ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the relationship between caste and Catholicism through the Martyrs of Mannar Social Welfare Organization, an association created after the civil war in Mannar Diocese by the Kadaiyar caste. The Mannar Martyrs were early converts to Catholicism who were executed by the king of Jaffna in the 16th century and whose memory plays a central role in diocesan practice and identity today. The Kadaiyars believe that the Martyrs belonged to their caste, and the organization was created to both promote devotion to the Martyrs and improve the socio-economic conditions of the Kadaiyars. This chapter explores the history of the Martyrs and the Kadaiyar claim, before turning to the creation of the organization and the debate surrounding it. While the Church holds a normatively negative view of caste, individual Catholics often regard caste as a secular identity and culture conveying communal benefits. However, although the organization is intended to achieve such benefits, some Catholic clergy and religious are critical of its claim to a shared Catholic tradition. The ambivalence in this conception of caste is also shown by the organization’s publicizing of the Kadaiyars’ claim to the Martyrs while refuting the description “caste association”.
