IIIRF Vancouver held a Scholar’s Workshop to discuss Religious Nationalism, Minorities, and Democracy in South Asia
From the 20th to 22nd of March, the International Institute for Religious Freedom – Vancouver, in collaboration with Trinity Western University, organized a series of workshops to discuss with students and scholars about Religious Nationalism, Minorities, and Democracy in South Asia and numerous aspects of these topics with special guests from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.
During the first day of the event, participants had the opportunity to hear testimonies about the reality lived by Christian minorities in India. The first presentation was titled “Homeland”, an interactive dialogue/play written and facilitated by Dr. Sudhir Selvaraj.
Dr. Selvaraj is an Indian Christian and a lecturer in the Department of Peace Studies and International Development at Bradford University. Drawing on interviews and desk-based research, Homeland explored 2008 anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal, India. The 35-minute-long play explored the varying conceptions of ‘home” in India and how these can stand in opposition to each other.
The second presentation was Dr. Chad Bauman’s talk on “Anti-Christian Violence in Contemporary India”.
Dr. Bauman is Professor of Religion at Butler University. He is one of the leading experts on Indian Christianity and the challenge that many Indian Christians face in living their faith out in the context of competitive religious nationalisms.
He is the author of Anti-Christian Violence in India, among other works.