Last month we heard of the 28 million Christians in India and I lightly sketched in something of the Hindu background against which most of them practice our faith. Whilst this number seems substantial, Christians form less than 3% of India’s estimated 1,150 million people. In overall terms, for each Christian there are 12 Muslims and 82 Hindus but, due to uneven distribution, the picture on the ground is different. Christians are almost non-existent in North India, the political heartland, but they form a small majority in less populated north east India (Bihar and Assam) and a large minority around Kerala in the south. Between these areas Christians form tiny minorities – only in one state (Punjab) do they even make up 1%.
The Church is therefore widely split in two parts – the Church of South India (CSI) and the Church of North India (CNI) each with its own bishops and hierarchical structures. Both had promisingly expanded under the Raj but, as explained last month, there was an undercurrent of disdain and resentment mainly on account that Christianity attracted mostly dalits’ (untouchables) and backward’ elements with whom high caste Brahmins and Forward’ Hindus had difficulty in being associated. There was also, amongst Hindus, a deep sense that Christianity, the faith of the occupying power, was western and alien to Indian tradition. While, with independence, freedom to worship according to conscience was enshrined in the Indian constitution, many northern and central states have recently enacted restrictive laws and religious tolerance has been seriously eroded.
South Indian Christians claim that their origin preceded St. Augustine’s landing in England and that their traditions were established by the apostle St. Thomas. Today their church – the Mar Thoma Church – is a blend of Protestants and Catholics with ancient Orthodox overtones originating from the arrival of 4th Century Syrian Christian refugees. Deeply rooted this long established church has a distinctive Indian flavour in its gospel, a warm evangelical spirituality, many cross-cultural missions and it undertakes a wealth of social, medical and educational activities. The South Indian Christian schools are the best available in the country; they also provide the only educational opportunity for the poorest and most despised people in India.
Since 1970 there has been an upsurge of newer churches’; typically non-conformist, independent, often small with a single pastor, spiritual, theologically conservative, often interested in miracles, signs and wonders. They result from South Indian evangelical missionary workers, perhaps as many as 20,000, typically lay leaders, who travel to places where Christians are almost non-existent, notably to central and north India. They have little or no impact in the villages but are generally doing rather well in the cities. But they have growth problems’ such as persecution, ill-trained leadership, sectarianism and some distinctly odd theological perspectives. In the north the CNI is well established particularly amongst the mountainous tribal peoples whose original faith was more frequently animist rather than Hindu. The church has done excellent social, medical and educational work but, on account of ethnic differences, has not widely concerned itself with missionary work in the plains. So far, so good. But there is a darker side.
There are several strands of disadvantage and difficulty that confront the Indian churches; in some states jobs are reserved only for Hindus, particularly those at the bottom of the social ladder, and are barred to Christians; criminals in Indian films are invariably stereotyped as Christians’ – first (explains Bollywood) because they are different, second because robbers are synonymously Christian and materialistic (how sad!); thirdly because Christianity is seen as a threat to the established caste structure; fourthly, Brahman blame Christians for the rise of semi-literate lower class thugs in State Assemblies and resultant massive corruption and lawlessness; fifthly, Hindus say that Christians introduced western style class-based rapacity which has destroyed democratic institutions, also the concept of care through extended families and communities.
Most of this is grossly unfair. But it is easier to lay blame at the feet of the former western colonizer and his church’ than to accept that, with globalisation, the Hindu rigid and discriminatory structures would inevitably crumble – greatly to the disadvantage of those they hitherto favoured. Christianity is seen in part as the cause and certainly as a threat. This has given rise, as the remedy, to thugs who exercise Hindu Fundamentalism – which has a close cousin in political Islam.
It works through a national political party (the BJP) which, by passing laws, seeks to change the political agenda so as to create an all-Hindu’ nationalist vision. At its extreme end, the movement attacks churches, missionaries and Christian schools but – like its Muslim equivalent – professes only a peaceful agenda. The level of pressure is now more widespread and intense than in living memory and has created fear of widespread persecution. Restriction is placed on Christian publications. In some states the BJP has made conversion illegal and forced re-conversion mandatory. In the past two years there have been 200 reported incidents of bombings, arson, attacks, beatings, rapes and murders of Christians. First generation Christians and Christian schools for Dalits are usually the ones in the firing line. Nationally the government condemns such crimes but, once filtered through tiers of administration to the level of local police or magistrates, little or nothing is done by way of increased protection or redress.
Whilst the present nationalist campaign mainly affects small communities in central and northern India, where Christianity is least established, there have been unpleasant indications that it is spreading into stronger CSI and CNI areas. The Church in South India has asked the international Christian community to give thanks for Christian witness in India over nearly 2,000 years; to pray for India’s leaders, given the subcontinent’s spectacular needs, vast population, unique pressures and rapid changes; to pray that the church should find strength in the midst of its current and likely future buffeting and for the Church worldwide to be stirred again to pay attention to India’s new need for support through prayer.
Anthony Hutton
The Persecuted Church
Anthony Hutton