A black smoke singal

[A note from John Dayal: This is the first smoke signal of an impending betrayal, not unexpected, from the caste satraps who have a stranglehold on the Congress. I am writing a detailed riposte, and would be grateful for inputs on past experience of transfer of peoples groups from one grouping to another. This would be invaluable for my research.—John Dayal]

SC tag for Dalit Muslims & Christians under cloud

5 Jun, 2007 l 0211 hrs IST l TIMES NEWS NETWORK
NEW DELHI: Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje may have managed to wriggle out of the bloody Gujjar-Meena confrontation, but not before holding out a lesson to others — particularly those gung-ho about similar demands for shifting one community to another social category.
The immediate casualty may be a recommendation by a national commission for granting Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians and Muslims.
Raje's decision to form a three-member commission headed by a retired high court judge may afford her a way out of the standoff. While the breather of a committee has given a face-saver to Gujjar leadership to tell the community that its sacrifices were not a waste, BJP insiders hope that it will meet the same fate as many others in the past.
But the providential escape has led to a rethink in the ruling quarters over moving forward on similar pending demands. The first is SC status for Dalit converts to Christianity and Islam. National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities recommended that SC status should be made community-neutral by dropping the concerned clause of the 1950 Presidential order on SCs.
With Christians and Muslims forming part of OBC lists, their shift is already being resented by Dalits who feel Christians, with better levels of education, will eat into their share.

CWC asks government to be cautious on quota
AARTHI RAMACHANDRAN
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 06, 2007 12:48:01 AM]
NEW DELHI: The Congress seems to have come around the idea that reservation is a double-edged sword. The party’s apex decision-making body, Congress Working Committee (CWC) has asked the UPA government to “approach the issue of reservations with caution”. The matter was raised during a CWC meeting on Monday in the context of the Gurjar agitations in Rajasthan.
The Congress’ warning is likely to have a sobering effect on advocates of reservation within the Central government. It could imply that recommendations of bodies such as the National Commission of Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM), which has asked for granting Scheduled Caste (SC) status to Christians and Muslims amongst Dalits, will be put on ice. It could also mean that leaders such as Arjun Singh, who have been at the forefront of the government’s OBC quota policy, will have to go slow on such future proposals.
The advice came while discussing the Gurjar demand for ST status and the clashes between that community and the Meenas. One member of the high-profile body is said to have raised the issue of granting reservations on the basis of economic criteria as a means to resolve the quota tangle all over the country.
Though party sources did not name the CWC member in question, AICC leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi, speaking in his personal capacity, identified economic status as a “rational criteria” for granting reservations. A source in the party said: “The issue (of economic criteria) was raised, however, the CWC decided not to discuss the matter of reservations in detail given the tense situation in Rajasthan. We also advised the government that it should approach the matter of reservations with great caution.” Congress sources also said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not speak at all during Monday’s CWC meeting.
Incidentally, the latest member of the Congress to have brought up the issue of reservation is the prime minister himself. He had hinted support to BSP chief Mayawati’s idea of providing reservations to the poor among the upper castes at a conference on the empowerment of Dalits and minorities. Speaking after BJP leader LK Advani, who also endorsed Mayawati’s suggestions, Singh said that poor children from economically backward sections among the forward communities should also be supported.
The party has refused to take a stand on whether or not the Gurjars should be brought into the ST list and has been publicly maintaining that there needs to be a wider consultation between all parties on the issue. Moreover, the UPA government’s OBC quota gambit has failed to bring any tangible benefits for the party in the just-concluded UP elections. The Congress-led Centre is now involved in fighting the OBC quota issue in the Supreme Court — something that has made its southern allies such as the DMK and PMK nervous given their large OBC constituencies.