India held national and state elections during April, and the results have excited Christians. Here’s why.

Secular government seen as victory for Christians

Because of the violence in parts of India and the brutal tactics of the fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People’s Party) during the past year, Christians feared the Hindutva extremists would garner a large percentage of votes and consequently increase their power over the demeaned minorities, which include Dalits, tribals, and members of non-Hindu religious groups such as Muslims and Christians.

Just the opposite happened. The Congress Party, the ruling secular party known for its advocacy for minorities and sensitivity to social issues, increased their presence in both the federal Parliament and in state Legislative Assemblies. While they did not harvest enough votes for an outright majority in the 542-seat Parliament, they took 262 seats to 160 for the BJP and its coalition forces. Additional seats won by the like-minded United Progressive Alliance gave them the needed majority.

The defeat of the Hindu nationalist BJP left them shaking their heads in disbelief.

“The enormity of the defeat is such that there will have to be a serious, honest and widespread introspection of every issue in the party,” said Sudheendra Kulkarni, a campaign strategist for the BJP. “Nothing will be brushed under the carpet,” according to an article by Rama Lakshmi, writing for Monday’s The Washington Post.

“The people of India have spoken with great clarity,” the Post reported Singh as saying. “They’ve expressed their support for Congress’s visionary leadership.”

Orissa elections

Violence-ridden Orissa State also saw some relief from the BJP’s harsh tactics. In that terror-weary state, the BJP won only six of the state assembly’s 147 seats. The BJP is the party that backed the violence against Christians in 2007-2008.

The Biju Janata Dal party won 103 seats, and the Congress party 27 seats. The BJD, a regional party, was in power when the Hindus went on their rampage against Christians, but has since backed away from its 10-year alliance with the hardline Hindus. According to the Andhra News, Orissa Chief Minister (equivalent to a U.S. governor), Navin Patnaik, said the BJD cut ties with the BJP because of communal violence in the state, and because the BJP made “unreasonable demands” during seat-sharing talks.

Ironically, two BJP delegates from Kandhamal District, which bore the brunt of the anti-Christian violence, were elected to the state assembly. Manoj Kumar Pradhan, who is currently in jail for his role in the violence, was elected BJP delegate from G. Udayagiri, and Karendra Jajhi from Baliguda also was elected. However, BJP candidate Ashok Sahu from Phulbani was defeated. He was also arrested for his inflammatory speeches during the election campaign and later released on bail.

It’s most likely the BJP candidates won from these districts because most, if not all, the Christians had been driven from them.

Dr. P.R. Parichha, state chairman of the All India Christian Council, said Christians had a chance to elect a Christian delegate to the state assembly from the Bhubaneswar state capital district, but failed to do so, partly due to the fact that the vote was divided among three Christian candidates and the local tribes sponsoring them.

Photo shows Dr. P.R. Parichha, president of India Evangelistic Association and president of the Orissa state chapter of the All India Christian Council, handing relief goods to persecuted believers on an earlier occasion. WCM photo courtesy of IEA.

Parichha did say that he felt the relative success of the elections was due, at least in part, to the prayers of God’s people, both in India and around the world. He said a group of 120 pastors and mission leaders from all over Orissa gathered to pray fervently and unitedly that India would elect a secular government (rather than one that favored a particular religion). He added that God’s people all over India prayed similarly.

He emphasized that not a single member of the BJP was elected to the federal Parliament from Kandhamal District in Orissa.

Dr. Richard Howell, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, confirms the sentiment. He said many political pundits spoke of an “X” factor in the election, and he believes the X factor is God, especially in Orissa. “God does hear prayer and delivers,” he said.

He also said: “Almost all commentators have agreed that as much as it was a vote for the Congress [Party], it was a vote against the extreme Right (BJP) and the extreme Left (Communists). As Outlook’s Vinod Mehta put it, ‘The world’s largest democracy … remains firmly committed to secular politics.’ And Indian Express’ Shekhar Gupta in a front page editorial summed up, ‘So the voter has also junked the idea that Indian secularism needs certificates of legitimacy from the Left. Or that, somehow, you had to be godless to be secular.’”

The future awaits

With a central government sensitive to the needs of minorities and focused on economic growth, many believe now is the time for Christians to raise their united voice in both Parliament and state assemblies. Let us join our prayers with theirs that they will do so.

I have long felt that Christians in India suffered from the battered bride syndrome. If they are beaten long enough they begin to think, “Yes, I must have done something to deserve this. I didn’t pray enough. I’m not spiritual enough.” Or they may think, “It is my duty to suffer in silence. Jesus suffered and I, too, must suffer. It is my duty and privilege to suffer. So I will just suffer.”

While Jesus certainly said we will suffer persecution because of His name, He never implied we should just sit by and let people slap us around. He at least once told His disciples, “If they persecute you in one town, flee to another.”

Of course, our weapons are not the world’s weapons, either. But neither is it removed from our grasp to utilize the political and secular means available as citizens to champion our cause. After all, Paul appealed to Caesar. Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Now is the time for Christians in India (and the U.S.) to affirm their own principles with dignity and affirmative action. The Congress Party certainly is not pro-Christian, but they at least have ears that will listen. And it is to their advantage to do so.