Sikhs, Muslims join Christians in demanding SC status for Dalit converts

The National United Christian Forum (NUCF), an alliance of the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) and the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), organized a rally on Saturday, March 3, 2007, attended by several Muslim and Sikh leaders, as a public outcry against the move of National Commission for Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes (NC SC/ST) which recently rejected the demand for reservation for Dalit Muslims and Christians on the ground that untouchability – the main criteria for reservation for the communities – was peculiar to the Hindu religion only.

In a recent letter to the National Commission for Schedule Castes, the archbishop of Delhi and the president of NUCF, Vincent M. Concessao wrote, "The demand for equal rights of the Christians of Scheduled Caste Origin is a well known struggle going on for fifty six years. Once again we would like to urge the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the Central Government to extend Scheduled Caste Status to Christians of Schedule Caste Origin (Dalit Christians)."

By rejecting the demands of the Christian community, the Commission reflects the apathy of the government towards the plight of the Dalit, he said.

Hundreds of people participated in the rally along with various Church leaders.

Following the rally, Church leaders submitted memorandums to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh; to Justice Ranganath Misra, chairman, National Commission for Religious & Linguistic Minorities and the chairman of the National Commission for SC/ST.

Nearly 65 percent of Christians in India belong to the scheduled castes and backward categories who have suffered oppression and exploitation like Dalits of other religions in the country. SC status not only provides special provisions for education and employment but also grants legal protection and safeguards against atrocities, physical violence and abuse. With the conversion to the Christian faith, they had expected liberation from the caste–based discrimination in the Indian society.

However, the Christians of Scheduled castes' origin in Punjab, Utter Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and so on continue to experience exclusion and are denied equal opportunities for education, livelihood and dignity.

"Both Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar had held that by changing one's religion, the social status of the person does not change and that he continues to suffer the same discrimination as before his conversion. The same was also held buy the Supreme Court in its Mandal case judgement in 1992," noted Rev. Richard Howell, general secretary, EFI.

"The demand for SC status by Christian of Scheduled Caste origin is pending before the Parliament and the Supreme Court of India. Several Commissions and important ministries of government have also strongly recommended grant of SC status on basis of socio–economic disabilities experienced by the Christians of SC origin," he said.

Besides Rev. Howell, other Christian leaders who participated in the protest rally were Rev. (Dr.) Enos Das Pradhan, general secretary, Church of North India (CNI); Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi Archdiocese; Dr. James Massey, former member of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM); Fr. Henry D’Souza, executive director of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) Commission for Social Communications; Fr. Dominic Emmanuel, SVD of the Catholic Church; (Rt.) Rev. (Dr.) P.C. Singh, Bishop of Jabalpur; Tehmina Arora, secretary, Christian Legal Association of India (CLAI); Sunil Sardar, founder, Truth Seekers International; and Franklin T. Caesar, social activist.

"Our governments have been deaf and blind to our cries. Let pray to God that they get sight and hearing to see our suffering," said Archbishop Concessao.

Several Muslim leaders and Sikh leaders also voiced their support for the rally.

"What secularism is there in this country? Are we not citizens of this country?" challenged Kamal Ashraf, coordinator of the Dalit Muslim Liberation Movement, as he led hundreds of his followers in protest at the meeting organized by the Christian groups. "Caste is a social reality and a Dalit is a Dalit whether he is a Christian or a Muslim."

"Both of us [Christians and Muslims] are in the same boat. We have to stand together and fight for justice," he said.

Caste, a social stratification rooted deep in Hinduism, organizes people by a combination of descent and employment. The lowest group in the caste system is the estimated 300 million–strong Dalit population.

While atrocities against the Dalits have been practiced for thousands of years, caste–based atrocities are reaching new heights and are causing tension across many areas.

In many areas, they are still not allowed to enter temples or even sit next to upper caste Hindus. Most Dalits are still forced to do manual labour jobs, such as cleaning up human waste.

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 recently 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 matter, however, has been adjourned several times and the apex court is expected to take up the hearing again in April 2007.

An estimated 70 percent of India's 26 million Christians belong to the socially discriminated Dalit groups, who need social and educational support to integrate to the mainstream of society.

On 1 March, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination sharply criticised the Indian government for its failure to prevent discrimination based on caste. In a report, it deplored widespread abuse perpetrated against Dalits. It found that more than 165 million Dalits continue to face segregation in housing, schools, and access to public services in the world's second most populous nation.