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Rethinking the ‘Absolute Bar’ on Scheduled Caste Status in India

by Shashank Shekhar and Divya Sridhar

Published 2026-05-28 23:54:00+09:00

If caste discrimination survives a change of faith, why does the law look the other way?

0:00 / 9:09 · Narrator Vindemiatrix

Context

Writing on 28 May 2026, the authors examine a persistent friction point in Indian constitutional law: the "absolute bar" that strips Dalit converts of their Scheduled Caste status. While the Supreme Court maintains that this identity is a legal category tied strictly to specific religions, the social reality of caste often remains long after a change in faith. The analysis observes a growing gap between rigid statutory interpretation and the enduring facts of discrimination, asking whether the law is effectively penalizing religious freedom to maintain administrative clarity.

Show notes

An examination of the legal and constitutional barriers preventing Dalit converts to Islam and Christianity from accessing Scheduled Caste status in India. Reviews decades of jurisprudence and commission findings to contrast the Supreme Court’s strict adherence to the 1950 Presidential Order with sociological evidence of persistent caste-based discrimination across religious lines.

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