SCHEDULED CASTES...............NEGLECTED 371
Government of India. The reason is that the officers in charge of these refugees camps discriminate between the Caste Hindu refugees and the Scheduled Caste refugees.
(2) It appears that the Relief and Rehabilitation Department has made a rule that it is only that refugees who are staying in the Relief Camps can receive rations, clothing, etc. On account of their not staying in the Refugee Camps for the reason mentioned above, the Scheduled Castes refugees are not getting any relief. This is a great hardship.
(3) As discrimination cannot be prevented, it is necessary to modify the rule so that the Scheduled Caste refugees living outside the camps should also be entitled to relief in the same way and to the same extent as refugees living in camps.
(ii)
(1) In the allotment of lands made by the Government of Eastern Punjab the interests of the Scheduled Castes are completely overlooked. The administration of Eastern Punjab being entirely in the hands of the Caste Hindus, there is nobody either to take a personal interest in the rehabilitation of the Scheduled Castes evacuees nor is there any agency appointed by the Government of India especially charged with the duty of bringing to the notice of the Eastern Punjab Government that the interests of Scheduled Castes are overlooked.
(2) It is, therefore, essential that there should be a number of officers appointed by the Government of India to work in East Punjab charged with the special duty of seeing that the allotment of land is fairly made and that the Scheduled Caste refugees get their legitimate share.
(3) I have given to the Honourable Mr. Neogy a list of persons for being appointed for this purpose who, so far as I know, are best qualified to carry out this work.
(4) (a) It is a notorious fact that the Sikhs and the Jats who occupy a very prominent position in East Punjab are compelling the Scheduled Castes who are residents of East Punjab to evacuate their original homes in order to appropriate their houses or their