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Caste system among South Asian Christians

Summary

The caste system among South Asian Christians often reflects stratification by sect, location, and the caste of their predecessors.[1] There exists evidence to show that Christian individuals have mobility within their respective castes.[2] But, in some cases, social inertia caused by their old traditions and biases against other castes remain, causing caste system to persist among South Asian Christians, to some extent.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Christian priests, nuns, Dalits and similar groups are found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.[10]

Regions edit

Kerala (Malabar region) edit

Saint Thomas Christians and Knanaya in Kerala belong to different denominations. Intermarriage between different ethnic groups is rare. Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala, composed of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, CSI Syrian Christians, Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Pentecostal Syrian Christians,[11][12] St Thomas Evangelical Church of India, Malabar Independent Syrian Church, Syro-Malabar Church, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Chaldean Syrian Church, and the endogamous subcaste of Knanaya form ~4% of the Christians in the state.[13][14][15][16] Pentecostal Saint Thomas Christians are the ethnic Saint Thomas Christians (Nasranis) affiliated to various Pentecostal and independent Neo-Charismatic churches.

The Dalit and Nadar Christians of the state combined form 2.6% of the Christian community.[17]

In the colonial period, many lower castes were converted to Christians by the European Missionaries but the new converts were not allowed to join the Saint Thomas Christian community and they continued to be considered as untouchables even by the Syrian Christians. However, due to evangelical missions of Syrian Christian Churches starting from late 19th century, a considerable population of lower-castes (in some cases even outside Kerala) are part of some Syrian Christian Churches such as the Mar Thoma and CSI churches.[18][19] The Saint Thomas Christians claim to derive status within the caste system from the tradition that they were elites who were evangelized by Thomas the Apostle.[20][21][22] Anand Amaladass says that "The Syrian Christians had inserted themselves within the Indian caste society for centuries and were regarded by the Hindus as a caste occupying a high place within their caste hierarchy."[23] Saint Thomas Christians followed the same rules of caste and pollution as that of Hindus and they were considered as pollution neutralizers.[20][24] Rajendra Prasad, an Indian historian, said that the Syrian Christians took ritual baths after physical contact with lower castes.[25][26]

Goa (Konkan) and Canara edit

In Portuguese Bombay and Bassein, Portuguese Goa and Damaon and other Portuguese Indian possessions, conversions of entire villages were carried out by Catholic missionaries from the Portuguese conquest of Goa from 1510 onwards. The Portuguese clergy imposed Portuguese surnames on the converts at the time of Baptism so that it would be difficult to know their original caste easily. The Portuguese authorities also suppressed untouchability among the converts and attempted to homogenize them into a single entity.[27][28]

However, the converted Hindus retained a variation of their caste status based on patrilineal descent from their previous caste affiliations. The new converts were lumped into new Catholic castes. All Brahmin subcastes (Goud Saraswat Brahmins, Padyes, Daivadnyas), goldsmiths and even some rich merchants, were lumped into the Christian caste of Bamonns (Konkani: Brahmins).[29] The converts from the Kshatriya and Vaishya Vani castes became lumped together as Chardos (Kshatriyas)[29] and those Vaishyas who didn't become Chardos formed a new caste Gauddos.[30] The converts from all the lower castes, as well as the previously Dalit and adivasi groups, were grouped together as Sudirs, equivalent to Shudras.[31][32] The converts to Christianity were also not allowed to practice their caste-based Hindu customs because of the Goa Inquisition.[33]

Punjab region and the Hindi belt edit

In northern parts of colonial India, there were waves of conversions to Christianity among the Chuhra and Chamar in the Punjab Province and United Provinces of Agra and Oudh; they thus became known as Dalit Christians.[34][35] The Chuhra sub-castes found in Pakistan and India include the Sahotra, Gill, Khokhar, Mattoo, Bhatti, among other sub-castes.[36]

There were a number of conversions from various forward castes in Moghul-era Bihar, the Bettiah Christian community are descendants of those converts.

Sindh edit

In the province of Sindh, Christians of lower castes are often the victims of forced marriages.[37]

Tamil Nadu edit

Majority of Christians in the state hail from the Paravar, Nadar, Mukkuvar, Udayar (caste), and Adi Dravidar. The mass conversion of Paravars date back to the Portuguese era and the conflict over the Pearl Fishery Coast between the Paravars and arabs in the 15th century A.D.The Paravars converted 'en masse' to Christianity and became the subjects of the Portuguese king. The Nadar conversion to Christianity dates back to the British Colonial Era in the 18th century. The first to initiate the conversion was Mylaudy village by Sir Ringle Taube. Later in the 19th century, the Vellalars, the Udaiyars and Schedule castes embraced Christianity. The cohesion of jatis among caste Christians (e.g. Paravas) and the strength of caste leadership are noted by scholars to be much stronger than comparable predominantly Hindu castes in Tamil Nadu.[38] The Christians of Tamil Nadu denote themselves as RC (Roman Catholic) Paravar, RC Nadar, CSI Nadar etc., i.e., they use a combination of the Church and their Hindu caste name. Robert L. Hardgrave, a Professor of Humanities, notes in his work The Nadars of TamilNad.. that a Christian Nadar would enter into a marital alliance with a Hindu Nadar but never with a Christian of another caste and that they would dine with their Hindu brethren but never with a person of their own faith who was beneath them in the social scale. As per a native pastor, "Caste sticks to the people as closely as their skins. The blood of caste was thicker than the spirit of religion."[39]

Nepal edit

In Nepal, Christians often enter into canonically interfaith marriages with members of the same caste.[4]

Under the law edit

Indian law does not provide benefits for Scheduled Caste Christians. Christians have been advocating for the same rights given to Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh Scheduled castes.[40] Despite the activists' point that Christians are a casteless society, discrimination does not go away easily and Dalits seek equal rights irrespective of the religion they profess.[41]

Some Christians also oppose the proposed labeling of "Christian Scheduled castes" because they feel their identity may be assimilated. Pastor Salim Sharif of the Church of North India notes "We are becoming another class and caste."[42]

Caste discrimination among Christians edit

Criticism edit

Many Catholics have spoken out against discrimination against them by members of the Catholic Church. A Dalit activist with a nom-de-plume of Bama Faustina has written books that are critical of the discrimination by the nuns and priests in Churches in South India (CSI).[43] During 2003 ad limina visits of the bishops of India, Pope John Paul II criticized the caste discrimination in the Catholic Church in India when addressing bishops of the ecclesiastical provinces of Madras-Mylapore, Madurai and Pondicherry-Cuddalore, the three archbishops of Tamil Nadu. He went on to say: "It is the Church's obligation to work unceasingly to change hearts, helping all people to see every human being as a child of God, a brother or sister of Christ, and therefore a member of our own family".[44][45][46]

Dalit Christians edit

Mass conversions of lower caste Hindus to Christianity and Islam took place in order to escape the discrimination. The main Dalit groups that participated in these conversions were the Chuhras of Punjab, Chamars of North India (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh), Vankars of Gujarat, Adi Dravida (Paraiyan, Pulaiyar, Valluvar, Koliyar, Pallan) of Tamil Nadu and Pulayas of Kerala.[47] They believed that “Christianity is a true religion; a desire for protection from oppressors and, if possible, material aid; the desire for education for their children; and the knowledge that those who have become Christians had improved”.[48] Christianity was thought to be egalitarian and could provide mobility away from the caste. Even after conversion, in some cases, Dalits were discriminated against due to the “residual leftover” practice of caste discrimination from their previous traditions.[49] This is attributed to the predominant Hindu society they lived in. Sometimes the only change seen was their personal religious identity. In many cases they were still referred to by their Hindu caste names. Examples include Pulayans in Kerala, Adi Dravida Paraiyan in Tamil Nadu and Madigas in Andhra Pradesh, who are discriminated by members of all religious backgrounds.[50]

The first people converted by Jesuits of the Madura Mission to Christianity were members of Nadars, Maravars and Pallar.[51] Caste based occupations held by Dalits also show a clear segregation which perpetuated even after becoming Christian. Occupational patterns (including manual scavenging) that are prevalent among Dalit Christians in north-west India are said to be quite similar to that of Dalit Hindus.[52] Occupational discrimination for Dalit Christians goes so far as to restrict not only employment but in some cases for clean sanitation and water.[53] Inter-caste marriage among Christians is also not commonly practiced. For example, Syrian Christians in Kerala do not marry Dalit Christians. Even intermarriage between Bamons and Shudras in Goa is quite uncommon. Sometimes marriage to a higher class Hindu is preferred to marriage to a Dalit Christian. Discrimination against Dalit Christians also remained in interactions and mannerisms between castes. For example, during the earlier days the ‘lower caste Christians’ had to close their mouth when talking to a Syrian Christian.[47] Even after conversion segregation, restriction, hierarchy and graded ritual purity remained to some extent. Data shows that there is more discrimination and less class mobility among the people living in the rural areas, where the incidence of caste discrimination is higher among people from all religious backgrounds .[47]

In many cases, the churches referred to the Dalits as ‘New Christians'. It is alleged to be a derogatory term which classifies the Dalit Christians to be looked down upon by other Christians. During the earlier days of Christianity, in some churches in south India the Dalits had either separate seating or had to attend the mass from outside.[54] Dalit Christians are also said to be grossly underrepresented amongst the clergy in some places.[55]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Christian Castes Archived 2006-11-29 at the Wayback Machine Encyclopædia Britannica
  2. ^ Fuller, C. J. (March 1976). "Kerala Christians and the Caste System". Man. New series. 11 (1): 53–70. doi:10.2307/2800388. JSTOR 2800388.
  3. ^ Aqeel, Asif; Faruqi, Sama (26 February 2018). "Caste away: The ongoing struggle of Punjabi Christians". Herald Magazine. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b Khadka, Prakash (29 June 2016). "Marriage: Making sense of Nepal's complex culture". UCA News. Retrieved 25 May 2021. Even though the caste system is understood as a Hindu system, this practice is hidden and embedded within the Nepalese Christian community, especially when it comes to marriage. ... Therefore, inter-faith and inter-caste marriages are two different realities of the Nepalese Christian community. It is not possible for us to avoid mixed marriages in our small community. When young people look around for their life partner, they can't find someone suitable from their community and this leads them to search for someone outside of their community. Mixed marriages happen in the end.
  5. ^ "Christian caste". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  6. ^ Struggle for justice to Untouchable Christians Brojendra Nath Banerjee, Uiliyāma Kerī Sṭāḍi eyāṇḍ Risārca Seṇṭāra. Page 42: "At stake is the fate of 16 million Christians of SC origin, who form 70–80 percent of the Christians in the country"
  7. ^ Carol Henderson Garcia, Carol E. Henderson 2002:40 "Today about 70 percent of Christians are Dalits"
  8. ^ Radhakrishnan 2005:23
  9. ^ Azariah 1985:5
  10. ^ Panchanan Mohanty; Ramesh C. Malik; Eswarappa Kasi (2009). Ethnographic discourse of the other: conceptual and methodological issues. Cambridge Scholars. pp. 39–116.
  11. ^ Bergunder, Michael (6 June 2008). The South Indian Pentecostal Movement in the Twentieth Century. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 15–16, 30, 36, 49, 55–56. ISBN 978-0-8028-2734-0.
  12. ^ Hefner, Robert W. (2 October 2013). Global Pentecostalism in the 21st Century. Indiana University Press. pp. 197–199, 201–202. ISBN 978-0-253-01094-0.
  13. ^ Fortescue, A. (1913). The lesser eastern churches. London: Catholic Truth Society. pp. 374–375. ISBN 978-1-177-70798-5.
  14. ^ Frykenberg, R.E. (March 2024). "Thomas Christians:History & Tradition-Britannica". www.britannica.com.
  15. ^ Fahlbusch, Erwin; Lochman, Jan Milic; Bromiley, Geoffrey William; Mbiti, John S.; Pelikan, Jaroslav; Barrett, David B.; Vischer, Lukas (1999). The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 686–687. ISBN 978-90-04-11695-5.
  16. ^ Lamport, Mark A. (1 June 2018). Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 893–894. ISBN 978-1-4422-7157-9.
  17. ^ "KCBC". www.kcbcsite.com.
  18. ^ rti_admin (2018-03-12). "Caste, Family, Self: Savarna Christian Perspectives". Round Table India. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  19. ^ Varghese Meloottu, Allan (February 2023). "Amplifying the Dalit Pentecostal Historical Narrative amid the Persistent Syrian Christian 'Privileged' Narrative in Kerala". Religions. 14 (2): 175. doi:10.3390/rel14020175. ISSN 2077-1444.
  20. ^ a b Fuller (1976), pp. 55-56.
  21. ^ Fuller, C.J. "Indian Christians: Pollution and Origins." Man. New Series, Vol. 12, No. 3/4. (Dec. 1977), pp. 528–529.
  22. ^ Amaladass (1993), pp. 15-19.
  23. ^ Amaladass (1993), p. 18.
  24. ^ Vadakkekara, Benedict (2007). Origin of Christianity in India: a Historiographical Critique, pp. 325–330. Media House Delhi.
  25. ^ Prasad, Rajendra (2009). A Historical Developmental Study of Classical Indian Philosophy of Morals. Vol. 12. Concept Publishing. ISBN 978-8-18069-595-7.
  26. ^ "Why Christo-Racist Nationalism and Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Are Gaining Ground in Kerala". thewire.in. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  27. ^ Boxer, C. R. (1963). Race Relations in the Portuguese Colonial Empire, 1415-1825. Oxford Clarendon Press. p. 75.
  28. ^ Prabhu, Alan Machado (1999). Sarasvati's Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians. I.J.A. Publications. ISBN 978-81-86778-25-8.
  29. ^ a b Gune, Vithal Trimbak; Goa, Daman and Diu (India). Gazetteer Dept (1979). "Gazetteer of the Union Territory Goa, Daman and Diu: district gazetteer, Volume 1" (Document). Gazetteer Dept., Govt. of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. p. 238.
  30. ^ Gomes, Olivinho (1987). Village Goa: a study of Goan social structure and change. S. Chand. p. 78.
  31. ^ Muthukumaraswamy, M. D.; University of Madras. Dept. of Anthropology; National Folklore Support Centre (India) (2006). Muthukumaraswamy, M. D.; University of Madras. Dept. of Anthropology; National Folklore Support Centre (India) (eds.). Folklore as discourse. National Folklore Support Centre. ISBN 978-81-901481-6-0. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  32. ^ Bhargava, Gopal K.; Bhatt, S. C. (2006). Land and people of Indian states and union territories (Goa). Kalpaz Publications. p. 39.
  33. ^ Délio de Mendonça (2002). Conversions and citizenry: Goa under Portugal, 1510–1610. Concept Publishing Company.
  34. ^ Frykenberg, Robert Eric (26 June 2008). Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford University Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-19-826377-7.
  35. ^ Singha, Sara; Ariel, Glucklich (23 April 2015). "Dalit Christians and Caste Consciousness in Pakistan". Retrieved 22 September 2020. This study explores caste discrimination in Pakistan against untouchable (Dalit) converts to Christianity. During the nineteenth century in India, many Dalits converted to Christianity to escape caste persecution. In the 1870s in Punjab, a mass movement to Protestant Christianity flourished among the Dalit Chuhra caste. The Chuhras were the largest menial caste in Punjab and engaged in degrading occupations including sweeping and sanitation work. By the 1930s, almost the entire Chuhra caste converted to Protestant Christianity.
  36. ^ Singh, Kumar Suresh (1995). The Scheduled Castes, Volume 10. Oxford University Press. p. 108. ISBN 9780195637427. Ibbetson (1916) records several Chuhra tribes (divisions), namely Sahotra, Gill, Bhatti, Khokhar, Mattu, Kharu, Kaliyana, Ladhar, Sindhu, Chhapriband, Untwal, Kandabari, Hansi, Khosar, Borat and Dharival.
  37. ^ Ebrahim, Zofeen T. (9 November 2020). "Pakistan court orders arrests over Christian teen's forced marriage". Reuters. Retrieved 25 May 2021. Campaigners say forced conversion and marriage of girls and women from minority religions, including Hindus and Christians, is a growing problem in Muslim-majority Pakistan, with those from poor families and low castes largely targeted.
  38. ^ Kauffman, S. B. "A Christian Caste in Hindu Society: Religious Leadership and Social Conflict among the Paravas of Southern Tamilnadu." Modern Asian Studies. 15, No. 2, (1981)
  39. ^ Robert L. Hardgrave (1969). The Nadars of Tamilnad. University of California Press. p. 91. tamil rc vellalar csi nadar.
  40. ^ "By 2050, India to have world's largest populations of Hindus and Muslims".
  41. ^ "Do Christians also practise caste system, asks SC". Times of India. July 20, 2007.
  42. ^ Sharif interview 17 November 1996
  43. ^ A palmyra leaf that sears us[usurped] The Hindu – September 16, 2001
  44. ^ "Address to the Bishops of India on their ad Limina visit". Retrieved 17 November 2003.
  45. ^ Papal Address to Bishops of Madras-Mylapore, Madurai and Pondicherry-Cuddalore Archived 2008-09-22 at the Wayback Machine ZENIT – November 17, 2003
  46. ^ Problems and Struggles Dalitchristians.com
  47. ^ a b c Dalit Christians In India Archived 2016-11-05 at the Wayback Machine Sobin George 2012
  48. ^ South Indian Missionary Congress. 1908. ‘The Report of Conference Held at Madras’
  49. ^ [‘Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste System and its Implications’, Complete Revised Edition, Chicago: Chicago University Press] Dumont, Louis. 1980.
  50. ^ [‘Caste-based Discrimination and Atrocities on Dalit Christians and the Need for Reservations’, Working Paper Series, II(04): New Delhi: Indian Institute of Dalit Studies.] Louis, Prakash. 2007.
  51. ^ [The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute Vol. 2, No. 3 (Sep., 1996)] David Mosse.
  52. ^ [ ‘Rural Christian Community in North West India’, New Delhi] Dogar, Vidya Sagar. 2000.
  53. ^ Jose, Kananaikil. 1990. [‘Scheduled Castes Converts and Social Disabilities: A Survey of Tamil Nadu’]
  54. ^ Louis, Prakash. 2007.[ ‘Caste-based Discrimination and Atrocities on Dalit Christians and the Need for Reservations’, Working Paper Series, II(04): New Delhi: Indian Institute of Dalit Studies.]
  55. ^ [Indian Dalits find no refuge from caste in Christianity] BBC, sept 14 2010

Sources edit

  • Azariah M. The Un-Christian Side of the Indian Church. Alit Sahitya Academy, 1985.
  • Kenneth, Ballhatchet (1998). Caste, Class and Catholicism in India, 1789–1914. Routledge. ISBN 0-7007-1095-7. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
  • Fuller, C.J.Indian Christians: Pollution and Origins. Man, New Series, Vol. 12, No. 3/4. (Dec., 1977)
  • Henderson, Carol. Culture and Customs of India. Greenwood Press, 2002.
  • Koshy, Ninan. Caste in the Kerala Churches. Bangalore: Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, 1968.
  • Manickam, Sundararaj. Studies in Missionary History: Reflections on a Culture-contact. Christian Literature Society, 1988.
  • Radhakrishnan, P. Perfidies of Power: India in the New Millennium. TR Publications, 2005.
  • Michael, S.M.Untouchable: Dalits in Modern India. Lynne Riener Publishers, 1999. ISBN 1-55587-697-8
  • Webster, John. The Christian Dalits: A History. Delhi: Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK), 1994.

External links edit

  • Roman Catholic Brahmin
  • Discrimination against Untouchables by Christians

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