On 27 July 2015 the newspaper Times of India published an interesting article on a ruling by the Kerala High Court on the obligation of the state to
respect the rights and benefits that pertain to Scheduled Castes (SC)/ Scheduled Tribes (ST) members, even if a person converts from one religion to another. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (a.k.a. Adivasi) comprise about 16.6 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively, of India"s population (according to the 2011 census). They used to be known under the rather derogatory term of "Untouchables"; the modern term for them is "Dalits."
The court case was held because people who reconverted from Christianity to Hinduism wanted to receive the governmental benefits assigned to the SC/ST group. The state of Kerala ruled that a person would lose these rights/benefits if he leaves Hinduism. The Kerala High Court ruled that even though the converts had been Christians they still had retained the characteristics of their caste - both the change from Hinduism to Christianity, and the reverse change from Christianity had not changed this.
Rolf Zeegers, persecution analyst for World Watch Research, comments: "There are a few interesting facts in this incident. First of all, the Kerala High Court"s decision is important against the backdrop of the Ghar Vapsi campaign of radical Hindus - where converts to Christianity and Islam are lured back into Hinduism. No doubt, radical Hindus will use this decision to appeal to many more converts to "˜come home." The court also showed that it is not important how long ago the conversions occurred and whether the converts and re-converts are the same people - if the parents or grandparents decided to leave Hinduism years or decades ago and the (grand)children come home now is of no importance."
"Second, this case is another example of religious matters decided at the state level. It is highly unlikely that the central government in Delhi will appeal against the verdict. After all, Prime Minister Modi can claim this is none of his business, and the decision undoubtedly is a welcome one. Finally, it is important to note that people believe that a conversion away from Hinduism does not change the character/being of a person. In this sense, it is considered that the caste status sticks with a person no matter how often he converts. This decision will have far-reaching consequences for the Church in Kerala which has many members who converted from the Dalit group. It remains to be seen how many other states will follow the Kerala example, but the impact could be great indeed."
