Over 50 Dalit Christians on Wednesday staged a protest near Clock Tower in Dindigul demanding Scheduled Caste status.
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Dindigul diocese Vicar General Father Sahayaraj led the protest. They raised slogans against the discriminatory Presidential Order of 1950 that holds only Dalits who professed the Hindu faith could be treated as SC.
The protestors also said that they observed August 10 as Black Day as it was then that the order was issued.
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“The demand has been on since the 1950s. What is our birthright – the status of SC/ST – cannot be taken away from us just because we have converted to Christianity,” said Dindigul diocese SC/ST commission secretary Fr Thomas John Peter.
The protestors demanded the discrimination based on religion to end and amendments to the order.
Similar protests were held over 18 cities across the State including Madurai, Tiruchi, Sivaganga, Chennai, Coimbatore, Salem, Thoothukudi, Udhagamandalam, he added.
Dindigul diocese Fr Maria Inaaci VF, chancellor Fr John Peter, and others were present.