There are always two sides

Gandhi: India's liberator, the king of non-violence who released India from England's rule... But, Gandhi also worked in the confines of the Hindu Caste System. He worked to eradicate external colonialism but did little for internal colonialism. To introduce the situation, there is a group of people in India called Dalits. They are viewed so lowly by the elites that they aren't even a part of the Caste system; they have previously been known as "the untouchables;" their situation appears worse than that of the African Americans during the times of segregation. And so to return to the subject at hand, Gandhi called them "Harijans" - children of God. But the God he referred to was the God of prostitution. He called the Dalits bastard children. Ask any Dalit about Gandhi and you will feel their pain.

In class we've been talking a lot about Christianity in the context of the Dalit community. We've been talking about how liberating it is, and how easy and helpful it is for Dalits to rejoice in Jesus. Jesus didn't only break bread with the suffering but he was the suffering. But go Tumkur village and talk to Jabi, who has developed a secular institution and ideology that works for political and economic reform for the Dalit community. He'll tell you Christianity hampers his cause. It creates more division for the Dalits, because now there are two groups of people, the Dalits who have God's grace and who will reach the Kingdom of Heaven and the Dalits who won't. Religion gets in the way. Jabi will tell you however that the Christian missionaries were helpful in the sense that they are the reason he got an education. But Christian universities, with their highly-funded educational programs, also educate the Brahmins and the Hindu fundamentalists. These Hindus in power learn about Christianity and they learn to refute it. Conclusion: with Christiainity Dalit liberation faces barricades from both ends.

India is a spiritual powerhouse! and I love her for it! But there also seems to be this rift between the religious and secular life. Garbage litters the streets, the streams, and the people's homes. High rise aparment buildings go up along side slums and of course poverty is in our face every day.

Our days have been scheduled out for us, filled with class time and trips. We've had dozens of guest lectures but only a few have been non-Christian. We talk about the importance of religious dialogue but we don't always get the other side. Christians only account for 2% of India's population, but they're the only group of people that I have had solidified experiences with. Furthermore, just the other day, we hopped on a bus at 5:00 am and back to the ECC at 2:00 am. And that wasn't the first time. The lack of free time, free thoughts, and free movements has dampened our spirits. Did we even get to know India at all? But...these ECC friends have been planning our arrival since February. Our lodging here is the reason they have stayed afloat. I can see their meeting before we came. "Everyone kick it into gear. Smile a lot and don't even think about complaining. We have to do everything right. We have to give them our hands. We have to impress them and show them a good time." The ECC bends over backwards for us and houses some of the kindest people I have ever met. We have no right to complain.