They wanted a party of their own.
In a Pentecostal church in a village in northwestern India, a well-known pastor announced earlier this year that the the time had come. Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims all have their respective political parties, and now Christians too.
As the number of Christians has grown in Punjab, a northern Indian state bordering Pakistan, they have faced increased scrutinycriticism and fake accusationsnot to mention insulting public statements about Jesus. Christians have existed in Punjab for nearly 200 years, but Pentecostal ministries with an emphasis on signs and wonders they have attracted new crowds, new converts and a new need for political representation.
In April, Pastor Harpreet Deol of the Open Door Church said that the United Punjab Party (UPP) would launched under the auspices of the Pentecostal Christian Parbandhak Committee, organizing Christians into an electoral force. They would start with state elections before moving on to national ones.
“Christians in Punjab aim to forge a collective voice, championing their concerns and promoting harmony,” UPP president Albert Dua, who is Catholic, told CT. “The launch of the United Punjab Party by the Christians of Punjab represents an important step in the quest for political representation and protection of the rights and interests of the Christian community.”
The UPP, however, was not welcomed with open arms by Christians throughout the country. Some Christians in India think that politics is dirty and that followers of Christ should stay out of it. But even believers who are actively involved in winning elections and advancing an agenda did not greet the creation of this new party with joy.
Pushpanathan Wilson, a Christian member of Parliament from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, said he expected the UPP to make things worse for Christians in India.
“Fighting elections by forming a Christian political party is disastrous,” he said. “Starting a separate party would only weaken the secular forces that are strong enough to fight the Hindu fundamentalists. … We will put our future generations at risk of being isolated and ignored in our country.”
Governing federally for nearly a decade, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has largely been perceived as ideologically opposed to India being a pluralist, secular democracy, where everyone has equal access to the public square and the same rights, regardless of religion. BJP members promote “Hindutva” or Hinduism and advocate a Hindu nation, which may or may not tolerate cultural and religious differences.
Christians are a clear minority in India, accounting for less than 3% of the population. There are some pockets where Christians have concentrated numbers, such as Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and now parts of Punjab, but not enough to make them a powerful political force.
“If success is measured by getting a Christian candidate elected, we [will] they fail,” said Atul Aghamkar, director of the National Center for Urban Transformation, which is a wing of the Evangelical Fellowship of India. “Christians are a scattered minority and do not have the consolidated numbers needed to win elections.”
Where they have been politically successful in India, Christians have mostly worked in secular parties. In the early days of the independence movement, many Christians were active members of the Indian National Congress. Many continue to show allegiance to the centre-left party, and Christians are generally regarded as a reliable blog of voters for the Indian National Congress.
There have, however, been a number of efforts to launch specifically Christian political organizations over the years. Some have managed to succeed at the state level. In Tamil Nadu, there are Indian Christian Front, Christian Democratic Front and Christian Munnetra Kazhagam. In Telangana, the Indian Christian Secular Party. In Andhra Pradesh, the Indian Christian Party.
Most of these are very small and have failed to exert any significant influence, especially in terms of national politics. Organizing believers in India effectively on a national scale is incredibly difficult.
Ashish Shinde, a Christian politician from Maharashtra who belongs to the Hum Bhartiya Party, said that Christian modes of organization simply do not lend themselves to voter mobilization. Hindus support other Hindus, Sikhs support Sikhs and Muslims, Muslims; but Christians do not always believe that their interests will be best represented by fellow believers.
“Not only is there a very strong denominational divide, but also a membership divide,” Shinde said. “A Methodist will not worship in any Methodist church; he will go to his own specific Methodist church of which he is a member. Thus, when a Christian who represents the whole community wants to fight for an election, he is not accepted by the whole community”.
Practically, according to Shinde, it makes more sense to build coalitions with non-Christians who share a vision of India that allows Christians to thrive alongside everyone else.
“They should work with like-minded politicians,” he said.
John Dayal, the spokesperson for the All India Catholic Union and a veteran news editor, agrees. He believes it is important for Christians to get involved in politics in India. But they can do this by forming alliances and finding common ground.
“Indian Christians have an obligation to exercise their franchise and seek political office,” he said. “They can remain independent political activists or join any political party whose ideology they agree with.”
According to Dayal, there is no chance of a Christian party winning a significant number of seats.
“Unless they have a real-caliber candidate and some real resources, they’re not going to get the results they’re hoping for, even praying,” he said. “It’s not a good idea to start a party unless you’re convinced you have the numbers to win the election.”
This is a practical consideration, but also better ideologically, according to many Christians involved in politics in India. By adopting secular parties and working with religiously diverse coalitions, Christians can demonstrate that they seek not just their own selfish interests, but the common good of all Indians.
This is what the Punjab match ended up doing. For both practical and ideological reasons, the new Christian party decided to seek cooperation with another party before the May elections. Instead of fielding its own candidates for a parliamentary election in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha district, the UPP he urged supporters to vote for the Aam Aadmi Party (the Common Man Party). When the votes were counted, Aam Aadmi candidate Sushil Rinku won by a margin of over 58,000 votes. And the news gave some credit to the Christian voters of the UPP.
Although the election probably did not “forge a collective voice” for Christians in Punjab, UPP leaders still hope it will be the start of a big change in the way Christians participate in politics in India
“While challenges remain, the UPP’s effort is poised to shape the political landscape,” party chairman Albert Dua told CT, “and contribute to the inclusive development of the state.”
