The two-day conclave organised by the Sangh Parivar’s mass communication wing Vishva Samwad Kendra on proposal to extend reservation to Dalit Christians and Muslims in Greater Noida last week has unanimously held that the current system to reservations for the Scheduled caste must not be tinkered with and no quota should be extended to Muslims and Christian Dalits since the two religions claim to be egalitarian.
“The Conclave unanimously reiterated that the reservation for Schedule Castes is an article of faith and shall continue,” VHP working president Anil Agarwal said on Monday.
“The Abrahamic Religions, i.e. Islam and Christianity, declare that there is no caste system in those religions, and hence, there is no practice of untouchability. Thus, a scheduled caste person who converts to Islam or Christianity leaves behind the social stigma and cannot be considered for reservation in the scheduled caste category,” he added.
The conclave was organised in the backdrop of the government setting up a committee under former CJI KG Balakrishnan to examine whether Dalits among Christians and Muslims can be extended the benefit of reservation.
Arguing that the basis for selecting Caste in the Schedule was the social, educational and economic backwardness and the 1931 Census had only considered “untouchables” for this classification, Agarwal said, “Therefore, the reservation for Scheduled Castes is sacrosanct. Including any other caste or race will dilute the Constitutional spirit behind the reservation provisions.”
He said the VSK would prepare a memorandum for submission before the Commission, request for a personal hearing and take all possible steps to place facts before the Commission for a logical and just conclusion. Such conclaves, he said, will now be organised in various parts of the Country to generate more inputs and support for the cause.
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