: Why are SCs among Buddhists and Sikhs given reservations, but not Dalit Christians and Muslims? #IndiaNEWS Dalits among Christians and Muslims remain excluded from reservations more than 70 years after

Why are SCs among Buddhists and Sikhs given reservations, but not Dalit Christians and Muslims? #IndiaNEWS
Dalits among Christians and Muslims remain excluded from reservations more than 70 years after India passed an order – the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 – to recognise and identify groups as belonging to a Scheduled Caste. Caste identity, however, was first limited to followers of Hinduism and later extended to Sikhs (1956) and Buddhists (1990).In January 2020, the Supreme Court of India agreed to examine a plea by the National Council of Dalit Christians, a private organisation, to make reservations “religion neutral??? so that Dalit Christians and Muslims too can benefit. The plea is pending before the court.“These communities should be granted reservations,??? Satish Deshpande, a sociologist at the Delhi University, told IndiaSpend in an interview. Deshpande has been studying caste and class inequalities for more than three decades and has served as the editor of three books, including The Problem of Caste. “There is a strong case for including Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians in the Scheduled Caste category??? is what a 2008 report for the National Commission on Minorities had concluded. Deshpande was the report’s lead author.Among Dalits of different religions, nearly 47% of Dalit Muslims in urban India are in the below poverty line category, the report noted from 2004-’05 data. This is a significantly higher percentage than Hindu Dalits and Dalit Christians, it said. In...Read more

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