From: Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC <pmarc2008@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, May 31, 2010 at 2:57 PM
Subject: [PMARC] Dalits Media Watch - News Updates 31.05.10
To: Dalits Media Watch <PMARC@dgroups.org>
Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 31.05.10
Change 'derogatory' name of Raj village: NHRC to Home Min - Zee News
http://www.zeenews.com/news627705.html
Orissa registers low untouchability cases - Zee News
http://www.zeenews.com/news628923.html
Tamil Nadu urged to form SC & ST Commission - The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/31/stories/2010053158500800.htm
Dalit remark sparks row between BJP and Congress - DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_dalit-remark-sparks-row-between-bjp-and-congress_1389653
Congress must weed out spoilers - Hindustan Times
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Congress-must-weed-out-spoilers/Article1-550962.aspx
His cherry blossom moment - India Today
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/99430/India/His+cherry+blossom+moment.html
Two policemen injured rescuing 'man-eaters' - Zee News
http://www.zeenews.com/news630357.html
SC notice to Haryana over Dalit attack - The Times Of India
Census question over caste identity divides India - Associated Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gyORL4xexq0y2Y2MYKEI7T2hkH3wD9FV5DDO0
Zee News
Change 'derogatory' name of Raj village: NHRC to Home Min
http://www.zeenews.com/news627705.html
Updated on Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 22:27 IST
New Delhi: Pose the famous Shakespearian query "what's in a name" to the residents of a non-descript Rajasthan village and the reply unanimously is "a lot".
Residents of 'Chamaron Ka Vas' (home of cobblers) have been fiercely opposing the name given to it 23-years-ago and approached the National Human rights Commission in 2006 to intervene and direct authorities concerned to give it a suitable one.
The residents of the village, in Hingota Panchayat of Dausa district, have been pleading for the past four years with the state government and the Centre to change its name, which which originally 'Kuwan Ka Vas' (home of wells).
But, their requests were caught in a "bureaucratic rigmarole", the National Human Rights Commission which recently heard the matter, lamented.
"It is highly frustrating that a matter which was represented against in the year 2006 has dragged on, due to the bureaucratic rigmarole..." the Commission observed.
"If enough sensitivity had been displayed, the name of the village could have been changed much earlier and the feelings of a particular community could have been assuaged," it observed and asked the Union Home Ministry to get the matter expedited and inform about the decision it takes on the matter "as early as possible".
The Commission took up the case on the basis of a complaint filed by one Khem Chand and other residents of the village in 2006.
The complainants alleged that a 'Lekhpal' (official) of the area gave a derogatory name to their village in land records due to "ill will". The village is largely inhabited by Berwa, a scheduled caste community.
The Commission noted that the case was in direct conflict with the "Constitutional mandate" and the village was given such a derogatory name despite the Constitution clearly prohibits any discrimination on the basis of caste, religion or language.
"... the name of the village 'Chamaron Ka Vas' is not only derogatory but, perhaps, also constitutes criminal offence under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989," it noted.
"One may say, what is there in a name? But imagine the ignominy of the people living in a village of Rajasthan who have been fighting pillar to post for over two decades to restore the respectability to the name of their village," it observed.
Dausa district administration in 2002 did forward the application of the villagers to the state government recommending a new name 'Govindpura' for the village, but nothing happened, NHRC said.
The Commission said it was later informed that the state government agreed to change the name of the village from 'Chamaron Ka Vas' to 'Kushalpura' with the consent of all the villagers but this too could materialise as the Railway Ministry objected to the name saying that there was already a transit railway station 'Kushalpura Halt' and it would create confusion. PTI
Zee News
Orissa registers low untouchability cases
http://www.zeenews.com/news628923.html
Bhubaneswar: Even as over 10,000 cases of atrocities on schedule caste and scheduled tribe people were pending for investigation in Orissa, only seven cases relating to untouchability were registered in 2008.
Low occurrence of untouchability in the state came to the limelight during a review of the situation here today by Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik.
"Only seven cases (2.82 per cent) of untouchability against SCs were registered in 2008 under the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, though 248 such cases were registered across the country," the state government told Wasnik during the review meeting.
Only seven people belonging to scheduled castes have faced untouchability problem, no tribal in the state had any complaint in this regard, the minister was informed.
"Pendency of many cases relating to atrocities on ST and SC people in Orissa is a matter of great concern," Wasnik told reporters adding the Centre had asked Orissa to expedite investigation and hearing of such cases.
As about 90 per cent of cases registered under the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and SC and ST (protection of atrocities) Act, 1989, were pending, they should be disposed off immediately, he said.
The union minister also asked the state government to reverify figures relating to registration of atrocity cases.
"While the state government claimed that 1036 atrocities cases were filed by SCs, the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB)'s data put the number of cases at 1252," Wasnik pointed out.
The minister questioned as to why the state level and district level vigilance monitoring committee meetings were not held at regular intervals as stipulated in the law.
On delay in disposal of cases, Wasnik said the state government had assured him of its plans to set up three special courts in districts having high pendency and registration of cases under POA Act, 1989, with the concurrence of the High Court.
"The state government could not hold any such meeting in 2009 due to implementation of the model code of conduct for the general elections," Orissa's minister for ST, SC development, minorities and backward class welfare, Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha said.
Meanwhile, Orissa State SC-ST Youth and Student Council, in a memorandum to the union minister, alleged that though there were 200 deputy superintendents of police (DSP) rank officers in the state, the government has failed to dispose equal number of atrocity cases.
"Monthly average atrocity incidents in Orissa is about 150," said council's president Haldhar Sethy. PTI
The Hindu
Tamil Nadu urged to form SC & ST Commission
http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/31/stories/2010053158500800.htm
Staff Reporter
TIRUCHI: The Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front has demanded the formation of a State SC & ST Commission with legal status and powers to intervene in issues relating to untouchability and atrocities against Dalits and find necessary solutions for them.
While seeking inclusion of secular thinkers and representatives of organisations fighting caste oppression in the district level vigilance and monitoring committees, the Front wanted the State government to strengthen these committees.
This was one among the many resolutions adopted at the first State conference of the Front held at Pudukottai on May 28 and 29. Tamil Nadu was one among the States where untouchability and atrocities against Dalits was high, the Front claimed while demanding the formation of the State SC & ST Commission without any delay.
Another resolution urged the State government to retrieve 'panchami' lands across the State and hand them over to the Dalits. It wanted the government to take action as per law in this regard.
The Front has decided to organise a conference of the 'panchami' land retrieval movement at Kancheepuram.
It demanded steps for the implementation of the Forest Rights Act 2006 that guaranteed forest rights and land rights for the Adivasis and tribals.
The Front demanded higher allocation of funds for the Adi Dravidar schools and upgradation of such schools and wanted the State government to implement the SC & ST reservation policy for the posts of teachers and non-teaching staff in those schools and colleges which were functioning with 100 per cent government funds.
Another resolution demanded the implementation of sub-quota for the Arundhathiyar community in Puducherry too.
DNA
Dalit remark sparks row between BJP and Congress
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_dalit-remark-sparks-row-between-bjp-and-congress_1389653
Nikunj Soni / DNA
Sunday, May 30, 2010 11:32 IST
Ahmedabad: Ahead of state wide civic body elections, political parties in the state, it seems, are busy putting each other in a tight spot. After alleging misuse of the CBI by the UPA government in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, the BJP is now playing the Dalit card.
As many as 18 complaints have been lodged against various Congress leaders in different towns and cities of the state, in which they are accused of hurting the sentiments of Dalits.
It should be noted that earlier the Congress had claimed that Modi had termed Dalits as 'mentally retarded children' during a book launch function. Following this, a complaint of defamation was filed against 12 Congress leaders. A local court in the city has also begun an inquiry under sections 202 of the Criminal procedure code (Cr.PC), following the development. "The court has accepted our application and has started inquiry under section 202 by taking the statement of complainant Kishor Makwana," said Prakash Patel, counsel for Makwana.
The latter is the author of the book 'Samajik Samarasata' written on chief minister Narendra Modi's speeches on Dalits. "The case will come up for hearing next month," Patel said.Makwana, in his complaint, has mentioned 12 Congress leaders including Pravin Rashtrapal, former Rajyasabha MP, two sitting MLAs - Chandu Dabhi and Shailesh Parmar, and two former ministers Dolat Parmar and Karsan Soneri, among others. Modi had released the book authored by Kishor Makwana on April 26 at Town Hall.
The Congress had later issued statements to the media, alleging that during the function, Modi had termed the Dalit as 'a mentally retarded child'. The complaint filed by Makwana states that Modi never made any such statement and the accusations levelled by the Congress has hurt the sentiments of Dalits.
Makwana had earlier served a legal notice to the Congress leaders to tender an apology. But when they failed to respond, he filed a complaint in the metropolitan court of the city.Meanwhile, Congress president Siddharth Patel said, "There is nothing to comment. We will respond to the complaint."
Hindustan Times
Congress must weed out spoilers
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Congress-must-weed-out-spoilers/Article1-550962.aspx
Pankaj Vohra, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, May 31, 2010
After Andhra Pradesh — where the Congress weakened itself by creating a controversy on the Telangana issue — some elements in the party seem busy trying to do the same to its government in Haryana. In Punjab, Amarinder Singh has shown why he is the best bet to take on the Akalis given the warm reception he got after the Supreme Court turned down his disqualification. The Congress is yet to take a decision on appointing a new Pradesh Congress Committee chief in the state.
In Delhi, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has been in the midst of a controversy regarding her government's decision not to lower power tariffs. In J&K, the party has managed to keep afloat and seems oblivious of the fact that there is no Kashmiri Pandit in either the two Houses of the assembly or the two Houses of Parliament for the first time since Independence.
In Maharashtra, the Ashok Chavan government is going through spells of occasional instability. It is perhaps only in Rajasthan where there seems to be no threat to the Congress government from any quarter. The point is that the party leadership needs to review its policies regarding various states.
Coming back to Haryana, the unfortunate incident at Mirchpur village in Hissar district where two Dalits were burnt alive on April 19 by people of another community is being used by the opponents of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to corner him. What is surprising is that instead of the Opposition taking up the issue in a big way, it is the Congress leaders who are using this incident to take potshots at the CM. Incidentally, Hooda has acted on a war footing to contain any political damage to the party.
The Hooda detractors even tried to give a political colour to Rahul Gandhi's unannounced visit to Mirchpur to re-assure the Dalits. They have now started a campaign to create an impression that Hooda's days are numbered. The incident is being kept alive to create an impression that Dalits are not safe in Haryana and the dominant Jat community is committing atrocities on them.
The Congress high command has acted cautiously and ensured that no wrong message about its concern for the weaker sections should go out. On the whole, the state government has acquitted itself very well.
Politically, Haryana is sensitive right now and to bring about a change at the top could lead to the fall of the government. In the 2009 elections, the Congress became the largest party in the state with 40 seats, Om Prakash Chautala's INLD got 31 seats, BJP five, Bhajan Lal's Haryana Janhit Congress six and the rest were Independents.
By virtue of the support from Independents and five out of six of Bhajan Lal's party, the Congress formed the government under Hooda with a support of 53 MLAs in a House of 90.
It is to Hooda's credit that he has bean able to get a sizable section of the Jats on the side of the Congress and was able to cobble the numbers to ensure the formation of his government for another term. Other than Chautala, there is no other leader in Haryana who can challenge Hooda's supremacy. But some elements in the Congress feel that they can replace him without realising that Hooda's exit at this stage could spell doom for the party in the state.
Similarly, in other states, the Congress high command has to identify leaders who can deliver and those who are creating mischief. The approach of party functionaries weakening its own units or governments has to be discontinued. There is still time for instance to save Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Maharashtra from slipping away from the Congress.
India Today
His cherry blossom moment
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/99430/India/His+cherry+blossom+moment.html
Piyush Srivastava
Lucknow, May 30, 2010
The road to success comes through hard work and determination, and Abhishek Kumar Bharatiya has seen more than his share of both.
The son of a cobbler, Abhishek has managed to beat the odds and make it to the IIT with a rank of 154 in the SC/ ST category in the entrance examination.
His life has been an endless struggle and it's only his zeal to carry on that saw him reach thus far. Abhishek lives with his parents and three brothers in a 10 ft by 10 ft single room in Gangaganj Machchariya area of Kanpur. It has no electricity and they have to make do with a kerosene lamp.
The priorities of Abhishek, who wishes to become an aerospace engineer from IIT-Kanpur, are to get a job, convince his father to give up his work as a cobbler and help his brothers get admission in reputed schools.
However, getting into IIT comes with a price and his father Rajendra Prasad is not sure whether he would be able to pay for his son's fees with his meagre income.
"I am ready to sell off myself to see my son become an engineer. Let us see if my dream comes true," Rajendra said.
Abhishek would work with his father as a shoeshine boy and at times would find a job as a labourer to earn some extra money. Talking about his elder son, Rajendra said, "He used to study in the night and help me in my work the whole day. He is a popular shoeshine boy but doesn't like to do it for obvious reasons.
He often used to work as a labourer to earn some extra money for his books and stationery.
He was always a serious child who preferred to study rather than play with other kids." Having struggled to get decent education throughout his career, he wants the very best for his brothers. "We are happy that he wants to send his brothers to reputed schools. I know that we have to wait for another five years before he completes the course and gets a job. Let us see what is there in store for us," Prasad said.
His three brothers - Abhijit, Anshul and Aryan - are below 12 years of age and study in a municipal school. Their mother Sangeeta Devi repairs old clothes of poor people and earns about Rs 50 a day.
"My husband gets around Rs 100 and I earn Rs 50 in a day. It is not enough for us. But we don't want to beg. We want to live with our heads held high. My children know how to go ahead with their pride intact. Abhishek never demanded anything from us. The table of my sewing machine would turn into his study table at night. All I did was to ensure that there was enough kerosene in the lantern," she said.
Abhishek feels he was lucky to get the guidance of Mahesh Singh Chauhan, who made him dream about IIT. "I could get through because I got a chance.
My teacher Chauhan inspired me to appear in the IIT exams. I will be the first engineer in the family.
But henceforth all my brothers and cousins would prepare for medical and engineering courses," said a determined Abhishek.
Zee News
Two policemen injured rescuing 'man-eaters'
http://www.zeenews.com/news630357.html
Updated on Sunday, May 30, 2010, 22:47 IST
Darbhanga: Two policemen were injured in a clash with mob after the men in uniform refused to hand over to them six people of a nomadic community who, according to the locals, were man-eaters.
Sub-Divisional Officer Sanjay Singh said the mob pelted stones at the Mabubi police station where the six nomadic people were kept after being rescued by the police from a section of the people of Kothia and Makhnai villages.
Two policemen were injured in the brickbatting, following which the force used batons to disperse the mob, the SDO said.
The villagers were baying for the blood of the nomads following a rumour that they were man-eaters, he said.
The Times Of India
SC notice to Haryana over Dalit attack
Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN, May 31, 2010, 01.12pm IST
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Haryana government on reports that 152 Dalit families had fled Hissar district and that two of them had been killed by upper caste Jat community members.
Terming the incident as extremely serious, a bench of Justices G S Singhvi and C K Prasad asked the district Commissioner to appear in person with all relevant details at the next date of hearing.
The apex court passed the direction on a PIL filed by the some of the affected persons seeking action against the alleged culprits and protection and rehabilitation of the aggrieved families.
A 70-year-old man and his 18-year-old physically challenged daughter were killed and at least 18 houses were damaged on April 21 in an arson attack allegedly by members of the Jat community on Dalit families in Mirchpur village in Hisar, some 300 km from state capital Chandigarh.
At least 20 families of the Valmiki community in Mirchpur village had reportedly fled following an arson attack on April 21 in which 15 houses were also damaged.
Associated Press
Census question over caste identity divides India
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gyORL4xexq0y2Y2MYKEI7T2hkH3wD9FV5DDO0
By TIM SULLIVAN (AP) – 3 days ago
NEW DELHI — Bollywood's biggest star has an answer ready if census workers ask about his caste: "Indian."
"My father never believed in caste, and neither do any of us," Amitabh Bachchan wrote in his obsessively followed blog.
Comments like Bachchan's are common in modern India, which prides itself on how it has transcended some of its most rigid traditions — and those beliefs are being heard more often as the government debates whether the national census should delve into caste.
But Joseph D'Souza doesn't believe such talk for a moment.
"There's a lot of lip service to saying 'I'm an Indian first,' and 'I don't believe in caste,'" said D'Souza, a prominent campaigner for dalits, as India's "untouchables" at the very bottom of the caste system are now known.
"When it comes to sharing power, to interaction, to sharing social status, low-caste Indians are very much marginalized," he said, arguing the census could provide firm data about the vast divisions.
India's census, being held in stages over the next year or so, delves into the wealth, living conditions and other personal details of the country's 1.2 billion people. But still undecided is one question — "What is your caste?" — that has infuriated much of India's elite, energized caste-based political parties and left in doubt millions of government jobs and university slots.
The debate has also made very clear that caste, the Hindu custom that for millennia has divided people in a strict social hierarchy based on their family's traditional livelihood and ethnicity, remains a deeply sensitive subject.
"The biggest issue (with the census) is the inability of India to come to terms with this really ingenious form of discrimination," D'Souza said.
Bachchan, who has dominated Bollywood for decades, proudly says his family has married across India's vast geographic spectrum — with a Bengali, a Sindhi, a Punjabi and a Mangalorean. But D'Souza notes that none of those relatives are low caste and that the movie industry has not one dalit star.
The question's fiercest backers include India's most powerful caste politicians, who believe they could use the census data as fodder for votes and government funding.
Its bitterest opponents include much of the establishment. "At one stroke, it trivializes all that modern India has stood for, and condemns it to the tyranny of an insidious kind of identity politics," Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a prominent Indian commentator, wrote in the Indian Express newspaper.
The last Indian census that measured castes was in 1931, when colonial Britain still ruled.
The founders of modern India — nearly all high caste — were, at least publicly, staunch believers in a caste-blind society. While many would have been aghast if one of their children had married a dalit, they also fought hard for dalit rights.
Most felt that counting caste sizes in a census reinforced a tradition they wanted to fade.
It's an argument still heard today.
"No one denies that there are a lot of problems in India, that there is social discrimination," said Barun Mitra, who runs a New Delhi-based research center. But "this process of identifying caste with a census is unlikely to help."
Like many critics, he also worries about the rise of the caste-based politicians.
"What purpose would it serve by drawing and redrawing the identity one more time, particularly when it is politically motivated?" he asked.
In recent decades, some of the sharpest edges of caste traditions have been softened by urbanization and economic growth. Inter-caste marriages are now fairly common, and there are powerful low-caste politicians and businesspeople.
But caste also remains a deeply felt part of Indian life. Brahmins, the highest caste, still dominate everything from politics to journalism. Caste-specific marriage advertisements are newspaper staples. Studies show low-caste Indians and dalits face daily challenges for decent schools, medical care and jobs.
"Caste is part of every social agenda, every political agenda," said Shaibal Gupta with the Asian Development Research Institute. "Even when someone is considering a neighborhood, caste is an important consideration."
But caste calculations have become far more complicated, with jobs and university slots reserved for lower castes and a new generation of politicians learning to use their lower-caste backgrounds to create massive vote banks.
Laws give specific breakdowns of those reserved positions, but since the numbers are based on the 1931 census, their accuracy is questioned. And protests have been violent as caste leaders try to have their group's status officially lowered to be eligible for reserved jobs and school slots.
For some opponents, complexity alone makes caste an impossible census question. While there are just four main castes, there may be more than 20,000 sub-castes. Then there are the sub-sub-castes, clans and a multitude of other variations.
But for proponents like D'Souza, such arguments prove the necessity of the question. In a country where caste is so important, he asks, how can India not know the facts?
"You can't hide it and put it under the carpet and say caste is not there," he said.
--
.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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