By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net
Will this past 3rd April prove to be a turning point for Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians in India? If you ask me, I would say, yes. Because this is the day when the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) came up with a much-needed report on these Dalits.
There is no reason to not include Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians in the category of Scheduled Castes because these Dalits share the same socio-economic status, and stigma also, as their counterparts in the Hindu community, concludes the report prepared by NCM.
The report titled “Dalits in the Muslim and Christian Communities: A Status Report on Current Social Scientific Knowledge” reveals that economically and educationally, the condition of Dalit Muslims is generally poorer than other Dalits, and Dalit Christians too lag behind upper caste Christians on that front. The NCM thinks that the report is an important development in that the courts have been repeatedly asking for objective data for providing constitutional facilities to Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians also. And it rightly thinks so.
Discussing the social conditions of Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians, the report says, “There can be no doubt whatsoever that Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians are socially known and treated as distinct groups within their own religious communities. Nor is there any room for disputing the fact that they are invariably regarded as ‘socially inferior’ communities by their co-religionists. In short, in most social contexts, Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians are Dalits first and Muslims and Christians only second.”
Some may argue the NCM conclusions, but there is no denying the fact that Dalits in Muslim and Christian communities are not taken socially at par with other castes in them.
The report further says, “While the overall status imposed on Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians is always that of an inferior group, the manner in which social distance or superiority is asserted by non-Dalits (and specially the ‘upper’ castes) varies both across Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians and also across regions and contexts. Such variation is present in all Dalit communities of all religions.” The report, however, admits that practices of discrimination and exclusion against Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians cannot be described as intensified.
The report also talks about social, cultural and religious segregation faced by Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians. “Social segregation extends to the sphere of worship and religious rituals, with separate churches and priests being almost the norm among Dalit Christians and not uncommon among Dalit Muslims,” the report concludes. The report has found that occupational segregation, economic exploitation and untouchability, though not intense, are also prevalent in the communities.
Equipped with the much-sought after study, the NCM would like to present the case of reservation for Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians before the government. But there are some legal hurdles in the way. Not only NCM but social and political pressure groups from the concerned communities will have to work extra time to remove these hurdles first.
Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians cannot be included among Scheduled Castes, and thus they cannot be granted reservation, thanks to the Presidential Order of 1950. That order denies inclusion of Dalits of any community other than Hindu in the Scheduled Castes category. The third paragraph of the order says, “notwithstanding anything contained in para 2, no person who professes a religion different from Hinduism shall be deemed to be a member of the Scheduled Castes.”
It means that Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians can be included among the Scheduled Castes only after the amendment of the Indian Constitution. If it happens, it would not be the first time. The relevant part of the Constitution containing the order has been amended twice: first in 1956 and second in 1990. Through these amendments, Sikhs and Buddhists respectively were included in the Scheduled Caste category and thus they availed the benefits of reservation.
As of now, the Constitution does not recognise Scheduled Caste converts to Islam and Christianity as eligible for benefits availed by Scheduled Castes of Hindus. Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians challenge the discriminatory part of the 1950 order that denies the inclusion of Dalits of any community other than Hindu in the category of Scheduled Castes. Their argument is that that part of the order runs contrary to the provisions of Articles 14 (equality before the law), 15 (prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion) and 25 (freedom to profess and practice any religion) of the Constitution.
The present study will strengthen their efforts and argument that conversion hardly changes socio-economic conditions of an individual. The assessment may not be completely true in the case of Muslims.
(Writer is a Delhi based journalist, working with TwoCircles.net, can be reached at [email protected])