Madhya Pradesh High Court bans use of word 'Dalit'

The Gwalior bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has banned the use of word 'Dalit' in official  and unofficial communication, according to Zee Media Bureau reports. Hearing a petition filed by a person called Dr. Mohan Lal Thakur, the Madhya Pradesh HC gave the order. The PIL claimed that the Constitution doesn't have any mention of Dalit, and hence it shouldn't be used in official communication. 

The people belonging to this class have been addressed only as Scheduled Caste or tribe, in which governmental documents and elsewhere are being used as Dalit against the Constitution. The High Court, while hearing the petition agreed with the points raised by the petitioner. It issued an order that the word Dalit should not be used in any government and non-government departments. Abhishek Parashar, lawyer of the petitioner said that currently the ban will be enforced in Madhya Pradesh only. 

What BR Ambedkar – the architect of the Constitution – thought of the Dalit word?

For long the use of the word Dalit has been debated vehemently. Ambedkar himself appeared opposed to the word.

He wrote in Sampoorna Vangmay (Volume 4): “The castes that are today described as Dalits have serious reservations about the use of this word … This word creates the impression that they are a lowly and helpless community, whereas the fact is that in every province, many members of these castes are prosperous and well-educated and the entire community is growing conscious of its rights.

They have a strong desire to secure a respectable position for themselves in Indian society and they are making all possible efforts for it. Due to all these reasons, the use of the word ‘Dalit’ is inappropriate and wrong … As a representative of the Dalit classes, I can say without any hesitation that till we can find a better word, the Untouchables should be addressed as Non-Caste Hindus or Outcaste Hindus”