Indian Supreme Court against caste discrimination in Catholic parish
Court accepts to hear a complaint by some Catholic families in Tamil Nadu over caste segregation in burials for Dalits in the village of Kottapalayam. The diocese has until 15 April to respond. Fr Devasagayaraj told AsiaNews that such situations, unfortunately, persist in southern India. For him, “Christ and Caste can’t go together.”
New Delhi (AsiaNews) – The Indian Supreme Court has agreed to examine a petition filed by Dalit Christians, the so-called outcastes, from the district of Trichy, Tamil Nadu, against caste-based forms of discrimination in the Catholic parish in Kottapalayam, a village in the Diocese of Kumbakonam.
In their petition, village residents argue that the local community administration is still excluding Dalits from annual celebrations and practise segregation in burials. Unlike other Catholics, the remains of Dalit Catholics are not allowed inside the church for the funeral Mass or prayers.
In their petition, the applicants note that they have turned to the state, the federal government in New Delhi, and the Catholic Church to complain about the caste outrages and "untouchability" of which they have been victims for at least a century.
The petition explains that the parish community is made up of Dalit Catholics who perform menial work including burials, farmwork, and footwear repair.
“To date, the petitioners face the traditional practice of untouchability and inhuman caste discrimination because of the caste aggression by the dominant caste Catholic Christians in the church,” the petition read.
On 21 February, the Court issued a notice to the Government of Tamil Nadu and Church authorities, asking for a response by 15. April
Fr Z Devasagayaraj, a former national secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) Office for Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SC/ST) and Backward Classes, spoke to AsiaNews about the situation.
“There are different forms of untouchability practised in the Church, especially in the south. In Tamil Nadu, Catholic Bishops brought out a 10-point programme in 1990 and an integrated development plan for the Dalits in 2004. The CBCI also brought out a Dalit Policy for the Empowerment of Dalits in 2016,” said the clergyman.
“All these emphatically talks about the abolition of untouchable practices especially in the Church and burial grounds. The case has gone to the Supreme Court which can give order to abolish these forms of untouchability. Based on the Constitution, the Court will give a verdict not allowing the discrimination based on caste. Christ and Caste can’t go together. Unfortunately, this is still tolerated.”
“In a parish called Purathakudi, the High Court gave order to celebrate the parish feast, including the Dalits, and said that the car procession should go to the streets where Dalits live.” Yet, “Even after the order, [upper] caste Christians are not ready to celebrate the feast [with Dalits] because they are not able to stomach the idea of including Dalits and grant them equality,” Fr Devasagayaraj lamented.
The real point for him is to assert that for Christians, “Christ and caste can’t go together.”
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