CHANDIGARH, July 19: Former Judge of the Supreme Court V.R. Krishna Iyer today urged the government to distribute land to the poor and Dalits on priority basis in order to ensure growth with justice and general economic regeneration of the country.He was delivering the key-note address at a seminar on "Development of scheduled castes in the last 50 years" here today.Earlier, inaugurating the seminar, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said Punjab would launch a rural unemployment eradication programme for Dalits and others from November 1. He said that the Centre and states must take "revolutionary steps" to uplift the Dalits by doing something practical. "Seminars and meetings could prove useful only if some practical work was also done," he said.Badal said poverty, homelessness and unemployment were among the problems faced by the Dalits. Justice Iyer regretted how Dalits and labourers who build temples and buildings were barred from entering them once they were complete. "Unless each and every Dalit is taken care of, we're only betraying our Constitution," he said."Addition of a clause in the Constitution is not enough. This country can't have stability and unity if the Dalits are denied what they deserve - equality in every respect."He said the Dalits only need to be given a chance. Citing the examples of Vyas, Balmiki and Ambedkar, he said "There are millions of Dalits who have the potential."He said the social, economic and cultural balance sheets of the country of the last 50 years show that Dalits had stayed where they were. "We want judges and administrators who understand and share the tears and tyranny of the Dalits," he said, adding that social and economic equality among different classes must be ensured.Justice Iyer said a legislation must be brought forward to ensure that various schools, which are restricted to the creamy layer of the society, reserve 20 per cent seats for the Dalits. The high fees must be subsidised by the government, he added.While K.C. Shenmar, president of the North India Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (which organised the function), welcomed the guests, which included Punjab ministers Gurdev Singh Badal, Sarwan Singh Phillaur and Swarna Ram. Several educationists, retired civil and police officers also participated in the seminar.
