An analysis of Christianity in Punjab
A quick preamble to begin with: the objective behind this article is to demonstrate that conversion to Christianity isn’t as common as it may seem through the lens of social media, not to prove that conversion doesn’t exist as an entirety in Punjab.
The history of Christianity in Punjab
The history of Christianity in Punjab begins with the Jesuit mission to the Mughal Empire, with the first church being constructed in 1597 and destroyed by Shah Jahan in 1632. There were negligible records of Christians in Punjab until the advent of the first Presbyterian missionary, John Cameron Lowrie, whose attempted mission was a massive failure. After the annexation of Punjab, missions were set up in all Punjabi cities and large towns. Most of these missions were Protestant but as recorded by the 1931 census, there was a small minority of Catholics also. After the Partition, the position of the Catholics strengthened as priests from Kerala set up dioceses in Punjab. Evangelical and Pentecostal churches became more popular amongst Punjabi Christians due to funding from South Indian missionaries. However, missionary activity greatly reduced during the 1970s, only making a resurgence in the late 1990s and early 2000s. A look at demographic data suggests the growth in Christians has been quite stable; registering both increases and decreases in the religion-based percentage on a district-wise basis.
A comparison of census records of Christians in Punjab
A common misconception amongst many is that Christians have significantly grown in population, especially in the years thereafter the Punjab insurgency. This misconception can be easily disproved with a look at data based on religious demographics. For this comparison, we will use the 1971 census, the first census published after the bifurcation of the original Punjab state, and the 2011 census, the most recent census. The table below shows data from these two censuses comparing populations and percentages based on the total population.
From the census data, we can extrapolate that the proportion of Christians in all of these districts has increased. However, this doesn’t account for many of the district divisions that have occurred since then. In 1971, the Tarn Taran district was a part of the Amritsar district and the Nawanshahr tehsil was a part of Jalandhar district. A re-estimate based on these provides a more accurate representation for Christian demographics in Punjab.
The data actually shows a percentage increase in 2 districts, Gurdaspur and Jalandhar. These two increases are quite marginal and most likely representative of organic growth through higher birthrates. Amritsar district has even registered a decrease in the proportion of Christians that make up the district, disproving the myth of exponentially increasing Christians in Punjab. Gurdaspur and Amritsar were both homes to a Christian population ever since the early 1900s so their growth in Christians isn’t a new development.
Many often critique the census as it doesn’t accurately display syncretism, especially intricacies that exist between Hinduism and Sikhi or even sometimes with Islam. The syncretic character of the rural Punjabi landscape is characterised by jatheras, melas and other sorts of Sufi shrines. These places and events are no longer enjoying the popularity they once did but elements of syncretism still very much exist albeit experiencing a decline amongst younger populations.
Genuine conversion to Christianity
That being said, Christianity will often fall outside this syncretic bracket. Many converts will usually re-adopt Sikhi as missionaries will often attempt to strengthen religious boundaries and shun converts away from any aspects of their previous religion. Converts are often advised to shun syncretism and those who’ve been neglected by Sikh organisations will be ready to do so. For most genuine converts to Christianity, it truly is a case of neglect from local Sikh organisations and on a wider perspective, the SGPC. Social problems such as alcohol dependency and drug abuse are issues that have plagued Punjab since time immemorial. Utilising religion as a remedy for these issues is natural as these very issues were what led to the rise of the erstwhile Mukhi of the Damdami Taksal, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, in the late 1970s. Often those who are afflicted by these issues that take help from Christians will be considered ‘born-again.’ The likelihood is that many non-Christians may consult the help of Christian figures due to the negligence of local Sikh organisations and often in the process, will become baptised as a Christian.
Crypto-Christians and church construction
In an Indian context, the term crypto-Christian has come of prevalence very recently. This term was historically used for Christian groups who would suffer persecution for their religious beliefs under oppressive regimes. Its usage now is to describe Christians who hide themselves away in the census as a different religion; this can be due to a variety of reasons but the most common is usually to receive SC/ST benefits. This is supported by various Christian organisations who preposterously posit that Christians make up to almost 7–10% of Punjab and is often used as an argument as to why Christians have historically been underrepresented in electoral politics.
However, they’ve been considered significant politically for votes by the two major parties in Punjab: Akali-BJP (Now a broken alliance) and Congress. In an attempt to court favour of the ‘Christian votebank’, both have received and been promised a numerous amount of benefits. In 2016, the joint Akali-BJP coalition created a Christian Welfare board to ensure that burial grounds can be allocated to Christians on a village basis. About a year ago, the Shiromani Christian Parbandhak Committee (SCPC) was formed for the betterment of Christianity in Punjab; created with the same intentions that the SGPC was formed for. The present Congress govt in Punjab has offered power subsidies and ration benefits to SC Christians. Christians in Punjab have already been offered a wide number of incentives from these political parties so there would be no need for a Christian to remain hidden in the census as a ‘crypto-Christian’.
The rapid proliferation of Christian churches in areas like Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Pathankot, areas traditionally considered as the heartland of Sikhi, being situated in the Majha region, seems to be of concern to many especially on social media. The fastest growing churches in Punjab include those of the Pentecostals and other independent denominations. A comparison can be formed here with Pentecostal churches in Chennai, which were known to have low membership. The churches there were often symbolic to Pentecostals themselves, being referred to as ‘the worldly manifestation of his God-given spiritual powers and in many ways an extension of himself.’ These churches were usually only visited by a few families or at times even just the one family. They aren’t regulated by any external body and are quite prone to closure but when highlighted on a map, it gives the illusion that churches are rapidly growing. Anecdotally, this phenomenon doesn’t seem too far from home; common for even a single Christian family to register their property as a church, possibly due to the same reasons as mentioned as in Chennai.
Charlatanry amongst missionaries and pastors
From social media, it appears that there are all manner of Christian developments taking place in Punjab. One may be actually deluded into thinking Christians actually make up 10% of the state from using social media as a primary source of information. While it is true that pastors like Ankur Narula who have Evangelical megachurches and mislead many people in the name of religion, it is more apt to conclude that this phenomenon is merely a branch in the wider sphere of the proliferation of deras and their detrimental activities. How different is Ankur Narula’s charlatanry to that of Gurmeet Ram Rahim? Deras have been using blind faith as a manner of wooing unsuspecting adherents for quite a while and Evangelicals have merely adapted this for their own benefit whilst using Christian themes.
Conclusion
Conclusively, it’s easy to see that the minuscule Christian increases are not a product of greater conspiracy even if social media does make it appear so; conversions are occurring but not at a particularly disastrous rate. It becomes abundantly clear to see why SGPC hasn’t taken this issue up en masse like they previously did with deras. Just like deras, the Christian megachurches merely use religion as a means to exert power and many of these church-goers won’t record themselves as Christian in the 2021 census. Since the early 1900s, Christians have been a substantial minority in Punjab and this is evidenced by the census. In 1971, there were 162,202 Christians in Punjab, making up 1.2% of Punjab and in 2011, there were 348,230 Christians in Punjab, making up 1.26% of Punjab; representing a minuscule 0.06% increase in the proportion of Christians making up the state. Instead of focusing on Christians, it would serve Sikh interests to take up issues such as rising irreligion, which has already taken root in many urban Sikh populations, and deras, who were the progenitors of this miracle-based charlatanry to build followings.
