"if these benefits were extended to Christians, many Hindus would want to convert to Christianity in order to receive them."
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| Christians in India have been facing extreme persecution from Hindu nationalists under the new Indian government. |
Source/Credit: Christian Daily
By Tracie Hearne | October 31, 2014
In India's rigorous caste system, social justice minister Thavar Chand Gehlot has said that the poorest Christians in the country should not receive government job and education assistance.
Gehlot provided two reasons explaining why he does not believe Christians should receive this assistance in India's daily newspaper the Times of India. First, he said that there are no Christians among India's Dalits, which is a term to describe the lowest class in India, also known as untouchables. Second, he said that if these benefits were extended to Christians, many Hindus would want to convert to Christianity in order to receive them.
"The demand is not constitutional and we want to work within the parameters of the statute for the welfare of these communities," Gehlot added.
The statements made by Gehlot has caused Christian leaders in the region to voice their concerns with his stance.
"As a Dalit Christian leader, I have to state that the position of the minister is unfortunate," Rev. Kumar Swamy, national secretary of the All India Christian Council, told World Watch Monitor. "The constitution clearly states that citizens will not be discriminated on the basis of religion."
Gehlot explained in the Times of India that the demand for Christian and Muslim minorities to receive a special "Scheduled Caste" is the product of a 10-year lawsuit that is sitting at India's Supreme Court. The "Scheduled Caste" would provide Dalits with the same resources that Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs receive, but Gehlot said that many Hindus "converted to other religions because untouchability did not exist there. The conversion has solved the problems they faced as Hindus. So, they should not ask for SC status." Christians, however, disagree with this claim.
"Nobody can escape the Indian caste system by converting to other religions. After the conversion, they do not live in vacuum but in a casteist society itself," Rev. Sunil Raj Philip, executive secretary of the Commission on Dalits within the National Council of Churches in India, said in a statement released Oct. 21 according to Charisma News.
Christian persecution is rampant among many regions in India as Hindu radicalism has been on the rise since the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year. According to the official census, Christians make up 2.3 percent of India's population, but independent estimates say the number could be as high as 7 percent (about 80 million people). Christian Dalits often keep their faith hidden in order to continue to receive the qualifications and benefits provided in the Caste system.
"Whether Christians or Muslims do not have caste system is not the issue. The fact is that caste identity till today is a dominant identity in India and results in all forms of discrimination," Rev. Swamy told World Watch Monitor.
Read original post here: India's Social Justice Minister Says Christians Do Not Deserve Special Caste
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