.National Academy for Dalit: SC status to dalit converts: Congman writes to PM, Sonia

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

SC status to dalit converts: Congman writes to PM, Sonia

Wed Apr 06 2011, 02:14 hrs Ahmedabad:

Says converts should not be allowed benefits extended to dalits, can be given separate quota

Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) spokesperson Jayantilal Parmar has opposed the Congress-led UPA government's move to grant Scheduled Caste status to dalits who have converted to Islam and Christianity.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Dalit ministers in the UPA government, Parmar said that the move will damage to the political prospects of the party.

He said dalits were accorded the status of SCs and given reservation in government appointments and quota in Parliament and assemblies because of the untouchability prevailing in Hindu society. But once a dalit converted to Islam or Christianity, he/she no longer remained untouchable. The convert was not only treated socially at par with others in his new community, but even Hindus did not regard him or her as untouchable, Parmar said.

“So, there is no reason for the convert to be treated as dalit and given SC status which carried with it the benefits of reservations in jobs, admissions in professional courses and quotas in state assemblies and Parliament,” the letter said.

He added that he did not want the dalit converts to share from the 15 per cent quota available for dalits. “I have no objection if dalit converts are given separate quota,” he said.

The letter is believed to be the outcome of the reported assurance by the Prime Minister on March 12 to a representation of Christian leaders seeking SC status for dalit converts to Christianity and Islam. The Christian representatives had argued that if dalit converts to Buddhism can be granted SC status, then why not the same facilities be extended to converts to Christianity and Islam.

Parmar said a Mumbai-based NGO, Christian Secular Forum, after the meeting with PM, had claimed that the PM had promised to look into the issue.

A case is pending on the issue in the Supreme Court, Parmar said.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sc-status-to-dalit-converts-congman-writes-to-pm-sonia/772348/

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Population of Dalit as Per GOI

SCHEDULED CASTES

According to the 2001 Census, the Scheduled Castes population in India is 166,635,700 persons, constituting 16.2 per cent of the country’s total population. Being rural people, four fifth (79.8 per cent) of them live in rural areas and rest one-fifth (20.2 per cent) live in urban areas. The sex ratio of 936 females per thousand males is slightly higher than national average of 933 sex ratios.

The highest percentage of Scheduled Castes population to the total Scheduled Castes population of the country live in Uttar Pradesh (21.1 per cent) followed by West Bengal (11.1 per cent) and Bihar (7.8 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (7.4 percent) and Tamil Nadu (7.1.percent). In fact, more than 57 per cent of total Scheduled Castes population inhabit in these five States. Proportionately, the largest proportion of population of the Scheduled Castes to total population of the State is in Punjab (28.9 per cent), followed by Himachal Pradesh (24.7 per cent) and West Bengal (23 percent). In Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Pondicherry proportion of SCs population is exactly equal to the National average of 16.2 per cent. The smallest concentration of the Scheduled Castes population is in the North-Eastern tribal States such as Mizoram (with negligible or only 272 persons) followed by Meghalaya (0.5 per cent) and Arunachal Pradesh (0.6 per cent).

As per the 2001 Census, there are 22 districts where the Scheduled Castes population is 30 per cent or more. In majority of the districts (i.e., 273 districts) the concentration of SCs population to the total population is between 10 to 20 per cent. In Nagaland, Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, no Scheduled Caste is notified.

SCHEDULED TRIBES

According to the 2001 Census, the total population of the Scheduled Tribes in India is 84,326,240 persons, constituting 8.2 per cent of the total population of the country. 91.7 per cent of them lives in rural areas, whereas, only 8.3 per cent inhabit in urban areas. The sex ratio of Scheduled Tribes population at 978 females per thousand males is higher than that of the total population of the country as well as that of Scheduled Castes.

Madhya Pradesh accounts for the highest percentage of Scheduled Tribes population to total STs population of the country (14.5 percent) followed by Maharashtra (10.2 per cent), Orissa (9.7 per cent), Gujarat (8.9 per cent), Rajasthan (8.4 per cent), Jharkhand (8.4 per cent) and Chhattisgarh (7.8 per cent). In fact, 68 per cent of the country’s Scheduled Tribes population lives in these seven States only. The proportion of the Scheduled Tribes to the total population of the States/Union territories is highest in Mizoram (94.5 %) and Lakshadweep (94.5 %) followed by Nagaland (89.1 %), Meghalaya (85.9 %). Within the major states Chhattisgarh (31.8%) has the highest percentage of Scheduled Tribes population followed by Jharkhand (26.3%) and Orissa(22.1%). These proportions are in the lowest in Uttar Pradesh (0.1 %), Bihar (0.9 %), Tamil Nadu (1.0 %) and Kerala (1.1%).

As per the 2001 Census, there are 75 districts where Scheduled Tribes population is 50 per cent or more as per the 2001 Census. In majority of the districts (i.e., 403 districts), the concentration of Scheduled Tribes population to its total population is less than 20 percent.

Dalit and Education

Dalit children, being disproportionately poor, most heavily suffer the ills of an inequitable and ineffective education system in India. The Indian constitution pledges to provide free and compulsory education for all children up to age fourteen. However, in 1993 only 16.2% of primary school age Dalit children in were enrolled in school as compared to 83.8% of primary aged children from non-scheduled castes.29 According to the India Education Report, school attendance in rural areas in 1993-94 was 64.3% for Dalit boys and 46.2% for Dalit girls, compared to 74.9% among boys and 61% girls from other social groups30 Dalits lagged behind the general population by as many as 15 percentage points in literacy, and according to the 1991 Census, barely 24 per cent of Dalit women were literate. Statistics also show that Dalit children are more likely to drop out than their non-Dalit counterparts, particularly in the early elementary stages. Education represents one way to break out of cycles of poverty and distress, but it is also a by-product of such economic conditions. Even when Dalits are allowed access to school, Dalit students face substandard conditions. Ninety-nine percent of Dalit students come from government schools that lack basic infrastructure, classrooms, teachers and teaching aid. In contrast, it is common for non-Dalit children to seek private tutoring or to access private education of generally better quality. The motivation to do so comes from the fact that most primary government schools are considered low quality. Few Dalits are able to access such supplementation to their education; this furthers the education gap. Once enrolled, discrimination continues to obstruct the access of Dalit children to schooling as well as to affect the quality of education they receive. Source: Ellyn Artis, Chad Doobay and Karen Lyons: Workshop on Human Rights: From Grassroots Courage to International Influence, The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, January 2003

National Academy for Dalit (NAD)

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

SC status to dalit converts: Congman writes to PM, Sonia

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