Nepal Promises Religious Freedom in Constitution

Officials of the interim government of Nepal have promised that religious freedom considerations will be part of the new constitution now being drafted for the country, the only nation in the world with Hinduism as the state religion.

An early indication of a new tolerance for Christianity in Nepal came last month, when the Bible Society in Nepal organized an Easter parade in Katmandu in conjunction with several churches.

“Several hundred Christians, men, women and children, paraded in the city carrying banners which proclaimed that this was the day of the resurrection of Jesus,” said Loknath Manaen, executive secretary of the Bible Society.

In a report to the United Bible Societies in England, Manaen said that “because the church has been living with the threat of persecution for so long, many believers still find it difficult to accept the new freedom. They are hesitating, expecting some sort of reaction. But I hope such fears of repression will disappear with time.”

Edgar Metzler, executive director of United Mission to Nepal, recently joined with other church leaders to meet with interim Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai. Metzler said the Christians “were told there will be official freedom of religion, and all religious prisoners will be released.”

Last week, more than 2,000 Christians from all over Nepal packed Kathmandu’s Royal Academy Hall to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Nepal Christian Fellowship. Such a public rally would have been illegal only a few weeks earlier. The gathering was addressed by Marshall Julum Shakya, Nepal’s minister of supplies, works and transport, who said the new constitution “will take into account the religious sentiment of all citizens.”

Attorney H. S. Niraula, who represents evangelist Charles Mendies and two dozen other Nepalese Christians still in prison for their evangelistic work among Hindus, reminded rally participants of the country’s history of religious repression.

Mendies has been in prison since November on a charge of placing Bibles in hotel rooms. His wife, Susan, said her husband is optimistic over the recent political developments but was urging people in the West to “keep the pressure on both the king and the prime minister . . . until full human rights, including religious freedoms, are guaranteed for all our people.”