Dalit Christians to embark on nationwide stir for SC tag
Chennai, Dec 11 (UNI) The National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC) will soon organise a nationwide agitation, demanding inclusion of Dalit Christians in the list of Scheduled Castes.
NCDC Chairman M Mary John, who led an agitation here yesterday said the Council proposed to intensify the stir at the national level if the Centre did not come forward to implement the Ranganath Misra Committee's recommendations in favour of Dalit Christians.
He said the Committee, which submitted its report in May last, had recommended that Dalits converted to Christianity could be included in the SC list for the purpose of enjoying reservation in education and jobs, but the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre had remained silent and indifferent.
''We have decided to step up the agitation at the national level, till the Centre concedes to the demand,'' Mr John said, adding that Dalit Christians have been fighting for this cause for the past 50 years.
When Dalits converted to Sikh and Buddhism could be included in the SC list, why not Christians, he asked, appealing to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi to consider their demand sympathetically.
He said there were about 25 lakh Dalit Christians in Tamil Nadu and their population constituted less than two per cent at the national level.
UNI