Reservation benefits for Dalit Christians and Muslims

30 Sep 2022 Reservation benefits for Dalit Christians and Muslims

Posted at 14:58h in Daily current-affairs by sharad 0 Comments

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Source: The Hindu; The Indian Express

News: The Central government may set up a national commission for studying the socio-economic and educational status of Dalits who converted to Islam and Christianity from Hinduism.

Constitutional provision for reservation benefits to Scheduled Castes and Tribes:

Article 341:The President may “specify the castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes which shall…be deemed to be Scheduled Castes”.
Article 342: The President may “specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities shall be deemed to Scheduled Tribes”

History of Quota Benefits:

The first order under Article 341 was issued in 1950 covering only Hindus.
Sikhs of Dalit origin were included among the beneficiaries of the SC quota through an order issued in 1956.
In 1990, the government also included Buddhists of Dalit origin for SC quota benefits.
After that, the Government revised the order to state that: “No person who professes a religion different from the Hindu, the Sikh or the Buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of Scheduled Caste.
Implementation of the Mandal Commission report led to the inclusion of many Christian and Muslim communities in the Central and state OBC lists.
The website of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) states that rights of Scheduled Tribe members are irrespective of his or her religious beliefs.

Efforts made in the past to include Muslims and Christians of Dalit origin among SCs

Number of private bills were brought in parliament for inclusion of Muslims and Christians of Dalit origin among SCs.
In 1996, the government drafted a Bill called The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill but it was not introduced in Parliament due to divergence of opinions.
UPA I(2004-2008)set up two important panels: 1)National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities or Ranganath Misra Commission. 2) Sachar committee to study the social, economic, and educational condition of Muslims.
After 1999,it was mandatory to get approval of the Registrar General of India (RGI) for inclusion of communities in Scheduled caste.
In 2011, National Commission for Minorities(NCM) had supported extension of SC benefits to Dalit Christians and Muslims.

Reasons for non-inclusion of Dalit Muslims and Christianity converts for quota benefits:

Religious reasons: Caste is considered as basic tenets of Hinduism and reservation will change the basic tenets of Islam and Christianity as it will formally introduce caste system in these religions.
Politicization of quota benefits: Political parties or pressure groups may start demanding a scheme of separate reservations for different sects.
Threat to unity and integrity of the nation: Separate quota may prove detrimental to national unity as it has the potential to create further divisions in the society.
Deviation from basic purpose of quota as envisaged in the constitution: Architects of Indian constitution framed these concessions only to remove caste-based discrimination and inequality from Hindu society.
Inadequate or insufficient field data or surveys to shows that socio-economic situation of Dalit Muslims and Christians did not improve after conversion.
Difficult to locate original caste/community of Dalit Christians and Muslims as these conversions have been taking place for centuries.
Nature of conversion(forced or voluntary): Union government in its 2019 affidavit said that conversion into Buddhism and Sikhism happens voluntarily sue to some innate socio-political imperatives but Dalit conversions Islam or Christianity might have happened on account of other factors.
Constitutional/legal difficulties: As people from multiple or different Scheduled Castes had converted to Islam and Christianity, so they cannot be recognized as a “single ethnic group” which is required condition for inclusion provided in Clause (2) of Article 341 of the Constitution.

Way forward:

Government should make SC status fully religion neutral like Scheduled Tribes as recommended by Ranganath Misra Commission.
Implementation of recommendation of National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC): Reservation benefits can be extended to Dalit Christians and Muslims if they continue the same traditions and practices as they did before conversion and if they still facing untouchability after conversion.
Center may include Dalit Christians and Muslims in the SC category until completion of independent study.

Article: The Hindu: Dalit Christians, Dalit Muslims can’t be compared to Buddhist converts, says Centre’s 2019 affidavit; The Indian Express: Supreme Court quota for Dalit Muslims and Christians: story so far.

Article Links:

1.https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/dalit-christians-dalit-muslims-cant-be-compared-to-buddhist-converts-says-centres-2019-affidavit/article65927239.ece

2,https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/scheduled-caste-quota-for-dalit-muslims-and-christians-story-so-far-8160838/