Ramesh Nathan from the NCDHR said that reservation cannot be treated as a poverty alleviation programme but is meant for those who have been historically oppressed. Ramesh Nathan from the NCDHR said that reservation cannot be treated as a poverty alleviation programme but is meant for those who have been historically oppressed.

Opposing reservations in jobs and higher education institutions based on economic criteria, Dalit rights organisations have demanded that the Union government instead implement reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) who convert to other religions, for Denotified Tribes, and also in private institutions.

These demands were placed by the nationwide coalition of Dalit rights groups, the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), on Monday while releasing its Dalit manifesto — a list of demands for political parties — for the upcoming general elections. Ramesh Nathan from the NCDHR said that reservation cannot be treated as a poverty alleviation programme but is meant for those who have been historically oppressed. “Several who convert out of Hinduism lose the benefit of reservation. Likewise, there has been a longstanding demand for separate reservation for denotified communities who are the most marginalised. Instead, the government is trying to please the forward communities,” said Nathan.

NCDHR’s Paul Divakar added, “The eight lakh income criteria for EWS reservation includes 95 per cent of general caste population. With such a loose criteria, the elite will corner the benefits…”

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