A provincial government in southern India has urged the Indian federal govern-ment to award scheduled caste status to Christians who were former untouchables to enable them to claim welfare benefits.
The Andhra Pradesh government on March 24 passed a resolution in its legislative assembly to support Christians from the Dalit community becoming a Scheduled Caste (SC) which, if approved by the central government could one day allow them social benefits they are currently excluded from.
These benefits include reservations in legislative bodies, educational institutions, and job quotas in state-run institutions.
“Somewhere or somebody has to start it for this noble cause, hence we appreciate and thank the Andhra Pradesh govern-ment for taking such a step as it is in the right direction and at the right time,” Father Vijay Kumar Nayak, secre-tary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) Office for Scheduled Castes and Backward Castes, told on March 27.
“The Andhra Pradesh government’s support will have an immense impact.”
“It’s the need of the hour,” he added.
Father Nayak said other states like Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal already support the claim by Dalit Christians to social benefits which are currently enjoyed by their counterparts from the Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh religions.