The first-ever Dalit national conference kicked off here today with a call to bring backward communities into the mainstream along the lines of the African American community in the US.

Organised by former BJP minister Sanjay Paswan with panelists from across the board — including Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, education entrepreneurs Arindam Chaudhuri and AK Chauhan, Dalit community leaders Jagdish Prasad and Ashok Bharti and Swadeshi leaders, researchers and academics like Babulal Madhukar and Abhay Kumar Dubey — the conference, in celebration of “Diversity Day”, promised to take the call for “parity, not charity” to villages across the country.

The conference made the demand for the inclusion of the backward community in all sectors. Coming in the midst of the debate over reservation for OBCs in educational institutions, the conference stressed on “diversity” and proposed a new roadmap for Dalit empowerment.

“When we speak of reservation, people don’t understand we are merely providing opportunities and not compromising on quality. This is necessary for socio-economic parity,” said Digvijay Singh, chief guest at the meet.

But while Dalit community leader Jagdish Prasad said “we are all brothers, and should not have to ask for reservations,” organiser Sanjay Paswan seemed to contradict him by saying Dalits were “loyal and immaculate” while the upper castes were “royal and articulate”. He said: “Dalit has been the password for parties to cross the roaring seas of power in the past, but in these days it has become a cuss-word.” He refused to be drawn into the quota controversy but said “constitutionally guaranteed” reservation for Dalits has not worked to the community’s advantage and they are still “socially, politically and economically” weak.