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By David F. Dawes
 | | The marriage of Joseph and Mariam D'souza transcends India's caste system |
IT IS humanity's longest lasting form of discrimination. It has held sway over its victims for three millennia; and though it has been officially outlawed for almost six decades, it continues to plague the lives of millions.
According to its critics, India's notorious caste system does its most severe damage to the 'untouchables' -- now better known as the Dalits -- at the very bottom of its long social ladder. Anti-caste advocates maintain Dalits are still being victimized in ways which would be considered unthinkable in a truly civilized society.
One of the leading activists on behalf of these unfortunates is Dr. Joseph D'souza, founder of the Dalit Freedom Network (DFN). The organization partners with groups such as Operation Mobilization to engender awareness of the problem, and to help Dalits in practical ways.
Dr. D'souza recently visited Canada, and spoke to CC.com about the organization's campaign.
Asked how the caste system became so deeply entrenched in India, he replied: "Because it got fundamental religious sanction."
The origin of the caste doctrine, he said, was the sacred Hindu text, The Rig Veda, a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns written approximately 1,000 years before Christ. Caste was determined, said D'souza, on the basis of chapter 10, verse 15, which describes the creation of humans by Brahma.
"To challenge that," he said, "is to challenge the whole religious structure." However, he noted: "Racism never got divine approval from God."
Historically, he said, the first major revolt against this aspect of Hindu tradition was instigated by the founder of another great religion.
Siddhartha Gautama, later known as The Buddha, was originally a Hindu; he belonged to one of the lower castes. "His writings defied the caste system, said D'souza, adding: "Caste was sufficiently dealt with under the first 100 years of Buddhism."
While there was no significant Western activism against the caste system until recently, the scourge did not go unnoticed. William Wilberforce, the great English champion of African slaves, once stated: "The institution of caste is a system at war with truth and nature."
The current defiance of the caste system takes much inspiration from a key rebellion which occurred 75 years ago. The climax of that revolt came just over half a century ago, when noted activist B.R. Ambedkar - known as "the Moses of the Dalits" - officially chose Buddhism as his new religion, taking hundreds of thousands of Dalits with him.
In a 1936 speech entitled Annihilation of Caste, Ambedkar delineated the systematic degradation inflicted on Dalits:
"The untouchable was not allowed to use the public streets if a Hindu was coming along, lest he should pollute the Hindu by his shadow. The untouchable was required to have a black thread either on his wrist or in his neck, as a sign or a mark -- to prevent the Hindus from getting themselves polluted by his touch through mistake . . .
"The untouchable was required to carry, strung from his waist, a broom to sweep away from behind the dust he treaded on, lest a Hindu walking on the same should be polluted."
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"Many of the Dalits want out of the heinous caste system," wrote D'souza in his 2004 book, Dalit Freedom: Now and Forever. The reasons, he pointed out, are straightforward.
"Politicians have not delivered. Dalit atrocities are mounting by the day. In many places, the State is a mute spectator. What is written in the Constitution does not work itself out in the villages and towns of India, where Dalit women are raped, abused, tortured, paraded naked and humiliated."
Caste, he told CC.com, is currently "a huge issue, which dominates all politics."
In recent years, there have been extraordinary reports from various Christian sources, regarding conversions of large numbers of Dalits.
These reports, he said, "are accurate, regarding the revolt of 250 million against the caste system." However, he hastened to add, "it is not accurate to say that all were immediately turning to Christ. But the exodus from low caste into Christianity was genuine, and it continues. An estimated 45 million have converted in the past 10 years. There is a genuine awakening of the Holy Spirit and New Testament Christianity, of massive proportions."
This revival, he emphasized, has come at great cost. "Hindu extremist opposition is directly related to the Dalit exodus from the caste system."
Last December, he said, in the State of Orissa, Christians suffered through what is now termed "Black Christmas." Some 700 homes were destroyed, and almost 90 churches burned. There were also several cases of rape. Nevertheless, he noted, "some 100,000 people have turned to Christ as a result," in that region of India.
Asked to speculate on the years ahead, D'souza stated: "I foresee the Dalit exodus and empowerment getting stronger and stronger. I also foresee the church being persecuted more, not less. Anti-conversion laws have been passed in seven states so far." This trend, he declared, "may push the Dalits into a civil war. They will not be kept as slaves."
Asked whether the battle against caste is gaining momentum, D'souza asserted: "Yes, there is hope. The global community is more aware that caste is alive and well in India. International forums in the U.S., the U.K. and at the UN have brought up the issue. The church of Christ has responded worldwide."
So, too, has the head of India's government. Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, is "the first serving prime minister to compare untouchability to Apartheid," said D'souza. "He has called it 'a blot on humanity.'"
The interview ended on a personal note, when it was pointed out that D'souza literally practices what he preaches. For him, Dalits are anything but untouchable - as he proved to himself three decades ago, when he married one. Most significantly, he did so as a member of the very highest caste, the Brahmin.
While he was raised as a Roman Catholic, his family nevertheless took pride in its cultural status. "I was frequently made aware of what it meant to be in the highest caste."
So, just how challenging was it for a Brahmin to marry a Dalit 30 years ago, decades before the current awakening?
"It was a revelation of how caste has governed Indian life. I had no idea what had been taken away from these people." Along with this social re-education, he said, he also underwent a spiritual transformation.
"It forced me to re-evaluate the gospel's application to this situation. As a result, I rediscovered the tenets of the gospel."
August 21/2008
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