Muslim and Christian Leaders Meet the Home Minister on the implementation of the Recommendations of Ranganath Misra Commission

NEW DELHI, Jan. 21, 2010, 10.00 Hrs (Cosmon Arokiaraj / CBCI News):

A delegation of Muslim and Christian Leaders consisting of Mujtaba Farooq, Secretary, Jamaat-e Islami Hind, Maulana Niyaz Frooqi, Secretary, Jamiat Ulama-e Hind, Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan, ex-President, All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, Dr SQR Ilyas, Executive Member, All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Maulana Asghar Ali Imam Mahdi, General Secretary, Jamiat Ahl-e Hadees, Dr. Rev. Fr. G. Cosmon Arokiaraj, Executive Secretary, CBCI Commission for SC/ST/BC, Rev. Dr. Enos Das Pradhan, General Secretary, Church of North India met Honourable Minister P. Chidambaram on the implementation of the Ranganath Misra Commission, particularly deletion of paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950.

After submitting the memorandum that highlighted the recommendations of the Ranganath Misra Commission report, the leaders pointed out that depriving Christians and Muslims of Scheduled Caste Origin of the Scheduled Caste status is a discrimination based on religion and as we are going to celebrate the sixtieth year of the Indian Republic this anomaly should be removed as early as possible.

The Minister replied that the Government is aware of the issue and following the issue. He also mentioned that even though the Bible and the Quran preach equality the reality is different.

The leaders also insisted that action needs to be taken as early as possible and they also gave him the booklet containing the supportive letters written by various political parties’ leaders and a copy of the study on Dalits in Muslim and Christian Communities done by Department of Sociology, University of Delhi, 2008.