Latest News Update: Jun 27, 2011

Monday, June 27, 2011

Re: [ZESTCaste] Why was Panchayat president Krishnaveni attacked?

unless we form a movement of oppressed from below how will reservations for dalits help? we do not deserve a democracy.

ranjani

--- On Sun, 26/6/11, CHITTIBABU PADAVALA <afchittibabu@gmail.com> wrote:

From: CHITTIBABU PADAVALA <afchittibabu@gmail.com>
Subject: [ZESTCaste] Why was Panchayat president Krishnaveni attacked?
To: "bahujanstudentnetwork" <bahujanstudentnetwork@googlegroups.com>
Cc: "dalit solidarity networks" <dalitsnuk@yahoo.co.uk>, dalitmediacenter@gmail.com, "dalit-solidarity" <dalit-solidarity@yahoogroups.com>, "humanhorizons" <humanhorizons@yahoogroups.co.uk>, "mulnivasibahujans" <mulnivasibahujans@googlegroups.com>, "sakyagroup" <sakyagroup@yahoogroups.com>, "ZESTCaste" <zestcaste@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Sunday, 26 June, 2011, 11:49 AM

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Writing Caste <no-reply@wordpress.com>
Date: 2011/6/26
Subject: [New post] Why was Panchayat president Krishnaveni attacked?
To: afchittibabu@gmail.com

Why was Panchayat president Krishnaveni attacked?

எருமை மாடு | June 26, 2011 at 9:18 am | Tags: affirmative action, தமிழ், government, panchayat president, representation, Tamil Nadu | Categories: Dalit Writing, Report | URL: http://wp.me/p1us7s-7g

தாழையூத்து பஞ்சாயத் தலைவர் கிருஷ்ணவேணியின் மீது நடத்தப்பட்ட கொடூரமான தாக்குதலைத் தொடர்ந்து, தலித் பஞ்சாயத் தலைவர்களின் மீது நடத்தப்படும் வன்முறைகளை முன்வைக்கும் வலைபதிவுகளின் முதல் பதிவு இது. இந்த சம்பவத்தைப் பற்றி அருந்ததியர் மனித உரிமை அமைப்பு வெளியிட்ட அறிக்கை கீழே.

In response to the brutal attack on Thalaiyuthu Panchayat President Krishnaveni, this is the first of a series of posts about attempts on the lives of dalit panchayat presidents. This attack has hospitalised an award-winning and popular elected leader and underlines the threat that caste poses to democracy. A statement on the attack issued by the Arunthathiyar Human Rights Federation has been reproduced in full and translated below.

நியாயமாக பணிசெய்த பஞ்சாயத்து தலைவரை அடித்து நொறுக்கிய கருங்காலிகள் யார்?

Who were the scoundrels who beat up a just and hard-working Panchayat president?

'தைரியம்ன்னா என்னான்னு தெரியுமா?' ஒரு செயலை செய்வதற்கு துணிந்து நின்று பயம் இல்லாமல் செய்வதைத்தான் தைரியம் என்று சொல்கிறோம். அந்த வகையில் சாதி வெறியாட்டம் மிகுந்த திருநெல்வேலி சீமையிலே தனி ஒரு மனிதனாக நின்று ஆங்கிலேயரை எதிர்த்து, முதல் சுதந்திரபோராட்ட தியாகத்தில் தைரியமாக போரிட்டவர் தளபதி ஒண்டிவீரன் என்பவரையேச் சாரும் அவர்களின் வழி வந்த எம்மக்கள் மீதான வன்கொடுமைகள் தொடர்ந்து இருந்து கொண்டே இருக்கிறது.

'Do you know what courage is?' To stand up boldly and to dare to do an act without fear, that is what we call courage. Such courage belonged to general Ondiveeran, the man who stood alone against the British and fought bravely in the first war of Independence. In Tirunelveli region, that stronghold of caste violence, our people who are of his lineage are being continually subject to atrocities.

இந்நாட்டு மக்களாகிய, அனைத்து தரப்பு மக்கள் எந்தவித நோய்கள் வராமல் இருக்க ஊரையும், தெருவையும், பெரிய பெரிய முதலாளிகளின் வீடுகள் ஆகிய அனைத்தையும் சுத்தம் செய்து, அவர்கள் நன்றாக இருப்பதற்காக அனைத்து நோய்களையும் தாங்களே அனுபவிக்கிறார்கள். இந்தியாவின் 3வது அரசாங்கமான உள்ளாட்சி அரசாங்கத்தின் வழியாக தான், இழந்த அனைத்து உரிமைகளையும் சலுகைகளையும் பெற முடியும் என்ற நம்பிக்கையில் பஞ்சாயத்து தலைவர்களாக நின்று அந்த அதிகாரத்தின் வழியாக கிராம அளவில் முன்னேற்றம் அடையலாம் என நினைத்து இந்த 5 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு தான் அரசியல் கோணத்தில் வெளிவருகிறார்கள் அருந்ததியர்கள். அவ்வாறு வெளிவந்த சமயத்தில் ஏற்பட்ட சம்பவங்களில் இழந்த உயிர்கள் தான் அதிகம்.

To save the people of this country from disease, they clean everything from the town, the streets and the houses of the big landlords. That these people may be healthy, they take all diseases upon themselves. Only in the past five years have the Arunthathiyar been standing for elections of panchayat presidents in the belief that atleast through the third arm of governance - the local bodies - they can find progress at the village-level, regain their lost rights and receive the subsidies that are their due. At this, the moment of their arrival, they have only lost many lives.

திருநெல்வேலி மாவட்டம் தாழையூத்து பஞ்சாயத்தில் தலித் தனி தொகுதியில் கடந்த 2006ஆம் ஆண்டு பஞ்சாயத்து தேர்தலில் அருந்ததிய சமூகத்தை சேர்ந்த கிருஷ்ணவேணி(35 ) என்பவர் போட்டியிட்டு வெற்றி பெற்றார். இந்த பஞ்சாயத்தில் அனைத்து தரப்பு மக்களும் வசித்து வருகின்றனர். பெரும்பாலும் விவசாயத்தை நம்பியே வாழும் சூழல் இருக்கிறது. இந்த பஞ்சாயத்தில் சங்கர் சிமென்ட் மற்றும் நிலவுடைமைகள் அதிகமாக இருப்பதனால் பஞ்சாயத்திற்கு வரவேண்டிய வரி வரவுகள் அதிகமாக இருக்கிறது. இருந்தாலும் கிராம அளவில் முன்னேற்றம் என்பது கேள்விக்குறியாக இருக்கிறது. குறிப்பாக தலித் மக்களின் முன்னேற்றம் மிகமிக குறைவாக இருக்கிறது. இந்த கிராமத்தின் வளர்ச்சியை நோக்கி இப்பஞ்சாயத்து தலைவர் அரசு மற்றும் அரசு சாரா நிறுவனங்கள் நடத்தக் கூடிய பல்வேறு கிராம முன்னேற்ற சம்பந்தமாக நிகழ்ச்சிகளில் கலந்து கொண்டு தன்னுடைய பணிகளை செய்து வந்தார்.

Krishnaveni (35) of the Arunthathiyar community contested and won the Panchayat elections in the reserved Thalaiyuthu Panchayat of Tirunelveli district in 2006. There are people from many communities in this Panchayat. They mostly depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Since Sankar Cements and many large land-holdings exist in this Panchayat, there are many taxes that are due to be paid to it. Yet, progress at the village-level remains a question mark. Specifically, the progress among dalit people is very very low. For the development of this village, this Panchayat president participated in several programmes relating to village development, organised by governmental and non-governmental bodies, and performed her duties.

இவரின் சவாலான துணிச்சலும், தைரியமும் மற்றவர்களை வியப்படச் செய்தது. இது ஒரு பக்கம் இருந்தாலும் மாற்ற ஆதிக்க சமூகத்தினருக்கு அச்சத்தை உண்டாக்கியது. அதாவது, 'ஒரு சக்கிலிய பிள்ளை இப்படி துணிச்சலா செய்றா நம்மளைய அடக்கி ஆள நினைக்கிறா' என்ற தவறான சிந்தனைக்கு சென்று இப்பஞ்சாயத்து தலைவரின் பணியில் நெருக்கடி கொடுத்தான் மேலும் சில கொலை மிரட்டல்களும், கொலை முயற்சிகளும் அவ்வப்போது செய்து வந்தனர். இருப்பினும் பிற சமூகத்தை சார்ந்த பலர் 'இந்த கிருஷ்ணவேணி அம்மா வந்த பிறகு தான் நல்லநல்ல விஷயங்கள் நடந்து இருக்கிறது. இந்த அம்மா நேர்மையா இருக்கிறது' என்று கூறினார். இதையொட்டி இந்த பஞ்சாயத்து தலைவர் 'நான் பணி செய்யும் போது ஆதிக்கசாதியினர் ஒரு சிலர் பணிக்கு குறுக்கீடு செய்யுறாங்க, கொலை செஞ்சிடுவேனு மிரட்டுறாங்க' என இரண்டு முறை பாதுகாப்பு வேண்டி காவல்துறைக்கு மனு கொடுத்துள்ளார் ஆனால் காவல்துறை இதை பெரிய பொருட்டாக கருதவில்லை. இதற்கிடையில் கடந்த 11.06.2011 அன்று மாவட்ட ஆட்சிதலைவர் மன்றத்தில் நடைபெற்ற மக்கள் குறைதீர்க்கும் கூட்டத்தில் கலந்துகொண்டு பின்னர் இதற்கு மறுநாளான 12.06.2011 அன்று சமபந்தி கூட்டத்திலும் கலந்துகொண்டு பஞ்சாயத்துக்கு சம்பந்தப்பட்ட தீர்மானங்களை நிறைவேற்றினார். இந்த கூட்டத்திற்கு கிளார்க் மற்றும் துணை பஞ்சாயத்து தலைவர் ஆகிய இருவரும் கலந்துகொள்ளவில்லை என தெரிகிறது.

People were stunned by her courage and bravery which were a challenge to them. While this feeling existed, dominant castes were also afraid of her. The wrong thought that 'This Sakkili woman acts with so much courage, she seeks to subdue and rule us' led to them posing obstacles to her work, besides issuing a few death threats and making attempts on her life. Yet, people from other communities said, 'After this Krishnaveni lady has come, many good things are happening. This lady is honest'. The Panchayat president had twice sought police protection, saying 'While I am doing my work, some members of the dominant castes are interfering and are threatening to kill me'. The police department did not take her seriously. On 11.06.2011, she participated in the grievance redressal meeting organised at the Collectorate. She participated in the meeting the next day to fulfill the resolutions relating to her Panchayat. It seems that both the clerk and the Panchayat vice-president did not attend this meeting.

இந்த நிலையில் 13.06.2011 அன்று வடக்கு தாழையூத்து பகுதியில் பஞ்சாயத்து சம்பந்தமான பணிகளை செய்து முடித்து வீடு திரும்பும்போது இரவு நேரம் என்பதால் ஆட்டோவில் சென்று கொண்டிருக்க ஆள் நடமாட்டம் இல்லாத இடத்தில் சென்று கொண்டிருக்கும் போது திடீரென 6 அடையாளம் தெரியாத மர்ம நபர்கள் கடுமையாக தாக்கக்கூடிய ஆயுதங்களோடு வந்து பஞ்சாயத்து தலைவர் கிருஷ்ணவேணியை சரமாரியாக கை, கால், முகம் என பல்வேறு இடங்களில் வெட்டி காயப்படுத்தினர். இதனால் அவர் உயிருக்கு போராடிக்கொண்டிருக்க பாலைமேட்டுதிடல் அரசு மருத்துவமனையில் சேர்க்கப்பட்டார். இரத்தம் அதிகமாக வெளியேறியதால் 1 லி 900 மிலி தேவைப்பட்டதால் தாழையூத்து பகுதியிலுள்ள பிற சமூகத்தைச் சார்ந்த 8 நபர்கள் தன்னுடைய இரத்தத்தை கொடுத்துள்ளது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

On 13.06.2011, after having finished some Panchayat-related work in north Thalaiyuthu, she was returning home in an auto since it was nighttime. While crossing a sparsely populated stretch, six strangers attacked Panchayat president Krishnaveni with weapons intended to cause serious injury and hacked at her arms, legs, and face. She was admitted, battling for her life, to the Palaimettuthidal Government Hospital. Since she had lost a lot of blood, 1 l 900 ml of blood was needed. It is notable that eight individuals of other communities of the Thalaiyuthu region have donated blood for her.

இந்த சம்பவத்தின் பின்னணி என்ன என்று விசாரித்த வகையில் 'ஆயுதங்களோடு தாக்கிய 6 நபர்களில், 2 நபர்களை நாங்கள் சந்தேகப்படுகிறோம்' என கிருஷ்ணவேணி தரப்பில் கூறியதால் காவல்துறை அந்த இரண்டு நபர்களை கைது செய்தது. கைது செய்த 2 நபர்களை விசாரித்த வகையில் 'ஆயுதங்களோடு தாக்கியவர்கள் அந்த இரண்டு நபர்கள் அல்ல, அதை செய்தவர்கள் கூலி படைகள் தான் அதனால் நாங்கள் சீக்கிரமாக கண்டுபிடித்து விடுவோம்' என காவல்துறை கூறியுள்ளது. இச்சம்பவம் நடந்த 5 நாட்கள் கடந்த நிலையில் 19.06.2011 அன்று 5 நபர்கள் காவல்துறையிடம் சென்று 'நாங்கள் தான் கிருஷ்ணவேணியை கோலை முயற்சி செய்தோம்' என சரணடைந்துள்ளனர். மேலும் இந்த சம்பவ விசாரணையானது 23.06.2011 நீதிமன்றத்திற்கு வருகிறது என கிருஷ்ணவேணியின் உறவினர்கள் கூறினார்கள்.

While inquiring about the incident, it was said on Krishnaveni's behalf that 'Of the six individuals who attacked with weapons, we suspect two people we know'. The police arrested these two. Following interrogations, they arrived at the conclusion that it was not these two but hired labourers who had attempted to murder her. They promised to find the culprits soon. Five days after the incident, on 19.06.2011, five individuals went to the police, confessed to the attack on Krishnaveni and surrendered. Krishnaveni's relatives said that the matter will come up for hearing in the court on 23.06.2011.

இந்த சம்பவத்தை செய்த கருங்காலிகள் யார்? என்பது இன்னும் புரியாத புதிராக இருக்கிறது. திருநெல்வேலி, விருதுநகர், தூத்துக்குடி ஆகிய அருகிலுள்ள மாவட்டங்களைச் சார்ந்த அருந்ததிய இயக்கங்கள் ஆங்காங்கே கண்டன ஆர்பாட்டங்கள் மற்றும் போராட்டங்களின் வழியாக கிருஷ்ணவேணியை தாக்கிய அந்த கருங்காலிகளை கைது செய்து தண்டனை வழங்குமாறு தங்களுடைய எதிர்ப்புகளை தெரிவித்து வருகின்றனர். வருகிற 28.06.2011 அன்று திருநெல்வேலியில் அனைத்து தலித் தலைவர்கள் இணைந்து 2000 மக்கள் கலந்து கொள்ளும் வகையில் கண்டன ஆர்பாட்டம் நடைபெறும் என திருநெல்வேலி ஆதிதமிழர் பேரவை மாவட்ட செயலாளர் திருமிகு சங்கர் கூறியுள்ளார். மேலும் இச்சம்பவம் பற்றிய முழு விபரங்களை கண்டறிய உண்மை கண்டறியும் குழு என்ற ஒரு குழுவை அமைத்து அந்த கிராமத்திற்கு சென்று உண்மை என்ன என்பதை கண்டறிய அதற்கான பணிகளை செய்தால் சிறப்பாக இருக்கும் என்ற பரிந்துரையை சமிர்பிக்கின்றேன்.

Who were the scoundrels responsible for this incident? This remains an unresolved question. Arunthathiyar organisations from the districts of Tirunelveli, Virudunagar and Thoothukudi have organised protests to express their demand that the scoundrels who attacked Krishnaveni be brought to justice. The Adithamizhar Peravai district secretary Sankar has announced that dalit leaders will come together to lead a 2000-strong protest on 28.06.2011 in Tirunelveli. I submit the recommendation that a fact finding team should be constituted and sent to the village to determine the truth.

>அரசானது திருமதி கிருஷ்ணவேணியை தாக்கிய கருங்காலிகளை உடனே வன்கொடுமை தடுப்பு சட்டத்தின் கீழ் கைது செய்ய வேண்டும்.
>திருமதி கிருஷ்ணவேணியின் குடும்பத்திற்கும் உற்றார் உறவினர்க்கும் பாதுகாப்பு வழங்க வேண்டும்.
>பாதிக்கப்பட்ட கிருஷ்ணவேணியின் குடும்பத்திற்கு உடனே நிவாரண நிதியுதவி செய்ய வேண்டும்;
>தலித் மக்கள் வசிக்கும் பகுதிகளுக்கு பாதுகாப்பு வழங்க வேண்டும்.
>வன்கொடுமை தடுப்பு சட்டத்தில் கூறியுள்ள தலித் ஊராட்சிமன்ற தலைவர்களுக்கு பாதுகாப்பு நலன் கருதி துப்பாக்கி கொடுப்பதை நடைமுறை படுத்த வேண்டும்.
>ஊராட்சிமன்ற தலைவர்களுக்கான 29 அதிகாரங்களை நடைமுறைபடுத்தவேண்டும்.

அறிக்கைதொகுப்பு
வ. முத்து
மாநில ஒருங்கிணைப்பாளர்
அருந்ததியர் மனித உரிமை சங்கம்

>The government must immediately arrest the scoundrels who attacked Krishnaveni under the Prevention of Atrocities Act.
>Mrs. Krishnaveni's family and relatives must be provided with security.
>The regions where Dalit people live must be provided with security.
>For the security of dalit Panchayat leaders as mentioned in the Prevention of Atrocities Act, it should be made a practice to provide them with guns.
>The 29 powers and responsibilities that rest with the Panchayat President should be brought into practice.

Statement compiled by
V. Muthu
State Convenor
Arunthathiyar Human Rights Federation

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[ZESTCaste] Orissa govt to resolve the issue of dalits' entry into temple

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/171535/orissa-govt-resolve-issue-dalits.html

Orissa govt to resolve the issue of dalits' entry into temple
Bhubaneswar, Jun 25 (PTI)

Slammed by National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) over a
tradition banning entry of dalits into a Hindu temple in Puri
district, Orissa government today said it would look into the matter
and try to resolve it.

"We will look into it and see how the matter can be resolved," Chief
Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters, a day after NCSC Chairman L
Punia visited the temple premises at Ranapada village under Brahmagiri
area and attacked the state government for prevalence of the age-old
tradition.
Punia along with senior NCSC officials, rushed to the village on the
bank of Chilika lake yesterday after getting information on prevalence
of untouchability practice there.

Voicing serious concern, Punia said the main temple of Goddess Kali
had been closed before his arrival there. Temple authorities had also
removed a sign board which stated that Dalits were allowed only to a
particular place from where they could have 'darshan' of the Goddess.

Terming the age-old practice as a discrimination against dalits, the
NCSC Chairman said he would take up the matter at the national level
as the community had been put to socio-economic boycott by upper caste
people.

The Commission would also seek a report from the state government
asking it to explain as to why law had not been enforced to protect
the interest of dalits, he said adding it would take up the matter
with the state police chief and other concerned authorities.

"Media reports on dalit entry into the temple is correct and I
verified it. While upper caste people are allowed to go close to the
Goddess, the dalits are asked to keep themselves far away from the
idol. This is a clear case of violation," he said. The NCSC also
pointed out that three dalit girls were punished for entering into the
temple in September 2010. "We were told by the state government that
everything had been set right. One person was arrested and people had
been living peacefully," said director of NCSC, Kolkata S K Naskar,
who accompanied the chairman.
Though nine months have elapsed since the girls were punished for
entering into the temple, the socio-economic boycott is continuing.
The dalits are mostly engaged in share cropping and eke out living by
working in others' field. However, after the September 2010 incident,
they are not given work and subjected to miseries, Punia alleged.

During his interaction with upper caste people at the village and also
the priest of the temple, Punia was informed that dalits were denied
entry as it was against the tradition.

The villagers said their fore-fathers did not allow dalits to step
inside the temple and they would like to follow the tradition,
according to Punia.

Punia also met Chandana Bhoi, one of the young girls who visited the
Goddess in September 2010. She narrated her experience and sought
protection from the commission in the face of social discrimination,
he said.

Ranapada village has at least 80 Dalit families who are facing
socio-economic boycott for the last nine months, he said adding NCSC
would seek a report from the state government on the matter

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[ZESTCaste] My remarks on Dalits misinterpreted : Pejawar seer

http://thecanaratimes.com/epaper/index.php/archives/10936

My remarks on Dalits misinterpreted : Pejawar seer

Posted on Jun 20th, 2011 and filed under General.

UDUPI : Sri Vishwesha Theertha Swamiji of Pejawar Mutt has said that the Dalit

leaders have misinterpreted his statement on the conversion of Dalits
into Buddhism. In a

press communiqué, the Pejawar seer has said he was surprised over the
protests staged by

Dalit organizations against him. "As per the Constitution, every
individual has the right

to embrace any religion of his choice. Accordingly, even Dalits have
the right to embrace

Buddhism," the seer said.

Continuing, he said " I do not question this right of theirs. But,
every individiaul has the

right to give some suggestions to others. I have only advised the
Dalits. It is left for

them to either accept or reject it. There is nothing unconstitutional
in my statement, I

have only told the truth which is in the interests of the Dalit community."

" The Dalits in every colony I have visited, worship Hindu Gods and
Goddesses and

there is no doubt that they are Hindus. What is wrong in giving them a
special Bhakti

Deekshe of Hindu Dharma ?," the seer has questioned adding this would
be conducive to

eradication of untouchability.

He further said " I have not told anywhere that caste is the soul of
Hindu Dharma. By

realizing the fact that in the present social and political scenario,
the caste system cannot

be eradicated, let us unitedly strive to eradicate untouchability and
bring about social

equality." Continuing he said, "Let us not delay the task of
eradication of untouchability

by linking untouchability eradication and caste system eradication.
This would not solve

the problem, Instead let us lay due emphasis to eradication of
untouchability and work

towards that direction."

The seer has also requested the Dalits to understand his concerted
efforts towards

eradication of untouchability and co-operate in his endeavor.

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[ZESTCaste] ‘Govt unfair to dalits’

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/171153/govt-unfair-dalits.html

'Govt unfair to dalits'
Bangalore, June 23, DHNS :

The Dalit Sangarsha Samiti led a protest rally on Thursday condemning
the State government's attitude towards dalits and people belonging to
backward and oppressed classes.

against injustice: Members of Dalit Sangarsha Samiti burn an effigy in
Bangalore on Thursday to protest against ill-treatment of dalits.
KPNDSS district unit president Subramanya said: " The government's
attitude towards the dalits and those belonging to lower castes should
change for the better."

As many as 100 members staged a walk from Town Hall to Mysore Bank
Circle and burnt an effigy depicting the State government.

The Sangha also submitted a 14-point memorandum to the Governor, and
the Social Welfare minister. The protesters demanded that the
government stop acquiring agricultural land from poorer sections of
society and return the land wrongly acquired for various development
projects.

They also sought 25 per cent reservation of jobs in IT and BT
companies for people from backward classes.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalits promised toilets, drinking water

http://www.hindu.com/2011/06/24/stories/2011062453600500.htm

Karnataka - Tumkur

Dalits promised toilets, drinking water

Staff Correspondent

In the first phase, 10,000 families to be provided the amenities

Each water connection to cost Rs. 2,000

Free cooking gas also to be provided to Dalits

A. Narayanaswamy

Tumkur: Social Welfare and Prisons Minister A. Narayanaswamy has said
that toilets will be provided in all Dalit colonies in cities. In the
first phase, 10,000 Dalit families coming under the municipal
corporations will be provided free cooking gas, and drinking water
under the Nirmala Ganga scheme.

Mr. Narayanaswamy was addressing presspersons here on Thursday after
chairing a meeting of district-level officers. At the meeting he
sought information about the success of the various programmes meant
for the welfare of the Schedule Castes and Tribes. Under the Nirmala
Ganga scheme, Dalit families will be provided with water connection at
a cost of Rs. 2,000 each.

The Minister said cases will be booked against contractors who do not
provide gloves, masks, gumboots and necessary equipment for
pourakarmikas working on contract.

Mr. Narayanaswamy said biometric machines will be installed in hostels
meant for people belonging to the Scheduled Castes/Tribes so that
attendance at the hostel inmates can be monitored.

In reply to a query on the alleged statement of the former Chief
Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy that prisoners from the Parappana Agrahara
come out and engage in real estate business, Mr. Narayanaswamy said
the allegation is baseless. However, he added that he will look into
the issue and place facts of the case before the public shortly.

He saidprisoners are granted parole for two months each year to stay
with their families. However, the police keep a watch on the prisoners
on parole.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalits shift children from school at Villoor

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/article2129705.ece

MADURAI, June 24, 2011
Dalits shift children from school at Villoor
Staff Reporter

The Dalits of Villoor village, fearing psychological intimidation,
bullying and problems in future, have withdrawn their children from
Villoor Government Higher Secondary School near Tirumangalam here
during the last two days and admitted them to the nearby Kalligudi
Government School.

V. Ramakrishnan (38), a farmhand belonging to the Dalit Pallar
(Devendra Kula Vellalar) caste in Villoor, East Street, told The Hindu
here on Thursday that close to ten Dalit families in the village have
got their Transfer Certificates from the school following pressure
from their children that they have been abused and bullied by their
fellow dominant-caste students.

"During the break, while playing and after school hours when the
teachers are not around they ask us to call them as Ayya and not use
words like dey or aelay," this was the major complaint that our
children made in the recent past, he said.

"These complaints became a regular feature so we decided to shift my
son Karthiselvan to Government Higher Secondary School at Kalligudi
where he has joined eighth standard."

K. Veerammal (32), said that her son Karuppasamy was abused by fellow
students and this affected him psychologically. "So we decided enough
is enough. We do not want unnecessary trouble that will jeopardize his
education."

M. Palaniammal, wife of G. Murugan, said that the prevailing situation
in the village was the reason for them to shift their daughter
Balamani out of the school to Kalligudi where she is now studying in
eighth standard.

Balamani's father G. Murugan is one of the affluent Dalits in the
village. His brother who was abused for riding his vehicle on the
street where Dalits are not allowed to drive two wheelers. They have
to push the vehicles.

V. Murugan, agricultural worker, took his sons M. Muthupandi and M.
Muniyandi from the school and has admitted them to the hostel of a
government school at Kovilpatti. Agnimuthu, a migrant labourer working
in the construction sector at Coimbatore, took his son Ajith Kumar
from the Villoor School to the Kalligudi School.

Alagammal, wife of Muniappan, said that problems are there, "but we
have taken our children because we are shifting to Kalligudi soon."
Kaliappan, son of Irulappan, farmer, was also shifted to Kalligudi
School. Muthukrishnan who had passed Class VI has been shifted to a
government school in Krishnankoil.

Sensitive issue

School authorities, when contacted, said that this was a sensitive
issue. "We have warned everyone in school against discrimination."

The authorities refused to reveal what the parents had stated as
reason while obtaining Transfer Certificate for their wards. They
termed these transfers "usual affair" and refused to elaborate.

Villoor village has been in the news for the practice of various forms
of untouchability against Dalits.

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[ZESTCaste] The women of India's Barefoot College bring light to remote villages

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/jun/24/india-barefoot-college-solar-power-training

The women of India's Barefoot College bring light to remote villages

Being trained as solar-power engineers enables women from rural India
and Africa to introduce electricity in isolated areas

Nilanjana Bhowmick
Nilanjana Bhowmick in Tilonia, Rajasthan
guardian.co.uk, Friday 24 June 2011 15.35 BST

MDG : Barefoot Solar Engineer at the Barefoot College in Tilonia
village, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
Kamla Devi was Rajasthan's first woman to graduate from Barefoot
college as a solar engineer. Photograph: Suzanne Lee/Panos

Securing the end of her bright yellow and orange sari firmly around
her head, Santosh Devi climbs up to the rooftop of her house to clean
her solar panels. The shining, mirrored panels, which she installed
herself last year, are a striking sight against the simple one-storey
homes of her village. No less remarkable is that this 19-year-old,
semi-literate woman from the backwaters of Rajasthan has broken
through India's rigid caste system to become the country's first Dalit
solar engineer.

While differences of caste have begun to blur in the cities, in rural
India Dalits – also known as "untouchables" – are still impoverished
and widely discriminated against.

Growing up, Santosh had to avoid the upper caste people of her village
or cover her face in their presence. Nowadays, they seek her help.
"For them, I am a solar engineer who can repair and install the light
installations," she says. "From looking down on the ground when higher
caste people passed to looking them in the eye, I never imagined this
would have been possible."

Santosh trained to be a solar engineer at the Barefoot College in
Tilonia, 100km from Jaipur. The college was set up in 1972 by Sanjit
"Bunker" Roy to teach rural people skills with which they could
transform their villages, regardless of gender, caste, ethnicity, age
or schooling. The college claims to have trained 15,000 women in
skills including solar engineering, healthcare and water testing. Roy,
65, says his approach – low cost, decentralised and community driven –
works by "capitalising on the resources already present in the
villages".

The college, spread over eight acres, runs entirely on solar energy,
maintained by the Barefoot solar engineers. Since the solar course was
launched in 2005, more than 300 Barefoot engineers have brought power
to more than 13,000 homes across India. A further 6,000 households, in
more than 120 villages in 24 countries from Afghanistan to Uganda,
have been powered on the same model.

Only villages that are inaccessible, remote and non-electrified are
considered for solar power. A drop in the ocean, perhaps – 44% of
rural households in India have no electricity – but these women are
making an important contribution to the nation's power needs. Rural
India, comprising 72% of the population, continues to depend on fossil
fuels, which will be a setback for the country's environmental goals
unless the government is able to transfer this dependence to renewable
sources.

In India, Roy's engineers already save at least 1.5m litres of
kerosene a year, which would otherwise have been used to power lamps
and stoves, according to Bhagwat Nandan, the co-ordinator of the
college's solar division.

Marked by a stick fence, Santosh's predominantly Dalit village, Balaji
Ki Dhani, is a hamlet consisting of about 20 mud houses scattered over
five acres of semi-arid land. The only incongruous element in what
could otherwise pass as an 18th-century rural set-up is the
cement-built home – the only one in the village – where Santosh lives
with her husband, baby son and in-laws. The house has two bedrooms,
two mud huts in the courtyard – one housing goats, the other a kitchen
– and a third room that functions as Santosh's workshop. Here she
spends around six hours a day repairing solar lanterns.

Santosh built the house with money she made as a solar engineer.
Thanks to her, the other households in the village now have solar
power too. Under the Barefoot model, they pay a monthly fee based on
how much they would have spent on kerosene, batteries, wood and
candles. Some of the money goes towards the solar engineer's monthly
stipend, while the rest pays for components and spare parts.

Choti Devi, an upper caste Hindu in her late 60s, is Santosh's
immediate neighbour. She can't stop gushing about her solar lanterns.
"With the light, it is easier to make the beds at night. During the
rainy season many poisonous insects roam around, but now that we have
light in the night we do not worry as much. The lanterns have also
helped us to guard our cattle properly while getting them back to the
house in the evenings," she says.

As is the custom in rural India, women do the bulk of the housework
and agricultural labour. Although Santosh doesn't work in the fields
any more, at home she is endlessly busy. If she is not tending to her
17-month-old son, she is milking the cattle, feeding the livestock,
attending to customers at the small grocery store she runs from home
and repairing solar lanterns. She is quick-witted and confident,
although she admits the first day at college was scary.

"I thought I would never be able to understand anything – let alone be
able to do it on my own. I didn't even know that we could use the
sunlight to light up our homes at night ... I was as amazed as the
other villagers."

Since she became a Barefoot solar engineer, the total income of the
family has doubled. "Before, I worked in the fields the whole day and
then I had to rush back so that I could cook dinner while there was
still daylight. I hardly got a moment to breathe," says Santosh.

At the Barefoot College, the women learn through listening and
memorising, using colour-coded charts that help them to remember the
permutation and combination of the wires without needing to read or
write.
MDG : solar lantern made by Barefoot solar engineers in Tilonia
village, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India Nomad Santra Banjara poses with a
solar lantern made at the Barefoot College. Photograph: Suzanne
Lee/Panos

The model is being replicated in Africa, Latin America and south Asia.
The first batch of Barefoot engineers from Tanzania, Uganda, Gambia,
Malawi, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Bhutan completed their
six-month residential training at Tilonia between 2008 and 2009, and
have since set up solar power in their villages.

Any woman over 35 from a remote, inaccessible, non-electrified area
can enrol for the international course, provided she is backed by her
village. As Roy says: "It makes sense to choose women, especially
older women, as they are more loyal to their roots and less impatient
to try out new pastures, which men are wont to do as soon as they are
given a certificate."

Precious Molobane Mamogale, 42, a mother of four who lives in a
village around 500km from Johannesburg in South Africa, is frowning in
concentration at a circuit board in one of the college workshops. She
looks uncomfortable. "I didn't expect India to be so hot," she says.
However, despite the conditions and the vegetarian diet, she is full
of hope for the future. "I want to go back to my country and bring
light to my province – and want to open a college like this there so
that I can train more women," she explains. Back home, Precious was
unemployed and survived on state benefits that she received for her
last two children; "not enough to feed a family of six", she says. Her
husband sometimes earned money by working as a taxi driver in the
nearest town. When she heard about the course, she was immediately
attracted by the opportunity to learn something of benefit to her
community and to the family coffers.

The class is conducted in a large, rectangular workshop, with a long
worktable running through the middle, around which the women sit with
their individual colour sheets and panels. Neat rows of solar lanterns
line shelves, while charts detailing the colour codes hang on the
walls and flutter in the breeze of the fan. The room is airy, but the
heat, even at 10am, scorches the ground outside.

Guman Singh, their short, bespectacled teacher, calls the women to the
blackboard to read out the colour codes. One of them uses her
knowledge of English to help her compatriots learn the words for the
colours in their local language. "It is always very difficult in the
beginning. Sometimes we feel like tearing our hair in frustration,"
Singh says. "But once they start getting the colour codes it is easy.
We also teach them through sign language and practical
demonstrations."

Further down the long table, Matildah Chikwata, 43, from a village in
Zimbabwe, grapples with the workings of a solar panel. Back home she
was a vegetable seller, earning around $5 a day. "We could afford
nothing – not even taking the vegetables to sell at the nearest town,
so we depended on the villagers coming to buy from us," she says.
"People here are poor too. But they are using their hands to make
their lives better. I want to go back home and teach people to use
their hands. If I can learn at this age, so can anyone."

Back in Balaji Ki Dhani, Santosh climbs down from her roof and
reflects on her modest ambitions for her family: a television, a
grinder to make flour, and a motorbike for her husband, who has to
walk the 10km to work every day. With her livelihood secure thanks to
her training, these small luxuries are now within reach. "I never
thought I would be able to do anything worthwhile," she says proudly.

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[ZESTCaste] Orissa: Dalit MP denied entry in temple

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/orissa-dalit-mp-denied-entry-in-temple/162457-37-64.html

Orissa: Dalit MP denied entry in temple
Jajati Karan , CNN-IBN
Updated Jun 25, 2011 at 09:23am IST

Puri: The chairman of the National Commission for Schedule Castes was
denied entry at a temple in Puri. PL Punia, who is a Dalit himself,
was allowed entry just till the compound, but found the main temple
doors shut.

The Congress MP has said that he will take up the matter.

It seemed more like a police raid than a temple worship escorted by a
police force and Dalits from a nearby village. Punia was there to look
into complaints that he received from Dalits over the issue.

"I will summon the Chief Secretary of Orissa within 15 days and seek
explanation from him over the matter. After that I will take action
against this illegal practice which is very much within the
jurisdiction of my commission," Punia said.

Dalits have been denied entry to the Kali temple for the past 80
years, but protests began when last year, few Dalit school girls dared
to cross the boundary to offer prayers. They were dragged out by
higher caste villagers and insulted, which led to a series of violent
clashes.

However, the humiliation did not end there. The Dalits who are
basically sharecroppers were denied cultivation from the upper cast
land owners.

"Now that we are also denied cultivation, we have not much to eat. We
will be forced to leave the village and migrate as labourers," said a
Dalit farmer.

This is not the only temple in Orissa where entry of the Dalits is
restricted. There have been several such controversies in the past.
But due to lack of political will, the age old practice still
continues though it's illegal and unconstitutional.

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[ZESTCaste] Imaginary fault lines

http://www.dailypioneer.com/348433/Imaginary-fault-lines.html

AGENDA | Sunday, June 26, 2011

Imaginary fault lines
June 25, 2011 9:53:03 PM

Breaking India
Author: Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindan Neelakandan
Publisher: Amaryllis
Price: Rs 699

The book exposes three strands operating in today's India — Islamic
radicalism, Maoist and Marxist activism, and Dravidian and Dalit
identity politics — all engaged in systematically breaking up the
country, writes Saradindu Mukherji

This book has an eerie cover image taken from www.dalitstan.com,
showcasing a map of the Indic region wherein its northern part
stretching up to Assam is depicted in green as Mughalistan — Pakistan
and Bangladesh included. The southern parts are called Dalitstan and
Dravidistan. For the authors, such a holocaustic scenario seems a
distinct possibility unless the process is immediately halted and
neutralised.

Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindam Neelakandan expose three strands
operating in contemporary India — Islamic radicalism, Maoist and
Marxist activism, and Dravidian and Dalit identity politics — all
engaged in systematically breaking up what the venerable Ram Swarup
called a "shrinking and shrunken" India.

This book, however, deals only with the third dimension related to the
Dravidian/Dalit 'studies', the ridiculous Afro-Dalit project that
seeks to showcase the Dalits as 'Blacks' of India and non-Dalits as
'Whites'. It also exposes the hypocritical roles of various
American/European academic institutions and evangelical organisations,
besides the NGOs and their collaborators in the media.

The entire gamut of the mechanism and 'ideology' to break the country
is exposed in 19 well-researched chapters. "Breaking civilisation",
the authors say, is "like breaking the spine of a person. A broken
civilisation can splinter, and the balkanised regions can undergo a
dark metamorphosis."

The book suggests that the Western imperialists have sought to
undermine India by both ideological and institutional means. They used
the Aryan invasion theory (now discredited), the Criminal Tribes Act
1871, caste-based Census, Indological studies, etc, to divide and rule
the country. Surprisingly, while the British abandoned the caste-wise
enumeration after a while, the present UPA Government has resumed it!

Despite criticism of Orientalists like Max Müller, Johann Gottfried
von Herder, etc, for their loyalties towards Christian evangelists,
several Indologists were also admirers of India's ancient Hindu texts
and civilisation. They stood apart from those during the Islamic rule,
who merely destroyed/vandalised much of the country's Hindu-Buddhist
heritage. The presence of people like William Jones, despite their
evangelical biases, along with the establishment of the Asiatic
Society and the Archaeological Survey of India, helped restore the
country's past that contributed to the emergence of national
consciousness. It would, therefore, be wrong to tar every strand of
European scholarship with one brush.

The chapter, 'Imperial Evangelism Shapes Indian Ethnology', examines
the true character of HH Risley (ICS), often projected by the less
discerning as a "brilliant anthropologist". He comes out as one who
"morphed" jati-varna into a racial category. The authors cite BR
Ambedkar convincingly demolishing the spurious racist theory based on
the nasal index. "The measurements establish that the Brahmins and the
untouchables belong to the same race. From this it follows that if the
Brahmins are Aryans, the untouchables are also Aryans. If the Brahmins
are Dravidians, the untouchables are Dravidians," Ambedkar said.

The politics of Dravidian separatism gets more than six chapters.
'Seminal' contributions of evangelist-propagandist intellectuals like
Brian Houghton Hodgson and Bishop Caldwell in creating an unhistorical
divide between the Aryan north and the non-Aryan south are well
explained. In this mischievous invention of Dravidian separatism,
evangelists sought to de-Indianise and de-Hinduise the Tamil
traditions. They distorted ancient Tamil texts like Thirukural and
Shaiva Siddhanta by attributing them to Christianity. Though rejected
by other Christian scholars of that time, it has been revived in our
times by evangelical movements, aided and abetted by racist
politicians in the country. In reality, all Shaivite hymns written in
Tamil speak of Shiva as residing in the Himalayas.

The authors err in blaming only Pakistan for fomenting terror in
India, overlooking the home-grown Islamic separatists/terrorists. Long
before Pakistan was created, large tracts of the country had been
Islamised/Arabised and massive conversion to Islam accomplished;
moreover, Pakistan was created by "Muslim Indians". Islamic jihad has
been operating in India long before Western/evangelical intervention,
and with much greater ferocity and success. Both the "Godhra carnage"
and the "Babri demolition" are inadequately explained in historical
terms.

The authors blame scholars like Martha Nussbaum, Lice McKean, Romila
Thapar, Meera Nanda, Angana Chatterji, Christophe Jafferlot and Gail
Omvedt for floating many academically unsound ideas that would
strengthen anti-India forces. The book also exposes the dark sides of
the American Government, the US Commission on International Religious
Freedom, the United States Agency for International Development, Ford
Foundation, Dalit Solidarity Network (UK) and many others. It is a
fact that most 'glorified' scholars in social sciences have strong
anti-Hindu and anti-India biases. India's Nehruvian, pan-Islamic
revivalists, Leftists and subaltern scholar-propagandists have long
been party to this unholy alliance, and many of them are funded
through the public exchequer.

The authors rightly assert that "the colonial constructs of previous
centuries have transformed themselves subtly, yet persistently, today"
and turned more radical than before through "institutional mechanism
and networks". After all, these academicians have "become tools in
facilitating strategic Western interventions". The book, however,
fails to see that the Nehruvian state system with its blatant
anti-Hindu bias was no less a culprit.

-- The reviewer is a history professor, the University of Delhi

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[ZESTCaste] Relevance Of V.P.Singh And His Politics

http://www.countercurrents.org/rawat250611.htm

Relevance Of V.P.Singh And His Politics

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

25 June, 2011
Countercurrents.org

Today, we remember V.P.Singh on his birthday. We know that on his
death anniversary our friends do not have time except to shout loud of
the hotel Taj and how India was attacked that day. The forces of
status quoists always find ways and means to undo everything that
comes in the way of social justice and social change.

I did not intend to write this article today but somewhere I always
felt that we have done great injustice to the man himself. Even when
the forces of hatred continue to speak loudly and in deepest
condemnable term, we keep quiet or just listen to it. We may not be VP
Singh's fan but definitely we must understand why he is being abused
even today by the caste forces, most of them, who would happily go at
Ramdev's fast or Anna's tamasha at the Rajghat.

It brings us to the question that the caste Hindus always suffer from
the disease of 'merit'. This merit which has not brought any laurel to
India, no invention except the caste system and its worst form. It is
a unique country where majority suffer and minority rules. It is a
unique country where the participation of the marginalized is resisted
powerfully. If you understand, please note the point of convergence
between Anna Hazare and Kapil Sibbol-Chidambaram-Pranab Mukherjee
gang. Despite their differences, they share common hatred towards the
Dalits and the OBCs. They want to be the leaders of every Indian but
just get panicky when the issue of reservation is raised. Whenever the
issue of marginalized comes up, our political leadership buckled under
the pressure and became media savvy.

Those of us, who have followed the heady days of anti mandal agitation
in Delhi and other parts of North India, know well how much courage it
needed for a prime minister to face an adverse atmosphere. We know
every suicide that time was glamorized by media, supported by editors
as fight against injustice. The whole story cooked up by the crooked
editors as if the High Caste Hindus are facing the discrimination at
the hands of 'Dalits and OBCs'.

It needed lot of courage to implement such a path breaking decision
whether knowingly or unknowingly, which actually cost him his own
government. Why did the National Front government fell? It fell for
two important causes of India. One for the implementation of Mandal
Commission Recommendation and secondly and more importantly protecting
shrines which the Hindutva forces were ready to destroy and celebrate.
Yes, V.P.Singh did not allow the Babari mosque to be demolished yet
years after when Narsimharao connived with the Sangh Parivar in
destroying the mosque at Ayodhya, nothing happened to him. He still
remains a 'pratasmaraniya'.

Those who say that equity has been achieved will not get shocked when
the Chair person of National Commission for Scheduled Caste is denied
entry in temple in Orissa simply because he happen to be a Dalit. Many
meritorious Dalit students are forced to commit suicide because the
academics have clearly shown their caste character in most of our
academic institutions. But the caste Hindus have kept their eyes shut.

Today, when Anna Hazare is claiming to fight against corruption. None
of his colleagues ever remember V.P.Singh because they fear the caste
Hindus. Why ? Why do the castes Hindus not want to remember his anti
corruption campaign? Is it so because they are afraid of even the
ghost of V P Singh? He was the cleanest among his peers, honest than
any other prime minister India has so far and was involved in direct
interaction with people. There was no ego when any body went to meet
him. He was ready to go to the hunger strike, sitting, dharanas and
even fight with police. We all know how he reached village Bajhera
Khurd one early morning and ploughed the land acquired by Reliance
Power Plant. This was time when Mulayam Singh Yadav had handed over
three thousand hectare land to Anil Ambani for a Gas based power plant
in Dadri, near Noida, much against the wishes of the farmers.

To understand V.P.Singh, one needs to see his campaign and political
strategies. He might have weakness like any other politician but he
had conviction. At this moment, when we suffer from the hyper Hindutva
and an aggressive upper caste lead Congress Party, we really miss this
space of opposition which V.P. had the capacity to unite and organize.
He was an elderly statesman who could have united the forces of social
justice and secularism.

India needed him more at this moment. We miss him because we see the
two upper caste parties sucking India's blood and undoing everything
that has happened since 1989 with massive participation of
Dalit-OBC-Adivasi-Muslims political leadership. That leadership needs
a statesman today who could bring them together and fight against this
Hindutva corporate nexus. The war is put on us. Our land is being
acquired in the name of 'development' and our jobs in the name of
'merit'. Let us be clear, it is not time to pitch one against other.
Reservations provide us opportunity to be in power structure and land
reforms are important point of entry to attain social justice. Well,
the caste Hindus want to grab everything in the name of their own
constructed theories. They are active every where to cry against
everything. Whatever, they may claim and spread, the fire that V P
burnt has ignited all those who aspire to change and fight against
this corrupted system. A small effort of a man in power can change
many things so V P might not be an ideologue but he stood with his
convictions and always remained with people's movement till his death.
The abuse hurled at him shows his strength and relevance to the polity
of social justice.

Vidya Bhushan Rawat is a human rights activist. He blogs at
www.manukhsi.blogspot.com

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[ZESTCaste] Congress to project its Dalit leaders, score over ally NCP

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/congress-to-project-its-dalit-leaders-score-over-ally-ncp/808771/

Congress to project its Dalit leaders, score over ally NCP

Express News Service Posted online: Sun Jun 26 2011, 02:02 hrs
Mumbai : The Congress and the NCP are vying with each other to woo the
Dalit votebank. The Congress is set to project its Dalit leaders to
score over the NCP, which does not have any strong Dalit face.

The Congress has decided to celebrate the birth anniversary of
Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj (who pioneered reservation for backward
classes in 1902 in Kolhapur) on Sunday, when Dalit leaders like
Chandrakant Handore, Varsha Gaikwad and her father Eknath Gaikwad
would take the centrestage. Sources said the Congress, which has two
Buddhist Dalits as Cabinet ministers (Varsha Gaikwad and Nitin Raut),
wanted to score over the NCP.

"We have appointed six panels on issues pertaining to Dalits, which
would come out with reports recommending short term measures, issues
to be taken up with the state and central governments and long term
measures for the welfare of the downtrodden," MPCC president Manikrao
Thakre said.

Thakre said on renaming Dadar railway station as Chaityabhoomi and
expanding the Babasaheb Ambedkar memorial, Chief Minister Prithviraj
Chavan would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh soon to sort out the
hurdles. Asked whether the Congress would support the NCP charter for
Dalits, he said it would support such demands from any party.

Sources said the NCP was at a disadvantage as it had relied on RPI
leader Ramdas Athawale to garner the Dalit votes for the past two
decades. After his defeat in the 2009 Lok Sabha election, Athawale had
broken ties with the Congress-NCP alliance. In the subsequent Assembly
election, he had formed a Third Front but his party drew a blank.
After the Assembly polls, the Congress-NCP government did not include
any RPI leader in Cabinet. With Athawale joining hands with Sena-BJP,
the ruling parties are now vying with each other to consolidate their
Dalit votebanks.

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[ZESTCaste] Why this man's death is a crisis for Mayawati

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/why-this-man-s-death-is-a-crisis-for-mayawati-114362

Why this man's death is a crisis for Mayawati

NDTV Correspondent, Updated: June 24, 2011 16:43 IST

Lucknow: When Dr Y S Sachan was found dead in a Lucknow jail,
officials declared it was a suicide. They said he had hung himself in
a bathroom at the jail.

Today, the government revealed that his body was marked with nine
injures - eight of them caused by a weapon. A blade was found near his
corpse.

This will bolster Opposition parties who have been insisting that Dr
Sachan - the Deputy Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Family
Welfare - was killed to prevent him from embarrassing the government.

Dr Sachan was arrested in mid-April. He was accused by the UP
government of commissioning the murder of his boss, Dr BP Singh, on
April 2. He was also alleged to have played a role in the death of Dr
Vinod Arya, who was Chief Medical Officer before Dr Singh. Dr Arya was
killed in October. Dr Sachan officiated as Chief Medical Officer till
Dr Singh took over. The department handled by these doctors had a
budget of Rs. 3000 crore according to some estimates.

The government had suggested that Dr Sachan was involved in scams that
involved buying medicines and other supplies at inflated prices. His
greed allegedly motivated him to hire shooters to kill Dr Singh. After
Mr Singh's murder, two ministers resigned, claiming moral
responsibility and accepting that he had been killed for his attempts
to check corruption in his department.

Dr Sachan's wife wants a CBI inquiry to determine how he died.
Opposition parties like the BJP and the Samajwadi Party believe he was
being made a scapegoat for the murders of two Chief Medical Officers,
and was killed to protect government officials who had been colluding
with contractors to loot the state. (Read: Sachan's family agrees to
funeral)

In Lucknow, as Samajawadi Party workers protested against Dr Sachan's
death, the police retaliated with water cannons and a lathi-charge.
Senior leader Akhilesh Yadav said, "The government can say that it was
a case of suicide but the Samajwadi Party and I believe that he has
been killed. Our party is demanding a CBI probe."

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