A statewide mobilization program to counter an alleged surge of fabricated social media content and false allegations of mass religious conversions has been announced by West Bengal’s top Christian body on July 3. 

The program, titled “Memorandum Submission Fortnight,” will run until July 19, during which memorandums will be submitted to the chief minister of West Bengal, district magistrates, and sub‑divisional officers statewide. 

The Bangiya Christiya Pariseba (BCP), the apex Christian organization in the state, made this announcement amid escalating hate speeches in various forms against the Christian minority community after the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in the state following the May elections, dethroning the moderate Trinamool Congress Party. 

Pushing False Narratives 

The BCP, which is the united forum of denominational Christian churches in East and Northeast India, said Christian schools, hospitals, and charitable centers have been subjected to “malicious propaganda, fake videos, and social media reels” that attempt to portray them as hubs of forced conversions. 

These campaigns are not isolated but part of an organized framework designed to maximize hate speech and translate it into real-world violence. 

“We cannot remain silent when falsehood is being circulated as fact,” leaders representing the BCP told the media. 

They stressed that the mobilization campaign aims to “restore truth, protect institutions, and ensure administrative accountability.” 

Christian Population Remains Stable 

The BCP leaders in a media statement pointed out that official census figures clearly show that the Christian population in West Bengal has remained stable and marginal for decades. 

“There is no spike, no surge, no demographic trend that supports these wild allegations (of alleged conversions), the leaders said. “If any group is found guilty of wrongdoing after a fair examination, the law must take its own course. But the peaceful Christian community must not be labeled as national miscreants based on manufactured propaganda.” 

Authorities’ Inaction 

According to a document by the BCP State Committee, fake narratives and conspiracy theories are being weaponized to isolate Christians. Extremist social media accounts regularly propagate the false claim that Christianity is “contrary to Indian culture” or a “hidden agenda of Western powers.” 

The BCP urged the administration to take strict legal action against those spreading such misinformation and to uphold Article 25, which guarantees the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate one’s faith. 

The Christian body lamented local administration’s inaction on complaints filed against perpetrators of violence against West Bengal Christians, leaving the community vulnerable to further attacks. 

Increasing Aggression 

The effects of false narratives and propaganda have been devastating.  

“Aggressive mobs are increasingly raiding prayer and worship venues under the pretext of busting ‘conversion dens’,” the report stated, adding that pastors and church members are being detained under baseless allegations. 

Even ordinary family prayer meetings in houses are being secretly videotaped and circulated online with captions alleging “forced conversions.” 

Churches have been vandalized, graveyards desecrated, and families forced into self-censorship.  

“For the sake of their physical safety, many are now avoiding religious symbols and living under a painful form of self-imposed silence,” the committee observed. 

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