A section of Dalit Christians at a village near Thiruverumbur have alleged caste discrimination at the local St Mary Magdalene church saying they are not allowed to involve in the annual festival or use a comman community hall for conducting marriages and other events.
Representatives of the aggrieved families told reporters here that 70 of the 200 Christian families residing at Ayyampatti village are from the dalit community. Though there were no restrictions in offering prayers at the church, only families belonging to the dominant community are considered as members of the parish which comes under the diocese of Trichy, they said. “For years, we have been attending prayer services and offering prayers at the church. However, they do not collect money from dalit families. The church’s annual feast is celebrated in July. We participate in the feast but the car will not come to our street. We have to wait for the car on the street corner to offer our prayers,” V Arockiadass, a member of the dalit families, said.
At a meeting held in the church in June 2022, they demanded their rights in church activities and participation in celebrations. However, members of the dominant community did not entertain their pleas, he said. “We took the matter to the notice of the bishop of Trichy diocese in July 2022. As directed by the diocese, parish priest Rev Fr Charles held talks with the dominant community and conveyed the bishop’s advice to give equal rights to the dalits also. They refused to accept it and asked him to vacate his room instead. Ever since the incident, there is no permanent parish priest for the church,” he said.
This apart, the dominant community members also locked the community hall run by the church and kept it out of bounds for the dalits for conducting functions, he said. Following a protest held in front of the church in January, police held peace talks. “But they (dominant community) are in denial mode. So, we have sent a complaint to the Pope as well as to the district collector,” Arockiadass added.
TOI made several attempts to contact the parish priest, but they went in vain. Bishop S Arockiaraj was also not available for comment. However, his secretary Rev Fr Thomas told TOI that they have been taking various steps to settle the issue amicably. “Now the matter is in the hands of the police. So we are awaiting their initiatives to find a solution,” he added.
Courtesy : Times of india
Note: This news piece was originally published in timesofindia.indiatimes.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights
Trending Now
You may also like
