by Dr. Stanley
Reflections on Indian
Development Scenario
An 'Orientation, Consultation' was held in
Visakhapatanamn, Odisha on 22nd and 23rd August 2012 in which 25 participants
took part, which included: Mr. Amar Thomas, Secretary JELC Synod, Rev. Asish
Kumar Pal, Chairman JELC Synod, Mr. B.K. Benya, Treasurer JELC Synod; Dr. Frank
Vishwanath (who returned to Guntur on emergency),,and Mr.Jesurathnam of CARD;
Dr. Stanley William and Mr. Sushant Stanley of IRDWSI and Mrs. Sasi Prabha of
CeFHA were also present. The consultation started with an informal note by Dr
James Massey, Director CDS, New Delhi presenting to the participants following
three main objectives of the workshop (for details see Section one):
• The concerns of the Partner Church of JELC regarding
Higher
Education in Theology, Subaltern Expression of
Theology touching Dalits, Advasis and women. Study of Dalit and Adivasi
Heritage and Liberative tradition in North, Central and South India
Before the beginning of the consultation Dr
Massey presented a copy of 'Dalit Bible Commentary,- New Testament' to Dr
William Stanley which was published by the Centre for Dalit/Subaltern Studies,
New Delhi. This was done as an expression of gratitude to a person who has
worked extensively for the development of Dalit and Adivasi communities. The
Commentary has the distinction of being the first Bible Commentary from India
and is considered a positive step towards building Dalit theology.
Dr. William Stanley of IRDWSI introduced the
programme of the workshop to the participants. He began his talk by relating
the global/ local trends that are regularly encountered by Dalits and subaltern
communities of our country like globalization, political oppression,
corruption, caste based discriminations etc., that inevitably impact their life
resulting in an unjust society. He said that we all live in a historical
context where the church has a critical role to play. Jesus in his time had
questioned the powerful and the oppressors with the objective of bringing empowerment
to the weaker sections of his society. But this objective of the church was
diluted by the western imperialistic theology that was interested only in
maintaining the status quo with the oppressive political economic and social
systems. It falls in our share therefore, to re-read the Bible for its message
to the oppressed. Then only the church will get a Different perspective of
looking at the Bible and convey the right message to the world.
Dr Stanley informed the participants that the
World Council of Churches (WCC), World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC)
and the Council for World Mission (CWM) have come together to facilitate a
continuing thought process of a theology through Oikotree forum that intends to
establish values of liberation and justice which was started with Jesus. The
liberation story in the Old Testament demands for Justice that would flow like
a never ending stream. We all strive to understand this phenomenon of Kingdom
coming down to us. There is a theological contradiction between the dominant
theology and non-dominant theology. Non-dominant theology emerges from the
context of Dalits, Adivasis, Indigenous, ecology and feminist perspectives and
continues to be relevant to the context and to the multi-disciplinary
perspectives, including different religious experiences. In this way it becomes
a significant part of the liberation theology.
As long as we do not challenge those value
traditions or religious traditions that do not contribute to equality and
justice, we will continue to support the oppressive structures as passive
communities. Church is also no exception. There are churches with divisions
within: Upper Castes, Dalits and Adivasis. In some churches they have separate
places for sitting, and even separate burial grounds. The Church leadership for
a long time has been with the non-Dalits and non-Adivasis, with the result that
the voice of the oppressed is hardly ever heard in those corridors. In spite of
it belonging to the section of minority, Church has been contributing a lot to
the nation in the area of education, health care, emergency relief and
community empowerment. But it has done little to improve the lot of the
oppressed communities in these areas.
To get sensitive to the distress of the
oppressed communities and to remove the walls of separation both within and
outside the church, it is crucial for the church to understand the value of
theological education and its relevance in today's context. For that church and
the Christians have to learn a lot from indigenous traditions. For example, the
land for Dalits and other indigenous communities is pivotal and an important
element in their life. Because of the historical injustice, lands owned by
were snatched away from them, and since then
they have been any access to their land, or to their rights and dignity,
Adivasis also
depended on land and forests for their living;
they too were deprived of their livelihoods and displaced in the name of
development.
Fishing communities are another such section who
suffer greatly because of corporate marine fishing and impact of climate
change. The target of the economic globalization has been to take the public
good away from them. All this pose challenge for the church to justify its
existence by supporting the oppressed.
Dr Stanley pointed out that the whole idea of
conversion today from one religion to the other is becoming strange and seems
to be promoted by capitalization. There is as if an emergence of Prosperity
Gospel which is spreading fast and which only teaches how to become rich,
without questioning why the people around are poor. There is an obvious
contradiction between Liberation theology and Prosperity theology. For anyone
who is oppressed, the Liberation theology comes as a hope. We as Christians
therefore, need to strengthen and reinforce our commitment and to explore and
strengthen the ideology for a continuing Liberation theology.
Dr Stanley was concerned that our thinking today
is controlled and dominated by media and advertisements. How do we cope with
this? We need to develop theological education of liberation which can sustain
our society for generations. Larger alliances between the churches, church
organizations and civil societies need to be built in order to go beyond the
conventional process of engagement of conversion, so that a change could be
brought about from worst to a better situation – for a life with dignity and
fullness for the oppressed. The need of the hour is the commitment of the
churches for a just action. We need to assess our own work and try to reach
higher targets. One of the areas is to focus on our heritage and its
contribution to communitarian values of non-dominance, non-oppression,
non-hierarchical and non-dictatorial living - for justice and for peace.
After Dr William Stanley's address the workshop
proceeded with deliberations on three main issues on the agenda. Below are
given the gist of these discussions with the proposals as suggested by the
participants.
HIGHER EDUCATION OF
THEOLOGY
Dr James Massey began his presentation with two
references. One of these was the book on 'A Theology of Liberation' by Gustavo
Gutierrez which deals with the issue of development, politics, poverty and
wealth, and strongly suggests that to be a theologian one need not be an expert
of any sort. According to Gutierrez the lay persons can also be as much a
theologian through their contribution of theological insights, as are the
trained theologians. The second reference was to Proverbs 29:18 in the Bible
which emphasizes the need for vision (or prophesy) for a nation/ community. Dr.
Massey reminded the names of Ezra and Nehemiah who united and galvanized the
dispirited Israelites in the post-Babylonian time. Ezra was a scribe, an expert
on Moses' Law, and Nehemiah was a lay person, a politician. But both of them
fulfilled their responsibility with aplomb. The condition of Dalits and Advasis
in our country today much like that of the Israelites in the post exilic
period. Like them Dalits and Adivasis stand before us as broken communities.
They belong in the church which has also broken (divided) them. And they read
the Bible that is again been analyzed for them through broken (divided)
theology, as theology of the rich and the theology of the poor. In this scenario
it becomes the responsibility of all of us – the laity, theologian, wriest and
politicians, both in the Church and outside it, to hold a lamp to them so that
they can see clearly their path ahead.
In Dr Massey's opinion the need for JELC to have
higher education in theology becomes important in this light. It is true that
within the system of education in our country it is very difficult for Dalits
and Advasis (90% of whom constitute the Indian Church) to receive even the
essential education. Higher education continues to remain a dream for them.
Partners like OMZe of Germany and others appreciate this concern and are
willing to extend their helping hand to enable these pastors to realize that
dream. In that regard Dr Massey presented three programmes before the
participants:
CDS works with other theological seminaries like
the one in Dehradun and in Faridabad as part of Federated Faculty affiliated to
Serampore University and it might make sense to explore the possibility of BD
studies in North India through these theological institutions.
• For both higher study and research JELC in
Odisha can be covered through IRDWSI, and with CARD in South and Central India.
Orientation and Training can be given to younger pastors for M.Th studies.
However, at this juncture we need to promote M.Th by introducing different set
up of theological education.
In response to Dr. Massey's first part of the
presentation, some questions were posed and debated by the participants, Mr
Binay Suna wondered that commonly the Church experiences the challenge of
sending young people for theological studies; how then shall the new students
be encouraged by the programme under discussion? It was proposed that short
term courses also for BCS and Doctor of Ministries be launched to attract more
students. However, there already exists a diploma course which could be availed
both by the lay persons and the pastors. A proposal also came from one of the
participants that to popularize higher studies, the possibility of running M.Th
study through distance learning could also be explored. In answer to this Dr
Massey replied: "It is important to note that the Church needs formation
through theological education, and in this context Theological education
through distance learning will not contribute towards theological formation in
the Church. Being in a seminary is not just about studying, but also getting
that crucial opportunity of learning together' and 'living a community life'.
It is that experience which enables one to understand community formation,
together with the academic training that would open one's way to different
approaches." Rev. Subasito Patro pointed out that since working pastors
will also join for higher theological studies, it must be ensured that the
education must not alienate them from their community and culture. He also
added that since media has become an important part of our life, it is
important in this context to critically look at the role being played by it and
the manner in which it is tuned to take control of our thoughts and actions.
Dr William Stanley responded to the enquiry of
Rev. Hemalata Hontal about the role of Church in education of Dalits in the
society and issues related to their reservation. He said: “In the UK and Indian
government census, it shows up that a few Planned Tribes (ST) have ended up
Dalits (SC) and a few Dalits have gotten to be tribes. Also some of the
Adivasis have become non-Adivasis and non-Dalits.
This is
also result of an existing crisis within the Dalit communities which is
experienced in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkand and also in other parts of
India. If the Church and Christians are very sincere, they need to fight for
implementation of development programs. Dalit Christians in whole of India
constitute only 1% of the total population of the country. But Christians who
are about 2.50% owned the 20% of the quality education in India. When we feel
that we have found alternates, we shall actually be moving towards liberation
theology."
Dr James Massey also responded to Rev. Hemalata
Hontal by clarifying the meaning of Dalit in Indian context. He said that Dalit
is not a caste. It is a name given by the oppressed community of our society to
itself, and is based on their situation and condition of life. Also, Dalit is
not opposite to the rich. It is the wounded minds/psyche of the community that
makes it Dalit. Through study and research it should be our effort to heal that
mind/psyche. A proposal was then put forward to bring out the problems of
Dalits and Adivasis in JELC context; even a jointly prepared monograph on
'Subaltern Expression of Theology' both in Oriya and English, which will help
the Church to understand the core of the Gospel of Christ, was proposed.
2.2.1 Proposals for
action
Micenters should be made available for study,
research and documentation. The include those BD passed students who have not
secured B+ in Mth a qualifying exam should be conducted; those students should
also take one year language study. Lay persons should also be included in
theological studies. Short term courses for BCS and Doctor of Ministries should
also be launched. i road map that would enable higher education (including MTh)
for Adivasis/Dalits should be drawn. This should be done only after the
in-depth study of their problems in JELC context. National organizations like
NCCI and other bodies should be approached for assistance. A Library in JELC
and ACS should be established. An estimated amount of Rs 40-50 lakhs for higher
education, as education fund that includes theological education, should be
raised. This fund should be made available to the students like revolving fund
from which they can take loan while pursuing their studies, and to which they
can repay once they are placed in jobs.
• Local resources and other funding agencies
should also be
approached to raise funds for other
developmental work.
• Mapping of other latent resources useful for
the project, like human
resources, should also be explored.
2.3 SUBALTERN EXPRESSION
OF THEOLOGY
During the discussion of the importance of
relating one's theological study and research to the problems of Dalits and
Adivasis, Mr. Amar Thomas pointed out that the theological students show interest
only in New Testament and Old Testament studies; how then could they be
attracted to subaltern studies? Dr Massey replied that those who are interested
to do something for the subaltern people should follow the example of Jesus.
All his life he lived and worked outside the establishment; he was also
crucified outside the city. All this is symbolic, and suggests that it is very
important to follow oneself and not imitate others, if realization of the
vision is the aim.
Mr. Prem Patro Jani's pointed to the gap that
exists between theology and what the students are taught todav: “The theology
tells us that God created the world and Jesus is the salvation giver. Won't it
be app to develop a theology that would deal with the issues of Advasis and
Dalits as that would be more contextual in today's world?" he asked. Dr
James Massey replied to this question in the affirmative. He said: We are given
to believe that theology comes from above. It is because the Church in the past
was taken over by the rich; accordingly, the missionaries in those days tried
to interpret the scripture to the rich. It is this interpretation that came
down to us, but we must remember that Gospel and theology are two different
things. In the Nazareth Manifesto Jesus clearly named four groups whom he
picked for his mission work. These were: (i) the Poor; (ii) the Blind (meaning
those suffering from structural blindness); (iii) the Captives (meaning those
who are caught in some system - like the caste system in our country); and (iv)
the Oppressed. We must keep this Manifesto before us while doing our theology;
then we can never go astray.
Dr William Stanley intervened at this stage to
assert that a theologian needs to get continuously engaged in dialogue with the
church leaders questioning the impact of spiritual and theological teaching to
the people. He said: How can we demonstrate our relationship with the
indigenous expressions? It is sure that the dominant people cannot take the
path that liberates. We must turn to our brothers and sisters who are
suffering. In that we cannot isolate any group or community and keep it away
from being the part of the liberative process. If Dalits and Advasis lead the
liberative process, others will join and benefit from the liberation, which in
any case is an on-going movement.
Elaborating further on the need for Subaltern
expression of Theology in our society today, Dr James Massey showed how this
theology would break an altogether new ground. The theology brought to us by
the Western missionaries was rooted in Greek thought form and Pietistic
thinking of the West, and focused mainly on the affairs of the 'other world'
and 'personal holiness'. On the other hand, the Indian Christian theology is
rooted in the classical Hindu philosophical thought form, which does not give
due importance to human history. So they completely ignored the basic issue of
caste in the Indian context, and theologized at altogether a different plain.
The 'newness' of the Subaltern theology should be in its approach. It should
follow the Moses' model which he had employed to liberate and organize the
slave community of the Israelites. Like Moses, the Subaltern theologians should
also stress on the importance of history of the oppressed people, and impress
on them the value of their solidarity as a community. Once this dual approach
is adopted by the theologians, the 'new theology' would emerge to liberate the
lost community of Dalits and Advasis.
Dr Massey also touched on two factors while
discussing the method to be followed by Subaltern theologians. One, no
theologian who is interested in doing theology for Dalits and Adivasis should
ignore the indigenous sources. We often tend to forget our own theologians,
writers and poets, he said. The contributions of Joshua Kavi (a Telugu poet)
for example, to mission and literature, have never been recognized. Many such
examples abound that will not only impart insight into the psyche of the
oppressed people, but shall give theologians the lead into their past history.
And two, the theologian should never undermine the importance of language and
culture of the oppressed community. It is in this context that he informed that
Yesu Das Tiwari who had translated the New Testament during 1950s into a
standard classical Hindi was the first one to use the word 'Dalit in the New
Testament (Luke 4:18)
2.3.1 Proposals for
Action
• To document publications of the International
organizations, like the
consultation on “Poverty, Wealth and
Ecology" of the World Council of Churches. To continue to keep the
language and liberative culture sustained. To ask JELC to develop church history
from an indigenous point of view.
• To map intellectuals in Dalit and Adivasi
context.
• To contribute to journal and publications or
CDS.
• To bring out the Theology of Dalit thinker
poet like Jushua Kavi and
other as part of the Subaltern Expression'
2.4 DALIT HERITAGE AND
LIBERATIVE TRADITIONS
Dr James Massey said that Theology cannot be
done in isolation because it is integrated with human development. In that
context he explained the significance of Dalit Heritage and Liberative
traditions for doing Subaltern theology. During the last quarter of the 20th
century the segregated and broken victims of hierarchical Hindu society gave
themselves the common name Dalit. By taking this step they sent two messages to
the society at large: (a) that they had suffered through history not as
separate groups but as one com munity; and (b) that now they are together in
their struggle for liberation and justice.
Today we see Dalits on their way to reconstruct
their identity through their history, culture and literature. The last decade
of 20" century has witnessed a qualitative and progressive change in Dalit
consciousness. From a peculiarly complex situation where they were
simultaneously inside and outside the system, Dalits are slowly emerging today.
But Dalit identity can be realized in true sense by exploring their heritage
and liberative traditions that still exist in their oral culture, traditions,
myths, folk lore, value systems, beliefs, rituals and so on. This is as crucial
as their history. Dr Massey informed the participants of the programme launched
by CDS to work in this direction and invited the participants to join in that
effort.
At this juncture Dr William Stanley intervened
to express his views. He said that in the current scenario, the Dalits and
Adivasis are in mutual co-existence, but also in different conflicts.
Therefore, we need to study both Dalits and Adivasis together to reach the
correct conclusion of our research. The Adivasis belonging to different
endogamous communities have always lived in particular geographical regions
having their own dialect/language, culture and spirituality. On the other hand,
the Dalits keep moving and getting assimilated to the language and culture of
any region they moved into. Dalits have lost their language, tradition and
culture and continue to lose even what they have now by converting themselves
to different religions - Christianity, Muslims, Sikhs etc. On the other hand,
Adivasis are not Hindus, as they were never the part of the caste hierarchy and
they live outside the caste system. Some Dalits also live as Dalits without
being part of any religion. In spite of all these differences there is a common
thread that joins both Dalits and Adivasis and the proposed study of Heritage
and Liberative traditions would do well to explore that commonality also.
After these addresses by Dr James Massey and Dr
William Stanley, the topic was discussed by the participants. During the
discussion it was agreed by all that since no such study was undertaken even by
the Government of India, it will be crucial to carry the project of Subaltern
theology further. Everyone agreed that in the
study Dalits and Adivasis should come together so that Kandhamal-like violence
is not repeated.
Dr James Massey informed the participants that a
questionnaire was prepared by the CDS as part of the study process which was
used during the first lap of project work in North India. But on reviewing the
questionnaire gaps could clearly be seen in it. Dr Massey agreed to have the
questionnaire revised by the experts. It was proposed that this time the
questionnaire will initially be framed in the context of un-divided Koraput
district and the JELC Constituency, where both Adivasis and Dalits constitute
the congregation. Before the end of October a meeting can be convened with
selected representatives of Church and civil society from Chattisgarh,
Jharkhand and Odisha. In this meeting the outcome of the pilot project in
Andhra Pradesh will be presented. The plan of further action will also be
finalized then.
2.4.1 Proposals for
action
To frame a formal proposal before initiating the
study process on Dalit and Adivasi heritage and liberative traditions. To have
a pre-study consultation to re-design the questionnaire in the context of
indigenous communities living in JELC and other areas. to share the work of
pre-study consultation with CDS and Andhra oroup conducted under the leadership
of Dr. Frank Vishwanath and Mr.Jesuratham (CARD), which should be completed by
25th Sept. 2012. To formulate a questionnaire to study both Dalit and Adivasi
heritage and Liberative tradition before the end of Oct. 2012
To identify the participants who can contribute
to study programme.
• To organize a group that needs to be given the
task of formulating
the study process. To place the study outcome from
the sub-regions of the country together so that it may become the model for the
rest of the country, and help in building alliance to enable collective and
coordinated action.
• To organize two workshops in order to generate
resources for above
workshops locally, in order to lessen financial
burden on CDS.
• To share cost of extra study to included on
'Adivasi'.
In his concluding note, Dr Stanley said that CDS
will facilitate the process of all the projects discussed and the Church along
with civil society will get involved wherever necessary. Dr Stanley remarked
that in the context of today's fundamentalism and imperialism, it is becoming
crucial that united we cherish and divided we perish.
3. Concluding remarks: Final Proposals for
Action Before closing the following proposals were made / agreed by the
participants of Vizag consultation 2012:
Outcome of this consultation in the form of a
comprehensive report will be shared with all the stake holders both within the
country as well as with overseas partners. CDS, IRDWS, CARD and others shall
continue to work with local Church partners like, JELC and others, to deal with
the issue of higher theological education. CDS, IRDWS and CARD will work
together on all possible ways along with local regional development and church
organizations to develop the 'Subaltern Expression of theology', so that it may
become a tool in making the Gospel message meaningful for the Christians and
others. All partners, CDS, IRDWS, CARD and others, including Churches will
involve themselves in the study of 'Dalit/Adivasi Heritage and Liberative
Traditions', which will become effective tool for the fuller liberation of the
Dalits and Adivasis.. All efforts will be made to complete the study of all
three regions, North , Central and South based on final questionnaire and other
materials which will be ready by October/November, 2012. In the North some left
over gaps will be filled in by the revised tools and for two regions the same
common tools will be used and it is our target to complete study of whole India
by March 2015.
The Vizag Consultation came to an end by a
closing prayer by Rev. Nivedita Gorda who also offered thanks on behalf of
JELC, ASC and other civil society representatives to CDS, IRDWSI and CARD.
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