grimgargantua@email.com
Mon Nov 20, 2006
Christian not untouchable, Indian court rules
India: November 17, 2006. Chennai High Court
has ruled that Christian Dalits are not entitled
to the special benefits provided under the Indian
Constitution for so-called "Scheduled Castes".
AsiaNews reports that the court made the ruling
in a case concerning a Dalit born to Hindu parents
who had converted to Christianity but who had
re-converted to Hinduism. As a Hindu Dalit,
the person was entitled to quota benefits provided
to members of "Scheduled Castes" enabling
members of India's lowest castes to gain preferential
access to government posts.
A division bench comprising of Justices Dharma
Rao and S K Krishnan allowed a petition by R
Shankar, who challenged the Tamil Nadu Public
Service Commission's rejection of his application
to the post of civil judge under the Scheduled
Caste quota.
Shankar said he was born to Dalit Christian
parents, but in 1983 he converted to Hinduism
and received a Scheduled Caste community certificate.
Despite passing exams and interview for a civil
judge post, his appointment was held up for
verification of community (caste) status. When
he was told that he could not be appointed under
the quota system since he was born in a Christian
family, he challenged the decision in court.
The judges ruled that although his parents
were Christian, his re-conversion to Hinduism
was acceptable.
For Fr Babu Joseph, spokesman for the Bishops'
Conference of India, the case raises a serious
question, namely "why talk about rights
when two people with the same social status
are treated differently on the basis of their
religious status?"
"The court's decision has reinforced our
resolve to obtain for Dalit Christians the same
treatment for members of other religions,"
he insisted.
"This kind of discrimination cannot exist
in a democratic nation like India, which should
deal fairly and impartially with its citizens
and their rights."
John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic
Union and a long time activist for the rights
of Dalit Christians, said that "the court's
ruling reflects the fact that in India the problem
of the caste system is misunderstood, a problem
that transcends religion."
"This ruling of the high court is in keeping
with the current law as enunciated by the courts.
It reaffirms that in India, there is a complete
lack of understanding of the issue of caste
and its societal ramifications. Caste transcends
relgion. Caste bias is a societal malaise, rooted
not in the person affected but the society which
surrounds him. This is why we are in the Supreme
Court to tell the court that caste infirmity
and bias does not end if you change your relgion
to Christianity or Islam. Sikhs and Buddhists,
which belong to religions very different from
Hinduism, have now the same rights as Hindu
Dalits because of political patronage. Christians
have no political patronage. At another level,
this law also punishes those Hindus who want
to adopt the Christian faith. They can lose
their jobs on conversion. If they reconvert,
they get the benefits back. In that way, it
is an allurement and coercion to keep Dalits
within Hinduism."
