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Catholic World News News Feature

Untouchable No Longer January 02, 2002

In India, the Catholic Church has always opposed discrimination on the basis of caste. In the 1990s, some Catholic leaders have become heavily involved in the campaign to end discrimination against people whose families were once marked as members of the lower castes--people now known as Dalits. But in the eyes of most Dalits, that campaign is far from its goal.

Moreover, the campaign has now provoked heated conflict within the Catholic Church. In some southern dioceses, recent developments suggest that the age-old prejudices fostered by the caste system are not yet dead even among Christians. The National Coordination Committee for Dalit Christians--an ecumenical set up in 1995 to lobby for justice for Christian Dalits--has now turned its attention to the discrimination against Dalits within the ranks of the Christian churches.

THE CAMPAIGN FOR EQUALITY

The term "Dalit"-- the word literally meaning "trampled upon"--refers to members of the low castes who were once treated as "unoutchables" in Indian society. Today these groups are officially recognized as Scheduled Castes (SCs), and government programs have been instituted to give free education, special legal protection, and preference in government hiring to members of SCs. However, since those programs are justified on the basis of past discrimination against the Dalits, and since Christians never participated in the caste system, the government refuses to extend these statutory benefits to Christian Dalits. Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist Dalits are eligible for the benefits reserved to SCs; Christians are not. The Catholic Church, together with Protestant groups, has campaigned--to date unsuccessfully--for a change in that law, and an official recognition that Christian Dalits, too, were the victims of past discriminaiton.

Historically, Dalits began to embrace Christianity in the 19th century, motivated at least in part by the desire to escape from the rigid structure and gross iniquity of the Hindu caste system. Today, Dalits account for more than 60 percent of India's 21 million Christians. But although they constitute a majority of the country's Catholics, Dalits still complain of discrimination. While the Church no longer allows some of the practices that sprung from the traditions of a caste-based society--such as the establishment of separate cemeteries for lower-caste families--the remains of caste-consciosness have not yet been fully erased from the minds of the upper-caste Christian minority.

Thus, for example, upper-caste Christians are still reluctant to marry Dalits. Despite their majority role within the Church, Dalits account for only 3 percent of the clergy, and many Dalit candidates for the priesthood claim that they have been discouraged from applying to the seminary, or dismissed from priestly formation programs with only vague explanations. A 1992 fact-finding study conducted in six dioceses by All India Catholic Union found that, despite explicit prohibitions, caste-based cemeteries could still be found in Catholic parishes in the state of Tamil Nadu, where Dalits have complained of particularly blatant discrimination.

Following that study, the Indian bishops at their 1992 meeting undertook new initiatves to promote Dalit equality. Within the next two years, the Indian Church saw the appointment of the first three Dalit bishops in history. The bishops instructed their faithful that "the Church should treat Dalit Christians with respect and love."

"Dalits are a community with a wounded psyche," said Bishop Marampudi Joji of Kurnool, one of the first Dalits to join the hierarchy in the wake of the bishops' pledge to wipe out caste-based discrimination. "The Church should show a greater concern to raise our standards in educational, economic, and social affairs." EDUCATION AND FORMATION

At times Dalit complaints have burst forth into open public protests. The entire Diocese of Kurnool, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, witnessed a Dalit revolt in 1992, as hundreds of parishioners from lower-caste backgrounds boycotted Sunday Mass for a period of several weeks, complaining that they were being victimized by discrimination within Church institutions. The leaders of the protest organized a demonstration outside the bishop's residence, and even traveled to New Delhi to take their complaints to the papal nuncio there. Shortly after that protest Bishop Gorantla Johannes was appointed to head the Kurnool diocese.

Bishop Johannes said that he was "extremely happy" to witness the awakening of concern for the rights of Dalits within the Church. "The Church earlier was busy with other concerns, so the illiterate and poor Dalit community was ignored," he observed. "Now the attitude has changed.".

The bishop said that his plans for the diocese include an effort to expand the number of Dalits among the ranks of the clergy. (At the moment, although Dalits account for approximately 70 percent of the faithful in the Kurnool diocese, there are only 2 Dalits among the 55 diocesan priests.) "My target is to concentrate on education for Dalits and their formation in the faith, so as to have more Dalit vocations," said Bishop Johannes.

As Bishop Johannes sees it, the increase in vocations among Dalits should be a natural process. "Dalits were ignored because they lacked education," he explains. But now: "Once people know their rights, they will get it done."

However, Bishop Johannes issues a caution against the use of pressure tactics within the Church. "The people are happy" that Bishop Joji was ordained as an auxiliary for the diocese after their public protests, he admitted, "and it has eased the tension. But it should not set a precedent." Bishop Joji himself added his own words of caution: "Though I am a Dalit bishop, I am against the Kurnool type of uprising."

The type of explosion that occurred in Kurnool is not a regular occurence, but the underlying tensions have never been eliminated. "Though incidents like these have declined in the Church in recent times," says Father Simon Lourdusamy--who heads an effort by the Indian bishops' conference to promote Dalit rights--the Catholic Church in India is "not yet fully free of caste conflicts. It shows that we have not yet been to fully shake off the caste consciousness." In comparison with other Christian churches, Catholicism has done a great deal to alleviate the tension; observers in India's southern states report that Dalits in the Protestant churches face a far more serious plight. Nevertheless, Father Lourdusamy is unsatisfied with the rate of progress. "The most regrettable part," he says, "is that the clergy--even after years of formation and theological training--have not been able to overcome caste prejudices."

UPPER-CASTE BACKLASH

More recently, the campaign to achieve equality for Dalits has resulted in some nasty resistance among upper-caste Catholics. The parish of Our Lady of Good Health in Thatchoor, about 35 miles south of Madras, has a population of 500 families, divided more or less equally between upper-caste Reddiars and Dalits. Earlier this year, reporting that they were being excluded from full participation in parish affairs, the Dalit Catholics appealed for a joint celebration of the feast of Our Lady. But their plea was rejected; the feast was celebrated by the upper castes in May, with police protection to keep the Dalits away.

Responding promptly to that incident, Archbishop James Masilamony Arul Das of Madras sent a new pastor to the Thatchoor parish, and a committee was set up to promote reconciliation among the parishioners. However, when Dalits were invited to participate in a parish feast just a few weeks later, some upper-caste parishioners disrupted the event, assaulting the new pastor and several of the Dalit parishioners. Archbishop James' call for "justice and equality" for the Dalits fell on deaf ears, and the parish church is now closed and locked.

To compound the problem, some Reddiar parishioners appealed to a local court, claiming the parish church as Reddiar property. And the court--with a Reddiar judge presiding--upheld that claim, ruling that Archbishop Arul Das had no right to "encroach" on the parish property or interfere with its governance. The arcbhishop's appeal against that verdict is now pending before a higher court.

"The situation is getting worse," Father M.V. Jacob, a priest in charge of the Dalit affairs for the Madras archdiocese, told Catholic World Report. "The Reddiars are adopting a stubborn and arrogant stand. In the reconciliation meeting convened by the archbishop (in August) , even Reddiar priests were demanding the separation of Dalits from the parish." Father Jacob reported that the Reddiars, supported by priests belonging to their caste, had even approached the papal nuncio in Indi,a urging him to allow them to opt out of Madras archdiocese.

"UNCHRISTIAN" BEHAVIOR

"It is disheartening to know that caste discrimination is being practised in the Church and within the Christian community, in spite of repeated instructions, given by the leaders of churches, for its eradication," said the National Coordination Committee for Dalit Christians-- a group set up by the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) along with the National Council of Churches in India--in an unusual July statement.

Deploring the recent developments in Thatchoor, the NCCDC admitted that "the upper-caste Christian community, holding all the power in the church administration, denied equal rights and equal participation to Dalits for past 200 years."While praising Archbishop Arul Das for making the "right gesture" to uphold justice and equality, the NCCDC statement said that "the offenders and oppressors need to realize that their actions are un-Christian and (they) should mend their ways of life by witnessing to Christian values of equality and brotherhood."

To prevent another occurrence of the "unfortunate" incident in Thatchoor, the NCCDC has urged heads of all Christian churches, congregations, and institutions "to take stern action against the persons, parishes, and communities still practicing 'untouchability' and discrimination in any form in the church and in the society."

"The worst thing about Thatchoor is that the upper-caste clergy have been also instrumental in the domination over the Dalits," says Father Simon Lourdusamy, the coordinator of the NCCDC. He told Catholic World Report that while the 250 Reddiar families of the parish could be justly proud of the 47 priests they have produced, the role some of the Reddiar priests have played in Thatchoor is "un-Christian.... Some of them have even instigated fellow caste members to violent action."

While the conflict in Thatchoor was extraordinary, it was not unprecedented. Similar confrontations have occurred in other parishes where Dalits are particularly active. In the same Madras diocese, a parish in Pudur has been closed down for six months following clashes between Dalits and upper-class Catholics.

SIGNS OF PROGRESS

Archbishop Marianus Arokiasamy, the ormer chairman of Indian bishops' Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, is prepared to admit that the Church leadership has been at fault in denying Dalits their due respect and their rights within the Church. "We should have given them their due without their asking," he argues.

"The missionaries, in their anxiety to win over the Brahmins, divided their mission into two categories--one for the upper castes and the other for lower castes--with separate churches," relates Archbishop- Arokiasmay, who heads the Madurai diocese in the southern state of Tamil Nadu--a region where the tensions between castes have been particularly acute. At the 1992 meeting of the Indian bishops' conference, after hearing the archbishop's briefing on the remaining evidence of caste discrimination, his episcopal colleagues approved a resolution urging local pastors "not to conduct any funeral service in private cemeteries which exclude any group of Catholics on the basis of caste."

Archbishop Arokiasamy recounted that in 1994, when the bishops of Tamil Nadu announced that they would set aside five million rupees (about $150,000) in a fund to provide scholarships for Dalit students, busloads of upper-caste Catholics drove to the site of the bishops' meeting, urging them to do make the move, which they saw as a concession to Dalit pressure tactics.

The bishops held firm, however, and now the scholarship fund has swelled to seven million rupees. In there were 350 Dalit students continuing their studies with the help of that fund; now the figure is over 1,000. On a nationwide basis, the bishops' conference set up two new study centers in southern India last year, designing them to help Dalits prepare for the statewide and nationwide examinations which are used to select workers for key government positions. Forty Dalit students were admitted to each center, where they receive intensive personalized coaching; all expenses, including their room and board, are met by the Indian bishops.

In general he status of Dalits has become a top priority for India's Christians. Nearly every conference or convention of any Christian group concludes by passing some sort of resolution calling upon the government to end its discrimination against Christian Dalits. "The prospects of Dalits are better now, and the caste cemeteries have virtually disappeared," reports Archbishop Arokiasamy. Recognizing that progress, he urges Dalits not to use high-pressure tactics. "Intimidation and a confrontational posture would do more harm than good," the archbishop cautions.

Still, some of the key leaders in the campaign for Dalit rights insist that the churches must show "greater solidarity and support" for their public efforts. Brother José Daniel, who has led 21 protest delegations to march on offices of the federal government and demand equal rights for Christian Dalits, complains that he has often had difficult raising the resources to fund his campaigns. The depth of that bitterness is illustrated by the fact that, prior to her death, even the beloved Mother Teresa of Calcutta had been criticized for seemingly "disowning" the political cause of the Dalits.

MOTHER TERESA'S RESERVATIONS

The united campaign by the Christian churches to bring about equality for Christian Dalits had jumped off to a rousing start in November 1995. The bishops announced that the campaign would begin with a 12-day period of fasting and prayer, and Mother Teresa joined in that enterprise. But while the bishops made it quite clear that their goal was to change government policy, Mother Teresa focused on a more general point. She never made any direct reference to the Dalit cause; she simply said: "in this beautiful country, let there be no separation, suffering or division. Let there be peace and unity."

In context, however, that statement appeared to be an endorsement of the Dalit campaign. Some upper-caste Indians objected, and Hindu revivalist groups--which vociferously oppose the effort to grant equal status for Christian Dalits--spoke out in sharp criticism of the Albanian-born nun, hinting that she was an agent of Western influence in the country. NCCDC defended Mother Teresa's position, calling a special special press conference to point out that she had "committed herself to a question of social justice, rather than a sectarian demand."

But even as the controversy seemed to be abating, Mother Teresa seemed intent on underlining the fact that she did not want to be identified with a partisan political cause. At a press conference in Calcutta, she made it clear that she had not intended to endorse the Dalit campaign, and had not been fully informed about the purposes behind the 12-day campaign of fasting and prayer. When journalists insisted on whether she was "misled" by the organizers, Mother Teresa replied only that she would not "like to use such a word, as it would hurt." But skeptical journalists were quick to conclude that the organizers of the campaign had been attempting to exploit Mother Teresa's popularity.

Church leaders in Delhi have refrained from commenting on Mother Teresa's stance. The Indian Catholic bishops remain committed to the Dalit cause.

[AUTHOR ID] Anto Akkara is a free-lance journalist based in New Delhi.