Issuu

Théologie Pratique en Dialogue

Praktische Theologie im Dialog

Collection fondée par Leo Karrer

Dirigée par François-Xavier Amherdt

Volume 70

Philip Xavier Arul

Caste or Christ

A Christian Theological and Pastoral Response to Promoting Relational Equality

Schwabe Verlag

Published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Open Access: Unless otherwise stated, this publication is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Any commercial exploitation by others requires the prior consent of the publisher. The use of content for t he purpose of developing or training AI systems without the consent of the publisher is prohibited.

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de

Proofreading: Timothy Simich, Croydon Park

Cover design: icona basel gmbH, Basel

Cover: Kathrin Strohschnieder, Stroh Designagentur, Oldenburg

Typesetting: Daniela Weiland, textformart, Göttingen

Prime Rate Kft., Budapest

Printed in the EU

Manufacturer information: Schwabe Verlagsgruppe AG, St. Alban-Vorstadt 76, CH-4052 Basel, i nfo@schwabeverlag.ch

Responsible person under Art. 16 GPSR: Schwabe Verlag GmbH, Marienstraße 28, D-10117 Berlin, info@schwabeverlag.de

ISBN Print 978-3-7965-5437-7

ISBN eBook ( PDF) 978-3-7965-5438-4

DOI 10.24894/978-3-7965-5438-4

The ebook has identical page numbers to the print edition (first printing) and supports full-text search. Furthermore, the table of contents is linked to the headings.

rights@schwabe.ch w ww.schwabe.ch

Acknowledgments

I met several wonderful people during this research journey on the Christian response to the problems imbedded in the caste system. Although I spent countless hours in solitude working on the project, their prayers, exchanges, moral and material support kept me away from feeling alone. I owe my indebtedness to them at this moment of realising this research.

First and foremost, I put on record my immense gratitude to Prof. François-Xavier Amherdt, without whom the research topic would not have emerged. In my first meeting with him, I proposed to elaborate on my post-graduation theme on the transmission of faith to Tamil immigrants living abroad. His timely intervention in the encounter led me to study the present topic. His demand to conduct semi-directive interviews was indeed difficult for me as I was living in France. However, that exercise offered originality to the research. My heartfelt thanks to him for his scholarly guidance and recommendations. When François-Xavier retired in 2023, I was concerned about working with a new guide to continue the research. At that moment, the willingness of Prof. Talitha Cooreman-Guittin to accompany me was indeed good news and a relief. Her guidance, especially for theological and pastoral part of this thesis, is indeed precious to actualise this project. I extend my sincere thanks to Talitha

I am also grateful to Prof. Sahayadas Fernando for painstakingly reading the thesis from the beginning. Whenever I sent him a chapter for review, he promptly replied with corrections and suggestions. I extend my profound gratitude to Fr. Sahayadas. I wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to the following individuals for proofreading and providing comments: Fr. Aloysius SJ, Dr. P. S. Sebastian, Prof. Catherine Clementin-Ojha, and Fr. S. Thomas. Their assistance was crucial in this journey. This doctoral research at the University of Fribourg was made possible by Mgr. Susaimanickam Jebamalai, the former Bishop of the Diocese of Sivagangai. Learning a new language, living and serving in a new cultural context, and pursuing research in a specific domain is, for me, akin to attaining a new birth. I thank him for providing me with this rich opportunity. I also extend my thanks to the current Bishop of Sivagangai and my former Professor, Mgr. Anandam Lourdhu, for supporting me to continue this research. He sowed in me the seeds of theological reflection during my four years of theological formation at the Sacred Heart Seminary, Chennai. I express my heartfelt gratitude to him as well.

Acknowledgments

I must also thank the Diocese of Belfort-Montbéliard for the warm welcome extended to me from day one. I am especially grateful to three Bishops — Mgr. Claude Scokert, Mgr. Dominique Blanchet, and Mgr. Denis Jachiet — for giving me the opportunity to serve as Parish Priest at St. Mark Parish and for providing me a supportive environment that allowed me to engage fully in this research. I profoundly thank all my parishioners and the volunteers involved in various pastoral services. Their love and dedication will forever remain in my heart.

My gratitude also goes to all the interviewees who willingly agreed to participate in the interviews. I am deeply indebted to Schwabe Verlag for publishing this work. Finally, I express my sincere appreciation to all my family members and friends who accompanied me throughout this research journey.

Note on Transliteration

All non-English terms are italicized, except for proper names of individuals, temples, and places. Caste names are not italicized. When a caste name is suffixed with an ‘s’, it refers to the population of that particular caste. The names of castes and towns are written according to the common usage of the Tamil population, rather than as found in early literature, as they may not, in some cases, accurately convey the intended meaning of a person, community, or place. (For example: ‘Paraiyar’ in Tamil means ‘annunciator’ or ‘drummers’. The anglicized term ‘Pariah’ signifies an outcaste).

Note on Footnotes and Bibliography

It is not customary in India, especially in Tamil Nadu, to consistently place the author’s surname together with their given name. In this context, the Indian authors’ second name is written as the surname throughout the footnotes and the bibliography. This adjustment is made to maintain coherence with the authors of non-Indian origin.

List of Abbreviations

BCC Basic Christian Community

BC Backward Class

CBCI Catholic Bishops Conference of India

CSCO Christians of Scheduled Caste Origin

DC Depressed Class

DCC Dialogue – Common good – Communion

DCLM Dalit Christians Liberation Movement

EEIC English East Indian Company

FT Fratelii Tutti

GO Government Order

JP Justice Party

INC Indian National Congress

MBC Most Backward Class

MEP Missions Étrangères de Paris

MMS Madras Mahajana Sabha

MP Member of Parliament

OBC Other Backward Class

SC Scheduled Caste

SDC Social Doctrine of the Church

ST Scheduled Tribe

TNBC Tamil Nadu Bishops Conference

TNBCLC Tamil Nadu Biblical Catechetical Liturgical Centre

TNCC Tamil Nadu Congress Committee

General Introduction

Initial Experiences and Questions

Soon after my priestly ordination in April 2003 for the diocese of Sivagangai in the State of Tamil Nadu, Southern India, I was appointed a vicar in a lively urban parish consisting of more than 700 catholic families. This parish was then comprised of 12 sub-stations, whose distance from the main station varied from 5 to 25 kilometres. The Parish Priest and I were taking turns to celebrate 4 Masses in the local church and 3 Masses in the sub-stations. Regular invitations were extended by the faithful of the sub-stations for additional Masses in the evening hours on weekdays.

It is a prevalent custom in the diocese of Sivagangai that a family offering the Mass intention would invite the priest and the sacristan for a meal after the celebration. This has been in practice since the time of missionaries, who would stay overnight in the same village in order to celebrate the Mass on the following day in an adjacent village. During the times of missionaries, night meals were generally served in the church campus but nowadays mostly in the homes of those who invite. This is an occasion for priests to meet the entire family, know their life struggles, and strengthen their faith.

Over such an ancient practice, I noticed a disparity in the arrangements for meals provided to priests in a particular village. Established as a parish in 1994, Sekkalai-Karaikudi, located in a town, is known for its heterogeneity in all aspects of social life, particularly regarding caste. In contrast, the social fabric of the surrounding villages is largely homogenous. Among the 12 villages or sub-stations, one is inhabited solely by Dalits, 1 who are relatively poor compared to non-Dalit Christians in other villages. On the very first day, while speaking to people outside the church after Mass, I saw a woman bringing food to the church campus. I asked her, “For whom do you bring this food?” She told me, “For you”. Why did this question come to my mind

1 The term ‘Dalit’ in Sanskrit is derived from the root ‘dal’ which means to split, break, crack, and so on. Jyotiba Phule (1826–1890), the founder of the Satya Shodak Samaj, a non-Brahmin movement in Maharashtra, is believed to have coined the term ‘Dalit’. He used this term to refer to t he various O utcastes a nd Untouchables spread all over I ndia. I n opposition to appellations such as ‘Dasas’, ‘Dashyus’, ‘Asuras’, ‘Chandalas’, ‘Panchamas’, ‘Mlechas’, ‘Swarpakas’ given by Vedic texts, ‘Unclean Castes / Unclear Feeders’ (1901 census), ‘Depressed Classes’ (1921 census), ‘Exterior Castes’ (1931 census) and Scheduled Castes (1935 Constitution) by the British Government and ‘Harijan’ (children of God) by Gandhi, politically conscious Oppressed Communities across I ndia since t he 1990s preferred to be identified as ‘Dalits’.

spontaneously? In all the other villages of the same parish, the family, which invited me for Mass, invited me to its home for dinner. But in this village, to my surprise, the church campus was used as the place of dining, and not the homes. Knowing that she had to go back home to get some utensils to serve food, I told her, “Kindly take back home whatever you have brought, for I want to eat at your home”. The villagers who were around me responded immediately and unanimously, “Doesn’t matter, Father, all who come here for Mass would eat in the church premise only”. I replied to them, “No problem, let’s change this custom. From now on, let me eat at your homes”. Then, the village head belonging to the same caste signalled to me by saying, “Her dwelling place is too small, and there is not even a chair to sit”. I answered him, “No problem, I am young, I can eat sitting on the ground”. After chatting for a while with them, I headed towards the host’s home for dinner. A group of men, including the village head, was waiting for me until I finished my supper and reiterated, “Father, this is the first time in our village that a priest is taking food voluntarily at our homes”. Here, ‘our’ denotes ‘their’, i. e., socially speaking, in a ‘lower’ caste family.

As soon as I returned to the presbytery, I shared this experience with the then Parish Priest. He replied immediately, “Well done; let’s follow it uniformly in all the villages of the parish”. Both of us continued having dinner in their respective homes whenever we went for Mass to this village. This social gesture procured me a lot of appreciation from this village.

I had another, but this time a rather bitter experience in the same dining context, in the third year of my priestly life as a vicar. Unlike my first appointment, I was this time assigned to serve in an entirely rural area known as ‘Andavoorani Parish’ comprising 28 villages. The majority of Christians in these villages are Dalits. One of the joyful memories of my ministry in this parish, which I’m still cherishing, is the house visit program I did during Mission Sunday and Lent. During the year of my stay over there, I visited twice each and every house. I used to commence the visit around 3 p.m., which would last until 8 p.m., followed by Mass.

At the end of my Lenten visit to one of the villages, the headman came to meet me and questioned, “Why don’t you eat in our houses? Is it because we are Dalits?” Shocked to hear this, I asked him, “What do you mean?” He replied, “Father, it seems that you refused to eat during your house visit because we are Dalits. Overall, our people are not happy with your visit”. Hearing such a strong comment, I told him, “Imagine, if I start accepting some beverages in each and every house in order to satisfy you, would it not affect my health?” I could sense that he was not totally convinced by my reply. Although I took food in one of their homes at the end of my house visit, the villagers did expect me to have at least a glass of water in each family.

The two incidents mentioned above awakened me to reflect on and reorient my pastoral experiences with centuries-old, oppressed Dalit communities. Both the people and the issue of dining share the same roots – the caste system. As one moves around Indian society, it quickly becomes apparent that caste is a deeply ingrained and significant factor that a priest in India should confront while being called to serve the people of God. No matter how good his actions might be, a priest cannot be ignorant of the caste phenomenon. Such visible social factors like caste may offer him an opportunity to build up fraternal relationships among Christians. At the same time, if he is not properly understood by his parishioners, or if he himself is biased in his approach to them, the social reality of caste might drag him down into an abyss of disharmony between himself and his Christian faithful and among the faithful themselves. In consequence, the entire mission undertaken and built up over the years may become fruitless. If this unfortunate friction were to happen, then the role and ministry of priests meant to enable people’s genuine experience of God would ultimately become questionable.

A reflection on these two experiences raises a few questions that merit our serious and sincere attention: What makes the Dalit Christians feel either accepted or rejected in the life of the Church? Why had the practice of eating together not been extended equally to all sections of the Christian community? What was the fundamental reason for the disparity regarding the place of dining for the priest in the same territory of the parish: for the Dalit Christians in the church campus and for the non-Dalit Christians in their homes? Was it only accidental or intentional? Does such a treatment of disparity between the Dalits and non-Dalits prevail elsewhere intentionally or habitually?

In the past, association of a priest with the laity was less i n both appearance and reality. But after the advent of Vatican II, he was encouraged to reorient his ministry to be people-centred and this gave impetus to the priests to undertake house visits, commensality, etc. Thus, the day-to-day living conditions of the common people became the starting point of theologizing.

Regarding the second event narrated above, the centuries-old historical experiences of dehumanisation have awakened the Dalits, urging them to confront straightforwardly questions in their quest for equality, dignity, and fellowship, particularly concerning commensality. In such critical circumstances, several pertinent questions arise: How should the issue of caste be addressed within the life of the local Church? Suppose a pastor’s genuine health considerations require him to abstain from partaking in the hospitality offered in the villages, how can he satisfactorily explain his position through dialogue and understanding as a pastor?

Those above personal pastoral experiences may trigger anyone to think that caste-related discrimination and exclusion prevail only between the ‘lower’ and ‘dom-

inant’ castes. In reality, however, the veritable face of caste is not limited only to that. Undoubtedly, it is true that a deep-seated fissure exists between these two sections based mainly on claiming equality and dignity. At the same time, however, caste-based rivalry and competition prevail invariably between all castes in the Church, including between two castes enjoying equal economic and constitutional status, “in terms of struggle for power and control over Church resources”,2 that is to say, between members of any two BC communities and between members of any two Dalit communities. This second type of rivalry is as harmful as the first one in terms of damaging the witness value of the Christian faith, for it goes against the prophetic identity and role of the Church in upholding dignity, justice, equality and fraternity.

In the past, the term ‘caste’ was perceived to a certain extent as a taboo to be spoken about in public forum. Committed Catholics and priests were hesitant even to utter it during different occasions of socialisation. Ascribing oneself to a particular caste in any public forum was considered to be contradictory to Christian life. On the contrary, things have changed in recent years. Open identification of oneself to a particular caste and caste-based gatherings are organized without any hesitancy. Being part of such gatherings and associations is becoming imperative today to achieve one’s own vested interests in socio-economic, educational, religious, and political spheres. Starting from the appointments of the clergy members to that of the laity, caste-based pressure groups play a vital role. In other words, caste serves as a mediating agency of patronage and a vehicle of upward social mobility not only in society in general but also in the Church in particular.

Besides Dalit Christians claiming equality and social respect from ‘upper’ castes Christians and two castes of equal social status confronting over material resources and power, we now present a third phenomenon, which comprises invariably every Christian belonging to any caste whatsoever. This is about manifesting more affinity and more rapport only with one’s own caste group. Such an attitude can easily be witnessed on different occasions, like inviting one’s caste persons for family events, promoting one’s caste person for better jobs in private sectors, and being part of one’s own caste association. This exclusivism is more apparent in marrying a person of one’s own caste, a type of endogamous marriage.

This third reality is a strong and indisputable indicator that suggests that caste identity precedes religious identity, and sociological factors are accorded primacy over the demands of religious faith. This, however, does not mean that for the Christian,

2 J. Tharamangalam, “Caste Among Christians in India”, in: M. N. Srinivas (ed.), Caste. Its Twentieth Century Avatar, New Delhi, Penguin Books, 1997, pp. 263–291, p. 279.

participation in the religious ceremonies is secondary or insignificant; it simply means that the social and the religious dimensions remain at different levels, running parallel without criss-crossing or conflicting with each other’s autonomy in existence and functioning. This raises a serious question: For a Christian, can the social and religious aspects of life run parallel without reciprocal challenges and mutual fecundation? Can faith, which teaches equality, and caste system, which feeds and breeds inequality, run parallel without conflicting with each other on the ethical sphere of life and evoking self-transformation? To put it bluntly, for a Christian which one has precedence over all other considerations: Caste or Christ?

On 27th December 2009, a private television channel from Chennai (Madras) telecasted a program entitled ‘Neeya? Naana?’ (You? or Me?). The participants of the program constituted a group of couples who had chosen their life-partner from outside their own caste without the consent of their parents and relatives. The couples shared unreservedly, outpouring their views, emotions, and the interminable hardships they have been enduring from the first day of conveying their love affair to their family members till today. One can understand from this sharing how far caste consciousness is entrenched in Indian society, particularly in the domain of matrimony. While the increasing trend of inter-caste marriages both in urban as well as in rural areas is an encouraging phenomenon, the concerned couples must face many hurdles before joining hands or tying the knots.

Among the confessions of inter-caste married couples of diverse castes, the undaunted declaration of a Christian partner merits our serious attention, who said: “I come from a landlord family. I fell in love with a girl who belongs to the Islamic faith. As soon as my parents learnt of our falling in love, they threw all my belongings out of home. A year later, my parents called me saying, ‘If your wife converts to our Christian religion, we will accept both of you in our home’. Subsequently, my fiancée got converted, and we then married according to the norms of the Christian religion”. The very next day, my parents said, “Whatever it be, she doesn’t belong to our caste. Therefore, if you want, you can come to our home to visit us but not with your wife”. “Today, my son is 15 years old”, he said, “My parents have never so far hugged my son”. He added, “I felt ashamed of it. Since Christianity is still deeply caste entrenched, I want to bring up my son in a casteless religion. Therefore, now I got converted to Islam. I converted for this specific reason only”.3

3 Cf. www.hotstar.com/tv/neeya-naana/1584/religion-caste-love-marriage/1000027801 [referred on 2 August 2017]. The statement of the concerned person on Islam’s abstinence of caste practice does not correspond with the modern sociological enquiries. The referred authors in foot note no. 5 endorse the practice of caste in Islam too.

The purpose of stating the above incident is not to highlight the religious conversion of someone from one faith to another, regarding which the doctrine of the Catholic Church is very positive of “the right to religious freedom”,4 but rather to underline the reason which forces an individual to abandon totally his Christian faith and embrace another religion. The question, therefore, arises: In marital life, why does caste still remain a critically determining factor in Christian families that face ultra-rapid changes in all domains of life in this modern world? What does caste give additionally to someone that cannot be given by religion?

Christianity is not the only religion in India that is bruised by caste-based segregation, prejudice, and discrimination among its faithful, but the other prophetic religions like Islam,5 Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism6 that represent nearly 18 per cent of the total population of India are also victims of such a divisive experience. Although these religions have not legitimised the caste system in their official teachings, caste mindedness is nevertheless deeply ingrained in their religious and social practices. Other Christian Denominations like the Church of South India, Protestants, Anglicans, and numerous Pentecostal Movements also suffer from this odious social system. In summary, caste practice remains a “festering wound”7 among all religions, whose teachings, though, are founded upon love, peace, brotherhood, and equality.

Standpoint of the Church

Considering the prevailing caste practices in the life of the Local Church, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) denounced it to the extent of addressing it as “a sin against God and man” at its General Body meeting held on January 1982 in Thiruchirapalli:

“We state categorically that caste, with its consequent effects of discrimination and ‘caste mentality’ has no place in Christianity. It is, in fact, a denial of Christianity because it is inhuman. It violates the God-given dignity and equality of the human person. God created man

4 Dignitatis humanae, (Of the Dignity of the Human Person) Vatican II Council’s Declaration on Religious Freedom, no. 2, Rome, 7 December 1965.

5 Cf. L. Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus. The Caste System and its Implications, Chicago and London, The University of Chicago Press, 1980, pp. 205–208; Z. Bhatty, “Social Stratification Among Muslims in India”, in: M. N. Srinivas (ed.), Caste. Its Twentieth Century Avatar, New Delhi, Penguin Books, 1997, pp. 244–262.

6 Cf. S. S Jodhka, “Sikhism and the Caste Question: Dalits and their Politics in Contemporary Punjab”, in: D. Gupta (ed.), Caste in Question. Identity or Hierarchy? New Delhi, Sage Publications, 2004, pp. 165–192.

7 M. Amaladoss, A Call to Community. The Caste System and Christian Responsibility, Gujarat, Gujarat Sahitya P rakash, 1994, I ntroduction xi.

in his own image and likeness. He accepts and loves every human being without distinction. He so loved the world that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, who became fully man and died to save all men. ‘In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God; there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor f ree, nor is t here male a nd female, for you a re all one i n Christ Jesus’ (Gal 3:26–28). Thus, human dignity and respect are due to every person and any denial of this is a sin against God and man. It is an outright denial of the Fatherhood of God which in practice renders meaningless the brotherhood of man”.8

While stating discrimination in any form as totally irreconcilable with human dignity, Pope John Paul II, in his message during the Ad Limina visit of the Indian Bishops held on 17th November 2003 in Rome, reiterated the focal point that ought to be kept in mind by the Church in India:

“We cannot hope to spread this spirit of unity among our brothers and sisters without genuine solidarity among peoples. Like so many places in the world, India is beset by numerous social problems. In some ways, these challenges are exacerbated because of the unjust system of caste division, which denies the human dignity of entire groups of people. In this regard, I repeat what I said during my first pastoral visit to your country: ‘Ignorance and prejudice must be replaced by tolerance and understanding. Indifference and class struggle must be turned into brotherhood and committed service. Discrimination based on race, colour, creed, sex or ethnic origin must be rejected as totally incompatible with human dignity’.”9

How, then, can we progress from the enclosure of the caste system to the boundless space of equality, freedom and fellowship wherein the communion with God and with fellow human beings is expected to exist and function? Various pastoral programs implemented by the respective Local Churches and special reservations accorded to Dalits in the Church-run educational institutions do not seem to have produced the desired outcomes. A few appointments of teachers in Church-run educational institutions and the promotion of an individual from a particular deprived caste to a higher ecclesiastical responsibility serve only as a temporary relief and a cosmetic measure to a particular disease but not a surgical measure contributing to eradicate the problem from its roots. The preceding narratives show that the positive discriminatory approach alone, currently prevailing in the Church, cannot bring the desired equality, dignity, unity, and communion of brotherhood among the Christian faithful.

8 www.dalitchristians.com/Html/CBCI_Tiruchirapally010482.htm [referred on 10 August 2017].

9 Homily at the Mass in Indira Gandhi Stadium, New Delhi on 2 February 1986. w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/2003/november/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20031117_ad-liminaindia.html [referred on 20 September 2017].