 For more information, contact: Joseph D’souza International President, Dalit Freedom Network and President, All India Christian Council
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+91-40-2786-8907 John Dayal Secretary General, All India Christian Council and Member, National Integration Council, Government of India
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For immediate release
India’s Government Advised to Reverse Divisive Policy Linking Assistance for Dalits to Religion
Christian Council welcomes recommendations by the National Commission on Linguistic & Religious Minorities
2007 Report by the NCRLM, known as Misra Commission, released to India’s legislators
Government does not list recommended actions, Dalits fear changes will not occur
NEW DELHI, INDIA – 22 December 2009: The National Commission for Religious & Linguistic Minorities’ report was released by the Ministry of Minority Affairs to India’s Parliament on Friday, December 18, 2009. The government fulfilled a promise to table the report, submitted by the government-appointed panel in May 2007, by the end of the Winter Session of Parliament. However, there was no time for debate or implementation before adjournment. The NCRLM, also known as the Misra Commission, recommended several solutions to the low socio-economic status experienced by millions of Dalits from non-Hindu religions. The Commission concluded that a Dalit’s choice of faith should not affect assistance from India’s government.
Dr. Joseph D’souza, International President of the Dalit Freedom Network, said, “India’s great democratic system has a historic opportunity to reverse 59 years of religious-based discrimination against Dalits. They were told India’s Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and religion, yet government benefits were stripped from them if they chose to embrace certain faiths. If the Misra Commission recommendations are implemented by legislators, we will take a huge step towards justice for all.”
The last day of the Winter Session of India’s Parliament was yesterday, December 21, 2009. A debate on the findings is expected in the next session, called the Budget Session, which should begin in February 2010. However, since there was no “action taken report” (ATR) submitted by the government, the policy changes recommended in the report might never be enacted. Media reports said since the Commission was not constituted under the “Commission of Enquiry Act”, an ATR was not required.
Dr. John Dayal, Secretary General of the All India Christian Council, said, “Justice has been done by the Misra Commission. It is time now for the Central Government to do justice.”
From 2005-2007, the five-person Commission studied the socio-economic and educational condition of non-Hindu Dalits with special attention and hearings on the plight of Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims.
Dayal said, “The political, economic, and development privileges accorded to all Dalits by the Constitution of India were taken from millions non-Hindu Dalits by the Presidential Order of 1950. The Misra Commission proved that caste transcends religion, and caste discrimination is present in all religious communities.”
Per India’s 2001 census, of the 1.2 billion population, Muslims are the largest minority at 14% followed by Christians at 2.3%, Sikhs at 1.9%, Buddhists at 0.8%, Jains at 0.4%, and others including Parsis at 0.6%. However, there are an estimated 105 million Dalits who are routinely ignored by India’s government statistics and reports. They cannot access justice under laws protecting Dalits since they are not recognized as Scheduled Caste members. According to evidence recorded by the Misra Commission, perhaps 9% of India’s population is Scheduled Castes of Muslim or Christian background. See Annexure to the Report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, p. 81.
While the report was pending, India’s Supreme Court repeatedly postponed judgments on cases requesting Scheduled Caste status filed by Dalit Christians (i.e. Writ Petition Civil No. 180 of 2004) and a Dalit Muslim (Writ Petition Civil No. 47 of 2006). Scheduled Caste status brings government benefits such as reserved places in education institutions and government jobs.
D’souza said, “The Central government should recommend concrete changes and, ideally, delete the clause in a 1950 Presidential order which tied religion to caste. This is particularly important for India’s census in 2011 to be accurate. Many Dalits have hesitated to express their freedom of conscience and religion because they could lose government benefits and possibly plunge deeper into poverty. Besides, the socio-political grouping of Scheduled Castes should be completely neutral regarding religion in the same way the Scheduled Tribes are defined without distinctions based on faith.”
The Commission said a clause in a 1950 law should be dropped to delink status from religion. The “Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order” of 1950, issued by India’s President, restricted government benefits to Dalit Hindus. It was later amended to include Dalit Sikhs and Buddhists in 1956 and 1990, respectively.
Leaders of the All India Christian Council testified before the panel several times in 2006, notably in hearings at Delhi and Mumbai.
Download the Misra Commission’s full report in Hindi or English at: http://minorityaffairs.gov.in/newsite/ncrlm/ncrlm.asp
The Commission, a five-member panel, under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Ranganath Misra, was appointed by the government in October 2004 and began operations in March 2005. Its mandate was to examine criteria for defining socio-economic “backwardness” among non-Hindus and linguistic minorities. The mandate was amended five months later to research the possible inclusion of Dalits who had converted to religions other than Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism in the government list of Scheduled Caste. It was to suggest necessary constitutional, legal, and administrative changes. Its tenure, originally for six months, was repeatedly extended to May 15, 2007. The report was submitted on May 21, 2007 to India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The All India Christian Council (www.christiancouncil.in), birthed in 1998, exists to protect and serve the Christian community, minorities, and the oppressed castes. The aicc is a coalition of thousands of Indian denominations, organizations, and lay leaders.
The Dalit Freedom Network (www.dalitnetwork.org) is a non-partisan, non-government human rights organization founded in 2002 to support the Dalit-Bahujans in their emancipation movement through education, healthcare, economic advancement, and social justice advocacy and intervention.
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