Latest News Update: Sep 14, 2010

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Maharashtra appoints Nodal officer to implement SC/ST Act

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/maharashtra-appoints-nodal-officer-to-implement-scst-act/315122.html

Maharashtra appoints Nodal officer to implement SC/ST Act

PTI | 01:09 PM,Sep 12,2010
Mumbai, Sep 12 (PTI) In an attempt to blunt the criticism over poor
implementation of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Maharashtra
Government has informed the Bombay High Court that it has appointed a
Nodal officer to oversee the proper enforcement of the Central law.
Principal Secretary (Social Justice Department) Satish Gavai is the
new Nodal officer. This information was given in an affidavit filed on
September 9 in response to a PIL, which alleged that the state was not
interested in implementing the Act. The PIL, filed by an NGO, also
said the government had not appointed a Nodal officer since long time
to oversee its implementation. On August 26, the HC had pulled up the
Government for not filing an affidavit. It warned the Chief Secretary
would have to personally remain present in the court if the said
affidavit was not filed within a week. The affidavit said a
high-powered committee formed recently on the issue under Chief
Minister Ashok Chavan would meet on September 15. The last meeting of
such a panel was convened in 2006 by then Chief Minister Vilasrao
Deshmukh. During this period, the state had not sent annual reports to
the Centre on implementation of the 21-year-old Act. It was mandatory
for every state to send such reports, which are placed before
Parliament every year. Justices B H Marlapalle and A A Sayed posted
the matter for further hearing on September 16. (More) PTI SVS RSY

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[ZESTCaste] Govt putting pressure on me: Karnataka Governor

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/95865/im-brahmin-dont-tell-me.html

'Releasing 600 prisoners at once is not feasible'
Govt putting pressure on me: Governor

Bangalore, Sep 12, DH News Service:

The Government is building unwarranted pressure on me over the bill on
Cow Slaughter ban, Governor H R Bhardwaj said, while attending the
muhurath of a Sanskrit movie based on the Sanskrit play, 'Shri
Krishnaiayah Mishrara Prabodha Chandrodaya'at Ravindra Kalakshetra on
Sunday.

"I am a Brahmin. I need not learn about cow protection from anybody,"
Bhardwaj said, slamming BJP ministers attacking him for not giving his
assent to a bill banning cow slaughter and forwarding it to President
Pratibha Patil for a decision.

Several ministers and State BJP chief K S Eshwarappa have been
criticising Bhardwaj for not assenting to the bill and had organised a
state-wide demonstration last week to press Patil for early nod to the
legislation.

Bhardwaj also took exception to BJP ministers attacking him for
rejecting the government's recommendation to release a group of
criminals on the basis of their good conduct.

"I do not think that the release of 600 prisoners at a single time as
envisaged was a feasible idea. We will consider each case on an
individual level and think about it," he said.

"I am not an outsider. I am the head of this government. It is my
duty to see this government functions according to the constitution,"
he said referring to the anti-cow slaughter bill.

No shortcuts

"If there is no problem I will give assent. If there is a problem it
is referred to the president. There is no shortcut when it comes to
constitutional matters. If they want shortcut, I will not allow it,"
Bhardwaj asserted.

The government had recommended release of around 590 life convicts
across the state on the occasion of Independence Day on the ground of
good conduct. They had gone on hunger strike after the governor did
not agree to their release.

Bhardwaj had rejected the recommendation citing several court
judgements on the issue of release of life convicts.

"Do you want the governor to get strictures from the court?"
State Prisons and Horticulture Minister Umesh Katti, criticising the
governor for not accepting the recommendation, has been saying that
the government will approach the president, which has angered
Bhardwaj.

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[ZESTCaste] ‘Honour killing’: Jind Jat boy, Brahmin girl dead

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-Honour-killing---Jind-Jat-boy--Brahmin-girl-dead/681233

'Honour killing': Jind Jat boy, Brahmin girl dead
C B SINGH Posted online: Tue Sep 14 2010, 03:18 hrs

Chandigarh : In another suspected case of honour killing, an
engineering student, Vikas (21), and his girlfriend Ritu (19), both
residents of Jind district, were murdered on Sunday night allegedly by
the girl's parents.
Sources said that Vikas, a resident of Sangatpura village, belonged to
the Jat community and Ritu of Krishna colony, belonged to the Brahmin
community. They met at the Akash Institute in New Delhi where Vikas
was taking coaching classes for Engineering whereas Ritu was preparing
for PMT. After completing the coaching, Ritu came back home but for
one year they used to meet frequently in Jind, sources added.

Vikas visited the girl's house on Sunday night when Ritu's parents
killed him with sharp-edged weapons. His body was recovered in the
morning from the bushes of Sector 8, Jind, police officials said.

They added that Ritu was also murdered later and was cremated at
Brahmanwas village, Jind without informing the police about her death.
The police visited the cremation site and collected ashes for the
laboratory test.

A case of murder has been registered against the girl's father Ram Raj
Sharma, mother and other relatives on a complaint lodged by Vikas's
father Ramesh. No arrest has been made so far as the accused are
absconding. SHO Dalip Singh said they would be arrested soon.

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[ZESTCaste] 2 IIT aspirants killed in Haryana over affair

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/2-IIT-aspirants-killed-in-Haryana-over-affair/articleshow/6550202.cms

2 IIT aspirants killed in Haryana over affair
Deepender Deswal, TNN, Sep 14, 2010, 02.57am IST

JIND: A young couple was killed by the girl's family in Haryana's Jind
on Sunday night. Vikas Dhanda (20) and Ritu Sharma (18) both IIT
aspirants, fell in love while studying at a Delhi coaching institute.
The girl was a Brahmin while the youth was a Jat. So, Ritu's family
was against their relationship.

On Sunday, both were thrashed and then strangulated to death. First,
Vikas was killed his body dumped near sector 8, on the outskirts of
Jind. Later, the killers located Ritu and killed her. Her body was
taken to their ancestral village Brahaminwas in Rohtak for cremation
by her parents, said ASP Simardeep Singh. "We have arrested the girl's
father. We are trying to arrest other members of her family," said
Singh.

On Sunday night, Ritu's family members spotted the duo near her house
at Jind's Krishna Colony, said sources.

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[ZESTCaste] Stir on cow slaughter ban bill not against governor: Ktk govt

http://sify.com/news/stir-on-cow-slaughter-ban-bill-not-against-governor-ktk-govt-news-national-kjnt4cjchab.html

PTI
Stir on cow slaughter ban bill not against governor: Ktk govt

2010-09-13 19:30:00
Last Updated: 2010-09-13 19:37:30

Karnataka, BangaloreBangalore: In an apparent effort to mollify
Governor H R Bhardwaj, the BJP government in Karnataka today said its
campaign demanding assent to the Cow Slaughter Ban Bill was not
directed against him but to create an awareness.

As the war of words between the governor and BJP continued, the
government appeared to soft pedal the issue a day after Bhardwaj said
as a Brahmin he need not learn about cow protection from anyone.

"The agitations are not against the governor. It is only to inform the
people about the passing of the bill by both houses of the legislature
and its importance," Home Minister and senior state BJP leader V S
Acharya told reporters here.

He said the Bill was in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling and
at least seven states had already enacted a law banning slaughter of
cows.

The governor and the BJP in Karnataka have been at loggerheads over
various issues, including law and order and illegal mining, minorities
apart from cow slaughter.

In the latest bout, Bhardwaj, a former Union law minister, had asked
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to apologise over reports that quoted
him as making certain remarks against the governor on illegal mining
issue.

Yeddyurappa had declined to apologise but clarified that he had only
referred to Bhardwaj's predecessor Rameswar Thakur regarding recovery
of Rs 23 crore dues from former chief minister Dharam Singh in a
matter relating to mining lease.

Acharya said the then Mysore State Assembly had enforced a legislation
in 1948 banning cow slaughter, but it was not effective.

Giving vent to his anger over BJP's protest on cow slaughter bill,
Bhardwaj, who had forwarded the bill to the President for assent, had
stated yesterday, "Ministers are giving many statements against me.
This is gross indiscipline. I don't like this."

"I am a Brahmin. I need not learn from anybody about cow protection,"
said Bhardwaj, who has come under repeated attacks from BJP for
functioning as "a Congressman".

Defending his action in referring the bill to the President, he said
"if there is no problem, I give assent. If there is a problem it is
referred to the President. There is no shortcut when it comes to
Constitutional matters. If they want shortcut, I will not allow it."

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[ZESTCaste] I'm a Brahmin, don't tell me about cow protection: Karnataka governor

http://sify.com/news/i-m-a-brahmin-don-t-tell-me-about-cow-protection-karnataka-governor-news-national-kjmoOcgheee.html

IANS
I'm a Brahmin, don't tell me about cow protection: Karnataka governor

2010-09-12 14:50:00

In a rare instance of a constitutional authority referring to his
caste to hit back at critics, Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj Sunday
told the state's BJP government that he was Brahmin and didn't need to
be told about cow protection.

'I am a Brahmin. I need not learn from anybody about cow protection,'
Bhardwaj said, slamming Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers
attacking him for not giving his assent to a bill banning cow
slaughter and forwarding it to President Pratibha Patil for a
decision.

Several ministers and state BJP chief K.S. Eshwarappa have been
criticising Bhardwaj for not assenting to the bill and had organised a
state-wide demonstration last week to press Patil for early nod to the
legislation.

Bhardwaj also took exception to BJP ministers attacking him for
rejecting the government's recommendation to release a group of
criminals on the basis of their good conduct.

'Ministers are giving many statements (against me). This is gross
indiscipline. I don't like this,' the governor told reporters here.

'I am not an outsider. I am the head of this government. It is my duty
to see this government functions according to the constitution,' he
said referring to the anti-cow slaughter bill.

'If there is no problem I give assent. If there is a problem it is
referred to the president. There is no shortcut when it comes to
constitutional matters. If they want shortcut, I will not allow it,'
Bhardwaj asserted.

On the release of convicts for good conduct, he said: 'I cannot
function arbitrarily. How can criminals pressurize the governor?'

The government had recommended release of around 590 life convicts
across the state on the occasion of Independence Day on the ground of
good conduct. They had gone on hunger strike after the governor did
not agree to their release.

Bhardwaj had rejected the recommendation citing several court
judgements on the issue of release of life convicts.

'Do you want the governor to get strictures from the court?'

State Prisons and Horticulture Minister Umesh Katti, criticizing the
governor for not accepting the recommendation, has been saying that
the government will approach the president, which has angered
Bhardwaj.

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[ZESTCaste] Archbishop Chinnappa puts onus of Dalit liberation on Christian leaders

http://www.hindu.com/2010/09/11/stories/2010091152590400.htm

Tamil Nadu

Saturday, Sep 11, 2010
Archbishop Chinnappa puts onus of Dalit liberation on Christian leaders

Special Correspondent

Condition of Dalit Christians five times worse than other Dalits, says
Ashish Amos

LUCID ANALYSIS:(From left) Felix Wilfred, Professor, ICCR Chair,
University of Dublin, Ireland; A.M. Chinnappa, Archbishop of
Madras-Mylapore and chairman, Tamilnadu Bishops' Council; Ashish Amos,
general secretary, ISPCK; and S. Lourdusamy, CBCI Commission for
SC/ST, New Delhi, at a seminar in Chennai on Friday.

TAMBARAM: Speakers at a two-day seminar on Christianity and Dalit
Liberation here pointed out that Dalit Christians faced a lot of
opposition from non-Dalit Christians.

The two-day seminar on 'Reimaging the Relationship between
Christianity and Dalit Liberation,' was held at the Asian Centre for
Cross Cultural Studies (ACCS) at Panayurkuppam near Sholinganallur off
East Coast Road on Friday. It was organised along with New Delhi-based
Indian Society for Promotion of Christian Knowledge.

A.M. Chinnappa, Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore and chairman, Tamil Nadu
Bishops Council, said the effect of casteism in India was
marginalisation, poverty and oppression among Dalits. "We must set a
vision for their liberation and must be able to work together."

Poor state of Dalits

Pointing out that the poor state of the Dalits was a result of
casteism, he said, "Unless Christian leaders work among the people,
Dalit liberation is not possible."

Delivering the inaugural address, Ashish Amos, general secretary,
ISPCK, said that there had been "enough of rhetoric, academia, writing
and thinking process," which had resulted in the "Great Indian Dalit
Dream."

"I can say with conviction that the condition of Dalit Christians is
five times worse than other Dalits," Mr. Amos said, adding that the
Church and the community had completely let down the Dalits and the
oppressed.

In his keynote address, S. Lourdusamy, former executive secretary,
Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) Commission for SC/ST, said
a majority of Christians in India belonged to SC and ST communities,
but their representation in the clergy and hierarchy was minimal. He
pointed out that among the 24 million Indian christians, Dalits
constituted the chunk with a population of 18 million.

However, in earlier years of struggle seeking justice for the Dalits,
there was very little support from non-Dalit Christians.

Mr. Lourdusamy said among the 170 Catholic Bishops in India, the
representation of Dalits was meagre and added that their role in
clergy, hierarchy and policy-making levels was negligible. He
concluded that unless non-dalit Christians came forward in support,
there was no ray of hope for the Dalit Christians.

Dr. Chinnappa also launched a book, 'Asian Public Theology' written by
Felix Wilfred, founder-director, ACCS.

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[ZESTCaste] Caste census: Mere tokenism won’t do

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/view-point/Caste-census-Mere-tokenism-wont-do/articleshow/6543871.cms

13 Sep, 2010, 05.26AM IST, Surendra Kumar,
Caste census: Mere tokenism won't do

So, the Union Cabinet has approved the caste-based census. Those who
oppose it argue that it will be divisive and rekindle and strengthen
caste consciousness which is supposedly getting forgotten otherwise.
However, isn't their opposition largely ritualistic, at best mere
tokenism ? Can deep-rooted caste consciousness and prejudices be
wished away by processions and fiery speeches? If they are genuinely
interested in helping in dilution, if not total elimination of caste
prejudices, they should embrace the following Ten Commandments.

Most of English dailies and papers in regional languages earn more
from matrimonial advertisements than from their subscriptions. These
advertisements clearly highlight the irrepressible desire for finding
suitable brides and groom of various castes. Mind it, this search is
by millions of highly educated, well employed and professionally
trained individuals. The opponents of the castebased census should,
through a PIL to the Supreme Court, demand a ban on such divisive
advertisements . Simultaneously, they should urge the owners
/publishers of these newspapers/magazines to refuse to carry such
caste-based advertisements even if it meant considerable loss of
revenue.

Our elected representatives across the country, from the panchayat up
to Parliament, supposed protectors and custodians of our democracy,
must lead from the front and set up example of a casteprejudice-free
society. Ask them and all the ministers , governors and CMs to take a
vow that they will strive to see, at least, one daughter in the family
married to a groom from a lower caste. There will most probably be
coldness and awkwardness initially but if not in the lifetime of the
couples so married, in the lives of the offspring's of such mixed
marriages, filial feelings and emotional bonding will result in
weakening of caste prejudices if not their complete disappearance.

Untouchability was legally abolished decades ago, but it is alive and
kicking in thousands of villages , practised most brazenly under the
eyes of official machinery with total impunity (a Dalit girl committed
suicide as she was made to clean toilets in the same school she was
studying to get free education ). Demand strict action against the
practitioners of untouchability under the anti-untouchability Act. It
is shame that more than sixty years after Independence millions of
lower caste Hindus can't draw water from the common well and their
entry in temples can still trigger off bloodbath. In Haryana, in
several villages Dalits can't ride a bicycle ; in Karnataka many
barbers won't cut their hair, in Tamil Nadu breasts of Dalit women
have been chopped off for drinking water from the pond which was meant
for cows/buffaloes!

Governments come and governments go, their names may be different but
one thing doesn't change. In this incredible independent India, more
than 30.000 officially registered attacks of various descriptions take
place against lower castes each year (This was admitted by the home
minister in Parliament). Anyone familiar with rural India will vouch
that out of four crimes committed; on an average , only one gets
officially registered. Demand a time bound trial of such cases in
special courts and exemplary punishment to perpetrators to deter
repetition of such attacks.

It is a known fact that Dalit students in hostels of
universities/medical colleges/engineering colleges are routinely
harassed and humiliated; demand an immediate end to these despicable
practices.

Every week national dailies carry news of some Dalit woman having been
stripped of her clothes and paraded naked and unashamed bystanders
like Pandavas of Mahabharat remain impotent, dehumanised spectators of
such humiliations. Demand life imprisonment to perpetrators of such
crimes and dismissal of officials giving a blind eye to such
incidents.

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[ZESTCaste] The writer who loses to his own argument

http://expressbuzz.com/books/the-writer-who-loses-to-his-own-argument/203381.html

The writer who loses to his own argument

Shibu Shanmughom

First Published : 05 Sep 2010 10:45:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 04 Sep
2010 10:32:06 PM IST

Post-Hindu India: A discourse on Dalit-Bahujan socio-spiritual and
scientific revolution by Kancha Ilaiah.

He wore leather jackets and chappals, ate pork and buffalo, and drank
toddy. He clears the path for 'others' to travel. And his lone voice
guides them through the wilderness. A signifier over the margins takes
us into different ethnoscapes or technoscapes. But his framework is
just a beginning, a harbinger of days to come. In sum, that is what
Kancha Ilaiah has in store for you in 'post-Hindu India'.

He starts his detour with a clear-cut deviation against the homogenous
route of dominant Hindu culture, a barefoot counter-journey through
the heterogeneous subways of post-Hindu India. He sets forth to set
the record straight and to deconstruct historiography, definitely on
the lines of Dalitism. As he said, "It is Dalitisation, not
Sanskritisation, that remains the best course for the development of
India in all fields."

Obviously a difficult task since Indian history, state and civil
society have so far been trained to do headstands under the
surveillance of the high priests of the ruling ideology: Hinduism,
alias Brahmanism. That position obliquely views "production as
pollution and consumption as purity, labour as ruggedness and leisure
as dignified." This is an intimidating shirshasana posture,
legitimised over the years as natural and normal.

To give proper names to a shifting sovereignty disguised and
reincarnated in various names and forms is itself a revolutionary act
in an inverted civil society. First, he uses the term Hinduism, and
then specifies it as Brahmanism, again tries to pinpoint it as
spiritual fascism and counters its intellectual goondaism and on the
way he even shows communism its true colour of Brahmanism.

At the end, Kancha Ilaiah predicts the imminent demise of Hinduism
and, in a single breath, proclaims the arrival of spiritual democracy
for Dalits; a promised land where "modes of singing and dancing would
be cut across castes".

Simultaneously, against the metaphysics of hope, he starts a paradigm
shift by politicising the bare life of Dalit-Bahujans, what they do
and the way they do it, the density of everyday life and the physics
of labour. These overlapping and crisscrossing currents of the social
collective run counter to the monolithic and segmentary logic of
Hinduism, nullify the libido of spiritual fascism.

Thus two Kancha Ilaiahs operate in the same realm, entangled and
caught up in each other. One is a spiritual socialist susceptible to
simple conventional models who inadvertently and innocently shares the
luxury accoutrements of the opponent in the same room.

The other is a subaltern ideologue who moves in the opposite
direction, liberates the political from its shackles and restores
thought to its functional continuum. Here he never hesitated to
partake in the ongoing civil war of position and nerves, which is
fought on various fronts in contrasting lines. If you describe this
dilemma in Deleuzean terms it goes like this, "two lovers, one of whom
dies suddenly in the other's room".

Nowadays, Hinduism with its adaptability operates in more subtle ways.
It uses bio-political cultural signs and technologies of self to
expedite its expansion. And its crypto-appearances are more dangerous
than its actual presences. Brahmanism in Dalit clothing is not a
remote reality; it is at your doorstep now. As Gayatri Spivak pointed
out, here starts the unification of homogenous dominant Hindu culture
at the village level and the ST culture in their lack of democratic
training.

At the same time Dalitism does not operate in stereotypical singular
lines, rather it is divided and sub-divided into opposing trends. Like
feminisms, Dalitisms act in multiplicities that are sometimes
contradictory but at other times interpenetrate between mass-lines.

Kanch Ilaiah often tends to think in terms of dichotomy and at times
is an avid follower of rigid binary machinations. He doesn't want to
break the border of black and white and the order of good and evil.
For him, Dalitism and Hinduism are fixed entities, other religious
minorities having their own fixed roles to play. And then, a shadow
war can be easily played out instead of fighting a real one.

This book is an amalgam of everyday and utopia or actual and virtual.
In the grey areas hides a Dalit fundamentalist in spiritual-democratic
clothing. "Effect of the real" is sometimes emancipatory, but for the
"effect", the "real" often have desires for fantasy.

— shibushanmughom@gmail.com

------------------------------------

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[ZESTCaste] Seer’s Padyatra to Dalit colony to prevent religious conversions

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=362&page=7

September 19, 2010

Seer's Padyatra to Dalit colony to prevent religious conversions
By R Guru Prasad, Bengaluru

SHRI Vishwesha Theertha Swamiji, the seer of Pejavara Adhokshaja
Mutha, Udupi, has set an example by choosing a divine route to
preserve Hindu culture and nurture spirituality and harmony among all
the sections of the society. He was in Mysore observing a 72nd
chaturmasya vrata and visited Devaraj Urs Colony slum predominated by
pourakarmikas (Sweepers) on August 27.

His visit brought a festive mood in the entire locality and dalits
extended a warm reception to him by cleaning the roads, adorning with
rangolis and flower decorations. This is the first time a religious
leader has visited their houses and women in traditional saree, men in
dhoti and children in the colony showered rose petals on him. The
seer's visit aimed at ensuring social harmony and protecting Hindu
Dharma is considered to be a magic weapon to stop religious
conversions and encourage dalit communities to join the mainstream.
Before addressing a meeting at the Pattaaladamma temple premises and
worshipping Godess in the locality, he went inside the dalit's houses
belonging to Kuppuswamy, Subramani, Mara and others to lit an oil lamp
in the small pooja altar in a corner of their tiny houses and offered
them prasadam.

He later said he is ready to offer Vaishnava Deeksha (initiation into
Vaishnawa way of life) to dalits in order to shun dangerous practice
of untouchability which is the root cause for the exploitation in
Hinduism. He told them to continue worship Hindu Gods, follow the
rituals, mass pooja prayers and all sections of the Hindu society will
not refer to them as dalits any more. He assured them that he will go
on a hunger strike as a token of protest and come to their rescue
whenever they face any hurdle from the rest of the society. Dalit
leaders expressed gratitude for the Swami's padayatra and said they
are extremely happy to hear from him that a Hindu should not
discriminate against another Hindu.

Swamiji while addressing a media on September 5, said he will keep a
week's time every month in future to visit dalit colonies across
Karnataka to create a favourable atmosphere for them to stay back in
the Hindu culture and not to get converted to other religions. He said
soon after his Chaturmasya vrata he will go on a 'Spiritual
Padayathra' in all taluks, villages and towns in the State and try to
ensure that dalits can enter any temples of their chice by removing
the existing restrictions for them at few temple. His future
padayatra's is aimed at becoming a platform for canvassing Hindu
Dharma by teaching basic principles of Hinduism, educating them about
religious practices (Dharma Sanskaras), organising camps of all
sections of the society, distributing books , arranging bhajans and
cultural programmes and creating brotherlyhood. It can be recalled
that few Hindu temples had banned dalits entering into their premises
and this provoked them to leave the Hindu religion and other religions
took this opportunity to get them converted into their religions by
offering monetary benefits and social status.

------------------------------------

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[ZESTCaste] Khap tells Haryana couple to live like siblings

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Khap-tells-Haryana-couple-to-live-like-siblings/680819

Khap tells Haryana couple to live like siblings

C B SINGH Posted online: Mon Sep 13 2010, 03:21 hrs
Chandigarh : The khap panchayats have done it again.
In yet another bizarre order, a khap panchayat of Bainsi village in
Haryana's Rohtak district has allegedly declared the marriage of a
Dalit couple illegal and ordered them to live like brother and sister
for the 'usual' reason — they belong to the same village and gotra.

The panchayat also ordered the couple's parents to honour the diktat
in five days.

Bainsi village is dominated by the Jat community. The panchayat
meeting was held on Sunday night and presided by sarpanch Daleep
Singh.

On May 5 this year, Sumer, 28, and Viky Rani eloped and married in a
Shiv Mandir in Delhi without the consent of their family members.

Later, they informed their families and neighbours about their
marriage and showed the photos of their wedding and the certificate
issued by the temple management. This led to the khap panchayat
meeting in which their marriage was declared illegal and they were
asked to treat each other as brother and sister.

One of the local residents said the girl's mother belonged to the same
village because of which the marriage cannot be honoured as per
traditions.

Police said the girl's parents were offered protection but they
declined it. Neither the boy's nor the girl's parents have filed any
complaint.

Rohtak Deputy Commissioner P C Meena said action would be taken
against the village panchayat sarpanch if he was found guilty of
issuing such an unconstitutional order and forcing the couple to break
their marriage.

------------------------------------

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[ZESTCaste] Dalits reject VHP’s temple politics

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/national/dalits-reject-vhp%E2%80%99s-temple-politics-383

Dalits reject VHP's temple politics

September 13th, 2010

Narayan Bareth

Hindu outfits may dismiss him as one misguided by the anti-Hindutva
forces but Harishankar Bairwa says he suffered a setback when he tried
to break the centuries-old tradition of keeping dalits away from
common pond. "I was a karsewak and went to Ayodhya, but when dalits
requested VHP leaders to help share water from the pond, they did not
take any interest," says Bairwa who is now a dalit activist in
Chakwada village under Jaipur district.
Located 60 km from Jaipur, Chakwada saw a conflict between dalit and
upper-caste Hindus over the sharing of water from the village pond in
2002. "As a Hindu nurtured by the RSS, I went to Ayodhya at the risk
of my life. There was violence and many of my fellow karsewaks were
injured, but I struggle for a temple at Ayodhya," Harishankar Bairwa
says. "But the moment I knocked the doors of VHP leaders there was no
response. We were greeted with stones by upper-caste Hindus. Are we
not Hindu too?" he asks.
Bairwa was part of a team of karsewaks, who went to Ayodhya during the
temple movement. "I took part in several meetings of Hindu
organisations and it seemed there that all Hindus are equal. But that
was not true. When I raise issue of untouchability no one paid
attention," he says.
"Now none of the dalits will like to become karsewak," he says. The
dalits of Chakwada fought on their own and were allowed to use water
from pond as others. "The problem remains in other forms. We are not
allowed to temple. In the wedding season, the wedding procession of
dalits greeted with opposition. We are not even free to use the band
party," he said.
"When dalits were targeted in village in 2002, there were over 50 VHP
supporters in my village but none of them came out to help us," he
laments.
"They all the time talk about Hindu-Muslim unity but never like to
discuss the plight of dalits. We are still unequal and face
discrimination at every step," Bairwa said.
"Why our saints remain silent when a dalit is victimised?" he asks.
VHP leader Narpat Singh Shekhawat however, refutes these charges. He
says the VHP had organised a meeting for sambhav [harmony]. ''We
provided all help and support to them. I do not know why Harishankar
saying this," Mr Shekhawat said.
''If such humiliating practices continue to harass dalits, we will not
hesitate to drift away from Hindu religion," he says.

------------------------------------

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit literature an integral part of Indian Literary history: Ananthamurthy

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Dalit-literature-always-an-integral-part-of-Indian-Literary-history--says-eminent-historian-Ananthamurthy/Article1-599498.aspx

Dalit literature an integral part of Indian Literary history: Ananthamurthy
Press Trust Of India
Thiruvananthapuram, September 13, 2010First Published: 12:46 IST(13/9/2010)
Last Updated: 15:13 IST(13/9/2010)

Dalit literature, whether oral or written, has been an integral and
enlivening part of Indian literary tradtions for centuries, eminent
writer and academic U R Ananthamurthy has said. For the depressed
classes like tribals and those destined to live in the lower rungs of
the social hierarchy literature had
always been a means to achieve "self-respect", the Jnanpith laureate
said here last evening.

He was delivering a lecture on the "Contributions of Dalits to Indian
literature", organised by Dr K Ayyappa Panicker
Foundation, in honour of the late Malayalam poet and scholar. Quoting
from Kannada and other Indian languages, Ananthamurthy said while
non-Dalits could write about the Dalit situation they could not claim
to represent the Dalits.

There had been several examples of non-Dalits writing on Dalit
situation, like the famous Kannada novel "Chomana Dudi"
by Shivaram Karanth. But there was a kind of arrogance when non-Dalits
claimed to represent Dalits, he noted.

When Dalits themselves write about their situation, it imparts to the
literature a new strength and idiom. Some kind of a protest had been
part of the Dalit writings, especially in Marathi since the time of
Bhakti movement.

Often the spark was convyed through the rejection of the generally
accepted "respectful" language to express their
"disrespectful" situation, he noted. A collection of poems of
Ayyappa Panicker, translated into English by writer and journalist P
Raveendran Nayar, was released on the occasion.

Former Kendra Sahitya Akademi Chairman Sachithanandan and former
diplomat T P Sreenivasan spoke on the contributions and influence of
Ayyappa Panicker to Malayalam literature.

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[ZESTCaste] Indian Dalits find no refuge from caste in Christianity

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11229170

14 September 2010 Last updated at 01:01 GMT

Indian Dalits find no refuge from caste in Christianity

By Swaminathan Natarajan

BBC Tamil

Till death do us part: Dalits are buried on the other side of the
wall in this cemetery
Many in India have embraced Christianity to escape the age-old caste
oppression of the Hindu social order, but Christianity itself in some
places is finding it difficult to shrug off the worst of caste
discrimination.

In the town of Trichy, situated in the heart of the southern Indian
state of Tamil Nadu, a wall built across the Catholic cemetery clearly
illustrates how caste-based prejudice persists.

Those who converted to Christianity from the formerly "untouchable"
Hindu caste groups known as Dalits are allocated space for burial on
one side of the wall, while upper-caste converts are buried on the
other side.

The separating wall was built over six decades ago.

Continue reading the main story
"
Start Quote
Caste discrimination is rampant in the Catholic Church"
End Quote
Father Yesumariyan

Jesuit lawyer, Dalit campaigner
"This violates the Indian constitution. It is inhuman. It's
humiliating," says Rajendiran, secretary general of Periyar Dravidar
Kazhagam, a small socio-political group that has announced a protest
demanding the removal of the wall.

The Catholic Church in India says it does not approve of caste
discrimination. But it says it is helpless in resolving this issue.

"The burial ground is owned by private individuals, so we are not able
to do anything about this. Even the local bishop is not going to the
cemetery to perform rituals," says Father Vincent Chinnadurai,
chairman of the Tamil Nadu state Commission for Minorities.

He says there is a new cemetery in the town, where bodies are buried
without any discrimination.

Yet burials continue to take place in the controversial cemetery,
presided over by Catholic priests.

For centuries Hindus from different castes have been cremated or
buried in different places, according to their caste.

'Cementing caste'

This practice is fading in the big cities and towns, but in some
places in rural Tamil Nadu, caste-based graveyards are still in
operation.

Discrimination against Dalits persists in all strata of Indian
society Dalit Christians are demanding more proactive steps from the
Church to remove the wall.

Father Lourdunathan Yesumariyan, a Jesuit, practising lawyer and
Dalit-Christian activist, says the Church has the legal power to
remove the wall.

Even though the cemetery is on privately owned land, he says, a recent
high court judgement ruled that the Church has full responsibility as
it administers the graveyard.

"The failure to remove the wall only helps cement caste feelings," he adds.

Some years ago two Catholic priests demolished a small part of the wall.

But the influential land-owning upper-caste Christian group rebuilt it.

The Church is meanwhile accused by critics of refusing to give "just
representation" for Dalits in its power structure, even while it
campaigns for a separate quota for the Dalit Christians in government
jobs.

Fr Yesumariyan says: "In Tamil Nadu, over 70% of Catholics are Dalit
converts. But only four out of 18 bishops are from the Dalit-Christian
community.

"In many places influential caste groups have lobbied and made sure
that only the person belonging to their caste is being appointed as
bishop in their diocese."

He says that in places where Dalit Christians are the majority, they
often struggle to get the top job.

Even though the archbishop of Tamil Nadu region is a Dalit Christian,
he has been unable to improve the situation much for other members of
his community in the Church.

Untouchablity 'everywhere'

In recent years a fixed number of jobs and seats have been earmarked
in Catholic-run schools and colleges for members of the
Dalit-Christian community.

There are estimated to be more than 17 million Catholics in India But
this is being challenged in the court on the grounds that "there is no
caste in Christianity".

Fr Yesumariyan continues: "The Indian constitution says it has
abolished untouchablity. But it is everywhere. In the same way, the
Catholic Church says there is no caste bias but caste discrimination
is rampant in the Church.

"There are hardly any inter-caste marriages among converted
Christians. Until recently, Church-run magazines carried matrimonial
advertisements containing specific caste references. Only after our
protest they stopped it."

A few churches in Tamil Nadu have even been closed after Dalit
Christians demanded a share in the administration.

"We say there is no caste in Christianity," says Fr Chinnadurai. "But
in India, Christianity was not able to get rid of caste.

"Those who converted to Christianity brought their caste prejudices
with them. We are trying our best to get rid of them."

------------------------------------

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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

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