India’s Changing of the Guard

India’s latest election for Prime minister is over.  And on Monday, May 16^th, Narendra Modi will be sworn in as the next leader of India.

Modi is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is very much a Hindu Nationalistic group, although many are trying to downplay this aspect.  The media is touting him, and the party, as pro business and anti corruption, which remains to be seen. 

Typically, politics in India is not a concern for us, but the election of this man could have far reaching consequences for Christian ministries, and the work of AIM in India.   So, I want to give you a bit of analysis of what this could possibly mean to us in the future.

Christian ministries remain cautiously optimistic that they will be able to continue their evangelistic outreach without government interference.  This was a landslide election.  The BJP have controlled individual states before, but this is the first time they have controlled the national government in more than six decades.  Not only that, but they won a majority of seats in the Parliament.  Up until this point the Gandhi-Nehru family has held power over the nation.

Because Modi will be the first hard-line Hindu nationalist to lead the country, both religious and secular media have raised questions regarding how the new government might reshape India’s treatment of other faiths—namely Christianity.

According to Sarla Mahara, the South Asia director for Christian Aid Mission, “The BJP has never hidden its preference to run as a Hindu nationalistic party.  They are clearly religiously oriented.  Obviously that is somewhat of a concern for Christians in India,”

India is a multi-party democracy, and the national constitution provides for the religious freedom of its 1.2 billion citizens, of which over 75 percent are Hindu.  However, persecution is an ongoing reality in many areas where local authorities impose their own set of criteria for approved religious activity.  In states like Odisha or Gujarat where evangelism is already difficult, officials could exert even more pressure on ministries.

It’s not likely there will be a constitutional change any time soon, but pressure on the state level could increase quickly.  Anti-conversion legislation already exists in some Indian states. However, these laws only make conversion illegal when it takes place through coercion or fraud. When individuals plan to change their religion, they are required to inform local authorities that they are intending to do so, and that the decision is their own choice.  Seeking to crackdown on evangelistic work, offended Hindus have in many cases already brought false accusations of forced conversion against Christians.

This one of the many reasons AIM supports local ministries such as missionary Bihit and Pastors Samuel, Ravi, Paresh, and Babu rather than sending and trying to establish a new missionary from the

US in that country.  The efforts of indigenous groups like theirs have proven very effective in taking the gospel to places where Western missionaries are not permitted.  Its colonial history remains a sore spot in the minds of many Indians, who associate Christianity with unwelcomed foreign influence.  With a Hindu nationalist in the highest office in the land, there are legitimate concerns that Christians and other religious minorities could face heightened opposition.

Again, no one knows at this point whether or not these things will happen.  Lord willing, the ministries we support will have an open window for a long period of time. And if changes do occur, they probably won’t happen overnight, and that will give Christian workers time to plan ahead and be prepared.

For now, let’s be sure to be in prayer for India’s leadership, and for the indigenous missionaries and ministries that are experiencing an abundant spiritual harvest in their country. 

Pray that they will have the courage to follow the vision God has given them. Persecution is part of the package for those who serve in ministry.  Political change is challenging, as we’ve seen to some extent here, but pray that believers will face these challenges with deep faith and spiritual wisdom, and that they will continue to love their own people, so that hearts can be won even in the midst of persecution.

I would be interested in hearing the viewpoint of any of my Indian readers on the situation there.  Please feel free to comment in the "comments" section below.  Thank you.

--Russ Sharrock

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