Dalit Catholics allege caste discrimination in south Indian parish

Many Dalits have converted to Christianity and Islam to avoid caste-based oppression, and now form about 60 per cent of India’s Christian community.

India’s Supreme Court issued a notice to a church and local authorities in the southern state of Tamil Nadu on a petition alleging discrimination against Dalits by the Catholic Church.

The petition alleges caste-based discrimination in the Diocese of Kumbakonam’s Kottapalayam parish, not only excluding Dalits from participation in festivities but also assigning them to segregated burial grounds.

Acting on the Special Leave Petition filed by members of the local Dalit Catholic community, the apex court sought responses from the state government and church authorities by 15 April.

Dalits – or “untouchables” – are known as Scheduled Castes in India. They belong to the lowest rung in the Hindu religion’s caste system and are typically ostracised and made to do menial jobs like scavenging or tanning leather. Many Dalits have converted to Christianity and Islam to avoid caste-based oppression, and now form about 60 per cent of India’s Christian community.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) are among the respondents in the case, Franklin Caesar Thomas, the petitioners’ lawyer, told The Tablet.

There are 150 Dalits in the parish but they are not allowed to participate in the annual church festivities or in the constitution of church committees. The parish maintains two cemeteries – a larger and better one for the upper castes and a smaller one for the Dalits, Thomas said.

The petitioners argue that such discrimination and “untouchability” practices violate fundamental rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution. Despite approaching Church, federal and local authorities, caste-based crimes continue unabated in the Kottapalayam parish, the lawyer added.

Fr Suresh Mathew, a former editor of the Indian Currents weekly, commented that “the Supreme Court’s decision to issue a notice in this case is a welcome step towards holding the Church accountable for its actions”. He called it “a shameful indictment of the Church’s failure to uphold its own values of equality and justice”.

Critics said it revealed that India’s bishops are “casteists”, pretending to be oblivious to such practices. Fr Francis Arackal told The Tablet that the apostolic nuncio, the CBCI and the CCBI should all have taken strict action against the perpetrators of discrimination but had limited themselves to issuing statements. He said those who failed to act should be asked to resign.

Thomas said the Dalit petitioners were demanding an end to caste bias, equal access to burial grounds, the use of a common funeral cart for all community members and entry right for the cortège into the main parish church for funeral prayers, like the dominant caste groups.

They have also sought fair representation in church councils and committees and the right to organise and conduct the parish’s annual car festival without caste-based discrimination, he said.

Virginia Saldhana, a Mumbai-based theologian, said such discrimination was against the teaching of Scripture, and that Dalits former social status could not be used to prevent them from being part of the parish and sharing in the community life.

The petitioners approached the Supreme Court after the Madras High Court had dismissed them, stating that the case did not warrant judicial intervention.

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