Giving Scheduled Caste status to those who claim to have historically belonged to the SCs but have converted to a different religion has been contested by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). A commission led by former Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan was constituted by the Union government last week to look into the situation.
The Abrahamic religions assert that there is no caste distinction among them, so SC reservation cannot be extended to them, the VHP stated in a statement. “The VHP reiterates that scheduled castes are the persons who have historically been deprived on the basis of their castes,” the statement continued.
“A Constitution Order stating that only Hindu Scheduled Castes will receive reservation privileges was issued in 1950. Although this is the case, Christian missionaries and Islamic organizations continue to make unjustifiable demands that this facility is extended to converted SCs. We wouldn’t permit them to take away SCs’ fundamental rights, “On October 16, VHP’s acting president, Alok Kumar, made the statement.
He pointed out that Dr. Ambedkar and numerous prime ministers, including Jawaharlal Nehru, had refused to give in to the demand to grant benefits to converted SCs when speaking at a press conference in Bangaluru.
“Religious converts cannot be permitted to take away the rights of the Scheduled Caste people. They would occupy all places designated for reservations with the help of their financial clout, political clout, and international assistance, depriving all members of the Scheduled Caste community for whom the provisions of reservations were made of the amenities “he added.
No one who practices a faith other than Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism can be considered to be a member of a Scheduled Caste, according to the Constitution Order, 1950. However, Dalit converts to Islam and Christianity have frequently faced demands for the same status.
News Mania Desk
