Vishwa Samvad Kendra eliciting opinions on reservations to converted SCs

There has been a long debate on providing reservations to converted scheduled castes. Now a committee has been formed under the chairmanship of former Justice KG Balakrishnan on the issue.

New Delhi: The government has formed a committee under the chairmanship of former Justice KG Balakrishnan to study whether the converted Scheduled Caste people should get reservation or not. Meanwhile, the Vishwa Samvad Kendra, a unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which has been working with educationists across the country in that regard, convened a meeting with voluntary organisations and research students to elicit their opinions on the issue.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Executive Officer of Vishwa Samvad Kendra Vijay Shankar Tiwari said, "Whether the converted Scheduled Caste persons should get the benefit of reservation or not, has become a very old topic and the government has also formed a committee on this. But, Vishwa Samvad Kendra is inviting eminent people from universities across the country on March 4 and 5 for a discussion on conversion and reservation."

He said, "Some people believe that converted Christians and Muslims do not find any change in their social status even after converting from Hinduism. At the same time, it has been believed in the country for a long time that only those Scheduled Castes whose religion is Hindu should get equal constitutional facilities, representation and reservation."

"Vishwa Samvad Kendra is organising a seminar to provide a platform to the intellectual class to tell their opinions on the issue," Tiwari said. When questioned about the VHP opinions on the issue , he said, "It says converted Christians and Muslims should not get the benefit of reservation. There is confusion on this and there is a need for detailed discussion on the issue."