Minister O. R. Kelu told the Assembly that the central government is yet to accept the state government’s recommendation to include the Christian converts in the Scheduled Castes.
Kelu is Kerala’s newly inducted Minister for the Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes. He is a school dropout who won his MLA seat from Mananthavady in Wayanad district. He is the first Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) minister from Wayanad.
Kelu added that the state government provides reservations to such converts in various fields. The minister responded to a calling attention notice presented by MLA Pramod Narayanan.
Pramod Narayan is a Kerala Congress (Mani) MLA from Kerala. He belongs to the Ranni Constituency in Pathanamthitta. Chairman Jose K. Mani, a CPM ally, currently leads the Mani Congress. Though Mani lost the Pala seat in the 2021 Assembly elections, the communists ensured he reached the Rajya Sabha.
Both Wayanad and Pathanamthitta have a vast converted Christian population. Most of these Christians own huge tracts of land, work in Bharat and abroad and are well-settled. Unfortunately, the truly deserving ones are deprived of such quotas and reservations.
In government service, two per cent reservation is given in Class IV posts, and one per cent in non-Class IV posts to Christian converts. In post-matric education, one per cent reservation is provided for Higher Secondary, Vocational Higher Secondary, Arts and Science courses. One per cent in professional degree courses, Medical P.G. and MTech, and one per cent reservation in school/college admission is also furnished.
In Kerala, such converts are considered in the Other Eligible Communities (OEC) category since they are not eligible in the Scheduled Caste category.
Apart from the OEC grant, pre-matric scholarships are also being provided for the Christian converts children of classes 9-10 from 2023. Kelu said that after class 10, these groups are allowed the same educational benefits as scheduled castes.
The department sanctions financial assistance for various competitive examination training (Medical/Engineering Entrance, Civil Services, Banking Services, GATE/MAT, UGC/NET/JRF). LLB graduates are given a grant of three years to practice as lawyers and ten lakhs rupees for study abroad.
The Kottayam-headquartered Kerala State Development Corporation for Christian Converts and the Recommended Communities (KSDC for CC & R.C.) currently implements several projects to promote the economic prosperity of converted Christians. Various educational and startup loan schemes are provided.
The minister said that the converted recommended category girls are given a 3.5 per cent interest rate, and boys at a 4 per cent interest rate for their foreign study loans up to 10 lakh rupees.
Incidentally, most Christian converts use such reservations as a launching pad, go abroad and settle down in friendly Christian nations.
A meeting was held on 01.02.2024 under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s chairmanship to solve the problems of converted Christians. The communists approved the incentive grant for such students for F.Y. 2024-25. The government decided to use the profit share of the Kerala State Development Corporation for Christian Converts during the year.
Kelu added that the Kerala state government is looking to appoint a State Backward Classes Commission to study the problems of communities, including converted Christians.
In 2020, HinduPost reported that KSDC has existed since December 1980. 55% of the beneficiaries were elected in the last five years, i.e. since the Pinarayi Vijayan-led CPM communist government came to power.
This deceit should give us a brief idea of the number of Hindu SC families that converted to Christianity based on the financial benefits offered by the current regime. How many were Malayali Hindus converted to Christianity, and who was responsible for such mass conversions?
A non-collateral interest-free loan of Rs.10,000/- must be repaid in 10 months (Rs.1,000/- monthly). Students from class 5th to 12th are eligible for non-collateral loans of up to Rs.50,000/- at 2.5% interest repayable within 24 months to purchase laptop computers.
What impact would these incentives have on other underprivileged Hindu children? Isn’t this prejudice towards the majority community? Does it not violate Hindu children’s right to an education?
Housing loans of up to Rs.3,00,000/- repayable within 144 months at an interest rate of 6% P.A., loans to purchase land of up to Rs.2,25,000/- with the same repayment period and an interest rate of 5% P.A., loans of up to Rs.1,00,000/- for rebuilding houses with a repayment period of 124 months at an interest rate of 6% P. A are all sanctioned by the KSDC upon receiving applications from converts.
A marriage loan of Rs.2,00,000/- for marriage expenses of girls is offered at an interest rate of 5% P.A repayable within 60 months. Is the Kerala government encouraging dowry?
In early 2021 (an election year in Kerala), the Vijayan-led CPM government granted OBC reservations to Kerala’s Nadar Christian (N.C.) community. Hindu and SIUC (South Indian United Church) Nadars already come under OBC reservations, so except for these categories, the remaining members of the Nadar Christian community were brought under the OBC category with that move.
Although Nadars are initially from Tamil Nadu, many moved to the Travancore region of Kerala centuries back. The decision came just weeks before assembly elections were declared.
Various court orders mention that one loses his caste status when he/she converts to Christianity or, for that matter, Islam. Constitutional provisions mandate the upliftment of backward communities while allowing them to retain their civilizational and ancestral roots. It is for this reason that S.C.s (Dalits) who convert to Christianity or Islam are denied reservation benefits.
Many clueless Hindus would not even be aware that almost all states legally provide reservations for various Christian and Muslim groups under the OBC category. Hindu caste groups are so busy agitating for quotas that they have failed to recognize that minorities are milking the state in two ways – through Minority Affairs ministries at the central and state levels and by creeping into the OBC quota list again at the state and central levels.
Are we going to get to the point where every community has a population-based quota? Are we also going to have distinct electorates for each community? Isn’t it time to do away with the quota system and adopt an open, consistent one where the underprivileged are given the tools they need to succeed through loans, scholarships, and DBT transfers?
Rahul Gandhi has deserted Wayanad and has rushed back to Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh. The Congress has declared Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as their Wayand candidate. The CPM won just one seat in the Lok Sabha elections from Kerala.
Having repressed the Christians and appeased the Muslim community, the communists are now trying their best to regain the Christian community’s votes. What better tactic than to use the reservation card?
