By TwoCircles.net News Desk,
New Delhi: Leading Christian religious groups will stage a dharna on Parliament Street in New Delhi on November 18 demanding amendment in the Constitution to grant Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims in the country.
The National Council of Dalit Christians in collaboration with Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and National Council of Churches in India have decided to organize a rally followed by a daylong dharna “to express the urgency and gravity of Christians’, Muslims’ and secular-minded peoples’ just demand for Scheduled Caste rights to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims.”
The Constitutional Scheduled Caste Order 1950 restricted SC status only to the SCs professing Hinduism. Later on the order was amended to include in the fold SCs who embraced Sikhism and Buddhism.
“Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims have been denied their right for the last fifty nine years. National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM) stated that non inclusion of SC Christians and SC Muslims in the SC list is a discrimination based on religion and goes against the articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution of India. Religion must be de-linked from caste. The discriminatory Para 3 of the Constitution Scheduled Caste Order 1950 should be deleted by appropriate action,” said the Christian groups in a statement.
“But it is very unfortunate that the Union Government has shelved this report and makes millions of SC Christians and SC Muslims continue to suffer unjustly,” the groups said adding that the Writ petition filed in the Supreme Court in 2004 is unduly delayed because of the indifference of the Union Government to give a reply to the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has also recommended that Scheduled Caste status must be extended to the Scheduled Caste Christians and Scheduled Caste Muslims. The National Commission for Minorities too has supported the demand.
“Most of the political parties have supported the demand of Scheduled Caste Christians and Muslims. Various dharnas and protest rallies have been organized in the state and national level to assert our rights. Prime Ministers including the present one and various Ministers have made assurances that it would be done. So far they have been only empty promises.”
The groups have also demanded tabulation of the report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities in the Parliament with Action Taken Report and implementation of its recommendations. They have urged the Union Government to give appropriate answer to the query of the Supreme Court to the Writ Petitions demanding the deletion of the unjust para 3 of the Constitution Scheduled Castes Order 1950 to extend Scheduled Caste Status to Christians and Muslims of Scheduled Caste origin.
[Photo: jameslogancourier.org]