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Thousands of India's Dalits, upset over India's Hindu caste system and
recent anti-conversion laws, are pledging to convert to Christianity in December.
The Dalits are angered that their humanity is being denied, and to escape from the
clutches of the Hindu caste system tens of thousands of them are pledging to embrace
Christianity on December 6th, the anniversary of the death of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.
A Dalit himself, Dr. Ambedkar earned doctor's degrees at Columbia University and London
School of Economics and was chiefly responsible for the drafting of India's constitution.
He is much beloved by the Dalits as a human rights advocate who fought for their
emancipation in the first half of the 20th century. He left Hinduism and embraced Buddhism
two months before he died in 1956.
Dr. Joseph D'souza, president of the All India Christian Council, told Christian Aid that
this conversion event will be unlike the one a year ago. Whereas last year most of the
Dalits who left Hinduism switched to Buddhism, this time their first profession of choice
is Christianity, although some of them will switch to other religions. D'souza said the
member churches of the AICC "will always keep the doors open to the Dalits--no matter
what the price."
The mass conversion will be a public ceremony. Thousands of Christian pastors and leaders
plan to be on hand to witness the conversion, as also will be members of the media,
political leaders and international observers.
The proposed mass conversion is a reaction to the anti-conversion laws now in effect in
four states, including Tamil Nadu's ordinance that went into effect on October 31. Tamil
Nadu's chief minister, Miss J. Jayalalitha, has done her best to cultivate the patronage
of the right-wing Hindu political and social elements, and her execution of the
anti-conversion ordinance brought a new wave of persecution against Dalit Christians.
In the state of Haryana five Dalit youths were skinning a dead cow on October 15, which
they had legal license to do; it is the trade of their caste. Suddenly they were attacked
by a mob of several thousand people and lynched while the police reportedly stood by and
supported the killings. While the AICC and many human rights groups condemned the barbaric
killings, Mr. Giriraj Kishore, leader of the VHP (World Hindu Council), reportedly
celebrated the killings by saying that the cow was more valuable than a human being (i.e.
Dalit).
The Dalits in Haryana protested publicly and announced that they were revolting from the
Hindu socio-religious system and would embrace other faiths on Sunday, October 27. On that
date 500 leaders of various Dalit groups gathered at Gurgaon, Haryana. Some embraced
Christianity, some Buddhism, and some Islam.
One couple, both bank officers, was publicly welcomed into the Christian faith as
representing others in the area who wanted to embrace Christianity. When questioned by the
media, one of them replied, "I do not want to be treated less than an animal any
more. I am sick of the caste system. I have read about Jesus Christ and know that He
offers equality, dignity and salvation. I want to follow Him as my Lord."
"The anti-conversion ordinance...is anti-Dalit, anti-Christian and
anti-minority," said Dr. D'souza. "Its agenda is to carry forward the extremist
Hindu agendas of the BJP government and extremist Hindu groups who want to create a Hindu
India and impose Brahminism on all its citizens." The BJP is the current political
party in power.
Christian Aid assists 130 indigenous ministries in India. All of them are reaching out to
the Dalits, and some of them have major programs in place to disciple and train Dalit
leaders. Contributions to help supply literature and training for the new wave of Dalit
converts are welcome. For more information, consult our website www.christianaid.org or write insider@christianaid.org and put MI-344 640-OFU
on the subject line.
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