Indian churches to observe August 10 as the "Day of Mourning" for Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims.
A press release from the Office of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes under the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India says, "Throughout India, August 10 is being observed as 'Day of Mourning' in all the churches. Rallies, demonstrations and candle vigils are conducted and specials prayers are offered in the churches."
A special program, which will begin at 10 pm, will be held at Jantar Mantar near the Parliament building in New Delhi. The program is expected to last for two hours.
On August 10, 1950, the then President of India signed The Constitution, Scheduled Caste (SC) order, that "No person who professes a religion other than Hinduism shall be deemed to be a member of the Scheduled Caste." The order was later modified, and Buddhists and Sikhs were included under the SC tribe.
For the last 14 years, the petition to delete paragraph 3 from the 1950 order has been pending. Therefore, based on religion, Christian and Muslim Dalits have been denied the Constitutional rights for the past 68 years.
