Latest News Update: Jun 29, 2011

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

[ZESTCaste] 'DU officials may be involved in caste certificate scam'

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/du-officials-may-be-involved-in-caste-certificate-scam-115274

'DU officials may be involved in caste certificate scam'
Mid-Day.com, Updated: June 28, 2011 11:07 IST

New Delhi: The smaller fish are in the net, it's time to go after the
big ones. Crime Branch of Delhi Police is planning to question some
officials of SC/ST cell of Delhi University in connection with fake
certificates scam that was unearthed last week.

The kingpin of the gang Himanshu Gupta has told the police that they
used to deposit applications, getting the NOC (no objection
certificate) with SC/ST cell of DU. "Some official from SC/ST cell
must be helping them; otherwise they would not have been able to
operate. Police will soon call the staff of SC/ST cell for
questioning," said the police official.

The official added that this year around 31 students approached
Himanshu Gupta for fake certificates. "12 students were given fake
caste certificates. The accused had filled applications for eight
students when they were held by crime branch while they were about to
deposit NOC forms for 13 more students," he said.

The official said that they have checked two laptops belonging to
Himanshu Gupta. "In 2009 they provided fake certificates to four
students while in 2010 they 'helped' eight others. Police is
conducting raids in Gurgaon to nab Satish, an aide of the accused," he
added.

Police have identified all the students who have got fake certificates
through this gang. Cops have written letters to respective principals
in this regard to verify the status of these candidates and have
sought a report. Police also examined the bank account of Himanshu
Gupta.

On Saturday, Crime Branch of Delhi Police arrested three persons in
this connection with the scam. Cops said that Himanshu Gupta (26), son
of a Merchant Navy official is the kingpin of the gang while two
others - Vikas (24) and Ketan Gupta (24) - were assisting him. They
used to charge Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh for securing each admission.
Police recovered 12 fake caste certificates, admission forms and two
cars from their possession.

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[ZESTCaste] Fwd: Shame!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Shiva Shankar <sshankar@cmi.ac.in>
Date: Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 6:58 PM
Subject: Shame!
To:

No surprise - after all there is manual scavenging at the New Delhi
railway station, some kilometers from the Supreme Court of the
country.
----------------------

Shame! Manual scavenging continues in KGF

Senthalir S, TNN Jun 22, 2011, 05.57am IST

KOLAR GOLD FIELDS: Over the past six months, six persons have died in
Kolar Gold Fields, 100km from Bangalore, due to illnesses contracted
from manual scavenging. This was revealed by a fact-finding study
conducted by the People's Union for Civil Liberties and Social Justice
Organisation.

That manual scavenging exists under the shadow of the glittering IT
capital, is shameful. Last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called
for an end to this practice; on Monday, the Karnataka High Court
directed the government to file an action plan to eradicate it.

The scavengers' life is miserable. Geetha B lost her husband G Babu
and brother-in-law GS Nagaraj, 45, both safai karmacharis. Her husband
died on April 5 and her brother-in-law on Oct 10, 2010.

[pixel.gif]

Law and parliamentary affairs minister S Suresh Kumar visited KGF on
Tuesday and promised them rehabilitation and new jobs. Just one hour
after his visit, at least six safai karmacharis from Kennedy Telugu
Lane, near Oorgaum, went to nearby Henry's Lane to clear a sewage pit
- without protection.

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[ZESTCaste] DU SC/ST cell under scanner

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2011/jun/300611-DU-SC-ST-cell-under-scanner.htm

DU SC/ST cell under scanner
By: MiD DAY Correspondent Date: 2011-06-30 Place: Delhi

A team of police officials from the Crime Branch has visited the SC/ST
cell of Delhi University and has questioned its officials in
connection with the fake caste certificate scam on Wednesday.

A police source said that cops have detained two DU officials after
interrogating them. However, police officials did not confirm that
anyone has been detained. Some teachers of private schools in the city
are also under radar. However, no one has been contacted so far by the
police.

The police also conducted raids in Ghaziabad to nab Satish, an aide of
Himanshu Gupta who was the kingpin of the gang dealing in fake
certificates.

The police had visited the campus on Tuesday also and had interrogated
two clerical staff from the SC/ST cell.
"We are questioning some people from the SC/ST cell. We have
questioned some parents also," said Ashok Chand, DCP (crime).

Police say almost 40 students had bought fake certificates from the
gang over the past three years. But the number is likely to go up. The
college administration on its part has welcomed the police
investigation, but says it is not easy to curb to this menace.

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[ZESTCaste] IIT-Delhi rolls out 'etiquette lessons' for SC/ST students

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/IIT-Delhi-rolls-out-etiquette-lessons-for-SC/ST-students/articleshow/9045403.cms

IIT-Delhi rolls out 'etiquette lessons' for SC/ST students
Hemali ChhapiaHemali Chhapia, TNN | Jun 30, 2011, 03.55am IST

Delhi is the only IIT to have felt the pressing need to put all the
selected SC/ST candidates through classes on manners.MUMBAI: Even
before this year's freshmen enter the Indian Institute of
Technology-Delhi, some others will be pushed to pick up etiquette
lessons required to live on the tech school campus. The objective may
be well-intentioned but putting just the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled
Tribe candidates through a 'self-enrichment programme' has prompted
experts to criticize the move as "smacking of apartheid" and causing a
"distinction" between two sets of students on the basis of caste.

Delhi is the only IIT to have felt the pressing need to put all the
selected SC/ST candidates through classes on manners.

The co-ed programme—which will be run from July 10 to July 17—is made
up of modules on communication, personality development and theatre
for communication (more like public speaking). Put together, "in all
logical integrity, it is meant to boost the confidence of students who
come from a different background", say IIT-Delhi heads.

But not everyone thinks of the "correctional programme" as a means to
achieve equilibrium among campus residents. An IIT-Delhi faculty
member snorts at the idea. "A campus is a symbol of assimilation of
many minds and several lives. To carve out a group on the basis of
their origins and put them through a training programme—I would term
it nothing short of apartheid."

Many parents too aren't kicked about the idea. "On day one, the
institute is telling my child that he is different," rues a parent
from Andhra Pradesh whose son is joining IIT-D.

TISS director S Parasuraman feels it is not useful to segregate
students at all. "Every student who joins IIT knows his/her maths but
may not be able to write good English. All students from rural and
underprivileged backgrounds need adjustment but putting them through a
training programme is not the answer. IIT-Delhi needs to have a
long-term support system in place and hire better counsellors for
every student, not just SC/STs or OBCs," he says.

The residential programme is conducted by the Centre for Research and
Education for Social Transformation, Kerala (CREST). It will enable
SC/ST students to develop social skills, orientation and have the
ability to adapt to the environment at IIT Delhi, states the note sent
to all the SC/ST students.

Ashley Paul, a CREST co-ordinator, says, "Most of these students don't
have the social capital; they are mostly first-generation learners and
they come from rural parts of India. The course leaves them a lot more
certain than when they walked in."

From classes in communication to touching on all aspects of
personality development, Paul says the course is meant to help
students shed their inhibitions and "come out of their shell".

But IIT-D director Surendra Prasad says he would love to leave the
door open for any general category student who wants to attend the
programme. "The programme came out of our desire to be pro-active, to
take care of all our students, especially those who hail from
different backgrounds. The entire academic community at the institute
felt that a section of the students need to be better prepared and
confident for their stint at the institute."

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[ZESTCaste] SC/ST students keen to join IIT-D? Join social skills class first

http://www.hindustantimes.com/SC-ST-students-keen-to-join-IIT-D-Join-social-skills-class-first/Article1-715374.aspx

SC/ST students keen to join IIT-D? Join social skills class first
Charu Sudan Kasturi, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, June 29, 2011 Email to Author

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has asked scheduled
caste and scheduled tribe students to come for special classes to help
them "adapt to the environment at IIT Delhi," in a notice that has
sparked accusations of demeaning these communities. IIT Delhi director
Surendra Prasad told HT late on Wednesday that the notice, put out on
the IIT Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) website, "was
inappropriately worded" and that the special classes were not meant
only for SC/ST students.

"There is something amiss in the notice. The classes are meant for all
students from rural backgrounds - and not just for SC/ST students --
and were conducted last year too," Prasad said.

But SC/ST students demanded that the notice be withdrawn and that the
IIT issue an apology. "It is demeaning. I am not sure anymore that I
want to go to IIT Delhi," Rajesh Kumar, an SC candidate said.

Titled a "social enrichment programme", the special classes are to be
conducted by the Centre for Research and Education for Social
Transformation (CREST). The classes will help SC/ST students "develop
social skills, orientation and ability to adapt to the environment at
IIT Delhi," the notice states.

"SC/ST students may need academic assistance, but suggesting that by
virtue of their caste or tribe they are less socially equipped to
handle the IIT environment is demeaning," Kumar said. All central
higher educational institutions are required to reserve 15 % seats for
SC students and another 7.5% seats for ST students.

DD Nampoothiri, executive director at CREST said he was "not in a
position to comment at the moment," when he was reached late evening.

But Prasad insisted that the notice posted on the IIT-JEE website was
not aimed at either humiliating anyone or at hurting their sentiments,
hinting that any objectionable contents would be removed. Prasad also
hinted that he was unaware of the wording of the notice till HT spoke
with him.

The controversially worded notice ironically comes at a time when
SC/ST aspirants to the IITs appear to be improving their performance
relative to earlier years.

The IITs set cut-offs for SC/ST students based not on the performance
of students from these categories, but at 10 % lower than cut-offs for
general category students. This procedure has for years led to SC/ST
quota seats going vacant, as students who ranked high enough among
their category to get the seat did not clear the cut-offs - based on
the performance of general category students.

The Institutes, the country's premier engineering schools, have for
years now held special preparatory classes for all SC/ST students who
ranked high enough among their categories to fill quota seats but did
not clear the cut-offs set for them. Those students who perform well
in the year-long preparatory classes are allowed to join the
full-fledged programme the subsequent year.

But the IITs have not needed to hold any preparatory classes for SC
students for the past two years - because enough SC students have
cleared the cut-off set for them to fill all quota seats. The number
of ST students needing preparatory classes has also dipped in recent
years.

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[ZESTCaste] Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011 begins

http://in.news.yahoo.com/socio-economic-caste-census-2011-begins-142312677.html

Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011 begins
By ANI | ANI – 13 hours ago

Tripura, June 29 (ANI): The first ever post independence
Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011 to identify people living Below
Poverty Line (BPL) began on Wednesday from Sankhola village of
Hazemara block in West Tripura District.

It is a door-to-door census in the entire country.aunching the Census,
B.K.Sinha Secretary, Rural Development ,Government of India said this
gigantic exercise will pave the way to identify the households living
below the poverty line in rural and urban areas of the country.

"The entire process will be completed by end of 2011-12. The results
relating to the identification of poor households would be utilized in
the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-13 to 2016-17)," he added.

He said the BPL Census will be conducted by State Governments/Union
Territory Administrations with the technical and financial support of
the Ministry of Rural Development.

"The Census would be based on a self-declaration model of the
respondents. The information would be verified and approved by the
Gram Sabha. Procedure for filing claims and objections and its
disposal will be prescribed separately by the Ministry. The Ministry
will also provide detailed guidelines for conducting survey and
finalization of BPL list," he added.

Low cost handheld device will be used for collection of data in Socio
Economic Census 2011. It would reduce the time required in processing
the data after collection in the field.

Bharat Electronic Ltd. (BEL) is involved in the production of this
device on large scale. It is proposed to use this device, produced by
BEL, in Socio Economic Census 2011.

National Informatics Centre (NIC) will develop the Management of
Information System (MIS) for the management of the database of Socio
Economic Census 2011 and to facilitate its subsequent use by the MORD,
other ministries and State Governments for their own requirements.
(ANI)

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[ZESTCaste] First-ever below poverty line, caste census begins

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-economy/article2145476.ece

First-ever below poverty line, caste census begins
Our Bureau

Launched in Tripura; exclusion criteria widened

New Delhi, June 29:

The country's first-ever socio-economic and caste Census to identify
people living below poverty line (BPL) was flagged off from a tribal
village, Sankhola, in West Tripura District on Wednesday.

The door-to-door exercise in the entire country is being done
electronically, using low-cost handheld devices produced by Bharat
Electronic Ltd.

Launching the Census in Tripura, Mr B.K Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of
Rural Development, said the entire exercise to identify BPL households
would be completed by 2011-12. The results would be utilised for
targeting the poor in the 12th Plan (2012-13 to 2016-17), an official
release said.

Expert panel

Mr Sinha said identification of BPL households in rural areas would be
done as per the suggestions of the expert group headed by Dr N.C.
Saxena.

Households without shelter, destitutes/living on alms, manual
scavengers, primitive tribal groups, and legally released bonded
labourers will get the highest priority for inclusion in the BPL list,
he said.

The remaining poor households will be identified from the angle of
deprivation by using indicators, such as those with only one room with
kucha walls and kucha roof; with no adult member between age 16 and
59; female-headed households with no male between age 16 and 59;
households with any disabled member and no able-bodied adult; SC/ST
households; those with no literate adult above 25 years; and landless
households deriving the major part of their income from manual casual
labour.

Criteria

Among households that will be excluded from the BPL list are those
owning motorised two/three/four-wheelers, fishing boats (requiring
registration), mechanised three/four-wheeler agricultural equipment
such as tractors, harvesters etc, those with Kisan Credit Cards with
credit limit of Rs 50,000 and above, with any member who is a
Government employee, excluding workers such as ASHAs and Anganwadi
workers and those owning refrigerator or landline phones.
(This article was published in the Business Line print edition dated
June 30, 2011)

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[ZESTCaste] Caste census takes off

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110630/jsp/northeast/story_14176292.jsp

Caste census takes off
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Agartala, June 29: Independent India's first socio-economic and caste
census, that commenced here this morning at Sankhola village under
Hezamara block of West Tripura district, has put the state government
in a spot.

The Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011, aimed at determining the
caste-wise break-up as well as the socio-economic status of the
country's 121 crore populace, was launched by chief minister Manik
Sarkar and secretary, Union ministry of rural development, B.K. Sinha,
during a function at the Prajna Bhawan auditorium here last evening.

Speaking on the occasion, Manik Sarkar said he failed to understand
the rationale behind the Centre's pre-emptive categorisation of 44 per
cent of the rural population and 22 per cent urban population as being
below poverty line before completion of the survey, and added that the
BPL figures should be fixed only after the process was completed.

B.K. Sinha explained the technicalities of the census process, which
would involve door-to-door visits by enumerators who would record the
data on tablet PCs manufactured specifically for this purpose by
Bharat Electronics Limited.

"The information furnished by the respondents would be verified and
cleared by gaon sabhas. The procedure for filing claims, objections
and their disposal is being provided by the ministry of rural
development along with detailed guidelines, on the basis of which the
people actually living below the poverty line will be identified and
listed," Sinha said.

He said the process would be complete by the end of the 2011-2012
fiscal. "The inputs of the census will be used to implement the 12th
Five Year plan for the period 2012-13 to 2016-2017," he added.

Chief commissioner of census C. Chandramouli and Tripura chief
secretary S.K. Panda also attended the programme.

The process holds promise to identify the "real" BPL population of the
country, and therein lies the state government's problem.

Official sources in the state's rural development ministry said the
process would put the state government in a tight spot as there was
bound to a drastic reduction in the number of listed BPL families
following the census, which would mean a reduction of votes for the
ruling government.

The sources added that the three-phase process would lead to
identification of wrong entries and false evidence, further
complicating matters for the government.

As in the first phase, erroneous entries would be dropped from the BPL
list, followed by a comprehensive verification of the new list in the
third phase.

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