Indian Evangelical head decries Orissa violence in Intl meet

Rev. Dr. Richard Howell, the general secretary of Evangelical Fellowship of India and Asia Evangelical Alliance, in an emotionally charged testimony informed the evangelical leaders in the WEA (World Evangelical Alliance) gathering of the recent anti–Christian violence in the country.

Hindu nationalist political parties believe and promote an ideology that promotes Hindu nation, Hindu culture, and Hindu people – “nationalism linked to Hindu religion,” said Howell.

“If you are not a Hindu, by definition, you are an anti–national,” he states. “So the hatred of Christian is hatred of Christian identity. They don’t like us not because of what we do – they definitely hate what we do – but also who we are.”

“They want to turn India into a Hindu nation, that is why Christians are hated,” the evangelical leader said.

But more importantly, Christians are hated because they empower the poor, which is the “root cause of any hatred that they incur,” he said.

Empowering the poor Dalit disturbs the caste system, which defines the group formerly known as untouchables as impure.

“A Dalit can never become a Brahmin (the highest position among the four social classifications of Brahminical Hinduism). It is his fate that he is condemned to be an impure Dalit. He should die a Dalit,” Howell explained.

However, the Gospel empowers and liberates Dalits when they become a follower of Jesus Christ, which angers the Brahmins.

“In 1857, every single Christian in Delhi was slaughtered – every single Christian. There was a time in Delhi where every single Muslim was put to death,” recalled a visibly emotional Howell in a loud but trembling voice.

“In 1984, when Mrs. [Indira] Ghandi (India's first and to date only female Prime Minister) was killed, 3,000 Sikhs were butchered – 3,000 of them on the streets of Delhi,” he recalled. “They have killed the Christians, they have killed the Muslims, they have killed the Sikhs, and now it is the time of Christians to be killed.”

He cited reports claiming that 50,000 Indian Christians have been displaced because of the violence, 30,000 of them live in relief camps – some, as reported by news agencies, sleeping without blankets – and over 4,000 Christian homes, churches and businesses have also been destroyed.

Some Christian groups say nearly 100 Christians have been killed in the attacks, although the media reports significantly lower figures – around 40 to 50 deaths.

“Persecution continued for two months unabated, uncontrolled,” Howell said angrily. “Government is a participator to the persecution that is taking place. Police stand as silent spectators. Nuns have been gang raped in the presence of police.”

The current anti–Christian campaign is said to be the worst in the 60 years of India’s independence. India is the largest democratic country to experience such a large scale persecution of religious minority.

Though Hindu radicals accuse Christians of only serving the poor to convert them, Howell vehemently denied the allegations.

“Christians care for the poor for the sake of the love of Jesus Christ, not because we go out to convert,” he asserts. “Propagation machine say Christians serve to convert. If that was the case, our percentage should be 40, 60 or 80 percent – that’s not the case.”

India’s population is currently comprised of 80.5 percent Hindus, 13.4 percent Muslims, 2.3 percent Christians, and 1.9 percent Sikhs, according to the CIA World Factbook.

The WEA General Assembly, which began on Oct. 25, concluded on Thursday, Oct. 30.

More than 500 evangelical Christians from over 100 nations took part in the ceremony at beach resort city of Pattaya, Thailand.