Christians to mobilise in Indian capital for Dalit demands

Church leaders and Christians from Andhra Pradesh in India are to travel to New Delhi to demand equal rights for Christian dalits.

The church in India has fought a decades-long campaign for equality for dalit Christians. The term dalit Christian refers to those Christians who have converted to Christianity from Hinduism but who are still categorised under their Hindu dalit status. Upon conversion to Christianity, dalits lose any privileges they received as Hindus.

"We have come to a stage of now or never. Hence, the need of showing our strength," explained Father Anthoniraj Thumma, secretary of Andhra Pradesh Federation of Churches (APFC), an ecumenical forum.

Last week, the priest and 50 other Christian leaders gathered in Hyderabad to discuss the arrangements for the New Delhi protest. At least 10,000 people are expected to participate in the demonstrations.

The protest will be staged as the Indian Parliament convenes its monsoon session.

Father Thumma said his federation has sought a letter of recommendation from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, which rules the federal government.

APFC President Rev BP Sugandhar, moderator of the Church of South India, told the gathering they are fighting for "a just cause and not begging for any favour from the government".

Although in 2004 the federal government's National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities recommended that the Indian Government reserve five per cent of government jobs for Christian Dalits, the proposals have never been implemented.

APFC executive secretary B Danam said the national commission and Supreme Court support the Christians' demands.

"Decks are cleared for the government to introduce the Bill. Since the government is still dilly-dallying, there is need to put political pressure," he said.

Last week, the Tamil Nadu state government assured that Christians and Muslims would be benefit from a 3.5 per cent reservation in government services.