| Caedmons Call Reaches Indias Untouchables |
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from CharismaNOW of Charisma News Service Nov. 30, 2004
A popular Christian band recently traveled to India to encourage new believers and to tell the government to free a people group known as downtrodden "untouchables." Caedmon's Call, the folk-rock band hailing from Texas, traveled to Ecuador, Brazil and India to cut the band's most political and musically diverse album of their 10-year career. Read More "We've wanted to do a 'world' record for a long time," Caedmon's Call's lead singer Cliff Young told "New Man" magazine in the November/December issue, out now. The full story on the band can be found in the magazine. "... More than that, though, we want people who hear this music to know about these Christians in Ecuador, Brazil and India," he added. Young, 32, saw firsthand the difficulties faced by the Dalit people in India. "There's 300 million [Dalits] in India," Young said. "And these people ... are desperate." The Hindu religion teaches that the Dalits were born into the lower caste (which discriminates according to one's birth) to be punished for wrong deeds done in a former life. Most of the Dalits are laborers who are exploited by rich landlords. Since they are powerless both politically and economically, they have no way of telling their story to the rest of the world. "Share the Well," the title of Caedmon's new album, refers to well-guarded wells in India that are off-limits to the Dalits. However, many Dalits today are choosing Christianity over Hinduism. Because many of the Dalits don't attend school or learn to read, their history is passed down orally, with music. For Caedmon's Call to tell their story is an ironic fit. "Hundreds of thousands in India are getting the gospel message," Young explained. "It tells them 'you're not worthless, you're created in the image of God.' It's an amazing thing to witness." Formed in 1994, the band gets its name from a seventh-century poet-monk who traveled the English countryside proclaiming God's grace and creation to unbelievers. To subscribe to "New Man" magazine, go to www.strang.com/offer/nm-j4lnow.htm. For more information about the Dalits, visit the All India Christian Council at www.aiccindia.org.
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