Police arrested hundreds including Catholic bishops and priests March 5 in Chennai as thousands gathered for the culmination of a month-long dalit rally, a Church official said.

Police have detained Archbishops A. M. Chinnappa of Madra Mylapore, several bishops and some thousand people, said Father G. Cosmon Arokiaraj, secretary of Indian bishops’ commission for dalit Christians.

“They are kept inside marriage hall as police cannot take the large number of people to jail,” he added. The police released them later in the evening.

Thousands of Christians gathered in Chennai March 5 to conclude a “long march” that Catholics and Protestants together organized demanding quota for dalit Christians.

The “long march,” began Feb. 10 in Kanniakumari with some 50 people walking to state capital. They reached Chennai yesterday as planed.

The organizers planned to end the march with massive public meeting and presenting a memorandum demanding reservation for dalit Christians.

The 50 people began a march through the streets of Chennai. “But police objected and arrested morning Bishop Anthonisamy Neethinathan” of Chingelpet who joined the team in Chennai, Father Arokiaraj said.

The bishop’s arrest made “more bishops, priests, nuns and join the marchers’ team, which soon swelled into some thousand people. The police blocked all of them took them inside a kalyana-mandampam (marriage hall). The police have not released them yet. We are in contact with the officials,” the priest said in the evening.

The chief minister was also not prepared to meet the delegation of Bishops and leaders, the priest said.

Christian leaders are demanding the central and state governments to implement the Ranganath Misra report to grant Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims quota meant for socially poor groups.

Archbishop Chinnappa, president of the Tamil Nadu Bishops Council, yesterday told media that Dalit Christians and Muslims are upset by the inordinate delay in implementing the Misra report.

He said the Misra Commission report clearly states that non- inclusion of SC Christians and Muslims in the SC list is discrimination based on religion that goes against the Constitution of India.

The Indian Constitution allows quota in education and jobs for dalit or oppressed castes to help their socio-economic advancement. However, dalit among Christians and Muslims are excluded for the past 60 years on the ground their religions do not follow the caste system.

The marchers have demanded the federal government to implement the Ranganath Misra Commission report that recommends extending the quota to all dalit regardless of religion.

They also demand the repeal of the Constitutional Order 1950, which limited the quota only to Hindus. The order was amended twice later to include Sikhs and Buddhists, but continued to exclude Muslims and Christians.

Source: Bishops, priests arrested at dalit rally (CathnewsIndia)

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