Incidentally, Dalit Muslims and Christians are not recognised as Dalits by a Presidential Order of 1950 — denying them the reservation benefits accorded to other Scheduled Castes and Tribes.

In a recent letter to the Prime Minister, Mayawati has argued that this section should be included in the reserved SC/STs category because their economic and social status is no better than Dalits of other religions.

Mayawati would also like Dr Manmohan Singh to consider this reservation in addition to the quota that already exists for other Dalits. The Supreme Court has already set a ceiling of a maximum of 50 per cent reservation for SC/STs. Mayawati wants this ceiling to be lifted, if need be, by amending the Constitution. She has also written that this amendment should be included in the Ninth Schedule.

On August 11 last year, Mayawati had written to the Prime Minister recommending a 10 per cent slab for scheduled castes, 10 per cent for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and minorities and 10 per cent for the economically-backward upper castes in the private sector. The Uttar Pradesh government has already issued orders for such reservation to all private units that require assistance from the government.