Dalits make up more than 60 per cent of the Indian Catholic population, yet just one of the four Indian cardinals in the May conclave and fewer than 10 of the 200 Indian bishops are Dalit.

Liverpool-bornArchbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States – in effect, the Holy See’s foreign minister – is in India this week to “strengthen bonds of friendship and collaboration”. One of the sensitive issues likely to be discussed out of the public eye is the discrimination that Dalit Christians – those from historically marginalised communities in India who are considered “untouchables” – continue to face, in spite of the Church’s formal rejection of caste distinctions. A media-savvy member of the archbishop’s entourage might alert him to the fact that young Dalit Christian activists are increasingly using social media platforms to challenge this centuries-old oppression. They are building a digital archive of lived experiences, reclaiming their voices and pushing for social change, one post at a time.

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