The Andhra Pradesh authorities is planning to introduce a Bill to accord Scheduled Caste (SC) standing to Dalit Christians in the course of the Budget session of the Assembly, extremely positioned sources within the authorities mentioned.
As per the President’s Order 1950, SCs who convert to Christianity are being accorded BC C standing in India. Now, the YSRCP authorities is proposing this Bill to request the Central authorities to amend that clause.
P. Booth Tucker, a social activist and senior advocate from Visakhapatnam, mentioned the State authorities may allow the Dalit Christians to avail themselves of all the advantages like within the case of SCs, whilst it’s troublesome to concern SC certificates to them.
Mr. Tucker mentioned that the 1950 Constitutional (Schedule Castes) Order Clause – 3 is meant to present “extreme social, educational and economic backwardness arising out of traditional practice of untouchability”. Because of this clause, the 1950 Constitutional Order conferred SC standing solely on the ‘untouchable castes’ who’re professing Hinduism solely.
“Due to that reason, the militant Sikh Dalits staged agitations in 1952 and the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru accorded SC status to them. In 1989, on the eve of Ambedkar’s centenary year, SC status was conferred on Neo-Buddhists as Ambedkar had converted to Buddhism and also Buddhism a religious thought of India,” mentioned Mr. Tucker.
He mentioned that, “In 2005, some Christian organisations filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court praying that the SC status be conferred on Dalit Christians and Muslims on a par with other SCs”.
Then, the then Congress authorities constituted a fee headed by former Chief Justice of India Ranganath Mishra to take inventory of the Dalit Christian and Muslims issues and social situations to confer S.C. standing, he defined.
“The Ranganath Mishra Commission recommended for conferring SC status to Dalit Christians and Muslims. Again in 2009 the UPA government, due to a slender majority, sat on the report without any action. From then onwards, there was no progress on this proposal”, Mr. Tucker maintained.
Meanwhile, one other Commission was constituted which is headed by Justice Okay.G. Balakrishnan (a retired Chief Justice of India), which has to submit its report in 2024, he defined.
