Catholic fraternities ruptured in this TN village when Dalits asked for equality

“Your status as Paraiyar will never change…Your religion might change, but not your caste. Wherever you go, you will have a separate burial ground.” This shocking statement was delivered by the Tahsildar of Thiruverumbur taluk in Tamil Nadu, T Jayaprakash, at a public meeting on July 20, 2023. He was addressing Dalit Christians at a peace committee after they brought a complaint to him about caste-based discrimination. They alleged that they were dealing with extreme segregation in every aspect of village and church life at the hands of dominant caste Christians in their village as well as caste Hindus.So ingrained is the discrimination that when a priest explained how there was no caste system in Christianity, the caste Christians and Hindus conspired to chase him out of the village..The Catholic mission has been spreading Christianity in Central Tamil Nadu region since the 1600s, from the time of Constantine Joseph Beschi, an Italian Jesuit priest and Tamil scholar known by his Tamil name, Veeramamunivar. As part of the mission, the St Mary Magdalene church was established in Ayyampatti village of Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) in 1934. Around 200 families belong to the Ayyampatti parish. The parish comprises seven hamlets, with 450 Catholic Christian families—230 Dalit Christians and 210 families from the Udayar community.All of the Catholic Christians of the area belong to the Ayyampatti parish and the St Mary Magdalene church, which comes under the Trichy diocese. The conversion of Dalits and others from Backward Classes took place because the religion seemed to provide liberation from the marginalisation they faced as Hindus. But the dominant Udayar Christians are not yet ready to stop oppressing the Dalits.“They [Udayar Christians] don’t remember how downtrodden they were in the past and how they converted to Christianity to break the shackles of caste oppression. Now, they are exerting power and oppressing the Dalits,” said Fr Charles Karunambaram, a priest now working as the secretary of the Diocesan Commission for Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenism. He is the key person behind the Dalit Christians of Ayyampatti demanding their rights..Periyanayagam (74), one of the oldest residents in Ayyampatti, fondly recalls Fr Charles as the person who ‘opened [their] eyes’.“Until then, we did not realise we were being denied our rights. When we were not allowed to contribute to the church festival or touch the idols, we believed it was how tradition worked. We also believed deviating from it would invite the wrath of god. In 2021, Fr Charles gave a sermon on how everyone must be included in church activities, and not doing so was a form of discrimination. That was when we understood the reality and decided to fight for our rights,” he said. Periyanayagam and others did not anticipate the uphill battle they would face..Fr Charles and his attempts to end caste discriminationIn December 2020, Fr Charles was appointed as the priest of the Ayyampatti church. When he noticed the clear lines of division, he began talking about equality. “I spoke to the caste Christians about the discrimination against Dalits in the village. I held several meetings with the caste group leaders and elders, but they did not change their attitude. They refused to include the Dalit Christians in the festival activities, especially obtaining monetary contributions for festivals from them. One of the initiatives I undertook was forming a women’s association in the church, which included Dalit women and all people in church-related work. In the mass of July 3, 2022, I appealed to the people that we should collect monetary contributions from Dalits as they have petitioned the bishop in this regard,” he said. Rather than listen to the priest, the dominant caste Christians decided to drive him out of their village.“Being invested in liberation theology, I have always worked for oppressed groups in the church, like Dalits and women. The relationship that caste Christians maintain with Dalit Christians in Ayyampatti is that of landlords-coolies and upper caste-untouchables. They want to exert that kind of power over the Dalits. While there is some economic mobility among the Dalits, it is not much, as the Udayars own lands and buildings here,” he said. After converting to Christianity, Dalits did improve their access to education and employment, but their social status did not improve as they were still identified by their caste and not their Christian belief.In Ayyampatti, Udayars run shops and businesses and own farming lands, and Dalits work for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), run petty shops and tea shops in front of their houses, and undertake other odd jobs. They also work in the farmlands of Udayar Christians. Both participate in functions of either community, have a chat at the local tea shop and maintain a cordial relationship. So, in 2022, when the Dalit Christians expressed their wish to contribute to the church festival, they did not expect it to be a big deal, as they were all Catholic Christians.But the Udayars – both Hindus and Christians – joined hands and tried to suppress the Dalits.After Fr Charles’ speech at the church, the caste Hindus and caste Christians filed a complaint with the bishop of Trichy diocese that Fr Charles’ speech “incited violence” among the people and “hurt Hindu sentiments.” On the same night that he gave the speech, Fr Charles was asked to leave the village immediately, and if he wanted to stay back, he had to promise to never talk about caste. The priest chose to leave the village and approach the diocese. Three months later, he was back in the Ayyampatti parish, but the dominant caste Christians blocked the way to his house and forced him to leave the village again. This time, the diocese appointed a new priest temporarily to conduct only Sunday masses and did not assign Fr Charles to any job between July 2022 and May 2023. After May 2023, they appointed a new regular priest..In the aftermath of the priest’s departure, the Dalit Christians and Udayar Christians had a falling out. While a temporary committee was formed in July 2022, and the church festival was successfully conducted with everyone’s participation, a permanent solution was not found.The church festival is not only a religious one in Ayyampatti but also a place where Udayar Christians exert their power and assert their position in the caste hierarchy. “They see it as symbols of power, and they cannot imagine the Dalit Christians at an equal status as them. Their resistance to the fundamental Christian doctrine of equality stems from caste arrogance,” points out Fr Charles.Discrimination has always existedM Arockiadass (55), a daily wage labourer and an activist who filed a case in the High Court, said that caste discrimination had always existed in the village from the time of the inception of the church. “I remember my father talking about his times. It has always been this way. We work for the dominant caste people, and they are always cordial with us. But when it comes to the church, though we participated in the festivals and prayers, we were never allowed to touch the festival cars or idols. Though it hurt us, we did not think of it as our right, because these were traditions,” he said.The Christian missionaries did indeed accommodate certain traditions and practices several centuries ago in an attempt to convert people to Christianity. This includes the annual car festivals and segregation within and outside the church. The decades-old practice of separate seating arrangements inside the church is no longer prevalent, thanks to consistent Dalit activism. But other forms of segregation persist..As Arockiadass points out, caste Christians do not collect donations or monetary contributions for the church from Dalit persons. While the residents of Ayyampatti and the church authorities call it ‘the festival issue’, it is nothing but blatant caste-based discrimination, said activists and lawyers.The most visible form of discrimination in the village is the segregated cemetery. At the southern end of the village is around 2-5 cents of land on the side of the road used to bury the deceased from Dalit families. This land has no compound wall or gate. It just lies at the side of the narrow road from the village. On the adjacent side of the road, there is around 0.5 acre of land, with barbed fences around the land. It also has a small shed with a hearse cart. Both these lands are kuttaiporamboke land (a land where there was a waterbody, which is not listed in any Land Revenue records). Arockiadass said Dalits cannot use the carrier to carry the mortal remains of their people. He also recalled an incident in the 1980s when dominant caste Christians broke a carrier they used and threatened them not to touch anything from the church..The Dalits have to hire a private van or vehicle for their use. Another village resident pointed out that their burial ground was almost full, and they needed more space, but no one was listening to them. Even the parish administration has failed to respond to their request for a hearse vehicle to be used by everyone..Vicar general (VG) of the Trichy diocese, L Anthuvan, told TNM that he was unsure if the carrier belonged to the church or the dominant caste Christians. He said everyone could use it if it belonged to the church. On the issue of burial grounds, Anthuvan said the land did not belong to the church, and they were trying to resolve the conflict between the two groups.The dominant caste Christians have been ‘gate-keeping’ not only the deceased but also the living. Though Dalit Christians pay a subscription amount to the church, no donations are taken from them for festivals. So ingrained is this prejudice that donations are collected from caste Hindus but not Dalit Christians.Josephraj (39), a resident-activist, said, “They don’t get donations from us who practise Christianity like them, but they get the money of Hindu people. How is this fair?” he asks.VG Anthuvan was careful to dissociate the church from this. Calling it a ‘one-time incident’ that occurred in 2022, he said, “It is the dominant caste Christians who conduct the festival every year and not the church. There will be no discrimination in any event conducted by the church. Once the court case is resolved, the church will take over the festivals.” He blamed the involvement of the police and district administration for the chaotic events of the past couple of years..Demand to be included in church councilOne of the main demands of the Ayyampatti Dalit Christians was to be included in the parish council. Finding no response from the church or the diocese, they escalated the issue to the district administration in February 2023. Collector Pradeep Kumar intervened and asked the church administration to form a church council as per the Canon law and with the representation of Dalit Christians.“A 40-member parish council and 12-member festival committee were formed in March 2023, with equal representation. This committee made arrangements for the church festival. The three-day festival was supposed to commence on July 21. We were all involved and were making arrangements when a group of Udayar Christians went to the police saying the festival had to be held in the ‘traditional way’ or else there would be a law and order issue. By that, they meant excluding Dalits,” Josephraj said. Udayar Christians filed a complaint at the Thuvakudi police station alleging that the festival was being conducted without a consensus. This complaint was forwarded to the district administration, who arranged a peace meeting headed by Thiruverumbur Tahsildar T Jayaprakash on July 20, 2023.It was in this meeting that the Tahsildar said that a person’s caste does not change till their death. A video clip of his statement showed him saying, “...You convert from Hinduism to Christianity to escape the caste system. You have Dalit Christians amongst you. There is such discrimination everywhere… Wherever you go, even if you die, caste will not go away. You can change your religion but not your caste.” When a person says they are Christians who fall under the BC category, the Tahsildar continues, “You can be Hindu Paraiyar or Christian Paraiyar. But the status of Paraiyar will not change at all. Religion can change but not caste.” Josephraj also said that the Tahsildar threatened to take legal action against him if he kept ‘talking back’..When TNM contacted the Tahsildar, he reiterated that caste does not change with religion. “I did not say anything wrong. No person’s caste changes with the religion. Suppose they want to reconvert to Hinduism, they will come back to their caste, won’t they?” he said. He denied any issue with the burial ground. “There are no caste-based issues in the village and there are no problems regarding the burial ground. The only problem is who will conduct the festival. Now, they have gone to the court, and it will decide on the matter,” he added..The peace meeting concluded with the decision to conduct the festival traditionally and form a new church council with equal representation from all communities. While the festival was not conducted this year as the issue was unresolved, the Udayar Christians did submit a fresh list of names for the council. “They have included Dalit Christians in the list, but they included people who don’t care about the religion, its formalities or about any of us. They have been added to the list just as namesake,” said Arockiadass. VG Anthuvan said the list has not been accepted yet by the bishop. “The church council which was initially appointed is still in place. This is just a list of names the Udayar Christians gave us. No decision has been taken yet,” he added..Become a subscriber today.A similar story in KottapalayamKottapalayam is a quaint little village around 75 kms away from Ayyampatti. The church in Kottapalayam also goes by the same name – St Mary Magdalene church, which comes under the Kumbakonam diocese. It has the historic significance of being established during the time of Veeramamunivar. According to the church authorities, a small chapel with a thatched roof existed in the 16th century. In the 17th century, construction for a small church was undertaken by St Francis Xavier, a Spanish Jesuit missionary who came to Goa in 1542 and later led the first Roman Catholic mission to south India. This church work was completed in the 18th century by Veeramamunivar. In 1913, this church, a new building was constructed..The Dalit Christians began their fight in 2014 for access to the common Christian burial ground and filed a petition at the Thuraiyur district Munsif court. Advocate and activist Doss Prakash said that the case regarding cemeteries dates back a decade. “The dominant caste Reddiar Christians went to court in 2004 saying that their burial ground was being used by people from other communities, especially Dalits. The court ruled that 20 cents of land should be given to Dalit Hindus and the remaining could be used by all Christians, including Dalits. While the caste Christians did give 20 cents to Hindu Dalits, they built a compound wall around the remaining land and blocked access to Dalit Christians,” he said.Even though the Dalit Christians filed the petition in 2014, a solution is yet to be found. A visit to Kottapalayam showed the nearly 8-cent burial ground of Dalit Christians at the outer edge of the village had a broken, hip-length compound wall and drainage along the wall and waste dumped along the side. On the other side, the burial ground used by the dominant castes is around 2 acres, with a fully built compound wall, gate and nameboard. “This is how the living and the deceased among us are treated. We are outcasts and pushed to the edges of this village,” said Nobili, an activist..The century-old St Sebastian church is predominantly used by Dalit Christians, who conduct its festivals and arrangements. This is unlike St Mary Magdalene Church, where dominant caste Christians handle the festivities. While the churchgoers participate in both festivals equally, the right to conduct the festivals has been divided among them..Sitting outside the church, 71-year-old Arockiasamy said, “Since our ancestors’ time, our investment has been in physical form as we had no money. The dominant caste groups had money and they conducted the festival, while we did the physical work. But now, we too have money and we want to spend it. This has affected their ego.” The dominant caste parishioners of Kottapalayam are now involved in a fight to maintain the status quo on caste hierarchy, as Dalit Christians have also attained significant levels of socio-economic mobility..Nobili said that Dalits are more educated and economically stable. “We are well-read and aware of how we are being treated. We spoke about this with our elders, who also realised that we were being mistreated. So, we started demanding our rights, which became a problem for them,” he said. He pointed out the contradiction that they shared cordial relationships with dominant caste people outside and inside the church.Another septuagenarian Kuzhanthai said they had been demanding equal participation in the festivals for 20 years. “They have to take our money and we also should be able to pull the festival car and carry the idols. We also should be able to bury our dead in a proper place. They [upper caste Christians] have 10 feet of space reserved for each of them, and we are out of space in our ground,” he explained. In Kottapalayam too, the pallbearers are different for the two groups..Fr Amirthasamy, vicar general of Kumbakonam diocese said that the diocese is holding peace talks and advising the dominant caste people to give graveyard access to Dalit Christians too. “Everyone comes to the church and prays with no difference among them. But during festivals, they [dominant caste people] don’t take the monetary contribution from Dalit Christians. It has been the practice for a very long time in many places. We want everyone's participation in the festival. We conduct peace talks and hold meetings, but they are not budging. As external church celebrations are done by the people, we have little control over it,” he added.Speaking to TNM, District Collector Pradeep Kumar said that the Tahsildar had submitted a report stating that no caste discrimination was found in the villages. The collector did not respond when asked if any action was taken against Tahsildar Jayaprakash. The story will be updated if and when he responds.TNM contacted District Collector Pradeep Kumar to know about action taken in this regard, as well as against Tahsildar Jeyaprakash. The story will be updated as and when he responds..The larger problem inside the churchMary John, president of the Dalit Christian Liberation Movement (DCLM), points out that caste discrimination inside the church is also reflected in the appointment of priests, bishops and archbishops. “Untouchability and caste discrimination are very much present among Christians. Earlier, seats inside the church would be segregated during prayers, but now that has been discontinued in a majority of places. Today, we can see this discrimination during church festivals and cemeteries. Apart from this, there are also structural forms of discrimination. There are very few Dalit bishops and priests in Catholic churches. Up until the 1990s, Dalits were not allowed to enter the seminaries. After consistent protests by DCLM and other activists, things started changing. Now, of the 18 bishops in Tamil Nadu, we have one Dalit bishop and there is no Dalit archbishop,” he said..Become a subscriber today.“Until 1990, there was not even a single Dalit bishop. Between 1990 and 2005, four Dalit bishops and one archbishop were appointed. After 2005, there were no appointments. This is such a pathetic situation, where there is no space for the empowerment of Dalits. There can be change only if Dalits are appointed to such powerful positions. This is a deliberate attempt by those in higher positions in the church, who belong to upper caste groups,” he added.Activist and lawyer Franklin Caesar Thomas, is one of the petitioners at the Supreme Court seeking an amendment to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, to include Christians and Muslims in it. He argues that a change in a person’s religion does not change social exclusion and that caste hierarchy continues to hold fort within Christianity even though the religion forbids it. “Christians, as well as Muslims of Scheduled Caste origin are being discriminated against among the Indian Christians and Muslims, by people from the dominant castes and from other religions, as well as the State.This special provision is being denied to these people by saying that Christianity and Islam are egalitarian religions and do not recognise caste discrimination,” he said..“Dalit Christians and Muslims are being treated as untouchables and face the wrath of the caste system, which includes segregation in housing, schools and even in cremation grounds. Indeed, the religious dogma does not perpetuate caste in any way, but the people do hold onto caste as it is inherited and dehumanises Dalit Christians and Muslims,” he added. In addition to being ostracised, they are also denied the affirmative actions given by the government, including reservation and legal protections under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (SC/ST (PoA) Act), 1989, he said.Franklin explained that in 14 states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, Dalit Christians are included in the BC/OBC or Most Backward Class (MBC) list, and they are in the General category in other states. “This is because of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, which excludes Dalit Christians and Muslims from the SC list. This also excludes them from claiming any benefits given to them,” he said.The initial order that was passed in 1950 excluded all Dalits except Hindus. Later it was amended twice - in 1956 to include Dalit Sikhs and in 1990 to include Dalit Buddhists. “But Muslims and Christians were excluded stating that they followed ‘egalitarian’ religions. But the ground reality is far from the truth. Despite the Constitution guaranteeing them equality, freedom of faith and protection against discrimination, they are denied reservation and other legal remedies,” Franklin said..History of SC/ST (PoA) ActThe Indian Constitution guarantees the right to equality to all its citizens in Articles 14 to 17. Article 17 states, “Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden.” Accordingly, the Untouchability (Offences) Act (UOA), 1955 was passed in 1955. Subsequently, in 1976, it was amended and renamed into the Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, 1955. The Act provided punishment for the practice of untouchability and also made it incumbent upon Union and state governments to ensure effective implementation of the Act. However, it failed to address several nuances in caste-crimes nor address the root of the issue. This led to the formation of The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, which gave clear definitions for 47 crimes as of now, including manual scavenging, dumping excreta or obnoxious matter in the premises of Dalits, and obstructing them from using public areas and properties; along with specific punitive action for each crime.Advocate Franklin said that while the PCR Act is used to fight for the rights of Dalit Christians, what they need is to be covered under the SC/ST (PoA) Act. He said, “The SC/ST (PoA) Act has much more powerful punishments and remedial measures for the victims of certain crimes. Also, the perpetrators cannot easily escape after attacking Dalits.”For instance, in the above-mentioned cases of dominant caste Christians preventing Dalit Christians from using their burial ground, the punitive actions under the two acts are different in magnitude. Under the SC/ST (PoA) Act, if a person belonging to SC/ST communities is obstructed from using common property resources of an area or burial or cremation ground equally with others, the perpetrators will be punished with imprisonment for a term between six months and five years, along with a fine. The government, in addition to restoring that right, should ensure that the victim is paid Rs 1 lakh as a relief amount. The PCR Act also specifies the same as a crime, but with a punishment of imprisonment between one month and not more than six months, along with a fine between Rs 100 and Rs 500. “The discrimination against Dalits is the same across religions and states. But, the government and the legal system are also discriminatory towards Dalit Christians and Muslims. We hope the apex court does justice to these people,” said Franklin..Become a subscriber today

Catholic fraternities ruptured in this TN village when Dalits asked for equality

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