Latest News Update: Mar 26, 2011

Saturday, March 26, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Press Release-National consultation of Tribal Peoples Movements and Organisations, 26th Mar,2011

PRESS RELEASE

National consultation of Tribal Peoples Movements and Organisations, 26^th Mar,2011

"Effective implementation of the SC/ST (PoA) Act, 1989 should be our primary task", was the agenda set by Shri Mukul Wasnik, Hon'ble Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Social Justice & the Empowerment at the gathering of around 100 Tribal Leaders and Representatives from all over India on 26^th March at the Constitution Club, New Delhi. The occasion was the National Consultation of Tribal Peoples' Movements and Organizations jointly organised by the National Coalition for Strengthening the SC & ST (PoA) Act (NCSPA), the Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal People (ICITP) and National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (DAAA).

Lamenting that atrocities are increasing even after the 20 years of the passing of the PoA Act, and that the conviction rate is very low as compared to IPC and the pendency rate is very high, he urged the gathering to bring the necessary amendments to the Act to make it more effective. Informing the delegates that a communication has been sent from his Ministry to all the States asking for the required amendments to the Act, he promised that the matter will be discussed with the National commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. While highlighting the introduction of Pre-Matric scholarship for SC/ST people, he admitted that SCP and TSP funds are not being allocated properly and that allocations already made are not being used for the intended purposes. "Focus on such matters, discuss and make proposals on how to effectively monitor the implementation of SCP and TSP", was the call he made at the gathering of Tribal delegates.

Sharing her experiences as member of the Jharkand State Commission for Women, Ms.Vasavi Kiro pointed out how the PoA Act and TSP are not being implemented properly, and informed how her Commission is trying its best to reach out to the tribal people.

Stating how interventions are being made at the UN level only in recent years, Shri Jebra Ram Muharay, Chief Advisor of Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal people, highlighted the pathetic situation of indigenous people and mentioned that not much improvement has taken place in their lives in spite of the many efforts being made by the Govt. While pointing out certain obstacles in the governance system militating against the progress of the tribal communities, he emphasized on two tasks for the Govt. to act upon that is, open-ended inclusive consultations with the indigenous people and develop consensus among all the Commissions both at the national and state levels.

Prof. VImal Thorat, National Convener of All-India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch pointed out the problems of domestic workers who mostly belong to the Dalit and tribal communities and appealed that the monitoring of the implementation of PoA Act needs to be re-looked.

Highlighting the improper allocations made in the SCP and TSP, Mr Paul Divakar, General Secretary of NCDHR-Dalit Arthik Adhikar Andolan, traced the denial of rights to the Tribals and Dalits to the caste system which he declared to be a sin and punishable crime. He further stated that no debate has been held and no clear efforts have been taken by the Govt. and that laws, though existent, are not being implemented properly. While appreciating the Hon'ble Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment for introducing some changes in the current budget, he was critical that more money has been allocated to the service sector of SCs/STs and therefore made a strong appeal that more allocation in the budget should be for the knowledge and entrepreneurship development of SCs/STs. "Only then will our people be at the higher positions of the scientific and technological communities and the governance system. If we have Dalits and adivasis in such growth sectors," he added, "this country will become truly powerful and will be seen as a model modern nation".

========================================

A. JESINTHA MARY

Associate Coordinator- Research and Advocacy

National Dalit Movement for Justice(NDMJ)
National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR)

8/1, 3rd Floor, South Patel Nagar, New Delhi- 110008,

Tel: +91 11 45009309 Fax: +91 11 25842251

Email: jesi@ncdhr.org.in; Website: www.ncdhr.org.in

"It is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich."

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[ZESTCaste] Odisha Government to set up three special courts to try SC, SC atrocity cases

http://orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=25520

Odisha Government to set up three special courts to try SC, SC atrocity cases
Saturday, March 26, 2011

Bhubaneswar: The State Government has decided to set up three Special
Courts to dispose the atrocity cases against the Scheduled Tribes and
Scheduled Castes during the 2011-12 financial year, Minister, ST and
SC Development , Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Department,
Bijoy Ranjan Singh Bariha fold the State Assembly Friday.

Replying to the marathon seven hour discussion on the demand for
grants relating his department for the fiscal, 2011-12 said that the
proposed Special Courts would be opened in the districts with over 500
pending cases of atrocity.

Stressing that the department is taking all possible measures for
enforcement of protection of civil rights Act as far as SC & ST people
are concerned, the Minister said that measures like Legal Aid, Relief
and Rehabilitation to the victims are covered.

He also announced that TA and DA would be provided to the witness for
investigation and trial of cases relating to the atrocity.

He also announced that there would be Legal Cells at the district and
Block level Similarly, the Department has decided to open Legal Aid
Clinic in all 118 Tribal Sub-Plan Blocks.

In each Legal Aid Cells there would be two legal experts with an
emolument of Rs 5,000 to ensure free counseling to the SC and ST
victims and make aware the PCR Act and the POR act, he said adding
that they would provide free leagal aid to people form SC and ST
community.

Expressing the concern over the problems of fake caste certificate the
Minister also announced that the state government had decided to bring
a Legislation in the assembly to check the issuance of fake Caste
Certificates . The bill is in draft stage and would be finalised in
near future.

Stating that the State Government has given stress on the development
of education Among the ST communities, he said that during the
2011-12, it had been decided to construct 132 Girls hostel with 100
bed each.

He further said 1,000 hostels will be constructed for ST and SC
students at an estimated cost of Rs 215 crore during the 2011-12
financial year. Out of his 700 hostels are girls and 300 for boys.

He said that in order to check high rate of drop out and to promote ST
Girls education, his department had opened 1,004 girls hostels spread
over 30 districts of the State. Construction of new 1,040 St Girls
Hostels were under progress and for completion of the project Rs 10.42
crore has been proposed in the budget.

The Minister also announced that the department has formulated a new
OTELP PLUS scheme at an involvement of Rs 263.96 crore to be
implemented in tribal districts for a period of seven years in phases
from 2011-12 financial year. For this Rs 41.98 crore has been provided
during next financial year. As part of the programme 244 watersheds
would be created in Koraput and Malkangiri.

After the Ministers reply and clarification, the demand for grants
amounting to Rs 1,286.37 crore was passed in a voice vote.

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[ZESTCaste] Loan allocation for SC/ST students hiked manifold: Govt

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/loan-allocation-for-sc-st-students-hiked-manifold-govt/767373/

Loan allocation for SC/ST students hiked manifold: Govt
Agencies Posted online: Fri Mar 25 2011, 19:14 hrs
New Delhi : Government today said it had increased allocation of loans
for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe SC/ST scholarships manifold and
was aiming to provide the benefit to 40 lakh pre-metric students from
this category.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha on a discussion to the answer given by
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on March 11, his deputy Namo Narain
Meena said the education loans to SC/ST students was Rs 273 crore in
2003-04 but stood at Rs 2,252 crore in 2009-10.

He said the percentage of SC/ST students covered under the loans from
this category was 17.69 per cent of their population.

For loans to SC/ST on agri-business, a special cell has been
established in public sector banks, the Minister of State for Finance
said.

Opposition members, especially those from the BJP, countered the
claims made by Meena, saying these provisions were already there and
the main issue was their proper implementation.

They claimed no cells had been established in banks for SC/ST.

Jyoti Dhurve (BJP), who had asked for the half-hour discussion on
Mukherjee's reply, raised some important points during her
presentation.

"The SC and ST have are not getting dues. What is the reason behind
the poor development of these communities despite spending a lot of
money by the government. I think that they have not got their due,"
she said.

Dhurve also talked about the unaffordable education finance which is
hampering the growth of downtrodden in the country and pointed out
that the rate of interest on such loans is as high 11 per cent.

She demanded cheaper education loans for the SC and ST students.

Shailendra Kumar (SP) said the enumeration of SC/ST population has
till now not been done properly, as a result of which the real number
of those living below the poverty line is not known. He said
provisions should be made for giving reservations to SC/ST in private
sector as well.

Arjun Meghwal (BJP) said the government should find out how many banks
have not met their target of providing loans to SC/ST under its DRI
scheme.

He insisted that government should provide for coaching classes for
SC/ST students.

Paramjeet Kaur Gulshan (SAD) said the minister's answer was way off
the mark and sought to know who are the beneficiaries of the
government schemes for SC/ST.

She complained that the loan never reaches the intended beneficiaries
at the ground level.

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[ZESTCaste] Maya’s new memorial force to guard Noida park

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Maya-s-new-memorial-force-to-guard-Noida-park/767447/

Maya's new memorial force to guard Noida park
Pragya Kaushika Posted online: Sat Mar 26 2011, 03:10 hrs
Noida : Uttar Pradesh will deploy two battalions of the Special Range
Security Battalion to guard Chief Minister Mayawati's high-priority
Noida park, work at which is nearing completion.

The Special Range Security Battalion is a specialised unit of the
police raised by the state government last year for the specific
purpose of protecting monuments to Dalit icons at eight parks and
memorials in Lucknow, besides the park in Noida.

SSP, Gautam Budh Nagar Surya Nath Singh confirmed that two battalions
of the force have been sanctioned for duty at the park. "These
personnel are expected to provide much needed protection to the
sensitive monument," Singh said.

The decision to deploy the force — a battalion each of male and female
forces, according to sources — comes ahead of the expected
inauguration of the park by the chief minister. The inauguration has
been postponed several times, apparently because Mayawati has not been
satisfied with the work.

Noida Authority CEO Rama Raman said an officer from the UP police
headquarters in Lucknow had visited Noida on a reconnaissance mission
recently.

"They have done a recce of the park and the accommodation that would
be required to station the two battalions. For men, the police lines
at Surajpur has been okayed, but for the women battalion, the SSP is
yet to send us the request for their requirement," Raman said.

The specialised memorial protection force was requisitioned after the
district police found itself stretched to provide additional personnel
for the security of the park and the statues in it. "The force will be
stationed at Noida and Greater Noida so that they can be moved to the
park at short notice," Singh said.

The memorial protection force was sanctioned by a government order in
May 2010. A total 794 Home Guards were recruited in September after a
month-long interview process involving 10,000 candidates, carried out
at nine police range headquarters.

The personnel, who wear navy blue trousers and sky blue shirts, are
authorised to search and seize, but not to make arrests.

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[ZESTCaste] "All in not well in ST & SC department", say BJD MLAs

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/all-in-not-well-in-st--sc-department-say-bjd-mlas/623698.html

"All in not well in ST & SC department", say BJD MLAs
PTI | 08:03 PM,Mar 25,2011

Bhubaneswar, Mar 25 (PTI) A day after opposition Congress accused
Orissa government of diverting tribal welfare funds for development in
cities, ruling BJD MLAs today said "all is not well in the Schedule
Tribe and Scheduled Caste department." "We (ST and SC) form 40 per
cent of the state's population. But budgetary allocation for ST and SC
Development department is only about Rs 1200 crore against the state's
total budget amount of about Rs 42,000 crore," said former minister
and BJD MLA Padmanav Behera while participating in the debate on
budgetary demand for ST & SC Development and Minorities & Backward
Classes Welfare Department.Though chief minister Naveen Patnaik was
sympathetic towards tribals and dalits, the department was not
implementing programmes for their welfare, Behera alleged.Stating that
hostels built for tribal and dalit students were not maintained
properly, Behera said he was witness to students sleeping on floor
without proper bed or mosquito nets in malaria prone Keonjhar and
Mayurbhanj."Even children are forced to use lanteren as there is no
electricity connection in many tribal schools and hostels," Behera
said alleging that the department took little steps to improve
hygienic condition.Behera also alleged that Tribal Development
Cooperative Corporation (TDCC) and Scheduled Caste Financial
Corporation (SCFC) were defunct. "Instead of raising budget for the
two corporations, there had been decline in the allocations," he
said.Other tribal and dalit members belonging to ruling BJD also
alleged that the recommendations made by assembly's standing committee
and other committees were not being properly implemented causing
hardship for the communities.While the ruling BJD members were not
happy over the functioning of the ST & ST development department,
senior Congress lawmaker Dambarudhar Ullka's revelation had left many
including chief minister surprised. .

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[ZESTCaste] Taking safety into their own hands

http://www.guardian.co.uk/poverty-over/natural-disasters-taking-safety-into-their-own-hands

Taking safety into their own hands

When natural disasters strike, it is the poorest people who are most
likely to suffer. It can be devastating for individuals and
communities, but some groups are attempting to reduce the impact of
natural hazards

guardian.co.uk, Friday 25 March 2011 17.14 GMT

Dalit families of the tsunami affected community of MGR Nagar in the
town of Tirunchendur New homes, funded by Christian Aid, were
constructed for the 72 Dalit families of the tsunami affected
community of MGR Nagar in the town of Tirunchendur. Photograph: Tom
Pietrasik

In the third Guardian film to be shown on this special website, in
association with Christian Aid, the Dalit people of Andhra Pradesh in
southern India show how they are taking steps to make their
communities more resilient to disasters, against a background of
poverty and discrimination.

Although the Indian economy has improved hugely in recent years, the
effects of this have been very patchy. The richest enjoy a much more
affluent standard of living, but the lives of the vast majority of
poor people have not got better.

Dalits, formerly known as "untouchables", are among the poorest people
in India. Although the caste system has officially been abolished,
prejudice against Dalits is still very common. In Andhra Pradesh,
Dalits live in precarious and often rudimentary housing that cannot
stand up to the floods and cyclones that often occur. As a result of
this poor housing, they are more likely to be the victims of disasters
– but instead of receiving help when they strike, they often face
discrimination.

After the 2004 tsunami, Dalits found that they were excluded from the
relief effort, both by the government and by some aid agencies.
Rehabilitation camps did not want to look after them, and they were at
the end of the queue for emergency aid. Despite all that, they were
still obliged to clear away the corpses that resulted from the
disaster. This was a turning point, and now they are determined that
things should change.

So how are Dalits taking safety into their own hands by making their
communities prepare for disaster, even before it strikes? And when
natural events do occur, what is being done to ensure they can avoid
the vicious cycle of further poverty and debt that comes from having
to rebuild their lives from scratch?

Find out by viewing the film from Monday. The previous films on
sexuality-based discrimination, human rights and HIV in Kenya, and
food and agriculture in Ethiopia, are available to view. Additional
films will be uploaded each week.

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[ZESTCaste] Assam: Several schools funded but do not exist

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/assam-several-schools-funded-but-do-not-exist/147115-3.html

Assam: Several schools funded but do not exist
Arunoday Mukharji Arunoday Mukharji , CNN-IBN
Updated Mar 25, 2011 at 09:26pm IST

Guwahati: The election campaign in Assam is gathering momentum, with
politicians battling more for votes and less for issues.

But education seems far from their agenda. Government schools in Assam
are in shambles. And an RTI filed by a young student has revealed
shocking revelations.

The BR Ambedkar School in Guwahati, which has apparently received Rs
4,01,450 for its 217 students, actually does not exist.
Click to play video
Guwahati: The election campaign in Assam is gathering momentum, with
politicians battling more for votes and less for issues.
But education seems far from their agenda. Government schools in Assam
are in shambles. And an RTI filed by a young student has revealed
shocking revelations.
The BR Ambedkar School in Guwahati, which has apparently received Rs
4,01,450 for its 217 students, actually does not exist.

There is money trickling in for schools which exist only on paper and
not in reality. For example, one such school is the Dr BR Ambedkar
school in Lachitpur. You can see the list of students and the money
that has been procured in their name. But go around Lachitpur and you
will find no trace of this school. Take a look for yourself.

CNN-IBN roamed the streets of Lachitpur to find the school, but in vain.

The Mangal Chandi Hindi LP School is another example.

The headmaster told CNN-IBN that funds for the Dalits were instead
going to a school, which had ceased to exist since 1991.

In 2009-10, this non-existent school received Rs 2,94,150.

Headmaster NP Singh said, "This school does not exist. I don't know
who these children are. This signature is also fake and this
headmaster doesn't exist."

When CNN-IBN confronted the Department of Welfare for Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes, which sanctions these funds, they blame it on
shortage of manpower, but promise to investigate.

None of the senior officials were available for comment, saying that
they were busy with election preparations. They may not speak, but
they definitely owe an explanation to the people of Assam, especially
the children, who's future is under threat.

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[ZESTCaste] 25% state domicile quota in private universities

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/25-state-domicile-quota-in-private-universities/articleshow/7789703.cms

25% state domicile quota in private universities
Mathang Seshagiri, TNN | Mar 26, 2011, 06.51am IST

BANGALORE: Karnataka will do away with caste-based reservation for
universities set up by not-for-profit bodies, and usher in an era of
admissions based on state domicile from next academic year.

South India's only two private universities - Alliance University and
Azim Premji University - created through an Act of state legislature
will set aside 25% of seats for students from Karnataka from summer
2011.

These two Bangalore-based universities will be the only
degree-awarding institutes in the state not to be bound by quota for
SC/ST/OBC candidates. The Karnataka Higher Education Council, a
state-backed think-tank, is working on a new chapter to the Karnataka
State Universities Act, 200O for setting up of more private
universities.

Azim Premji University, whichwill roll out three post-graduate
programmes starting July 2011, will pick students deploying a novel
diversity index that awards weightage to candidates based on
socio-economic background. As part of its commitment to the state, the
university, in the long run, will also offer programmes in Kannada,
besides Hindi, said Dileep Ranjekar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation.

To further allow inclusion in admission, the pan-India entrance test
of April 17, will allow candidates to answer certain sections in
Kannada and Hindi, besides English. Karnataka will also have the
highest number of exam centres -- six.

Alliance University chancellor, Madhukar G Angur, said the university
will implement domicile-based reservation for all its programmes from
2011-12, subject to selection criteria. "We've adopted a
multi-dimensional selection process where admission will not be
decided merely on entrance exam scores. In all our programmes, we'll
set aside weightage for state domiciled candidates who have spent at
least 12 months in the state," he said.

The university plans an array of management programmes including a
12-month MBA degree -- a first for the state -- from 2011. It also has
four under-graduate engineering programmes, besides MTech in
environmental engineering.

Quota table

According to legislation governing two private universities, 25% seats
will be reserved for state domiciled candidates

Azim Premji University will admit a total of 200 students for MA in
Education, MA in Development and Master's in Teacher Education from
July 2011

Alliance Universitywill offer two-year MBA, one-year MBA, full-time/
part-time PhD, executive post-graduate diploma in management and
programmes for defence personnel

From summer 2011, Alliance University will offer under-graduate and
post-graduate engineering programmes

Quote boxes

"The varsity will roll out three PG programmes starting July 2011 to
pick students, deploying a novel diversity index that awards weightage
to candidates based on socio-economic background" Dileep Ranjekar,
CEO, Azim Premji Foundation

"We've adopted a multi-dimensional selection process where admission
will not be decided merely on entrance exam scores. In all our
programmes, we'll set aside weightage for state domiciled candidates
who have spent at least 12 months in the state," Madhukar G Angur,
chancellor, Alliance University

toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com

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