Statement on Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians in India

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

No preference updated.

13 August 2020

The Indian caste system is probably the longest surviving system of dehumanisation in the world. The segmentation among the various castes is so rigid that no one can change from one caste to another caste. It is expected that a person born in a particular caste remains permanently confined to it until death. In addition to this segmentation, the caste system defines the nature of the occupation to be allotted to each caste. The Dalits in India have been at the bottom of this totem pole for centuries in all spheres of their lives — social, economic, and political. Owing to the entrenched and socially sanctioned nature of the caste hierarchy and its prior validation through religion, those unfortunate enough to be born in the lower castes do not even have the option of qualifying for national minority status under Indian law. This is despite the fact that they are by and large not allowed in many places to join in rituals along with the upper castes even today in India as their presence is considered polluting.

When India became a Republic in 1950, a commitment was made to secure justice, equality, liberty, and dignity for all Indian citizens. However, the Dalit Christians have been discriminated and marginalised as the special protection of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) was given only to the Scheduled Castes within the Hindu religion. The affirmative benefits and the fundamental rights constitutionally guaranteed for the Scheduled Castes in India have been denied to the Dalit communities that converted to Christianity and Islam. This privilege of special protection was extended in 1956 to the Dalits converted to the Sikh religion and in 1990 to those who converted to Buddhism. Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims continue to be kept outside of this constitutionally guaranteed programme of affirmative action Read More...