Cover Story |
‘Power within the Church still
lies with the upper castes’
Ruth Manorama, herself a part of the Dalit Christian Liberation movement and founder of Women’s Voice and the Dalit Women’s Federation, Bangalore, spoke to Teesta Setalvad on the issue of caste within the Indian church and the un-addressed plight of Dalit Christians. What about the question of Dalit Christians and women
among them?
However, while critiquing the Church we must always remember
that the critical mass of the Church’s functionaries have always worked
guided by the philosophy of love and justice. That is part of their faith,
as they understand it, guiding them to areas no one else goes.
For the missionaries who are dedicated to this service, imparting education and running educational institutions itself is evangelism, running a hospital is itself an act of evangelism, going to far-off areas and setting up a health clinic, is evangelism. And for them, the love of Jesus has shown them this way. Besides, there is a lot of dialectic within the Church. Do you know that women and men within the CSI and Lutheran and Anglican churches have struggled for the right to get women ordained as priests? Today, the Lutheran and Anglican churches in India have ordained their women. This has not happened in the Catholic Church, unfortunately. It is within the Catholic Church, especially, that nuns and sisters need to be liberated from the hierarchy that is rigid and often unsympathetic to their dedication. The dedication of these nuns is second to none. They go to remote areas where not even a mosquito would go, driven by their mission, giving education and health services to sections are the most uncared for. But the Church that ought to be providing the necessary shield and umbrella is being defensive. The Church needs to stand up and talk the truth and speak out, openly. It needs to awaken, show more solidarity to its sections that are being threatened. It is time for the church to stand up. You began your career working within the Church but have
now moved to more radical pastures…
While students in the Christian schools were initiated to involve themselves in services of the less fortunate, many of the theologians and activists within the Church were inspired not only by the scriptures but also by a Marxian analysis of society. This coincided with the time when our country was also pursuing the Russian model of socialism. The liberation theology pursued by the radical Indian churches in the seventies and eighties has inspired many young people of the time. It also helped us to ask the Church very uncomfortable sections related to position, status, power and sharing of resources, distribution of resources and wealth. Where does the Dalit Christian issue stand today?
Would you say that conversion to Christianity has met
the expectations of the sections that converted to escape the scourge of
caste and untouchability?
Are there attempts within the church to rectify this?
The conversion issue is being whipped up by communal outfits
in the context of brutal attacks on Christian religious persons and institutions.
As a Dalit Christian what do you have to say on the issue of conversion?
The Church is being unnecessarily defensive. The role of the church has been decisive, it has been a major contributive factor in the building of our nation and it should assert this as such. The Indian Christian has not been committed to anything other than peace and justice. Twice Alienated Ø Ø By a Presidential Order, number 19 of 1950, the Indian republic has declared the constitutional provision of non-discrimination through reservation invalid for the Christian Dalit section of the Indian population.Ø This order states, "Notwithstanding anything contained earlier, no person who professes a religion different from the Hindu or Sikh religion shall be deemed to be a member of the Scheduled Castes."Ø It is based on the assumption that since Christianity does not affect caste divisions, so, Christians of Scheduled Caste origin must not be eligible to the social handicap benefits in the form of reservations, concessions for employment and educational opportunities and for reserved seats in the legislature.Ø However, though Sikhism and Buddhism are also faiths that do not recognise caste, this Presidential order does recognise the existence of caste-based discrimination even among Sikhs and neo-Buddhists. This amounts to discriminatory treatment to about at least 12 million Indian Christians who are also Dalits.Ø Some decades ago, a member of Parliament, GS Reddy, belonging to the Congress party, had introduced a private members bill seeking deletion of this obnoxious paragraph.Ø Since nothing came of it, PJ Kurien, another MP, introduced another bill for the same purpose that is still pending.The Society for Social Action, a Madras–based NGO, has also approached the Supreme Court in November 1983 against this unconstitutional discrimination against Christian Dalits. n
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