In Punjab, faith is adopted but paperwork remains unchanged. The trend in the border state has come under focus after a recent Supreme Court decision upholding that Dalits who convert to Christianity or Islam are no longer entitled to Scheduled Caste (SC) reservations, meaning changing one’s religion in documents has an immediate socio-economic consequence.Many people in Punjab who have embraced Christianity are not changing their names or religion in the official records. They want to keep their SC certificates so they continue getting reservation benefits in jobs and education. The same trend is seen across Doaba — Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. Churches might be full, but the change of faith is not shown in official records.Even some popular Christian leaders are continuing with same names, such as the former chairperson, Christian Welfare Board of Punjab, Amandeep Gill, and Christian Youth Punjab leader Charanjit GIll.Hailing from a village in Jalandhar Cantonment, Mangat Ram and his family embraced Christianity about two years ago. He attends the holy mass every week in the church at his village. His daughter, Sunita, took wedding vows as per Christian rituals. But the family has neither changed their names, nor altered anything else in official records. Their SC certificates are still intact.Unlike converts who used to change their names after baptism and write ‘Masih’, ‘Peter’, ‘John’, ‘Thomas’, ‘Christoper’ or ‘George’ after their first names, the name changes are being completely avoided now. The new names acquired by the converts were often after the Saint they followed. Call it an attempt to hide Christian identity to continue availing benefits of reservation in admissions and jobs or hassles of changing names in every official document, they are even retaining their last Sikh or Hindu names, including Singh, Kumar, Gupta, Gill, Deol or Bhatti.The practice of not changing names or religion is more prevalent among those under the influence of self-styled pastors of Pentecostal churches.Suraj Masih of Pholariwal village says, “When someone converts to Christianity, he or she is often asked if they want a new name. It is optional. Even though some take the name, no one is using the new names officially as it involves a lot of hassle in getting them changed in official records, such as birth certificate to matriculation, driving licence, voter ID, Aadhar card and most importantly, the passport. It becomes cumbersome.”Even women, who used to take new names, are no longer identifiable as Christians from their names. Bachno of Dhina village got the name Christie from church during baptism, but does not use it. “I am fine with my original name,” she says, adding her other friends in the church, including Angelina and Grace, are second generation Christians.Several villages of Jalandhar Cantonment, including Pholariwal, Dhina and Sansarpur, are dominated by Christians. Some of these villages have three churches — a catholic church, a Church of North India (CNI) and one of Seventh Day Adventist, a church of protestants. Some villages now have a fourth church — a Pentecostal church, which is often home-based or informal, and headed by a pastor. Most followers of churches in such pockets are from the Dalit community, mainly from Valmiki and Majhbi Sikh communities.The question of whether Dalits who embrace Christianity formally change their names and religion in official records reveals a layered reality — one shaped as much by law as by lived experiences.In fact, it is not just in Cantonment, but across the entire Doaba belt that there has been a visible shift towards Christianity in the past few years. Churches are full, prayer meetings are frequent and congregations continue to emerge. But the religious transformation remains invisible on paper.Legally, the position is clear. Under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, SC status is restricted to Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists. The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld that Dalits who convert to Christianity or Islam are no longer entitled to SC reservations.For many Dalits, Christianity offers dignity, community support and an escape from entrenched caste hierarchies. However, the loss of reservation benefits acts as a strong deterrent against formalising the shift.Parish Priest Father Anthony Thuruthy agrees. “Changing names after baptism is optional. These days, we are not changing names as everyone has a national identity, starting from birth certificates to Aadhar cards. We understand the government or the Supreme Court is not allowing people to retain SC status after they have converted to Christianity, but there is nothing much that we can do about this,” he said.