ASIA/INDIA - Bishops' Conference Secretary General says Church supports dalit and marginalized

New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) – "We support the struggle for rights and equal opportunity of Dalit Christians. The Church is always on the side of the poor and the excluded. We ask all Indian states, the federal government, institutions, public officials, and police, for full respect towards religious leaders committed to the promotion of human rights.” This is what Archbishop Albert D'Souza of Agra, newly elected Secretary General of the Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), told Fides in a recent conversation following the unfortunate incident involving four Bishops of Tamil Nadu (southern India) and thousands of faithful.
The Bishops and the faithful attended a peaceful protest march held yesterday, March 5, in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) to uphold the rights, equal opportunities, access to education, and employment for Dalit Christians. The Dalits are the category at the bottom of the caste system in India and are those Christians and Muslims that most suffer for their religious beliefs. The march was to end with the presentation of a memorandum to the Government of Tamil Nadu, but this did not happen. The police detained all participants, including the Bishops, for several hours and then released them. This act has been a cause for concern and confusion in the Indian Church, in that "detaining religious leaders was an unusual and disrespectful gesture."
On the contents of the event, the Secretary General of CBCI told Fides: "The issue of Dalit Christians is an important one on both a human and democratic level. It is being discussed on a national level. The Church is at their side, to affirm their dignity and their rights in a democratic state."
The Indian Constitution determines the quota reserved for Dalits in education and employment. The Dalits of Hindu religion - which in fact accepts the caste system, although it has been officially abolished in modern India – participate according to the quota. However, Dalit Christians and Muslims are excluded, as they are considered outsiders of the caste system. In particular, the Church in Tamil Nadu is asking the government to monitor and implement the Report prepared by the "Ranganath Misra Commission,” which recommended the extension of the quotas reserved for all Dalits, without discrimination of religion. The Hindu fundamentalist groups, like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, are strongly opposed to this notion. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 6/3/2010)