(Jan. 23, 2013) The Bible has become the bestseller in Nepal, as uncertain about
the future in the Himalayan country, more and more Nepalese are turning to the Bible's
message of hope. Rev CB Gahararaj, a Protestant clergyman and a member of the US-based
Bible for the World, said that 2012 and early 2013 have a seen a boom in sales of
the sacred text, and it has become the bestseller in stores. He also said that
Bible sales among non-Christians have doubled and stores have run out of Nepali editions
of the Bible, forcing printers to increase output. The clergyman noted that people
are frustrated by the country's grim social and political situation, torn by divisions
between Maoists and monarchists that date back to the civil war. For Fr Robin Rai,
parish priest at Kathmandu's Assumption Cathedral, the Church and Christians are at
work every day trying to end the divisions and hatred among people fomented by political
parties themselves. “We are praying for an end to the impasse. Only reconciliation
among the factions can allow the country to start again” he said Since 2007, when
the monarchy fell, Nepal has been without a constitution. In the past few years, political
parties have failed to adopt the new charter. On seven different occasions, they have
failed to approve it because of divisions or general strikes by the Maoist party.
For decades, Catholic and Protestant communities have been involved in charity
work and educational activities from primary school to university, taking on a major
role in Nepali society, especially in the poorest regions of the country. With greater
religious freedom in the last few years, the number of Christians has gone up compared
to before. For centuries under the monarchy, religions other than Hinduism were banned.
According to the 2011 census, Catholic and Protestants represent 1.5 per cent of the
population, up from 0.5 per cent in 2006. In six years, the number of Catholic rose
from 4,000 to 10,000.