Catholic Clergy Join 10,000 in Demonstrating for Dalit Rights in India

(July 29, 2011) A rally by Christians and Muslims demanding equal rights for their dalit members blocked traffic in the main streets of the capital New Delhi for several hours on Thursday. More than 10,000 people, including a Catholic cardinal, bishops, priests and religious men and women from across India braved intense heat to march more than three miles from a park to the Indian parliament. The march capped a four-day protest that began July 25 with a fast organized by the National Coordination Committee for Dalit Christians, a joint program of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and the National Council of Churches in India. The term Dalit denotes people formerly known as untouchables in India's multi-tiered caste system. In 1950, the government made Hindu dalits eligible for free education and quotas in government jobs to improve their social status. The statutory benefits were extended to Sikh dalits in 1956 and to Buddhist dalits in 1990. However, the benefits continue to be denied to Christian dalits, who account for two-thirds of the 27 million Christians in India. Repeated protests have not swayed the Indian government. The same benefits are denied to Muslim dalits. Cardinal Oswald Gracias was among the clergy who joined the rally. He has urged the government to grant full rights, called scheduled caste status to dalit Christians and Muslims. The prelate said excluding dalits from receiving the same benefits as people of other religions is "blatant discrimination" and in violation of the Indian constitution, which guarantees equality.