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AHIMSA TIMES - DECEMBER 2007 ISSUE - www.jainsamaj.org
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the question of any Jain trying to convert himself/herself to a respectable faith to escape the stigma of being a Dalit does not arise. It is also to be noted that while Dalits are non-vegetarians and vegetarian is not strictly followed among the Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists for the Jains ahimsa -vegetarianism is the sine qua non of their religious faith. There is no casteism among Jains. As a matter of fact Mahavira the last Tirthankara of Jains declared that one does not become a Sramana (a Jain monk) by tonsure (shaving of the head), nor a Brahman by (merely mechanically repeating) the sacred syllable aum, nor an Ascetic, by (merely) living in the woods, nor a Tapasa, by (wearing) garments of kusa-grass and bark. (From The Teachings of Lord Mahavir Translated into English By Prof. N. V. Vaidya) Threfore, I protest and take a strong exception to such clubbing of Jains among the Dalits I request that a correction and clarification be issued immediately. Yours faithfully, Bal Patil Secretary-General, All-India Jain Minority Forum, Cell: 098692 55533, Telefax: 91-22-2389 3030
Reply Received by Bal Patil from "The Hindu", Our Special Correspondent, Kochi clarifies: "I spoke to Dr. Vijay Sonkar Sastri and he says that he sticks to what he said at the meet. "He has pointed out that the SCs among Jains are constitutionally entitled to SC reservation. May be the organisation that took objection to the reference is not fully aware of the fact, he says. "I also spoke to Mr. K. V. Madanan, working president of the All India SC Reservation Protection Forum. He has quoted explanation 2 of Article 25 which says that "In subclause B of Clause 2, the reference to Hindu shall be constructed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh, Jain or Buddhist religions."
From the office of The Readers' Editor, The Hindu, Kasturi Buildings, 859 -- 860 Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002 India Ph: +91-44-28418297 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday), E-mail: readerseditor@thehindu.co.inFrom Bal Patil To "The Hindu" -December 21, 2007, Dear Mr. Ram, I am concerned to draw your attention to the following correspondence with your Readers' Editor which is self-explanatory. I have attached my letter to the Readers' Editor taking a serious exception to the report in The Hindu dated 05-11-2007 and the Readers' Editor's email response thereto. I have the highest respect for the secular traditions of the Hindu publications and their unremitting pursuit of human rights and media freedom. This is evident from the institution of the Readers' Editor as an Ombudsman for the readers' grievances front-paged on the Hindu. At the outset I would like to make it clear that my protest against the inclusion of Jains in the SC category is not at all meant that there is anything derogatory about the SCs and the Dalits. I have always been a staunch supporter of the cause of the Dalits and the SCs and their upliftment from thousands of years of oppression. I am protesting specifically against the unwarranted and misleading inclusion of the Jains in the SC category My protest against the impugned report was sent to your Kochi correspondent by the Readers' Editor and his clarification which in substance is a reiteration as given by Dr. Sonkar Shastri and Mr. K. V. Madanan is sent to me. This is naturally intriguing to me. I cannot make out the role, if any, played by the Readers' Editor in pursuance of the charter of the freedom of the press as laid down in the "Terms of Reference" except forwarding my letter to the concerned correspondent and blandly sending me the reiteration of the impugned report. I regret to note that Dr. Vijay Sonkar Shastri persists in his misconceived, false and patently misleading inclusion of the Jains in the SC category, and also, Mr. K. V. Madanan, working president of the All India SC Reservation Protection Forum quotes the untenable interpretation of the Explanation 2 of Article 25 which says that "In sub-clause B of Clause 2, the reference to Hindu shall be constructed as including a refernce to persons professing the Sikh, Jain or Buddhist religions", thus reintegrating the objectionable and misleading statement that "the SCs among Jains are constitutionally entitled to SC reservation" to which I have taken a strong exception. Both of them are not at all conversant with the constitutional, judicial interpretation of Jainism as included in Article 25 Expl.II and even more uninformed of the historiographical genesis of Jainism as distinct from Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. The expression Scheduled Castes' was used for those people who were kept outside the four'fold Varna (caste) system, and were called Avarnas (casteless). They were called by different names such as: Chandalas, Panchamas or Untouchables. The term "Scheduled Caste" was used by the British Government to designate all castes and classes previously covered under the term "Depressed Classes". Officially this word was embodied in Section 305 of the Government of India Act, 1935, . Later the expression was included in the Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936.
THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION - Please see the attached document constitution Order 19 - CONSTITUTION (SCHEDULED CASTES) ORDER, 1950 THE CONSTITUTION (SCHEDULED CASTES) ORDER, 1950j1 (C.0.19)
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