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| Press Meet | 17th October 2014 | CBCI Centre, New Delhi |
Times of India on 10th October
2014 reported that the Government is opposed to Dalit status for converts.
It reported Union social justice minister Hon.
Thavar Chand Gehlot’s statement about SC status to Dalit Christians
and Dalit Muslims, which reveals that the Government is not inclusive in its
development policy.
The demand for the inclusion of the Dalit
Christians and Dalit Muslims has been going on for the past 64 years because of
the Constitution (Scheduled Caste Order) 1950 paragraph 3 which reads as “no
person who professes a religion different from the Hindu religion shall be
deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste”. Later it was amended to include
Sikhs and Buddhists in 1956 and 1990 respectively.
A public interest litigation case was filed
in the Supreme Court of India in 2004 (Civil Writ Petition No.180/2004)
challenging the validity of this order.
Denying SC status to Christians and Muslims
of Scheduled Caste Origin is unconstitutional because it is against the Secular
nature of the country( Preamble of the Constitution) against Article 14 which
says “The State shall not deny any person equality before the law or the equal
protection of the laws within the territory of India prohibition of
discrimination of religion, race, caste sex, or place of birth”, and against
article 15 which says “The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on
grounds of only religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth or any of them”.
Dalit
status to converts will not eat into SC quota
SC list is the rightful place for the Dalit
Christians and Dalit Muslims. The percentage of Dalit Christians and Dalit
Muslims is very meagre compared to the vast majority of the Hindu Dalits. Most
of the reserved seats of the SCs are not filled and there are many backlogs
every year. Crores of money from the Special Component plan is unspent every
year.
Every year some backward castes are added to
the SC list and this argument does not arise there.
More over when the Sikh Dalits and Buddhist
Dalits were included in the SC list there was question of earing the quota or
sharing the cake of the Dalit Hindus.
Dalit
converts availing facilities extended to (backward) Christians and Muslims and if
they get SC status, they will be not be eligible for dual benefits:
Once the Christians and Muslims of Scheduled
caste origin are included in the SC list they will be automatically removed
from the BC list. Thus there is no question of enjoying dual benefit by these
groups.
Christianity
and Islam do not accept caste system and therefore do not approve
untouchability. But in reality the caste system in the larger society is
reflection in these religious communities also:
The caste system in India has religious
origin and sanction in the Hindu religion. But unfortunately it has become part
and parcel of the Indian society where majority are Hindus. Though Christianity
and Islam does not approve the caste system and untouchability it is being
practiced by its members since they are
the part of the larger society. Besides that the Christians and Muslims of SC
origin live in a larger society where the caste system is prevalent and who are
treated as untouchables by the caste Hindus.
Sikhism and Buddhism do not approve caste
system but Dalits belonging to these religions are extended SC status.
Many
state Governments and many commissions appointed by the Union of India have
supported SC status to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims:
The state Governments of Tamil Nadu,
Pondicherry, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have
recommended to the Union to extend SC status to the Christians of Scheduled
Caste Origin.
The National Commission for Religious and
Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM) Report, the ‘Dalits in the Muslim and Christian
Communities- A Status Report on Current Social Scientific Knowledge’ prepared
for the National commission for Minorities Government of India by Satish
Deshpande and many other reports formed by the Government clearly say that the
socio, economic, educational condition of the Dalits has not changed much even
after their conversion to other religions.
Unnecessary
fear that it will lead to conversion:
The Constitution of India guarantees the
freedom of religion to every citizen of India.
‘Subject
to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part,
all person are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely
to profess, practice and propagate religion’.( Article 25).
The Constitution Scheduled Caste Order 1950
rather takes away this basic right to practice a religion of one’s own
conscience. Rather by denying the SC status to Christians and Muslims of
Scheduled Caste Origin the order proselytises the Hindu Dalits and prevents
them from converting themselves to the other religions.
It is minimising the value and credibility of
Hindu religion and the Hindu Dalits, if somebody says that people would move
away from Hindu religion if SC status to extended to all.
It should be also noted that the Dalit Hindus
did not convert to Sikhism and Buddhism when the SC status was extended to the
followers of these religions.
Conclusion:
Based on the report of National Commission
for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM) we request the Government to
give a reply to the Supreme Court of India so that the long pending issue may
be resolved in the Supreme Court of India soon.
Denying
SC status to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims is recommended by UN:
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination 17th session (19th Feb-9th March 2007) states “The Committee
notes with concern that Dalits who convert to Islam or to Christianity to
escape caste discrimination reportedly list their entitlement under affirmative
action programmes, unlike converts who become Buddhists or Sikhs. The committee
recommends that the State party restore the eligibility for affirmative action
benefits of all members of scheduled Castes and scheduled tribes having
converted to another religion”.
Denying
SC status to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims is against Human Rights of
these groups:
Denying Scheduled Caste status to Christians
and Muslims of Scheduled Caste Origin is denying their basic Human Rights to
practice any religion of their conscience.
New Delhi
17th October 2014
Fr. Devasagayaraj
Secretary
CBCI Office for SC/BC
Mr. Samuel Jeyakumar
Secretary, NCCI
Commission on Policy Governance and Public Witness
Mr. Franklin Caesar
National Coordinator
National Council for Dalit Christians (NCDC)
Dr. Syed Zafar
Mahmood
President,
Zakat Foundation of India
