A long-awaited report from India's National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities has brought Dalit Christians one step closer to their dream of living with the same rights as those Dalits who remain in the Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh faiths.
The commission was initially appointed by India's Supreme Court two years ago to assess the extent to which Dalits who leave their traditional faith groups - mainly Hinduism - are subsequently victims of persecutions. The report, which was supposed to be released after six months, was finally released last week after repeated delays.
If the Indian Supreme Court follows the Commission's recommendations, thousands of Dalit Christians and Muslims will receive the same affirmative action benefits as those who choose to remain in the country's majority Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh faiths.
"This is a significant and giant step toward justice for the Dalits," said Gospel for Asia President KP Yohannan. "If the court follows the commission's recommendations, it will free many Dalits to choose to follow Christ. They will no longer have to fear losing their rights."
Studies conducted by the commission concluded that Dalit converts to Christianity continue to endure caste-based discrimination. In response to the findings, the commission recommended that Dalit Christians, Muslims and other religious minorities receive several affirmative action benefits, including the reservation of 15 per cent of the seats in non-minority institutions for the religious minority Dalits.
Currently, affirmative action benefits are only awarded to Dalits who are Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist. Since 1950, the Indian government has ruled that only Dalits who are from those religions need these benefits.
