New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued an advisory to all private satellite TV channels urging them to refrain from using the nomenclature ‘Dalit’ for people belonging to Scheduled Castes, in compliance with a Bombay high court directive.
The letter, addressed to all private TV channels on August 7, referred to a June directive by the Bombay high court asking the ministry to consider issuing a direction to the media to stop using the word ‘Dalit’.
The court directive had come over a petition filed by Pankaj Meshram before the Nagpur bench of the high court. According to Meshram, The Wire had reported, the term ‘Dalit’ has only been used for the purpose of “electoral politics”. Meshram’s lawyer S.R. Narnaware had pointed to a past order from the National Commission for Scheduled Castes that had asked state governments not to use the word ‘Dalit’ in official documents, saying the term was “unconstitutional”. Meshram in his petition had also mentioned the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s decision to direct the Centre and states to stick to legal nomenclature and not use Dalit.
“It is accordingly advised that media may refrain from using the nomenclature ‘Dalit’ while referring to members belonging to Scheduled Castes in compliance with the directions of the Hon’ble Bombay High Court and the Constitutional term ‘Scheduled Caste’ in English, and its appropriate translation in other national languages should alone be used for all official transactions, matters, dealings, certificates, etc. for denoting the persons belonging to Scheduled Castes,” the ministry said.
The advisory had also cited a Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment circular from March 15, advising the Central and state governments to use the term ‘Scheduled Caste’.
When the Bombay high court recommended this directive, The Wire reported, several activists who focus on Dalit rights issues, including one of the co-founders of the Dalit Panthers J.V. Pawar, said that while certain sections may disagree with the term, it was not the court’s job to police its usage since others identified with it.
“If a community recognises itself with a certain term, how can the court dictate terms?” he asked.
Academic Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd agreed. “As far as I know [Dalit] has never been accepted as an administrative term. This term has gained a national acceptance and has acted as a unifying force between communities across the country. It has brought the community together across the states, irrespective of language and cultural differences. It has constructed a national identity for the community,” Ilaiah said.
Well known academic and social activist Gail Omvedt, in her blog, points out that ‘Scheduled Caste’ is a legal term and as such it is neutral. “That may be acceptable, even at points preferable for textbooks. But for movements, for action, those who suffer the realities of caste oppression need a stronger and more assertive identity, something the cold and form “scheduled caste” terminology cannot provide. This is provided, on the other hand, by the word “Dalit,” with its connotations of resistance and revolt,” she writes.
Union minister of state for social justice Ramdas Athawale has told the Indian Express that he does not agree with the I&B ministry’s directive. “The petition has been filed by a Buddhist. It is fine to say that government records should use the term Scheduled Castes, but we see no reason why the media cannot use the term ‘Dalit’. Most Dalit groups don’t have a problem with the usage and don’t think it to be insulting in any way. It is, in fact, a word that instilled a sense of militancy in Ambedkarites — the need to be krantikaris when faced with injustice,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)