December  2005 
Year 12    No.113

Dalit Drishti


Call for action

Frustrated by the Indian government’s stand, Dalit Christians hope the Supreme Court will correct the historical betrayal of 1.6 crore victimised people

BY JOHN DAYAL

NOVEMBER 28, 2005: India’s 16 million Christian converts from the once Untouchable castes are extremely frustrated and demoralised by the position adopted by the Indian government before the Supreme Court. While the bench headed by new Chief Justice YK Sabharwal made clear the court will examine the issue of granting Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians after getting detailed information, the government tried its best to question both the jurisdiction of the court and the demand of the minority community.

This is the first time the case has come up for hearing after Justice Sabharwal took over from Chief Justice Lakhoti who hauled up the government repeatedly while hearing public interest litigation (PIL) applications seeking dignity and protection of law for Dalit Christians. Dalit leaders noted that the government had ensured that the case could not be decided before Chief Justice Lakhoti retired last month.

If the government was hoping for a more sympathetic bench after Lakhoti, it failed, despite the brilliant performance on behalf of the government by Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanian who said several aspects need to be examined including whether Scheduled Caste converts in fact suffer from social disabilities, including untouchability, even after they have embraced Christianity.

Maintaining that it would not like to express any opinion on the issue at this stage, the bench comprising Chief Justice Sabharwal and Justices CK Thakker and RV Raveendran said, "We may have to hear the matter in detail after information is supplied."

Former law minister Ram Jethmalani, who came out of retirement to take up the Dalit case, was not present in court but counsel Prashant Bhushan and Dr MP Raju, appearing for the PIL centre and Dalit groups, maintained that the entire law emanating from the 1950 presidential order limiting affirmative action on grounds of religion to Hindus was unconstitutional.

We as Dalit Christians are intrigued and saddened by the contrary positions taken by the ruling UPA government in its public assurances to us and its arguments before the Supreme Court. We have been repeatedly assured by the Left, the DMK and other UPA allies, as also senior Congress leaders, that the government is sympathetic to our cause. Dalit leaders have also met the Prime Minister pleading with him to urge the advocate general to support the Dalit cause in the Supreme Court.

The first shock to us was when the government told the court in October that it had passed on the matter to the Justice Rangnath Mishra National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, which was set up to look into some other, and different, issues. Referring this matter to the commission was an effort to buy time and was made worse by further restrictions in the framework of the Mishra panel.

Today the additional solicitor general said the matter was outside the purview of the courts and was to be left to Parliament makers. He also said the report of the Mishra Commission should be awaited (The panel has said its first report may be available only in April 2006). Government counsel also referred to the old Tamil Nadu cobbler Susai case when the Christians lost their appeal for equal rights.

Dalit Christians have repeatedly pointed out that after the Susai case the government had on its own extended Dalit rights to Buddhists and Sikhs but was maliciously withholding the same rights from Christians.

Today the Supreme Court said it would like to see the progress made by the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities in this regard. The bench clarified that it was not linking examination of the issue on the recommendation of the commission alone and has directed for providing of information to facilitate proceedings in the matter and posted it for further hearing in the third week of February 2006.

It may be recalled that the PIL filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) headed by former law minister, Shanti Bhushan, has contended that paragraph three of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 was coming in its way as the SCs, on conversion of their religion to Christianity, lose all benefits.

(John Dayal is national president of the All India Catholic Union and a senior journalist and human rights activist).



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