Latest News Update: Nov 23, 2009

Monday, November 23, 2009

[ZESTCaste] AIIMS to pay Rs 20,000 for denying counselling

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/AIIMS-to-pay-Rs-20-000-for-denying-counselling/544948/

AIIMS to pay Rs 20,000 for denying counselling

Express News Service Posted online: Monday , Nov 23, 2009 at 0254 hrs
New Delhi : The Delhi High Court has imposed a cost of Rs 20,000 on
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for refusing to allow
a meritorious reserved category candidate to sit for the counselling
against the OBC quota. The institute decided to deny him the
opportunity as he had first opted for a seat under the general
category.
Justice Anil Kumar, however, said the premier medical institute could
not deny a candidate of reserved category from availing the benefit of
counselling under both categories concurrently. "The merit cannot be
permitted to become demerit as otherwise this will frustrate the very
purpose and object of reservation policy," the court said in a recent
order.

The High Court order followed a petition filed by an OBC candidate,
Manish Patnecha, who was denied counselling against OBC quota after he
had opted for a seat in the general category.

During the second round of counselling, Patnecha sought to appear
against OBC quota to gain admission in a subject of his choice but
AIIMS debarred him, saying that it would block two seats. Aggrieved by
the denial, he approached the High Court saying a higher ranked
candidate belonging to reserved category should not suffer a
deprivation in the choices of either a seat or an institution of his
choice vis-a-vis a lesser merited candidate of the same social class
by operation of reservation principle.

The court, however, declined to direct the institute for a
re-counselling saying, "AIIMS cannot be directed to have a second
counselling and allot the seat of petitioner's choice and cancel the
allocation of the seat to another candidate."

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit access to politics and justice

http://www.guardian.co.uk/journalismcompetition/professional-human-rights

Human rights
Mary Griffin The Guardian

Dalit access to politics and justice

Two years ago, in a landslide election, India appointed its first
Dalit woman chief minister. Ruling over Uttar Pradesh, India's largest
state, Mayawati Kumari has become an inspiration for the republic's
170 million Dalits.

In Bangladesh, however, Dalits are yet to enter the political arena
and only in the last 18 months has the country's Dalit population
begun to find its voice. A group with growing support, Bangladesh
Dalit Human Rights (BDHR), which this year convened the first national
Dalit conference, helped to establish the Dalit Women's Forum (members
of whom are pictured right), to fight for female rights and
representation.

In July, the Dalit Women's Forum and BDHR took to the streets of Dhaka
in a mass protest, claiming a lack of representation in the police
force and courts means Dalits are consistently failed by the justice
system. They demanded the arrest and trial of the four rapists of a
16-year-old Dalit girl. Parul Das was collecting water when she was
abducted, gang raped and dumped in the street.

Another public call to action came after 20-year-old Dalit cleaner
Rekha Das was beaten to death after being suspected of stealing a
mobile phone. More than 500 people protested on the streets of Panjia,
demanding justice be done. Three people have since been charged and a
court case opened in October.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit beaten up in Tiruvarur

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Dalit+beaten+up+in+Tiruvarur&artid=4r8OFJsRuUk=&SectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=rSY%7C6QYp3kQ=&SEO=Dalit

Dalit beaten up in Tiruvarur

Mahalingam (57), a Dalit of Thelikottai, Tiruvarur district, who was
beaten up allegedly by a caste Hindu family for refusing to sell his
land to them

Gokul VannanFirst Published : 23 Nov 2009 02:16:00 AM ISTLast Updated
: 23 Nov 2009 07:24:41 AM IST

CHENNAI: When Mahalingam, a Dalit hailing from Thelikottai, refused to
sell a small patch of land in his possession, he crossed an invisible
caste line that resulted in physical torture and humiliation.

The 57-year-old man was tied to a tree and beaten up with weapons and
slippers, when he refused to sell his land to M Thangadurai (45), who
belongs to the Thevar community.

The incident is reported to have happened on November 17. Mahalingam
owns a 30-cent piece of land adjoining Thangadurai's land in
Thelikottai village. It is alleged that Thangadurai had been pressing
Mahalingam to sell the land to him. "As he has four sons, my father
refused to pay heed to Thangadurai demands," said M Ramesh, third son
of Mahalingam.

Mahalingam told Express that along with seven other men, Thangadurai
dragged him out of the house, tied him to a tree and thrashed him.
"They claimed that my goats had entered their fields. They humiliated
me and used abusive language," he said.

There are only 30 Dalit families in the village. Others have left out
of fear of retaliation from the powerful Thevar community, Ramesh
claimed. "Dalits are dependent on them for their livelihood," he
added.

On hearing the news that his father was beaten up, Ramesh rushed home
from Kumbakkonam. " On reaching here I found that my home was
ransacked and my father reeling under pain.''

After lodging a police complaint, Ramesh took his father to the
hospital. Mahalingam is now slowly recovering in the hospital. He said
when Thangadurai and his associates learnt about the police complaint
they escaped to Chennai.

Meanwhile the police informed that they have launched a search. ``A
special police team is searching for them in Chennai. They escaped to
Chennai with the aim of obtaining anticipatory bail before we arrest
them,'' said R Gunasekaran, Deputy Superintendent of Police,
Mannargudi Taluk, Tiruvarur district.

Madurai-based NGO Evidence, which had done a field study in the
village, urged the government to arrest the accused.

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[ZESTCaste] Single and ready to mingle at Swayamvarams

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Single-and-ready-to-mingle-at-Swayamvarams/articleshow/5258566.cms

Single and ready to mingle at Swayamvarams
Bishwanath Ghosh, TNN 23 November 2009, 06:11am IST

CHENNAI: A good family' whatever you may interpret that as was in high
demand on Sunday in the auditorium of Mylapore's Sanksrit College,
where over

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250 Tamil Brahmin families had descended to find a Brahmin match for
their sons or daughters. The occasion was Naveena Swayamvaram, the
new-age version of the ancient Indian tradition when a princess chose
her suitor by dropping the garland around the neck of one of the many
kings or princes standing in a row.

No rows of suitors here though, only a cacophonic crowd; and no
garlands, but only horoscopes and bio-data. The parents walked up to
the stage one after the other, held the mike and rattled off the
qualifications of their sons or daughters and specified the kind of
alliance' they were looking for. Those who were incoherent or
inaudible were berated by G Swaminatha Sharma, the tireless but highly
vocal master of ceremony who would repeat the qualifications required
for the benefit of the attentive audience. The most common were good
family' and minimum graduate' (as in, the candidate should be at least
a graduate).

"Super idea, sir, super idea! Only Brahmins for Brahmins," gushed the
mother of N Durga Prasad, who is only 23 years old and is a first-year
student of masters in computer applications. "I already earn Rs 30,000
per month because Indian Oil Corporation hires my vehicles. I am also
a classical dancer. I am looking for a middle-class girl, 19 or 20,
who has a pleasing tendency," said Durga Prasad. Pleasing tendency?
"Someone who is nice to my mother," he clarified.

And why did he come to the swayamvaram instead of hunting for a bride
online or in the matrimonial pages of a newspaper? "Here we are seeing
the person, at least the family, directly. There is a direct
interaction," Durga Prasad explained.

As Durga Prasad specified to this reporter the kind of girl he was
looking for, a middle-aged woman went up to the stage to hand out her
daughter's bio-data. An impressive bio-data, "but she is based in
Mumbai and she can't get a transfer. So if there is someone working in
Mumbai or around..." Immediately a hand went up in the audience. It
was the hand of Thiripurasundari, the cousin sister' of T K Sriram,
32, who had come down all the way from Pune to attend the swayamvaram.

"Can you get a transfer to Mumbai?" asked Swaminatha Sharma, the
emcee. Sriram, a suave-looking young man, nodded vehemently. "So there
you are," Sharma told the mother of the Mumbai girl, "go and talk to
them." The audience clapped. The mother of the Mumbai girl and
Sriram's family met outside the auditorium. They enquired about each
other's demands' and exchanged phone numbers. "The thing is, her
daughter (the girl in Mumbai) earns Rs 60,000 whereas my cousin
brother earns only Rs 30,000. So the girl has to come down to the
level of Rs 30,000, or else the marriage will only end up in divorce.
Money is not the criteria for a happy marriage, am I right or not?"
asked Thiripurasundari, who is a lawyer by qualification.

The Mumbai girl's family was not the only one Sriram's family had got
in touch with since morning. "We met another family. They are a poor
family, but a good family. They didn't have any demands. Usually the
girl's side has so many demands," said Thiripurasundari. One could
tell that Thiripurasundari was more comfortable with the idea of her
cousin brother marrying a girl who was from a poor but good family'
rather than marry someone who earned twice his salary. Who Sriram
eventually marries, only time will tell, but the fact that he came all
the way from Pune to attend the swayamvaram speaks loads about how
modern day man still relies on ancient methods to find a suitor.

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