Movement 111

to rehabilitate themselves with such an
amount.
ln the south the Adivasi struggle to get the
lands allotted to them. They starve when the
godowns of the Food Corporation of lndia are
bursting with food grain amounting to 60
million tones! SCMers from this region took
an active part in these struggles to get their
demands sanctioned. The question of poverlry
amidst plenty is indeed our problem in
relation to food and resources. 320 million
people do not earn even 10 rupees a day ($1
= 46 rupees)! Thus every third person in our
country is poor. We have about 200 million
Dalits (like untouchables in the caste
system), more than 95o/oot whom fall into this
category. The Dalit struggles for human
dignity and right to live cannot be dealt with
in the limited space allotted for this article
and therefore is not spoken of here.
The other major issues include militarism -
the militancy in Jammu & Kashmir,
Celebrity
Theologian
Rosemary
Radford
Ruether
Who's this?
A contemporary feminist Catholic theologian
whose work spans three decades. Married to
Herman, with three grown-up children...
Never heard of her.
Well, perhaps you could be forgiven for that,
since her area of expertise is a little specialised.
What would that be, then?
Ecofeminism.
Duh?
Well, it's an ideology that sees links between
the oppression of women by men, and the
exploitation of the earth. Many ecofeminists
say that sexism was the original form of oppression,
and that if we got rid of it we'd also be
free of racism, class hierarchy and all the other
dodgy have-and-have-not relationships that we
see in the viorld.
5o she's quite political then?
Absolutely. Our Rosemary was a sixties
youngster and after she'd got herself a couple of
degrees she found politics, just as the civil rights
movement was kicking off. Went on a lot of
peace marches, did a few stints in jail. And hung
out with the activist-monk, Thomas Merton.
5o where does theoloty come into all this?
Well, Ruether's most famous work, Sexism and
Cod-talk, is about rebuilding the whole Christian
Northeastern region and the growing tensions
between lndia and Pakistan call us to rededicate
our commitment for peace and justice.
The communal violence that erupts every now
and then is another major issue we are
facing. SCMI is taking initiatives to promote
inter-faith relations, especially among the
younger generations. Hindutva, which
promotes terrorist activities, calls for an
united action from all those who are for
peace and communal harmony. We look
forward to our biennial conference in May
and June this year, which will consequently
focus on the theme 'Terrorism and its lmpact
on Students: lssues and Challenges in
Education'. The struggle for peace and
justice, to be a live and valuable Christian
contribution to lndia, consumes SCMI. Our
conference we hope will equip us further to
respond to these realities in a better manner.
Elizabeth Joy
tradition along ecofeminist lines. She thinks we
should get rid of anything that smacks of sexism
and patriarchy, and try to recover lost and
neglected elements of our tradition which reflect
feminist and egalitarian values.
A tall order, some would say.
lndeed they would. But Ruether is very good at
digging out stuff that's been lost or buried in the
Bible and other traditional sources. For example,
in the Old Testament there are occasional hints
at a mother Coddess and Ruether thinks this is a
much-neglected element of our tradition, which
we ought to recover and make use of.
But that's paganism!
Well, you wouldn't be the first to say so. But
Rosemary Ruether has never been overly
concerned with orthodoxy in that sense. Her
benchmark is 'does it promote the full humanity
of women?'
Hasn't this got her into trouble?
Well, no doubt a few clerics have huffed and
stamped their feet in exasperation, but since
she's neither a priest nor a religious she's more
or less free to say whatever she pleases. And,
no doubt to the irritation of traditionalists, she
refuses to wash her hands of the Christian
church as many feminists have done before her.
Don't say:
A woman should be silent in the church!
Do say:
A woman needs a man like a fish needs...
sorry... present company accepted, Herman.
Debble Gurnock
fheologly EiladuatG and SCM lndlyldual member
worldview
communal
violence
that erupts
is a major
issue
we are
facing
. Ellzaboth ,oy ls Goneral
Secretary of SCMI
in the Old
Testament
there are
occasional
hints at a
mother
Goddess
and Ruether
thinks this
is a muchneglected
element of
our tradition
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