Sunday, August 8, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Nepal: Inter- caste marriage on the rise

 

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Inter-+caste+marriage+on+the+rise+&NewsID=252757

Inter- caste marriage on the rise

Added At: 2010-08-08 10:51 AM
Last Updated At: 2010-08-08 10:58 AM
The Himalayan Times - Saved Articles(s)

BHIMFEDI: The trend of marriage between Dalit and non-Dalit youths has
taken a form of competition here.

The number of recorded inter-caste marriage in various VDCs and
Hetauda municipality of Makwanpur district has been steadily rising.

In the past fiscal year 2066/67, a total of 64 couples including Dalit
boy and non-Dalit girl and 20 couples including non-Dalit boy and
Dalit girl tied the knot.

The newly-wed couples received their certificate of marriage
registration from the Chief District Officer (CDO) Dinesh Bhattarai.

It may be noted that the Government provides a grant of Rs. 100,000 in
cash for inter-caste marriage between Dalit and non-Dalit.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit groups to rescue of Sreeramulu

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/bengaluru/dalit-groups-rescue-sreeramulu-793

Dalit groups to rescue of Sreeramulu

August 5th, 2010

DC Correspondent

Congress padayatra, illegal mining Aug. 4: Banners on the outskirts of
the city scream "Congress Go Back", as the Congress leaders march on
relentlessly towards Bellary. If the strident note struck by
supporters of health minister B. Sreeramulu in the posters and banners
is any indication, the police may have its hands full on August 9,
when the Congress padyatra rolls into town.

A banner erected by a Dalit group, the Bellary district Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes Federation, at the entrance to the city,
clearly tells Congress leaders 'go back.' "Sreeramulu is the voice of
Dalits and Dalits are the echo of Sreeramulu. Congress leaders are
against Dalits' progress and must turn back.

Do not dampen the enthusiasm of leaders who are committed to
developing Bellary, which is being seen and heard for the first time.
Do not instigate the peace-loving border district. Go back," reads the
banner, raising fears that the Congress yatra could spark off unrest,
when it enters the city.

Mr Sreeramulu himself has already warned the Congress that if it
continued to portray him as a villain in street-plays enacted during
the padayatra, it would be inviting trouble.


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[ZESTCaste] Body of Dalit boy found in field, human sacrifice suspected

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Body-of-Dalit-boy-found-in-field-human-sacrifice-suspected/articleshow/6271587.cms

Body of Dalit boy found in field, human sacrifice suspected
PTI, Aug 7, 2010, 06.45pm IST

BULANDSHAHR (Uttar Pradesh): The body of an eight-year old Dalit boy
of village Bhaipura here was found on Saturday in a field in a
suspected case of human sacrifice.

According to B K Shrivastava, circle officer of Khurja police station,
the body of Nitin bore a deep cut on the neck, his head was tonsured
and there was 'tilak' on the forehead, giving rise to suspicion of
human sacrifice.

A case of murder has been registered against unidentified killers and
the body sent for post-mortem, he said.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalits say CWG funds could uplift poor

http://www.morungexpress.com/frontpage/52970.html

Dalits say CWG funds could uplift poor
morungexpress

Dimapur, August 7 (MExN): A mass rally under the banner of All India
Confederation of SC/ST Organizations was carried out today at the
Jantar Mantar protesting the alleged corruption in the Commonwealth
Games. Angry Dalits burned the effigies of CWG chairman Suresh Kalmadi
and Delhi chief Minister Sheila and demanded that the persons involved
in the alleged corruption during organizing the Commonwealth Games
should be arrested. "The Dalits all over the country are angry
because provision of Rs. 744 crores in the Delhi Government budget
meant for their development was transferred to the Commonwealth Games.
The whole country knows about the purchases made by the politicians
and the officers at the prices 13 times higher," stated Brahm Prakash,
president of the Delhi Confederation of Dalits in a press release
issued to the Morung Express. Nearly half of Delhi population lives in
slums, without houses or health and education. "This money should be
invested for their development. Delhi, being the capital of India,
still most of Dalits and tribal live below the poverty line. There
are no employment opportunities. The Commonwealth Games may be
cancelled but this money must be utilized for their development," the
confederation stated.


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[ZESTCaste] Seven held guilty for lynching Dalits in Haryana

 

http://sify.com/news/seven-held-guilty-for-lynching-dalits-in-haryana-news-crime-kihuQ9cdgba.html

Seven held guilty for lynching Dalits in Haryana

2010-08-07 20:52:35

Jhajjar (Haryana): A district court here on Saturday held seven people
guilty and acquitted 19 others in a case relating to the 2002 lynching
of five Dalits in this Haryana district.

The punishment for the convicts will be announced on Monday.

All the seven people held guilty were sent to judicial custody by
Additional District and Sessions Judge A K Jain on Saturday.

Those convicted are Om Prakash Kablana (head of Gaushala village),
Shishu Pal Malik, Ranbir Malhan, Jagbir Malhan, Satbir Singh Rathi,
Ramesh Surha and Sube Singh, all residents of Kaloi village in this
district.

Haryana Police registered a case against 28 people following the
lynching of the Dalit men at Dulina village October 15, 2002.

The victims, who hailed from Mewat area of Haryana, were taking a cow
with them on a vehicle. Some villagers saw them and took them to a
police post in Dulina village.

After a while, residents of nearby villages gathered at Dulina and the
mob then started demanding that the five men be punished.

Police and district officials from Gurgaon (Jhajjar earlier was not a
district) reached the place but the mob pulled the five men out of the
police post and beat them to death on the road.

The court took eight years to decide the case. During this period, two
of the 28 accused died.

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[ZESTCaste] Bangladesh: Integrate Dalits into mainstream

 

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=149374

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Metropolitan

Integrate Dalits into mainstream

Speakers tell view exchange meet
Staff Correspondent Speakers at a view exchange meeting yesterday
urged the government to integrate the Dalit and Harijan community into
the mainstream of the society.

They also urged on enacting a law to eliminate all kinds of racism
from the society.

The view exchange meeting titled 'Integrating youths of Dalit and
Harijan community into the mainstream' was organised by Bangladesh
Harijan Oikya Parishad (BHOP) and initiated by Sharee, a voluntary
organisation at National Press Club.

Speakers said the youths of Dalit and Harijan community get little
opportunity in the mainstream of education and employment.

They should be given training in different trades and opportunities of
self-employment, they said.

Chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on Ministry of Youth
and Sports Zahid Ahsan Russel speaking as the chief guest said Dalits
and Harijans should not be considered as separate from the society.

Russel said we are human beings and citizens of this country and the
present government believes in all the citizens to have a share in the
development of this country.

Former vice-chancellor of National University Durga Das Bhattacharya
and Director General of Department of Youth Development Azizur Rahman
addressed the meeting, presided over by Srikrishna Lal, president of
BHOP.

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[ZESTCaste] 55 pvt companies to disclose staff’s caste in annual reports next year

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/55-pvt-companies-to-disclose-staff-s-caste-in-annual-reports-next-year/657510

55 pvt companies to disclose staff's caste in annual reports next year

P. Vaidyanathan Iyer

Posted online: Sun Aug 08 2010, 09:11 hrs
New Delhi : In its first demonstration of "affirmative action", 55 of
Corporate India's top 1,000 companies have decided to make "caste
disclosures" of their workforce in their annual reports next financial
year. Led by almost all companies of the $70.8 billion Tata Group, the
select and progressive list of 55 includes Mahindra & Mahindra and
Godrej Industries from the Western region.
These companies — mostly in the manufacturing sector — are part of a
larger list of 696 companies that are signatory to the Confederation
of Indian Industry's Code of Conduct on Affirmative Action that was
finalised in 2007. While the code that CII circulated to over 3,000
companies does not require them to disclose their workforce's caste
make-up, signatories cannot support discrimination. In fact, they are
expected to encourage applications from socially disadvantaged
sections.

Another industry body, Associated Chambers of Commerce (Assocham) too
has a similar code with 277 direct members having signed up. The
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) has its
own code. While many of its members are yet to react, some of its
members have agreed to comply, said a Ficci executive.

Some of the 55 companies that have decided to make caste disclosures
include: Tata Motors, Godrej Industries, M&M, Crompton Greaves,
Wartsila, Ballarpur Industries, Kinetic, Godrej Boyce and Praj
Industries in the Western region; Pricol, Geojit Financial Services,
Lakeshore Hospitals and NTTF Industries in the Southern region; Usha
Martin, Tata Ryerson, Tata.

55 pvt companies to disclose staff's caste in annual reports next year
Steel, Jusco and Tinplate Company India in the Eastern region; and Max
India, JCB India, NDPL and HLS Asia in Northern region.

Conspicuous by its absence in the list is the services sector. When
contacted, T V Mohandas Pai, Director, Human Resources, Education,
Research and Administration, Infosys Technologies Ltd, said, "We don't
ask people their caste. Ours is a white-collar labour force. Ours is
an industry where there are more jobs than people and we do not
discriminate in whatever we do."

Infosys is a signatory to the CII code, but doesn't plan to ask its
employees their caste. Pai said the company did run a large programme
for 500 individuals from the disadvantaged section, many of whom got
high quality jobs.

While most of Tata Group's manufacturing companies are in the select
list of 55, its IT company, Tata Consultancy Services and telecom
operator, Tata Tele-Services Ltd, are absent.

"It is sensitive to ask an employee his/ her caste. This is a big
problem even if companies have to collate such data," said the CEO of
a big Mumbai-headquartered company. It is not just this CEO, many
others too face a similar predicament. When asked if chambers can
really do something about it, a CII executive said the Tatas are
willing to share their experiences of such an exercise they conducted
across their group companies.

Rahul Bajaj's Bajaj Auto, one of the biggest manufacturing groups in
the Western region, is also not part of the list of 55. When
contacted, Rahul Bajaj said, "We have such information, but there are
no reasons to disclose them. My shareholders are not interested. If
the government wants, we will be happy to publish it." While Bajaj
admitted that the corporate sector has not done enough for the
disadvantaged sections, he hoped that the government does not make
"affirmative action" mandatory.


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[ZESTCaste] It's decided: Census to count caste

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Its-decided-Census-to-count-caste/articleshow/6272192.cms

It's decided: Census to count caste
Rajeev Deshpande, TNN, Aug 8, 2010, 02.39am IST

NEW DELHI: Despite the polarising response it evokes, the ongoing
census is almost certain to enumerate caste. The pressure of other
backward castes (OBC) groups, which have asserted themselves strongly
in all political parties, is set to prevail over misgivings about a
new wave of caste-based politics.

A group of ministers headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will
take a formal view on enumeration of caste after receiving the views
of all political parties but the die seems to be cast. What needs to
be now resolved is at what stage of the census this will be done and
how the question would be framed.

Going by discussions in government so far, an enumeration of all
castes might be on the cards. This would mean a comprehensive caste
count that will tell what proportions of the population various
sections represent, the first authentic figures after the 1931 census.
Till now, NSSO and BPL surveys have provided a partial picture.

The only meeting of the GoM held so far had seen some differences in
opinion with ministers like Salman Khursheed (minority affairs) and
Mukul Wasnik (social justice and empowerment) backing a caste count
while Kapil Sibal (HRD) differed. Defence minister A K Antony said he
did not believe in caste. The meeting decided to ask parties to send
in their views.

One of the issues raised at the meeting was that enumerating
sub-castes would create a more fragmented polity with caste interests
lobbying for proportionate quotas within broader categories like OBC,
something that is already evident.

But such apprehensions as well as the argument that a caste count
would not be able to change the Supreme Court-mandated 50% quota
ceiling, have been swept aside by the political reality of OBC
interests, particularly in north India. The OBC parliamentary forum
has only recently given a fresh memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh to press for a caste count.

Apart from the OBC forum, JD(U) and RJD leaders Sharad Yadav and Lalu
Prasad met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to remind him of
assurances offered to them by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi during the
Budget session of Parliament. The BJP, too, has decided to reiterate
the position outlined by Gopinath Munde -- an OBC leader -- in
Parliament in support of a caste count.

BJP has raised a question over the integrity of the census and this
has been considered by the home ministry as well. To rule out
exaggerated claims, it is felt caste information could be recorded in
the last stage of the census when biometric information will be
gathered. This way the next stage due to begin in February 2011, will
be just the headcount. The first stage, the household and family
survey, is over.

Though the government has a window till the end of the year to make up
its mind, it will find it extremely difficult to retrace its steps on
a caste census without risking a major showdown with OBC groups.
Thought is being given as to whether a compromise is possible with
some sort of a halfway house where sub-castes are not listed. But with
state lists at variance with the Centre, an all caste count may be
inevitable.

OBC leaders see the census as an important step towards legitimising
their claims to quotas as they have argued that backwards constitute
between 52-54% of the population. The NSSO has pegged OBC population
in rural areas at 38.5%, a claim that OBC leaders dispute.

The GoM on the caste census has some time to finalise its views as it
will consider the responses of parties and changes in either the
headcount form or in the biometric procedures are not time consuming.
There is still time for the registrar general to effect changes in
keeping with the government's decision. The GoM report will be
considered by the cabinet.

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[ZESTCaste] Bajrang Dal attack on dalit (part two)

 

Police turned blind eye to the attack on Dalit

Sudipto Mondal

The savage assault ruined his dreams of a happy married life


Sridhar's mentally challenged brother picked up by police

'The assailants were there when we went to the station'


PERAJE (KODAGU DISTRICT): Traditionally, most men in his community are married at his age. But Sridhar (27) – a Dalit victim of a particularly savage upper caste atrocity – has no marital plans.

"I do not think I will be able to have children because of the beating I received that day," he says recalling the events of July 5, 2009 when he was abducted from his home, taken to Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district, brutally beaten, stripped and paraded in public by Bajrang Dal activists.

They suspected him of having abducted Anitha (22), an upper caste girl who is the sister of a powerful Bajrang Dal leader from Bantwal. However, it was later found that Anitha was actually murdered by serial killer Mohan Kumar.

A plantation worker from the extremely backward 'Mugera' Scheduled Caste, he has not been able to work or even stand straight since the attack. "They repeatedly targeted my abdomen and back," he says. A year on, his violence-induced impotence, a few scars on his face, and his stooping gait are the only bits of medical evidence remaining for the Bantwal police, which has belatedly begun investigations into the case after initially refusing to admit his complaint.

There was ample physical proof of the attack when Mr. Sridhar first approached the Bantwal police with a complaint. "He was not able to walk without support. He had bandages all over his body," recalls Saraswati, a Dalit activist who had accompanied him to the police station then and is continuing to fight for justice in the case.

"To our shock, the attackers were already present at the police station when we reached there. The Circle Inspector merely scolded them," she alleges.

Commenting on the failure of the police to book the perpetrators, a senior police official in the district says the disappearance of Anitha was a extremely sensitive case.

"The entire region was in state of foment and the police were under pressure from the government to solve the case. They feared that booking Sridhar's assailants would invite a backlash," the officer says.

'Love jihad'

This is the same Anitha whose disappearance led several Sangh Parivar organisations to allege that she had fallen prey to "love jihad".

On October 4, 2009, head of the Gurupura Math Rajashekharananda-led Sangh organisations organised a protest over the alleged "love jihad" ( The Hindu, October 24, 2009). "The love jihad angle evolved when it was proved beyond doubt that Sridhar had nothing to do with the case," says Superintendent of Police A.S. Rao.

Shocking action

What compounded this case of gross human rights violation was the treatment meted out to Sridhar's mentally challenged brother Babu.

He was picked up by the then Sub-Inspector of Bantwal (Rural) police and allegedly kept in illegal detention and tortured for two days, said Geetha (28), his sister-in-law.

The police torture allegedly led to serious injury to Mr. Babu's private organs.

"We kept telling Shivprakash that it is the Bajrang Dal activists who should be punished for what they did to Sridhar. But he would not listen," says Ms. Geetha.



--
Sudipto Mondal
Senior Correspondent
The Hindu, Mangalore Bureau
(+91) 98860 47770

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[ZESTCaste] dalit stripped, paraded by Bajrang Dal

 

http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/07/stories/2010080752450500.htm Mangalore police finally take action in Dalit atrocity case

Sudipto Mondal

Victim was allegedly stripped, paraded and beaten up by Bajrang Dal activists

— PHOTO: SUDIPTO MONDAL

PAINFUL MEMORIES:Sridhar (27), victim of the attack, with his family at his house in Peraje village of Kodagu district.

PERAJE (KODAGU DISTRICT): The police have finally swung into action over a year after a Dalit youth from here was allegedly abducted by Bajrang Dal activists from his home, taken to Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district, stripped, paraded and beaten in public.

"The Bantwal police appear to have come under pressure that prevented them from filing a case against activists of the organisation. The department has contacted the victim (late on Thursday evening) and invited him to file a case," said Superintendent of Police A.S. Rao on Friday after The Hindu brought the incident to his notice.

"I begged for clothes…nobody would even give me a rag to cover myself. What hurt more than the beating was that I was paraded naked before hundreds of people," said Sridhar (27), the victim of the attack, when The Hindu, based on a tip off, visited him at his home a few days ago. He is a plantation worker from one of the most ostracised Scheduled Caste communities in the region called "Mugera". Recalling the incidents of a two years ago, he said how on July 5, 2009, around 10 Bajrang Dal activists came to his home, 100 km from Mangalore, posing as policemen. They accused him of kidnapping an upper caste girl from Bantwal named Anitha (22).

"Instead of the police station, they took me to a Bharatiya Janata Party office in Bantwal where they took turns in torturing me," Mr. Sridhar said.

At around 5 p.m., he was "dragged out of the BJP office, stripped and beaten by a large crowd that paraded on the streets" of Bantwal. "I kept pleading with the crowd that I never ever heard of Anitha," he said.

Feigning ignorance

Asked to respond, the district chief of the Bajrang Dal, Sharan Pumpwell, confirmed that his organisation initially suspected Sridhar's involvement in Anitha's disappearance.

"But I do not know anything about the beating. I will find out and get back," he said on Tuesday, but has not answered phone calls from The Hindu since then.

Anitha, who went missing in June 2009, is the sister of Madhava Kulal, a powerful Bajrang Dal leader in Bantwal.

Over three months after the atrocity against Mr. Sridhar, the Dakshina Kannada police discovered that Anitha and 17 other women had actually been murdered by a serial killer named Mohan Kumar. Ironically, Mr. Sridhar's sister Cauvery (35) too was one of the 17 victims of Mohan Kumar.

Police sources said Anitha had received several calls on her landline from a number that belonged to Sridhar's sister Cauvery.

After killing Cauvery, Mohan Kumar used her phone to call Anitha, the police said.

The Bajrang Dal activists traced the address of Cauvery and reached her house on July 9, 2009. On not finding her, they took her brother Sridhar along with them. He survived his ordeal, and went into hiding in Kerala for several weeks.

The case came to light when Saraswati, a Dalit activist, tried to file a complaint with the Bantwal police. "But they said that we should file the complaint in the Madikeri (rural) police station.There we were to go back to the Bantwal station," Ms. Saraswati said. She said she submitted a complaint at the FIR helpdesk at the Dakshina Kannada Police Superintendent's office but did not get any response.



--
Sudipto Mondal
Senior Correspondent
The Hindu, Mangalore Bureau
(+91) 98860 47770

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