Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 01.04.11
'Dalit women sarpanches a harassed lot' - The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/01/stories/2011040162760500.htm
Only caste barbs in public an offence: SC - Telegraph
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110401/jsp/nation/story_13795597.jsp
Academics bat for freedom of expression - Hindustan Times
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Academics-bat-for-freedom-of-expression/Article1-679938.aspx
Banned manual scavenging Act still prevalent in MP - The Pioneer
http://www.dailypioneer.com/328350/Banned-manual-scavenging-Act-still-prevalent-in-MP.html
Ayush doctors' panel gets fresh extension - The Times Of India
Enforce SC/ST Act strictly, says MP - The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/01/stories/2011040152000300.htm
Dalit groups protest at police station - The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/01/stories/2011040161410300.htm
The Hindu
'Dalit women sarpanches a harassed lot'
http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/01/stories/2011040162760500.htm
Special Correspondent
JAIPUR: Speakers at a State-level consultation on empowerment of Dalit women elected representatives here on Thursday expressed concern over the women sarpanches belonging to Dalit communities being harassed, intimidated and even subjected to violence and not being allowed to perform their duties by influential people in villages.
Dalit campaigners, women activists, academicians, legislators and lawyers taking part in the consultation said the panchayat secretaries and staff often do not cooperate with Dalit sarpanches in the execution of development works because of caste prejudices. This attitude defeats the spirit of Panchayati Raj implemented with "much fanfare" in Rajasthan, they said.
The consultation was organised jointly by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights and the Jaipur-based Centre for Dalit Rights at Kisan Bhavan here. The participants noted that the violence against women made up 14.8 per cent of the crimes against Dalits registered under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Minister of State for Revenue Murarilal Meena, releasing a report prepared by Dalit groups on the completion of 20 years of the SC/ST (PoA) Act, said the budget sanctioned for development of the Dalits was generally spent on other heads in several States: "This situation calls for immediate intervention by civil society and elected representatives".
National Dalit Movement for Justice general secretary Sirivella Prasad in his keynote address said despite the SC/ST (PoA) Act completing over 20 years of existence, the police in the atrocity-prone States like Rajasthan are not trained to register the cases under correct penal provisions. Consequently, the perpetrators of crimes against Dalits are not brought to justice.
Providing the figures of cases registered under the Act in 2007-08 as an illustration, Dr. Prasad said 24.7 per cent of the 2,307 cases booked during the year pertained to untouchability, 18.8 per cent were land disputes and 13 per cent were about the mob violence against Dalits and tribals.
While CDR patron P. L. Mimroth said the prejudices prevailing against the Dalits in Rajasthan had their roots in the State's "feudal past", CDR chairman R. K. Ankodia said the protest by Dalits against discrimination was often given a political twist to either force the victims to remain silent or drive them away from their native villages.
Kathumar MLA Babulal Bairwa, former civil servant Satyanarain Singh, former Inspector-General of Prisons Radhakant Saxena, woman activist Nishat Hussain and representatives of United Nations Development Programme were among those who addressed the consultation.
The demands raised at the end of the consultation included regular meetings of the Monitoring and Vigilance Committees at the district and State levels, stringent action on the complaints of violence against Dalit women elected representatives and initiation of land reforms to give land rights to Dalits.
Telegraph
Only caste barbs in public an offence: SC
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110401/jsp/nation/story_13795597.jsp
SAMANWAYA RAUTRAY
New Delhi, March 31: The Supreme Court has said that disparaging remarks made about a person's caste in his absence and in close confines of a home or room will not amount to an offence under the SC/ST act.
Under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, only an accused who intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe in any place "within public view" is liable for prosecution, the court said.
A bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma delivered the judgment while quashing a case under the act against a private school headmistress accused of insulting a neighbour over his caste at his home while he himself was away.
The court made it clear in its ruling on Tuesday that such remarks would have to be necessarily made in the person's presence "in any place within public view".
Asmathunissa and her husband Samiduddin, who ran the Little Star School in Hyderabad's upscale Gayatri Hills area, had barged into the house of a local resident who had complained of noise pollution caused by their institution.
The couple allegedly referred in derogatory terms to his caste while threatening his wife Sridevi, according to the police complaint filed by the victims.
Asmathunissa and her husband were then charged under different sections of the SC/ST Act.
They moved Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking to quash the complaint but their plea was turned down. Asmathunissa and her husband then appealed the order.
In the apex court, their lawyer argued that Asmathunissa had never uttered the offending words, which were spoken by her husband and she was merely accompanying him.
The lawyer then contended that in Samiduddin's case, even if he did utter the offending words, Sridevi's husband, the object of the remarks, was not at home.
"In the absence of the aggrieved person present at that point of time, no offence can be made out against the appellant (Samiduddin)," the lawyer said.
He then made the second key point, saying the entire incident took place at Sridevi's residence and not in any place in public. "None of the ingredients of this offence are present in the case. Even if the contents of the complaint in its entirety are taken as correct and true, no offence is made out against the appellant," the lawyer said.
The apex court accepted the arguments and quashed the complaint. The bench quoted an earlier judgement in this context which said that dumping excreta, waste matter, carcasses or any other obnoxious substance in the premises or neighbourhood of a person from a lower caste need not necessarily be done in his presence to be treated as an insult.
Hindustan Times
Academics bat for freedom of expression
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Academics-bat-for-freedom-of-expression/Article1-679938.aspx
Vikas Pathak, Hindustan Times
New Delhi , April 01, 2011
First Published: 00:40 IST(1/4/2011)
Last Updated: 00:43 IST(1/4/2011)
Is over-sensitivity about our national leaders compatible with the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution? Gujarat's ban on Joseph Lelyveld's book suggesting Mahatma Gandhi as bisexual is just the latest among a host of bans and criticisms of publications going against the popular imag
Law Minister Veerappa Moily reportedly went as far to suggest a legislation to make disrespect for the Mahatma punishable, but retracted on Thursday by saying that there was no need for a ban or a law.
"It is better for writers to self-regulate. I don't think any changes to existing laws are required at the moment. It will not serve any purpose," Moily said.
The larger question, however, remains: does public outcry prevent further knowledge production relating to our icons, which in the long run can prevent us from knowing them more intimately.
"The freedom to criticise on the basis of evidence must be there. The space available for such discussion must be maintained," veteran historian KN Panikkar told HT.
Asked about the desirability of a law to make the Mahatma's 'insult' illegal, he added, "It is a highly deplorable idea. Even acceptance of such an idea is anti-intellectual and anti-freedom of expression."
Badri Narayan, an Allahabad-based scholar of the Dalit movement, says, "Facts are always explored. If you stop doing that, writings will become hagiographical. There are legitimate Dalit critiques of Mahatma Gandhi. There must always be scope for intellectual inquiry."
The idea: it is through critiques and counter-critiques that we get to know our heroes better, and also from fresh perspectives.
The Ambedkariite Dalit movement has looked at Gandhi critically, lambasting his fast unto death to prevent separate electorates for Dalits in 1932 and painting Gandhi's term for Dalits, Harijan, as patronizing. And this critique is central to its ideological framework.
Revolutionaries contemporary to him had been skeptical about Gandhi's non-violence, and Marxists often painted him as an impediment to revolution by the masses. The Hindu Right painted him as 'pro-Muslim', and he has also been questioned from a feminist perspective. Last but not the least, Gandhi embarked on radical self-criticism in his promptness to lay open his personal life to public scrutiny.
Perhaps, it is this Gandhian legacy that is under threat.
The Pioneer
Banned manual scavenging Act still prevalent in MP
http://www.dailypioneer.com/328350/Banned-manual-scavenging-Act-still-prevalent-in-MP.html
April 01, 2011 1:35:21 PM
Staff Reporter | Bhopal
Manual scavenging banned by the Supreme Court is still prevalent in Madhya Pradesh, alleged the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) member Shyoraj Jivan here on Thursday.
While talking to mediapersons here on Thursday Jivan said, "It is a violation of the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 and contradictory to the sworn affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court by the Madhya Pradesh Government, which said that manual scavenging was totally abolished in the State."
Jivan informed that legally, cleaning of dry latrines and transporting of human excreta has been banned since 1993. The employment of scavengers or the construction of dry latrines (which are not connected to a drainage system) can result in imprisonment of upto one year and/or a fine of `2,000. He said that the offenders are also liable to prosecution under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, but despite such laws, manual scavenging continues in the State.
Jivan also alleged a bias by the ruling BJP Government against the sanitary workers, who were merely treated as a vote bank. The NCSK sanctioned a budget of `46.27 crore for the development of sanitary workers in the State, he added. However, `6.93 crore of the total amount has not been accounted, alleged Jivan.
After inspecting the situation of sanitary workers in Bhopal, Indore and Ujjain, he claimed that manual scavenging is being practiced and the State Government is ignoring the problem, Jivan said. He said that public relation officers have been deputed, who will co-ordinate with the sanitary workers and collect evidence in this matter.
Claiming a breach in protocol by the officials Jivan said that the district level officers were not available for him during his visit in spite of the fact that State Government protocol officer had being intimated about his visit. As a member of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) he had judicial powers and would take up the issues with the State Chief Secretary and Cabinet Secretary of India, said Jivan.
The Times Of India
Ayush doctors' panel gets fresh extension
Nishant Sinha, TNN | Mar 31, 2011, 11.07pm IST
PATNA: Finally it happened again! The term of the panel prepared to appoint 1,574 Ayush doctors in the state, which was to come to an end on Thursday, was extended a second time for a month.
Earlier, the government had ordered an inquiry into the 'merit' of the panel as only 1,378 Ayush doctors were appointed in 2010 from the panel while 196 vacancies in ST and SC categories were not filled up. The panel's term was to expire on December 31, 2010, but since the health department failed to appoint all the Ayush doctors from the approved panel, its term was extended till March 31.
The panel was first released on Februray 16, 2010.
The move of the health department to had come in for sharp criticism as Ayush doctors had objected to holding an inquiry into the merit list prepared to appoint 1,574 ayush doctors in the state as from this very list 1,378 doctors were appointed in 2010.
Executive director, State Health Society, Sanjay Kumar said, "On review it was found that 62 doctors out of 1,378 Ayush doctors appointed earlier had not joined their duty. The government would make fresh appointment of 62 Ayush doctors against the vacant posts." However, appointments against the remaining 196 vacant posts under SC/ST category still hang in balance.
The Hindu
Enforce SC/ST Act strictly, says MP
http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/01/stories/2011040152000300.htm
Staff Reporter
KAKINADA: Amalapuram MP G.V. Harsha Kumar on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction over the implementation of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and said that he would not remain silent if the Act was not implemented properly.
Addressing a review meeting of the district vigilance and monitoring committee on SC/ST welfare here, Mr. Harsha Kumar referred to the quashing of the case filed by Joint Collector K. Sasidhar under the Act against an advocate by the High Court. "The government must approach the Supreme Court to render justice to the official. The Act is not being implemented properly due to lack of sincerity among those who part and parcel of the administration," he said.
Members of the committee faulted the district tribal welfare officer for not turning up at the meeting. They felt that absence of full-time joint director for the Social Welfare Department was resulting in delay in implementation of the welfare schemes. Elaborate discussion took place on recruitment of staff for welfare hostels on outsourcing basis and relief and rehabilitation to the victims of the atrocity cases. Additional Joint Collector B. Rama Rao presided over the meeting. Rajya Sabha member T. Ratna Bai, Superintendent of Police (administration) S.J. Janardhan, and District Revenue Officer S. Venkata Rao were present.
The Hindu
Dalit groups protest at police station
http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/01/stories/2011040161410300.htm
Staff Reporter
Traffic disrupted for more than two hours
Case of theft registered on receipt of complaint
KHAMMAM: Commotion prevailed in front of the police station at Wyra mandal headquarters on Thursday when a police officer allegedly kicked a victim of theft, who staged a dharna along with his wife and two children opposite the police statio.
The incident sparked off widespread protest from activists of various dalit organisations. According to sources, M Prasad, 44, a labourer of Dasapuram village, launched an agitation in front of the police station in Wyra seeking justice. His wife Dayamma and two children also accompanied him in the stir.
Prasad pleaded with Wyra CI Sadaniranjan to arrest a person of his village, whom he accused of stealing gold and cash of Rs 45,000 from his house in his absence at Dasapuram in November last year. He contended that he had suffered a fracture in his leg in a recent accident and had become partially immobile after the mishap.
Citing his plight, he expressed his inability to come to the police station anymore and sought immediate action against the person responsible for the theft.
The inspector, in a bid to evict Prasad, allegedly kicked him and instructed the police personnel to immediately shift him from the police station, sources said.
Enraged over the incident, activists of various dalit organisations as well as CPI (M) cadre staged a rasta roko on the main road in Wyra. As the stir continued till evening, traffic movement was disrupted for more than two hours.
Call off protest
The protesters called off their stir following the intervention of the senior police officials concerned.
When contacted, Mr Sadaniranjan said that they did not receive any complaint from Mr Prasad pertaining to the theft until now.
"We have registered a theft case today based on his complaint," he said.
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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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Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
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