The central government of India has opposed the declaration of Dalits who accept Islam and Christianity as a lower caste.
An NGO filed a petition in the Supreme Court claiming that the Lower Castes Act of 1950 was unconstitutional because it included only Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs as lower castes, according to a report in the Indian newspaper. Gone, the NGO’s stand was that it was religious discrimination.
In response, India’s Union Ministry of Social Justice submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court that the lower caste law contained in the Constitution is based on historical information which shows that such oppression was never prevalent in Islamic and Christian societies.
It was said in the affidavit that one of the reasons for the acceptance of Islam and Christianity by the lower caste people is that they can get out of the oppressive system of Chhot Chhat, which has no concept in Islam and Christianity.
