Social Inclusion of Converted Christians in Kerala: Study of a Christian Family Converted from Pulaya Community

Abstract

Regardless of the significant social reform, the deep-rooted caste system prevails in the landscape of Kerala. The extreme oppression that the Dalit community faced forced them to seek a new identity with religious conversions. However, the caste considerations straddled the religions and followed the converts. Moreover, the conversion failed to compensate for their material deprivations, and the converted identity denied the rightful privileges of Dalits, which hampered their social mobility. This article analyses the social inclusion of a Pulaya (a Dalit community) family converted to Christianity in Kerala. The analysis of the qualitative data collected through relational interviewing revealed the issues with the social inclusion of the converted Christians, despite the high moral code they adopted. Furthermore, the quantitative comparison of welfare programs and reservations for the Dalit community and the converts gives insight into the trending deconversion in Kerala.