Pentecostal preachers find fertile ground to spread their faith and expand their flock among the most oppressed castes of Punjab
New Delhi,date of issue: November 14, 2022 , Updates: November 8, 2022 12:13 IST
In the past decade, Punjab has seen an increase in the number of Pentecostal pastors in the state; (Photo: Bandip Singh)
IThis is a time of intermingling in Punjab – a time when things slowly meet and collide at the borders, bite each other, break, melt and transact. In the air, the languid warmth of late autumn mixes with a foreboding of winter. In the flat acres below, green paddy is being cleared to lay a seasonal carpet of wheat-gold. As the plow digs deeper into the human subsoil, another kind of crop is being produced. Religion runs through the consciousness of India like a gene: it orders reality, it shapes social behaviour, it moves and it anchors, as much as it separates and cuts. Here, even when framed within the melting pot history of Punjab, something new and mould-breaking is emerging. A wave of charismatic Christianity – attracted by the worldwide Pentecostal movement – is sweeping through Punjab in tidal amounts and creating all kinds of conflicting sentiments. A deep sense of belonging and excitement for those on the inside, disquiet for those watching from ringside. This is the new Borderlands. One that Punjab, with all its scars from past border-building, is not used to and does not know how to orient itself.