ICC Note: The Christian Church in India continues to recognize August 10as a day of protest against the discrimination that Dalits face in the country. It was on August 10, 1950, that the laws that discriminate against Dalit Christians and Muslims were adopted in India. The Church continues to plead for the equal and just treatment that they are guaranteed by the country’s constitution. The Dalit Christians face discrimination in various forms without protection since they are not one of the Scheduled Castes. The government in India has yet to put an end to this discrimination of Dalit Christians.

08/10/2016, India (AsiaNews.it) – Rules discriminating against Christian and Muslims were adopted on 10 August 1950. The Bishops’ Conference called on all Catholics to take part in demonstrations, candle vigils and hunger strikes to protest. For Card Gracias, the Christian community “does not require special favours; it wants justice and equality”.

The Christian community “does not require any special favours; it wants justice, equality and minority protection, guaranteed by the Constitution of the country. Like other Dalits, Christian Dalits face discrimination, and are not protected from violence since they do not fall within the official category of Scheduled Castes,” said Card Oswald Gracias, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CCBI), on the occasion of ‘Black Day’, a day of protests held every year on 10 August to highlight the discrimination against Christian Dalits.

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