Author: P.N. Benjamin
Publication: Vijay Times
Date: March 27, 2005
To corrupt George Orwell's famous
aphorism: "all Indian Christians are equal, but some are more equal than
others". By embracing Christianity, the Dalits have not found themselves
emancipated from economic and social inequalities. Conversions have neither
offered the Dalits a way of escape from the bondage of caste nor have they
fostered the social transformation of the Dalit Christians. They still
live under the same conditions of discrimination, exploitation and oppression.
By embracing Christianity the Dalits
have not found themselves emancipated from economic and social inequities.
On the other hand they even find themselves to be victims of double discrimination
in their new religion. The Church has sinned more than others in perpetuating
social injustices against Dalit Christians. Casteism is rampant in the
Church. Caste discrimination takes many forms among Indian Christians In
rural areas they cannot own or rent houses, however well-placed they may
be. Separate places are marked out for them in the parish churches and
burial grounds. Inter-caste marriages are frowned upon and caste tags are
still appended to the Christian names of high caste people. Casteism is
rampant among the clergy and the religious. For example, it is known that
less than 4 per cent of the Catholic parishes are entrusted to Dalit priests
in South India itself..
Charity begins at home. But, the
home (Church) where it begins, the Dalits Christians do not belong. According
to a study, all the landed properties of churches in India put together,
the church is the second biggest landlord in the country, next only to
the Government. In addition, the Church institutions and Church or Christians-led
NGOs receive foreign financial support amounting to over Rs. 2500 crores
per year. There is no transparency with regard to these funds as well the
massive income accruing from the elite schools, colleges and hospitals
and also shopping complexes built all over the major cities in the country.
The poor Dalit Christian does not even get the crumbs, leave alone participation
in Church matters.
The Indian Church leaders - be it
Catholic, Protestant or the 'born-agains'- have miserably failed to take
care of the 20-million Dalits converted to Christianity. Besides, indiscriminate
conversions have ruined the spirit of Christianity into savagery. Christianity
is a path paved with suffering and service. Christ said: "If any one wants
to follow me, let him take up the Cross and follow me." But, the Indian
Church leaders want the Government to carry the Cross of Dalit Christians.
The church leaders and NGOs have
been demanding reservation for Dalit Christians for several years now.
However, the Poor Christian Liberation Front (PCLM) has called the bluff
of these self-styled defenders of Dalit Christians. A recent statement
issued in New Delhi by the PCLM has said that Indian Church leaders have
"tamed the 20 million Dalit Christians and reduced them to eternal slaves
of organised Church bodies. On the one hand, the Church demands reservation
for Dalit Christians from the government while on the other, it opposes
and refuses to provide them reservation in the Church structure."
Thus, the Church's call for re-distribution
of national resources in favour of Dalit Christians will be heeded only
when its own resources are re-allocated and used with a clear partiality
for Dalits in its own fold. The Church's fearless stand for justice will
no longer let it remain silent about the discrimination within the Church
- a matter of shame to its members and an embarrassment to its friends.
Time has come for Dalit Christians
to refuse to be used as cannon fodder or pawns in the hands of their so-called
enlightened leaders who have grown fat and powerful and enjoy better standards
of living and greater prestige than the poor and ordinary Dalit Christians.
The eyes of these Dalit Christian warriors are turned westward even more
than during the Pax Britannica, and they draw their inspiration not so
much from the poverty, inequality and indignities faced by the Dalit Christians
within the Church but from the next seminar in Geneva or other western
capitals. There is a vested interest in keeping the Dalit Christians as
they are in the Church. They shall always be with us so that their leaders
can have a jolly good time sermonizing on the plight of these unfortunate
ones!
Dalit Christians, comprising almost
80% of the Indian Christian population, should stand united and fight for
their rights in the Church until they are equals in the Christian fraternity
first before seeking equal treatment from the government. It would be futile
to expect others to give them support with a real change of heart. This
goal can be achieved by following intelligently Ambedkar's exhortation:
"educate, organize and agitate.
Lastly, Dalit Christians' plight
calls for a deeper analysis of the problem so that Christian leaders do
not throw stones at the caste system prevailing in Hinduism or the Hindutva
Brigade but look to something more meaningful and constructive.
