Latest News Update: Jun 8, 2011

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

[ZESTCaste] People fast for Jan Lokpal at Silchar, Assam

People fast for Jan Lokpal at Silchar, Assam

Sixty five persons did not take food for the whole day from 8am to 4pm on 8 June, 2011 and they along with others sat on protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office at Silchar, Assam to express solidarity with India Against Corruption movement and to denounce the unnecessary and excessive use of police force that led to injuries to about 70 protestors against corruption at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi in the early hours of 5 June, 2011.

These people represented Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC) and other 20 mass organizations working in Assam, particularly the southern part of the state known as Barak valley, including 1. Asom Majuri Shramik Union, Silchar, Cachar; 2. Krishan Bikash Samiti, Banskandi, Cachar; 3. Sanmilito Sanskritik Mancha, Silchar; 4. Centre for Integrated Rural Development (CIRD), Srikona, Cachar; 5. Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, Silchar, Cachar; 6. Ever Green Society, Silchar, 6. Nari Mukti Sangstha, Silchar; 7. SrikonaClub, Silchar; 8. Chorus, Drama Organisation, Silchar; 9. SC, ST Student Development Forum, Assam University, Silchar; 10. Tarapur G.P. Bachao Committee, Tarapur, Silchar;12. Manipuri Diaspora, Silchar; 13. Mukta Sena (Club), Silchar; 14. COPE (NGO) Silchar; 15. Gono Bikash Sangstha, Assam, Silchar; Kalpotoru Club, Rongpur, Cachar.

Mr. Neharul Ahmed Mazumder, secretary general of BHRPC, spoke at length about corruption in India and ways of fighting it. He said, 'the Jan Lokpal Bill is a small but very significant and necessary step in the struggle against corruption. Corrupt elements in the government and corporate world are desperately trying to kill the bill, according him. Mr. Biswajit Das, secretary, CHORUS, and Mr. Nirmal Kumar Das from Asom Majuri Shramik Union condemned the police action at Ramlila terming it as violations of basic human rights of the people and urged the people to come out against such repressive actions of the government wherever and in whatever form may they happen.

In a statement issued by BHRPC on 7 June the organization said, "The struggle against corruption can not be separated from the struggle for a democratic India that respects human rights and the rule of law. It is simultaneously a struggle against privatisation, against neo-liberal policies, against draconian laws like AFSPA and the sedition law, against state crackdowns on dissenting voices and against corporate dictation of government policies. It is simultaneously a struggle to defend the lives and livelihoods of millions of people across the country."

For photographs go to: http://bhrpc.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/699/

--
W A Laskar
Freelance Reporter and Human Rights Defender
with Barak Human Rights Protection Committee,
http://bhrpc.wordpress.com
15, Panjabari Road, Darandha, Six Mile,
Guwahati-781037, Assam, India
Cell: +919401942234
Visit my blog at www.rightspeaks.blogspot.com
Skype: rights.defender

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[ZESTCaste] High court rules that SC/ST's cannot repeatedly sell their lands in Karnataka

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_high-court-rules-that-sc-st-s-cannot-repeatedly-sell-their-lands-in-karnataka_1552612

High court rules that SC/ST's cannot repeatedly sell their lands in Karnataka
Published: Wednesday, Jun 8, 2011, 16:10 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA

The high court on Tuesday ruled that, from now on, the original
grantees of the land allotted to them under the provisions for the
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities can be prosecuted by
the government for criminal offence if they sell their land
repeatedly. The purchasers of land can recover the money from the
original grantees.

A division bench headed by chief justice JS Khehar gave these
directions. The ruling came during the hearing of a case pertaining to
Cheluvaiah, who was granted with four acres by the government under
the provisions of land grants to SC/ST in 1955.

He then sold the land twice and thereafter got the land restored to
him under the provisions of Karnataka Scheduled Caste and Scheduled
Tribe (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978.

The bench observed that it amounts to cheating if the granted land is
repeatedly sold. The division bench further observed that in many
instances when the land is sold more than once, the original grantee
is aware he or she cannot sell the granted land due to prohibition as
per the act.

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[ZESTCaste] Nepal: PM for 'progressive reservation' for Dalit community

http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2011/jun/jun05/news05.php

Last Updated: Sun, 05.06.11 11:34
PM for 'progressive reservation' for Dalit community

Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal on Saturday expressed his commitment
to ensure reservation for Dalit community in all government bodies,
agencies as well as in educational institutions.

He said reservation for Dalits will not only ensure that the oppressed
and impoverished community have equal participation in national
building, but will also give them opportunity to work for the
upliftment of their own people.

Speaking at a workshop on 'Enforcement of the Declaration of Racial
Discrimination-free nation and National Census, 2011" organised by the
Society for the Liberation of Oppressed Classes of Nepal in the
capital on Sunday to mark the first Day on Elimination of
Untouchability and Racial Discrimination, PM Khanal said that the
right to "progressive reservation" of the Dalit community shall also
be ensured in the new constitution.

The prime minister's remark comes at a time when rights activists say
that racial discrimination and untouchability is still prevalent in
the society despite government's declaration to eliminate such social
ills.

They also say that Caste-based Discrimination and Untouchability
(Crime and Punishment) Act-2063 B.S. was not implemented yet.
nepalnews.com

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[ZESTCaste] Buddhist theme park at Futala in cold storage

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Buddhist-theme-park-at-Futala-in-cold-storage/articleshow/8767665.cms

Buddhist theme park at Futala in cold storage
TNN | Jun 8, 2011, 02.14am IST

NAGPUR: On December 23, 2009, the then chief minister Ashok Chavan on
December 23, 2009 announced during the assembly session in Nagpur that
a Buddhist theme park would be set up at Telangkhedi lake.

The park, part of Chavan's Rs 10,000 crore 'Vidarbha Package', was to
be set up in three years. The project was to be monitored by the chief
secretary and a provision of Rs 3.30 crore was also promised.

Two-and-a-half years on, the proposed park seems to have been dumped
in cold storage.

Information sought under the RTI Act by Prakash Bansod, president of
Dalit Panther of India, says the Buddhist theme park finds no place in
the administrative sanction to various works to be undertaken for
tourism development this year.

Information sought by Bansod from the tourism department states that
government has made a provision of over Rs 27 crore this year for
tourism development. Of this, a provision of Rs 1 crore has been made
to develop Futala or Telangkhedi lake.

The works to be done by the PWD includes some construction and digging
works, granite flooring, benches, interlocking paver blocks etc.
However, Buddhist park finds no mention, indicating that the project
was just a hollow promise.

"The Congress has fooled the Dalit people by making a fake promise.
The then chief minister had also announced Rs 50 lakh for
redevelopment of museum in the city but no financial provision has
been made," alleged Bansod.

On the contrary, Sunil Gujjalwar, superintending engineer of Nagpur
Improvement Trust (NIT), says the minor works sanctioned at Futala
this year have nothing to do with the theme park.

"The Buddhist theme park is a long-term mega project which will
require at least Rs 100 crore. The NIT is in process of preparing
expression of interest and a survey is being done. Such projects
cannot be completed overnight," Gujjalwar stressed.

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[ZESTCaste] Chaityabhoomi politics hots up

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_chaityabhoomi-politics-hots-up_1552485

Chaityabhoomi politics hots up
Published: Wednesday, Jun 8, 2011, 1:12 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

As the Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Republican
Party of India (RPI) prepare for their joint rally, the Congress on
Tuesday played its Dalit card by demanding immediate transfer of Indu
Mills land for the expansion of Chaityabhoomi in Dadar.

Earlier on Tuesday, BJP leader Vinod Tawde declared that the
Mahamorcha on June 9 would be part of the ongoing movement against
corruption in the country. "Apart from the political equations, the
social equations in the state are also going to change as a result of
this rally. We will take anti-government slogans to each and every
village in the state. The people of the state are welcoming the
alliance, and we are sure that this is the beginning of the end of the
government," said Tawde.

The Congress then jumped into the fray by demanding the immediate
transfer of Indu mills land for Chaityabhoomi. Maharashtra Pradesh
Congress Committee (MPCC) president Manikrao Thakre said that the MPCC
had raised the demand with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and that
he agreed.

"If needed, we will even approach prime minister Manmohan Singh. The
land is needed for beautification of Chaityabhoomi, as lakhs of people
visit the place. The Congress will follow up the issue till the goal
is achieved," said Thakre.

The issue of transfer of land has been pending for six to seven years.
The decision was approved in 2004. It was also decided four of the 12
acres will be acquired to build a national memorial of Dr Babasaheb
Ambedkar. Extra FSI will be given as compensation. Thakre, however,
did not say how much land will be acquired, saying that the
acquisition will be "as per the requirement".

In the wake of the RPI joining hands with the saffron alliance, the
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had raised a demand to rename Dadar
station as Chaityabhoomi. The Congress has now jumped into the fray.
"Till today, none of these parties ever bothered to pay attention to
our issues. The issue of Indu Mills land has been pending for many
years. The Congress has now suddenly woken up to the issue. This shows
they are scared of our alliance," said Arjun Dangle, RPI leader.
Meanwhile, at a press conference held in Mumbai , RPI leader Ramdas
Athavale said that industries minister Narayan Rane should leave the
Congress and rejoin the Shiv Sena as the Congress has refused to make
him CM.

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[ZESTCaste] A first: RPI to join saffron combine for protest rally

http://www.hindustantimes.com/A-first-RPI-to-join-saffron-combine-for-protest-rally/Article1-706996.aspx

A first: RPI to join saffron combine for protest rally
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, June 08, 2011

The Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance and the
Republican Party of India (RPI), which is in the process of forging an
electoral alliance with the saffron combine, will for the first time
join forces to organise a protest rally against the state and central
governments on Thursday.

At the rally, which will be held at Azad Maidan, the activists will
protest against corruption, price rise and dalit atrocities.

"Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray, BJP leader Gopinath Munde
and RPI chief Ramdas Athawale will be leading the protests. According
to the feedback we have got from the local meetings, the turnout will
be huge with people coming from all communities and corners of the
state," said Neelam Gorhe, Sena spokesperson on Tuesday.

BJP leader Vinod Tawde said a different picture was emerging in terms
of this alliance. "This protest rally will be a people's movement
against issues that affect them the most. It is also against the
government, which is adopting forceful measures to stop Anna Hazare
and Baba Ramdev, who hold peaceful protests by fasting. Even the rains
will not hamper our movement this time," Tawde said.

Speaking on behalf of the dalit population, Athawale said the Congress
had only used the community and not improved their standard of
education, social status or livelihood.

"Even the way Baba Ramdev and his followers were chased away at night
by the government was uncalled for. The Congress behaved like the
Britishers of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. We demand home minister
P Chidambaram's resignation," Athawale said.

He added that while the Sena and RPI had some differences in the past,
this is an opportunity to bury them differences and look ahead.

Athawale also rejected Congress minister Narayan Rane's offer to join
the party, thus thwarting any plans to spoil to alliance.

"Rane is a good friend and I would like to give him a counter offer to
join the RPI. After all he had almost lost his ministerial berth and
in the next elections — both civic and legislature — our alliance is
sure to win. Also, it was Thackeray who made him chief minister, which
seems unlikely when he is in the Congress," Athawale said.

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[ZESTCaste] Nepal: Majority of sanskrit students are Dalits in Tanahun

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Majority+of+sanskrit+students+are+Dalits+in+Tanahun+&NewsID=291021

Majority of sanskrit students are Dalits in Tanahun

Added At: 2011-06-08 1:26 PM

Last Updated At: 2011-06-08 1:27 PM

TANAHUN: The only Sanskrit school of Tanahun district is not
attracting Brahmin children, but Dalit students.

An increasing number of Dalit children are attracted by Gyankunja
Maharsi Bedbyas Sanskrit Secondary School situated at Byas
Municipality-10. Majority of the students in the Sanskrit school are
Dalits.

With the Brahmin and Chhetri communities admitting their children in
expensive private schools, it's hard to even find non-Dalit students
studying Sanskrit, said school headmaster Tulsi Sharan Sigdel.

He said the number of Brahmin and Chhetri students fell down sharply
following the end of the conflict in the country. Earlier, during the
conflict there were 15 Brahmin students in the school that was
established to impart Sanskrit education to students of all
communities.

Of 205 students in the school, majority are Dalits. After Dalits, the
Muslim community accounts for the highest number of students, Sigdel
said. "It's our pleasure that we have more number of Muslim students
today."

A teacher of the school, Krishna Raj Tiwari, said it was unfortunate
that the number of students is decreasing even though the school
boasts of sound physical infrastructure.

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[ZESTCaste] Bangalore: HC Directs Criminal Action on Transfer of SC/ST Land

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=104753&n_tit=Bangalore%3A+HC+Directs+Criminal+Action+on+Transfer+of+SC%2FST+Land

Wednesday, June 08, 2011 10:37:00 AM (IST)
0Share
Bangalore: HC Directs Criminal Action on Transfer of SC/ST Land

Bangalore, Jun 8 (DHNS): In what could be termed as a landmark
decision on restriction on transfer of certain lands, the High Court
of Karnataka on Tuesday ruled that criminal cases be booked against
persons intentionally selling land allotted to Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes.

The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice H G
Ramesh said there had been an increase in the number of instances of
selling the land allotted to SC/STs, despite the knowledge of the bar
on sale of such land.

"The Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of
Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978 imposes a ban on transfer of land
allotted to SC/STs. However, the allottees have been selling land
despite full knowledge of the law. They later give a statement before
the authority concerned that they were unaware of the restriction on
transfer and reclaim the land only to sell it to others," the Bench
noted. There had been a spurt in the number of victims approaching the
High Court after losing both land and money, it said.

The trail

Four acres of land was allotted to Cheluvaiah of Hunasur taluk (Mysore
district) in 1955.

After several transfers, Marideva Gowda purchased the land.
Cheluvaiah filed an application before the assistant commissioner (AC)
stating that he sold the land without the knowledge of restriction on
transfer, and sought re-possesion. The AC ruled in favour of
Cheluvaiah and on an appeal, the HC upheld the decision. Cheluvaiah
sold the same land to Somegowda, filed and application before the AC,
again.

A single judge of the HC endorsed the AC's ruling. The matter was
again challenged before the Division Bench. It allowed the purchaser
to demand repayment of the sale money from Cheluvaiah with interest.

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[ZESTCaste] Rahul Gandhi to address rally in Bhatta Parsaul

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_rahul-gandhi-to-address-rally-in-bhatta-parsaul_1552301

Rahul Gandhi to address rally in Bhatta Parsaul
Published: Tuesday, Jun 7, 2011, 18:45 IST
Place: Lucknow | Agency: IANS

As part of its preparations for the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh,
the Congress Tuesday said party leader Rahul Gandhi will address a
rally of farmers in Bhatta Parsaul later this month.

The party has also decided to give assembly tickets to youth in large numbers.

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters that farmers,
whose land had been acquired in different parts of the state, will be
invited for the rally in Bhatta Parsaul.

The village near Greater Noida last month emerged as the epicentre of
the agitation by farmers for higher compensation for their land
acquired by the Mayawati government.

Gandhi had visited Bhatta Parsaul in May in support of farmers. He was
arrested and later released by the Mayawati government.

Singh said if permission is not given to hold a rally in Bhatta
Parsaul, it will be held near the village.

"Youth will be given tickets to the maximum extent possible," Singh
said on the party's preparations for the next assembly elections.

He said the Congress will field new candidates on seats it had been
losing in the last few elections.

Due representation will also be given to Other Backward Classes (OBC)
andminorities while finalising the candidates list, he added.

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[ZESTCaste] Does God Have A Caste? (Meena Kandasamy)

http://www.theindiasite.com/does-god-have-a-caste/

Does God Have A Caste?

By Meena Kandasamy

"Caste is a state of mind. It is a disease of mind." (Revolutionary
Dr. BR Ambedkar)

Last week, I was shocked to learn that a judicial magistrate court in
India has issued summons to me under Sections 153, 153 (A) and 505(2)
of the Indian Penal Code, stringent provisions of the law that seek to
punish those "wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot",
"promoting enmity between different groups" and "creating or promoting
enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes." As the English translator
of Uproot Hindutva: The Fiery Voice of the Liberation Panthers, I was
accused, along with its author Thol. Thirumavalavan (Member of
Parliament and President of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi party)
and publisher Mandira Sen (of Stree-Samya Books, Kolkata) of creating
communal disharmony. What was our crime? We had portrayed two Tamil
folk deities, Ponnar and Sankar, as "Dalit brothers." A non-Indian
parallel might illustrate this story better: An African-American
leader says Jesus Christ was Black, and a White man takes him to court
for causing communal disharmony. Would we not readily label the White
man a racist and a supremacist?

Back to the Tamil context and its intolerance. Advocate M. Loganathan,
the 38-year-old litigant in this case belongs to the Kongu Vellala
Gounder community, a feudal, upper caste that became 'backward' after
petitioning the state government in 1975, and works as the Student
Wing Convenor of the Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam, a party that was
formed to counter the new pressure exerted by Dalit politics from
parties such as the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/08/stories/2009050854060500.htm

The petitioner held that he was offended by the following endnote:
"Annanmar Kathai is the most significant and lengthy oral epic in the
history of Tamil Nadu. Two Dalit brothers, Ponnar and Sankar, who
saved their people from invasion are worshipped" (p.160 of the book).
This endnote occurs with reference to Thol. Thirumavalavan's speech on
14 April 2003, emphasizing how he sought to implement Dr. Ambedkar's
ideology reflected in his party's slogan "We shall Uproot Hindutva. We
shall retrieve our lost identity." (p.143) Neither the original Tamil
speech, nor my translation and endnote had a deliberate intent to
offend any community. For seven years since its publication in 2004,
Uproot Hindutva has not caused any communal discord.

Loganathan claims that Ponnar and Sankar belong to a Kongu Vellala
Gounder subcaste, and the alleged misinformation in our book (calling
them Dalit) was a premeditated act by which we have sought to incite
the Dalit people of the region to militate for their rights of worship
towards these Gods and revolt against the Kongu Vellala Gounders. He
seems to want to appropriate the deity to his own caste group, and is
effectively saying that it is insulting to call the deity a Dalit.
This litigation is an interesting case of a wolf in sheep's clothing
crying wolf! In truth, western Tamil Nadu stands witness to the
gruesome flesh-and-blood reality of an oppressive caste system that
humiliates, subjugates, rapes and murders Dalits, most notably the
Arundhatiyars, on an everyday basis. In a process of reverse
transference, this fanatical cruelty sometimes seeps in from the real
world to the realm of myth and make-believe, and that is why caste
Hindus like the petitioner Loganathan experience "extreme mental
trauma, irreparable hardship and grievous emotional hurt" when two
folk deities are called Dalit.

The co-opting and appropriation process of
Hindutva-ization/Brahminization/Sansritization swallowed a lot of our
village/regional/folk deities into the burgeoning Hindu pantheon, and
Dalit deities were ascribed caste-Hindu origins because the casteist
mindset could not accept the Dalit in the role of a valiant hero. The
oral nature of the epic in which Ponnar-Sankar appears makes it almost
impossible to ascertain either their exact caste origins, or even if
they really existed historically. The present case filed against us
does not arise out of the petitioner's faithfulness to history: it
clearly springs out of his intolerance, that refuses to treat Dalit
heroes as worthy of deification. Such a litigation reflects a
worldview that if heroes have to retain godhood, they have to maintain
caste-Hindu credentials. That is why, the litigant claims to be hurt
when his ancestral deities are said to be Dalit.

I am outraged that an caste-Hindu is able to misuse a court of law by
filing such a patently abusive and absurd case that disgraces the
history and experience of being Dalit. The real offence in this
instance is the litigant's act of taking offence when something holy
and venerable is identified as Dalit. I only hope that the real crime
here—rampant and rabid anti-Dalit hatred—gets its due punishment.

I am in the UK now, and I will have to abandon my activities here and
hurry back home to face the case because I have been asked to appear
before the magistrate court on 1 July 2011. I will fight this casteist
absurdity and publicity-seeking harassment that masquerades as a court
case. Such a frivolous petition only displays the loathsome,
supremacist caste-Hindu mentality as to who is worthy of worship in
our society: in this telling, a hero can never be Dalit, and
conversely, a Dalit can never be a hero.

Meena Kandasamy is a poet, writer and translator. Her latest
collection of poetry is Ms Militancy (2010). She is a Visiting Fellow
with the School of English, Newcastle University. She blogs at
http://meenu.wordpress.com

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[ZESTCaste] Court notice to VCK chief over his book

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-01/coimbatore/29608202_1_vck-gounders-caste-identity

Court notice to VCK chief over his book
TNN, Jun 1, 2011, 06.43am IST

COIMBATORE: A judicial magistrate court on Tuesday issued summons to
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi president Thol Thirumavalavan, writer
Meena Kandasamy and a Kolkata-based publishing house for allegedly
changing historical facts related to Ponnar and Shankar, two figures
revered in Tamil Nadu.

In the crossfire is the English translation of a collection of the VCK
leader's speeches, Uproot Hindutva: The Fiery Voice of The Liberation
Panthers, published by Samya, in 2004.

M Loganathan (38), an advocate from Nanje Goundanpudur near
Thudiyalur, has claimed that Kandasamy who translated the book
erroneously stated that Ponnar and Shankar, two figures revered by the
kongu vellala gounder community as deities, are dalits. "Kongu vellala
gounders community people worship Ponnar, Sankar as Annanmar Swamy,"
said M Loganathan.

The petitioner has claimed that the depiction of Ponnar and Shankar as
dalits will lead to caste tension. "There is no historical evidence
citing the brothers were dalits. But there are numerous evidences
asserting their caste identity as vellala gounders," Loganathan said.

Magistrate LS Sathiyamurthy said though caste was an artificial factor
invented to cause social discrimination, the concerned petition could
be taken into file since the deities were worshipped by certain caste
members in western Tamil Nadu and a wrong depiction might lead to
tension in the region. The court has accepted the petition under
sections 153, 153 (A), 505(2) and (3) of the Indian Penal Code. The
respondents have been asked to appear in person before the court on
July 1.

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