Tamil Nadu: Despite conversion, discrimination continues; Dalit Christians not allowed to attend Church festivals

People are easily carried away by the false claims that discrimination on the basis of caste exists only in Hinduism, and that other alien religions do not have such things. It is one of the ruses to convert gullible and innocent uneducated people exploiting their poverty, disease, ignorance, and inability to earn their livelihood that fall prey to such narratives.

Huge numbers of Dalits have converted to Christianity and Islam over the decades, though in reality, the religions offer limited protection from societal prejudice and social injustice. The status of Dalits is an open wound in the Indian social order where discrimination remains widespread, though untouchability was banned under the 1950 Constitution.

After converting to the other religion, mostly the Dalits realise their folly and regret for their decision, separate church, not allowing them to join the festivals, and discriminatory customs are there too.

The recent one is at Ayyampatti near Thiruverumbur, in Trichy District. A section of Dalit Christians (who have converted to the Abrahamic religion from Hinduism) has alleged caste discrimination at the local St. Mary Magdalene church. It is learnt from locals that they were not allowed to take part in the annual festival or use the common community hall for conducting marriages or other family functions. It is alleged that about 70 per cent of the 200 Christian families in the village are from Dalit communities, and only families belonging to the dominant community are considered members of the parish. A Dalit said, “they do not collect money from Dalit families for organising festivals. The chariot or festival car never passes through our areas. Their repeated attempts to bring out to the notice of the parish priest met with failure. They said Bishop S Arockiaraj was not ready to hear their grievances. But his secretary Rev. Fr. Thomas, according to media reports, said they have been making efforts to settle the issue amicably. The affected people have made several representations to the authorities too. It has now gone to the police. The parish, it is learnt, is waiting for the action of the police to find a solution to the matter. After the protests against the Church’s failure to appoint Dalits as bishops, the popular feast of St Mary Magdalene in the village of Ayyampatty, Diocese of Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), has become another flashpoint of dissent.

If we go through pages of past history, it is not the first and the final one. In April last, Dalit Christians staged a protest opposite the New Bus Stand in Trichy, demanding equal rights and representation to Dalits at all levels within the Church.

In June 2015, a delegation of 22 people from the Dalit Christian Liberation Movement (DCLM) and Viduthalai Tamil Puligal Katchi (a collective of human rights activists) submitted the complaint at the UN Information Centre for India and Bhutan in Delhi. Mary John, president of the DCLM, said, “We have submitted seven copies of the complaint to Rajeev Chandran, assistant director of the UN Centre in New Delhi addressed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and different human rights organisations. The discrimination against Dalit Christians in the Catholic Church is a human rights issue and it would be right if we approach the UN to find a solution to it”.

Two years ago (in 2020), ED Charles, national secretary of the National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC) appealed to the bishop council of Tamil Nadu to appoint qualified Dalit priests as bishops in the diocesan and end casteism and discrimination against Dalits in Catholic Church. Addressing reporters in Trichy, he said that Catholic Church is one of the biggest congregations in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu. Many of the Catholics in India are Dalits. “However, among 188 bishops, only 11 are from the community across the country. In Tamil Nadu, only one of 18 bishops is from Dalit background. No priest from Dalit background has been nominated in the past 14 years in India. We also appealed to the Catholic Church, the apostolic nuncio to India and the Pope to curb visible and invisible untouchability practices that exist in the selection of bishops. We also appeal to the bishop council of Tamil Nadu to select dalit priests for bishop posts that are vacant in Thanjavur, Kumbakonam and Cuddalore diocese.” he further elaborated.

In July 20, 2022, Dalits protested in Ayyampatty [Diocese of Tiruchirappalli (Trichy)], on the eve of the feast day of St Mary Magdalene, the local patron saint. Dalit Catholics are excluded from the celebrations and forced to have a separate cemetery. Enraged by this practice, Lawyers representing G Mathew, a Catholic man, have filed a complaint with civil authorities and the police because Dalit Catholics are deliberately excluded from the celebrations, including a procession, marking the patron saint’s feast day on July 22, 2022 . He said, “In our parish, there are around 70 Dalit Catholic families,”. “Dalit Christians are not included in the festival. Festival subscriptions are not collected from them and the festival car procession will not go to the Dalit streets.” What is more, “Dalit Christians and [upper] caste Christians have separate cemeteries.”.He said if this was not stopped otherwise, he reserved the right to “bring the matter to the knowledge of the [. . .] Madras High Court” to “protect the rights of Dalits in the Catholic Church.”

As per the report released in April 2018 by Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF), ‘Dalit Christians’ are prone to widespread discrimination within the Church. These findings were based on a public hearing for the alleged atrocities like untouchability committed against the ‘Dalit Christians’ in Sivaganga district’s Catholic Diocese.

According to it, reports have claimed that this discrimination includes denying the ‘Dalit Christians’ priesthood status, lack of parish administrative opportunities for the ‘Dalit Christians’ and building separate caste-based chapels. The discrimination supposedly includes creating fewer parishes for more ‘Dalit Christians’ and more parishes for fewer Caste Christians. Further, it has been alleged that the festival car of the chapels doesn’t enter the areas where these ‘Dalit Christians’ reside. Another report claimed that various villages contained two separate chapels, cemeteries and festivals in the Sivagangai District, supposedly for segregating the ‘Dalit Christians’. It also claimed that the schools, colleges and hospitals run by the Church are located in the area inhabited by Caste Christians.

It is to be remembered that Pope Francis chose for the first time a Dalit prelate, Archbishop Anthony Poola of Hyderabad, as one of the new cardinals to contain protests of discrimination.