The Odisha government has banned the official use of the word 'Harijan'. All departments, institutions, and records will now use the term 'Scheduled Caste'. This decision was taken following the guidelines of the OHRC.
Odisha: The Odisha government has issued directives to all government departments, public institutions, and educational institutions in the state to refrain from using the word 'Harijan' in any official communication, document, or record. This order has been issued by the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Department.
Step taken following OHRC guidelines
This decision by the state government was taken following the guidelines of the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC). The Commission had clarified that the use of the word 'Harijan' is not appropriate from a constitutional and legal point of view, hence it should be officially banned.
Clear instructions in the official letter
The letter issued by the Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the department on Tuesday stated that only the terminology prescribed under Article 341 of the Constitution for Scheduled Castes should be used. The letter also specified that words such as 'Scheduled Caste' in English and 'अनुसुचित जाति' (Anusuchit Jati) in Odia or other recognized languages should be used.
To whom the order was sent
This letter has been sent to all Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, and Commissioner-cum-Secretaries of the state. Under this, the concerned officers have been asked to ensure that the word 'Harijan' is not used in any government communication, publication, caste certificate, departmental name, or other documents.
Existing records will also be updated
The directive also states that the concerned departments should inform their employees about this order and also update old documents and records. Additionally, the departments will have to submit a compliance report of this action to the government.
