KOCHI: Denying reports the Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) had given directions to avoid use of the word ‘Dalit’ in official communication instead of SC and ST, its chairman P N Vijayakumar has said the National SC Commission had issued such an order in 2007 before the state commission came into existence.“On November 28, 2007, the National SC Commission issued a circular directing to avoid the use of words ‘Dalits’ and ‘Harijans’. Following this, the state government issued a circular in November 2008 against using these words in official communication. However, there is no ban on the word ‘Dalit’,” he told reporters here on Thursday.
He said several posts claiming the commission had banned the word ‘Dalit’ were being circulated on Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media platforms. “A commission or a court cannot intervene in the trend of using such words in literature and other publications. It seems many use the word ‘Dalits’ to denote marginalised backward communities. The word ‘Dalit’ can be banned only through a Constitutional amendment,” he said. He said they have received a complaint from a professional college student regarding the use of word ‘Dalits’ by the authorities.
“The Commission will consider this petition on October 30. In this case, the respondent is the PRD Director. Any activist who is against the order can implead in the case,” he said.
The row over the use of the word ‘Dalit’ began after the Information and Public Relations Department issued a circular banning the use of words ‘Dalits’ and ‘Harijans’ in government publications, official communication of the government and publicity materials. The department move came amid the ongoing discussion between the government and other departments regarding the use of these words. The circular has recommended the use of words SC and ST instead of ‘Dalits’ and ‘Harijans’.
“As many as 12,000 petitions are pending before the Commission. For a speedy disposal of cases, the commission will hold two-day-long adalats in all the districts. So far, around 6,000 cases were disposed of in the adalats conducted in the northern districts. A total of 260 complaints will be considered in the adalat in Ernakulam,” he said.
According to Vijayakumar, the commission has so far received 100 complaints regarding the mysterious deaths of persons belonging to SC and ST communities. It is alleged the police were not initiating a detailed probe into these cases. They received a petition on the mysterious death of a youth, Shaji, a driver, in 2014 at NPOL near Kakkanad. “Though the Thrikkakara police registered a case, the inquiry made no progress. The postmortem report clearly mentions a deep injury on his skull.
This points to the mystery over the death. But even after four years, the police have not made any headway in the case. We have summoned DCP A R Premkumar and directed him to constitute a special team to initiate an inquiry which should be completed within six months,” he said.Along with the chairman, commission members Ezhukone Narayanan and K K Manoj are also attending the ongoing adalat in Ernakulam.
IPRD circular started it all
The row over the use of the word ‘Dalit’ began after the Information and Public Relations Department issued a circular banning the use of words ‘Dalits’ and ‘Harijans’ in government publications, official communication of the government and publicity materials.