Who Are the Dalits?

- by Wes Kawato

Though there are four main clusters of caste groups in Hinduism, the Dalits are below all of them! They make up 25 percent of that country's population, and they are among the poorest communities in India.

Around 1000 B.C., the Aryan peoples invaded India and Pakistan from the north and the west. These invaders spoke Indo-Aryan languages that would later evolve into modern Hindi. These light skinned invaders weren't the ancestors of the Dalits. The Dalits trace their origins to the original people groups of South Asia conquered and exploited by these Aryan invaders. During the 150 years following the conquest, the Dalits lost the knowledge of their own languages and adopted the Indo-Aryan languages of their masters.

Roots of Oppression
The conquerors used skin color and language as a means of setting themselves apart from the subject peoples. The Dalits started off as ethnic minority groups that were controlled by the people groups that would eventually change into India's upper or "forward" castes. As time went on, the Aryans made laws restricting the jobs Dalits could do and forbade them from even touching one of their masters.

Besides language and skin color, there were religious differences between the Dalits and the Aryan invaders. In their temples, the invaders worshipped nature spirits, such as earth, wind, fire, and water. These were early forms of what we now call Hinduism. The Aryans detested the religious practices of the people groups they conquered, because the Dalit's religion involved fire walking and human sacrifice. There was no mixing of the two religious systems. Dalits were banned from Hindu temples from the time of the Aryan conquest.

Over the centuries Dalits were increasingly marginalized. They were restricted to the dirtiest jobs such as dealing with dead animals and burying the dead of castes that rejected cremation. Other new laws kept the Dalits from drinking from wells reserved for groups higher up on the social ladder. They were also forbidden from marrying Aryans. By this time the Dalits had no hope of advancement.

The gradual British takeover of India that began in the 1700s didn't change many things for India's Dalits. British census takers and Indian politicians classified the Dalits as Hindus. This was during a time when the leaders of what would become India's independence movement wanted to show their British conquerors that the Hindus formed the majority of India's population. The irony of this classification was that Dalits were still forbidden to enter Hindu temples. Centuries earlier such discrimination had been codified in the Hindu holy texts.

Dalits after Independence
In 1947 India became independent from Britain. The country's new constitution banned caste discrimination and authorized the Indian national government to launch affirmative action programs for disadvantaged communities and ethnic groups. But these new federal laws couldn't erase a thousand years of discrimination. State and local Indian officials were afraid to fully enforce caste equality laws for fear of retaliation from militant Hindu groups.

Dalits still face severe discrimination in India. In 2007 a town in the state of Orissa refused to provide tap water to Dalits. Job discrimination continues to be a problem. In Karnataka state, Dalit street cleaners were paid 1200 rupees a month, while higher caste street cleaners received 4900 rupees for the same time period. Justice is also unequal. Recently in Karnataka those accused of burning seven Dalits to death were acquitted of murder because witnesses refused to testify for the prosecution. They feared retaliation from radical Hindu groups. In some Indian states there are as many as 500 cases involving the murder of Dalits and 98 percent of them go unsolved.

Prior to independence in 1947 Dalits were banned from owning land. India's 1947 constitution ended that ban and started a land redistribution program. But many Indian states have slowed land redistribution to a snail's pace. They redistribute just enough land to Dalits to keep the national government off their backs. Many states enact these programs slowly for fear of antagonizing radical Hindu groups.

There is also a question of who qualifies as a Dalit. According to India's current laws, a Dalit who converts out of the Hindu religion ceases to be a Dalit, and can be denied government aid. Many of India's believers are ex-Dalits, and these laws have had a negative economic impact on them. Some political activists are now trying to get these laws changed. In recent years land problems have been flash points in India. In Tamil Nadu state, two Dalits were killed when they tried to occupy land that the state government had redistributed to them.

Besides a lack of land, India's Dalits have many other problems. They suffer from malnutrition, lack of medical care and illiteracy, the same type of problems faced by the poor in other parts of the world. But these problems are compounded by de-facto discrimination that keeps them from providing for their needs.

Those attempting to end caste discrimination face opposition from radical Hindu groups. The BJP Party, one of the two largest political parties in India, has a violent, radical Hindu faction within it, called the RSS. The BJP has at times controlled India's Parliament and some state governments.

Recent Changes for Dalit Communities
Things are slowly improving for the Dalits. Recently Luknow, capital city of the populous state of Uttar Pradesh, elected a Dalit woman named Mayawati as mayor. Her political party started as a Dalits only party, but now accepts as members those from other communities.

In 2002 a group of Indian Christians started the Dalit Freedom Network (DFN) for the purpose of ending caste discrimination in India. The DFN is a member of the All India Christian Council. This organization has several aims. One of them is education. A person who can't read or write has no chance of escaping poverty. The DFN has started a network of schools, because many Indian schools won't accept Dalit students even if they could afford to pay the tuition. A second aim of the DFN is medical care, because sick children can't go to school. The organization has started several health clinics. The DFN also provides micro-loans to Dalits wanting to start their own businesses in the hope of making jobs more available to Dalits across India.

The DFN is also politically active both in and out of India. The organization is very vocal about exposing violence against Dalits. They have held rallies in New Delhi, the capital of India. The DFN also maintains offices in London and Washington D.C., so they can lobby the British and American governments to put diplomatic pressure on the government of India.

Protestant missionaries have a long tradition of social action in India, starting with William Carey in the 1790s. Many others have followed in Carey's footsteps. Today Protestant missionary groups, such as World Vision provide food, health care and education to India's Dalits. They have won a small but steady number to Christ. These groups have taken advantage of India's policy of religious freedom. They operate openly in India, unlike in many developing countries.

In some Indian states a significant number of Dalit communities have received the Lord, but in other states they are unreached. To this day, there are still hundreds of Dalit communities that remain unreached with the gospel.

Let's Pray!