Eraiyur, a tiny village in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu has become a symbol of Dalit aspirations and high caste intolerance. The village population of about 25,000 is 99 per cent Catholic. It remains a tinderbox two months after the dominant community, Vanniar Christians (OBC) attacked Dalit Christians, ransacked their homes, and a chapel that was being used by Dalits as an alternative place of worship as a protest against the discrimination they faced in the village’s regular church. Eighty houses were damaged and 30 Dalits were hospitalised.
The economically dominant, land-owning Vanniars are boycotting Dalits by refusing to employ them in their fields. The Dalits are defiant. “We would rather migrate than work for them,” said an angry Lily. Christopher, who runs a small shop, said the Vanniars want Dalits to remain what they have been for centuries, as slaves of the upper castes.
For the past 10 years, the anger has been building up over this separation by caste. Seating in the 114-year-old Church of Our Lady of Rosary is separate for Dalits; so are cemeteries. Dalits have no access to Vanniar areas. In fact, a major clash was triggered off in 1999 when Vanniars prevented access through “their” main road to the funeral procession of mother of father A C Irudayanathan, a Dalit priest.
For several years now, the Dalits have been demanding that they have equal access to the burial ground, the right to a common hearse (to carry a body to the cemetery) through the common road. Importantly, they are under the perpetual stranglehold of the powerful Vanniars.
The Church-run St Joseph’s Higher Secondary school has 40 teachers; all are Vanniars. The ration shop, the milk vending unit, the primary school are all in the Vanniar areas which means that Dalits have to tread on shells almost daily when accessing these services.
In an assertion that did not go down well with the Vanniars, the Dalits approached the Archdiocese of Puducherry-Cuddalore to recognise the Sagaya Matha Chapel that the Dalits built after the 1999 clash, as an exclusive church for Dalits.
Archbishop Anthony Aanandarayar (incidentally, a Vanniar), who has been criticised for not doing much to rid his parish of caste discrimination, has closed the Eraiyur Church indefinitely and says it won’t be opened till the two sides make peace. He ruled out having two parishes on caste basis in Eraiyur and believes that “outside influences” have vitiated the “harmonious” relations between the two castes.
A major reason for such issues not being a priority of the church leadership, both among Catholics and Protestants, is that the church is dominated by “upper” caste leaders. Christian activists are demanding that reforms in the community should begin from the top, by giving representation in church leadership to Dalits in proportion to their population, that is 70 per cent.
The stranglehold of caste power is proving too strong for the new religion. Its missionary zeal faltered when it came to reforming the social relationships among its flock. The church failed Christ, the apostle of love and brotherhood. Caste continues to mock at Christianity and it is a shame.
