Dalit Christians, Dalit Muslims and Categorisation within SC-ST

Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims have been left out within the Scheduled Castes category since 1950. As a result, the two communities have been deprived of legal protection against untouchability and atrocity and affirmative action for upliftment and representation in education, employment, and electoral politics, compared to their counterparts like the original SC or SC converts to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism avail. However, with the current development in the Supreme Court of India’s judgement in favour of categorisation within the SC and ST, more SC and ST will go through the same path their follow castes have been dealing with for the last seven decades.

On the status of Scheduled Castes to Dalit Minority, their fellow Scheduled Castes had been divided by the dominant narrative floated by the caste Hindu against Dalit Christians and Muslims. According to them, Christian and Islam theology per se does not discriminate against anyone; therefore, Dalit Christians and Muslims no longer needed protection and affirmative action like the Scheduled Caste, who faced untouchability and discrimination in the Hindu religion. Some also blame the Christian and Muslim leaders in the constituent assembly for their lack of a solid lobby to include Dalit Christians and Muslims in the SC list. For them, the inclusion of Dalit Sikhs and Buddhists was not an afterthought, and the Christian and Muslim leaders did not engage on the issue of untouchability. However, the question is not whether the Christian and Muslim leaders engaged and demanded the SC status during the constituent assembly, but the question is, did the Dalit Christians and Muslims who were left out of the SC category have been facing untouchability, discrimination, and material poverty in society and they need the protection or not?

Untouchability against Dalit Christians and Muslims

The commonly used argument against Dalit Christians is that Christianity per se does not discriminate against or promote untouchability against Dalits, unlike Hinduism. There is a flaw in this method of understanding discrimination and untouchability against Dalit Christians. The question is, who practices untouchability and discriminates based on caste? It is the caste Hindu living in the vicinity and outside the locality of the scheduled caste. Do they stop practising so once the Scheduled caste converts to Christianity? The answer is no. The attitude and perception of the caste Hindu living in the vicinity or outside do not change for the Dalit Minority and their progeny. In the eyes of Caste Hindus, a Scheduled Caste is always a Scheduled Caste whether they remain as Scheduled Caste Hindu or become Scheduled Caste Christian, Muslim, Sikh or Buddhist. What they practice in social relations and exchange with the scheduled caste is precisely the same as the scheduled caste converts, like not eating, drinking, marriage restriction, etc. With the changes in religion, neither the caste nor the locality of the scheduled caste changes. This perspective of thinking comes from the gage of the dominant caste Hindu mindset that does not recognise emancipation and liberation of Scheduled Caste in any form. They are also against affirmative action and the protection of the Scheduled Castes based on economic criteria and not on caste, despite the fact that the socio-economic condition of all Dalits remains the same. According to the Satish Deshpande and Gitika Bapna-led Committee (2008) by the National Commission of Minorities, differences among the Dalits across religions may be found in only 25 per cent of Dalits; otherwise, the rest, ‘75 per cent, are economically indistinguishable.’ Other than Dalit Sikhs, all others are the same in both rural and urban areas. However, the situation of Dalit Muslims is worse in urban spaces compared to other Dalits.

Double discrimination with the absence of protection against atrocity

The scheduled caste status of Dalits not only qualifies them for affirmative policies like reservation in education, employment, and electoral politics but also protects them against caste-based atrocity. Therefore, with the exclusion of Dalit Minority, they are double discriminated against and deprived of affirmative policy and protection against atrocity. There are incidences of religious intolerance and violence against minorities, but that is actually the caste atrocity. The majority of Christians in India are Dalit and Adivasis, and therefore, in the name of religious conversion and other issues, religious fanatics have easily targeted them. In 2008, violence in Kandhamal, Odisha, more than 75,000 Dalit Christians were evicted from their native place. Women were sexually harassed, tortured, raped, and paraded naked. Who were the perpetrators? It is the dominant caste living in the neighbouring Dalit Christians. FIRs of aggrieved Dalit Christians were registered under general crimes other than the caste atrocity act, which otherwise would have attracted stringed punishment. First, there exists caste-based discrimination that divides the dominant castes and Dalits. Above it, religious toxicity adds fuel to this caste-based dominant mindset that cannot see Dalits progress in their life. When Dalits embrace other spiritual faiths, they cut up all the caste-based relations with the dominant caste, like cleaning and other manual labour work. That is an intolerance for the dominant caste as they had been enjoying the services and respect for generations. However, once a Dalit gets educated and starts progressing, the dominant caste becomes intolerant, and with religious colour, Dalit Minorities are easily targeted. So, the root of animosity between the dominant castes and Dalit Minorities are the caste-based relations and practices. Unfortunately, those are coloured as religious violence, which is otherwise a caste propensity violence with Dalit Minorities. The current status of Socio-Economically and Backward Classes/Other Backward Classes to Dalit Minorities does not provide any protection against caste-based atrocity. The affirmative action available to the Dalit Minorities is also an after-thought-out step and is limited compared to the Scheduled Caste status.

Conclusion

With the judgement favouring further categorisation within the SC and ST, only time will tell the fate of the SC status to the Dalit Christians and Muslims. However, it is for sure that if the categorisation is imposed, some more SC and ST will be following the same path the Dalit Minorites have been going through. The struggle is that neither they have SC status nor OBC in social relations and practices. It is unclear the nature of categorisation, but leaving some of the SC and ST out of their current SC-ST status will deprive them of affirmative action and legal protection against atrocity and untouchability. The flawed understanding of untouchability and discrimination against Dalit Christians and Muslims has led to double discrimination for generations. Therefore, the legal protection against atrocity and affirmative action is a legal due for Dalit Christians and Muslims. The comparison should be made between the dominant castes and not with other castes in Christianity and Islam. Similar is the case with the categorisation of SC-ST. The comparison must be drawn against dominant castes, not within the SC-ST communities.

*Dr Deepak Kumar Nanda is a development researcher and policy analyst.