By Santokh Singh Bains (Chicago) | Opinion |
The world’s fourth largest church is being constructed in Jalandhar at a cost of about Rs 2,000 Crores. When this grand church is thrown open to the public, lakhs of Christians from all over India – and thousands from several foreign countries – will start coming to Jalandhar to visit the magnificent church. I wonder how our religious leaders like the Akal Takhat Jathedar and the Shiromani Gurdwara Perbandhak Committee (SGPC) President, and political leaders like Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal will feel at that time!
The Christian population of Punjab in 2011 was 3,48,230 which was 1.26 percent of the state’s population. Strangely, at 2.18 percent, the Christian population was second highest percentage-wise in Amritsar district. It is really ironic that Christians were in such large numbers in a district where premier Sikh institutions like Akal Takhat, SGPC, and Chief Khalsa Dewan are located. Since then, Amritsar district’s Christian population has increased phenomenally (there are about 700 churches now in Amritsar district alone).
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Lakhs of Christians had assembled in Amritsar on 5th July 2022 for a huge event called ‘Amritsar Crusade’ which was organised by Ankur Narula Ministries. Many Sikhs had expressed their strong views on social media about this enormous gathering of Christians in Amritsar which is undoubtedly the spiritual and political heartland of Sikhi. Sometime earlier, a mammoth Christian event was held in Gurdaspur on 31st May 2022 where about 5 lakhs Christians had participated.
Punjab-based Christian missionaries are working on a war footing for their long term goal of turning Punjab into a Christian majority state, and Punjab is definitely moving speedily in that direction. While their population is increasing on a daily basis, it seems that Akal Takhat and SGPC, our most important religious institutions, have not fully woken up from their slumber so far.
In today’s Punjab, it’s Chardi Kalaa for Christians and Dhendi Kalaa for Sikhs. If not in our own life-time then in the life-time of our next generation, Punjab can certainly become a Christian majority state.
Santokh Singh Bains is a Chicago based writer and free lance journalist. His debut book titled Sikhs, Sikhism and the World was published in 2019. He can be reached at santokhbains713@gmail.com
* This is the opinion of the writers, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.
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The Rise of Christian Evangelism in Amritsar (Asia Samachar, 14 July 2022)
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