VOL- 12 ISSUE- 49 February 17, 2021 California (USA) www

Editor-in-Chief: Prem Kumar Chumber Contact: 001-916-947-8920 Fax: 916-238-1393 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

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DR. TAKHAR’S FAMILY MEDICINE & URGENT CARE CLINICURGENT CARE CLINIC

We speak your language: Panjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Farsi, Arabic and SpanishDr. Paramjit S Takhar, MD Goodie Takhar, PhD

Guru Ravidass Ji Maharaj, whose644th birth anniversary is being cele-brated throughout the world, was agreat Sant-poet/Guru of the goldenmedieval Bhakti movement of NorthIndia. He was born in the so-calledlowest of the low castes in Indiawhose touch was used to be consid-ered polluting to the Savarnas/UpperCastes. He, through his unique formof social protest rooted in the univer-sal value of 'humanity is one', boldlychallenged the oppressive socialstructures of caste-based hierarchies.He totally rejected the institution ofBrahmin priesthood as a mediator ofreaching the Supreme Being. He wasof the firm view that in the kingdomof almighty there are no categories ofhigh and low. He said that God hadmade everyone in His own image.Everyone has equal worth and it wasagainst the very principle of humanequality that the system of caste sys-tem was created to promote thevested interests of the select few - theso-called upper caste peoples. He em-phasized on the dignity of all forms oflabor and strongly rejected the divisiveand oppressive categorization of pol-luted jobs including mending and mak-ing shoes. He said one needs not tohide his caste or leave his low profes-sion because of the false division be-tween pure and polluted categories ofjobs. He also underlined that there isno link between the kind of job oneperforms and his/her proximity/dis-tance to God. He assigned dignity tothe so-called polluted/lower categoryjobs while proving through his existen-tial deeds that even a cobbler canreach exemplary heights of spiritualknowledge and command the respect of heads of the Brahmin priests (Bip-perPradhans). Guru Ravidass became a model for his fellow beings to over-come the hierarchical barriers of Brahminical Social Order and to establishBegumpura - a state without fear and sorrows. He elevated the status of thelabor by emphasizing on the fact that honest labor is empowering. He

completely rejected the concept of liv-ing on charity or miraculous ways ofamassing ill-wealth. He proved thatthere was no linkage between any jobperformed and spiritual knowledge.

While defeating the famousKashi Pundits in a formally organizedShastrartha, Guru Ravidass provedthat merit is not the fiefdom of socalled upper castes alone. Everybodyis capable of worshipping Him irre-spective of caste and kind of profes-sion. He further dismantled thefourfold division of Hindu society as abig lie and a trick to make and keep alarge section of the Indian societyunder the cruelty and control of thefew in the name of purity-pollutionprinciple made by the so-called craftypriests. It is against this very systemof religiously sanctified social differ-entiation that Guru Ravidass envi-sioned establishing a state wherethere would be no place for fear,hunger, social bondages, untouchabil-ity and social oppression. For the so-cial transformation of the society,Guru Ravidass laid emphasis on dig-nity of labor, compassion, virtue, pro-hibition of alcohol and all bad deeds.He also reiterated on the urgent needof remembering the formless Godwhom he addressed by varied names.Some scholars are of the view thatGuru Ravidass did not form an organ-ization nor he launched any consistentand systematic agitation against thesystem of untouchability. This is true.But to raise a loud voice at his timeswas no less than a clarion call to dis-mantle the unjust system of Brahmini-cal social order. It is also true that thepath told by him has become the

beacon light for the Dalit movement in the country and abroad.

Prem K. ChumberEditor-in-Chief: www.ambedkartimes.com

CONGRATULATIONS ON 644thTHE BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF SAHIB

SHRI SATGURU RAVIDASS JI MAHARAJ

www.deshdoaba.comwww.ambedkartimes.com 2V0l-12 Issue-49 Feburary 17, 2021

Guru- Piari Sadh Sangat Ji,

February 26-27-28, 2021 Gurpurb Sri Guru Ravidass Ji

Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha CA, Pittsburg is celebrating the 644th Parkash Utsav of

SATGURU RAVIDASS JI on Sunday, February 28, 2021 at the temple as per program noted

below:

ARAMBH SHRI AKHAND PATH- February 26, 2021 (Friday) 9:30 AM,

Nishan Sahib Hoisting Ceremony- February 27, 2021(Saturday) at 10:30 AM.

BHOG SHRI AKHAND PATH- February 28, 2021 (Sunday) 9:30 AM followed

by KIRTAN DIWAN

Prominent Jatha of Bhai Vijay Singh from Milpitas, Giani Gurnam Singh & Giani

Ompal Singh will enhance this Kirtan Diwan along with distinguished Speakers and com-

munity leaders well versed with life and teachings of Satguru Ravidass ji.

For the safety of the Sangat and Sewadards, SANGAT is requested to follow

CDC/Contra Costa County COVID guidelines. Everyone must wear a mask/face covering,

wash hands or use sanitizer before entering the Gurughar. Anyone with temperature or

any COVID sysmptoms is humbly requested to refrain from coming to Gurughar.

Sri Guru Ravidass ji was born in 1377, in Kanshi, in India, in a humble family of

Baba Santokh Dass ji and Mata Kalsa Devi ji. Guru Ravidass Ji was a great religious and

social reformer. Guru Ji dedicated his whole life for the welfare of the humanity. He

preached social harmony and equality among all human beings. He stood against caste

based discrimination.

bygm purf shr ko nfAu Ò d¨Ku aµdohu nhI iqih TfAu Ò

nF qsvIsu iKrfju n mflu Ò AuPu n Kqf n qrsu jvflu Ò1Ò

ab moih K¨b vqn gh pfeI Ò hF KYir sdf myry BfeI Ò1ÒrhfAuÒ

kfiemu dfiemu sdf pfiqsfhI Ò dom n sym eyk so afhI Ò

afbfdfnu sdf msh¨r Ò AUhF gnI bsih mfm¨r Ò2

Begumpura, 'the city without sorrow', is the name of the town. There is no suffering or anxiety there.There are no troubles or taxes on commodities there. There is no fear, blemish or downfall there.

Now, I have found this most excellent city. There is lasting peace and safety there,Oh my brother, God's Kingdom is steady, stable and eternal. There is no second or third status; all are equal there.

That city is populous and eternally famous. Those who live there are wealthy and contented.

“NANAK NAM CHARDI KALA TERE BHANE SARBAT DA BHALA”

Sangat De SewadarChairman President General Secretary Treasurer

Jagtar Bhatia Shinder Paul Narabut Dharam Pal Chonkria Vinod Kumar

DHAN DHAN SRI GURU RAVIDASS JIBole’ So Nirbhay! Guru Ravidass Maharaj Ki Jai!


Book Review – Mahapran Jogendra Nath Mandal – Jiwan Aur VicharJogendra Nath Mandal remained anunsung hero of dalits after the recog-nized icon Babasaheb Ambedkar. Iread some pieces about Mandal Sahibfrom here and there but had not readmuch as Jogendra Nath Mandalsomehow got pushed to the marginsof history by sheer quirk of geo-polit-ical and socio-economic ground reali-ties in the 1920s to 1960s in the runup to the partition of India and cre-ation of India and Pakistan; the periodin which he played an important roleas a lead player. On the birth anniver-sary of Jogendra Nath Mandal onJanuary 29, I got an e-mail from Prof.Ishtiaq Ahmed of Stockholm Univer-sity in Sweden which made somevery informative observations on Jo-gendra Nath Mandal which were verykindly forwarded to me, as usual, bymy senior colleague and mentor Am-bassador Bal Anand. On oneof my recent visits to a bookexhibition at Desh BhagatYaadgar Hall in Jalandhar, Icould get a small book of120 pages in Hindi writtenby Sheelpriya Baudh – Ma-hapran Jogendra Nath Man-dal – Jiwan and Vicharpublished by SamyakPrakashan. On reading thebook, which is in no way awell researched work, never-theless, I could get some in-formative material onJogendra Nath Mandal whichmay be of interest. The au-thor Sheelpriya Baudh hasnot claimed any affinity orfirsthand interaction withJogen Da, the nick name ofMandal Sahib. It was just achance meeting of the authorwith one of the close rela-tions of Jogen Da, A.K. Man-dal, a senior professionalwith the Indian Railwayswhich prompted him to writeabout the great leader of his times asstated by him in the introduction ofthe book.

Jogendra Nath Mandal wasborn in a nondescript and poor dalitfamily on January 29, 1904 in thedistrict of Barisal in East Bengalwhich ultimately became East Pak-istan on partition of India in August,1947 and later Bangladesh in Decem-ber, 1971. Since his uncle (Chacha),Ram Krishan did not have their ownissue; they adopted Jogendra NathMandal and gave him the best possi-ble upbringing with their meagersources and lowly social status in thecaste ridden society. Jogendra was abrilliant and dedicated child whopassed his Matriculation in 1924 infirst division as he was admitted toschool at the age of 8 under difficultsocial and economic hardships. Jo-gendra was keen to get higher educa-tion and he got all support from hisuncle Ram Krishan in joining the col-lege. Meanwhile Jogendra got mar-ried to Kamla Devi in a somewhateconomically better off family. His fa-ther in law agreed to finance his fur-ther education. In spite of numeroushurdles, Jogendra, with his grit and

determination, continued his highereducation of BA in 1929 from BrijMohan College at Barisal, MA and,LL.B from Universities in Dacca andCalcutta respectively. While in his col-lege and university days, he showedlot of concern for the pitiable condi-tion of his under-privileged brethrenin the community. He resented at-tempts by his fellow students ofupper castes to refrain him from join-ing Sarswati Pooja. Once he was ad-monished for entering Kali Mandir atBarisal, being a low caste, and dese-cration of the deity. Jogendra was anorator with a great sense of argumentand logic even in his college and uni-versity days. In 1936, he startedpractice in Calcutta High Court toearn his bread and butter but due tocaste prejudices could not succeed.He shifted to his native place Barisal

and established himself as a success-ful practitioner of law and also startedparticipating in public affairs withfocus on matters of concern and in-terest to the socially and economi-cally marginalized sections of thesociety and also communal harmonybetween Muslim and Hindu commu-nities. Jogendra Nath Mandal’s firstpublic recognition came in 1936 withhis election to the Member of Munic-ipal Council of Barisal which was fur-ther complimented by his election tothe provincial assembly in 1937under the formula of reserved seatsfor depressed classes. With the sup-port of forces opposed to the Con-gress Party, Mandal Sahib won withan impressive margin of votes as anIndependent against a Congressheavy-weight, Saral Kumar Dutt. Ma-hatma Gandhi was not happy onthese developments and castigatingthe local Congress leadership on thevictory of Jogen Da, as quoted bySheelpriya Baudh, said, “For the suc-cess of a real public worker, no trade-mark is required. Real service andlove for the masses is his only trade-mark”. Mandal Sahib was an activepolitician. He fought for reservationfor dalits in education and govern-

ment jobs for depressed classes asagreed to in the Poona Pact signedbetween Ambedkar and Gandhi in1932 in the wake of the CommunalAward of PM Ramsey MacDonald. He,in cooperation with other dalit lead-ers, established Independent Sched-uled Caste Party. There were twopolitical formations in Bengal; onewas led by Fazlulalhaq and SyamaPrasad Mookerjee and the second byKhawaja Nazimuddin. Mandal createdhis own independent group as a cau-cus to take care of the interests ofdalits. Khawaja Nazimuddin showedinclination and roped in Jogen Da andappointed him as Minister in his gov-ernment. Jogendra proved to be avocal Minister particularly with regardto the issues pertaining to dalits andother weaker sections of the society.He stood with Subhash Chandra Bosein 1941-42 with regard to Bose’s dis-agreements with Congress Party andMahatma Gandhi. Jogen Da was a

fearless leader. The book under re-view has mentioned an incident in1943-44 when he stood like a rockon the issue of employment to dalits.I quote from page 35 of the bookwhich would say all. On a heated ar-gumentative discussion in a meeting,Jogen Da responded angrily to MLAHamidulhaq Chaudhary and said

“Mr. Hamidulhaq Chaudharyapni yeh lal ankhen kisi aur kodikhana. Mujhe bhi ankhen dikhanaatta hai. Mein apne mantripad kedawara uchit kaya kar raha hoon.Mein is mantripad ki seva karne nahinaya hoon. Yeh mantripad kisi ki kirpaka fal nahin jo meri jholi mein dal diyagya hai. Yeh jo rang bhawan humlogon dawara nirmit kia gya hai usemein 24 ghanton mein katam bhi karsakta hoon” – Mr Chaudhary pleaseshow this anger to someone else. Ican also be angry. I am doing my joba Minister. I am not here to enjoy theMinistership which is not a gift givento me. Whatever we have createdwith our own efforts could also bedestroyed in 24 hours, if I want.

Joginder Nath Mandal provedhis mettle in Bengal and startedspreading his wings beyond Bengal in1942 by the time Babasaheb Ambed-kar had made his mark in the Indianpolitical firmament. In March, 1942,dalits arranged a pan-India meeting in

Delhi totake stockof theemerg ingp o l i t i c a lsituation inthe wakeof CrippsMission inw h i c hBabasahebAmbedkarand Jogin-der NathM a n d a lalso partic-ipated. Itwas said to be the first formal meet-ing of two dalits leaders. Both theleaders could develop good rapportwith each other with regard to the fu-ture political space of dalits. It wasdecided to float an all-India politicaloutfit for the purpose. The next meet-ing was held at Nagpur in July, 1942.

Joginder Nath Mandal alongwith his associates in the Inde-pendent Scheduled CastesParty also participated in theNagpur meeting and joinedhands with other leaders inwhich it was decided to re-name the All India DepressedClasses Federation, an outfitstarted by Ambedkar in 1930,as the All India ScheduledCaste Federation to carry for-ward the agenda of the sidelined segments of the society.The Bengal Chapter of the newparty was headed by JoginderNath Mandal himself. In thesubsequent years, Ambedkarand Joginder intensified theircontact and cooperation, Man-dal Sahib as a Minister in theBengal Government and

Ambedkar as a Member of theViceroy’s Council in spite of somecomplaints of local Bengali leadersagainst Jogen Da on account of hislinks with Subhash Chander Bose andseeking help from Congress Party onvarious occasions. The book has in-cluded a couple of letters exchangedbetween Ambedkar and Jogen dawhich give a positive flavor of therapport and understanding that ex-isted between the two stalwarts’ ofthe time. Ambedkar further cementedthe mutual understanding and respectwhen he honored Jogen Da to for-mally open the Ambedkar School ofPolitics in Poona in October, 1945.The glorious chapter of Jogen Da’scontribution was yet to open. He wasthe lone successful MLA on the ticketof All India Scheduled Caste Federa-tion among the 30 odd reserved seatswith 26 of the Congress Party andthree independents. He became aMinister in H.S. Suharawardy’s gov-ernment in April, 1946 as a Hindunominee for communal balance in theCabinet. Now an epoch making chap-ter opens in May, 1946. The Con-stituent Assembly was to be formedby the members elected by theprovincial assemblies. The processstarted and Congress Party ‘closed alldoors and windows; even the

(Contd. on next page)

Ramesh ChanderAmbassador - I.F.S. (Retired)91-99885-10940


Book Review – Mahapran Jogendra Nath Mandal – Jiwan Aur Vichar(Continue from page 3)

ventilators’ for the entry of Babasa-heb Ambedkar to the Constituent As-sembly from anywhere in India. It isa well documented fact. Dalits allover India were worried. The bookgives some insights of the situation.It was Jogendra Nath Mandal and hisassociates and supporters who cameforward and invited Dr. B.R. Ambed-kar to come to Bengal and they wouldsend him to the Constituent Assem-bly. It was a proposal engulfed withso many uncertainties. But there wasno other option. Ambedkar reachedCalcutta in the second half of June,1946 and accepted the offer. BothJogen Da and Ambedkar with the ex-plicit understandings with KhawajaNazimuddin did their best to gathersupport. Congress Party employedevery trick to see that Ambedkar maynot succeed in filing his papers forthe election as an independent candi-date. With lot of grit and planning andeven aggressive posture on the partof dalits from the Doaba region ofPunjab engaged in leather businessin Calcutta, all these designs were de-feated. On July 17, 1946, the elec-tion day, it was a do or die situation.The book gives a detailed account ofthese events. The supporters ofAmbedkar led by Punjabi leather tan-ners stormed the Assembly buildingwhere voting was to take place. OneBudh Singh from a village Tallan in Ja-landhar district of Punjab brandisheda sword and declared that anybodyseen trying to stop or negate Ambed-kar’s election will not be spared “yehtalwaren gadharon ke khoon se lathpath ho janengi aur mein apne jiwanki ahuti de doonga” – this sword willbe bathed with the blood of traitorsand I will sacrifice my life. Jogen Dahimself led that show of anger andstrength. On counting of votes onJuly 20, Ambedkar got elected to theConstituent Assembly hands downwith a huge support. It has been re-vealed in the book that even morethan 6 Congress MLAs defying theparty whip voted for Ambedkar. Itwas a sigh of relief to the entire dalitcommunity. Jogen Da made his markas a leader of dalits along withAmbedkar. The rest is history. IfAmbedkar was not elected to theConstituent Assembly from Bengalunder the leadership of JogendraNath Mandal, the history of the con-stitution making would have been dif-ferent.

The next very importantphase in the life of Jogendra NathMandal came with the formation ofInterim Government under the leader-ship of Jawaharlal Nehru in August1946. The Muslim League and dalitslike Ambedkar opposed to CongressParty were not accommodated in it.Meanwhile, communal situation wastense particularly in Bengal. Jogen Dawas already serving in the Suhar-wardy Government in Bengal. The po-litical scenario in Delhi was changingby every passing day. One fine morn-ing, Suharwardy summoned JogenDa to his office and asked himwhether he would like to join the In-terim Government in Delhi from the

Muslim League quota and handed hima letter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah inthis regard. It was a real surprise.Jogen Da, considering the treatmentof dalits by the Congress and Hinduprejudices, accepted the offer of Jin-nah. Obviously, it was not liked byMahatma Gandhi and other Hinduleaders. Accordingly, Jogendra NathMandal joined the Interim Govern-ment in November 4, 1946. It was adifficult decision but took the plungewith explicit understanding and bless-ings of Babasaheb Ambedkar and thecommunity lead-ers in larger in-terests of dalitsof not only Ben-gal but of theunited India.Jogen Da, asLaw Minister inthe Interim Gov-ernment led byJ a w a h a r l a lNehru, wrote toAmbedkar onMay 30, 1947and solicited hisadvice as towhat should bedone by him tosafe guard theinterests of dalitsin the emergingpolitical scenarioto whichA m b e d k a rreplied on June2, 1947, thetext of the letteris available in the book. The reality ofpartition of India into two countrieson the basis of two nation theory ofMuslim League and its leadership ledby Jinnah was being realized as Con-gress and its leadership led by Nehruwas amenable to the idea of partition.Jogen Da and other leaders like SaratChandra Bose, elder brother of Sub-hash Chandra Bose among othersfloated the idea of independent Ben-gal, as stated in the book, but couldnot go far as it was already too late.It was certain that the Janam andKaram Bhoomi of Jogen Da were tobecome East Pakistan. These groundrealities coupled with high-handed-ness of Congrss Party and Hinduleaders in dealing with dalits in thecaste ridden society on one hand andsome soft corner and promises ofMuslim leadership including Jinnah toprovide due space to dalits in the newdispensation on the other made Man-dal Sahib to side with Pakistan. Ac-cordingly on the advice and directionsof Jinnah, he left for the new capitalcity of Pakistan on August 5, 1947.Pakistan came into being as a nationon August, 1947 under the leader-ship of Mohammad Ali Jinnah asGovernor General and Liaquat AliKhan as PM. As a political master-stroke to assuage the ruffled feelingsof Hindus including dalits, JoginderNath Mandal was retained as the firstLaw Minister of Pakistan. Was it a de-sign or chance that Dr. B.R. wasmade the first law Minister of freeIndia and Joginder Nath Mandal offree Pakistan, both dalit leaders of

their own standing belonging to theAll India Scheduled Castes Federa-tion? Jogen Da established his cre-dentials as a vocal leader of a secularmind with particular focus on rightsand space of minority Hindus and dal-its as the Law Minister of Pakistan.He was doing his job well with clearsupport and understanding of Pak-istani Head of State Qaid-e-Azam Jin-nah. But the things were gettingdifficult with planned and willful vio-lence by majority Muslims against mi-nority Hindus. Jogen Da Jinnah

threatened toresign from theCabinet. Thedetails of an in-teresting tiffwith Jinnah aregiven in thebook at page103. Jinnahfirst tried to un-derplay the re-sentment ofJogen Da butlater sensingthe mood said,as quoted in thebook, “Mr.Mandal pa-tience in politicsis the essenceof success. Iwas just testingyour patience. Iam equally per-turbed over thesituation in EastPakistan. I have

ordered for a special flight for goingto East Pakistan accompanied by youso as to solve the problem.” JogenDa also kept Ambedkar in India onthe loop and kept him informed of theemerging communal situation in Pak-istan particularly with regard to dalits.The book contains letters of Ambed-kar which he wrote to PM JawaharlalNehru and his Cabinet colleague K.C.Nyogi. Jogen Da’s hopes were shat-tered particularly the sudden death ofQaid-e-Azam Jinnah on December 11,1948. The new leader, Liquat AliKhan was not supportive of JogenDa. He did not like Jogen Da’s stanceon treatment to Hindu and other mi-norities in Pakistan and tried to side-line him. In June 1950, Jogen Da,being Labour Minister of Pakistan,was not sent to a meeting of the In-ternational Labour Conference (ILO).Jogen Da sensed trouble and in oneof meetings with Liaquat Ali offeredto resign and said, as per the book,“If you wish, I may slip down’. Therewere rumors that Jogen Da even bedismissed from the Cabinet. In Sep-tember, 1950, he got a telegram thatin Calcutta his son Jagdish ChandraMandal was seriously down withmalaria and he should immediatelycome to see his son. Jogen Da cameto Calcutta and fell sick himself.Meanwhile, political developmentsand communal situation in Pakistanwas generating a worrisome situa-tion. Pakistan was increasingly ceas-ing to be a country of secular anddemocratic values. With consultationwith his associates in India, Jogendra

Nath Mandal decided to stay back inCalcutta and resigned on October 8,1950 from the coveted positions heheld in Pakistan and sent his resigna-tion to PM Liaquat Ali Khan. The textof the resignation letter is given in thebook on page 106 and I quote from itfor the benefit of readers but I doubt,given the language of the said letter,that is the correct text, “The treat-ment meted to Hindus and other mi-norities by the so called NaziMuslims/Gundas during the recentriots in February, 1950, I firmly be-lieve that the entire Pakistan is not aplace for Hindus to live. They even beconverted by brutal force.” Thischapter of short lived ‘tryst with Pak-istan’ of Jogen Da came to an end.Only researchers, scholars and histo-rians would evaluate and analysethese momentous decisions for thebenefit of the general public. But it isfor sure that Joginder Nah Mandalwas a leader by his right.

On return from Pakistan,Mandal Sahib engaged himself inpublic service with regard to the dis-placed people. During the course ofhis activism, he went to jail severaltimes in West Bengal. Meanwhile,Ambedkar also resigned from Jawa-harlal Nehru’s Cabinet in 1951. Jo-gendra Nath Mandal did not agreewith one of the reasons of Ambedd-kar’s resignation on the issue of divi-sion of the state of Jammu andKashmir, as mentioned in the bookunder review. In the run up to the firstelections in 1952 under the new con-stitution of India, Jogen Da floated anew political outfit called United Peo-ples Organisation and contested elec-tions but could not make any dent.He himself lost like BabasahebAmbedkar and his All India ScheduledCaste Federation. After Ambedkar’spassing away in December, 1956,Jogen Da tried to gather likemindedforces to carry forward the legacy ofBabsaheb Ambedkar but could not domuch. He died as an unsung hero onOctober 5, 1968.

As a tail-piece, may I mentionhere that I had an opportunity to seeand listen to Joginder Nath Mandal atmy native place at Bootan Mandi inJalandhar in Punjab sometime in1964-65 as a young lad in my form-ative years. I vividly remember hewas a tall man nicely dressed in whitekurta and dhoti. He spoke in Englishwhich was interpreted by an up-com-ing local leader at that time and astaunch Ambedkarite, Lahori RamBalley. I don’t remember the contentsof his speech but somehow feel thatthese must be of value.

All said and done, MahapranJogendra Nath Mandal – Jiwan AurVichar is a book that provides somebasic facts to introduce the leader. Ihope some well researched bookabout Jogendra Nath Mandal comesin the future with more and an au-thentic version of his life and mission.I conclude with a quote from Babar-nama given at page 117 of the book:अरसे से कोई न मेरा यार न मेरा दयार है ; पल भर को भी नहीं मुझे हासिल करार है, आने को अपनी मर्जी से मैं आया था यहाँ ;जाने का पर यहाँ से नहीं इख्तयार है !

The next very important phase

in the life of Jogendra Nath

Mandal came with the forma-

tion of Interim Government

under the leadership of Jawa-

harlal Nehru in August 1946.

The Muslim League and dalits

like Ambedkar opposed to Con-

gress Party were not accommo-

dated in it. Meanwhile,

communal situation was tense

particularly in Bengal. Jogen Da

was already serving in the

Suharwardy Government

in Bengal.


BJP 'won't mind' any realignment of forcesBJP President L.K. Advani said hereon Tuesday that from a purely partyperspective, the BJP would not mindany realignment of forces in which,instead of having to play its presentdifficult role of critical support to theNational Front government, it functioned as an opposition party zealously defending the people's interest.

Participating in a meet-the-press programme at the Thiruvanan-thapuram Press Club, Mr. Advaniclarified that he was stating theparty's position in the light of com-ments from certain quarters that theBJP was the main beneficiary of theV.P. Singh government and the talk in political circles of a national government. It was to honour the1989 electoral mandate for theouster of the Congress-I that the BJPhad decided to extend critical supportto the NF government, he said. Theparty was also convinced it hadplayed this role in the last sevenmonths with responsibility and matu-rity. But the party would not beaverse to playing the far easier role ofopposition if there were to be a freshre-alignment of forces.

The events in the last sevenmonths had disproved the assump-tion that the unusual configuration in

national politics of a minority govern-ment sustained by two ideologicallydiverse political blocks - the BJP andthe Marxists - could not be an alter-native to the Congress-I. All the prob-lems faced by the NF government hademanated neither from the BJP norfrom the Marxists but from within theFront's own ranks, he said. If theJanata Dal was able to manage its in-ternal party affairs properly it couldwell last its full term of five years asthe BJP, for its part, would very muchlike. he said.

But there was talk of a re-alignment of political forces inspiredby quarters unhappy with the presentalignment. The Congress-I was natu-rally very bitter about the presentequations and had been itching todestabilise it.

There were sections in theJanata Dal unable to reconcile them-selves to the V.P. Singh leadershipand wanting a new leader in his place.

The Marxist camp, as awhole might not like to disturb thepresent equation but some sectionswere feeling sore that all their pre-election plans to marginalise the BJPhad gone awry, he said.

They too would not mindsome new alignment taking place ifonly that could curb BJP.

The BJP leader hailed theIndo-Nepal agreement that helped torestore bilateral relations to the pre-1987 level. The worsening of rela-tions with Nepal was a glaringinstance of the bankrupt neighbour-hood policy of the Rajiv government,he said.

However, he said, his partywas stoutly opposed to any move bythe V.P. Singh government to extendreservation to converts to Islam andChristianity from the ScheduledCastes and Tribes.

It had supported the exten-sion of reservation to SC/ST convertsto Buddhism because under the Con-stitution, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jainswere classified as Hindus. To extendreservation to converts to other reli-gions would be violative of the rec-ommendation of the ConstituentAssembly, he said.

Replying to questions, theBJP President said that the BJP,Janata Dal and the left parties werehaving a successful interactionamong themselves. From the personaltalks he and Mr. Vajpayee had withsenior CPM leaders, he had gainedthe impression that the CPM leaderswere themselves now questioning thewisdom of having had joint anti-com-munal conventions with the Con-

gress-I.The BJP, he said, had not

been exerting any pressure on theV.P. Singh government for partisangains. The four main issues on whichit had strongly come out against thegovernment were, handling of the Ru-biya abduction, replacement of Gov-ernor Jagmohan, the inflationarynature of the budget and the failureto give statehood to Delhi. The sup-port for the NF government could notbe by way of 'ganging up' and avoid-ing principled positions.

The party had already ex-pressed its strong opposition to anumber of official amendments to thePrasar Bharathi Bill which with a fewreservations was all right in spirit andframe. He disclosed that the govern-ment had agreed to have detailed dis-cussions with the BJP and Marxistsbefore introducing the official amend-ments. Mr. Advani said that he didnot believe that the Madhya PradeshChief Minister had supported demoli-tion of the Babri Masjid mosque as re-ported in a section of the press. Heevaded questions on the Ram Jan-mabhoomi agitation planned by theViswa Hindu Parishad.

Source Courtesy: The Indian Express, 13 June 1990

Let Them PlayYou may have seen on the newsor outside your car window asyou drive through town that amovement is growing in Califor-nia. There is increasing supportfor the simple notion that childrenin California need to get outsideand play. Since the onset of theCOVID-19 pandemic, childrenhave been denied access to youthsports, physical educationclasses, and even playgrounds.Like many drastic steps taken inthe early days of the pandemicwhen much was unknown aboutthe virus, such actions seemedlike acceptable, short-term pre-cautions. It is not March 2020anymore. We have more informa-tion on which to make decisionsabout our citizenry's health andsafety. The time has long passedfor children to get back in thegame. All priorities being aboutprotecting health right now;physical activity for our youth isbecoming more important thanever. That simple notion is defen-sible with the common knowl-edge we know to be true thatkids need exercise to protect theirphysical health. Cardiovascularhealth, body composition,strength, coordination are allthings that are put at risk if chil-dren are not getting enough phys-ical activity. Virtual learning is

challenging enough, but I thinkwe can agree that physical edu-cation has its own unique difficul-ties. Does the child live in a homewith a large yard? Near a safepark? Does the child have accessto an outdoor gym or online fit-ness class? Children with accessto some or all the above may behaving an easier time getting theexercise they need than childrenwho do not. That is why the de-cision to restrict physical activi-ties for youth so stringently is notonly an issue of health but alsoan issue of equity.

Then there is the impor-tance of mental health. I havespoken before of the dangers offocusing too closely on onehealth crisis at the expense ofcreating others. Everyone re-ceives mental benefits from exer-cise, none more so than children.Exercise is an excellent way tocope with stress, socialize withfriends, and build confidence.

There are also the benefitsof participating in team sports likelearning how to work together,responsibility, communication.Stripping away these critical out-lets and opportunities for childrenis depriving them of some of themost important aspects of beinga kid while preparing for a stablefuture. For some children, sports

could determine their entire fu-ture as a pathway to college oreven professional sports opportu-nities. State officials may con-sider what type of futureCalifornia children will have withso much critical developmenttime spent looking at a computerscreen in isolation.

California stands amongonly around a dozen or so statesholding on to the practice of re-stricting youth sports to such anextreme level. It is unnecessary.Models for the safe continuationof youth sports exist across thecountry, and in every regard, theyare successful. We know nowthat a lack of exercise has devas-tating effects on physical andmental health. We know thattransmission among athletes issignificantly lower than otherforms of social contact. It is diffi-cult to understand any reasoningat this point to keep kids fromhaving adequate access to sportsand exercise.

As I said, I do not want usto focus so narrowly on onethreat to health that we becomeblind to others. The reality of chil-dren struggling more with mentalhealth than ever before is beyondanecdotal. Studies and stories ofincreases in depression, eatingdisorders, anxiety, and suicidal

t e n d e n -cies areright therefor all tosee. Chil-dren needto get offof Zoomand on the field to be protectedfrom these avoidable conditions.The future of our children is notsomething to think about tomor-row but today. For the sake ofcomprehensive well-being, Cali-fornia officials need to get to-gether, listen to the pleas ofdesperate children and parents,and the research piling up fromentities interested only in thefacts. When the reality that hasbeen created is looked at througha pragmatic lens, it is clear theneed exists for our children andour state to let them play.

Thank you for reading –and as always, if you want tocontact me, call me at 916-874-5491, or e-mail me at [email protected] Frost represents the 4th Dis-trict, which includes all or part ofthe communities of CitrusHeights, Folsom, Orangevale, An-telope, Rio Linda, Elverta, GoldRiver, Rancho Murieta, NorthHighlands, Carmichael, FoothillFarms and Fair Oaks

Sue FrostSacramento County Supervisor


If Dalits can be Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists,why can’t they be Christians and Muslims?

Christian and Muslim Dalits have beendenied benefits available to SC groupsamong Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists.

A petition challenging the discriminationhas been pending in Supreme Court

for yearsNational Herald India Abraham Mathew,

August 10, 2020Monday, August 10 is the 70th anniver-sary of the Constitution (ScheduledCastes) Order, 1950, which sought toidentify communities that come underthe Scheduled Caste status in India.

The Constitution (ScheduledCaste) Order, 1950, however left outMuslims and Christians of scheduledcaste origin. Both these communitiessince then have observed this day as ablack day because they believe the orderwas discriminatory and denied them theright to be included in the SchedulesCastes list. It is also violative of the fun-damental right to freedom of conscienceand belief, they have argued.

The third paragraph of the Con-stitution (Scheduled Castes) order 1950,i.e., the Presidential Order, stipulates that“no person who professes a religion dif-ferent from Hinduism shall be deemed tobe a member of Scheduled Caste”.

This is a clear contradiction tothe spirit of the constitution which issupposed to ensure the equality of citi-zens. Further amendments to the orderwere made in subsequent years to in-clude Sikh Dalits (1956) and BuddhistDalits (1990). However, Dalits practisingreligions such as Christianity and Islamremained excluded from the categorisa-tion. The experience of untouchabilitycoupled with extreme social, educationaland economic backwardness are the cri-teria that determine Scheduled Castestatus in India. Dalits in India share acommon legacy of humiliation and seg-regation, because irrespective of their re-ligious affinity, untouchability based ontheir birth has been rampant in both pri-vate and public spheres.

Take the case of Soosai (1985)who was a cobbler in Chennai, belonging

to the Adi-Dravida caste, i.e., before heconverted to Christianity. Since he be-longed to the cobbler community, he wasconsidered to be an untouchable. Hiscaste was also mentioned in the Sched-uled Caste list. Despite converting toChristianity, his economic and social con-dition saw no considerable change. Butwhen free bunk beds were allotted tomembers of hiscaste-community,Soosai was excludedbecause he was nota Hindu or Sikh.

His religiousidentity made thestate overlook hissocio-economic con-dition, which was onpar with others whowere eligible andwere not Muslims or Christians. Religionthen becomes an obstacle and as a resultmany are forced to discard their beliefsso that they can avail of ‘reservation’,which is essential for their upward mo-bility. The order therefore also infringeson a Dalit individual’s right to freely pro-fess, practice and propagate religionwhich is clearly guaranteed by Article 25of the Indian Constitution.

This is the reality that has beenhighlighted by Dalit Muslims and DalitChristians for a long time. They suspectan elitist state with a religious bias hasturned a deaf ear to their legitimate plea.There are also political and social under-currents to this nature of discrimination,because of which justice is being denied to many.

It has been argued that Christi-anity and Islam are egalitarian and has nocaste hierarchy that segregates the com-munities. Although they rightly point outthat these religions cannot, scripturallyor theologically, promote such forms ofsegregation, it is also a reality that theyremain victims of the deep-rooted natureof caste in Indian society.

Satish Deshpande with the as-sistance of Geetika Bapna (Department

of Sociology, University of Delhi) had pre-pared a report for the National Commis-sion for Minorities, Government of Indiain 2008 titled ‘Dalits in the Muslim andChristian Communities: A Status Reporton Current Social Scientific Knowledge’.

In this report they affirmed ‘…there is a strong case for including DalitMuslims and Dalit Christians in the

Scheduled Caste cat-egory. There are com-pelling arguments infavour of such an in-clusion based onprinciples of naturaljustice and fairness.The balance of prag-matic considerationsis also in favour oftheir inclusion…”

Many attemptshave also been made to analyse thisissue and identify if this discrimination ispermitted by the Constitution.

The First Backward ClassesCommission (Kaka Kalelkar Commission,1955)) recommended that the Statemust take special steps to empowerChristians and Muslims of SC origin. TheSecond Backward Classes Commission(Mandal Commission, 1983) stated thatreligious conversion does not changesocio-economic status.

Sachar Committee Report(2006) and The National Commission forReligious and Linguistic Minorities (Ran-ganath Misra Commission, 2007) alsohighlighted the need for granting ofScheduled Caste status to Christian andMuslim Dalits. The UN Commission onthe elimination of Racial Discriminationalso recommended that the state partyshould restore the eligibility for affirma-tive action benefits of all members ofscheduled castes and scheduled tribeshaving converted to another religion.

Study after study conducted inthe last 70 years, have recognised thatsevere socio-economic and educationalbackwardness continue to plague all Dal-its, irrespective of their religious faith.

The reservation of seats on thebasis of caste in India is not a post-inde-pendence development. They have beenin existence since the end of the 19thcentury, mainly initiated by princelystates. In 1932, The Communal awardwas introduced by the then British PrimeMinister Ramsay Macdonald and as a re-sult the depressed classes were awardedseparate electorates.

After independence, special priv-ileges for the scheduled castes andscheduled tribes were allocated by Indianconstitution through Articles 15 and 16by reservation of seats in the educationalinstitutions to continue their studies andfurther reserving employment for them.The main thrust behind these introduc-tions was giving equal opportunity to thecandidates from socially and economi-cally deprived sections of the society.

The only hope for them is theConstitution because the Indian Consti-tution is an outcome of the aspiration ofcommon masses to have an egalitariansociety. They consider it an anti-thesis toall kinds of hegemonies and segregationsthat subjugate the common masses. Fur-ther, the role given to Ambedkar in draft-ing the Constitution went on to displaythe importance that the nation’s leaderswere willing to assign to the ideal ofequality in independent India.

A civil writ petition is still pend-ing before the Hon’ble Supreme Court forfurther hearing. It was filed by Adv.Franklin Ceaser Thomas in which the Na-tional Council of Churches in India andthe Catholic Bishops’ Conference ofIndia, two apex bodies representingchurches in India are also a part.

Seventy years of struggle to establish the rights of a section of a marginalised group still continues withthe dream of attaining justice, liberty,equality and fraternity in an India as envisioned in the Indian Constitution.

The Author is the Executive Secretary of the National Council

of Churches in India

RS okays bill conferring SC status on Neo-Buddhists

Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a billextending Scheduled Caste status toneo-Buddhists on the basis of theircaste prior to conversion. The meas-ure, which comes on the eve of Bud-dha Pournami, was hailed by theelders unanimously.

Accordingly, all such Bud-dhists who belonged to ScheduledCastes before conversion will now beable to enjoy the benefits of SCs.

Speaking on the bill before itspassage, members cutting acrossparty lines, pleaded that this facility

should be extended toChristians and Muslimson similar grounds. TheMinister for Welfare, Mr.Ram Vilas Paswan, re-sponding to members'suggestion, said thatmatter could be dis-cussed among leaders ofvarious political partieslater to consider the sug-gestion.The Bharatiya Janata

Party, however, adopteda different stand on the question ofextending SC status to Christians andMuslims. Mr. Pramod Mahajan (BJP)said SC status could not be extendedto Christians and Muslims becausetheir religions were not offshoots ofHinduism. His party had no objectionto SC status being given to Sikhs andnow Buddhists because they werebasically offshoots of Hinduism. Thisargument was sought to be coun-tered by several members who said itwould amount to discrimination in thename of religion and would be against

the spirit of secularism.The bill set off much legal

wrangling between the National Frontand the Congress-I with the latterwanted the bill rephrased to avoid anypossible litigation subsequent to itspassage. Leader of the Opposition,Mr. P. Shiv Shankar, said that the Bill,in its present form, would highlightthe caste of the neo-Buddhist in orderto afford him the benefit of SC status.This would be a retrogade step as theBuddhist religion did not believe in thecaste system. Minister of Law andJustice, Mr. Dinesh Goswamy dis-agreed with him, saying that therewas no way to confer status on Neo-Buddhists without determining theircaste before conversion.

An argument ensued and Mr.Paswan assured members that thegovernment would take care of anyproblem that would arise later. Hewanted that the Bill to be passed onTuesday since Buddha Poornima fellon Wednesday. The members thentook up the discussion in rightearnest. A number of members, in-

cluding former Minister of State forWelfare, Mrs. Margaret Alva (Cong-I),Mr. V. Gopalaswamy (DMK) and Mr.Ajit Yogi (Cong-I) wanted similar sta-tus to be conferred on Christians.They said it would be 'a grave dis-crimination' if the same facility wasdenied to them.

Mr. Gopalaswamy said it wasironical that while ST converts toChristianity enjoyed their benefitseven after conversion, converts to SCdid not get the same facility.

Prof. C.P. Thakur (Cong-I)while supporting the bill wanted eco-nomic criteria to be the basis for ex-tending various constitutionalbenefits. Determining various benefitson the basis of castes was wrong, headded. Mr. Sabir Ahmed Salaria (NC)pleaded that Christians and Muslimsshould not be denied the same bene-fit being given to Sikhs earlier andnow to Buddhists.

Source Courtesy: The Indian Express,

Wednesday, May 9, 1990

NEERAJ PAUL+91-99683-69972

Email: [email protected]

FROM THE NEWS ARCHIVES


Why SC Status for Dalit Christians, Muslims should not be linked to religion

They are denied the ScheduledCaste status because of what is

written in the Constitution, and theproblem should be addressed withconsideration for human rights and

based on reality.Franklin Caesar Thomas

Irrespective of their religious affilia-tions, the poorest among Christiansand Muslims with Scheduled Casteorigin (converted Christians and Mus-lims) continue to be confined to de-scent-based menial jobs — manualscavenging, washing, cremating/burying bodies, drumming, cobblingon road sides, working as agriculturalslaves and so on.

They are denied the Sched-uled Caste status because of what iswritten in the Constitution, andthe problem should be ad-dressed with consideration forhuman rights and based on real-ity.

Paragraph 3 of the Con-stitution (Scheduled Castes)Order, 1950, states, “Notwith-standing anything contained inparagraph 2, no person whoprofesses a religion differentfrom the Hindu, the Sikh or theBuddhist religion shall bedeemed to be a member of aScheduled Caste.”

This acts as a stumblingblock in extending the Sched-uled Caste privileges to them,even though their castes arelisted in the Schedule of theOrder. While it is widely arguedthat religion-based reservationshould not be allowed, the aboveparagraph makes religion the main cri-teria for according the ScheduledCaste status.Now, let us consider some myths andlay out the reality.

(1) Christianity and Islam donot recognise the caste system

For all practical purposes, un-touchability exists among IndianChristians. Just as the upper casteHindus, the dominant, elite Christiansand Muslims (upper caste) also treatmembers of their religion with Sched-uled Caste Origin as untouchables be-cause of the menial jobs they do, thestigma of untouchability that gets at-tached to them through birth, and thecasteist mindset of some sections.

No upper, dominant casteChristian, Muslim or Hindu will treatDalit Christians and Dalit Muslims astouchable and equal.

As per the SC/ST (Preventionof Atrocities) Act 1989, anyone/any-thing promoting untouchability shouldbe prosecuted. Here again, the Hindureligion should not be treated as theonly source instigating/recognisinguntouchability. It is wrongly inter-preted that only Hinduism gives li-cence to practise untouchability andthat the other religions do not asthey link it to Hindu ideologies anddogmas about castes.

In effect, it means if a well-educated, socially, economically andculturally forward Dalit Christian re-

converts to Hinduism, Sikhism orBuddhism, he will forthwith becomesocially, educationally, economicallyand culturally backward. Also, if heagain converts to Christianity, he willbecome socially, educationally, cultur-ally and economically forward. This iscontrary to Articles 14, 15, 16 and25 of the Constitution.

Following this circular, about5 million Dalit Christians (from 1950till the present day) have been forcedto reconvert officially to Hinduism,Sikhism and Buddhism for availingScheduled Caste benefits. The homeministry order and the interpretationof the anti-conversion laws of variousstate governments engender forcedconversion for material benefits. This

is nothing but religious allurement.The state is indirectly indulging inforcible conversion in a diplomaticway (by making people stick to Hin-duism, Sikhism and Buddhism). Thisgoes against the religious freedom of-fered by the Indian Constitution.

When Dalit Christians seekprivileges, it is said the 15% quotawould be insufficient. It is, however,argued that the reservation would besufficient if all Dalit Christians con-vert to Hinduism, Sikhism and Bud-dhism; some even say the quota canbe increased in such an event.

(3) Christians and Muslims ofScheduled Castes Origin want to ben-efit from both Scheduled Caste andreligious minority rights

Buddhist and Sikhs of Sched-uled Caste Origin can exercise rightsas both religious minorities andScheduled Castes. Many enjoy multi-ple other benefits simultaneouslyalong with caste privileges — ex-ser-vicemen, physically handicapped, lin-guistic minorities, women(gender-based reservation). In thesame way, Dalit Christians and DalitMuslims can also avail of ScheduledCaste privileges along with religiousminority rights.

(4) Sikhism and Buddhism donot recognise caste system, butSikhs and Buddhists of ScheduledCaste Origin were given the Sched-uled Caste status since the two reli-gions are offshoots of Hinduism as

per Article 25 (1) of the Indian Con-stitution

If Sikhism and Buddhism arethe offshoots of Hinduism, then Sikhsand Buddhists of Scheduled CasteOrigin could have been granted SCprivileges in 1950 itself.

There would have been noneed to make separate amendmentsin the Constitution (ScheduledCastes) Order, 1950, Paragraph 3, in1956 (for Sikh Dalits) and 1990 (forBuddhist Dalits).

As per Article 25 (1) that pro-tects personal laws in matters suchas marriages, etc, Sikhism and Bud-dhism are treated as offshoots of Hin-duism; but as per the NationalCommission for Minorities Act, 1992

(Act approved by Parliament), Sikhismand Buddhism are separate religions.

Like Sikhs and Buddhists ofScheduled Caste Origin, Christiansand Muslims of Scheduled Caste Ori-gin should also be given the Sched-uled Caste status through anamendment to the 1950 Order or bydeleting, through amendment in Par-liament or through judicial interven-tion, Paragraph 3 of the Order thatdenies Christian and Muslim Dalitsthe SC status.

(5) The extension of Sched-uled Caste status to Christians andMuslims of Scheduled Caste Originwill lead to sudden mass conversionfrom Hinduism, Sikhism and Bud-dhism to Christianity and Islam.Absolutely not.When Sikhs and Bud-dhists of Scheduled Caste Originwere given the Scheduled Caste sta-tus in 1956 and 1990, respectively,Hindu Scheduled Caste people didnot convert to Sikhism and Buddhismin large numbers. Similarly, providingthe SC status to Dalit Christians andDalit Muslims will not result in massconversion of Hindu, Sikh and Bud-dhist Scheduled Caste people toChristianity and Islam.

The religious values of Hin-dus, Sikhs and Buddhists should notbe disrespected and defiled with suchwrong perception. Also, the self-re-spect, dignity, cultural and spiritualvalues of the Hindu, Sikh and Bud-dhist Scheduled Caste people should

not be underestimated and degraded.(6) Article 17. Abolition of Untouch-ability, and the demand for ScheduleCaste status for Dalit Christians andMuslims

“Untouchability” has beenabolished and its practice in any formis forbidden. The enforcement of anydisability rising out of ‘untouchability’shall be an offence punishable as perlaw. Since the President of India abolished untouchability based onhistorical caste discrimination on Jan-uary 26, 1950, (Articles 15 (1), 15(2) (a), 15 (2) (b) bar all forms of un-touchability), Hindus, Sikhs and Bud-dhists of enumerated castes haveavailed of the Scheduled Caste statuswithout creamy layer restrictions

even if they are socially, educa-tionally and economically ad-vanced (because their castenames are listed in the Sched-ule).Christians and Muslims ofScheduled Castes Originshould also been given the ben-efits as they, too, inherited theuntouchability stigma becauseof the castes their forefathersbelonged to. Moreover, thecastes that these people be-long to are listed inSchedule. They should, there-fore, be accorded the Sched-uled Caste status status bydeclaring Paragraph 3 of theConstitution (ScheduledCastes) Order, 1950, unconsti-tutional.Discrimination based on caste

affects over 250 million people in var-ious countries, including the Dalits ofIndia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lankaand Pakistan; certain Buraku peopleof Japan, the Osu group amongNigeria’s Igbo people, Romas of Eu-rope and some cluster of groups inSenegal and Mauritania. So, socialexclusion is different from religioussanctioning.

Casteism is found not only inIndia; it is prevalent globally. It shouldnot be linked to Hindu, or any other,religion. Christians and Muslims ofScheduled Caste Origin inherit ‘impu-rity’ by birth because of the castethey belong to.

Racism is prevalent in Amer-ica and Europe, even though AfricanAmerican people and the White peo-ple mostly follow Christianity. So,casteism and racism are differentforms of social exclusion. Theyshould not be linked with any religion,including Hinduism, which is a way of life.

Untouchability and apartheidprevail because of this social exclu-sion. They are descent- and job-baseddiscrimination and should not bemixed with any religion.

(The author is an advocatepractising in the Supreme Court anda representative of National Councilof Dalit Christians)

Source Courtesy: The FederalAugust 15, 2020


Dalits who converted to Islam andChristianity continue to be outside

the fold of affirmative action benefits. This needs to change.

Tehmina AroraThis month marks 70 years from thepassing of the Constitution (ScheduledCastes) Order, 1950, which aimed atensuring that Dalit communities wouldbe able to fully enjoy the fundamentalfreedom and rights protected under theConstitution of India. However, Para-graph 3 of the 1950 Presidential Orderprevents Dalits communities from ex-ercising one of the most basic ofhuman rights, the right to freedom ofconscience and belief.

The 1950 Presidential Orderidentifies the caste communities whohave experienced extreme social, edu-cational and economic backwardnessarising out of the traditional practice ofuntouchability. These castes are alsoreferred to as Scheduled Castes or Dalits.

These Dalit communities weresingled out for deserving affirmativeaction benefits under various govern-ment policies, including education andjobs. Dalit communities also have spe-cial protections under the ScheduledCaste and Scheduled Tribe (Preventionof Atrocities) Act, 1989 and politicalreservation in various forums.

Paragraph 3 of the PresidentialOrder, however, limited the classifica-tion of Scheduled Castes initially onlyto Hindus. Due to the political activismof Sikh and Buddhist communities, the1950 Presidential Order was subse-quently amended to include Sikhs in1956 and Buddhists in 1990. The1950 Presidential Order, however, con-tinues to leave out Dalits who con-verted to Islam or Christianity from itsambit, despite ample evidence thatthey suffer equal hardships as otherDalits communities.

Caste prejudice enduresThe rationale seems to be that

Islam and Christianity are more egali-tarian religions and therefore a Dalitwould not face the same discrimination in their new found faith.Sadly, however, Dalits converting toIslam and Christianity found that their“Dalitness” clung to them and followedthem, even after their religious conversion.

In May 2018, Kevin Joseph, aDalit Christian youth, was murdered by

his wife’s relatives in Kerala. His onlycrime was that he had dared to loveand marry an upper caste woman.Principal sessions court judge C Jay-achandran noted in the judgment thatthe motive of the murder was casteprejudice. Sadly, this was but one ofmany incidents.

In the 1992 landmark judg-ment of Indra Sawhney and Others vUnion of India and Others, theSupreme Court noted:“Though Christianity does not ac-knowledge caste system, the evils ofcaste system in some States are asprevalent as in Hindu society especiallyamong the converts. In AndhraPradesh, there are Harijan Christians,Reddy Christians, Kamma Christiansetc. Similarly, in Tamil Nadu, there arePillai Christians, Marvar Christians,Nadar Christians and Harijan Christiansetc. That is to say all the converts toChristianity have not divested or setoff themselves from their caste labelsand crossed the caste barrier but carrywith them the banners of their castelabels. Like Hindus, they interact andhave their familial relationship and mar-ital alliances only within the convertedcaste groups.”

In a petition before theSupreme Court of India, the NationalCouncil of Churches in India and theCatholic Bishops’ Conference of India,two apex bodies in India, together rep-resenting over 20 million Christians,have expressed their deep dismay athow the Church in India continues tostruggle with caste practices.

But even more pertinent is thatDalit Christians do not live in isolation.While they may interact with otherChristians on Sunday mornings, theirweekdays are filled with social interac-tions with all sections of society. Theirnames still betray their caste. They aremarked as Christians and as Dalits.

The Mandal Commission Re-port noted the stronghold that castehas in the lives of non-Hindus and heldthat, “non-Hindu minorities living inpre-dominantly Hindu India could notescape from its dominant social andcultural influences. Thus, both fromwithin and without, caste amongstnon-Hindu communities received con-tinuous sustenance and stimulus.”

The National Commission forReligious and Linguistic Minoritiesunder the chairmanship of Justice Ran-ganath Misra also noted in its report

submitted to the Government of Indiain 2007 that, “caste is in fact a socialphenomenon shared by almost all In-dian communities irrespective of theirreligious persuasions. Many of the par-ticular castes are found simultaneouslyin various religious communities,equally facing problems of socialdegradation and mistreatment both bytheir co-religionists and the others.”

Double vulnerabilityThis stranglehold continues

because the entire premise of thecaste system is not about how individ-uals views themselves, but rather howthe society views the person. The prej-udice and bias against them are basedon the traditional work undertaken bythem or due to their birth into a partic-ular family. The caste system is deeplyentrenched into the Indian mind, gov-erning many areas of social interaction.

This results in double vulnera-bility for Dalit Christians without theprotection of the law. According toMapViolence, a violence tracking web-site, Dalit Christians have reported fre-quent social boycotts and violence onaccount of their caste and faith identity.

In fact, so acute is the problemthat the National Commission to Re-view the Working of the Constitutionobserved in 2002: “In view of the factthat in some parts of the country par-ticularly in the south converts to Chris-tianity from specific SCs are subjectedto crimes and atrocities as their exactHindu counterparts are (difference ofreligion making no difference in this re-gard)”. The commission recommendedthat the Scheduled Castes and theScheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atroc-ities) Act, 1989 be amended to include“converts to Christianity from Sched-uled Castes” to ensure that Christiansare equally protected under the law.The Act was never amended.

This lack of protection andloss of benefits is a heavy price to payto exercise the most basic of freedoms– the freedom of conscience and thefreedom to follow the religion of one’schoice.

Dalit communities were forcenturies told that they had no agency,they could not make the most funda-mental decisions freely about wherethey work, who they marry and howthey worship. They were denied entryinto homes, schools and places of wor-ship. They continue to be abused and

targeted even to this day. Dalits havebeen killed for daring to ride a horse totheir wedding, for entering a templeand for daring to fall in love with an“upper caste”.

Paragraph 3 of the 1950 Pres-idential Order in an insidious mannerworks in the same way. It penalisesDalits for choosing a religion or reject-ing a faith tradition.

It forces the Dalit to continueto operate in a religious tradition byfailing to allow them the ability tomake a free choice. It is unjust to beforced to choose between one’s reli-gious beliefs on the one hand and pro-tections and special benefits under thelaw on the other hand. The stateshould never force any person to com-promise on their religious belief. Thisis a clear violation of the protectionsunder the Constitution of India and nu-merous international conventions.Protection against discrimination

Religious conversions are anact of human agency. The ability tochange one’s religious beliefs or to ex-press one’s deeply held belief lie at thecore of what it means to be human. DrBR Ambedkar’s conversion to Bud-dhism was as much a political act asan expression of his religious beliefs.

We can no longer deny Dalitstheir freedom of religion and penalisethem for choosing a particular religioustradition. The government of Indiamust adopt the recommendations ofthe National Commission to Reviewthe Working of the Constitution to“completely de-link the ScheduledCaste status from religion and makethe Scheduled Castes net fully religion-neutral like that of the ScheduledTribes.”

The Constitution of India guar-antees protection from discrimination,not only on the basis of immutablegrounds such as race and gender, butalso on the basis of the choices wemake, such as religion. This protectionagainst discrimination is critical fortrue freedom to flourish and for therecognition of the inherent dignity ofall persons.

The author is the director ofADF India, a legal advocacy organisa-tion leading a campaign called No OneShould be Targeted for their Faith.

Source Courtesy: Scroll, August 21, 2020

For 70 years, Dalits have been denied freedom of religion – through a presidential order

No SC Quota For Those Converting To Islam Or Christianity- Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad ClarifiesFebruary 13, 2021

Ravi Shankar Prasad was replying to a question from BJP memberG.V.L. Narasimha Rao when he clarifiedthe matter in Rajya Sabha.

New Delhi: Responding to aquestion Union Law Minister RaviShankar Prasad in Rajya Sabha said thatDalits converting to Islam or Christianitycannot claim reservation benefits andthe conversion also deprives the personof the eligibility to contest parliamentaryor Assembly election from constituen-cies reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC).

Prasad was replying to a ques-

tion from BJP mem-ber G.V.L.Narasimha Raowhen he clarifiedthat those whohave adoptedHindu, Sikh andBuddhist faiths areeligible for contest-ing from SC re-served seats and getting otherreservation benefits. He then talkedabout the aspect of eligibility for fightingan election from reserved constituencies.

It was explained that according

to Para 3 of the Con-stitution (ScheduledCastes) Order, no per-son who professes areligion different fromHindu, Sikh or Bud-dhist religion shall bedeemed to be a mem-ber of a ScheduledCaste.

The minister then stated thatthere was no proposal to bring in anamendment in the Representation ofPeople Act to debar SC/STs converted toeither Islam or Christianity from fightingpolls: parliamentary or Assembly

elections.In 2015, the Supreme Court

had ruled that once a person convertsfrom Hinduism and becomes a Christian,the social and economic disabilities aris-ing because of Hindu religion cease,making it is no longer necessary to givethe person protection and for this rea-son, he/she is deemed not to belong toa Scheduled Caste.

Prasad, in his response, made itclear that there exists a clear distinctionbetween Dalits adopting Islam andChristianity with those choosing toadopt Hinduism.

Source Courtesy: ABP LIVE

Documents

VOL- 12 ISSUE- 49 February 17, 2021 California (USA) www