Caste discrimination — U.K. Dalits win the argument, nearly

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Caste discrimination — U.K. Dalits win the argument, nearly

‘Interfacing for Emancipation: Dalit Thelogians and Activists in Conversation for Collaboration’

http://www.nccindia.in/news/pressrelease/n_182.htmRev. Raj Bharath Patta,Executive Secretary,NCCI -Commission on Dalits

reports: "An ecumenical reception on solidarity for Dalits has been organized on 8th August, 2010 at United Theological College, Bangalore in conjunction with a programme ‘Interfacing for Emancipation: Dalit Thelogians and Activists in Conversation for Collaboration’ which was held during 5-9 August 2010 at Ecumenical Christian Centre, Bangalore organized by CODECS, WCC, SCMI, SATHRI and ECC. Mr. Paul Diwakar, National Convener of NCDHR, Rev. Dr. Monica Melanchton, Head of the Department of Old Testament at Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Dr. Sukumar from the University of Delhi gave glimpses of the Dalit reality and the conversations that took place between Dalit Theologians and activists. Rev. Dr. Deenabandhu Manchala, WCC Programme Executive, Unity, Mission and Spirituality, brought greetings and shared the role of the World Council in building just and inclusive communities across the globe. Rt. Rev. Dr. Taranath S. Sagar, President, NCCI spoke on the occasion and called on the Churches to join the Dalit Movement in bringing in a transformation both within and outside our communities. Several Church leaders in Bangalore attended this evening reception. Rev. Vincent Rajkumar from CISRS, Rev.A. Samuel Jayakumar, Dr. Hrangthan Chhungi from NCCI, Rev. Dr. Peniel Jesudason Rufus Rajkumar and staff members of the United Theological College and several Dalit activists participated and had conversation on Dalit solidarity. Rev. Dr. Joseph Prabhakar Dayam also shared the role of CODECS, Collective of Dalit Ecumenical Christian Colleges and proposed the Vote of Thanks. This ecumenical reception also created an interest among the participants to join hand in hand with the ongoing movements for justice, for all of them affirmed that justice is the core of the Christian Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Jacob's Ethics Reader: Day of Protest on 10th August 2010, denouncing Indian Constitution’s Scheduled Caste Order 1950,

Jacob's Ethics Reader: Day of Protest on 10th August 2010, denouncing Indian Constitution’s Scheduled Caste Order 1950,

Still Untouchable: The Politics of Religious Conversion

Still Untouchable: The Politics of Religious Conversion

The invisible capital of identity « Dalit News from Kerala

The invisible capital of identity « Dalit News from Kerala

Jimmy Carter's New Baptist Covenant message of racial reconciliation and cooperation on social issue

Carter draws huge church crowd for Baptist message

The Associated Press

Sunday, February 01, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Former President Jimmy Carter addressed a packed Sixteenth Street Baptist Church with his New Baptist Covenant message of racial reconciliation and cooperation on social issues.

Some 1,200 people filled the historic Birmingham church Saturday where four black girls died in a 1963 Ku Klux Klan bombing.

Carter told the Southeast regional meeting of the new Baptist organization he helped found last year in Atlanta that there’s “no way for us to ignore Jesus’ emphasis on the poor, the brokenhearted.”

He said the evolution of the New Baptist Covenant is the “highlight of my religious life.” He spoke at a worship service that was followed by workshops on poverty and racism.

“It’s not an accident that God led us to Birmingham and this institute,” Carter said during a breakfast at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

Carter recalled a time when racial prejudice was rampant in Baptist churches, and theologians defended separate worship.

“The Baptist church was a stalwart defender of segregation,” he said. “It was ingrained in our conscience.”

Carter said the meeting will help churches work better together.  Read it all

Orissa temple purified after low caste woman minister visit

Orissa temple purified after low caste minister visit

Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:16pm IST

BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - Hindu priests in Orissa are under investigation for conducting a purification ritual soon after a minister belonging to a lower caste visited a famous temple, officials said on Friday.

Minutes after Pramila Mallick, a minister in Orissa, prayed at the temple this week, Hindu priests shut the doors and threw away holy offerings, washed the floors and changed the idol's clothes, one official said.

"Some priests opposed the minister's entry into the interior chamber of the temple," Upendra Mallik, a senior government official told Reuters. "We are investigating."

In India, millions of people formerly known as "untouchables" remain oppressed at the bottom of the ancient Hindu caste system.

The minister said the purification ritual, at the Akhandalamani temple in Orissa's Bhadrak district, could have been conducted at the behest of her political rivals.

"I have been visiting the temple for years now. Some politically motivated people want to create controversy," she said.

In spite of India's secular constitution banning caste discrimination, Dalits -- those at the bottom of the caste system -- are still commonly beaten or killed for using a well or worshipping at a temple reserved for upper castes.

More than 16 percent of India's 1.1-billion population are Dalits, occupying the lowest rank in a 3,000-year-old Hindu caste system.  source: Reuters India