Dalit Christian

In the late 1880s the Marathi word 'Dalit' was used by Mahatma Jotiba Phule for the outcasts and Untouchables who were oppressed and broken by Hindu society.^[1] The term Dalit Christian (sometimes Christian Dalit) is used to describe those low-caste who have converted to Christianity from Hinduism or Islam and are still categorized as Dalits in Hindu, Christian and Islamic societies in India, Pakistan and other countries. Hindu Dalits are referred to as "Harijans" while the Islamic Dalits are categorised as "Muhajir" or "Arzal".

The caste system

Dalits who converted to Christianity did not escape the caste system which has a strongly ingrained presence in Indian society that is not limited to Hindu religious ideals. The different branches of Christianity in India still engage in these societal practices with regards to the caste system, along with all its customs and norms. The Roman Catholic Church treated the caste system as part of the Indian social structure and, for much of its history in India, it chose to work within the established social system; similarly the Syrian Orthodox Churches responded in like fashion, except it has tended to collectively act as one caste within the caste system instead of maintaining different castes within their churches.^[2]

Other major factors affecting Dalit Christians and other Christians within India in regard to caste statutes are the regional variances in maintaining the caste system. The southern part of the country has traditionally more rigidly maintained the caste system than the northern regions. Rural communities also hold more strongly to the caste system and Roman Catholics are the majority of Christians in these communities. The urban areas tend to have the least pressure to maintain caste classes and Protestant churches are best represented in this background.^[2]

There have been regular complaints by Hindus and some Christians that Dalit Christians are denied admission and appointments in Church-run educational institutions.^[3][4]

After conversion, people in India lose any privileges they had in their former caste, while those in lower castes often gain more opportunities.^[5] Since Christianity is theoretically without castes, this is a controversial issue in India.^[2][6] Although about 70% of Indian Christians are widely reported to be Dalit Christians,^[7][8] the Sachar Committee on Muslim Affairs reported that only 9% of Indian Christians have Scheduled Caste status, with a further 32.8% having Scheduled Tribe status, and 24.8% belonging to other disadvantaged groups.^{[9] [10]} As a result of this, many of benefits.^[11]

Reservation

Reservation is available to Dalits who follow Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, but Dalit Christians and Muslims are not protected as castes under Indian Reservation policy.^[12][13] The Indian constitution in 1950 abolished untouchability, converting those castes to scheduled castes and tribes: in doing so it also provided a system of affirmative action (called the Reservation Policy) whereby 22.5 percent of all government and semi government jobs including seats in Parliament and state legislatures were reserved for those in those castes, the law also set aside space for admission to schools and colleges. In 1980 the constitutional policy was extended to cover the rest of the 3,743 backward castes in the country. But Christians who claim to belong to no cast are not included in the quotas, meaning those Dalits who convert to Christianity are no longer part of the affirmative action program run by the government. Dalit Christians have now appealed to the government to extend the benefits of reservation policy to Dalit Christians in order to improve their employment opportunities.^[14] In 2008, a study commissioned by the National Commission for Minorities suggested extension of reservation to Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians. According to the study, bringing Indian Muslims and Christians should be bought under the ambit of the constitutional safeguards .”^[15]

Modern Challenges

Since 1998, the greatest challenge to Dalit Christian rights and welfare in India has come from right-wing Hindu groups. Such groups, including The Poor Christian Liberation Movement, which are supported by right-wing Hindus, have claimed that Dalit Christians do not suffer in BJP run states, but instead claim that poor Dalit Christian’s religious sentiments are exploited by missionaries. The Poor Christian Liberation Movement has opposed government recognition of Dalit Christians as a Scheduled Caste .^{[1] [16] [17][18][19][20]} A petition from the All India Christian Federation (AICF) has been filed with the Supreme Court of India seeking reservations for all Dalits irrespective of their religious faith; on January 6, 2010, a Bench comprising Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan^[21] and Justice B. S. Chauhan issued a notice to the Ministry of Social Justice and Ministry of Minority Affairs seeking their responses to the petition.^[22][23]

See also

Christianity in India portal

• Caste system among Indian Christians
• Dalit theology

Further reading

• Dalit Christians: Right To Reservations, by Camil Parkhe. 2007. ISPCK. ISBN 9788172149796.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Robinson, Rowena (2003), Christians of India, New Delhi: Sage Publications, pp. 193–96, ISBN 0761998225, http://books.google.com/?id=HyFDnV9k2cYC&pg=PA192&dq=Dalit+Christian 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Michael, Editor S.M. (2007), Dalits in modern India : vision and values, New Delhi: Sage Publications, pp. 82, ISBN 0761935711, http://books.google.com/?id=xnyo1xPNwxwC&pg=PA82&dq=Dalit+Christian 
3. ^ "Dalit Christians demand equality". The Times Of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/496862.cms. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ Anderson, Edited by Allan; Tang, Edmond; Foreword By Cecil M. Robeck, Jr (2003), Asian and Pentecostal : the charismatic face of Christianity in Asia, Oxford, UK: Regnum Books International, pp. 251, ISBN 1870345436, http://books.google.com/?id=LDZgKELq7AoC&pg=PA251&dq=Dalit+Christian 
5. ^ Bauman, Chad M. (2008), Christian identity and Dalit religion in Hindu India, 1868-1947, Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., pp. 89, ISBN 0802862764, http://books.google.com/?id=Hn7GT3uxmekC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Dalit+Christian 
6. ^ Dalit Christians plan stir for Scheduled Caste status The Hindu, Sep 19, 2007.
7. ^ Struggle for justice to Dalit Christians By Brojendra Nath Banerjee, Uiliyāma Kerī Sṭāḍi eyāṇḍ Risārca Seṇṭāra. Page 42: "At stake is the fate of 16 million Christians of SC origin, who form 70-80 percent of the Christians in the country"
8. ^ Culture and customs of India‎ By Carol Henderson Garcia, Carol E. Henderson "Today about 70 percent of Christians are Dalits"
9. ^ http://minorityaffairs.gov.in/newsite/sachar/sachar_comm.pdf
10. ^ http://www.persecution.in/content/dalit-christians-hold-rally-delhi
11. ^ http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/dalit-christian-demands-2690491.html
12. ^ Should Dalit Christians get reservation? Rediff.com, February 11, 2005.
13. ^ Dalit Christians: SC or not?
14. ^ . http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_12_116/ai_54467481/pg_2/?tag=content;col1. ^{[dead link]}
15. ^ SC status for Dalit Muslims, Dalit Christians favoured The Hindu, Apr 05, 2008.
16. ^ http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,459d17822,45b61f562,3ae6a84b4,0.html
17. ^ http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=125203
18. ^ http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=country&docid=48a7eae3c&skip=0&coi=IND&rid=4562d8cf2&querysi=Dalit&searchin=fulltext&display=40&sort=date
19. ^ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030911/ldh1.htm
20. ^ "Dalit Christians to stage protest". The Hindu (Chennai, India). December 2, 2007. http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/02/stories/2007120256191200.htm. 
21. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._G._Balakrishnan
22. ^ [1]
23. ^ Gilmartin, David (2010), "The State in South Asian History Rule of Law, Rule of Life: Caste, Democracy, and the Courts in India", The American Historical Review 115 (2): 406–427, doi:10.1086/ahr.115.2.406, http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/ahr.115.2.406, retrieved 2010-07-24 

External links

• Dalit Christian Supreme Court Case Commences in India
• www.dalitchristians.com