“The
ultimate measure of a man (or a woman) is not where he (or she) stands in
moments of comfort and convenience, but where he (or she) stands at times of
challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Power
without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and
anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and
justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”
–Martin Luther King Jr.
The
demand for SC status for the Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims is a long
standing one. The word Dalit is derived from the root Dal, incidentally common
to both Sanskrit and Hebrew. In both languages it has the same meaning i.e.
weak, crushed, split open and trampled upon. The various lexicographical
declensions connote these various meanings from physical to psychological
levels of the oppressed and excluded people. For centuries, Dalits were not
treated as part of the mainstream Indian Society and were traditionally
assigned menial and degrading jobs.
Prior
to 1947, the British, in response to growing demands from the oppressed and
marginalised castes led by Babasaheb Ambedkar, arranged for a number of castes,
whose names were specified in a schedule (hence called “Scheduled Castes”), to
be given reservations in government jobs and elected bodies. The Simon
Commission drew up an official list of socially excluded castes and tribes in
1930 called the “Schedule Castes” (SC) and “Schedule Tribes” (ST). “Scheduled”
means they are on a government schedule that entitles them to certain
protection and affirmative action (or reservations). These castes had
historically been treated as despised “untouchables”, considered by the wider
society and the Hindu religion as subhuman or worse. They were not defined by
any religious label and included a number of castes or sections whose ancestors
had converted to various religions, such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and
Sikhism, in search of liberation from the shackles of caste that are sanctioned
in Hinduism which, as Ambedkar rightly insisted, was a code designed to consign
the Dalits to eternal, religiously sanctioned slavery. SCs thus included were
not just those who were defined as following “Hinduism” (although the very term
“Hinduism” was recognised as vague and amorphous and although the Dalits, being
despised outcastes, were treated by the “upper” castes as actually outside the
caste system and the Hindu religion), but also those classified as following
other religions, mostly Christianity and Islam.
Constitutional
Fraud
1.
Amendment proposed by K.M. Munshi
India
has its share of minorities—generally defined in religious terms—though the
Constitution does acknowledge the existence of linguistic minorities. Indeed
the Constitution of India has taken the identification of Indian minority from
the report prepared by the Advisory Committee on minorities submitted to the
Constituent Assembly in August 1947. As the report records, till this stage, the
seven minority communities as officially accepted were (1) Anglo-Indian; (2)
Parsees; (3) Plain tribesman in Assam; (4) Indian Christians; (5) Sikhs; (6)
Muslims; (7) Scheduled Caste. While the Constituent Assembly in the process of
“practically unanimously” accepting the Report, K.M. Munshi cunningly convinced
the floor into approving an amendment to the Report. This ardent Brahmin leader
asked for a seemingly innocent amendment: To (a) delete Scheduled Castes from
the list of the minorities, (b) include the following addition, “I-A: The
section of the Hindu Community referred to as Scheduled Castes as
defined 1 of the Government of India Act 1935, shall have the same rights and
benefits, which are herein provided for minorities specified in the Schedule to
para 1.” That day the forum was preoccupied fully and only with the electoral
structuring of the society especially of the minority communities, and so
missed completely the religious implication of this “constitutional fraud”. The
inner motive for the amendment is best expressed by the words of Munshi
himself. He said, “Any safeguard as a minority, so far as the Schedule Castes
are concerned, will possibly prevent their complete absorption in the Hindu
fold.”[1] He
stated, “Harijans are part and parcel of the Hindu community. Safeguards are
given to them till they are completely absorbed in the community.”[2]
This debate
and Munshi’s affirmation was fatal to the Schedule Caste people who became
Christians. They were denied the same privileges enjoyed by the Schedule Caste
who were not Christian.
2. Presidential
Order
The
expression “Scheduled castes” is defined in Article 366, Clause 24 as meaning:
“Such castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within such castes, races
or tribes as are deemed under Article 341 to be scheduled castes for the
purpose of this Constitution.”
Article
341(1) now runs as follows:
“The
President may, with respect to any State, or where it is a State specified in
Part A or Part B of the First schedule, after consultation with the Governor or
Rajpramukh thereof, by public notification, specify the castes, races or tribes
or parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes which shall for the
purposes of this Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled castes in relation to
that State.”
In
exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (1) of Article 341, the President
made an order called the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950.
The
material provisions of this Order are paragraphs 2 and 3 which are as follows:
“2.
Subject to the provisions of this Order, the castes, races or tribes, or parts
of, or groups within, castes, races, or tribes, specified in Parts 1 to XVI of
the Schedule to this Order shall, in relation to the States to which those
parts respectively relate, be deemed to be scheduled castes so far as regards
members thereof resident in the localities specified in relation to them in
those Parts of that schedule.”
“3.
Notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph 2, no person who
professes a religion different from Hinduism shall be deemed to be a member of
a scheduled caste.”
Sikh
Dalits protested to be included in Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order 1950
and got after six years of denial of their birth, fundamental and
constitutional rights of being Scheduled Caste origin converted to Sikhism.
They were listed in Presidential SC/ST Order 1950 by amending Para 3 of Article
341 in 1956.
Buddhist
Dalits were denied of their right for 40 years until the Para 3 of Article 341
was amended in 1990 to include Scheduled Caste people converted to Buddhism.
But the
birth, fundamental and constitutional rights of Dalit Christians and Dalit
Muslim have been denied for the past 65 years. Since they are not included in
the Presidential SC/ST Order, they are ineligible for enjoying the benefits of
affirmative action of the government.
Some
serious questions arise from this presidential order.
1.
The Presidential Order allowed religious based
reservation in total violation of Constitutional provisions in Article 15.
The
Article states:
1. The
State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion,
race, caste, sex, and place of birth or any of them.
2. No
citizen shall, on ground only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or
any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition
with regard to
3. Access
to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment; or
4. The use
of wells, tanks, bathing Ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained
whole or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of general public.
5. Nothing
in this Article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for
women and
6. Nothing
in this Article or in Clause (2) or Article 29 shall prevent the State from
making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and
educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes.
The
Presidential Order 1950 uses religion (i.e. Hinduism) as a criterion to define
who shall be Scheduled Caste. On that basis all other Dalits professing Islam,
Christianity and other religions are left out. The amended Presidential Order
included Sikh and Buddhist religions along with Hinduism as criterion to define
who shall be Scheduled Caste.
In 1990
in the Parliament, while stating the object and reason for proposing to include
Buddhists of Scheduled Caste origin in the list of Scheduled Castes, Ram Vilas
Paswan, then Union Minister of Welfare and Labour, made clear the criterion
saying, “Neo-Buddhists are a religious group which has come into existence in
1956 as a result of a wave of conversion of Scheduled Caster under the leadership
of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Upon conversion to Buddhism they became ineligible for
statutory concession and facilities available to the Scheduled Castes to them
also. On the grounds that change of religion has not altered their social and
economic conditions…As they objectively deserve to be treated as the Scheduled
Castes….”
The
important points in Paswan’s argument are:
1.
Neo-Buddhists are a separate religious group.
2.
Dalits’ conversion to Buddhism has not altered their
socio-economic conditions.
Paswan’s
statement has been accepted and approved by the Parliament of India at the time
of the second amendment of the Presidential Order 1950.
Both
Sikhism and Buddhism are egalitarian religions, and they do not accept or
promote caste system, although in actual practice caste exists in Sikhism and
Buddhism just like in Christianity. One of the reasons for denying same
privileges to the Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims is that they both are
egalitarian religions, and they do not have caste system, for the basis of
caste system is Hinduism. If that is so, how did the Parliament extend
privileges of Scheduled Castes to the egalitarian religions like Sikhism and
Buddhism? If Dalits’ conversion to Buddhism has not altered their
socio-economic conditions, then why government affirmative action is not
extended to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims, although their change of
religion has not changed their socio-economic conditions?
Is the
government reservation policy based on certain religions (i.e. Hinduism,
Sikhism and Buddhism) or the socio-economic conditions of certain sections or
castes of people?
2.
It is also in violation of Articles 14 (equality before the
law), 16 (prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion), and 25
(freedom to profess, practice and propagate any religion).
Article
14 says, “The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the
equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.”
Article
16 says that there shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters
relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State.
Article
25 (1) says, “All persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and
right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion.”
Recommendations
of Various Commissions
The
government of India set up several commissions to investigate the conditions of
socially, economically and educationally backward classes in India.
1.
In 1953 Indian Central Government appointed “First Backward
Classes Commission” under Article 340 of Indian Constitution to investigate the
conditions of socially and educationally backward classes within Indian
Territory. The Commission submitted its report in 1955. It states, “We
discovered with deep pain and sorrow that untouchability did obtain in the extreme
south among Indian Christians, and Indian Christians were prepared in many
places to assert that they were still guided by caste, not only in the matter
of untouchability, but in social hierarchy of high and low. While the harijans
amongst the Hindus, classified as scheduled castes, stand a fair chance of
bettering their condition under the Indian Government’s reservation policy,
their Christian counterparts stand twice discriminated.” The Report says that
within the Christian society and church the converts from Scheduled Caste
origins are discriminated in matters like not being allowed to sit together
inside the church, no inter caste marriages and separate cemetery etc.
The
Commission’s Report proves that although Christianity does not preach caste,
but practices it.
1.
Elayaperumal Commission (1969): Report of the Elayaperumal
Commission in Para 32 says, “The Committee found during tours that all
Scheduled Castes who got themselves converted to religions other than Hinduism
should be given all concessions which are available to Scheduled Castes. This
is because the Committee found during tours that they suffer from the same
disabilities which the Scheduled Castes suffer.”
2.
The Chidambaram report in 1975 admitted that “casteism is
practiced widely among the members of the Christian fold as judged by the
characteristic of the caste system and going by the economic status of the
Harijan Christians. It is evident that they are a poverty stricken lot.”
3.
Mandal Commission (1980): The Commission admitted that “conversion
from the faith to another did not change the socio-economic status of a person.
It was, therefore, desirable that converts from Scheduled Castes to Buddhism,
Christianity and etc. should be treated as Scheduled Castes, but until this
change was brought about by legislation, all such converts should be listed as
Other Backward Classes (OBCs).” The Mandal Commission also stated that “though
caste system is peculiar to Hindu society yet, in actual practice, it also
pervades the non-Hindu communities in India in varying degrees.” It reported
that the Christian community is not only divided into various denominations on
the basis of beliefs and rituals, but also “into various ethnic groups on the
basis of their caste background.”
On the
basis of its findings the Commission proposed, “The Commission has prima facie
felt that since the Christians, Muslims and Buddhists of Scheduled Caste origin
continue to suffer from social and economic disabilities even after their
conversion, there should be no objection to their availing of the concessions
admissible to them before their conversion.”
1.
Justice Ranganath Misra Commission (2007): One of the
recommendations of the Commission: Para 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled
Castes) Order 1950 – which originally restricted the Scheduled Caste only to
Hindus and later opened it to Sikhs and Buddhists, thus still excluding from
its purview the Muslims, Christians, Jains and Parsis, etc. – should be wholly
deleted by appropriate action so as to completely de-link Scheduled Caste
status from religion and make the Scheduled Castes net fully religion-neutral
like that of the Scheduled Tribes.
Thus,
the government appointed Commissions in their study found that the change of
religion to Christianity, Islam and others by the Dalits has not significantly
changed their socio-economic and educational conditions. The Dalit Christians
still suffer caste stigma, and are socially oppressed and economically,
educationally and socially backward. They have observed that Dalit Christians are
exposed to all sorts of misery both in the Church and in the society, such as
violence and exclusion from the use of ordinary facilities like wells, roads,
restaurants, schools, etc.
In
1984, The Supreme Court of India in the case of S. Anbalagan Vs. Devarajan AIR
1984 SC 411, said that “the practice of caste however irrational it may appear
to our reason and however are repugnant it may appear to our moral and social
sense, it is so deep rooted in the India people that its mark does not seem to
disappear on conversion to a different religion.”
In
spite of the recommendations of the government appointed Commissions to include
Dalits, who embraced religions like Christianity, Islam and others, in the
Scheduled Castes list as there is no significant change in their socio-economic
and educational conditions, the political class is unwilling to bring about any
legislation in this regard. In a report of March 2011, it was revealed that the
Centre seems to be tilted against the inclusion of Dalit Christians and Dalit
Muslims in the Scheduled Caste list arguing the need for evidence to show that
converts continued to face discrimination of the same degree as before their
exit from the Hindu fold.
However,
various studies have proved that Dalit converts to Christianity and Islam are
thrice discriminated by the State, Caste Hindu society as well as by their
co-religionists of non-Dalit background. A recent study was commissioned by the
National Commission for Minorities. This scientific study on “‘Dalits in the
Muslim and Christian Communities’: A Status Report on Current Social Scientific
Knowledge,” was conducted by Prof. Satish Deshpande with the assistance of
Geetica Bapna of the Department of Sociology, University of New Delhi. They
submitted the findings in 2008. The study observes, “There is no compelling
evidence to justify denying SC (Scheduled Caste) status to Dalit Muslims and
Dalit Christians” (page 81).
It
should also be remembered that in several cases of atrocities committed against
Dalits, majority of the victims were Dalit Christians as in the case of
Karamchedu and Tsundur in Andhra Pradesh. These victims were attacked not
because they were Christians, but because they were Dalits and “Untouchables”.
Therefore, the problem of Dalit converts to Christianity and Islam is more a
social problem than a religious one. Despite their conversion, their
socio-economic status has not changed. Rather, it has worsened their condition
without the government affirmative action and protection. While Hindu, Sikh and
Buddhist Dalits are eligible for job reservations, electoral representation,
reservation in professional and educational institutions and other statutory
benefits, including protection under the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 as
amended in 1976 and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989, Dalit
Christians and Dalit Muslims are denied these privileges. Therefore, the
struggle of Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims is a legitimate demand for equal
rights and full citizenship. At the core remains the grievance of
injustice.
Till
today 12 States and Union Territories have recommended to the Union of India
for granting SC status to the Dalits converted to religions like Christianity
and Islam. In the year 2000 Bihar State Assembly, in 2006 Uttar Pradesh State
government, and in 2009 Andhra Pradesh State government had passed resolution
for granting SC status to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims. But the Central
government is reluctant to take any decision on this important issue.
Today
Dalit Buddhists have SC status and benefits after 40 years of struggle.
Christian churches and organisations, and Christian leaders and people need to
learn from them.
Sources
“Cabinet
Must Extend SC Status to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims: Churches.”http://twocircles.net/2011mar07/cabinet_must_extend_sc_status_dalit_christians_dalit_muslims_churches.html
“Should
Dalit Christians/Muslims be excluded from Reservation?” MAINSTREAM,
VOL. XLVIII, NO 17, APRIL 17, 2010.http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1977.html
Brindavan
C. Moses, “Christian Dalits: Victims of Discrimination.” The Hindu,
April 1997.http://dalitchristians.com/Html/P_ChristianDalits0497.htm
Christopher
S. Raj, Christian Minority in Indian Multiculture Diversity: Issue of
Equity in Identity and Empowerment.
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