Sunday, September 26, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Row over 'untouchable' Indian dog

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11403486

24 September 2010 Last updated at 19:26 GMT

Row over 'untouchable' Indian dog

Police in India are investigating claims that a Dalit woman has been
ordered to pay compensation to the high-caste owners of a dog she fed.

The woman says the village council wants her to pay a fine of 15,000
rupees ($330) for feeding the dog, which the owners have now kicked
out.

They are reported to have said the dog is "untouchable", but deny
being motivated by caste considerations.

Although widespread, discrimination against Dalits is an offence in India.

Dalits, who make up nearly 20% of the Indian population, say little
has changed despite the government enacting various laws banning
caste-based discrimination.

'He got very angry'

The incident took place in Malikpur village in Morena district in
central Madhya Pradesh state.

"I made some roti [Indian bread] and took it to my husband who works
in a farm. After I had fed him, we had some leftovers which I gave to
the dog," the Dalit woman, Sunita Jatav, said.

She said the owner of the dog, Amrutlal Kirari, saw her feeding him.

"He got very angry and said 'You've fed my dog, it has become an
untouchable now'."

Mrs Jatav said Mr Kirari left the dog, a black mongrel called Sheru,
tied to a pole outside her house.

On Monday, the village council met and decided that Sheru had been
defiled and hence Mr Kirari should be paid 15,000 rupees as
compensation, Mrs Jatav alleged.

On Tuesday, she approached the district collector of Morena who
ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Senior police officer in the area, Baldev Singh, told the BBC that he
was investigating the matter.

He said Mr Kirari had alleged that after eating the bread, Sheru fell ill.

Mr Kirari said he abandoned the dog at Mrs Jatav's house so she could
look after it and nurse it back to health, Mr Singh added.

Dalits - formerly untouchables - are considered at the bottom of the
Hindu caste system.

Any discrimination against them is an offence and punishable by law.

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[ZESTCaste] Nepal: Dalits to organise Mahayagya

 

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Dalits+to++organise+Mahayagya&NewsID=259064

Dalits to organise Mahayagya

Added At: 2010-09-24 10:45 PM
Last Updated At: 2010-09-25 10:45 PM
The Himalayan Times - Saved Articles(s)

Himalayan News Service

KATHMANDU: Kathmandu is going to witness a week-long Shrimad Bhagawat
Saptaha Gyan Mahayagya organised by the Dalit community at Khulla
Manch from September 26.

Nepal National Dalit Social Welfare Organisation today announced that
President Ram Baran Yadav will inaugurate the seven-day long Yagya.

The Mahayagya is aimed at collecting donations to provide scholarships
and establish a hostel for needy Dalit students from remote areas who
want to pursue higher education in the Capital.

Well-known preacher and social activist Pandit Dinbandhu Pokhrel will
enlighten the visitors with holy stories from the Purans throughout
the week. The Mahayagya organised by the Dalit community, which is
treated as untouchables even today, is said to be the first of its
kind. The Yagya is a social move to impart right to equality to the
Dalits who had never performed such holy practice, said NNDSWO
Chairman Bhakta Bahadur BK at a press conference.

According to NNDSWO, the collected fund will be used as a seed money
to award 150 scholarships and establish a hostel for some 200 Dalit
students. They expect to raise over Rs 100 million from the Yagya.

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[ZESTCaste] Nepal: 21 elected as NC CWC members from reserved quotas

 

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/1-top-story/9402-16-elected-as-nc-cwc-members-from-women-madhesis-and-dalits-quotas-.html

21 elected as NC CWC members from reserved quotas

Saturday, 25 September 2010 09:01

Twenty one persons have been elected as Central Working Committee
(CWC) members of the Nepali Congress (NC) from the quotas reserved for
women, Madhesis , Janajatis and Dalits.

Results of the five Janajati quotas (three male and two female) were
announced Saturday afternoon. Those elected from Janajati quotas are
Bhimsa Raj Aangdambe, Surya Man Gurung, Dhan Raj Gurung, Sita Gurung
and Ratna Sherchan.

Similarly, Pushpa Bhusal, Mina Pande, Kamala Pant, Ambika Basnet,
Mahalaxmi Upadhyaya 'Deena' and Uma Regmi got elected from the women
quota. 40 candidates had contested for CWC member from the women
quota. Bhusal received 1502, Pande 1413, Pant 1268, Basent 1088,
Upadhyaya 1007, and Regmi got 831 votes.

Likewise, Man Bahadur Bishwakarma, Jiwan Pariyar and Min Bishwakarma
were elected from the Dalit quota. Sujata Pariyar and Kavita Sardar
were elected from Dalit women quota.

Uma Kant Chaudhary, Ajaya Chaurasiya and Mahendra Yadav were elected
from Madhesi quota. Minakchhi Jha and Parbati DC Chaudhary were
elected from Madhesi women quota.

Earlier, Mohammad Aftab Alam was elected from Muslim quota.

The counting of votes for indigenous communities will continue on Saturday.

The counting for the post of CWC members under zonal reservation and
open contest will begin after completion of the reserved quotas.
nepalnews.com

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[ZESTCaste] The ten-year-old teacher of untouchables

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100925/MAGAZINE/709249980/1041/error?template=globalbriefing

The ten-year-old teacher of untouchables
Rajni George

Last Updated: September 25. 2010 12:55PM UAE / September 25. 2010 8:55AM GMT
Bharti Kumari comes home from school every day and passes on what she
learns to other 'untouchable' children in her village. Charla Jones
for The National
As an orphan and an 'untouchable', young Bharti Kumari seems the
unlikeliest of schoolmistresses. But as Rajni George discovers, the
stoic Indian village girl with an old soul has grasped new
opportunities and is a charming role model for self improvement.

On any evening in the village of Kusumbhara, Bihar, the air fills with
the steady rhythm of the alphabet being recited by children at a
small, unregistered school. A slight, solemn-looking girl sits under a
large peepal tree with a group of Dalit children ranging in age from
four to 10. For an hour or so, she tutors this group of
"untouchables", belonging to India's lowest social caste.

Ten-year-old Bharti Kumari is a student and a Dalit herself, and is
only copying what she sees in her own classes. She is passing on what
she learns at the private school she attends – one that her neighbours
cannot afford.

Every morning, she walks to her school in the village of Akhodi Gola,
more than 3km away, and returns home in the afternoon for lunch,
convening her makeshift school at around 5pm.

Bharti is an unusual case altogether; orphaned as an infant, she was
found at the railway station and adopted by a poor farmhand, Rampati
Bhuiya, who already had three daughters. Brought up as the family's
own, she was enrolled in one of the district's 2,002 sarkari
(government) schools, as most other children of her background are.
Last year a loose wire set the family house on fire, a tragedy that
killed her adoptive mother. It was this death that secured her greater
educational opportunities. She came to the attention of a local
journalist, who decided she should attend a better school. She was
introduced to the principal of the Gandhi Public School (GPS) in
February, and she was taken on as a special case.


Reserved and wary, with a sweet face and pensive eyes, the young
student teacher is difficult to read and is reluctant to look directly
at us. When we meet her at school, we do not realise at first that she
has a fever (someone tells us she has had head lice for nine months
and that this has provoked the fever), which partly explains her
reticence. Bharti stands out among the other schoolchildren in more
than one way: in addition to her brown hair and fair skin, her stoic
demeanour is that of someone who has seen a lot. She is an old soul.

The school is housed in a two-storey concrete building off Akhodi
Gola's dusty main street with its few shops selling tea, fried snacks
and staple foods. GPS has 10 teachers and 700 students, and Bharti is
one of the few Dalit students enrolled here. Her fees of 50 rupees
(Dh4) a month are paid for by the school's director, Meena Gupta, who
says she has adopted her, in a different sense, for "buniyadi shiksha"
(basic education).

She studies Hindi, English, maths and science here, Gupta tells us:
"All subjects". Most students, we are told, "study after marriage and
complete their 10th"; minors sometimes get married and then study.

We watch as Bharti leads the class in reciting the alphabet with a
younger-looking schoolmate who just about reaches her shoulders: "A –
A, B – B," the class and its two leaders go back and forth, Bharti
timidly. The pupils are in the third grade, but some of them are also
10 years old like her. Having fallen behind, they are still learning
the basics. The two student teachers look on as the 40 children in
their class chant, sitting cross-legged in the outdoor space.

One of Bharti's teachers at the GPS, a smiling young woman, speaks of
her fondly but acknowledges that she is a middling student, no more
proficient at her studies than her peers. She is still struggling,
like some of the other children, with the alphabet. While she may have
been depicted in various press reports about her as a precocious
student, it is clear that she is just another child who is trying her
best to catch up with her syllabus after years of substandard
education. Like any young child who has had limited access to proper
education, her fundamentals are still shaky.

What is different about Bharti, however, is her initiative; this is
what has charmed the public and made her the focus of several news
reports and blogs.

At her home, a basic, bare-boned, mud-and-brick house with a thatched
roof similar to the others in her family's village, Bharti is more
relaxed but continues to be bemused by questions about her school.
Still wearing her uniform, she eats her roti in the small room that is
a bedroom, dining room and living room all in one. Speaking through
her family afterwards, she nods in response to questions about
academia. "I enjoy classes. I like school."

The young student teacher has many would-be caregivers: her father;
her older sisters, who have families of their own; the extended family
that her neighbours make up; her teachers; and the directors of her
school. With the increasing coverage of her story, it seems there will
be more who want to lay claim to her, in different ways.

Bharti is tiring of interviews and seems confounded by the attention
that stories such as hers entail. Ill as she is, a foreign radio team
has been dogging her footsteps over the past week or so, although its
reporters say they have taken her to the doctor and got her the
antibiotics she needs.

As soon as she recovers, she will resume her role as student teacher.
There is hope in the little school under the peepal tree, in part
because of the desire for self-improvement among its students and
their 10-year-old teacher.


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[ZESTCaste] Dalit woman beaten to death in Bhilwara

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Dalit-woman-beaten-to-death-in-Bhilwara/articleshow/6623106.cms

Dalit woman beaten to death in Bhilwara

TNN, Sep 25, 2010, 01.13am IST

JAIPUR: A 50-year-old Dalit woman was beaten to death by five persons
after they allegedly branded her witch in Kaniya village under
Gulabpura police station in Bhilwara on Friday. The police have
registered a murder case against the accused persons and have
apprehended few suspected persons for interrogation.

According to sources, Premi Bai of Nahargarh area under Sambhugarh
police station of Bhilwara had come to Kaniya village to visit her
sister. Bai owned a piece of land in Kaniya village and one Ugma
Gujjar had been pressurising her to sell off the land to him but she
did not agree. On this, Ugma along with four others branded her witch
and spread rumour that she entered into the body of one Kamla of same
village and harassed her. On Thursday night, Ugma, Laxmi, Vishnu,
Mahaveer and one other caught hold of her and thrashed her black and
blue, sources said.

Sources said Bai was left on road where she succumbed to her injuries
but her body was not picked up for several hours. It was only on
Friday morning that locals informed police and a team reached the spot
and took the body for post-mortem.

Dy SP, Nihal Meena, who is investigating the case, said police have
got vital information and the accused would be arrested soon. He said
they have detained few persons on the basis of suspicion and their
interrogation is on.

SP Bhilwara, Umesh Chandra Dutta, said the police have registered a
case against five persons, including the main accused Ugma Gujjar and
police teams are conducting raids at identified places in order to nab
the accused persons. Senior police officers are camping in the village
in order to prevent any untoward incident, he said.

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[ZESTCaste] Jats threaten to disrupt supply of essential commodities during CWG

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Jats-threaten-to-disrupt-supply-of-essential-commodities-during-CWG/articleshow/6613585.cms

Jats threaten to disrupt supply of essential commodities during CWG

PTI, Sep 23, 2010, 04.47pm IST

CHANDIGARH: Even as the Haryana government claims to have brokered
peace with protesters in the state seeking inclusion in OBC list,
members of the Jat community today threatened to disrupt the supply of
essential commodities, including milk, to the national capital during
the Commonwealth Games.

"Our protest at various places will continue till Jats are included in
the list of OBC," Akhil Bharatiya Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti
president Yashpal Malik told reporters here.

Malik claimed that Jats will stage demonstrations in the form of
blocking rail and road traffic to the national capital during the
games period to press for their demand.

"Our men will stage demonstrations at over 100 places and if the
government would use force against us then it will be responsible for
any consequences," he said.

Recently, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had claimed
that Jats had withdrawn their agitation as their demand had been
forwarded to the Centre.

However, Malik said that "we will stop supply of milk, curd to the
national capital during the games period."

He said that Jats had purchased several tickets for the games so that
as spectators they can register their protest by showing black flags
outside and inside the venues.

He accused the centre of not accepting their demand of including them
in the list of OBC.

He, however, said that "if satisfied with talks by any representative
of the centre, the Jats will call off their agitation."

He said that Jats will show black flags as protest against the Queen's
Baton relay, though he asserted that their protests would be peaceful.

On the issue of violence during protest as happened recently in Hisar,
Malik said that it was some anti-social elements who were trying to
take mileage from our protest.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit woman, son paraded on panchayat's order

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Dalit-woman-son-paraded-on-panchayats-order/articleshow/6628112.cms

Dalit woman, son paraded on panchayat's order
TNN, Sep 26, 2010, 05.33am IST

LUCKNOW: Ten persons, including a woman and government guard were
arrested on Saturday after a Dalit woman and her son were allegedly
made to sit on a buffalo with their faces blackened and were paraded
around a village. The victims were identified as Chandrawati (45) and
her 18-year-old son Devendra.

The panchayat of Jaat-dominated Pootha village under Shikarpur police
station area had found Chandrawati and her son guilty after a woman,
Chhama had claimed that Chandrawati and Devendra gave her some
sedatives and put her in a car. Chhama had allegedly gone missing
about a month back and had returned to the village a couple of days
before, the police said.

The panchayat, which consisted of members from Jaat, Dalit and Balmiki
communities found Chhama's claim true and ordered the villagers to
parade the duo after blackening their face last evening, SSP Amitabh
Yash said.

Chhama also claimed that she did not elope with anyone but was
actually taken away by the man from the village with Chandrawati and
Devendra's support, the police said.

Sources, however, said that earlier at least on three occasions,
Chhama had allegedly eloped from the village. The police said that if
at all Chhama was actually `kidnapped' by the man at the behest of
Chandrawati, why didn't anybody inform the police about the incident.

A 30-year-old married woman, Chhama, who was from the Jaat community,
had sources said, actually eloped about a month ago. However, after a
few days she came back and put the blame on Chandrawati.

Following the allegations, the village panchayat summoned Chandrawati
and Devendra and ordered their humiliation.

Chandrawati then lodged an FIR at Shikaarpur police station naming 23
persons including Chhama and the guard of the village, identified as
Murari. The police said, of these 10 persons including Chhama and
Murari had been arrested while efforts were on to nab 13 others.

The police said that the role of Murari was most shameful as despite
being a guard getting salary from government, he headed the panchayat
and ordered for the woman's punishment.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit panchayat president alleges sidelining by colleagues

 

http://www.hindu.com/2010/09/25/stories/2010092554440500.htm

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Dalit panchayat president alleges sidelining by colleagues

D. Karthikeyan

MADURAI: S. Karuppan, panchayat president of Kottakachiyenthal village
in Virudhunagar district, is an elected Dalit representative. But, he
alleges that the meaning of grassroots democracy and local governance
is still not within his grasp.

He is the president of a village, which is one among the four reserved
panchayats, the others being Pappapatti, Keeripatti and Nattamangalam
(all in Madurai district), where elections could not be held owing to
non-cooperation to the rotational reservation policy by caste Hindus.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government earned appreciation for
restoring the democratic set-up by conducting elections in 2006.

Mr. Karuppan, who belongs to the Arunthathiyar sub-caste, alleged that
panchayat president's office had been usurped by the vice-president,
who had taken advantage of his ill health following an accident. Even
after recovery, he was prevented from executing his duties.

The Panchayat president told The Hindu here on Friday that there was
no freedom for him to function independently. The vice-president, by
appointing his relative as the panchayat clerk, had become the de
facto president.

Mr. Karuppan also alleged that he was forced to sign blank cheques
without being briefed about their utilisation. There was no
cooperation from the dominant caste members at panchayat council
meetings. There was no access to panchayat records, account books and
registers.

He also said that work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme was not being allotted regularly and the
details of the work were not made available to him.

His wife K. Irulayi, a member of Ward 3, alleged there were
irregularities in distributing wages and often the beneficiaries were
given Rs.60 or 70 and not the allotted wage of Rs.100.

MNREGS has helped the Dalits here to escape dependency and move beyond
the confines of the dominant castes and provided them a sort of
independence. The weak economic platform provided by agricultural
labour compounded by the seasonal nature of farm work has now resulted
in these families moving for jobs in brick kiln units.

Mr. Karuppan said that the village was facing acute shortage of
drinking water and residents had to go to distant Irunjirai Vilakku to
fetch water. They used to transport the water pots in buses but now
the crew of State Transport Corporation buses do not allow them to
carry water pots.

Equal Rights, a non-governmental organisation working among Dalits in
Madurai, visited the village on September 7 to conduct a study.

The demands put forth by the president include appointment of a clerk
from another village who is adept in local administration,
investigation into the working of the panchayat by officials of the
Department of Adi Dravidar Welfare, enhancement of salary of the
president to Rs.7,000 per month and extension of the panchayat's
reserved status.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalits are marching ahead in Uttar Pradesh

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/columnists/swaminathan-s-a-aiyar/Dalits-are-marching-ahead-in-Uttar-Pradesh/articleshow/6629379.cms

26 Sep, 2010, 10.38AM IST, Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar,ET Bureau

Dalits are marching ahead in Uttar Pradesh

Are you among those who think record GDP growth has done nothing for
dalits ? Think again. A seminal paper, "Rethinking Inequality : Dalits
in UP in the Market Reform Era" by Devesh Kapur, CB Prasad, Lant
Pritchett and D Shyam Babu, reveals a veritable dalit revolution after
1990 in Uttar Pradesh, long viewed as a sink of caste oppression.

The media remains full of stories of caste oppression, inequalities
and lousy economic and social indicators. Without doubt, dalits remain
close to the bottom of the income ladder. Nevertheless, the new study
reveals huge improvements in economic and social terms, based on
questions to capture realities that dalits themselves view as
important . The survey covered all dalit households in two blocks in
UP, one in the relatively prosperous west (Khurja) and one in the
backward east (Bilariaganj), between 1990 and 2008.

The dalit proportion with pucca houses rose from 18.1% to 64.4% in the
east and from 38.4% to 94.6% in the west. TV ownership improved from
virtually zero to 22.2% and 45% respectively. Cellphone ownership
increased from almost nothing to 36.3% and 32.5% respectively.

Fan ownership, curbed by electricity shortages, rose to 36.7% and
61.4% respectively . Bicycle ownership has become ubiquitous , up from
46.6% to 84.1% in the east and from 37.7 to 83.7% in the west.

A motorcycle symbolizes high rural status . Dalit ownership of
two-wheelers improved from almost zero to 7.6% and 12.3% respectively.
NSS consumption surveys consider purchases only in a short pre-survey
period, and so miss durables acquired over the years.

In times of distress, dalits historically mortgaged jewellery to upper
caste lenders. The proportion that does so has dropped from 75.8% to
29.3% in the east and from 64.6% to 21.2% in the west.

Dalits have switched from inferior foods (broken rice, jaggery ras) to
superior foods (whole rice, pulses, tomatoes). The proportion eating
roti-chutney for lunch, socially viewed as low-class food, has fallen
from 82% to just 2% and 9% in the two zones. The proportion of kids
eating the previous night's leftovers plummeted from 95.9% to just
16.2% in the east. The proportion eating broken rice fell from 54% to
2.6% in the east, and from 22.7% to 1.1% in the west.

Per capita availability of dal in India has been falling. So it's
heartening that dalits consuming dal are up from 31% to 90% in the
east, and from 60.1% to 96.9% in the west. This may be one cause for
rising dal prices. Consumption of jaggery ras, usually drunk by the
poorest, has collapsed. Meanwhile dalit consumption of packaged salt,
elaichi and tomatoes has shot up.


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