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Call of faith: Promising pull of Punjabi pastors
Over the past 15 years, Christianity has gained popularity in the hinterland with a Punjabi twist. Nearly 5,000 homegrown pastors, all converts blessed with oratory skills, are drawing crowds as they heal, heed and dish out hope to a growing flock of 10 lakh followers who have prayers, ranging from cure for diseases to a hassle-free visa to bagging a job or finding a spouse, much to the concern of mainstream Christian leaders
Karamjit Singh, 42, from Bathinda had a hearing ailment for three years till he learnt of Ankur Narula, 37, a Christian pastor at Khambra village in Jalandhar district. A three-hour drive later, he says, he met Narula last week and was not only cured of the ailment but also convinced to join his flock of three lakh followers.
Quick-fix solutions, which his followers believe are miracles, in the face of adversity have led to the rise of nearly 5,000 home-grown pastors, mostly from a non-Christian background, like Narula across the hinterland of Punjab. There are an estimated 12 lakh Christians in Punjab, but with another 10 lakh converts following “independent churches” set up by these pastors over 15 years, their population has gone up to 22 lakh in the state.
Ferozepur-based Father Michael Ani, 68, a Roman Catholic missionary for five decades, who has researched on the birth of Christianity in Punjab, corroborates this figure, saying: “Mainstream Christianity has a following of 12 lakh, but now the figure of people following the faith is up to 22 lakh given the popularity of these home-grown preachers.”
The Punjabi pastors are concentrated in Jalandhar, Moga, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Ferozepur districts. Of about 12,000 villages in Punjab, the pastors have influence in around 7,000 villages, says Father Michael.
With impressive oratory skills, these pastors draw crowds, claiming to heal every possible disease and disability, exorcise ghosts, and even bring the dead to life! Their influence extends to helping people procure a visa, bag a job, find a spouse, have a baby and even get a better political post.
‘Not conversion, only change of heart’
Narula, who is among the most influential pastors in the state, was born in a middle-class Hindu Khatri family and graduated in arts from a college in Rupnagar. He fought drug abuse, opted out of his family business in marble stone and tiles and took up the role of a preacher.
Sharing his journey to Christianity, Narula says candidly, “I got into drugs while in college. In 2007, I almost tried to commit suicide by jumping before a train at Phagwara railway crossing. When I was about to fling myself, someone pulled me back. I turned to see Christ. It was the turning point.” In 2008, he set up the “Church of Sign and Wonders” with three members at Khambra village in Jalandhar in the heart of Punjab’s NRI belt.
Besides Narula, Harpreet Deol is a popular self-styled pastor at Khojewal village on the Jalandhar-Kapurthala road and Amrit Sandhu draws crowds in neighbouring Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar in Doaba. Sukhpal Rana has a following in Amritsar, Bajinder Singh, a Haryanvi Jat, in Jalandhar and Mohali and Kanchan Mittal, a woman pastor from a staunch Hindu background, in Zirakpur.
Some of the Punjabi pastors even wear turbans while preaching in the border belt of Amritsar, Ajnala and Ferozepur districts.
The home-grown pastors say they are not converting their followers but “only changing hearts and spreading the word of God”. While they have all converted to Christianity, they have not changed their Hindu or Sikh names.
Know the followers:
Unlike the preachers of mainstream Christianity, self-styled pastors are not easily approachable. They have a three-tier security with personal bodyguards. They give sermons on Thursday and Sunday and followers are not allowed near. Besides sermons on dedicated days, the pastors preach through social media, using YouTube channels. A dedicated team of youngsters handles their social media accounts. Narula’s flock, for instance, has grown to 12.3 lakh to YouTube.
Most of the followers are Mazhabi Sikhs, Balmikis, Sansi, and Rai Sikhs from the deprived section of society, seeking a dignified life and access to better education after years of caste bias. There are, however, some followers from Brahmin families, too.
Manjit Singh, a former professor of sociology at Panjab University, says, “This is not a natural growth of Christianity. Specific efforts are being made. Punjab has the largest population of Dalits at 32% of the population and nobody cared to include the deprived sections in Sikh institutions. Consequently, the search for an identity has forced them to embrace Christianity.”
Gurman Singh Saini, deployed in Narula’s security, says he has been with the church since 2017. “My wife was suffering from paralysis. Pastor Narula cured her and after that our entire family embraced Christianity and I became a part of his security,” he says.
Besides promising cure, the pastors offer hope to their followers. Addressing the gathering of 30,000 followers on February 9, Narula struck a chord, saying, “The future is yours. The government will be forced to take you along. It is written in the Bible.”
MEET THE PASTORS
Father figure
Ankur Narula, 37
Born in a Hindu Khatri family, Narula chose to opt out of his family business of marble and tiles and to follow faith. From battling drug abuse in college and attempting suicide to setting up his own the “Church of Sign and Wonders” at Khambra village in Jalandhar district that is now spread over 60 acres, he has come a long way. He claims he has three lakh followers and 12.3 lakh subscribers on YouTube.
Narula prefers his followers call him ‘papa’ and his wife, Sonia Narula, who also preaches with him, ‘mama’. He holds prayers and delivers sermons on Sunday and Thursday with about 30,000 followers in attendance. He also runs a free coaching academy for civil service aspirants.
He says his church has 15 branches, including one being built to accommodate 1 lakh followers, in Punjab. The other branches are in Bihar and West Bengal, he claims, besides abroad in Germany, Canada, England, and the US.
Reluctant preacher
Harpreet Deol, 42
Hailing from a Jat Sikh family, Harpreet Deol started preaching Christianity in 2012. He set up ‘The Open Door Church and Jesus Healing Ministry’ at Khojewal on the Jalandhar-Kapurthala road. His father, Harbhajan Singh, had converted to Christianity in 1988 under the influence of an Australian pastor. Though Harpreet admits he had no plans of becoming a preacher initially, he was drawn towards Christianity after meeting religious leaders in the region. Today, he is the president of the Pentecostal Church Prabandhak Committee (PCPC), founded to organise Pentecostal pastors. Delivering sermons in fluent Punjabi every Sunday and Thursday, he has hired a translator to translate his speech into English. He is coming up with a church with a capacity for two lakh followers.
Sinner to saint
Bajinder Singh, 37
Born in a Haryanvi Jat family in Yamunanagar district, Bajinder Singh converted to Christianity in 2012 while he jailed in a murder case. It’s said he came in contact with a pastor in prison and got inclined toward Christianity. Police say he would read the Bible daily. In 2012, he started holding Sunday prayer meetings for ‘healing’ and became popular. Now, he runs a church called ‘Church of Glory and Wisdom’ at Majri in Mohali besides Jalandhar. He claims he has around three lakh followers from different faiths across the country and abroad. He has eight churches in Punjab and has appointed pastors to run them. Attired in a pair of jeans and blazer, he looks a corporate executive than a preacher.
Dropout finds calling
Amrit Sandhu, 31
Born in a Jat Sikh family at Aur village of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Sandhu is a Class 12 dropout who was inspired by pastor Ankur Narula in 2010 and has set up his own church in the village, called ‘Church of Salvation, Healing and Prophecy’ with about 5,000 followers. Sharing his life-changing experience, he says, “I was shattered when I was caught cheating during the Class 12 exam and failed. I started working as a salesman in SBS Nagar (then Nawanshahr) for ₹2,000 a month. I was advised to meet pastor Narula, who told me at our first meeting that I’ll have my own church one day. My family was opposed to the idea, but I had found my calling. I began preaching the word of God with just a handful of people to listen to me. Today, most of my followers are from a non-Christian background.”
Commerce to religion
Kanchan Mittal, 45
Hailing from Bazpur, a town in Uttarakhand, Kanchan Mittal was born in a staunch Hindu ‘bania’ family. Her father, who ran a shop of spare motor parts, came in contact with a pastor, Ajit Singh, in Ludhiana and took her along for sermons. Initially, she says, she believed Christ “is a God of only foreigners”, but the commerce graduate gradually got influenced by the teachings of the Bible. “Our family was going through a tough time. My mother died battling cancer. Faith helped us find peace,” she says, adding that she started giving sermons in 2011. Today, she runs a church, called The Church of Peace, at Sanauli village in Zirakpur of Mohali district. She claims she has two lakh followers, including those on social media.
Christian leaders share concern
The crop of home-grown pastors, who are drawing crowds in the name of healing and offering quick-fix solutions, has raised the hackles of mainstream Christian leaders of Punjab. Their take on the trend:
‘Lack accountability’
One must condemn the aggressive proselytisation by so-called pastors. They proclaim ‘crusades’ against other religions. One can proclaim one’s religious views without denigrating the faith of other people. The problem is, unlike mainstream churches, these pastors are ‘independent’ and not accountable to any authority. Some are ill-prepared to be pastors. One must recognise the right of the pastors (or anyone else) to hold healing services within certain limits. Pastors invite people, they don’t force them to come for service. If any religious group feels threatened by these healing services, it should dissuade its members from attending them.
Agnelo Rufino Gracias, apostolic administrator of Jalandhar Diocese
‘Not theologically sound’
People go to these pastors for quick-fix solutions but most of them are not theologically sound. No human being can heal any one as it is God who heals. People are free to preach. No conversions are taking place. In the mainstream, only dormant Christians have become active and started practising their faith.
PK Samantaroy, Bishop of Diocese of Amritsar, Church of North India (CNI)
‘God heals, not pastors’
The issue of these independent pastors was discussed at the Masih Maha Sabha. Most people from mainstream churches are also visiting them for healing. We believe that it is God, who heals, not pastors.
Rev Sharif Masih, district superintendent, Methodist Church, Punjab
Origin of Christianity in Punjab
Christianity in Punjab is believed to have an apostolic origin. St Thomas, the apostle, arrived in this part of the subcontinent in the first century. According to Acts of Thomas, St Thomas came to Takshashila or the modern Taxila in Pakistan near Rawalpindi in 46AD. He came as an architect on the invitation of Indo-Parthian King Gondophares IV, whose kingdom included greater Punjab of undivided pre-independent India and Taxila was his capital. The Texla Cross founded in 1935 is proof for this historical claim. History testifies a strong Christian presence in Punjab.
