This CHRISTMAS was different from the previous ones … as, for the first time, we heard voices standing up against our celebrations of Christmas…Stray comments in various Whatsapp groups on 'Not to dress up the kids as Santas and turn them into jokers', in some states, mandating the parents' prior permission before involving their kids in Christmas programs, etc.

On 25th December 2023, I, too, had the opportunity to be part of the Christmas get-together held at the Hon'ble Prime Minister's residence in New Delhi. It was indeed an awakening experience for me. The Program began with the Christmas Carols performed by the students of a particular Christian Institution. They sang melodiously in perfect harmony, but what disturbed my mind was that all the Carols were in English, and no one sang a Hindi Carol. Moreover, the students wore Western dresses, with short skirts and stockings. 

Bit disappointed, I began to ponder, "Aren't we, the Christian Institutions, in a way, responsible for our failure to rightly communicate our Indian identity, our ethnic loyalty and sense of patriotism?" Isn't it a matter of great concern that, even after 76 years of India's independence from the shackles of the British regime, our fellow citizens still consider us Christians as agents and extensions of the enslaving Western world?

It so happened that in one of our institutions, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, a Hindu teacher questioned a Christian teacher, "Its you people (she meant, 'Christians') who enslaved India and now how come you are honouring Mahatma Gandhi?"

Friends, the majority of our Indian Masses still DO NOT know that we, the Indian Christians, have absolutely Indian Origins and have Indian blood and patriotism running in our veins! They are under the misconception that we are foreigners, or more specifically, Britishers! Anti-Christian rhetoric has been, and is all the more, part of public and political discourse today. A tide of disinformation tends to misinterpret the Indian-Christian commitment to a better India. There are a few who are implacably hostile to the Church and its service while at ease with ignoring evidence to the contrary.

In present times, when our country and the government are pro-actively claiming their Indian identity, it needs to be our top priority, as Christian leaders, to stop and seriously re-consider 'If we have somewhere erred or missed out in representing ourselves as 'Indian' Christians? Have we blindly taken up all Western practices and rituals that have, in a way, misrepresented us and have led to our failure in communicating the GOOD NEWS that JESUS came to bring for the whole world?'

The signs of the times are inviting us, the Christians, to explore our rich identity as 'Indian-Christians' connecting to our profound ethnic roots and to re-define ourselves in perfect clarity and understanding, thus truly 'incarnating Christ' in the Indian soil of kaleidoscopic variety and rich cultural heritage.

Especially as Educators, let us take proactive steps, using our morning assemblies, school programs and practices to powerfully communicate our ethnic rootedness as 'Indian-Christians' so that the Indian masses realise that 'Indian' and 'Christian' are not mutually exclusive and the familiar refrain "If you are a Christian, you can't be Indian" is seriously flawed.

As we enter 2024, let's look to a hopeful future, much like our forebears in the run-up to our "Tryst with Destiny". As Indian Christians, let's continue actively seeking to cross borders and become part of national life. As Fr. Felix Wilfred writes, "the point is not how much good work is done - often in patronising style for others but to what extent the Church is part of the life of others as friends". God bless us all with a Healthy, Happy, Hopeful and Harmonious 2024!