Don't use the word Dalit to identify someone: Punjab SC panel
Darpan News Desk IANS, 21 Sep, 2021 11:09 AM
Chandigarh, Sep 21 (IANS) Taking note of the word 'Dalit' being used for newly-appointed Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi by the media, the Chairperson of the state Scheduled Castes Commission, Tejinder Kaur, on Tuesday issued instructions not to use the nomenclature to mark the identity of any person belonging to Schedule Castes.
In a statement issued here, Kaur said the nomenclature Dalit does not find mention in the Constitution or any other statute.
Even the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has directed all state governments and Union Territory administrations to use the word Scheduled Caste instead of Dalit for persons belonging to SCs.
Acting on the reports of violations being made by the media, the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry has issued a notice to private satellite TV channels, asking them to comply with an order passed earlier by the Bombay High Court to not use the word Dalit in reports, Kaur said.
This task, he said, has become much more demanding than before because the political disputes and electoral battles were increasingly getting overlaced with religious overtones, symbols, myths and prejudices.
The heavy rain in the region on Monday also affected schoolchildren in the Morni area as they were seen crossing the swollen Ghaggar river on their way back from school with the help of a pipe.
A first-time air passenger was on Monday taken into custody for trying to open the exit door of an aircraft mistaking it for that of the lavatory, triggering panic among flyers on board.
At a time when policymakers are grappling on how to reduce inequalities, a wealth report on Tuesday said there has been a 34 per cent increase in the number of Indians having a networth of Rs 1,000 crore or more.
Three more militants were killed in an ongoing counter-infiltration operation at Tangdhar, taking the militant toll in the operation that began on Saturday to five.
