Author: Manpreet Singh
Publication: Christianity Today
Date: June 18, 2003
Christians see churches-and opposition-grow
among Sikhs.
The Open Door Church is one of the
largest buildings in the tiny agricultural village of Khojewala. With a
large cross on top, it stands boldly in the majority-Sikh region in northwestern
Punjab state. A sign on the gate reads, "Christ be praised." Inside, villagers
sit cross-legged on cotton sheets spread over the cement floor of the main
hall. Under the whir of overhead fans, they are calling out, "Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!"
Every Sunday, people from across
the state attend this church, nestled amid green and golden farmlands.
Pastor Harbhajan Singh, a 52-year-old former landlord, built it in 1991.
Harbhajan says he was a drunkard who indulged in "all kinds of bad things"
until Christ saved him. He converted from Sikhism to Christianity in 1986.
Through his ministry, Harbhajan seeks to heal mind and body.
"People find peace here, so they
come," Harbhajan told Christianity Today. "The Lord does it. We are incapable.
Their deep faith in Christ helps in healing diseases and brings inner peace."
This message makes sense to Sikhs, many of whom see Jesus as a figure of
mercy and compassion. Harbhajan's church has 2,800 baptized members, plus
many others who are awaiting baptism.
The village youth committee initially
forbade Harbhajan from building the church. And when he started building,
he received many death threats.
"You can't do God's work if you
are afraid," he said. "I stood. The Lord saves and protects."
John Dayal, secretary general of
the All India Christian Council, said there is a new openness to Christ
in the state.
"Punjab has had a traumatic 20 years,"
Dayal said. "Currently there is . joblessness, drug addiction, easy money,
and division between Hindus and Sikhs. In search of a path, people are
turning to Christ for the healing of body, mind, and soul."
A proud culture
Religion scholars believe that
around the time of the Protestant Reformation, Sikhism was born in what
is now Pakistan. It is a fusion of Hinduism and the mystical Sufi branch
of Islam. Its founder, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, was weary of a Hinduism whose
upper-caste abused low-caste and outcaste untouchables-now called Dalits-in
India.
There are about 25 million Sikhs
worldwide, 16 million of whom live in Punjab, a relatively prosperous state
of 24 million people sharing a border with Pakistan. Punjab made a futile
bid for independence in the 1980s and 1990s; 25,000 people died in the
war, including the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was assassinated.
The province is 34 percent Hindu,
about 1 percent Christian and Muslim, and 64 percent Sikh. Until recent
years, most Christians were from traditional communities. Little evangelism
took place among Sikhs, who are intensely proud of their religion and culture.
Despite Sikhism's origins, discrimination
against Dalits runs deep here. Dalit Sikhs often must worship in their
own shrines, or gurdwaras. Marriages between low-caste and upper-caste
Sikhs are prohibited. Upper-caste Sikhs generally avoid social interaction
with Dalits.
Over the last several years, several
thousand Sikhs, many of them Dalits, have left Sikhism for Christianity.
In April, 200 Dalits converted in the town of Moga. Another 48 converted
in Amritsar, the province's capital and home to Sikhism's revered Golden
Temple.
Precise overall figures are not
available, however. Many Sikhs who convert keep their ethnic names, so
tracking them is difficult. More importantly, Christians do not publicize
mass conversions for fear of inciting local wrath, which is becoming a
problem.
In response to the conversions,
the local state branch of the Hindu-rightist Bharatiya Janata Party is
demanding an immediate ban on conversions. Radicals with Bajrang Dal and
Vishwa Hindu Parishad, two other Hindu groups, recently beat Indian Christian
missionaries and burned some Bibles.
Following news of the Sikh conversions
in Moga, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC), the Sikhs'
highest body, demanded that Christians explain their role in conversions.
A Sikh federal minister in April proposed a law banning conversions in
Punjab, along the lines of legislation adopted in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat
(CT, June, p. 26).
"These are very tense times," SGPC
Secretary Harbeant Singh said. (All Sikh males bear the last name Singh.)
"There are reports that Christians are buying Sikhs to Christianity with
the lure of jobs and money. We have made a special [committee] to deal
with conversions." The SGPC has sent Sikh missionaries to border and rural
areas to shore up the Sikh faith.
Harbeant said, "Christians have
a right to preach, but we are against force and allurements."
Dayal questions the allegation.
"Punjab is not a case of 'rice Christians,' " he said. "Who can force people
in Punjab?"
The government-run National Commission
for Minorities also has stepped into the fray. Chairman Tarlochan Singh,
a Sikh, recently asked Christians to stop building churches in Punjab.
Outraged, Christians are seeking an apology and a reversal.
P. K. Samantaroy, Amritsar bishop
of the Church of North India (CNI), said such requests are taking a toll.
"Christians are defensive, and even apologetic," he said. "Church leaders
are sulking and not coming forward as a whole." The CNI is a union of several
major denominations-including Baptists, Brethren, and Disciples-that formally
began in 1970.
Samantaroy said in an open letter
to the Indian prime minister, the minority commission, and Sikh leaders:
"We are being made a sacrificial goat. If we are not allowed to build churches
and preach, what will we do?"
Meanwhile, the Church of North India,
the Salvation Army, the Roman Catholics, Methodists, Seventh-day Adventists,
and many Pentecostal churches continue to spread the good news, particularly
in rural areas.
"Come what may, we will not compromise,"
Samantaroy said. "We will not stop preaching the gospel. No one can stop
us."
Malkiat Singh, 39, a soft-spoken
upper-caste farmer from Jallandhar, faced ostracism but held firm. His
wife, Gurbax Kaur, also embraced the faith and stood with him.
"When I became Christian, our relatives
boycotted my family," Malkiat said. "I stood for what gave me satisfaction
and peace. Jesus listens to our prayers [and] sends his pure soul, which
gives us such joy and strength."
