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Statement condemning Brutal Murder of Adivasi Priest in Jharkhand

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National Council of Churches in India, Commissions on Dalits and Tribals/ Adivasis are deeply shocked at the heinous crime of brutal murder of an Adivasi Priest, Rev. Abraham Biswas Surin from Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur (Jharkhand). His body was found lying in a drain under the Railway over bridge of Rourkela Railway Station by the CRPF in the morning hours of 6th May 2016. His body bore multiple injury marks including a deep gash on the throat. The GRP is investigating the matter. The killer/killers are not yet traced and identified.

Rev. Abraham Biswas Surin, S/O Late Mr. Mansidh Surin was born on 12.08.1955. He had his theological degree B.Th in Gossner Theological College, Ranchi and was ordained as a priest on 21.05.1978. He served as a priest in various congregations, parishes of GELC before being assigned the job of Manager KNH Hostesls.

The attacks of the Christian adivasis, many of whom have been Christians for generations, is increasing because of the divisive politics in the area being played out by the right-wing forces. The murder of Rev. Surin, a Lutheran minister in India’s tribal dominated Jharkhand state shows that Christians are now becoming a target for attacks. Unless this attack and others are fully investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice, Adivasi Christians will only become more vulnerable and the community will come under further attack. A mass protest procession in Khunti town in Jharkhand has been organised on 11thMay 2016 demanding expeditious investigation and bringing the culprits to book.

We condemn the atrocities against the tribals/adivasis and urge the state Government to render justice to the victim’s family and demand the Central Government to ensure safety and security to Christians and take all measures to stop all discriminatory practices against Adivasis.

Pradip Bansrior

Executive Secretary

Dalit and Tribal/ Adivasi Concerns

National Council of Churches in India

 Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad

General Secretary

National Council of Churches in India

Statement condemning the Torture, Rape and Murder of a Dalit Woman Law Student in Kerala.

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Jisha, a 30 year old Dalit Law student, was allegedly raped and found murdered on 28th April 2016 at her home in Perumbavoor of Ernakulam district in Kerela. According to the reports Jisha was tortured with a sharp weapon and her body bore more than 30 stab wounds, including a 13 cm one around her chest that reached  her liver, pointing to the brutal torture. She was also believed to have been brutally kicked in the stomach as her intestines were out. She was suffocated to death and also was beaten with a hard object on the back of her head.

In present day India Dalit women are placed at the absolute bottom of the social hierarchy as they face systemic and structural discrimination threefold: as Dalits, as poor, and as women. The victim’s family faced social alienation because they were poor and Dalit. They were not even allowed to draw water from their neighbours’ wells. The harsh reality of the suppression, struggle and torture Dalit women face every day of their miserable lives are a direct result of the severe exploitation and suppression by the upper classes.

National Council of Churches in India calls upon Churches and all religious institutions to condemn the atrocities against Dalits and to impress upon the government of the State demanding exemplary punishment for the culprits and rendering justice to the Jisha’s family.

 

Pradip Bansrior

Executive Secretary

Dalit and Tribal/ Adivasi Concerns

National Council of Churches in India

 Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad

General Secretary

National Council of Churches in India

“#RohithVemulaFightsBack” : Peace March for Social Unity

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12615267_10208551668088789_2011052128223844174_oOn the 30th of January 2016, thousands of Nagpurians with black ribbons strapped around their mouths marched out on the street to protest against the death of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit research scholar from Hyderabad University. The ribbons were tied symbolically to indicate the voices of marginalised people like that of Rohit Vermula being suppressed and their rights being denied. In order to fight for Rohith’s case and such discrimination based on caste, thousands of people from around 50 different organizations gathered at Deekhshabhoomi, the place where the great Dalit leader Dr. Ambedkar embraced Budhhism to do away with the caste system.

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NCCI Celebrating Dalit Liberation Sunday

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 DLS posterObservance of the NCCI Dalit Liberation Sunday is an annual and significant feature in the NCCI Calendar and we are back to you to remind that as every year we will be observing the Dalit Liberation Sunday with the theme “Climate, Caste, and Care for the Earth” on the 13th November 2015. We have come up with a suggested worship order which could be used wholly or in parts to make the worship more meaningful. Kindly find it in attached file. As it is the season of Advent, if your church calendar is filled, this Sunday may be observed in any other Sunday as well.

Download prayer and worship order 

Dalit Christians Reiterate the Demand for Equal Rights

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DSC06412Beck Began, Kolkata, August 10th 2015: Church leaders, priests and members of various churches such as Church of North India, Church of South India, Salvation Army, Mar Thoma, Presbyterian and Baptist observed a candle light vigil in front of the Bishop’s College in Kolkata as part of the observance of the ‘Black Day’ demanding equal rights of Dalit Christians. This protest was jointly organised by the Commission on Dalits of NCCI, Bishop’s College and various member churches of NCCI.

The Christians of Dalit origin were denied Scheduled caste status by a Presidential order in 1950, which was signed on 10th August. Rev Sunil Raj Philip, the Executive Secretary of the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) informed that the Dalit Christians across India observe this day as the Black day under the auspices of the NCCI. Rev Dr Sunil M Caleb (principal, Bishop’s College, Kolkata), Rev Philip Philip (Mar Thoma Church), Lieut Colonel Daniel Raju Dasari (National Secretary, Salvation Army), Major Babu Samraj (Executive Committee member, NCCI), Rev. Papiya Durairaj and J. Goldwin (Student leader) addressed the gathering.
The student community of Bishop’s College in Kolkata, Priests from various denominations and the leaders of the National Secretariat of the Salvation Army participated in the protest meet. Those who were in protest sang songs, raised slogans and held candles in demand of ‘de-linking religion from caste- based reservation’. The protesters pointed out that though the order initially suggested, “No person who professes a religion other than Hinduism shall be deemed to be a member of the Scheduled Caste”, by a later amendment Sikhs (1956) and Buddhists (1990) were included in the Scheduled Caste net. Hence keeping the Dalit Christians from the fold of Scheduled caste list is seen as an injustice.

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Tribal and Adivasi Sunday Celebrated Across India

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DSC06340The member churches of the National Council of Churches in India celebrated  Tribal and Adivasi Sunday across India on the 9th of August (on the United Nations Indigenous Peoples’ Day) with the theme, “Tribals and Adivasis: Custodians of God- given Land and its Eco- systems”.

This celebration was  a meaningful and timely one because the question of the rights of Tribals and Adivasis to their land is becoming more and more a pertinent and disturbing one in the present Indian scenario. The ancestral land of the indigenous people of India is being forcefully grabbed by the affluent as well as by the State under the  ‘development’ rhetoric. On the other side, the rest of the world, which is experiencing the devastating effects of consumerism and ecological pollution, is  gradually starting  to realize that the closely- knit bond between nature and Tribals/Adivasis has to be imbibed to responsibly address the ecological concerns the world faces.

Tribal-Adivasi Sunday celebration in Nagaland

The Executive Secretary of the Commission on Tribals and Adivasis attended the celebrations which were held at the Lotha Baptist Church in Dimapur in Nagaland along with the Rev Dr Solomon Rongpi, the General Secretary of the Council of Baptist Churches in North East India (CBCNEI). The special songs and sermon on the basis of the Tribal and Adivasi Sunday theme made the celebration a very meaningful one.

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NCCI Tribal and Adivasi Sunday 2015

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“Tribals and Adivasis: Custodians of 
God-given land and its ecosystems”
Tribal-Adivasi Sunday will be observed on 9th August 2015.  The NCCI encourages you to celebrate Tribal-Adivasi Sunday as an important expression of our affirmation of and dedication to the gospel: the gospel is for all including Tribals and Adivasis. Many of us, who do not consider ourselves as Tribals/Adivasis, tend to overlook or neglect the importance of indigenous people in the vision and mission of God the creator. Those of us who belong to indigenous communities take our status for granted and therefore do not affirm our special position in God’s plans and purposes. Hence, NCCI appeals to all churches to give the observance of Tribal-Adivasi Sunday its due importance.
The theme for this year is “Tribals and Adivasis: Custodians of God-given Land and its Ecosystems.” This is in tune with the theme of UN’s International Day of Indigenous People, which is “Indigenous Peoples as Custodians of the Land and its Ecosystems.”
The term “custodian of land and ecosystems” immediately brings to our mind the image of Adam and Eve as custodians of God’s Garden of Eden. Indeed Adam and Eve were indigenous people integrally related to land and all creation. In fact for most indigenous people, land, along with the ecosystem it supports, is the mark of their identity. When lands are submerged because of our development projects, indigenous people experience a vacuum, an emptiness, indeed ‘death’, because their very being and identity is taken away from them. When lands with their forests, rivers, indeed all flora and fauna, are destroyed to make way for concrete jungles and industries, the livelihood of the indigenous people (which is integrally related to their land and eco-system) is also taken away. Most of them are not suited to work in “unnatural” industries and hi-tech systems. They therefore face another ‘death.
Today we are becoming increasingly concerned about global warming and the destruction of eco-systems. Scientists are beginning to talk about the onset of the sixth wave of mass extinction on the earth. When the care of mother earth is an emergency mandate, who best could help us to nurture, preserve and protect mother earth but the indigenous people who have lived in harmonious responsible relationships with nature! “The earth is the lord’s and the fullness thereof” says the psalmist. Paul in his epistle to the Romans observes that “all creation has been subjected to futility” . This is because of human greed and their anti-ecological development economies, sciences and technologies. Indeed “creation is groaning for the revealing of the children of God.” Indigenous people are one expression of this revelation as custodians of God-given land and its eco-systems.
Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad
General Secretary,
National Council of Churches in India.

CASA’s Response to the Earthquake in Nepal

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AppealThe killer earthquake that hit Nepal on the noon of April 25th, 2015 has devastated human lives and property. It is believed to have killed over 7,000 people and left more than 12,000 injured, and several thousand houses flattened. The apprehension is that the death toll may rise to 10,000. Further, it is estimated that about eight million people are severely affected in the Himalayan region by this devastating earthquake. Read more

For Dalits, Tribals and Adivasis, Easter is an opportunity to revive their hope in a new heaven and new earth….

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For Dalits, Tribals and Adivasis in India:

Easter is…

An opportunity to revive their hope in a new heaven and new earth….
A time to see the curtain of division and discrimination tore apart….
An attempt of re-formation of human relations as Mother Mary and John had at the cross….
A reminder of the need of endurance and persistence to counter casteism….
An indicator that the possible and certain persecutions they have to undergo….
And a pointer to the fact that if they do not shout aloud, the stones will shout….

Let us have an Easter of resistance to casteism!

Let us celebrate Easter in solidarity with Dalit, Tribals and Adivasis!

Rev. Sunil Raj Philip,
Executive Secretary, Commission on Dalits,
Executive Secretary- in- charge, Commission on Tribals & Adivasis,
National Council of Churches in India.
revsunilrajphilip@gmail.com
Cell: +91 8275045182Painting by REV JOHN PRADEEP, who is currently serving as pastor in Telengana, after finishing his theological studies in the United Theological College in Bangalore.

Dalit Liberation Sunday 2014_Worship Order

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“Dalit Culture, Dalit history, Dalit pathos:

Regaining the lost identity in Christ”.

Dalit Liberation Book 2014 coverWe are in a crucial point of time in the Indian history, while we celebrate the Dalit Liberation Sunday in 2014. The grip of fascism and communalism becomes firm on Indian society. These regressive and dangerous elements are only the tip of the iceberg and the undercurrent of all these elements in India is casteism.

Forceful reconversions of the Dalit Christians, adamant denial of any possibility to extend Scheduled Caste status to Christians and Muslims from Dalit origin by a Central Minister of India, brutal killings of Dalits- in which Ahmednagar killing was the most brutal- and the lethargic attitude of police and the state in rendering investigation with justice, and the result of the survey conducted by the Merry Land University of US and National Council of Applied Economic Research that every fourth Indian still believes in untouchability are pointers to the dangerous shift in the Indian social matrix.

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