Thursday, September 29, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Verdict on adivasi women raped in Tamil Nadu

 

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/tamil-nadu-mass-rape-case-5-convicted-for-rape-30-for-atrocity-against-dalits-137122

Verdict on adivasi women raped in Tamil Nadu

NDTV Correspondent, Updated: September 29, 2011 15:18 IST

Chennai: More than a hundred Dalits were tortured and abused during a
raid for smuggled sandalwood; 18 adivasi or tribal women were raped in
a small village named Vachathi in Tamil Nadu. This was in 1992. And
the verdict for these atrocities has been delivered today.

A court in Tamil Nadu's Dharmapuri district has decided that all 269
accused are guilty. 17 Indian Forest Service (IFS) officials have been
convicted for rape. Four IFS officials have also been convicted under
the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
for atrocity against tribals.

100 policemen and nearly 155 officials were accused of rape and
torture. Of the more than 200 people accused in the case, 54 have
died.

The quantum of punishment is yet to be announced.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/tamil-nadu-mass-rape-case-5-convicted-for-rape-30-for-atrocity-against-dalits-137122&cp

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[ZESTCaste] ‘Murder cases of Dalits unsolved’

http://www.coastaldigest.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30363:murder-cases-of-dalits-unsolved&catid=57:news-stories&Itemid=68

Thursday, 29th September 2011

'Murder cases of Dalits unsolved'

by DHNS Monday, 26 September 2011 07:50


Mangalore, September 26: In the SC ST monthly grievance meet held at
Police Commissioner's office on Sunday, Dalit Sangharsha Samiti
(Bhimavada) leader P Keshava said that several murder cases of Dalits
have remained unsolved and the Mangalore Police Commissionerate has
failed to crack the cases even after years.

Pointing out at a few cases including the murder of a Dalit woman from
Kavoor 20 years back, the murder of one Shantha in Kankanady three
years back, the death of a girl from Bejai-Kapikad during her visit to
Bagalkot and the recent murder case of cab driver Govaradhan, P
Keshava said that the police have not shown interest to solve the
murder cases of Dalits.

"It has been a month since the death of Govardhan. Yet the police
have not received a clue and failed to probe into the murder case," he
said.

Responding to his anguish, Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh
asked the members of Dalit community not to lose their faith on the
police. "The Mangalore police are doing their best to find the
culprits who murdered Govardhan. We have been receiving several
petitions from people with regard to Govardhan's murder and we are
looking for all possibilities. Some times it takes time for the police
to probe the cases. This case in particular, is a challenge to the
Department and we would be proud to solve the case," he said, adding
the police are investigating the case without any bias.

Money lenders

Dalit community member S R Kumar informed the police about the money
lending business in the city and asked the police to take action
against the money lenders.

The Commissioner, who in turn collected detailed information about the
money lending enterprises, directed the Sub Inspector of Police to
close down such business. Girish Kumar brought a complaint to the
Commissionerate which was about blocking the way of a Dalit family
near Yekkur railway bridge.

"The house of one Mahabala near Yekkur bridge is surrounded by private
land in three sides. Recently, a Central School has constructed a
compound wall and blocked the only path that the family had to reach
the outside world."

Reacting to the issue, Civil Rights Enforcement Cell SP Sarvoththama
Pai asked the family to submit a complaint with the Assistant
Commissioner.

Ambedkar Bhavan

DSS (Ambedkar Vada) District Convenor S P Anand once again raised the
issue of the Pavoor Government School engaging its classes in
Amabedkar Bhavan in Pavoor GP limits. Sarvoththama Pai informed that
he has written a letter to the Zilla Panchayat and the DDPI and has
received assurance from them of shifting the school or Ambedkar Bhavan
to other place within three to four months.

'DC not convened meet since 1 year'

Paying heed to the demand of the SC/ST community leaders who had urged
Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh to be present at the monthly
meet, the Commissioner chaired the meeting on Sunday. However, more
grievances related to civil issues poured in on at the meet. When the
Commissioner asked the community members to come up with crime related
issues, Nirmal Kumar, a member, said, "The DC has not convened SC ST
grievance meet since a year. So to whom can we tell our grievances
related to civil issues? Who will solve them?" he asked.


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[ZESTCaste] Impartial probe will be held: Justice Sampath

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article2494538.ece

RAMANATHAPURAM, September 29, 2011
Impartial probe will be held: Justice Sampath
C. Jaishankar

"I have an open mind. I don't act on assumption or perception"

Justice K. Sampath, who heads the Commission of Inquiry appointed by
the government to probe the Paramakudi firing on September 11, said
here on Wednesday that he would hold an impartial inquiry into the
incident, which claimed the lives of six Dalits.

Speaking to The Hindu here, Mr. Justice Sampath said the commission
would discharge its duties and responsibilities to bring out the
truth. "I have an open mind. I don't act on assumption or perception,"
said the retired Madras High Court judge.

Stating that he had visited the spot at Paramakudi and the Immanuel
Sekaran Memorial, Mr. Sampath said he had met the family members and
relatives of those killed in three villages, including Veerambal and
Sadayaneri. He could not visit other three villages.

He sought the cooperation of the people and said that this would
enable him to probe the matter in detail and understand their views
and grievances.

Asked about his opinion about the police firing, Mr. Sampath said he
had not formed any opinion on it. He heard the views of all sides,
particularly those affected. The police also expressed their views. It
was only a preliminary visit and the formal recording of statements
would be made in due course.

The commission had gathered views from all sides on what happened that
day. It was not possible to come to any conclusion or opinion at this
stage.

Asked how the panel would continue its proceedings in the backdrop of
opposition among the affected people, Mr. Sampath hoped that the
situation would improve. They would cooperate with the commission.

Later, Mr. Sampath enquired with V. Arun Roy, Collector, Ravikumar,
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mahesh Kumar, Superintendent of
Police, and others for the second day on Wednesday.


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[ZESTCaste] Dalit man killed by Maoists in Orissa

 

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/dalit-man-killed-by-maoists-in-orissa/838438.html

Dalit man killed by Maoists in Orissa
PTI | 02:09 PM,Sep 28,2011

Koraput (Orissa), Sept 28 (PTI) A dalit man was killed by Maoists with
sharp weapons in Narayanpatna area of Orissa's Koraput district on the
suspicion of being a police informer, police said today.Mishra Khosla
(35), who had been operating two passenger jeeps in the naxal-infested
area, was picked up by armed rebels from Mankidi last night, Koraput
Superintendent of Police Anoop Kumar Sahu said.The body of Khosla with
his throat slit was found by villagers on the outskirt of Mankidi
today, he said adding that a note left by the ultras near the spot
said they suspected him to be a police informer.The Maoists had also
torched the two jeeps, which were being operated by Khosla between
Mankidi and Ichhapur, police said.Police personnel in strength had
been rushed to the area and investigation into the incident was in
progress, they added.

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[ZESTCaste] Bhanwari Devi case: Villagers attack police team

 

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bhanwari-devi-case-villagers-attack-police-team/188166-3.html

India | Updated Sep 28, 2011 at 09:59am IST
Bhanwari Devi case: Villagers attack police team
Swati VashishthaSwati Vashishtha, CNN-IBN

New Delhi: A Rajasthan police team which was investigating the case of
missing Dalit nurse Bhanwari Devi, was assaulted on Wednesday by
villagers in Kaparda. The team had gone to track down Baldev, an
accused in case.

A Rajasthan High Court on Monday had lashed out at the police, saying
that there was laxity in the pace of investigations in the Bhanwari
Devi case.

Directing the police to expedite the probe, the court also observed
that the lack of objectivity in the investigations would be
questionable.

An FIR was registered against Rajasthan Water Resources Minister
Mahipal Maderna on September 24 in connection with the case. The
minister has been charged with kidnapping, rape and murder.

Bhanwari Devi has been missing for over three weeks and the next
hearing of the case will be on October 11.

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[ZESTCaste] Pakistan: Dalit relief bar angers Zardari

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110927/jsp/foreign/story_14557922.jsp

Dalit relief bar angers Zardari
NASIR JAFFRY

Islamabad, Sept. 26: President Asif Ali Zardari has taken serious note
of reports that Hindu Dalits were being denied humanitarian assistance
and entry into relief camps in the flood-hit Sindh province for being
"untouchables".

"The President has directed the provincial government to hold an
inquiry into the reports and submit a report to him," a Zardari aide
told The Telegraph.

Zardari also ordered that immediate relief be provided to all stranded
people, including Dalits, the official said, adding that "the
President described as unacceptable" any discrimination in providing
relief to minorities".


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[ZESTCaste] 15 Jats convicted in Mirchpur Dalit killings

 

http://www.rediff.com/news/report/jats-15-convicted-in-mirchpur-dalit-killings/20110924.htm

15 Jats convicted in Mirchpur Dalit killings
September 24, 2011 21:20 IST

Fifteen out of 97 men belonging to dominant Jat community were
convicted on Saturday by a Delhi [ Images ] court in a case of burning
alive of a 70-year-old Dalit man and his physically-challenged
daughter at Mirchpur village of Haryana's Hisar district last year.

Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau, however, held none of the 15
convicts guilty of murdering the father-daughter duo, relying on the
dying declaration of the deceased Tara Chand who had denied he was set
ablaze after having been doused with petrol or kerosene oil.

The forensic reports too supported his dying declaration.

The court acquitted 82 accused saying the allegations levelled against
them were not proved beyond reasonable doubt.

For setting ablaze Tara Chand's house, which resulted in burning alive
of the father-daughter duo on April 21, 2010, after a dispute between
Jat and Dalit community of the village, the court convicted Kulwinder,
Ramphal and Rajender on charges of committing unintetional killing
under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code.

"Tara Chand in his dying declaration to the judicial magistrate does
not say that petrol or oil was sprinkled on him, which corroborates
the medical evidence and FSL report which shows absence of kerosene,
petrol or diesel."

"Therefore, the oral testimonies of Pradeep, Kamal and Amar Lal
(prosecution witnesses) to the extent that oil or petrol was sprinkled
on them is liable to be rejected, more so as it does not find support
from the circumstantial, medical and forensic evidence present on
record," the judge said.

Besides the three, 12 others were convicted on milder charges of
arson, rioting and making unlawful assembly. Six of them Monu,
Baljeet, Karamveer, Karampal, Dharambir and Bobal were convicted for
setting ablaze the houses of the members of the Dalit community.

Another six Sumit, Pradeep, Sunil, Rajpal, Rishi and Pradeep were held
guilty for rioting, unlawful assembly and causing damages to
properties by stone-pelting.

The court convicted 15 Jats after examining 68 prosecution witnesses,
44 defence witnesses and one court witness. The court, in it's over
1000-page judgement, classified the witnesses in three categories --
reliable witnesses, not totally reliable and unreliable ones.

It termed five witnesses as totally unreliable and 14 as "not totally
reliable" besides two witnesses as "reliable." The court said the
incident "does not appear to be caste-based discrimination".

© Copyright 2011 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or
redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means,
is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.

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[ZESTCaste] Injured in Paramakudi firing incident decline to talk to panel

 

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/injured-in-paramakudi-firing-incident-decline-to-talk-to-panel/839208.html

Injured in Paramakudi firing incident decline to talk to panel
PTI | 10:09 PM,Sep 28,2011

Madurai,Sept 28(PTI) Causing a flutter, the injured persons in the
recent police firing and violence at Paramakudi in Ramanathapuram
district today declined to speak to the one-man commission by covering
their mouth during its visit to hospitals where they are undergoing
treatment. Those undergoing treatment at the Government Rajaji
Hospital and the private Apollo Hospital refused to speak to the
commission,demanding CBI probe into the firing in which seven persons
were killed, officials said. The state government had set up the
Commission of Inquiry headed by former Judge K Sampath to probe the
September 11 firing on a crowd comprising mostly dalits which had
turned violent after they heard that dalit leader John Pandian, en
route to pay homage to Dalit icon Immanuel Sekaran on his death
anniversary, was detained in Tuticorin district. The Commission
visited the private hospital here, where M.Singadurai (32) of
Paramakudi, R. Siva (19) of Valandur near Madurai and T. Kumar (26) of
Kaattuparamakudi were being treated following High Court�s direction
to shift them there for better treatment. Accompanied by revenue
officials, Justice Sampath went to the wards but the patients covered
their mouth with black cloth as a symbolic protest apparently to
indicate that they had no faith in the State government appointed
inquiry commission. Two persons are undergoing treatment at the
government hospital. Meanwhile, members of the 'Mallar Kazhagam' who
tried to organise a black flag demonstration against the Commission,
were pacified and dispersed by police,officials said.

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[ZESTCaste] India abuse: Scores guilty of Dalit rape and torture

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15106778

29 September 2011 Last updated at 09:56 GMT

India abuse: Scores guilty of Dalit rape and torture

A court in southern India has convicted 269 police and forest
officials of torturing and abusing more than 100 low-caste Dalits
during a raid in 1992.

Officials went to the village of Vachathi in Tamil Nadu state looking
for smuggled sandalwood.

Over two days, 18 women were raped, more than 100 Dalits were abused
and their homes and cattle looted.

Seventeen officials were found guilty of rape and the rest were
convicted of "atrocities against Dalits".

Nearly 100 of those convicted are policemen. Of the 269 convicted, 54
died during the course of the trial.

The court is yet to pass sentences.

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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati announces formation of Bhimnagar district

 

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_mayawati-announces-formation-of-bhimnagar-district_1592726

Mayawati announces formation of Bhimnagar district
Published: Wednesday, Sep 28, 2011, 19:01 IST
Place: Moradabad | Agency: PTI

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today announced formation of new
Bhimnagar district in the state.

"A new district Bhimnagar has been carved out by joining Sambhal,
Chandausi and Gunaur tehsils," she told a public meeting in Moradabad.

The step was in line with dalit icon Bhim Rao Ambedkar's thinking that
small units help in better administration, the chief minister said.

Mayawati said she favoured trifurcation of the state and had written a
letter to the Centre in this regard.

However, the Centre "never cared to reply", she added.

Talking about reservations for Muslims and Jats, she said quotas as
per their population had become necessary and she wrote a letter
recently to the Union government in this connection.

She also favoured a High Court bench in western UP.

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[ZESTCaste] What is Swaraj? Rethinking ‘Self-Rule’ in the New India

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/what-is-swaraj-rethinking-self-rule-in-the-new-india/

September 29, 2011, 1:50 am
What is Swaraj? Rethinking 'Self-Rule' in the New India
By ANANYA VAJPEYI

Passionate and combative reader response to my essay, "The Grammar of
Anarchy" published here on Sept. 17, makes one thing clear: Not only
does the Anna Hazare movement of this past summer evoke strong
reactions among readers, but the diverse legacies of founding figures
like Mohandas Gandhi and Bhimrao Ambedkar, and the meaning of a
defining text like the Constitution of India, also continue to matter
deeply to the way in which Indians conceive of their political life
well over six decades after independence from British rule.
Bhimrao Ambedkar in an undated file photo.Courtesy Columbia
UniversityBhimrao Ambedkar in an undated file photo.

Like any historical account, the narrative about where Mr. Gandhi and
Mr. Ambedkar respectively stood on the question of non-cooperation,
civil disobedience, non-violent resistance and forms of protest like
the hunger strike is not a simple story of a conflict between the
radicalism of the Mahatma and the constitutionalism of Babasaheb, as
Mr. Ambedkar was known, although Mr. Ambedkar's speech of November 25,
1949, would seem to suggest that.

In early stages of his career as a leader of anti-caste and so-called
"non-Brahmin" movements among the Dalits of Maharashtra, Mr. Ambedkar,
too, led mass actions based on the principle of passive resistance.
Thus, he mobilized Untouchables to peacefully try to enter Hindu
temples reserved for upper castes, and to drink water from common
sources like tanks and wells where upper-caste prejudice prevented
Untouchables from drawing water.

However, over time Mr. Ambedkar and other leaders like E.V. Ramaswamy
Naicker, commonly known as Periyar, from southern India concluded that
actions such as these looked too much like lower castes asking to be
treated as equals. In Dalit politics by the late 1920s, the idea of
"self-respect" had displaced an earlier practice of seeking
recognition from what were viewed as disdainful, bigoted and arrogant
upper castes. Mr. Ambedkar increasingly distanced himself from
Hinduism altogether, so deeply did he question the caste system.
Toward the end of his life in 1956 he formally converted to Buddhism
and took with him nearly 400,000 former Untouchables, thoroughly
rejecting the Hindu social order that had for centuries refused to
allow them a space of dignity and equality.

Mr. Gandhi's stance on Untouchability was also extremely complicated.
It combined his commitment to respecting the inalienable dignity of
all human beings, his desire to purify Hinduism by purging it of caste
discrimination, his struggle to cleanse his own conscience of every
last shred of unthinking prejudice, and his belief in the fundamental
dignity of labor – famously exemplified by his insistence that all
inhabitants of the Gandhian "ashram" (cooperative space of life and
work) clean toilets and remove human waste from communal areas,
regardless of caste rules that stipulated some groups as being too
"pure" for such tasks and others as so "polluted" as to have to clean
up everyone else's mess.

However, when the British government proposed separate electorates for
Untouchables, Mr. Gandhi perceived a threat to the unity and thereby
the political efficacy of the Hindu community, and protested by going
on a fast-unto-death. His stubbornness was such that even Mr. Ambedkar
had to capitulate and agree to the "Poona Pact" of 1932, whereby
Untouchables would not be accorded a separate electoral status and Mr.
Gandhi's life would be saved – or, seen differently – his moral
intransigence recognized as paramount in the realm of norms and values
that permeated India's anti-colonial politics.

Mr. Gandhi referred to the Untouchable as "Harijan," which means
"God's Creature." The rival word that eventually evolved through Mr.
Ambedkar's politics and triumphed into common usage today is "Dalit,"
which means "Crushed." The morality inherent in each term is clear –
the Gandhian idea being humane compassion, the Ambedkarite idea,
righteous anger. As the great contemporary social theorist D.R.
Nagaraj put it, these terms capture the conflict between
"self-purification" and "self-respect", where Mr. Gandhi's was the
upper-caste self and Mr. Ambedkar's the Dalit self.

The notion of separate electorates for Mr. Gandhi came out of the
British policy of divide and rule – the same that would ultimately
sever Hindus and Muslims as separate political identities and
partition the British Raj into India and Pakistan in 1947. For Mr.
Ambedkar, without state protection and safeguarded political
representation, weak groups like Untouchables would never gain an
equal footing in hierarchical India. Mr. Gandhi's long fast that broke
the back of the first phase of Untouchable protest in the early 1930s
remains seared in the memory of Indian caste politics even today. Anna
Hazare's fasting is at once a reminder and a trigger of old political
emotions that we as a nation have yet to fully process.

These same emotions bubble up in the subtle politics of nomenclature.
In India it is customary to refer to Mr. Gandhi as "Mahatma" meaning
"Great Soul", or "Bapu" meaning "Father", or "Gandhi ji" meaning
"Respected Gandhi". Similarly Mr. Ambedkar is "Babasaheb" or "Dr.
Ambedkar" – the former emphasizing his stature as an elder of the
social life of Maharashtra, the latter, his unparalleled symbolic
cachet as a Dalit leader with a doctoral degree, as well as other
markers of self-respect, such as erudition, high educational
qualifications, cosmopolitanism and modernity. Indeed, titles, modes
of address, and terms of endearment continue to be important ways to
express political emotion in Indian public life, from the time of the
founding fathers to the present: "Anna" — which means "Elder Brother"
— has been adopted by Kisan Baburao Hazare, the social activist who
led this summer's wave of protests against corruption.

Lastly, the Anna Hazare phenomenon, arising as it did in the summer of
2011, must be read against two separate global developments: one, the
widespread corruption scandals affecting countries from Britain and
Italy to India itself, and two, popular movements for democracy all
across the Middle East from Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt in late
January to all-out war in Libya and Syria even today. Everywhere
citizens seem to want better government, probity in public office,
honest leaders and a state that cares for rather than oppresses its
people. Although they already live in the world's largest democracy,
Indians, too, are in the mood for the change they can believe in.

Ananya Vajpeyi has been teaching at the University of Massachusetts in
Boston since 2007. In 2011-2012 she is visiting at the Centre for the
Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi. Her book, Righteous
Republic: The Political Foundations of Modern India is forthcoming
from Harvard University Press.


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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati, in poll mode, announces three new districts

 

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/mayawati-in-poll-mode-announces-three-new-districts-137047

Mayawati, in poll mode, announces three new districts

Press Trust of India, Updated: September 28, 2011 21:01 IST

Lucknow: Ahead of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Chief Minister
Mayawati today announced formation of three new districts in the state
drawing sharp reaction from the Opposition which dubbed the move as
politically-motivated.

Addressing public meetings at Sambhal and Hapur, the Chief Minister
announced the formation of Prabuddha Nagar, Panchsheel Nagar and Bhim
Nagar as new districts.

With these the total number of districts in the state would rise to
75, officials said here.

The step was in line with Dalit icon Bhim Rao Ambedkar's thinking that
small units help in better administration, the Chief Minister said in
Sambhal.

"BSP has always been in favour of smaller states, and new districts
and divisions have been set up in all my previous regimes," she said.

Mayawati said she favoured trifurcation of the state and had written a
letter to the Union government in this regard.

However, the Centre "never cared to reply", she added.

Reacting to Mayawati's announcement, BJP state president Surya Pratap
Shahi said she did nothing during her rule except building parks and
statues.

"Now she wants to gain political mileage ahead of polls by announcing
formation of three new districts," he said.

The Samajawadi Party said the move amounted to playing fraud with the
people on the eve of Assembly elections. "It is a fraud with the
people of the state," party's state unit chief Akhilesh Yadav said.

Congress spokesman Subodh Srivastava said, "Mere creation of new
districts and posting of officials do not ensure development".

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/mayawati-in-poll-mode-announces-three-new-districts-137047&cp

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