Indian Catholic - New Delhi,IndiaHYDERABAD, India (UCAN) -- Christian leaders in Andhra Pradesh state plan to take trainloads of demonstrators to the national capital to demand equal rights for Christian dalit. "We have come to a stage of now or never. Hence, the need of showing our strength," explained Father Anthoniraj Thumma, secretary of Andhra Pradesh Federation of Churches (APFC), an ecumenical forum.
The priest was one of about 50 Christian leaders who gathered on May 29 in Hyderabad, the state capital, 1,500 kilometers south of New Delhi, to make arrangements for the protest.
They plan to bring at least 10,000 people in four or five trainloads to New Delhi to demonstrate in July. Travel expenses for each 25-coach train are estimated at 2.5 million rupees (about US$58,500).
The Christian leaders say July is the "right time," because parliament meets then for its monsoon session. They plan to gather at the Jantar Mantar lawns, a popular government-owned venue for public demonstrations and strikes near Parliament House. The lawns draw hundreds of activists and others year-round from throughout the country.
The Church in India has fought for statutory benefits for dalit Christians for the past six decades. Dalit, a collective term, designates people at the bottom of India's caste system, once called "untouchables."
The constitution grants special provisions to help dalit advance economically and socially. The benefits include government job quotas, free education and seat quotas in the federal and state legislatures.
Initially, lawmakers implemented the benefits only for Hindu dalit, but the government amended the constitution twice to extend them to Sikhs and Buddhists. Christians and Muslims are still excluded under the pretext that their religions do not recognize caste. An estimated 60 percent of India's 25 million Christians are from low-caste backgrounds.
In 2004, the federal government created the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities to study the socioeconomic situation of Christian and Muslim dalit. It recommended reserving 10 percent of government jobs for Muslim dalit and 5 percent for the other dalit, including Christians, who are not Hindus. The government has not implemented that recommendation.
APFC executive secretary B. Danam said the national commission and Supreme Court favor the Christian demand. "Decks are cleared for the government to introduce the bill. Since the government is still dilly-dallying, there is need to put political pressure," he urged.
The meeting asked participants to meet all 42 members of parliament from Andhra Pradesh and explain to them the reasons for granting the Christian demand. It also called on the Indian Catholic bishop's commission that deals with dalit and tribal affairs to raise about 20 million rupees (about US$470,000) for the protest program.
J.D. Seelam, a Christian parliamentarian, told the meeting all political parties except the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian people's party) have given written support for the dalit Christian cause. Harsh Kumar, another Christian parliamentarian, added that the federal government appears to view the matter favorably, so this is the right time to apply pressure.
Father Thumma said his federation has taken the initiative to get a letter of recommendation from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and to Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, which rules the federal government.
APFC president Reverend B.P. Sugandhar, highest official of the Church of South India as its moderator, told the gathering they are fighting for "a just cause and not begging for any favor from the government."
Most Catholics in Andhra Pradesh, a state with 76 million people, are of dalit origin. Church people estimate more than 80 percent of the state's 1.81 million Christians come from socially and economically disadvantaged groups.
The priest was one of about 50 Christian leaders who gathered on May 29 in Hyderabad, the state capital, 1,500 kilometers south of New Delhi, to make arrangements for the protest.
They plan to bring at least 10,000 people in four or five trainloads to New Delhi to demonstrate in July. Travel expenses for each 25-coach train are estimated at 2.5 million rupees (about US$58,500).
The Christian leaders say July is the "right time," because parliament meets then for its monsoon session. They plan to gather at the Jantar Mantar lawns, a popular government-owned venue for public demonstrations and strikes near Parliament House. The lawns draw hundreds of activists and others year-round from throughout the country.
The Church in India has fought for statutory benefits for dalit Christians for the past six decades. Dalit, a collective term, designates people at the bottom of India's caste system, once called "untouchables."
The constitution grants special provisions to help dalit advance economically and socially. The benefits include government job quotas, free education and seat quotas in the federal and state legislatures.
Initially, lawmakers implemented the benefits only for Hindu dalit, but the government amended the constitution twice to extend them to Sikhs and Buddhists. Christians and Muslims are still excluded under the pretext that their religions do not recognize caste. An estimated 60 percent of India's 25 million Christians are from low-caste backgrounds.
In 2004, the federal government created the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities to study the socioeconomic situation of Christian and Muslim dalit. It recommended reserving 10 percent of government jobs for Muslim dalit and 5 percent for the other dalit, including Christians, who are not Hindus. The government has not implemented that recommendation.
APFC executive secretary B. Danam said the national commission and Supreme Court favor the Christian demand. "Decks are cleared for the government to introduce the bill. Since the government is still dilly-dallying, there is need to put political pressure," he urged.
The meeting asked participants to meet all 42 members of parliament from Andhra Pradesh and explain to them the reasons for granting the Christian demand. It also called on the Indian Catholic bishop's commission that deals with dalit and tribal affairs to raise about 20 million rupees (about US$470,000) for the protest program.
J.D. Seelam, a Christian parliamentarian, told the meeting all political parties except the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian people's party) have given written support for the dalit Christian cause. Harsh Kumar, another Christian parliamentarian, added that the federal government appears to view the matter favorably, so this is the right time to apply pressure.
Father Thumma said his federation has taken the initiative to get a letter of recommendation from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and to Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, which rules the federal government.
APFC president Reverend B.P. Sugandhar, highest official of the Church of South India as its moderator, told the gathering they are fighting for "a just cause and not begging for any favor from the government."
Most Catholics in Andhra Pradesh, a state with 76 million people, are of dalit origin. Church people estimate more than 80 percent of the state's 1.81 million Christians come from socially and economically disadvantaged groups.
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