Jaibans Singh
Bajinder Singh, a self-proclaimed “Prophet” of the Christian faith, was sentenced to imprisonment for the “remainder part of his life” along with a fine of Rs. 1 lakh, on 01 April 2025, by the additional session court, Mohali under section 376(2)(N) and some other sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sahita (Indian Penal Code) for repeated raping a woman. The case was filed against him in 2018.
Bajinder Singh originally belongs to Haryana. He is a convicted felon who has served a jail term on charges of murder. He professes that he got influenced by Jesus Christ and converted to Christianity while in jail.
He became a self-styled preacher in 2012 and gained popularity on the basis of his claims of ‘miracle healing’ of diseases like paralysis, cancer and mental disorders among others. As he gained popularity he created his own “Glory and Wisdom Church” which now has two main branches in Punjab, at Tajpur (Jalandhar) and Majri (Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar). He professes to have nearly 30 lakh followers worldwide, though most are from Punjab.
Even as this case was going on, the Kapurthala police had booked Bajinder Singh for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman. The woman, who was his disciple,reported that he touched her inappropriately on multiple occasions. She also alleged that he often sent her inappropriate text messages and threatened her with dire consequences if she narrated these conversations and incidents to anyone. Earlier, in 2022, a Delhi family alleged that Baljinder had taken money from them for treating, through prayers, their daughter, who was suffering from cancer but had not done so.
By designating himself as a Prophet, Bajinder Singh has placed himself above the plethora of pastors who have opened their Deras (ministries) in Punjab over the last two decades or so. While a pastor provides spiritual guidance a prophet professes direct connection with God and delivers God’s revelations to the people. Interestingly, Christianity has not recognised any prophets since Jesus is deemed to have given the final revelation as the son of God. The concept of a prophet exists in Islam.
As a prophet, Bajinder Singh emphasised his divine inspiration and ability to drive away evil spirits and carry out healing with a supernatural manifestation. In his meetings, he wore expensive suits and gave speeches in the name of Christ. Then he placed his hands on his selected people in the audience who would shake and convulse before claiming to be miraculously healed. He also claimed an ability to resolve problems, especially financial in nature.
Ultimately Bajinder Singh turned out to no better than the many Babas (Godmen) of Punjab and neighbouring areas who are already languishing in jail for similar acts of rape and murder.
Bajinder is one of the many Evangelist/Pentecostal pastors that has emerged in India, particularly in Punjab, in the last couple of decades. Pentecostal is a segment of Christianity that highlights the miracle and charismatic theories of the religion. In a world that is becoming increasingly insecure, this brand of the Christian religion is gaining wide acceptance.
The Pentecostal pastors in Punjab have built massive financial empires by selling their recipe of miracle cures in the name of Jesus Christ. They have perfected the art of exploiting the weakness of gullible people. Funds are also coming from foreign establishments engaged in similar activities. Now they have in place an elaborate network of churches, training colleges etc. They also have tremendous social media presence and publish huge volumes of literature that is distributed free of cost. The narrative of atrocities on Dalits is also freely used in engineering conversion activity among the weaker sections of society.
The dubious faith healing process
Ankur Narula is another big name in this conversion process. According to the 2011 census, the total population of Christians in Punjab was 3 lakhs 48 thousand. But, now the number of people associated with the Narula ministry itself has crossed 3 lakhs, even as Bajinder Singh claims to have followers in millions.
Apart from Bajinder Singh and Ankur Narula there are many others following this path in Punjab and earning millions. Some significant names are. Amrit Sandhu, Kanchan Mittal, Raman Hans, Gurnam Singh Kheda, Harjeet Singh, Sukhpal Rana and Faris Masih. These new Christian Dera chiefs are mostly first generation converts from among Hindus and Sikhs and from different castes like Jats, Khatris etc. They are media savvy and have a considerable presence in various mediums of social media, especially You Tube, Face Book, Twitter and Instagram. While on stage they behave like rock stars complete with music, props and attendant drama. Interestingly, they have not changed their original names or removed their Hindu caste from their names. They are also quite okay with taking turbaned followers in their fold. The business is so lucrative that more and mire are taking to it by the day.
These dubious self-proclaimed pastors of the Christian faith have engineered a new Christian Dera culture in Punjab. They have no education in Christian theology or the necessary sanction to preach, yet, they continue to call themselves Prophets, Apostles and Pastors. In the bargain they are earning huge amounts of money and have tremendous power as in the case of other Dera chiefs of the Sikh and the Hindu communities.
These fraudulent Christian Baba’s mostly attract innocent people of the lower segment of society and mislead them into conversion; in many cases the lure of migration is used as the bait. There are also reports of use of force to engineer conversion.
The situation of conversion of Sikhs by Christian missionaries in Punjab is alarming enough for the Jathedar of Akal Takht to demand an anti-conversion law. However, the SGPC has not come up with any concrete action plan to counter this falsity being spread in the name of religion and to ensure that the people get the right information which saves them from succumbing to religious fraud in their moments of weakness.
The situation is alarming not only in Punjab but also in other states like Andhra Pradesh where it is estimated that 20% of the population has converted to Christianity but officially the percentage of Christians in the state is pegged at 1.40%.
The spreading wave of artificial conversion is not good for Punjab or for the nation at large, especially so, when it constitutes a blatant exploitation of the socio-religious vulnerabilities of a weak and marginalised section of the society. The border state status of the region makes it more vulnerable to inimical support to such nefarious activities by foreign powers through provision of funds and wherewithal to the fake perpetrators of this exercise.
The disastrous impact of conversions on national integration, social and religious harmony have already been experienced across the country. Converts to Christianity are concealing their change of religion to make use of the Constitutional benefit of reservations in jobs/educational institutions and other benefits available to SC/OBCs.
Punjab, unlike many other states of the country, does not have an anti-conversion law. Even though there is demand for the same from some quarters, the larger opinion goes against the same since the region has, for millennia, been a hub centre of religious diversity and peaceful co-existence of many communities and religions. If somebody wishes to convert out of conviction it will not be contested in Punjab, the conflict is with regard to the use of dubious means.
In the mid-19th century, Punjab became a part of the British Empire and evangelistic efforts by Christian missionaries gained momentum. Christians are now settled all across Indian Punjab but are more concentrated in Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Firozepur Districts. Christianity thus built a strong Church in Punjab with established practices to look after the spiritual needs of its followers. The preachers took vows of the Church and became a part of the theological structure for life. They continue to look after the Churches and other religious practices in the state.
Now, Punjab is witnessing rapid proliferation of Christian Deras (religious sects). This is a deviation from established religious ethos and tradition of the Church. The attendant blatant exploitation of the emotions and sentiments of people in the name of name of Christianity and more critically, Jesus Christ is a slur in the face of the formal Christian establishments. More than anybody else, the formal Christian institutions should be working to eradicate this fraud being perpetrated in the name of their noble religion. There is a strong need to curb the activities of devious elements who are misleading people for personal gains and in a manner that is not condoned by their own Church.
The people of Punjab, especially the leaders and role models of its civil society need to seriously contemplate on the case of Bajinder Singh. The fact that he migrated from Haryana to Punjab to open his Dera indicates his conviction about the vulnerability of the state that would lead to the success of his nefarious activities.
While following a religion is an individual choice, the protection of the people from fraud and exploitation is the responsibility of the state. Intervention of the government on grounds to deceitful and fraudulent activity is within the ambit of the law which provides for the government to book people for superstitious practices in the name of religion; this clause should be used extensively by the state Government. The upcoming Christian Deras need to be kept under scrutiny to ensure that they do not become centres of criminality, exploitation and extortion as was the case with many others before them.
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