With eagerness, I read the open letter of Monsignor Susai Sebastian titled "An Open Letter to My Fellow Christians: An Appeal to Conscience and Christian Responsibility," published in 'Indian Currents' on November 2, 2026. He appeals to all Christians' conscience and responsibility and challenges their muted silence and lack of political involvement. Resonating with his concerns, I feel inspired to continue his call by sharing some reflections on Christians' political involvement, a historical mandate today.

If we Christians still keep on avoiding political involvement, soon we will be ignored, bypassed and avoided by the political realm itself. One national political party has already declared that they do not need the votes of the minorities, as they totally cash in on the majoritarian religion in India. Not only that, but we will also be more persecuted and marginalised, and our own human rights guaranteed in the Constitution will be trampled upon. Anti-Christian atrocities are already rampant in some States. If we Christians do not wake up at least now, we will never be allowed to wake up from this apathetic slumber.

Before some of the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and other places last April and May, I published four short articles in New Leader to raise awareness of Christians' political involvement today.

They highlight what political involvement really is, how Yahweh, the Prophets, and Jesus have been political in their mission, and how Christians respond. It convincingly argues that Christian political involvement is a call and challenge to all Christians, rooted in our faith. This is to decode and demythologise the prevalent understanding that political involvement is not part of Christian responsibility and way of life.

As I thank the New Leader for publishing my short articles, I wish to bring them together in a nutshell for the readers of Indian Currents, in a continuous, logical presentation of my reflections on this topic.

Is Political Involvement of Christians a Historical Imperative Today?
During the last sixteen years, the well-orchestrated attacks on Christians in India have become much more blatant and rampant than before. We are quite aware of the fascist and communalistic forces who are behind this series of attacks.

The Christmas celebrations of last December were indiscriminately vandalised; carol singers were threatened. Even Christmas celebration materials sold by non-Christians were vandalised. More than 700 attacks have been unleashed against Christians in India in 2025 alone.

Another new malicious tactic of Christian persecution in India is to strip Christian organisations of the facility to receive funds from abroad. By 2020, over 19,000 Christian minorities and NGOs have been either stopped or suspended from using this FCRA facility. This cunning tactic is to paralyse our service to the nation in different fields, especially to the poor and marginalised.

Draconian anti-conversion laws target Christians ruthlessly. A steep 500% increase has been recorded in violent attacks against Christians in India over the past decade. Between 2014 and 2024, incidents rose from 139 to 834, driven by anti-Christian propaganda, false allegations of forced conversion, and a culture of impunity.

Endangered Existence of Christians
The very survival of Christians today is at stake. A well-planned hate campaign is unleashed to portray Christians and Muslims as enemies and anti-nationals. If our very existence as Christians is threatened and attacked, how can we realise the Reign of God, the dream of Jesus in our life and mission? How can we live as rightful citizens of our country? Are we Christians sufficiently aware that the axe is placed at the root of our Christian presence to reduce us to being subservient to the supremacy of majoritarian and communalistic terrorism?

Can we be Silent and Apolitical?
How can we Christians save ourselves from this perilous situation? Can we afford to be silent and apolitical? Can we just continue to be complacent about things happening to Christians elsewhere and not to us? How can we assert that we are the legal citizens of this country and establish our rights to justice, equality, liberty, and fraternity guaranteed by the Constitution of India? Through active, proactive political involvement, we Christians can establish our citizenship and human rights and affirm our place in India.

Politics is Power to Empower and to be Empowered
In Greek, politics relates to politiká, meaning 'affairs of the cities,' referring to the set of activities associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations. Politics is not to be viewed narrowly as party politics. More broadly, politics is the exercise of power. Politics is the power to discern, decide and execute one's or a group's life. It can be power invested in individuals or groups. When humans are deprived of this power and the dominant impose decisions on them, they become disempowered. Therefore, politics is power for every human to empower and to be empowered.

Are Christians Politically Conscious Enough?
We, Christians, need to become politically conscious now more than ever. We need to be politically engaged to be empowered and to empower others. Pope Francis has advocated active Christian engagement in politics as a moral duty to serve the common good, urging the lay faithful to move beyond a private faith and transform society. He emphasises 'political love' to promote justice, protect the marginalised, and bridge polarisation, viewing politics as a lofty vocation rather than a power struggle.

Political Participation: A Historical Imperative Today
Political involvement today is integral to the mission of promoting the Reign of God and, therefore, part and parcel of our faith. Service to God cannot be separated from service to others and nation-building. Church leaders should encourage priests and religious to become more politically conscious and encourage the laity to engage in active political involvement.

We need strong Christian representation in the Legislative, Judiciary and Executive to safeguard our civil rights and thus work relentlessly for the rights of every citizen in India. If we miss our active political participation now, our Christian presence of life and service will be eclipsed and even annihilated. Let us wake up from being mere passive spectators to active political involvement, empowering and being empowered to be rightful citizens and faithful Christians.