Constitutionally Discriminated People of India - An Update on Hunger Strike from 25-28 July
- All India Christian Council -
27 July 2011
Thousands of Christian from across India have come to national capital city, Delhi for three days hunger strike demanding Scheduled Caste status to Dalits, formally known as untouchable, converted to Christianity. The hunger strike has begun from July 25 and it will conclude with massive protest rally from Ram Lila ground to Parliament on 28.
It is a demand for fundamental and constitutional rights, which was taken away by Indian Presidential Order 1950 from those Dalits who have converted to any religion other than Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist.
Presidential Order 1950 in article 341 Para 3 violates very Indian constitution which guarantees any form of discrimination either by the state or any citizen on the of religion, caste, gender, race and place of birth provided in Article 15.
Misra Commission setup by United Progressive Alliance Government, has recommended in its report that scheduled caste status should be restored and delete Para 3 of Article 341. The report also says that the conversion from one religion to any other religion does not take away the stigma of caste from India Dalits irrespective of religion. Their socio-economic and education condition does not improve.
India's 75% Christians belong to Scheduled Caste communities numbering to 20 millions, whose statutory and benefits available in Constitutional were denied after 1950 Presidential Order. The debate on Dalit Christian reservation is ongoing for many decades in spite of repeated assurance given to Dalit Christian communities to be included in Constitution Scheduled Caste Order 1950.
The struggle in demanding for fundamental rights of 20 million Dalit Christians continues without any symptom of undoing the constitutional error done in Presidential Order 1950. The state discriminating its own people on the basis of religion must bring to end as it slams the secularism and democracy of India.
Hunger strike is called by National Coordination Committee for Dalit Christian along with CBCI, NCCI and National Council of Dalit Christians.
Updated by
Madhu Chandra
PRO - All India Christian Council
* This Press Release was sent by All India Christian Council
The sender can be contacted at finicy(at)gmail(dot)com
This PR was webcasted on July 275 2011 .
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