Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in an affidavit in the SC claimed that Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims cannot claim benefits that Scheduled Castes are entitled to
New Delhi: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment questioned why Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims cannot claim benefits that are entitled to Scheduled Caste people. On this, in its defence Centre said that no backwardness or oppression was faced by them.
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in an affidavit in the Supreme Court claimed that Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims cannot claim benefits that Scheduled Castes are entitled to. It also said the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950 does not suffer from any unconstitutionality.
The affidavit was filed in response to a request by the NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) for the extension of reservation and other advantages to Dalit converts to Islam and Christianity.
The ministry also submitted how the identification of Scheduled Castes was done. It said that the identification of Scheduled Castes is centered around a specific social stigma. It is also limited to the communities identified in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950.
The affidavit read, “The Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950, does not suffer from any unconstitutionality in as much as the exclusion of Christianity or Islam was due to the reason that the oppressive system of untouchability that leads to economic and social backwardness of some Hindu castes was not prevalent in Christian or Islamic societies.”
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It further added that the order was based on historical data which clearly established that no such backwardness or oppression was ever faced by members of Christian or Islamic society.
The affidavit also highlighted the reason people chose to convert. “In fact, one of the reasons for which people from Scheduled Castes have been converting to religions like Islam or Christianity is so that they can come out of the oppressive system of untouchability which is not prevalent at all in Christianity or Islam,” it read.
The ministry also declined to concur with the Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission’s recommendation, which advocated including Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims on the Scheduled Castes list, claiming a myopic attitude.
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