Dalits: From Fatalism to होप क/ओ ग्फा दिसम्बर २० 2007

Where and How They Live
Covered from head to toe in human waste, a bare-chested man climbs from the sewer in the center of a crowded street. As people cringe at the stench, he walks through the streets looking for water to clean his body. This is a day in the life of a Dalit. A small girl walks barefoot around a half-starved dog lying in her path. She picks her way over garbage and sewer-sodden ground as she approaches the rag hut that is her home. She is unaware that life could be lived any other way. This is a day in the life of a Dalit. A man’s bare hands lift the body of the dead woman on to her funeral pyre, flower petals surrounding her clothing. After he lays the corpse on the wood and lights the fire, he waits to collect the cooled ashes and scatter them into the river that flows beside the pyre. This is a day in the life of a Dalit. Lofty skyscrapers hover over the tin-covered shantytowns of men, women and children living amid filth and grime. These are Asia’s slums. Most of the people living here are Dalits. Jobs allotted to the 300 million Dalits of Asia include unclogging sewers, making bricks in scorching heat, washing soiled clothing and working as meagerly paid field hands. Because of their poverty and low social status, Dalits do not have adequate access to food, housing, clothing, education or health care. This is the life of the Dalits. Bonded labor is prevalent among Dalits, even their children, who often work in slave-like conditions to pay off family debt. With estimates as high as 150 million working children, India has the largest child labor force in the world. Abuse is common, with long hours in miserable conditions and no hope of escape. This is the fate of the Dalits. But God has a different future in mind for these forgotten and oppressed people. He loves and values them. This is the hope of the Dalits. Today, Gospel for Asia is committed to sharing with the Dalits the message of His salvation and redemption. top
Dalits and the Caste System
The reason the Dalits are kept in virtual slavery in India, Nepal and other countries where Hinduism is present, is that they live at the bottom of the Hindu caste system. This system of enforced inequality was established by the Aryans, a tall, fair-skinned people who invaded the Indian subcontinent 3,000 years ago. After settling there, they sought to prevent intermarriage between themselves and the original, darker-skinned inhabitants. To maintain their status—and keep the native population down—the Aryans created the caste system. They established religious and social rules that placed them in the higher castes and relegated the native people to servant status. The caste system divides people into four main groups: Brahmins—priests and teachers, Kshatriyas—rulers and soldiers, Vaisyas—merchants and traders, and Sudras—laborers. The Dalits (literally, “broken people”) fall beneath these groups and are given the most menial jobs. They are, by definition, “Outcastes.” Although the caste system is outlawed by the Indian constitution, everyday life still largely operates according to its principles. Segregation and prejudice mark a Dalit's life on a daily basis. They are considered by upper castes to be repulsive and subhuman. top
The Dalit Move toward Freedom
In the early 1900s, a man emerged who was passionately opposed to the caste system. B.R. Ambedkar was born a Dalit and lived during the time of India's national father, Mahatma Gandhi. Known as “India's one true Untouchable hero,” Dr. Ambedkar fought to give the Dalits the same rights as other Indians, beginning a momentous movement for their freedom. In 1956 he and thousands of his followers converted to Buddhism to denounce their low position within the Hindu caste system. More recently, Udit Raj, another Dalit leader like Dr. Ambedkar, began working to bring his people out of bondage from the caste system. Following in his predecessor's footsteps, he believed the best way for Dalits to escape their injustice was to leave Hinduism for another religion. His primary goal was to declare to India and the world that the Dalit people had the freedom to choose their own faith. On November 4, 2001, Udit Raj publicly affirmed his own conversion to Buddhism at a large Dalit rally, but he also spoke about the love shown by the churches in India. He informed his fellow Dalits of the freedom to follow the faith of their own choosing, Christianity included. A few Christian speakers, including Gospel for Asia President K.P. Yohannan, spoke to the nearly 100,000 Dalits attending. He encouraged them with these words: “My precious brothers and sisters, I come to you today speaking on behalf of Christ, His love and His mercy for us all. Jesus came to set the captives free. And He Himself said that whoever the Son sets free, is free indeed . . . We love you with Christ's love, unconditionally and always.” top
How is Gospel for Asia Reaching the Dalits?
“Dalit” can also be translated “oppressed,” and this is a fitting description of both Dalits as well as members of the lower caste groups. The “Other Backward Castes,” or OBCs, as they are known, still have higher status than Dalits, but they suffer from much of the same discrimination. Nearly 300 million Dalits and 400 million OBCs live on the Indian subcontinent. And it is among these oppressed men, women and children—almost 700 million people—that the majority of Gospel for Asia's 16,500 native missionaries are serving. With millions of Dalits and OBCs now open to the Gospel, GFA has put a priority on producing more Gospel literature, adding more radio broadcasts and sending out more trained missionaries to reach them. In fact, most of the 103 languages GFA Radio broadcasts in are languages spoken by Dalits, and most of the millions of pieces of literature GFA prints and distributes each year are aimed at Dalit readers. But with illiteracy rates as high as 90 percent in some Dalit communities, providing an education for Dalit children is a very tangible way of sharing Jesus' love. So in 2001, God led Gospel for Asia to begin an outreach ministry for the Dalit children. Today our Bridge of Hope program, has more than 42,000 children enrolled, giving them an education, meeting physical needs, and sharing with them the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ. GFA is also sharing the love of Christ with the Dalits through adult literacy programs and parenting classes. Hundreds of churches planted, filled with new Christians praising Jesus for true freedom found only in Him. As you give to reach the Dalits, you are touching those considered "untouchable" with Christ's love.