Dalits set up people's tribunal
Madurai (AsiaNews) Christian Dalit are raising their voice to demand equal rights and protest against the discrimination they have suffered for many years in India.
Christian Dalits or outcastes are meeting in Madurai (Tamil Nadu) for the first time in a people's tribunal.
Organised by the National Movement for Dalit Christian's Rights, the event is backed by Christian religious authorities, human rights groups and several prominent members of India's legal community.
The commission that will preside over the tribunal is made up, among others, of former Supreme Court Judge P.B Sawant, of the chairperson of the Executive Committee of Bar Council of India S.S.K. Kharventhan, and Vasanthi Devi, former chairperson of the State Women Commission.
Dalit representatives from Kerala, Karnataka, Andra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu will speak about their experiences.
John Dayal, chairperson of the All India Christian Union, Anglican Bishop Jeyapaul David and the Archbishop Emeritus Marianus Arockiasamy will inaugurate the event.
A 1950 Presidential Order excluded Dalit converts to Christianity or Islam from the set of rights, concessions and benefits such as quotas in public sector employment reserved for Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh Dalits.
In February 2005, India's Supreme Court reopened the issue by admitting a discrimination case brought forward by Outcastes not belonging to the recognised scheduled castes/scheduled tribes and will begin examining their demand for equal rights in August.
The Union government contended that the issue had to be dealt by legislation, not through the courts.
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14/02/2005
