CHRISTIAN NEWS MAGAZINE FOR KERALA MALAYALEE CHRISTIANS FROM INDIA AROUND THE WORLD
SEPTEMBER 2010 WORLD NEWS & EVENTS
VOL:09 ISSUE:09

INDIAN CHURCHES TO PROTEST AT DISCRIMINATION OF CHRISTIAN DALITS


ENI-10-0552

By Anto Akkara

Bangalore, India, 9 August (ENI)--Churches throughout India have been urged to hoist black flags on 10 August to protest against continued discrimination faced by Christian Dalits, people from low castes treated as untouchables. The protest marks the 60th anniversary of the introduction of free education and reserved government jobs to improve the social status of Hindu Dalits. Such benefits were extended to Sikh Dalits in 1956 and then to Buddhist Dalits in 1990.

However, Christian Dalits, who account for two thirds of some 28 million Christians in India, as well as Muslim Dalits, are denied these rights. "This will be a step toward conscientising our own Christian communities on this concern and to urge the Union [federal] Government to pay heed to the just demand," said Church of South India Bishop B. S. Devamani, the chairperson of the National Council of Churches in India commission on Dalits.

While the caste system in India has been officially abolished, Dalits, whose name means "trampled upon" in Sanskrit, continue to carry out menial jobs such as scavenging, and live in segregation from upper castes. In one recent incident, upper caste parents removed their children from government schools in the state of Uttar Pradesh after the government appointed Dalit cooks to prepare lunch for the students as a way of breaking down caste prejudice.

The 10 August protest is being supported by the National Council for Dalit Christians, which includes the NCCI and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India. As well as hoisting black flags, churches are being urged to organize rallies and protests, while Christians have been asked to wear black badges to express solidarity with the cause.

The Rev. G. Cosmon Arokiaraj, a CBCI official dealing with Dalits, described continued discrimination against Christian Dalits by the government as a "mockery of democracy". He said, "This protest is a painful remembrance of the 60 years of betrayal by the so-called secular Indian state, which claims that it treats all religions equally in this country." [345 words]

[COURTESY TO ENI AS SOURCE]

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CHRISTIAN GROUP 'WANTS TO STAY' IN AFGHANISTAN DESPITE KILLINGS


ENI-10-0550

By Anto Akkara

Bangalore, India, 9 August (ENI)--The International Assistance Mission, a Christian development agency, has rejected Taliban claims that 10 of its staff killed in an attack in Afghanistan had been trying to convert Muslims. "Our faith motivates and inspires us, but we do not proselytise. We abide by the laws of Afghanistan," Dirk R. Frans, IAM's executive secretary, said in a statement at a 9 August media conference in Kabul.

The 10 workers - six U.S. nationals, a Briton, a German and two local Afghan staff - were killed on 5 August as they returned from a trek through the Hindu Kush mountains, where they had been providing eye care to poor and remote communities, Frans said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the workers had been spying and trying to convert Muslims.

Frans said, however, his group had been present in Afghanistan since 1966 and abided by the laws of the country, and had pledged that its aid would never be used to advance a particular political or religious standpoint. He added that the agency wants to continue its work in Afghanistan. "IAM would not be invited back to villages if we were using aid as a cover for preaching," said Frans.

In New Delhi, the Asia Evangelical Alliance joined condemnation of the killings. "This is barbaric," the alliance's general secretary, the Rev. Richard Howell, told ENInews, saying the killings "show the increasing difficulties aid workers face in Afghanistan".

Among the slain aid workers was Dr Tom Little, an ophthalmologist from Delmar, New York, who led the team of nurses, doctors and logistics personnel murdered in the attack and had been based in Afghanistan since 1986. As a senior member of IAM working with the Noor Eye Institute, Little trained the former Afghan foreign minister and presidential candidate, Dr Abdullah Abdullah.

In comments reported by the BBC, Abdullah described the IAM team as dedicated people and called the attackers, "enemies of the Afghan people". Bangalore-based development consultant David Selvaraj, who has visited Afghanistan twice, told ENInews that the killings point to "the high cost" of working in difficult situations.

"Due to 30 years of war against external forces in Afghanistan, there is so much suspicion against outsiders," said Selvaraj, who belongs to the Church of South India. Describing the fear that prevails in Afghanistan, Selvaraj said that when he was last there, senior officials called up the security guards accompanying his team frequently and changed the team's routes at the last minute. [428 words]

[COURTESY TO ENI AS SOURCE]

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