New Delhi: Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said on Sunday his government would approach the Centre to allow members of the Meghwal community to use ‘Meghwal’ instead of ‘Chamar’ on their caste certificates.
“We will be recommending to the Centre that members of the community be given the choice to use the word ‘Meghwal’ in their caste certificates, if they wish so,” Saini said at a gathering in Bawal in Rewari district.
It was one of the 10 demands put forward by the Meghwal Utthan Samiti at the Samrasta Sammelam and Pratibha Samman Samaroh. ‘Chamar’ is the Scheduled Caste category under which the community is officially recognised in Haryana, but community members have argued that the term carries a social stigma.
Saini accepted all 10 demands and said they would be sent to the departments concerned for approval. He also announced a grant of Rs 31 lakh for the organisation.
The proposed change would not alter the community’s SC status or reservation benefits. Instead, members are seeking the option to use ‘Meghwal’, a name already used by sections of the community, particularly in Rajasthan, on official documents.
The Centre must make the final decision because the names of Scheduled Castes are governed by the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, and related central notifications.
Need Centre’s approval
The Haryana government cannot make the change on its own. It will have to send the proposal to the Centre, which has the authority to change the Scheduled Castes notified under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950.
The demand is also being raised in other states. In Rajasthan, where ‘Meghwal’ is already more widely used, community groups have also sought the replacement of ‘Chamar’ in official records.
The issue has reached the courts. A petition before the Supreme Court has questioned the use of caste names described as derogatory on official certificates. It has also raised questions about the continued use of such terms in official records when their use as insults can attract action under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
For the community, the demand is about the name used to identify its members on certificates, applications and other government records.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)