KATHMANDU (UCAN) -- Christians in Nepal have demanded the country's new constitution, yet to be drafted, guarantee religious freedom in this Hindu-majority country.

"Complete religious freedom is our demand, our wish, our request to the newly elected constituent assembly members," said Kalai Bahadur Rokaya, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Nepal, an organization of Protestant churches. He was addressing a forum on New Constitution of Nepal and Religious Freedom that the council held on May 18 in Kathmandu.

Rokaya said the new constitution, which the constituent assembly elected in April will draft, should have a provision guaranteeing religious minorities the right to practice and profess their religion.

As a member of the National Human Rights Commission, Rokaya holds the highest official appointment yet received by a Christian in Nepal. He lauded the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist for its stated commitment to uphold religious rights.

The Maoists emerged the single largest party out of the constituent-assembly election, winning 220 of the 601 seats in the assembly. The constitution it will draft will, among other things, formalize parliament's 2006 decision to change Nepal from a Hindu nation to a secular state and will decide the fate of the centuries-old monarchy. The first assembly meeting is set for May 28. People expect the Maoists to lead the new government that follows.

Maoist leader Barsha Man Pun, chief guest at the May 18 program, reaffirmed his party's commitment to upholding the rights of all religious minorities under the new constitution. "The new constitution will not favor any religion ... and it is not possible that the country will be a one-religion country again," he said amid thunderous applause from about mostly 500 Protestants gathered at the meeting.

"We will see to it that people's freedom on religion will be there -- I promise you this," he declared.

Pun said his party will also take into consideration Rokaya's demand for a "religious ministry" or a "high-level religious commission," and a law to register churches in Nepal. "We will discuss the matter and see what can be done," the Maoist leader said. Presently, churches have to be registered as NGOs in Nepal.

Other speakers at the program included Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim and other religious leaders represented in the Inter-Religious Council-Nepal.

Damodar Gautam, president of the World Hindu Federation, said the country could not remain a Hindu state, given the present circumstances. "Loving each other is what matters most and this is no sin," he said, adding that the need of the hour is for all religious groups to join hands and contribute to building a new Nepal. He discounted fears that pro-Hindu groups might resort to violence to try and restore Nepal as a Hindu country. "Religious people don't take up arms," he said.

Nazrul Hussain, the Muslim representative, said the Maoists, as the largest political party, "must not betray the people." Buddhist representative Bhikchu Chandrakriti added that the "Maoists must now pile pressure on other political parties to see to it that people will have their right to religion."

Bishop Anthony Sharma, apostolic vicar of Nepal, said Maoists coming to power will not affect the Catholic Church. "As we have good relations with people of all walks of life, and as we have no links with the political parties, whoever leads the government will not make a difference to us," he told UCA News on April 28.

"The election results show that people in Nepal want changes, changes for the good of the country," he said. "We hope and pray that whatever the Maoists do will be for the good of the country."

Father George Kalapurackal, among the handful of other Catholics at the meeting, told UCA News on May 20, "We hope complete religious freedom will be in place once the new constitution is drafted and once the country is declared a republic."

Nepal has 28 million people, 80 percent of whom are Hindus, 4 percent Muslims and most of the rest Buddhists. According to the 2006 Nepal Catholic Directory, the country has 1 million Christians, but only 7,500 of them are Catholics.

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