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Friday, September 17, 2010

[ZESTCaste] A Discussion on “Educated Urban Dalit Women: Opportunities and Challenges for Employment and Entrepreneurship” [Insight Circle Meeting (19th Sept, Sunday)] [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from INSIGHT MAGAZINE included below]

Insight Study Circle

Invites you for a public discussion

"Educated Urban Dalit Women: Opportunities and Challenges for Employment and Entrepreneurship"

Based on

A recent study undertaken by Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion (CSEI), New Delhi

Date – 19 September 2010 (Sunday)

Time – 2.30 PM to 5.30 PM

Venue - Room No 411, Indian Social Institute, Lodhi Road, Near Saibaba Mandir, New Delhi

A discussion will take place based on the sharing on the findings of the study by our friends from Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion (CSEI).

1. Annie Namala

2. Satyendra Kumar

This study explores various opportunities and challenges that are present in the contemporary labour market before educated urban Dalit women, a class that is less in number but has considerable impact on the community. The study has tried to look into the complex interplay of caste, class and patriarchy in Dalit women's aspirations and their efforts and achievements in globalized India.

Apart from studying about enterprises run by Dalit women, the study has also tried to map the employment opportunities available in public, private and NGO sector. This study was undertaken in two cities Delhi and Hyderabad.

RSVP

9313432410

9999599876

..........................................................................................................................................................

Insight Foundation is a group of young Dalit and Adivasi students professionals that are committed towards creating various support systems for our students and to make our education system more equitable and inclusive. Towards this

1. We are running a National Dalit and Adivasi Students Helpline (No- 0 9999 48 42 49, Mon-Fri, 10 am - 5pm)

2. www.scststudents.org - A Dalit and Adivasi Student Portal

3. www.blog.insightyv.com - A team blog on contemporary issues

4. Insight Study Circle - A monthly meeting on contemporary issues in Delhi

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Attachment(s) from INSIGHT MAGAZINE

1 of 1 File(s)

Insight Study Circle public discussion.pdf

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[ZESTCaste] Restore house sites to Dalits

http://hindu.com/2010/09/17/stories/2010091750570300.htm

Tamil Nadu

Restore house sites to Dalits

Staff Reporter

KRISHNAGIRI: Tamilnadu Vivasayigal Sangam has said that action should
be taken to restore the house sites given to 22 Dalit families in
Ramapuram village, Kaveripattinam Union in Krishnagiri district. G.
Latha, MLA, participated as special invitee at the demonstration
staged in front of the Revenue Divisional Office in Krishnagiri on
Thursday.

Later, she told reporters that a section of upper caste Hindus were
preventing the Dalits from building huts on the land.

She asked Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and the district
administration to restore the lawful rights of the Dalits. District
police should provide enough security to the Dalits to build houses on
their land. The government should take immediate steps to build houses
under the Kalaignar Veetu Vasathi Thittam, Indira Awaz Yojana and
other schemes.

Ms. Latha asked the police to take immediate action against the
perpetrators of violence against Dalits in Ramapuram village. She said
no arrests had been made so far though cases were filed against 17
persons. K. Mohamed Ali, vice-president, Tamilnadu Vivasayigal Sangam
threatened to launch a state-wide agitation if the district
administration failed to take appropriate action to restore the land
to the Dalits.

He alleged that DMK activists were supporting upper caste Hindus in
many places and denying justice to Dalits.

D. Ravindran, district secretary, CPI(M); R. Shankar, district
committee member, Tamilnadu Vivasayigal Sangam, among others spoke on
the occasion.

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[ZESTCaste] Caste Aside: Parents Defy Rule To Raise Children

http://www.queenstribune.com/deadline/Deadline_091610_CasteAside.html

Caste Aside: Parents Defy Rule To Raise Children

By Jessica Ablamsky
Sujit Dhakal has tried to protect his son from the consequences of the
sin that began his child's life, one that Dhakal no longer believes is
wrong.

To Sujit Dhakal's father, the sin was unforgivable, earning the young
man the enmity of his entire close-knit clan. Eventually, it cost him
everything.

A small, bespectacled man, Dhakal's words come quickly. His mind moves quicker.

Nearly half a world from Nepal, where he was raised, he and his wife
Ranu share a small Elmhurst apartment with their 8-month-old daughter
Samriddhi, and 7-year-old son Samarpan.

Samarpan means sacrifice, Dhakal explained. The name is a constant
reminder to the couple that their sacrifices made his life possible.

"He is the symbol of our love," Dhakal said.

One of the world's oldest religions, Hinduism's ancient caste-based
prejudices thrive in Nepal's largely orthodox society. Dhakal and
Ranu's story is perhaps the world's oldest, the stuff that fairy tales
are made of.

The first-born son from an elite caste, Dhakal was expected to marry a
fellow Brahmin. Instead, he fell in love with a woman from the lower
Newar caste. Although Ranu was not untouchable, she was an
unacceptable choice for marriage.

The two met on the job. The deputy editor of a newspaper, Dhakal was
assigned to oversee intern Ranu's work. Despite their different
upbringings, they had values and views in common.

"She has a very good nature," Dhakal said. "She is so calm. She always
helps people. She has that kind of heart."

When he proposed, it was to a woman he loved without ever having kissed.

"Once I tried, and she said, 'No, you cannot until we are married,'" he said.

Ranu and Dhakal married in 2000 and fled to the U.S. six months later.

The couples' experience is not unique. The Nepali constitution may
outlaw caste-based oppression, but couples that dare to marry outside
their caste face severe harassment, forced separation and social
isolation.

Like Sarita Chaudhary and her husband Taulan Kohar. In April, a
government minister forced them to separate because her husband was
from a lower caste, according to a report from the International Dalit
Solidarity Network.

Unlike untouchables, the lowest caste, Ranu can actually set food
inside a temple where Brahmins pray, or engage in casual conversation.
But an orthodox Brahmin will not touch any utensils or flatware that
she has touched.

The mismatched marriage shocked the Dhakal family, but Dhakal was not
a rebellious youth in thought or deed.

When he was growing up, Dhakal considered normal such treatment of
their untouchable housekeepers. It was his intercaste romance that
inspired a new way of thinking.

Ranu never wanted to come between Dhakal and his family, but he
assured her, "I can give up my family for you."

Although he hoped things would be different, after he proposed, Ranu's
worst fears came true. "If you get married, you are dead to me," his
father said after the couple's two-year courtship.

Despite his pleas, no one from his family attended their wedding. Not
even his young nephews, whose inclusion Dhakal begged for. He has
since been disinherited.

"I knew when I got married that this would be the consequence," he
said. "I challenged him. I broke his tradition. I humiliated him in
the eyes of society. I don't need the property anyway."

Discussing his wife, Dhakal proclaims repeatedly that love has no
boundaries. Unfortunately, his family's treatment of his new wife
presented an insurmountable obstacle. With his family, Ranu could not
hold her head up high, something Dhakal could not tolerate.

"After we were married, there was not a condition that she could have
stayed," he said. "When it comes time to serve the food, she is
excluded; any ritual, religious thing."

Now, it is their son who is suffering the consequences of their
untraditional marriage.

In Hinduism, the most important event in a boy's life is a coming of
age ritual known as Bratabandha. A purification, it makes a boy a full
participant in religious life. Without it, he cannot take part in any
religious ceremonies.

Dhakal's ceremony took place at the holiest site in Nepal, a shrine
dedicated to the goddess Sita, in the region said to be her
birthplace. This is what he wanted for his son.

They planned to send Samarpan to Nepal with Ranu's father, where the
boy would go through the ceremony. When word reached local orthodox
religious organizations, Samarpan's life was threatened, and the trip
was quickly cancelled.

Instead, Samarpan will go through Bratabandha in the United States,
where he is safe.

The children might visit Nepal someday, Dhakal said.

"I don't want them to experience a society that does not accept them," he said.

His mission now is to advocate for the end of caste-based oppression.

"I will be the advocate of intercaste," Dhakal said. "There should be
no barrier [to love]."

Reach Reporter Jessica Ablamsky at jablamsky@queenstribune.com or
(718) 357-7400, Ext. 124.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalits have more serious issues than religion: swamiji

http://hindu.com/2010/09/16/stories/2010091659590300.htm

Karnataka - Mysore

Dalits have more serious issues than religion: swamiji

Special Correspondent

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Such issues should be addressed after curbing atrocities against them'

Earlier, Pejawar seer had expressed concern

that conversion is a threat to Hindu religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MYSORE: Basavananda Maadara Channaiah Swamiji of Madiga community
Gurupeetha in Chitradurga said here on Wednesday that it was not the
time to discuss the issue of religious conversion, when life and
dignity of the Dalits was under threat from upper-caste Hindus.

He was reacting to a concern expressed by Pejawar seer Vishvesha
Theertha Swamiji over the danger being posed to the "monolithic" Hindu
culture and religion by religious conversion.

In a meeting with the Pejawar seer Vishvesha Theertha Swamiji at the
Krishna Dhama, Basavananda swamiji clarified that the issue of
conversion was not of paramount importance to Dalits when they were
being hunted by upper-caste Hindus consistently. It had led to loss of
trust among Dalits, he added.

When the Pejawar seer said that he was prepared to extend "Bhakti
Dikshe" to the Dalits, to restrain them from converting to other
religions "either by force or through enticement in view of protecting
Hindu culture", Basavananda swamiji said that Dalits had way more
serious issues at hand than religion. Issues such as conversion could
be addressed only after curbing the atrocities committed against them,
he emphasised.

Stressing the need to protect the "ancient" Hindu religion that was
"facing threat of religious conversion", the Pejawar seer had said
that his concern was to see to it that the Dalits got to lead a
dignified life and to dissuade them from falling prey to religious
conversion. However reacting to the observations of the Pejawar seer,
the Maadiga community seer asserted that Dalit culture was as rich and
ancient as any other forward community culture.

"Dalits have been denied the right to equality for centuries and have
been faced physical and mental torture by upper-castes for
generations. The question of protection of religion and culture comes
in only after we instil confidence in them," he noted.

When asked whether he supported Pejawar seer on the anti-cattle
slaughter Bill, Basavananda Swamiji said that the Pejawar seer was of
the opinion that food system was one's personal matter. Dalits should
also have a similar freedom to exercise their choice of food. "It's
more needed to stop killing of Dalits before speaking about cow
slaughter," he said curtly.

On whether his new initiative to visit the Dalit colonies was an
attempt to stop religious conversion, Pejawar seer noted that visiting
Dalit colonies was not a new thing for him. "When Dalits of
Meenakshipuram converted to Islam in 1981, I visited the colonies to
instil confidence in them. Now I am 80 and as a last effort to contain
religious conversion, I'm trying to end untouchability and bring
equality in society," he clarified.

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[ZESTCaste] Land grabbing, motive behind Dalit killing

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Land-grabbing-motive-behind-Dalit-killing/articleshow/6569095.cms

Land grabbing, motive behind Dalit killing
G Arun Kumar, TNN, Sep 17, 2010, 02.48am IST

KHAITHAPURAM (Nalgonda): It was a 20-year-old dispute over a piece of
land, not 'banamati' (black magic), that led to the macabre killing of
Guddeti Yellaiah in this nondescript hamlet of 750 people in
Choutuppal mandal.

Menfolk of upper castes who bore a grudge against the 74-year-old man
for long plotted the sinister killing of Yellaiah down to the last
detail and pushed (read tutored) the women to take the blame even as
they escaped. Contrary to the claims that women had led the frenzied
mob, it was a mob of 40 men who executed the murderous revenge on
Wednesday. Twenty-eight of them have already been identified by
police. Curiously, cases were slapped against 62 women.

Yellaiah was a Dalit whose plot was sandwiched between the plots owned
by two upper caste persons. The frail old man had been refusing to
part with his land and the village heads avenged his defiance by
eliminating him along with another villager, Chiliveru Narsimhaiah,
68. "It was a conspiracy by the powerful village lobby of upper caste
to get rid of my brother," a cousin Jonnaganti Balamani, who works in
a milk chillingcentre in nearby Malkapuram village, said.

When TOI visited the village on Thursday, locks hung on almost every
door and most of the houses which were locked belonged to the accused.
While Yellaiah's old widow Oochamma was being helped to stand on her
weak legs by her relatives, an Anganwadi teacher Bandameedi Shamanta
revealed that the upper caste men wanted to usurp Yellaiah's land.
"They even eyed a small 120 square yards of land close to the village
pond," she said. The victim was a watchman in a cement pipes factory
on a salary of Rs 1,500 and used to make some more money by working in
a stone crushing unit.

Seven years ago, Yellaiah was beaten up on the charges of sorcery. "He
was threatened and forced to accept the charges as we looked on
helplessly. His eyesight was poor. He could not walk properly," a
teary-eyed Lingaswamy, Yellaiah's nephew, recalled. Yellaiah left the
village for a few years and came back once the issue died down. For
the record, the village is dominated by Reddys, Gouds, Yadavs and SCs.
Most of them own lorries, while the Dalits work as farm labourers.

Narsimhaiah, on the other hand, was an old man whose only fault was to
place a small piece of turmeric cloth and two lemons near Pochamma
temple, a practice which is common in all Kali temples. Some villagers
however began to spread rumours that Narsimhaiah was responsible for
the deaths of a youth and a young woman in the last two months. Police
officials however told TOI that 24-year-old K Muthyam, a photographer,
died when he dashed his motorbike into a road divider at Mylaram
village in an inebriated condition on Aug 10.

"Velama Pavani, 21, hanged herself and left a suicide note blaming her
aunt for forcing her into a marriage," Choutuppal CI M Tirupatanna
said.

Narsimhaiah had a herd of eight goats and used to mind his own
business. On Wednesday, he was dragged away from a hillock as he was
tending to his goats and similarly forced by the village heads to
'confess' that Yellaiah and he had indulged in sorcery. He was beaten
up mercilessly. His head was smashed with a boulder. "The village
elders led by Gopu Ilaiah and Manne Lakshma Reddy had conspired to
kill my husband and Yellaiah for no fault of theirs," shouted Yadamma,
sitting in her two-room tin-roofed tenement.

Both Yellaiah and Narsimhaiah were thrown on a woodenpyre in the
graveyard close to the tile-roofed houses and set afire by the mob.
"The barbaric drama started around 10 am and by12.30 pm, they were
burnt to death," a toddy-tapper Bandigadi Jangaiah, whose name figured
in the accused list, said. "The accused flung two worn-out lorry tyres
to ensure that the bodies were burnt beyond recognition," a Clues team
expert said. When police reached around 2 pm, their bodies were
reduced to ashes.