August 11, 2007 Honourable Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Pakistan. INJUSTICE / DISCRIMINATION AGAINST SCHEDULED CASTES Respected My Lord, First of all, for current performance of Judiciary I can shortly say “BRAVO, WELL DONE AND CONGRATULATIONS”. Now, some facts regarding the subject matter are hereby stated for sympathetic consideration and order. The castes doing laborious jobs were considered as the outcastes as per Hindu Caste System in Sub Continent for thousand years and remained deprived of social, educational and economic growth. And during 20th century reformers sympathetically named all depressed castes as Harijans, Dalits, Adivasis, Achhoots etc. With the political support of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and Maharaja of Kolhapur depressed classes had accorded special incentive status under Govt. of India Act-1935 in British Raj and brought a term "Schedule Castes" into use. Subsequently it remained enforced in India and Pakistan after partition. In Pakistan the cause of Scheduled castes was in principle protected by “Scheduled castes ordinance 1956” under the constitution of 1956 and list containing 40 castes was given following main incentives. • Reservation of 6% quota in jobs. • Relaxation of 3 years in age for jobs. That was neither properly observed nor extended but cancelled by 1990. Here one can feel the gravity of injustice that when; before 1980s, people were not educated, they had reserved seats and now they got educated, reserved seats cancelled!!! Religio-Caste based discrimination is in continuity in civil, cultural, religious, education, employment, political and economical spheres in several forms especially untouchablity and inequality made survival very difficult. Where the women face more violence every day including physical assault, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, rape, parading naked, kidnapping, abduction, forced incarceration, medical negligence, forced religion conversion.
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-----Page-2/2----The government has an obligation under the international human rights law to act with due diligence to prevent and investigate to ensure the comprehensive eradication of caste and gender discrimination and violence against scheduled castes and undertake special measures for social, educational, political and economical development of these marginalized groups. Presently scheduled Castes are included in Hindus under the term “Minorities”. In this system upper caste businessman Hindus occupy all seats to enhance their business and number of wine shops by purchasing from political parties and more than one million of Scheduled castes remain excluded from legislature and subsequently by all rights. Therefore it is the matter of grave concerned for the political intellectuals and reformers to make every effort to accord the laws to uplift the peaceful and hard working class of original natives of the soil by restoring Schedule Castes Ordinance and special incentives as we demand below: • Reservation of seats in all government jobs • Reservation of seats in armed forces and judiciary. • Reservation of seats in banks and financial institutions • Reservation of seats in all levels of legislature i.e. Senate, National and Provincial Assembly. • Reservation of seats in all levels of legislature for Scheduled Castes women. • Reservation of seats in all levels of Government as well as private higher education institutions. • Reservation of seats in all levels of scholar ships for higher education. • Distribution of agriculture land, bank loans • Construction of housing schemes and ownership of colonies where they are living. • Distribution of Presidential, National or other awards My lord, Hope this will receive your favours and appropriate action may be taken in favour of Scheduled Castes.
Yours Obediently,
(Kalawanti Raja Menghwar) (The 1st women social worker and Post Graduate among Scheduled Castes) Address: B-404, Gohar Pride, Gulistan-e-Johar Block-14, Karachi-75290. Email:
[email protected]