Caste and rules create 'dual faith' Dalits in India
By Ecumenical News International
15 Nov 2007

Some people estimate that Christians make up more than one third of the 300,000 people in the now-closed mining area of the Kolar Gold Fields in India's southern Karnataka state - writes Anto Akkara from India.

Others suggest that with Evangelical groups flourishing in the area, following the closure of the government-owned mine in 2001, the proportion of Christians could be as high as 50 percent.

Still, according to government documents, Christians account for less than 10 percent of the population of the region.

"Here, many are Hindus in government records but Christians in faith," says church worker Vasanti Selvaraj, explaining the discrepancy between the government statistics and what many people believe is the actual number of Christians in the region. the rest photo