Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 23.06.11
Dalits punished for entering temple: Government steps in - NDTV
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/dalits-punished-for-entering-temple-government-steps-in-114179
Nellai dalit youth tortured: Villagers - IBN Live
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/nellai-dalit-youth-tortured-villagers/161927-60-118.html
Fearing for life, 10 dalit students flee school - IBN Live
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/fearing-for-life-10-dalit-students-flee-school/161936-60-118.html
Mirchpur Dalit killing recounted in Delhi court - MSN News
http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5230304
Educational assistance for SC, ST students - The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2011/06/23/stories/2011062362970300.htm
Soon, dalit memorials in city to get heritage status - The Times Of India
Haryana fails to set up State Scheduled Castes Commission - The Pioneer
http://www.dailypioneer.com/347705/Haryana-fails-to-set-up-State-Scheduled-Castes-Commission.html
NDTV
Dalits punished for entering temple: Government steps in
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/dalits-punished-for-entering-temple-government-steps-in-114179
NDTV Correspondent, Updated: June 23, 2011 15:48 IST
Puri: A board outside a temple for the Goddess Kali orders Dalits to stop at this point. "Harijans can pray from here," it declares. The warning sign was put up in August last year after three schoolgirls entered the shrine to offer Prasad to the Goddess, an icon of empowerment and Shakti.
The caretaker of the temple in Orissa's Puri district offers no apologies for the discrimination. "It is against tradition," he says, "Our fathers did not allow harijans to step inside the temple, and we will also bar their entry. We will die rather than let it happen."
Now, based on NDTV's report this morning, the Centre has asked the Orissa government to provide more information on why this was not stopped.
Chandana Bhoi is one of the young girls who visited the Goddess, triggering a vengeful response. "There should be no discrimination. We can do the same work as the upper-castes," she says. "We pray to the same Gods, so why are we treated so badly?"
Her entire village waits for the answer. Ranapada is home to 80 Dalit families who earn their living as sharecroppers. But since the temple controversy last year, they have been given no work. Upper caste leaders from surrounding villages decided to teach them a lesson. Landlords in the area took back the land given for cultivation to the Dalits.
"They did not call us to cultivate their land - neither women nor men," says an out-of-work farmer. "We used to work in their fields and share the harvest. Then they stopped hiring us."
When they wakened to the problem, local officials employed the Dalit farmers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme or NREGA. They spent months working on constructing a road. But they have been paid just half of what they are due. Wages not being handed out are a common problem with NREGA - middlemen or contractors are also known to pocket part of the money that's due to hires.
The Dalit farmers say elected representatives in the area are from upper castes - and will not protect them at the risk of upsetting their vote bank. Sanjay Dasverma, who represents the area, refutes this allegation. "There is no vote-bank politicking in my constituency. I always try to keep the constituency above these issues," he says.
But the board outside the temple proves that there is little political will in undoing the wrongs inflicted here - or in challenging archaic and illegal conventions rooted in the caste system. A young couple in their wedding finery crouches outside the temple, seeking the Goddess' blessings, forbidden from drawing any closer. Nobody blinks.
IBN Live
Nellai dalit youth tortured: Villagers
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/nellai-dalit-youth-tortured-villagers/161927-60-118.html
Express News Service , The New Indian Express
Posted on Jun 23, 2011 at 03:22pm IST
TIRUNELVELI: Around 300 Dalits of the Pallar community from Narasinganallur village in the district on Wednesday alleged that the police had tortured four Dalit youth after picking them for questioning in connection with a murder case.
The Dalit residents, led by K Sriram, district secretary, DYFI, submitted a petition to District Collector S Natarajan, demanding action against the involved policemen. The residents alleged that the policemen attached to the Suthamali police station picked up S Muthu, A Manikandan, P Esakimuthu and P Vijayakumar on Monday in the name of questioning and tortured them.
"They were not taken to the police station or court but were tortured by the policemen in a wooded area. They were released only on Wednesday," Sriram said. He also charged that the Dalit youth were unable to walk after the brutal attack.
Residents said Chellammal, a Dalit woman, was murdered by caste Hindus in April and since the police suspected that these Dalit youth might retaliate, they were picked up for inquiry.
They claimed that all the Dalit youth taken for questioning were innocent and called the attack a case of police atrocity.
When contacted, Ramesh Kanna, Sub-Inspector at the Suthamalli police station, dismissed the allegations.
Recalling the chain of events, he said on April 10, Chellammal was murdered during a property dispute after an altercation broke out between her and a family of caste Hindus. "Three persons from the same family— father, mother and son—were arrested," he said. He said all three persons would be released on bail shortly.
Meanwhile, the police received information that a group of Dalit youth were planning to murder them to seek revenge. "Since it is a caste sensitive matter, we informed the higher ups and based on instructions, we picked them for questioning on Tuesday to warn them," Kanna said.
He claimed that P Esakimuthu, one of the Dalit youth, had admitted to the murder plan.
IBN Live
Fearing for life, 10 dalit students flee school
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/fearing-for-life-10-dalit-students-flee-school/161936-60-118.html
Express News Service , The New Indian Express
Posted on Jun 23, 2011 at 03:29pm IST
MADURAI: In order to avert future caste clashes, 10 Dalit students took their transfer certificates (TCs) from the Villoor Government Higher Secondary School near Tirumangalam in Madurai district and got admitted in a nearby school here on Wednesday.
According to top police sources, these 10 families who are living in the Villoor village were trying to wriggle out of the prevailing situation there. Four students, Karthikeyan, son of Ramakrishnan, Muthukrishnan, son of Muniyandi, Ajith Kumar, son of Kalimuthu, and Dhilip Kumar, son of Pandi, who had passed Class VI from Villoor Government School, another lot of four students—Kaliappan, son of Irulappan, Muniyandi, son of Murugan, Balamani, daughter of Murugan, Karupasamy, son of Krishnan— who had passed Class VIII, and two students—Subburaj, son of Kaliappan, and Kaliappan, son of Muthukrishnan—who had passed Class X obtained their TCs on Wednesday. The village houses around 100 families of Dalits and over 600 of caste Hindus, including the Ahamudaiyar community. Dalits in this village depend on the caste Hindus for livelihood as farm labourers.
The Dalit families, confined to the eastern part of the village, took the decision to shift their students to a nearby school in Kallikudi so that their children's education is kept out of the recent developments in the village.
On April 30, G Thangapandian (24), a Dalit youth, was attacked for riding his motorcycle through the Kaliamman temple arch. Based on his complaint, the police registered a case and arrested a few caste Hindus. The next day, Superintendent of Police Asra Garg visited the spot and held peace talks with both the communities.
However, the caste Hindus laid siege to the police station seeking the release of the arrested and attacked the SP and the police personnel at the station. The SP's car and another police vehicle were damaged. The police were then forced to open fire to disperse the angry mob. Eight cases were filed.
When contacted, Asra Garg clarified that the situation was under control and asked the Dalits not to panic in this regard.
MSN News
Mirchpur Dalit killing recounted in Delhi court
http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5230304
New Delhi, Jun 23 (PTI) The killing of Dalits in Mirchpur in Haryana was today recounted in a court here as the son of a 70-year-old man, who was burnt alive along with his phyiscally challenged daughter by dominant Jat community people, recalled the chain of events in his deposition.
Taking his deposition before Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau, 25-year-old Amar Lal, son of slain elderly dalit Tara Chand, said that on the fateful day of April 21, 2010, a 400-strong mob of Jats had descended on the village, armed with stones, in rickshaws and carts and attacked the villagers who were barely out of their beds.
Lal said he saw his co-villagers taking shelters on roof- tops of their houses and retaliating to the massive stone- pelting by the crowd. He saw Narnaund police station in-charge Vinod Kumar Kajal, who too is an accused in the case, asking the villagers to gather at the chaupal, where, he said, he would sort out the issue after a meeting with Jats.
"The station house officer also assured us that he would also bring the Jat people to the chaupal and would try to sort out the things," Lal said, adding noting came out of the mneeting as hardly any of the influential jat community members attended it. .
The Hindu
Educational assistance for SC, ST students
http://www.hindu.com/2011/06/23/stories/2011062362970300.htm
Special Correspondent
TIRUCHI: Applications have been invited for educational assistance given through the Department of Adi Dravida Welfare for candidates from scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and converted Christian Adi Dravida communities. The annual income limit for parents of beneficiaries of the post-matric scholarship given to SC/ST students by the Union government has been increased to Rs.2 lakh, according to Collector Jayashree Muralidharan.
In a press release, Ms.Muralidharan said the annual of income of parents of students availing the special educational assistance for higher education given by the State government should be less than Rs.1lakh. Candidates pursuing M.Phil and Ph.D are eligible to apply for Rajiv Gandhi National Scholarship. This apart, children of sanitary workers are eligible to get educational assistance and girl child education incentive, for which applications have to be sent through the respective heads of institutions. Scheduled tribe and converted Christian Adi Dravida students learning typing and shorthand would also be given training fee.
Law graduates can apply for getting a grant of Rs.10, 000 for starting self-employment. The maintenance grants given to school and college students have also been increased. Further details can be had from the Adi Dravida Welfare Office in the Collectorate, Ms.Muralidharan said.
The Times Of India
Soon, dalit memorials in city to get heritage status
TNN | Jun 23, 2011, 04.38am IST
LUCKNOW: The dalit memorials dotting the city skyline would soon enjoy the status of a heritage zone. On Wednesday, the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) gave its nod to a state government proposal to this effect. Now, a committee would be constituted to draft the rules to protect the monuments and develop the areas around it. The rules would be sent to the state government for final approval.
LDA vice-chairman Rajeev Aggarwal said that the decision aims to protect these monuments and market them as tourist hot-spots. The committee would decide on the rules for protecting the monuments and the areas around them would be developed in a planned way. Notably, the heritage sites categorized by the state archaeology department restrict any construction activity within a distance of 100 m. Aggarwal said that some of the rules would be borrowed from the state archaeology department, but the committee would decide whether to restrict or regulate any construction activity around the memorials or not.
The committee to be headed by the LDA V-C would have members from town planning and state archaeology department on its board. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage ( INTACH) would also be roped in to study the sites and recommend rules accordingly. Rajeev Aggarwal said that the committee would also decide as to which memorials would be brought under the ambit of heritage zone. The draft document put up before the board members said "the memorials like Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal in Gomtinagar, Kanshi Ram Memorial, Rama Bai Rally Sthal, Buddh Vihar and Eco-Park on Kanpur Road be included in the heritage category."
The Pioneer
Haryana fails to set up State Scheduled Castes Commission
http://www.dailypioneer.com/347705/Haryana-fails-to-set-up-State-Scheduled-Castes-Commission.html
June 22, 2011 11:24:19 PM
Nishu Mahajan | Chandigarh
In the backdrop of atrocities on Dalits in Mirchpur last year and recent incident of lathicharge on non-Jat and primarily Dalit communities in Hisar leading to the death of a woman, Haryana Government's failure to constitute a commission for the community has raised eyebrows in the State.
Despite a proposal, State Scheduled Castes Commission or Minority Commission for the State is yet to start functioning to address the grievances of these communities.
Despite nearly 20 per cent of the State population being Schedule Castes and a population of 25 lakh from the minority community, the State Government is shying away from constitution of a body to safeguard interests of these groups.
Mooted twice by Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, the proposal concerning setting up of a Minority Commission and Scheduled Castes Commission independently in Haryana has not been approved by the State Government, which has said that there was no necessity to set up such constitutional bodies separately.
While the neighbouring State Government of Punjab has both the Commissions, the Haryana Government is overlooking the same since long.
"A proposal regarding the constitution of Minority Commission and Scheduled Castes Commission was sent to the State Government but it has disapproved the same," said a senior official of the Haryana Government while talking to The Pioneer.
The official, requesting anonymity, said that the State Government has rejected the proposal of setting up of two separate bodies for the welfare of SCs and minorities recently.
"If set up, such constitutional body will certainly ensure the safeguard of rights of such groups," he added.
The official said: "At present, the complaints and grievances of Dalits and minorities are being registered with the Social Justice and Empowerment Department. Undoubtedly, there is a need to have a separate commission to look into the grievances of these groups. Also, minorities and SCs form a major part of the population in the State."
In the Mirchpur village of Hisar district, some members of the dominant Jat community set 18 homes of dalits ablaze, leading to the death of two Dalits — 17-year-old Suman and her 60-year-old father Tara Chand. The Mirchpur incident was a reflection of longstanding and deep-rooted acrimony between Dalits and Jats.
Violence against Dalits has a history in the State with cases like torching of Dalit houses in Salwan, Karnal in 2007; mobs looting and burning the Balmiki basti in Gohana, Sonepat in 2005 and, the lynching of five Dalits in Jhajjar in 2002 were reported in the recent past apart from the Mirchpur incident.
.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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