India: federal commission calls for end to discrimination against Christian dalits
December 18, 2009
A commission set up by India’s federal government has recommended an end to policies that discriminate against Christian dalits-- members of the lowest caste in the traditional Indian social system. The commission’s report—delivered to parliament on December 18—is a major victory in the campaign for equal treatment of Christian dalits.
Dalit literally means “trampled upon,” and refers to the low castes—the “untouchables”—who were traditionally given only the most menial of jobs, and kept living in rural areas, segregated from the upper castes. In 1950 the government of India, recognizing the damage done by generations of discrimination, made dalits eligible for free education and preferred consideration for government jobs. But those considerations were denied to dalits who were Christians.
In 2004, after a discrimination case was heard by India’s highest court, the government set up a commission to investigate the issue, headed by former supreme-court justice Ranganath Misra. The commission has recommended that all religious criteria be abolished, and the same statutory rights should be extended to dalits of all faiths.
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