Arvind P. Nirmal
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Arvind P. Nirmal, (1936–1995) was a Dalit Christian theologian and a minister of the Church of North India.[1] He questioned the Christian conversion of the upper castes, especially the Brahmin.[2] A major proponent of Dalit theology,[1] Nirmal argued that Jesus himself was a Dalit and that Christian theology should therefore reflect Dalit concerns.[3]
Nirmal criticised Brahminic dominance of Christian theology in India, and believed that the application of liberation theology to India should reflect the struggle of Dalits,[1] Nirmal also criticised the Marxist element within South American liberation theology.[4] Nirmal drew on the concept of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53[5] to identify Jesus himself as a Dalit – "a waiter, a dhobi, and bhangi."[3]