National Convention hosted by Dalit Christians affirm their struggle for equal justice

New Delhi – In the wake of the bitter struggle carried on by the 16 million–odd Dalit Christians in India, a national convention was held recently in New Delhi hosted by the Christian and pro–Dalit advocacy groups, Christian Today has confirmed.

On October 14, a delegation led by the National Forum of Dalit Christian Rights, the Christian Dalits of Tamil Nadu, the All India Catholic Union, the All India Christian Council and the Voice of Dalit International appeared before the Justice Mishra National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities and petitioned that the body hold hearings in Punjab and the southern states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh where most of the Dalit Christians lived in abject poverty and faced social ostracism.

The Commission, which was appointed by the Union Government, earlier this year, to hear the Dalit Christian issue, gave a patient hearing to the delegation who deposed before the panel.

Soon thereafter, the convention was held to impress upon the urgency of the demands of the Dalit Christians for full democratic rights.

Several political leaders, both national and state–level, participated in the convention and voiced their support for the Dalit struggle.

A 1950 Presidential Order excluded Dalit convert to Christianity from the quota system that reserved jobs to members of the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes in the public service. The same exclusion applies to those who convert to Islam but not to those who become Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh.

However, in a significant step, the Supreme Court in February this year decided to consider afresh the crucial constitutional issue of affirmative action in the public sector for Dalit converts to Christianity, refuting the government plea that it be treated as a legislative problem. The hearing, originally scheduled to take place on August 25, has been adjourned till November.