Church on the Rock Theological Seminary

Paper Presentation

Course : Asian Christian Theology

Topic : Subaltern Theologies: Poverty and inequalities; Dalit Theology;

Tribal Theology

Facilitator : Dr. K Vijayan

Presenter : Kunuvelu D Vadeo

Date : 24- 11-21.

Introduction

Subaltern theologies can be understanding as contextual and liberative theology. Subaltern

theology is concern about specific marginalized group as are, for example racial and
linguistic minorities. Subaltern theology includes the concern of feminist theology in as much
as the oppression and liberation of women have to do with cultural realities. This paper
attempt to highlight briefly on the understanding of subaltern, subaltern and religion, poverty
and inequality, dalit theology, tribal theology and evaluation and its relevancy in today’s
context.

1. Understanding of Subaltern

The term ‘Subaltern’ in its origin has to do with the military. It refers to those who are placed
at the inferior level in comparison to the higher officials. In its conception sabultern goes
back to Antonio Gramsci who refers to the state of people who are excluded from
representation in the structure of mainstream political power, and those who are dominated
culturally and economically, and thus find themselves in a state of overall powerless. The
South Asian subaltern study group has trigged also similar processes in other part of the
developing world. Subaltern theology is one that pays close attention to the cultural aspect
both in oppression and in the process of liberation. 1

From the year 1982 when a Subaltern Studies Project (SSP) emerged with the initiatives
taken by Ranajit Guha and his colleagues, the word ‘subaltern’ became widely known in the
1
Felix Wilfred, Margins Sites of Asian Theologies (Delhi: ISPCK, 2008), 104.

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Indian academic and civil spheres. Gramsci identified two layers of consciousness among the
subaltern people: one, that which exists among them, on their own, giving direction or
meaning to their spontaneous activity of transforming the world through their labour, and the
other, that which they ‘take in’ from those who exploit, oppress, and dominate over them.
There is then a layer of native consciousness which is free, autonomous and emancipatory,
and another a layer of alien consciousness, imposed from outside. This results in a
‘contradictory consciousness’ in the subaltern mind. As for example, the deterministic belief
in fate, widespread among the subaltern people, goes contrary to their own wellbeing!
Gramsci spoke of the possibility of the subaltern classes of people to emerge as ‘agents’ of
their destiny only when they acquired ‘critical consciousness’, with the help of ‘organic
intellectuals’ who shared the ‘common sense’ of the people but converted it into a ‘good
sense’ characterised by critical historical thinking.2

2. Subalterns Theologies
2.1. Subaltern and religion

Partha Chatterjee, an important member of SSP, related the Gramscian understanding of

subaltern consciousness to the reality of caste in the Indian context, touching upon the
mediatory role played by religion Chatterjee, thus, sees “religion in class-divided society as
the ideological unity of two opposed tendencies on the one hand the assertion of a universal
moral code for society as a whole and on the other the rejection of this dominant code by the
subordinated.”3 He goes on to add that, “It is the construct of dharma which assigns to each
jati its place within the system and defines the relations between jatis as the simultaneous
unity of mutual separateness and mutual dependence. For the subalterns, it could be religion
that works to construct an alternate dharma to overthrow the caste system; and we do find
such instances of alternate religious traditions, operative among the people from the pre-
modern through the modern to our contemporary era. Our objective must be, as Chatterjee
opines, “to develop, make explicit and unify these fragmented oppositions in order to
construct a critique of Indian tradition…” of the dominant Dharma.4

2
Gnana Patrick, “Religion and the Subaltern Self: An Exploration from the Indian Context,” in
Changing Societies and Personalities, Vol.1, (2017), 376. http://dx.doi.org/10.15826/csp.2017.1.4.024 (22-11-
2021).
3
Partha Chatterjee, “Caste and Subaltern Consciousness.” In Subaltern Studies VI: Writings on South
Asian History and Society, edited by Ranajit Guha (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989), 172.
4
Patrick, “Religion and the Subaltern Self: An Exploration from the Indian Context,” 377.

2
B. R. Ambedkar, the exemplary subaltern individual played a vital role in the formation of
the modern constitutional State of India, turned to religion in his search for freedom to the
subalterns. His search for a transformative religion landed him in Buddhism, which opened
up a hermeneutical engagement for his self. In interpreting Buddhism, he envisioned a Dalit
self, assertive, autonomous, free, and responsible. He took a conscious and bold decision to
convert to Buddhism. At the time of conversion, he rhetorically said: “If you want to gain
self-respect, change your religion; If you want to create a co-operating society, change your
religion; If you want power, change your religion; If you want equality, change your religion;
If you want independence, change your religion; If you want to make the world in which you
live happy, change your religion…”5

Conversion to Christianity and Islam was the other option the Dalit self-explored in its saga
of struggle for freedom. In spite of the adverse impact of casteism within Christianity, one
can still state that Christianity did offer opportunities for the social dignity of the Dalit self.
That Christianity mediated a sense of ‘touchability’ of the body is a case in point. Bodily
experience of the self, or of an embodied self, is part and parcel of the life-reality of the
Dalits. Subaltern individuals and movements are some typical examples of the resurgent Dalit
selves that manifested in the history of Indian religions. Religion appears to be an effective
interpretive potential for the subaltern self to take on the caste system, which remains deeply
entrenched into the collective consciousness, with its own archetypal binary of purity and
pollution.6

2.2. Poverty and Inequality

As for Asia is concern, there has been taken place a significant contribution to human rights
in terms of solidarity, which unfortunately, has not been sufficiently recognized. 7 In the
struggle for social transformation particularly for the liberation of the poor, it is necessary to
understand the poverty and inequality in the South Asia. Felix Welfred said, Judicial activism
is one of the means today which is accessible to the Asian poor in their struggle against new
forms of injustice. Human freedom is not to be taken for granted, it needs to be won.
Liberation, therefore is a continuous project.8 For Wilfred, we can counter the new forms of
justice or equality and move towards the eradication of poverty, he stated,
5
Patrick, “Religion and the Subaltern Self: An Exploration from the Indian Context, 377.
6
Patrick, “Religion and the Subaltern Self: An Exploration from the Indian Context, 378.
7
Felix Welfred, Asian Dreams and Christian Hope: At the Down of the Millennium (Delhi: ISPCK,
2000), 83.
8
Welfred, Asian Dreams and Christian Hope: At the Down of the Millennium, 122.

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 Ending human poverty requires an activist state to create the political conditions for
fundamental reform. Above all, this requires, a democratic space in which people can
articulate demands, act collectively and fight for more equitable distribution of power. Only
then will macroeconomic management be more pro-poor…9

The poor are the victims of the market and the capital in different ways. By depoliticizing,
globalization tries to break into solidarity among the poor. In Asian the terrain of struggles
for justice has shifted. Globalization and liberalization are sweeping across every nook and
corner of Asian sowing new seeds of inequality. 10 In Asia to serve the cause of the poor, a
spiritual approach to human right is called for. Respect for the marginalized and their
legitimate rights cannot result simply from a general intellectual acknowledgement of the
equality of all its foundation in statement. 11 Majority of the Dalits and tribal faced poverty
and inequalities in every aspect of life. The experience of people at the grassroots have
brought to the fore many facet and dimension of the gender issues and inequality. In
considering the situation of women in Asia and defense the right of women. Asian needs to
develop a vision and orientation that will support the subaltern from the exploitation and
oppression. The Gospel will find important principles which go in the line of the dignity and
the rights of every human being in Asia. 12

2.3. Dalit Theology

The word ‘Dalit’ means the oppressed or broken victim of society. The term ‘dalit’ has its
roots in ‘dall’ in Hebrew, and ‘dal’ in Sanskrit. It refers to the both people who are depressed
and dehumanized, and also the state of their deprivation and dehumanization. 13 It thus refers
to a poor, weak, helpless, and oppressed people. Dalits are oppressed because they are born’,
or ‘branded’ with the stigma of untouchability. The word ‘dalits’ has been used to identify
those communities which have been economically, socially and politically oppressed for
centuries by the Brahminical Hindu social order, that is, the caste system. They were also
called as ‘Harijan’.14 Dalits in India are designated as ‘Untouchables’ or considered as
‘Outcaste.’ 15

9
Welfred, Asian Dreams and Christian Hope: At the Down of the Millennium, 141.
10
Welfred, Asian Dreams and Christian Hope: At the Down of the Millennium, 141-142.
11
Welfred, Asian Dreams and Christian Hope: At the Down of the Millennium, 88.
12
Welfred, Asian Dreams and Christian Hope: At the Down of the Millennium, 167.
13
K M George, Christianity in India Through the Centuries (Hyderabad: Authentic Books, 2009), 189.
14
Samuel Jayakumar, Dalits Consciousness and Christians Conversion: Historical Resources for a
Contemporary debate, (Delhi: ISPCK, 1999), 4-6.
15
Jayakumar, Dalits Consciousness and Christians Conversion…, 11.

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The subaltern communities referred to as Dalits are not the lowest in the hierarchy of the
Hindu caste society but the Shudras occupy the lowest position. 16 Historically the religious
and cultural practice of Dalits were distinct from that of the dominant Hindu. Dalit identified
those whose culture has been deliberately ‘broken’, ‘crushed into pieces’ or ‘ground down’
by the Hindu culture above them. 17 Dalit theology has discern more clearly the fact of God
working in human history particularly in the Dalit History, seeing God as the savior of Indian
History through the Dalits and the subaltern communities. The importance factor responsible
for the emergence of Dalit Theology, during the middle of 1980’s was because a number of
Dalit and non-Dalit Christian intellectual had then become a part of the Dalit Movement. The
Dalit movement was emerging as a powerful ‘liberation’ movement. Another important
milestone in the development of Dalit Theology was the All- India Conference, which was
held in Chennai 1986 and 1988 with the theme ‘Toward the Dalit Theology’. Dalit theology
is related to the unique system of oppression based upon the caste social order, according to
which socio-cultural status of certain groups is fixed, and collectively remained at a deprived
position for ages.

Two biblical narrative helped propagate the image of Jesus that portrayed of the Dalit
community’s oral tradition and scripture. First it involves the story of Nicodemus (John 3:1-
21) and Jesus’ encounter the Samaritan women at the well (John 4:1-45). For the subaltern
community, Jesus’ becomes dalitized. He is deliberately baptized into the realm of the Dalit
through his partaking of water from the common well and common vessel of the Samaritan. 18
James Massey says, “as the Indian Christian Theology as well as the traditional missionary
theology have failed, and continue to ignore the daily issues related to their earning daily
bread, overcoming their life situation of oppression, poverty, suffering injustice, illiteracy and
denial of identity, these demand a need for another theological expression.” A positive
response to this situation found in the emergence of dalit theology, which based on the living
experience of Dalit themselves.19

2.4. Tribal Theology

16
Sathianathan Clarke, Dalits and Christianity: Subaltern Religion and Liberation Theology in India
(Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998), 60.
17
Jayakumar, Dalits Consciousness and Christians Conversion…, 11.
18
Clarke, Dalits and Christianity: Subaltern Religion and Liberation Theology in India, 30.
19
James Massey, “A Review of Dalit theology,” in Dalit and Minjung Theology: Dialogue, edited by
Samson Prabhakar and Jinkwan Kwon (Bagalore: BTESSC/ SATHRI, 2008), 5.

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The tribal and Dalits are one the most oppressed and exploited peoples in India. They are one
of the least developed groups. Socially and economically speaking they are considered by the
mainstream society as less advance.20 Indian liberation theology was greatly influence and
shaped by Latin American liberation Methodology. The tribal theology is a contextual
theology, a theology from ‘below’ and ‘underside of history.’ It aims to liberate them from
them inferiority complex, from oppression and discrimination by attempting to rediscover the
liberative motifs in their culture and religion, by reinterpreting the Bible and Christian
traditions from the perspective of people. The focused and goal of the tribal theology in
liberation and transformation.21

Space-centred world-view helps the reconstruction of Christian theology. In tribal theology

God is conceived as an integral part of creation; one who is organically related to creation.
God is not a monarch who rules from above. Christ is there not in the believers' hearts alone,
rather is organically related to the total ecosystem. Jesus shares his being with the whole
created order. The event of Jesus Christ is the re-establishment of the reality of space.
Phuveyi Dozo, stated that, “Tribal people become potentially dynamic when they find
Christ.”22 The Holy Spirit works not only in the hearts of the believers but also in the whole
creation. Since the spirit enlivens the whole creation, nature and history becomes not only
one-hole reality, but dynamic and real. Humans attain liberation only in relation to the rest of
creation. Nature and history become integrally related. God is not only the God of history but
also of the entire creation. A space-centred theology enables us to see ourselves as an integral
part of the macro-organism. Earth's resources are conceived here as an ecological sacrament
for us. Church is understood here as God's micro-cosmos with a mission of cosmic
transformation. Christian theological responses such as process, the eco-feminist as well as
justice, peace and integrity of creation seem to view reality mainly from the anthropocentric
perspective and not from the perspective of space itself.23

There is an absence of any written scripture in Tribal religion. It is the religion of oral
traditions. No human-made images or temples are used for worship of the Divine. Natural
objects are accepted as symbols of the divine presence and adoration and oblations are given

20
Yangkahao Vashum, “Religion’s Ambience for Peace in Contemporary Tribal and Adhivasi
Communities,” in Justice and Peace: A Subaltern Initiative, edited by Monodeep Daniel and Yangkahao
Vashum (Jorhat: TCS/WSC, 2010), 22.
21
Wati Longchar, “Trends in Tribal Theology in North- East India,” in Dalit and Minjung Theology:
Dialogue, 64.
22
Phuveyi Dozo, First Form of God-Man Consciousness Animism (Dimapur: S.P Press, 2015),73.
23
K P Aleaz, “ATribal Theology from a Tribal World View,” 28.

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seasonally. A nature-human spirit continuum is the key to the tribal vision of life. All
religious rites, observances, festivities are based on this holistic vision of reality. The tribal
who live and work close to the soil are the worst affected community. The tribal religion is
very unique because of the affirmation of the centrality of space in understanding all realities.
The distinctiveness of tribal tradition lies in affirming the centrality of land/creation or space
as the foundation for understanding the tribal people's culture, identity, personhood and
religious ethos.4 Tribal theology seeks liberation of whole humanity and God's creation.24

A tacit process of contextualisation· and indigenisation has been going to automatically since
the beginning of Christianity in different parts of North-East India. The following are pointed
out as some concrete examples: Many churches have adapted in its structure the traditional
village-state polity which is democratic and representative. Secondly, Christian hymns and
songs are set on a blend of western gospel music and local tunes. Thirdly, people's dress and
costume in the villages are typically local. Fourth, many of the customs and practices such as
marriage and inheritance, property and land ownership are retained without any change.
Fifth, the exposition of sermons and Bible studies of village pastors and evangelists are
characteristically local.25
The gospel values are already present in the Tribal culture of India. The tribal consciousness
of an egalitarian society in which there is community ownership of means of production,
distribution according to needs, democratic form of government and consensus in decision-
making process. That the tribes were more open to the Gospel has to do with their culture
and worldview where there is integral relationship between the material, social and spiritual
worlds; between the natural, the human and the supernatural. 26It is claimed that the tribal
world view is quite similar to the biblical view. Humanity and their liberation are the central
focus. Liberation of the land follows when humanity attains liberation.27

3. Evalution and its relevancy in Today’s context

Dalits and tribal were the most ignore people in the Asian countries. They were giving less
opportunities economically, politically, socially, etc. Dalit and tribal are both rich in cultures.
The goal that a relevant church in India should strive towards achieving is the organic unity
24
A. Wati Langchar, An Emerging Asian Theology: Tribal Theology, Issue, Method and Perspective
(Jorhat: Tribal Study Centre, ETC, 2000), 6.
25
Renthy Keitzar, "Tribal Theology in the Making" in New Horizon in Ecumenism. Essay in Honour of
Bishop Samuel Amirtham, edited by K.C. Abraham (Bangalore: BTESSC 1993), 41-42.
26
K P Aleaz, “ATribal Theology from a Tribal World View,” 29.
27
K P Aleaz, “A Tribal Theology from a Tribal World View,” 30.

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of all things in the human and material world, including all living beings. God has a plan to
gather all things in Jesus Christ. The entire creation is groaning for redemption. A world view
based on relationships of all things will open up new ways of looking at and understanding
the realities in India and enable us to deal with it.28 Dalit theology remains rooted in practical
matters to the extent that it, through the work of the Spirit, is not a stagnant academic
exercise but is rather inflamed with indignation, energy, commitment, faith, and love.

Subalterns theology look into the matter of everyday experience of the weaker section people
group. Caste divides the people of India and discriminates against Dalits in particular. It
denies human status and dignity to Dalits. Even today the tribal and Dalit are under the
oppression and ignore. Therefore, the mission field should enlarge to this people group. We
have to convey the Good News of Jesus’ to the downtrodden. They have been broken and
exploited by the higher caste and society. While Jesus’ was doing his earthly ministries, he
does not reject or ignored the broken and oppressed people, yet he went to their level and
liberate them from their brokenness and give them new hope and life. Therefore, even today
we can do the same mission just as Jesus’ has shown us. For this people group Jesus can be
interpret as liberator and cares for all. Social injustice should be eradicated with the Good
News. The mission should focus on reaching out to the weaker section of the society.

Conclusion

The tribal and Dalits are one the most oppressed and exploited peoples in India. They are one
of the least developed groups. Socially and economically speaking they are considered by the
mainstream society as less advance. Subaltern theologies are contextualization and
indigenization. Subalterns theologies focused on the liberation of Dalit and tribal. Sabultern
theologies developed from the peasant and the weaker section of the society, to liberate them
from all the social injustice.

Bibligraphy

28
Nirmal Minz, Rise Up, My People, and Claim the Promise. The Gospel Among the Tribes of India
(Delhi: 1SPCK, 1997), 117.

8
Chatterjee, Partha. “Caste and Subaltern Consciousness.” In Subaltern Studies VI: Writings
on South Asian History and Society. Edited by Ranajit Guha. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 1989.

Clarke, Sathianathan. Dalits and Christianity: Subaltern Religion and Liberation Theology in
India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Dozo, Phuveyi. First Form of God-Man Consciousness Animism. Dimapur: S.P Press, 2015.

George, K M. Christianity in India Through the Centuries. Hyderabad: Authentic Books,

2009.

Jayakumar, Samuel. Dalits Consciousness and Christians Conversion: Historical Resources

for a Contemporary debate. Delhi: ISPCK, 1999.

Keitzar, Renthy. "Tribal Theology in the Making." In New Horizon in Ecumenism: Essay in
Honour of Bishop Samuel Amirtham. Edited by K.C. Abraham. Bangalore: BTESSC
1993.

Langchar, Wati. An Emerging Asian Theology: Tribal Theology, Issue, Method and
Perspective. Jorhat: Tribal Study Centre, ETC, 2000.

Longchar, Wati. “Trends in Tribal Theology in North- East India.” In Dalit and Minjung
Theology: Dialogue. Edited Samson Prabhakar and Jinkwan Kwon. Bagalore:
BTESSC/SATHRI, 2008.

Massey, James. “A Review of Dalit theology.” In Dalit and Minjung Theology: Dialogue.
Edited by Samson Prabhakar and Jinkwan Kwon. Bagalore: BTESSC/ SATHRI,
2008.

Minz, Nirmal. Rise Up, My People, and Claim the Promise. The Gospel Among the Tribes of
India. Delhi: 1SPCK, 1997.

Vashum, Yangkahao. “Religion’s Ambience for Peace in Contemporary Tribal and Adhivasi
Communities.” In Justice and Peace: A Subaltern Initiative. Edited by Monodeep
Daniel and Yangkahao Vashum. Jorhat: TCS/WSC, 2010.

9
Welfred, Felix. Asian Dreams and Christian Hope: At the Down of the Millennium. Delhi:
ISPCK, 2000.

Wilfred, Felix. Margins Sites of Asian Theologies. Delhi: ISPCK, 2008.

Patrick, Gnana. “Religion and the Subaltern Self: An Exploration from the Indian Context,”
in Changing Societies and Personalities, Vol.1. (2017)
http://dx.doi.org/10.15826/csp.2017.1.4.024 (22-11-2021).

10