 bill no 37 of 2008 the constitution (scheduled castes) orders (amendment)  bill, 2008 by dr ks manoj, mp abillfurther to amend the constitution (scheduled castes) order, 1950, the constitution(scheduled castes) (union territories) order, 1951, the constitution (jammu and kashmir) scheduled castes order, 1956, the constitution (dadra and  nagar haveli) scheduled castes order, 1962, the constitution  (puducherry) scheduled castes order, 1964 and the constitution  (sikkim)  scheduled castes  order, 1978be  it enacted by parliament in the fifty-ninth year of the republic of india as follows:—short title1   this act may be called the constitution (scheduled castes) orders (amendment)act, 2008co 1952 in the constitution (scheduled castes) order, 1950:—(a) in paragraph 3, for the words "or the buddhist" the words "the buddhist or the christian" shall be substitutedamendment of the constitution (scheduled castes) order, 1950(b) in the schedule, in part viii—kerala:—(i) entries 18 to 38 shall be renumbered as entries 19 to 39, respectively and before entry 19 as so renumbered, the following entry shall be inserted, namely:—5"18 dheevara araya, valan, mukaveera, valanjier, mukkuva, arayavaathy, paniyar, nulaya, paniyakkal and bovismukayar"(ii) after entry 39 as so renumbered, the following entry shall be inserted, namely:—"40 mukkuvar, anjoottykkar, munnoottykkar"10(iii) existing entries 39 to 69 shall be renumbered as entries 41 to 71, respectivelyco 323 in the constitution (scheduled castes) (union territories) order, 1951, inparagraph 3, for the words "or the buddhist" the words "the buddhist or the christian" shall  be substitutedamendment of the constitution (scheduled castes) (union territories) order, 1951co 52154 in the constitution (jammu and kashmir) scheduled castes order, 1956, inparagraph 2, in the proviso, for the words "or the buddhist" the words "the buddhist or the christian" shall be substitutedamendment of the constitution (jammu and kashmir) scheduled castes order, 1956co 645 in the constitution (dadra and nagar haveli) scheduled castes order, 1962, inparagraph 2, in the proviso, for the words "or the buddhist" the words "the buddhist or the christian" shall be substituted20amendment of the constitution (dadra and nagar haveli) scheduled castes order, 1962co 686 in the constitution (puducherry) scheduled castes order, 1964, in paragraph 2,in the proviso, for the words "or the buddhist" the words "the buddhist or the christian" shall be substitutedamendment of the constitution (puducherry) scheduled castes order, 1964co110257 in the constitution (sikkim) scheduled castes order, 1978, in paragraph 2, inthe proviso, for the words "or the buddhist" the words "the buddhist or the christian" shall be substitutedamendment of the constitution (sikkim) scheduled castes order, 1978 statement  of  objects  and  reasonsindia is a secular and democratic republic the constitution prohibits the discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, place of birth, etc of the citizens simultaneously, it provides that the state shall make special provisions for the advancement of socially and educationally backward citizens of the country including scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in spite of so many enabling provisions in the constitution to support the weaker sections of the society, the successive governments have shown no interest to confer the status of scheduled castes on and extend the benefits of reservations to, the persons who originally belonged to the scheduled castes but have since converted to other religionsthe social status of these people, particularly of those who converted to christianity, has not improved much even after their conversion they are still living in pathetic conditions after conversion, these people lost the status of scheduled castes in the eyes of the law and were deprived of the benefits of reservation in jobs, etc under the state moreover, the social and educational status of such people is not different from that of people belonging to the scheduled castes they have not been included in the list of scheduled castes for the reason that these persons profess a religion different from the hindu, the sikh or the buddhist religion it is, therefore, necessary to amend the various constitution (scheduled castes) orders in order to extend the benefits of reservation to the persons who originally belonged to scheduled castes but have since then converted to the christian religionthe bill, therefore, seeks to amend the various constitution (scheduled castes) orders by substituting the words "the buddhist or the christian" for the words "or the buddhist" occuring thereinas per the provisions of article 341 of the constitution, the list of scheduled castes was first notified in 1950 and was subsequently modified from time to time however, certain communities like dheevara, araya, valan, mukaveera, valanjier, mukkuva, arayavaathy, paniyar, nulaya, paniyakkal, bovismukayar of hindu religion and mukkuvar, anjoottykkar and munnoottykkar of christian religion were not included in the constitution (scheduled castes) order, 1950 in relation to the state of kerala the people of these communities live along the coastal areas and river banks in kerala they depend mainly on fishing for their livelihood they are socially, educationally and economically backward other than adivasis, they are the most backward communities in kerala in order to bring them in the mainstream, they should be included in the constitution (scheduled castes) order, 1950 in relation to the state of keralathe bill seeks to achieve the above objectivesnew delhi;ks manojfebruary 28, 2008 financial  memorandumclauses 2 to 7 of the bill seek to insert the words "the buddhist or the christian" for the words "or the buddhist" in various constitution (scheduled castes) orders clause 2 of the bill also seeks to include certain new castes, namely, dheevara araya, valan, mukaveera, valanjier, mukkuva, arayavaathy, paniyar, nulaya, paniyakkal and bovismukayar of hindu religion and mukkuvar, anjoottykkar, munnoottykkar communities of christian religion in part viii-kerala, in the schedule to the constitution (scheduled castes) order, 1950 this will entail additional recurring and non-recurring expenditure on account of benefits to be provided to the persons belonging to these communities under the various schemes meant for the development of the scheduled castes at this stage, it is not possible to give the exact amount which may be incurred on this account however, the expenditure, both recurring or non-recurring, will be met out of the consolidated fund of india it is likely to involve an annual recurring expenditure of about rupees one hundred crore from the consolidated fund of indiaa non-recurring expenditure of rupees five hundred crore is also likely to be involved annexure extract from the constitution (scheduled castes) order, 1950(co 19)     3 notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph 2, no person who professes a religion different from the hindu, the sikh or the buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of a scheduled caste       part viii-kerala     1      18 domban          40 mundala           extract from the constitution (scheduled castes) (union territories) order, 1951(co 32)     3 notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph 2, no person who professes a religion different from the hindu, [the sikh or the buddhist] religion shall be deemed to be a member of a scheduled caste            extract from the constitution (jammu and kashmir) scheduled castes order, 1956(co 52)     2 the castes specified in the schedule to this order shall, for the purposes of the constitution, be deemed to be scheduled castes in relation to the state of jammu and kashmir:provided that no person who professes a religion different from the hindu [the sikh or the buddhist] religion, shall deemed to be a member of a scheduled caste            extract from the constitution (dadra  and nagar haveli) scheduled castes order, 1962(co 64)     2 the castes, races or tribes, or parts of, or groups within, castes, races or tribes specified in the schedule to this order, shall, for the purposes of the constitution, be deemed to be scheduled castes in relation to the union territory of dadra and nagar haveli so far as regards members thereof resident in that union territory:provided that no person, who professes religion different from the hindu [the sikh or the buddhist] religion, shall be deemed to be a member of a scheduled caste           extract from the constitution (puducherry) scheduled castes order, 1964(co 68)     2 the castes, races or tribes, or parts of, or groups within, castes, races or tribes specified in the schedule to this order, shall, for the purposes of the constitution, be deemed to be scheduled castes in relation to the union territory of puducherry so far as regards members thereof resident in that union territory:provided that no person, who professes religion different from the hindu [the sikh or the buddhist] religion, shall be deemed to be a member of a scheduled caste           the constitution (sikkim) scheduled castes order, 1978(co 110)     2 the castes, races or tribes, or parts of, or groups within, castes, races or tribes specified in the schedule to this order, shall, for the purposes of the constitution, be deemed to be scheduled castes in relation to the state of sikkim so far as regards members thereof resident in that state:provided that no person, who professes religion different from the hindu [the sikh or the buddhist] religion, shall be deemed to be a member of a scheduled caste           ———— a billfurther to amend the constitution (scheduled castes) order, 1950, the constitution(scheduled castes) (union territories) order, 1951, the constitution (jammu and kashmir) scheduled castes order, 1956, the constitution (dadra and nagar haveli) scheduled castes order, 1962, the constitution(puducherry) scheduled castes order, 1964 and the constitution (sikkim) scheduled castes order, 1978————(dr ks manoj, mp)mgipmrnd—1302ls(s5)—02042008