Minority Commission rules in favour of Dalit Christians, recommends affirmative action

The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM) has finally presented its long–delayed report to India's government, backing the demand for extending reservation benefits to Dalit converts to Christianity and Islam.

The Commission had begun its work in March 2005 and its mandate was to suggest criteria for identifying socially and educationally backward classes among the minorities and recommend possible welfare measures, including reservation in educational institutions and government employment.

In its report, May 21, the Commission headed by ex–Supreme Court judge, Justice Ranganath Mishra, has said that a clause in Presidential Order (Scheduled Castes) of 1950, which restricts the availability of reservation benefits to Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists, should be dropped to delink Scheduled Caste (SC) status from religion.

The sensitive report, however, has met with a strong dissenting note from the panel's member secretary, Asha Das, who has argued that extending SC status to Christians and Muslims would amount to inserting caste in religions that do not recognize it.

For the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre, already reeling from quota controversies, the report could ignite further controversy and have political ramifications.

For decades, there were strong demands from Muslim and Christian rights groups for treatment of Dalit converts as SCs to entitle them to benefits of reservation in jobs and education. Earlier, the Sachar panel, which was asked to go look into the socio–economical status of Muslims in the society, left the decision for NCRLM.

According to observers, with the Commission coming out with the recommendations, there will be increased demand from Dalit Muslims and Christians to be included in the SC list.

A PIL filed in the Supreme Court demanding affirmative action for Dalit Christians is pending and the government may have to factor in the Commission's report when it crafts its response to the PIL on July 19.

The Mishra Commission report is likely to have a bearing on the Supreme Court judgment, as the Congress Party–led United Progressive Alliance had told the apex court that it would give its reply on the demand of Dalit Christians after the panel submitted its recommendation.

However, in spite of the Commission reporting in favour of the Dalit converts, things will not be easy for the downtrodden and neglected community. For years, the minority community has faced vehement opposition from the saffron brigade (Hindu nationalists) who have argued that it would encourage religious conversions of Hindus since exclusion of Dalit converts from SC list acts as a deterrent.

Some Christian leaders, in fact, are fearing that the Commission's report will inflame the Hindu radicals into stepping up their attacks on Christians.

"The concept of Dalit or Schedule Caste is Hindu community–specific. People had opted out of Hinduism for Christianity or Islam for latter's non–caste based, non–discriminatory societies," Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad said.

"Once they are out of a caste–based society, they cannot revert and seek benefits from the same society, which they have given up. This has been clearly laid down in Constitution and several SC judgments," Prasad contended. The BJP has also criticized Justice Mishra for his "coloured" views and demanded the report to be rejected immediately.

"Justice Mishra had been the Chief Justice of India. The least we had expected was some proficiency in law and constitutional matters from a person of that standing," Prasad said adding, "but this report has provoked us to be reminded that Justice Mishra had also been Congress MP for Rajya Sabha. Hence his report is politically coloured."

However, many Christian leaders have argued that caste–based discriminated penetrates across all religion and has become a part of Indian society irrespective of the individual's religious background.

"Even if Christian and Muslim communities in India were ideally practising social egalitarianism, the talents of a Dalit convertee to these faiths will not get an automatic sudden boost eradicating his historical deprivation enabling him to compete on equal terms with advanced castes," a Christian leader, on conditions of anonymity, said.

Meanwhile, the head of Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz and Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament) MP, Anwar Ali, has seized upon the Commission's report to demand that 1950 Presidential Order barring Muslims and Christians from SC list be revoked immediately to ensure them SC status and benefits.

"Otherwise, Dalit Muslims will launch an agitation," he warned.

"We are one step closer to justice for all Dalits," Dr. Joseph D'Souza, president of the Dalit Freedom Network (DFN) said, adding that action on the report could "drastically change the lives of the Dalit community" and "reverse the decades of religious–based discrimination against the lowest–strata in society."

Reacting to opponents of the Dalit Christians' demand, D'Souza said various studies conducted by the Mishra Commission – made up of leading social scientists, politicians, and academicians – indicated that Dalits continued to suffer caste–based discrimination, irrespective of their religion.

"In particular, Dalit Christians – even after their conversion – suffer social discrimination and remain in the same educational and economic condition as before," he said.

"This is a long–awaited and very welcome development. Sadly caste is still practised everywhere and the disenfranchisement of all Dalits, regardless of religion, must be tackled," he added.

"Furthermore, if the recommendations of the commission are adopted, this will be a significant boost for the religious freedom of Dalits, as they will no longer face unwarranted penalties for adopting Islam or Christianity," D'Souza explained.

Terming the caste system "India's hidden apartheid," D'Souza argued, "Those who perpetrate crimes against Dalits do not first verify if their victims are Dalit Hindus or Dalit Christians. The fact that they are Dalits is enough to abuse and discriminate against them."

"It is our hope that the government does not come up with any more delay tactics at the next hearing," he concluded.

"This is a significant and giant step toward justice for the Dalits," said Gospel for Asia (GFA) founder–president Dr. K.P. Yohannan in a statement. "If the court follows the Commission's recommendations, it will free many Dalits to choose to follow Christ. They will no longer have to fear losing their rights."

"Men and women born into a Dalit family live in virtual slavery to those in the upper castes. Dalits are expected to perform the most demeaning manual labor jobs, such as cleaning sewers, and are routinely abused and even murdered without consequence," Yohannan.

"Now we wait patiently with prayer that the Supreme Court will affirm this, and this will become a law. It means millions of Dalits will have the freedom to embrace Christian faith for hope for this life and the life to come," he added.

"There must be endless millions (now I don't use those words casually) of people that have embraced the Christian faith, which gave them hope and life and forgiveness of sin, but they continued to be secretive. But now you can just imagine from everywhere people will be coming out and saying, 'Yes, we believe in Jesus,'" he continued.

With the Commission report out, there will also be many Dalits searching for liberation and Yohannan is concerned. "Right now, honestly, I do not think we have enough Christian workers, nor the unity of the churches there to embrace these people with open arms saying, 'Yes, we love you. Come and be with us. We are equal in the sight of God,'" he said.

Yohannan is also concerned that this does not turn into a Christian liberation political movement. "Ministries need to be careful that Christ is preached primarily and explained and invite people to follow the Lord. This is where I am crying out to the body of Christ and leaders that we don't get confused with the liberation movement and those wanting to follow the Lord," he said.

Terming the findings of the Commission report as "the first victory of Dalit Christians," Dr. John Dayal, secretary general of the All India Christian Council (AICC) said the government must take early action to reverse historic injustice and give Christians and Muslims of Dalit origin the benefits under laws that "are rightfully theirs."

"We are witnessing the making of history. We hope the rights denied to us for so long will be granted now," the Rev. Madhu Chandra, spokesperson, AICC, said.

AICC's international partner and Christian rights group, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has also welcomed the report whose recommendations could signal an end to religious discrimination in the system of 'reservation' for Dalits in India.

"Legislative obstructions to the religious freedom of India's Dalits need to be tackled, and the Mishra Commission report is a significant step in the right direction," CSW's National Director, Stuart Windsor, said.

"CSW welcomes the moves of the Indian government to address caste–based discrimination, and urges that the recommendations of this commission be adopted and implemented as soon as possible," he said.

Father Cosmon Arokiaraj, executive secretary of the Dalit' Commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), has described the recommendation of the commission as "a very significant development in the campaign against discrimination against Christian Dalits."

"The commission has now acknowledged that the caste system should be recognised as a general social characteristic of Indian society and that Christianity and Islam are not insulated against the caste system," Fr. Arokiaraj said.

Meanwhile, in another recommendation, the Mishra Commission has unanimously rejected linguistic minority status as a criterion for backwardness.

The report has also suggested that the three language formula be implemented everywhere in the country making it compulsory for authorities to include in it the mother tongue of every child.

Among the economic measures recommended, are 15 percent share be earmarked for the minorities in all government schemes like the rural employment generation programme, Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojna and Gramin Rozgar Yojna.

NCRLM, headed by Justice Ranganath Mishra and comprising Tahir Mahmood, Mohinder Singh and Anil Wilson, has termed the exclusion of Dalits from SC list after conversion out of Hinduism as violative of constitutional guarantee of non–discrimination on religious grounds.

The Commission, barring Asha Das who felt SC list was basically a Hindu issue, was unanimous. Tracing the history of SCs, Das said Britishers first categorized 17 occupational groups as "depressed classes" and fixed criterion of social relations to avoid confusion with followers of non–Hindu religions.

Observing that backwardness – both social and economic – actually emanates from educational backwardness, NCRLM has recommended that 15 percent seats in states and Centre should be reserved for minorities with 10 percent for Muslims and rest for others.

For educational upliftment, the panel has demanded that a law should be enacted to set aside 15 percent seats in all non–minority institutions for minorities, with 10 percent for Muslims.

Caste, a social stratification rooted deep in Hinduism, organizes people by a combination of descent and employment. The lowest group in the caste system is the estimated 300 million–strong Dalit population. While atrocities against the Dalits have been practiced for thousands of years, caste–based atrocities are reaching new heights and are causing tension across many areas.

In many areas, they are still not allowed to enter temples or even sit next to upper caste Hindus. Most Dalits are still forced to do manual labour jobs, such as cleaning up human waste.

A 1950 Presidential Order excluded Dalit convert to Christianity from the quota system that reserved jobs to members of the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes in the public service. The same exclusion applies to those who convert to Islam but not to those who become Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh.

However, in a significant step, the Supreme Court recently decided to consider afresh the crucial constitutional issue of affirmative action in the public sector for Dalit converts to Christianity, refuting the government plea that it be treated as a legislative problem.

The matter, however, has been adjourned several times and the apex court is expected to take up the hearing again in mid–July.

An estimated 70 percent of India's 26 million Christians belong to the socially discriminated Dalit groups, who need social and educational support to integrate to the mainstream of society.