Published Paper Details:

: Christianity came to India in 52 AD with the mission of spreading the Word God. India that the missionaries walked into was burdened under the yoke of caste system. The lower class people had no social mobility and hence the possibility of an improvement in their condition was near impossible. Conversion to Christianity was a means of escape from discrimination. They believed Christianity offered them solace from their oppressors. Christianity was considered egalitarian as it promised to be a caste- free society. Unfortunately, even after conversion many of the Dalits were discriminated due to the residual leftover practice of caste system from their previous traditions. Bama's Karukku is a novel written in a confessional mode. It speaks of the conflict between the Church and the Dalit Christians. The Church ordered and influenced the lives of the Dalits. However, discrimination by the clergy was horrifying. Religious celebrations had lost its spiritual value and it was more materialistic. Bama decided to join the religious order to help the poor school children of her community as education was the key to their emancipation. But on joining a nunnery she realized that life in a convent was one of luxury and they served the rich. She discovered that the outlook of the convent and the Church are different from hers and there is a rift between the two. This paper attempts to unveil the crippling effect of caste system in an apparently caste-free religion like Christianity.