04-07-2005, 09:42 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Low caste converts barred from Christmas celebration in Indian church
AP Worldstream; 12/25/2003; K.N.ARUN, Associated Press Writer
AP Worldstream
12-25-2003
Dateline: MADRAS, India
Police were guarding a church Thursday after more than 250 lower caste villagers who converted to Christianity were barred from a Christmas mass, an officer said.
The villagers, known as Dalit Christians after the lower-caste Hindu social class they once belonged to, were prevented from attending midnight mass at St. Ebiben's Church by high-caste converts, said local pastor Father Christopher Rethinasamy.
He said he was helpless to do anything because he feared an outbreak of violence.
Dalits are sometimes called "untouchables" because of the social neglect they suffer at the bottom of India's 2,500-year-old caste system.
Many of India's Christians, who form about 2 percent of the country's 1.02 billion Hindu-majority population, have changed their faith to escape the often-oppressive Hindu caste hierarchy.
The Dalit Christians were made to wait for nearly an hour and half as mass was conducted for the converts from the Vannia community, who were formerly high caste Hindus.
They were allowed entry an hour after the ceremony ended, but only after police intervened and negotiated with church authorities.
"I know it is against the teachings of Jesus," Rethinasamy told The Associated Press. "But I had to go along with the decision of the Vannia Christians. I did not want the situation to deteriorate into violence."
The church in Manjakuppam, a village about 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) south of New Delhi, is in an area that has witnessed deep caste-based divisions between the Dalit and Vannia Christians.
Some 50 police officers were posted at the site to prevent any clashes, said a senior police official in the area, Rajeev Kumar.
"The entire district has a history of violent clashes between the two communities," Kumar said by telephone. "We anticipated that there might be some trouble and came prepared to defuse it."
"The entire district has a history of violent clashes between the two communities," Kumar said by telephone. "We anticipated that there might be some trouble and came prepared to defuse it."
Copyright 2003, AP News All Rights Reserved<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
AP Worldstream; 12/25/2003; K.N.ARUN, Associated Press Writer
AP Worldstream
12-25-2003
Dateline: MADRAS, India
Police were guarding a church Thursday after more than 250 lower caste villagers who converted to Christianity were barred from a Christmas mass, an officer said.
The villagers, known as Dalit Christians after the lower-caste Hindu social class they once belonged to, were prevented from attending midnight mass at St. Ebiben's Church by high-caste converts, said local pastor Father Christopher Rethinasamy.
He said he was helpless to do anything because he feared an outbreak of violence.
Dalits are sometimes called "untouchables" because of the social neglect they suffer at the bottom of India's 2,500-year-old caste system.
Many of India's Christians, who form about 2 percent of the country's 1.02 billion Hindu-majority population, have changed their faith to escape the often-oppressive Hindu caste hierarchy.
The Dalit Christians were made to wait for nearly an hour and half as mass was conducted for the converts from the Vannia community, who were formerly high caste Hindus.
They were allowed entry an hour after the ceremony ended, but only after police intervened and negotiated with church authorities.
"I know it is against the teachings of Jesus," Rethinasamy told The Associated Press. "But I had to go along with the decision of the Vannia Christians. I did not want the situation to deteriorate into violence."
The church in Manjakuppam, a village about 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) south of New Delhi, is in an area that has witnessed deep caste-based divisions between the Dalit and Vannia Christians.
Some 50 police officers were posted at the site to prevent any clashes, said a senior police official in the area, Rajeev Kumar.
"The entire district has a history of violent clashes between the two communities," Kumar said by telephone. "We anticipated that there might be some trouble and came prepared to defuse it."
"The entire district has a history of violent clashes between the two communities," Kumar said by telephone. "We anticipated that there might be some trouble and came prepared to defuse it."
Copyright 2003, AP News All Rights Reserved<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->