Conversion, Reconversion & Caste: When Scheduled Caste Status Ceases Or Revives Under 1950 Order? | Explainer

On March 20, the Supreme Court gave a ruling that a pastor, who had converted to Christianity, ceased to be a member of the Scheduled Caste community. A bench comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Manmohan said that any person other than those professing Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism can't be deemed to be a member of the Scheduled Caste community (CHINTHADA ANAND v STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AND ORS).Religious conversion is one of the most controversial topics in India, yet it remains a social reality. In the background of the ruling, the piece explains the various nuances of conversion and reconversion and their effect on caste. History of Articles 341 and 342In the Indian Constitution, Articles 341 and 342 talk about the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes, respectively. Both provisions allow the President to issue a public notification as to which caste, race or tribe can be “deemed” to be considered as SC/ST. For any further inclusion or exclusion, the power has been given to the Parliament. Articles 341 and 342 were originally not present in the Draft Constitution. An amendment was moved by the Chairman of the Drafting Committee, Dr BR Ambedkar, on September 17, 1949, to introduce Draft Articles 300A and 300B, respectively.The idea of introducing these two articles was to eliminate the necessity of burdening the Constitution with long lists of SC/STs. But the real idea goes way back to the Indian freedom struggle movement, where caste was considered by the British Government as one of the weapons to divide and rule. The most prominent debate happened between Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar. Gandhi justified the Varna system, which he said established a class-based hierarchy on merit and promoted social harmony. However, over time, the class-based hierarchy blurred with a caste-based system, which promoted untouchability and ostracised certain communities. He coined the term 'Harijan'(children of god) and believed in the self-purification, where the upper castes must lead initiatives for the upliftment of those in the lower castes.On the contrary, Ambedkar termed the varna system as inherently oppressive and called for the complete annihilation of the caste system. In 1932, the then British Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, announced the Communal Award, which provided for separate electorates for the depressed classes. While Ambedkar favoured separate electorates for the depressed classes, Gandhi opposed it and went on a fast-unto-death. Gandhi argued that a separate electorate would further divide the society and lead to the exclusion of the depressed classes. Ambedkar had to give in, and that's how the Poona Pact came to be signed between Gandhi and him in 1932, agreeing to a joint electorate. Three years later, in the Government of India Act, 1935, the term Scheduled Caste was used, and they were given representation in the Council of States along with Sikhs, Muhamadan and women. It was described that those castes, races, or tribes which 'His Majesty in Council' thinks correspond to the class of persons formerly known as the depressed classes. This resulted in the Constitution(Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936, which now corresponds to the 1950 order. Now, coming to the Constituent Assembly, Muniswamy Pillai, a member belonging to the Scheduled Caste community, emphasised that the Scheduled Castes can't be defined outside of religion. He said that untouchability was practised in the Hindu community since time immemorial, which led to these people being called the Scheduled Caste because of the socio-economic disabilities and cultural and educational backwardness they suffer. He also described that there have been movements where people have moved from professing Hinduism to other religions and continue to claim to be Scheduled Caste. He said that such converts can't be considered part of this religion. The Draft Articles 300A and 300A were then accepted without any amendments. Today, as it stands, Article 366(24) defines the Scheduled Caste as described in Article 341. Articles 330 and 332 provide for the reservation of the Scheduled Caste in the House of the People and in Legislative Assemblies, respectively. What are the Constitutional Orders of 1950?Invoking Article 341(1), the Constitution(Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, came to be published on August 10, 1950, by the President after consultation with the Governors and Rajpramukhs of the States. The order in clause 3 made it clear that no person who professes a religion different from Hinduism shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste. It provided for a State-wise list of castes, races, or tribes to be considered as the Scheduled Caste. It also allowed certain classes of Sikhs, such as Mazhabi or Ramdasi, to be deemed to be members of the Scheduled Caste irrespective of whether they profess the Hindu or the Sikh religion. Later, in 1956, Sikhs were added as another religion, and then in 1990, Buddhists were added. One of the ...

Conversion, Reconversion & Caste: When Scheduled Caste Status Ceases Or Revives Under 1950 Order? | Explainer

Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

Tags