? 
Churches mushroom in the land
of temples, stupas and monasteries
By Surendra Phuyal & Sharad Adhikari
SIDDHAKALI, Sankhuwasava : It’s Sunday
afternoon in this typical mountain village in eastern Nepal, and dozens of local people,
elderly women and children among them, in their best attires are flocking towards a small
mound near the bazaar called Pokhari.
It’s a sunny day. The crowd grows thicker
and thicker outside the Avenenger Church, which was established about nine years ago. But
Pasang Sherpa, a Buddhist Lama who is waiting for devotees who would flock to the Shangang
Chhoeling Monastery to celebrate the Lhosar festival, seems a bit worried.
"In the past, old and young people from all
the surrounding villages would come here to celebrate Lhosar," the Lama says, as he
turns around to check whether devout Buddhists belonging to the Tamang and Sherpa
communities have arrived. "But now a days, there is not much enthusiasm among our
youngsters about gumbas."
However, barely 25 meters away, at the foot of
the same mound with terraces that have millet and barley crops, the crowd is thicker. And
inside the one-storied hut locals call church, Shyam Krishna Rai the pastor, is preparing
to baptise, or formally convert, five new aspiring bishwasis (followers) of Jesus Christ.
Holding a thick book of Bible, which is written
in Nepali, about 50 Christians who have squatted on the carpeted floor start following Rai
the pastor, who is singing, "...kahile napharkane, kahile napharkane nirnaya hami
gardachhaun (we decide never to return again)." The melodious chorus seems to enthral
the entire neighbourhood, inhabited mainly by Brahmins, Chhetris, Rais, Limbus, Tamangs
and Gurungs.
Fascinated by the ‘miraculous healing power’
of God, and dissatisfied with the discriminatory practices and traditions of Hinduism and
Buddhism, more and more Nepalis are converting to Christianity around the country - in the
east, as well as in the west and south.
Although rampant discrimination - such as the
practice of untouchably - prevalent in the predominantly Hindu-Buddhist society is forcing
many to look for greener pastors and better opportunities, the ‘miraculous healing
power of God’ the missionaries preach and demonstrate seems to be fuelling the cult
following.
"I was a follower of Buddhism until not so
long ago," says 60-year-old Lhamu Sherpa, who is wearing Bakkhu and the sort of
ornaments that all Sherpa and Tibetan women wear. "I was ill, but prayers to Buddha
didn’t help much. So I started believing in God. Now I am fine. There is no
problem."
Her eyes fixed on the Bible, Sherpa prays
together with Tili Rai, 60, Padma Keshar Khatri, 56, and dozens of other youngsters mainly
belonging to the ethnic groups. Then Rai the pastor calls in the new aspiring bishwasis -
Dadhi Chandra Rai, Chandra Limbu, Krishna Tamang, Jiwan Limbu and Mana Maya Rai - near the
alter, and tells them to sign in on the register. Then another prayer starts.
"Now I have baptised them, they have become
the members of our family," says a humble Rai the pastor, smiling. Followers mainly
from the surrounding villages and as far as the village of Nundaki near
Sankhuwasava-Taplejung border come to his church every Sunday.
Asked whether he and the bishwasis also get
monetary support, Rai says he has heard about a provision of monthly salary of about Rs
3,000 for pastors like him, who stay in far-flung areas. But not for the bishwasis.
"Our main church in Kathmandu takes care of that," he says. "But I am least
bothered about the money."
Krishna Tamang, the young man in his early
twenties who is probably among the newest converts in Nepal, says he was sick and tired of
giving expensive medicines to his young wife. "That’s why I have started to
pray, and giving it a try. I think my wife will soon be well again," he adds.
Thanks to the open social and political
atmosphere, guaranteed by the 1990 Constitution which, besides scores of other freedoms,
provisions of religious freedom, more and more people are exercising religious freedom.
In nearby village of Kharang, 54-year-old
Basanta Rai, the retired Indian
Reserve Police personnel, has set up his own
church. The Cyprus Church, as it has been named, also attracts dozens of bishwasis from
the surrounding villages.
Among them are people belonging to the Rai and
the Limbu communities and the Dalits, the Hindu outcasts who are looked down upon by high
class Hindus as ‘untouchables’.
"So depressed I had become that night that
I nearly killed myself. But then God sent an angel for my rescue. And I became Christian
now...I hate Hinduism, which promotes such vices as ganja-and-bhang addiction, and
discrimination of human beings."
Less than one percent of the population in the
country are Christians, according to Census 2001. And from 15,000 in 1970 to an estimated
600,000 Christians today, Nepal has one of the fastest-growing Christian populations among
the 3.6 billion people throughout Asia’s 51 countries, Christianity Today magazine
says in a recent edition, quoting Christian missionaries.
The genesis of conversion in Nepal dates back to
the Malla era, which ended in the later half of 1700 A.D. But after King Prithvi Narayan
Shah the Great, the founder of modern Nepal, conquered the Kathmandu Valley, he expelled a
community of 57 Christian converts (Capuchin priests) to India.
The situation remained unchanged in the world’s
only Hindu Kingdom until 1950s, after which the country gradually started to open up. But
now, with the estimated population of Christians crossing 600,000, the trend may look
encouraging for missionaries and evangelists, who are said to be working to convert the
whole of Asia by the end of the third millenium.
And 48-year-old Bir Singh Gurung, who works as a
porter - ferrying heavy rocks from the nearby river to build a stone-wall to safeguard the
premises of Bishwabasi Mandali (a church) in Manebhanjyang these days, says that he will
not return, come what may. Situated on the outskirts of Khandbari, the headquarters of
Sankhuwasava district, Manebhanjyang is a day’s walk away from Siddhakali.
It looks like, Bir Singh is among the staunchest
followers of God in the country. "Sir, before I was a Hindu, now Christian. My two
young sons are studying in monasteries " he says, as he heats his lunch under a shade
outside the church. "But now, my spouse and myself follow Christianity. We trust in
God, and my sick wife is well again. I will never return (back to Hinduism), no matter
what. You can hit me with bullets. But never."
(With inputs from Shyam Niraula in
Khandbari)