Indian Christians from the Depressed Castes Background and Challenges to Their Christian Identity.

This article discusses Indian Christians and the denial of justice in the form of government reservations and privileges. The birth of a new social consciousness among the depressed castes after their Christian conversion was attributed to the growth of education and occupational mobility where certain basic ideas of equality and upward social mobility worked in a progressive direction. However, upon achieving independence from foreign rule, and in subsequent political calculations, the welfare of Indian Christians has been hindered as they were not extended the same privileges that are enjoyed by depressed caste people from non-Christian faiths (Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist). Therefore, this article details the denial of social justice to Indian Christians from Dalit backgrounds and calls for a redefinition of the concept of social justice to remove all inequalities and provide equal opportunities for all citizens irrespective of which religion that they choose to follow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]