Listening exercise
BBC: Low-caste Hindus hold mass conversions
Reported by Damian Grammaticas in Delhi
14 October 2006
Go to this page:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6050408.stm
and click on the link under VIDEO AND AUDIO NEWS in the upper right-hand corner
You may read the text on this page for background on this story

Vocabulary:

central
Indian
city
Nagpur
highly
symbolic act
lifetime
low-caste
Hindu
to abandon
religion
to convert
Christianity
to follow
public
renunciation
to end
to suffer discrimination
lowest of the low
caste system
still often described as
Untouchables (Dalits)
menial
degrading
to sever

links with
Hinduism
to escape
dictates
protest
to be aimed at
nationalists
to oppose
conversion
constitution
to be entitled to
religious freedom
leader
Udit Raj
to choose
to be snatched away
crowds
to burn
copies of
state laws
to require
official permission
to change religion
to be planned for
coming weeks

Listening comprehension questions:
1. In what part of India is the city of Nagpur?
2. a. Who are the Dalits? b. What kinds of work have they traditionally done? c. About how many of them are there in India?
3. What seems to be the main reason for the religious conversions?
4. Who opposes the religious conversions of the Dalits, and why would anybody oppose such a thing?
5. What was burned and why?
6. What is planned for the coming weeks?
7. Do the conversions seem to be more religious or political and social in nature? Explain.
8. Read through the related article to answer this question: What other religion are many Dalits now embracing besides Christianity?

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