Christian Education and Dalit/Tribal/Adivasi Liberation
Introduction
In this paper we will briefly
examine the socio-economic and political reality of the subalterns as well as
Paulo Friere’s perspective on the liberative role of Christian education, and
then the biblical basis and theological paradigm of Christian education’s
liberative role.
1. Understanding the Terms
Subaltern
In his The Modern Prince and
The Prison Notebooks, Gramsci defines the subaltern as those classes
subordinated by hegemony and excluded from any meaningful role in a regime of
power. [1]
Antonio Gramsci, who coined the
term Subaltern defines it as, ‘The subaltern have no independent space from
which to articulate their voice because hegemony conditions them to believe in
the dominant values. Gramsci believe that the intellectual has the responsibility
to “search out signs of subaltern initiative and class consciousness and
effective political action”. [2]
2. Contextual Realities the
Subalterns
The concept of empowerment is
crucial for the subalterns. This is so because their development and their
future is centred on their agency with revolutionary implications.[3] A lot of effort has been
made to make the subaltern people to speak and break their silence. In Indian
context unfortunately although such efforts has been made, they never found a
respectful place within the societal structure, especially the oppressive
structure of Hinduism.[4] Subaltern history captured
the pain and suffering of the subordinate group of people. It is the history of
the oppressed and the marginalized. It is the history of the sons/daughters of
the soil, the working class, and the less fortunate ones. However, as their
history get the attention, now they are started moving from the periphery to
the centre. The Tribal and Dalit are the most misinterpreted groups of people
in India and this misunderstanding continues even now they are often regarded
as unsophisticated, backward and illiterate and even uncivilized, although
today these groups challenge such perspectives and prejudice.[5]
2.1. Issues of the
Subaltern Group
2.1.1. The Land Alienation
The history of land alienation
among the tribes began during British colonial rule in India when the British
interfered in the tribal region for the purpose of exploiting the tribal
natural resources. Land is the source of sustainable livelihood and food for
almost half the world’s population. An estimated 45% of the world’s population
still makes its living from land (Rural Development Institute, 2001). Coupled
with this tribal and Dalit lands were occupied by moneylenders, zamindars and
traders by advancing them loans etc. over and above the land of tribals and
Dalits is being taken away for setting up development projects, industrial
concerns, forests conservation, etc. Opening of mines in the heart of the
people habitat and although factories provided wage labor and employment
opportunity to certain extend.[6] However as a result this
in fact has brought increasing destitution, displacement and the tribal ecology
and tribal life of the people was greatly disturbed.[7]
2.1.2. Social Alienation
The very root cause of the social
alienation of the subaltern is from the strictly hierarchized varna system
whereby they are considered the lowest and/or the panchamas or the non-castes
group. The very nature of the social classification in the hierarchy of caste
system alienates them from dignified and equal social transactions. By virtue
of their social status they are deprived of many socio-economic opportunities
and privileges. The idea of purity and pollution debars them from mingling
freely with the higher caste group members, and also the non-castes are looked
down upon and discriminated. There are significant incidences and events in the
society that speaks volumes about the unspeakable deplorable social condition
of the subalterns in India.
2.1.3. Poverty
Majority of the subaltern groups
live under poverty line. Most of the occupation falls into the primary
occupations such as hunting, gathering, and agriculture. Poverty is a state or
condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources and
essentials to enjoy a minimum standard of life and well-being. Land reform may
affect production directly by influencing the incentives and motivations of
farmers and, indirectly, by influencing the distribution of income power in the
rural sector. The indirect effects of land reform will be felt much later than
the direct effects.[8]
Most of them live under abject poverty and are in debt because they are under
the control of the local moneylenders and Zamindars. In order to repay their
debts they often mortgage or sell their land to the moneylenders. As a
consequence indebtedness is almost inevitable since heavy interest had to be
paid to these moneylenders.[9]
2.1.4. Education
Educationally the subaltern
population were lacking, this had always been a matter of great concern for the
society as it had a negative impact on the development of the people. Earlier
Government had no direct programme for their education. But in the subsequent
years the reservation policy has made some changes. There are many reasons for
low level of education among the people such as; the poor socio-economic
condition, and it is not easy for the families to send their children to
schools, as they are considered extra helping hands. Lack of the political will
and administrative commitment to provide adequate primary and secondary
education. The formal schools do not hold any special interest for the
children. Most of the tribes are located in interior and remote areas where
teachers would not like to go from outside. Besides these probably
superstitions and their world view too can play an important role in rejecting
education as they might see that education is not necessary for them.[10]
3. Liberative role of
Christian Education[11]
We shall here look into Paulo
Frere’s perspective on the liberative role of Christian education. After
closely studying and observing his Pedagogy of the Oppressed some of his few
commendations can be made as follows:
1. Christian education
should addresses the concrete historical situation of persons. It is concerned
with contextualising education and theology by drawing out the implications of
our faith and the need for response.
2. It should emphasise a
service-oriented salvation and education.
3. It should provide insights for
Christian educators, and how to educate for advocacy and social action and how
to raise the social consciousness of Christians to the realities that needs of
persons in other cultural contexts.
4. It should take seriously the
need to demonstrate an incarnational theology, one that is lived out. It seeks
to relate faith to life.
5. It affirms the Biblical
emphasis on the poor and the oppressed in Christian ministry.
6. It focuses on the humanity of
Christ in reaction to an exclusive emphasis on his deity.
7. It encourages a critical
awareness that the western world is part of the global problem of oppression
and injustice.
8. It emphasises that Christian
education is prophetic education, challenging oppressive social structures by
questioning those programmes and techniques of education that neither social
and corporate implication of the gospel nor question the status quo nor
developing Christian
consciousness of the global context of oppression while leading Christians to
construct new and faithful life styles.
9. It stresses the need for
structural and social transformation as well as the personal
transformation/redemption inherent in the gospel.
To bring about transformation,
means of a practical application which includes reflection and action upon the
world is necessary.[12] The correct method for a
revolutionary leadership to employ in the task of liberation lies in dialogue.
The conviction of the oppressed that they must fight for their liberation is
not a gift bestowed by the revolutionary leadership, but the result of their
own conscientisation. The revolutionary leaders must realize that their own
conviction of the necessity for struggle was not given to them by anyone else-
if it is authentic.[13]
For Paulo Freire education for
liberation implies the political organization of the oppressed to achieve power
and to have a new kind of education which takes reality and the potential of
each member of society seriously.
4. Biblical and Theological
Basis of Christian Education for Subaltern Liberation
4.1. Biblical Paradigm
Jose Severino Croatto presented the Exodus from Egypt as a paradigm of liberation from slavery. Exodus is read both on a symbolic level and social and political dimensions. The texts speaks of slaves who cried out to God in pain and were liberated, which speaks loud of God of bible and His project for humanity. The exodus event installs hope for the afflicted.[14]
God embraces each one of us and
the whole of creation with unquenchable, intimate and inconceivable overflowing
and ever-flowing love. Humanity is invited into the realm of overflowing and
ever-flowing love by expressing with God who seeks creation’s liberation from
all forms of oppression, exploitation and exclusion. They are assured of
redemption from the life-negating forces breathing into them emancipating, life
transforming, and liberative spirit. The God of the bible has a special kind of
caring for all, and is present with the most vulnerable and the excluded. Jesus
of Nazareth embodies this God whose righteousness is visible and known in
history which is on-going, flourishing and sustaining for the present and
future generation. This vision entails a radical challenge to current
socio-economic disequilibria and barriers.[15]
The valley of bones in Ezekiel
37:1-14, where Ezekiel sees piles of bones who were crushed, mutilated, and
murdered (Subaltern) in exile. This image parallels the context of Subalterns
who undergo pains and pathos inflicted by the caste system which continue to
linger. The valley of bones and the terrains of subaltern show equally same
imageries. Ezekiel 37:1-14 also is otherwise called as “the valley of vision.”
The fact is that the setting shows no more doom, but hope, so that everyone
will have life in full. The spirit of God comes and the dry bones come back to
life. This passage is indeed hope generating and empowerment oriented.
It instils hope for the Subaltern
to continue over and against all odds with an assurance of liberation from
exploitation and oppression. Likewise, John 10:10 says, “I have come to say
that you may have life and life in full.” For the subalterns this is yet
another assurance that the coming of Jesus in human form extends all the
possibilities that those who have been treated as sub and lesser humans shall
have life in full. It is all-inclusive and all-embracing as it takes into
consideration both the qualitative and quantitative dimensions.[16]
4.2.Theological Paradigm
The question that confronts
liberation theologians is how to live a good Christian life in the midst of
oppression and suffering of the people? Can we be the true follower of Jesus
Christ when we ignore and pass by the poor and marginalised of the society as a
priest and Levite did (Luke 10:29-32)? In this sense following of Jesus Christ
means commitment to accomplish his mission of liberation. Guiterrez has
expressed that, “a spirituality of liberation will centre on a conversion to
the neighbour, the oppressed person, the exploited class, the despised class,
the dominated country.” But they do not fail to see the interconnectedness of
action and meditation. A. F. McGovern rightly explains that liberation
spirituality involves both a call to follow Jesus in working for and with the
poor, but also profound reflection on what all Christians can learn about God
from the poor. For liberation theologians, liberating commitment corresponds to
an authentic spiritual experience in the original, biblical sense of the term:
it is living in the spirit who causes us to acknowledge ourselves in a free and
creative way to be sons and daughters of the Father and brothers and sisters to
each other. Commitment to liberation arises from the deep spiritual experience,
for such commitment is possible only in the encounter with God. It is sad that
Christians are in some way divided into two camps: those who emphasise social
action and those who emphasise contemplation. An authentic integration needs to
occur because Christian actions should be inspired and governed by the love of
God. Sobrino rightly said, “We are called upon not just to imitate the
liberating praxis of Jesus Christ, but also to discover and to take on the
Spirit of his praxis.”[17] Sebastian Kappen
specifically has articulated a Dalit Christology in which Jesus’ liberative
actions among the marginalised of galilee continue with the quest for the
Dalit’s liberation in India. For Kappen, Jesus is a prophet who models the
“praxis of subversion” that liberates the Dalits from oppression by the upper
caste, as well as exploitation by global capitalism.[18]
5. Reflection and conclusion
Subalterns are a historically
wronged group of people who have been suffering social alienation, injustice
and oppression; economic deprivation and marginalisation; political oppression
and exploitation; and educational discrimination and so on. They are at the
receiving end of the social system and structure and the system itself
perpetuates this deplorable and unjust condition. Christianity with its gospel
of salvation at the core of its message needs to play a key role in redeeming
the humanity in entirety holistically- not just the soul but the body and its
needs. We need to practice not just a meditative Christianity but also an
action oriented Christianity. In doing so, the role of Christian education
becomes very significant. It needs to go deep down to the historical context
and reality of the community it is serving, and bring about concentization of
the people. Recognising the realities and struggles of the historical and
cultural context, Christian education needs to constantly work for progressive
transformation of the society. It is biblically an imperative and theologically
a necessity.
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Atabaki, Touraj. Subaltern:
Modernization Society and the State. New York: I. B. Tauris Publishers,
2007.
Botta, Alejandro F & Pablo R
Andinash, Edts. The Bible and the Hermeneutics of Liberation. Atlanta:
SBL, 2009.
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the
Oppressed. New York: The Seabury Press, 1974.
Ghosh, Amrita, ed.. Subaltern
Vision: A Study in Postcolonial Indian English Text. Cambridge: Cmbridge
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Theology. Bangalore: ATC, 2002.
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& Yatindra Singh Sisodia. New Delhi: Rawat Publication, 2004, 60-70.
Prasad, K.N. “Abolition of Rural
Poverty.” Social Action Vol. 24/1 (Jan-March, 1974): 1-2.
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Inequality in India Today.” Journal of Dharma 20 (Jan-March, 1995):
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[1] Touraj Atabaki, Subaltern:
Modernization Society and the State. (New York: I. B. Tauris Publishers,
2007), 26.
[2]
Amrita Ghosh, ed., Subaltern Vision: A Study in Postcolonial Indian English
Text. (Cambridge: Cmbridge Scholars Publishing, 2012), 31.
[3]
Felix Wilfred, Dalit Empowerment (Delhi: ISPCK, 2007), 1.
[4]
V.V. Thomas, Dalit and Tribal Christians of India: Issues and Challenges (Kerala:
Focus India Trust, 2014), 195.
[5]
Thomas, Understanding Subaltern History…,14,16.
[6]
Gnana Prakasham,“Tribal and Their Right to Livelihood,” Tribal Issues in
India, edited by D.C. Sah & Yatindra Singh Sisodia (New Delhi: Rawat
Publication, 2004), 71, 72,80.
[7]
Gnana Prakasham,“Tribal and Their Right to Livelihood…, 60-70.
[8]
K.N. Prasad, “Abolition of Rural Poverty,” Social Action Vol. 24/1
(Jan-March, 1974): 1-2.
[9]
A.S. Dasan, “Poverty and Inequality in India Today,” Journal of Dharma 20
(Jan-March, 1995), 80-81.
[10]
Neeti Mahanti, “Access to Education in the Tribal Areas: A Challenge,” Tribal
Issues in India, edited by D.C. Sah & Yatindra Singh Sisodia (New
Delhi: Rawat Publication, 2004), 139-143.
[11]
Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York: The Seabury Press,
January 1974) p-31-35.
[12]
Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed…, 36.
[13]
Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed…, 53-54.
[14]
Alejandro F Botta & Pablo R Andinash, The Bible and the Hermeneutics of
Liberation, (Atlanta: SBL, 2009), 4.
[15]
Kondasingu Jesurathnam et. al., Liberation Hermeneutics in the Indian
Interpretation of the Bible, (Bangalore: SBSI, 2012) 92 .
[16]
Jesurathnam et. al., Liberation Hermeneutics…, 93-95.
[17]
K Thanzauva, Transforming Theology, (Bangalore: ATC, 2002) 264
[18]
Miguel A Torre, Introducing Liberative Theologies, (Maryknoll: Orbis
Books, 2015) 215
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