CASTE

In many regions of Asia, the caste system still rules. People are divided into castes and subcastes, each with a caste name and a fixed place in the hierarchy of castes. Members of one group are not allowed to intermarry or even eat with those from other groups.

The caste divisions are not based on any known principle. They are not racial in character; they do not separate professions; they do not denote cultural differences. Yet all these elements are present in the caste system. The members of some groups do have hereditary professions. But following that profession will not make one a member of that group, nor will abandoning that profession lead to exclusion from the caste. Membership is determined solely by birth; no other consideration applies. There is thus no way anyone born into a lower caste can rise to a higher caste status.

The highest caste, the Brahmins, are said to have sprung from the mouth of Brahman, the creator god, and are thus qualified to be priests. The Kshatriyas sprang from his arms and are warriors, the Vaishya from his thighs and are traders, while the Sudras sprang from his feet and are only qualified to be servants or slaves. Hinduism considers this a spiritual system and the ideal organising principle for society. By contrast, the Bible says that all without distinction are made from the same substance (the dust of the ground – Gen 2:7) and that all are also made in the image of God (Gen 1:26). Thus we all share the same humble origins, and the same honour. And we all, without exception, are tainted by sin (Rom 3:23).

The caste system benefits the higher castes while leading to increasing degradation for the lowest caste. Sudras and Dalits are shunned. Contact with them is seen as polluting. It was this emphasis on purity and impurity that led Portuguese explorers to use the Portuguese word casta (purity) to describe the entire Hindu social order.

Defining a specific group as polluting and treating them as a cancer in society often results in cultural or ethnic cleansing. The authorities tend to turn a blind eye to the rape, torture and murder of lower caste people. Yet officially, governments oppose the caste system. They have set in place a mechanism of compensatory discrimination whereby some posts and places in educational institutions are reserved for lower castes. Although well-intentioned and necessary, this approach has not contributed to the abolition of caste but to its preservation, for even those who fight against the caste system want to preserve caste privileges.

Despite urbanisation, industrialisation and legislation, land, property and jobs are still assigned on the basis of caste. Its effects are felt in factories and housing colonies. Dalits or “untouchables” are prohibited from entering many temples (although it is true that in Nepal, at least, low-caste Nepalis have won access to many temples and some Dalits have become priests. However this is more the exception than the rule).

One of the worst consequences of caste discrimination is that it leads many into slavery of the mind, an unquestioning acceptance that they are untouchable, polluted and polluting because of their birth, and should never aspire to making any contribution to society. They cling fiercely to any scraps of dignity they may find, with the result that the Sudra caste has splintered into mutually hostile and mutually untouchable outcaste communities.

Caste has even affected the church. The tyrannies of caste oppression have driven some outcastes to convert to the gospel of Christ, seeing this as offering release from a socioeconomic, religious and political oppression that is equivalent to the Egyptian bondage of the Israelites. Conversion to Christ has indeed been shown to have liberated some of the outcastes from an oppressive culture. They have seen themselves in a new light and have developed self-esteem and self-worth that has helped them to throw off the stigma of being classified as untouchable. Their newly positive attitude has paved the way for them to move to new areas and into new occupations.

But conversion has also brought persecution in a new form. Some who are baptised are told that they thereby forfeit any right to the government positions and places in schools and universities reserved for Dalits. Caste divisions have also been exploited by those who seek to use one caste against another caste, as happened during the persecution of Christians in the Kanthamal district of Odisha.

Even within the church, Dalits’ experience has not always been positive. Not all Christians have taken to heart the Bible’s teaching on our equality before God (Gal 3:28) and James’ condemnation of favouritism (Jas 2:1-12). Dalits have sometimes been made to sit apart from the rest of the congregation. Pastors have refused to offer Holy Communion to believers from the sweeper class. Believers have refused to let their children marry outside their own caste. Outcastes still face discrimination from their fellow Christians. In some cases, this has driven them away from Christ.

The problems with caste in the church are not restricted to the people in the pews or the lower levels of leadership. It is shameful to admit it, but caste sometimes plays a role even in the election of bishops and other church leaders. Almost every Christian denomination in South Asia has had to deal with dissension and court cases sparked by caste practices within the churches.

While the South Asian church officially condemns the practice of caste, the church is still a slave to this evil. We need prophets like Amos to speak boldly against this evil practice and condemn those who practise it without fear of God who has created everyone in his image. The church, its training institutions and Christian NGOs must make every effort to eradicate caste. The church, together with other institutions, must evolve strategies to fight it at all levels. One fundamental step would be to discourage employers and people in general from ever asking individuals about their caste identity. But this should be accompanied by a drive to transform people’s mindset in terms of inter-dining, intermarriage, the sharing of resources and similar matters. Caste barriers will fall finally only when people recognise the importance of showing respect to every human being.

Within the church, we should seek to build a new society in which all the old distinctions have fallen away. Christians should enter into new relationships not only with those of their own caste but also with those of other castes. Brahmins should consider Dalits as brothers and sisters in the Lord, and Dalits should embrace them in the same way.

Together we should form a new community, living in a way that will reduce the frequent inter- and intra-community feuds and help everyone to be seamlessly integrated in the fabric of society.

The church in South Asia needs to be an active participant in the struggle to liberate the poor and the oppressed who are victims of the caste system.