A Catholic Church official has welcomed the Indian government’s decision to appoint a commission to examine if Dalits who converted to Christianity or Islam can be accorded Scheduled Caste (SC) status.
The federal government in a notification issued on Oct. 6 announced the setting up of a three-member inquiry commission headed by former Chief Justice of India, Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, to look into granting SC status, its implications and submit a report within two years.
However, Dalit Christian leaders dismissed this as a tactic to delay their recognition as SCs, the official name for former untouchables in the country.
The SC status will ensure them a share in the 15% reserved quota in parliament and state legislatures, government jobs and education, at present extended only to Dalits belonging to Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist religions
“It is a welcome move. We have to take it positively as it will give us an opportunity to highlight the issues plaguing our brothers and sisters,” Bishop Moses D Prakasam, a member of Indian Bishops’ Conference’s Office of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, told on Oct. 8.