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 Puducherry: The Eraiyur incident, where the Dalits were ostracised, is still fresh in the memory of the Dalit Christians.
After the incident, both caste Christians and Dalits were allowed to use the common path to the church and cemetery.
There was also a call for a separate church for the Dalits, but during all these developments, the Archbishop never met and interacted with the Dalit community, alleged the Dalit Christian Confederation of Vadalur (DCC) during a press meet in Puducherry.
They also alleged that despite being a part of the Christian faith for the past 25 years, the Dalit Christians continued to be treated as second class citizens.
State president of DCC MS Raj said Ananda Rayar, Archbishop of Puducherry, failed to resolve the problem that arose recently. “If our problems are not addressed by 15 August 2008, we will be forced to conduct agitations,” he added. If everything failed, they would be forced to return to the parent religion that they hailed from, he said. “Till date, no Dalit Christian has been allowed to take up coveted jobs like minister, Member of Parliament, Member of Legislative Assembly, Indian Administrative Services, Indian Police Services, doctors, engineers etc. We have been deliberately deprived of these benefits,” he alleged. (Source: The New Indian Express, July 31, 2008, http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IET20080730211524&Title=Southern+News+-+Tamil+Nadu&rLink=0) |
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