Divided Churchyards as Contested Democratic Space in Tamil Christianity: A Sociology of Caste Geography and Social Stigma in Southern India

Abstract

This chapter attempts to analyze how the connotations of caste geography manifest themselves in the realms of lived Christianity and in turn produce resistance to the dominant caste practices among Tamil Christians. In doing so, this chapter analyzes how the idea of caste geography manifested through divided churchyards and other social stereotypes become contested democratic spaces between Dalit Christians and Christians of upper caste origin in a church community in the outskirts of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It also engages with conflicting narratives regarding practices of caste geography and insights into the questions of resistance. In that sense, this chapter also attempts to foreground the changing character and trajectories of Dalit Christian agency in India with reference to democratic values, social justice, and equality. © 2024 Ashok Kumar Mocherla and James Ponniah. All rights reserved..