India (International Christian Concern) — A draft list published last week by the southern Karnataka government in India for a socio-educational and economic survey, including Christian sub-castes, has raised objections from communities that fear Christians could regain the benefits they are currently losing. 

Opponents argue that caste is not recognized in Christianity and its inclusion is designed to divide communities and encourage conversions. 

Indian courts have repeatedly clarified that Christianity does not have a caste system. Thus, converts are not eligible for Scheduled Caste (SC) government-provided benefits aimed at improving their economic and social standing. 

The benefits include educational scholarships, financial assistance for business ventures, and support for infrastructure development through programs like the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme and various skill development and income-generating initiatives. 

Strange though it may seem, an SC individual loses all such benefits along with his caste status once he/she converts to Christianity. 

In light of this, the draft list of sub-castes published by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, by including suffixes like “Christian” (e.g., Brahmin Christian, Kuruba Christian), created a surprise. 

In this draft, 52 new “castes” of Christians (with a caste prefix), such as Kuruba Christian, Vokkaliga Christian, Billava Christian, Brahmin Christian, Ediga Christian, Maadiga Christian, Lambani Christian, etc., have been included as a precursor to a 15-day comprehensive Socio-Economic and Educational Survey (caste survey) that begins on Sept. 22. 

Although all political parties have welcomed the survey itself, the draft list published by the commission has raised concerns both among community and religious leaders. 

The core argument is that religion and caste are distinct, and the latter is not recognized within Christianity. 

The inclusion of Christian sub-castes in the caste list is seen as an attempt to include them in the SC reservation matrix, which is intended for people of the Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist faiths who are descendants of the Scheduled Castes. 

Interestingly, the Karnataka government is led by the Indian National Congress (INC), popularly known as the Congress party, and is a conservative party with its policies predominantly reflecting balanced positions, including secularism, egalitarianism, and social stratification. 

The right-wing and pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules at the federal level under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, often accuses the INC of supporting the religious minorities, especially Christians and Muslims. 

The Karnataka BJP contended that there is no constitutional provision for religion-based reservation and that those who convert forfeit their claim for reservation. The new nomenclature (new caste-based classification of Christians) would also “normalize” conversion and encourage the gullible to convert without the fear of losing their caste identity, reservation benefits, or the cultural connection to their default religion. 

The Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, tried to play down the issue of tagging Christians with Hindu caste names in the caste survey and said, “This survey is to capture the social and educational backwardness of the people and to find out their religion. If he or she is a practicing Christian, they will be listed as Christians and not by any caste.” 

Siddaramaiah, who asserted that the survey would help design “scientific and fair” welfare policies to eliminate inequalities through “affirmative action,” did not clarify if the new Christian castes would avail the reservation benefits. 

Madhusudhan Naik, current chairman of the Backward Classes commission, said, “The survey is based on self-declaration, and we will record whatever the people disclose in the survey. We will not lead them to choose their religion or caste. The commission will take a call on how to classify after the data collection is completed.”

“The CM’s clarification on Christian castes is vague. The commission has allotted code numbers to each of these castes. There will be huge confusion and conflict of the people listed under Christian castes stake claim to reservation benefits based on their original castes. So, the confusion should end before you start the survey. Keep those who have converted under the respective religion column,” BJP legislator Sunil Kumar demanded.

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