Latest News Update: Dec 5, 2009

Saturday, December 5, 2009

[ZESTCaste] Abolish caste system: SC, gives lifer to 6 for Dalit killings

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/abolish-caste-system-sc-gives-lifer-to-6-for-dalit-killings/550392/

Abolish caste system: SC, gives lifer to 6 for Dalit killings

Agencies Posted online: Saturday , Dec 05, 2009 at 1654 hrs
New Delhi : Thirty years after eight Dalits were massacred by upper
caste Thakurs in Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court has sentenced to
life imprisonment five of the accused and said caste system should be
abolished soon for ensuring rule of law and smooth functioning of
democracy.
Reversing the acquittal of the six accused, the apex court said
"unfortunately, the centuries-old Indian caste system still takes its
toll from time to time. This case unfolds the worst kind of atrocities
committed by the so- called upper caste (Kshatriya or Thakur) against
the so-called lower caste caste in a civilized country.

"It is absolutely imperative to abolish the caste system as
expeditiously as possible for smooth functioning of rule of law and
democracy in our country," a bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and A
K Patnaik said in a judgement.

The apex court said minor discrepancies in statements of witnesses
should be ignored by courts in such carnages as they are bound to be
under tremendous fear.

The accused belonging to Thakur caste butchered seven totally innocent
persons belonging to Harijan caste and to wipe out the evidence of
their atrocities, threw their bodies in the strong currents of the
Ganges, the apex court said adding the massacre was carried out to
teach a lesson to so-called lower caste and commit dacoity at the
village.

It was at the intervention of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
and Dalit leader Jagjivan Ram that the police had arrested 18 people
in connection with the massacre on September 9, 1979, at village
Lohari, under Hussainganj police station in Uttar Pradesh.

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[ZESTCaste] Six get life for massacring Dalits

http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/six_get_life_massacring_dalits.html

Six get life for massacring Dalits
Submitted by admin3 on 5 December 2009 - 8:39pm.
By IANS,

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has sentenced six upper caste men from
Uttar Pradesh to life terms for killing seven Dalits 30 years ago.

Sentencing the six men after reversing their acquittal by the
Allahabad High Court, a bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice
A.K. Patnaik said: "Unfortunately, the centuries-old Indian caste
system still takes its toll from time to time. This case unfolds the
worst kind of atrocities committed by the so-called upper caste
(Thakurs) against the so-called lower caste caste in a civilized
country."

"It is absolutely imperative to abolish the caste system as
expeditiously as possible for smooth functioning of rule of law and
democracy in our country," the bench said in its verdict, which was
delivered Friday but released Saturday.

In September 1979, a horde of around two dozens Thakurs descended on a
Dalit settlement in Lahori village of Fatehpur district and kidnapped
eight members of a family, hacked them to death and threw their bodies
into the Ganga river.

The case was registered on the statement of a woman member of the
family who survived a murderous bid on her.

The case was registered after she wrote to then prime minister Indira
Gandhi and Dalit leader and former deputy prime minister Jagjivan Ram
as the police dilly-dallied in booking the offenders.

Though the Fathehpur trial court had convicted 18 people for the
offence, the Allahabad High Court had acquitted them all, giving them
the benefit of doubt. The Supreme Court, however, reversed the
acquittal of six of the accused.

"In the instant case, the accused persons belonging to Thakur caste
literally butchered seven totally innocent persons belonging to the
Harijan caste and to wipe out the entire evidence of their atrocities,
after shooting they were thrown in the river Ganga where currents were
very strong.

"Out of seven, even the bodies of five persons could not be
recovered," said the bench.

The Dalits murdered were identified as Jasodiya, Ganga, Tulsi, Deo
Nath alias Madan, Din Dayal, Sukhlal and Shripal. One person survived
the incident.

The apex court ordered Uttar Pradesh government to forthwith arrest
the six men.

The six convicted were Mathura Singh, Udai Bhan Singh, Dhirendra
Singh, Munna, Ram Niwas Singh and Vijay Karan Singh.

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[ZESTCaste] Bihar to provide money for rehabilitating manual scavengers

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/bihar-to-provide-money-for-rehabilitating-manual-scavengers_100284765.html

Bihar to provide money for rehabilitating manual scavengers
December 5th, 2009 - 6:47 pm ICT by IANS

Patna, Dec 5 (IANS) The Bihar government will provide financial
assistance of Rs.15 crore to rehabilitate nearly 5,000 Dalits who are
still engaged in manual scavenging, an official said Saturday.
"Nearly 5,000 Dalits engaged in manual scavenging will be provided
Rs.30,000 each as financial assistance on Dec 10 here at a function,"
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Welfare department principal
secretary K.P. Ramiah told IANS.

"The state government has decided to provide financial assistance to
those engaged in manual scavenging for rehabilitating them," Ramiah
said.

He said the inhuman practice still exists in the state despite the
central government's directive over two years ago to abolish it.

"But now, the state government is committed to abolish manual
scavenging by launching a special scheme for rehabilitating people
engaged in this inhuman practice," he said.

As per the official survey of 1996, 10,641 people were engaged in
manual scavenging in different parts of Bihar.

But NGOs working among Dalits estimate that nearly 20,000 people were
working as manual scavengers. The term 'manual scavenging' describes
the work of manually cleaning and removing human excreta from toilets.

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[ZESTCaste] 53rd Mahaparinirvana of Ambedkar

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysore/53rd-Mahaparinirvana-of-Ambedkar/articleshow/5301316.cms

53rd Mahaparinirvana of Ambedkar
TNN 4 December 2009, 10:52pm IST

MYSORE: The University of Mysores B R Ambedkar extension centre is
hosting 53rd Mahaparinirvana of Ambedkar on Saturday and Sunday.

An exhibition of photographs will be inaugurated by the varsity
registrar E T Puttaiah on Saturday at the center housed in Manasa
gangotri. Chinmaya Vidyalaya secretary R Vishveshwaraiah will attend.
On Sunday, V-C V G Talawar will release Vimochana Haadi, a work by
researchers M Rajappaji and N Nagaraju.

The district administration has posted rank list of candidates applied
for recruitment for village accountant on its website.

A press release from the deputy commissioners office said the list is
available at www.mysore.nic.in

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[ZESTCaste] SP MLA, aides booked under SC/ST Act

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/SP-MLA-aides-booked-under-SC/ST-Act/articleshow/5301662.cms

SP MLA, aides booked under SC/ST Act
TNN 5 December 2009, 01:21am IST

VARANASI: Samajwadi Party MLA from Gyanpur Vijay Mishra and his six
associates have been booked under SC/ST Act. An FIR against them was
lodged by one Lalta Harijan, native of Kaulapur village, with the
Gopiganj police station in Bhadohi on Friday.

According to reports, Lalta lodged a complaint that the MLA and his
associates, including Akhileshwar Pratap Singh, Nandlal Pandey, Manish
Mishra, Jaiprakash Mishra, Krishna Mohan Tiwari and Ashok Shukla, had
forcible possessed the land allotted to him.

According to police personnel at SP Bhadohi office, the police are
investigating the matter.

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[ZESTCaste] ‘Protest’ yields immediate action as police nab intruder

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/39539/woman-ias-officer-stages-sit.html

'Protest' yields immediate action as police nab intruder
Woman IAS officer stages sit-in for Dalits' cause
M R Venkatesh, Chennai, DH News Service

Far away from the limelight, a quiet but firm 'dharna' by a woman IAS
officer, Siji Thomas Vaidhyan, in a remote village in Tamil Nadu's
Virdhunagar district expressing solidarity with the Dalits' plight,
has yielded immediate action.

For nearly four hours on Wednesday evening, Vaidhyan, did a sit-in at
T Veppangulam village near Virdhunagar, over 460 km south of Chennai,
until the police arrested an upper caste intruder who abusively sought
to intimidate Dalits at a peace meeting held there.

While the southern districts have been prone in the past for frequent
skirmishes between upper caste 'Thevars' and 'Dalits', this public
hearing to redress Dalits' grievances peaked a two-month effort to get
back 10-odd Scheduled Caste families to the village after they had
left in disgust.

"Whatever you may call it – a 'dharna' or a 'sit-in', I did this to
instill confidence in the village people, and we have to live up to
the word that the Government will act in unison in addressing the
Dalits grievances," Vaidhyan told Deccan Herald over telephone on
Friday.

Nearly two months back, there was a photo-session in the village for
would-be beneficiaries of the recently introduced 'Kaliagnar Kaapeetu
Thittam', a new health insurance scheme of the DMK government that
provides access to high-cost medical care, mainly surgeries, to the
poor people.

People enlisting themselves under this scheme get a photo-identity card.
There was then a scuffle between some Dalits and upper caste Thevars
waiting in the queue, after which the SC families left the village.
Since then, the Virdhunagar District Administration has been
persuading them to return through talks at various levels, Vaidhyan
said.

"We decided to have a public hearing at the village on December 2 and
address all their grievances," said Siji Vaidhyan.

The peace meeting went off very well and "everything fell into place",
she said. The Administration assured the Dalits that protection will
be given ro them if needed. The Thevars also wanted the Dalit families
to return.

However, when the meeting was almost over, an upper-caste intruder,
Manoharan, barged into the Panchayat Union Elementary School building
and "threatened the Dalits."
Vaidhyan said she immediately ordered Manoharan's arrest, who quickly
fled the scene. The police told her that they needed some time to
arrest him.

"But I took a stand that I will leave the village only if this person
is arrested," Vaidhyan said. Accordingly, she sat inside the school
waiting, along with a couple of other district officials, until the
police arrested Manoharan past 10 pm that same night.

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[ZESTCaste] A community caught between Manu and Adam Smith (Chandra Bhan Prasad)

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/comment_a-community-caught-between-manu-and-adam-smith_1320202

A community caught between Manu and Adam Smith
Chandra Bhan Prasad

Saturday, December 5, 2009 1:04 IST

There is no consensus among Dalits about how to measure the
community's development. Neither academia, nor the state has come out
with any tool to do this. What all of us -- Dalit intellectuals,
academics and the state -- have been doing is to count the number of
jobs Dalits hold in government, and, of course, a headcount of Dalits
in educational institutions.

Thanks to affirmative action policies for Dalits authored by Dr BR
Ambedkar, the community has become visible in government offices,
college campuses and legislative houses, and a tiny Dalit middle class
has emerged. But Dalits in state employment would be around 3.4
million. This, in a population of over 160 million, cannot make them
happy.

On another note, the state-produced Dalit middle class can work as a
catalyst for the emancipation of the entire community.

What will 'emancipation' mean? There is very little debate on this
all-important question. More often than not, we speak in a vague
language. "Casteless society," we say. Are we, by implication, asking
for a "class society"?

Let us discuss 'caste society'. By all accounts, India's caste order
rests on the twin principle of 'occupational purity' and 'blood
purity'. The Manusmriti speaks of preserving this. If we read the book
and look at Indian society, the Manusmriti looks like a script, and
the society a film based on the script.

Dr Ambedkar rejected and critiqued the Dharma-shastras -- from the Rig
Veda to the Ramayana -- but burnt only the Manusmriti on December 25,
1927. That event is celebrated by Dalits every year as Manusmriti
Dahan Divas.

Historically, there has been no caste without clear occupation
identity and vice versa. If a casteless India is our goal, then all
caste-based occupations must either wither away or be made
caste-neutral. That would mean a complete revamp of India's production
system and production relations.

Since caste order evolved in an agrarian setup, to make India
casteless, we need to completely destroy agrarianism and its economic
foundations. That would mean India going for complete
industrialisation and by implication, the creation of an urban
society.

But our drive for a casteless India pushes the entire Dalit
intelligentsia into a web of dilemmas. The world over, the task of
industrialisation and urbanisation was accomplished by capitalism. It
was capitalism which defeated feudalism. The dilemma before Dalit
thought leaders is about whether to support capitalism. To a
non-intellectual underclass Dalit, working for Ratan Tata -- the
poster boy of Indian capitalism -- is better than working for Raja
Bhaiya -- poster boy of caste feudalism.

It is a dilemma with no parallel. Here is a situation where we are
witnessing an intense battle between Manu and Adam Smith. By
implication, unintended though, most Dalit intellectuals are cheering
Manu by questioning capitalism and globalisation.

By World War II, almost half the globe had gone communist. The Chinese
revolution of 1949 threatened the very existence of capitalism. Even
Jawaharlal Nehru had begun admiring Karl Marx and communism. Around
that time, 1952 to be precise, Dr Ambedkar wrote the manifesto for his
political party, the All India Scheduled Caste Federation. In it he
promised the start of agriculture on large farms, mechanised farming,
and the use of fertilisers and pesticides. He was arguing for
industrialisation of agriculture along the Western pattern. He made
the argument contrary to socialism at the height of the ideology
because he knew that agrarianism is the mother of Manudharma.

Today, 60% Indians are involved in agriculture and over one-third
Dalits are landless agricultural labourers. Now, is there any way to
map Dalit development unless we know what percentage has entered
caste-neutral occupations? At Mumbai's roadside, do we know what caste
the cobbler belongs to and what caste the sweeper belongs to?

The author is an independent researcher and writer

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[ZESTCaste] Cong asks BSP govt to release white paper on central grants

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Cong-asks-BSP-govt-to-release-white-paper-on-central-grants/articleshow/5302432.cms

Cong asks BSP govt to release white paper on central grants
TNN 5 December 2009, 04:09am IST

LUCKNOW: Taking strong exceptions to chief minister Mayawati's
contention terming the Bundelkhand's development package as `not
sufficient', the Congress has asked the chief minister to release a
white paper mentioning therein that where her government had spent the
amount of Rs one lakh 619 crore, 33 lakh and 75,000 sanctioned by the
Centre.

UPCC chief spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh said in an statement
that the the state government, during the last two-and-a half-year
period, had received about Rs 50,000 crore from the Centre under the
non-plan head but instead of utilising this amount on Bundelkhand the
chief minister was spending it on installing statues, constructing
parks and memorials and on her security.

He said that if the CM had been sincere in the development of
Bundelkhand, she would have spent such a colossal amount in the
development of the state and her government would not have required
special package for development of Bundelkhand.

"Since Mayawati took over as chief minister of UP, the state's income
had reached its lowest ebb. The annual revenue receipt of the state
government is just about Rs 5,000 crore whereas an amount of Rs 8,000
crore had been spent in the construction of parks and memorials and
installing the statues of Dalit icons. Before demanding any special
package, it is the duty of the chief minister to inform the people as
to where she had used the public money", demanded the Congress leader.

It may be mentioned that Mayawati in a letter written to Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh had said that Rs 1,595 crore package approved
by the Centre for Bundelkhand's development was too meagre and that
there was a need to enhance the package for all-round development of
the Bundelkhand.

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[ZESTCaste] 4 Indians held in Nepal for Dalit girl’s murder

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/4-indians-held-in-nepal-for-dalit-girls-murder_100284665.html

4 Indians held in Nepal for Dalit girl's murder

December 5th, 2009 - 3:33 pm ICT by IANS -

Kathmandu, Dec 5 (IANS) Four Indians are among six people arrested by
the Nepal police for the suspected rape and murder of a seven-year-old
girl from the Dalit community, a group that is among the most
disadvantaged in Nepal.
Anukul Chauhan, Hridaylal Gaur, Ramdhani Gaur and Takeshwor Chautan,
temporary workers at a brick kiln in Rupandehi district in Nepal's
southern Terai plains, have been arrested Friday along with the owner
of the kiln, Birendra Jaiswal, and another local, Naresh Harijan,
police said.

All the four Indians are from Bettiah town in India's Bihar state.

Manisha Harijan, a seven-year-old first grader, went missing Thursday
night, her father Raju Harijan told police.

Searches found the body of the young girl in a nearby field Friday.
Her throat had reportedly been slit.

According to the father, Manisha used to frequent the brick kiln in
the hope the workers would give her food. He also reportedly told
police that he had seen blood in the kiln.

Police officer Narhari Adhikari told IANS that the six men have been
arrested on the suspicion they were involved in the girl's
disappearance and murder. Investigations into the murder have started,
Adhikari said.

The discovery of the body created a furore in Maryadapur, the village
where the girl lived. It triggered a demonstration by villagers who
accused the kiln workers of being involved and demanded immediate
action against them.

Child abuse and murders have been on the rise with many of the
perpetrators being teenagers.

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