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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Atrocities on Dalits Rising Under BSP Regime: Cong

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?709708

Atrocities on Dalits Rising Under BSP Regime: Cong
Lucknow | Jan 25, 2011

Accusing the ruling BSP government in Uttar Pradesh of cheating
Dalits, the Congress today alleged that their maximum exploitation and
harassment was done during the party regime.

"Number of cases of harassment of Dalits and women and atrocities on
them are increasing in UP," senior Congress leader and chairman of
National Commission for Schedule Caste P L Punia told a Dalit
convention here.

Referring to the Banda rape case where a Dalit girl was raped
allegedly by a BSP MLA and some other incidents, Punia alleged that
instead of providing security to Dalits, the BSP government was
shielding the culprits.

"The Commission will not keep mum in such cases and ensure justice to
the people by taking suo motto cognisance," he said.

He alleged that the BSP government was committing laxity in
implementing Central schemes launched for the upliftment of Dalits.

"Dalits are feeling cheated by the BSP government and this is evident
from their increasing participation in Dalit conventions being
organised by the Congress," he said.

"Dalits are being exploited most in the BSP regime which claims to be
their leader," UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi alleged while
inaugurating the convention.

She also alleged that BSP MLAs and ministers were involved in
corruption and the government machinery was functioning in an
arbitrary manner on their directives, while all the sections of
society were facing hardship.

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[ZESTCaste] Let live, for love's sake

http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/nxg/article1126800.ece

Published: January 26, 2011 14:35 IST | Updated: January 26, 2011
14:35 IST January 26, 2011

Let live, for love's sake

MARY SRUTHI VIJAYAKUMAR

The Hindu When in love: Honour is never an issue. Photo: K. Ananthan

After a hectic haul into my compartment, I sat on my precious seat,
which I'd thought would never have been possible after the sweaty,
crowded pavement of the Chennai Central. Packed with howling children
and crazy vendors or even worse porters, who try to grab my attention
the moment my eyes graze in their direction.

Two youngsters sat on the seat opposite me. They did not look more
than 25 or so it seemed; but they definitely looked uncertain about
whatever they were up to!

But isn't this how most of our Indian elders look upon young couples
these days? On Valentine's Day, we have the belligerent police force
arresting young lovers, while I still wonder why they almost did
nothing when there were crazy meaningless riots by college students
majoring in a fickle field in India: law!

Honour comes first

My thoughts then wandered to those victims of honour killings in my
own apparently free country. The thought that a mother can bring
herself to kill her own ' flesh and blood' for the sake of living an
honourable life is rather appalling.

When I searched my mind for a good reason on what exactly would drive
the most protective 'mother' race in the universe, regardless of what
species she belonged to, I came up with only one: 'survival of self'.
Drawing a parallel to the human mother, this phrase would convert
itself to the benefits of living a typified 'respectable' life in
society and to please her patriarchal counterpart, as she is dependent
on his already meagre or (in some cases) extensive resources or in
danger of her life itself. The more reasons I imagined, the more
inexcusable it got and I saw red!

As Henry David Thoreau would put it, "There is no value in life except
what you choose to place upon it and no happiness in any place except
what you bring to it yourself."

I honestly can't figure out how anyone can kill just because someone
does not fit into their perspective of what is right. If mothers and
uncles can go about killing daughters and pretend they did something
to be proud of and if they can sleep peacefully or let's say, pretend
to close their eyes tight, pretending to shut away images of their
daughter's murder or hushed up cremation, then it's time for the world
to end.

Being a girl myself, it is alarming to know that there are girls out
there who are terrified to be in their own homes and that there are
girls who are thankful every single day to wake up alive in their own
premises, while I feel secure in my room, with parents to look up to.

Shame over blood

I earnestly hope parents, especially fathers, bear with the 'shame'
than opting to live with blood in their hands. You'd rather listen to
all that the already ridiculous community has to say than kill your
own apparently disobedient daughter and someone else's prodigal son.

And in the case of a few independent young women, do have the audacity
to let your only best friend and mother know that you've found your
special someone. In case your parents revolt and their reactions turn
out to be rather alarming then think no more, call a women's helpline
or the police. If you don't have the gumption to do so, tell your
neighbour or a friend.

Most honour killing cases are either never reported, listed missing
under the 'girl gone missing' cases with a million suspects fished out
by our brilliant panchayat or council to cover up what really
happened.

First, the world opted to extinguish baby girls, abuse them when they
struggle to grow up with all the tribulations in a male chauvinistic
society and now ' honour killing'. I wonder what else is yet to come
up down the road to a capricious and rather inexcusable future.

MARY SRUTHI VIJAYAKUMAR, III Year, B.A English, Women's Christian College

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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati's 'maya' showers on dalits

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Mayawatis-maya-showers-on-dalits/articleshow/7363984.cms

Mayawati's 'maya' showers on dalits

Ashish Tripathi, TNN, Jan 26, 2011, 12.43am IST

LUCKNOW: An aggressive Congress trying to make in roads among dalits
and backwards has made chief minister and BSP supremo Mayawati
reinforce her dalit agenda.

Last week, the BSP government decided to reserve 70% seats for
candidates belonging to scheduled castes (SC) and 15% seats for other
backward classes (OBCs) in 50 government industrial training
institutes (ITIs) and four government medical colleges to be set up at
Jalaun, Kannauj, Saharanpur and Ambedkarnagar. Now, Mayawati has
directed officials concerned to expedite the implementation of dalit
welfare schemes and conduct on the spot verification of whether the
benefit has reached the target group or not.

The emphasis is laid on schemes like free housing for poor dalits
under the housing scheme launched in the name of her mentor Kanshiram,
Rs 400 per month to the poor who do not have below poverty line card
or any other certificate which makes them entitled to welfare schemes
meant for poor and downtrodden and implementation of the Forest Rights
Act which provides ownership rights to tribals on forest land. The CM
has instructed officials that the people at grassroot level should get
the feeling that government is working for them.

The move to reserve 70% seats for SC in ITIs and medical colleges is
aimed to blunt the allegations by National SC and ST Commission
chairperson PL Punia that the money given to the state under special
component programme is being misused by the BSP government. Punia as a
bureaucrat was close to Maya at one point of time but after retirement
joined Congress and won Lok Saba elections from Barabanki by getting
substantial dalit votes. Congress has now appointed Punia as chairman
of the commission with cabinet minister status to woo dalits.

Punia has been troubling the BSP government in state by raking up
issues like rise in atrocities on dalits. He has been personally
visiting the places from where crime against dalits are reported. As a
counter, Mayawati has also issued instructions to deal strictly with
any incident of atrocity on dalits. Senior officials such as
commissioners, district magistrates and district police chiefs have
been warned that they would be held responsible for any laxity in the
implementation of the government policies and schemes for dalits.

Maya also made it clear that only a dalit would succeed her as chief
minister of UP, in case she goes to Centre or post fells vacant due to
some other reason. The BSP government had already announced
reservation (21% for SC and 2% for ST) in allotment of construction
contracts upto Rs five lakh in all government departments. She wants
that all work related to dalit welfare schemes and projects should be
implemented by July this year so that she can publicise it thoroughly
before next assembly elections in April-May 2012.

Though dalit form BSP's core vote bank, it had played brahmin card to
win 2007 assembly elections. It came to power with absolute majority
through its dalit-brahmin-muslim combination. BSP also got ample
support of most backward classes (MBCs). However, poor performance in
2009 Lok Sabha polls has made Maya revert to her dalit agenda for 2012
state assembly elections. Taking a head start in comparison to other
parties, she has shortlisted around 200 candidates and remaining will
be selected soon. Total assembly seats are 403.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalits in Gujarat's Surendranagar prevented from entering temple

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_dalits-in-gujarat-s-surendranagar-prevented-from-entering-temple_1499348

Dalits in Gujarat's Surendranagar prevented from entering temple
Published: Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011, 16:23 IST
By Charul Shah | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA

"We have booked 18 people including the husband of the village
sarpanch and the deputy sarpanch of Rampur village in Surendranagar
district under various section of Atrocities Act for discriminating on
basis of caste." - This is what deputy superintendent of police of
SC/ST cell, PM Bhalia, revealed on Tuesday, adding that the
investigation of the case is over and cops have arrested all the
accused on Tuesday morning.

Though there is hardly anything new in the sordid tale of casteism
that blotches the democracy's name, it is particularly unnerving that
such an event had taken place on the eve of the country's 61st
Republic Day celebration. Surendranagar police arrested 18 people for
preventing dalits from entering a temple.

The dalits' entry into the village temple of Goddess Meldi Ma was met
with severity by the 'upper' caste villagers who restricted entry of
over 13 dalit families from paying obeisance to the deity. The
incident was reported with the police with the help of Navsarjan
trust, an NGO working for the marginalised people. Matters turned sour
when some dalit families wanted to enter the village temple.

"We were not allowed to sit with others and were always abused by the
members of upper castes. We were also not let inside the temple,"
alleged Purushottam Chawda, a member of the backward community who
lodged a complaint against the 18 people. "In our absence, other
villagers gathered near the temple and passed a resolution that all
villagers should boycott us. They were asked to swear by the Goddess
and promise that they would not keep any relations with us," Chawda
further said, adding that people caught violating the diktat were
threatened to be fined of Rs5,000 for insulting the Goddess.

Incidentally, though Khoda Koli, the husband of sarpanch Jasuben Koli
and the deputy sarpanch Samant Koli were arrested, they were later
released on bail.

"We have asked members of both the communities to maintain peace and
harmony. We will also be maintaining vigil in the area," Bhalia
further said.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit killings: Agitators threaten to block milk supply to Delhi

http://news.oneindia.in/2011/01/25/dalitkillings-agitators-threaten-to-block-milk-supply-tod-aid0126.html

January 25, 2011 » India » Full Article
Dalit killings: Agitators threaten to block milk supply to Del
Tuesday, January 25, 2011, 18:00 [IST]

Jind (Haryana), Jan 25 (PTI) The residents of Mirchpurand adjoining
villages protesting for a fresh probe into thekilling of two Dalits
today threatened to block milk and watersupplies to Delhi from
Thursday if their demands were not meteven as the agitation entered
11th day.

Buzz up!
Jind and parts of Hisar remained cut off from other partsof the state
as the members of the pre-dominant Jat communityheld protests at
various places, blocking railway tracks andhighways.

Traffic on several state highways and national roadspassing through
Jind and Hisar was disrupted with bus servicesremaining paralysed in
view of the protests, which entered11th day today.

All inter-district roads leading out of Jind to variousplaces within
the state and in neighbouring states, includingPunjab and Delhi,
continued to remain blocked.

The railway authorities had earlier cancelled all trainson
Hisar-Rewari section till further orders due to the sit-inprotest on
the railway line near Ramayan village on Hisar-Bhiwani route.

So far the talks between the authorities and theSarvjatiya Sarvkhap
Mahapanchayat, spearheading the agitation,have failed to yield any
result.

The villagers are protesting the booking of 98 membersof their
community in the case relating to the killing of70-year-old Tara Chand
and his teenaged daughter Suman atMirchpur village in Hisar on April
21 last year.

A Delhi court on January 9 had directed the HaryanaGovernment to move
all the 98 accused from Hisar jail to Tiharprison after their trial
were transferred to a special courtin Delhi following a Supreme Court
order after the aggrievedparty moved the apex court claiming that a
fair trial was notpossible in Haryana.

The protesters are demanding the probe to be held by aSpecial
Investigation Team (SIT) either at Rohtak or Hisar andthe accused be
lodged in either of the two jails.

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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Atrocities on Dalits Rising Under BSP Regime: Cong

[ZESTCaste] Let live, for love's sake

[ZESTCaste] Mayawati's 'maya' showers on dalits

[ZESTCaste] Dalits in Gujarat's Surendranagar prevented from entering temple

[ZESTCaste] Dalit killings: Agitators threaten to block milk supply to Delhi

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