Latest News Update: Aug 28, 2010

Saturday, August 28, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Dalit Cong worker assaulted

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4315875

28/08/2010

Dalit Cong worker assaulted

Kapurthala, Aug 27 (PTI) A Dalit Congress worker was severely beaten
up allegedly by Akali activists in the presence of police in
Ibrahimwal village in the district.
Protesting the incident, members of the Dalit community led by
Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira today demonstrated in front of the
SSP office.
The protesters alleged that the police had slapped a case of theft
against Congress worker Shaukina, who had been admitted to the civil
hospital at Begowal.
According to family sources, Shaukina was being harassed by the police
at the behest of an Akali leader, who had allegedly given the former a
loan of Rs five lakh.
Shaukina was severally beaten by the Akali workers yesterday in the
presence of a police team and later a case of theft slapped against
him, they alleged.
Dalits brought the incident to the notice of SP (Security) S K
Agnihotri who assured to inquire into the matter.

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[ZESTCaste] First Dalit Archbishop Marampudi Joji of Hydearbad Passes Away

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=84288

Saturday, August 28, 2010 8:47:23 AM (IST)

First Dalit Archbishop Marampudi Joji of Hyderabad Passes Away

The Hindu

Hyderabad, Aug 28: The Archbishop of Hyderabad and a popular Christian
leader, Marampudi Joji, passed away around 6 pm on Friday following a
heart attack in his personal chamber in the Bishop's House at
Secunderabad.

His personal aides and a few priests present in the house, to their
shock, found him dead in his chair. He was 68. Rev. Joji, a hallmark
of piety and social service to the poor wherever he worked, leaves
behind thousands of admirers all over the State and a large
congregation.

His body will be laid to rest in the cemetery at the foot of St Mary's
shrine at Gunadala in Vijayawada around 3 pm on Monday as per his wish
indicated in a document. This cemetery is the resting place of several
early Italian missionaries who worked in this part of the globe.

A spokesman of the Bishop's House said the body would be kept at St
Mary's Church, Secunderabad, throughout Saturday and partially on
Sunday to enable people pay their respects to him before being shifted
to Vijayawada for the funeral. Soon after hearing the news, a large
number of people thronged the house for the last glimpse.

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[ZESTCaste] Whose agitation?

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/whose-agitation/673470/

Whose agitation?
The Indian Express Posted online: Sat Aug 28 2010, 23:51 hrs

Rahul Gandhi kept a two-year-old date with the inhabitants of Orissa's
Niyamgiri hills on Thursday. In what became a highly charged visit to
Lanjigarh, site of Vedanta's controversial refinery, he set out the
timeline at a Congress-organised rally for tribal rights: "This is
your victory. You saved your own land. Two years ago you had come to
me saying the Niyamgiri hill is your god. I told you I would be your
sipahi (soldier) in Delhi. I am happy that I have helped you in
whatever way I could." He did not get into details of Vedanta's now
cancelled bauxite mining project. The message was delivered in a
disarming manner now associated with Rahul Gandhi — sentences scrubbed
down to remove the stock, and therefore false-sounding, words from the
rallyist's phrasebook; a spontaneous connect with those gathered
without fawning intermediaries. But the Niyamgiri visit does mark a
change in his way of political mobilisation.
Rahul Gandhi is perhaps the most powerful general secretary in the
Congress's history. He is powerful in part for being seen to be his
party's future. As he has criss-crossed the country, connecting with
the "aam aadmi", it has been seen to be an effort at including various
constituencies in a forward-looking way. So he has flummoxed his
political opponents by casually taking a local train in Mumbai, having
a meal in a Dalit household, chatting with university students — how
do they counter the charisma of a man unhurriedly telling folks
there's a future to be built? Now, at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district
he has taken responsibility for winging a government action a certain
way — if not for the actual decision by the Union environment ministry
against the bauxite project, at least for advocating a certain point
of view. The decision came two days before Rahul Gandhi visited
Orissa, when preparations for the visit had already been made.

The government is the right authority to take a call on the legitimacy
of the bauxite project. But the message that the Congress's
mobilisation in opposition-ruled states is backed by the Centre's
actions has unsettling implications. Also, at Lanjigarh, the Congress
appears to be unbundling the "aam aadmi" on a case-by-case basis. This
carries the danger of it then having to balance different
constituencies with competing agendas.

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[ZESTCaste] Swami to stop Dalit religious conversion

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysore/Swami-to-stop-Dalit-religious-conversion/articleshow/6447694.cms

Swami to stop Dalit religious conversion
TNN, Aug 27, 2010, 09.55pm IST

MYSORE: Seeking to curb religious conversion and encourage Dalit
communities to join the mainstream, Pejawar mutt seer Vishwesha
Teertha Swami on Friday visited a Dalit colony and promised to
champion their cause.

The seer told them he will observe a fast and offered them deeksha as
a weapon to stop conversion. The seer asked them to quit alcoholism,
but remained silent on their food habits stating non-vegetarianism is
part of their culture. Buoyed by the seer's promise, the Dalit
families said they would follow the seer's words. This is the first
time a religious leader has visited their houses. The seer's visit
aimed at ensuring social harmony and protecting Hindu Dharma.

When the seer, who will be in the city for over a fortnight performing
Chaturmasya vratha, arrived there was celebration at the Devaraj Urs
colony, predominated by pourakarmikas. The colony was swept clean and
decorated. The residents lined up to receive the seer and offered
floral tributes as he came. The seer visited a couple of houses, lit
lamps and offered prayers before he went to Pattadalamma temple where
he addressed them calling Hindus to be united.

According to him, religious conversions normally target Dalits as they
rae alienated from Hindus. Hindus should be united, he said decrying
untouchability. He offered to give them deeksha even as he advised
them to quit alcohol. He asked them to contact him in case they have
any message or demand to be heard by the state government. "I will
approach the elected representatives," he told them.

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[ZESTCaste] Pejawar Mutt Swami goes on padayatra in Dalit colony

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/pejawar-mutt-swami-goes-on-padayatra-in-dalit-colony/270417.html

Pejawar Mutt Swami goes on padayatra in Dalit colony

PTI | 03:08 AM,Aug 28,2010
Mysore,Aug27 (PTI) Blazing a new trail aimed at ending exploitation of
dalits in the name of untouchability and creating a sense of social
harmony, Sri Vishweshwara Theertha Swami of Pejawar Mutt today went on
a padayatra in a Dalit Colony and offered 'Vaishnava Deeksha'
(initiation). So overwhelmed were residents of the Devaraj Urs Colony,
inhabited predominantly by 'Pourakarmiks', engaged in sweeping roads
by the City Corporation, that some of them shed tears of joy and mixed
freely touching the feet of the septuagenerian Swami, one of the
highly respected seers. The Colony itself wore a festive look with the
lanes and by lanes decorated with festoons and rangoli drawn in front
of their houses to receive the Swami, who is also one of the founders
of Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Men in Panche (Dhoti), women in traditional
saree and children lined on either side of the roads in the colony and
showered rose petals.As the swami entered the colony, he was resceived
with poorna kumbha (full honours ) by a dalitwoman. The highly
respected swami among the eight Brahmin Mutts of Udupi, where
saint-philosopher Madhwacharya founded the Krishna Mutt in 1238 AD
with his disciples later establishing eight mutts, surprised them as
he entered some houses and lit oil lamps placed before the photos of
gods and goddesses. At the end of the padayatra, he addressed the
gathering at the Pattaladamma Temple, after performing pujas to the
Goddesses.Stressing that they were all Hindus, he said a Hindu should
not discriminate against another Hindu. The Swami regretted that when
the puritans who could have pet goats and cats in their houses,they
were hesitant to have dalits inside their homes. He said observing
certain rituals, the dalits can excel the "so-called learned Brahmins"
and advised them to give up alcohol. The swami said he would go on
fast if there were incidents of atrocities on Dalits in Karnataka.
Dalit leader Paliniswamy expressed his gratitude to the swami for his
padayatra. "We are sweepers and we are deeply touched with the swami's
visit. We will follow his advice". Paliniswamy said "we feel Lord
Udupi Krishna has come to our colony".

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[ZESTCaste] Police assault Dalits in Kulai

http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/28/stories/2010082854560500.htm

Karnataka - Mangalore

Police assault Dalits in Kulai

Staff Correspondent

A relative of the victims eloped with a 'caste' Hindu girl from Bangalore

MANGALORE: A joint investigation team comprising officers from
Bangalore's Peenya police station and Mangalore City Commissionerate's
Surathkal police station allegedly assaulted two teenaged Dalits at
Kulai village, 20 km from here, on Friday.

The police team was in search of a youth named Subhash from Mangalore
who is charged with kidnapping a "caste" Hindu girl from Bangalore.
However, the boy's relatives maintain that the couple was in love and
eloped fearing retribution.

Nevertheless, the team arrived at Subhash's relatives' house in Kulai
and demanded to know his whereabouts. "They were abusive from the
moment they entered the house," said Subhash's elder sister Sajani.

Ms. Sajani told The Hindu that the police particularly targeted
Subhash's 16-year-old nephew Soma. "He pleaded with them that he did
not know Subhash's whereabouts. But they would not listen and beat him
with lathis," she alleged. The young boy, whose most visible injury
was a bleeding nose, was later treated at a private hospital.

The policemen also allegedly assaulted Subhash's sister, Shaina (19),
who tried to come to Soma's rescue. However, she did not sustain any
serious injuries.

"They then dragged her to the Surathkal police station," Ms. Sajani
said. The police finally let her go when sections of the media reached
the police station.

Alleging that the entire incident had casteist overtones, Ms. Sajani
said, "Even as they were beating the young boy, they kept telling him
that he should advise Subhash to stick to women of his caste."

Responding to the allegations, Assistant Commissioner of Police S.
Girish said that the Surathkal police had nothing to do with the
assault.

"They were only helping the team from Bangalore with directions to the
house," he said. He also said that Ms. Shaina was not dragged to the
police station as alleged. "We only took the boy along for
questioning. She insisted on tagging along," he said even as he
assured a through investigation into the case. The victims have
registered a complaint against the alleged police atrocity at the
Surathkal station.

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[ZESTCaste] Brahmins on margins remain outside widening welfare net

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Brahmins-on-margins-remain-outside-widening-welfare-net-/articleshow/6448640.cms

Brahmins on margins remain outside widening welfare net

B Sivakumar, TNN, Aug 28, 2010, 01.14am IST

CHENNAI: A group of men, both young and old, some even close to 80,
huddle in a corner of a street leading to the ancient Kapaleeswarar
temple in Mylapore on a rainy evening. They are waiting for a senior
priest (purohit) to hand out assignments for the next day.

These may vary from assisting in a marriage ritual to chanting funeral
prayers. Most of them eventually will come away with a couple of token
payments of Rs 200-300 made by householders for such poojas or
ceremonies. Given the irregular nature of their income, not many earn
more than Rs 2,000 to 3,000 per month.

Traditionally associated with learning and education, the Brahmins of
Tamil Nadu, who constitute roughly 4-5% of the six-crore population,
are perceived to be a socially and economically advanced elite, but
not many realise that today a large section of the community lives
precariously close to the poverty line.

According to the Tamil Nadu Brahmin Association (Tambras), about 30%
of Brahmins in the state can be described as economically backward and
they number close to 10 lakh. However, they are denied aid by the
government as they are seen to belong to a traditionally affluent
community.

Efforts by legislators such as S Ve Shekher to have them included in
welfare schemes for housing and education have not succeeded so far.
Their only source of income is what senior priests part with from
their share of offerings made by householders and devotees during
Hindu rituals.

Ravi Sastrigal, a purohit in Mylapore, says, "The chief priest gets Rs
2,000-3,000 for a marriage. His juniors get Rs 500-600, plus free
food, for reciting mantras. And then there are those who accompany
them as mere helpers they get about Rs 150-200."