By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Kozhikode: Dalits continue to face discrimination in administrative circles of the country and they have little representation in political circles too, the Kerala Minister for Tourism and Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Castes AP Anil Kumar said.
“Dalits are still treated in the old way. They are still prohibited from entering temples. And now they are being discriminated even in administrative positions,” the minister said while speaking at the Dr B R Ambedkar Media Award on Sunday The minister demanded all major political parties like Congress and CPM to take steps to address this issue.
“I request all political parties to ensure that Dalits are accorded with due representation and if that does not happen, it is big failure from them,” said Kumar.
The main parties must think beyond the point of Dalit reservation, and make sure that Dalits have been given all that is duly theirs, he said. “The government has reserved seats for Dalits and that is the reason we see them in assembly and other local bodies, he said. “But parties must provide them beyond that. Dalits should be given recognition in every area. They should not be left behind like this. Deliberately denying them representation is a great injustice towards a community that has been treated so badly over the years,” the minister lamented.
“We have seen many Malayalees in Rajya Sabha since the birth of united Kerala, but when it comes to Dalit representation, the number becomes too small. They have figured poorly in even in corporations. Apart from the SC and ST reservation, Dalits have not been seen very much in corporations. The Congress and CPM have taken almost similar stand on this,” the minister alleged.
He urged private sectors to reserve jobs for Dalits because their chances of earning jobs were dwindling now.
“Private sectors were becoming more powerful than government sector and with that the Dalits’ opportunities are also shrinking. It is high time that they gave representation to Dalits, he added.”
“Reservation is important and If at all Dalits have gained anything in official life, that is due to the reservation. So, we need to strengthen reservation for the backward communities. It has been a big success over the years,” the minister said.