ASIA/INDIA - International campaign to protect rights of Dalit people against all forms of discrimination and violence

Madurai (Fides Service) - A day of prayer and fasting has been announced for next week to launch an international campaign to promote respect for the human rights of 20 million Dalit Christians. Hindu and Muslim and Sikh Dalits have joined the initiative. The Dalit are people without a caste and occupy the lowest place in Indian society organised in a strict caste system.
The campaign, Fides was told, will start in mid May and its objective is to increase public awareness in India and in the world on the situation of Dalit people denied the basic rights guaranteed in the Constitution of India.
“We deplore continued violence against Dalit in many states of India - the organisers say. Dalit women are often victims of sexual abuse with total indifference on the part of the police and authorities”.
Days of fasting and prayer and non-violent demonstrations, Ghandi style, will be proposed all over India to increase awareness in society, associations, civil rights movements, religious communities.
In fact the question of religious for Christian Dalits is another element of discrimination: this is why extremist Hindu organisations often organise ‘re-conversion ceremonies’ to make Christian converts return to Hinduism, although according to many observers these are only parades of propaganda, also because many Dalit Christians were not originally Hindus.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 10/05/2005 Righe: 31 Parole: 320)