A Public Interest Litigation has been filed by a social activist-MLA against the use of the term 'Dalit' in all governmental communication. The petitioner Kaushal Kishore argues that the use of the term 'Dalit' to describe Scheduled Castes (SCs) is derogatory and demeaning and is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution.

Interestingly, this PIL has been filed in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, in a state headed by a Dalit Chief Minister, whose electoral platform was based on the communal identity of the 'Dalit' people.

The petitioner cites an alleged circular issued last year by National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) disallowing the use of the term 'Dalit' in government communication. "The term Dalit is not interchangeable with SC," claimed Hari Shankar Jain, counsel for the petitioner, contending that using 'Dalit' to refer to SCs is abusive and carries with it the stigma of untouchability, which is specifically prohibited by Article 17.

On the other hand sociologists have argued that using the term "Dalit" is simply an assertion of one's own identity and mere absence of the term from the Constitution does not make it unconstitutional.

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