Intelligible differentia: With changing times, the Abrahamic religions have changed their methods of coercion and conversion. During the Islamic invasions and colonial period, the foreign tyrants used brute force to bring Sanatanis under their belief system. The only difference now is that they are using economic means to coerce poor and downtrodden families into their folds. Time and again, many eminent personalities, politicians and even courts have highlighted the menace of forced conversions done through threats or by economic means.
‘Converted Dalits’ have ‘Foreign Origins’, Government justifies exclusion from list of Scheduled Castes
Currently, there is an ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court where petitioners have asked for the inclusion of Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims in the list of Scheduled Castes. The Modi government has recently submitted its affidavit in the case. The Union government has defended its stand to exclude Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims from the list of Schedule Castes. Currently, only Dalits of Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist faiths can be categorised as SCs.
The Modi government has justified this exclusion indicating that both the Abrahamic religions, Islam and Christianity, have ‘foreign origins’.
As per the affidavit, the government has highlighted the classification between Indian citizens and foreigners. Interestingly, there is no involvement of foreign citizens as party in this matter. Thus, without explicitly calling out these religions to have foreign origins, the government has hinted the same.
The exclusion stands the ‘twin classification test’
The government has justified the ‘intelligible differentia’ between Scheduled Castes practising Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism and those practising other religions of ‘foreign’ origins. It has added that its classification stands the test of twin classification. It has both an intelligible differentia and the differentia has a rational relation with the list of Schedule Caste.
In October, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment filed an affidavit justifying this “intelligible differentia” between the SC practitioners of Sanatan Dharma and other religions. It stated that there exists a clear intelligible differentia between both local contributions to the sector and foreign contributions. This clearly hints at the argument that both the Abrahamic religions are not native to India. The Ministry affidavit also points out that there were foreign contributions for the Christian and Muslim population in India.
The government has held that those converted from SC to Buddhism can be clearly traced to their original castes as there exists a clear-cut reason and timeline for that. For this it has mentioned the call of Dr BR Ambedkar to embrace Buddhism and termed it as an outcome of socio-political reasons.
Contrary to that, the conversion to other religions might have other factors involved as it has been spread over centuries and their original caste roots can’t be traced. With this the government has clearly taken a hit at the forced conversions on the account of Economic considerations or by other persuasive means.
‘Purity’ claims of Abrahamic religions come back to bite them
The government has also argued that both the Abrahamic religions claim to be devoid of the oppressive system of untouchability which has been attributed to Hinduism. Using that rationale, the government has justified the exclusion. It has stated that due to untouchability there exist economic and social backwardness of some Hindu castes that was not prevalent in Christian or Islamic Society. Hence, they have been excluded from the list of Schedule Caste.
3-member commission will ascertain the issue of “intelligible differentia”
Apart from the affidavit, the Modi government has also submitted that it has set up a three-member Commission of Inquiry to look into the “seminal and historically complex sociological and constitutional question” of whether Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims can be included in the SC list. This Commission will be headed by the former Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan.
As per the government, the limited question before the commission will be to look into whether the oppressive severity of backwardness remains the same or not. Till then, the government has maintained that the current classification can’t be considered discriminatory. Over the next two years, the Commission will find out whether an “intelligible differentia” exists between Dalits practising Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism and those that converted to Islam, Christianity and other religions.
It is a fact that Indian Civilisation repeatedly suffered barbaric onslaught of monotheistic religions that wanted to purify the land under one faith. Now, Christian and Islamic evangelists are converting the hapless and hopeless Sanatanis on the pretext of meeting out equal treatment. But stratification like Dalit Christian and Dalit Muslims clearly expose their perverse rationale of equality to convert the downtrodden.
The recent developments have clearly exposed the farce of equal treatment, no social stratification or classless society in Abrahamic religions. Further, the perverse use of economic means is also being plugged out to put an end to the spread of evangelical activities. The Modi government is making sure that the ugly nexus of conversion mafia is finished once and for all and for that it has struck on its spinal cord. Conversion for economic considerations are forceful conversions and are being dealt with accordingly. And the funny thing is that it is only the arguments of Abrahamic religions used for conversions that will put an end to their endless hunger for conversion.
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