By Mattes India Reporter
New Delhi: There is an urgent need to side with the Dalits in India.
This was stressed during a consultation jointly organized by Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) Office for Dalits and Backward Classes and Christian Institute for the study of Religion (CISRS) on the topic “Dalits in India,” New Delhi, September 26.
Around 70 people from various Christian denominations participated in the program representing different institutions, organizations, churches and seminaries.
Father Z. Devasagayaraj, secretary to the CBCI Office for SC/BC gave an introduction to the consultation.
Sr. Robancy A. Helen, program coordinator, spoke about the ‘Biblical Understanding of Dalits’. Dr. Ramesh Nathan, NCDHR spoke on the ‘Violation of Constitutional rights of Dalits in India’.
Sr. Shalini Mulackal, a member of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a teacher at Jesuit-run Vidya Jyoti theology college, Delhi spoke about the ‘Dalit Women in India and their plight’.
Franklin Caesar, a Supreme Court lawyer, spoke about the ‘Religious Freedom of Dalits in India’.
Dr. John Dayal, Senior Journalist gave the concluding remarks. Rev. Arvind Peter, coordinator of CISRS proposed the vote of thanks.
The participants were moved to hear about the plight of the Dalits and pledged to side with them.
One out of six Indians is a Dalit. They are at the bottom of Hinduism’s social hierarchy. For centuries, Dalits have battled discrimination ranging from segregation and ostracism to violence. Hindus are traditionally grouped into thousands of castes, their membership determined by birth.
“Scheduled Castes” (the official name of Dalits) and the affirmative action program is needed to bring them equal citizenship as there are historical injustices and social and psychological pathologies that had conspired to make tens of millions of people invisible.
India, the world’s largest democracy, also happens to be the world’s most hierarchical society; its most powerful and wealthy citizens, who are overwhelmingly upper-caste, are very far from checking their privilege or understanding the cruel disadvantages of birth among the low castes.
Dalits remain largely invisible in popular cinema, sitcoms, television commercials, and soap operas. No major museums commemorate their long-suffering.
Unlike racism in the United States, which provokes general condemnation, there are no social taboos—as distinct from legal provisions—against hatred or loathing of low-caste Hindus. Many Dalits are still treated as “untouchables,” despite the equal rights granted to them by India’s democratic constitution.