Dalit Christians to observe black day

August 9, 2012: An organization working for equal justice has called for observing Friday as a black day to protest denial of statutory benefits to dalit Christians and Muslims. Catholic Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi and general secretary of the Protestant Church of North India Alwan Masih would lead the protest march at Sacred Heart Cathedral Church in New Delhi.

The National Coordination Committee for Dalit Christians is organizing the protest. This is a follow up of a protest march organized on August 1 where some 3,000 Christians and Muslims took part to press for reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for Dalit Christians and Muslims. They also submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi in this regard. The delegation also met cabinet ministers.

For more than six decades, Christian and Muslim groups have demanded statutory benefits for their dalit brethren. A Sanskrit word, dalit literally means “trampled upon.” The Indian Constitution allows quotas in educational institutions and government jobs for dalit members of castes once considered “untouchable,” to help them advance socially and economically. However, Christians and Muslims are excluded from these benefits on the ground that their religions reject casteism.