#Commemoration of the 30th Day Death Anniversary of Rev.Dr.P.Antonyraj S.J.
1945 (March) - 2021 (May)
#Doctor_Ambedkar_Cultural_Academy #DACA
1. I envisage a political, economical liberation for the harijans. If we could make the church
involved here, it will be a great thing. - letter to Fr. Provincial 15 July, 1976.
2. I am rethinking my sermons in the light of Biblical Humanism. Books like Marx and the
Bible, Theology of Liberation are of immense help - letter to Fr. Provincial 15 July, 1976.
3. It is really depressing to see the harijan communities being persecuted by all the forces. They
are economically, politically, socially, and even religiously alienated… Untouchability has
become the accepted custom… Priests and nuns are no exception to it. They do not have any
respect for the harijans. They consider them as a group of uncouth people who ought to be
treated in that way - Letter to Fr. Provincial 1 August, 1975.
4. The inborn inferiority is a real hindrance to the progress of Harijans. - Letter to Fr.
Provincial 1 August, 1975.
5. Tamil Nadu Church is a Dalit Church. We will be at its centre because we constitute 70% of
the Catholic Church in Tamil Nadu. Those who are dominating it hitherto should leave the
place to us. - 1987, at Kazhukerkadai in view of 150th Anniversary of the formation of the
New Madurai Mission.
6. The church should create space for responsible dissent… I will not tolerate the practice of
untouchability in the Catholic Church of Tamil Nadu. There is absolutely no compromise on
this issue. - Letter to Fr. Provincial in 20 Sep, 1996.
7. I am answerable to my God, my conscience and to the people… more and more I am getting
convinced that the Dalit Christians are not going to get justice from non-Dalit dominated
catholic church. - 16 Sep, 1991, to Provincial.
8. I do not want to go in history as a coward who has betrayed the cause of the Dalits.”- 16 Sep,
1991, to Prov.
9. At one stage it was necessary for DCLM to challenge the Church authorities because they
were using sacraments more as a social control mechanism rather than as a sign of liberation
- 16 Sep, 1991, to Provi.
10. The dalit leaders in Tamilnadu who have been long divided on the basis of sub-caste and
creed, have mooted the idea of uniting all the Dalit organizations into one umbrella
organization. The objective of the integration move is to give a sense of human dignity to the
Dalits and work for their economic development. - Letter to Fr. Provincial, 5th Nov, 1992.
11. I am a self-made man and second to none, you may call it cultivated arrogance but I have
learnt the hard way. - Interview in The Hindu on 27 July, 2011.
12. To give up hope is suicidal - Interview in The Hindu on 27 July, 2011.
13. If Dalits only get an opportunity, they will reach the promised land where there is no
bondage and servitude. - Interview in The Hindu on 27 July, 2011.
14. If a problem is political, then the solution has to be a political. - Letter to Fr. Provincial, 27
May, 1987
15. To be an untouchable is to be blessed with an eternal curse.
16. For the Christians, bred on the unassailable principle of human equality, fraternity and
dignity, casteism is not only unholy, but wholly unchristian.
18. Dalits in India always appear to be on the threshold of a permanent poverty trap.
19. To recognize, protect and defend the human dignity and rights of the dalits is our primary
fight and goal.
20. Unless there is a semblance of economic upliftment, the question of human dignity and basic rights will be worth only the paper on which this is written upon.
21. Casteism is not only India’s problem; and it cannot be. it is a problem of the collective
consciousness of humanity as a whole.
22. If human dignity is mere soaring philosophy or rhetoric, what then is human life?
23. Even in death the untouchable does not seem to be free.
24. The Dalits when faced with a situation between starvation and freedom, their first option is
food. if the Dalits were to sever their umbilical chord from the landlord, they would starve. -
Fr. Tony, in his doctoral dissertation - Social bases of obedience of the Untouchables in
Tamil Nadu.
25. As long as the social bases, ethos, and world-view remain the same both in the Hindu and
Christian Social Order, the practice of untouchability will continue in their new faith. - Fr.
Tony, in his research - Nature and Extent of Discrimination against Dalit Christians in
Tamil Nadu.
27. When God is on the side of the poor, the Jesuits cannot have any other option other than that of the creator. Unfortunately, the church has taken such a long time to realize that God is on the side of the poor.
28. Even God cannot cure us from our caste bias.
29. Eradication of untouchability is not possible without empowerment of the Dalits. - Letter to
the President of India, in 1999.
30. Emancipation of the most oppressed and exploited people would realize the total
emancipation of the entire society.
JAI BHIM!
Негізгі бет Famous Sayings of Rev.Dr.P.Antonyraj S.J.
Пікірлер: 4