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Will SCs who convert to other religions get same status? Modi govt plans commission to examine

Panel under consideration will also find out the changes SCs face after converting, study social & economic status, and find what will happen if SC status is accorded to them.

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New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government is considering setting up a National Commission on Scheduled Caste Converts to Other Religions, ThePrint has learnt.

This new body will examine if people who have converted to religions other than the ones mentioned in Presidential Orders can be accorded the SC status.

According to officials aware of the development, the panel will examine a number of issues, especially those related to social, economic and other aspects related to the SC community.

The move seeks to find out the changes SC community members face after undergoing conversion to other religions, vis-à-vis their customs, social, economic and other discrimination, and deprivation, among others. Moreover, the panel will examine the possible implications of the SC status, if accorded.

The third clause of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, states that no person who professes a religion different from Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist shall be deemed to be a member of the Scheduled Castes.

The issue is being discussed at length and the commission, once approved, will examine whether new converts, who claim to have been SCs for years, can be accorded the same status after conversion.

“The need for setting up a National Commission on Scheduled Caste Converts to Other Religions, under the Commission of Inquiries Act, 1952, was felt for quite some time. A lot of discussion has already taken place and a final decision will be made soon,” a source told ThePrint. 

The responsibilities of the panel will include studying whether the move will have any bearing on existing SCs in case new persons are added to the list.


Also read: Karnataka bill seeks to declare interfaith marriages involving conversion ‘null & void’


Demands from various quarters

Justifying the need to set up such a panel, a senior government official said there have been demands from various quarters to grant SC status to the converts to religions other than those mentioned in the Presidential Orders.

One of the chief arguments for appointing such a commission is the fact that so far, exhaustive studies have not been undertaken that look into the socio-economic and educational conditions of these communities.

“The fact that no such detailed studies are available makes it imperative to appoint this commission which can examine their eligibility for Scheduled Caste status,” said an official familiar with the details.

A second senior official said the central government doesn’t have substantial and definitive evidence, data or analysis on this.

According to the 2011 Census, the population of Christians and Muslims in India was 2.4 crore and 13.8 crore, or 2.34 per cent and 13.43 per cent of the total population, respectively.

“However, information regarding the number of persons converted to Christianity and Islam from castes currently specified as SCs is not available,” said the second official.

(Edited by Amit Upadhyaya)


Also read: 82% Sikh youth pray frequently, highly religious compared to others, shows CSDS-Lokniti survey


 

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