Dalit Theology By Sathianathan Clarke & Yoginder Sikand
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Dalit Theology
By Sathianathan Clarke & Yoginder Sikand
07 October, 2007Countercurrents.org
Sathiannathan Clarke was, till recently, AssociateProfessor at the United Theological College,Bangalore, one of the leading Christian seminaries inIndia. His book on Dalit Christian liberation theologywas pubished by the Oxford University Press.
Q: How did you get interested in Dalit Christiantheology?
A: I was born in an urban middle-class family and Idid not have much knowledge of Indian rural society.When I was doing my degree in social work I gotexposed to rural life and had the opportunity to studyit in a somewhat systematic manner. That set methinking as to how I could get involved in any form ofsocial transformation. By then I had already decidedthat I would like to serve the Church. Then, I went onto do my Master`s degree, and for my dissertation Istudied the socio-economic conditions of sweepers inthe Madras Corporation.
After that I joined the united Theological College,Bangalore, which is one of the leading Christianseminaries in India. At that time we had started acourse in non-Christian religions. The Hinduism thatwas taught here, as in other Christian seminaries, wasessentially the classical, textual, Brahminicexpression of Hinduism. But we had a person teachinghere called A.P. Nirmal who was talking aboutalternate expressions of Indian religions, about Dalittheology. And I, for one, was fascinated with this newdevelopment that was just then beginning to emerge.
Between 1984 and 1987 I lived in a small village inthe Chingulpet district of Tamil Nadu, where I servedas a priest to fourteen village congregations, 99% ofwhom were Dalits. That was when I really got involvedin working with Dalit groups, organising agriculturallabourers, providing relief during floods and so on.Those three years of working with rural Dalits at aface-to-face, everyday level were really instrumentalin developing my interest in Dalit issues, includingDalit theology. Later, I went to the USA for mydoctoral studies in religion. There was a lot ofopenness there regarding popular religion, and sothat`s how I decided to study Dalit religion andliberation theology.
Q: In the course of your studies, what did youdiscover?
A: To put it very briefly, I found that there is asolid basis to argue that Dalit religion is not thesame as Hindu religion, as Hindutva ideologues wouldinsist, although it is certainly interactive with it.On the other hand, some see Dalit religion as acomplete counter-culture or counter-religion neatlydivided from Hinduism, but that`s not how I see it. Inmy view there is a symbolic interaction between thetwo forms that comes about in such a way that thesubjectivity of the Dalits is written into theirsymbolic world-view. Most of my work lifts up theresistive and constructive elements of Dalit religion,but not simply as either a counter to BrahminicHinduism or its `other` face.
Q: How does Dalit theology differ from liberationtheology as it has developed in South America?
A: Dalit Christian theology actually developed in thewake of the emergence of liberation theology in SouthAmerica and black theology in the USA. All thesetheologies are a counter to the colonialist, westernChristian theology, which is highly individualisticand does not take history, especially that of theoppressed, seriously. But what marks Dalit Christiantheology out is the centrality it gives to thequestion of caste and caste oppression, which isunique to India. Caste is an important category inDalit Christian theology in analysing socialoppression. This should be seen in the light of thefact that the leadership of the Indian ChristianChurch sought to convince its own members thateveryone was equal in Jesus Christ, that we are allpart of the body of Christ, despite the existence ofgross discrimination against the Dalits inside theChurch itself. What Dalit theology began to do was toforce the Church to recognise this discrimination andoppression of the Dalit Christians.
Q: What about the role of the Dalit experience indeveloping Dalit theology?
A: Yes, that has been central, too. A.P. Nirmal usesthe term `pain-pathos` to describe this, and he seesthis as the basis of constructing Dalit theology. Andthis argument of God being preferentially intertwinedwith the lives, experiences and struggles of theDalits was seen as the source of Dalit theology. Sothe message that was put across very forcefully wasthat a genuinely Indian Christian theology was notsimply about celebration and joy, but was also rootedin the sufferings of the Dalits.
Q: Does the question of Dalit pride, in terms of apositive affirmation of Dalit identity, play a centralrole in Dalit theology?
A: It certainly does. Dalit theology affirms theidentity of the Dalits before God as people among whomGod is working for struggling against oppression. Herethe role of affirming pride in terms of who they seethemselves as in God`s eyes is central. This givesthem ammunition to place their identity with pridebefore the wider human community.
Q: Has Dalit Christian theology managed to emerge as amass movement or is it still restricted largely to thefour walls of the seminaries?
A: It is difficult to answer that question in explicitterms. Today, many Dalit communities are beginning tofeel empowered by claiming their Dalit-ness and usingthat as a means of protesting against iniquitousChurch structures as well as a means for expressingtheir identities and their special relationship withGod. On the other hand, many Dalit Christiansthemselves have not responded positively to theemergence of Dalit theology. They say, "We embracedChristianity primarily to escape our Dalit identity,so why are you trying to impose it on us again?". Theysay that they are now Christians and so have nothingto do with the Dalits. In other words, you have bothsorts of reactions to Dalit theology from DalitChristians. And then there are some Dalit Christianswho say that much of this theological business is ofno relevance for the common masses. They say, "You sitaround in seminaries and get free trips abroad forconferences to talk about Dalit theology, but wereally do not get to share in all that". Now this sortof reaction is a protest against the ways in whichDalit theology is being done, but it is also aknowledgeable protest. It comes from Dalit Christianswho identify themselves as Dalits in order to makethis critique.
Q: Are the reflections that are emerging from DalitChristian formulations being preached to Christiancongregations from the pulpits of the churches?
A: I should hope that this is being done, but,frankly, very little follow-up work has been donethere. One of the main reasons is the apathy ofinfluential Church leaders, most of whom are ofso-called `upper` caste background. I see the role ofDalit Christian theology as challenging the structuresof the status quo, both within as well as outside theChurch, which are primarily casteist. That is itsprophetic function based on what we believe thatChurch should be. This is the task of unveiling thestructures of power that are putting on a mask ofneutrality to hide the operation of caste within theChurch but are still using the power of caste in waysthat are unjust. Dalit theology has another importantrole--that of empowering Dalit communities to reclaimtheir positionality in a way that could lead them tobring out their own experiences and express them intheir own symbolic modes. This would add strength totheir struggle for empowerment and for a more equaldistribution of power and resources. And this isactually happening today, through a networking of manyresistive forces, of which Dalit Christian theology isone. This is part of the general awakening of thebroader Dalit community.
Q: Why has so little been written on liberationtheology by non-Christian Dalits so far?
A: That I cannot say, but perhaps that is due to thefact that there are actually relatively very few Dalitwriters, although their number today is certainly morethan a decade ago. Further, a question that must beasked here is whether the modality of writing in andof itself has historically been more geared to certaincastes than to others. Denied access to writing andeducation for centuries, the Dalits have expressedthemselves, their pains and their struggles primarilythrough oral traditions, folk tales, songs, etc..
Q: Do you think non-Dalits can write Dalit theology?
A: I myself am not a Dalit, so in terms of what itmeans to reflect on Dalit `pain-pathos` I cannotreally write Dalit theology myself. However, what I,as a non-Dalit, can do is to interrogate the writingsof Dalit theologians and lift up offerings from theDalit communities that could form importantingredients of a Dalit liberationist perspective. Inother words, at the very most I, as a non-Dalit, cansimply be a facilitator of the process of developingDalit theology. So, I would not call myself a Dalittheologian, but simply a theologian who writes aboutDalits and Christianity. What I want to stress here isthat the Dalit Christians must be careful not to beco-opted by caste Christians. They must not let casteChristians appoint themselves as their spokesmen totell the world what Dalit theology is all about.
Q: What impact has the development of Dalit Christiantheology had on the thinking of non-Christian Dalits?
A: Not much, I guess. I`m associated with a forumcalled Scholars for Social Justice, which includesmany non-Christian Dalit academics. They do not knowmuch about Dalit Christian theology, although they areaware that there is this fervour in the Christiancommunity because the Christians have started puttinga lot of money into arranging Dalit conferences.
Q: What role does Ambedkar play in Dalit Christiantheology?
A: What we share with Ambedkar, and what needs to beresurrected today, is the potency, value andusefulness of religion as a symbolic framework. Thiscomes out very strongly in Ambedkar. Ambedkar believedthat true liberation for the Dalits was not possiblewithout religious change, or, in other words, areinterpretation of who the Dalits were. So, in thislink between religion and social emancipation, DalitChristian theology and Ambedkarism share much incommon. Where the two might differ is on the questionof the world-view of the Dalits themselves, somethingthat Ambedkar does not really explore. It almost seemsthat he believed that it was completely overwhelmed bythe dominant Hindu ethos. But what recentanthropological studies have done is to look a the"good sense" preserved in the world-views of Dalitcommunities that are not just fragment of Brahminicalschema. This suggests the possibility of retrievingliberative elements from the world-views of the Dalitsthemselves while constructing a Dalit liberationtheology.
This "good sense" to be found in Dalit world-views isto be distinguished from what Gramsci calls "commonsense"-- something that is placed hegemonically on thedominated. I do this in my discussion of the role ofthe drum in Dalit religion in my book on Dalittheology. There I show that according to some the drumis simply a Brahminical design or device to force theDalit drummers to reiterate their low status, becausewith the drum they had to deal with the skin of deadanimals, which was considered a source of "pollution".But you can twist that around and consider thesubjectivity of the Dalit drummers themselves. In acontext where they were completely denied access tothe written word, where all communication was centredround the temple which they could not enter, here youhave a people who, based on what they do every day,can pick up an instrument and use it in such a waythat it starts mediating, just like the scriptures do,between them and God.
Q: How does Dalit Christian theology see the questionof religious conversion?
A: I think here we share a lot in common withAmbedkar. Conversion of Dalits to religions likeSikhism, Buddhism, Islam or Christianity has beenabove all a protest against Hinduism and its castestructures. So, it`s more of a social issue than anindividual quest for spiritual truth. Gandhi sawconversion of Dalits to non-Hindu religions as simplya result of Dalit "vulnerability" and "gullibility".Ambedkar, however, strongly refuted Gandhi, sayingthat in converting to another religion, the Dalitshave consistently, consciously and collectively made adecision based on what they have been denied byHinduism and what they are going to get by joininganother community. His point was that religion andreligious conversion is a social phenomenon and thatnot everybody needs to jump for joy in their hearts inorder to be convinced of something. In India, saysAmbedkar, religion has always been a socialphenomenon, and he says that the Dalits will usewhatever it takes, including change of religion, to beconverted into what it means for the Dalits to be mosthuman. The highly individualistic way of looking atreligious conversion is really a Brahminic way ofperceiving things, which is very different from howDalits have seen it---as a means of social liberation.As Ambedkar did, we need to counter the whole ideathat the Dalits are passive, dumb and easily misledinto conversion. That really disrespects theirhumanity. We need to see how conversion has been usedby them as a powerful means of critiquing andchallenging the structures of "upper" castedomination. But at the same time, we need to be awareof the fact that even after their conversion, theDalits have continued to suffer discrimination. In thecase of Dalit Christians, the oppression is from thewider society as well as from within the Christiancommunity itself.
Q: Many Dalit communities have sought to shed theirDalit-ness by claiming a higher caste status forthemselves and adopting the practices and beliefsassociated with Brahminic Hinduism. What do you feelare the potentials and limitations of this form of thequest for upward social mobility?
A: This process, called Sanskritisation bysociologists, has never succeeded in taking the Dalitsforward, and so to my mind, it should be unveiled ancountered. It only further divides the Dalits andstrengthens the caste system and Brahminism. Frankly,today this strategy will not work because there are noincentives for that, because in politics and in theeconomic sphere the Dalits are now finding that it infact pays to assert, rather than deny, their Dalitidentity. So, as I see it, the trend is towardsassertion of Dalit pride, and reclaiming andgalvanising their identities. That was the path takenby Ambedkar, and I really feel that that is the wayforward.
Q: But what dangers do you see to the Dalit movementfrom the process of Sanskritisation?
A: Primarily, Sanskritisation threatens to co-opt theDalits into a hegemonic Brahminic system, where theywill still be at the bottom of the heap. You will findthat there is almost no debate in Hindu circles at allon what caste or varnashrama dharma ought to mean. Andhere, too, is the immense danger that the Dalitliberation project faces from Hindutva. The Hindutvaagenda is concerned, above all, to weave together thewhole country into an ordered organism with BrahminicHinduism at its heart, disciplining anyone who daresto dissent. This disciplining will be primarilydirected against social groups such as Dalits,tribals, Christians, Muslims and others who arepushing for the recognition of their own ontologicaldifferences in order to improve their social andeconomic positions.
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Saturday, March 15, 2008
2. CHRISTIANITY AND DALIT LIBERATION
2. CHRISTIANITY AND DALIT LIBERATION
CHRISTIANITY AND DALIT LIBERATION
From: Yogi Sikand
Subject: Interview: Fr. Ambrose Pinto on Christianity and Dalit Liberation
Q: What is the theology that undergrids the work of Catholic organizations, such as the Indian Social Institute, that are working in the field of social transformation?
A: At the root of our theological understanding is the realization that there is actually no difference between theology as such and anthropology. The science of God and the science of humanity are one and the same. Our theological mandate also entails the full humanization of humanity, because, as the Bible says, God made humans in His own image. Hence, according to us, there is no difference between a true person of God and a true person of the world.
Now, this theological project of the full humanization of human beings forces one to actively intervene in the affairs of the world, to combat obstacles that stand in the path of realizing the fullest potential of all humans. In a context of massive poverty and galling inequalities, as we have in our country, this project necessarily means exercising the option for the poor. We believe that you cannot call yourself a true follower of God if you do not choose to exercise this option. For us, this option is a necessary part of our theology.
Q: But, the Catholic Church has itself been accused of having historically sided with the forces of domination and oppression. What about the continued marginalisation of Dalits within the Catholic Church in India?
A: You do have a point there. In fact, in India the Church structures are, in large measure, still very Brahminical, steeply hierarchical and highly bureaucratic. Because of this, the Church has begun to lose contact with the Dalit masses. In the name of ‘Indianising?the Church a subtle process of Brahminisation has been promoted, which is a total negation of the Dalit ethos and the Dalit identity. The Brahminisation of the. Church has meant that the symbols and culture of the Dalits have completely ignored, although the Dalits and the Tribals constitute the vast majority among the Indian Catholics. However, in recent years, many Dalit and tribal Christians have begun demanding that they should be allowed to articulate their own symbols, and should not be forced to denigrate or deny their own rich cultures.
The marginalisation of the Dalits has been particularly noticeable with regard to Catholic schools. There is a great measure of truth in the accusation that elite Catholic schools have actually been giving quality education to dominant social groups rather than to the most needy. But, in recent years there has been some change in our policies. Recently, the heads of various Jesuit colleges in India got together for a meeting and we decided that we should now devote far more attention than we have so far been doing to Dalit education.
Q: There is much talk now in Catholic circles of what is called ‘Dalit theology? What do you understand by this term?
A: Dalit theology is theological reflection rooted in the understanding that God is struggling with the Dalits for their liberation, that He is on their side. It seeks to instill a sense of pride in their identity, because a theology that does not provide them a sense of pride is, for all purposes, a useless one.
Q: But is it not the case that many Dalits would rather seek to escape from their inherited Dalit identity? In that case, how could Dalit theology help them take pride in that very identity?
A: Yes, there is a problem here, but that is because the religious, cultural, educational and social system within which the Dalits find themselves insists that the Dalits are ‘impure? are ‘lesser?beings and so on. On the other hand, what Dalit theology says is that for the Dalits to liberate themselves from the shackles of the caste system, they must learn to take pride in their identity, their heroes, their role in the productive process and their history. Only on that basis can a solid foundation for the Dalit liberation movement be constructed.
Q: How does Dalit theology see the issue of conflict?
A: When a historically marginalised and oppressed community like the Dalits begins to organise and assert itself for its rights, there is bound to be conflict, especially since this will obviously not be to the liking of groups who have developed vested interests in keeping the Dalits enslaved for centuries. And this is what is happening today. But it is really strange that when the Dalits were kept oppressed for centuries as victims of structural violence no one talked about violence as an issue, but now that the Dalits have started demanding their rights people accuse them of fomenting violence and hatred. As I see it, there can be no change without conflict. There is no running away from it.
Q: According to the Bible, if someone slaps you on one cheek, you should not retaliate but, rather, offer him the other. How, as a Christian, do you reconcile this with what you have just said?
A: You need to see what Jesus said in the context of his times. In any case, we are not tied down to a scripture or a person. You see, Jesus himself was a revolutionary, who fought for the rights of the poor and the oppressed of his times. In actual fact, Jesus was killed—brutally murdered—just because he exercised the option for the poor and challenged the powers of oppression.
The second part of this interview will appear in our next e-newsletter, the editor
Posted on 2005-02-28
Back to [Vol. 07 No. 09 February 28, 2005]
CHRISTIANITY AND DALIT LIBERATION
From: Yogi Sikand
Subject: Interview: Fr. Ambrose Pinto on Christianity and Dalit Liberation
Q: What is the theology that undergrids the work of Catholic organizations, such as the Indian Social Institute, that are working in the field of social transformation?
A: At the root of our theological understanding is the realization that there is actually no difference between theology as such and anthropology. The science of God and the science of humanity are one and the same. Our theological mandate also entails the full humanization of humanity, because, as the Bible says, God made humans in His own image. Hence, according to us, there is no difference between a true person of God and a true person of the world.
Now, this theological project of the full humanization of human beings forces one to actively intervene in the affairs of the world, to combat obstacles that stand in the path of realizing the fullest potential of all humans. In a context of massive poverty and galling inequalities, as we have in our country, this project necessarily means exercising the option for the poor. We believe that you cannot call yourself a true follower of God if you do not choose to exercise this option. For us, this option is a necessary part of our theology.
Q: But, the Catholic Church has itself been accused of having historically sided with the forces of domination and oppression. What about the continued marginalisation of Dalits within the Catholic Church in India?
A: You do have a point there. In fact, in India the Church structures are, in large measure, still very Brahminical, steeply hierarchical and highly bureaucratic. Because of this, the Church has begun to lose contact with the Dalit masses. In the name of ‘Indianising?the Church a subtle process of Brahminisation has been promoted, which is a total negation of the Dalit ethos and the Dalit identity. The Brahminisation of the. Church has meant that the symbols and culture of the Dalits have completely ignored, although the Dalits and the Tribals constitute the vast majority among the Indian Catholics. However, in recent years, many Dalit and tribal Christians have begun demanding that they should be allowed to articulate their own symbols, and should not be forced to denigrate or deny their own rich cultures.
The marginalisation of the Dalits has been particularly noticeable with regard to Catholic schools. There is a great measure of truth in the accusation that elite Catholic schools have actually been giving quality education to dominant social groups rather than to the most needy. But, in recent years there has been some change in our policies. Recently, the heads of various Jesuit colleges in India got together for a meeting and we decided that we should now devote far more attention than we have so far been doing to Dalit education.
Q: There is much talk now in Catholic circles of what is called ‘Dalit theology? What do you understand by this term?
A: Dalit theology is theological reflection rooted in the understanding that God is struggling with the Dalits for their liberation, that He is on their side. It seeks to instill a sense of pride in their identity, because a theology that does not provide them a sense of pride is, for all purposes, a useless one.
Q: But is it not the case that many Dalits would rather seek to escape from their inherited Dalit identity? In that case, how could Dalit theology help them take pride in that very identity?
A: Yes, there is a problem here, but that is because the religious, cultural, educational and social system within which the Dalits find themselves insists that the Dalits are ‘impure? are ‘lesser?beings and so on. On the other hand, what Dalit theology says is that for the Dalits to liberate themselves from the shackles of the caste system, they must learn to take pride in their identity, their heroes, their role in the productive process and their history. Only on that basis can a solid foundation for the Dalit liberation movement be constructed.
Q: How does Dalit theology see the issue of conflict?
A: When a historically marginalised and oppressed community like the Dalits begins to organise and assert itself for its rights, there is bound to be conflict, especially since this will obviously not be to the liking of groups who have developed vested interests in keeping the Dalits enslaved for centuries. And this is what is happening today. But it is really strange that when the Dalits were kept oppressed for centuries as victims of structural violence no one talked about violence as an issue, but now that the Dalits have started demanding their rights people accuse them of fomenting violence and hatred. As I see it, there can be no change without conflict. There is no running away from it.
Q: According to the Bible, if someone slaps you on one cheek, you should not retaliate but, rather, offer him the other. How, as a Christian, do you reconcile this with what you have just said?
A: You need to see what Jesus said in the context of his times. In any case, we are not tied down to a scripture or a person. You see, Jesus himself was a revolutionary, who fought for the rights of the poor and the oppressed of his times. In actual fact, Jesus was killed—brutally murdered—just because he exercised the option for the poor and challenged the powers of oppression.
The second part of this interview will appear in our next e-newsletter, the editor
Posted on 2005-02-28
Back to [Vol. 07 No. 09 February 28, 2005]
The Emerging Dalit Theology: A Historical Appraisal
The Emerging Dalit Theology: A Historical Appraisal
return to religion-online
The Emerging Dalit Theology: A Historical Appraisal
by George Oommen
The Rev. George Oommen, Ph.D., received his doctorate at the University of Sydney, Australia. He is Chairperson and Professor of History of Christianity and Dean of Graduate Studies at the United Theological College, Bangalore, India. This article originally appeared in Indian Church History Review, Vol. XXXIV, Number 1 June 2000, pp. 19-37.
Dalit Theology is a new strand which has emerged in the Asian theological scene. This theology began to take shape in the early 80’s when A.P. Nirmal, then a faculty member at the United Theological College, floated the idea of "Shudra Theology." But now, Dalit theology has come of age and it stands by its own uniqueness and creativity.
At the outset it is appropriate that I explain the term "Dalit" because it has come into popular use in India only very recently. The etymology of the term "Dalit" goes back to the 19th century when a Marathi social reformer and revolutionary Mahatma Jyotirao Phule used it to describe the "outcastes" and "untouchables" as the "oppressed and crushed victims of the Indian caste system." In the 1970’s the Dalit Panther Movement of Maharashtra gave currency to the term "Dalit" as a reminder that they were the deprived and the dispossessed section of Indian society and as a means of rejecting other names given to them with a paternalistic attitude.
"Outcastes" in India have been known by different names such as: "Harijan," meaning children of Han (God) given by Gandhi; "Avarrias" meaning casteless; "Panchamas" meaning fifth caste; "Chandalas" meaning worst of the earth; "Depressed classes" given during British Colonial days, and Scheduled Caste given by the Indian Constitution. Recent Dalit protest movements in India have increasingly used the term Dalit to demonstrate the rejection of derogatory names given by outsiders and further, to refer to their pain, suffering and hope for liberation.
James Massey, a prominent Dalit theologian captures the wide usage of the term Dalit as follows:
Dalit is thus not a mere descriptive name or title, but an expression of hope for the recovery of their past identity. The struggle of these "outcastes" has given the term dalit a positive meaning. The very realisation of themselves as Dalit, the very acceptance of the state of "dalitness," is the first step on the way towards their transformation into full and liberated human beings.1
Dalits who constitute almost 20% of the Indian population (200 million), were considered untouchables as a result of the Hindu understanding of "ritual pollution and purity." Dalits were not included in the four fold varna categories. At the top were the Brahmins, who considered themselves as the most ritually pure. Beyond the pale of society, "outcastes" were considered extremely polluted and were assigned occupations such as removal of dead animals, scavenging and cleaning of the village. They were also landless agricultural labourers and tanners. They were barred from using village water tanks and public roads. Temple doors were closed on them.
Dalit Christians
Although Christianity is an egalitarian religion, the caste system found its way into it in India. Dalit Christians within the church were discriminated against and were denied powers within the ecclesiastical structure.
Although Dalit Christians constituted approximately 70% of the Indian Christian population they were marginalized and ignored until recently. To illustrate this let me quote what Archbishop George Zur, Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to India said while inaugurating the CBCI (Catholic Bishops Conference of India) in 1991:
Though Catholics of the lower caste and tribes form 60 per cent of Church membership they have no place in decision-making. Scheduled caste converts are treated as lower caste not only by high caste Hindus but by high caste Christians too. In rural areas they cannot own or rent houses, however well-placed they may be. Separate places are marked out for them in the parish churches and burial grounds. Inter-caste marriages are frowned upon and caste tags are still appended to the Christian names of high caste people. Casteism is rampant among the clergy and the religious. Though Dalit Christians make 65 per cent’ of the 10 million Christians in the South, less than 4 per cent of the parishes are entrusted to Dalit priests. There are no Dalits among 13 Catholic Bishops of Tamilnadu or among the Vicars-general and rectors of seminaries and directors of social assistance centres.2
The situation in the Protestant Church is no different except that some Dalits have been elevated to Bishopric and other positions of power recently. Many Dalit Christian leaders refer to the thrice-alienated situation of the Dalit Christians in India, namely, discrimination within the Church, discrimination by Hindu culture and discrimination by the State as they are denied Scheduled Caste status in the Constitution, and the related privileges which come with that status.3
At the outset it should be noted that the emergence of Dalit Christian Theology in India is intrinsically linked to more recent and significant developments within the Dalit Movement in India from the 70s.
But before we go into that, a word about the history of Dalit Movement in India is in place. Dalit protest and resistance movements seem to have gone through several phases. Bhakti movements within Hinduism between 14th and 16th centuries symbolised low castes’ aspiration for an egalitarian society and religion. The Bhakti movement stood for transformation of Hindu society and used religious resources to push forward the basic ideology that all persons were equal before God. However, the dominant castes co-opted it and transformed it into a reform movement within Hinduism. Moreover the British Colonial system dealt a decisive blow to the growth of the Bhakti movement.
The destruction of the Jajmani system, communal ownership of landed property, by the British and introduction of legal land relationship changed the situation of Dalits for the worse. Jajmani had used traditional caste relationships for division of labour and had provided some material security for them, although it was an exploitative and unjust system.4
The entry of colonialism enabled Dalits to search for new means of protest and liberation. Some Dalits integrated themselves into the colonial system by joining the army or by serving as indentured labourers in British colonies. Others chose Sanskritization as a means of upward mobility. Self respect movements and religious and social reform movements for educational and political rights in South Indian analysis of the Kamataka situation in Godwin Shin, The Plight of Christian Dalits: A South Indian Case Study. Bangalore: ATC, 1997.
States were expression of this self assertion movements. This took place at the turn of the 20th century.
However, mass conversions to non-Hindu religions were the most prominent means of Dalit protest which began during the second half of the 19th Century. Many historians, such as John Webster, say that the modern Dalit movement was begun in and through the Christian conversion movements.5
Several opinions are expressed regarding the reasons for Dalit conversion to Christianity. They range from the spiritual to socio-economic. But there is a general consensus among scholars that, "the underlying motivation was the search for improved social status, for a greater sense of personal dignity and self respect, for freedom from bondage to oppressive land owners."6 A complete break with the past was impossible for Dalit Christians. But it is beyond doubt that Dalit Christians initiated a movement of Dalit power and cultural changes through conversion movement which included "alterations in perceptions of self and the world, in life-style, as well as the acquisition of enhanced resources for self-improvement and self-empowerment."7
Dalits in post-Independent India sought new avenues of liberation. One of the best examples of this new wave of Dalit emancipatory movement was the Dalit Panther Movement in Maharashtra which popularized the use of the term Dalit. The Dalit Panthers saw caste as the major source by which their "humanity" was being virtually reduced to a state of "being no people."8 However, class analysis also was used as an effective tool to understand the plight of this downtrodden people.9
Further there was a surge in the Dalit literature in 1960s. This literary tradition had a distinct anti-caste message. It embodied the Dalit search for a culture of their own and developed a counter culture parallel to the ‘Great Tradition’ without being co-opted into the Sanskritic tradition. This literary movement created a Dalit folklore with the assertion that they have had a culture of their own and that they do have one which is not in any way inferior to any other traditions of India.10 Dalit literary movements were considerably influenced by Black American Literature and there were direct references, although in passing to the Blacks’ situation in America in these writings. The following is an interesting one:
The words "a peculiar institution" describe the untouchability created by the caste system. The Negro should not change the colour of his hide, nor the untouchable his caste. There is no difference between the place of the Negro in America and the step or level of the Untouchable in India. And so, for a long time, both were caught in whirlwind of self-denigration and self-hatred. Both were confined in the prison of fatalism. To prolong this imprisonment, the whites found authority in the Bible’s myths and symbols, and the clean castes in the Vedas and Manusmniti!11
Closely following the teachings of B.R. Ambedkar, the 20th Century symbol of Dalit power and protest, the Dalit asserted their separateness from other Hindus and demonstrated vehement opposition to classical Brahmanic Hinduism.12 However, it may be stated that Dalit movement in India is not yet homogenous and does represent diverse policies and means of liberation. However, a pan-Indian psychological solidarity was increasingly emerging in the 1980s.
A Counter-Theology
A Series of attempts and initiatives began in the early eighties to systematically articulate the faith in the context of the newly emerging Dalit aspiration for liberation. A.P. Nirmal, James Massey, M.E. Prabhakar, M. Azariah, K. Wilson, V. Devasahayam and F.J. Balasundaram are some of the prominent persons who figure in this theological movement.13 As theology predominantly became a vehicle to serve the elite interests, marginalizing the Dalits’ faith, Dalit theology manifested itself as a counter-theology movement. Re-formulation and re-visioning were the objectives rather than reconstruction and deconstruction. Both the European missionary movement and the traditional Indian ‘Christian Theology of the 20th Century were rejected as metaphysical speculations having nothing to do directly with the history and existence of the marginalized majority within the Indian Church.
Dalit theologians felt the need to consciously reflect upon the oppressive situation of Dalits in India. "Thus, when Dalit theologians speak of Dalit theology," says James Massey:
they are in fact making an affirmation about the need for a theological expression which will help them in their search for daily bread and their struggle to overcome a situation of oppression, poverty, suffering, injustice, illiteracy and denial of human dignity and identity. It is these realities of Dalit life which require the formulation of a Dalit theology. The highly philosophical schools of thoughts such as Gnana Marga, Karma Marga and Bhakti Marga were of no liberative and theological value to Dalits.
Many felt that the theological task of India need not be the preserve of the "Brahmanic Tradition" within the Indian Church, which had always used "intuition, inferiority oriented approach" to theologising.14 Dalit theologians were of the opinion that the theological and cultural domination of Brahmanic traditions within Indian Christianity, ignoring the rich cultural and religious experience of the Dalits had to be ignored, if not rejected completely. 15
It is relevant to note here that sacred texts of the Hindu religion such as Vedas and Mantras were not accessible to Dalits as a rule. They could perceive the same tradition continuing within Christianity in theology. In that sense Dalit theological movement was also an expression of appropriating a sacred mode from high caste theology. Thus Dalit theological movement was a corrective to the institutionalization of inequality and inaccessibility within the theological field. "To sum up, then," Nirmal says;
Whether it is the traditional Indian Christian theology or the more recent third-world theology, our theologians failed to see the struggle of Indian Dalits for liberation a subject matter appropriate for doing theology in India. What is amazing is that fact that Indian theologians ignore the reality of the Indian Church. While estimates vary, between 50 and 80 percent of all the Christians in India today are of scheduled-caste origin. This is the most important commonality cutting across the various diversities of the Indian Church that would have provided an authentic liberation motif for Indian Christian theology. If our theologians failed, to see this in the past, there is all the more reason for our waking up to this reality today and for applying ourselves seriously to the ‘task of doing theology’.16
Thus, essentially, Dalit theology was a liberative action in itself, in the sense that its coming into being created space for the development of a Dalit Christian voice.
Major Affirmations and Features
The primary affirmation of Dalit theology is that it is a theology about Dalits, for Dalits and originated from them; "the theology which they themselves would like to expound."17 They alone are the authors of this articulation. Almost closely following the Dalit literary movement, Dalit theology promotes an exclusiveness in the doing of theology. Defending this methodological exclusivism, the chief architect of this theology writes, "This exclusivism is necessary because the chief tendency of all dominant traditions - cultural or theological - is to accommodate, include, assimilate, and finally conquer others. Counter -theologies or people’s theology therefore need to be on guard and need18 to shut off the influences of the dominant theological traditions.
fact it is the very Christian character of "Dalitness" which will justify this primacy given to Dalits and the methodological exclusivism. Some Dalit theologians say Dalit theology can be done only by the Dalits who have experienced sufferings and who understand the pain of people.
However, not all Dalit theologians accept this approach of virtual exclusion of others from doing Dalit theology. Balasundaram, a departmental colleague, says, "Dalit theology is not and can’t be exclusive. A theology that is exclusive can’t be Christian. Dalit theology is pursued for others’ liberation also."19 Further, acknowledging the very inclusive structural nature of sin, in this case the caste system, and the role both the oppressed and the oppressors have in this., K. Wilson challenges the exclusive methodological approach. Non-Dalits’ expression of solidarity with Dalits also is seen as an inevitable component of the ultimate liberation of Dalits. K. Wilson expresses it is as follows: " Christian Dalit theology does not forbid Christian Dalits from working with non-Dalit authentic Christians, the renascent Hindus, the reformed Muslims and humanistic forces from various other faiths and ideologies, on a common human platform and thus hasten the process of establishing a human and humane culture which is why the Word became flesh.
Due to influence of the ‘secular’ Dalit movement in India and the liberation theology from Latin America, Dalit theology began the movement by accepting Marxian analytical tools. However,’ caste is now seen as the major socio-economic formative force in shaping and understanding the history of Dalits. Moreover the over-arching impact of Ambedkarism on all Dalits further seems to enhance the process of accepting caste as the sole source of the suffering of Dalits. Ambedkar was very forthright in declaring the separateness of Dalits from the caste system as the means of their liberation. Dalit theology seems to be totally in conformity with this position.
2) One of the major sources of doing Dalit theology is Dalit experience of suffering and pain. The narration of the story of their pathos and their protest has a primary place in this. Dalit literary movement gives "expression to their anger against those who have made them Dalits." And Dalit theology gives vent to the agony and pain of God’s people.
Thus it results in the recovery of their past and the memory of their rejection. This recovery of the collective memory of their "wounded psyche" has another purpose also. It helps Dalits and Dalit theologians to theologically reflect on the "subjugated and submerged" rich cultural identity of Dalits. There is a conscious effort made by Christian theologians to capture the growing awareness among Dalits that they were "members of an ancient primeval society disinherited and uprooted by the alien Brahmanical civilization."20
Thus, history is fundamental to the theological task in this movement. History is not illusionary or unreal as Hindu metaphysical philosophy may make one to believe. First, history is fundamental in the sense that realization of Dalits as the "subjects" of history is essential towards recovery and recapture of their lost dignity. Secondly, unlike the classical Indian Christian Theology, or for that matter the Indian classical Philosophy of the high caste, which is based on the transcendental nature of the Ultimate Reality and a cyclical view of history. History is fundamental in comprehending Dalit humanity. Human experience and ultimate liberation which are integral parts of the ‘here and now’ are primary to the doing of Dalit theology. This anubhava (experience) takes precedence over anumana (speculation).
James Massey expounds four layer of colonisation as the fundamental causes for the suffering and the submergence of the identity and culture of the Dalits. They are Aryan, Muslim, British and the high caste internal colonisations.21 This is how he summarizes his position:
the colonization of the Dalits, which began with their defeat at the hands of the Aryans, was internalized through religious myths and stories and finally by introducing a fixed social order based on a caste system dependent on one’s birth. Neither the centuries during which India was successively dominated by Muslims and the British nor the arrival of other religions, including Christianity, succeeded in overcoming the influence of this caste system; indeed, the effect of Muslim and British colonization was to strengthen the status quo. With independence, the rule of the country went back in to the hands of the so-called upper caste, the original colonizers of the Dalits.22
3) The ultimate function of Dalit theology is two fold: to act in solidarity and to act for liberation. Liberation is envisaged as liberation of Dalits from the historically oppressive structures both religio-cultural and socio-economic. Hence, theological articulation is not only a faith expression but also a means for liberation. According to this school of thought, any theological expression that will not lead to action and the resultant liberation is futile.
The concept for solidarity has also emerged in this school of theology. Christian values of sacrifice, charity and commitment to others are all intertwined in this profound understanding of solidarity. Transcending one’s creed, ideology and religion a Dalit is invited "to lose oneself for the sake of the other." Incarnational theology is the basis of such a two-sided solidarity with God and with fellow Dalits. According to James Massey the core of the act of the incarnation of God in Jesus was God’s "acting in solidarity with human beings, particularly the oppressed of this world."23 Massey sees in this solidarity of God with human beings a challenge for Dalit solidarity:
The model of solidarity we find in God’s incarnational act in history challenges us Dalit Christians to follow it, so that the experiences we share with the Dalits in general should become the basis of an authentic Dalit theology. . . . Being in solidarity with our fellow Dalits of different faiths and ideologies is a demand which the God of the Bible, through his own act of incarnation, places on Dalit Christians. This is an important factor for the’ authenticity of Dalit theology, enabling it to become an instrument of destroying the social and religious structures responsible for the Dalits’ historical captivity.24
4) It is not merely the enslavement of the Dalits by the dominating groups which comes under the critical scrutiny of Dalit theology but also the enslavement of the Dalit psyche or "the inner nature of Dalitness." James Massey describes it as "a self-captivity" of the Dalit community. Dalit theology seeks to liberate people from this slavery of "self-captivity," "a slavery from which it seems almost impossible to be liberated."25 The psychological dimensions within the Dalit theological movement are far more significant than we see at the surface. This should be recognized as an important aspect of Dalit theology.
A Dalit God and Jesus the Dalit
The Christian God is a Dalit god, affirm Dalit theologians. This God who is revealed in the Old Testament and Jesus who sided with the Dalits of the world are the liberative paradigms for the doing of Dalit theology. It not only helps them to come to terms with their historical consciousness, which is submerged in pathos and protest, but also to comprehend a God who in Jesus restores "humanness" to Dalits.
The Exodus liberation paradigm which had tremendous implications for liberation theologies in Latin America has extensively influenced the thinking and articulation of Dalit theology in India. A.P. Nirmal particularly depended on the Deuteronomic account of the affliction, toil and the oppression of the foreparents of the Israelites to expound the movement of Dalits from a "no people" to "God’s people."
Using the Deuteronomic Creed as model, Dalit theology can construct the historical Dalit consciousness which has to do with their roots, identities and struggle for human dignity and "for the right to live as free people created in the image of God." Nirmal says:
The historical Dalit consciousness in depicts even greater and deeper pathos than is found in the Deuteronomic Creed. My Dalit ancestors did not enjoy the nomadic freedom of the wandering Aramean. As outcasts, they were also cast out of their villages
When my Dalit ancestors walked the dusty roads of his village, the Sa Varnas tied a branch of a tree around his rest so that he would not leave any unclean foot prints and pollute the roads." Nirmal concludes,
The Dalit consciousness should realise that the ultimate goal of its liberation movement cannot be the ‘land flowing with milk and honey’. For Christian Dalit Theology, it cannot be simply the gaining of the rights, the reservation, and the privileges.. The goal is the realisation of our full humanness or, conversely our full divinity, the ideal of the Imago Dei, the image of God in us. To use another biblical metaphor, our goal is the ‘glorious liberty of the children of god."26
For Dalit theologians God is clearly a Dalit God. God, who reveals himself, both through the prophets and Jesus Christ, is a God of the Dalits. The servant God, a God who identifies with the servant-hood of Dalits, is perceived by Dalit theologians as Dalit God. The servant role that the ex-untouchable played in India was indeed a participation in this "servant-God’s ministries." Thus, Nirmal says, "To speak of a Servant-God, therefore, is to recognise and identify him as a truly Dalit deity ,27 For Dalit theologians Jesus is the ultimate Dalit, the servant God whom God reveals. However, it may be noted here that some of the recent theologians underplay the use of this servant’ imagery as it evokes extremely painful memories. Moreover, they feel, this will only help perpetuate structures of domination and subservience within which Dalits are caught up even now.
Jesus’ tilt towards the poor and the marginalized, tax-collectors, prostitutes and lepers, according to Dalit theology, portrays Jesus as God incarnated as a Dalit. Devasahayam reflects as follows on Jesus’ image from a Dalit perspective:
Jesus reveals a free God, who is uncoopted and uncontained by those identified with religion This God is free to hear the cry of the outcasts against the guardians of religious society This God is not under the power of Brahman but is free to hear ones against Brahmans and other upper castes and side with the Dalits, who are ousted from the Temples and who are denied the right to study the Scriptures.28
The Cross has a special meaning in Dalit theology. Both the liberative praxis and the Dalitness of Jesus culminates in the symbol of Gurukul, 1992.
"On the Cross, he was the broken, the crushed, the split, the torn, the driven-asunder man," revealing his Dalitness.29
The vision of a new community under God is also envisaged by some Dalit theologians. Here the emphasis is on the invitation of Jesus to a new fellowship in which all equally and fully participate. "The focus is not merely on the oppression and God’ option for the oppressed, but on the new community of freedom and fellowship, love and justice, which is the new people of the reign of God to which God calls all’ peoples."30 Theologians like Wilson feel that God’s plan is to transform Dalits into a community which liberates not only themselves but also their oppressors and thus gives a liberative dimension to their very dalitness.
The use of the Bible in Dalit theology needs a special mention. Dalit theologians entirely depend on Bible and Biblical examples. Dalit theologians are not essentially different from liberation school of theology. However, there is a conscious and deliberate attempt on the part of Dalit theologians to re-read the Bible from the perspective of the experience of the victims.
Future Directions
1, Dalit theology is part of the post colonial struggle of different communities for their distinct identity and space. In a largely homogenizing trend influenced by two processes namely globalization and Hinduisation, Dalits and Dalit Christians are still struggling for a Dalit identify of their own. Intra-Dalit conflicts and Dalit sub-groups still continue despite the striving for a common Dalit identity and solidarity. Therefore, the challenge for Dalit theology is to strike an ideal balance.
Hindutva revival/reform movements are trying to absorb Dalits into a monolithic Hindu fundamentalist culture. Their systematic propaganda concentrates on the message that Dalits had been truly part of the ‘Hindu’ religio-cultural structures. Several Hindu organizations are involved in re-conversion efforts to drive home this ideology. Although it is a clear historical distortion, Dalits are caught up in a dilemma whether to declare their solidarity with Hindus’ or with Dalits.’ In fact Dalits are caught between Hinduisation and Dalitisation. This historic dilemma appears to have had its impact upon Dalit Christians and Dalit theological movement too. This may be the reason why this new strand of theology appears to be at a standstill right now.
However, the recent efforts to genuinely develop a constructive theological strand is a welcome change. The trend setting work of Sathiyanathan Clarke, Dalits and Christianity Subaltern Religion and Liberation Theology in India (1998) deserves special mention here, as it opens up new avenues for Dalit theology movement. . .
2. The almost total dependence on Biblical thought for. theological construction needs further reconsideration in the light of the historical experience of Dalits.
Pre-existing/Christian egalitarian thoughts and struggle for equality and justice were evident in Dalit history and memory But the early Dalits had their own ways of protest and resistance. This is ignored by Dalit theologians.
Dalit theologians also need to widen the definition of "texts," given the oral emphasis in Dalit Tradition By probing into Dalit folklore and songs they are likely to unearth extra textual sources for doing Dalit theology. This could also help create new hermeneutical principles unique to the Dalit theological movements.31
3. Ancestral worship and female deities appear prominently in Dalit myths and songs. Dalit theologians could explore how the pre-existing religio-cultural ideas might have shaped their journey into Christianity and how they deal with such questions in their everyday life. All these could function as rich source of theologising and Dalit faith articulation in India.
4. While pathos, suffering and pain have found a place in Dalit theology, the rich Dalit traditions of celebrating life in the context of communitarian values seem to have been completely forgotten by Dalit theologians with few exceptions. The rich culture of the Dalit have a lot of egalitarian ideas. This needs to be further explored by Dalit theologians.
5. The ‘dialogue’ and ‘accommodation’ that take shape at the popular level of both Hinduism and Christianity need systematic consideration by Dalit theology. It appears that in a silent way people at the village level are moulding meaningful ‘systems’ of interaction in a pluralistic socio-religious setting like that of India. If "the reality of the religion of a people can be studied only through the empirical enquiry into the meaning appropriated by them as persons and community of persons in their life situations,"32 then Dalit theology needs to look carefully into popular level of Hindu-Christian religious encounter. Luke and Camian’s study reveals that religious boundaries at the level of belief systems and rituals are not so marked in the minds of the people in villages. In the popular worship context, there is mutual sharing of practices, symbols and values without so much fuss.33 These marginalised spaces deserves systematic attention.
Endnotes:
1. James Massey, Down Trodden: The Struggle of India’s Dalits for Identity, Solidarity and Liberation. Geneva: WCC, 1997, p. 3., See an edited volume on the issue of Dalit Identity, Walter Fernandes, The Emerging Dalit Identity: The Re-Assertion of the Subalterns. New Delhi: ISI, 1996.
2. James Massey, Dalits in India: Religion as a Source of Bondage or Liberation with Special Reference to Christians. New Delhi: Manohar, 1995, p. 82.
3. See Duncan Forrester, Caste and Christianity. London: Curzon, 1979. See a recent Dalit Movement in India
4. Walter Fernandes, "A Socio-historical perspective for Liberation Theology in India’ in Felix Wilfred (ed.), Leave the Temple: Indian Paths to Human Liberation. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1992.
5. John C.B. Webster, The Dalit Christians: A History. Delhi: ISPCK, 1992, pp. 33ff.
6. Webster, The Dalit Christians, p. 57, See also G.A. Oddie (ed.), Religion in South Asia: Religious Conversion and Revival Movement in South Asia in Medieval and Modern Times. New Delhi: Manohar, 1991, George Oommen, The Struggle of Pulaya Christians for Social Improvement, 1993 (unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Sydney).
7. Webster, The Dalit Christians, p. 70.
8. Massey, Down Trodden, p. 2.
9. See Gail Omvedt, Dalits and the Democratic Revolution: Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit Movement in Colonial India. New Delhi: Sage, 1994.
10. Eleanor Zelliot, From untouchable to Dalit: Essays on the Ambedkar Movement. Delhi: Manohar, 1996, pp. 267-333. See also Arjun Dangle (ed.), Poisoned Bread. Bombay: Longman, 1992.
11. Zelliot From Untouchable to Dalit, p. 281.
12. See for details, Zelliot, From Untouchable to Dalit, pp. 53-179. Paul Chirakarodu’s Massive volume on Ambedkar in Malayalam Ambedkar, Tiruvalla: Dalit Books, 1993 democrates the regional influence of Ambedkarism.
13. See Arvind P. Nirmal (ed.), A Reader in Dalit Theology. Madras: Gurukul, n.d., Arvind P. Nirmal (ed.), Towards a Common Dalit Ideology. Madras: Gurukul, n.d., Bhagwan Das and James Massey (eds.), Dalit Solidarity. Delhi: ISPCK, 1995, James Massey, Dalits in India: Religion as a Source of Bondage or Liberation with special Reference of Christians. Delhi: Manohar, 1995.
14. FJ. Balasundaram, Dalit struggle. . . . (unpublished manuscripts), pp. 2f.
15. Sathianathan Clarke, Dalits and Christianity: Subaltern Religion & Liberation Theology in India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998, P. 40. See also Arvind P. Nirmal, "Toward a Christian Dalit Theology," R.S. Sugirtharajah (ed.), Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology: Emerging Trends. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1994, p. 28f.
16. Nirmal, "Towards a Christian Dalit Theology," in Sugirtharajah, Frontiers in Asia, Christian Theology, p. 30.
17. lbid., p. 31.
18. lbid.
19. Balasundaram, "Dalit Struggle. . . ,"
20. A.M. Abraham Ayroorkuzhiel, "The Ideological Nature of the Emerging Dalit Consciousness" in A.P. Nirmal (ed.), Towards a Common Dalit Ideology Madras: Gurukul, n.d.
21. See for details Massey, Down Trodden, pp. 12-28.
22. Massey, ibid., pp. 27-28.
23. Ibid., p. 60.
2 4. Ibid., p. 61.
2.5 Ibid., p. 25.
26. Nirmal, "Towards a Christian Dalit Theology," in Sugirtharajah, Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology, pp. 33f.
27. Nirma1, "Towards a Christian Dalit Theology," in Sugirtharajah, Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology, p. 35.
28. Devasahayam, Outside the Camp: Bible Studies in Dalit Perspective. Madras:
29. Nirmal, "Towards a Christian Dalit Theology," in Sugirtharajah, Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology, p. 39.
30. Michael Amaladoss, Life in Freedom: Liberation Theologies from Asia. Maryknoll:Orbis, l997, p. 31. between plurality and solidarity without succumbing to the pressures of homogenisation.
31. See an attempt in this direction in Joseph Patmury (ed.), Doing Theology with the Poetic Tradition of India: Focus on Dalit and Tribal Poems, Bangalore, PTCA/SATHRI, 1996. Some books have appeared in regional languages; Paul Chirakkarodu, M. Sathyaprakasham, Abraham Ayrookuzhi, Dalit Kavithakal: Oru Padanam (Dalit Poems: A Study). Tiruvalla: CLS/CISRS, 1992. Abraham Ayrookuzhi & Paul Chirakkarodu, Dalir Saahizyam (Dalit Literature: A Study). Tiruvalla: CSS, 1995.
32. M.M. Thomas, "Foreword," in A.M. Abraham Ayroorkuzhiel, The Sacred in Popular Hinduism. Bangalore: CISRS, 1983, p. vii.
33. P.Y. Luke and John B. Carman, Village Christians and Hindu Culture: Study of a Rural Church in Andhra Pradesh, South India. Lutterworth Press, WCC, 1968. See also Paul Younger, "Hindu-Christian Worship Setting in South India," in Harold Coward (ed.), Hindu Christian Dialogue: Perspectives and Encounters. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1989.
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The Emerging Dalit Theology: A Historical Appraisal
by George Oommen
The Rev. George Oommen, Ph.D., received his doctorate at the University of Sydney, Australia. He is Chairperson and Professor of History of Christianity and Dean of Graduate Studies at the United Theological College, Bangalore, India. This article originally appeared in Indian Church History Review, Vol. XXXIV, Number 1 June 2000, pp. 19-37.
Dalit Theology is a new strand which has emerged in the Asian theological scene. This theology began to take shape in the early 80’s when A.P. Nirmal, then a faculty member at the United Theological College, floated the idea of "Shudra Theology." But now, Dalit theology has come of age and it stands by its own uniqueness and creativity.
At the outset it is appropriate that I explain the term "Dalit" because it has come into popular use in India only very recently. The etymology of the term "Dalit" goes back to the 19th century when a Marathi social reformer and revolutionary Mahatma Jyotirao Phule used it to describe the "outcastes" and "untouchables" as the "oppressed and crushed victims of the Indian caste system." In the 1970’s the Dalit Panther Movement of Maharashtra gave currency to the term "Dalit" as a reminder that they were the deprived and the dispossessed section of Indian society and as a means of rejecting other names given to them with a paternalistic attitude.
"Outcastes" in India have been known by different names such as: "Harijan," meaning children of Han (God) given by Gandhi; "Avarrias" meaning casteless; "Panchamas" meaning fifth caste; "Chandalas" meaning worst of the earth; "Depressed classes" given during British Colonial days, and Scheduled Caste given by the Indian Constitution. Recent Dalit protest movements in India have increasingly used the term Dalit to demonstrate the rejection of derogatory names given by outsiders and further, to refer to their pain, suffering and hope for liberation.
James Massey, a prominent Dalit theologian captures the wide usage of the term Dalit as follows:
Dalit is thus not a mere descriptive name or title, but an expression of hope for the recovery of their past identity. The struggle of these "outcastes" has given the term dalit a positive meaning. The very realisation of themselves as Dalit, the very acceptance of the state of "dalitness," is the first step on the way towards their transformation into full and liberated human beings.1
Dalits who constitute almost 20% of the Indian population (200 million), were considered untouchables as a result of the Hindu understanding of "ritual pollution and purity." Dalits were not included in the four fold varna categories. At the top were the Brahmins, who considered themselves as the most ritually pure. Beyond the pale of society, "outcastes" were considered extremely polluted and were assigned occupations such as removal of dead animals, scavenging and cleaning of the village. They were also landless agricultural labourers and tanners. They were barred from using village water tanks and public roads. Temple doors were closed on them.
Dalit Christians
Although Christianity is an egalitarian religion, the caste system found its way into it in India. Dalit Christians within the church were discriminated against and were denied powers within the ecclesiastical structure.
Although Dalit Christians constituted approximately 70% of the Indian Christian population they were marginalized and ignored until recently. To illustrate this let me quote what Archbishop George Zur, Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to India said while inaugurating the CBCI (Catholic Bishops Conference of India) in 1991:
Though Catholics of the lower caste and tribes form 60 per cent of Church membership they have no place in decision-making. Scheduled caste converts are treated as lower caste not only by high caste Hindus but by high caste Christians too. In rural areas they cannot own or rent houses, however well-placed they may be. Separate places are marked out for them in the parish churches and burial grounds. Inter-caste marriages are frowned upon and caste tags are still appended to the Christian names of high caste people. Casteism is rampant among the clergy and the religious. Though Dalit Christians make 65 per cent’ of the 10 million Christians in the South, less than 4 per cent of the parishes are entrusted to Dalit priests. There are no Dalits among 13 Catholic Bishops of Tamilnadu or among the Vicars-general and rectors of seminaries and directors of social assistance centres.2
The situation in the Protestant Church is no different except that some Dalits have been elevated to Bishopric and other positions of power recently. Many Dalit Christian leaders refer to the thrice-alienated situation of the Dalit Christians in India, namely, discrimination within the Church, discrimination by Hindu culture and discrimination by the State as they are denied Scheduled Caste status in the Constitution, and the related privileges which come with that status.3
At the outset it should be noted that the emergence of Dalit Christian Theology in India is intrinsically linked to more recent and significant developments within the Dalit Movement in India from the 70s.
But before we go into that, a word about the history of Dalit Movement in India is in place. Dalit protest and resistance movements seem to have gone through several phases. Bhakti movements within Hinduism between 14th and 16th centuries symbolised low castes’ aspiration for an egalitarian society and religion. The Bhakti movement stood for transformation of Hindu society and used religious resources to push forward the basic ideology that all persons were equal before God. However, the dominant castes co-opted it and transformed it into a reform movement within Hinduism. Moreover the British Colonial system dealt a decisive blow to the growth of the Bhakti movement.
The destruction of the Jajmani system, communal ownership of landed property, by the British and introduction of legal land relationship changed the situation of Dalits for the worse. Jajmani had used traditional caste relationships for division of labour and had provided some material security for them, although it was an exploitative and unjust system.4
The entry of colonialism enabled Dalits to search for new means of protest and liberation. Some Dalits integrated themselves into the colonial system by joining the army or by serving as indentured labourers in British colonies. Others chose Sanskritization as a means of upward mobility. Self respect movements and religious and social reform movements for educational and political rights in South Indian analysis of the Kamataka situation in Godwin Shin, The Plight of Christian Dalits: A South Indian Case Study. Bangalore: ATC, 1997.
States were expression of this self assertion movements. This took place at the turn of the 20th century.
However, mass conversions to non-Hindu religions were the most prominent means of Dalit protest which began during the second half of the 19th Century. Many historians, such as John Webster, say that the modern Dalit movement was begun in and through the Christian conversion movements.5
Several opinions are expressed regarding the reasons for Dalit conversion to Christianity. They range from the spiritual to socio-economic. But there is a general consensus among scholars that, "the underlying motivation was the search for improved social status, for a greater sense of personal dignity and self respect, for freedom from bondage to oppressive land owners."6 A complete break with the past was impossible for Dalit Christians. But it is beyond doubt that Dalit Christians initiated a movement of Dalit power and cultural changes through conversion movement which included "alterations in perceptions of self and the world, in life-style, as well as the acquisition of enhanced resources for self-improvement and self-empowerment."7
Dalits in post-Independent India sought new avenues of liberation. One of the best examples of this new wave of Dalit emancipatory movement was the Dalit Panther Movement in Maharashtra which popularized the use of the term Dalit. The Dalit Panthers saw caste as the major source by which their "humanity" was being virtually reduced to a state of "being no people."8 However, class analysis also was used as an effective tool to understand the plight of this downtrodden people.9
Further there was a surge in the Dalit literature in 1960s. This literary tradition had a distinct anti-caste message. It embodied the Dalit search for a culture of their own and developed a counter culture parallel to the ‘Great Tradition’ without being co-opted into the Sanskritic tradition. This literary movement created a Dalit folklore with the assertion that they have had a culture of their own and that they do have one which is not in any way inferior to any other traditions of India.10 Dalit literary movements were considerably influenced by Black American Literature and there were direct references, although in passing to the Blacks’ situation in America in these writings. The following is an interesting one:
The words "a peculiar institution" describe the untouchability created by the caste system. The Negro should not change the colour of his hide, nor the untouchable his caste. There is no difference between the place of the Negro in America and the step or level of the Untouchable in India. And so, for a long time, both were caught in whirlwind of self-denigration and self-hatred. Both were confined in the prison of fatalism. To prolong this imprisonment, the whites found authority in the Bible’s myths and symbols, and the clean castes in the Vedas and Manusmniti!11
Closely following the teachings of B.R. Ambedkar, the 20th Century symbol of Dalit power and protest, the Dalit asserted their separateness from other Hindus and demonstrated vehement opposition to classical Brahmanic Hinduism.12 However, it may be stated that Dalit movement in India is not yet homogenous and does represent diverse policies and means of liberation. However, a pan-Indian psychological solidarity was increasingly emerging in the 1980s.
A Counter-Theology
A Series of attempts and initiatives began in the early eighties to systematically articulate the faith in the context of the newly emerging Dalit aspiration for liberation. A.P. Nirmal, James Massey, M.E. Prabhakar, M. Azariah, K. Wilson, V. Devasahayam and F.J. Balasundaram are some of the prominent persons who figure in this theological movement.13 As theology predominantly became a vehicle to serve the elite interests, marginalizing the Dalits’ faith, Dalit theology manifested itself as a counter-theology movement. Re-formulation and re-visioning were the objectives rather than reconstruction and deconstruction. Both the European missionary movement and the traditional Indian ‘Christian Theology of the 20th Century were rejected as metaphysical speculations having nothing to do directly with the history and existence of the marginalized majority within the Indian Church.
Dalit theologians felt the need to consciously reflect upon the oppressive situation of Dalits in India. "Thus, when Dalit theologians speak of Dalit theology," says James Massey:
they are in fact making an affirmation about the need for a theological expression which will help them in their search for daily bread and their struggle to overcome a situation of oppression, poverty, suffering, injustice, illiteracy and denial of human dignity and identity. It is these realities of Dalit life which require the formulation of a Dalit theology. The highly philosophical schools of thoughts such as Gnana Marga, Karma Marga and Bhakti Marga were of no liberative and theological value to Dalits.
Many felt that the theological task of India need not be the preserve of the "Brahmanic Tradition" within the Indian Church, which had always used "intuition, inferiority oriented approach" to theologising.14 Dalit theologians were of the opinion that the theological and cultural domination of Brahmanic traditions within Indian Christianity, ignoring the rich cultural and religious experience of the Dalits had to be ignored, if not rejected completely. 15
It is relevant to note here that sacred texts of the Hindu religion such as Vedas and Mantras were not accessible to Dalits as a rule. They could perceive the same tradition continuing within Christianity in theology. In that sense Dalit theological movement was also an expression of appropriating a sacred mode from high caste theology. Thus Dalit theological movement was a corrective to the institutionalization of inequality and inaccessibility within the theological field. "To sum up, then," Nirmal says;
Whether it is the traditional Indian Christian theology or the more recent third-world theology, our theologians failed to see the struggle of Indian Dalits for liberation a subject matter appropriate for doing theology in India. What is amazing is that fact that Indian theologians ignore the reality of the Indian Church. While estimates vary, between 50 and 80 percent of all the Christians in India today are of scheduled-caste origin. This is the most important commonality cutting across the various diversities of the Indian Church that would have provided an authentic liberation motif for Indian Christian theology. If our theologians failed, to see this in the past, there is all the more reason for our waking up to this reality today and for applying ourselves seriously to the ‘task of doing theology’.16
Thus, essentially, Dalit theology was a liberative action in itself, in the sense that its coming into being created space for the development of a Dalit Christian voice.
Major Affirmations and Features
The primary affirmation of Dalit theology is that it is a theology about Dalits, for Dalits and originated from them; "the theology which they themselves would like to expound."17 They alone are the authors of this articulation. Almost closely following the Dalit literary movement, Dalit theology promotes an exclusiveness in the doing of theology. Defending this methodological exclusivism, the chief architect of this theology writes, "This exclusivism is necessary because the chief tendency of all dominant traditions - cultural or theological - is to accommodate, include, assimilate, and finally conquer others. Counter -theologies or people’s theology therefore need to be on guard and need18 to shut off the influences of the dominant theological traditions.
fact it is the very Christian character of "Dalitness" which will justify this primacy given to Dalits and the methodological exclusivism. Some Dalit theologians say Dalit theology can be done only by the Dalits who have experienced sufferings and who understand the pain of people.
However, not all Dalit theologians accept this approach of virtual exclusion of others from doing Dalit theology. Balasundaram, a departmental colleague, says, "Dalit theology is not and can’t be exclusive. A theology that is exclusive can’t be Christian. Dalit theology is pursued for others’ liberation also."19 Further, acknowledging the very inclusive structural nature of sin, in this case the caste system, and the role both the oppressed and the oppressors have in this., K. Wilson challenges the exclusive methodological approach. Non-Dalits’ expression of solidarity with Dalits also is seen as an inevitable component of the ultimate liberation of Dalits. K. Wilson expresses it is as follows: " Christian Dalit theology does not forbid Christian Dalits from working with non-Dalit authentic Christians, the renascent Hindus, the reformed Muslims and humanistic forces from various other faiths and ideologies, on a common human platform and thus hasten the process of establishing a human and humane culture which is why the Word became flesh.
Due to influence of the ‘secular’ Dalit movement in India and the liberation theology from Latin America, Dalit theology began the movement by accepting Marxian analytical tools. However,’ caste is now seen as the major socio-economic formative force in shaping and understanding the history of Dalits. Moreover the over-arching impact of Ambedkarism on all Dalits further seems to enhance the process of accepting caste as the sole source of the suffering of Dalits. Ambedkar was very forthright in declaring the separateness of Dalits from the caste system as the means of their liberation. Dalit theology seems to be totally in conformity with this position.
2) One of the major sources of doing Dalit theology is Dalit experience of suffering and pain. The narration of the story of their pathos and their protest has a primary place in this. Dalit literary movement gives "expression to their anger against those who have made them Dalits." And Dalit theology gives vent to the agony and pain of God’s people.
Thus it results in the recovery of their past and the memory of their rejection. This recovery of the collective memory of their "wounded psyche" has another purpose also. It helps Dalits and Dalit theologians to theologically reflect on the "subjugated and submerged" rich cultural identity of Dalits. There is a conscious effort made by Christian theologians to capture the growing awareness among Dalits that they were "members of an ancient primeval society disinherited and uprooted by the alien Brahmanical civilization."20
Thus, history is fundamental to the theological task in this movement. History is not illusionary or unreal as Hindu metaphysical philosophy may make one to believe. First, history is fundamental in the sense that realization of Dalits as the "subjects" of history is essential towards recovery and recapture of their lost dignity. Secondly, unlike the classical Indian Christian Theology, or for that matter the Indian classical Philosophy of the high caste, which is based on the transcendental nature of the Ultimate Reality and a cyclical view of history. History is fundamental in comprehending Dalit humanity. Human experience and ultimate liberation which are integral parts of the ‘here and now’ are primary to the doing of Dalit theology. This anubhava (experience) takes precedence over anumana (speculation).
James Massey expounds four layer of colonisation as the fundamental causes for the suffering and the submergence of the identity and culture of the Dalits. They are Aryan, Muslim, British and the high caste internal colonisations.21 This is how he summarizes his position:
the colonization of the Dalits, which began with their defeat at the hands of the Aryans, was internalized through religious myths and stories and finally by introducing a fixed social order based on a caste system dependent on one’s birth. Neither the centuries during which India was successively dominated by Muslims and the British nor the arrival of other religions, including Christianity, succeeded in overcoming the influence of this caste system; indeed, the effect of Muslim and British colonization was to strengthen the status quo. With independence, the rule of the country went back in to the hands of the so-called upper caste, the original colonizers of the Dalits.22
3) The ultimate function of Dalit theology is two fold: to act in solidarity and to act for liberation. Liberation is envisaged as liberation of Dalits from the historically oppressive structures both religio-cultural and socio-economic. Hence, theological articulation is not only a faith expression but also a means for liberation. According to this school of thought, any theological expression that will not lead to action and the resultant liberation is futile.
The concept for solidarity has also emerged in this school of theology. Christian values of sacrifice, charity and commitment to others are all intertwined in this profound understanding of solidarity. Transcending one’s creed, ideology and religion a Dalit is invited "to lose oneself for the sake of the other." Incarnational theology is the basis of such a two-sided solidarity with God and with fellow Dalits. According to James Massey the core of the act of the incarnation of God in Jesus was God’s "acting in solidarity with human beings, particularly the oppressed of this world."23 Massey sees in this solidarity of God with human beings a challenge for Dalit solidarity:
The model of solidarity we find in God’s incarnational act in history challenges us Dalit Christians to follow it, so that the experiences we share with the Dalits in general should become the basis of an authentic Dalit theology. . . . Being in solidarity with our fellow Dalits of different faiths and ideologies is a demand which the God of the Bible, through his own act of incarnation, places on Dalit Christians. This is an important factor for the’ authenticity of Dalit theology, enabling it to become an instrument of destroying the social and religious structures responsible for the Dalits’ historical captivity.24
4) It is not merely the enslavement of the Dalits by the dominating groups which comes under the critical scrutiny of Dalit theology but also the enslavement of the Dalit psyche or "the inner nature of Dalitness." James Massey describes it as "a self-captivity" of the Dalit community. Dalit theology seeks to liberate people from this slavery of "self-captivity," "a slavery from which it seems almost impossible to be liberated."25 The psychological dimensions within the Dalit theological movement are far more significant than we see at the surface. This should be recognized as an important aspect of Dalit theology.
A Dalit God and Jesus the Dalit
The Christian God is a Dalit god, affirm Dalit theologians. This God who is revealed in the Old Testament and Jesus who sided with the Dalits of the world are the liberative paradigms for the doing of Dalit theology. It not only helps them to come to terms with their historical consciousness, which is submerged in pathos and protest, but also to comprehend a God who in Jesus restores "humanness" to Dalits.
The Exodus liberation paradigm which had tremendous implications for liberation theologies in Latin America has extensively influenced the thinking and articulation of Dalit theology in India. A.P. Nirmal particularly depended on the Deuteronomic account of the affliction, toil and the oppression of the foreparents of the Israelites to expound the movement of Dalits from a "no people" to "God’s people."
Using the Deuteronomic Creed as model, Dalit theology can construct the historical Dalit consciousness which has to do with their roots, identities and struggle for human dignity and "for the right to live as free people created in the image of God." Nirmal says:
The historical Dalit consciousness in depicts even greater and deeper pathos than is found in the Deuteronomic Creed. My Dalit ancestors did not enjoy the nomadic freedom of the wandering Aramean. As outcasts, they were also cast out of their villages
When my Dalit ancestors walked the dusty roads of his village, the Sa Varnas tied a branch of a tree around his rest so that he would not leave any unclean foot prints and pollute the roads." Nirmal concludes,
The Dalit consciousness should realise that the ultimate goal of its liberation movement cannot be the ‘land flowing with milk and honey’. For Christian Dalit Theology, it cannot be simply the gaining of the rights, the reservation, and the privileges.. The goal is the realisation of our full humanness or, conversely our full divinity, the ideal of the Imago Dei, the image of God in us. To use another biblical metaphor, our goal is the ‘glorious liberty of the children of god."26
For Dalit theologians God is clearly a Dalit God. God, who reveals himself, both through the prophets and Jesus Christ, is a God of the Dalits. The servant God, a God who identifies with the servant-hood of Dalits, is perceived by Dalit theologians as Dalit God. The servant role that the ex-untouchable played in India was indeed a participation in this "servant-God’s ministries." Thus, Nirmal says, "To speak of a Servant-God, therefore, is to recognise and identify him as a truly Dalit deity ,27 For Dalit theologians Jesus is the ultimate Dalit, the servant God whom God reveals. However, it may be noted here that some of the recent theologians underplay the use of this servant’ imagery as it evokes extremely painful memories. Moreover, they feel, this will only help perpetuate structures of domination and subservience within which Dalits are caught up even now.
Jesus’ tilt towards the poor and the marginalized, tax-collectors, prostitutes and lepers, according to Dalit theology, portrays Jesus as God incarnated as a Dalit. Devasahayam reflects as follows on Jesus’ image from a Dalit perspective:
Jesus reveals a free God, who is uncoopted and uncontained by those identified with religion This God is free to hear the cry of the outcasts against the guardians of religious society This God is not under the power of Brahman but is free to hear ones against Brahmans and other upper castes and side with the Dalits, who are ousted from the Temples and who are denied the right to study the Scriptures.28
The Cross has a special meaning in Dalit theology. Both the liberative praxis and the Dalitness of Jesus culminates in the symbol of Gurukul, 1992.
"On the Cross, he was the broken, the crushed, the split, the torn, the driven-asunder man," revealing his Dalitness.29
The vision of a new community under God is also envisaged by some Dalit theologians. Here the emphasis is on the invitation of Jesus to a new fellowship in which all equally and fully participate. "The focus is not merely on the oppression and God’ option for the oppressed, but on the new community of freedom and fellowship, love and justice, which is the new people of the reign of God to which God calls all’ peoples."30 Theologians like Wilson feel that God’s plan is to transform Dalits into a community which liberates not only themselves but also their oppressors and thus gives a liberative dimension to their very dalitness.
The use of the Bible in Dalit theology needs a special mention. Dalit theologians entirely depend on Bible and Biblical examples. Dalit theologians are not essentially different from liberation school of theology. However, there is a conscious and deliberate attempt on the part of Dalit theologians to re-read the Bible from the perspective of the experience of the victims.
Future Directions
1, Dalit theology is part of the post colonial struggle of different communities for their distinct identity and space. In a largely homogenizing trend influenced by two processes namely globalization and Hinduisation, Dalits and Dalit Christians are still struggling for a Dalit identify of their own. Intra-Dalit conflicts and Dalit sub-groups still continue despite the striving for a common Dalit identity and solidarity. Therefore, the challenge for Dalit theology is to strike an ideal balance.
Hindutva revival/reform movements are trying to absorb Dalits into a monolithic Hindu fundamentalist culture. Their systematic propaganda concentrates on the message that Dalits had been truly part of the ‘Hindu’ religio-cultural structures. Several Hindu organizations are involved in re-conversion efforts to drive home this ideology. Although it is a clear historical distortion, Dalits are caught up in a dilemma whether to declare their solidarity with Hindus’ or with Dalits.’ In fact Dalits are caught between Hinduisation and Dalitisation. This historic dilemma appears to have had its impact upon Dalit Christians and Dalit theological movement too. This may be the reason why this new strand of theology appears to be at a standstill right now.
However, the recent efforts to genuinely develop a constructive theological strand is a welcome change. The trend setting work of Sathiyanathan Clarke, Dalits and Christianity Subaltern Religion and Liberation Theology in India (1998) deserves special mention here, as it opens up new avenues for Dalit theology movement. . .
2. The almost total dependence on Biblical thought for. theological construction needs further reconsideration in the light of the historical experience of Dalits.
Pre-existing/Christian egalitarian thoughts and struggle for equality and justice were evident in Dalit history and memory But the early Dalits had their own ways of protest and resistance. This is ignored by Dalit theologians.
Dalit theologians also need to widen the definition of "texts," given the oral emphasis in Dalit Tradition By probing into Dalit folklore and songs they are likely to unearth extra textual sources for doing Dalit theology. This could also help create new hermeneutical principles unique to the Dalit theological movements.31
3. Ancestral worship and female deities appear prominently in Dalit myths and songs. Dalit theologians could explore how the pre-existing religio-cultural ideas might have shaped their journey into Christianity and how they deal with such questions in their everyday life. All these could function as rich source of theologising and Dalit faith articulation in India.
4. While pathos, suffering and pain have found a place in Dalit theology, the rich Dalit traditions of celebrating life in the context of communitarian values seem to have been completely forgotten by Dalit theologians with few exceptions. The rich culture of the Dalit have a lot of egalitarian ideas. This needs to be further explored by Dalit theologians.
5. The ‘dialogue’ and ‘accommodation’ that take shape at the popular level of both Hinduism and Christianity need systematic consideration by Dalit theology. It appears that in a silent way people at the village level are moulding meaningful ‘systems’ of interaction in a pluralistic socio-religious setting like that of India. If "the reality of the religion of a people can be studied only through the empirical enquiry into the meaning appropriated by them as persons and community of persons in their life situations,"32 then Dalit theology needs to look carefully into popular level of Hindu-Christian religious encounter. Luke and Camian’s study reveals that religious boundaries at the level of belief systems and rituals are not so marked in the minds of the people in villages. In the popular worship context, there is mutual sharing of practices, symbols and values without so much fuss.33 These marginalised spaces deserves systematic attention.
Endnotes:
1. James Massey, Down Trodden: The Struggle of India’s Dalits for Identity, Solidarity and Liberation. Geneva: WCC, 1997, p. 3., See an edited volume on the issue of Dalit Identity, Walter Fernandes, The Emerging Dalit Identity: The Re-Assertion of the Subalterns. New Delhi: ISI, 1996.
2. James Massey, Dalits in India: Religion as a Source of Bondage or Liberation with Special Reference to Christians. New Delhi: Manohar, 1995, p. 82.
3. See Duncan Forrester, Caste and Christianity. London: Curzon, 1979. See a recent Dalit Movement in India
4. Walter Fernandes, "A Socio-historical perspective for Liberation Theology in India’ in Felix Wilfred (ed.), Leave the Temple: Indian Paths to Human Liberation. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1992.
5. John C.B. Webster, The Dalit Christians: A History. Delhi: ISPCK, 1992, pp. 33ff.
6. Webster, The Dalit Christians, p. 57, See also G.A. Oddie (ed.), Religion in South Asia: Religious Conversion and Revival Movement in South Asia in Medieval and Modern Times. New Delhi: Manohar, 1991, George Oommen, The Struggle of Pulaya Christians for Social Improvement, 1993 (unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Sydney).
7. Webster, The Dalit Christians, p. 70.
8. Massey, Down Trodden, p. 2.
9. See Gail Omvedt, Dalits and the Democratic Revolution: Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit Movement in Colonial India. New Delhi: Sage, 1994.
10. Eleanor Zelliot, From untouchable to Dalit: Essays on the Ambedkar Movement. Delhi: Manohar, 1996, pp. 267-333. See also Arjun Dangle (ed.), Poisoned Bread. Bombay: Longman, 1992.
11. Zelliot From Untouchable to Dalit, p. 281.
12. See for details, Zelliot, From Untouchable to Dalit, pp. 53-179. Paul Chirakarodu’s Massive volume on Ambedkar in Malayalam Ambedkar, Tiruvalla: Dalit Books, 1993 democrates the regional influence of Ambedkarism.
13. See Arvind P. Nirmal (ed.), A Reader in Dalit Theology. Madras: Gurukul, n.d., Arvind P. Nirmal (ed.), Towards a Common Dalit Ideology. Madras: Gurukul, n.d., Bhagwan Das and James Massey (eds.), Dalit Solidarity. Delhi: ISPCK, 1995, James Massey, Dalits in India: Religion as a Source of Bondage or Liberation with special Reference of Christians. Delhi: Manohar, 1995.
14. FJ. Balasundaram, Dalit struggle. . . . (unpublished manuscripts), pp. 2f.
15. Sathianathan Clarke, Dalits and Christianity: Subaltern Religion & Liberation Theology in India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998, P. 40. See also Arvind P. Nirmal, "Toward a Christian Dalit Theology," R.S. Sugirtharajah (ed.), Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology: Emerging Trends. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1994, p. 28f.
16. Nirmal, "Towards a Christian Dalit Theology," in Sugirtharajah, Frontiers in Asia, Christian Theology, p. 30.
17. lbid., p. 31.
18. lbid.
19. Balasundaram, "Dalit Struggle. . . ,"
20. A.M. Abraham Ayroorkuzhiel, "The Ideological Nature of the Emerging Dalit Consciousness" in A.P. Nirmal (ed.), Towards a Common Dalit Ideology Madras: Gurukul, n.d.
21. See for details Massey, Down Trodden, pp. 12-28.
22. Massey, ibid., pp. 27-28.
23. Ibid., p. 60.
2 4. Ibid., p. 61.
2.5 Ibid., p. 25.
26. Nirmal, "Towards a Christian Dalit Theology," in Sugirtharajah, Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology, pp. 33f.
27. Nirma1, "Towards a Christian Dalit Theology," in Sugirtharajah, Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology, p. 35.
28. Devasahayam, Outside the Camp: Bible Studies in Dalit Perspective. Madras:
29. Nirmal, "Towards a Christian Dalit Theology," in Sugirtharajah, Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology, p. 39.
30. Michael Amaladoss, Life in Freedom: Liberation Theologies from Asia. Maryknoll:Orbis, l997, p. 31. between plurality and solidarity without succumbing to the pressures of homogenisation.
31. See an attempt in this direction in Joseph Patmury (ed.), Doing Theology with the Poetic Tradition of India: Focus on Dalit and Tribal Poems, Bangalore, PTCA/SATHRI, 1996. Some books have appeared in regional languages; Paul Chirakkarodu, M. Sathyaprakasham, Abraham Ayrookuzhi, Dalit Kavithakal: Oru Padanam (Dalit Poems: A Study). Tiruvalla: CLS/CISRS, 1992. Abraham Ayrookuzhi & Paul Chirakkarodu, Dalir Saahizyam (Dalit Literature: A Study). Tiruvalla: CSS, 1995.
32. M.M. Thomas, "Foreword," in A.M. Abraham Ayroorkuzhiel, The Sacred in Popular Hinduism. Bangalore: CISRS, 1983, p. vii.
33. P.Y. Luke and John B. Carman, Village Christians and Hindu Culture: Study of a Rural Church in Andhra Pradesh, South India. Lutterworth Press, WCC, 1968. See also Paul Younger, "Hindu-Christian Worship Setting in South India," in Harold Coward (ed.), Hindu Christian Dialogue: Perspectives and Encounters. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1989.
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BBC NEWS | Americas | Obama spurns pastor's 9/11 jibe
Obama spurns pastor's 9/11 jibe
Obama spurns pastor's 9/11 jibe
Barack Obama has been a member of the church since the early 1990s Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has denounced remarks made by his pastor that the 9/11 attacks were like "chickens coming home to roost".
The Illinois senator said the 2001 comments, which have resurfaced on the web, were "completely inexcusable".
Mr Obama said he had not been present during Rev Jeremiah Wright's sermon, at the Trinity United Church of Christ.
The black Chicago pastor brought Mr Obama to Christianity, officiated at his wedding and baptised his daughters.
Mr Obama, a member of the church since the early 1990s, posted a blog on the Huffington Post about his relationship with the pastor, who is now retired.
"I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies," he wrote.
'God damn America'
Mr Obama, who conducted a number of media interviews on Friday to reject Mr Wright's comments, said he had looked to him for spiritual - not political - guidance.
In a sermon on the Sunday after the attacks of 11 September 2001, Mr Wright told his congregation: "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards.
"America's chickens are coming home to roost."
In a 2003 sermon, Mr Wright said blacks should condemn the US.
"God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human", he said.
Mr Obama said he expects his political opponents will use videos of the sermons to attack him as the campaign goes on.
He is locked in a close race with New York Senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, ahead of Pennsylvania's primary vote on 22 April.
BBC News
Obama spurns pastor's 9/11 jibe
Barack Obama has been a member of the church since the early 1990s Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has denounced remarks made by his pastor that the 9/11 attacks were like "chickens coming home to roost".
The Illinois senator said the 2001 comments, which have resurfaced on the web, were "completely inexcusable".
Mr Obama said he had not been present during Rev Jeremiah Wright's sermon, at the Trinity United Church of Christ.
The black Chicago pastor brought Mr Obama to Christianity, officiated at his wedding and baptised his daughters.
Mr Obama, a member of the church since the early 1990s, posted a blog on the Huffington Post about his relationship with the pastor, who is now retired.
"I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies," he wrote.
'God damn America'
Mr Obama, who conducted a number of media interviews on Friday to reject Mr Wright's comments, said he had looked to him for spiritual - not political - guidance.
In a sermon on the Sunday after the attacks of 11 September 2001, Mr Wright told his congregation: "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards.
"America's chickens are coming home to roost."
In a 2003 sermon, Mr Wright said blacks should condemn the US.
"God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human", he said.
Mr Obama said he expects his political opponents will use videos of the sermons to attack him as the campaign goes on.
He is locked in a close race with New York Senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, ahead of Pennsylvania's primary vote on 22 April.
BBC News
BBC NEWS | Americas | Obama spurns pastor's 9/11 jibe
Obama spurns pastor's 9/11 jibe
Obama spurns pastor's 9/11 jibe
Barack Obama has been a member of the church since the early 1990s Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has denounced remarks made by his pastor that the 9/11 attacks were like "chickens coming home to roost".
The Illinois senator said the 2001 comments, which have resurfaced on the web, were "completely inexcusable".
Mr Obama said he had not been present during Rev Jeremiah Wright's sermon, at the Trinity United Church of Christ.
The black Chicago pastor brought Mr Obama to Christianity, officiated at his wedding and baptised his daughters.
Mr Obama, a member of the church since the early 1990s, posted a blog on the Huffington Post about his relationship with the pastor, who is now retired.
"I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies," he wrote.
'God damn America'
Mr Obama, who conducted a number of media interviews on Friday to reject Mr Wright's comments, said he had looked to him for spiritual - not political - guidance.
In a sermon on the Sunday after the attacks of 11 September 2001, Mr Wright told his congregation: "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards.
"America's chickens are coming home to roost."
In a 2003 sermon, Mr Wright said blacks should condemn the US.
"God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human", he said.
Mr Obama said he expects his political opponents will use videos of the sermons to attack him as the campaign goes on.
He is locked in a close race with New York Senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, ahead of Pennsylvania's primary vote on 22 April.
BBC News
Obama spurns pastor's 9/11 jibe
Barack Obama has been a member of the church since the early 1990s Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has denounced remarks made by his pastor that the 9/11 attacks were like "chickens coming home to roost".
The Illinois senator said the 2001 comments, which have resurfaced on the web, were "completely inexcusable".
Mr Obama said he had not been present during Rev Jeremiah Wright's sermon, at the Trinity United Church of Christ.
The black Chicago pastor brought Mr Obama to Christianity, officiated at his wedding and baptised his daughters.
Mr Obama, a member of the church since the early 1990s, posted a blog on the Huffington Post about his relationship with the pastor, who is now retired.
"I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies," he wrote.
'God damn America'
Mr Obama, who conducted a number of media interviews on Friday to reject Mr Wright's comments, said he had looked to him for spiritual - not political - guidance.
In a sermon on the Sunday after the attacks of 11 September 2001, Mr Wright told his congregation: "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards.
"America's chickens are coming home to roost."
In a 2003 sermon, Mr Wright said blacks should condemn the US.
"God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human", he said.
Mr Obama said he expects his political opponents will use videos of the sermons to attack him as the campaign goes on.
He is locked in a close race with New York Senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, ahead of Pennsylvania's primary vote on 22 April.
BBC News
Indian Christian Theology 2
Author unkown
Summarising Contextual Theology (for Indians)"">Summarising Contextual Theology
For the last month I had been teaching Contextual Theology to a class of about 13 students. The following is a summary of what we did togehter. One could notice that many of the ideas are ‘traditional’ yet how they relate it to Contextual Theology in the Indian context may be something new to a few.
Summarising Contextual Theology (for Indians)"">Summarising Contextual Theology
For the last month I had been teaching Contextual Theology to a class of about 13 students. The following is a summary of what we did togehter. One could notice that many of the ideas are ‘traditional’ yet how they relate it to Contextual Theology in the Indian context may be something new to a few.
1. Theology is for everyone.
a. Our theology is not just a subject taught at Bible college, but it is a collection of our beliefs, as well as the system through which we order our beliefs. Importantly, theology is the believers reflection about God with the aim to know Him better (faith seeking understanding). As a result, while some aspects of theology are specialised, on a larger level anyone can do (all Christians must do) theology.
b. Our theology is naturally coloured (conditioned) not just by the Bible but by many factors which include culture, personalities, church traditions, secular thought, experience etc.
c. There are two consequences to the above
i) As Christians, our challenge is to give right priority to the Bible and also rightly relate our theology to our cultural/experiential conditioning.
ii) We understand that while our conditioning limits us, we also understand that we alone do not have complete/perfect truth. We are forced to be humble; to depend on others; hold on to adequate view of truth.
d. Finally, theology is needed. It is a pastoral concern and it is legitimate for the body of Christ. A Christian cannot do theology for another person, each person in community is expected to do theology (which means, to seek to know God through the scriptures and the Church). A missionary can do contextualisation (making the gospel clearer to understand). But only the believer can do his/her own theology. In so far as many theologies exist, we are equal in the body of Christ.
2. Everything has a range of meaning: no simple definitions possible in today’s world
Nothing has a single meaning, everything has a range of meaning.
For instance even to understand who Jesus is; one word is not enough, one idea is not enough… we see Jesus through many concepts and ideas.
How then can we hold on to truth? By not relying on our ‘rational’ faith, but by relying on God through faith. We understand that we can know enough (adequate truth)… but most importantly, it is not our knowledge about God that saves us, but God’s faithfulness in saving us, and making Himself known (through Jesus/through Holy Spirit).
3. Contextual Theology can be understood both as continuity and discontinuity
a. Continuity… contextual theology is like how all theology must be. It is the attempt to speak/think about God by being aware of the peculiar context in which we live. Hence, our study about God, our discovery of who He is, is not done in the abstract, but by being rooted in real life.
b. Discontinuity… Contextual Theology is a discipline that emerged in the mid-1900s, especially with the rise of Latin American theology. Its main goal was to challenge Dogmatic Theology which Contextual Theologians believed was too disconnected from the real world issues. At first, Contextual Theology was thought to be ‘corrective’. But eventually it developed into a separate discipline.
4. Because we are limited, we (Christians) need to listen to even Contextual Theologians
From them we learn many things, including…
a. Theology is not just thoughts about God, but includes our actions. Our actions reveal our beliefs and must be thought of together with belief (reflection-praxis-reflection)
b. Salvation is wholistic. There is no such thing as only a ‘soul’ to be saved. But God has come to redeem all creation; which includes us in totality. Of course there is death in the flesh… but God’s new creation is an event of being born again with new flesh/new spirit/new life… this is not just a ‘soul’ thing.
c. Being involved with the poor/oppressed is not an option; it is an important directive by God as seen in the Bible. Methods and motives vary… but if we were given a choice between siding with the rich oppressors (and succeed alongside them) or with the poor oppressed (and suffer with them), then we need to side with the poor.
d. Many of our Christian concepts are inherited by the West.
For instance, we tend to give more importance to the concept of the Church than to the concept of the Kingdom of God; when in fact, Jesus Himself talked more about the Kingdom of God. Why? Because this is inherited knowledge; we learned this from tradition. We Indians need ‘Indians’ to seek the scriptures constantly, in each age, to determine what exactly the Bible is saying about these and other issues.
5. There is no core of the gospel (if by core we mean central doctrine); only the living God is the core.
a. By this we mean that our gospel message cannot be summarised into four-points, eight points etc. The central message of Christianity is the living Jesus, the Trinitarian God, our experience and relationship with this Trinitarian God etc. Thus to be a Christian we cannot simply follow a few doctrines, or to communicate gospel we cannot just preach a few doctrines. Because, if we do, we limit the true and living God.
b. Similarly, we cannot limit God to a place; meaning a Church. We cannot limit God to a book; meaning the Bible. God is more than the Church, and not caught inside the Bible. The Church and the Bible both testify to the living Creator; the only true God who is saviour of all.
c. Instead, the best way to be a Christian is to be Christlike… to let the the Word of God dwell richly in our hearts. This is a living activity and cannot be summarised into a few points. The same applies when we communicate the gospel. We cannot adequately communicate the living Jesus without being transformed ourselves; people need to ‘see’ and ‘hear’ us… to get a fully picture of who God is.
6. …three things remain, faith, hope and love…
a. Faith… In the midst of imperfect knowledge, limited understanding of who the living God is, our inability to fully comprehend and communicate God… the only thing we can do is to rely on God, trust in Him, that He will make up for our inadequacies. Thus we understand Faith. We boldly proclaim Jesus, not because we fully understand Him, but because we believe (we have faith) that He is completely perfect and sufficient. We do not know the full outcome of this life/creation etc… the fate of non-believers etc… but we know that He who has spoken is true. He will be proved perfectly true. That is our faith. (and faith motivates action).
b. Hope… Jesus is coming soon. This means that we live lives not just with a desire to save the world, but to be mindful of our own house. Eschatology has missiological as well as ecclesiological implications. Which means… God is delaying his coming on earth not just to save as many people, but also so that the Church can be purified for Her groom. Of course it is God who purifies, as it is God who is the saviour of people, but our hope in His coming is also a challenge to be ‘holy and God is holy’ in all urgency. Jesus IS coming soon.
c. …and the greatest of these is Love. Simply put, there can be no greater love than the love God had for the world. Importantly, so must we love one another. If we do not love our brothers/sisters, then the love of God is not really in us. We must love as Christ loved. It is more than emotion… it has political, social consequences. Love our enemies (He was rejected/despised)… love outside our comfort zone (Jesus left heaven, became flesh)… We must love to the point of death. This love is not for non-believers alone, but for all people (including believers we are with). And we learn love by seeing God’s love. In so far as we do not correspond to God’s love, our love remains human and imperfect. When we love in the Spirit, that is true/pure love. When we love in the Spirit, we “act” in true/pure love.
7. Finally…
Contextual theology is simply our theological contribution to our local church context. This is best seen in any serious theological work we do for the people around us. Even if we forget what ‘contextual’ theology is… our attempt to think deeply about the issues that sincerely trouble us is contextual theology. We have the tendency to adopt the method or voice of ‘others’ to enlighten us (so we remain connected with the larger Church), but most importantly, we seek more and more to genuinely be informed/transformed by God’s word (be biblical) as we are reading it todya, so that we will see things (and do things) for our contexts more rightly/clearly. Our Indian contextual theology is therefore not an exercise in saying something unique for the sake of being unique, but rather, as God transforms us… we work together to transform our world.
Name of the Author of this article is not known to me. Since it is a hlpful one I include them hereFriday, March 14, 2008
Indian origin student becomes youngest minister in Canada
Indian origin student becomes youngest minister in Canada
| Indian origin student becomes youngest minister in Canada | ||
| Saturday, 15 March , 2008, 10:53 | ||
| Toronto: Two Indo-Canadians have been given ministerial berths for the first time in the Canadian province of Alberta, with one of them becoming the country's youngest minister. A record five Indo-Canadians have won the March 3 assembly elections in the province. Of these five winners, two were sworn in as Parliamentary Assistants (equivalent to minister of state in India) in Edmonton on Thursday when the new Tory government under Premier Ed Stelmach took oath for the new four-year term. For more International news click here >> Calgary law student Manmeet Bhullar, who has just turned 28, was appointed Parliamentary Assistant for advanced education and technology. Curiously, Bhullar, who was handpicked by the premier to contest the Calgary-Montrose seat because of the infighting in the constituency, has become the youngest minister in Canada. “Yes, that is what I have been informed about,” Bhullar told IANS. Raj Sherman, another Indo-Canadian who won the Edmonton-Meadowlark seat for the ruling Tory party, was sworn in as parliamentary assistant for health and wellness. “It is gratifying that two Indo-Canadians have become ministers in Alberta for the first time in its history. As parliamentary assistants, we are equal to junior ministers in India. Premier Ed Stelmach has introduced the role of Parliamentary Assistants to assist ministers with the work of their ministry,” Bhullar said. “My job will involve overseeing operation of programmes, carrying bills through the legislative assembly and its committees, and attending events on behalf of my minister Doug Horner. As well, I will perform the minister's duties in his absence,” he added. In his new role, he said he would push for more collaboration between Alberta and India “because our jurisdiction needs skilled people from wherever in the world we can get them. I have not been to India for nine years, and I look forward to going over there,” Bhullar said. There are about 80,000 Indo-Canadians in oil-rich Alberta. | ||
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