Indian Christians to stage protests for reservations
July 07, 2012: A protest march to parliament and sit-in will be held on 1st
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.