HYDERABAD, Sept 2: The leaders of scheduled castes on Sunday appealed to the government to end discrimination against their communities, give them representation in the national and provincial assemblies and Senate and enforce the six per cent job quota guaranteed in the 1935 Act, Constitution of Pakistan and a decision of Supreme Court.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club, Arjandas advocate, general secretary of Scheduled Castes Federation of Pakistan and president of Upper Sindh Meghwar Social Welfare Council, Dr Rana Rathore of Meghwar Educational Association Sindh and Bhoromal Kolhi advocate from Mithi said that scheduled castes were the true heirs of Moenjodaro and Harappa civilisations but the governments had completely forgotten their existence.

It was clearly mentioned in the government of India Act 1935 that 41 scheduled castes of India should be given special concessions to bring them at par with other communities, they argued.

They said that the Scheduled Castes Declaration Ordinance of 1956 Constitution issued on Nov 12, 1957 guaranteed to them 6 per cent quota in employment in cadre 1, 2 and 3 with three years concession in age. The 1962 Constitution retained the same provision but for the first time added to it the commissioned and CSP cadre, they said.

They said that the 1973 Constitution retained all the provisions but in 1996 the government abolished the six percent quota for the scheduled castes and reserved it for all the minorities.

The move was set aside by the Sindh High Court in Dr Rubina Chamanlal versus federation of Pakistan case and the high court’s decision was upheld by a division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Mr Justice Rana Bhagwandas and Mr Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi in 2006 after the federation filed an appeal against the higher court’s decision, they said.

They said that the provincial and federal government departments were violating the 6 per cent quota exclusively reserved for the scheduled castes, a practice which was repugnant to the constitution as well as the commitment expressed by the founder of the nation, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

The Quaid had unequivocally declared in a speech on Aug 15, 1944, that “I shall always stand for their (scheduled castes) protection and safeguard in any future scheme of continuation for I think that the wrongs and injustices inflicted on them for centuries should not be allowed to continue under the civilised form of government”.

The leaders said that they had approached all the authorities and requested them to implement the 6 per cent quota but they had received any encouraging response from any quarter so far.

They regretted that the government was paying only lip service to their cause. and appealed to the Sindh chief minister, prime minister and the president to listen to their woes.