The Centre has appointed a commission headed by former Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan to examine the matter of giving the Scheduled Caste (SC) status to people who claim to have “historically” belonged to the Scheduled Caste, but have converted to a religion other than those mentioned in the Presidential orders.
The commission will file its report on the controversial issue in two-year time.
The push has come from the Supreme Court on a petition for SC tag for Christians and Muslims (that has been pending for 18 years).
Last month, the apex court said that “all these old matters are pending in this court because of its social ramifications. A day has come when we have to take a call on
this”.
The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 (amended from time to time) says that no person professing a religion other than Hinduism or Sikhism, or Buddhism can be deemed to be a member of a scheduled caste.
“No person who professes a religion different from the Hindu, the Sikh or the Buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of a scheduled caste”, says the order. It has been amended many times only to include new SC members from the said three religions.
However, Muslim and Christian groups have often demanded similar status for Dalits who have converted to their religions.
In 2007, a panel headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranganath Misra to recommended that the 1950 Order was discriminatory. The NDA Government at the Centre rejected the panel’s report.
In 2008, a study by the National Commission for Minorities recommended granting reservations among religions other than Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh. This report was also rejected by the Centre.
This year in August, the apex court gave the Centre three weeks to decide whether reservation benefits enjoyed by scheduled castes can be extended to Dalit members of Christianity and Islam.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, AS Oka and Vikram Nath said that the “day has come when we have to take a call on this.”
The observation came during the hearing of a petition file by an NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), which had flagged the issue for consideration by the court in 2004. In the 18 years that have passed since, the Centre has not responded in the matter.
Appearing for CPIL, advocate Prashant Bhushan said that the issue revolves around the question of whether the 1950 Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order discriminated against Dalit Muslims and Christians.
The BJP has been opposed to their demand arguing that caste is not an essential part of Islam and Christianity.
The three-member Commission constituted by the Government also includes retired IAS officer Dr Ravinder Kumar Jain and member UGC Professor Sushma Yadav, according to a gazette notification issued by the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry on Thursday.
The panel will examine the matter of giving scheduled caste status to new persons, who claim to historically have belonged to the scheduled castes, but have converted to religion other than those mentioned in the Presidential Orders issued from time to time under article 341 of the Constitution.
The panel will also examine the implications of the decision - if it comes to be - on the existing scheduled castes, besides taking into account the changes in customs, traditions, and their status of social discrimination and deprivation, after these people converted to other religions.
The commission will also examine any other related questions that the commission deems appropriate in consultation with the centre and with its consent.
Balakrishnan is the Supreme Court’s first Dalit chief justice. He was also the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India.
In the notification, the Ministry said the issue is a “seminal and historically complex sociological and Constitutional question”, and a definite matter of public importance.
“And whereas, given its importance, sensitivity and potential impact, any change in definition in this regard should be on the basis of a detailed and definitive study and extensive consultation with all stakeholders and no Commission under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 (60 of 1952) has so far inquired into the matter,” the notification said.
The headquarters of the commission will be in New Delhi and it will submit its report within two years from the date of taking over of the charge by the chairperson, the notification said.