Q: Is there a proposal in Jharkhand to end reservation for converted tribals? If there is one, does it not pose a problem for the church in the future?

A:: There is no such move in Madhya Pradesh so far. The government may come up with it, but it is wrong, because tribals are tribals, converted or not, whichever religion they may belong to or whatever faith they may practise. Tribals and dalits are downtrodden people who have been kept away from the mainstream. The real motive behind reservation is to bring lower caste people into the main-stream. Providing reservation to deserving tribals is the only way to uplift them. The government should not discriminate people on the basis of religion. This is what we fear  bout our government. The proposal can be a problem in the sense that many will be discouraged from accepting a religion even after they are fully convinced about it. They may have the faith, but they will not convert. They will not even admit that they have the faith. This is what is happening now in secular India. In fact, in India, religion should not be made a criterion for anything. My feeling is that the state should consider a person first and foremost as a citizen, and should grant him or her all the privileges he or she is entitled to as an underprivileged.

Abp Leo Cornelio
Bhopal