//Troubled by the Past, Indian Christian Community Wary of Modi’s Return as PM

Troubled by the Past, Indian Christian Community Wary of Modi’s Return as PM

Dalit Christians along with other marginalised communities of India have been breathing a sigh of relief since Indian general election results were declared on June 4. Although Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is back in power, its diminished strength in the Parliament has given a new lease of life to hitherto cornered opposition, civil society, religious minorities, Dalits and Adivasis.

The results hold significance for India’s Christian community too, which constitute 2.3% of the total population. In absolute numbers, there are 22.31 million Christians in the country. The community has been at the receiving end for the last 10 years. Since 2014, with the ascendancy of Narendra Modi as prime minister, there has been an alarming rise in the atrocities perpetrated against Christians and churches. Christian NGOs have been delegitimised by labelling them as ‘centres of religious conversion’, which consequently led to the cancellation of their FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) licenses. Many organisations, thus led by the Church and its affiliate organisations, including educational institutions and health centres, have been deprived of their financial sources. Many spiritual leaders have been falsely implicated and sent to prison. As many as 12 states in the country now use the strong arm of the state in the form of anti-conversion laws to harass the Christian community.

For the last five years, there has been no representation of Christians and Muslims in the Union cabinet. In the absence of voices in the Parliament, these two communities, adversely affected by the majoritarianism impulses of the BJP government, have been placing trust in the Congress party and other secular parties to foreground their concerns and to voice their demands. One of their key demands to be accorded Scheduled Caste status for Dalit Christians and Muslims remains unmet.

The Church, however, engrossed in its own matters, has largely remained indifferent to the sociopolitical churn on the ground. However, the likes of Peter Machado, Metropolitan Archbishop of Bangalore, in their individual capacities, tried to draw the attention of the larger civil society to the suffering of the Christian community in the country. Jesuits, Salesians, and several religious Sisters also worked hard behind the scenes to drum up support for secular parties and to safeguard human rights.

It is to be seen if the third Modi government, with its reduced numerical strength, would demonstrate any change in terms of its treatment of religious minorities and marginalised communities. The electorate, through their vote, has made it amply clear that employment, development, economy and standards of living matter over religious politics.

The plight of Dalit Christians is real, both the Church and the State have a lot to do to inspire confidence in them and to bring about a positive turnaround in their lives.