ICC Note:
Christian leaders in India have denounced police attempts to disburse a peaceful demonstration led by Christians and Muslims demanding equal rights for Christian and Muslim Dalits. Police reportedly sprayed the demonstrators with muddy water and beat those that were not driven away by the fire hoses. Over 400 demonstrators were arrested including bishops, nuns and leaders from other religious groups. Although India’s government has openly apologized for the mishandling of the demonstrations, Christian and Muslim Dalits continue to be denied equality.
12/17/2013 India (Christian Today) – Police used water cannons and canes against peaceful protestors who were demanding equal rights denied to Christian and Muslim Dalits for decades in India.
The demonstrators were marching to the Indian Parliament in New Delhi on 11 December shouting “We want justice” when police launched their assault. They charged at and beat protestors, who were undeterred by the aggression.
Christians knelt on the road holding crosses as police used water cannons to spray them with muddy water. When the demonstrators still refused to move, the police arrested more than 400 of them, including several Christian leaders.
The Archbishop of Delhi, Anil J T Couto, denounced the “brutal” police action. He said: “We were demanding rights for Dalit Christians and Muslims denied to them for the last 63 years. During a peaceful march to Parliament the police beat participants… Some were wounded.”
Christian leaders lodged a complaint against the Delhi police over the way Christian women were beaten and manhandled by male officers.
Christian and Muslim Dalits have long been campaigning for equal recognition with their Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh counterparts.
Dalit, which means “trampled upon”, refers to those who are treated as “untouchables” in India, where the Hindu caste system dictates each person’s place in the social hierarchy; they are a historically disadvantaged people group at the very bottom of society.
In 1950, the Indian Parliament adopted Article 3 of the constitution, which granted “Scheduled Caste” recognition to Hindu Dalits, affording them certain economic, educational and social benefits in an attempt to redress the deprivation they had suffered.
This status was extended to Sikh and Buddhist Dalits in 1956 and 1990 respectively but has been denied to Christians and Muslims.
An estimated 70% of India’s 23 million Christians are Dalits.
The prospects for Christian Dalits do not seem likely to improve any time soon following the success of Hindu nationalists, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in recent elections in four states.
…
[Full Story]