5 years after the Sacchar Committee debunked the myth of Muslim appeasement with startling revelations about the extent of the community's socio-economic deprivation, Church and other Christian organizations have decided to mount a campaign and Political pressure for a similar study of the Christian reality in India.
A meeting of christian Organizations , scholars and activists on January 25, which was presided over by Delhi Archbishop Vincent Concessao, decided to petition the congress led UPA government for a Sachar Committee type report on the status of Christians. The report would serve as a reference point for decisions concerning the community, it was felt.
"Our own spot studies have shown how poor groups like tribal and Dalit Christians are but we don't have authenticated empirical data," said All Indian Christian Council general secretary John Dayal. "We want the government to quantify their marginalization in terms of poverty levels, land holdings, literacy and so on like the Sachar Committee did for Muslims. We also want the government to establish burning issues in troubled areas like the Dangs in Gujarat so that they can be addressed."
Dayal said a memorandum would be handed over to the National Minorities Commission, the minority affairs ministry and the Prime Ministers Office next week. The demand assumes significance in the light of the upcoming assembly elections in Kerala where Christians are a significant population group and where the Congress has high political stakes. The party hopes for a badly-needed morale booster with a victory here. Kerala is among the five states where polls are due this summer.
The crisis of data relating to the Christian community emerged starkly at the January 25 meeting, which was a national consultation to frame suggestions on welfare measures for inclusion in the 12th Plan. While a small affluent section of the community gives an impression that Christians are a well-off minority group, speakers pointed out that large populations remain on the margins of the national mainstream. Tribal Christians, for instance, face twin threats from Maoist groups and big mining corporations and are vulnerable to displacement and eviction. Dalit Christians, like other Scheduled Caste groups, still suffer discrimination. For instance, in Samba near Jammu, they are not served tea at roadside stalls because of their scavengers history.
Other social groups at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder include fishermen in coastal areas, rubber-tappers, bamboo weavers and landless laborers. They need specific packages for better integration into the national economy but this is not possible because of lack of information about their numbers and their plight.
Although the government has moved very slowly on the Muslim question despite the Sachar Committees recommendations, it was felt that the report is a starting point. "For the first time, the marginalization of the Muslim community has entered the national discourse and become a part of the administrative and planning zone," said Dayal. "Parties like the BJP can no longer talk about minority appeasement because now we have evidence of the communitys backwardness."
******* timesofindia.indiatimes. com/A-Sachar-for-Christians-/articleshow/7421825.cms
A meeting of christian Organizations , scholars and activists on January 25, which was presided over by Delhi Archbishop Vincent Concessao, decided to petition the congress led UPA government for a Sachar Committee type report on the status of Christians. The report would serve as a reference point for decisions concerning the community, it was felt.
"Our own spot studies have shown how poor groups like tribal and Dalit Christians are but we don't have authenticated empirical data," said All Indian Christian Council general secretary John Dayal. "We want the government to quantify their marginalization in terms of poverty levels, land holdings, literacy and so on like the Sachar Committee did for Muslims. We also want the government to establish burning issues in troubled areas like the Dangs in Gujarat so that they can be addressed."
Dayal said a memorandum would be handed over to the National Minorities Commission, the minority affairs ministry and the Prime Ministers Office next week. The demand assumes significance in the light of the upcoming assembly elections in Kerala where Christians are a significant population group and where the Congress has high political stakes. The party hopes for a badly-needed morale booster with a victory here. Kerala is among the five states where polls are due this summer.
The crisis of data relating to the Christian community emerged starkly at the January 25 meeting, which was a national consultation to frame suggestions on welfare measures for inclusion in the 12th Plan. While a small affluent section of the community gives an impression that Christians are a well-off minority group, speakers pointed out that large populations remain on the margins of the national mainstream. Tribal Christians, for instance, face twin threats from Maoist groups and big mining corporations and are vulnerable to displacement and eviction. Dalit Christians, like other Scheduled Caste groups, still suffer discrimination. For instance, in Samba near Jammu, they are not served tea at roadside stalls because of their scavengers history.
Other social groups at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder include fishermen in coastal areas, rubber-tappers, bamboo weavers and landless laborers. They need specific packages for better integration into the national economy but this is not possible because of lack of information about their numbers and their plight.
Although the government has moved very slowly on the Muslim question despite the Sachar Committees recommendations, it was felt that the report is a starting point. "For the first time, the marginalization of the Muslim community has entered the national discourse and become a part of the administrative and planning zone," said Dayal. "Parties like the BJP can no longer talk about minority appeasement because now we have evidence of the communitys backwardness."
******* timesofindia.indiatimes. com/A-Sachar-for-Christians-/articleshow/7421825.cms