Court Orders Probe on the Caste Status of Christians

The Allahabad High Court in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) on Dec. 2 ordered the UP government to launch a statewide crackdown on individuals who convert to Christianity but continue to claim benefits reserved for Scheduled Castes. The court described such practices as a “fraud on the Constitution,” emphasizing that Scheduled Caste status is inextricably linked to Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism under Indian law. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, issued by the president of India, explicitly…