24 August 2004 -- Even after 57 years of independence, Dalits in general and Dalit Christians in particular continue to be discriminated against despite all the Constitutional provisions to ensure their citizenship rights. This has been basically done to keep the Dalits divided in the name of religion.

According to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 of India and the Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1936, “Notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph 2, no person who professes a religion different from Hindu shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste.”

It is an admitted fact that no citizen shall be discriminated on the basis of religion. The special provisions available to the Government as an exemption to Equality before Law are only to uplift the Dalits or oppressed classes and for their advancement only. Whereas the Government used this special provision to suppress and oppress a particular class of Dalit citizens professing the faith of Christianity. The fundamental rights granted to every citizen are enforceable and guaranteed against the state. When any law or order is made inconsistent with the provisions of Part III of the Constitution, the provisions of doctrine of severability come into force.

However this order was amended in 1956 and 1990 in favour of the Dalits who adopted Sikhism and Buddhism. But making of a law contrary to the provisions of constitutional rights guaranteed under Part III are not maintainable under any law. They are void. If any law which is inconsistent with Part III (Fundamental Rights) shall be discarded.

At a recent meeting organised by aicc in Hyderabad to discuss ‘Amendment to Article 341’ of the Constitution, Christian leaders of various denominations were unanimous in condemning the discriminatory provisions in the Constitution and sought an immediate amendment to rectify the existing discrepancies.

Rajya Sabha MP from Guntur JD Seelam, a prominent Dalit leader working for Dalits for nearly three decades, said Article 341 was responsible for the divide among the Dalit community across the country.  “ The Dalits in North India who have embraced Sikhism have not been taken out of the Scheduled Castes list. Similarly the Dalits who have embraced Buddhism continue to enjoy the privileges given to the Scheduled Castes. This is not so with the Dalits, who have embraced Christianity. They are being denied of the privileges given to the Scheduled Castes,” he said.

He said even after embracing Christianity, the ground realities of the Dalits had not changed. He stressed the need for constituting a national body under the aegis of aicc to fight for Dalit Christians.

Stephen Sen, a noted legal practitioner, said it should not be a lone fight for the Dalit Christians. The movement had failed because the Dalit Christian leaders had failed to take the support of other Dalit groups. “There should be unity among the Dalits in their fight for justice,” he said.

Referring to the assurance made by Ram Jethmalani, the former Union Law Minister in Parliament that the Government was in the process of considering the inclusion of Dalits converted to Islam and Christianity in the SC category, he said, “At stake is the fate of 19 million Dalit Christians, who form 70 per cent of the Indian Christians. We are neither asking for any expansion of the Scheduled Castes list nor any increase in the reservation quota. We only want to be included in the present list. A new bill in Parliament can solve all the problems.” 

He said Dalit Christians had been fighting for their legitimate rights and privileges provided for the Dalits by the Constitution of India. As Dalits, these Christians belonged to the original inhabitants of the land. Yet they had to struggle for their basic right to live as human beings and profess a faith of their choice.

Christine Lazarus, a former MLA and prominent Christian leader, underlined the need for starting a signature campaign to impress upon the Union government to give justice Dalit Christians.

According to Sam Paul, aicc secretary, Dalit Christians, quite aware of this blatant discrimination, are increasingly organising themselves to fight this unjust system. He said the Dalits knew that the passive role they had played so far has been mistaken for their weakness. They had now decided to stand up to the challenges of not only questioning the discriminatory system but also finding ways to restore their lost dignity.

He demanded that the Dalit Christians be given the same reservation and other benefits that are granted to the SCs professing Hindusim, Sikhism and neo-Buddhist religions. “The economic conditions of Dalit Christians are no different from those of other Dalits who have been deprived of justice and human dignity,” he said.

Other participants agreed that the religion-based discrimination was in violation of Article 15 (1) and contravened the provisions of Article 15 (4) of the Constitution of India. Constitutional principles prohibited discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.