Prime Minister, Free the Dalit

This came off of the Caedmon's Call website. We have their CD "Share the Well" and the last song on it is "Free the Dalit" and it talks about the untouchables in India's caste system. I thought it was a neat song, but since it has become Juliette's most recent favorite song, I've been thinking about it a lot more. It's sung in Hindi (maybe?) and English, so JuJu is always asking for "Sockaday" which is what the Hindi chorus part sounds like. Our pastor's wife was telling me that during Thanksgiving holidays, missionaries and others that are seeking reform in India and abolishment of the caste system are asking Westerners to come to India. They are asking that as a statement to the government, Christians will wash the feet of an untouchable, offer a cool glass of water and share the gospel. This article is very interesting though, and I thought it was something everyone should be aware of.

Caedmon's Call: Can you give an example of what the average daily life of a Dalit in India looks like?
Timothy Kasbe: Dalits are branded as impure from the moment of their birth. The Hindus believe that it is the birth right of an Untouchable or Dalit to be oppressed or downtrodden due to their and their ancestor's past sins. One out of every six Indian is a Dalit, landed at the bottom of the Hindu Caste System. Their fate scripted by the Hindu law, an untouchable person can imagine little else than working along the banks of a river, washing clothes, as they are permitted to handle items "polluted" by blood or human waste. Dalits would be lucky to earn $1 per day to load thousands of bricks from dawn to dusk. Their low status condemns them to the most menial work. It is not uncommon to see blatant acts of illegal discrimination against the Dalits - denying them access to temples and wells, forcing them to live in separate settlements. This prejudice can get deadly in villages where if a Dalit wanders into high caste part of town or earns money using high caste land or property, they could face getting disfigured by acid if not death itself. If a Dalit woman demands or questions something and her landlord does not like it, he will beat her or sexually harass her. 8 out of 10 Dalit women can't read or write and most are sold in bonded prostitution. It is common to find Dalit women serving as prostitutes in Hindu temples. These untouchable women become touchable at night!
CC: How did it come to be that this class of people was labeled 'untouchable?'
TK: The Hindu Holy Scriptures outline one of the longest surviving forms of social stratification. Embedded in the very fiber of Indian Culture for the past 3,500 years is the value that: "All men are created unequal". The Book of Manu teaches that from the head of god comes a Brahmin (highest caste Hindu) - the priests and teachers. From the chest come the Kshatriyas - the rulers and soldiers. From the thighs come the Vaisyas - merchant and traders. A fifth group describe the people who are achuta, or untouchable. The untouchable are outcasts... they are the unborn ones, meaning it would have been better for them to not be born. So, nearly 300 million people in India today are labeled as untouchables and this is direct result of the teaching and practice of Hindu religion.
CC: What are the consequences if a Dalit does something they are not entitled to do?
TK: Dalits could face serious injury if not death if they do something that they are not entitled to. For example, on Jan 7th, 2004, A Dalit, whose occupation is to carve Hindu idols out of wood, was so drawn into the temple after seeing on his creation being worshiped in the temple that he dared enter it. The Hindu priests shot him dead at the door of the temple.
Upper caste aversion to killing cattle, eating beef, gives the untouchables a monopoly in the tanning business. Last year, five Dalit boys who skinned a cow were killed for slaughter of the animal. The only embarrassing thing for India as a country was that the Shankaracharya or the Pope of Hindus, came out the next day saying that the life of a cow is more important than five Dalit boys!
Ramaprasad and Ramiakhan will never forget the day they fished in a pond used by upper caste Hindu villagers in Uttar Pradesh. The mob of Hindus doused the two Untouchables with acid.
CC: Why is it not currently an option for a Dalit person to work their way to a higher status?
TK: Dr. Ambedkar was the first Dalit to have received the benefit of the federal quota system instigated by the India Government, which only a few are fortunate enough to receive. He is the father of our Indian Constitution. But even after rising to the intellectual heights of being a constitutional lawyer and [earning a] doctorate from Columbia University, he faced just as intense and blatant discrimination as he did before he was educated. Dalit or high-caste, we all look the same. You are known as a Dalit by your accent or your last name. For example, it is a well-known fact that the Kasbe name comes from the Mahar caste, which is at the bottom of the outcast totem pole in India. The only way to help a Dalit person work their way to higher status is by dismantling the caste system and reversing the Hindu teaching that "all men are created unequal".
CC: Why are human rights such a strong and personal concern for you and what prompted you to get involved in Dalit Freedom?
TK: Human rights are such a strong concern for me because I believe all men are created equal. Not only are they created equal, but their creator God loves them all. He does not only love them but loves them to the point of giving his most prized son for their deliverance of captivity. On a personal level, my father came from the Dalit stock until an Australian missionary approached him and shared the good news of Christ with him. He was treated as equal by the Christian missionaries and was taught to read and write using the Bible. Our own lives as Dalits have been transformed by the power of the gospel of Christ Jesus. Christ's sacrifice on the cross brings meaning and value to the life of Dalit that no other spiritual way guarantees. I want all people of the world, Dalit and non-Dalit, to know the value Christ places on our lives and our freedom from bondage of spiritual, social and economic slavery.
CC: How has your campaign been effective so far?
TK: We know we are dealing with a culture ingrained in a country for 3,500 years. There is no magic formula or over-night solution to this. We are deploying the exact same methods that William Wilberforce did all those years ago to abolish slavery. The campaign is active at a political, social and spiritual level. In India itself, the Dalit leaders are agitating the Hindu caste system. The rise of persecution of Dalits and minorities and the recent ban on conversion the Indian government is implementing are signs that the Hindu caste system is on its last legs. We are on this journey for a lifetime. It will take a lifetime. Therefore it is critical that Caedmon's is part of the campaign educating our young people of what is at stake. I believe the young people of today will see the real harvest and breakdown of caste in India in the next 30,40,50 year's time.
CC: What specific areas of help are still needed?
TK: It is not only a privilege BUT ALSO an honor to be asked by the Dalit leaders to educate their children. Firstly, we are on a path to build 1,000 initial education centers across India. These will be English medium schools that will bring the education of Dalits on par with upper caste children. Secondly, we are empowering the Dalit communities through micro-credit/financing to build small and medium businesses. This is a stop-gap move till the children are educated because it is the English education that is going to put the world at the fingertips of the Dalits just like it is doing so for upper caste people of India due to outsourcing etc.
CC: What is one thing you would like for Americans to understand about this plight?
TK: Castism is worse than racism, in that although you are discriminated against, in racism, you still have spiritual democracy, a right to worship God. Castism denies a person human dignity and a basic human right and that is to worship God. Dalits are slaves with no masters.
CC: Do you believe liberation and equality for the Dalits is possible in our lifetime?
TK: Do you see that things are headed there? The recent congressional delegation from the US met with the Dalit leaders in India and were told that 2,000 plus Dalits are killed by upper caste Hindus each month. That is a 9/11 for Dalits almost each month. The heightened persecution of the Dalits and minorities, the Indian government's ban on conversion to lock the Dalits in their present state, and their campaign of miss-information, are all signs that the Hindus are desperate in trying to keep their caste system intact. People and places that are far from the shores of India will be the key in liberation and equality of Dalits. If we keep our focus at political, social and spiritual level in empowering the Dalits, we will see their liberation in our lifetime.
CC: From where do the Dalit people derive their sense of hope, if at all?
TK: The affection they feel from people who treat them as equals like Christians, Muslims and Buddhists, is what gives them a sense of hope. The Christian community has stood in staunch solidarity for the freedom of the Dalits when they made a statement to abandon Hinduism in November 2001. This unquestionable and uncompromising solidarity gives them hope. Hindu Scriptures in Gautama Dharma 12:4 says that if a Dalit hears a Hindu veda [ancient Scriptures,] molten lead be poured in his ear. Manu Smriti 8:270 says that if a Dalit reads a veda that his tongue be cut off. Guatama Dharma 8:126 says that if a Dalit memorizes a veda, that his body be cut in two. Our work of spreading the holistic gospel of Christ is the key. In total contrast to the teachings of Hindu scriptures, the words of Christ Jesus in John 10:10 are aimed straight at a Dalit, "the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly". These are the most hopeful words a Dalit can ever hear. The role of the international community is critical, as the Dalit leaders believe UK, Washington and the UN will play an important role in their freedom. Caedmon's trip to go visit the Dalits in India and be with them at this time will be remembered for generations to come by the Dalits. Practical outreach like this gives them hope in the midst of the plight for survival.