Developments in the New Year of 2011 have raised Dalit Christians' hope for attaining the status of Scheduled Caste and, thus, for enjoying benefits of reservation. On 4 January 2011, Supreme Court said that it might refer the issue of granting Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians to a larger bench for examination, terming the issue as "sensitive" and "important".

On 31 January 2011, a delegation of Dalit Christian leaders met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Prime Minister told the leaders that he was aware of their demands, which his government was considering. Arguing on behalf of the Central government, Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam told the bench that any decision of amending the controversial 1950 Order, which denies the Scheduled Caste status to Dalits belonging to Islamic and Christian religions, must be left to the Parliament and would never be done through courts. He added that the government was also examining the issue of reservation for Dalits embracing Islam.

The Supreme Court has admitted the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Minorities as respondents in the case and the two commissions are expected to file their affidavit in the court during the next hearing of the case on 24 February 2011.

Meanwhile, on 6 January 2011, the All Odisha (Orissa) BR Ambedkar Lawyers' Association (AOBLA) objected to the extension of Scheduled Caste quota reservation to the Dalit Christians and Muslims.

ACPP issued SUA060622(3) in June 2006, in support of the Dalit Christians' demand for equal status.

Sources: Local sources, the Pioneer, news4u.co.in, govtenews.com and www.efionline.org.

The publication of the Ranganath Misra Commission Report, which recommended the deletion of Paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 and the de-linking of the Scheduled Caste status from religion, has raised the hope of the Dalits belonging to the minority religions for their equal status with the Dalits from majority religions.

It is believed that the government would discuss the Report during the second phase of the budget session, between 12 April and 7 May this year. On 16 February 2010, during the hearing of the Public Interest Litigation demanding amendment of Para 3, the Additional Solicitor General assured the bench that a decisive reply would be announced in the next hearing, scheduled on 13 April 2010.

On 15 March, thousands of Muslim and Christian Dalits organized a ¡§March to Parliament¡¨ and a public meeting in New Delhi, demanding the reservation of constitutional rights to all Dalits, regardless of their religious affiliations. Consequently, this issue of concern was raised in the Parliament.

Prior to the ¡§March to Parliament¡¨, there has been a series of protests in different parts of the country. On 3 March, the protest in Chennai finally captured international attention when Bishop Anthonisamy Neethinathan and activists in the forefront were arrested in Chennai on 5 March. The arrest triggered another protest in which more than 300 participants, including the religious leaders, were arrested. Hours later, all of them were released. Mr. Stalin of the Dravida Munnetra Kalagam (the political party for "the progress of Dravidians"), who is also the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, received the memorandum from the protestors, which urged the Tamil Nadu government to pass a resolution in the State Assembly in support of their demand.

In June 2006, ACPP issued a special urgent appeal SUA060622(3) in support of the Dalit Christians¡¦ struggle and demand for equal status.

Sources:
CBCI Commission for SC/ST, Times of India, NCRLM Report, in.christiantoday.com, Cathnewsasia, expressbuzz,com, news.outlookindia.com, indiatoday.intoday.in

Being incessantly lobbied by Christian and Muslim activists, several members of Parliament demanded the tabling of the Ranganath Misra Commission Report, leading to the adjournment of the meeting of Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of the Parliament) twice on 8 December 2009. The tabling of the Report in Parliament on 18 December brought jubilation to Dalit Muslims and Christians.

The Report, also known as the Report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM), stated that, “we recommend that Para. 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 – which originally restricted the Scheduled Caste net to the 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 the Scheduled Caste status from religion and make the Scheduled Castes net fully religion-neutral like that of the Scheduled Tribes.”

The NCRLM was set up in 2005 to study the backwardness of Dalit Christians and Muslims. The Report had been submitted to the Prime Minister of India by Justice Ranganath Mishra on 21 May 2007. According to Minority Affairs Minister, Salman Khurshid, the government was eliciting views of concerned ministries on the Report: “We are sending it (the report) to various ministries asking them to come back with their suggestions and responses. We can then place their views before the Cabinet.”

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court admitted another plea, on 6 January 2010, for entitling Dalit Christians to jobs in state departments and educational institutions. At least two similar lawsuits – filed in 2004 – are pending with it.

The recent developments have encouraged the Christian and the Muslim activists to claim justice for their Dalit brethren.

In support of demand for equal status for all Dalits, ACPP issued SUA060622(3) on 22June 2006, to remind the obligation of Indian government to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950.

Sources:
CBCI Commission for SC/ST, Times of India, 16.3.5., NCRLM Report, http://in.christiantoday.com, http://news4u.co.in, http://www.aol.in, http://www.twocircles.net/

The campaign for inclusion of Dalit Christians and Muslims in the list of Scheduled Castes (SC) is gaining momentum. On 7 October, a group of Christian social activists had a meeting with Ramvilas Paswan, leader of Lok Jansakthi Party (LJP) and a former Union Minister, in the presence of Archbishop Vincent Concessao at Archbishop’s House. During the meeting, it was pointed out that while the right wing Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP) openly opposed the inclusion of Dalit Christians and Muslims in the SC list (only the groups in the SC list are eligible for government’s protection and privileges.) and the Congress willfully delayed the process, while all the other parties explicitly support the demand of the Dalit Christians and Muslims.

On 5 November, the National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC), the body spearheading and coordinating the campaign for inclusion of Dalit Christians in the SC list, convened an all-parties Press Conference, in which, Ramvilas made a strong pitch for SC status for Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians. Prime Minister of the Congress, P J Kurien, also said he personally endorsed the demand of Dalit Christians. Ali Anwar, the chief of Janatha Dal United in the Rajya Sabha, sought the immediate tabling of the Ranganath Mishra Commission Report – which supports inclusion of Dalit Christians in the SC list – in the Parliament. NCDC also presented letters written by different political parties, the resolutions of different state assemblies and the manifestos of many political parties in support of its demand.

Demanding the removal of Para. 3 of the Presidential Order of 1950 (the Order) which renders the Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims ineligible for enjoying the benefits of affirmative action by the government, the National Dalit Christian Council (NDCC) organized a protest cum meeting in Delhi on 18 November, just a day before the winter session of the Parliament. About 3,000 people from all over the country took part in the protest. Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi and Archbishop Stanislaus Fernandez of Gandhi Nagar, who is also the Secretary General of the Commission of Bishop Conference India (CBCI), along with many other bishops led the protest. Significantly, a good number of parliamentarians addressed the gathering. Some of the prominent delegates came from Union Labour Minister, Janatha Dal Unites and Kerala Congress.

Meanwhile, the Public Interest Litigation seeking the amendment of Para. 3 of the Order will come up for hearing before the Supreme Court in the first week of December. The 20 million Dalit Christians are confident that the day when their just demand will be met is imminent.

However, BJP national general secretary Thawar Chand Gehlot said, his party strongly opposed to reservation status for Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims, as well as the move of the ruling party government (United Progressive Alliance) to provide reservation to the two communities. Gehlot, who is also a member of the SC Reservation Rights protection March, said the organization would conduct 'Honour Constitution' functions in every district in the state between 26 November 2009 and 26 January 2010 to "awaken the scheduled castes against the sinister design of the Congress”, which, in his opinion, is conspiring to “usurp the rights for quota enjoyed by scheduled castes in the Constitution.”

In June 2006, ACPP issued SUA060622(3) in support of the Dalit Christians’ demand for equal status for all Dalits.

Sources:
CBCI News (http://cbcisite.com/), the CBCI Commission for SC/ST, the Hidustan Times, the Indian Catholic, the Press Trust of India, the Times of India,

Minister for Minority Affairs, Shri Salman Khurshid, stated that, during the Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of the Parliament) session on 3 August 2009, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) had recommended the award of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) status to Dalits who converted to Christianity. He also recalled that, since 1997, NCM had recommended the outright removal of the Provision in Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950, which confines the SC status strictly to three specified religions, i.e. Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. Further, the Minister also cited the Annual Report 2006-2007 of the NCM, which recommended “Christian and Muslim Dalits be given the benefit of affirmative action through reservation.” Earlier, the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Ranganath Misra, also maintained that Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims have to be included in the reserved category.

On 7 August, the Supreme Court was to respond to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an NGO and Franklin Caesar, a Dalit activist based in New Delhi. However, the Supreme Court postponed PIL to 9 October. The Court has repeatedly delayed the hearing on lawsuits by Dalit Christians and Muslims requesting restoration of the full Constitutional rights. It is hoped that the court will act judiciously and finally end the 59-years wait of Dalit Christians for the SC/ST status.

On 25 August, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly adopted a resolution urging the Central government to amend the Constitution to extend the Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians. Proposing the resolution, Chief Minister Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy (who was killed in a chopper crash within a week, on 2 September) had said that the Dalit Christians continued to face the same discrimination as that of other Dalits.

There are about 20 million Dalit Christians in India fighting against the discrimination based on religion and deprivation of their social, economic and educational benefits. Their constitutional rights have been denied due to their conversion to Christianity. ACPP issued SUA060622(3) in support of the demand for equal status to all Dalit communities.

Sources:
Commission for SC/ST/BC of Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India, Deccan Chronicle, local sources

The status of equal rights to all Dalits has been inaccessible to the Christian and Muslim Dalits for many decades. In 1996, a Bill-cum-Ordinance that sought to raise Dalit Christians to the Scheduled Caste (SC) status was not materialized. However, the Christian Dalits and Muslim Dalits sustained their struggle and it is hoped that a desirable result will appear soon.

It is worth noting that both the Sachar Committee, that has been appointed to study the status of Muslims, and the Renganath Misra Commission, that studied the case of Christian Dalits, suggested to include all Dalits in the list of SC regardless of their religion. Meanwhile, the National Commission of Minorities in India issued a report in January 2008 that strongly recommended Muslim Dalits and Christian Dalits be awarded the SC status.

According to the source, Law Minister of the central government, Mr Veerappa Moily, is keen to settle this long pending issue very shortly and has been working with his officials to settle the demand of Christian Dalits.

The last hearing of the Public Interest Litigation demanding equal status to all Dalits was scheduled on 15 July 2009. Much before the scheduled date of the hearing, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, headed by Mukul Wasnik, has sought permission of four weeks from the Supreme Court to to furnish a reply. Thus the next hearing of the case has been listed for 7 August.

The developments mentioned above have raised the hope of Christian Dalits for the SC status. This status would entitle them for all the special welfare, such as reservation schemes in public employment and higher education, provided officially with aims of safeguarding social, educational and cultural rights for Dalits. It is anticipated that the struggle of Muslim Dalits for SC status would also turn positive.

Concerning the situation of Dalits, ACPP issued SUA060622(3)and UA040629(6) in 2006 and 2004 respectively.

Sources:
MyNews.in (Online newspaper),
International Dalit Solidarity Network,
SC/ST Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.

The next hearing of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on provision of scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians will be resumed by the Supreme Court of India on 27 March 2008. Encouraged by the favorable recommendations of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM), Dalit Christians are hopeful of a favourable verdict from the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, on 3 March 2008, the demand for quota to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims was raised in the Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of Parliament) by Prof. PJ Kurien, Mr. Sharad Yadav and Mr. Tariq Anwar. They wanted to know why Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims were being denied reservation while Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains of low caste had been given reservation along with Scheduled Castes of Hindus. They pointed out that the denial was not understandable in the light of the Constitution prohibiting all kinds of discrimination on the basis of religion, and wanted to know the government's reaction to the demand for quota by these sections. However, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Ms Meira Kumar reminded the house that the Article 21, sub clause B of the Constitution says Hinduism includes Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism too. When the Members pressed for some concrete steps by the government, Minister Meira Kumar said there was a procedure for everything and the government could not bypass the Constitutional provisions, and it also needs to keep the Supreme Court ruling that reservations should not exceed 50 per cent. ''Now the matter has been referred to the National Commission for Backward Classes, and their report was being awaited,'' the minister added.

On 14 March 2008, the Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims jointly organized a public demonstration in New Delhi, reiterating their demand for equal rights and urging the government of India to pass a resolution in their favour, is so timed as to coincide with the current Budget session of Parliament.

Hotline Asia supports the Church and civil society’s efforts to push for extension of benefits enjoyed by Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh Dalits, to Christian and Muslim Dalits who have been excluded. SUA060622(3) was issued in June 2006 to take advantage of the government’s proposal to amend the constitution to grant equal rights to all Dalits.

Sources:
One India
Catholic Bishop Conference of India - Commission for Scheduled Castes
Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes

The Church continues to respond to issue of equal rights for all dalits. After a dinner meeting with Archbishop Daniel Acharuparambil, president of Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) on 15 December 2007, the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has given assurance to initiate steps in the Congress in granting reservation to all dalits, regardless of their religion. The Minister also agreed to consider the Archbishop’s suggestion for the government to set up a committee to study the status of the Christian community and give directions to the Kerala government to protect minorities in the state and Christian institutions facing attacks.

On 23 January 2008, the hearing of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was resumed by the Supreme Court of India. The PIL challenges paragraph three of the President’s “Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order” 1950 that says “no person who professes a religion different from the Hindu, the Sikh or the Buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste”. Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, who appeared for the Government of India, sought more time to furnish Government’s view on granting Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians. Acceding to the plea, the Bench granted the Government of India eight weeks to furnish its response.

Earlier, the Government had sought the opinion of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) after the report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM), headed by former Chief Justice of India Rangnath Misra, recommended legislative and legal remedies to undo the impact of the Presidential Order of 1950. Like the Mishra Commission, the NCSC had also pitched in for quota for Dalit Christians and Muslims, asking the Government to give them privileges and the protection like Scheduled Castes belonging to Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh communities. The NCSC, headed by Buta Singh, has also recommended that the existing 15 per cent quota for Scheduled Castes should not be disturbed, and reminded the Government that the overall reservation of 50 per cent has to be maintained.

Hotline Asia supports the Church’s efforts in encouraging the civil society to push for extension of benefits enjoyed by Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh Dalits, to Christian and Muslim Dalits who have been excluded. SUA060622(3) was issued in June 2006 to take advantage of the government’s proposal to amend the constitution to grant equal rights to all Dalits.


Sources:
One India web site
The Indian Express (http://www.indianexpress.com/story/264769.html)

The All India Scheduled Castes (SC) Reservation Protection Forum launched a nation-wide campaign to stop the central government’s decision to extend the Scheduled Caste status to Christian and Muslim Dalits, alleging that the move was designed to encourage mass conversion of Hindus, as well as to please Christians and Muslims and get their vote in the next election. Former Members of Parliament, with the opposition Bharatya Janata Party (BJP) also claimed that such rights would deprive Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist Dalits of their jobs and education quotas.

Meanwhile, India’s Catholic Church, through the Scheduled Castes/Tribes and Backward Class Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, continue to lead the fight for equality of all Dalits. Executive Secretary, Fr. Cosmon Arockiaraj, alleged that the reason for protesting against extension of reservation was mainly to prevent Christians’ and Muslims’ economic and social development. He also made a strong statement that economic development and social oppression do not go together. Excluding a large segment of society because of a person’s faith is a violation of human rights, an obstacle to progress and a source of shame to the nation.

Initially, a 1950 presidential order granted Hindu Dalits certain benefits from the state, and Buddhist and Sikh Dalits were eventually included, but Christians and Muslims were left out. In view of the government’s recent proposal for the inclusion, and the opportunity for civil society in India to submit their views, Hotline Asia issued SUA060622(3) in June 2006 to support their actions in urging the government to amend the constitution to ensure equal rights to all Dalits.


Sources:
Asia News
Local Source

Mr. Vakirbhai Vaghela, the acting chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes rejected the demand for reservation for the Dalit Muslims and Christians on the ground that untouchability - the main criteria for reservation for this community- was peculiar to Hindu religion only. This stance drew criticism from both the Muslim and the Christian communities. Subsequently, on 3 March 2007, Most Rev. Vincent Concessao, Archbishop of Delhi, led protest demonstrations by Muslims, as well as by Christians, who submitted a memorandum at the Prime Minister's Office. Copies were also sent to the Acting Chairperson of National Commission for Scheduled Castes and to Justice Ranganath Misra, Chairperson of National Commission for Linguistic and Religious Minorities (NCLRM). Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops¡¦ Conferences of India - Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is spearheading efforts at lobbying various Ministers and the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination during its seventieth session (19 February - 9 March 2007) considered the fifteenth to nineteenth periodic reports of India (CERD/C/IND/19) and made the following Concluding Observation:

"The Committee notes with concern that Dalits who convert to Islam or to Christianity to escape caste discrimination reportedly lose their entitlement under affirmative action programmes, unlike converts who become Buddhists or Sikhs. (arts. 5 (d) (vii) and 2 (2))
The Committee recommends that the State party restore the eligibility for affirmative action benefits of all members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes having converted to another religion."

For the Dalit Christians this recommendation of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is an important encouragement.

The next hearing on the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking equal rights for all dalits is scheduled for 3 April 2007. The Apex Court will give its verdict on the PIL after considering the report by Justice Ranganath Misra on the status of the Dalit Christians, which is expected to be submitted around 15 May. The Dalit Christians are hopeful that the verdict will be in their favour.

To support the local efforts at calling for equal rights to all dalits through amendment of the Constitution, Hotline Asia issued SUA060622(3) in June 2006.


Sources:
The Hindu January 25th 2007, Chennai edition, p.8 and The Hindu, February 21, 2007, Delhi edition, p. 12)
Office of the United Nations High Commissions for Human Rights
The CBCI Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

Since 1996, the government of India drafted an amendment bill to the Constitution, intending to include Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims in the list of Scheduled Castes, but it failed to pass in the Parliament. In June 2006, a proposal was made again to re-consider the inclusion and submissions were requested by the end of June, which the civil society and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) Commission for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes urged to support. As an opportunity to ensure equal rights to all Dalits and to support the local initiatives, Hotline Asia issued SUA060622(3) to encourage international support to request the authorities to amend the Constitution.

However, on 12 October, the discussion on whether Dalit Christians and Muslims deserved the rights given to dalits of other religions, was postponed for six months to allow the Justice Mishra Commission to submit its report.

Earlier, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed on behalf of the Dalit Christians in the Supreme Court, questioning the constitutionality of the third paragraph of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950. All hearings on this, however, have reportedly been adjourned for the same reason: waiting for the Mishra Commission to submit its report.

Dalit groups have repeatedly doubted the proceedings of the Mishra Commission which has allegedly invited Hindutva groups and others opposed to Christians and Muslims to give evidence against dalits.

The struggle for equal rights to all Dalits continues. The National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC) conducted a Parliament March and Dharana in New Delhi on 24 August 2006. Later, NCDC decided to launch a much more vigorous Relay Hunger Strike in New Delhi from 27 November to 9 December. The proposed relay hunger strike is scheduled to coincide with the Winter Session of Parliament.

Meanwhile, Union Minority Affairs Minister, Mr. A.R. Antulay has urged the government to include Dalit Muslims and Christians in the reserved category of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Minister Antualy's statement gives hope to the prolonged demand of Dalit Muslims and Christians for equal rights.


Sources:
SAR NEWS
CBCI News
NCDC