Dalits Media Watch
News Update 14.12.09
Another FIR alleging Dalit boycott filed in Jasdan - Times Of India
Abolish the caste system now- DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/comment_abolish-the-caste-system-now_1323450
Vibrant Gujarat? 98% Dalits have to drink tea in separate cups - Times Of India
Mangalore: SC, ST welfare funds diverted, basic demands still unfulfilled - Magalorean Times
http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=160129
Now, SC/ST Confederation to go on fast for quota in pvt sector - Times Of India
Government ignoring Dalits' welfare: samiti - The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/14/stories/2009121457220300.htm
Two get lifer under SC/ST Act - Times Of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Two-get-lifer-under-SC/ST-Act/articleshow/5323916.cms
Times Of India
Another FIR alleging Dalit boycott filed in Jasdan
TNN 11 December 2009, 10:48pm IST
RAJKOT: Two days after the incident of a Dalit man being attacked with an axe for entering a temple in Chhasiya village in Jasdan taluka in Rajkot district, another FIR has been lodged by Ghela Punja Vala of the same village on socio-economic boycott of Dalits by villagers following the temple entry issue.
According to police officials, Hada Vala, 40, was attacked on December 8 when he had accompanied his nephew Devji to the temple to seek blessings on the eve of latter's marriage. As Hada climbed the steps at 11.30 pm, he was stopped at the entrance of the temple by Hemant Sarvaiyya, a Koli by caste. Sarvaiyya allegedly hurled casteist abuses at Hada and dealt a blow on his head with an axe. Hada was provided emergency treatment at Vinchhiya primary health centre and then shifted to Rajkot Civil Hospital for surgery. Police have booked Sarvaiyya for attempted murder and under relevant sections of Atrocity Act.
According to police officials, Ghanshyam Vala filed an FIR against six people in the village alleging socio-economic boycott. He said in his complaint that on December 9, large number of people gathered in the village and announced that Dalits would be boycotted in the village.
The complaint names six accused Kadva Jogarajia, Zaver Rathod, Kunvrabhai Jogarajia, Lagharabhai Sarviya, Mansingbhai Khisdia and Mohan Suvan. The complaint alleged that the accused have declared that Dalits would not be given anything at shops, will not be allowed in rickshaws, among other things.
After the incident, police force has been deployed in the village to avoid any untoward incident. "We have visited the village and have lodged the compliant as well. The accused are on run, but we will soon nab them'', said investigating officer and deputy superintendent of police A F Sindhi.
Senior police officials have conformed the 'boycott' of the dalits in the village by so-called upper caste residents. "We are trying to solve this problem with both communities amicably,'' said officials.
Abolish the caste system now
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/comment_abolish-the-caste-system-now_1323450
akesh Bhatnagar
Monday, December 14, 2009 0:26 IST
Court rulings that do not find killings on caste lines an exceptional crime inviting the extreme penalty amount to further subjugation of victims from the lower strata of society, especially since India has a whopping 170 million Dalits.
By any stretch of imagination and fair play such rulings are not fit to remain alive in the case law as the accused would use them as a mitigating circumstance to avoid the capital punishment.
This discussion is related to an exceptional Supreme Court (SC) ruling of December 10 commuting to life the death sentence of four convicts of a disgraceful "honour" homicide.
The homicide was orchestrated and executed by a man and his friends to avenge the marriage of his sister to a "low caste" Keralite in Mumbai.
The trial court and the Bombay high court rightly did not show leniency to the so-called upper caste killers migrated from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and ordered death. Things, however, changed in SC.
"If he (the brother) became a victim of his wrong but genuine caste considerations, it would not justify death," ruled the SC bench of justices S Sirpurkar and Deepak Verma.
A few days ago, another bench of SC justices Dalveer Bhandari and AK Patnaik had reversed the acquittal of six persons in a caste-related crime.
The judges held that "unfortunately, the centuries-old Indian caste system still takes its toll. This case unfolds the worst kind of atrocities committed by the so-called upper castes (Kshatriya or Thakur) against the so-called lower castes in a civilised country".
They said it's absolutely imperative to abolish the caste system as expeditiously as possible for smooth functioning of the rule of law and democracy in our country.
These rulings must be viewed against the backdrop of the national scene. The National Crime Bureau showed two years ago that UP topped the list of atrocities against SCs and STs, with 2,113 cases of the 9,819 cases nationally. The data also indicated a 10.2% increase in crimes against the two oppressed communities at the national level.
It's also reported that cases relating to crimes against the deprived and oppressed section of society, 'Dalit', do not reach courts. If they do, the most likely outcome is acquittal. Official data reveals that between 1999 and 2001, 89% of trials involving offences against Dalits resulted in acquittals.
Vibrant Gujarat? 98% Dalits have to drink tea in separate cups
Vijaysinh Parmar, TNN 8 December 2009, 02:02am IST
SANAND (Ahmedabad dist): This is the taluka where Tata Motors has parked its small car project. Nano has become a symbol of Gujarat's pride and became a centre of attraction at the last Vibrant Gujarat investment summit in January 2009.
But scratch the surface, and the scene is gloomy beneath this economic boom in the state. Bhikhabhai Solanki, 50, a native of Lodariyal village, has never shaken hands with non-Dalits in his life. Bhikhabhai, an agricultural labourer, is Valmiki by caste - the lowest of the socially downtrodden. "We are untouchables and nobody touches us here," he says.
The farmer he works for keeps a tea-cup outside his house. Whenever Bhikhabhai arrived for work in the morning or leaves after finishing in the evening, tea is poured into the cup. Strangely, this form of untouchability goes in the name of religion. These cups are called 'Ram patra'.
The practice thrives across Gujarat, without exception, and has been documented extensively in a first-of-its-kind study on a large scale, representing 98,000 Dalits across 1,655 villages in Gujarat. The study has been carried out by Ahmedabad-based Navsarjan Trust with three US-based organisations - the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, Dartmouth College at the University of Michigan and Robert F Kennedy Centre for Social Justice and Human Rights, Washington, D.C.
"This has been going on for generations. The only change is that earlier there used to be cups made of clay and now they are made of steel," says Bhikhabhai. He confesses that drinking the tea offered by his master does hurt his dignity. But then, he does not want to lose his daily wage because he has to feed five other members of his family. His daughter-in-law, Ambha, agrees. She points out that she carries her own utensils to work, but the person who serves the afternoon meal at the farm drops the food into the plate without touching it.
In Lodariyal, Dalit women can't touch vegetables at the shop just to sample them. Only once they pay up, and the money is kept on the side and not handed over, the vegetables are flung into the hollow of their saree. The tea stall owner gives tea to Dalits only in disposable plastic cups. Others get it in ceramic cups.
According to the study, 98 per cent of the respondents said that non-Dalits keep separate utensils at home to serve them food or tea. The same discrimination goes only slight down to 96 per cent on farms.
Dalit rights activist Martin Macwan of Navsarjan Trust says: "In every step of untouchability, the same concept is being applied - that of purity. Gujarat has only tried to dignify an indignity by calling these separate utensils as 'Ram patra'".
Mangalore: SC, ST welfare funds diverted, basic demands still unfulfilled
http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=160129
Mangalore Dec 14: The residents of the 45 houses in the Kudkorigudde Dalit colony have a long list of basic demands. Besides the title deeds, the residents want supply of drinking water, drainage, retaining walls to prevent the area from being flooded during rainfall, repair of houses and development of interior roads.
Dayanand (28), a resident says: "For the past 50 years, we have been demanding ownership rights on the land on which our houses are built."
While this demand and some others remain unfulfilled, the Mangalore City Corporation is building a Rs. 35 lakh- pipeline in the area, but which is not connected to colony, out of funds specifically reserved for the welfare and development of the members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs/STs).
RTI application
According to the response to a Right to Information application filed by Dalit activists, a copy of which is available with The Hindu, the proposed sewage pipeline will be from Kankanady to the Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environment Management Project (KUDCEMP) in Pumpwell.
The allocation for SC/ST welfare was made for the financial year, 2008-09, but enquiries with Assistant Executive Engineer Ganeshan R. revealed that the funds had been sanctioned for the project, which is awaiting the completion of the tender process.
Although the project uses SC/ST reserve funds, the only connection between the colony and the pipeline is that the pipeline skirts the perimeter of the colony.
Anil Kumar, another resident, said: "Its construction does not have anything to do with us. Then, why are funds reserved for our development being used to build it?"
History of denial
"This is nothing new for us," he said. According to him, the reserve funds have been misused for several years now. As per the guidelines, the reserve fund, which is 18 per cent of the total fund outlay of the MCC, is supposed to be utilised exclusively for the development of social and physical infrastructure for Dalits and their colonies.
"The funds can be used to start welfare schemes for education and empowerment, create jobs and develop colonies. But the MCC has been using these funds for anything but these purposes," alleged Raju (27), another resident.
An elderly resident of the colony, Lingaiah, said that Kudkorigudda was once a serf colony, and all residents were bound by the Jitha Padatthi, whereby they were sworn to work for the landlord for generations. "We were freed of bondage when Jitha was abolished. But the land still belongs to the landlord," he said.
Title deeds
According to Dalit Sangharsha Samiti president S.P. Ananda, over 80 per cent of the residents in Dalit colonies do not have the title deeds of their land. "Even though they have been freed, they continued to live in the colonies because they have nowhere else to go," he said.
"Our main demand is that this land should be purchased by the administration and transferred to our names. But when we ask, we are told that there are no funds. And then they spend money on things like pipelines and temples," alleged Girisha (30).
Later, Jesintha Boromeo, councillor, said that she did not know anything about the project. When it was pointed out that the fund allocation for such projects is passed only after being tabled for approval in the Council, she said: "I did not pay attention to it."
MCC Commissioner K.N. Vijayprakash said: "I want to be very cautious. I will undertake a thorough verification before commenting on it."Hindu
Times Of India
Now, SC/ST Confederation to go on fast for quota in pvt sector
PTI 12 December 2009, 05:32pm IST
NEW DELHI: After Telangana and Gorkha activists resorted to hunger strike to press for their demands for separate states, the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations said its leaders will go on a fast-unto- death from December 15 seeking quota in private sector.
"Inequality" and "marginalisation" of backward classes were the main factors behind demands for separate states like Poorvachal, Bundelkhand and Telangana, Confederation Chairman Udit Raj told reporters here.
"There are many competent SC/ST candidates in the market. But seldom do they get jobs in the private sector, especially in good positions. So reservation
in this sector is needed to address this imbalance," he said.
To press for their demand, Raj said, he and other members of the Confederation from different states have decided to go on a 'fast unto death' protest here from December 15.
The demands of the Confederation include reservation in the private sector and enactment of the Reservation Act, abolition of contract labour system in government services, caste certificates issued by one state to be held valid in all the states and reservation in higher judiciary and Army.
Raj also said, "After Telangana there has been a spate of demands from different regions for separate states. The TRS has been making attempts for a separate state from 2001. But the issue came to notice only when marginalised Dalits and Adivasis of the areas extended their support."
Government ignoring Dalits' welfare: samiti
http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/14/stories/2009121457220300.htm
Staff Correspondent
A rally of Dalits from north Karnataka will be held on December 23 at Bagalkot
Only 50 p.c. of budgetary grants to Dr. Ambedkar corporation released
Bellary: Dalit leaders in Bellary have alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government in the State is not working for the welfare of the people belonging to the Scheduled Castes in the State.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, H. Hanumanthappa, General Secretary of State unit of the Madiga Meesalati Horata Samiti, said that the non-release of the funds had hampered the functioning of the Justice Sadashiva Commission which was looking into the issue of providing internal reservations among the Dalits.
He added that the funds allocated to Dr. Ambedkar SC/ST Welfare Corporation had not been released.
According to him, the State Government had released only 50 per cent of the budgetary grants to the corporation this year and also the previous year. Besides the Government had curtailed the powers of the elected representatives of the panchayati raj institutions which goes to show the concern Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa-led Government has towards the Dalits.
In Bellary district, Mr. Hanumanthappa said that none of the around 8,000 loan applications of Scheduled Castes had been cleared by the Dr. Ambedkar SC/ST Welfare Corporation while loans were being sanctioned to the applicants belonging to the Scheduled Tribes.
He said that the people belonging to the Scheduled Castes in the district were unhappy with the step-motherly treatment being meted out to them by the men at the helm of the affairs in the Government and also in the district.
Mr. Hanumanthappa said that a rally of Dalits from north Karnataka districts would be held on December 23 at Bagalkot to express their anguish over the neglect of the community.
Meenhalli Eeranna, former Chairman of LIDKAR, Eshwarappa of Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, and C. Somashekar who is the district president of Madiga Meesalati Horata Samiti were prominent among the Dalit leaders present.
Times Of India
Two get lifer under SC/ST Act
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Two-get-lifer-under-SC/ST-Act/articleshow/5323916.cms
TNN 10 December 2009, 10:20pm IST
KANPUR: The special court of the SC/ST Act of Kanpur Nagar on Thursday convicted two persons for committing murder of a Dalit and sentenced them to life imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 20,000 on each.
The presiding officer, S K Pandey, in his order observed that half of the fined amount (Rs 40,000) be given to the complainant as compensation.
The sentenced persons were identified as Shiv Kumar Pahari and Puttan, both residents of Gwaltoli area. They were charged by the police under section 302 of IPC and section 3-2(5) of the SC/ST Act.
According to prosecution officer, Pradeep Saxena, the accused -- Shiv Kumar Pahari and Puttan -- had hacked to death one Rakesh alias Babloo, a resident of their locality on May 17, 2004, in broad daylight. Pahari was trying to get an illegal power connection through an electric pole. In that process, he disconnected the power line of the complainant, Binda Devi's house. Binda's son, Rakesh objected to this, which resulted into heated arguments between the two parties.
Pahari brought a sharp-edged weapon from his house and attacked Rakesh. Co-accused, Puttan helped him in committing the offence. He struck several blows on the neck of Rakesh, who died on the spot.
During the arguments, prosecution officer apprised the court that Pahari was a habitual offender and police had earlier slapped the Goonda Act on him.
--
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
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Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre- PMARC has been initiated with the support from group of senior journalists, social activists, academics and intellectuals from Dalit and civil society to advocate and facilitate Dalits issues in the mainstream media. To create proper & adequate space with the Dalit perspective in the mainstream media national/ International on Dalit issues is primary objective of the PMARC.
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