NEW DELHI: Haryana govt's proposal seeking deletion of three caste names from the its Scheduled Caste list for being "objectionable and irrelevant" has brought to light an "illegality" committed more than a decade ago by the state.
The state had in 2013 issued administrative orders announcing that caste certificates to 'Chura' and 'Bhangi', and 'Mochi', will in future be issued as 'Balmiki' and 'Chamar' respectively, since Haryana had decided to delete the three names from the SC list.
Haryana's 2013 instructions to its field officers and institutions about issuing certificates to these communities in the name of two synonymous castes inadvertently came to light only now - the state is learnt to have reportedly enclosed it as supporting evidence to press its plea to the Centre for dropping of the names from the list.
According to sources, the 2013 order is "blatantly unconstitutional" as the state has no power to tinker with the SC list or decide the fate of the names. According to Article 341, the mandate to make any change to the SC list rests with Centre and Parliament through legislative amendment. Also, there is a laid down process of consultation to arrive at a decision on such issues.
In what is viewed as an attempt to remove from public parlance the community names that are widely deployed as pejoratives, Haryana has urged the Union ministry for social justice and empowerment to drop 'Chura', 'Bhangi' and 'Mochi' from the SC list, arguing that the words are "not only objectionable" but have also "lost relevance", as reported by TOI.
Since the Centre has come to know about Haryana's decision after 12 years, there is a lack of clarity if the state had, in pursuance of its 2013 instructions, stopped issuing certificates in the names of three communities, and replaced them with two others. "Any such action would be illegal and will have to be nixed retrospectively," it is argued.
There is a possibility that the Centre may seek more information from Haryana if its 2013 instructions were followed, and if the three communities in question are no longer issued certificates on their own names.
Oblivious, Haryana seems to have enclosed the 2013 order to add weight to its proposal for deletion of the three names. Sources said the Centre had in the past, after consultation, advised Delhi govt to withdraw a move similar to Haryana's, while in 2005-06, it had overruled a decision of UP govt to transfer some OBC communities to the SC list.
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