"I always take pride
in calling myself a Dalit," declares Atul Francis Sarker, a Catholic and
executive director of Caritas Bangladesh, the Church's social service agency
and one of the country's largest charities. His journey from the marginalized
and discriminated Dalit group to climbing to the top position of Caritas is a
story of defying odds with resilience and dedication.
"I owe this much to missionaries and the
Church's comprehensive development approach for all people," said Sarker, a
62-year-old father of two.
Originally one of the faithful at St.
Xavier's Catholic Church in Baradal in Satkhira district, covered by
Khulna Diocese, Sarker is based in Dhaka and visits his village home
occasionally. Most of the parish's more than 3,200 Catholics are
former Dalits.
Dalits are excluded from the four-tier
Hindu caste system and are discriminated against as "untouchables" by caste
Hindus. They are denied social mixing including gatherings and marriage,
entry to schools, restaurants, markets and temples, and so on.
Sarker also faced humiliation during his
childhood. "I remember people refused to buy milk from me in the market. Once I
touched the earthen pot of a woman mistakenly while collecting water from the
pond, so it was smashed. I was surprised and only realized how humiliating it
was when I grew up," said the former seminarian.
Catholic missionaries have played a vital role
in transforming the lives of thousands of Dalits, Christians and non-Christians
alike, he noted.
"They emphasized social values such as accepting
people as they are and how to diminish social stigma. Their priority on
education, development and empowerment has turned the tables for Dalits," he
said.
Transformation
Shyamuyel Mondol, 26, is a Catholic
and social worker from Mary, Queen of the Poor Catholic
Church in Chuknagar of Khulna district. It has 300 Dalit Catholics.
Since the late 1970s, the church has been a base
for missionaries from the Society of St. Francis Xavier for Foreign Missions
(Xaverians) serving Dalit-majority areas in Satkhira, Khulna and Jessore
districts.
Local Catholics embraced Christianity by choice
to avoid age-old social humiliation and discrimination, Mondol says.
"They believed that without changing faith
freedom was not possible. With the support of the Church, many of them got an
education, found respectable jobs and live with dignity," said Mondol.
Mondol's Catholic mother married a Hindu man who
later became a Christian. Despite endemic poverty, the couple offered education
to seven children with support from the Church.
Mondol entered a seminary to become a missionary
priest but left after graduating in 2018. During his schooling and religious
formation, he gained English language and computer skills that proved to be
vital resources for his future life.
He now works with a charity that supports people
with disabilities. He plans to start an NGO to focus more on livelihood and
self-reliance for people with disabilities. His interest in the disabled
came from exposure to similar services of the missionaries.
"Who I am today or I can become in the future
could not be possible if my parents didn't convert. Christian values and church
support changed our lives forever," he added.
The story of Swapon Das, executive director of
Dalit, a social organization in Satkhira district, is slightly different. Das,
57, became a Catholic in 1985 after working with Xaverian Father Pierluigi Lupi
on various socioeconomic projects for Dalits for two years.
"Father Lupi was angry when I first appealed to
become a Christian and told me to stick to my religion. He agreed after several
requests," said Das.
He is the only family member who changed faith
and, even after he entered a seminary to become a priest, his Hindu mother
vehemently resisted.
"She wrote to me: 'I have accepted your
conversion to Christianity but I will commit suicide if you become a priest.'
So I left," he recalled.
After becoming Christian, most Dalits abandoned
old professions and became farmhands, fishermen, fish farm workers and daily
wagers. Those who got a better education even became doctors and engineers.
With the increase in literacy and social
awareness, malpractices such as the dowry system and child marriages have
dropped. Yet about 30 percent of Dalit girls still become victims of early
marriage, prompting social groups to continue campaigns, Das noted.
"We have been promoting education and vocational
training such as handicrafts and computer training because many Dalits, especially
Hindus, are still poor and discriminated against," he added.
A complex relationship
For ages, Dalit Hindus resorted to a
range of professions deemed demeaning by caste Hindus, such as chamar (animal
hide collector), muchi (cobbler), methor (sweeper)
and dom (corpse handler).
There are about 3.5 million Dalits in rural and
urban Bangladesh, according to Banglapedia, the national encyclopedia. The
southern coastal region is home to about 500,000 Dalits, activists say.
Starting from the 17th century, Catholic
missionary groups -- Jesuits, PIME and Salesians -- had activities among
Dalits in areas now covered by southern Khulna Diocese, with both success
and failure, according to Xaverian Father Sergio Targa, a researcher and social
activist.
Dalits, driven by a need for "security and
protection" from social oppression, offered the only front for evangelization
as caste Hindus and Muslims were skeptical of Christianity. The relation
between Dalits and early missionaries was topsy-turvy for various reasons
including lack of support from church authorities, inadequate human resources
and rigidity on both sides, the priest noted.
Dalits moved back and forth between Catholicism
and Hinduism over issues like unlawful marriage, power struggles between
priests and village leaders, and constant quarrels among villagers.
Xaverian missionaries
termed the Dalits "Rishi" (wise or sage) to dignify their
professions and started their Rishi Mission in 1952. They shifted priority from
conversion to social development.
Xaverians also faced challenges as non-Rishi
Christians didn't want to mix with Rishi converts. For example, two buildings
for liturgy for two groups existed in a parish until a Xaverian priest pulled
one down in 1959.
"Rishi people became Christian mainly to have
dignity and to get services from the Church. They believed their traditional
faith would not allow them freedom from untouchability," said Xaverian
Father Luigi Paggi, who worked among Rishis for 25 years.
Today, about half of Khulna Diocese's
Catholics are Dalits and three parishes -- Satkhira, Shimulia and Baradal -- are
entirely comprised of Dalit Catholics. There are also some priests from Rishi
families.
Father Paggi lamented that Rishi people
should have prospered even more. "Those who prospered in life could support the
community better. There is a lack of unity and motivation as if they are in a
slumber," the priest said.
Daud Jibon Das, 44, secretary of the Justice and
Peace Commission in Khulna Diocese, credited Christianity with changing
the lives of Dalits.
"Christianity played a revolutionary role in my
village [in Satkhira] as education and better livelihoods improved the
lives of people. All children go to school, which was unthinkable one day,"
said Das, regional director of Caritas Khulna.
Das, a Dalit himself, noted that many Dalits
still need support as they don't have land apart from their ancestral home and
lack better livelihoods to have a decent life.
"We are trying to help those still in need. We
are grateful to the missionaries for helping improve our lives and we keep in
mind their lesson that we must not forget our community no matter what," he
added.
Source: Herald Malaysia
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