Latest News Update: Mar 29, 2011

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Amitabh turns Saif's speech therapist

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Amitabh-turns-Saifs-speech-therapist/articleshow/7807270.cms

Amitabh turns Saif's speech therapist
Renuka Vyavahare, TNN | Mar 29, 2011, 12.00am IST

The legendary actor has helped Saif perform better in Prakash Jha's next.

Saif Ali Khan will be seen playing a Dalit student and a teacher who
lives in a basti in Prakash Jha's forthcoming film 'Aarakshan'.

As the title suggests, the film apparently deals with the
controversial policies of caste based reservations in government jobs
and educational institutions.

Saif Ali Khan recently revealed how it was Amitabh Bachchan who helped
him deliver those heavy Hindi dialogues for the film.

"Given Manoj Bajpai and Amitabh Bachchan's command over Hindi, it was
Saif who had to train himself extra to match up to their Hindi vocal
skills" revealed our source.

In a recent interview Saif too acknowledged Amitabh's support by
saying, "It was quite challenging to memorise those long dialogues in
Sanskritised heavy Hindi, particularly when it comes naturally to your
co-stars – Amitabh Bachchan and Manoj Bajpai. For Aarakshan, Amitji
advised me to say the dialogues whenever I can: just after waking up,
in the loo, driving the car, in the disco...gradually I internalised
it."

Saif who is anglicised in terms of accent, did a fantastic job in
Omkara too and it would be interesting to see him in Aarakshan too.

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[ZESTCaste] Uttar Pradesh Jats defer agitation

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-27/lucknow/29194544_1_delhi-lucknow-rail-route-trains-and-harassment-reservation-in-central-services

Uttar Pradesh Jats defer agitation
TNN, Mar 27, 2011, 12.39am IST

LUCKNOW: Jats in UP too have decided to defer their agitation
following assurance from Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda
about formation of other backward class (OBC) commission in his state
to bring Jats in OBC list.

Hooda also assured Jats that the Central government has also decided
to amend the rule to allow the National Commission for Backward
Classes (NCBC) to review its earlier decision of not including Jats in
the OBC list of the Central government. As per the existing rules,
NCBC cannot change its decision. The NCBC had denied OBC status to
Jats in 1998. But with the power to review its decision, NCBC can now
include Jats in the OBC list. This will allow Jats benefit of
reservation in Central services.

"Besides assuring changes in his state, the Haryana chief minister
mediated between the Jats and the Central government. He has assured
us that the OBC commission in Haryana will be made within a month and
in the same time period the Central government will give power to NCBC
for reviewing its own decision taken earlier," said Yashpla Mallik,
president of the All India Jat Arakshan Samiti.

Mallik said Jats have now decided to defer their agitation and Delhi
siege proposed on March 28 till September 13. Jats will take out
`samman yatra' in all the states in north India with substantial
presence of Jats, he said. "On Sunday, we will hold a mahapanchayat at
Kafurpur to decide future course of action," he added.

The demand for OBC status to Jats is 20 years old. Jats were holding
agitation for the last three years demanding reservation in Central
services. However, when the government did not listen to their
demands, they blocked the Delhi-Lucknow rail route at Kafurpur in JP
Nagar for 15 days leading to cancellation of over 750 trains and
harassment of over 10 lakh passengers.

The rail blockade was lifted on March 19 by the Jats following orders
of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court but they announced to
block all roads to Delhi on March 28 in support of their demand.
However, much to the relief of the people, the proposed blockade has
been deferred.

Jat leaders said if the government fails to fulfil the demand, the
stir would be resumed on September 13 on the occasion of the first
death anniversary of Sunil Shyauran at Mayyad in Haryana. Sunil, a
youth leader, died in police firing during an agitation. Jats have
given him the status of a martyr.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit Movement to oppose DMK, KMK candidates

http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/28/stories/2011032851680300.htm

Tamil Nadu

Dalit Movement to oppose DMK, KMK candidates

Staff Reporter

Tirupur: A meeting of Dalit Liberation Movement, comprising Dalits
from 16 districts in the State, held near here on Sunday, had decided
to campaign against the entire candidates fielded by DMK and Kongunadu
Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK) in the coming Assembly polls.

"We have decided to oppose DMK since the present government did not
enhance the living standards of Dalits in general and in the case of
KMK for its anti-Dalit stance on various issues," Movement joint state
general secretary S. Karupaiah told The Hindu. He said that the State
Government did not properly distribute free two-acre land to Dalits in
districts like Tirupur, Namakkal and Karur. "Apart from this, corrupt
practices have denied a large number of Dalit students from getting
the scholarships and free textbooks," he said.

The Movement also criticised the government for not augmenting the
basic amenities like public toilets and drainage in areas like
Vellakoil in Tirupur district, where Arundatiyar community was
predominant, despite repeated representations by Dalit people.

Mr. Karupaiah said that the Movement members would carry out intensive
campaigns in Sulur, Namakkal, Palladam, Gobichettipalayam, Perundurai,
Udumalpet, and Pollachi constituencies, where KMK had fielded
candidates in alliance with DMK.

Development

"We are against the basic principle of KMK, which is for the
development of one particular community, and for the anti-Dalit stance
taken by it when the Dalit community people took out temple entry
agitation recently at Uthamapalayam Mariamman temple in Tirupur
district," he added.

Moreover, the KMK was asking for the scrapping of Protection of Civil
Rights Act, 1955 and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, he pointed out.

He said that the Movement would oppose the lone candidate fielded by
Kongu Ilaignar Pervai at Paramathivelur constituency in Namakkal
district in alliance with AIADMK.

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[ZESTCaste] Two minors girls raped in Uttar Pradesh

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_two-minors-girls-raped-in-uttar-pradesh_1524936

Two minors girls raped in Uttar Pradesh
Published: Sunday, Mar 27, 2011, 12:32 IST
Place: Lucknow | Agency: PTI

Two minor girls, including a dalit, were allegedly raped in two
separate incidents in Uttar Pradesh, police said today.

A 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her neighbour Golu (18) in
Maharajganj on Friday night, police said, adding that Golu was later
nabbed.

In another incident, a man complained that his 14-year-old daughter
was allegedly enticed by one Vinod Kumar Vishwakarma and his aides in
Pratapgarh district on Friday, police said.

The dalit girl was recovered from a tubewell in Kalyanpur and she
alleged of being gangraped by Vinod, Kaptan Vishwakarma, Rajesh
Vishwakarma and Rajesh Singh, they said.

While Kaptam Vishwakarma alias Vivek Kumar has been arrested, police
is on the lookout for the other accused.

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[ZESTCaste] Baffled opposition’s phone-tapping claims anti-Dalit: BSP

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/baffled-oppositions-phonetapping-claims-antidalit-bsp/768242/

Baffled opposition's phone-tapping claims anti-Dalit: BSP

Press Trust of India Posted online: Mon Mar 28 2011, 03:56 hrs
Lucknow : The ruling BSP on Sunday termed allegations of Opposition
parties over phone tapping and spying as baseless and unfortunate.
"Such an irresponsible statement by Opposition leaders holding
important posts is unfortunate. Levelling baseless and imaginary
allegations against the state government is an indicator of their
anti-dalit mentality," BSP state-president Swami Prasad Maurya said.

Samajwadi Party and BJP had alleged that phone calls of their leaders
were being tapped by the Mayawati government. "Phones and
conversations of SP leaders are taped by the state government...
During our state-wide agitation phones of all active workers were
tapped by district police chiefs and magistrates," senior SP leader
Shivpal Yadav had claimed on Thursday. "We condemn such an act of the
government and warn it not to involve in such acts and stop
surveillance," he had said.

Earlier, the BJP also levelled similar allegation against the state
government. "Phones and conversation of BJP leaders are tapped by the
state government, which is afraid of the party," BJP spokesman Hardwar
Dubey had alleged. He had claimed that sleuths of local intelligence
unit (LIU) were found in press conference of party president Surya
Pratap Shahi in Moradabad and Meerut recently.

Maurya said that it was clear that the Opposition had failed to find
shortcomings in the policies and programmes of the state government
since they were levelling false allegations. "SP and other opposition
parties have got baffled sensing their defeat in the forthcoming Uttar
Pradesh assembly elections," he added.

Maurya also criticised Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna
Joshi for accusing the state government of indulging in corruption.
"Before levelling such allegations Joshi should introspect. She is an
office-bearer of the Congress which leads the UPA government that is
deep into corruption," the BSP state president alleged. "Congress-led
UPA government at the Centre is meting out step-motherly treatment to
the state government...," Maurya alleged.

A huge amount of Centrally sponsored scheme had been not provided to
Uttar Pradesh for the last thee years and repeated requests of the
state were ignored, he claimed.

The BSP state president said that in the current fiscal the state was
due to get around Rs 33,000 crore for various schemes, but a large
portion of it has not been released by the Centre. "Even if the due
amount is released it will take time to spend it and if the same is
not utilised in the current fiscal it will be adjusted by the Centre,"
he added.

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[ZESTCaste] SCs, STs protest against reservation policy in Rajasthan

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/431964.php

SCs, STs protest against reservation policy in Rajasthan
From ANI

Jaipur, Mar.28: Members of the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled
Tribes (ST) in Jaipur have staged protests against the Rajasthan
government's reservation policy.

Around five thousand people belonging to the SC and ST committee
gathered here on Sunday, to warn the state government of dire
consequences if their right to reservation was curbed.

Asharam Vena, the General Secretary of the Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe Committee, said people belonging to the upper classes
have misused the decision of the Supreme Court's decision to curb the
rights of the reserved classes.

Shagan Lal, an employee of the state secretariat, said the demand of
people belonging to lower castes was to continue with the old
reservation policy.

He said: " This is the Supreme Court's decision, but it never said
that while giving promotion, reservation should not be considered.
Upper caste people, who have pressurized the lawmakers in their favour
to abolish reservation, have misinterpreted the decision."

" They want to remove the reservation given to us. We are not
demanding anything new. We just want that old reservation policy
should be continued. We would not tolerate any games played against
us," he added.

Hari Meena, a member of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe
committee said: " The Rajasthan High Court's decision is that people
belonging to the scheduled caste can use their reservation benefit
only once either at the time of promotion or at the time of getting a
government job. We get promotion on the basis of reservation and this
should not be stopped."

Currently, 12 percent reservation is for SC candidates and 16 percent
for ST candidates and around 4.5 percent candidates of SC and ST
community are working in government jobs in the province.

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[ZESTCaste] India's Dalit community fights disaster - video

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/video/2011/mar/28/india-disaster-debt-video

India's Dalit community fights disaster - video

India's east coast communities suffered from the tsunami of 2004,
which made headlines around the world. Less well covered in the news
are the annual cyclones that hit this coast, when the lives and homes
of the most vulnerable have to be rebuilt. What can be done to stop
this cycle of disaster and debt?

# Steve Barrett, Alex Rees, Vipul Kulkarni, Jacqui Timberlake , Maggie
O'Kane , Jenny Kleeman
# guardian.co.uk,
# Monday 28 March 2011

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[ZESTCaste] Mirchpur violence: Supreme Court pulls up Haryana

http://www.sify.com/finance/mirchpur-violence-supreme-court-pulls-up-haryana-news-default-ld2tEkiiidd.html

Mirchpur violence: Supreme Court pulls up Haryana

New Delhi, March 28 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday pulled up the
Haryana government for its failure to maintain law and order and asked
why it should not reimburse the railways for the losses caused by the
Jats' blockade in January against the arrest of members of the
community who attacked Dalits in Mirchpur village last April.

The court slammed the government for not executing its orders passed
in the wake of the protests.

An apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice A.K. Ganguly
said: 'What is the respect of an order passed (by court) in public
interest if it is not honoured.'

When Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval said that the failure of
the state government in maintaining law and order would amount to the
breakdown of the law and order machinery, the court said it was
'avoiding' using that expression.

Raval said that there should be a will to govern and rule, prompting
the court to add that things were slowly moving towards a state of
anarchy.

The court said that it was for the civil society to take cognizance of
the situation.

The court's observation came during the hearing on a petition on the
attack on the Dalit locality of Mirchpur village by the members of the
dominant Jat community. A 70-year-old man and his 18-year-old
physically challenged daughter were killed in the incident.

The members of the Jat community embarked on 11-day road and rail
blockade after 98 people belonging to the community were booked for
arson and killing in Mirchpur village in Hisar district, some 300 km
from Chandigarh.

The call for the blockade was given by the mahapanchayat of 12 khaps
(caste councils) in January.

Expressing displeasure over the manner in which the Haryana government
had handled the situation, the court asked the state why it should not
reimburse the losses suffered by the railways during the agitation.

'Why should not the state reimburse the railways for the loss suffered
by it in the course of the agitation? They (Jats) can't destroy public
property or stop railways from operating,' the court said.

Hauling up the state government on its handling of the Jat agitation,
the court said: 'So far air traffic has not been affected but a day
may come when such a disruption of air traffic may take place.'

The judges also wanted the state government to address the question as
to what is the extent of a 'peaceful agitation'.

The court said that there was no limit to the power of the state when
a group of agitators in the name of peaceful agitation illegally block
rail and road traffic.

The judges said this after Haryana's Advocate General H.S. Hooda
submitting that there was a limit to the exercise of power by the
state in dealing with a peaceful agitation.

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[ZESTCaste] ''Dalits, tribals in UP, Orissa not getting benefit of MNREGA''

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/dalits-tribals-in-up-orissa-not-getting-benefit-of-mnrega/628044.html

''Dalits, tribals in UP, Orissa not getting benefit of MNREGA''
PTI | 05:03 PM,Mar 29,2011

New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI) Over 67 per cent of poor Dalit and tribal
households in Orissa and Uttar Pradesh did not get a single day of
employment under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Act last year, an NGO today claimed. The Centre for Environment and
Food Security also alleged widespread irregularities and corruption in
implementation of 10 food security and poverty alleviation schemes in
the most backward areas of the two states. The NGO's charges come
close on the heels of the Supreme Court asking the Centre to
expeditiously decide on a CBI probe into allegations of
misappropriation of funds meant for MNREGA in Orissa, as claimed by
the same organisation. The apex court had on March 14 said reports
prepared by the NGO, CAG as well as the National Institute of Rural
Development NIRD show that there is massive misappropriation of funds
to the tune of 88 per cent in some districts of Orissa. The CEFS'
present findings are based on a performance audit conducted by its
activists through sample survey in 130 villages spread over 12
districts of Orissa and UP (Bundelkhand). Releasing the report here on
the findings, CEFS Director Parashuram Rai said, "Only 7.3 per cent of
the sample households had received above 50 days of MNREGA
employment.Out of 2000 very poor households surveyed in Orissa, only
five of them received 100 days of work in 2010". Rai rubbished as an
eyewash the claims made by the Orissa government and the Centre about
Gajapati district setting an example by bagging the award for best
practices at the MNREGA awards 2009-10. "If anybody visits this
district, projected as one of the best in Orissa, they will be shocked
to see the level of poverty, unemployment and malnutrition", said the
activist, who also claimed that this was the most exhaustive report
prepared on the plight of Dalits, Adivasis and their non-inclusion in
these schemes. Rai claimed that a similar situation prevailed in
Bundelkhand, with over 52 per cent of the needy households not getting
a single day's employment.

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[ZESTCaste] Need to tackle rise in SC/ST atrocity cases: Wasnik

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/soon-exclusive-courts-for-disposal-of-scst-atrocity-cases/625548.html

Need to tackle rise in SC/ST atrocity cases: Wasnik
Updated on Saturday, March 26, 2011, 15:57

New Delhi: Government on Saturday admitted that there was a rise in
the number of atrocity cases against people of schedule caste and
scheduled tribes in the country and said there was an urgent need to
tackle the issue.

"It is a fact that despite having the SC/ST (prevention of atrocity)
Act, there has been an increase in the number of atrocity cases
against people of these communities in recent times. There is a need
to tackle this issue," Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul
Wasnik said here.

According to National Crime Records Bureau statistics, a total of
80,489 cases of atrocity against scheduled tribes were recorded from
1995 to 2009.

He was speaking at the first national consultation of tribal people's
movements and organisations on 'implementation of the SC/ST Act and
Tribal Sub-plan (TSP)'.

He lamented that the conviction rate in such cases was abysmally low
at 27 per cent and that the pendency of cases in courts nationwide was
as much as 81 per cent.

On the issue of allocation of funds for the TSP and Special Complement
Plan (SCP), he said it has been found that this was not working as per
the plan, adding that, there have been complaints that funds for SC/ST
projects and people were not reaching the rights hands.

"We are improving the monitoring mechanism and several shortcomings
have been done away with. Earlier, one could not figure out the exact
allocation by the finance ministry, but, we requested Pranab Mukherjee
and he has changed pattern in the recent Union Budget," Wasnik said.

Regarding government's plans for education of the SC/ST communities,
he said till now they were only provided with a post-matric
scholarship scheme, which nearly 47 lakh students took benefit of
annually.

"Now, for the first time, government will provide pre-matric
scholarship schemes, targeting 40 lakh students," the minister said.

Vasanti, a leading SC/ST activist, spoke about the plight of tribal
men and women working as domestic helps in New Delhi and other parts
of the country and said she was optimistic that the National Advisory
Council, headed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, was looking at
preparing a draft Domestic Workers Social Security Bill.

Citing a recent case, she said a senior Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
officer, presently posted in Ahmedabad, has been accused of sexual
harassment by his house help who is a tribal girl.

"We urge the Social Justice Minister to write to the Ministry of
External Affairs to take action against this officer," she said.

PTI

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[ZESTCaste] Soon, exclusive courts for disposal of SC/ST atrocity cases

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/soon-exclusive-courts-for-disposal-of-scst-atrocity-cases/625548.html

Soon, exclusive courts for disposal of SC/ST atrocity cases
PTI | 11:03 AM,Mar 27,2011

Anil Nair New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) Taking serious note of the trial
mechanism and poor conviction rate in cases of atrocities against
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the Centre has asked all the
states to set up exclusive special courts to handle such matters. The
move comes after NGOs and social groups repeatedly told the government
that there was a rise in atrocity cases against SC/ST in the past few
years and that the trial procedure and conviction rate in courts
across the country were poor. "The government has circulated a concept
note to all states regarding setting up of exclusive special courts
for SC/ST cases," Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik
told PTI. He said that certain states have already announced their
decision to set up these special courts and discussions were underway
at various levels to make this a reality. According to latest
statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), between 1995
to 2009 as many as 80,489 cases of atrocity against people of
Scheduled Tribes were registered, of which 1,911 were murder cases and
7,537 rape cases. Though the NCRB has not given similar data for
atrocity cases against Scheduled Castes, a report tabled in Parliament
in the Budget Session showed that in 2008 itself as many as 30,913
offences were registered. Wasnik admitted that the conviction rates in
such cases was "abysmally" low at 27 per cent as compared to that of
other IPC offences. He also lamented that the pendency of these cases
in courts nationwide was as much as 81 per cent. Retired senior IAS
officer P S Krishnan, who is credited for the formulation of the SC/ST
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, has been advocating on the urgent need
to set up the exclusive special courts. "Apart from the issue of
pendency of large number of cases, the issue here is that there is a
dearth of lawyers and judges to hear such matters," Krishnan said. He
said tribals face a lot of problems when they go to regular courts as
nobody understands their language and issues. Krishnan also said there
was a need for day-to-day trial of SC/ST cases once the special courts
were set up. As per the official figures, at the end of 2009, as many
as 15,909 cases of crimes against ST remained pending in courts.
States like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and
Orissa have the maximum number of instances of crimes against SC/ST
community, the figures indicated. "The need of the hour is to have
exclusive special courts, lawyers from the SC/ST community and aware
of their rights and issues and also investigators who can handle such
cases," the retired bureaucrat said.

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[ZESTCaste] Students to get e-scholarship now

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-27/patna/29194398_1_atm-card-lakh-students-class-xi-and-xii

Students to get e-scholarship now
TNN, Mar 27, 2011, 06.22am IST

PATNA: The Bihar government on Saturday introduced an innovative
scheme of providing scholarship to college students belonging to
Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), EBC and backward classes
through e Z-Pay card. Bihar is second state after Andhra Pradesh to
introduce this scheme.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar handed over the cards to some of the
beneficiaries at a function here. In the first phase, 2.50 lakh
students are being provided this ATM card for which the government has
made agreement with the SBI. The students were in a jubilant mood and
they experimented with their ATM cards at a specially set up ATM unit
at Samwad where the function was held.

The CM said through the scheme, the monthly scholarship will be
deposited in the account of each beneficiary and the students would be
able to draw the money from ATMs by using their cards. This will
rescue them from unnecessary harassment and save their time running
from one place to another.

"This is a post-matric scheme and later it will be extended to school
students too," Nitish announced. He said the stipend had been raised
three times and may be increased further in future. The aim of the
scholarship is that the students should continue with their higher
education and should not drop out due to financial restrain.

The CM, however, said he did not have good experience with the banks
who initially had not cooperated with opening of account for school
girls who were being paid money for purchasing uniform and bicycle. He
said he rejected the idea of giving stitched uniform and bicycle to
them as it could lead to scams. That was why he decided to give cash
to the students for the purpose.

He advised the students to utilize the money properly and continue
with their education, but he did not discourage them from indulging in
some fun and frolic though.

SC, ST, EBC and backward classes welfare department secretary Ravi
Parmar said 2.50 lakh beneficiaries had been provided with e Z-Pay
card in the first phase. In the second phase, Parmar said, students
from Class VII would be included in the scheme and then about a
million students belonging to the group would get this pre-paid card
which has a 10-year validity. The beneficiaries need not open bank
account.

He said presently the students were getting monthly stipend between Rs
300 and 700 depending on their class and stream; likewise students of
Class XI and XII were getting Rs 300 while students of technical
education get Rs 700 per month. This card could be used at any of
23,000 SBI ATMs, he added.

"We will also include the beneficiaries of Mukhya Mantri Chhatra Vriti
Yojna under this scheme. The students of SC, ST, EBC and backward
classes get Rs 10,000 on passing matric exam with first division. This
time the incentive will also be paid through cards," Parmar said.

Earlier, minister of SC, ST welfare Jitan Ram Manjhi and minister of
EBC and backward classes welfare Hari Prasad Sah thanked the CM for
introducing the scheme saying it will encourage the students from poor
and backward sections of society.

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[ZESTCaste] Social Justice min concerned over SC-ST atrocities

http://www.indiablooms.com/NewsDetailsPage/newsDetails270311b.php

Social Justice min concerned over SC-ST atrocities
India Blooms News Service

New Delhi, Mar 26 (IBNS): Union Minister of Social Justice and
Empowerment Mukul Wasnik on Saturday expressed concerns over the low
conviction rate for cases of atrocities against scheduled castes and
tribes (SC/STs).

He said that it was a matter of great concern that the conviction rate
for cases of atrocities against SC/STs is less than 29 percent against
the average of 43 percent for all cognizable offenses under the Indian
Penal Code (IPC).

"Reports of atrocities against SCs and STs unfortunately continue to
appear all over the country with disturbing regularity," he said.

The Minister also informed that the Centre has been pushing the States
to ensure registration of cases of atrocities against SCs and STs.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit youth immolates himself near Ghaziabad

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_dalit-youth-immolates-himself-near-ghaziabad_1525885

Dalit youth immolates himself near Ghaziabad
Published: Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011, 13:42 IST
Place: GHAZIABAD | Agency: PTI

A dalit youth committed suicide by setting himself on fire after a
land dispute halted the construction of a temple in Shahpur Fagota
village, police said today.

Chetan took the extreme step following village Pradhan Narender Singh
Sisodia's alleged intervention in building the temple after which he
poured kerosene on himself on Saturday, they said.

The 22-year-old youth died yesterday and his body was cremated amid
tight security after tension mounted in the village over his death,
they said.

Additional district magistrate (executive) Ram Krishan Sharma and SP
(Rural) AK Mishra controlled the tense situation only after the police
registered a criminal case against Sisodia for instigating the youth
to commit suicide.

The victim's brother had lodged a complaint against the village
Pradhan, after which he allegedly escaped to avoid arrest, they said.

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