MUMBAI: A year after the Centre asked all state governments to refrain from using the word ‘

’ in official communication, the BJP-led Maharashtra government has asked all its departments not to use the word “in all official transactions, matters, dealings and certificates and instead use Schedule Caste or its appropriate translation in other national language(s)”.

A notification issued by the joint secretary of the social justice department D R Dingle says in keeping with directives issued by the Centre’s social justice ministry, the word ‘Dalit’ should be replaced with “Schedule Caste or Anusuchit Jati (in Marathi)”.

The Centre’s communication, first to state governments and later to the media, had come after the Madhya Pradesh high court and Bombay high court told the Central and state governments to stop using the word as it “does not find mention in the Constitution of India or any statute”.

However, Dalit groups have vehemently protested against the ban from last year, saying the word conveys a sense of identity and is of political significance.

‘Dalit a word that brings sense of pride’

Dalit groups said that the word – which broadly means oppressed and ostracised in Marathi — is not derogatory at all but brings to the community a sense of pride. They pointed out that widespread use of the word began after the flowering of Dalit literature in Maharashtra in the 1960s and the emergence of the militant Dalit Panthers outfit in the 1970s.

Former Mumbai University vice-chancellor Bhalchandra Mungekar told TOI that instead of changing nomenclature, the government should implement policies for the welfare of Dalits. “The term Dalit has acquired worldwide acceptance because it denotes not only the former socalled ‘untouchables’ but a vast majority of disadvantaged sections. Instead, policies drafted for welfare of Dalits should be implemented and Dalits must feel the government is working for them,” he said.

After the I&B Ministry’s advisory to media on the issue last year, The Press Council of India too had said there could not be a ban on the word ‘Dalit.’