Author: Subodh Ghildiyal
Publication: The Times of India
Date: October 9, 2008
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Govt_to_deny_Muslims_Christians_SC_status/articleshow/3575726.cms
The proposal to give Scheduled Caste status
to a child with either parents as Dalit has taken a curious turn, with the
Centre making changes to ensure that it does not give a backdoor entry to
Christians and Muslims into the SC list which is restricted to Sikhs, Hindus
and Buddhists.
Social justice ministry has revived the proposal
by which it plans to make a child eligible for SC status if either the mother
or father are SC. It seeks to undo a Supreme Court ruling that caste in Indian
context flows from the father, clarifying that child of a non-Dalit father
cannot be a Dalit.
After hanging fire for over two years, during
which it attracted opposition from different quarters including National Commission
for SCs, the ministry has modified the proposal with a small twist of real
consequence.
The earlier draft merely said "the child
born of inter-caste marriage shall be taken as belonging to SC if either of
the parents belong to that community". It has now been modified to include
that "if either of the parent belong to such a caste (SC) and the other
parent belongs to neither SC nor ST but professes one of the religions which
a person belonging to SC may profess".
The fresh move means that SC status to children
from mixed parentage would require the non-Dalit parent to be either Hindu,
Buddhist or Sikh. Only the followers of these three faiths are eligible for
SC status.
The change, sources said, is to accommodate
concerns over the proposal. It was feared that if SC status was made available
to a child from mixed parentage, it could undo the religion barrier put on
being a Dalit. While Dalit converts to Christianity and Islam have been demanding
that SC category be extended to them, the Centre has found it too sensitive
to handle. It was feared that Hindutva outfits would oppose the move as they
have been arguing that making Dalit status religion-neutral would encourage
conversions.
If a child with either parent as Dalit was
given SC status without a bar of religion, it would be tantamount to encouraging
the same, it was argued. The sensitivity of Dalit status for converts can
be gauged from the fact that UPA government has it on the backburner after
having set up Rangnath Mishra commission to examine it and having got a favourable
recommendation.