The term Dalit Christian or Christian Dalit is used to describe those who have converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

from other forms of

religion in India Religion in India is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four of the world's major religions; namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. The preamble of Indian co ...

, and are still categorised as

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

s in Hindu, Christian, Muslim, and Sikh societies in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Dalits are sometimes referred to as ''

Harijans Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

''. About 90% of

Pakistani Christians Christianity (Masihiyt) is the third largest religion in Pakistan, making up about 1.27% of the population according to the 2017 Census. Of these, approximately half are Catholic and half Protestant (primarily Anglican and Presbyterian). A smal ...

are Dalits from the

Chuhra Chuhra is a Dalit caste in India and Pakistan. Populated regions include the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, as well as Uttar Pradesh in India, among other parts of the Indian subcontinent such as southern India. Their traditional occupatio ...

caste and at least 9% of

Indian Christians Christianity is India's third-largest religion with about 27.8 million adherents, making up 2.3 percent of the population as of the 2011 census. The written records of the Saint Thomas Christians state that Christianity was introduced to th ...

are Dalits, categorised thus by the greater societal practices in various parts of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

.https://www.minorityaffairs.gov.in/sites/default/files/sachar_comm.pdf

Caste system

Christian missionaries who were evangelising in colonial India fought against the idea of a caste system within church. However, some people within the different branches of

in South Asia still engage in societal practices with regard to the caste system, along with all its customs and norms, to varying degrees depending on their background. Though other Christians in the Indian subcontinent may not practice a caste culture themselves, they may face societal discrimination outside their Christian community for the caste they belong to. Asif Aqeel and Sama Faruqi documented in '' Herald Magazine'': Within the three major Christian branches in South Asia, there were historically and are currently different levels of caste acceptance. The

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

churches have been most consistent among the Christian community in repudiating it as part of the Hindu social order while attempting to establish a caste-less Christian community. The

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

is said to sometimes develop a more culturally consistent view, treating the caste system as part of the Indian social structure and, for much of its history in India; similarly, the Syrian Orthodox Churches have sometimes responded in like fashion, except it has tended to collectively act as one caste within the caste system instead of maintaining different castes within their churches. However, Protestant churches have fared no better than Catholic churches other than the fact that mainly Dalit dioceses have got Dalit Bishops. The other ways where the presence of caste is seen among Indian churches include the non-acceptance of a Dalit priest, maintaining separate entrance for Dalits in churches, separate seating, and other features. Other major factors affecting Dalit Christians and other Christians within India in regard to caste statutes are the regional variances in maintaining the caste system.

Rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

communities are said to hold more strongly to the caste system than the urban communities and Roman Catholics are the majority of Christians in these communities. The

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

areas tend to have the least pressure to maintain caste classes and Protestant churches are aid to be best represented in this background. After conversion, people in India lose any privileges they had in their former caste, while those in lower castes often gain more opportunities. Although a significant number of Indian Christians are unofficially reported to be Dalit Christians, the Sachar Committee on Muslim Affairs reported that only 9% of Indian Christians have Scheduled Caste status, with a further 32.8% having

Scheduled Tribe The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

status, and 24.8% belonging to other disadvantaged groups. In the 1990s there were protests against those Christian organizations that still practiced some form of the caste system and for discrimination in leadership positions; Dalits saw those practices as contrary to Jesus's egalitarianism. Dalit Christians have frequently criticized the Church for not just tolerating but hiding the discriminatory practices among Dalit Christians. Leonard Fernando, G. Gispert-Sauch writes that: "Today, no Indian Christian think would approve or speak of tolerating the caste reality. There are many, however, who live in it." Dalits that have become Christians in south India have transformed their position as just spectators in Hindu religious practice to that of leaders and representatives of the Christian religion; they have also become influential promoters of Dalit political aspirations.

Reservation

Reservation is available to Dalits who follow Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, but Dalit Christians and Muslims are not protected as castes under Indian Reservation policy. The Indian constitution in 1950 abolished untouchability, converting those castes to ''scheduled castes and tribes'': in doing so it also provided a system of affirmative action (called the Reservation Policy) whereby 22.5 percent of all government and semi-government jobs including seats in Parliament and state legislatures were reserved for those in those castes; the law also set aside space for admission to schools and colleges. In 1980 the constitutional policy was extended to cover the rest of the 3,743 backward castes in the country. But Christians who claim to belong to no caste are not included in the quotas, meaning those Dalits who convert to Christianity are no longer part of the affirmative action program run by the government. Dalit Christians have now appealed to the government to extend the benefits of reservation policy to Dalit Christians to improve their employment opportunities. In 2008, a study commissioned by the

National Commission for Minorities The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Six religious communities, viz; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have been no ...

suggested extension of reservation to Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians. According to the study, Indian Muslims and Christians should be brought under the ambit of the constitutional safeguards.

References

Bibliography

External links

Christianity in India Christianity in Pakistan Dalit

Caste system

Reservation

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links