Panel Tells India's Government a Dalit's Faith Should Not Affect Assistance - JOURNAL CHRETIEN

Panel Tells India's Government a Dalit's Faith Should Not Affect Assistance - JOURNAL CHRETIEN:

"NEW DELHI, INDIA — The National Commission for Religious & Linguistic Minorities’ oft-delayed report was released and the findings could drastically change life for India’s Dalit (formerly called “untouchables”) community. If the government accepts the Commission’s recommendations, decades of religious-based discrimination against the lowest-strata in India’s society will be reversed.

The Commission said a clause in a 1950 law should be dropped to de-link status from religion. The clause had restricted government benefits to Scheduled Castes who are Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist. The Commission’s decision was based on a two-year study of the socio-economic and educational condition of Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims."

It is hard to imagine that this sort of discrimination can still openly exist in the world today. Is really about religion? Or is it about the preservation of privilege?

For some reason I thought the caste system had been abolished years ago, but its effects linger on institutionally.

A few years ago I recall a controversy from India regarding mass conversions to Christianity of Dalits, but I can't remember the details.