Monday, February 7, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Rajasthan extends aid to Dalits

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1161049.ece

JAIPUR, February 6, 2011
Rajasthan extends aid to Dalits
Special Correspondent

Their houses were burnt, ransacked by Meo Muslims in Alwar district

Rattled by adverse political fall-out of recent violence against
Dalits at Husaipur village in Alwar district, the Congress-led
Government in Rajasthan has started distributing financial assistance
to the victims and arrested five persons on charges of ransacking and
looting of Dalits' houses, after which almost all Dalit families had
fled the village.

The Opposition BJP and Sangh Parivar elements took up the issue by
arguing that the ruling Congress was protecting the aggressors
belonging to the dominant Meo Muslim community. Provoked by the BJP,
Dalits also held a demonstration at Tijara sub-division earlier this
week.

Even as four of the Dalit families have since returned to Husaipur,
local BJP leaders have charged State Medical and Health Minister
Aimaduddin Ahmed Khan – elected to the Assembly from Tijara
constituency in which Husaipur falls – with shielding the accused. A
Meo youth, Zahid, had died in the firing by Dalits.

Meos allegedly launched a daylight attack on Dalits belonging to the
poor Meghwal community on January 19 following the firing incident and
drove them out of the village, 10 km from the famous Bhiwadi
industrial area. The dispute started when a hen reared by a Dalit
family was crushed under the wheels of Zahid's tractor.

While police arrested five Dalit youths on charges of Zahid's murder,
those who burnt Dalits' houses and looted their belongings including
cash and jewellery were at large for a fortnight. Five of them were
arrested over the weekend following pressure exerted by Dalit
activists here in Jaipur. Those arrested include Zahid's two brothers
and a cousin.

The Government has sanctioned financial assistance of Rs.25,000 each
to 16 Dalit families as an interim measure and distributed the aid to
13. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 1989, makes it mandatory for the administration to
provide immediate assistance to the victims of caste violence.

Amid reports of "deliberate delay" in Dalits' rehabilitation, an
eight-member delegation comprising civil rights activists from Jaipur
visited Husaipur on Friday and met both sides to broker peace. M. I.
Siddiqui of Jamat-e-Islami Hind, a member of the delegation, told The
Hindu here that tension in the village was receding and the two sides
had agreed not to fall prey to outsiders provoking them. "We
emphasised the need to evolve trust between Dalits and Muslims, who
are victims of machinations by higher castes, and asked them to help
out each other."

Centre for Dalit Rights (CDR) patron P. L. Mimroth said the delegation
asked the Dalit victims to rebuild their houses by utilising the
government assistance and carry home their household goods left in the
open after the BJP leaders advised them to display their losses "in an
exaggerated manner" to claim high compensation.

The delegation also met Alwar Collector Ashutosh Pednekar and
Superintendent of Police Mahesh Goyal and requested them to ensure
arrest of the "real culprits". Mr. Mimroth said the two officers
assured the delegation that the law would be strictly complied with.

Health Minister Mr. Khan, who is scheduled to visit Husaipur on
Sunday, faced some tough moments at Circuit House in Alwar on Friday
when a group of Dalits raised slogans against him.

The Dalits were annoyed by his previous visit to Husaipur a day after
the violence and attending Zahid's burial, but not visiting the Dalit
locality.

Besides Mr. Siddiqui and Mr. Mimroth, other members of the delegation
were Navin Narain of ActionAid, Gopal Ram Verma of CDR, Paikar Farooq
of Association for Protection of Civil Rights, Mohammed Salim of
Jamat-e-Islami Hind, Suman Devathia of Dalit Mahila Manch and Maualna
Haneef of the People's Union for Civil Liberties.


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