‘Not good to ban usage of ‘Dalit’ in media’: Athawale to move SC

Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Ramdas Athawale said his Republican Party of India (RPI) will approach the Supreme Court against a information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry’s directive to media organisations, advising them not to use the term ‘Dalit’ when referring to members of the Scheduled Castes (SC).

Athawale said while he was not opposed to switching from ‘Dalit’ to the legally approved ‘Scheduled Castes’ for official purposes, he saw no merit in banning its usage in the media.

“We are going to the Supreme Court; it is not good to ban the usage of the term ‘Dalit’. There was opposition to the use of the word ‘Harijan’, as some people objected to it, but there is no such opposition to the use of Dalit as it is not derogatory,” he said.

Incidentally, in March, Athawale’s ministry had written to other central ministries and state governments, advising them to avoid using the term ‘Dalit’ and instead use ‘person belonging to Scheduled Castes’ in all official communications. Athawale defended the circular by pointing out that it only limited the usage to official purposes.

In June, the Bombay high court had asked the I&B ministry to consider issuing a directive to the media to stop using ‘Dalit’. Accordingly, the ministry issued the advisory to private channels.

The government has supported the move, saying that the nomenclature ‘Dalit’ did not find mention in the Constitution.

BJP’s SC Morcha chief Vinod Sonkar said, “Those who say the term ‘Dalit’ should be used are neither aware of the Constitution nor of Ambedkar’s sentiments.”

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