From the Dalit Freedom Network

The Anti-Slavery Fortnight (March 18-30th) in UK, Brussels and Oslo

By Joseph D'souza

I could not help but feel emotionally moved by the British premiere of the film “Amazing Grace” even though I had seen it earlier. The parallels between abolishing caste-based slavery and the abolishing of the transatlantic slave trade are just too many.

Wilberforce said that “Caste is a system at war with truth and nature.” In the movie, Wilberforce thunders “All men are created equal” – moral truth straight from the Bible. His faith compels him to fight the great evil of his time with all the means disposable to him.

For many decades, Wilberforce's opponents could not hide that it was an economic and social advantage that drove them to support slavery.

At one level, nothing has changed in the world in the past 200 years. The governments of our day allow and tolerate serious and heinous human rights abuse and evil for plain economic reasons. Some Christian legislators and businesses have no qualms about the economic and political compulsions driving their social agenda. Wilberforce did not become a Minister in Pitt's government because of his conviction and campaign. If he was a politician first, he would have made room for the economic and political compulsions of his day. His fellow campaigners were accused of being anti-British. Today too, one can be accused of not working in the national interests if one stands up for justice and righteousness on behalf of the poor, the oppressed, and those whose freedoms are violated.

At the same time, there is progress as people with moral conviction challenge the various forms of modern slavery today.

In the EU at Brussels, our campaigners Kancha Ilaiah and Moses Parmar not only briefed EU MPs, but discovered that the EU has worked on a resolution dealing with Dalit discrimination. In Geneva, the UN Commission on Elimination of Racial Discrimination confronted the Indian Government’s delegation for denying that caste discrimination exists in India. The present Indian Prime Minister has called untouchability a blot against humanity. In the UK, Indira Athwale of the SC/ST Confederation joined us for the testimonies to the MPs, the committees and the rest.

In the UK, the issue of Dalit slavery was raised in the House of Lords and the issue will be raised in the House of Commons. The UK foreign office has developed its own statement on Dalit slavery.

We had a great discussion with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most Rt. Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams, who promised he would raise the point on Dalits in his next day's talk at the nationally broadcasted Commemoration Service at Westminster Abbey which was attended by the Queen, the Prime Minister and various others on March 26. The Archbishop kept his word and talked about the slavery faced by the low castes in India. Some of us were invited to attend the service.

I was powerfully reminded that it is the Christian heritage that made possible the abolishing of the slave trade and that today's multi-racial Britain owes a great, great deal to its Christian heritage. I feel disturbed that the West seems to be ignorant of its own Christian roots that underpin some of the remarkable human rights developments such as freedom of expression, freedom of religion, human equality, etc., which form the cultural framework of the West and which is now under severe assault by inimical forces. Atheistic secularism will not answer the deepest questions humans ask of every generation.

On March 27, the new documentary on the Dalits called “India's Hidden Slavery” premiered to a full house and was received with great shock and outrage. It is a powerful documentary produced by Michael Lawson. Christian Solidarity Worldwide and the Dalit Freedom Network are the joint sponsors of this movie. We will premiere this film in the US in May and June in different cities. It is great that the media exposure to the Dalit issue grows. Previous to the premiere of the documentary, I did an interview with the BBC World Service.

For me, Good Friday and Easter 2007 is about the resurrecting life of Jesus who conquered both evil and sin through his sacrificial death. What kind of sacrifices are we prepared to make to see Dalit slavery end and the caste system abolished? What sacrifice will we make to ensure that people know there is a God called Jehovah who made them in His own image, that they are created equal, and that they are dearly loved by this God who desperately wants them free from their social, spiritual and economic slavery?

Have a Blessed Easter!