{"id":988,"date":"2008-07-09T21:00:06","date_gmt":"2008-07-10T02:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pinkhairedgirl.net\/?p=988"},"modified":"2008-07-09T21:00:06","modified_gmt":"2008-07-10T02:00:06","slug":"indias-broken-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sherecovery.com\/blog\/?p=988","title":{"rendered":"The Untouchables"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This post is in conjunction with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.inspiredtoaction.com\/40-day-fast-2008\">The 40 Day Fast<\/a>. Today is my scheduled day (in team one) to write about an area of need in the world (either a cause or a country) and an organization that strives to meet that need. What I am writing about is somewhat hard to grasp and understand, but I hope you can get the gist and maybe take a moment to pray and decide to help in any way you can. Thanks! (<a href=\"http:\/\/blueandgreenplanet.blogspot.com\/\">Click here<\/a> for team two&#8217;s post).<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWe were busy for the last five days with an atrocity taken place on Dalits, in a village. I am preparing a report on this that will shed tears. One person was killed and ten people were hospitalized with severe wounds. Two people are fighting with death in the hospital. Today we have conducted mass agitation demanding the arrest of the culprits. So far 30 upper caste people were arrested. Dalits are in Social boycott and starving. Sent requests for relief program to distribute rice to the families. Let us see how God responds.\u201d &#8211; <strong>Dr. Christopher Premdas, New Life Children&#8217;s Home (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westsidefamilychurch.com\">Westside&#8217;s<\/a> Indian Orphanage)<\/strong> <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Sometimes it\u2019s easy to be relatively unaffected when we read horrific accounts from faraway lands.   It hardly seems possible that it\u2019s really happening. But it is real. The Hindu Caste system gives no hope to the approximately 250 million people in India and about 20% of the population of Nepal.<\/p>\n<p>If you have a moment, please watch the video below (if not, just keep reading). But the video (<em>warning, may be graphic to some viewers<\/em>) shows just how destructive (and messed-up) the Caste system really is. Exposing the horrific plight of India&#8217;s 170 million Dalits: literally &#8220;the broken people&#8221;, and previously called &#8220;the untouchables&#8221;; who are at the bottom of India&#8217;s caste system and are some of the most oppressed people on Earth. Economic growth has done little to improve the Dalits&#8217; lot; despite legislation, they still form <strong>60%<\/strong> of all those below the poverty line.<\/p>\n<p><object width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/Yc7iiFPDbDc&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\"><\/param><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\"><\/param><embed src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/Yc7iiFPDbDc&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<p>Brahmin priests believe that Dalits\/Shudras came from the feet of the god Brahma and therefore &#8216;feet&#8217;, as in nature must remain only feet in relation to the rest of the body, and were created only to serve the upper parts of the body. It is said this Brahma (god) designed these \u201cuntouchables\u201d to have only one duty: to bear the burdens (or the exploitations) of the whole upper body. Manusmirti a Hindu scripture says, &#8216;Sri Brahman has intended from eternity that the untouchables should be born as slaves, live as slaves, and die as slaves.&#8217; chapter 19, sloka 413.<\/p>\n<p>However, millions of Indian and Nepalian people are groaning to be freed in India and Nepal. They still need to hear that &#8216;Jesus has the living water, whoever comes to Him, never thirsts again.&#8217; That Christ Jesus brought the gift of salvation from sins and defilements, and has come to set those oppressed by legalism free from it&#8217;s tyranny, by grace through faith in Him as their personal Savior.<\/p>\n<p>As Christians, let us not limit that gift to ourselves only but let&#8217;s share it with the people who are wandering in search of it.<\/p>\n<p>He does not drive us out of temples, out from His people or forbids us to walk in certain streets of His &#8216;high caste&#8217; people. But He Himself enters the villages belonging to the untouchables (as the Samaritans were to the Jews). He does not fear being called the Friend of sinners, but has come that sinners may repent and be saved from sin.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus wants to do the same in India, Nepal and even where you live. Friends, can we take action through going to visit those in their time of need? Or by praying? or by financially supporting them?<\/p>\n<p>Compassion International exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults. Sponsoring children in need is breaking the cycle of poverty!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.compassion.com\/sponsor_a_child\/waystosponsor\/ChildSearchResults.htm?cboCountry=356~India&#038;cboGender=~&#038;cboAge=~&#038;FUIComponentClass=%5Btype+Function%5D&#038;FSelectableListClass=%5Btype+Function%5D&#038;FScrollBarClass=%5Btype+Function%5D&#038;FScrollSelectListClass=%5Btype+Function%5D&#038;FSelectableItemClass=%5Btype+Function%5D&#038;FComboBoxClass=%5Btype+Function%5D&#038;FComboBoxItemClass=%5Btype+Function%5D&#038;gotointerface=%5Btype+Function%5D&#038;search=%5Btype+Function%5D&#038;%5FchildCounter=1&#038;country=356%7EIndia&#038;gender=%7E&#038;age=%7E\"><strong>Sponsor an Indian child today<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>James 1:27 &#8220;Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to care orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This post is in conjunction with The 40 Day Fast. Today is my scheduled day (in team one) to write about an area of need in the world (either a cause or a country) and an organization that strives to meet that need. What I am writing about is somewhat hard to grasp and understand,&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/sherecovery.com\/blog\/?p=988\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The Untouchables<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-40-day-fast","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sherecovery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sherecovery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sherecovery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sherecovery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sherecovery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sherecovery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/988\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sherecovery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sherecovery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sherecovery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}