Indian Christians to stage protests for reservations

July 07, 2012: A protest march to parliament and sit-in will be held on 1^st August at the Ramlila grounds in New Delhi, to press for the constitutional rights of Christians from Scheduled Caste origins.

The protest is being organized by the National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC) along with the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and the National Council of Churches.
Franklin Caesar, national coordinator of NCDC, said “we will hold a protest march to parliament and stage a sit-in at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.”

Caesar said leaders from Church organizations and various political outfits will back the march and sit-in to protest the six decades of discrimination against Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe Christians by the government. One of the demands is the deletion of Para 3 of Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order 1950 which renders Christians and Muslims ineligible for enjoying the benefits of affirmative action, he said.

Another significant demand is the implementation of recommendations contained in the Ranganath Misra Commission report, which had asserted the de-linking of Scheduled Caste status from religion.

The first United Progressive Alliance government had committed in their manifesto to resolve the issue but "conveniently ignored” it during their tenure. The second UPA government has also forgotten and neglected us, says Caesar. According to the National Council of Dalit Christians, discussions have been held with lawmakers and political parties to raise the issue strongly in parliament.