Immediately after the findings of the Sachar Committee, Union minister for minority affairs A.R. Antulay declared that he not only agreed with the PM to grant a “fair” share to the minorities but that he was “for including Dalit Muslims and Christians in the reserved SC/ST category. By just changing their faith, their status, social and economic backwardness and the burden of being downtrodden for centuries does not change overnight.”

Another Congress leader Veerappa Moily joined in the chorus. Not to be left behind, especially given the forthcoming elections in UP, Mulayam Singh too is advocating the case of Muslim reservations. With an almost inaudible whisper, he and others are heard uttering the unutterable word ‘dalit Christians’, an otherwise forbidden term in political circles. All this is like manna from heaven for dalit Christians who have been fighting an almost losing battle for several decades to be recognised as dalits.

The Constitution allows neither the government nor indeed the courts to play hide and seek with the fundamental rights of dalit Christians. Yet in 1950, then president Rajendra Prasad, by presidential order, denied granting amenities to the dalits of other religions except Hindus. In 1956, however, reservation privileges were granted to the Sikh dalits by an amendment in the presidential order of 1950 and in 1990 the same was approved for Buddhist dalits. Earlier reservation to tribal Christians was given on the basis of their geographical location and not religion; and while tribals continue to enjoy their rights after converting to Christianity, the ‘dalits’ do not.

... contd.