Latest News Update: Nov 14, 2010

Sunday, November 14, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Dalit Mahasabha to launch movement

http://hindu.com/2010/11/13/stories/2010111365250300.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada

Dalit Mahasabha to launch movement

Special Correspondent

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Dalit Mahasabha is going to initiate a
socio-political movement to mark 25 years of its existence. It will
begin with a 'socio-political' conference that will be presided over
by Dalit Mahasabha founder president Katti Padma Rao on Saturday.
Dalit leader from Tamil Nadu and Dravidar Kazagham president K.
Veeramani will be the chief guest of the conference that will begin at
the Railway Institute at 10 a.m.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Padma Rao trashed all the arguments
put forward by leaders of the united Andhra movement saying that the
arguments do not hold water. He said the division of the State into
Telangana and Seemandhra would give a boost to the dalits politically
by reducing the numerical strength of the forward castes in the
legislative Assemblies.

He said that in this debate for the division of the State, the
benefits to Seemandhra in case of a bifurcation from Telangana were
not being highlighted. Andhra Pradesh Dalit Mahasabha would take up
the task of highlighting the benefits of the division of the state for
Seemandhra, he said.

He said Dalit Mahasabha would also bring into discussion and debate
the argument put forward by B.R.Ambedkar for small states including
the very strong case he made for a separate capital for every four
crore people.

Mr. Padma Rao said that the dalits of Karamchedu and Tsundur who waged
a war against upper caste oppression in various forms and come out
victorious would be facilitated at the conference.

Andhra Pradesh Dalit Mahasabha president Chintapalli Guruprasada Rao
was present.

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[ZESTCaste] CPIM to hold rally on Dalit rights in Shimla

http://www.himvani.com/news/2010/11/13/cpim-to-hold-rally-on-dalit-rights-in-shimla/8567/

CPIM to hold rally on Dalit rights in Shimla
HimVani

Shimla (Nov 13): The Himachal Pradesh state committee of CPI (M) will
hold a mass rally on Dalit rights' issue on November 15 in Shimla.
This will perhaps be the first-ever rally of any political party on
the issue of social discrimination in the state.

CPIM claims to have conducted a survey in the state to access
different forms of social discrimination being practiced in the state
covering more than 35,000 houses in over 1,000 panchayats. The party
claims that different forms of discrimination ranging from cultural,
economic, lingual, religious and even aesthetic are prevalent in the
state.

"After Punjab, the state has the second largest ratio of scheduled
castes population (24.7%). Nearly 70% of Dalit households either own
no land or very less land. They live in abject poverty with their
strength even according to government estimates reaching over 40%
below poverty line. 97.86% Dalit kisans are either small or marginal
in their capacity. Their education status is also quite dismal with
just 0.53% having industrial education, 5% up to secondary and just 2%
graduates. 15% have completed matric," the survey states.

CPIM has decided to submit a memorandum to the government to seek
implementation of land reforms and land for the poor; implementation
of 85th constitutional amendment in letter and spirit; special plan
for Dalit households and villages with respect to infrastructure
development; tap water supply for every Dalit house; steps to deal
with unsociability; and reservation in private sector.

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[ZESTCaste] Meira Kumar visits Tenali

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Meira-Kumar-visits-Tenali/articleshow/6921935.cms

Meira Kumar visits Tenali

TNN, Nov 14, 2010, 03.11am IST

VIJAYAWADA/TENALI: Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar was accorded a
rousing reception here on Saturday when she made a brief halt while
going to Tenali in Guntur district to attend a private function.
Several Congress and Dalit leaders welcomed Meira Kumar at the state
guest house. She promised the Dalit leaders that she would do her best
on the issues raised by them after receiving representations through
which they sought her intervention on implementation of various
government schemes.

Dairy development minister K Pardha Saradhi, legislative council
chairman A Chakrapani, Congress legislator Jogi Ramesh, MLCs Ilapuram
Venkaiah and Nannapaneni Rajakumari, among others welcomed Meira
Kumar. Guntur district collector B Ramanjaneyulu and joint collector A
Sarath came all the way to Vijayawada to take the Lok Sabha Speaker to
Tenali in their district. Guntur MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, and school
education minister Dokka Manikya Varaprasad welcomed the Speaker at
Tenali. Meira Kumar attended a marriage engagement function of her
long-time friend G Jasmine's daughter at Tenali later in the evening.

Read more: Meira Kumar visits Tenali - The Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Meira-Kumar-visits-Tenali/articleshow/6921935.cms#ixzz15Gj3StMv

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[ZESTCaste] More makers of modern India

http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/2010/11/13/more-makers-of-modern-india/

More makers of modern India
11.13.2010 · Posted in Public Policy
Rajadhyaksha's review of Guha's book

Niranjan Rajadhyaksha has a fine review of Ramachandra Guha's "Makers
of Modern India" in Mint.

Reading through the selections of the 19 makers of modern India, one
is struck by the sheer diversity of concerns that gripped their
minds—the gradual reformism of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the militant
populism of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the enlightened globalism of
Rabindranath Tagore, the attacks on caste by E.V. Ramaswami, the
feminism of Shinde, the nation-building of Nehru, the futile quest for
alternatives to parliamentary democracy by Jayaprakash Narayan, the
fight for a free market economy by C. Rajagopalachari, the sharp
investigations into caste as a central fact of Indian life by Ram
Manohar Lohia and the insights into tribal life by Elwin.

These and other leaders have continued relevance. The splendid
economic boom that India is in the middle of will inevitably be
socially disruptive as well. It is a well-documented fact that the
social strain of such disruption often leads to rebellion or hyper
nationalism, to anarchy or oligarchic rule. We see early signs of all
these in India, in tribal rage harvested by the Naxalites and the flag
waving encouraged by the mainstream political parties. It is critical
at such as juncture that India remains in touch with the enlightened
political thought that emerged in response to colonial rule and later
gave us a liberal republic.

A sound understanding of Indian political traditions would also help
us understand the importance of Ambedkar's perceptive warning on 25
November 1949. [Read the whole thing at Mint]
That Ambedkar's Grammar of Anarchy speech should make it into the book
is appropriate. Contemporary India must read and reflect on perhaps
the most prescient set of warnings that the republic's founding
fathers left behind. Ambedkar is well-known, even if his actual ideas
are now forgotten, but Mr Guha has done well to commemorate lesser
known, not no less brilliant thinkers too. (The book has Gandhi,
Nehru, Tagore, Ambedkar, Periyar, Raja Rammohan Roy, Syed Ahmad Khan,
Jotirao Phule, Gokhale, Tilak, Tarabai Shinde, Jinnah, Kamaladevi
Chattopadhyay, Golwalkar and Lohia)

Mr Rajadhyaksha rightly points out that Mr Guha's work will be
contentious because of who it leaves out. I personally think Goparaju
Ramachandra Rao, or "Gora", should be more than a footnote in modern
India's intellectual history. There are many more.

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[ZESTCaste] Cong may use Punia to hurt BSP’s Dalit vote bank: Maya

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cong-may-use-punia-to-hurt-bsps-dalit-vote-bank-maya/710882/

Cong may use Punia to hurt BSP's Dalit vote bank: Maya

Express news service Posted online: Sun Nov 14 2010, 05:30 hrs
Lucknow : UP Chief Minister and BSP national president Mayawati on
Saturday said the newly appointed chairman of National Commission for
Scheduled Castes P L Punia might be used by the Congress as a tool to
hurt her party's Dalit vote bank.
Mayawati also expressed her unhappiness at the fielding of relatives
in the recent Panchayat elections by her party leaders, including BSP
ministers.

Punia, who is Congress MP from Barabanki, was her principal secretary
in her three previous regimes in 1995, 1997 and 2002.

Addressing the state-level conference of her party functionaries at
BSP headquarters in Lucknow on Saturday, Mayawati accused the Congress
of pumping a large amount of money to ensure Punia's victory from
Barabanki seat in the last Lok Sabha elections, besides absolving him
of Taj Corridor case. She further said the NCSC Chairman Punia is not
empowered to take any direct action in any matter and would waste the
time of government officials in Lucknow and other districts.

Referring to the recent allegations levelled against her government by
Punia, she told the party leaders that the state chief secretary has
already provided all the data related to Dalit issues in the state.
Alerting the party workers against the alleged conspiracy hatched by
the Congress to damage the BSP's vote bank, she said although Punia is
a native of Haryana, he has worked in the state.

Earlier Punia, during his first visit to the state on November 3, had
termed the state government as insensitive towards Dalits. Punia made
it public that the state chief secretary had written five letters to
the NCSC seeking postponement of his visit to the state which was for
reviewing issues related to Dalits.

"The same government that never sends replies to the Commission's
queries on time sent five letters seeking postponement of my visit,"
Punia had then remarked. The state government had pleaded before the
NCSC to postpone Punia's visit to the state in view of the Panchayat
elections. The NCSC has already agreed to hold a meeting with the
state's top officials after December 6. Punia has also planned to
visit every district in UP.

Referring to the violation of her directives in the recent panchayat
elections that saw her party leaders' several relatives as candidates,
Mayawati said BSP has achieved success because of discipline within
the organisation. Although she had announced that she would forgive
all those who did not follow her guidelines, she told the party
workers that she would not tolerate such acts in the future.

She asked the party functionaries to dedicate their energies for the
victory of BPS-supported candidates as chairmen of district boards.
She asked the party coordinators to see that candidates are fielded
unanimously for the post of chairmen of district panchayats. If there
are more than two candidates, the final name would be cleared by a
two-member committee comprising PWD minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui and
Mines Minister Babu Singh Kushwaha, she said.

She also asked her party functionaries to complete the organisational
works like constitution of various committees by the end of November
20.

She also referred to AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's frequent
visits to Dalit houses. She also asked party leaders not to enroll
goons and mafia elements in the party and weed them out in case they
had entered in the organisation.

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

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[ZESTCaste] Poor conviction rate in anti-Dalit crimes: report

http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/14/stories/2010111462560300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Poor conviction rate in anti-Dalit crimes: report

Staff Reporter

Out of 1,450 crimes, only three ended in punishment

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State ranks sixth in the country in crimes against SCs

In terms of the SC/ST population, State ranks ninth
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bangalore: Out of 1,450 crimes against people belonging to the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka, only three ended
in convictions.

Even in 2007 and 2008, the average rate of conviction was around 0.01
per cent, finds a report presented by a monitoring and strengthening
committee in Karnataka, an informal conglomeration of activists, here
on Saturday.

Half-hearted

Activists also spoke about how the SC and ST (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act has not been "implemented properly". The Act mandates
that meetings be held at the district levels (with senior police
officials and sitting MLAs and MLCs) every three months and at the
State-level once in six months.

However, activists point out that the review took place this September
after three years.

Dubious distinction

It was pointed out that the National Crime Records Bureau statistics
accord the State with the dubious distinction of being ranked sixth in
the country in the number of crimes against SCs and eighth in crimes
against STs, this when in terms of SC/ST population the State ranks
ninth.

D. Thangaraj, retired bureaucrat and former principal secretary of the
Social Welfare Department, said: "A deeper study into this is
required.

Our comments and recommendations should be taken seriously by the
Government, which is after all the most important stakeholder in the
implementation of the Act. This issue is a sensitive one and should be
handled with care."

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[ZESTCaste] After 28 yrs, hopes revive for Dalits in Banaskantha with order for re-survey

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/After-28-yrs--hopes-revive-for-Dalits-in-Banaskantha-with-order-for-re-survey/710864/

After 28 yrs, hopes revive for Dalits in Banaskantha with order for re-survey

Parimal Dabhi Posted online: Sun Nov 14 2010, 03:44 hrs
Ahmedabad : Revenue authorities order 're-survey' of 6,574 acres of
land allocated to Dalits in 1982 but which is still illegally occupied
In a significant development in the implementation of Agricultural
Land Ceiling Act (ALC Act) in Gujarat, revenue authorities in
Banaskantha district have ordered "re-survey (re-measure)" of 6,574
acres of land in the district that was allocated to landless Dalits 28
years ago under the Act but is still not under their possession.

Incidentally, the land allegedly illegally occupied all these years
records bumper production of castor.

Banaskantha district collector R J Patel gave verbal orders at a
public function in Vav town of the district earlier this week. The
function was jointly organised by the district collectorate and an
Ahmedabad-based organisation, Council for Social Justice (CSJ), which
has been running a movement to get the possession of this land for
Dalits in Banaskantha.

District SP Harishchandra Patel, concerned revenue officers and social
activist Indukumar Jani were also present at the function.

Secretary of CSJ, Valjibhai Patel, said, "Under the provisions of the
ALC Act, this land was allocated for 1,713 Dalit families in 1982.
However, it remained on paper since authorities did not follow up the
procedure. All these years, it was used illegally by the upper-caste
people of the region."

Patel said that after the official allocation of the land in 1982,
certain statutory procedure is required to be followed for giving
possession of the same to the allottee.

"However, due to criminal negligence on the part of various sections
of the district revenue department like the office of the district
land records inspector (DLRI) and the mamlatdar to follow the ALC Act
provisions, physical possession of the land has not been given to
Dalits to date," Patel added. According to the CSJ secretary, after
allocation orders, the offices of mamlatdar and DLRI have to carry out
a physical survey (measurement) of the lands to earmark each plot to
be given to the allottee. And without this, possession cannot be
given.

After sustained efforts by CSJ, district revenue authorities have now
ordered to initiate the process of surveying of the 6,574 acres of
land that falls mostly in nine talukas; Vav, Tharad, Kankrej, Deodar,
Palanpur, Danta, Dantiwada, Deesa and Vadgam.

When contacted, the district collector said, "I have given orders to
re-survey these lands so that possession can be given to those
families who have not been given the same so far." The officer,
however, said possession of only around 25 per cent of the 6,574 acres
of land have not been given to the allottees.

The collector said a survey was carried out earlier but since they do
not have records to prove the same, a re-survey has been ordered to be
completed in three months.

The castor booty

If Council for Social Justice is to be believed, a significant portion
of the castor production in Banaskantha district is being done on the
land illegally occupied mostly by upper-caste farmers. Banaskantha is
known for its castor production. According to Raju Solnaki, who is
associated with CSJ, "Seventy percent of the total castor production
in world is being done by India. And in India, around 70 per cent
castor is produced by Gujarat more than half of which is being
produced in Banaskantha. The nine talukas in which the survey
(measurement) has been ordered are significant castor producers."

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