Friday, September 17, 2010

[ZESTCaste] A Discussion on “Educated Urban Dalit Women: Opportunities and Challenges for Employment and Entrepreneurship” [Insight Circle Meeting (19th Sept, Sunday)] [1 Attachment]

 
[Attachment(s) from INSIGHT MAGAZINE included below]

Insight Study Circle

Invites you for a public discussion

On

"Educated Urban Dalit Women: Opportunities and Challenges for Employment and Entrepreneurship"


Based on

A recent study undertaken by Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion (CSEI), New Delhi



Date – 19 September 2010 (Sunday)

Time – 2.30 PM to 5.30 PM

Venue - Room No 411, Indian Social Institute, Lodhi Road, Near Saibaba Mandir, New Delhi


A discussion will take place based on the sharing on the findings of the study by our friends from Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion (CSEI).

1. Annie Namala

2. Satyendra Kumar


This study explores various opportunities and challenges that are present in the contemporary labour market before educated urban Dalit women, a class that is less in number but has considerable impact on the community. The study has tried to look into the complex interplay of caste, class and patriarchy in Dalit women's aspirations and their efforts and achievements in globalized India.

Apart from studying about enterprises run by Dalit women, the study has also tried to map the employment opportunities available in public, private and NGO sector. This study was undertaken in two cities Delhi and Hyderabad.


RSVP

9313432410

9999599876


..........................................................................................................................................................

Insight Foundation is a  group of young Dalit and Adivasi students professionals that are committed towards creating various support systems for our students and to make our education system more equitable and inclusive. Towards this

1. We are running a National Dalit and Adivasi Students Helpline (No- 0 9999 48 42 49, Mon-Fri, 10 am - 5pm)

2. www.scststudents.org - A Dalit and Adivasi Student Portal

3. www.blog.insightyv.com - A team blog on contemporary issues

4. Insight Study Circle - A monthly meeting on contemporary issues in Delhi

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Attachment(s) from INSIGHT MAGAZINE

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[ZESTCaste] Restore house sites to Dalits

 

http://hindu.com/2010/09/17/stories/2010091750570300.htm

Tamil Nadu

Restore house sites to Dalits

Staff Reporter

KRISHNAGIRI: Tamilnadu Vivasayigal Sangam has said that action should
be taken to restore the house sites given to 22 Dalit families in
Ramapuram village, Kaveripattinam Union in Krishnagiri district. G.
Latha, MLA, participated as special invitee at the demonstration
staged in front of the Revenue Divisional Office in Krishnagiri on
Thursday.

Later, she told reporters that a section of upper caste Hindus were
preventing the Dalits from building huts on the land.

She asked Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and the district
administration to restore the lawful rights of the Dalits. District
police should provide enough security to the Dalits to build houses on
their land. The government should take immediate steps to build houses
under the Kalaignar Veetu Vasathi Thittam, Indira Awaz Yojana and
other schemes.

Ms. Latha asked the police to take immediate action against the
perpetrators of violence against Dalits in Ramapuram village. She said
no arrests had been made so far though cases were filed against 17
persons. K. Mohamed Ali, vice-president, Tamilnadu Vivasayigal Sangam
threatened to launch a state-wide agitation if the district
administration failed to take appropriate action to restore the land
to the Dalits.

He alleged that DMK activists were supporting upper caste Hindus in
many places and denying justice to Dalits.

D. Ravindran, district secretary, CPI(M); R. Shankar, district
committee member, Tamilnadu Vivasayigal Sangam, among others spoke on
the occasion.

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[ZESTCaste] Caste Aside: Parents Defy Rule To Raise Children

http://www.queenstribune.com/deadline/Deadline_091610_CasteAside.html

Caste Aside: Parents Defy Rule To Raise Children

By Jessica Ablamsky
Sujit Dhakal has tried to protect his son from the consequences of the
sin that began his child's life, one that Dhakal no longer believes is
wrong.


To Sujit Dhakal's father, the sin was unforgivable, earning the young
man the enmity of his entire close-knit clan. Eventually, it cost him
everything.

A small, bespectacled man, Dhakal's words come quickly. His mind moves quicker.

Nearly half a world from Nepal, where he was raised, he and his wife
Ranu share a small Elmhurst apartment with their 8-month-old daughter
Samriddhi, and 7-year-old son Samarpan.

Samarpan means sacrifice, Dhakal explained. The name is a constant
reminder to the couple that their sacrifices made his life possible.

"He is the symbol of our love," Dhakal said.

One of the world's oldest religions, Hinduism's ancient caste-based
prejudices thrive in Nepal's largely orthodox society. Dhakal and
Ranu's story is perhaps the world's oldest, the stuff that fairy tales
are made of.

The first-born son from an elite caste, Dhakal was expected to marry a
fellow Brahmin. Instead, he fell in love with a woman from the lower
Newar caste. Although Ranu was not untouchable, she was an
unacceptable choice for marriage.

The two met on the job. The deputy editor of a newspaper, Dhakal was
assigned to oversee intern Ranu's work. Despite their different
upbringings, they had values and views in common.


"She has a very good nature," Dhakal said. "She is so calm. She always
helps people. She has that kind of heart."

When he proposed, it was to a woman he loved without ever having kissed.

"Once I tried, and she said, 'No, you cannot until we are married,'" he said.

Ranu and Dhakal married in 2000 and fled to the U.S. six months later.

The couples' experience is not unique. The Nepali constitution may
outlaw caste-based oppression, but couples that dare to marry outside
their caste face severe harassment, forced separation and social
isolation.

Like Sarita Chaudhary and her husband Taulan Kohar. In April, a
government minister forced them to separate because her husband was
from a lower caste, according to a report from the International Dalit
Solidarity Network.

Unlike untouchables, the lowest caste, Ranu can actually set food
inside a temple where Brahmins pray, or engage in casual conversation.
But an orthodox Brahmin will not touch any utensils or flatware that
she has touched.

The mismatched marriage shocked the Dhakal family, but Dhakal was not
a rebellious youth in thought or deed.

When he was growing up, Dhakal considered normal such treatment of
their untouchable housekeepers. It was his intercaste romance that
inspired a new way of thinking.

Ranu never wanted to come between Dhakal and his family, but he
assured her, "I can give up my family for you."

Although he hoped things would be different, after he proposed, Ranu's
worst fears came true. "If you get married, you are dead to me," his
father said after the couple's two-year courtship.

Despite his pleas, no one from his family attended their wedding. Not
even his young nephews, whose inclusion Dhakal begged for. He has
since been disinherited.

"I knew when I got married that this would be the consequence," he
said. "I challenged him. I broke his tradition. I humiliated him in
the eyes of society. I don't need the property anyway."

Discussing his wife, Dhakal proclaims repeatedly that love has no
boundaries. Unfortunately, his family's treatment of his new wife
presented an insurmountable obstacle. With his family, Ranu could not
hold her head up high, something Dhakal could not tolerate.

"After we were married, there was not a condition that she could have
stayed," he said. "When it comes time to serve the food, she is
excluded; any ritual, religious thing."

Now, it is their son who is suffering the consequences of their
untraditional marriage.

In Hinduism, the most important event in a boy's life is a coming of
age ritual known as Bratabandha. A purification, it makes a boy a full
participant in religious life. Without it, he cannot take part in any
religious ceremonies.

Dhakal's ceremony took place at the holiest site in Nepal, a shrine
dedicated to the goddess Sita, in the region said to be her
birthplace. This is what he wanted for his son.

They planned to send Samarpan to Nepal with Ranu's father, where the
boy would go through the ceremony. When word reached local orthodox
religious organizations, Samarpan's life was threatened, and the trip
was quickly cancelled.

Instead, Samarpan will go through Bratabandha in the United States,
where he is safe.

The children might visit Nepal someday, Dhakal said.

"I don't want them to experience a society that does not accept them," he said.

His mission now is to advocate for the end of caste-based oppression.

"I will be the advocate of intercaste," Dhakal said. "There should be
no barrier [to love]."

Reach Reporter Jessica Ablamsky at jablamsky@queenstribune.com or
(718) 357-7400, Ext. 124.


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[ZESTCaste] Dalits have more serious issues than religion: swamiji

http://hindu.com/2010/09/16/stories/2010091659590300.htm

Karnataka - Mysore

Dalits have more serious issues than religion: swamiji

Special Correspondent

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Such issues should be addressed after curbing atrocities against them'

Earlier, Pejawar seer had expressed concern

that conversion is a threat to Hindu religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MYSORE: Basavananda Maadara Channaiah Swamiji of Madiga community
Gurupeetha in Chitradurga said here on Wednesday that it was not the
time to discuss the issue of religious conversion, when life and
dignity of the Dalits was under threat from upper-caste Hindus.

He was reacting to a concern expressed by Pejawar seer Vishvesha
Theertha Swamiji over the danger being posed to the "monolithic" Hindu
culture and religion by religious conversion.

In a meeting with the Pejawar seer Vishvesha Theertha Swamiji at the
Krishna Dhama, Basavananda swamiji clarified that the issue of
conversion was not of paramount importance to Dalits when they were
being hunted by upper-caste Hindus consistently. It had led to loss of
trust among Dalits, he added.

When the Pejawar seer said that he was prepared to extend "Bhakti
Dikshe" to the Dalits, to restrain them from converting to other
religions "either by force or through enticement in view of protecting
Hindu culture", Basavananda swamiji said that Dalits had way more
serious issues at hand than religion. Issues such as conversion could
be addressed only after curbing the atrocities committed against them,
he emphasised.

Stressing the need to protect the "ancient" Hindu religion that was
"facing threat of religious conversion", the Pejawar seer had said
that his concern was to see to it that the Dalits got to lead a
dignified life and to dissuade them from falling prey to religious
conversion. However reacting to the observations of the Pejawar seer,
the Maadiga community seer asserted that Dalit culture was as rich and
ancient as any other forward community culture.

"Dalits have been denied the right to equality for centuries and have
been faced physical and mental torture by upper-castes for
generations. The question of protection of religion and culture comes
in only after we instil confidence in them," he noted.

When asked whether he supported Pejawar seer on the anti-cattle
slaughter Bill, Basavananda Swamiji said that the Pejawar seer was of
the opinion that food system was one's personal matter. Dalits should
also have a similar freedom to exercise their choice of food. "It's
more needed to stop killing of Dalits before speaking about cow
slaughter," he said curtly.

On whether his new initiative to visit the Dalit colonies was an
attempt to stop religious conversion, Pejawar seer noted that visiting
Dalit colonies was not a new thing for him. "When Dalits of
Meenakshipuram converted to Islam in 1981, I visited the colonies to
instil confidence in them. Now I am 80 and as a last effort to contain
religious conversion, I'm trying to end untouchability and bring
equality in society," he clarified.


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[ZESTCaste] Land grabbing, motive behind Dalit killing

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Land-grabbing-motive-behind-Dalit-killing/articleshow/6569095.cms

Land grabbing, motive behind Dalit killing
G Arun Kumar, TNN, Sep 17, 2010, 02.48am IST

KHAITHAPURAM (Nalgonda): It was a 20-year-old dispute over a piece of
land, not 'banamati' (black magic), that led to the macabre killing of
Guddeti Yellaiah in this nondescript hamlet of 750 people in
Choutuppal mandal.

Menfolk of upper castes who bore a grudge against the 74-year-old man
for long plotted the sinister killing of Yellaiah down to the last
detail and pushed (read tutored) the women to take the blame even as
they escaped. Contrary to the claims that women had led the frenzied
mob, it was a mob of 40 men who executed the murderous revenge on
Wednesday. Twenty-eight of them have already been identified by
police. Curiously, cases were slapped against 62 women.

Yellaiah was a Dalit whose plot was sandwiched between the plots owned
by two upper caste persons. The frail old man had been refusing to
part with his land and the village heads avenged his defiance by
eliminating him along with another villager, Chiliveru Narsimhaiah,
68. "It was a conspiracy by the powerful village lobby of upper caste
to get rid of my brother," a cousin Jonnaganti Balamani, who works in
a milk chillingcentre in nearby Malkapuram village, said.

When TOI visited the village on Thursday, locks hung on almost every
door and most of the houses which were locked belonged to the accused.
While Yellaiah's old widow Oochamma was being helped to stand on her
weak legs by her relatives, an Anganwadi teacher Bandameedi Shamanta
revealed that the upper caste men wanted to usurp Yellaiah's land.
"They even eyed a small 120 square yards of land close to the village
pond," she said. The victim was a watchman in a cement pipes factory
on a salary of Rs 1,500 and used to make some more money by working in
a stone crushing unit.

Seven years ago, Yellaiah was beaten up on the charges of sorcery. "He
was threatened and forced to accept the charges as we looked on
helplessly. His eyesight was poor. He could not walk properly," a
teary-eyed Lingaswamy, Yellaiah's nephew, recalled. Yellaiah left the
village for a few years and came back once the issue died down. For
the record, the village is dominated by Reddys, Gouds, Yadavs and SCs.
Most of them own lorries, while the Dalits work as farm labourers.

Narsimhaiah, on the other hand, was an old man whose only fault was to
place a small piece of turmeric cloth and two lemons near Pochamma
temple, a practice which is common in all Kali temples. Some villagers
however began to spread rumours that Narsimhaiah was responsible for
the deaths of a youth and a young woman in the last two months. Police
officials however told TOI that 24-year-old K Muthyam, a photographer,
died when he dashed his motorbike into a road divider at Mylaram
village in an inebriated condition on Aug 10.

"Velama Pavani, 21, hanged herself and left a suicide note blaming her
aunt for forcing her into a marriage," Choutuppal CI M Tirupatanna
said.

Narsimhaiah had a herd of eight goats and used to mind his own
business. On Wednesday, he was dragged away from a hillock as he was
tending to his goats and similarly forced by the village heads to
'confess' that Yellaiah and he had indulged in sorcery. He was beaten
up mercilessly. His head was smashed with a boulder. "The village
elders led by Gopu Ilaiah and Manne Lakshma Reddy had conspired to
kill my husband and Yellaiah for no fault of theirs," shouted Yadamma,
sitting in her two-room tin-roofed tenement.

Both Yellaiah and Narsimhaiah were thrown on a woodenpyre in the
graveyard close to the tile-roofed houses and set afire by the mob.
"The barbaric drama started around 10 am and by12.30 pm, they were
burnt to death," a toddy-tapper Bandigadi Jangaiah, whose name figured
in the accused list, said. "The accused flung two worn-out lorry tyres
to ensure that the bodies were burnt beyond recognition," a Clues team
expert said. When police reached around 2 pm, their bodies were
reduced to ashes.

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[ZESTCaste] Growing Honor Killings In the Indian Capital Region

http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4609.htm

Women's Issues - South Asia Studies Project

September 16, 2010 Special Dispatch No.3237

Growing Honor Killings In the Indian Capital Region

In recent months, the Indian capital of New Delhi and its neighboring
states, particularly Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh,
have come into the limelight for the growing number of "honor
killings" that have been occurring in their jurisdictions. In most
cases, an honor killing is when young men or women are murdered by
relatives for deciding to marry against their parents' wishes. While
such cases have been reported in the past in the rural areas of India,
disturbingly new cases of honor killings are taking place in the urban
and semi-urban centers of the modern Indian republic. Most of the
recent cases have involved various castes of the Hindu and Sikh
communities, though such cases also occur among Indian Muslims.

In India, a marriage usually takes place within the same caste and
religion, or outside one's gotra (clan/lineage/sub-caste). However, a
changing India and new career options mean that boys and girls are
marrying outside their religions and castes, i.e. mostly of their own
choice. A person's membership of a caste is ascribed by birth. Lower
or higher social status is also dependant on the caste into which s/he
is born. Accordingly, a person is expected to marry within that caste
and beyond his or her gotra, a practice that ensures no cousin
marriage, which is disallowed in Hindu society, can take place.
Sometimes, even marrying within the same village can lead to the honor
killing of a couple. Honor killings may also include the murder of
young men and young women for marrying without parental consent, even
if such a marriage takes place within the same caste or religion. Such
young couples solemnize/legalize their marriages in a court.

The following examples illustrate the nature of honor killings in
India. In June in New Delhi, Dharmaveer Nagar, the uncle of a girl who
was killed by her brother for fleeing from home and marrying a groom
of her choice, defended the murder saying: "You may consider the
killing of an individual wrong, but for society, it was necessary."[1]
In the town of Ghaziabad in the Uttar Pradesh state, near New Delhi,
Ranvir Singh and his cousin were arrested in June for killing the
boyfriend of Ranvir Singh's sister, who is a minor, though she and her
boyfriend belonged to the same caste.[2] In May, a newly married woman
and her mother-in-law were hacked to death by the girl's family
members near the town of Amritsar in the Punjab province for marrying
against their wishes despite the fact that the girl, Gurleen Kaur, and
her husband Amarpal Singh both belonged to the same religion,
Sikhism.[3] In the Bhiwani district of the Haryana state, near New
Delhi, 18-year-old Monika and her boyfriend Rinku, both of whom
belonged to the Jat caste, were killed by her family members in June
for being in love. Their bodies were hanged as an exhibit from the
girl's family house for everyone to see.[4] The Delhi High Court
recently slammed the police for "conniving" with murderers in cases of
honor killings for money.[5]

Honor killings are socially approved and justified by khap panchayats
(courts/council of local elders), particularly in the state of
Haryana. In Delhi's Wazirpur area, local khap leader Ravinder Naagar
justified the murders of Monika and her husband Kuldeep by her
brothers, saying: "Why should we regret? They (Kuldeep and Monika) got
what they deserved. They broke the age-old traditions of our
community. They caused immense embarrassment to us [across
castes]."[6]

The spurt in the honor killings in the Indian capital region has
highlighted a shameful aspect of Indian traditions. On June 21, 2010,
the Supreme Court of India, which had recently observed that Indian
citizens should marry across religions and castes in keeping with the
secular foundations of the Indian republic, took notice of the growing
number of honor killings. Hearing a public interest petition by Shakti
Vahini, a non-governmental organization that sought clarity on the
government initiatives to prevent honor killings, the Supreme Court
issued notices to the federal government as well the governments of
eight northern and central states, asking them "to explain the steps
taken to prevent honor killings."[7] The governments of Haryana,
Punjab, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan
and Madhya Pradesh were ordered to respond to the petitioner's plea
for them to submit a National/State Plan of Action against honor
crimes.

The issue of honor killings in the Indian capital region is examined
in the reports below.

Women's Leader: "Killing Your Own Sons and Daughters in the Name of
Honor is Wrong; This is Talibanization"

As per Indian media reports, various women's groups have condemned the
growing number of honor killings in Delhi and its neighboring states.
Political groups have also condemned the killings, but they are afraid
of antagonizing the politically influential, vote-garnering khap
panchayats. According to one report, the ruling Congress Party called
for strictly dealing with the culprits behind the honor killings, but
"was careful not to comment... on the khap panchayats."[8]

Ranjana Kumari, the director of the Delhi-based Centre for Social
Research (CSR), expressed concern over the killings, saying: "This is
absolutely inhuman treatment for any society. This is not honor
killing... it is caste killing. Moreover, whose honor are they talking
about? Killing your own sons and daughters in the name of honor is
wrong. This is Talibanization, if you defy the so-called rules you are
killed."[9]

While it will take legislation against honor killings to be updated to
reign in the problem, the Indian government is under pressure to issue
an executive order to tackle the problem. Kumari's Center for Social
Research has begun an online signature campaign requesting Indian
President Pratibha Patil to ban such extremist justice.

The petition says: "India cannot afford to have a parallel justice
system, which undoes all the good that was ushered in by its founding
fathers. Also, the tyranny unleashed by khap panchayats on the pretext
of safeguarding tradition needs to be quelled under threat of severe
punishment."[10]

Moushumi Basu, a women's rights activist and member of the People's
Union for Democratic Rights, expresses concern that honor killings are
spreading in the region: "Earlier such incidents were limited to
Haryana and now it's in Delhi. I think it is the responsibility of the
state governments to curb such events."

Author Kalpana Sharma: "Modernity is Ensuring That Girls and Boys are
Getting Educated, Moving Away From Their Homes...; Yet, the Deadly
Reality of Their Lives is That on This One Issue of Marriage They
Really Have No Choice"

In an article in The Hindu newspaper, prominent Indian author and
journalist Kalpana Sharma observed that a change is needed in the
attitudes and traditions of Indian society in order to prevent honor
killings.

Following are some excerpts from her article:[11]

"The horrifying nature of some of the honor killings that have been
recorded – and there are probably many more that go unreported – make
one wonder how we can claim to be a civilized society. Statistics are
difficult to collate, as deaths due to honor killings are not listed
as such in the National Crime Records Bureau data. But we cannot deny
that their numbers are growing. According to one survey, there are at
least 100 honour killings each year in just [the states of] Delhi,
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

"How do you define honor crimes? Human Rights Watch gives the
following definition: 'Honor crimes are acts of violence, usually
murder, committed by male family members against female family
members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family.'

"And how do you bring this 'dishonor' on your family? In India, this
translates into marrying into another caste, another religion or even
another class. On October 26, 2009, the reported murder of the
daughter of an Assistant Commissioner of Customs in Patna [the capital
of Bihar state], who eloped with the son of a Class IV employee, was
one such [an] instance where class was an issue.

"Only in one honor killing case so far, has the court come down hard
on those involved. In what will be seen as a historic judgment, a
court in Karnal, Haryana, sentenced to death five people and gave life
imprisonment to one for the murder of Manoj (23) and Babli (19) of
Karora Village in Kaithal district. Their crime? The khap panchayat
ruled that as they belonged to the same gotra they could not marry.

"The common thread that runs through all these incidents is the
decision of the boy and girl to choose their own partners rather than
letting families decide. And that is at the root of the societal
problem we face, irrespective of caste or creed or region. For,
modernity is ensuring that girls and boys are getting educated, moving
away from their homes, finding jobs, watching images of people of
their generation making free choices. Yet, the deadly reality of their
lives is that on this one issue of marriage they really have no
choice. And if they defy entrenched traditions and attitudes, they are
sentenced to death, no less.

"Can anything be done? Even if the deeper issue of societal change
cannot occur overnight, are there steps that can be taken to curb such
regressive influences?..."

"The law in any case can do only so much. What has to change are
attitudes and traditions. How can we talk of independence, or
empowerment, if on an issue as basic as marriage, women and men are
told they have no choice? And worse, that defying tradition means
inviting the death penalty. How can such a situation be accepted by a
civilized society? How many more young women, and men, must die before
some sense prevails?"

Editorial in Leading Indian Daily: "In Village After Village, Khap
Panchayats Have Hounded Out, Forcibly Separated, and... Murdered Newly
Married Couples"

In an editorial, titled "Barbaric practice," the leading secular
newspaper The Hindu recently stressed that legal changes alone may not
prevent the practice of honor killing, and added: "any enhancement of
the legal architecture must be complemented by social enlightenment
for results to prove enduring."

Following are some excerpts from the editorial:[12]

"Sardar Patel, the architect of [princely] states unification [with
India], was worried that Indian democracy would prove transient:
'Almost overnight we have introduced …the superstructure of a modern
system of government… unless the transplanted growth takes a healthy
root in the soil, there will be a danger of collapse and chaos.' In
the six decades since then, India's home-grown democracy has held
together beautifully – or so India is fond of telling the world. Yet
every so often this smug self-belief is shattered by incidents so
gruesome, so medieval that they serve to recall the Sardar's worst
fears. How can a nation cast in a modern, liberal democratic
framework, with a Constitution held up as a model to emulate and laws
that match the best in the world, tolerate the ugly phenomenon of khap
(caste) panchayats with their kangaroo court-style instant justice?

"For years, the panchayats, prevalent mainly in the North Indian
States of Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, have practiced
violence as if it was a credo, brutally and summarily punishing those
overstepping the redlines. This form of 'retributive justice' has
particularly targeted young men and women seeking to marry within the
same gotra. In village after village, khap panchayats have hounded
out, forcibly separated, and all failing, murdered newly married
couples – justifying the horrendous edicts as necessary to uphold
local culture and honor.

"In the first-ever conviction in a case of 'honor killing,' a Haryana
court recently sentenced five persons to death. The verdict has turned
the spotlight on the recurring crime, triggering widespread debate
followed by the promise of official action. Nonetheless, two concerns
arise. Given the frequency of this barbaric practice – in the last
year alone several couples have been strung up and the baby of a young
mother put up for sale – why do so few cases come up for trial? The
continued use of the term 'honor killing' is itself deeply disturbing:
it implies sanction for a system of patriarchy that stigmatizes women,
tying them to outdated notions of purity and chastity. Several
remedial measures have been suggested to rein in the khap panchayats,
including a separate section in the Indian Penal Code.

"However, any enhancement of the legal architecture must be
complemented by social enlightenment for results to prove enduring.
The khaps have become a law unto themselves because of social and
political support. At a recent khap maha panchayat [grand court],
members had the temerity to demand a new law to prevent same-gotra
marriages. Without a change in this reactionary attitude, India will
remain a country that ritually holds elections but falls way short of
a truly modern, liberal democracy."


Endnotes:

[1] www.timesofindia.com, India, June 24, 2010. All reports and
editorial in this dispatch have been lightly edited for clarity.

[2] www.timesofindia.com, India, June 22, 2010.

[3] www.timesofindia.com, India, May 13, 2010.

[4] www.timesofindia.com, India, June 21, 2010.

[5] www.indianexpress.com, India, June 17, 2010.

[6] www.mid-day.com, India, June 23, 2010.

[7] The Hindu, India, June 22, 2010.

[8] http://economictimes.indiatimes.com, India, June 24, 2010.

[9] www.hindustantimes.com, India, June 22, 2010.

[10] www.hindustantimes.com, India, June 22, 2010.

[11] The Hindu, India, May 15, 2010.

[12] The Hindu, India, April 8, 2010. The text of the editorial has
been lightly edited for clarity.


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[ZESTCaste] SC moved on quota law in educational institutions for OBC's

 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/SC-moved-on-quota-law-in-educational-institutions-for-OBC-s/Article1-600971.aspx

SC moved on quota law in educational institutions for OBC's

Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, September 16, 2010First Published: 19:57 IST(16/9/2010)
Last Updated: 20:02 IST(16/9/2010)

A petition was today moved in the Supreme Court contending that the
Delhi High Court has made a wrong interpretation of the apex court
judgement on the quota law in educational institutions that 10 per
cent difference in cut-off marks in admission for OBC candidates and
general category was bad in law.

The petition filed by P V Indiresan, former Director of IIT, Chennai,
has sought a stay of the September 7 verdict of the High Court which
held that universities are entitled to only fix minimum eligibility
criteria for admission in the reserved category at maximum 10 per cent
below the minimum eligibility criteria fixed for general category.

The academecian has challenged the High Court ruling which said "the
OBC candidates to avail of reservation provided for them under the
Central Educational Institutions (Reservations in Admission) Act,
2006, are not required to, in admission test or in the eligibility
exam, secure marks within the bandwidth of 10 per cent below the
cut-off marks of the last candidate admitted in general (unreserved)
category".

The High Court had pronounced its verdict on a petition challenging
the procedure adopted for admission by Jawaharlal Nehru University
(JNU) and the Centre for providing reservations to the OBCs.

It had declared the procedure followed by them as bad. Senior advocate
Harish Salve and advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned the
petition before a Bench comprising Justices R V Raveendran and H L
Gokhale which decided to hear it in routine course.

They pointed out to the Bench that the High Court ruling was in a
"complete departure" from the October 14, 2008, judgment of the
Constitution Bench of the apex court. The apex court had made it
clear that there must be a maximum 10 per cent difference between the
cut-off marks of general category and that of OBC reserved category in
admissions to educational institutions.

The petitioner said a susbtantial question of law arose for
consideration as to how the High Court could have gone behind the
judgement of the Constitution Bench of apex court and given an
opposite finding.

Whether the words "cut off" can ever be interpreted to mean
"qualifiying marks", as has been done by the High Court, the petition
said contending that whether the result of the interpretation by the
High Court would result in lowering the standards of education in
India.

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[ZESTCaste] UNTOUCHABILITY EXISTS IN OTHER RELIGIONS TOO: MADARA SEER

http://www.starofmysore.com/main.asp?type=news&item=25887

UNTOUCHABILITY EXISTS IN OTHER RELIGIONS TOO: MADARA SEER

Mysore, Sept. 17 (KMC&ACP)- "Untouchability is being practiced by
people of all religions, not by the Brahmins alone," said Madara
Chennaiah Seer, during the joint interaction with Pejawar Seer
organised by the Mysore District Journalists' Association (MDJA) at
Pathrakarthara Bhavan here yesterday.

"The Pejawar Seer has on behalf of the Brahmins, assured to eradicate
the social evil 'untouchability' completely. If the pontiffs of other
Mutts and religious heads join hands with Pejawar Seer and support his
mission, the evil can be eliminated and unity among various classes of
people within the Hindu society can be attained in due course of
time," he said.

The Seer said that he had got good response from the Brahmins during
his padayatra in Krishnamurthypuram in city last Wednesday and
announced that a similar reverential welcome will be accorded to
Pejawar Seer to any of the Dalit colonies he chooses to visit in north
Karnataka.

Madara Seer said that he was against religious conversions and was of
the opinion that one must stay in the religion into which one is born.
"But I have not advised anyone against conversion," he said and added
that he would say no to conversion only after a society of equality
was created because, as long as the Dalits were deprived of their
rights, they would go to other religions where they feel they will be
accepted and respected.

Pejawar Seer opposes special constitutional privileges to minorities

Mysore, Sept. 17 (KMC&ACP)- Pejawar Seer Sri Vishvesha Theertha
Swamiji said that he opposed the Constitutional provision of giving
additional privileges to the minorities, more than what is given to
the people from majority communities.

He was replying to a query at the interaction along with Madara
Chennaiah Swamiji, held under the aegis of Mysore District
Journalists' Association at the Pathrakarthara Bhavan in city
yesterday.

"The Constitution recommending special privileges to the minorities
must be amended and people of all communities must be considered
equal," reiterated Pejawar Seer.

To another poser from the media whether he would appoint a Dalit as
the pontiff for the branch of Udupi Mutt, an apparently irked Seer
replied, "You ask such questions to a Brahmin Seer. Have you ever
asked about making the Dalit Christian the Pope or a Dalit Buddhist as
a Lama? Nobody asks any of them about such matters."

Continuing, he said, "The objective of my padayatra is not to destroy
any religion. It is against untouchability, to bridge the gap between
the upper and lower classes of the society and to bring in harmony
among the Hindus."

"Destroying any religion is impossible. Such efforts do not yield
results. It would only lead to the destruction of cultural diversity,"
he said and added, "These days, leaders of various religions orga-nise
themselves through conventions and attempt to bring in unity within
people of the religion."

"Moreover, the government conducts caste and religion-based census to
extend special privileges to them. As such, elimination of any caste
is not possible. On the other hand, the Dalits must feel proud to
state the name of their community just as a Brahmin proudly states
that he or she is a Brahmin," the Seer said.

Regarding a query about appointing Dalits as priests in temples coming
under the Muzrai Department, in accordance with a government order to
that effect, the Seer said that the issue was a hornet's nest which he
preferred not to stir up. "Attaining priesthood is not that easy. It
involves lot of tradition. Even I cannot become a priest in the
Tirupathi temple. Each temple has its own tradition and particular
class of Brahmins become its priests.

MDJA President K. Shivakumar, General Secretary B.S. Prabhurajan,
Secretary Shashikumar and others were present at the interaction.

The Seer, along with Madara Seer, watered a mango sapling to symbolise
unification of the Brahmins and Dalits. The sapling will be planted at
the Pathrakarthara Bhavan premises.


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[ZESTCaste] Minor Dalit Girl Raped in Moga, Punjab

 

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?693789

Minor Dalit Girl Raped in Moga, Punjab
Moga | Sep 17, 2010

A minor Dalit girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped by a youth in the
district following which a case has been registered against him and
his accomplice, police said here.

The victim, a class 10th student, hails from Aminwala village, was
allegedly kidnapped by Pawan Kumar (22) and his friend while she was
on her way to buy some essentials, police said.

The girl was forcibly picked up by the motorcycle-borne youths and
taken to the nearby fields where she was raped by Pawan, they said.

The relatives of the girl found her crying in the fields. However, the
accused managed to escape from the spot, police said.

A case under various sections of the IPC has been registered against
the accused by Dharamkot police.

Filed On: Sep 17, 2010 14:26 IST , Edited On: Sep 17, 2010 14:26 IST

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