The Government has said that the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has recommended the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes(SC/ST) status to converts to Christianity.
Minister for Minority Affairs, Shri Salman Khurshid, made the statement during the Rajya Sabha session on August 3.
Khurshid, in a written letter, apprised the Upper House of the Parliament that "National Commission for Minorities, under Section 9(1) of the National Commission for Minorities Act 1992, recommended that Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes(SC/ST) converts to Christianity or Islam should continue to enjoy all privileges and benefits as SCs/STs on par with the SC/ST converts to Buddhism."
He continued: "Further, in 1997, NCM recommended for the outright removal of the Proviso in Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950 which confines the SC status strictly to three specified religions."
He also cited the annual report of the National Commission for Minorities, 2006-07 that recommended, “Christian and Muslim dalits be given the benefit of affirmative action through reservation.”
There are about 20 million Dalit Christians in India fighting against the deprival of their rights and discrimination faced on grounds of religion. Their social, economic and educational benefits have been dismantled due to their conversion to Christianity.
Today, the Supreme Court was to respond to a Public Interest Litigation filed by an NGO and Franklin Caesar, a Dalit activist based in New Delhi.
Caesar told Christian Today that the court adjourned the hearing for after eight weeks. He was very disappointed that in spite of substantial reasons to grant the SC status to Christians, the court and the government is delaying the case.
"The letter of Khurshid surely is a positive sign that the government wants to render SC status. But, it is being delayed due to fear of Opposition and various other reasons, the government is unable to disclose," Caesar, who is also the coordinator of National Council of Dalit Christians, said.
"The Congress govt in its 1996 manifesto had promised to extend the benefits to Christians. They further proposed a bill in the government. The Cabinet also discussed this in 2008. But, none have taken any concrete steps to bring justice," he rues.
The National Commission for Minorities has clearly stood positive on the side of Dalit Christians. In its report, last year, it said, "There is a strong case for according Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Muslims and Christians."
The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Ranganath Misra (Retd), also have maintained that Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims be included in the reserved category.
But sadly, since last year, the Supreme Court of India has repeatedly delayed the hearing on lawsuits by Dalit Christians and Muslims requesting restoration of full Constitutional rights.
If finally the court acts judiciously, fifty-nine year wait of Dalit Christians would come to an end
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