April 17, 2011
ANDHRA PRADESH
Broader Movement for Dalit Rights in Offing
B V Raghavulu, AP state vice-president, KVPS (Organisation for
Struggle Against Caste Discrimination) warned that, if the state
government did not keep its promises given to the SCs and STs, a still
more broad based movement would be launched. The 76 day long cycle
rally organised by the KVPS and Agricultural Workers Union consisting
of a 30 member team led by Tammineni Veerabhadram, honorary president,
KVPS, Khammam District, came to a conclusion at Khammam town on
April 5. Speaking at a public rally organised on this occasion, B V
Raghavulu, Polit Bureau member and secretary of the CPI(M) AP unit,
said the ruling classes that want to see India in the company of USA
should also ensure that, the SCs and STs also advance forward. Most of
those who are working as laborers at the construction sites of the
dams, agriculture and all other areas of work that are labour
intensive are SCs, he reminded. And, with out ensuring the betterment
in their lives, they cannot become whole hearted participants in the
economic growth. All those who look down upon the SC's should realise
this, Raghavulu added. No worker would want to further improve the
profits of the owner, who is discriminating them. If the government
did not implement its promises with regard to the SCs and STs, we
would organise a broad based movement in the future for the resolution
of those issues, he emphasised. And, we would achieve much broader
unity. We are not seeking any body's mercy in the provision of the
funds for this. We demand for a due share of the funds, for the
development of the SCs and STs, he reiterated. Raghavulu condemned the
apathy of the government in providing the funds to the nodal agency
and as well as the non appointment of the chairman of the SC and ST
commission. He condemned the attitude of some of the political parties
which are looking towards Delhi and watching whether the state will
remain united or else be divided. He asked them to shift the gaze
towards the difficulties of the people of the state and thus join
hands in the future struggles. The public meeting was preceded by a
huge rally with thousands of people. The dalits who turned up for the
rally in a huge way, marched on the streets of Khammam. Slogans
demanding the resolution of their problems reverberated all along the
way.
Professor Satyanarayana of Osmania University's Centre for Dalit
studies, who spoke at the public meeting, criticised the ruling
classes for the mischief they were playing with the dalits since the
last six decades. He warned that the dalits are not prepared anymore
to be deceived further. The dalit awakening is on the rise, thus their
resistance would follow up correspondingly, he added. The welfare
programs being implemented by the government are not a charity, but
are paid from the taxes being paid by the people themselves, he
reiterated. The constitutional protection which is an inherent right
of every human being is being denied to the dalits and thus it should
be won back by the struggles, he called upon. There should be a fair
share for the dalits in the national wealth, he demanded.Dalits should
understand who is raising voice on behalf of them and as well standing
by them, he exhorted. The Congress party which has ruled the country
longest of all, deceived the dalits most, he explained. The diversion
of the funds meant for the dalits led to their wretched condition and
thus meted out severe injustice to them, Satyanarayana condemned.
There is only economic discrimination in the other countries, where as
here in our country, there is social discrimination as well. And a
struggle is required against this aspect too, he told. Unless the
dalits become conscious of their fate, their plight would remain the
same, he insisted.
"Rupees 612 crores would be sufficient for solving the problems of all
the dalit slums identified by the cycle rally in the Khammam district,
but is the government in such a situation, where in it could not
allocate that amount too", asked Tammineni Veerabhadram, honorary
president of the KVPS, Khammam district. He demanded the government to
resolve the problems of the dalits, if it has any love for them. There
is no entry for the dalits into the temples of hundreds of villages,
he revealed. In this backdrop, the KVPS called upon all the social
classes and political parties to organise Ram navami celebrations
together at a place in all the villages on April 12. The future
belongs to the struggles against the discrimination, he told. The
dalits who are being discriminated against, when alive are being
discriminated after death also by being denied the right to be buried
in the graveyards, he criticised. The district collector of Khammam
himself has accepted that the GO meant for allocating graveyard for
the dalits is not being implemented. A land issue pertaining to the
dalit land tillers in 24,000 acres has come to the notice of KVPS
during the cycle rally. This issue was left unresolved, despite the
possibility for resolving it, even without spending a single rupee for
doing so. United struggles are needed for a solution to this issue, he
said. Already, some sections like the Telengana Rashtra Samithi are
extending their solidarity for the cause, Tammineni said.
John Wesley, AP state general secretary of KVPS who spoke at the
public meeting said that dalits are not going to tolerate the
discrimination any longer. The cycle rally for the dalit cause held in
the Khammam district would be extended state wide, he said. This rally
had taught the dalits the need to question the discriminatory
practices, he commented. It had also united the dalits of the
district, who are divided in the other districts of the state on
various issues. The onus for the consequences of the dalit resistance
rests squarely on the government Wesley warned. The dalits belonging
to the very village of the state DGP Aravinda Rao are not being
allowed into the temples, he lamented. Wesley concluded saying that
the movement for the rights of the dalits would be intensified further
in the near future.
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