Poor Indian Christians ‘tangled in red tape’

(Sept.08,2010) In India, a Church leader has urged the government to help more poor Christians benefit from state welfare schemes by simplifying bureaucratic regulations. Bishop Thomas Dabre of Poona, Maharashtra State, said “cumbersome procedures and time-consuming paper work, have prevented many poor Christians from utilizing federal and state government schemes, ranging from loans for education to income generating programs”.
Bishop Dabre spoke at a program organized last week by the Christian Legal Association in Pune. The program was titled “Empowering the Poor Christians.” Bishop Dabre noted that the federal government has a series of education and employment programs for religious minorities, such as Muslims and Christians.The Church wants dalit Christians, former “untouchables” in the caste system, who converted to Christianity, to be given their quotas of places in schools and government jobs, on par with their Hindu counterparts, he said. “We will approach the Maharashtra state government to simplify procedures,” he added.
Vijayan Bhaskaran, the president of Christian Legal Association, said some people, who became Christians, could not benefit from the schemes because they could not produce certificates proving their religion before conversion. “We will now urge the government to accept letters of recommendation from the bishop” so that poor Christians can utilize government loans, as well as grants, he said and added that his association is planning a rally on Oct. 1, to stress Christians’ demands.