Source: news.bbc.co.uk
ERAIYUR, TAMIL NADU, INDIA, June 12, 2009: Centuries ago, many low-caste Hindus embraced Christianity in hopes of overcoming caste barriers. But in the village of Eraiyur, in Tamil Nadu, not much has changed. The area is dominated by Vanniyar Christians, numbering about 15,000, who own most of the land and businesses and impose restrictions on the 3,000 Dalits, even though they are fellow Christians. The area witnessed violence last year when Dalits demanded equal treatment.
The Dalits are forced to build their huts on the outskirts of the village. They must use a side street to approach the church, and they cannot bury their dead in the cemetery or use the church’s funeral cart; instead, they must follow a broken path outside the village to reach their burial ground. “We were told not to touch any upper caste person, not to get too close to them, not to talk to them,” says Mrs Peraiyamaka, 60, a farm laborer who has been visiting the parish church since childhood. “It is no different now.”
Young Dalits refuse to be submitted to such humiliation, and fears of violence prompted the Dalits to build a separate church. But local Catholic priests refuse to give recognition to their church; they say a village can have only one parish church.
Mr Mathew is a Dalit activist who graduated from Madras University. His efforts to seek justice have created tension in his village, forcing him to move elsewhere. He is angry that “untouchability” continues to be practiced, even though it is unconstitutional. “There is no big change after we came to Christianity.”
Local Vanniyar Christians point out that they now allow the Dalits to use the public road. They say the Dalits are creating trouble. Asked about treatment of the dead, one Vanniyar Christian retorted: “It will take a long time for a common graveyard.”