- 23 August, 2025
August 23, 2025: In an exclusive conversation with Abhish K. Bose, Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore spoke about the Indian Church’s delicate balance with the BJP, challenges faced by Christians in North India, and the Church’s mission of service and evangelisation. He reflected on constitutional rights, supporting marginalized communities, why religion should not be mixed with patriotism, and navigating communal tensions with courage and faith. The interview offers insightful reflections on faith, politics, and social responsibility, providing a nuanced perspective on the issues facing the Church today.
Excerpts from the exclusive interview
Abhish K. Bose: Can the Christian community in India effectively negotiate its demands with the BJP, given the party's roots in Hindutva ideology, which has historically viewed Christianity and Islam as "Semitic faiths" to be assimilated or marginalized? How will the community navigate this complex relationship, particularly in light of recent outreach efforts by BJP leaders, such as visiting churches on Easter and engaging with Christian leaders in Kerala?
Archbishop: I don’t think the Christian Community needs to initiate or negotiate any deals with the BJP or any Government that is in power. We expect the Govt. to do its duty towards all citizens, irrespective of the religion, caste and their place of origins. We are not bothered if it is a government with a particular ideology call it Hindutva or anything else. But like Mahatma Ganthi, who expressed “Sarva Dharma Sambhava”, I have no doubt that our beloved Prime Minister will accord equal respect to all religious, as our Constitution expresses equality to all before law. We are happy that our dear Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, has endeared himself to the Christians by visiting the Christian Community on Christmas Day and Easter Day Celebrations. It’s indeed a fine gesture on his part!
Abhish K. Bose: Given the rising violence against Christians in India, particularly in States like Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, how can the Indian Church adapt its evangelization strategies, not only to ensure the safety of its missionaries and adherents but also to effectively spread its message, amidst growing hostility and misconceptions about forced conversions?
Archbishop: Yes, the hostilities in the North, especially, in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and other States have hurt us, particularly in light of the recent arrest of the nuns at Chhattisgarh, and also imprisonment of hundreds of Pastors and their families. Unfortunately, the government machinery at the Centre, and these States were not able to stop the atrocious humiliation and false accusations heaped on these two Nuns, hurt us all the more. The threats and accusations are real. Article 25 of the Indian Constitution deals with the freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion. Safeguarding constitutional rights is indeed a fundamental duty of the government in any democratic system. This duty is typically enshrined in the constitution itself. Therefore, the government's prime responsibility is to protect those rights. However, these rights, very often, are not respected and followed, in the case of Christian minority!
Although Art. 25 of our country’s Constitution quite sufficiently enunciates our stand that we are free to practice, profess and propagate our religious tenets, we reiterate the point that we are against forceful andinduced conversion, which we have always been refraining from. Moreover, we, the dedicated followers of Jesus Christ, are committed to renderour good works and selfless service by courageously facing threats, hostilities and inhuman treatments meted out to us. Nothing will ever deter us fromgiving our humble services to others, even to those who are harming us!
Abhish K. Bose: Can meaningful evangelization occur without addressing the underlying social and communal tensions that fuel violence against missionaries, and is it morally justifiable to continue sending missionaries to high-risk areas without ensuring their safety and well-being?
Archbishop: The meaning of the Gospel is “good news”, and the meaning of “Evangelization” is sharing the good news with others. Surely, we always respect the wishes of others, who do not wish to be forced to receive the good news, nor can it be thrust upon others with allurements, promises of goodies or incentives. I can understand the feeling of being threatened by an alien culture and message, which, in turn, may result in fuelling social and communal tensions and violence. Convenience, compromise and comfort have never been the choices of the missionaries and, be it known that, any amount of threats and intimidations never deterred them from facing such challenges; instead, they are spiritually well-prepared to confront those threats with equanimity and resignation to the will of God.
Abhish K. Bose: Can minorities genuinely trust the BJP as a political force given the party's history of polarizing rhetoric and actions, particularly in light of recent experiences in Manipur and other parts of India where communal tensions have escalated?
Archbishop: The minorities, including the Christian minority, will continue to remain a minority, and can expect to experience uncomfortable and embarrassing situations in areas predominantly dominated by the majority community. This is understandable, and the Christians do fully understand such unfavourable situations. By and large, Christians have found favour and even been considered privileged by the BJP or other governments in power, because of their service oriented activities to all the communities,especially in the fields of education, health care, social service, empowerment of women and the marginalised, differently-abled, etc. I wish to note here that our former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, of the BJP Government, had appreciated the humanitarian works of Mother Teresa, and he even attended her funeral service Kolkata. The Christians continue to trust the BJP government, inspite of the communal tensions in the North, including the inability to solve the problems in Manipur. We have faith in the people of other religious tenets, especially in our Hindu brothers and sisters who constitute the vast majority.
Abhish K. Bose: Shouldn't the Indian Church, inspired by Christ's values of love, compassion, and justice, actively advocate for the rights of marginalized communities, including Muslims affected by discriminatory laws like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and Dalit Christians and Muslims denied reservation benefits, to promote social justice and equality?
Archbishop: For the Church, not to live up to the ideals of Christianity, as exemplified by Jesus Christ, would be like a fish wanting to live outside of water. Time and again, the Church in India has tried, though perhaps not passionately as required of us, to work for the poor, sacrificing the comfortable and the convenient life-style, and standing up against the powerful hostile forces in the defence of human rights. The Church has her own dedicated servants of God at present, and also had many such dedicated ones in the past, who always remain as unsung and un-orchestrated heroes. The saga of the late Fr. Stan Swamy, who lived among the tribals of Central India, protecting their rights is an example of the Indian Christians taking the side of the marginalised, including the minorities. In the case of Citizens Amendment Act (CAA), the Church welcomed it provided it did not discriminate against the religious affiliations of certain minority communities. It is our earnest appeal to include the Christian and Muslims of SC origin for reservations as done for the Jain and the Buddhist converts. Caste in India is more than skin deep and discriminating or denying this category of people would be grave injustice, especially to those who belong to the minority communities.
Abhish K. Bose: The BJP's minority outreach initiatives, such as engaging with Pasmanda Muslims and launching programs like Sufi Samvad Maha Abhiyan and Operation Sindoor, be seen as a genuine effort to build trust and inclusivity, or do they merely mask a deeper, more exclusionary agenda driven by the party's Hindutva ideology and policies like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) ?
Archbishop: The Christian Community is known to support and cooperate with the governments in power, irrespective of the political parties that they belong. We believe that all governments independent of their political affiliations are placed by God to govern the people wisely and judiciously. Our Scriptures have the following to say about good governance and our being subject to the authorities: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans:13,1). As responsible citizens, we love our motherland and surely appreciate all measures taken by the government, like Operation Sindhoor to protect our borders. We salute our soldiers, being aware that some of them hail from minority communities, who fight for our country even at the cost of their lives. There is no need of mixing up religion with patriotism.
Finally, I wish to give this clarion call to the Governments, Leaders of the Political Parties and all the Citizens of our country that we should be aware of the fact that we are the children of God and that we need to live with mutual love, respect and harmony by upholding the Principle: Live and let live! All the citizens should also make their concerted efforts to live as brothers and sisters by reaching out God’s love, peace and joy to one and all.
The Governments, in power, should consider that it is their bounden duty to safeguard the fundamental rights and privileges of the citizens,and also strive to promote harmony, solidarity and unity among the people by upholding justice, liberty, equality and fraternity in the country. The elected leaders also must render their selfless service to everyone without any discrimination, partiality, favouritism, and religious and political affiliations. They must bring to book those who indulge in creating religious disharmony and fanaticism by taking law into their own hands.
Let us promote national unity and brotherhood by remembering and singing together the famous chorus composed by our National Poet Rabindranath Tagore: "Into the heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake!
By Abhish K. Bose
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