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| There is no caste system practiced among christians in India.Majority of christian or almost all of the christians in india belong to mixture of all castes, from lower to upper.No christian in india is born an upper caste or a lower caste,instead they are all born the children of one true God,Lord Jesus Christ,the Saviour of mankind.Social discrimination is battled by christian priests and nuns in india,an example is Rev.sister.Rani Maria who was martyred by the upper castes of indorehttp://www.srranimaria.com/ for educating and creating awareness of self identity,self esteem,socialism and skill development,which resulted in emanicipation of dalits in indore. | |||
| The '''Caste system among Indian Christians''' often reflect stratification by sect, location, and the ] of their predecessors.<ref name="britannica"> Encyclopædia Britannica</ref> Social practices among certain Indian Christians parallel much of the discrimination faced by lower castes in other ], as well as having features unique to this community. | |||
| Christian community do strive for social equality and social justice and secular principles.Persecution of christian social activists in Orissa is a good example for the ill treatments recieved by christians and christian dalits http://christianpersecution.in/node/2748 for participating in social reformation and unity and emanicipation of poor dalits in india. | |||
| Caste distinctions among Indian Christians are breaking down at about the same rate as those among Indians belonging to other religions. There exists evidence to show that Christian individuals have mobility within their respective castes.<ref name="fuller">''Kerala Christians and the Caste System'' C. J. Fuller ''Man'', New Series, Vol. 11, No. 1. (Mar., 1976), pp. 53–70.</ref> But, in some cases, social inertia cause old traditions and biases against other castes to remain, causing caste segregation to persist among Indian Christians.<ref name="britannica2">, ]</ref> About 70–80 per cent of ] are ], members of the ] or backward classes.<ref> Brojendra Nath Banerjee, Uiliyāma Kerī Sṭāḍi eyāṇḍ Risārca Seṇṭāra. Page 42: "At stake is the fate of 16 million Christians of SC origin, who form 70–80 percent of the Christians in the country"</ref><ref>Carol Henderson Garcia, Carol E. Henderson 2002:40 "Today about 70 percent of Christians are Dalits"</ref><ref>Radhakrishnan 2005:23</ref><ref>Azariah 1985:5</ref> | |||
| ==Christian castes by region== | |||
| ===Kerala=== | |||
| Christians in ] are divided into several communities, including ] and ]. Syrian Christians in Kerala consists of the members of ], ], ], ] and ]. Syrian Christians maintain their traditional Syrian rites and practices. They derive status within the caste system from the tradition that they are converted high caste Hindus such as ]s, ] and ] (]) who were ] by ].<ref>Fuller, C.J.<u>Indian Christians: Pollution and Origins.</u>Man, New Series, Vol. 12, No. 3/4. (Dec., 1977), pp. 528–529.</ref> In the pre-independence period, ] was prevalent in the Kerala society and the Syrian Christians also practiced it in order to keep their upper-caste status. They used to go for a ritual bath to purify themselves on physical contact with the so-called inferior castes.<ref>Centre for Studies in Civilizations (Delhi, India) - A Historical-Developmental Study of Classical Indian Philosophy of Morals, Concept Publishing Company, 2009, ISBN 81-8069-595-6, p.484 </ref><ref>The Asiatic journal and monthly register for British and foreign India, China and Australasia, Volume 13, the Bavarian State Library, p.237</ref><ref>Journal of Kerala studies, Volume 2 - University of Kerala., 1975, p.25</ref> The Syrian Christians did not cooperate with the evangelical activities of foreign missionaries and they even didn't allow the new converts to join their community since they were afraid that their noble position in the society could have been endangered.<ref>Harold Coward - Hindu-Christian dialogue: perspectives and encounters, , pp. 15-19. Motilal Banarsidass Pub, 1993. ISBN 81-208-1158-5</ref> | |||
| Writers ] and ] have written personal accounts of the caste system at work in their community.<ref name="The Caste System">{{Cite web|url=http://www.hvk.org/articles/0606/16.html |title= Racing on the fast track |publisher=Hindustan Times}}</ref><ref>Fuller, C.J.<u>Indian Christians: Pollution and Origins.</u>Man, New Series, Vol. 12, No. 3/4. (Dec., 1977), pp. 528–529.</ref> Syrian Christians tend to be endogamous, and tend not to ] with other Christian castes.<ref>Rao Babadur L. K. Anantakrishna Ayyar, Anthropology of the Syrian Christians. Cochin Government Press. 1926</ref> | |||
| The Latin Rite Christians were among the scheduled castes in the coastal belt of Kerala, where fishing was the primary occupation. They were actively converted by missionaries in the 16th and 19th centuries. These missionary activities were carried out by Western Latin Rite missionaries who did not understand the significance of the caste system in India. The government of India later granted this group OBC status. | |||
| Anthropologists have noted that the caste hierarchy among Christians in Kerala is much more polarized than the Hindu practices in the surrounding areas, due to a lack of ]s. Also, the caste status is kept even if the ] allegiance is switched (i.e. from ] to Syrian Orthodox).<ref name="fuller"><u>Kerala Christians and the Caste System</u> C. J. Fuller Man, New Series, Vol. 11, No. 1. (Mar., 1976), pp. 53–70.</ref> | |||
| ===Goa=== | |||
| In the Indian state of ], mass conversions were carried out by Portuguese Latin missionaries from the 16th century onwards. The Hindu converts retained their caste practices. The continued maintenance of the caste system among the Christians in Goa is attributed to the nature of mass conversions of entire villages, as a result of which existing social stratification was not affected. The Portuguese colonists, even during the ], did not do anything to change the caste system. Thus, the original Hindu ] in Goa now became Christian ] and the ] and ]s became Christian noblemen called ] . The Christian clergy became almost exclusively ''Bamonn''. Those Vaishya Vanis who could not get admitted into the ''Chardo'' caste became ''Gauddos'', and ]s became ''Sudirs''. Finally, the ]s or "Untouchables" who converted to Christianity became ''Maharas'' and ''Chamars'' (an appellation of the anti-Dalit ethnic slur ''Chamaar''). The upper caste Gaonkar Christians have demanded that only their community be given positions on the Pastoral Council of Goa's Catholic Church.<ref> Indian Express – November 24, 1999</ref> | |||
| ===Tamil Nadu=== | |||
| The cohesion of '']s'' among caste ]s (e.g. ]) and the strength of caste leadership are noted by scholars to be much stronger than comparable predominantly ] castes in ].<ref name="kau">Kauffman, S. B.. "A Christian Caste in Hindu Society: Religious Leadership and Social Conflict among the Paravas of Southern Tamilnadu." ''Modern Asian Studies''. 15, No. 2, (1981)</ref> However, discrimination still persists. Lourdunathan Yesumariyan, Jesuit activist notes that "over 70 per cent of Catholics are Dalit converts. But only four out of 18 bishops are from the Dalit-Christian community." <ref name="bbcsept"> BBC News – 13 September 2010</ref> In Tamil Nadu, Christian dalits also complain of discrimination by the Telugu speaking Reddiar minority<ref> ] – March 14, 2011</ref> | |||
| ===Andhra Pradesh=== | |||
| 60–70 per cent ] are ]s and ]s in ]; the remaining are Protestants from various castes.<ref>Anthropometric variation among the reddis of Southern Andhra Pradesh, India – B.Rakesh Babu 1984</ref> | |||
| ==Under the law== | |||
| Indian law does not provide benefits for "Dalit Christians", however Christians have been agitating for the same rights given to ], ], and ] ]. Despite the activists point of discrimination due to social tag or status, which doesn't go away, Justice K. G. Balakrishnan asked: | |||
| "Could the Christians admit that they practise caste system and that Dalits (among them) face social discrimination requiring reservation to uplift their cause? This is not all that easy."<ref> ] – July 20, 2007</ref> | |||
| Some Christians also oppose the proposed labeling of "] ]s" because they feel their identity may be assimilated. Pastor Salim Sharif of the ] notes "We are becoming another class and caste."<ref>Sharif interview 17 November 1996</ref> | |||
| ==Caste discrimination among Indian Christians== | |||
| ===Incidence=== | |||
| Caste discrimination is strongest among Christians in ] and weaker among ] ] ] in ]. This is due to the fact that in ], whole ]s converted ''en masse'' to the religion, leaving members of different castes to compete in ways parallel to Hindus of the ].<ref>Michael 1999:17</ref> | |||
| There are separate seats, separate ]s, burial grounds, and churches for members of the lower castes,<ref>Manickam 1988:173</ref><ref name="web">Webster, John. 1994. ''The Christian Dalits: A History''. Delhi: Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK).</ref> especially in the ].<ref>{{Page needed|date=September 2010}} Koshy 1968</ref> Catholic churches in India are largely controlled by upper caste Priests and nuns.<ref> Christian Century – June 19, 2002</ref> Presently in India, more than 70 per cent of ]s are ], but the higher ] ]s (30% by estimates) control 90 per cent of the ] churches administrative jobs.<ref> – Dalit Christians</ref> Out of the 156 ] bishops, only 6 are from lower ].<ref name="britannica" /><ref> Dalitchristians.com</ref> | |||
| ===Criticism=== | |||
| Many Dalit Catholics have spoken out against discrimination against them by members of the Catholic Church. A famous Dalit activist with a ''nom-de-plume'' of Bama Faustina has written books that are critical of the discrimination by the nuns and priests in Churches in South India.<ref> ] – September 16, 2001</ref> ] also criticized the caste discrimination in the ] when addressing the bishops of ], ], ], ], and ] in late 2003. He went on to say: "It is the Church's obligation to work unceasingly to change hearts, helping all people to see every human being as a child of God, a brother or sister of Christ, and therefore a member of our own family".<ref> ZENIT – November 17, 2003</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| {{Reflist|2}} | |||
| ==References== | |||
| *Azariah M. ''The Un-Christian Side of the Indian Church''. Alit Sahitya Academy, 1985. | |||
| * {{Cite book | |||
| | last = Kenneth | |||
| | first = Ballhatchet | |||
| | title = Caste, Class and Catholicism in India, 1789–1914 | |||
| | url = http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0700710957&printsec=frontcover | |||
| | accessdate = 2007-04-24 | |||
| | year = 1998 | |||
| | publisher = Routledge | |||
| | isbn = 0-7007-1095-7 | |||
| }} | |||
| *''Kerala Christians and the Caste System'' C. J. Fuller ''Man'', New Series, Vol. 11, No. 1. (Mar., 1976), pp. 53–70. | |||
| *Fuller, C.J.''Indian Christians: Pollution and Origins.'' ''Man'', New Series, Vol. 12, No. 3/4. (Dec., 1977) | |||
| *Henderson, Carol. ''Culture and Customs of India''. Greenwood Press, 2002. | |||
| *Koshy, Ninan. ''Caste in the Kerala Churches''. Bangalore: Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, 1968. | |||
| *Manickam, Sundararaj. ''Studies in Missionary History: Reflections on a Culture-contact''. Christian Literature Society, 1988. | |||
| *Radhakrishnan, P.<u> Perfidies of Power: India in the New Millennium</u>. TR Publications, 2005. | |||
| *Michael, S.M.''Untouchable: Dalits in Modern India''. Lynne Riener Publishers, 1999. ISBN 1-55587-697-8 | |||
| *Webster, John. ''The Christian Dalits: A History''. Delhi: Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK), 1994. | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Caste System Among Indian Christians}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 20:49, 5 August 2012
There is no caste system practiced among christians in India.Majority of christian or almost all of the christians in india belong to mixture of all castes, from lower to upper.No christian in india is born an upper caste or a lower caste,instead they are all born the children of one true God,Lord Jesus Christ,the Saviour of mankind.Social discrimination is battled by christian priests and nuns in india,an example is Rev.sister.Rani Maria who was martyred by the upper castes of indorehttp://www.srranimaria.com/ for educating and creating awareness of self identity,self esteem,socialism and skill development,which resulted in emanicipation of dalits in indore.
Christian community do strive for social equality and social justice and secular principles.Persecution of christian social activists in Orissa is a good example for the ill treatments recieved by christians and christian dalits http://christianpersecution.in/node/2748 for participating in social reformation and unity and emanicipation of poor dalits in india.