Dalits and the Caste System
More than 3,000 years ago, invaders conquered the Indian
subcontinent and set up the beginnings of the caste system.
Facts About the Caste System
- The Hindu caste system was created more than 3,000 years ago by invading Aryan tribes to prevent pollution of their race. The four main castes are:
- Brahmins - priests and teachers
- Kshatriyas - rulers and soldiers
- Vaisyas - merchants and traders
- Sudras - laborers and servants
- The Dalits fall beneath this structure and are considered less than human. Their position in Asian society is justified by ancient Hindu religious texts such as The Laws of Manu.
- Dalits are expected to perform menial, degrading tasks that include unclogging sewers, disposing of dead bodies and cleaning latrines.
- Dalits are forced to live in separate settlements, prohibited from worshipping in temples, barred from using the village wells, and their children often denied education or made to sit in the back of the classroom.
- The Indian constitution outlaws the caste system and reserves nearly 25 percent of government jobs and university spots for Dalits. However, more than a million of these posts remain unfilled, or filled by dishonest non-Dalits.
- Even simple Dalit assertions of their lawful rights and privileges have touched off hate crimes against them by members of the upper castes. These have included rape, harrassment, violence and murder.
- The average literacy rate among Dalits is approximately 37 percent. Among some Dalit communities it is a low as 10 percent.
- Every hour, two Dalits are assaulted, three Dalit women raped, two Dalits murdered and two Dalit houses burned, according to the Human Rights Education Movement of India, yet only one percent of those who commit crimes against Dalits are ever convicted.
- In India alone, the combined population of Dalits and other low-caste groups equals approximately 700 million people. While Brahmins comprise just 5 to 9 percent of India's 1 billion people, they control 78 percent of India's judicial posts, approximately half of the parliament and 89 percent of the nation's major media outlets.
The Daily Life of a Dalit
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The Dalit life is extremely difficult. Hard physical labor is common. Even children are required to carry heavy loads during harvest season.
Life for a Dalit in the villages is far different from life in the West. This girl washes dishes by hand outside her house.
With the extremely high cost of propane and the shortage of wood for cooking, cow manure mixed with straw provides an alternative fuel. This Dalit woman mixes the cow manure and straw by hand, leaving the mixture to dry on the ground. After the piles have hardened, they are then stacked until needed.
A GFA native missionary and pastor of a local church shows God's love through his ministry to thousands of Dalit men, women and children in Rajasthan, northern India.
Dalits in northern India worship with a deep and simple faith. This church is growing rapidly, and this congregation is planning for a new building as soon as possible.
Dalit children at Gospel for Asia's Bridge of Hope centers not only get an education, but hear that the Lord loves, and sent His Son for them.
While attending Bridge of Hope centers, Dalit children receive nutrition, medical aid, education and, most important, the Gospel.
date posted 04/11/06
Quotes About the Caste System
"In a land where every animal is worshipped, these fellow humans are treated worse than any animal, even in [the] 21st century."
—taken from www.ambedkar.org
"The Dalits may live in the world's largest democracy, but their lives are shaped by a system of sanctified apartheid."
—Carla Power, Newsweek International
"Education has been one of the only mechanisms of upward mobility for Dalits... Basic literacy is a fundamental right but also a means to empower deprived populations."
—Sukhadeo Thorat, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
"Caste is a state of mind. It is a disease of mind. The teachings of the Hindu religion are the root cause of this disease. We practice casteism and we observe Untouchability because we are enjoined to do so by the Hindu religion. A bitter thing cannot be made sweet. The taste of anything can be changed. But poison cannot be changed into nectar."
—B.R. Ambedkar, Dalit Activist
"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."
—K.P. Yohannan, GFA President, speaking to Dalits at November 2001 rally</p>