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New Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Tiruchy church discrimination row: Bishop skips car procession
Speaking to TNIE, Collector V Saravanan said, 'We have constituted a peace committee to address the issue. The RDO will conduct an inquiry. The existing laws are clear.' However, when revenue officials tried to hold a mediation meeting locally, Dalit representatives insisted that either the Bishop or a senior diocesan official must be present. 'This is not simply Dalits versus non-Dalits issue. The church administration is part of the discrimination,' said J Doss Prakash, a Dalit Christian parishioner. 'The festival committee is entirely controlled by non-Dalits. We are denied basic rights like paying subscription or take part in the planning. Even after decades, not even a small chariot enters our streets.' he added. Adding weight to the protest, Bishop Jeevanandam Amalanathan boycotted the procession, citing the ongoing caste tensions and the diocese's alleged inability to resolve the matter. A peace meeting involving stakeholders is expected to be arranged later this week.
New Indian Express
7 days ago
- New Indian Express
Dalit Christians allege discrimination in church, sit on hunger strike
TIRUCHY: A section of Dalit Christians from Kottapalayam village near Thuraiyur sat on a hunger strike near the collectorate on Monday saying they have been facing discrimination and are not allowed to take part in the ongoing festival of the century-old St Mary Magdalene Church and other activities. The festival began on July 14. The church functions under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kumbakonam. Bishop Jeevanandam Amalanathan said he would not take part in the chariot procession which is scheduled on Tuesday to register his protest against the 'persisting caste discrimination in the parish'. Dalit Christians said for decades, they have not been allowed to pay subscription to the church and were kept out of planning committees. Further, they alleged that the church chariot is not taken into their locality. 'We were told by the priest and also several dominant caste Christians that this is not our festival. The church refuses to collect subscription from us as it does from others. Instead, we're asked to make donations,' said J Doss Prakash, a long-time parishioner. The protesters submitted a petition to the DRO during the weekly grievances meeting seeking action against the parish priest and others who allegedly threatened Dalits during a festival planning meeting on July 6.
