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This thesis seeks to present a study of one particular rural Paraiyar Christian community in Tamil Nadu, focusing on their religious identity and theological expressions. Such people, more commonly known as Dalits, or Untouchables are a largely socially marginalised group living within a dynamic and complex social matrix dominated by the caste system and its social and religious implications. They are heavily reliant on their landlords (the high caste Hindus) for their wages, food, and access to resources. The village has two Paraiyar communities, one of which is Hindu and other Christian, with intermarriage occurring frequently between them. With one exception, all of the thirty-one Christian families in the village were once Hindu Paraiyars before converting to Christianity. The first convert to Christianity was in the beginning of 20th century as the result of the American Arcot Mission. Fieldwork highlighted various tensions and areas of creativity regarding how Paraiyar Christians negotiate their lives within a marginalised and oppressed hierarchical system. Although the study focuses on the Christian community, it can only do so by examining their wider social context, which is dominated by religious and caste structures, ascribed and achieved identity, symbols, ritual, and boundaries. Recent writing within Dalit Theology naturally discusses Paraiyar Christians, but it is a contention of this thesis that much ‘Dalit Theology’ ignores the social, ritual and basis of rural Dalit life and thought, an omission which this thesis redresses. The main body of the thesis is divided in to three parts. The first part presents a review and discussion of written works on missionary encounters with the caste system in the church history of south India, as well as Dalit Theological writings. The second section concentrates on the ethnographic information gathered from eight months’ fieldwork and analysed under four different themes: understanding Paraiyar identity, Yesusami and the religious worldview of Paraiyar Christians, the utilisation of religious symbols and performances to advance social change, and, finally, the reproduction of social hierarchies among Paraiyar Christians. The final section attempts to articulate a relevant theological understanding of Dalit Christology using Gillian Rose’s concept of ‘Broken Middle’. This thesis does not set out to provide a comprehensive ethnography of this Paraiyar Christian community, nor does it propose a completely new theological system. Rather, it attempts to allow for the research subjects themselves to articulate their own perspectives and opinions regarding what it means to be Christians and Paraiyars simultaneously. This work allows for flexibility and volatility between the two identities combined within the Paraiyar Christian community. I argue that this is only made possible by their fluidity, being able to balance their individual and communal religious identities - creatively living in the middle of their multiple belongings.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Domestic violence (DV) in India is one of the most alarming issues that is experienced by over one-third (36.6%) of non-Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (non SC/ST) women and nearly half (48%) of Scheduled Caste (SC) women (ages 15-49). DV and women’s empowerment are historically interlinked. The patriarchy embedded within social-cultural norms along with economic capability deprivation takes away the freedom of SC women to enjoy bodily safety in public and private spaces. Despite Constitutional measures, SC women continue to face violence-induced capability deprivation due to discrimination at three levels: caste, class, and gender. DV against SC women is an understudied area; there are scarcely any studies on DV in this population using national data. This research used data from the National Family Health Survey-III 2005-2006 (N = 12,069-SC women and N = 45,390- non-SC/ST women). Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to examine DV trends amongst SC and non-SC/ST women. Contrary to the study’s hypothesis, having better empowerment (household-autonomy, healthcare decision-making, sexual-autonomy) increased the likelihood of women experiencing DV. However, the hypothesis relating to economic empowerment and autonomy was supported showing a reduced likelihood of DV. SC women were empowered when they had the capability to earn wages; however, they had no instrumental freedom to spend their own earnings. Similarly, empowerment indicators were shown to impact the likelihood of justifying the violence shaping women’s gender norms and attitudes. When compared with non-SC/ST, SC women who have economic and healthcare autonomy had lower odds of justifying DV. Exposure to DV in childhood, early marriage, and husbands’ alcohol abuse significantly enhanced the likelihood of DV. Across most of the indicators, the intensity of DV amongst SC women was relatively higher than non-SC/ST women. The findings emphasize the need for social work practice and policy to focus not only on empowering women in terms on economic and material well-being through ownership, but also assessing if this ownership have instrumental value in practice without the threat of DV. Future research can enhance understanding of DV by examining social exclusion, socio-cultural patriarchy, and the intersectionality of caste, class, gender, and other individualist and community factors. / 2 years

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Historically, oppression has been and continues to be a serious issue of concern worldwide in both developed and underdeveloped countries. The structure of Indian society, with its hierarchies and power structures, is an ideal place to better understand the experience of oppression. Women throughout the long established Indian hierarchy, and members of the lower castes and classes, have traditionally born the force of oppression generated by the Indian social structure. The focus of this research explored the way the way class, caste, and gender hierarchies coalesce to influence the life choices and experiences of an Indian woman born into the lowest level of the caste and class structure. This research specifically addressed the female <i>Dalit </i> cobbler (leatherworker), who exists among a caste and class of people who have been severely oppressed throughout Indian history. One female Dalit cobbler from a rural village was studied. Her life represents three levels of oppression: females (gender), Dalits (caste), and cobblers (class). This study was based on three interconnected research questions that attempted to uncover the way class, caste, and gender hierarchies influence the lives of Dalit female cobblers: what the Dalit female cobbler has experienced in terms of economic, personal, and social struggle; how the Dalit female cobbler manages to get through her day-to-day struggles; and where the Dalit female cobbler sees herself in the future. Participant observation and triangulation were major components in the design of this study, as it was important to view the local daily life of this individual. Detailed field notes were collected and recorded, interviews based on open-ended questions were conducted, and site documents were gathered. The findings that have become evident throughout this observation have increasingly exposed one continuous theme in particular: the "lived' experience and position that one must accept his or her station in life without question. This dissertation, however, has shown how acceptance does not mean that one stops trying to thrive. On the contrary, the life of this particular female Dalit cobbler exemplifies the ingenuity and perseverance of people who are not members of the dominant social structure. It demonstrates how one individual had the ability to negotiate multiple levels of oppression and succeed in sustaining herself, her family, and her community. / Ph. D.

Thesis advisor: Catherine Cornille / This dissertation offers a comparative theological reflection on Dalit Christian theology--a contextual, liberation theology rooted in the Dalit communities' experiences of caste-based oppression--and Swami Vivekananda--the late 19th c. Neo-Vedantin and founder of the Ramkrishna Math and Mission. It seeks to provide a model of Dalit liberative service that attends to the theology's objectives--identity affirmation and a liberative social vision--works to foster liberative partnerships beyond the Dalit Christian community, and responds to the critical, but constructive assessment of Dalit theology offered by its present generation of theologians. As a work in comparative theology, it does so through a close, reflective reading of Swami Vivekananda, his Practical Vedanta, and his own reworking of seva (devotional service). The intent is not to present Vivekananda as a corrective, but rather to see newly and understand differently the dimensions of liberative service that are made manifest by seeing and understanding how seva performs in Vivekananda's thought and how it there leads to spiritual and social liberation. These dimensions include recovering by uncovering the imago Dei in Dalit theology, re-presenting liberative service as representing the Kingdom of God, and service understood as doubly and mutually liberating. While Chapter Five presents the fruits of this comparative theological reflection on Dalit Christian theology and Swami Vivekananda, the preceding four chapters provide the necessary foundation for this engagement. The first and second chapters address the historical and theological development of Dalit Christian theology presenting its origins in the Modern Maharashtran Dalit Movement and the Indian Christian context, respectively. The third and fourth examine Vivekananda's development of Practical Vedanta and seva. Together they provide the content from which and through which this comparative theological reflection occurs. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Dalit Christian Theology emerged as a counter theological movement in India in the 1980s. As a theology ‘of the Dalits, by the Dalits, for the Dalits’, Dalit Christian theology sought to counter prevalent trends in Indian Christian theology which had proved inadequate to reflect the actual experience of the majority of Christians in India. The emergence of Dalit Christian theology as a contextual liberation theology thus reflects a polarising shift in theological discourse within India. This thesis argues, however, that the theology of M.M. Thomas, a leading non-Dalit Indian Christian theologian of the twentieth Century, offered significant theological signposts for the emergence and development of Dalit Christian theology. While it is clear that he did not, nor could not, construct a Dalit theology, this thesis argues that Thomas’s theological reflections in the midst of a rapidly changing and pluralistic religio-secular Indian context brought to the fore of theological debate essential questions relating to the concept of salvation, humanisation and justice relevant to the emergence of Dalit Christian theology. Seeking to relate Christology to the Indian context dynamically, M.M. Thomas sought a theology which could be ‘challengingly relevant’ to the people of India in the post-Independent search for a just and equal society. In order to substantiate the thesis, this study examines the reflections of two first generation Dalit Christian theologians, Bishop M. Azariah and Bishop V. Devasahayam. From within a framework of methodological exclusivism, both theologians appear to reject the theological contribution of M.M. Thomas, regarding him an Indian Christian theologian with little relevance to the Dalit theological quest. Closer textual examination, however, reveals that the theological contribution of M.M. Thomas is discernable within emerging Dalit theological discourse. This thesis further investigates the relevance of M.M. Thomas’s theological contribution for Dalit Christian theology today through the critical assessment of twelve second generation Dalit theologians studying at United Theological College, Bangalore. These voices assess the rise of Dalit Christian theology, and examine the relevance of Thomas’s thoughts for contemporary Dalit discourse.

This report is the outcome of a case study conducted in Kathmandu, Nepal in April 2016. The purpose of the study is to investigate in the consequences of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, from the perspective of women within socioeconomically vulnerable groups. The caste system is still practiced nearly all over Nepal and women are still facing multiple forms of discrimination. A woman belonging to the Dalits, which is the group considered to be at the bottom of the hierarchy and below the castes, have no right to control land, housing or money and are exposed to violence and forced sexual labour. The aim of the study is to shed light over how already existing discrimination leads to further examples of discrimination in the aftermath of a natural disaster and the “class-consciousness” of natural disasters. People within a society are living under different conditions and these conditions lead to different consequences when facing a natural disaster. The components of these conditions are often intertwined with each other and should therefore not be examined separately, which is why an intersectional perspective is used for this study. Furthermore, standpoint theory is used as well, to look at these issues from the viewpoint of the marginalized people of the society. Interviews were made with 6 different respondents, who are working for NGOs in and outside of Kathmandu and who through their work are coming on contact with the issues mentioned. My findings show several examples of post-earthquake consequences for women which can be linked to the strong patriarchy, the use of caste system and mistreatment from the government.

During the last decades, a Hindi Dalit literary movement has emerged in North India. This essay is a study and comparison on character portrayals in short stories by two authors from this movement, Jayprakash Kardam and Ajay Navaria. The aim of this essay is to explore the implications of these portrayals considering these authors’ views on social change, their literary affiliations and a theoretical discussion on Dalit literature. The methodical basis for this study is a detailed character analysis of these short stories’ protagonists, antagonists and other relevant characters, supported by narrative- and conceptual analyses. This essay argues that the theoretical abstraction of Dalit consciousness [cetnā] has a mainstreaming effect on the Dalit experience [anubhūti] when it is portrayed in literature. These dynamics are visible in Kardam’s stories, in which his portrayals of the Dalit protagonist follow the conventional Dalit character template, a forthright and innocent archetype juxtaposed against an evil Brahmin. The pivoting moment in Kardam’s stories is when consciousness awakens in the Dalit protagonist and he joins the corporate resistance against a casteist society. In comparison, Navaria makes the individual the site for change in his stories—reflecting the Gandhian notion of hṛday parivartan (“change of heart”). Navaria foregrounds alternative perspectives to Dalit cetnā in his stories and seeks to understand his characters from a broader human experience. I further argue that Navaria’s stories are suggestive of an expansion of the binary discussion on anubhūti (“experience”) and sahānubhūti (“sympathy”) by the term samānubhūti (“empathy”) since Navaria, by his more complex, nuanced and personalised characterisation of both Dalits and Brahmins, provides a common ground that invites to reconciliation. This study concludes that while Kardam could be designated as a conventional Dalit author, Navaria should rather be situated in the boundaries between the Dalit and the mainstream Hindi literary field. It further concludes that more research is needed on theoretical concepts used in the Dalit literary discourse. / <p>Kandidatuppsats i indologi</p>

A nation of one billion people, India is often recognized as the world’s largest democracy. The ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity in India creates a unique collection of voters whose divisions are not only brought about due to differences in ideological preferences, but also as a result of various caste and ethnic divisions that remain strongly ingrained in modern Indian society. Indian political parties must not only be able to gain voter confidence through the production and presentation of sound ideology, but also must struggle to help relate this ideology to a much divided and ethnically stratified voter base. This social construct has led to the rise of various political parties in India whose political agenda is to cater specifically to unique ethnic groups and minorities, while at times having to form political alliances gain power (Jana & Sarmah, 2002, 1). This study will analyze the rise of one such Indian political party formally established as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the state of Uttar Pradesh. More specifically, it will address the following question: Has engaging in party coalitions caused the BSP to sacrifice its ideology in the arena of Uttar Pradesh Politics?