Church to pray for 'dalit liberation' on Sunday

Church will be observing 'Dalit Liberation Sunday' on December 7 in an effort to sensitize local congregations on Dalit concerns.

Dalit Liberation Sunday is jointly organised by the NCCI and CBCI to garner "solidarity and support for the cause of Dalit liberation".

"This initiative in the past years impacted the Church in different ways including in challenging Churches to start programs/desks to address issues relating to Dalits," said Rev. Asir Ebenezer, officiating general secretary of the NCCI.

He noted that the movement to scrap paragraph 3 of the Presidential Order 1950 which discriminates citizens on grounds of religion gained momentum since the observance of the Dalit Liberation Sunday.

The theme for this year's observance has been taken from Luke 18:7 - 'Will not God bring justice to people who cry out to God day and night'.

Commenting on the theme, Rev. Ebenezer said, it "draws the Indian Church to an affirmation that God does not tolerate injustice on the excluded who have none else to count on except God, to whom they cry out day and night."

He hoped that during this year's observance of Dalit Liberation Sunday "Churches will identify and declare specific measures through which they can measure up both as collectives and as individuals to be zero-tolerant with regard to discrimination based on caste."

70% of India's 25 million Christians come from the Dalit background. The Indian government is still to render SC status to Christians from Dalit community whose change of religion dismantled their social, economical and educational status.

Despite the delay and denial of justice, the struggle continues amidst hope against hope, says Rev. Raj Bharat Patta, secretary of the Commission on Dalits, NCCI.

Besides these denials, the denial of self-dignity and humanhood to Dalits are everyday news that this world of ours visualizes, he rued.

"From times immemorial, Dalits experience delay and denial in their lives, for the people, the structures, the institutions and the justice delivery mechanisms have all been insensitive to their ordeals and plights."

"If we as Christians come to the forefront to address Dalit issue as a faith issue, we are professing that our God is not a delaying God, and our God is a God of justice," said Rev. Bharat.

He hoped the Church would unite to "address all delays and denials that our Dalits face and suffer today."