‘Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians is a need of the hour’, affirms the Christian Conference of Asia

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

No preference updated.

13 August 2020

As the Dalit Christians in India have been continuing their struggle for justice over the last 70 years, the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) extends support to their ongoing advocacy efforts and expresses solidarity to all those who are engaged in the struggle to earn the Scheduled Caste status for Dalit Christians.

While endorsing the advocacy initiatives of the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and other members of the wider coalition against the discrimination of Dalit Christians, the CCA General Secretary Dr Mathews George Chunakara stated that the CCA joins with the NCC India and all CCA member churches in India to share their hope that the Indian judiciary will act justly as the opportunity has now come to render justice to millions of Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims who are deprived of their basic human rights and continue to suffer from social stigma and the horrors of untouchability.

The CCA General Secretary has added that it is encouraging to see the positive response of the Supreme Court of India on 7 January 2020, to examine the plea that Dalit Christians or Christians of Scheduled Castes origin should enjoy the same quota benefits reserved for other Hindu Scheduled Castes.

“It is also a positive sign of hope that the Chief Justice of India has issued notice to the central government that reservation for government jobs and admissions in educational institutions should be made ‘religion-neutral’. These measures will be necessary for helping the Dalit Christians overcome centuries of discrimination and oppression they have been facing,” added Dr Mathews George Chunakara.

Although untouchability has been officially abolished in India, it still continues in social practice and is pervasive across wide swathes of the country. The socioeconomic, political, religious, and cultural oppression that the Dalit populations continue to suffer due to the deeply entrenched nature of the discriminatory practices against them is also allowed to persist, not least owing to the extremely poor implementation of the relevant laws by the ruling elites over the past seven decades in India across the political spectrum.

The Constitution of India, through its Articles 25 to 28, guarantees freedom of religion for all Indian citizens. However, freedom of religion has been denied to millions of Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims.

The NCC India observed 10 August 2020 as Dalit Rights Day to remind the world about the injustice of 70 years of discrimination against Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims on the grounds of religion.

Please click here to read the full text of CCA Statement on ‘Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians in India’.