Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: Dalits who convert to Buddhism will be given Scheduled Caste certificates for the purpose of employment and education, the Karnataka government ordered on Monday.
This will apply to people belonging to any of the 101 Scheduled Castes who convert to Buddhism, the social welfare department said in its order.
According to the order, Scheduled Caste people converting as Buddhists should be allowed to identify their religion as Buddhism in the caste certificate application form. Similarly, Scheduled Caste people who become Buddhists may state their religion as ‘Buddhism’ in academic records at schools and colleges.
The order stated that the union government, in 1990, allowed Dalits converting to Buddhism to obtain Scheduled Caste certificates. Based on this, the state government had issued a circular in 2013.
In 2016, the Union government asked chief secretaries of all states to ensure that Dalits who become Buddhists get Scheduled Caste certificates.
“Although a circular was issued, several organisations have petitioned the government seeking clarity and an appropriate order on the matter,” the social welfare department stated.
The order comes at a time when Karnataka is carrying out a Social & Educational Survey, or caste census. Recently, a separate survey was done covering Scheduled Castes for the purpose of sub-classification or internal reservation.
Buddhists are a religious minority in Karnataka along with Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Zoroastrians (Parsi) and Jains. As per the 2011 Census, there were 95,000 Buddhists in the state.
In Karnataka, Buddhists come under the OBC Category-2A with a 15 per cent reservation. Christians and Jains come under Category-3B with a 5 per cent reservation. Muslims are under Category-2B with 4 per cent reservation.