LAHORE, May 4: An 11-member delegation of Protestants, working on a voluntary basis for the Church of North India, went back to Delhi after spending a hectic four days in the city.
They went back with impressions dismantled, stereotypes trounced and hopes renewed for normalcy between India and Pakistan.
"We had the impression that all women wore hijab and the majority of men were jihadis," said Vivian Abhishek Prasad, a 23-year-old lawyer from Agra and secretary-general of the Smajwadi Party's youth wing.
"I'll go back and tell them how wrong we are! Women are extremely beautiful here and have incredible skin!" Vivian's trip to the culturally definitive Anarkali bazaar instantly endeared the women of Lahore to him. "I wish I could stay back!" said the ebullient lawyer.
Invited by the Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan, an ecumenical global organization working for the development and relief of marginalized communities since 1954, the young people, accompanied by the bishop of Delhi, Rt-Rev Karam Masih came from different corners of India. This is the first time ever since independence that a church delegation has come on a visit to Pakistan.
Nitin Bailey, a sales trainee working in Delhi for a life insurance company, was quick to admit that whatever feedback he had on Pakistan came through secondary sources rooted in bias. "All we know about this country is Kashmir and jihadis.
Allowing people, especially the youth, to move across borders will make it difficult for those few spreading prejudice", said Nitin. The Church of North India is the largest in Asia and covers almost three-fourths of India.
The diocese, falling under the bishop of Delhi, Rev Karam Masih, is the administrative unit of the church and a number of dioceses from the apex body of the church, called the synod.
"All of us belong to a core group which thinks out what to do with the youth of the community. We've given platform to young people to come forward", explained Smita Priyadarshani Srinivasan, one of the members of the youth delegation.
These young volunteers have come to Pakistan to be part of a difference, no matter how small, between politics and people. And directing them against the politicization of people is the guidance of Rev Karam Masih.
More than six years of heading the Diocese of Delhi, Rev Karam Masih has given a strong voice to the 24 million Christians of India. Toning the spiritual role of the church with a politically correct outlook, he has changed the traditional face of the Diocese of Delhi.
"Why should the church not have an opinion on politics? We should condemn violence and protest against any wrongdoing. There are 54 churches in my diocese and nearly all of them are involved in some work which is making a difference to the Christian community in India.
It is wrong on the part of bishops and priests not to be part of governance. If we cast our vote to elect a certain party, it is our right to have an opinion," emphasized the Bishop of Delhi.
The politically vociferous bishop is the political adviser to the chief minister of Delhi, a position not occupied either by his predecessors or bishops of other denominations. Whenever there is a calamity or tragedy, the Bishop of Delhi is up in arms to denounce it.
The 62-year old bishop from Sham Nagar, Amritsar, had an opinion on the 1992 demolition of the Babri Mosque: his condemnation was loud and clear.
The bishop's outcry at the 1998 assault on missionary schools and churches by the saffronites was clearly an indication of his politics of correctness at the cost of personal criticism. His vehement censure of the 2002 Gujarat massacre, killing more than 2,000 Muslims, was once again a demonstration of how he meant to keep the Diocese of Delhi deeply involved in matters which went beyond the Protestant concerns.
For the first time ever, a bishop of any denomination was taking a political stand on inter-faith issues. "I have an Inter-faith Dialogue Committee in Delhi whose president is Nizamuddin Aulia. The other members are our Hindu brothers, Gokala Nanda ji and Priganand ji, who are heads of Hindu temples," said Rev Karam Masih.
For Bishop Karam Masih and his devoted team of young workers, crossing the Wagah into Pakistan was much more than part of the people-to-people contact routine. They had been planning this trip for the past four years, but each time were refused the visa.
"I don't believe in the feel-good theory, which is determined by politics and elections. Peace does not need any justification," asserted Rev Karam Masih.
