There are approximately 700 million people in India who are called  "Dalits",  "OBCs" (Other Backward Castes) or "untouchables". They comprise the lowest rung of the Hindu caste system. Since the origin of this system 3,000 years ago, they have lived in bondage to the code of caste. They have been unable to escape their fate and are deprived of even the most basic liberties and privileges, including the freedom to decide where to live, work and worship.

This caste system of enforced inequality was established by the Aryans, a tall, fair-skinned people who invaded the Indian subcontinent 3,000 years ago. After settling there, they sought to prevent intermarriage between themselves and the original, darker-skinned inhabitants. To maintain their status-and keep the native population down-the Aryans created the caste system. They established religious and social rules that placed them in the higher castes and relegated the native people to servant status.

The caste (or varna) system divides people into four main groups: Brahmins-priests and teachers, Kshatriyas-rulers and soldiers, Vaisyas-merchants and traders, and Shudras-farmers and laborers. The Dalits, previously known as the Untouchables or Harijans, fall beneath these four groups and hence are sometimes called  "Outcastes ", that is, they fall outside of the caste system. (In administrative parlance they are also referred to as the  "Scheduled Castes ".)  "Dalit " can also be translated  "oppressed " and this is a fitting description of the Dalits. The OBCs, or Other Backward Castes, belong to the lowest group of the caste system, the Shudras. While they have a higher status than the Dalits, they still suffer from much of the same discrimination. India has nearly 300 million Dalits and 400 million OBCs.

Although the caste system was outlawed by the Indian constitution, life in that society still largely operates according to its principles and the practices that are so entrenched in the culture. Segregation and prejudice mark a Dalit's life on a daily basis; they are considered by the upper castes to be repulsive and subhuman.

These precious people live their lives surrounded by polluted water, excrement, dirt, blood, pollution and filth. Jobs allotted to these people include unclogging sewers, removing dead bodies and other filth, loading bricks in scorching heat, washing clothes near blood and human waste and anything that is not fit for a higher caste. And because of their lack of money, education and their low social status, they do not have adequate access to food, housing, clothing, education or health care. This is the life of the outcaste or an untouchable.

Empart is sharing the love of Christ with these people. Our churches in the villages and slums are filled with these people now born again and praising our Lord Jesus.

As you give to Empart, you are touching those considered "untouchable" with Christ's love.

Right now we are seeing a huge hunger for identity among these oppressed sections of society. There is also great opposition in some places between the Dalits and OBCs, where the Dalits have largely been the victims and the Shudras the victimizers. In a recent development, these clashes have drawn the attention of the social scientists, who are trying to understand what is going on among these groups of people. As one Empart leader says,  "This is a welcome development for, since independence, we have been living on many unexamined or half-examined ideas which have thus become the "foundation myths" of our times. "

Phule (who was honoured at the recent Maha Equality Rally in Delhi) was the first to address the question of untouchables and brahmin-dominance (superior human race). He waged a struggle against the Brahmins in the mid 1800s. (Phule was born in 1827 and died in 1890.) His main strategy to counter the latter's dominance in social life was to unite all other castes into a single homogeneous category and to mobilize these groups. Then Ambedkar emerged as a leader of the Untouchables by the 1930s. (He later went on to become the writer of India's constitution, a triumph for the "Untouchables".)

The blue flag with the symbol of an elephant has become well-recognised as the Dalit's flag. The "Elephant" symbolizes that it keeps walking without knowing its strength, while the "Blue Flag" symbolises the desire to reach to the skies. (This is also to separate themselves from Hinduism which is denoted by the orange/saffron colour). The Dalits use portraits of Phule and Ambedkar (and others) in their rallies to pay tribute to those who fought against untouchability and the caste system. It is worth noting that, in order to draw the separation of their identity from Hinduism, they do not use any Hindu symbols or traditions.

Traditionally the Dalit, or Untouchable, Movement has avoided becoming part of Hinduism. Phule sought to subvert Hindu scriptural orthodoxy from within by overturning its moral categories. The mythology of Lord Vishnu and his ten successive manifestations in different epochs of human history was, in his view, central to the legitimation of the Brahminical conquest of aboriginal Indians. And in Phule's hands, each episode in the earthly visitations of Vishnu was transformed into an allegory of invasion and cultural subjugation, with the guileless and innocent aborigines suffering grievously at the hands of the brutal and conniving conquerors. Furthermore, many Dalits have taken oaths such as: That no more shall we come to your temple; It is our folly to fight for the temple; For in you was the conspiracy to enslave us; Do not call us Hindus, as we do not wish to return to the hellish life.

Many people around the world think that globalisation will change the predicament of these oppressed people. However, most Dalits believe the opposite to be the reality. One Dalit leader says,  "Globalization has led to the further exploitation of the oppressed peoples, because these new economic policies are being imposed in India by the imperialist superpowers with extreme vigour and the support of the ruling powers, it has marginalized the vital issues of casteism and communalism and created a mindset against the debate on these important questions. In this context, Dalits have not only to fight against casteism and communalism but also they have to fight against imperialist globalization which is against social justice. "

Will you intercede daily for these precious people who are also created in the image and likeness of God and for whom He sent His only begotten son? We know it is the Father's desire that none of them should perish but all of them must come to know Him. Will you support the ministry of Empart in reaching these unreached people?