If the mission of the present disciples of Jesus is to continue the mission of Jesus in the context in which they live, Christians in India cannot but be concerned about the tectonic socio-political changes taking place in India under the Modi regime. The success and effectiveness of their mission depends to a great extent on their creative response to the challenges arising from these changes, and one among the key challenges is the increasing trust deficit among the followers of different religions in India. 

A startling dimension of the alarming changes taking place in India is brought to light by a survey, titled Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation, conducted by Pew Research Centre covering 30,000 Indians from November 2019 to March 2020. 82% of the respondents across all major religions said that respecting and tolerating all religions is an important part of being an Indian, and 65% of Hindus said that religious diversity benefits the country. At the same time, 65% of all the people surveyed recognised communal tensions as a “very big problem” in the country.

A highly disturbing finding of the survey is that most Hindus “tend to see their religious identity and Indian national identity as closely intertwined”. 64% of Hindus are of the view that being Hindu is essential to be “truly Indian” and 59% of all Hindus also believe that being able to speak Hindi is necessary to be an Indian. The efforts of the RSS and the BJP to define Indian nationalism in terms of “Hindu-Hindi-Hindustan” have become fruitful to a great extent. It appears that the majority of Hindus have accepted the ideology of Hindu Rashtra of RSS. Added to this, about half of all Indians support authoritarian rule.

Another worrying finding is the increasing trust deficit among the followers of different religions. 66% of Hindus and 64% of Muslims feel they are very different from each other. Stopping religious intermarriage for both men and women is a very high priority for almost 70 per cent Hindus and Muslims. While 45 per cent Hindus are fine with having a neighbour from any religion, 45 per cent do not want a member of another religion as a neighbour. Incidentally, 61 per cent of Jains would exclude Muslims, Sikhs and Christians from being their neighbour. 

The disciples and followers of Jesus in India have to live and continue their mission in the context of increasing religious polarization. The right wing organizations have been spreading hatred and enmity towards the minorities, especially Muslims and Christians since independence. The findings of the Pew survey reveal the impact of the concerted efforts of the Sangh Parivar headed by RSS for a long time. If 64% of Hindus believe that being a Hindu is essential to be an Indian, it means that they do not consider Christians and

Muslims as Indians. It also means the ideology of M S Golwalkar, whom the Sangh Parivar Considers Guruji, has penetrated into the lower levels of Hindu community. 

In this backdrop it is pertinent to recall what M S Golwalkar wrote in his book, ‘We or Our Nation Defined’. “The foreign races in Hindusthan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e., of the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment — not even citizen’s rights.” 

If large numbers of Hindus suspect the belongingness of Christians and Muslims to Indian nation, it should be a big concern for the disciples of Jesus. The intense anti-minority propaganda by the Sangh Privar could be the main reason for this change in the mindset of the Hindus. At the same time, the disciples of Jesus have to introspect whether there have been failures on their part in expressing publically their sense of belonging to India and sensitivity to the religious and cultural ethos of Hindu community. 

In the drastically changed socio-political context of India, there is an urgent need for reimagining and reinventing the mission of the disciple of Jesus. Reinventing requires going back to the roots, the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in the Gospels, and responding to the challenges of today in the light of the teachings of Jesus. In other words, it is asking themselves, “What would Jesus do if he were here today?” 

It is clear from the Gospels that the mission of Jesus was bringing about individual and social transformation in view of establishing the Kingdom of God or Reign of God. Jesus started his public life with a clarion call, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” As it is reflected in the Gospels, Kingdom of God or Reign of God is not a place, but a situation in which God is accepted as the loving Father/Mother and all human beings as brothers and sisters with equal rights, opportunities and dignity. The Sermon on the Mount delineates the changes that are required in the individuals and in the society in order to create the Reign of God situation. The mission of the disciples of Jesus is to undergo a radical transformation as explained in the Sermon on the Mount and become catalysts of change in the society by becoming of ‘light’ and ‘salt’. 

The vision of India as reflected in the preamble of Indian Constitution and Jesus’ vision for an ideal society (Reign of God) are more or less the same. The Constitution of India envisages an India in which all Indians will have access to Secular Democracy, Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity that ensures Individual Dignity.  

Hindutva ideology, which is divisive, exclusive, highly patriarchal and based on hatred against the minorities, is diametrically opposed to the kingdom values and the core values of Indian Constitution. The increased trust deficit and drift among the followers of different religions, and the prejudice among the Hindus against Muslims and Christians are the result of the Hindutva ideology seeping into different layers of Indian society. 

A new book, UNDER COVER by Ashish Khetan, an investigating journalist, exposes the underbelly of Hindutva, the abominable crimes committed on Muslims by the Sangh Parivar outfits during the Gujarat riots in 2002, and how justice was denied to the victims in the following years by manipulating criminal justice delivery system. What was successfully experimented in Gujarat has been replicated at the all India level since 2014. Stigmatization and marginalization of the minorities is an essential dimension of this experiment. An outward expression of stigmatization and marginalization is one of the findings of Pew survey- 45% of Hindus do not want a member of another religion as a neighbour.

The disciples of Jesus cannot be indifferent to this dangerous scenario and be satisfied with carrying on their routine activities. They have to become agents of building trust, harmony and peace among the followers of different religions, if they are to be true to their call to the discipleship of Jesus. Through the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, especially the last chapter, “Religions at the service of fraternity in our world”, Pope Francis enjoins the members of the Catholic Church to build harmonious relationships among the followers of different religions. “Each one of us is called to be an artisan of peace, by uniting and not dividing, by extinguishing hatred and not holding on to it, by opening paths of dialogue and not by constructing new walls”, Pope Francis reminds the members of the Church. 

Although the Encyclical does not directly say what evangelization is, it gives sufficient indications regarding what should be the focus of evangelization in the present world scenario.  No.4 of the document states, “Francis (St. Francis) did not wage a war of words aimed at imposing doctrines; he simply spread the love of God. He understood that God is love and those who abide in love abide in God.” The same message is conveyed by No. 91 which says, “All of us, as believers, need to recognize that love takes first place: love must never be put at risk, and the greatest danger lies in failing to love”. No. 2 emphasizes the need for sowing the seeds of peace and walking alongside the poor, the abandoned, the infirm and the outcastes. In No. 92, Pope Francis warns the overenthusiastic evangelizers.

 “Yet some believers think that it consists in the imposition of their own ideologies upon everyone else, or in a violent defence of truth, or in impressive demonstration of strength”.  What Pope Francis has written in Fratelli Tutti is very relevant to the disciples of Jesus in India. 

The following could be some practical steps the disciples of Jesus can adopt in the present socio-political context of India in order to create a counter culture of trust, harmony, appreciation and cooperation to the divisive, discriminatory and exclusive culture vehemently promoted by the right wing forces.  

1)    As the values enshrined in the preamble of Indian Constitution are very similar to the values of the Kingdom of God, the preamble may be exhibited prominently in all families and Christian institutions, and the core values of Indian constitution shall be disseminated through all ministries of various Christian Churches and denominations in India. 

2)    Often the young minds are polluted with the ideology of division and hatred. Hence the Christian educational institutions shall specially focus on inculcating in the minds of students the Indian constitutional values, particularly religious and cultural pluralism-acceptance, appreciation and celebration of diversities. 

3)    As a vivid expression of respect for other faiths, all Christian institutions shall celebrate at least one important festival of the other faiths in India by highlighting the central spiritual message of the concerned festival. 

4)    As an expression of appreciation of other faiths, all Christian institutions meant for the general public shall adopt interfaith prayer with common songs/bhajans and readings from different scriptures related to the universal values like love, compassion, justice, equality, respect for human dignity etc. Similarly quotes from different scriptures related to the universal values may be exhibited on the walls of these institutions. 

5)    Once in a while Christian educational institutions may organize online interfaith prayer to which students, teachers and family members of students could be invited.  Universal Solidarity Movement (USM) Indore has started conducting online interfaith prayer for peace once a month after the second wave of coronavirus. 400 to 500 people take part in the online prayer session. Many participants have expressed their appreciation of the prayer. 

6)    As part of value education, the youth (high school and college students) shall be given the opportunity to learn the basic teachings of Indian religions in such a way that they are able to appreciate other faiths while being rooted in their own faith. 

7)    The disciples of Jesus may take initiative to form neighbourhood groups consisting of the followers of all faiths for launching welfare programmes for the disadvantaged sections of society, especially during the pandemic coronavirus.