Punjabi Christians

Pre-colonial Armenians have been visiting the Indian subcontinent, especially the Punjab region, for trading purposes since the early part of the 2nd millennium. There are sparse records existing that document Armenians settling in the region prior to the reign of Akbar. There was an Armenian quarter of the city, enclosed by a wall of the city fort. The Jesuit mission in the Indian subcontinent began in 1545, which was marked by the arrival of Francis Xavier in Goa. In 1578, Akbar requested for two Jesuits to explain the Christian religion to him at his court in Fatehpur Sikri. Jerome Xavier, in appreciation of the courage of Guru Arjan, wrote back to Lisbon, that Guru Arjan suffered and was tormented. According to Ilay Cooper, Christian murals were painted in a Sedari pavilion located on the North Wall of Lahore Fort during the reign of Jahangir in circa 1618. , published by the Bible Society of India Colonial From the mid-19th to early 20th centuries, a number of Christian texts were translated and made widely available in the Punjabi language, such as the New Testament, the Gospel, and texts relating to Jesus. By 1870, there were only a few thousand Christians in the Punjab Province of colonial India; the 1880s saw the growth of the Presbyterian Church from 660 to 10,615 baptized Christians. Continued evangelism efforts by Christian missionaries, especially those from the Church of Scotland and Church Missionary Society in India led to nearly half a million Punjabi Christians by the 1930s. The meeting of the All India Conference of Indian Christians in Lahore in December 1922, which had a large attendance of Punjabis, resolved that the clergymen of the Church in India should be drawn from the ranks of Indians, rather than foreigners. The AICIC also stated that Indian Christians would not tolerate any discrimination based on race or skin colour. In June 1947, the total population of Punjabi Christians in the Punjab Province of colonial India was recorded at 511,299. Of these, 450,344 were based in West Punjab and 60,955 were in East Punjab. Those Christians who were serving in official government positions and the civil service were given the choice of opting for either of the countries. The many British-era churches and cathedrals dotting the various cities of Punjab were overtaken by Punjabi Christians, and they also continued the legacy of maintaining Christian educational institutions and healthcare facilities which had remained nationally renowned. ==Culture==

According to Selva J. Raj, the Punjabi Christian identity is an amalgamation of the Christian faith along with an ethnic affinity for the culture of Punjab, which includes the Punjabi language, Punjabi cuisine, the various customs and traditions of Punjab, and the way of life of the Punjabi people in general. features heavily in the theology and literature of Punjabi Christians. The earliest Christian scriptures which were published by British missionaries in the Punjab included those written in Roman Urdu. ==Geographical distribution==

Pakistan As of 1981, Lahore was the city with the largest Christian population in Pakistan, numbering over 200,000. The cities of Faisalabad, Sialkot and Sheikhupura are home to sizable communities. In rural Punjab, many Christians belong to the Dalit Christian community, specifically the chuhra community, As a result of urbanisation, employment-driven migration into larger cities and greater educational opportunities, an increasing number of Punjabi Christians have been able to gain a college education and acquire socially respectable positions in recent times. In the Islamabad Capital Territory, the Christian community dwells in large numbers in Francis Colony, a legally-recognised residential area situated in sector F-7. Others live in slums (katchi abadis) located on government-owned land, to where they have shifted from Narowal, Shakargarh, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Faisalabad, Sahiwal and Sialkot in Punjab. Most of the 50,000 or so Christians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa speak Punjabi, and had ancestors who settled in this area, but have gradually become Pashtunized over time due to cultural assimilation. and belong to the lower-income working class. There have historically been Punjabi Christian communities in Jammu, Delhi, and in Chandigarh, where the Christians are also known as Isai and belong to various sects. The Punjabi Christians in Chandigarh often bear the surname Masih. Likewise in Haryana, some of the Christians settled there are Punjabis and are also commonly referred to as the Isai. Both Chandigarh and Haryana were a part of Punjab up until 1966, when they were carved out as a separate union territory and state respectively. ==Diaspora==

As a result of immigration, a large Christian Punjabi diaspora exists today. There are significant Punjabi Christian communities in Canada (particularly Toronto), the United States (particularly Philadelphia), the United Kingdom, One of the most prominent early Punjabi Christians in the UK was Duleep Singh, who first landed in the country in 1854, he was the Sikh Prince kidnapped by British at young age and converted without his knowing. He left Christianity at a later age and converted back to his Sikh beliefs. Among other motives for emigration, Christians have left Pakistan for economic reasons, greater opportunities to attain higher education or theological training, desire to join relatives already settled abroad, and to escape religious discrimination/persecution. ==Genetics==

A study published in Nature analyzed the DNA of Punjabi Christians residing in the city of Lahore and found that they "appeared genetically more associated to south Asian, particularly Indian populations like Tamil, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh than rest of global populations." ==List of people==

• Akram Masih Gill, Pakistani politician • Amrit Kaur, first Health Minister of India • Ashir Azeem, Pakistani film and television director, actor, writer and former civil services officer • Bir Masih Saunta, Indian politician & G.S of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (Minority Dept.) • Brother Bakht Singh, Indian evangelist • Bohemia (David Roger), first Punjabi rapper • Ankur Narula, Indian Evangelist and Senior Pastor and Overseer in the Church of Signs and Wonders • Cecil Chaudhry, Pakistani academic, human rights activist, and veteran fighter pilot • Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai, Chief Secretary of East Punjab from 1957 to 1962 and the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir from 1964 to 1966; architect of Chandigarh • Gurmit Singh (half Punjabi), Singaporean actor-singer • Harnam Singh, a president of the All India Conference of Indian Christians • Iqbal Masih, Pakistani boy who became a symbol of abusive child labour • Jasvinder Sanghera, British activist • Jia Ali, Pakistani actress and model • John Joseph (bishop), former Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad • Julian Peter, former Major General in Pakistan Army • Kalpana Kartik, Bollywood actress and wife of Dev Anand • Kamran Michael, Pakistani politician who served as minister for statistics • Michael Masih, Pakistani footballer • Naeem Masih, Pakistani para athlete • Nazir Latif, former Pakistani air force officer • Nirmal Roy, Pakistani singer • Noel Israel Khokhar, former Major General and current Pakistani ambassador to Ukraine. • Peter Christy, former Pakistani air force officer • Raja Maharaj Singh, first Indian Governor of Bombay Presidency • Rakesh Masih, Indian footballer • Sadhu Sundar Singh, Indian Christian missionary • Samuel Azariah, Pakistani bishop • Samuel Martin Burke, Pakistani diplomat, author and professor • Sardar Anjum, Indian Poet • Satya Prakash Singha (half Punjabi), Speaker of Punjab Assembly in Colonial India; Pakistani politician • Shazia Hidayat, Pakistani track and field athlete • Shae Gill, Pakistani singer, famous for the Coke Studio song Pasoori • Shahbaz Bhatti, first Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs & member of National Assembly of Pakistan • Sidra Sadaf, Pakistani cyclist • Sunita Marshall, Pakistani model & T.V actress ==See also==