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No service to cure untouchability at this rural church

No service to cure untouchability at this rural church

Author:
Publication: The New Indian Express
Date: August 24, 2004
URL: www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IET20040824025441&Page=T&Title=Southern+News+%2D+Tamil+Nadu&Topic=0&aDate=8%2F24%2F2004

A tug of war between Dalits and Vanniars in a small village near Tiruchirappalli -- with the latter adamant that the former can never hope to be relieved of the untouchability scourge -- has had a completely unforeseen consequence: the local church has had to be locked for the past three months and both sides have been forced to seek the divine elsewhere.

The scene of discontent is the nondescript Purathakudi village in Vaiyampatti panchayat union near Tiruchy.

Nearly 40 Dalit Christian families live in the street in front of the 100-year-old church of St. Antony the Hermit, while the Vanniars number around 450 families.

The conflict started in 1987 when the Dalits refused to do 'traditional duties' like beating drums at upper caste funerals or removing dead cows.

This defiance irked the Vanniars who felt the Dalits were becoming too big for their boots.

The Vanniars then refused to collect the Dalit share of money for conduct of the two festivals and also refused to share information about church accounts with the Dalits, according to Savarimuthu (40).

Besides, of the 17 statues of various saints in the church, the Vanniars allowed only 16 to be taken out in procession during the festival days, but the other three were not, due to some association with Dalits in one way or the other.

The icon of Jebamalai Madha, especially, as it was believed to have been donated by a Dalit. Rayappan (64) said the church itself was more than a century-old and nobody knew who exactly donated the statue.

Further, the Dalits were also not permitted to touch or read the first and second lessons from the Bible during Mass, he added. Dalits were also not permitted to be altar boys during the communion for fear that their touch would contaminate the holy vessels used in service.

When parish priest Fr.Amalaraj allowed a bull run in the Dalit street during Pongal in 1999, he was forced to stop this practice following vehement protests from Vanniyars. Even as tension simmered, Rev.Peter Fernando and Rev.Antony Devotta, former and incumbent bishops of Tiruchirappalli respectively, took the Vanniars to task for their treatment of the Dalits, but to no effect.

The church peace committee meetings would dissolve in chaos with Vanniars abusing Dalits even when the priests were around.

Such discontent led to the church being locked up on two occasions and when the last incumbent parish priest Fr.Charles demanded the keys to the church, hundi keys and accounts, the upper castes refused to oblige, leading to the church remaining locked till now.

While the Dalits now have to attend the church at Manaparai for marriages and christenings, Vanniars have built a small chapel for themselves some distance away.

Vanniar community sources ruled out there was no way Dalits could expect to be treated as equals any time in the near future, whatever the hierarchy might think or say.

Though the Dalits have complained to the police, it has not helped much as Christian Dalits are not covered by the Prevention of SC/ ST Atrocities Act.
 


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