Gujarat govt to use ‘Scheduled Caste’ or ‘Anusuchit Jaati’ instead of ‘Dalit’ in official communication

Gandhinagar: Gujarat government has asked all its departments and stakeholders to avoid the word ‘Dalit’ in routine correspondence and instead use ‘Scheduled Caste’ in English and ‘Anusuchit Jaati’ in Gujarati. Dalit refers to scheduled caste community in most states and the Gujarat government had also been using the word. The reason behind this move is that the word ‘Dalit’ indicates that the community is oppressed. Also in official government correspondence the word ‘Dalit’ is interpreted differently. Even the NGOs and others will be directed to use the word ‘Scheduled Caste’ or ‘Anusuchit Jaati’ when corresponding with government.