Originally published at The Crux
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MUMBAI – A burial controversy involving a Dalit man in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state has brought the plight of the country’s Dalit population into sharp focus, with the local Catholic bishop involving civil authorities to resolve the dispute.
Father Devasagayaraj Zackarias, national secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India’s Office for Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, told Crux Now the Catholic Church’s teaching unequivocally rejects caste discrimination, but ingrained cultural habits and attitudes die hard.
“While the world is advancing into the age of digital technology and artificial intelligence,” Zackarias said, “some people continue to cling to caste practices that should have no place among Christians.”
Some of the people who opposed the burial, however, were themselves Catholics of the dominant castes.
The term “Dalit” refers to the “untouchables” under India’s ancient caste system, meaning people considered unclean and therefore traditionally ostracized.
The Indian constitution officially abolished caste distinctions in 1949, but they remain strong in popular culture.
Dalits have traditionally been among India’s most impoverished communities.
Although India’s Dalits account for as much as 80 percent of the Christian population, Dalits continue to face unfair treatment even from Catholics who come from higher castes – a
