VIVEK SHUKLA
New Delhi- Will the election of Bishop of Delhi take place on forthcoming October 12 ?
The Bishop is the top most position of the Church of North India (CNI). Therefore, the election to the post of Bishop creates tremendous amount of curiosity among the Christian community of Delhi.
However, it is feared that some unscrupulous elements are working day and night to stall the Bishop’s election on account of their personal selfish motives.
According to sources it is alleged that a Principal of a known school of New Delhi is behind this conspiracy who’s been serving on several church related projects in various capacities for decades. As that is not enough, she managed to extend her term as Principal despite her reaching the age of superannuation.
Well, the post of Bishop is an esteemed religious and administrative head with thousands of followers and prestigious institutions under his chairmanship. The CNI’s jurisdiction covers all states of
India with the exception of the five states in the South (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu which are under the jurisdiction of the Church of South India)
and has approximately 2,200,000 members
(0.1% of India’s population) in 3,000 pastorates.
It may be recalled that the CNI is allegedly facing lot of flak due to serious charges against top management of their involvement in alleged financial bungling and dubious land deals. The two Bishops- Prem Chand Singh of Jabalpur and Bishop Peter Baldev of Lucknow are in jail for various charges. It is alleged that during his tenure as Bishop, Prem Chand Singh had halted the election of Bishop in Delhi to exploit church resources for his personal gains.
( The writer is a senior journalist n an accomplished author )
