Dalits who have accepted Christianity should get the benefit of reservation : Resolution passed in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin speaking in the Legislative Assembly

Chennai – A resolution was passed in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly which stated that Dalits who have converted to Christianity should also get the benefits of reservation given to Scheduled Castes. In this resolution, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin requested the Modi Government at the Centre to amend the Constitution to give reservation to Adi Dravids who have converted to Christianity. The resolution says that the privilege of the Dravids, etc. do not end due to switching of religion. In a judgement in 2015, the Supreme Court said that when a person renounces Hinduism and embraces Christianity, the social and economic benefits being received due to Hinduism come to an end.

CM Stalin said,

1. According to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 only Hindus can be classified as Scheduled Castes. However, it was amended in 1956 to include Sikhs and in 1990 to include Buddhists.

2. A similar constitutional amendment is expected to benefit Adi Dravids who converted to Christianity. (Encouraging conversion is a Constitutional offence. So it would be appropriate to file a case against those making such demands for promoting conversion. – Editor)

3. The converts belong to Scheduled Castes and it would be appropriate to give them Scheduled Caste status. This will help them to avail social justice in education, employment, etc. Their rights cannot be denied because they converted to another religion.

Editorial Viewpoint

By passing such a resolution, the DMK Government has in a way encouraged conversion. This will lead to Christian missionaries converting Dalits in large numbers. Now the Hindus there must try to pull down the DMK Government, which is hellbent to cause harm to Hindu Dharma.