Amid reports of attacks on Christians and churches across West Bengal, Church of North India (CNI) Moderator Bishop Paritosh Canning has urged church bodies to maintain updated records of their members, questioning allegations of religious conversions.
“When the number of Christians is dwindling, where is the question of conversion?” Canning asked on Monday while addressing the first anniversary of his tenure as the 16th moderator of the CNI at St Paul’s Cathedral Church in Kolkata.
Speaking to The Times of India later, Canning said church bodies should maintain daily parishioner records and update them regularly so they could respond to allegations with documentation if required.
“We received reports of a few incidents, but the situation was brought under control by the local administration in each case,” he said, adding that church bodies had been trying to clarify that they did not conduct conversions.
He also appealed for peace amid tensions surrounding conversion allegations.
Reports of Attacks on Churches, Christian Families
Prayer services have allegedly been disrupted and churches vandalised in parts of West Bengal, including West Midnapore, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Bolpur, Nadia and Haridevpur in Kolkata.
Bangiya Christiya Parisheba (BCP), a church organisation in Kolkata, has also sought the intervention of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari over the reported attacks.
On Monday, a Christian family in Panskura was allegedly assaulted after locals forcibly entered their home and held family members captive, according to reports.
Calling for unity among Christians, Canning said the community needed to come together and raise its voice for peace.
“We need to stay united. They may not bother about Christians, but we need to come together and raise our voice for peace in the country,” he said.
Bishop Comments on Vande Mataram Controversy
Canning also addressed the controversy surrounding Vande Mataram, saying Christians should abide by government orders while asserting that no one could be forced to sing the song’s religious stanzas.
He said the Supreme Court had not directed people to sing the religious stanzas and maintained that people should not face compulsion over them.
“Nobody can force us to sing the last two stanzas, but we should not have any problem singing the rest, as we maintain cordial relations with people of other religions, and tolerance is the hallmark of this country,” he said.
Calls for Financial Self-Reliance
The CNI moderator also urged church missions to become financially self-reliant instead of depending on foreign aid.
“Every church body has to be self-reliant and create its own funds,” he said.
Reflecting on his first year as moderator, Canning said criticism and daily challenges had not deterred him from his goal of serving society.
Earlier, he felicitated West Bengal Higher Education Minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay and Cossipore-Belgachia MLA Ritesh Tiwari, who briefly attended the celebrations.
