Latest News Update: Feb 27, 2012

Monday, February 27, 2012

[ZESTCaste] Nudge to get SC, ST stamp on policy

http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/RAJ-JPR-scst-staff-arm-twist-govt-threaten-mass-resignation-2910960.html

Nudge to get SC, ST stamp on policy
SANJAY K. JHA

New Delhi, Feb. 22: The cabinet secretariat has issued a circular
instructing all ministries at the Centre to "mandatorily" consult the
national commissions for SCs and STs on any policy concerning the two
sections.

The Centre seems to have woken up to the wanton violation of this rule
by its own ministries and the states.

The circular, issued on February 16, said: "The ministries/departments
are advised to ensure that the National Commission for SCs or STs, as
the case may be, shall mandatorily be consulted by them before the
finalisation of notes for consideration of the cabinet."

The cabinet secretariat pointed out that the National Commission for
Scheduled Castes and also the one for the Scheduled Tribes have not
been consulted as envisaged under the Constitution on several major
policy matters affecting the two backward sections of the population.

The two commissions are the highest statutory bodies for the welfare
and protection of SCs and STs.

A separate directive will be sent to the states instructing them to
get all policy decisions that affect SCs and STs vetted by the two
commissions.

The departments and ministries have to approach the commissions
through the administrative ministries under which the commissions
fall. The commission for SCs is under the administration of the social
welfare ministry. The ST commission falls under the tribal affairs
ministry.

Going by the circular, if the home ministry wants to get a policy on
SCs vetted, it has to approach the social welfare ministry, which will
forward the policy to the SC commission.

The SC commission will get back to the home ministry through the
social welfare ministry. The circular carries another instruction.

It says the "unabridged/unedited views" given by the commission
concerned have to be attached with the cabinet note. This condition
has been put so that the ministries are unable to alter or interpret
the positions taken by the commissions.

The handbook on writing cabinet notes will be modified to include the circular.

Ministries generally ignore Section (9) of Article 338 of the
Constitution that says that "the Union and every state government
shall consult" the commissions.

The commissions, too, have been criticised for not carrying out their
responsibilities seriously and restricting themselves to the job of
investigating and monitoring atrocities against SCs and STs.

According to the provisions of Clause 5(c) of Article 338, the SC and
ST commissions are required to advise ministries on the planning
process for socio-economic development of the two sections and
evaluate the progress of the policies.

The commissions are also required to present to the President
annually, and whenever they deem fit, reports on the workings of
constitutional safeguards for SCs and STs.

But the commissions have functioned largely as decorative pieces. The
last time the commission for SCs was in the news was when it wanted to
block the release of Aarakshan which dealt with the issue of
reservation for backward sections.

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[ZESTCaste] BJD MLA accused of faking caste

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-26/bhubaneswar/31101320_1_fake-caste-certificate-sudarshan-jena-jena-rubbished

BJD MLA accused of faking caste
TNN Feb 26, 2012, 02.32AM IST

BALASORE: BJD MLA from Remuna constituency in Balasore district
Sudarshan Jena seems to have landed in trouble with Samrudha Odisha
and Rajya Adivasi Harijan Kalyan Samiti (RAHKS) accusing him of faking
his caste.

Samrudha Odisha district president Rabinarayan Sethi and RAHKS
president Damodar Das alleged Jena had produced a fake caste
certificate to contest the assembly poll from the seat reserved for
Scheduled Caste (SC). Sethi has filed a writ petition in the high
court alleging Jena produced a fake caste certificate to become a
legislator.

"RAHKS had earlier written to the chief election commission and
national commission for SC and ST demanding a probe. But when the two
government agencies did not take any action, I filed a writ petition
seeking an independent inquiry. I have appealed to the court to
declare his election null and void," Sethi said.

He pointed out as per land records, Jena is a Kuduma by caste. But in
the affidavit produced during the filing of nomination paper he has
claimed himself as Kandara by caste, which comes under SC category.

Jena since 1983 has been getting benefits meant for SCs by claiming
himself as a Kandara by caste, Sethi alleged, adding the MLA had
contested the zilla parisad election in 1997 by producing a fake caste
certificate as well and won from a seat reserved for SCs.

RAHKS president Das said they have thoroughly checked Jena's land
records and status of his caste from his native village at Sitadiha
under Singla police limits of Balasore district. "His father and
forefathers were Kuduma by caste. So how can he be Kandara by caste?
He has forged the documents in connivance with government officials
and is hence liable for criminal action," he said.

"Though during the time of election I had brought it to the notice of
the returning officer and election commissioner, they suppressed the
matter under pressure from ruling party leaders. Now we have
approached the court and hope to get justice soon," Das said.

He further pointed out while Jena hails from Basta tehsil area and has
also mentioned the same as his permanent address, surprisingly he
obtained the caste certificate from Sadar tehsil. Though meanwhile
Kuduma has been included in the SC category since 2007, Jena could not
mention it in the affidavit as he had been enjoying benefits as a
Kandara much before that date.

Jena rubbished the allegations. He said it is a political gimmick by
his rivals to tarnish his image. "I have not done anything illegal.
They had tried to malign me earlier too but could not prove anything.
If required I will produce all the proofs in the court to prove my
stand," he said.

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[ZESTCaste] SC/ST staff to ‘retaliate’ if interests are hurt

http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/RAJ-JPR-scst-staff-to-%E2%80%98retaliate-if-interests-are-hurt-2914559.html

SC/ST staff to 'retaliate' if interests are hurt

Source: DNA | Last Updated 05:14(27/02/12)

Jaipur: Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on state government's
appeal against Rajasthan high court's contempt order, ST/SC Arakshan
Manch - the umbrella organisation of the employees from reserved
categories - on Sunday passed a resolution on tendering mass
resignation in the event the government struck down their quota in
promotions.

"The situation will be clear by Monday afternoon. If the state
government, in whatever circumstances, tries to tamper with our
constitutional rights, we will submit our mass resignation on Monday,"
Rajpal Meena, district president, STSC Arakshan Manch said. Meena said
they were waiting for the decision of Supreme Court following which
the ambiguity over reservation in promotions was expected to become
clear.

Hundreds of officials from reserved segments converged for a formal meeting

under the banner of ST/SC Arakshan Manch and unanimously decided to
hand over mass resignation to the president of the association.

"Reservation is our constitutional right and it cannot be withdrawn
without making an amendment in constitution. The communities would
retaliate if the state government in any circumstance tries to axe our
reservation benefits," Meena said.

The employees from reserved categories have also put up new demand
before the government - representation in the judiciary. Members of
the organisation were of the opinion that under the existing system
their community has no representation in the judicial system. After
Sunday's meeting they demanded judicial appointments according to the
rules under Indian Judicial services.

"Due to collegiums' system of appointment we are not getting any
representation in judicial system. Out next protest would be to push
our demand to make judicial appointments according to the rules under
Indian Judicial Services," Meena said.

The state government's SLP on Rajasthan high court's contempt
proceedings against chief secy and DoP principal secy would be heard
by Supreme Court on Monday.

------------------------------------

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[ZESTCaste] Poking Roots

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main51.asp?filename=hub030312POKING.asp

From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 9, Issue 09, Dated 03 Mar 2012

CULTURE & SOCIETY

BOOKS

Poking Roots

Forget traditional stories. Author Gogu Shyamala writes with newness, wit and sharp subversion, says Urvashi Butalia

Fresh telling Gogu Shyamala

Photo: Garima jain

ALSO READ

'I just showed up. Day after day'

What about the rest of us?

An Unreliable Ennui

Father May Be An Elephant And Mother Only A Small Basket, But…
Gogu Shyamala
Navayana
263 pp; Rs 350

IN THE madiga wada, where the untouchables live, Ellamma leaps into the air and throws herself on the ground. In her village, Sayamma, the Baindla woman bangs her fist on the table and demands her land. The dora's eyes pop out and his mouth falls open in shock. On the way back from a burial ground, a group of village drummers pass the time by playing a game in the thick forest, the beat of the drum — jadabuk-tak, jadabuk-tak — guiding the blindfolded man towards the object he has to find; a young girl counts the colours in the rainbow as she waits for her mother to return from the fields, a son stays up all night to make a new pair of slippers for his mother… Gogu Shyamala's luminous, moving and funny prose is almost deceptive in its lightness of touch, and deftness of language. These are not the 'traditional' Dalit narratives of violence and oppression. They don't even fit the traditional description of what a story is — there's no conventional beginning, middle or end — nor are they only — as one might (wrongly) expect from the work of a Dalit writer — about uppercaste violence.

Instead, they're about life as it is lived, they're stories about drummers and theatre troupes, about joginis and women who refuse to be joginis, about music and food, about children and their games. They're tempered with affection and humour, and provide a rare glimpse into rituals and customs and ways of living Dalit lives. Despite their brevity — or perhaps because of it — the characters come beautifully, sometimes poignantly alive in their confrontations, negotiations and discussions with each other and with their upper-caste landowners and neighbours. There's no soapbox oratory, but the political edge is sharp and ever present, the humour working as a weapon that belittles the arrogance of upper-caste bosses as their mouths fall open and eyes pop out. There is humour too, in the way a brother
throws his sister over his shoulder and hauls her away because she won't stop shouting at the upper-caste dora. This book is subversive in the extreme, in its
content, in its form, in the way the author pokes fun at her own and at others.

And there is a concession to the reader (read upper-
caste/class liberal reader) who doesn't know much — a description of the author's world, an explanation of the terms she uses, an elaboration of the worldview that informs the stories. Much better than a glossary, much more than a dictionary. This is a book that takes Shyamala back to her roots, and brings those roots back to her readers. Perhaps the best explanation of what it is lies in its title, more specifically its second half: Father may be an Elephant and Mother only a Small Basket but…

Butalia is a writer and director, Zubaan