In order to gain momentum in the case of Dalit Christians, church groups will organise a rally on Nov. 19, pressing the government to render SC status to converts to Christianity.
Organised by the National Council of Dalit Christians, NCCI and CBCI, the rally at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, will culminate with a daylong dharna in Parliament Street, and will call upon the amending of the Constitutional Scheduled Caste Order 1950 that meted out injustice to Christians.
According to para 3 of the 1950 order, reservation and welfare benefits are to be enjoyed only by those SC's who profess Hinduism. However, it later included Sikhs and Buddhists, but not Christians. This injustice dismantled the social, economic and educational benefits of Dalits who converted to Christianity.
"Most of the political parties have supported the demand of SC status to 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," says Fr. G. Cosmon Arokiaraj, executive secretary of CBCI Commission for SC/ST/BC.
He informs that Dalit Christians and Muslims have been denied their right for the last fifty-nine years. This continues even after the "National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM) stated that non inclusion of SC Christians and SC Muslims is a discrimination based on religion and goes against the articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution of India."
Therefore, he demanded the tabling of the NCLRM report and also called for a response to the query of Supreme Court to the Writ petitions demanding the deletion of the 'unjust' para 3 of 1950 order.
"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," he says.
Minister for Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid recently cited the annual report of the National Commission for Minorities and said “Christian and Muslim Dalits be given the benefit of affirmative action through reservation.”
70% of India's 25 million Christians come from the Dalit background.
Ministries
Rally to demand justice for Dalit Christians
By: Rinu Varghese
Tuesday, 3 November 2009, 17:05 (IST)
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Added: Wednesday, 4 November 2009, 4:34 (IST)
The day is drawing very closer to re-write the most discriminating law enacted by the Goverment of India: deliberately using political leverage to keep the lower stratra of the society under the bondage of one religion by witholding their due financial help; if converted to Christianity or Islam. It was an irony that the Dalits can embrace any political party or atheism, but totally prohibited to embrace Christianity and Islam. It won't be too long that the UPA Government will keep their promise to have reservation for all Dalits, whether they belong to any religion or no religion.
A.S.Mathew, Ringgold, U.S.A.
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