Christian converts of scheduled caste origin in Kerala belong to the lowest rung of social and economic ladder. These Untouchables of Kerala, who embraced Christianity only 150 years ago, are looked down upon by their orthodox Christian brothers. This racial stigma has prevented them from attaining social recognition as Christians and forced them to keep identity as a separate community.
In July 1899, Rev. Alexander John, wrote in The Travancore-Cochin Diocesan Recorder, “The condition of the depressed classes of Travancore is extremely deplorable. They are regarded as pollution and polluters.” Pulayas are a major community among the Kerala SCs. ‘Pulaya‘ means ‘one who is a pollution’. ‘Pula‘ was a social custom practiced by caste Hindus. When a caste Hindu died other members of his household were to keep away from all religious rites and social activities for 16 days. In the case of Pulaya this is a perpetual condition that persisted throughout his life. In other words, his life was an extended “Pula” into death.
E. B. Thomas, who was a judge in Calicut, while writing about slave-trade in Malabar, says that in 1842, a young woman of Cherama caste was worth only three rupees and eight annas, and a child of the same caste could be bought at a price of one rupee and ten annas. European missionaries inaugurated a new era of great social change and progress. The British ascendancy in India also turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the oppressed people. The Church Missionary Society started its work in 1816. In the beginning they worked in collaboration with the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. But this union of convenience did not last long and in 1836, the CMS broke with the Syrian Church and started missionary work on their own. The credit for announcing the good news to the slaves of Central Travancore goes to Rev Rugland, who was corresponding secretary to the CMS in Madras. In 1850, while on a tour of Travancore, he came across a group of Pulayas in a paddy field working to the tune of an enchanting choral song. This made him think about the possibility of missionary work among the Untouchables. Thus, in 1854, in the village of Kaipatta in Kerala, a slave called Theyyathan was baptized and christened Habel (Abel). Habel was the frist convert from the Untouchables in Kerala.
This was an epoch-making event in the history of Kerala. There was an exodus of slaves to Christianity where they were recognized as human beings. The services rendered by the European missionaries for the emancipation of the slaves must be written in golden letters. The missionaries to be remembered in this connection are Benjamin Bailey and Joseph Peet.
The missionaries acquired lands and the landless slaves were comfortably rehabilitated. Ayyankali was a great leader of the Untouchables, who fought for their freedom of movement, the right to education, the right to dress properly, the right of Untouchable women to cover their breasts, etc.
After the European missionaries left the educated “Harijan” Christians gradually began to feel the existence of caste-barriers within the church. Orthodox Christians were bent upon segregating the converts. It was at this time that the Communist Party made its appearance on the political scene of Kerala with its call for the emancipation of the oppressed and exploited. Naturally, communism found a fertile ground among the working class, especially among the Untouchables, including the converts. The Communist Party’s contribution in the social uplift of the oppressed classes in Kerala is unique. But today, the party is split into groups and this has caused disillusionment among the oppressed classes.
The are about one million “Harijan” Christians in Kerala, who belong to various denominations viz. the CSI, the Malankara Mar Thoma Church, Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, the Roman Catholics, the Salvation Army and the numerous Pentecostal sects. Most of the converts are agricultural labourers. The pauperization process in the agrarian sector has driven many upper caste people to seek work on the land, thereby reducing the employment opportunities of the backward class Christians. Farm labour is only seasonal, and that too is not available. Unemployment is the greatest threat that the converts face today.
A survey conducted in 1979 among farm laborers by the Socio-Economic Development Society of the CSI, Madhya Kerala Diocese, reveals that an agricultural laborer gets only 170 days of work a year. Another sample survey carried out by the CISRS in 1972 showed that the average annual income of a convert family of five to six members was Rs. 830. Some recent surveys have fixed the amount at present as Rs 2,000. A survey conducted of late by the UNICEF has pronounced Kerala the poorest state in India. An Indian needs Rs. 64 a month for his minimum diet. Then a family of six should have an annual income of Rs. 4608, whereas the actual figure is below Rs 3000. This leads us to the alarming discovery that the backward Christians are one of the poorest sections in the country.
The CISRS survey of 1978 fixes the literacy of the backward Christians at 32%. The Venganur study shows that the literacy of Pulayas there is only 12.39% in the state with 66% literacy.
I would like to attract your attention to a recent sensational case of murder in Kerala. George Soman, Police Sub Inspector at Panoor, was most cruelly shot to death. It is suspected that (and there is enough evidence) his subordinates who were caste Hindu did away with him because they could not tolerate a Harijan above them.
The Harijan Christians suffer discrimination on the basis of religion in a secular state. The SCs are assured representation in the Indian Parliament and the State legislature by reserving constituencies for them. While the Government is spending crores on the Harijans, it is obstinately reluctant to give it to the Harijan Christian, as he ceases to be a Harijan and will forfeit his benefits of reservation. But his reconversion assures him all those benefits. This is sheer violation of the fundamental principle of secularism enshrined in the Constitution, which rules out any discrimination against a citizen in respect of his religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
Various commissions appointed by the Central and State Governments viz. the Kalelkar Commission, Kumara Pillai Commission, Nettur Commission etc. and pronouncements of the Supreme Court and several High Courts agree with the view that there is no basic difference between a Hindu Harijan and a Harijan who became a Christian. The only difference is the difference of religion. The Harijan Christian continues to bear the shackles of his early existence as a Harijan.
Caste system prevails in the church also. Harijan Christians are subjected to discrimination by their orthodox fellow Christians. There are several places of worship in Kerala that are meant exclusively for the Harijan Christians. The policy of segregation is followed by the church in many places. They are not given their due share of employment in the institutions run by the church – schools, colleges, hospitals etc. The backward Christians have no say in the functioning of the church and they are kept away from the key administrative posts. The church is now in the grip of a pack of upper caste conservatives who are more interested in running the institutions than in announcing the Kingdom of God to the poor. They join hands with the reactionary forces in society and turn their faces away from popular movements engaged in liberation struggles. The church is always opposed to the people’s struggle for their legitimate rights. The church, as is evident from its teachings, is eager to sustain the existing structures of injustice. “What if we suffer here on earth?” they ask: “God is going to reward you in heaven”. People are made to believe in an everlasting blissful life beyond death, totally irresponsive to the present responsibilities. The church goes on teaching like this, pacifying the tide of wrath against injustice. Passive acceptance of suffering and injustice is considered a Christian virtue. This will lead to a sort of moral castration of the people making them passive and indifferent spectators to the crying injustices which they suffer.
What we need today is the transformation of the church into a dynamic movement for realizing the Kingdom of God. The poor and the down-trodden are a force to be reckoned with in the context of any social change. They can be turned into a revolutionary force for transforming the church and society.
