Tuesday, July 20, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Khairlanji verdict expose our national concern on violence against Dalits

http://www.mynews.in/News/Khairlanji_verdict_expose_our_national_concern_on_violence_against_Dalits_N72877.html

Khairlanji verdict expose our national concern on violence against Dalits

Posted On: 20-Jul-2010 05:42:57 AM By: Vidya Bhushan Rawat Font Size:
Khairlanji verdict expose Indian concerns over violence against
Dalits

Khairlanji's verdict is out. The Bombay High court did not find the
case rarest of the rare. Though, the Maharastra government is going to
challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court and we must wait for the
same, the verdict has left most of us who were following the case
deeply disappointed.

But for me the High Court's judgment not finding it as rarest of the
rare reflect that, such things are happening regularly at different
parts of the country and we are habitual offenders of the dignity and
self respect of the Dalits in the country. Hence if the 'honorable'
high courts give capital punishment on 'such normal things', then a
large number of our friends will have to face gallows.

We all know how judiciary is being put to pressure by media and
political forces. They will shout loudly over the issues and convert a
non issue into a national problem but when the issues which should be
discussed and focused the media keeps that for a one minute byte or
into the middle pages of their news papers.

We can easily establish how media publicized the issue of Jesica Lal
or Ruchira case that their families become 'social activist' rather
than a respondent and played an activist role asking people to protest
and come in the street.

How can the same media completely sidelining the case of Khairlanji?

Why is this that the issue of boycott of Dalit cooks in Uttar-Pradesh
and other parts of the country do not attract the same space as
Jessica Lal or Ruchira case?

The news of Indians being targeted racially in Australia has always
made headlines in almost all the news channels and some of them
actually following each and every incidents involving Indians in that
country. The size of the news is enormous and many of the reports
regarding Indians being racially targeted turned out to be faked.

Yet, the outrage is high in this country which takes morally high
ground against 'racial prejudices' yet the news in its own home turf
do not make headlines. It is passed as another incident of 'violence'
against the Dalits. It is not termed as the basic nature of Indian
society which has not been able to digest the fact that we have a
constitution that empower each citizen of the country and that the
Dalits are equal citizens with equal rights.

Our editors do not shout and grin as they do on Maoism or terrorism,
that this country should hang its head in shame when children learn to
discriminate. We always sang song that the children are innocent and
do not believe in the caste system, do not know who is big and who is
small but if you read what is happening in different parts of the
country including Uttar-Pradesh, then we will have to hang our head in
shame.

Why don't we discuss this issue so seriously and take the governments,
the officials to task. Why does not it become our campaign against
prejudices in our society?

Why the feelings of our editors and news reporters are not hurt the
same way when they shout on any issue and turn the non issue as a
major issue.

Well, we have to understand that for these racist, the wedding of
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was more important than the racial prejudices of
children who refused to eat with Dalit children or refused to eat food
cooked by the Dalit cooks at school. Unfortunately, rather than
taking action against them, the government seem to buckle under the
pressure as if that has hurt the sentiments of the upper caste
children. Is it because there is no one speaking for them? Is it
because the media has conspicuously kept silent on this issue?

The irony is that a few weeks ago, a UP court asked police to file
cases against some of the ministers and publishers of 'Ambedkar
Today', a journal in Hindi, for 'hurting' the sentiments of 'Hindus'
by writing vitriolic language against their Gods. Some years ago, the
activists of Vishwa Shudra Mahasabha in Lucknow, were charged for
'hurting' the sentiments of Hindus.

Periyar is out of Uttar-Pradesh and its BSP's icon list as the upper
castes do not want him as he is the most famously known Ram bashers.
The Hindutva brigade said 'Ram-drohi' is desh drohi i.e. anti
national.

So, writing on any fictitious things hurt the sentiments of others but
killing as well as justification of killings and discrimination does
neither hurt our sentiments nor compel us introspecting our literature
and religious texts.

'How can they hurt our sentiments, traditions given to us by our
ancestors', said a supporter of ban. 'But I consider Buddha, Kabir,
Raidas, Ambedkar, Phule, Periyar, Bhagat Singh as my ancestors', I
told him, and added that I too am bound to respect their sentiments
too. All of them asked me to be a humanist and questioned the
religious texts too. All of them were rationalist humanists who fought
against the ugly racist caste order.

How can one enjoy the festivals that celebrate the victory of a racist
order on the others who they claimed were 'Rakshashas'. Times have
changed and a thing of 3000 years back may not be true to us and may
not be respected. How can our judicial system justify those years old
texts when we know well that our constitution which is just 60 years
old has the flexibility of changing according to the needs and demands
of the time? Why can't we dump these holy text which continue to guide
our children and deny some of them right to live with dignity while
give a false sense of superiority complex to others.

We need to learn from France in this respect where the constitution
wants citizens to follow the egalitarian and secular values of its
constitution. W do not need a secular constitution which glorify every
act of regression in the garb of multi-culturarlism and where every
act of questioning 'hurt' the 'sentiments' of those who never cared
the sentiments of the others.

One is amazed to see why our sentiments are never hurt when children
are told to discriminate against each other. How can a country
planning to host Common Wealth Games, going to tell the world that
racial brahmanical disorder is a thing of past. Is it possible to
demolish the caste structure in this country which is suffering from
'identity' dilemma?

Caste is the biggest issue in this country. Daily the maximum violence
that the Dalits face is because of caste. It is nothing but a false
passport to superiority and further developing the clan culture where
a few 'respected' men decide about the fate of others. Children are
being brutally killed and we do not feel shame on it. In fact, we feel
proud of 'protecting' our honor by killing our children who dared to
love.

Love is the most hated word in the town but watching the C grade
'colored' films are not bad in these sacred heartlands from UP to
Bihar to Rajasthan. I do not believe much in the theory that some
Indians are better than others as often comparative notes are given to
us like Delhi is worst or Mumbai is better or Chennai superior to
Hyderabad. All the diversity in India has a commonality of caste and
gender discrimination. North, East South West caste seems to be the
best for Indians who can not live with out, who are told infinite
virtues of their caste and the great achievements of it.

My point is that as far as feudal structure is concerned, that remain
intact in India despite a secular constitution. It is a bullying
tactics to make all those who look different or dissenters to either
fall in line or perish. Hence, if Baba Saheb Ambedkar writes something
on the riddles of Hinduism, the protesters are up in arms to burn the
book.

Even if somebody makes an expose of a so-called holy book on our
religious faith that hurts the Bahujans and Dalits, he will surely
face criminal action for hurting the sentiments of the people. In
Indian context we will have to understand the exploitation and
annihilation of the Dalit culture by these fascist elements.

Yet, they want no further study on the subject. The subaltern history
is coming with new ideas and new explanation of every brahmancial text
and that is creating ripples in the minds of these elements. Hence a
film like Teesari Azadi was termed as ' Zaharili CD', a poisonous
propaganda material by many in the media asking for a complete Ban on
it while the film was just explaining how crooked our caste system was
and how the Brahmins manipulated the system for their benefit.

What is wrong in it? Have we not seen the annihilation of Buddhist
culture, and its cooption as well as destructions of Buddha Viharas by
the brahmanical forces? Why are the historians and social
anthropologists silent on it?

One has to understand the movements of the Dalit Bahujan and their
effort to get out of the clutched of the brahmanical value sytem. One
will have to understand the meanings of these festivals. Every major
festival is a celebration of some killings or work of treachery over
the Dalit Bahujan masses. How can any right thinking person celebrate
such festivities, but these forces want us not to question those
festivals, not to question those celebrations. Fine, but why should we
celebrate them. Not celebrating them becomes a droha, a challenge to
the country. Whatever we do but new thesis, new question will always
be raised on these texts and we must be prepared to face all of them.

If we know the Indian system and how work then we should not be
surprised. As a nation, we have not grown and develop into an
egalitarian democratic society. A democratic society is only possible
where social system is based on democracy. A society segregated so
much on caste lines cannot really built a democratic culture in the
country. Here, we feel proud of our caste being higher then the other
one.

We continue to bow to those in ascending order and regularly assault
and humiliate those in the descending order. It is not surprising
therefore that we still have millions of manual scavengers, carrying
human excreta manually and we do not feel any shame in it. Our heart
does not melt when we see young children who should have been in the
school but carry night soil. How will our heart melt when the so
called civil society, opinion makers, middle classes have a small
chhotu at their home who take the heavy bags of their children to
school bus and regularly do the service. How can we ever feel the
shame when we have employed these chhotus at our home virtually buying
them from their helpless parents?

Khairlanji verdict shocked us but still the reaction is calm unlike
the time of the incident that raised fire in Mahrastra. We thought a
new movement is on the way when the Dalits protested there. A few
committed workers worked on the case while a majority of forgot it
after a few days pilgrimage. Why should case of such a magnitude which
shook us is termed as a Dalit issue alone? Why as human being and
fellow national we do not feel the same pained and agony on these
issues? The attitude of Mahrastra government was disgusting. See the
contrast. When you have fight against Muslim accused, the media, the
Hindutva and the 'nationalist' all join hand in the common
'national'agenda but Khairlanji does not bother them, the denial of
dignity to Dalit children in school does not bother them.

The basic question is why is there a regular denial of justice? Who
will judge the judges who do not take these issues seriously while
give certain judgments that hurt the basic premise of our
constitution? Our government and political class will have to think
on these issues more seriously. How can a judge leave the cases in the
absence of 'credible' evidence? But the fact is that the state has no
desire to get justice. It does not provide any credible evidence and
then want us to blame it to the judges only.

The word of Baba Saheb Ambedkar remained prophetic as ever when he
describes the nature of our villages. Truly, the villages still live
in darkness, in caste identities, in feudalism. Yes, when I went to
Allahabad recently where upper caste goons tried to molest a Dalit
woman, demolished her home, beat her mercilessly along with her child
and her husband and to my deep shock and anguish none 'saw' the
incident. Not a single person in the village 'saw' it. There are
numerous incidents where we have brought to the notice of the
authorities but do not have 'credible' 'evidence'. That does not
exist. Once, I filed a report on manual scavenging and I am still
getting letters that it does not exists in that part because the
municipality say so. How interesting is this system is that you file a
complaint against some one and the same person is made responsible to
answer your question.

How can you get credible evidence when an entire village turns up
against the person belonging to a particular community? Where is the
credible evidence against those who are killing their own children in
the name of 'honor'? Is not it a shame when those who kills people in
the name of honor terming it their 'culture' and asking the government
to 'bend' on their whims and fancies and look how it is 'crawling' to
the demands of such 'civilized' people.

Indian society is still a primitive society which has no space for
dissent despite its pretensions to look modern and democratic. Whether
it is Khairlanji or Tsunduru, Dalits face violence for being biggest
dissenters of the brahmanical system. The fact is once you realize the
treacheries of the system, you will become a dissenter. Asking for
your right to live with dignity and self respect has become the
biggest obstacles for the brahmanical forces.

They have turned these democratic demands as dissent and seek to
suppress it with violence. Such violence is happening daily but the
struggling masses do not cow down to such intimidations. The courts
verdict on Khairlanji is similar like what happened in Kanpur where
authorities just let the incident happen. But these have raised
serious issues of propriety. As a democratic nation which is claiming
to become world leader, should such incident be allowed to go
unchallenged?

When the Indians make so much noises of discrimination against them
outside India, why should we not make similar demand from the Indians
who go abroad? Should not the government ask its employees to take
oath in believing in secular constitution and asking its people to be
non religious and non casteists. Should we not ask the foreign
government to be very strict with Indians and Indian government on
these issues of caste discrimination and caste violence?

The issues of violence against Dalits in India put serious question
mark about our judicial system. Why do the Dalits not getting justice
in our institutions. India is already facing tribal revolt at the
moment, a Dalit revolt will only add to its woes and it would be
difficult for it to recover. Let the democracy and its institutions
prove that they honor equality and dignity of human being and are
capable of providing justice to each and every citizen of the country
without any racial discrimination.

Khairlanji's incident has proved that our courts have not yet
sensitized to the Dalit cause. The incidents of children not eating
food cooked by the Dalit cooks also reflect that Indian constitution
has not yet been able to prove its supremacy over the rigid and
outdated laws of Manu. The various forms caste violence, honored
killings and inability of children to mixed up only reflect that
Indian state has failed in secularizing the people and most
importantly the political class itself has no faith in secular values
except using it to satisfy the whims and fancies of caste and
religious thugs. Nothing could be more shameful for a nation claiming
to be a superpower in the 21st century. It's a wake up call for all.


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[ZESTCaste] Girl pays with her life for marrying Dalit

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/82439/girl-pays-her-life-marrying.html

Sangeeta was strangled by her father and brother

Girl pays with her life for marrying Dalit

Sanjay Pandey, Lucknow, Jul 19, DH News Service:

A girl, who had married a dalit boy after a brief love affair,
allegedly became a victim of yet another honour killing in the western
Uttar Pradesh district of Bulandshahar, about 450 kilometres from
here.


According to reports, Sangeeta, a resident of Barmadpur village in
the district, who belonged to the 'Gujjar' community, was in love with
Ravindra Kataria, also from the same village.

The lovers had eloped and got married in February last, reports said
adding that the couple had been living in Noida's sector 62 where they
worked together.
When Sangeeta's family got to know about the wedding, they met the
couple and managed to persuade Sangeeta to return to her village on
the pretext of arranging her marriage with fanfare, police sources
said.

Evidences destroyed
An unsuspecting Sangeeta, who returned to Barmadpur village, was,
however, brutally strangled by her father and brother in their house a
few days back. According to the police, the family members burnt
Sangeeta's body in their field to destroy all evidence.
The incident came to light when Ravindra, who lost all contact with
his wife since July 12 last, lodged a complaint with the Noida police
suspecting foul play.

Acting on his complaint, the Noida police launched an investigation
and recovered the skeletal remains of the girl from the fields and
arrested four persons, including her brother and father. The accused
persons have confessed to the killing, police said.
Several couples have been killed in the past for either marrying
against the wishes of the family or outside their caste and community.

Growing incidents of honour killings in the northern Indian states of
UP and Haryana have evoked sharp reactions from the society forcing
the government to mull over tougher laws to deal with such killings.


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[ZESTCaste] Gujjar girl killed for marrying Dalit

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/07/20/up-gujjar-girl-killed-marrying-dalit-noida-police.html

Gujjar girl killed for marrying Dalit

Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 14:03 [IST]

New Delhi, Jul 20: A 22-year-old girl from the Gujjar community of
Bulandshahar in UP became the latest victim to honour killing for the
crime of marrying a Dalit boy.


Buzz up!Noida police has reportedly arrested five people in connection
with the killing of the girl, identified as Sanjeeta.


All of those who were arrested on Monday, Jul 19 night were family
members of the girl.

According to the police, Sanjeeta married Ravinder Kataria in Feb
2010. The youngsters had reportedly met in coaching classes three
years ago.

Katar, who is a Noida resident, had earlier lodged an FIR with Sector
58 Noida Police apprehending threat to his wife's life from her family
members.

"I last tried to contact her on July 9 when her family members
threatened to murder me if I continued my relationship with her," he
is quoted as saying in news reports.

The relatives of girl had taken to her to native village on the
promise of a formal wedding function.

"Ravinder (Katar) said his wedding to Sanjeeta was schedule to take
place on Sunday, July 18. But when he called the girl's family that
day, he was threatened and told not to contact them anymore," Senior
Superintendent of Police AK Singh informed.

When the police acted on the complaint filed by Katar, they recovered
skeletal remains, believed to be that of Sangeeta, from a field owned
by her family in village Barmadpur.

This case adds to the long list of honour killing cases that have
emerged in the recent past raising concerns over how the country would
deal with such a social evil.

OneIndia News


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[ZESTCaste] Caste shadows on love

http://expressbuzz.com/magazine/caste-shadows-on-love/190284.html

Caste shadows on love

Gokul Vannan

First Published : 18 Jul 2010 10:30:00 AM IST

Last Updated : 16 Jul 2010 07:26:02 PM IST

"Brother, have you ever been in love?" Megala asks. "You will not
understand our love otherwise. It is special. Nobody in the world
would have loved like us," she says. "Can you see Shiva, my love? He
is right here, calling to me. Take me to Katti­kulam, I will end my
life at the same place where my father killed him," she wails, adding,
"even if you save my life, my relatives will murder me if I go back to
the village.''

Police, NGO and staff at the Rajaji government hospital in Madurai try
consoling her, but the 19-year-old is inconsolable after the murder of
Shiva Kumar on July 6 in Kattikulam, near Madurai.

Shiva Kumar, 26, from M Puttukulam was murdered by Megala's father
Vijayan and brother Prabakaran. Megala, who had been forced to marry a
man from her village some weeks earlier, had eloped with Shiva Kumar
(both from the Thevar community) to Pudukottai.

After a month-long search, Vijayan tracked them down and persuaded
them to return with him, promising they would live together.

"They stopped the auto we were travelling in at the periphery of the
village and separated us.

My father said we would be reunited in front of the village elders the
next morning,'' she says, between sobs, begging to be taken to the
spot where Shiva Kumar was killed.

Vijayan took Shiva but when he returned to his daughter, his shirt was
spotted with blood. Shocked, Megala asked where Shiva was. "In
response, he spat on my face, and abused me saying the family's honour
was lost because of me."

Megala tried to escape but was attacked by her relatives, leaving her
alive but grievously injured.

She is being treated at the GH while Vijayan and Prabakaran are behind
bars. Still, they warned her mother against visiting her in hospital.
She is being cared for by Evidence, a Madurai-based NGO working for
Dalit rights. Evidence's executive director A Kathir points out that
most victims of honour killings are women.

"My mother was the one who separated us. We'd been in love for the
past two years but despite knowing all this, my parents got me married
to another man," Megala says. "This has not ended with Shiva's murder.
Soon they will murder me. It is better that I kill myself."

In Kattikulam, there are still traces of blood at the spot where Shiva
Kumar was killed. Kudiyarashi, (27), the sister of Megala's husband
Kalidass, was seen grazing sheep near the spot. According to her, the
Kalidass-Megala wedding was organised on a grand scale with
politicians, businessmen, and caste members in attendance.

Vijayan's house is closed. Only his relatives remain in the village.
Krishnan, 70, a retired police constable from the same community said
the murder enabled Vijayan to regain lost prestige. "How could he walk
freely, with everyone taunting him about his daughter eloping with
another after her wedding? After the murder, everyone says he has
safeguarded the caste honour.''

Shiva Kumar's relatives disagree with this. "Caste honour doesn't
arise in this case. He was eligible to marry Megala, but just because
his economic status was lower, Vijayan opposed their relationship,''
says one of them. Warns another: ''Very soon you will hear of a
revenge killing from our side.''

The youngsters in the village feel that had Shiva Kumar belonged to a
lower caste, his murder would have been justified. "But murdering a
member of our own community has only brought disgrace.''

Her family burnt her alive

The case of Shiva Kumar is not an isolated one.

So-called honour killings seem to be the inevitable norm if caste is
involved. One of the most gruesome cases is the murder of Sangeetha,
19, from Malai­pattai. Her family burnt her alive for eloping with a
Dalit man in June 2008. Sangeetha, of the Kambalathu Nayakar
community, had fallen in love with K Balachandar of Eathilodu in
Nellakottai district.

"We fell in love while travelling on the same bus to college. We were
in love for nearly two years before her family found out about us.
They tortured her physically and mentally nearly for a year,'' recalls
Balachandar, who now works in Coimbatore.

Things came to a head when Sangeetha secretly visited Balachandar when
he had gone home on holiday. "She pleaded with me to take her away

because her folks would kill her otherwise," Balachandar says. The
couple eloped from the village.

"We were not aware of the relationship. Sangeetha's parents came to
our house and asked for their daughter. We promised that if our son
returned with the girl, we would hand her over,'' says Balachandar's
mother, K Leelavathi, a ward member of the Eathilodu local body at the
time.

The young couple sought help from the local wings of Dalit parties
before contacting Leelavathi. Sangeetha pleaded with Balachandar's
parents not to send her back.

"We immediately contacted a sub-inspector in the Neelakottai women's
police station, a Dalit. She asked us to bring the couple to the
police, promising justice,'' Leelavathi remembers.

But she sent Sangeetha back to their parents. "Within days we received
news that Sangeetha was dead," says Leelavathi.

Villagers say the entire Nayakar community from more than 15 villages
came together for the decision. She was not only seen as bringing
dishonour to the community, her act was also considered an ill omen.
"They forced her to stay in the cattleshed. Then she was injected with
a drug. When they found she was still alive, they took her body to a
nearby farm and burnt her.''

Poovalingam of Pillaiyar Natham, a village close to Sangeetha's,
lashed out against the media, Dalit leaders, the police and other
officials who he alleges helped hide the truth. "We took media persons
to the spot and showed them Sangeetha's burning body. Everybody shot
video footage, but nothing appeared on the news channels or
newspapers. Dalit leaders visited and spoke furiously, but they too
were hand-in-glove with the authorities to hide the truth,'' he
recalls. It was not a question of caste here — the girl was burnt
alive, but nobody did anything about it.

Meanwhile, the Nayakar community had Sangeetha's ashes sprinkled on
the border of their villages and repainted their houses to keep away
evil spirits. When this reporter asked about Sangeetha in her village,
the standard reply was "she committed suicide" or "died of ill health.
Her parents moved to Nellakottai after the incident.

They hunted and killed him

Then there is the case of Sivaji, a Dalit. His widow Lakshmi, 28, is
struggling along with her one-and-half-year-old son Sivabalan. "My
husband asked me not to remove my thaali, even if he was killed. So I
continue to wear it in the hope that the culprits will be punished in
the court of law someday,'' she says.

The killers are her brother and other relatives, all Thevars, who did
not approve of her marriage to Sivaji, a Dalit activist. They fell in
love when she was in Class 12 in Aridhuvarmangalam, Thanjavur
district. "I didn't know he was a Dalit. When I did I was initially
hesitant,'' she says. To make matters worse, Sivaji and her brothers
had a long-standing feud.

When her family came to know, she eloped with Sivaji. They got married
at a temple in Dindigul. "Muthupandi, a Dalit leader in Dindigul gave
us protection. We stayed in one of his houses. However, my brothers
tracked us down," she says. On June 7, 2008, they kidnapped her
husband. "They caught me also but I managed to escape."

Lakshmi pleaded with her neighbours for help, to no avail. She tried
contacting Muthupandi repeatedly but he didn't take her call. "In a
few hours, I heard that my brothers had murdered my husband,'' she
says. "Now, they're out on bail and want to kill me and my son too."

"A few months ago they called the panchayat office, threatening to
kill me. Before that, they tried to catch me when I went to the field
for work." But instead of arresting them the police filed a false
complaint against her husband's brothers and remanded them, she says.
"I have no income, no protection from the government, how long can I
lead such a life?"

Elder brother P Subramanian, 47, of Irukarai den­ies the accusation.
He said Lakshmi's marriage had dishonoured the entire family. "Who
will marry my other two sisters? In our community, caste is very
important. If anyone in our community marries even a member of a
backward community, the rest will treat us as outcasts."

He says the problem with Sivaji's family was more complex. The police
played on the feud to make money. "When we lodged a missing persons
complaint about our sister, they didn't bother to trace her."

"When we heard that Muthupandi was protecting the couple, we met him
through our caste leaders and asked him to hand Lakshmi over to us.
But he started demanding money. We were willing to pay him up to Rs
75,000, but each day he increased the amount," he claims.

"We traced them on our own after months of searching, which ultimately
resulted in a murder. What were police doing all that time? If they
had acted swiftly, the death could have prevented."

"We are willing to take her back, but she will not be allowed into the
house. That would affect the prospects of our other sisters," he
claims, avoiding the issue of baby Sivabalan.

Foeticide and house arrest

R Muthazhalagan, 23, a Dalit graduate of Aathukaripatti, Pudukottai,
is another man who will never see his child. On November 21, 2008, his
wife Dhanalakshmi of Anbukovil village near Alangudi eight months
pregnant, was forced to have an abortion because she married
Muthazhalagan against her family's wishes.

"Her relatives took her home, saying her mother was not well. Then, in
a private hospital, they aborted the baby." That was the last time
Dhanalakshmi spoke to him — calling from hospital to tell him of the
foeticide.

"Since then her parents have locked her up in the house and
brainwashed her, to the extent that in open court she alleged that I
am an alcoholic and that I beat her."

Muthazhalagan now lives with his widowed mother and is studying for
his BEd. He has spent huge sums on his case in court but is unwilling
to marry again. He still hopes that someday Dhanalakshmi will return.

Set up to take a fall

R Karunanidhi of Kakaiyakon Street, Karabakudi tells how being a woman
can be worse than being Dalit. Ten years ago, he eloped with Anandhi
from the same village. She belonged to a higher caste. But theirs was
no straightforward love story. Anandhi's father first had Karunanidhi
take her to the hospital on his two-wheeler once when she was ill.

"My enemies made use of the opportunity and told her parents that we
were in love." Palani, Anandhi's brother-in-law, whose sexual advances
she had rejected, added fuel to the fire. "He blew the issue out of
proportion and insulted Anandhi in front of other community members."

Anandhi tried to defend herself, asking her parents how she would ever
fall for a person from a lower caste, but Palani wouldn't let her
speak.

"It was when her family made the decision to kill me that she realised
how men from dominant castes used the system to achieve their ends.
That was when she fell in love with me. Later we both ran away from
the village."

Both took shelter with a Dalit leader but he took money from Anandhi's
family to hand them over though Karunanidhi warned they would kill
her. "She was sent to her parents. In a few days, she was dead,
murdered by her family."

Since her death in 2000, Anandhi has become a deity for Karunanidhi's
family. He has since married Kavitha, a caste Hindu, deserted by her
family over a property dispute. Kavitha (name changed), knows of her
husband's first marriage and sees Anandhi as her elder sister. "My
husband and I pray to her everyday to help us overcome our
difficulties in life,'' Kavitha says.

Kavitha is not safe either. She told her father she had married a
caste Hindu. "If my brother finds out I have married a Dalit, he will
stop at nothing to separate us."

gokul.vannan@expressbuzz.com


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[ZESTCaste] Untouchability is Ghoda's real disease

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_untouchability-is-ghoda-s-real-disease_1412122

Untouchability is Ghoda's real disease
Jitendra Dave / DNA

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 10:59 IST

Ghoda: The outbreak of cholera in Ghoda brought many journalists to
this small village in Viramgam taluka of Ahmedabad district but the
reporters found here something even more disturbing than the disease.
More than 62 years after Independence, untouchability is still
practised in Ghoda. Caste prejudice is so deep-rooted in the village
that though its sarpanch belongs to a Scheduled Caste community, Ghoda
has separate wells for Dalits and caste Hindus.

Dalits comprise almost one-third of Ghoda's total population of over
3,000 people. Scheduled Caste people are not allowed to draw water
from the well located near the village pond. If they want water from
that well, they have to request people of other communities to draw
water from the well and pour it into their vessel. Untouchability has
been practiced in the village for many years and even caste Hindus
acknowledge this fact.

Some Dalits of the village alleged that untouchability was a daily
experience for them. "No scheduled caste student can serve food during
mid-day meals in the village's primary school," said Pankaj Parmar
(name changed), a Dalit villager of Ghoda.

"If a Dalit student gets up to serve the food, the students of other
communities leave immediately." Parmar observed that it was strange
that the three kirana (grocery) shops in the village which depended
heavily on scheduled caste customers, did not allow Dalits to enter
their premises.


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[ZESTCaste] Pejawar Mutt’s Hostel for Dalits to Open in a Week

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=81596&n_tit=Udupi%3A+Pejawar+Mutt%92s+Hostel+for+Dalits+to+Open+in+a+Week

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 1:50:23 PM (IST)
Udupi: Pejawar Mutt's Hostel for Dalits to Open in a Week

Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Jul 20: Sri Vishweshateertha Swamiji of Pejawar Mutt said here
on Monday July 19 that a new hostel for students built in the town by
the Mutt will start functioning within a week. Addressing a press
conference, he said that students from dalit and backward classes will
be given preference in admission into this 40-room hostel.

"Free food will be provided at the hostel. This is the first phase of
the project undertaken by the Mutt to provide free lodging and food to
students without discrimination on the basis of caste or religious
affiliation. Although all students will be admitted, preference will
be given to students from dalit and backward classes. The students
will also be imparted education in righteousness and culture," he
added.

The Swamiji revealed that a students' hostel being built at Mysore too
will be inaugurated shortly, and that there are plans to open such
hostels in Mangalore, Shimoga and Dharwad to cater to the needs of
poor students there. "On behalf of the Mutt, temples have been built
in Haridwar and New Delhi. Centres have also been opened in Varanasi,
Badrinath and Nasik. A religious centre is coming up at the foot of
Tirupati Hills. These have been undertaken as a measure to propagate
our religion," he explained.

He said that the ancient relics and marks belonging to the times of
Pandavas at Hastivanati, their abode as per legends, have been
destroyed. "A plan to build a temple for Lord Krishna, five Pandavas
apart from Draupadi, their wife, in the form of a national monument at
Hastinavati, is on. Donors from North India have come forward to
donate for this cause," he claimed.

He explained the measures undertaken by the Mutt to provide basic
facilities to people living in the naxal-infected regions situated at
the foot of the Western Ghats during the third year in succession, at
a cost of Rs 20 lac. The Swamiji also said that the plan to extend
financial assistance to the patients from this region through direct
payment to hospitals is also in progress.


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[ZESTCaste] 20-yr-old killed for marrying dalit

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/20-yr-old-killed-for-marrying-dalit/articleshow/6189012.cms

20-yr-old killed for marrying dalit

Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN, Jul 20, 2010, 04.30am IST

NOIDA: A 20-year-old Gujjar woman, working with a leading software
firm in Noida, was allegedly murdered by her parents and other family
members after she married a dalit colleague.

Noida police said the victim, Sanjeeda, had known Ravindra since 2006
when they were studying at a computer institute at Mayur Vihar in east
Delhi. While the girl is a native of Bulandshahr, the boy is
originally from Baghpat. Ravindra stays in Sector 66, while his father
is posted in Chandigarh. The girl was a resident of sector 8 and her
father is employed with a factory in Noida.

"The couple was seeing each other for over four years. When the girl's
parents began to look for a suitable match for her, the two secretly
married at Arya Samaj in Yamuna Bazar near Kashmere Gate on February
15. They even went for a registered marriage but did not inform their
family,'' said SSP (Gautambudh Nagar) A K Singh.

The police said Sanjeeda informed her parents that she had married
Ravindra on February 30 after a prospective groom came to their
residence to see her. "Her relevation shocked the family and they
approached a local panchayat at Vishanpura village,'' said a sector 58
police officer.

The panchayat called Ravindra's parents and it was decided that for
the time being, the couple would be separated. The girl, who had left
her parents house to live with her husband, was asked to return home.
But once she returned, her family began to torment her asking her to
forget about her marraiage to Ravindra. "Feeling trapped, Sanjeeda
escaped to Ravindra's residence on July 11. However, her parents went
to Ravindra's house in the evening and brought her back after
promising the couple that a formal ceremony will be held on July 18,''
said the SSP.

The girl's family allegedly took Sanjeeda to Vishanpura village at
Bulandshahr and murdered her between July 12 and 13. "They throttled
her to death and then set her body on fire. Not satisfied, they even
cut her to pieces using a plough,'' said the senior police officer.

The police said the murder would not have come to light had it not
been for Ravindra's efforts. When Sanjeeda's phone calls stopped
coming, Ravindra became worried and informed the police control room.
When nothing came out of it, he staged his own kidnapping. On July 18,
he called up his father in Chandigarh and said he had been kidnapped.
As Sanjeeda's family had already threatened him, the police reached
their house.

They arrested Sanjeeda's mother Ramvati, aunt Jagvati, cousin Manoj
and uncle Daya Ram, who confessed to the murder. Her father, Vir
Singh, is absconding. "We are looking into the role of several family
members. We will arrest the other accused soon,'' said SSP Singh.

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[ZESTCaste] Kanshi Ram memorial to get silicon coat

 

http://sify.com/news/kanshi-ram-memorial-to-get-silicon-coat-news-national-khtsuejjhgh.html

Kanshi Ram memorial to get silicon coat

2010-07-19 18:20:00

The barely one-year-old Rs.750 crore Kanshi Ram Memorial here is to be
given a special silicon coat to provide a shield against seepage and
discolouring of the pink Dholpur stone, an engineer said.

Moss and algae has grown on parts of the memorial's surface.

While top officials of the state construction corporation engaged for
the project declined to make any comment, an engineer supervising the
work at the site said 'seepage of rainwater had given rise to algae
and fungus on certain parts of the dome'.

'A coat of a transparent silicon gel would provide a kind of a seal
over the porous stone to prevent seepage and keep it free from moss
and algae,' he said, adding that the coat will cost around Rs.110 per
square foot.

'With a diameter of 39.54 metres, the dome is the largest in the
country,' he said.

Originally cast in steel, the 54-metre-tall dome was covered with pink
dholpur stone to make it match with the structures around the memorial
that was built barely a year ago.

The memorial has imposing 18-foot-tall bronze statues of both Bahujan
Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Mayawati.

Build on a part of the erstwhile district jail, the memorial was one
of Mayawati's dream projects, which includes a Rs.1,200-crore Ambedkar
memorial-cum-park among others.

A Kanshi Ram Eco-Park spread over 130 acres is coming up on an
adjoining piece of land, acquired for the purpose after demolishing an
old jail, will eventually become a part of the memorial complex.

The jail was shifted out of the city limits to a new Rs.300-crore
building last year to make room for the park.

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