Wednesday, June 16, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Mayawati joins Jat's water war on jobs

 

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/mayawati-joins-jats-water-war-on-jobs/634061/#

Mayawati joins Jat's water war on jobs
Agencies
Posted online: 2010-06-15 11:30:31+05:30

LucknowEven as Jat leaders in Uttar Pradesh on Monday decided to call
of their agitation demanding quota for the community in government
jobs, Chief Minister Mayawati supported their demand saying they
should be included in the list of backward class at the national
level.

"Though Jats have been included in backward category list in UP, this
has not been done at the national level. Our party and government is
of the view that the community should be included in this category
nationally," the UP Chief Minister said in a statement here .

However, she said the Jats should not have blocked water supply to
Delhi to press for their demand saying disrupting water supply during
summer is not justified on human grounds.

They should go to Delhi and present their demand to the Centre
peacefully and not resort to any method that causes inconvenience to
people, she said.

"The method adopted by the Jat community to press for their demand of
inclusion in backward category at the national level was not justified
as it causes inconvenience to the people," Mayawati said.

"The Jat community should go to Delhi and present their side
peacefully in a disciplined manner as UP has no role in this issue,"
the CM said.

The agitation by Akhil Bharatiya Jat Sangarsh Samiti (ABJSS) in
Muradnagar in Ghaziabad since last night had hit water supply across
the national capital from the Upper Ganga Canal.

However, they suspended their agitation after talks with government officials.

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[ZESTCaste] BSP to go it alone in Bihar assembly polls

 

http://sify.com/news/bsp-to-go-it-alone-in-bihar-assembly-polls-news-national-kgpvarjgeib.html

BSP to go it alone in Bihar assembly polls

2010-06-15 21:00:00

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would contest the Bihar assembly polls
from all seats without any alliance, party chief Mayawati said
Tuesday.

'The BSP will contest from all seats (243) without any alliance in the
Bihar assembly polls,' Mayawati said at a rally to kickstart the
party's campaign for the polls later this year.

She asked her party leaders and workers to work hard to expand the
party's base in Bihar and other states.

Mayawati attacked the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for
their wrong policies. She said the Congress-led United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) government was responsible for price rise in the
country.

The rally was attended by party workers from Bihar, Orissa, West
Bengal and Jharkhand.

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[ZESTCaste] Despite being a Dalit or "untouchable" woman Roshni Devi, 36, was elected in north India and has transformed the village of Kothal Khurd

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/09/india-women

Empowerment in India

Despite being a Dalit or "untouchable" woman Roshni Devi, 36, was
elected in north India and has transformed the village of Kothal Khurd

Guardian Weekly, Friday 9 April 2010 09.00 BST

Dalit women in India. Photograph: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

I was elected a sarpanch [a democratically-elected head of a village
level local government institution] at the young age of 30. Generally,
young Dalit women are not encouraged to fight elections in India – and
I was pitted against 10 male candidates. But I managed to poll more
votes than all of them put together.

I think I was able to succeed even without a political background
because of my educational qualifications. I have a Bachelor's degree
in arts and another one in education.

But my victory was not well-received by everyone in the village. On
the first day in office, some upper-caste men stormed in and said they
could not accept the authority of a woman in the village. They pulled
me by the hair and pushed me out. But by trying to humiliate me that
way, they emboldened me to further accomplish my mission.

When my family and I approached the local police to lodge a complaint,
instead of tackling the situation they advised me to back off. They
even quoted the case of a woman who was killed by upper-caste men for
sitting on a chair in front of them. My reply to the cops was simple:
"Look, I'll be sitting on the sarpanch's chair for at least the next
five years because that right has been given to me by the people's
mandate!" We then approached the police superintendant (SP) who warned
the offending men who had obstructed me from performing my duties.

I have been able to initiate many developmental changes in my village
in the last five years. We've built 27 houses for poor women including
widows; improved the condition of our roads; and made the village more
secure by constructing fences all around it. We've also laid down
water pipelines so that the village has taps. Before, even pregnant
women had to trudge long distances, carrying pitchers of water on
their heads.

I'm also a member of the Nari Network (NN), a local campaign which
teaches people against the social evils of dowry. With our sustained
efforts, people have stopped taking and offering dowries in our
village. Female foeticide has also come down due to our efforts and
the male-to-female ratio is much better now.

However, my biggest achievement as a sarpanch has been my drive
against alcohol which was ruining many families. In our village, about
20% of the village's 415 Hindu families are headed by Dalit men who
work as day labourers on farms. Most of these men were alcoholics
until just a few years ago.

This led to their families suffering and incurring bad debts – further
leading to suicides. Children were dropping out of school as fathers
couldn't pay their fees. Alcoholics were squandering away their meagre
income on alcohol, leaving their wives and children to fend for
themselves.

The worst impacted were the women who were scared that their husbands
might beat them up in drunken fits. The wives would hide in the fields
and wait for their husbands to fall asleep before they returned home
in the dead of the night. This had been routine in our village for
more than two decades.

Nobody was doing much to check this evil. I began by rallying the
support of wives to eradicate alcoholism from our village. Of course,
the women were more than willing. I advised them to help their
husbands shun alcohol and collectively stand up to them. We caught
many drunkards and abused them publicly. In some cases, we even
assaulted men who tried to abuse or bully us.

With the help of the local police, last year we passed a resolution
seeking the closure of the liquor shops within one kilometre of the
village. This led to three stores being shut down. However, some
desperate men still managed to obtain liquor from distant outlets. We
then formed a women's group to confront these men when they returned
home drunk. We refused to cook food for them or have sex. Gradually,
they came around.

Soon, the number of alcoholics in our village began to dwindle and our
efforts started bearing fruit. Today, I can say with pride that
there's not a single alcoholic in our village. All families in Kothal
Khurd are now at peace and alcohol is not a hurdle in the village's
development any more. People continue to drink socially but they use
restraint. The success of our anti-alcohol movement has spurred women
in about 20 of Haryana's villages to set up alcohol resistance groups.

I've been able to achieve all this with the sustained support from my
husband, my family and the women who have encouraged me all along. The
success of our unique anti-alcohol campaign prompted the Indian
president, Pratibha Patil to invite me to her residence and
congratulate me for my efforts.

What could be a greater reward than this for a poor Dalit woman?


There's a raging debate in India over the controversial Women's
Reservation Bill which seeks to reserve 33% of positions in the Lok
Sabha (Lower House) and state assembly seats for women. The Bill's
opponents insist that the move will benefit only the "creamy layer"
giving short shrift to underprivileged women. However, there are many
cases in India to prove that women's empowerment at the grassroots
level is the only way to usher in real change in society. Despite
being a Dalit or "untouchable" woman Roshni Devi, 36, was elected in
north India and has transformed the village of Kothal Khurd
• Comment on this article

Friday April 9th 2010

Dalit women in India. Photograph: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

I was elected a sarpanch [a democratically-elected head of a village
level local government institution] at the young age of 30. Generally,
young Dalit women are not encouraged to fight elections in India – and
I was pitted against 10 male candidates. But I managed to poll more
votes than all of them put together.

I think I was able to succeed even without a political background
because of my educational qualifications. I have a Bachelor's degree
in arts and another one in education.

But my victory was not well-received by everyone in the village. On
the first day in office, some upper-caste men stormed in and said they
could not accept the authority of a woman in the village. They pulled
me by the hair and pushed me out. But by trying to humiliate me that
way, they emboldened me to further accomplish my mission.

When my family and I approached the local police to lodge a complaint,
instead of tackling the situation they advised me to back off. They
even quoted the case of a woman who was killed by upper-caste men for
sitting on a chair in front of them. My reply to the cops was simple:
"Look, I'll be sitting on the sarpanch's chair for at least the next
five years because that right has been given to me by the people's
mandate!" We then approached the police superintendant (SP) who warned
the offending men who had obstructed me from performing my duties.

I have been able to initiate many developmental changes in my village
in the last five years. We've built 27 houses for poor women including
widows; improved the condition of our roads; and made the village more
secure by constructing fences all around it. We've also laid down
water pipelines so that the village has taps. Before, even pregnant
women had to trudge long distances, carrying pitchers of water on
their heads.

I'm also a member of the Nari Network (NN), a local campaign which
teaches people against the social evils of dowry. With our sustained
efforts, people have stopped taking and offering dowries in our
village. Female foeticide has also come down due to our efforts and
the male-to-female ratio is much better now.

However, my biggest achievement as a sarpanch has been my drive
against alcohol which was ruining many families. In our village, about
20% of the village's 415 Hindu families are headed by Dalit men who
work as day labourers on farms. Most of these men were alcoholics
until just a few years ago.

This led to their families suffering and incurring bad debts – further
leading to suicides. Children were dropping out of school as fathers
couldn't pay their fees. Alcoholics were squandering away their meagre
income on alcohol, leaving their wives and children to fend for
themselves.

The worst impacted were the women who were scared that their husbands
might beat them up in drunken fits. The wives would hide in the fields
and wait for their husbands to fall asleep before they returned home
in the dead of the night. This had been routine in our village for
more than two decades.

Nobody was doing much to check this evil. I began by rallying the
support of wives to eradicate alcoholism from our village. Of course,
the women were more than willing. I advised them to help their
husbands shun alcohol and collectively stand up to them. We caught
many drunkards and abused them publicly. In some cases, we even
assaulted men who tried to abuse or bully us.

With the help of the local police, last year we passed a resolution
seeking the closure of the liquor shops within one kilometre of the
village. This led to three stores being shut down. However, some
desperate men still managed to obtain liquor from distant outlets. We
then formed a women's group to confront these men when they returned
home drunk. We refused to cook food for them or have sex. Gradually,
they came around.

Soon, the number of alcoholics in our village began to dwindle and our
efforts started bearing fruit. Today, I can say with pride that
there's not a single alcoholic in our village. All families in Kothal
Khurd are now at peace and alcohol is not a hurdle in the village's
development any more. People continue to drink socially but they use
restraint. The success of our anti-alcohol movement has spurred women
in about 20 of Haryana's villages to set up alcohol resistance groups.

I've been able to achieve all this with the sustained support from my
husband, my family and the women who have encouraged me all along. The
success of our unique anti-alcohol campaign prompted the Indian
president, Pratibha Patil to invite me to her residence and
congratulate me for my efforts.

What could be a greater reward than this for a poor Dalit woman?

• Roshni Devi was interviewed by Neeta Lal


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[ZESTCaste] 4 injured as fresh tension breaks out between rival groups in Haryana

 

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_4-injured-as-fresh-tension-breaks-out-between-rival-groups-in-haryana_1396893

4 injured as fresh tension breaks out between rival groups in Haryana
PTI
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 22:35 IST

Hisar (Haryana): Less than two months after the torching of Dalit
houses which claimed two lives, fresh clashes have broken out between
two groups leaving four persons injured in firing and stone-pelting at
Surya Nagar area in Hisar.

The trouble started last night when a motorcyclist hit a buffalo in a
bylane following which members of a particular community sealed two
bylanes, triggering clashes between the two armed rival groups, police
said.

Superintendent of police Subhah Yadav visited the area and held a
meeting between the rival groups in a bid to defuse tension but it
failed to arrive at a solution, they said.

Heavy police deployment was made in the area to prevent any untoward incident.

The injured were hospitalised and a case was taken against unknown
persons, they said, adding no arrests were been made.

On April 21, a 70-year-old dalit and his teenaged
physically-challenged daughter were burnt alive when members of
another community set afire several dalit houses in Mirchpur village
in Haryana.

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[ZESTCaste] Declaring herself single, Maya woos Bihar

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Declaring-herself-single--Maya-woos-Bihar/634362

Declaring herself single, Maya woos Bihar

Santosh Singh Posted online: Wed Jun 16 2010, 09:26 hrs
Patna : Asserting that there would be "no open or hidden"
understanding with anyone, BSP chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Mayawati on Tuesday said her party would contest all the 243 seats in
Bihar during the Assembly elections in October.
Launching her poll campaign soon after the BJP concluded its national
executive meeting in the state, Mayawati played the "sarvajan" (all
sections) card, saying there was a need to forge unity between Bahujan
samaj and other sections, including upper castes. The focus on upper
castes is seen as driven by the fact that this section is disenchanted
with the Nitish Kumar government over bataidari laws and its
"ultra-Dalit" focus.

Mayawati blamed "wrong socio-economic policies of successive
governments at the Centre" for the Naxal problem.


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[ZESTCaste] 19 get life term for killing two brothers

 

http://sify.com/news/19-get-life-term-for-killing-two-brothers-news-national-kgpxadccgbb.html

19 get life term for killing two brothers

2010-06-15 23:00:00

Nineteen people were Tuesday sentenced to life imprisonment by a court
in Uttar Pradesh for the murder five years ago of two Dalit brothers,
officials said.

A fast track court in Barabanki awarded life terms to Naumi Lal and
his 18 aides, who had brutally assaulted Ram Sagar and Ram Dev in
November 2005 in Saraiya village, some 35 km from here, over a land
dispute.

'Armed with sticks and other weapons, Lal and his associates had
attacked the two brothers, who died on their way to hospital. Later a
criminal case was slapped against 19 people, of which 12 were arrested
while the remaining surrendered,' police inspector Komal Singh told
reporters in Barabanki.

After the murder, the victims' family had also moved the court.

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[ZESTCaste] Medieval justice: Kangaroo courts call the shots in TN

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Medieval-justice-Kangaroo-courts-call-the-shots-in-TN/articleshow/6052384.cms

Medieval justice: Kangaroo courts call the shots in TN

Padmini Sivarajah, TNN, Jun 16, 2010, 03.16am IST

MADURAI: In several hamlets in the caste sensitive pockets of south
Tamil Nadu, the law of the land has ceased to exist. Here, it is the
'kattapanchayat' or kangaroo courts that rule. A few months ago,
Nagaraj, a dalit from Vedasandur in Dindigul district, married a
non-dalit girl, Sumathi. Fear of reprisal prompted them to flee the
village.

They returned a month later hoping that their parents would accept
them. But a 'kattapanchayat' was immediately convened. Following its
orders, the couple was taken to a coconut grove. A goat was
slaughtered, its blood smeared on the couple's heads and their
marriage declared null and void. The girl was later given away in
marriage to a man from her caste.

In another incident, a non-dalit girl Sangeetha eloped with a dalit
youth, Balachandar of Malapatti village in Dindigul. They were brought
back to the village and a few days later the girl died under
mysterious circumstances.

"Kangaroo courts are the most powerful bodies that deliver judgment on
any dispute or problem. They are still prevalent in many hamlets in
the southern districts. Of the 167 villages we surveyed in south Tamil
Nadu, we found the 'kattapanchayat' active in all of them. They take
law into their hands and deliver judgment," said Kathir, who heads
'Evidence'. The organisation conducted the study in Theni,
Virudhunagar, Dindigul and Sivaganga districts.

The Evidence study revealed that among 167 villages surveyed, 73 had
common courts for all castes, while 14 had separate 'courts' for
dalits and non-dalits. Fifty-nine of these villages had separate
courts for every caste in the village. These are headed by the
community heads called "nattamai or panchayathar".

161 of the kangaroo courts delivered caste-based verdicts. The
punishment included begging for pardon in the village square or being
ostracized. In some villages, the accused were asked to hold burning
camphor in his palm, or go around the village temple a prescribed
number of times or sometimes, beaten or tied to the tree as
punishment. The fines ranged from Rs 10 to Rs 10,000 based on the
nature of the crime and place.


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[ZESTCaste] Rally for justice

http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20100702271310500.htm

SOCIAL ISSUES

Rally for justice


S. DORAIRAJ


The State conference of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication
Front gives a call to fight the atrocities against Dalits on various
fronts.

M. MOORTHY

The rally held by the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front in
Pudukottai on May 29.

THEY thronged Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu, in their thousands on May 29 to
participate in a State-level rally against untouchability. Among them
were sanitary workers, footwear makers, farmhands, manual labourers
and washermen belonging to the Scheduled Castes. They marched shoulder
to shoulder with functionaries of trade unions, activists belonging to
the associations of State and Central government employees and
federations of public sector undertakings, and human rights activists,
calling for effective steps to curb all forms of social oppression and
atrocities against Dalits.

The rally was held to mark the conclusion of the first State
conference of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF),
a broad front of trade unions, organisations of peasants, students,
youth and women, Dalit outfits, and human rights fora, to spearhead
the struggle against caste oppression and untouchability.

For the front, founded in 2007, it was an occasion to conduct a review
of its experience so far in bringing together Dalits and non-Dalits in
the fight against caste oppression. The discussions centred on
evolving a strategy to consolidate the gains it had made through
sustained struggles and chalking out its future course of action.

Setting the tone for the discussions, P. Sampath, convener of the
TNUEF, stressed in his report the need to carry on the struggles
against economic exploitation and social oppression concomitantly and
even to combine them given the situation in Tamil Nadu where attacks
on Dalits were intertwined with class oppression. "It is on this basis
that the TNUEF seeks to bring under its umbrella Dalits and non-Dalits
in the fight against untouchability," he pointed out.

The composition of the conference revealed that the front had achieved
a breakthrough in cementing unity between the oppressed people and the
progressive and democratic sections among non-Dalits. While 70 per
cent of the 425 delegates were Dalits, the remaining came from
non-Dalit communities.

The conference, through discussions, resolutions, a declaration and a
pledge, brought to light the attacks launched against Dalits on
political, economic and social fronts. In its assessment of the
political situation, the conference noted that oppressive forces were
challenging the efforts to empower Dalits even in the local bodies,
either by scuttling the elections in some reserved panchayats or by
ensuring that people who were subservient to them got elected so that
the panchayat administration would be under their control.

In many cases, elected Dalit panchayat presidents were not allowed to
occupy their seats in their offices, it said. According to Evidence, a
Madurai-based NGO, such forms of oppression prevail in 600 village
panchayats. The government has "terribly shirked its responsibility"
in checking such violations of law, the TNUEF alleged.

In the economic sphere, Dalits by and large face the problem of denial
of ownership rights to land and property. The meet pointed out that as
most of the Dalits in the State were landless, they had to depend on
caste Hindus for employment.

So if they dared to seek police intervention against harassment or
atrocities, they would be denied work in all the farms owned by
dominant groups and forced to starve.

Land reforms

The TNUEF has urged the Tamil Nadu government to implement radical
land reform in the State. In 1972, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
government announced that 20.23 lakh acres (one acre is 0.4 hectare)
of surplus land would be redistributed to the landless, but until now
not even 10 per cent of the land has been acquired. Similarly, there
are about 50 lakh acres of poramboke land and wastelands suitable for
cultivation, large stretches of which the government has leased out to
big industries, multinational corporations, colleges, hospitals and
commercial complexes for meagre amounts. But the government was
reluctant to distribute these lands to the landless poor at the rate
of two acres for cultivation and five cents as house sites for each
family, it said.

The front alleged that panchami lands distributed to Dalits during
British rule were under "illegal occupation" by non-Dalits. Contrary
to the government's claim that only 12,000 acres of panchami lands had
been acquired by non-Dalits, the actual extent could be around 2.5
lakh acres, it noted. Several multi-storey commercial complexes had
come up on these lands, it alleged.

The meet called upon the government to verify the title transfers on
the basis of the 1924 and 1954 records pertaining to panchami lands
and take necessary legal measures to redeem the lands and redistribute
them to Dalits. Transfer of title deeds of the panchami lands should
have taken place during the updated survey conducted in 1986, it said.
The conference decided to carry on a sustained campaign to redeem the
panchami lands and to hold a special convention in Kancheepuram in
this connection.

The TNUEF meet discussed the impact of globalisation and neoliberal
policies on the living conditions of Dalits against the backdrop of
shrinking job opportunities in the public sector and the absence of
reservation in the private sector. The White Paper presented by the
State government in the Assembly in 2000 had revealed that even five
decades after Independence, there were only 13 per cent Scheduled
Caste employees in the A, B, C and D groups though 18 per cent of the
jobs were reserved for them.

Even while admitting that reservation was no panacea for the problems
of caste oppression and class exploitation, the conference pleaded for
the extension of the benefit to Dalit Christians as it would provide
some limited and necessary relief to them within the existing order.
It also demanded that reservation for Dalits be implemented in the
private sector.

Scheduled Castes Sub Plan

The conference spent a fairly good amount of time discussing issues
related to the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP). Accusing the State
government of being "nonchalant" about making allocations for the plan
proportionate to the population of Dalits, it said that even the
allotted funds were not spent properly. From 1997 to 2005, the
government should have allotted Rs.9,401 crore for the SCSP, but the
actual allocation was only Rs.2,226 crore. It added that in the past
eight years, Rs.7,135 crore ought to have been spent on the welfare of
Dalits.


C. VENKATACHALAPTHY

This entrance on the southern side of the Nataraja temple in
Chidambaram was closed many years ago because Nandanar, a Dalit, used
it in the 11th-12th century. Ironically, he became a saint later and
entered the temple. The TNUEF has urged the State government to reopen
the entrance.

In the 2010-11 Budget, the government allotted Rs.3,828 crore for the
SCSP, forming 19 per cent of the total plan outlay. However, the
government had announced that the funds would be spent on 117 other
schemes, the front said. "This is a gross violation of the prescribed
rules. It amounts to causing grave injustice to Dalits," it said.

The TNUEF meet demanded that the government implement the SCSP without
diluting it. It also called for the setting up of vigilance panels to
ensure its proper implementation.

On the social front, Dalits face untouchability throughout their life,
from cradle to the cremation ground, the conference pointed out. A
recent survey conducted by TNUEF activists in 1,845 villages in 22
districts in the State has brought out 82 forms of untouchability and
22 types of atrocities committed against Dalits.

Among the crude manifestations of untouchability are denial of access
to public pathways; denial of permission to walk wearing footwear, to
wear a "towel" on the shoulder, to sport a moustache, and to wear
polyester dhotis or headgear. Dalits are also not allowed to sit on
chairs in tea stalls and restaurants.

Apart from the notorious practice of serving tea to Dalits in separate
tumblers at tea stalls, separate chairs are kept for Dalits in barber
shops. They are prevented from bursting crackers during festivals.
They are not permitted to draw water from public taps, bathe in
village ponds or take part in temple festivals, village meetings and
auctions.

They are forced to stand in separate queues at public distribution
system (PDS) outlets, live in segregated colonies, use separate
cremation grounds, remove carcasses and night soil, and beat drums for
funerals. In some places, postal employees do not deliver letters to
Dalits.

Dalits are awarded inhuman punishments for supposed offences. In some
cases, they are forced to eat human faeces, drink urine and do
"sit-ups" a thousand times before members of the dominant communities.
They are subjected to physical attacks if they go against the wishes
of the dominant communities in local body elections – in certain
instances Dalits have been killed. And if they dare to intermarry,
they are poisoned to death in some places.

The administration's "failure to properly implement the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989" was
debated at the conference. Issues such as counter-complaints by the
oppressors and flawed investigations resulting in high rate of
acquittals in cases booked under the Act were discussed.

Despite the administration's failure to put an end to the caste-based
oppression, "there is an emerging trend in Dalit assertion and
fighting spirit" owing to the intervention of organisations such as
the TNUEF, the conference noted. But it expressed concern over the
fact that the growing awareness among Dalits and their readiness to
fight against casteist forces was sought to be met with inhuman
oppression and atrocities.

Some victories

The combined strength of the TNUEF's initiative and the awareness
among Dalits have resulted in significant victories in some recent
struggles.

The most important among them are the demolition of the walls of
hatred put up by casteist elements at places such as Uthapuram in
Madurai district, Periyar Nagar in Coimbatore district, and Thuraipadi
in Vellore district. Close on the heels of the success of the removal
of the "caste wall" in Uthapuram, the Dalits of the village embarked
on a struggle against certain other forms of untouchability. The front
has decided to intensify its agitation if the government fails to find
a solution to the unresolved issues in Uthapuram.

The TNUEF has added another feather to its cap by joining hands with
other democratic forces in rallying people to defeat the attempts of
the oppressive elements that scuttled the election process for 10
years in four reserved panchayats – Pappapatti, Keeripatti and
Nattarmangalam in Madurai district and Kottakachiyendal in
Virudhunagar district. Dalit panchayat presidents have been elected in
these places.

The temple entry struggle, spearheaded by the front at several places
including Chettipulam in Nagapattinam district, Panthapuli in
Tirunelveli district and Kangiyanoor in Villupuram district, where
access was denied to Dalits to places of worship for periods ranging
from 50 to 200 years, ended in a resounding success.

As part of its campaign to do away with untouchability in places of
worship, the TNUEF, through a resolution, urged the State government
to dismantle the wall that was built many years ago to block an
entrance on the southern side of the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram.

According to legend, this entrance was used by Nandanar, a Dalit farm
worker, in the 11th-12th century A.D. Ironically, Nandanar later
become one of the celebrated 63 Nayanmars (Saivaite saints) and
entered the temple. A different entrance is used by devotees in this
part of the temple complex even today. The TNUEF decided to resort to
direct action if the government failed to meet this demand within a
month.

Among the noteworthy achievements of the front is the 3 per cent
internal reservation it won for the Arunthathiar community, considered
the lowest rung of the caste ladder. In the western districts of Tamil
Nadu they work as farmhands, while in other areas they undertake all
menial jobs, from manual scavenging to removing carcasses.

A massive rally held in February 2008 enabled the front to extract
some promises from the government on ending manual scavenging. The
conference pleaded with the government to ensure that people belonging
to the Puthiraivannar community received community certificates
without hassles.

As Tamil Nadu is one of the six States with a high percentage of
Dalits – 19 per cent of the population – a large number of atrocities
against them are reported here. The conference urged the government to
constitute a State Commission for S.Cs and S.Ts to protect their
interests.

Prakash Karat, general secretary of the Communist Party of India
(Marxist), who addressed the conference, said people outside Tamil
Nadu also looked up to the TNUEF as a source of inspiration in their
own struggles against social oppression. "In our country, the struggle
against the caste system must go along with the struggle against
social, economic and class exploitation. Without that there can be no
revolution in our society," he said.

Karat said if annihilation of castes as perceived by B.R. Ambedkar was
the eventual goal, the first step to achieve it should be getting rid
of untouchability. He asked the front to bring into its fold all those
who wanted to end untouchability and caste discrimination. "Where the
communist movement is strong… we do not find today the forms of
untouchability that exist in Tamil Nadu and other States," he said.

G. Ramakrishnan, State secretary of the Communist Party of India, said
that after 'Periyar' E.V. Ramasamy, none of the Dravidian parties had
taken up the cause of Dalits.

These parties owed an explanation to the people as to why they had not
taken effective steps to end untouchability despite being in power for
over four decades, he added.


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[ZESTCaste] Tension in Haryana's Hisar after Dalit-Jat spat

 

http://sify.com/news/tension-in-haryana-s-hisar-after-dalit-jat-spat-news-national-kgpxOheiaje.html

Tension in Haryana's Hisar after Dalit-Jat spat

2010-06-15 23:50:00

Tension prevailed in the Surya Nagar area of this Haryana district
Tuesday after stray incidents of violence following a dispute between
the members of the Dalit and Jat communities, police said.

'Yesterday (Monday) night a buffalo, belonging to a member of Dalit
community, collided with a vehicle that was owned by a Jat youth. At
that time there were some heated arguments but the situation was
somehow controlled,' a police official said.

'Today (Tueday), the members of these communities again resorted to
violence to settle the dispute. Some miscreants also fired gunshots
and four people were admitted in the hospitals with injuries,' he
added.

District police chief Subash Yadav also visited the area, where heavy
police force has been deployed.

'We are keeping a close tab on the situation and police is ready to
tackle any kind of emergency,' the official added.

Nearly two months ago, Dalits of Mirchpur village in the district, 300
km from Chandigarh, were targeted by Jats and as many as 150 families
were driven out of the village after an arson attack on their homes.

A 70-year-old man and his 18-year-old physically challenged daughter
were killed and at least 18 houses were damaged in the attack.

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