DALIT CHRISTIANS AND CASTE CONSCIOUSNESS IN PAKISTAN A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Theological and Religious Studies By Sara Singha, M.T.S Washington, DC April 23, 2015 Copyright 2015 by Sara Singha All Rights Reserved ii DALIT CHRISTIANS AND CASTE CONSCIOUSNESS IN PAKISTAN Sara Singha, M.T.S. Thesis Advisor: Ariel Glucklich, Ph.D. ABSTRACT This study explores caste discrimination in Pakistan against untouchable (Dalit) converts to Christianity. During the nineteenth century in India, many Dalits converted to Christianity to escape caste persecution. In the 1870s in Punjab, a mass movement to Protestant Christianity flourished among the Dalit Chuhra caste. The Chuhras were the largest menial caste in Punjab and engaged in degrading occupations including sweeping and sanitation work. By the 1930s, almost the entire Chuhra caste converted to Protestant Christianity. In 1947, during the partition of India, the majority of Chuhra converts in Punjab became part of the Protestant community in Pakistan. After Partition, many uneducated Chuhras were confined to menial jobs in the sanitation industry. Today, the stigma of Dalit ancestry is a distinct feature of social discrimination against Chuhra Christians in Pakistan. ‘Caste consciousness’ in Pakistan is connected to norms of purity and pollution. While not as pronounced as India, purity and pollution in Pakistan relates to the concept of pak (clean) and na-pak (unclean). Because of degrading occupations as sweepers and sanitation workers, many Chuhra Christians in Pakistan are associated with ‘pollution.’ This leads to multiple forms of social discrimination. Chuhra Christians respond to caste persecution through various modes. Through an analysis of church sermons, I argue that Chuhra Christians create ‘counter- iii narratives’ as a form of protest against caste discrimination. These ‘counter-narratives’ focus on veiling caste identity and creating a new genealogical history for their community that is not connected to Dalit ancestry. These counter-narratives also affect the development of ‘folk theology’ which focuses on the concept of izzat or ‘respect.’ Church sermons reveal that izzat has a theological dimension and shapes Chuhra Christian self-understanding in Pakistan. iv Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my adviser, Dr. Ariel Glucklich for his support, encouragement, and friendship throughout my graduate studies. I would like to thank Dr. Akbar S. Ahmed for his advice and encouragement and for many great conversations about Pakistan. I am very grateful to Dr. Mubbashir Rizvi for his guidance, constructive feedback, and for enriching discussions about Karachi. I am immensely thankful to Dr. John Voll for his generosity, time, and for sparking my interest in social movements. I am greatly appreciative of the entire Department of Theology. In particular, my gratitude is extended to Dr. Elizabeth McKeown and Dr. Lauve Steenhuisen, Dr. Theresa M. Sanders, Fr. John O’Malley, S.J., Fr. Stephen Fields, S.J., Dr. Joseph Murphy and Dr. Terence Reynolds for their friendship, time, generosity, and warmth during my graduate studies. I am very appreciative of Dr. Peter C. Phan, Fr. Christopher Steck, S.J., Dr. Paul Heck, and Fr. Daniel Madigan, S.J., for their guidance and support. I would also like to thank Dr. Jonathan Ray for his help, guidance, and direction. I am thankful for the encouragement and opportunities provided by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs during my graduate studies. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Thomas Banchoff and Dr. Michael Kessler for valuable advice and support. I am grateful to Dr. Timothy Shah and Dr. Thomas Farr for supporting my research on Christians in Pakistan. A special thanks to Randolph Pelzer and Erin Taylor for their help and friendship. I am grateful to my parents, Julian S.P. Singha and Ishie-Kara Lily Singha for their love and support. I am thankful to my brother Sheryar Singha for his encouragement and love. My v sincere appreciation is extended to my aunt and uncle, Priscilla Nibbe and Reverend Thomas Adalind Nibbe for their weekly phone calls, love, and encouragement I am also indebted to my dearest friends Melody Fox Ahmed and Melanie Trexler for being my counselors, cheerleaders, and for always having the right words. And, finally, my deepest thanks to my husband, Jason Charles Lash for his love, encouragement, and humor. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ....................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 ........................................................................................................................................9 Chapter 2 ......................................................................................................................................53 Chapter 3 ......................................................................................................................................90 Chapter 4 ....................................................................................................................................131 Chapter 5 ....................................................................................................................................167 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................200 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 204 vii INTRODUCTION 1. General Introduction In 1971, Pieter Streefland, a sociologist, conducted a study of ‘Chuhra Christians’ in an urban slum in Karachi.1 In the nineteenth century in India, the ‘Chuhras’ were the largest untouchable caste (Dalits) in the Punjab. Chuhras were ‘outcastes’ in Indian society and engaged degrading occupations such as scavenging and sanitation work for survival. In 1870, the Chuhra caste initiated a mass conversion movement to Christianity. By the 1930s, almost the entire Chuhra caste converted to Protestant Christianity. During the partition of India, these Chuhra Christians became part of the Protestant community in Pakistan. But, Streefland found that despite conversion to Christianity, Chuhra Christians in Pakistan are still recipients of caste discrimination. In his study, Streefland notes that most Chuhra Christians still hold degrading occupations in the sanitation industry. Their work involves sweeping the streets, cleaning public latrines, and clearing blocked sewers in the city.2 Streefland also describes de-facto discrimination against ‘Chuhra Christian sweepers’ based on Dalit ancestry. When this study was published, middle class Christians heavily criticized Streefland for writing this book. First, they accused Streefland of insensitivity for highlighting that the majority of Christians in Pakistan work in the sanitation industry. Second, they criticized Streefland for conflating the word ‘Christian’ with ‘sweeper.’ Many middle class Christians argued that Streefland’s was promoting the view that all Christians in Pakistan are associated with the sanitation industry. In an issue of Al-Mushir, a theological journal published by the Christian 1Pieter Streefland, The Sweepers of Slaughterhouse: Conflict and Survival in a Karachi Neighbourhood (Van Gorcum, 1979), 30. 2 Ibid. 1 Study Centre in Rawalpindi, Georg Pfeffer defended Streefland’s work. Pfeffer argued that the root of the criticism against Streefland was that he illuminated the ‘caste issue’ in Pakistan.3 Pfeffer notes that by writing about the untouchable ancestry of Chuhra Christians, Streefland also underscores the Dalit origins of most Protestant Christians in Pakistan.4 According to Pfeffer, this makes many middle class Christians defensive because they want to deny the Dalit roots of the Protestant church. However, as Streefland depicts, caste is a pertinent part of Pakistani society. This study is about Chuhra Christians and caste discrimination in Pakistan. While caste is the seminal feature of Indian life and influences every aspect of social and ritual behavior, it is actively denied in Pakistan. Discrimination of the basis of class, gender, poverty, race, tribalism, language, and ethnicity is part of Pakistani national dialogue and yet, there is a uniform silence on the issue of caste. Shahabano Aliani, a prominent social activist with the Thardeep Rural Development Programme argues, “When questioned, however, if caste is a problem, most Pakistanis will disagree. Many will argue quite heatedly that it’s only a problem for most Hindus across the border. Using circular reasoning, they will insist that the caste-system is not Islamic and since the majority of us are Muslims, therefore, there is no caste problem in Pakistan.”5 She further asserts, “public denial of caste is so ingrained and widespread that there is no official legislation that acknowledges and addresses caste-based discrimination.”6 As Aliani suggests, 3 Georg Pfeffer, “Some Comments on a Publication of Dr. P. H. Streefland and Some Additional Remarks,” Al- Mushir (Rawalpindi) 16 (1974) 299-304. 4 Ibid. 5 Shahbano Aliani, “Caste in Pakistan: The Elephant in the Room,” https://reddiarypk.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/caste-in-pakistan/ 6 Ibid. 2 caste discrimination