MIRPURKHAS: An organisation calling itself ‘The Scheduled Caste Rights Commission of Sindh’ has demanded the government immediately impose a ban on conversion of underage Dalit girls and their forced marriage.

The organisation’s chairman Kanji Rano Bheel said at a seminar in Bheelabad here on Friday that incidents of excesses with non-Muslim community had increased and its minor girls were harassed on different pretexts and forced to change their religion, causing widespread fear among non-Muslim families.

He said the scheduled caste Hindu community was disappointed by the government and facing innumerable problems, which needed to be resolved on a priority basis.

He demanded the government immediately impose a ban on conversion of underage Dalit girls and bring people involved in their forced conversion and marriage to justice.

He called for abolition of minorities wings of political parties and urged the government to fix five per cent quota in jobs for the scheduled caste people and give them right to cast vote for any candidate of any other community of their choice.

He urged the government to stop releasing budget for repair of temples to the minority MNAs and MPAs claiming that most of them belonged to the upper caste Hindu community and they had little concern for the problems of scheduled caste communities. Hence, they embezzled the entire budget, he claimed.

He demanded the government allow admission in educational institutions to the children of Kolhi, Bheel, Jogi, Jindawara, Gurgula and Sami communities, and also fix five per cent quota in jobs for the scheduled caste people.

He said the scheduled caste community should not be called ‘minority’ and instead it be referred to as ‘non-Muslim’ because minority was an offensive term.

Jayram Das Meghwar, Rekha Kolhi, Gianchand, Jabal Gogi and others also spoke at the seminar.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2022