Friday, April 23, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Dalit’s killing forces exodus

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Dalit-s-killing-forces-exodus/610437

Dalit's killing forces exodus

Agencies Posted online: Friday , Apr 23, 2010 at 1417 hrs
Mirchpur : A day after a Dalit teenager died and six others were
injured at Mirchpur village in Haryana''s Hissar district,
panic-stricken residents decided to leave their homes and move
elsewhere.
Members of the low-caste community, who have seen their members being
torched, said they did not have the courage to stay on in the village.

"We have seen members of our community being burnt. How can we live
here? 200 to 300 persons were staying here, most of them have left and
some youngsters are staying here. What have the authorities done when
all this was happening?" said Sunil.

The police said they have tried to calm the fears of villagers.

"We are requesting the villagers not to leave, we are providing them
with all the necessary security and also providing them with needs of
daily use," said Ajay Yadav, Superintendent of Police, Hissar.


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[ZESTCaste] ‘Like Ambedkar, I Too Have Been Branded Political’

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main44.asp?filename=Ne010510incoldblood.asp

'Like Ambedkar, I Too Have Been Branded Political'

Rajasthan BJP leader Kirori Singh Bainsla tells SHOBHITA NAITHANI his
goal is quotas for Gujjars, not targeting the Congress government


Photo: SALMAN
How do you expect the Rajasthan government to possibly exceed Supreme
Court's 50 percent reservation limit?
Constitutionally the government cannot exceed the limit. And legally
it cannot deny us 5 percent reservation. If the government really
wants to and has the will power to grant us that, no one can stop it.

Will you settle for a quota less than 5 percent?
Right now Rajasthan already has 49 percent reservation. For a
permanent solution, the Gujjars are willing to settle for reservation
within 50 percent. I am not rigid about being given reservation
outside of that. Now it's for the committee appointed by the High
Court to decide.

Neither the Meenas (within ST) nor the Jats (within OBC) agree to
share their quota pie. What is the alternative?
Do we have fair governance in the country? Meenas and Jats are
powerful communities; therefore the government is afraid of alienating
them.

Why are you rigid in your demand to halt recruitment for the 80,000
government posts? Departments will come to a standstill if there is
shortage of staff.
We don't want to deprive other communities from this recruitment
drive. But at the same time, I don't want my people to be deprived of
their genuine dues.

In the past, you have agreed to scale down your demand for
reservation. Would you step down this time as well?
No. When other communities are not willing to part with their quotas,
how do you expect me to settle for something lesser than 5 percent? I
am not asking for the moon.

Earlier, you relinquished your demand for an ST status.
That's because I am ready to cooperate with the government. I don't
want my community to suffer.

There are allegations that you are acting at the behest of Vasundhara
Raje to target the Congress government?
When I launched the agitation, Raje was the chief minister. Was I with
the Congress at that time? The doubt was created because I contested
the Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket.

Do you regret contesting that election?
Not at all. Had Bhim Rao Ambedkar not joined politics, could he have
done so much for his community? I'll take part in polls again. But on
quotas, I am not with any party.

Still, you are a political person now. You enjoy the status of a
special invitee in the BJP National Executive.
Like Ambedkar, I too have been branded political. But my primary aim
is to safeguard the interests of my people. I do not hobnob with any
political party on the issue of quota.

'Meenas and Jats are powerful communities — the government is afraid
of alienating them'
Are you satisfied with the state government's special package of
scholarships and training for Gujjar youth?
This is not something new. The same package was given to Gujjars by
the Digvijay Singh government in Madhya Pradesh. We want jobs,
security and educational opportunities. Rs 280 crore was sanctioned at
the time of the BJP government in Rajasthan. Where is that money?

As part of the BJP, you should be able to find out now.
(Laughs) Whether fair or foul, I am forever branded BJP.

Every year, why do you choose summer to launch your protests?
Farmers are free at this time as the harvest season is over.


From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 7, Issue 17, Dated May 01, 2010


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[ZESTCaste] Situation in Hisar village continues to be tense

 

http://www.ptinews.com/news/623082_Situation-in-Hisar-village-continues-to-be-tense

Situation in Hisar village continues to be tense

STAFF WRITER 17:43 HRS IST
Hisar (Haryana), Apr 23 (PTI) The situation in village Mirchpur in
Hisar district continues to be tense for the second day today as
Dalits refused to cremate the two victims of intercaste violence,
demanding filing of cases against officials who they claim were
present when it happened.

The district administration, including the Superintendent of Police,
Deputy Commissioner and other officials have so far failed to convince
the Dalits to cremate Suman, 18, and her father Tara Chand, 70, who
died in the violence that broke out on April 21.

Dalits are demanding registration of criminal cases against the SDM
Hansi, Tehsildar and other officers and policemen, claiming they were
present in the village when the violence occurred.

Suman and her father Tara Chand were charred to death when a group of
people belonging to the upper caste set a dozen houses belonging to
the Dalits on fire.

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[ZESTCaste] Govt woos Mayawati, says Noida project does not violate law

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_govt-woos-mayawati-says-noida-project-does-not-violate-law_1374526

Govt woos Mayawati, says Noida project does not violate law
Rakesh Bhatnagar / DNAFriday, April 23, 2010 2:35 IST

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati's dream of dedicating
a 50-hectare public park to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar seems to be coming
true.

In an attempt to woo the Bahujan Samaj Party leader, who only a day
earlier accused the Congress-led UPA government of framing false and
politically motivated cases against her through CBI, the Centre said
on Thursday the controversial park project was not in a reserved
forest area.

The inauguration of the park was stayed by the Supreme Court (SC) a
year ago after concerned residents accused the Mayawati government of
denuding greenery to put up concrete structures (statues of Dalit
leaders).

The ministry of forest and environment said the park was neither
recorded as forest, nor was it deemed forest.

Additional solicitor general Indira Jaising told a bench of chief
justice KG Balakrishnan and justices SH Kapadia and Aftab Alam that it
was actually an urban tree park, thus construction in the area does
not attract provisions of the Forest Conservation Act.

The bench asked the Centre to inform it about the steps to be taken
for afforestation of the area. It will hear the case in July.

The court-appointed central empowered committee's counsel Harish Salve
said even if it was accepted that 6,000 trees were cut to set up the
concrete park and it was not part of a natural forest, the Centre
could have undertaken environment impact assessment (EIA) under the
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. He said trees were a part of the
afforestation financed by tax-payers.

Petitioner Ravi Kant's lawyer Jayant Bhushan said 6,000 trees were cut
in secrecy by first constructing boundary walls and then putting up
high shields, thereby hiding all activities in the park from the
public.

When Bhushan said the court should not pass an order allowing the
state government to go ahead with the completion of the park, CJI
asked him if he was suggesting dismantling the Rs350-crore project.

To this, the lawyer asserted that the park should be done away with
and trees replanted.

The government said constructions on 20,000 sq m or more areas alone
attracted the EIA notification, 2006. Jaising said the project area of
the park was 33.43 hectares, including the built-up area of 9,542 sq
m. She said since the total plot area was less than 50 hectares and
the built-up area less than 20,000 sq m, the Noida Park Project was
not covered under the EIA notification.


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[ZESTCaste] In Maya’s Dalit land, SP looks ‘backward’ for a foothold

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-mayas-dalit-land-sp-looks-backward-for-a-foothold/610349/

In Maya's Dalit land, SP looks 'backward' for a foothold

Sanjay Singh Posted online: Friday , Apr 23, 2010 at 0217 hrs
Lucknow : As the Congress eyes the BSP's Dalit votebank, the Samajwadi
Party tries to find its own among the Most Backward Castes (MBC) —
Nishad, Bind, Mallah, Manjhi, Pal, Prajapati and Gareri.
The party wants to unite them under its banner, promising them a share
in political power with the OBCs. The SP has already demanded the
inclusion of at least 16 such castes in the SC category.

Party leaders feel it is the right time to politically target these
castes. "Under the current regime, we see a discontentment among
them," said a leader.

"The idea is to create awareness among them about their importance in
state politics. If united, they can be good weapon to counter the
Dalits."

Leaders use the Maya's government's special focus on Dalits to win
over these castes. "We tell them how many people of their castes have
got jobs under the Maya rule in comparison with the Dalits," another
leader said.

Confirming the move to woo MBCs, party spokesperson Rajendra Choudhari
said separate conferences of these caste groups have been held in the
state. "We want them to join mainstream politics. They need social
justice," Choudhari said. The desperation in the SP camp to unite the
MBC and OBC groups is evident from its plan to organise "Pichhra
Sammelan" in the state. The conference of backward castes was held in
Kanpur on April 20, Choudhari said. Moreover, party chief Mulayam
Singh Yadav had also attended the conference of Saini castes organised
in Saharanpur on April 6.

On April 25, Mulayam has been invited as a chief guest at "Prantiya
Pichhra Varga Sammelan" — to be organised by Uttar Pradesh Pichhra
Varg Sangh in Ravindralaya in Lucknow.

"The party is not directly involved in this conference. But I have
seen hoardings displaying the name of Netaji as chief guest on this
occasion," said Choudhari.

Former minister Om Prakash Singh, the general secretary of the party's
state unit, however, said there is nothing new in party's efforts to
ensure social justice for these castes. "We want to see them to share
political power. We have already demanded proper census of these
castes at the national level," Singh said.


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[ZESTCaste] Two Dalits burnt alive, tension runs high in Haryana village

 

http://www.zeenews.com/news621013.html

Two Dalits burnt alive, tension runs high in Haryana village

Updated on Wednesday, April 21, 2010, 23:09 IST
Chandigarh: A physically challenged girl and her father were burnt
alive when some persons set afire houses belonging to Dalits in a
village in Haryana's Hisar district on Wednesday.

Eighteen-year-old Suman was charred to death while her father Tara
Chand, 70, who suffered 90 per cent burns, died later, officials said
adding the incident happened in Mirchpur village.

Members of a particular community raided the village and set afire
some 12 to 15 Dalit houses, they said.

Old enmity between the two communities coupled with flaring up of the
tension in the past few days led to today's incident, the officials
said.

A few days back, some members of a community allegedly passed
objectionable remarks against Dalit women.

This provoked retaliation from the Dalits who roughed up some youths
of the rival community, villagers said.

Hisar Deputy Commissioner O P Sheron said that the extent of damage
to property and the exact number of houses torched were being
ascertained.

A large posse of policemen were deployed in the village where tension ran high.

Haryana's Director General Police Ranjiv Dalal said 25 people hade
been arrested in connection with the arson.

The trial would be conducted in a fast-track court, he said.

PTI

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[ZESTCaste] Two Dalits burnt alive after clash over dog

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Two-Dalits-burnt-alive-after-clash-over-dog/articleshow/5846407.cms

Two Dalits burnt alive after clash over dog
TNN, Apr 23, 2010, 01.20am IST


HISAR: An argument between a Dalit and a Jat over the former's dog led
to near-unbridled violence in a village in Hisar district which was
tense throughout Thursday after an 18-year-old physically challenged
Dalit girl and her father were burnt alive on Wednesday.

The Dalits refused to cremate the bodies, demanding a CBI probe and
compensation, apart from sacking of the Jat tehsildar of Mirchpur
village where the violence began. Angry demonstrators also protested
in front of the Civil Hospital where post-mortem was conducted on the
girl, Suman, and her father, Tara Chand.

A police probe revealed that Rajender, a Jat, and Yogesh from Valmiki
(Dalit) community, got into an argument early this week, after the
latter objected to Rajender hurling stones at his dog. When the matter
reached the panchayat, two representatives of the Valmiki community —
Veer Bhan and Karnpal — were summoned but ended up being beaten by the
Jats.

Jats are alleged to have torched 25 Dalits houses in the village. ''My
father and sister were at home when armed men came raiding around noon
and set our house on fire,'' a shocked Tara Chand's son Amar said. An
eyewitness to the attack, he hid and saw the gangs doing the rounds.

The police, who have been charged with not taking cognizance of Dalit
complaints of threats from Jats over the last three days, registered a
case on Thursday and sent additional forces to Mirchpur. ''We have
taken 25 suspects into custody and are interrogating them,'' said
Anant Kumar Dhull, IG, Hisar range. Among others camping in the
village along with the IG are SP Subhash Yadav and DC O P Sheoran.
Haryana DGP Ranjiv Dalal said the trial would be conducted in a
fast-track court.

Parmod Bagri, president of Hisar Valmiki Samaj, said, ''This (arson)
was another Gohana (a village that saw Jat-Dalit feud in 2005) and
Jhajjar in which five Dalits were lynched in 2002.''


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[ZESTCaste] BJP ask Govt to take not of atrocities on dalits in Haryana: RS

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BJP-ask-Govt-to-take-not-of-atrocities-on-dalits-in-Haryana-RS-/articleshow/5845529.cms

BJP ask Govt to take not of atrocities on dalits in Haryana: RS
TNN, Apr 22, 2010, 09.40pm IST

NEW DELHI: Opposition BJP on Thursday raised the issue of dalit
atrocities in Haryana, demanding the Centre take note of it happening
in the Congress-ruled state.

As soon as question hour was over in Rajya Sabha, BJP MP Balbir Punj
said dalits had been murdered and wanted to draw the attention of the
Chair towards the issue.

BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said such atrocities have been taking
place in a Congress-ruled state adding that it was shameful.

The Deputy Chairman, however, did not allow the members to raise the
issue further as no zero hour was scheduled and a calling attention
motion was listed for the day.

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[ZESTCaste] Ruckus in Parliament over killings of dalits

 

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/dalits-houses-torched-man-daughter-killed/113783-3.html?from=tn

Ruckus in Parliament over killings of dalits
CNN-IBNPosted on Apr 22, 2010 at 20:51 | Updated Apr 23, 2010 at 00:13

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New Delhi: A man and his disabled daughter were killed when a group of
villagers torched over a dozen houses belonging to Dalits in Hissar.
Several others were injured in the attack.

The incident generated heat in Parliament on Friday. Soon after
Question Hour ended in the Rajya Sabha, members were on their feet
demanding that action be taken in the case.

The Chair said that the matter would be taken up on Friday after a
notice is given.

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[ZESTCaste] A faculty spat over quotas subtracts from JNU’s inclusive ethos

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265074


Standard Deviation
A faculty spat over quotas subtracts from JNU's inclusive ethos
Anuradha Raman
"Some castes are genetically malnourished and so very little can be
achieved in raising them up; and if they are, it would be undoing
excellence and merit."

—Prof B.N. Mallick, Dept of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru
University,  at the March 31 academic council meeting on reservations
in the faculty

This learned professor would have continued to offer his warped
genetic theories had his comment not been greeted with protests from
other JNU academicians. Prof Kamal A. Mitra Chenoy of the School of
International Studies requested him to pipe down. Other academicians
persuaded vice-chancellor B.B. Bhattacharya, who was presiding over
the meeting, to stop Mallick from speaking.


 "It was an unsavoury, sordid meeting of the JNU executive council. It
should have been stewarded better."Rohan D'Souza, Asst professor


Clearly, there is much heartburn, fissure, and even open defiance in
the faculty over the constitutional provision mandating 22.5 per cent
reservation at the professor and associate professor level for the
scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and the physically handicapped. In
fact, the pro- and anti-quota lobbies have been fighting it out since
the university placed an advertisement in November last year for 149
faculty positions with 22.5 per cent reservation. If events of the
last two months are anything to go by, many at this university, which
has set high standards for debates on inclusiveness and justice, seem
to have abandoned the moral high ground.

At the heart of the debate is the vice- chancellor. Some faculty
members say he has failed in his responsibility of setting a personal
example. "Unfortunately, he is not able to communicate his sentiments
or ideas on the issue effectively," says Rohan D'Souza, an assistant
professor at JNU's Centre for Studies in Science Policy. Of faculty
members who were worried the events would reach the media, D'Souza
says, "We had to remind them this is not a police station. Even
cabinet notes make news. We are an educational institution. The public
must know."


 "The academic council could discuss anything —even climate change—
but it can't overturn the executive council."P. Sainath, Member,
executive council


Given Bhattacharya's ambivalence on reservation—amply demonstrated,
faculty members say, in two meetings of the academic council and the
last executive council meeting of April 6—many at the university think
his continuance will thwart any effort to introduce reservations in
the faculty. In fact, the meeting of the executive council—the highest
body in the university—was marked by a vicious debate. It was even
decided to refer the matter to the solicitor-general of India,
prompting executive council member P. Sainath to ask why the highest
legal officer of the country should opine on the administrative
matters of a university, especially when the university had submitted
to the Supreme Court in 2008 that it would implement faculty quotas in
two years.

"We have succeeded in setting right the minutes of the previous
executive council meeting, held in March, that sought to give the
impression that the JNU faculty was opposed to quotas and that it
wanted to seek the solicitor-general's opinion," says Prof Daya
Krishna  Lobiyal, of the School of Computers & System Sciences. The
truth is that of the 400-odd faculty members, 102 have given in
writing that they support reservation; 33 are opposed to it; the
majority haven't yet expressed their opinion.


 "JNU has submitted on affidavit in the SC that it's implementing
reservation. We need seek no other view."Daya Krishan Lobiyal,
Professor, computer sciences


Bhattacharya is abroad and could not be contacted. But that hasn't
prevented students from seeking an April 20 referendum on whether he
should demit office when his term ends.

In a letter to the vice-chancellor, Sainath had expressed concern that
the academic council even discussed the matter of reservations when
the executive council had already decided to implement quotas three
years ago. "The academic council," he wrote, "could discuss what it
wanted—climate change, if it wished—but it has no right to overturn a
decision of the executive council."

The rigmarole of academic and executive council meetings debating
again what an executive council meeting had decided on three years ago
seems like nothing more than a ploy to stall reservations in the
faculty.


 "Can anyone be rewarded or punished when the reality today is
different than what was there in the past?"B.N. Mallick, Professor,
life sciences


So much so, the academic council meeting of March 31, at which the
genetic theory of malnourishment and the futility of trying to raise
certain castes was expounded, went on till well past midnight, while
many of those present pressed for a quick decision. Insiders say the
majority was in favour of reservation, but the decision was termed
"inconclusive", necessitating a legal opinion.

In another tack to the issue, the JNU Teachers Association sought the
opinion of Rajeev Dhawan, a constitutional expert and senior advocate
at the Supreme Court. In his 14-page note to the association, Dhawan
has said the University Grants Commission's (UGC) guidelines on
reservation, as directed by the Centre, are mandatory, even if they
are described as recommendations; in any event, they require strict,
if not substantial, compliance. Failure to comply, he has said, could
jeopardise the grants JNU receives from the UGC.

As for the guidelines, they are very clear: "Reservation is applicable
to all teaching posts, such as the posts of lecturers, readers,
professors, or, by whatever nomenclature the posts are known...." The
association could well have done without consulting lawyers.


 "The Centre has given directions to the UGC and the UGC has passed it
to the universities—they are mandatory."Rajeev Dhawan, Advocate,
Supreme Court


While the battle over reservations rages, another development had led
to sharp exchanges between executive council members who met on April
6. This was over what some teachers thought were "desperate attempts"
by the vice-chancellor to seek a second term through an hrd ministry
directive that does not bar a vice-chancellor from seeking a second
term. The JNU statute, however, prohibits a second term. There was an
attempt to have the statute amended. That the vice-chancellor presided
over that discussion has raised eyebrows.

"I think if the next meeting and discussions on this matter are to
have any authenticity, any executive council member standing to gain
from such an amendment must recuse himself from the meeting," says an
executive council member. "This is no special measure, just a normal
ethical practice. Otherwise, the discussion would lack legitimacy and
propriety."

Many academicians say that all they can do is openly lament about the
plummeting ethics and standards in this once prestigious university.


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