Catholic World News

India: bishops join in sit-in for end to discrimination against Christian dalits November 18, 2009

More than a dozen of India's Catholic bishops, including the secretary-general of the episcopal conference, joined 3,000 dalit Christian activists in a sit-in demonstration near the national parliament in New Delhi on November 18, demanding an end to discrimination against Christian dalits.

Dalit-- the word literally means "trampled upon"-- is the term referring to the lowest castes of traditional Indian society, also known as "untouchables." In the past dalits were forced to eke out a living by doing the most menial of work. More recently the government has offered free education and quota placement in government posts to dalits in a bid to improve their socio-economic status.

However, while these programs have been available to Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist dalits, they have not been offered to Christian dalits-- although all of the dalits suffer from the same history of abuse and discrimination. Christians account for about two-thirds of India's dalit population.

The National Dalit Christian Council, in a memo to federal government leaders, has called for legislation to end the policy of discrimination against Christian dalits. Today's sit-in demonstration, which lasted 4 hours, was intended to call extra attention to that plea. “We are hopeful that the government would act on this at last,” said Father A. X. J. Bosco, who traveled from the southern Andhra Pradesh to New Delhi for the demonstration. He reported that federal ministers had given the activists "positive assurance" that they would act.

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