On Coming Together
My parish in the Archdiocese of Madurai is not an exception to the infamous concept of “the wall” in Catholic cemeteries of Tamil Nadu. When the Dalit Panthers movement was getting traction in India during the 1970s, Dalit Catholics too were sensitised through it. After numerous struggles and public demonstrations finally the wall was taken down. My father told me that the whole parish went with hammers and crowbars to take the wall down. The demolition of the wall removed one visible form of discrimination, but it exposed another form of inequality. And this time it was devastating.
Dalits and non-dalits built graveyards next to each other. As it is known, dalits are also economically weaker. Many dalits couldn’t afford to build a proper structure on the graveyards of their loved ones. Usually, it was a long heap of mud plastered with red soil and a wooden cross with a hand written name on it. Right next to it will be a non-dalit’s graveyard, with a huge structure, usually in marble if not granite. Most of them were bigger than the actual house of the dalits.
Problems started arising during death anniversaries of the non-dalits. Just to make space for the family members to stand and pay homage, the dalit graveyards were flattened. And it was done easily, as they were just a heap of mud. Once the ceremony is done, the non-dalits put things back haphazardly, sometimes even mixing up with the wooden crosses. For a long time this issue went unnoticed. Slowly people started noticing the mismatch and the dalits found out what was happening. What was being flattened was not merely a heap of mud but the family’s memory, dignity, and the sacred resting place.
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The issue was brought to the parish priest. But as M.E. Prabhakar says, priests back then were mostly from the elite caste. They hardly understood the problems of the dalits. The parish priest spiritualised the whole situation. At the end of Sunday Mass, he would invite the people to reflect by saying we are all Children of God and in the Kingdom of God there is no place for caste discrimination. People listened to it and went back to what they were doing. So the dalits themselves had to defend their space. Whenever there is a death anniversary of a non-dalit, a group of dalit men would go to the cemetery just to make sure their graveyards are not disturbed.
M.E. Prabakar’s twice alienation is quite vivid in this situation. The dalits are alienated in society and to overcome that, with a lot of hope they embrace Christianity, but that doesn’t help the dalits in any way. From hopefulness, they are pushed to the extreme of hopelessness. This causes twice-alienation. Just like a spiritual change doesn’t change the social status of the dalits, offering a spiritual solution like Children of God or Kingdom of God will not fix the social issue. Even within the Church there is a need for governance policies that address social issues.
Fr. Louis, a Salatian from Kerala, became the parish priest. As usual this issue was brought before him. He, instead of spiritualising the issue and calling people to conversion of heart, started making policies. He fixed a limit to the size of a graveyard in terms of length, breath and height. For the poor who can’t afford a proper graveyard, the Church would help in building a basic structure, after assessing the family’s economic situation. He also attached consequences for defaulters in the policy. This step brought the problem to an end. In a diverse society like ours, it’s quite easy to call everybody to be one family of Children of God in the Kingdom of God. The actual question that we should be asking is, what are the safeguarding policies in place that make sure that rights are not violated when diverse communities come together.
For a policy to become practice, there must be strict consequences attached to it. A policy without consequence for defaulters, is as good as no policy. Prolonged practice of such policies can help people to realise their narrow mindedness, sensitise themselves and form respect for the other. Genuine communion requires more than shared belief. It requires structures that safeguard the dignity of every member of the Kingdom of God.
The earlier priests in my parish genuinely desired reconciliation, but their response remained confined to the spiritual call. Fr. Louis recognised that reconciliation also requires policies that protect the poor. Justice did not emerge because hearts changed overnight. It emerged because the parish finally created structures that prevented injustice. Good governance is an integral part of pastoral ministry.
