Tamil Nadu: Constitutional amendment sought to give quota for Christian adi dravidars

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution urging the Union government for a Constitutional amendment to provide reservation and other benefits, enjoyed by the scheduled caste communities, to converted adi dravidar Christians as well. All parties, including the AIADMK but barring the BJP, welcomed the resolution
"Insults do not end, even if the religion is changed," said chief minister M K Stalin who moved the resolution in the house. He said the Christian adi dravidars continued to face atrocities and that it would only be right to give them the same benefits as the scheduled castes, as only that would ensure that they got education and employment, which would help to get social upliftment.
"Caste divides people by saying I am higher and you are lower," Stalin said. Social justice could be ensured by giving them equal rights and scheduled castes, he said. The same was stressed by late chief minister M Karunanidhi in 1996, 2006, 2010 and 2011 when he wrote to the prime ministers.
He said that as far as Tamil Nadu was concerned the Christian adi dravidars, were enjoying all benefits, including educational assistance for higher studies, which were equal to the scheduled castes except for the reservation.
According to the Constitution's (Scheduled Castes) order of 1950, no person, who professes a religion other than Hinduism, can be deemed a member of the scheduled caste. It was amended in 1956 and then again in 1990, to bring people of Sikhism and Buddhism also under this category. The adi dravidars, who converted to Christianity have the same expectations, he said.
He said that the vice chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Arun Halder, had stated that when a scheduled caste person converted his religion, he ceased to be a scheduled caste and his or her community certificate stating that he is a scheduled caste would not be valid.