"Christians must engage more in social work not for initiating conversion but for the uplift of the poor people".

A series of questions posed by a small crowd of Christians to Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph showed that the minority community felt insecure across the country.

Justice Kurian, who was the chief guest at The Juhanon Mar Thoma Lecture hosted by Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, allayed their fears, gave them hope and pointed to the way to fight rightwing Hindutva forces. He spoke at length about the time and life of Jesus Christ, urging his fellow Christians to be faithful to the Indian Constitution.

“If you want to be a true Christian you have to be a true Indian nationalist,” said Justice Kurian, addressing the crowd of devout Christians at an auditorium here.

When the floor was thrown open for questions, a youth told the judge that he often wondered how to respond to a significant proportion of people among the Hindu majority who perceive Christians as an “unpatriotic, communal force.”

Justice Kurian said communalism was indeed a big concern in India today and it can be dealt with only through humanism. “Let’s think about the person in real need. Let’s help him and have people like him cross the communal barriers,” he said.

He said Christians must engage more in social work not for initiating conversion but for the uplift of the poor people. “We have to look at the person and recognise that he is the creation of God,” said Justice Kurian. “It’s the only way to respond to that [religious hatred against Christians].”