The legacy of Partition

75 years ago the new countries of India and Pakistan (which was divided into east and west) were created with East Pakistan gaining independence to become Bangladesh in 1971. The legacy of the decision is still felt today as a range of contributors explain how the Partition has influenced the work of churches in the region.

Sandy Sneddon, the Church of Scotland’s Asia Secretary, offers an introduction and reflection on the history of the influence of the Church in India and Pakistan.

THE partition of Britain’s Indian colony into East and West Pakistan and India was not the inevitable result of decades of anticolonial movements. Britain’s policies of dividing communities on the basis of faith did, though, play a significant role in the carnage of 1947 which, as Walter Reid concluded has caused a “corrosive and continuing legacy of hatred.” (Keeping the Jewel in the Crown: The British Betrayal of India, Birlinn, 2016)

In her history of Church of Scotland foreign missions Elizabeth Hewat wrote: “Seldom or never has a new nation been born in such tragic circumstances as was Pakistan that year [1947]. ‘In an area less than 200 by 150 miles … some 10 million people were on the move’. Even if this vast migration of people had been the only factor … it would have been enough to spell immeasurable sorrow through loss of home and security, the breaking of ties and traditions and the fear engendered by a slow, remorseless trek to a strange and distant goal. But when it was accompanied by arson and the sword, the merciless killing of men, women and children brought about by mass hysteria and panic run mad, the consequences of death and despair were infinite.” (Vision and Achievement 1796-1956: A History of the Foreign Missions of the Churches united in the Church of Scotland, Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1960)

Church of Scotland missions in Mumbai, Kolkata, Eastern Himalaya, Nagpur, Bihar, Seoni and Rajasthan were now in newly independent India while the Punjab Mission was abruptly divided between West Pakistan and India. In the years that followed, those missions became part of the Church of Pakistan and Church of North India, joining the Church of South India as independent, ecumenical, united churches.

The Church of Scotland’s direct connection with India goes back to 1834 when Alexander Duff arrived in Calcutta at the beginning of his missionary career. Hundreds of others followed in the subsequent decades and the likes of Duff, John Wilson, John Anderson, William McFarlane, Alexander Silver, Agnes Henderson and many more are still revered in India, while Thomas Hunter, William Youngson and William Young are honoured in Pakistan, probably more than in their homeland.

The Church of Scotland must acknowledge people like the Rev N Dhaijibhai, the first Parsi convert who became a revered minister and missionary and is included in David Octavious Hill’s famous painting of the 1843 Disruption General Assembly, and Nasrullah and Mahomet Ismail, Muslim converts from Bombay who played a crucial role in the Punjab Mission. The Church’s mission work would have come to nothing without Indian Christians.

We rightly celebrate our shared history with Christians in India and Pakistan on our nearly 190-year long journey together.

From establishing missions with churches, schools, clinics and hospitals, the Church of Scotland, along with other European and American missions, played an integral part in forming churches that were autonomous and locally governed. Our relationship is no longer one of “Mother” and “Daughter” churches but partners who mutually enrich each other.

Today we support advocacy against forced conversions and forced marriages as well as the misuse of the blasphemy law in Pakistan; the pioneering interfaith ministry in CNI’s Diocese of Amritsar; work with young people affected by HIV in Kolkata; a hospital on the edge of the desert in southern Pakistan; and help build the next generation of leaders and theological educators through scholarships.

We are inspired by Church of South India’s decades of ministry in caring for creation. We can welcome South Asian students and families into our congregations, and ministers from India and Pakistan whose life and faith experiences can bring new dynamism to our parishes. Congregations and presbyteries with twinnings can build deeper, stronger relationships through exchange visits and prayer.

One of the many impressive things about Church of South India, Church North India and Church of Pakistan is they are all united churches that bring different traditions together: Scots Presbyterian and Anglican, Methodists and Lutherans, Disciples of Christ and Baptists. As a shrinking Church of Scotland contends with reshaping our mission and ministry in a more secular Scotland what can our friends in India and Pakistan teach us about witness and service as a minority faith community? What can we learn from their lived ecumenism?

Our countries and churches face challenges and will have opportunities in the years ahead. We have accompanied each other for many years and I believe we are called to continue our pilgrimage of faith for a long, long time to come.

The Very Rev Dr Susan Brown reflects on the legacy of Christian churches in India and Pakistan today.

Never having been anywhere much beyond Europe and the United States, I really didn’t know what to expect of India. People I talked to offered their thoughts. Usually those thoughts were very favourable, so I was excited to be able to go and to find out for myself.

The impact is instant.

India offers sensory overload within seconds of setting foot in the land.

Or at least it did for me! And it was breath-taking.

The noise. The sheer volume of people.

The chaos of the traffic which includes everything from brightly painted trucks, to motorbikes by the ton, to bicycles, carts and cows! All of them appearing to go in whichever direction they fancied and hitting their horns or their bells as they went and carrying the most astonishing array of goods and people. Often precariously!

The colours were astounding. The sheer vibrancy of the teeming mass of people, makes it feel as though someone has turned up the brightness on everything.

The smells, especially around markets, were very different from Scotland.

The foods and spices on sale, were mind blowing and of course, the level of poverty is on a scale beyond anything I had ever experienced.

And heart-breaking.

The wonderful opportunity to meet with Christians there, who are very much a minority group at the lowest end of the social scale, was an enormous privilege.

The caste system means that Christians are (traditionally) the street sweepers and the ones who manually clean out dry latrines and sewers along with other Dalits – formerly known as Untouchables.

They, however, have the most fantastic concern for each other and for the communities to which they belong. We visited schools and projects concerned for people of all ages. We visited slums where, through the church, Christian and other women are being trained as hairdressers and shop keepers, dressmakers, embroiderers, photographers and cooks, helping them to earn a living so that their daughters can go to school.

Perhaps the most moving visit was to an HIV project for women. It was frightening to see how ill many were and agonising to hear their stories of being discriminated against. These women regularly face being thrown off buses or out of shops because of their health status. The balanced diet they need so that their medicines are effective, they simply cannot afford. My guess is that out of that 2019 room full of women infected by wandering husbands, none will still be alive.

A chilling thought.

Yet the Christian church does its best to get alongside these women and helps where it can.

The evidence of India’s colonial past was everywhere. At times it was very difficult to live with the actions of the British. In Amritsar we marked the terrible massacre in the Jallianwalla Bagh, when General Dyer opened fire in an enclosed space and left hundreds for dead.

We offered much prayer in that place.

But let’s not close on that note.

The resilience, faith, generosity and dignity of the Indian people and of their neighbours in Pakistan, will stay with me forever. A real blessing.

The Most Rev (Dr) P KSamantaroy, Bishop, Diocese of Amritsar, reflects on the role the Church has played in ‘nation-building’.

The work of Christian missionaries in India over the last few centuries has laid the foundation for much of the present-day mission activities of the Indian Church.

Churches and church-based organisations in India have worked tirelessly towards nation-building through their emphasis on education, healthcare, vocational training and social justice.

From the time of missionary William Carey and Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Indian Churches have played a major role in bringing social change like abolishing Sati (forcing the widowed wife to jump into her husband’s cremation fire), eradicating child marriage, and removing the caste system through education.

In the area of healthcare, the Australian missionary Graham Stains has set the greatest example by serving the lepers in the state of Odisha in eastern India and brought about social transformation by fighting against the social stigma of untouchability.

There are also the Indian missionaries like Pandita Ramabhai who demonstrated Christian love by working for empowerment that brought dignity to women in Indian society. Kali Charan Banerjee, an Indian Bengali Christian, contributed to the reformation of the government education system. The work of Kesab Chandra Sen recognises that the practice of Christianity is essential for political, social and moral transformation in Indian society. The liberative approach of Indian Churches is able to bring equality, social justice, gender equality, especially dignity for Dalit (oppressed people) to a significant degree.

India being a pluralistic society, Christians in India are called to be active participants in peace-building and reconciliation. In the Diocese of Amritsar, CNI, community events such as the Palm Sunday procession, the Masihi Chetna Yatra (Christian Awareness Rally), and the “Ride for Peace” Motorbike Rally, spread the message of peace and communal harmony. Inter-faith initiatives by the Church of North India have provided common ground for all communities to work together against critical issues of poverty, bounded labour, drugs, human rights, and rights of minorities.

Churches and church organisations have been at the forefront of responding to the unprecedented challenges of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The Diocese of Amritsar constituted a Covid-19 Response team to facilitate people’s access to food, oxygen, medical supplies, counselling services and financial aid. A “Love in Action” phone helpline was set up to help individuals and families in this time of crisis. Grocery kits as well as cooked food were distributed to people who suffered food shortages due to the nation-wide lockdown. All of the Diocesan hospitals were opened to Covid-19 patients and the Diocesan community projects teamed up with like-minded organisations to organise vaccination drives in the villages. Diocesan and hospital workers provided training and relevant information to the people on health, hygiene, and proper nutrition.

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted how the absence of physical expression of love and solidarity can be even more devastating than the coronavirus. Online worship services and rooftop services boosted the morale of the people during this challenging period and strengthened the sense of unity and fellowship.

Today, Christians in India face persecution at the hands of religious extremist groups in the country who brand Christianity as a Western religion. Even though church-based organisations and churches continue to make significant contributions in the field of education, health and community development, their work is often undermined by accusations of forced conversions.

The biggest need for Indian Churches is to educate the youth and prepare our future leaders who can take an active part in local, state and national governance in a constructive way.

It is both a challenge and an opportunity for the church today to be an active participant in public policy-making and dialogue while holding true to its values and principles.

The Rt Rev Kaleem John considers the challenges and hopes of the Church in Pakistan.

The present-day contribution of churches in Pakistan nation-building enterprise is rooted in the pioneering work of the foreign missionaries who landed in the sub-continent from the 18thcentury. So the churches’ contribution in education, health, welfare and justice is a continuation of the legacy of the men and women who were instrumental in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ in this part of the globe.

The Church of Pakistan provides education to people regardless of caste or creed across the country. The Primary Education Programme of the Diocese of Hyderabad has served the interior of Sindh for the last 20 years through more than 100 primary schools.

Pakistani churches have played a key role in the health sector right from the advent of Christian missions in the subcontinent. By the end of 19thcentury there were mission hospitals from Peshawar to Karachi. Churches and missions were pioneers in the rehabilitation of mentally and physically disabled children and adults.

There are also programmes aimed at rehabilitating people addicted to drugs.

In my diocese Kunri Christian Hospital has served more than eight decades in the Interior Sindh and is one of the best hospitals in the area.

Wherever the missionaries went, they built churches, schools and colleges, orphanages, health centres and small hamlets for the community. Today churches are still engaged in the setting up of new colonies for Christians as the population grows.

Pakistan today faces multiple challenges.

Massive external debt, high inflation, widespread unemployment and poverty, high illiteracy rates and widening gaps between rich and poor. Bribery, corruption, favouritism, and nepotism are rampant everywhere. Religious intolerance, exploited by the media and sometimes aided by political patronage or inaction has led to murders, riots and destruction of holy places and property. Our national social fabric is being torn apart.

The churches have led successful campaigns against the separate electorate system and inclusion of religion column in the National Identity Card and we are campaigning against the misuse of Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy laws, forced conversion of Hindu and Christian girls, displacement of the poor and destruction of churches.

Christians are a small minority in Pakistan, maybe 2% of the 242 million population and are too often ignored and marginalised. The Church has not built capacity to advocate for human rights and justice, but has left these Kingdom imperatives to NGOs. We cannot debate issues like climate change, employment rights, women’s rights or gender-based violence. Our theology has become rigid and irrelevant to many issues affecting the daily lives of our people.

“Wherever the missionaries went, they built churches, schools and colleges, orphanages, health centres and small hamlets for the community.

To address these challenges, churches need to engage in ecumenical co-operation and collaboration leading to joint action to bring about a meaningful change in the status quo and to create a ‘new heaven and a new earth’.

Interfaith dialogue must not just be for faith leaders. We must involve more women, men and young people from our churches so it has a liberative dimension.

Radical dialogue between Christians and Muslims at the grassroots level could be truly transformational.

To fulfill the mission of Jesus, the local churches ought to become servants of the people of God but also to invest in teaching and theological education for our communities. It is time we recognise the laity as true ministers in the church and give them a participatory role in the decision-making process.

During the last two years, local Christian communities have somehow undergone a discouraging faith experience in a Muslim country which has led Churches to re-think their mission. The local church is now struggling to revitalise her vision and praxis of evangelisation. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the church, a mystery of God, has set out to evaluate and reshape her ministry in the context of Pakistan.