NOVEMBER 28, 2005: India’s 16 million Christian converts from
the once Untouchable castes are extremely frustrated and demoralised by the
position adopted by the Indian government before the Supreme Court. While the
bench headed by new Chief Justice YK Sabharwal made clear the court will examine
the issue of granting Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians after getting
detailed information, the government tried its best to question both the
jurisdiction of the court and the demand of the minority community.
This is the first time the case has come up for hearing after
Justice Sabharwal took over from Chief Justice Lakhoti who hauled up the
government repeatedly while hearing public interest litigation (PIL)
applications seeking dignity and protection of law for Dalit Christians. Dalit
leaders noted that the government had ensured that the case could not be decided
before Chief Justice Lakhoti retired last month.
If the government was hoping for a more sympathetic bench after
Lakhoti, it failed, despite the brilliant performance on behalf of the
government by Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanian who said several
aspects need to be examined including whether Scheduled Caste converts in fact
suffer from social disabilities, including untouchability, even after they have
embraced Christianity.
Maintaining that it would not like to express any opinion on the
issue at this stage, the bench comprising Chief Justice Sabharwal and Justices
CK Thakker and RV Raveendran said, "We may have to hear the matter in detail
after information is supplied."
Former law minister Ram Jethmalani, who came out of retirement
to take up the Dalit case, was not present in court but counsel Prashant Bhushan
and Dr MP Raju, appearing for the PIL centre and Dalit groups, maintained that
the entire law emanating from the 1950 presidential order limiting affirmative
action on grounds of religion to Hindus was unconstitutional.
We as Dalit Christians are intrigued and saddened by the
contrary positions taken by the ruling UPA government in its public assurances
to us and its arguments before the Supreme Court. We have been repeatedly
assured by the Left, the DMK and other UPA allies, as also senior Congress
leaders, that the government is sympathetic to our cause. Dalit leaders have
also met the Prime Minister pleading with him to urge the advocate general to
support the Dalit cause in the Supreme Court.
The first shock to us was when the government told the court in
October that it had passed on the matter to the Justice Rangnath Mishra National
Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, which was set up to look
into some other, and different, issues. Referring this matter to the commission
was an effort to buy time and was made worse by further restrictions in the
framework of the Mishra panel.
Today the additional solicitor general said the matter was
outside the purview of the courts and was to be left to Parliament makers. He
also said the report of the Mishra Commission should be awaited (The panel has
said its first report may be available only in April 2006). Government counsel
also referred to the old Tamil Nadu cobbler Susai case when the Christians lost
their appeal for equal rights.
Dalit Christians have repeatedly pointed out that after the
Susai case the government had on its own extended Dalit rights to Buddhists and
Sikhs but was maliciously withholding the same rights from Christians.
Today the Supreme Court said it would like to see the progress
made by the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities in this
regard. The bench clarified that it was not linking examination of the issue on
the recommendation of the commission alone and has directed for providing of
information to facilitate proceedings in the matter and posted it for further
hearing in the third week of February 2006.
It may be recalled that the PIL filed by the Centre for Public
Interest Litigation (CPIL) headed by former law minister, Shanti Bhushan, has
contended that paragraph three of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order,
1950 was coming in its way as the SCs, on conversion of their religion to
Christianity, lose all benefits.