Thousands of Dalit Christians Rally for Equal Status
ICC Note
“We have been demanding this for the last 10 years in various forums, rallies and campaigns,”
By John Malhotra
07/22/2010 India (Christian Today)-Thousands of Dalit Christians rallied in Delhi on Wednesday for a special status that would grant them the same special provisions in education and employment as Dalit Hindus.
They condemning the repeated failure of the Indian government in extending Scheduled Caste status to include them.
The status is given to Dalit Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists to ensure that they have equal access to jobs and places in schools and colleges. Dalit Christians and Muslims are, however, excluded from receiving special status.
The Christians called for the immediate implementation of recent recommendations made by the Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCLRM).
Sam Paul of the All India Christian Council urged the Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh to be evenhanded and move quickly to undo the injustice being meted out to the Christian community.
“We have been demanding this for the last 10 years in various forums, rallies and campaigns,” he said.
“Repeated studies have shown that conversion does not remove the social stigma attached to the caste, rather it may enhance it. Therefore the reservation status must be extended to all Dalits irrespective of religion,” he said.
