basu follows through on his promise to raise the matter with the chief minister, and whether the special advisory meeting actually takes place by the end of November.

For now, the beleivers of West Bengal have something they did not have a week ago: a direct line to the organisation they hold responsible, and a date on the calendar. The attacks have not stopped, and Christmas is coming. But for the first time in five months of violence, the two sides are talking.

Christians facing violence for their faith is not confined to India. A Christian farmer was killed in a farmland raid in Enugu State, as reported in Christian Farmer Ezechi Ekenechukwu Killed in Enugu Raid, and two Christians were killed and 18 seized in a Kaduna raid, as covered in Two Christians Killed, 18 Seized in Kaduna Raid. In Benue, a bishop has warned Nigeria lacks the will to end the attacks, as reported in Bishop Anagbe: Nigeria Lacks Will to End Benue Attacks, while a campaign for Nigeria's Christians has been launched, as covered in Christian Solidarity International Launches Under Siege Campaign for Nigeria Christians.

Whether the Kolkata conversation becomes a turning point or just a polite meeting will be decided in the weeks ahead. The advisory meeting is promised by the end of the month. The chief minister has not yet responded. And the churches of West Bengal are watching to see whether a condemned act of violence is followed by a single arrest, or by silence.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.