The National commission on SC/ST had banned the usage of the word Dalit as an alternative for SC/ST in 2007:" File photoKochi: The Kerala state commission for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes has clarified that it has not banned the usage of the term 'Dalit'.
Commission chairman retd judge Dr P. N. Vijayakumar said that no such an order has been passed and the commission will arrive at a final decision only after the sitting in Thiruvananthapuram on October 30.
The matter had shot to limelight after a few professional education students complained to the commission that the term Dalit must not be used while publishing the list of students who were eligible for financial support.
The national commission for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes had in November 2007, passed an order restraining the usage of the term Dalit to refer to SC/ST category beneficiaries.
The commission's order was to the effect that according to the protected status offered to the scheduled categories they should not be referred to as Dalit in official communication but must be referred to by the constitutional usage.
The state commission chairman also clarified that through the 2007 order the national commission had implied that the constitutional terminology must not be replaced by other terms.
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