July 27, 2011
Making a difference: Born to fight
SOMA BASU
Rev. Dr. P. Antony Raj shares stories of his struggle as a Dalit activist
I am a self-made man and second to none," declared Rev. Dr. P. Antony
Raj recently during a seminar in the city. "You may call it cultivated
arrogance but I have learnt the hard way." His assertion is only
natural, considering that life — which only handed him misfortune,
isolation, abandonment, poverty, discrimination and humiliation – has
been a battlefield for him for 67 years. Even today, on occasions, he
is forced to ask himself, "So what if I am a Dalit?" But he soldiers
on.
As a boy, born in a poor family of coolies in remote Meendully village
in Tirunelveli district, when he failed in Class 8 exam, he thought
"everything is over." Fortunately, his elder brother put him in an
orphanage, where he renewed his love for academics and went on to
complete his Ph.D on "The social bases of untouchables in Tamil Nadu"
from Chicago. Yet, when he returned to his village to share the happy
news in 1987, caustic remarks from villagers about his caste hurt him
no end. "But to give up hope is suicidal," he says.
The bitter thought — "Am I not human?" — constantly nagged him and
marked the starting point of his quest for personal freedom. Using Dr.
B.R.Ambedkar's book "Annihilation of Caste" as a manifesto for
liberation of Dalits, he decided to take on life the same way –
"educate, agitate and organise".
A study assigned to him by the Society of Jesus busted the myth that
there is no caste in the church. His data showed that the Church of
Christ, which preached equality for all, segregated and discriminates
against Dalit Christians, literally from the cradle to the graveyard.
Yet another research on atrocities against Dalits in Tamil Nadu
indicated that as long as Dalits accepted their 'lowly' status, they
were allowed to live in peace, but if they questioned the unjust
practices, they became victims of vandalism.
The findings made Father Antony realise that the caste divide was
deeply rooted in society and launch the Dalit Christian Liberation
Movement in 1989, with the objective of getting justice for Dalit
Christians from the churches and state governments. His role, however,
was misconstrued as creating law and order problem within the church
and he soon stepped down, only to form the Dalit Integration
Federation with the aim of forging unity among Dalit leaders and
masses.
An avid reader of Leftist literature, Father Antony realised how
social reformers across the globe strengthened their movements by
relying on institutional support. With the intention of giving an
organisational support to his efforts, Father Antony formed a trust
and by the year 2000 built a campus called Mandela Nagar, where today
stand two institutions of great significance – Dr. Ambedkar Cultural
Academy and Ceyrac Medical Foundation – spread over 20 acres. The
latter provides medical care to the poor in villages while the academy
runs evening study centres, summer camps, a teacher training
institute, and provides for higher education for Dalit girls.
In the past ten years, the campus has helped hundreds of poor Dalit
girls — many of them orphans — from the seven districts of Madurai,
Virudhunagar, Sivaganga, Ramnad, Tirunelveli, Thoothookudi and
Dindigul overcome the social, cultural and psychological barriers,
which Father Anthony describes as "a step towards Dalit liberation."
"Total liberation is possible if we quicken the process and bolster
the Dalit movements," he says. It is his dream to start a university
exclusively for Dalit girls and expose them to higher education in
arts and science, engineering, law, agriculture, business
administration and IT. "Only if they get an opportunity will they
reach the promised land where there is no bondage or servitude. They
will be the fearless children of modern society, who will be able to
assert themselves," he says.
(Making a difference is a fortnightly column about ordinary people and
events that leave an extraordinary impact on us. E-mail to
somabasu@thehindu.co.in to tell about someone you know who is making a
difference)
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