Indians are generally critical of Christians and Hindus alike. Hindus and Christians in India have always been treated with disdain and have suffered religious discrimination at the hands of a chauvinistic society that once sought to reserve its own religious turf for itself. Yet, the economic impact of migration and absorption of foreign culture has had profound social, economic and political impacts on India.
Hindus have, on the whole, had a relatively successful economic impact of the immigration. However, Christians too have faced significant barriers in accessing education, employment and estate property. The Hindu reaction to this has been to build schools and organizations that offer quality education, higher salaries and better employment opportunities. The impact has been a marked one, with the exception of a few isolated episodes.
The success story for Christians and Hindus in India has come at a time when the government has been assuring them of economic opportunity and good living standards. Unfortunately, the government’s promise to help the poor and downtrodden by granting billions of dollars in government loans and cheap loans has not resulted in more job opportunities for Christians and Hindus. According to estimates, there are only about 5.5% of Christians in the rural areas of India and the number of Hindu unemployed people is believed to be much higher. Christians and Hindus still have a long way to go in terms of social integration.
There is, however, one ray of hope that the situation is changing fast as the government is sponsoring vocational and co-employment programs for Hindu and Christian students in local education and business institutions. This has helped the community to integrate into the mainstream community and increase their social status. Religious tensions, as evident from the recent incidents, will not deter the community from integrating further into the nation’s social and economic life. Christians and Hindus can only hope that the government’s efforts in the first two decades of independence will not be a permanent feature. Independence Day is not a religious festival but it is the celebration of a nation’s vast diversity.
Christians and Hindus should accept each other despite the past tension and fight together for the same cause, which is social peace, economic growth and social welfare. Integration can only be guaranteed if both communities to work hand in hand to improve the conditions of the other. Integration wish list for Christians and Hindus should also include adequate educational facilities for children of these communities.
With the rise of Hindu economic power in the country, there is a great need for employment opportunities for Christians and Hindus in the rural regions of India. This integration wish list is incomplete without proper employment opportunities for the people belonging to these communities. The only way to ensure that this integration wish list becomes a reality is for Christians and Hindus to form a strong community with the other people of their religion in the rural regions of India.
The government should realize that the Christian community has certain reservation in government jobs and civil services. This integration wish list is incomplete without the inclusion of Christian community in the civil services and government jobs. The government should promote integrated education in the country. There are many instances where the government has failed to do so. Lack of government patronage has been one major reason for the failures of integrating the Christians and the Hindus.