The Dalit
I had written a very, very long post for today. Too long, I knew. I finished it up, closed the computer and decided to come back and edit before I put it up.
And now it’s gone, and I have no idea why. So here’s take 2:
I’m very hungry now. It’s 8:15 PM and I haven’t eaten anything all day. I’m taking part in something called the 40 Day Fast. Fasting is a Christian “discipline” where you don’t eat for a period of time to devote yourself more fully to prayer. Specifically, I’m one of 40 bloggers who are each fasting for one of these 40 days and writing about an area of the world in need, and pointing us towards people who are working to meet that need.
For those of you who know my history, you won’t be surprised that I’m going to take this time to write about the Dalits. I’ve been singing about them and trying to be a part of their freedom for the past few years.
You may not know the name Dalit, but you’ve probably heard of “the Untouchables.” And no, that has nothing to do with Kevin Costner or Al Capone. The Untouchables have been a part of Indian Hinduism for the past 3500 years. The religion teaches that, in relation to your actions in past lives, you are born into a certain level, or “caste”, of social, economic and religious status.
Like all hierarchies, there are a few people up at the top and a bunch down below. In this case, there are 300 to 400 million people in the lowest castes (of which there are hundreds of sub-castes) and there are 250 to 300 million people who are below the castes entirely. These are the untouchables. 250 million is the population of America, by the way.
The people below that invisible line are treated terribly. They are considered less than animals. They do the jobs no one else will. They handle dead animals, dead humans, and their waste. They’re usually denied basic healthcare and education. Most can not read or write, so their history is handed down through stories and songs.
I got to travel to India a few years ago with Caedmon’s to write and record an album based on stories of the Dalit. We went with an amazing organization called Dalit Freedom Network (DFN). Nanci, Joseph, and all the rest of the people we’ve worked with have been amazing. A few of their staff even joined us on tour playing tablas and singing.
The upper caste has all the power in India. They have all the good jobs, they’re the doctors, lawyers and politicians, and it’s a good situation. Not that they’re any worse people than anybody else, but they don’t believe it’s wrong and it’s obviously a good thing to keep secret. And they’re great at it. Colin Powell was flying into Delhi while we were there and we were shown the route he would be taken from the airport to his hotel. There were ten-foot white walls on either side of the road. It was beautiful. There were no beggars anywhere. It was the only time in a month in India that we saw no beggars.
The people in charge believe the Dalits deserve what they get. You wouldn’t let Ella out of time out when I put her there, so why should we help the people God is punishing? That’s the thinking, anyway. And because of that thinking there are beggars everywhere. Cardboard shacks with families of ten. Millions of people in a few square miles of slums. It’s insane.
The first night of our trip was in Mumbai, formerly Bombay, and we stayed in a hotel called the Leela. It was nice, very nice, actually. And down the street was a really nice Hyatt. In between them was a big garbage heap, and over a hundred people living in it. Children were living in it. Children were living in the garbage right outside my window. And somehow I still went to sleep.
We were just surrounded by incredible oppression. It’s not just poverty. Poverty is when no one has anything. Oppression is when one of the richest countries in the world has over half of its people living in poverty.
And that’s where Dalit Freedom Network steps in. They’re just one small arm of Operation Mobilization, the largest missions organization in the world, birthed in India by our friend Joseph. They are fanning the flames of Dalit independence. They’re building schools, hospitals and churches. They’re teaching people the truth and encouraging them to fight, non-violently, for their rights.
We got to visit a few of their projects. The most amazing was a Dalit school. These children have uniforms, get good meals, sit at real desks and learn English, which will allow them a chance for a good job in the international community.
Most importantly, they’re teaching these kids about Jesus. That he loves them and knows them. That they’re not nothing, they’re made in God’s own image. That He died to set them free. Free from their sin, from their poverty, from their caste and their history.
So pray for DFN. Pray for the Dalits. Pray for strength, endurance and courage. Pray for resources and political change.
And act. Write your Senators and Representatives, a little pressure from the outside world will go a long way in India. Visit DFN’s website and learn more.
You can donate very specifically through their site. You can sponsor a child or a teacher or a school. You can build a well or a hospital. You can provide medical care to a family You can pay for resources to spread the word and break the silence of the caste system.
And again, you can pray. All the money in the world won’t fix the problem. Hearts need to be freed to believe the truth before anything else can happen.
And you can pray for me and my friends who’ve been there and have seen the oppression, and have been loved by the oppressed. We forget and move on and don’t do all we can.
But praise God it’s in His hands and not ours. There will be freedom, for all of us. And the last shall be first. I’ll be at the back of the line and the Dalits will be right up front. I can’t wait to see it.
P.S. by the way, if it makes any difference, these photos were taken by Randall Goodgame or me (we shared a camera that trip) and aren’t stock photos off the internet.
July 16th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
I’ve read about the Dalit some but, as you said, it is so easy to forget. Thank you for reminding me of what till now was probably more trivia than reality in my mind. The fact that a group the population of the USA is so enpoverished and denied basic needs (including love) is mind-blowing. I will be praying for the DFN’s work and for the Dalit in general.
July 16th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Great post Andrew. I had been wondering about The Dalit for a while now. Thanks for the info.
July 16th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
This is a very eye opening post, I had never heard of this before. That is a very sad situation. Do the Dalit’s also believe that they are being punished from a past life? If they share that religion and belief it would make it even more difficult to bring about change it seems.
Will definitely pray, and visit the DFN’s website. Thank you for sharing.
July 16th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Your second link to their website seems to be wrong, it’s just full of search link ads. The first one, however, is right.
http://www.dalitnetwork.org/
July 16th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
I hate to admit that I have heard little or nothing about this previously. Thank you for this information. I will be praying with you.
July 16th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
I’ve heard of the Dalit’s but not really about them and their situation. Like Euphrony, I was shocked that a people group the size of the US lives in such oppression.
Those pictures were incredible. I was particularly stuck by the little boy in his school uniform and neatly combed hair. He’s adorable. And innocent.
Thanks for sharing about this, Andrew.
July 16th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
It is always good to be reminded of their plight. I was glad to read some about it in The Economist a few weeks back. As the former colonists, I fear the British just aren’t quite sure what to make of the Dalit.
July 17th, 2007 at 11:06 am
If that doesn’t stir the part of you that Jesus resides in, I don’t know what will. Thank you for the reminder and for tangible, real ways to act.
July 17th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
I was clueless about the Dalits until “Share the Well.” After that, they were always on my mind…for a time. Thanks for reminding us, Andy.
And the fact that they make up the pop. of the US…heartbreaking.
July 17th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Namaste Andrew!
Thank you for spreading the word for these precious people. When its my turn in this fast, I too will share about the Dalit people. My husband and I (6 months pregnant) took our three children to India over Christmas. LIFE CHANGING!
And yes, we frequently listen to Share the Well. Our girls 8 and 7 LOVE the song Wings of the Morning, and Mother India- these songs sort of have our entire India experience wrapped in them, so we experience alot of emotions when we listen to these songs. Thank you for making them!
I hope and pray with all my heart that all who’ve been there and have seen the oppression, and have been loved by the oppressed will never forget and move on.
I also hope and pray with all my heart there will be an uprising in India. Not only will it come from the outside nations, but it will come from within.
July 17th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
it does make a difference. I personally thank you for that one.
Peace. – Caleb
July 17th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
i hope you don’t mind, but i linked to this from my blog. it is gut wrenching, frustrating, maddening, and heart breaking.
July 18th, 2007 at 12:25 am
Great stuff!
July 18th, 2007 at 12:31 am
Thanks for opening my eyes to another need in the world. My prayers will be with them…
July 18th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Having just returned from India, and seeing what is going on, this is fresh on my heart. What is so amazing to me is that while my heart is heavy when I consider the scale of oppression, I come home very hopeful after worshiping in a service with Brahman and Dalit side by side, meeting people that believe in change so much they will marry Dalits though from an upper caste, hearing a pastor stripped and beaten for standing up for them, seeing the schools and spending time with the children-knowing them by name. To know that there are already 10,000 Dalit children in 62 schools and soon there will be 100, with plans to build a college for these children following 10th standard so they can continue. There is an army of people going into the slums everyday giving food, education, microenterprise, building churches, loving people in Jesus name. It was amazing to see an HIV clinic recently started that already provides first rate treatment to over 150 women and children and has a huge vision to build in inpatient treatment center, end of life hospice, tailoring school and counseling to those affected by HIV. I have countless stories from a people BURSTING with heart and vision to bring change at this historic moment in history. I come home very full of hope.
July 18th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
One small correction to the article for whatever it is worth- Joseph D’ Souza is the director of OM India, but George Verwer is founder.
July 18th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
i hope this post provokes people to be further sensitized to analogous issues of injustice here in the US….particularly, the pain and suffering produced by individual, corporate, and institutionalized racial discrimination against ethnic minorities here in the united states. and yes, this indictment includes the church.
read “divided by faith: evangelical religion and the problem of race” by michael emerson
July 19th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
awesome post
July 19th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
i appreciate the efforts taken by tha author to enlighten the international community about dalits of india.the inteligentia from this oppressed masses living in u.s.,u.k.,and in other developing countries joined together to make united natios to intervene in this issue during the last u.n. conference against racial discrimination held in durban,south africa.
no doubt,by the next conference,these inteligentia from dalits, by the help of likely minded groups like you ,the international community will force india to implement many projects to bring social equality in india.if it is not done soon , uprising from dalits will be inevitable.
July 19th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
i appreciate the efforts taken by tha author to enlighten the international community about dalits of india.the intelligentia from this oppressed masses living in u.s.,u.k.,and in other developing countries joined together to make united natios to intervene in this issue during the last u.n. conference against racial discrimination held in durban,south africa.
no doubt,by the next conference,these intelligentia from dalits, by the help of likely minded groups like you ,the international community will force india to implement many projects to bring social equality in india.if it is not done soon , uprising from dalits will be inevitable.
July 27th, 2007 at 8:29 am
Thanks so much for bringing attention to these suffering people. I will be praying for them. I’ve never understood how people can treat other human beings so cruelly. God bless you for helping these people!
February 8th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Thanks for your efforts.Please keep it up.
Palaniappan.M
(A Dalit)
New Delhi
February 19th, 2008 at 11:15 am
It is a joy that most dalits left india as indentured indians to seek a new life from the 1830s until 1917 in Trinidad, Surinam, Guyana and many more places. Life was harsh at first being an indentured labourer but a few generations later, we dalits have enjoyed the economic and social success than our dalit cousins in India. We can afford to drive BMW, Benz and have numerous business thanks to our great grandparents. It is a pity to wittness harsh treatment of our cousins in India. The Caste system is keeping India from developing faster than china if this continues, it may trigger an economic collaspe.