Hyderabad Archbishop demands equal dignity for Dalit Christians

Hyderabad Archbishop demands equal dignity for Dalit Christians
Published : June 14 2009
Indian Catholic

HYDERABAD: First Dalit Bishop of India and the Hyderabad Archbishop, Rev.Dr. Marampudi Joji, in an audience granted to a leading online media, demanded that there should be equal rights in the country for both the Dalit Hindus and Dalit Christians. He said, “I am the first Dalit Bishop of India and I have a duty to ensure that most Dalit Christians can enjoy the same privileges on par with other Dalits.” To this end the bishop had led a delegation last week to the Chief Minister of Andhrapradesh, Mr. Y. S. R. Reddy, handing over a memorandum of demands. It was a 40 member delegation which demanded revoking the earlier presidential order of the 1950 that denied the converts from the Dalit community to Christianity and Islam the rights granted to other Dalits. “By restricting the benefits to a particular religion, the order has divided the entire Dalit community on the basis of religion,” said the bishop. According to the bishop the order is a complete violation of the rights granted by the Indian constitution, articles 15 and 25. The bishop further added,” “When the Holy See announced my appointment as the first Dalit archbishop, there were a lot of rumblings in society, but onlyChurch “treats us like a family, without discrimination of any kind.” He said that the issue for the Indian society has socio economic impact. Even after the conversions the condition of the Dalits socially and economically remain the same and that the change in religion does not mean change in caste.

Source: http://www.indiancatholic.in/news/storydetails.php/12386-1-1-Hyderabad-Archbishop-demands-equal-dignity-for-Dalit-Christians