Latest News Update: Nov 3, 2011

Thursday, November 3, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Digvijaya advises Centre on supply quota; Nitish pulls up Cong leader

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/supply-quota-digvijaya-singh-nitish-kumar-congress/1/158327.html

New Delhi/Patna, November 2, 2011 | UPDATED 14:25 IST
Digvijaya advises Centre on supply quota; Nitish pulls up Cong leader

Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh has advised Centre to
include scheduled tribes (STs) while giving reservation in government
supplies.

In his latest tweet on Wednesday, the Congress leader said:
"Congratulations to UPA govt for giving 4% reservation in govt
supplies to Dalits. Should include ST also. Part of Bhopal Declaration
2002!"

Singh's latest tweet came as a reaction to the Congress-led Centre
making it mandatory for all central bodies to make at least 4 per cent
of their annual purchases from small scale industries, owned by
scheduled caste (SC) people.

Of late, the Congress MP has made a habit of kicking up a storm every
time he takes to Twitter. So much is his love for the medium, that he
has been punctual with comments on almost all issues under the sun.

Be it attacks on anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare and his team,
pieces of advice for the judiciary, attacks on the BJP and its
affiliates, or something else, Singh gives his remarks on everything.
In his latest tweet on Wednesday, he gave advice to his own party at
the Centre, with the issue being reservation in government supplies.

Singh did not lose the opportunity to pat himself on the back as well
while referring to his tenure as the Madhya Pradesh chief minister.

Nitish takes a dig at Digvijaya
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, reacting to the Congress leader's
frequent tweets over a host of issues, said that he was completely
surprised at Singh's changed image.

"Whatever he has said is his opinion, but there is a question as to
how much say he has in the party... How such a mild mannered person
can say such inflammatory things needs investigation. This is
different from the Diggy I used to know," the JD(U) leader said.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/supply-quota-digvijaya-singh-nitish-kumar-congress/1/158327.html

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[ZESTCaste] Dalits agitate against upper castes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JweJWjwz5i8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Dalits agitate against upper castes

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[ZESTCaste] How dalits have actually fared in Uttar Pradesh

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-11-01/news/30345963_1_dalit-population-valmiki-samaj-etawah

How dalits have actually fared in Uttar Pradesh
Ashish Tripathi, TNN Nov 1, 2011, 05.58am IST

A giant statue in a Lucknow square made 12-year-old Rashi curious.
Whose statue is this, she asked her father. Although a BSP worker,
Jhanki Ram couldn't go beyond the name, Jyotiba Phule. But not wanting
to show his ignorance, he added, "He was a Mahatma who did a lot for
the dalit community".

Both had come from Etawah to take part in Kanshiram Parinirvan
functions this month. For them, the tour of dalit memorials raised by
Mayawati was empowering. "It shows that we also have a history," said
Ram, especially impressed by the massive memorial of dalit icon
Bhimrao Ambedkar.

The memorials, built at a cost of more than Rs 3,000 crore, are
described as places of dalit pilgrimage by the BSP, UP chief minister
Mayawati's party. Dalit aspirations and assertions have increased
manifold during her regime. They now have a 'history' to be proud of
and icons to follow. It's reflected not only in the statues of
Ambedkar installed in almost all villages with a dalit population but
also in the increase in dalit outfits such as Valmiki Samaj, Pasi
Mahasangh and Charmkar Parishad.

Vital parameters, too, have changed for the better in UP. The recent
Human Development Index report reveals that its Net State Domestic
Product (NSDP) grew by 76% in the last five years, almost at par with
Gujarat. The planning ministry revealed that UP was among five states
which had higher growth rates than their 11th Plan (2007-12 ) targets.
Its GDP grew to 7.28% as against a target of 6.10%. It was also
awarded "best performing state in agriculture" by the UPA this year.

But all this wasn't achieved in a jiffy. Political observer Sudhir
Panwar said the condition of dalits started changing only from the
'50s with land reforms, followed by loan waivers for schedule castes
by Indira Gandhi in the '70s, abolishing of bonded labour and
development of urban centres. This opened new avenues for landless
dalits who were dependent primarily on farm labour. Reservation in
government jobs added a much-needed impetus to dalit empowerment.

Mayawati, in a way, has taken forward this movement. In the last five
years, she has pumped over Rs one lakh crore into various schemes,
particularly for dalits and the marginalized. These include
development of Ambedkar villages, giving more than two lakh free
houses for the urban poor, Rs 400 monthly pension for those deprived
of the benefits of BPL, and scholarships and free bicycles for girls
in class XI and XII.

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[ZESTCaste] Judge alleges “caste discrimination”

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article2592459.ece

NEW DELHI, November 3, 2011
Judge alleges "caste discrimination"
J Balaji

A Judge of the Madras High Court – Justice C.S. Karnan – has
complained to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC)
Chairman, P.L. Punia, that he was being "harassed" and "victimised" by
some 'brother Judges' just because he was a Dalit.

Mr. Justice Karnan has asked the NCSC to "constitute an enquiry" to go
into the "atrocities against me (Justice Karnan) by most of the
Honourable Judges". He claimed that he would present further
substantial evidence to the Commission during the enquiry.

The Judge has marked copies of his complaint to the President and the
Chief Justice of India (CJI).

Mr. Punia told The Hindu here on Wednesday that NCSC examined the case
and decided to refer it to CJI Justice S.H. Kapadia for appropriate
action "as the CJI is the ultimate authority in the judiciary". He
hoped that the CJI would give his "serious consideration".

Asked whether the NCSC was examining to take any other action other
than forwarding the complaint to the CJI, Mr. Punia said: "This is our
action. We felt that the CJI was the right person to look into the
issue and forwaded the complaint to his office about 10 days ago."

He said when Judge Karnan met him here on September 26, 2011, he
mentioned that he was being discriminated against by some
colleague-judges just because he was a Dalit. He also gave a written
complaint to him, Mr. Punia said.

Mr. Justice Karnan, who was appointed Judge on March 30, 2009, in his
complaint, said: "After duly assuming responsibilities as a Judge and
taking on litigation in an independent way, I found that this was not
to the liking of a few judges, who were expecting a type of groupage
or coordinated consultation, which I consider unfounded and not
conforming to decorum which are the principles of the courts."

"The obvious intention is to reduce the role to subjugation and make a
scapegoat which I vehemently abhor".

He alleged that on two occasions he had been deprived of a chance to
participate in functions in his native district, Cuddalore, as a
special guest. He added that he was not given an opportunity, except
once, to participate in programmes at the National Judicial Academy.

Mr. Justice Karnan alleged that at a marriage function in Chennai, a
judge "who was seated to the right side of me crossed his leg
deliberately touching mine.." and "at the Republic Day celebration,
the same judge again seated next to me slyly removed the name slip
which was attached to the arm of my chair with a string and stuck it
to the bottom of his right leg, where it got crumpled."

On another public celebration "one of the brother judges behind the
row of mine kept on shaking my chair repeatedly with the intention to
annoy [me]".

The judge's allegations that he was subjected to humiliation and
victimisation by his "brother judges" caused a stir among lawyers on
Wednesday. A group of agitated lawyers met Chief Justice M.Y.Eqbal and
raised the issue. They wanted to know what action would be taken
against judges who had humiliated Justice C.S. Karnan.

Two senior judges and office-bearers of the Madras High Court
Advocates' Association and Tamil Nadu Advocates' Association were
present at the meeting. The association office-bearers were of the
view that nothing should be done to impair the dignity and decorum of
the judiciary.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit dose to treat ‘ailing’ Cong in state

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1111103/jsp/bihar/story_14699418.jsp

Dalit dose to treat 'ailing' Cong in state
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Chhedi Paswan and (above) Ram Vilas Paswan. Telegraph picture

Patna, Nov. 2: Senior JD(U) MLA Chhedi Paswan's "revolt" against chief
minister Nitish Kumar and growing affinity with the Congress is,
apparently, a part of the Sonia Gandhi-led party's silent but
well-planned operation to rope in Bihar's Dalit leaders and target the
space of a credible opposition that is in tatters in the state.

Chhedi, a Dalit leader of some muscle in central Bihar who represented
Sasaram seat twice in the Lok Sabha, also organised a Dalit convention
in September, bashing Nitish for his "anti-Dalit" policies. Since then
Chhedi has been speaking against the chief minister at a time when the
JD(U) is the "hot destination" of the RJD and LJP rebels.

The grapevine in the Congress interprets Chhedi's revolt as the
initial success of the party's "long-term plan" to make a dent in
Nitish's Dalit support base. Sources in the Congress revealed that the
party's newly appointed in-charge of Bihar affairs, Sanjay Nirupam, an
MP from Maharashtra but a Bihar resident, has put in place a long-term
mechanism to revive the party's state unit.

When contacted, Nirupam told The Telegraph: "At this stage, I can only
say that we have worked out political programmes to revive the party
in the state. Occupying the main Opposition's space is the first
target, which according to our assessment will take at least two
years. But we are not in a hurry."

The Congress sources also revealed that the party high command had
instructed Nirupam to work on regaining the confidence of the Dalits,
Muslims and Brahmins, who were the nucleus of the party's power for 40
years till 1990 in the state. "This too has to be done bit by bit. But
we are, right now, working on the Dalits," a senior party leader
confided.

Sources also disclosed that the party had offered LJP chief Ram Vilas
Paswan — totally marginalised after his party's successive drubbing in
the polls — to join it. But Paswan, in alliance with Lalu Prasad's
RJD, is still believed to have "reservations" about joining the
Congress though he has always favoured an alliance.

The Congress, however, appears to be very clear about its strategy in
the state. The party, in no way, wishes to have a truck with Lalu
Prasad's RJD. "Our primary aim is to occupy the main Opposition's
space in the state," Nirupam said, hinting at Lalu's RJD has fast been
losing its image as a credible opposition.

Asked about the possibility of Paswan joining the party, Nirupam said:
"It is always good if a leader of his (Paswan's) stature accepts the
Congress's policies and joins it."

"We should be practical in our approach. As of now, there is vacancy
for the opposition for there is no opposition in the state with the
Nitish Kumar-led alliance winning 206 of 243 seats and still staying
strong. In such a situation, we should work on our own rather than
siding with Lalu's outfit, which hardly looks equipped to take on the
Nitish dispensation," said a senior leader.

It is not for nothing that Chhedi has, of late, been showing affinity
towards the Congress.

He had invited a Congressman and chairman of the National Commission
for Scheduled Castes P.L. Punia at the Dalit convention to launch his
diatribe on Nitish.

Sources in the Congress revealed that the party might offer some
senior constitutional position (read presidential) position to Meira
Kumar, who represents Sasaram in the Lok Sabha, and offer that seat
(her father Jagjivan Ram had represented for whole of his life) to
Chhedi.

Asked to comment on these moves, Nirupam refused to discuss the names
and other specifics, saying: "I can only say that we have a long-term
plan to revive the party and we are at work. We will feel like
succeeding if we get in a position to emerge as the main opposition at
the grassroots-level even in the next two years."

As of now, it is hard to predict about the success of the Congress's
new moves. What looks apparent is the fact that the country's oldest
party is, at least, trying something rather than slipping into
oblivion in the wake of its worst-ever debacle in the last Assembly
elections.

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[ZESTCaste] Rahul's direct attack on Maya

Rahul's direct attack on Maya

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4iXhYr1oXY

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[ZESTCaste] Caste bias on the rise in Andhra Pradesh colleges

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/hyderabad/caste-bias-rise-andhra-pradesh-colleges-945

Caste bias on the rise in Andhra Pradesh colleges

November 1, 2011
By L. Venkat Ram Reddy
DC
Hyderabad

Caste discrimination in colleges across the state, specifically in
professional colleges, is on the rise.

This is more so in the case of students availing of the fee
reimbursement scheme.

With the delay in government releasing the funds for colleges, the
managements are forcing students to pay the amount. Students from SC,
ST and BC categories, who are not in a position to pay, are facing
discrimination. Some managements are allegedly even making casteist
remarks and insulting students who fail to pay fees.

The government had directed all the colleges to maintain separate
complaint registers to enable students to lodge such complaints.

It had also warned the colleges of severe action if they resort to
such practices. However, the government has failed to initiate any
steps to check the errant managements. As a result, the associations
have approached the University Grants Commission.

The government was forced to act recently after the UGC intervened in the issue.

UGC joint secretary Dr K.C. Pathak has issued a circular to all the
universities to curb caste discrimination in university colleges and
affiliated colleges.

In a circular, Dr Pathak stated that, "Several instances have come to
the notice of the UGC on caste discrimination in higher education
institutes. It has been emphasised that they should desist from any
act of discrimination against students on grounds of their social
origin. The university/institute/college should develop a page on
their website for lodging such complaints of caste discrimination and
also place a complaint register in the registrar/ principal office for
the purpose."

The government has circulated the UGC orders to all the universities
and directed them to ensure its implementation.

Thanks to the fee reimbursement scheme, the enrolment of students in
professional colleges and other higher education institutes has
increased manifold. While five years ago there were only about five
lakh students from the BC/SC/ST categories pursuing education in
professional colleges, the number today stands at 25 lakh.

Majority of these students are pursuing professional courses like
B.Tech, MBA, MCA, MBBS etc.

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[ZESTCaste] Caste bias whiff in criminal list

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110722/jsp/bihar/story_14270737.jsp

Friday , July 22 , 2011 |
Caste bias whiff in criminal list
JOY SENGUPTA

Patna, July 21: Caste seems to be the predominant factor in judging
the seriousness of acts of crime in the state capital. At least that
is what senior police officers suspect.

The city police headquarters had asked all police stations of Patna
City as well as those located in the urban areas to forward a list of
criminals they considered were the most wanted men in areas under
their jurisdiction. But when the lists arrived, senior officers were
in for a shock. Now, the police stations have received fresh orders to
carry out proper investigation and find notorious criminals in their
areas and put forward a fresh list, this time, with no anomalies.

"The lists given by most police stations do not really look
convincing. There are several factors which have been ignored and it
seems that the police stations have not made a proper and a detailed
study before forwarding the list. There are several confusing facts
and they have been asked to put things straight with a new and a
proper list," the Patna city superintendent of police told The
Telegraph.

For example, Vicky Paswan's name is among biggest criminals in
Khajekala police station area of Patna City. Only two cases under the
Arms Act are lodged against him from 2007. Two cases under the Arms
Act are lodged against Mantu Paswan, one in 1999 and the other in
2000. One Rinku Halwai too has his name in the list with an Arms Act
case against him lodged in 2008.

Sources said senior officers suspect that the lists have been compiled
keeping the caste factor in consideration.

"Most of the names here belong to Paswans and the cases too are old
ones with FIRs lodged years ago. If these men are already serving jail
sentences, how come their names figure in this list? And why are most
of the criminals from the same caste? The police station needs to
answer these questions. They need to find out as to whether the people
whose names are in the list are still roaming free or serving
sentences," a senior police officer said.

The list of Agamkuan police station looks a bit decent in comparison.
At the top, it carries the name of Prem Sahni, who has been charged
with serious crimes such as murder, loot and dacoity. Bind Paswan,
alias Binda, whose name figures in the list, has got serious criminal
cases against him. Sanjay Kumar, Hariram Pandey, Kishori Pandey and
Pramod Kumar are all charged with committing dacoities.

"What is important however is that where are these men now? Are they
out absconding or whether they are in jail? If they are in jail, there
names shouldn't be in this list. The police are talking about the most
wanted criminals under each police station," the officer said.

At Alamganj police station, when it comes to caste, names of members
of the lower strata fill up the list. There is Sonu Dom, Kallu Dom and
Ajay Dom have loot and dacoity cases against them.

Buddha Colony police station of Patna urban seems to have criminals
belonging to the Yadav caste only.

The police added that unlike earlier, there was no proper crime
pattern in Patna now.

The officer said that the criminals now are scattered all over without
a particular gang and most of them work individually.

"There is no fixed pattern right now. So making a full-fledged and a
very compact list of top 10 wanted criminals in Patna is difficult,"
city superintendent of police Shivdeep Lande added.

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