Dalit bodies put up stiff resistance against bestowing SC status on converts

Dalit organisations have overwhelmingly opposed bestowing Scheduled Caste status, and by extension reservation benefits, to Dalits converted to Christianity and Islam.

A majority of the organisations aired their stiff opposition at the public hearing of the inquiry commission headed by former Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan looking into whether Dalit converts to religions other than Sikhism or Buddhism should get SC status, at the collectorate on August 1 (Thursday). Apart from Justice Balakrishnan, who declined to address the media, commission members Ravindar Kumar Jain and Sushma Yadav were present.

Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha (KPMS) stated that the converted Dalits were educationally, financially and socially in a much better position than SC communities and hence there could be no question of including them in the 10% (8% for SC and 2% for ST) reservation. “However, we are not against reservation for them, which can be carved out separately as was done in the case of economically weaker sections among forward communities. Even as it is, the deserving communities, which are still backward are not fully getting the reservation benefits,” Suresh Kumar, district president, and Devaraj Devasudha, district committee member of KPMS, told The Hindu while emerging from the hearing, which was out of bounds for the media.

This was the second public hearing to be held by the Commission after the one in Thiruvananthapuram. The hearing in Kottayam was cancelled, while the one in Kozhikode is due.

Nisha Rajesh, general convener, SC/ST Federation, said Dalits who went in search of greener pastures in the face of subjugation could not be bestowed SC status only for the sake of letting them enjoy reservation benefits. It would be unfair to those who remained within the Dalit fold and put up with all the discrimination and hardships.

“There is a hidden political agenda behind the demand of converted Dalits for SC status. They eye to corner the benefits of Dalit political mobilisation, including candidature during elections, on account of their much better financial and official status despite the fact that there is no statistics about the population of converted Dalits,” she alleged.

Kairali Pulayar Maha Sabha State president M.T. Sivan proposed excluding the Pulayar community, which, he said, was dominant among SCs in Kerala, from the 8% reservation for SCs and creating an exclusive 5% reservation for the community through a constitutional amendment. “We have no problem in bestowing SC status on converted Dalits and extending them benefits under 8% reservation once this is done,” he said.

Janardhanan K.K., one of the three secretaries of the Mahatma Gandhi Trust, said giving SC status to Dalits converted to Christianity and Islam meant that they got to enjoy twin benefits of the communities to which they got converted and the SC, which could not be allowed. “Even the prevalent reservation benefits for SCs are being denied during admissions when institutions insist on payment of huge amounts to even accept applications. The new generation among the SC communities hardly ever question it by claiming their rights,” he lamented.