Chennai, March 9, 2010: Several Christians including three Catholic bishops were Friday, March 5, arrested and later released during a march for reservation status to Dalit Christians and Muslims.

The Christians - part of the 'Long March for Equal Rights to Dalit Christians' - was prevented from marching through Chennai even as police arrested Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore, AM Chinnappa, Archbishop of Madurai, Peter Fernando, and the Bishop of Chinglepet, A. Neethinathan.

The demonstrators were marching from Kanyakumari to the destination Chennai to demand the Union Government to implement the Ranganath Mishra Commission report that recommends extending SC status to all Dalits regardless of religion.

"The police prevented the marching people to walk through the city of Chennai and the Chief Minister was not prepared to meet the delegation of Bishops and leaders," said Fr G Cosmon Arokiaraj, executive secretary of the CBCI Commission for Schedule Caste and Backward Tribe.

"This is the way the State Government and the Union Government respond to the legitimate democratic struggles of the peace-loving Christian community,” he rued. “Let the entire Christian community awake and respond to the state repression.”

The marchers embarked on the journey on Feb. 10 and walked through cities like Madurai, Dindigul, Manaparai, Trichy and Chengalpet before reaching Chennai.

With the culmination of the March, a memorandum was submitted to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M Karunanidhi, urging the government to "pass a resolution in the State Assembly, recommending immediate implementation of the Ranganath Misra Report.”

The Misra report that was tabled last year in the Parliament, calls for deletion of para 3 of Constitutional Order 1950 which restricted the Scheduled Castes net to Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists, but excluding Christians and Muslims.

According to Dalit Christian activist Franklin Caesar, the TN chief minister has promised to voice the concern of Dalit Christians in the Parliament. He also assured to send a delegation of TN MP's to New Delhi where they will meet the Prime Minister and other members of the cabinet. (Babu Thomas, Christian Today)