Isn’t Feasible to Not Use ‘Dalit’: Press Council to I&B

In an advisory , the I&B Ministry had asked them to “refrain from using the nomenclature Dalit”

File photo of members of the Dalit community protesting.

(Photo: ANI)

The Press Council of India (PCI) has informed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that it is not feasible to implement a blanket ban on the word ‘Dalit’ – an advisory by the ministry, reported The Indian Express.

“Our reading of the Bombay High Court order is that it did not seek a ban on the word ‘Dalit’. We deliberated on the order and have come to the conclusion that it is advisable not to issue directions/orders prohibiting the use of word ‘Dalit’,” The Hindu quoted PCI chairman Justice CK Prasad as saying.

He added that it had to be adjudicated on case-to-case basis. “If say a man is injured in an accident and he turns out to be from the Scheduled Caste, then identifying him as a Dalit will be unnecessary,”

In an advisory on 7 August to all private satellite television channels, the I&B Ministry had asked them to “refrain from using the nomenclature Dalit”, and use only the Constitutional term – ‘Scheduled Caste’.

In an earlier order on 15 March, social justice ministry, too, had sent a similar advisory to states and union territories saying that in all official transactions, ‘Scheduled Caste’ should replace “Dalit”.

(With inputs from Indian Express and The Hindu)