Towards a Dalit Theology (1988)

Towards a Dalit Theology is an edited volume published in Delhi in 1988 under the editorship of M. E. Prabhakar. It was published by the Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK) on behalf of the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society (CISRS) and the Christian Dalit Liberation Movement (CDLM). The book brings together papers presented at an all-India consultation on Dalit theology held in Madras in December 1986, alongside reflections and testimonies from people involved in Dalit struggles. The publication details are recorded in the book itself and corroborated by library catalogues.

The volume is a useful primary source for studying how Christian theologians, church workers, scholars and activists were articulating Dalit theology during the 1980s. It addresses caste oppression not only as a social problem outside the Church but also as a challenge to Christian institutions, theological education, missionary history and Indian Christian theology.

Background

The book grew out of a consultation convened by the Christian Dalit Liberation Movement, with staff assistance from CISRS, in Madras at the beginning of December 1986. According to Prabhakar’s introduction, 125 participants attended, including social activists, scholars, pastors and teachers from theological and other colleges. The first part of the book contains the main papers from the consultation. The second part gathers reflections and testimonies that connect theological discussion with the lived experiences and struggles of Dalits.

Prabhakar presents Dalit theology as a response to caste-based exclusion and to the failure of dominant theological approaches to take Dalit experiences, histories and aspirations seriously. The introduction links the project to struggles for social justice, identity, equality and community. It also argues that theological reflection must confront caste oppression within both Church and society, rather than treating poverty as an undifferentiated experience.

This framing is significant for understanding the book’s title. “Towards” signals an emerging conversation rather than a claim that a single, complete system of Dalit theology had already been established. The volume records a collective attempt to clarify its purpose, sources and direction.

Structure and contents

The book has two parts. Part I, “Consultation Papers”, develops theological, historical, literary and institutional questions. Part II, “Reflections and Testimonies”, foregrounds experiences of oppression and the search for liberation, including the experiences of Dalit women.

Selected contributions

Page numbers follow the printed contents page and should be understood as references to this edition. The chapter list shows the range of the collection: it includes conceptual arguments about Dalit theology, dialogue with Dalit literature, questions about caste in missionary and Church history, theological education, women’s experiences, and local accounts of caste oppression.

A. M. Abraham Ayrookuzhiel’s contribution

The volume includes A. M. Abraham Ayrookuzhiel’s chapter “Dalit Theology: A Movement of Counter-Culture”, beginning on page 83. Its inclusion makes the book relevant to research on Ayrookuzhiel’s work as well as to the broader history of Dalit theology.

In the introduction, Prabhakar discusses Ayrookuzhiel’s argument that much Indian Christian theology remained shaped by dominant cultural traditions and had neglected Dalit traditions and values. The introduction summarises his call for Indian Christian theology to move beyond what he describes as its “Latin and Sanskritic captivity”, and to take Dalit cultural identity and material and spiritual struggles seriously. This is Prabhakar’s account of the chapter’s argument; it should not be mistaken for a substitute for a full analysis of Ayrookuzhiel’s chapter itself.

For a TSAP article about Ayrookuzhiel, this chapter provides a specific, verifiable connection to an early collective discussion of Dalit theology. It also places his contribution alongside those of other theologians, church leaders, scholars and activists rather than presenting the development of Dalit theology as the work of one individual.

Themes and significance

Theology grounded in Dalit experience

The introduction argues that Dalit theology should begin with Dalit histories, experiences, suffering and aspirations, instead of treating “the poor” as one undifferentiated category. It connects caste and class while stressing that social and economic deprivation cannot be understood apart from caste-based exclusion and cultural hierarchy.

Critique of the Church and Christian theology

Several contributions focus directly on the Church, missionary history and theological institutions. The topics include caste in Kerala’s missionary history, the Church’s ministry and service to Dalits, caste oppression within the Catholic Church, and the role of theological colleges. The structure therefore makes the Church itself part of the subject of criticism and reform, not merely an observer of discrimination in wider society.

Dalit literature and counter-culture

The inclusion of Arvind P. Nirmal’s “A Dialogue with Dalit Literature” and Ayrookuzhiel’s chapter on theology as a counter-culture indicates that the volume’s discussion was not confined to conventional doctrinal questions. Literature, cultural identity, historical experience and resistance to dominant social values all appear as resources for theological reflection.

Dalit women and multiple forms of exclusion

The book devotes several contributions to Dalit women’s experiences, including chapters by Ruth Manorama, Swarnalata Devi, Prema Shantha Kumari and Theresamma. These contributions make gender and caste central to the volume’s scope. They also show that the book’s second part was intended to include reflections and testimonies, not only formal academic papers.

An early collective milestone

The volume documents a national consultation in 1986 and the publication of its papers in 1988. George Oommen’s historical overview of the emergence of Dalit theology describes the field as taking shape in the early 1980s, while later scholarship traces its development through the work of theologians such as Arvind P. Nirmal and the collective conversations that followed. Read alongside that scholarship, Towards a Dalit Theology is evidence of the movement’s early institutional and intellectual development.

It would be too strong to claim from this volume alone that it was the single origin of Dalit theology. Its importance is more securely described as a record of an organised, multi-voice effort to define and advance Dalit theological reflection in the Indian context.

Publication details

• Title: Towards a Dalit Theology
• Editor: M. E. Prabhakar
• Publisher: Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK), Delhi, for CISRS and CDLM
• Year: 1988
• Length: 185 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN: No ISBN is recorded in the consulted catalogue entries.
• Copyright notice: The book states “Copyright © CISRS 1988”.

The title page and copyright page identify the publication as a 1988 edition. Some library records describe a 1989 printing, so references should specify the edition or copy being consulted where that distinction matters.

References

1. M. E. Prabhakar, ed. Towards a Dalit Theology. Delhi: Published for the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society (CISRS) and Christian Dalit Liberation Movement (CDLM) by ISPCK, 1988. The book is the primary source for its contents, contributors, consultation history and publication details.
2. Oriental Theological Seminary Library. “Towards a Dalit Theology.” Library catalogue record.
3. George Oommen. “The Emerging Dalit Theology: A Historical Appraisal.” Indian Church History Review 34, no. 1 (June 2000): 19–37.
4. “Dalit Theology and Indian Christian History in Dialogue: Constructive and Practical Possibilities.” Religions 12, no. 3 (2021), article 180.
5. CiNii Books. “Towards a Dalit Theology.” Bibliographic record; notes that the description is based on a 1989 printing.

Further reading

• Peniel Rajkumar, “Dalit Theology,” in The Oxford Handbook of Asian Christian Theologies (Oxford University Press, 2026).
• “Beyond Dalit Theology: Searching for New Frontiers.” A scholarly collection with chapters on the contours, methodologies and themes of Dalit theology.

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