The Poor, Theology and the Postmodern: A Dalit Perspective

This global and postmodern age is at the same time an age of despair and hope to the people at margins world-over. On the one hand hegemonic global economic powers joining hands with local dominant powers make the poor even more excluded, exploited and invisible. And on the other hand a global platform of solidarity between the poor across nations and cultures is being built up - indeed a ray of hope in darkness. The Dalits - the lowest and untouchable castes of India, who suffered dehumanization of the three millennia-old caste system, are now enthused by the spirit of global solidarity. One pertinent aspect of this solidarity is expressed via exchange of experiences and ideas of sufferings, struggles and strategies towards emancipation. This booklet is an attempt to one such exchanges in the area of theology. It seeks mutual inspiration between the contributions of liberation theology especially from the thoughts of Joerg Rieger, an American liberation theologian and an emerging dalit theology in India. I hope this work will benefit the readers who are engaged in cross-cultural exchanges motivated to build global humanity with dignity.