Determined to vote - though driven from their homes

Among those queuing to cast their vote were Christians driven from their homes by Hindu extremists swathed in saffron, wielding swords and spraying petrol.

The recent violence, which centred on Kandhamal, Orissa, broke out after the murder of a prominent Hindu leader. Although Maoist guerrillas claimed responsibility, Hindu militants vented their anger on an altogether more accessible target – their Christian neighbours.

Christians have been leading the Dalits – India’s so-called untouchables – to Christ. And that has incensed the hard-line proponents of Hindutva – the ideology that to be an Indian is to be a Hindu.

Right-wing supporters of the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were among the mobs that drove Christians from their homes and forced Dalits to renounce their new-found faith at sword-point.

Release International’s CEO Andy Dipper has just returned from Orissa. He found that many Christians forced from their villages last year are still being kept from returning.

In Bugardi village, the widow of a pastor who died of natural causes some years earlier has given up her land to the displaced. Because of her kindness, around a dozen families now have a place to stay. And in an act of identification, the pastor’s widow is living among them, in a tent.

In Raikia, a nun was reportedly raped and paraded naked through the streets by a nationalist mob. The centre where she worked has turned over land for use as a relief camp. And the Sister Superior there told Andy Dipper that even humiliation cannot diminish the nuns’ love for the Indian people. They were still giving aid to those around - including Hindus who took part in the attack.

It must be said that not all Hindus turned against their Christian neighbours. There are many stories of those who helped Christians escape the chanting mobs.

Andy Dipper asked some of the displaced Christians whether they intended to go back to their homes. They said they were determined to run the risk of returning - so they could continue to share the love of Christ with their Hindu neighbours.

And they were equally determined to cast their votes in the Indian election. Their hope was that whoever took power would take a stand against the intolerance and extremism that is on the rise in this great nation.

In their resolve to stand for Christ and play an active part in democracy, Indian Christians offer us a powerful reminder of what it truly means to be salt and light – however cynical we may currently be feeling about politics.

ENDS