MEDIPALLY, India Every Sunday, women and children gather to pray in a tiny, white-washed church on the edge of this southern Indian village, sitting cross-legged on blue plastic sheets as they sing Christian hymns.
The men don’t dare to come. “If they are seen in the church, the officials will be informed,” says Vatipally Aharon, Medipally’s Baptist pastor.
Almost all the Christians here and the overwhelming majority across India hail from the so-called Dalit community, the former “untouchables” relegated to the bottom of the Hindu caste hierarchy. Under India’s constitution, Dalits are entitled to affirmative-action benefits, including 15 percent of all federal government jobs and university admissions. That provides the country’s most downtrodden with a way to escape their traditional occupations such as emptying village latrines, burying cow carcasses and tanning animal hides.
But there is a catch: Any Dalit caught abandoning Hinduism for Christianity or Islam loses these privileges, and can be fired from jobs gained under the quota. The rules are enforced by vigilant local officials who keep a close eye on villagers’ comings and goings.
The plight of India’s secret converts, ignored for decades, is now at the forefront of national politics. Partly driving the change is Indian Christians’ new partnership with Islam, a religion frequently at odds with Christianity elsewhere in the world.
India’s Supreme Court is currently reviewing several challenges filed by Christian and Muslim Dalits that could result in an overturning of the affirmative-action exclusion. A separate bill to remove the restriction is pending in Parliament. Government members, influenced by India’s 150-million-strong Muslim community, have indicated their cautious support.
For decades, backers of the existing legislation have argued that since Christianity and Islam have no caste, Dalits who abandon Hinduism find equality amid their new co-religionists and therefore no longer need special protection.
