This Indian, who, I am sure, must be very close to God, is not a Christian. When Kailash Satyarthi was born, he was named Kailash Sharma. Sharma is a common surname among Brahmins in India and Nepal. How did Kailash Sharma become Kailash Satyarthi? ‘Satyarthi,’ by the way, means ‘seeker of truth.’
What made him change his name?
Barred from his own kitchen and dining room
Not merely his admiration for Mahatma Gandhi but also something that happened when he, as a young man, organized a dinner for ‘high caste’ people. He let it be known that the food that would be served would be cooked by Dalits. None of the leaders turned up. But it didn’t stop with that. They went on to threaten that he and his family would be excommunicated. If they wanted to save themselves from excommunication, he should take a holy dip in the Ganges, and organize a feast for 101 Hindu priests, wash their feet and drink that water. Kailash refused and so was barred from entering the kitchen and the dining hall in his own house and was forced to use his own utensils. Kailash Sharma chose to renounce his caste and the entire caste system and changed his name to Kailash Satyarthi…
Fr M.A. Joe Antony SJ
