Posted on 05/03/2004 3:54:55 AM PDT by Paul_B
For nearly her entire life, Muniyamal Krishnan has worked around human waste. In her job as a "human scavenger," she has cleaned latrines and carried buckets of waste on her head. Obviously, she didn't choose this line of work; it was all she could get -- and for religious, not economic reasons. Krishnan is an "untouchable," the lowest caste in Hindu society.
For millennia, the "untouchables" have suffered unimaginable discrimination at the hands of their fellow Hindus. As a result, millions have converted to other faiths, including Christianity. But now, Hindu nationalists, with the Indian government's blessing, want to deny them that opportunity.
In Hinduism, the "untouchables," who call themselves "dalits," are said to be the descendants of the illegitimate children of the union of prehistoric lower- and upper-caste people. Their place in life is believed to be deserved. As Stephanie Giry, an editor at FOREIGN AFFAIRS magazine, recently wrote, the belief in the dalits' "tainted origin" forced them into "the most squalid jobs."
The resulting social structure is every bit as oppressive and dehumanizing as apartheid. Dalits are forced to worship in different temples and aren't allowed to eat or drink in their employers' homes.
For many dalits, the best way to escape the misery to which Hinduism consigns them is conversion to another faith, especially Christianity. I have preached in Indian prisons and seen "untouchables" flock to Christ. Conversion, however, doesn't mean an end to discrimination, since their Hindu neighbors still view them as "untouchables," and because they become Christians, they forfeit Indian government programs put into place to benefit them.
Still, as a non-Christian dalit leader told Giry, conversion to Christianity is worth it to his people. He said that his people "gain dignity and access to the Christian community's vast network of social services." He then added, "whatever the government can do for dalits, Christian missionaries can do better."
But if the Indian ruling party, the BJP, has its way, dalits will no longer have that option. The BJP, which espouses Hindu supremacy, has introduced the Orwellian -- named "Freedom of Religion Bill" in India's Gujarat state. It punishes anyone who converts another person through "allurement" with three years in prison and a $2,200 fine, an enormous sum by Indian standards. The law prohibits conversions performed by "religious priests," meaning Christianity and Islam, since Hindu and Buddhist conversion rites aren't officiated.
Giry points out, as well, that the law instructs local magistrates, mostly upper-caste Hindus, to look for any evidence of "allurement," which is conveniently, by the way, undefined. Thus, the people who have oppressed the dalits for generations have the authority to block their conversions. And this statute is considered a model for similar legislation across India.
This year, India will be a subject of debate in the presidential campaign because of the "outsourcing" of American jobs to Indian firms. We need to insist that the talk in the campaign go beyond "call centers" and computer programmers. If we're putting business in India, our policy- makers ought to be demanding that India respect the most basic of human freedoms, freedom of religion.
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FURTHER READING & INFORMATION Stephanie Giry, "Chennai Dispatch: SOL," NEW REPUBLIC, 26 April 2004. (Available to subscribers only.) https://ssl.tnr.com/p/docsub.mhtml?i=20040426&s=giry042604
Daniel Lak, "Dalits' political awakening," BBC NEWS, 28 September 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/459591.stm
Nirmala Ganapathy, "In Venkaiah's town, Dalits can't share the well," INDIAN EXPRESS, 26 April 2004. http://www.expressindia.com/election/ fullestory.php?type=ei&content_id=30800
Girish Kuber, "Are the Dalits becoming just an election statistic?" ECONOMIC TIMES, 12 April 2004. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/611033.cms
Gary Haugen, THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT INJUSTICE (InterVarsity, 1999). http://www.pfm.org/BPtemplate.cfm?Section=PF_Store&template=/ Ecommerce/ProductDisplay.cfm&ProductID=132
I think you can expect BJP attacks on Christian missions in general in the near future.They leave that to their allies in the RSS, which resembles a cross between a European fascist party and a Hindu Taliban.
It's already happening though:
Six missionaries beaten during gospel campaign in India.
Missionaries tread warily in India.
-Eric
Don't blashpheme if you're Christian. Hellfire for eternity, and no second chance.
That would mean that the at one time some richer Hindu was NOT living a moral life and was "demoted" to poverty. Which of cource cannot be since there simply aren't enough rich to "demote".
A religion doesn't make sense -- that's not new.
Besides, if you read the article, the untouchables are supposedly paying for the "sins" of some pre-historic ancestor, generation after generation after generation.
I knew that before the article. It's kind of like the descendents of Ham, or the descendants of illegitimate children to the 10th generation.
Please to be sharing the Love!
Interesting you should pick that verse
Mark 3:28-30: "I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."
Jesus is specifically talking about the very men who would condemn him to death. He knew their hearts were hard and that they would never change their minds. Jesus also says that once you are his, NO ONE can take you away.
It's kind of like the descendents of Ham, or the descendants of illegitimate children to the 10th generation.
True. (But the bible says the sins of the father will be visited on the 3rd and fourth generations, but I could be wrong.) However, Christianity offers chance to leave that old life behind. In Hinduism, if you are born an untouchable, you will die and untouchable if you cannot leave that country.
I don't see your interpretation. If anything, he's referring to the unclean spirits who fell down in front of him earlier and cried "Thou art the Son of God."
But the bible says the sins of the father will be visited on the 3rd and fourth generations, but I could be wrong.)
No, you're right. I'm talking about another one specifically for illegitimate children.
In Hinduism, if you are born an untouchable, you will die and untouchable if you cannot leave that country.
True, but that same cast system has existed in many religions and places. Likewise, it wasn't good to be a serf in medieval Europe. You guys are doing some good work to try to stop this modern-day serfdom.
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