1

Dalit Theology (BTT13)

Assignment
“A Journey into Dalit realities and Epistemology of Caste”

Submitted to: Rev. Dr. John Philip A. Submitted by: Soju Thomas Mathew
Date: 25/07/2022 (B.D. IV)

Introduction

Dalit is the name given to the lowest caste of people in Indian society, who were formally
referred to as "the untouchables." In Sanskrit, Dalit means “divided,” “broken” and
“oppressed.” Those born into this life were traditionally limited to jobs that were considered
too menial for those higher on the social strata. India's caste system divided people by social
distinctions into hereditary groups that had specific limitations and privileges, depending on
where the person is on the social strata. Although it is illegal in India today to discriminate
against the Dalit or anyone based on caste, nearly half of the Dalit population lives below the
poverty line and more than 60 percent are illiterate. Technically, the Dalit are so low in the
hierarchy that they are not part of the caste system, but some sociologists now classify them
with the lowest of the four castes, the Sudra. The traditional castes include:

 Brahmin – the priestly and teacher caste. Salvation (moksha) is achieved through
Jnana yoga (learning and knowledge).
 Kshatriya – the ruler and public service caste. Moksha is achieved through Karma
yoga (good works).
 Vaishya – the business and merchant caste. Moksha is attained through Bhakti yoga
(devotion to the Divine).
 Sudra/Dalit – the semi-skilled and unskilled workers. Moksha is attained through
Bhakti yoga.

Dalit epistemology is a knowledge system based on certain philosophical and theoretical

grounds. Dalit epistemology is rooted in Dalit experience of brokenness and rejectedness.
Dalit experience of brokenness is a byproduct of the caste epistemology. Caste is a very
unique socio political, economic and epistemological construction that determines the
subjectivity of all social partners. It locates dalits in a subjugated social position. Dalit
epistemology denies caste practices and envisions social institutional practices. It is through
which Dalit re-reads, re-imagine and re-position their subjectivity. 1 The Indian Caste System
is considered a closed system of stratification, which means that a person’s social status is
obligated to which caste they were born into. There are limits on interaction and behavior
with people from another social status. This paper deals with the introduction of Dalit
realities and the epistemology of caste.

1
Y.T. Vinaya Raj. Re-imagining Dalit Theology. (Thiruvalla: CSS, 2004), 31.
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A Journey into Dalit Realities

Who is Dalits?

The word Dalit is a Sanskrit term which Hebrew root has several related meanings.
According to the famous theologian Aravind P. Nirmal, the term Dalit means;

i. The broken, the torn, the rent the burst, the split.
ii. The opened, the depended.
iii. The bisected.
iv. The driven asunder, the dispelled, the scattered.
v. The downtrodden, the crushed, the destroyed.
vi. The manifested, the displayed2.

All these meanings reveal the reality of Dalits who were deprived of their human hood and
treated as non persons and no people. Yet the name Dalit assumed by the out castes of India
not only manifests their condition of slavery and dehumanization but also makes known their
dignity and militancy to struggle for liberation. Dalits defined is the slogan of Christian Dalits
liberation movement. The Dalits in different part of India have not formed a solid group
either the past or the present; they themselves spit up into hundreds of caste and sub castes.
The common feature that brings them together is the stigma of the untouchability due to their
polluting professions such as leather work skinning, moving, carcasses, carrying night soil on
their heads and so on.

The Dalits socially as the lowest group in the caste system with the stigma of the
untouchability attached them. As more than 90% of the Dalits lives in villages and a vast
majority depended on the agriculture, they contribute disproportionately to the landless
agriculture labors. There are many who are too poor to build their houses on there on own
lands, live alone the quality of their houses. In most villages they have to suffer residential
segregation and in towns, it is difficult even for its well to do members to rent a house in a
decent locality on account of their poverty and malnutrition, physical disabilities and
deceases such as tuberculosis, malaria, leprosy, etc.3

The Stand of Traditional Academic and Religious Circles

The traditional academic and religious writers both in this country and abroad consider the
Dalit traditional religion as part of the Hindu heritage, though they admit that their religion
still preserves certain distinctive ethnic and religious cultural features. Historically this is
justified in the sense that dominant brahminical religion as it evolved over the centuries
subjugated and absorbed many primeval tribal groups with their gods, goddesses, religious
rituals and customs along with their sacred groves. Priests of the dominant brahminical
tradition wove new myths by identifying them with one of the chief or minor deities in their
tradition, or made them wives, children or vehicles of their gods. For instance, the tribal god
2
Anthoniraj Thumma. Springs From the Subaltern. (Delhi: ISPCK, 1999), 1-3.
3
Aravind P. Nirmal. A Reader In Dalit Theology. (Madras: Gurukul Lutheran Theological College &
Research Institute, 2007), 1-2.
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or Orissa became· identified with Vishnu, Murugan of Adidravidians became identified with
Skanda of the North Indian traditions, Ayyanar of Chattan of the tribals in the Western Ghats
with its Buddhist associations became Sastha of Sabarimala, born of two male gods: Vishnu
and Siva, according to brahminical myths in the Puranas. This religious hierarchical
subordination was a complementary historical process to the concerned tribal groups' political
and economic subjugation.

Some of the authors call this historical process "Hindu imperialism" or "Brahmin internal
cultural colonialism", because through this process the concerned tribal groups or a section of
them not only lost their social autonomy and economic independence but also their religio-
cultural self-identity as a separate group by losing control over their gods, places of worship
and the right to administer to their own people's religious needs. Furthermore, many of them
internalized brahminical versions of myths relating to this historical process and voluntarily
accepted demeaning ritual roles in village festivals, temple rituals and domestic rites
corresponding to a servile class in a semi-feudal economy.

Ritual Practices of Dalit Community

Most of the rituls of the dalit community are reality with the life circle of human. There were
about 450 caste groups among India Dalits 4. Most of them have their own ritual practices.
Each of them have some unique nature, but somehow they related each other, mainly rituals
related to the life circle. Here we deals with the rituals of the dalits people mainly related with
the life circle namely, birth, pollution, marriage, death and souls etc...

Birth: The scheduled castes, being every superstitious, are always afraid of witchcraft and
evil spirits. They try to protect pregnant women from evil influence. A pregnant woman
wears black colored threads given by a Bhagat or faqir or Guniojha. They wear lockets with
things made of iron as a safe guard. She also wear a tabiz (talisman) givin by a faquir or
ojaha . If a pregnant woman has fallen of evil spirits, bhagat or faquir is called to save the
mother and the child in womb, they consider pregnancy as the most crucial period for every
women. If she gives birth to a child without any difficulty it is a matter of grace 5. A woman
has to face much restriction during this period because her neglince not only affect herself but
also the child which is in her womb. If an eclipse occurs during her pregnancy period she has
to be careful. For instance she is not allowed to do any work during the period of eclipse.
Neither can she neither sleep nor sit. She is not allowed cut anything. She either stands erect
or moves failings which her child will be either deformed or mad. A pregnant woman is not
allowed to cross a river or a big nalas. She is not allowed to pass by a smasan ghat (cremation
place) or a place there were is possibilities or goes or which craft. She is not allowed even to
go to latrine, alone. She cannot get out alone in the nights and doesn’t lift heavy loads. It is
noticed that a heavy work is not allowed for a pregnant women. Regarding these taboos, they
are of the opinion that if pregnant women work hard and doesn’t take rest, the child in the
womb may be affected badly and sometimes an abortion take place. But a nuclear family of a
4
K. S. Singh. The Scheduled Castes. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 1-2.
5
Sita Deulkar. Dalits: Past, Present and Future. (Delhi: Dominant Publishers, 2004), 72.
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scheduled a cast things oppositely and compels a pregnant women to do all types of work.
Either light or heavy scheduled cast women can be observed bringing water in a pitcher on
her head, doing the work of harvesting etc… A pregnant woman is not allowed to eat meat,
fish, curd and sugar etc… In order to keep digestive system good but in fact their economy
does not permit them to eat such expensive food.

Pollution: After birth the first six days are counted as chutka days during which the male
members of the concerned family do not shave, they do not take non-vegetarian food or
liquor. These things are strictly prohibited during the period of pollution. The sixth sometime
the 12th days is known a chati. On this day the celebration is performed, which is called
chatty puja. The house is cleaned along with the souri Ghar (The Childs birth place) by the
womenfolk. The house is washed with water and cowdung. The head of the male members of
the family and relations and invitees gets shaved. The members are given little mustard oil
and haldi to apply on their body and head before they bath. On this day, the family deity
Kuladevta and other ceremony held, which is called Bisori. On this day, the mother without
compulsion of besori a women who has birth to a child should not cook the food. But in
practice, amendments may be done keeping an eye on the time and facilities. A mother of a
newly born child has to face so many restrictions to take only a restricted diet, not to take
much spice especially red chilies and to take restricted diet at least for one month. It is
believed that if she does not take restricted diet, many diseases may cause in the child who is
completely depending on her milk. As a result, both the child and the mother are surrounded
by so many tabiz, ganda and other toma mantra. A Childs eyes are marked by kajol6. The
child and the mother wear articles made of iron eg. Ring knife etc. in order to advert the evil
eyes.

Marriage: Marriage is a human and worldly affair that performs the human function and
procreation. The marriage is conducted with the involvement of the whole caste members. In
some places child marriage also became the part of the marriage system, but it is changing
gradually. In the marriage most of the dalit groups use rice, turmeric, leaves from different
trees and if they are from the agriculture family they use the agriculture tools etc...7

Death: They believed that death is natural and once goes to either hell or heaven according to
ones deeds. They neither take meal on the day on the occurrence nor light a fire for cooking
etc... And from the next day they take something simply boild without oil and turmeric, up to
9 days from the death of the day. Non vegetarian food and luquir are avoided up to Daswan
or Barshi. (10th day or 12th day). None of the members of the family are allowed to apply oil,
soap and comb and the male members do not shave. The main prohibitions and customs are
performed by the chief mourner (Agdeva) up to the daswan. He wears a white dhoti. He eats
only boiled things. His meals prepared by a lady who do not come in contact with any other
food. He sleeps in the same house, in which the deceased man was at the time of death. No
Chauki or Khatiya can be used by him. He has to sleep on the ground. The mourner is not
allowed to visit other people’s houses during the period of mourning. On the Daswan the
barber shaves the head and beard and moustache of the relatives and the members of the
6
Sita Deulkar. Dalits: Past, Present and Future…, 72-73.
7
Kancha Ilaiah. Why I am Not a Hindu. (Calcutta: Samya, 1996), 20-21.
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family of the deceased. He also pares their nails. They touch turmeric and oil after taking
bath. The women folk in the family perform the same rituals on the same day. After giving a
jati panch bhoj this ceremony ends. This bhoj consists of race pulse and boiled vegetables.
The Barahawan 12th ceremony is the final ceremony which is performed after cleaning the
house well. A Brahmin is called to perform this work. It includes it includes Panda- Dan to
ancestors and Pakki Bhoj. After that all ceremonies are put to an end. In this way the period
of pollution also come to an end8.

Soul, Salvation and Rebirth: We might simply say “Their believes regarding soul, salvation
and rebirth follow the common traditions of Hindu masses”. A man can get salvation by good
behavior and by leading a pious life. According to the following are the ways of salvation

 Honesty
 Love for others
 Good conduct
 Worship of God

A man can get salvation even without worshiped God if he has the three qualities Honesty,
love for others, good conduct, are the fundamentals of a pious life. This may be due to
Buddhist influences in the past. The agnostic attitude of a belief in certain virtues on the
righteous way of life without postulating a supreme being may well have been due to the
influence of Buddhism in the area, after the eradication of Buddhism many Buddhist were re
converted to Hinduism and come once were within the Hindu fold but in a socially debased
state. They become the followers of ‘untouchability’ 9. They said that although they were
leading very nasty lives, worse than beasts, yet they also had the idea of salvation and rebirth.
Their economic condition and the attachment to the physical labor stand in the way of their
departing from all these things. The wretched economic conditions do not allow these people
to visit Hindu Tirthas like Varanasi, Gaya, and Prayag etc… which another way of getting
rid of all their sins.

Epistemology of Caste

The word, ‘caste’ is of Spanish and Portuguese origin. It originates from the Spanish word
‘casta’, meaning lineage or ‘race’ or a group having hereditary quality. It is derived from
the Latin word “Castus”, which means pure. The Spaniards were the first to use it, but its
Indian application is from the Portuguese, who had so applied it in the middle of the
fifteenth century. The current spelling of the word is after the French word Caste, which
appears in 1740 in the academies, and is hardly found before 1800.

The Indian caste system is a classification of people into four hierarchically ranked castes
called varnas. They are classified according to occupation and determine access to wealth,
power, and privilege. Leadership positions in society are monopolized by a few dominant
castes. The two upper castes are ritually considered as superior to the lower castes. The
Brahmans, usually priests and scholars, following the Brahmans are the Kshatriyas, or
8
Sita Deulkar. Dalits: Past, Present and Future…, 73-74.
9
Sita Deulkar. Dalits: Past, Present and Future…, 74.
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political rulers and soldiers. They were the ruling class and often times collaborated with
the Brahmans as they reigned over their kingdom. Next are the Vaishyas, or merchants. A
Vaishya's duty was to ensure the community's prosperity through agriculture, cattle
rearing and trade. The Vaishyas were considered and expected to be weak in comparison
to their rulers, and were infinitely exploitable and regenerative.Vaishyas were denied a
high social status, Then come the Shudras, who are usually laborers, peasants, artisans,
and servants. Shudras were thought to not have any special abilities and were considered
only capable of serving as slaves to the upper three classes. Shudras enjoyed no rights or
privileges, and were not permitted to perform any sacrifices or homa, read or learn the
Vedas or recite the mantras (prayer rituals). They were also not allowed to enter temples
and could only serve the upper three castes as a slave, barber, blacksmith or cobbler. They
too supported the anti-brahminical groups that came about.

At the very bottom are those considered the “untouchables”. These individuals performed
occupations that were considered unclean and polluting, such as scavenging and skinning
dead animals and are considered outcastes. They were therefore not considered to be
included in the ranked castes. In some cases, the untouchables could face criminal charges
if they polluted certain things with their presence. They were also forbidden to enter the
streets in which the houses of the upper castes were situated, and there were many
customs and laws that kept them beyond the villages and towns. Since they were rated
outside the caste system, they were destined to only in the outskirts of the village and
were never an integral part of village community. Their services, however, were still
essential to the health of the community and therefore still had to be part of the system in
order to serve the upper castes.

There were various theories to show to the practice of caste system.

a. The theory of divine institution: It is the idea that the four Varnas were erected out
of the deity. According to this theory dalits has no place in the society.
b. Individual particle theory: This theory was propagated by Pauline Kolenda.
According to him, individuals belonging to the particular caste share identical
particles that constitute other individuals in other caste. Distance need to be
maintained to prevent the coming in of these particles.
c. The Theory of Karma: Hinduism upholds the reality of cycle of births and the
transformation of soul. The status of one’s birth is dependent on the ideas of the
previous birth. The virtuous will be born in a higher caste while the wicked are born
as Sudra or Dalit.

G. S. Ghurye denotes the features of caste system that affected the society, they are;

 segmented divisions in the society,

 hierarchy,
 restrictions in social interactions and
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 division of workers.10

After independence, The Constitution of India abolished untouchability. The recent years
have witnessed some relaxation in caste restrictions. However, one cannot say the evils of
caste-system have been totally eradicated. While addressing the death of Rohith Vemula,
a Dalit student leader who committed suicide Prof. Kancha Ilaiah said that it is an
example of caste discrimination in Modern India. The caste system is still working subtly
in India.

Conclusion

The term 'Dalit' was first used by Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, himself an ‘untouchable’
often found himself in opposition to Mahatma Gandhi on issues concerning untouchables.
There are a number of Dalit groups in India. They have different kinds of ritual practices also.
But they have some sort of uniqueness in the rituals related to the life circle. But it had slit
difference with respect to the tribes. Ritual practices had a unique role in the life of the Dalit
community. They associated with their God concept and their believes. The caste identity has
become a subject of political, social and legal interpretation. Communities who get listed as
entitled for positive discrimination do not get out of this list even if their social and political
conditions get better. In many cases the legal system is involved to decide if a certain person
is entitled for positive discrimination. But with all this positive discrimination policy, most of
the communities who were low in the caste hierarchy remain low in the social order even
today. And communities who were high in the social hierarchy remain even today high in the
social hierarchy. Most of the degrading jobs are even today done by the Dalits, while the
Brahmins remain at the top of the hierarchy by being the doctors, engineers and lawyers of
India. The biblical narratives tell of a God actively involved within human history and in the
struggle of the oppressed against the oppressor.11 Dalit theologians constructed a theology of
the cross. There is an implicit recognition of the inseparability of the incarnation and the
cross of Jesus.12 As a called out community, the church and the society may be enlightened
and alerted in taking a right and acceptable direction in developing a relevant and meaningful
theology of mission in the liberation of Dalits. All human are created by the image and
likeness of God, so we all have to keep the mutual respect towards all and it should be reflect
in our life and praxis.

10
G.S. Ghurye. Features of Caste system. (Delhi: Oxford, 1991).
11
Adrian Bird. M.M. Thomas and Dalit Theology. (Bangalore: BTESSC/SASTHRI, 2008), 61.
12
K. P. Kuruvilla. The word Became Flesh: A Christological paradigm for doing Theology in
India. (Delhi: Indian society for promoting Christian knowledge, 2002), 185.
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Bibliography
Bird, Adrian. M.M. Thomas and Dalit Theology. Bangalore: BTESSC/SASTHRI, 2008.

Deulkar, Sita. Dalits: Past, Present and Future. Delhi: Dominant Publishers, 2004.

Ghurye, G.S. Features of Caste system. Delhi: Oxford, 1991.

Ilaiah, Kancha. Why I am Not a Hindu. Calcutta: Samya, 1996.

Kuruvilla, K. P. The word Became Flesh: A Christological paradigm for doing Theology in
India. Delhi: Indian society for promoting Christian knowledge, 2002.

Nirmal, Aravind P. A Reader In Dalit Theology. Madras: Gurukul Lutheran Theological College &
Research Institute, 2007.

Singh, K. S. The Scheduled Castes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Thumma, Anthoniraj. Springs From the Subaltern. Delhi: ISPCK, 1999.

Vinaya Raj, Y.T. Re-imagining Dalit Theology. Thiruvalla: CSS, 2004.