On Saturday (16 September), old tweets of Punjabi actress Sonam Bajwa created a social media storm in which several users alleged that she is a ‘crypto-Christian’ and is close to the notorious evangelist Ankit Sajwan. Apparently, Christian pastor Sajwan has been holding large congregations to en-mass convert poor and gullible individuals.
Sonampreet Bajwa popularly known as Sonam Bajwa is an Indian actress who is predominantly active in the Punjabi industry and is also popular on social media platforms. Apart from Pollywood, she has also worked in Tamil and Telugu films.
At the centre of the social media storm are the actress’ old posts in which she admitted that she “follows Jesus” and has referred to Christian Pastor Ankit Sajwan as her “spiritual father”.
In one of her posts, the actress talked about her relationship with Jesus claiming that many users would not understand it.
In December 2017, Sonam Bajwa tweeted, “I follow JESUS but I am not a religious Christian. I aim to have a relationship with him not religion. Someone like you won’t get it.”
I follow JESUS but I am not a religious Christian. I aim to have a relationship with him not religion. Someone like you won’t get it https://t.co/VNDJFfAeZe
— Sonam Bajwa (@bajwasonam) December 26, 2017
In many of her now-deleted posts, she asserted that she was very much a Punjabi and had not converted to Christianity.
What the fuck does this even mean.
— Jassa (@jassa84) November 11, 2021
She doesn't even know the difference between Punjabi and Sikh 🤦♂️ https://t.co/UwE0roNbAc
However, on 23 June 2018, the Punjabi actress wished Christian Pastor Ankit Sajwan on his birthday. She also thanked him for being an amazing brother, “Pastor”, and “Spiritual Father”. She further added thank you for truly showing what God-kind of relationships are.
Later, on 16 August 2018, Ankit Sajwan wished the actor on her birthday saying, “Happy B’day Sonam. Love your kindness and humility. You are Daddy’s beloved and we love you so much. Have an awesome B’day.”
Apart from birthday wishes, the duo have also attended some event(s) together.
It is important to note here that Ankit Sajwan is an “influential” Christian pastor who has met several senior politicians including Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia for bestowing Christ’s prayers on them.
In the backdrop of these posts, several users have alleged that the Punjabi actress Sonam Bajwa is a crypto-Christian, and evangelists like Ankit Sajwan are using her fame to en-mass convert gullible people into their religious fold.
One social media user said, “She’s a Crypto Christian. Look at her old posts there are hundreds of posts about Jesus. We have to be aware of these newly converted Christians.”
She's Sonam Bajwa. Currently she's really popular in Punjabi Industry and Social media.
— Ujjawal Rai (@Ujjawalrai0408) September 16, 2023
She's a Crypto Christians. Look at her old posts there is hundreds of post about Jesus. We have to aware of this newly converted Christians. pic.twitter.com/l749x5JNTe
Sonam Bajwa – Jesus stole my heart ❤️, I owe everything to Jesus.
— PunFact (@pun_fact) September 16, 2023
She is believed to have been converted to Christianity. Sonam Bajwa (Sonampreet Kaur Bajwa) was born in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand in a Sikh family but she has deep faith on Jesus Christ. pic.twitter.com/a2jLKmVdN4
Sonam Bajwa files.
— Squint Neon (@TheSquind) September 16, 2023
She considers pastor Ankit Sajwan her spiritual father. Ankit Sajwan is the same "bolne lagi" wala pastor who had an FIR against him
He still met Delhi CM Kejriwal & booked the entire Talkatora stadium to mass convert people. pic.twitter.com/rD9QkpicVO
Evangelical ‘preachers’ are ‘Christianising’ village after village in Punjab
Christian missionaries and evangelical organisations are best known for their multilevel marketing techniques. Their network comprises healthcare centres, education centres, and everything that a family living in the hinterland or below the line of poverty is in need of. In some cases to attract youngsters, rockstar-kind of ‘conversion’ concerts are held where Christianed Western concepts are presented as paragons of modernity to attract Gen-Z and youth.
With a multi-pronged ploy, they achieve their evangelical and one true objective by first detaching the villagers from their roots. In a well-defined and well-designed strategy to uproot the Sanatan society, the slow indoctrination is coupled with a slyly crafted inculturation campaign. This inculturation includes every possible way to disguise the Gospel in local culture and traditions be it through Yeshu Jayanthi to Yeshu Kathakali.
The concept of inculturation is deeply enshrined in Christianity. It “denotes the presentation and re-expression of the Gospel inform and terms proper to a culture.”
Through techniques like ‘inculturation’ and ‘indoctrination’, evangelists have been achieving success in ‘Christianising’ village after village.
While the exact number of forced or lured conversions is hard to arrive at, according to one estimate in a limited geographical span, the missionaries converted as many as 1 lakh people and adopted 50,000 villages in a span of one year. Claiming that the pandemic lockdown was ‘godsent’, they promised to provide medical aid and two square meals amidst the financial crisis and lured the hapless villagers into the fold of Christianity.
Interestingly, there are many Pentecostal Pastors who are leading Christian conversion menace in Punjab and they include individuals from Former police officer pastors to ambitions of the ‘largest Church in Asia.
