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Revision as of 22:15, 11 February 2008 by Rudrasharman (talk | contribs) (move orphan para to lead, as good a place as any)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Caste system among Indian Christians is attributed to the assimilation of local Hindu practices, which has caused caste distinctions to be retained after conversion. For instance, the Syrian Nasrani Christians in South India retain their middle caste status in society. Christian groups have adapted the Indian caste system in diverse ways across the subcontinent, often reflecting their own stratification by sect, location, and the castes of their predecessors.
About 60-80% of Indian Christians are members of the Dalits or backward classes. Social practices among Christians parallel much of the discrimination faced by lower castes in other religious communities are present, as well as having features unique to this community. Caste distinctions among Indian Christians are breaking down at about the same rate as those among Indians belonging to other religions. In some cases, social inertia cause old traditions and biases against other castes to remain, causing caste segregation among Indian Christians.
Christian castes by region
Goa
In the Indian state of Goa, mass conversions were carried out by Portuguese 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 Goan Inquisition, did not do anything to change the caste system. Thus, the original Hindu Brahmins in Goa now became Christian "Bamonn's", and the Kshatriya became Christian noblemen called "Chatim" or "Chardos".The Christian clergy became almost exclusively Bamonn .Vaishya's who converted to Christianity became "Gauddo's", and Shudras became "Sudir's". Finally, the Dalits or "Untouchables" who converted to Christianity became "Maharas" and "Chambars" (an apellation 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
Several ethnic groups who did not convert to Christianity and remained Hindus (such as Marathas) were incorporated into the Christian caste of "Chaddho".
Kerala
Syrian Christians derive their high caste status from the tradition that they are converted Namboodiris, who were evangelized by St. Thomas
Syrian Christians tend to be endogamous, and tend not to intermarry with other Christian castes. Also, very rarely are there intermarriages between Latin Rite Christians and New Christians (converted in the 16th and 19th centuries) in Kerala. 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 jatis. Also, the caste status is kept even if the sect allegiance is switched (i.e. from Syrian Catholic to Syrian Orthodox).
Tamil Nadu
The cohesion of jatis among low caste Christians (eg. Paravas) and the strength of caste leadership are noted by scholars to be much stronger than comparable predominantly Hindu castes in the region.
Andhra Pradesh
Among Catholic Reddys in Andhra Pradesh, Christians prefer marrying Hindu members of their jati, to marrying low caste Christians.
Caste Discrimination among Indian Christians
Caste discrimination is strongest among Christians in South India and is weak or even nonexistent among urban Protestant congregations in North India. This is due to the fact that in South India, whole castes converted en masse to the religion, leaving members of different castes to compete in ways parallel to Hindus of the Indian caste system.
Catholic churches in India are largely controlled by upper caste Priests and nuns. Low-caste Dalits are discriminated against by the higher castes. Presently in India, more than 70% of Catholics are Dalits, but the higher caste Catholics (30% by estimates) control 90% of the Catholic churches administrative jobs . Out of the 156 catholic bishops, only 6 are from lower castes.
There are separate seats, separate communion cups, burial grounds, and churches for members of the lower castes, especially in the Roman Catholic Church.. In addition, Dalit boys are not allowed to be altar boys or lectors and there are even separate burial grounds for Christians of different castes. As a consequence of general societal discrimination, Dalits including Dalit Christians in the South tend to be poor and undernourished, with poverty rate estimates among poor Dalits running as high as 80 percent. According to the Catholic liberation organization the "Poor Christian Liberation Organisation", they are neglected by Christian missionary and convent schools, and they allege that these institutions solely cater to the upper castes. Very few Dalit Christians are involved in Catholic administrative services, except for the few who reconverted back to Hinduism. There exists evidence to show that Christian individuals have mobility within their respective castes.
Criticism
Many Dalit Catholics have spoken out against discrimination against them by 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.. Pope John Paul II also criticized the caste discrimination in the Roman Catholic Church of India when addressing the bishops of: Madras, Mylapore, Madurai, Cuddalore, and Puducherry 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".
Under the law
Indian law does not provide benefits for "Dalit Christians", however Christians have been agitating for the same rights given to Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh Scheduled castes. 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
Some Christians also oppose the proposed labeling of "Christian Scheduled castes" because they feel their identity may be assimilated. Pastor Salim Sharif of the Church of North India notes "We are becoming another class and caste"
See also
Notes
- ^ Christian Castes Encyclopædia Britannica
- Azariah 1985:5
- Christian caste, Encyclopædia Britannica
- Upper caste Catholics demand special rights, threaten to reconvert Indian Express - November 24, 1999
- Caste Structure (in Goa). webindia123.com
- Fuller, C.J.Indian Christians: Pollution and Origins.Man, New Series, Vol. 12, No. 3/4. (Dec., 1977), pp. 528-529.
- Rao Babadur L. K. Anantakrishna Ayyar, Anthropology of the Syrian Christians. Cochin Government Press. 1926
- ^ Kerala Christians and the Caste System C. J. Fuller Man, New Series, Vol. 11, No. 1. (Mar., 1976), pp. 53-70.
- 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)
- Anthropometric variation among the reddis of Southern Andhra Pradesh, India - V Mani. Reddy 1987
- Michael 1999:17
- Still untouchable: the politics of religious conversion Christian Century - June 19, 2002
- ^ Webster, John. 1994. The Christian Dalits: A History. Delhi: Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK).
- CAST IDENTITY WITHIN THE CHURCH TWICE ALIENATION - Dalit Christians
- Problems and Struggles Dalitchristians.com
- Koshy 1968
- Manickam 1988:173
- Henderson 2002:40
- Dalit Christians demand equality Times of India - November 14, 2004
- discrimination against Dalits by Christians indianhope.free.fr
- A palmyra leaf that sears us The Hindu - September 16, 2001
- Papal Address to Bishops of Madras-Mylapore, Madurai and Pondicherry-Cuddalore ZENIT - November 17, 2003
- Do Christians also practise caste system, asks SC Times of India - July 20, 2007
- Sharif interview 17 November 1996
References
- Azariah M. The Un-Christian Side of the Indian Church. Alit Sahitya Academy, 1985.
- Kenneth, Ballhatchet (1998). Caste, Class and Catholicism in India, 1789-1914. Routledge. ISBN 0700710957. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
- 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.
- Michael, S.M.Untouchable: Dalits in Modern India. Lynne Riener Publishers, 1999. ISBN 1555876978
- Webster, John. The Christian Dalits: A History. Delhi: Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK), 1994.