Hindu Temple
by Mike James
On August 5, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India helped dedicate a Hindu temple on the spot where a Muslim mosque once stood. The ceremony took place in the northern Indian state of Ayodhua. Modi and his Hindu nationalist party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is seeking to transform India into a state dominated by the Hindu majority.
In 1992 Hindu extremists destroyed a mosque where the Hindu temple site now stands. Nationwide riots ensued and about 2,000 people were killed. The temple project was also the source of riots in 2002 that left more than 1,000 people dead, mostly Muslims. India’s Supreme Court gave control of the site to Hindu groups in 2019 after a long legal battle.
After Modi’s reelection victory in 2019, he has moved against Muslims in a number of ways. He revoked the semi-autonomy granted to Kashmir, India’s only Muslim majority region, breaking with seven decades of Indian policy. Last December his government passed a law excluding Muslim migrants from a fast-track to citizenship. In February, Hindu-Muslim riots occurred in Delhi, the deadliest violence in the capital area since Indian independence.
The temple in Ayodhua is being constructed in honor of Lord Ram or Rama (aka Ramachandra). Many Hindus believe the site is where Lord Ram was born. The Hindus believe a Hindu temple originally stood at the site and it was torn down by Muslim rulers. The temple will rise to 161 feet at its highest point. A towering statue of Lord Ram will also be built at the site. The temple is expected to be completed by 2023, a year before India’s next national elections.
The Hindu nationalists in the BJP now running the country view Indian history as a series of humiliations, due to centuries of rule by Muslim kings and then the British Empire. The Ram temple is a “symbol of nationalism,” says Dattatreya Hosabale, a senior Hindu nationalist. “It was meant for regaining the self, which was damaged by foreign aggressors.”
Modi is trying to create a state “where minorities have to give up their separate identity and pay allegiance to the dominant culture,” said Christophe Jaffrelot, a political scientist at the Paris Institute of Political Studies.
Muslims are not the only religious minority feeling the impact of the BJP. Christian organizations in India are also feeling the impact. Compassion International, a Colorado-based Christian organization had to close its operations in India in 2017. The charity had to shut down due to suspicion of engaging in religious conversion. Over 11,000 nongovernmental organizations have lost their licenses to accept foreign funds since Modi took over in 2014.
Compassion International was one of the biggest charities operating in India. They had been active for almost 50 years in India before they were shut down. The charity was donating $45 million a year to India.
Compassion International denies the allegations by the Indian government and says they have not been given opportunity to rebut the allegation of engaging in religious conversion.
Recently our Church of God International (CGI) representative in India was questioned by the police there. He was trying to register some of his groups there and learned that the fees for registration had been increased. Since he did not have sufficient funds to complete the registration the police paid him a visit the following week to ask about his organization. In Pakistan our CGI representative there has had to move three times in the past year due to his Muslim landlords not wanting Christians to be meeting in their rental property. You will notice on our website that I am listed as the contact for India and Pakistan due to our concern for our CGI members there.
We don’t realize how lucky we are to be living in a country that allows all religions to operate freely. Many Christians in other countries are fearful not only of discrimination, but also physical attack.
In Matthew 24 the disciples asked Jesus for signs of the end of the age. Jesus provided a number of examples with one being persecution and martyrdom of believers. We read about it in Matthew 24:9–10. The scripture implies many may turn away from the faith due to the intense persecution at the end-time. Those of us living in the West are lucky we don’t have the issues Christians have in other parts of the world.
What is your attitude to your faith? Are you willing to die for it, or is it just a hobby for you? Paul Tillich (philosopher/theologian) defined religion as “ultimate concern.” If your belief and faith in Jesus Christ is not your “ultimate concern” you aren’t doing it right.
Revelation 2:10 addresses the church in Smyrna. Jesus Christ admonished them to be willing to die for their faith because He promises all Christians eternal life. Are you willing to die for your faith? If you are you will know it is your ultimate concern.
Sources: “Major Christian Charity is Closing Operations Amid a Crackdown,” by Ellen Barry and Suhasini Raj, New York Times, March 7, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/world/asia/compassion-international-christian-charity-closing-india.html.
“In Modi’s Quest to Transform India, a Hindu Temple Rises,” by Joanna Slater and Niha Masih, The Washington Post, August 6, 2020.