Six Dalit Christian women and a pastor of Tirtal village in Jagatsinghpur district. (Photo: Frontline)
Dalit Awakening: K. P. Yohannan and Joseph D'Souza, president of the All-India Christian Council, briefly addressed the crowd. (Photo: Gospel For Asia)
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Dalit Christians will attend a court hearing next month to determine whether they will receive basic human rights that Dalits of other religions in the country now receive.
On Oct. 18, the Indian Supreme Court will hear the case concerning Dalit Christians that may, in the end, give them the same basic human rights as Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhist Dalits.
“This is definitely going to happen because there is tremendous pressure from all sides, especially on the left, who are saying this needs to be done,” comments K.P. Yohannan, the president and founder of Gospel for Asia to Mission Network News (MNN).
“And therefore I do not think they can say ‘no’ to it especially with the world coming into the picture,” Yohannan said, referring to an upcoming conference sponsored by the Dalit Freedom Network in Washington, D.C.
The conference, to be held prior to the hearing on Oct. 6, will aim to make the world aware of the severe discrimination faced by low caste citizens in India. Titled “Racism and Caste Based Discrimination in India: Implications for the US-India Relationship,” the conference will be followed by presentations that will be made before the U.S. House of Representatives regarding the issue.
"The whole purpose is to get the world (to) become aware of the fact of the slavery of these Dalits and this is another step needed to be taken so they can be freed from the grip of this caste system,” said Yohannan to MNN.
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According to the Dalit Freedom Network this conference marks a new awareness among U.S. lawmakers on the “atrocities” faced by the low caste Dalits. Among the speakers who will be presenting to the House of Representatives on Oct. 6 will be Dr. Joseph D’souza, the international president of the Dalit Freedom Network as well as the president of the All India Christian Council – one of the largest interdenominational alliances of Christians dealing with human rights and caste-based discrimination.
If the Supreme Court in India grants Dalit Christians basic human rights, then Dalit Christians will no longer have to hesitate professing their faith and will commit to Christ more strongly, Yohannan told MNN.
In India, Dalits are considered the low caste of society or the “untouchables.” Non-Christian Dalits are permitted basic human rights such as the rights to jobs, education, and other, but when they convert to Christianity, they lose these rights.
Gospel for Asia (GFA), which has been following and reporting on the situation of Dalit Christians in India, is an organization that trains and sends native missionaries to the most unreached areas of Asia. GFA has trained and sent more than 14,500 native missionaries who plant over 10 churches every day.
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