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Monday, August 1, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Tension grips UP village after Dalits enter temple

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/180295/tension-grips-up-village-dalits.html

Security forces have been deployed in the village

Tension grips UP village after Dalits enter temple
Lucknow, July 30, DHNS:

Tension prevailed in Gauna village in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat
district, about 450 km from here, over ''jalabhishek'' (offering of
sacred Ganga water to Shivlinga during the shravana month) by some
members of a Dalit community at an old Shiva temple in the village.

Some members of the upper castes on Friday turned away several
"kanwariyas" (devotees, who offer the Ganga water to Shivlingas)
belonging to the Dalit community from the temple saying it would
render the temple "impure".

The upper caste people reportedly locked the doors of the temple and
squatted before the gates to make sure that the Dalits could not enter
it.

The Dalit devotees approached the police which arrived in strength and
forced the upper caste people to open the door. The Dalits were then
able to offer water at the temple.

Irked over the police action, the members of the upper castes chose to
abandon the temple and offered "jalabhishek" at another nearby Shiva
temple in the village. They also announced that they would never enter
the temple in future as it has become "impure" following "jalabhishek"
by the Dalits.

According to the villagers, a similar incident had happened at the
village a few years ago. "At that time, the villagers had immersed all
the idols of the temple and replaced them with new idols," said the
officials quoting the villagers.

Security personnel in strength have been deployed in the village as
tension prevailed there, official sources here said.

Thousands of "kanwarias" carrying water from the holy Ganges visit
famous Shiva temples in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, especially in
Hardwar and Varanasi and other places in the Hindu month of
"shravana."

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit girl gangraped

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5331503

31/07/2011
Dalit girl gangraped

Ghaziabad, Jul 31 (PTI) A teenage dalit girl was allegedly abducted in
broad daylight and gangraped in a sugarcane field by three men in
Garhmukteshwar, police said.

A case has been registered against three persons, residents of
Badarkha village, late yesterday night and one has been arrested while
the other two are still absconding, they said.

The medical examination of the girl will be conducted in a government
hospital today, they said.

The 19-year old girl, a resident of Nanai village, had left her home
on Friday evening and spent the night at Hapur railway station and
travelled to Garhmukteshwar yesterday, family sources said.

She was abducted by the three men from Garh Chopla locality where they
raped her in a sugarcane field, they said.

The police did not act when she was abducted and delayed arresting the
accused, they alleged.

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[ZESTCaste] Dutch parliament urges end to caste discrimination

http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/dutch-parliament-urges-end-caste-discrimination

Dutch parliament urges end to caste discrimination
Published on : 29 July 2011 - 4:09pm | By Johan van Slooten (Photo by
Alexandre Paris [flickr.com])

Dutch parliament supports a proposal to combat caste discrimination
which is still rife in South Asian societies such as India, Bangladesh
and Nepal. It has urged Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal to work
with South Asian governments to improve the position and life of the
250 million 'Dalits'.

Dalits are the victims of violations of fundamental human rights, says
the Dalits Netherlands Network (DNN), which works closely with Indian
Dalit organisations. "The position of Dalits in a country like India
is a huge human rights problem," says Gerard Oonk of the DNN. "It has
long been seen as an indigenous phenomenon, but it's much more than
that. It's about basic human rights which are violated here."

Dutch connection
There is a clear Dutch connection between the position of the Dalits
in South Asian society and the Netherlands, says Mr Oonk. "Dalits
suffer disproportionally from violations of labour rights in the
supply chain of Dutch companies, including in garments, seeds and
natural stone. There's a big trade relationship between the
Netherlands and the region."

Pressure on India and other countries should therefore come from the
trade field, says Mr Oonk. "We've already made a lot of progress when
it comes to child labour. Many Dutch companies are aware that they
can't buy goods in India from suppliers who employ young children. Now
they should also be aware that caste discrimination on the work floor
is also unacceptable."

"Dutch companies are relatively quite active with regard to corporate
social responsibility in their international operations," Mr Oonk
says. "I am working to make them realise that this issue also falls
under that responsibility."

Principles
Mr Oonk says that The International Dalit Solidarity Network, of which
the DNN is a member, has developed concrete guidelines to work on the
issue. These are known as the Ambedkar Principles, named after a
famous Dalit leader.

Relegated
Through caste discrimination, many Dalits are simply unable to find
good employment and are therefore relegated to poorly paid jobs, or to
no jobs at all. "We see sub-human wages and working conditions, forms
of slavery; everything that you can imagine," according to Mr Oonk.

The DNN admits that pressure from the Netherlands only is not enough
to change a system that is so ingrained in South Asian societies. "We
can't do it on our own of course, so the Dutch government should seek
cooperation with other EU member states," says Mr Oonk. "The UN Human
Rights Council also has a pivotal role to play here."

Mindset
But while the international community may do its utmost to implement
some changes, it's ultimately the mindset of the people that should be
changed – not an easy task, says Mr Oonk. "This can only be done by
local organisations in caste-affected countries. They are however
seeking our moral and political support to achieve that. Together it
will lead to changes."

"Also, in many cases it's simply a matter of implementing laws and
regulations that already exist. It's the international community or
organisations like ours to raise that awareness," Mr Oonk adds.
"Indian NGOs also begin to realise that they have to work with the
governments to achieve things. That will ultimately lead to better
results than not working together at all."

Rosenthal
During a recent visit to India, Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal
raised the issue of children's and women's rights, but not the fate of
Dalits. "We regret that, but we're confident that the Dutch government
will highlight the issue in the future, together with the EU and
UNHCR," says Mr Oonk.

Conference
The Dalit Netherlands Network is not the only organisation that works
against caste discrimination in South Asia. Last month, a group of
international organisations staged the Conference on a Decade of Dalit
Rights. In its end declaration, the conference said that "those
affected by caste-based discrimination will keep knocking at the door
of the UN to be able to enjoy their inalienable, universal human
rights", adding that this requires the commitment of the global
community.

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[ZESTCaste] The unexpected rise of dalit millionaires: Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-07-31/news/29835800_1_dalit-entrepreneurs-das-offshore-dalit-businessmen

The unexpected rise of dalit millionaires: Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar
Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, TNN Jul 31, 2011, 10.36am IST

For centuries, dalits have been at the bottom of the income and social
ladders, despised and exploited. Independent India aimed to improve
their lot through job reservations, but with very limited results.

Nevertheless, empowerment through democracy and economic opportunities
created by 20 years of economic reform have created an astonishing new
phenomenon—the rise of dalit millionaires.

They have now established a Dalit Chambers of Commerce and Industry in
Mumbai. It is no more than a start. But at long last, some dalits have
ceased to be objects of pity, and become objects of envy.

The Economic Times has been running a series of features since July 18
on dalit entrepreneurs. Many came from lower middle class families,
got a decent education, and then made good. But others came from
labourer families, and their rise is especially heartening.

Bhagwan Gawai worked as a construction labourer as a boy in Mumbai.
But he completed school and college, and then joined HPCL. He always
got good appraisals but these were tampered with by caste-conscious
colleagues, so he was denied the promotions he deserved. He sued HPCL
on grounds of discrimination, and won.

Later HPCL posted him in Dubai. There he acquired Arab friends who
became his partners in a new trading business. This business now has a
turnover of a whopping $20 million. He has also brought 30 dalit
entrepreneurs together under a holding company, Maitreya Developers.

Sushil Patil's father was a labourer in an ordnance factory, who
educated his son. He had to plead with the college dean to waive the
last year's fees, which he could not afford. The investment paid off.
Sushil was employed in various firms, but then decided to start his
own business, with the help of small loans. He failed in a series of
ventures. But he persevered, and ultimately set up a firm, IEPC,
providing engineering procurement and construction services. This now
has revenues of Rs 280 crore per year.

Ashok Khade's father was a cobbler, working under a tree in Mumbai.
Ashok went to college and then joined Mazagon Docks. He acquired
skills in offshore maintenance and construction. Today, his company
DAS Offshore is a major offshore services company and he now plans a
jetty fabrication yard that will employ 2,500 workers. He does not
believe in caste reservation—only 1% of his workers are dalits.

Another dalit, Balu, manufactures soldering equipment with revenues of
Rs 2.5 crore. He says 32 girls in a row rejected him as a marriage
partner because of his poor prospects! His weak business was regarded
as insecure. He says many dalit businessmen hide their caste identity
to avoid social sigma and loss of business. That mentality sorely
needs to change.

In all these cases, education was a key input. Alas, rural government
schools are so terrible that many dalits remain functionally
illiterate and handicapped. Even so, they have made astonishing
strides in the last 20 years, as revealed by a seminal study by Devesh
Kapur and others.

This study looked at dalits in blocks in western and eastern Uttar
Pradesh. The proportion of dalits owning their own business was up
from 6% to 36.7% in western UP, and from 4.2% to 11% in eastern UP.
The proportion in non-traditional occupations (like tailors, masons
etc) was up from 14% to 37% in the east, and from 9.3% to 42% in
western UP.

Many dalits in eastern UP were once locked into the halwaha (bonded
labour) system. This has virtually disappeared: the halwaha proportion
is down from 32.1% to 1.1%. The proportion of dalit households doing
any farm labour has plummeted from 76% to 45.6% in the east, and from
46.1% to just 20.5% in the west. Encouragingly, the proportion
depending on their own land is up from 16.6% to 28.4% in the east, and
from 50.5% to 67.6% in the west.

Political parties shout themselves hoarse over job reservations. Yet,
the dalit family proportion in government jobs has actually fallen
from 7.2% to 6.8% in the east, and risen marginally from 5% to 7.3% in
the west. Clearly, job reservation has not been a key factor in UP's
social revolution. The main drivers of improvement have been the new
opportunities arising from fast growth created by economic reforms,
plus the empowerment drive of dalit chief minister Mayawati.

Indian leftists keep chanting that economic reforms have created new
inequalities. They may even criticize the rise of dalit millionaires
as a new sort of inequality. Phooey! This is a magnificent success. It
shows that dalits have become empowered enough to soar into the
millionaire range. Long live such inequality!

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[ZESTCaste] Caste heat on Dinakaran

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110801/jsp/nation/story_14315974.jsp

Caste heat on Dinakaran
SAMANWAYA RAUTRAY
Dinakaran

New Delhi, July 31: Former Chief Justice of India V.N. Khare has
described as "unfortunate" Justice Paul Daniel Dinakaran's attempt to
fall back on his Dalit status as a defence against the corruption
charges against him.

"There is no institutional bias (of that sort) in the judiciary,"
Khare said. "One or two individual judges may have their own
ideologies such as pro-capitalist, pro-socialist, pro-poor,
pro-tenant, etc., but on the whole there is no institutional bias," he
said.

Eminent lawyers too ridiculed Dinakaran's attempt to wave the Dalit
card and claim that he was being targeted because of his caste.

Supreme Court lawyer Rajeev Dhavan summed up the entire controversy in
one word: "Ridiculous."

"It is unfortunate that the caste factor is being played in the
Dinakaran resignation. There are many distinguished judges, who have
been SCs and STs, but who have carried their professionalism with
distinction. This (raising the caste issue) discredits honest judges
and administrators…" he said.

Dinakaran, who was facing allegations of land-grab and corruption,
stepped down suddenly on Friday night as Sikkim High Court chief
justice, effectively stymieing the ongoing impeachment proceedings
against him.

His elevation to the Supreme Court had run into trouble when the
allegations surfaced. The CJI had transferred him to Sikkim pending an
impeachment inquiry against him.

Senior lawyer C.S. Vaidyanathan said caste, religion and region have
always held sway on judicial appointments, but denied that Dinakaran
was being targeted because he was a Dalit. "There has always been an
unofficial, unarticulated quota system in the Indian judiciary," he
said.

In Andhra, a retired Reddy will always be replaced by another Reddy,
in Madras all caste lobbies enjoy a strong clout except the Brahmins,
Vaidyanathan said. "Caste lobbies exist in almost all high courts," he
said.

But Dinakaran, who was in Madras High Court when Vaidyanathan was a
practising lawyer at the bar there, never had to face any problems
either at the bar or the bench because of his caste, Vaidyanathan
said. "In fact, being a Dalit helped him become a judge, given his
calibre and competence," Vaidyanathan said.

"He knew that the findings of the (inquiry) committee would go against
him, so he's taken the most convenient way out."

Vaidyanathan said the same allegations were levelled during his
elevation as chief justice of Karnataka High Court but were ignored.
"It came to light because of his proposed elevation to the Supreme
Court."

Dinakaran made several attempts to stall the impeachment proceedings,
raising issues of bias and procedural irregularities against the
three-member probe panel.

What possibly forced his hand was a verdict a fortnight ago in which
the Supreme Court, hearing one of his many petitions against the
panel, criticised him for delaying the proceedings.

Dhavan, however, hinted that Dinakaran may have quit to protect his
post-retirement benefits. "Impeachment may have had an impact on his
post-retiral benefits," he said.
Top

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Monday, August 1, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Tension grips UP village after Dalits enter temple

[ZESTCaste] Dalit girl gangraped

[ZESTCaste] Dutch parliament urges end to caste discrimination

[ZESTCaste] The unexpected rise of dalit millionaires: Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar

[ZESTCaste] Caste heat on Dinakaran

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