Indian Christians criticize delay on Dalit special status review

Christian leaders in India have expressed frustration over what they describe as a federal government delaying tactic in examining whether Dalit people who converted to Christianity and Islam should be granted special constitutional status.

The federal government, led by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), recently granted a two-month extension to a Commission of Inquiry tasked with submitting a report on the possibility of granting Scheduled Caste (SC) status to Dalit Christians and Muslims.

Scheduled Castes are disadvantaged and marginalized communities recognized under India’s Constitution and entitled to reservations in education, employment and political representation. The category was established under the Constitutional Order of 1950.

A similar classification for disadvantaged tribal communities is known as Scheduled Tribe (ST).

Dalits, formerly known as “untouchables,” fall outside the traditional Hindu caste system and have long faced discrimination and persecution from upper-caste Hindus. Although caste-based discrimination was outlawed decades ago, it remains prevalent in many parts of the country.

The 1950 order initially included only Dalit Hindus. Sikhs and Buddhists were later added, but Dalit Christians and Muslims were excluded on the grounds that their religions do not recognize castes. Rights advocates, however, say Dalit Christians and Muslims continue to face social and economic discrimination despite conversion.

Dalit Christians have challenged the validity of the 1950 order in court, calling it exclusionary and unjust.

The commission was established in October 2022 and is headed by former Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan. It is examining whether Dalit Christians and Muslims should be granted SC status.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment issued a notice on April 9 extending the commission’s deadline until June 10. It was the third extension in three years.

“It is a delay-and-deny tactic adopted by the government, and one more extension has exposed the government’s real intent,” Father Prakash Louis, former director of the New Delhi-based Indian Social Institute, told UCA News.

“They have again played with the hopes of these Dalit communities. Everyone is aware that the panel will not be in a position to submit its report, and even if it does, the government may not table it in parliament. Even if it is tabled, it could be defeated since Dalits from the Hindu community do not want to share the same cake,” the Jesuit scholar said.

Father Vijay Kumar Nayak, secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India’s Office of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, said: “We are a bit skeptical about the present commission because, unlike the Misra Commission, no proper methodology was followed for the studies, very few field visits were made, and no questionnaires were circulated.”

He said the bishops’ conference collected recent cases and evidence of discrimination faced by Dalit Christians within the Church and wider society because of caste, and submitted the compiled reports to the Balakrishnan Commission.

“We hope it will help the commission understand the realities of Dalit Christians,” Nayak said.

John Dayal, a senior journalist and spokesperson for the All India Catholic Union, said the ruling BJP of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly made clear its ideological opposition to extending benefits to converts from Hinduism, fearing it could trigger a large-scale exodus of Dalits from the Hindu fold.

The BJP government, he said, tolerates conversion to Buddhism because it considers Buddhism a denomination within the broader Indic Hindu tradition.

Jesuit Father Francis P. Xavier, rector of Loyola Institutions in Chennai, southern India, said many Dalits embraced Christianity primarily to escape social discrimination and exploitation.

“However, they have not fully escaped caste-based treatment within the Church. Dalit Christians should be granted Scheduled Caste status, as religious conversion does not erase caste-based discrimination, social stigma or economic marginalization,” he said.

According to official data, about 201 million of India’s 1.4 billion people belong to Dalit communities, and nearly 60 percent of the country’s 25 million Christians trace their origins to Dalit and tribal communities.

This article was originally published on https://www.ucanews.com/news/indian-christians-criticize-delay-on-dalit-special-status-review/112843