Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Re: [ZESTCaste] A tribute to Dr Ambedkar on his 120th birth anniversary

 

i would like to respond to this post after looking at dalit and non dalit disparity, adivasi and non adivasi disparity, rich and poor dispairty in up.

but on ambedkar's ideas i am in total agreement 

ranjani 

--- On Wed, 13/4/11, Jagatheesan Chandrasekharan <sarvajanow@yahoo.co.in> wrote:

From: Jagatheesan Chandrasekharan <sarvajanow@yahoo.co.in>
Subject: Re: [ZESTCaste] A tribute to Dr Ambedkar on his 120th birth anniversary
To: "ZESTCaste@yahoogroups.com" <ZESTCaste@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, 13 April, 2011, 6:45 AM

 

Will the RSS cooperate to handover the MASTERKEY to
Ms Mayawati as the Prime Minister of PraBuddha Bharath as desired by
Dr.Ambedkar, the father of the Constitution by wholeheartedly accepting the
same. Instead of talking about merit, they must accept distribution of wealth
to all sections of the society, including, land, healthy seeds, education, job opportunities,
with good governance without corruption.
 
Cong, BJP trying to do away with SC/ST
reservation: Maya

Madurai : BSP leader and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has
alleged that both Congress and BJP were trying to do away with
reservation system introduced by B R Ambedkar for the uplilftment of
SCs and STs.

Accusing the two parties of failure to
improve the socio-economic
conditions of SC/STs and other oppressed classes, she claimed BSP was
the only party that followed the footsteps of Ambedkar and fulfilled
his dreams of social transformation in general and SC/ST emancipation
in particular.

Addressing an election meeting in
support of her party candidates in
the April 13 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, she said her government had
done a lot for economically poor among the upper castes in Uttar
Pradesh besides helping the oppressed classes.

In Uttar Pradesh, there was reservation
for poor people of the upper
caste also. Her party was dependent on not only SC/STs, but poor and
middle class people of all the castes, Mayawati said.

She asked the people of Tamil Nadu to teach a lesson to the Congress,
DMK and AIADMK and make BSP a force in the state.

________________________________
From: Siddhartha Kumar <mailsiddhartha.k@gmail.com>
To: zestcaste <zestcaste@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 12 April 2011 6:23 PM
Subject: Re: [ZESTCaste] A tribute to Dr Ambedkar on his 120th birth anniversary

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=393&page=15

Home > 2011 Issues > April 17, 2011

A tribute to Dr Ambedkar on his 120th birth anniversary
RSS is successful in bringing social equality and harmony
By V Shanmuganathan

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[ZESTCaste] Justice subverted: Dalit girl thrown into fire by upper caste men

http://twocircles.net/2011apr12/justice_subverted_dalit_girl_thrown_fire_upper_caste_men.html

Justice subverted: Dalit girl thrown into fire by upper caste men
Submitted by admin4 on 12 April 2011 - 9:22pm

By Madhu Chandra,

World woke up to the gruesome and spine-chilling story of Kamlesh, a
six year old little girl from dalit community in UP, who was tossed
into the burning fire by the members from upper caste community in her
village three years ago. Her crime: she walked by the house of an
upper caste family early in the morning, to go to the open field, the
only space the dalit community has to heed the nature's call. Justice
denied, accused acquainted, critically wounded, skins cracking and
right elbow crippled.

Her fully pregnant mother Manju tried to snatch her from the roaring
flames but was stopped by the culprits who stood there to prevent any
rescue attempt. They thrashed and beaten her severely. She collapsed
to the ground watching flames licking her daughter to death before
falling unconscious. She regained consciousness few minutes later and
managed to pull her daughter out of the fire. But by then she suffered
more than 80% burns and was at the brink of death.

While little Kamlesh battled for her life, five critical hours have
been wasted at a government hospital. And after 36 hours she was moved
to a bigger hospital before she was finally moved to the Safdarjung
hospital in Delhi. Lack of proper treatment at critical hours meant
she wouldn't make normal recovery. Three years later, her right hand
is a piece of dead rubber having lost mobility and function. Her left
hand and right leg burnt severely and she suffer from searing pain.
The scars inside her are as fearsome and permanent. A tender, innocent
life has been violated and nipped in the bud.

The incident so traumatized her mother, Manju, that she suffered a
mental break down and would not recover to testify in the court
against the culprits later. None of the neighbors who witnessed the
brutal act would come forward to testify against the culprits with
muscle power, influence and connections in high places. Many were
forced to compromise and others were intimated into silence. Kamlesh's
father Saudan says, "Names of four culprits were registered with
police. But names of three were removed and only one was arrested. We
were forced to withdraw the complaint."

Justice was not only delayed but denied and subverted. It was made to
serve the perpetrators! No fair investigation and no protection for
the witnesses meant case would fall apart and justice would not be
served.

A fact finding team led by Dr. John Dayal – member of National
Integration Council, Madhu Chandra – Regional Secretary of All India
Christian Council, Vidhya Bhushan Rawat – Social Activist and Anil
Chamadia – Seniour Jounalist and Dalit Activist visited the village
two months ago was shocked to learn that court had closed the case as
there were no witnesses to testify against the culprits. Kamlesh's
mother Manju was mentally unstable to appear and testify and all the
accused walked out free. It was like rubbing salt into the wound for
Kamlesh's family. No justice, no medical assistance, no future. Help
from the state government was more a token gesture than real. The
incident further deepened their bleak financial condition. They
borrowed money from friends and money lenders to treat their daughter
which further plunged them into crisis. Victim is further victimized.

This is just an example of the discrimination and oppression millions
of dalits suffer daily in India. They suffer in silence and
submission. Any form of challenging the system will be fatal and
dangerous. Caste lines are not be crossed or violated. A local Dalit
activist and leader of All India Confederation of SC/ST Organistations
told the fact finding team, "For years, Dalit community in the village
has been on the receiving end of caste discrimination and neglect.
This is the first instance where police have at least arrested the
culprits."

Kamlesh is now nine years old and future doesn't hold much hope for
her unless we step in and help. She needs proper medical treatment to
regain the use of her hands and extensive plastic surgery to mend her
scars before she can face the world.

A civil society delegation met National Commission for Scheduled Caste
chairman Dr. P. L. Punia on April 11, 2011 and submitted a memorandum,
seeking justice for young Kamlesh. Commission took serious note on
lapses committed by law enforcing agencies of the district and ordered
Uttra Pradesh government to appeal the case in high court against the
session court judgment acquainting the culprit without fair trial.
Commission also ordered government to provide medial care and police
security to young Kamlesh and family as they could be attacked for
appealing to higher authorities.

Madhu Chandra is a social activist and research scholar based in New
Delhi. He works as Regional Secretary of All India Christian Council
(www.indianchristians.in), Spokes Person of North East Support Centre
& Helpline (www.nehelpline.net) and National Secretary of All India
Confederation of SC/ST Organisations (www.scstconfederation.org).


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[ZESTCaste] RPI wants Dalits on panel

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1692137.ece

Mumbai, April 13, 2011
RPI wants Dalits on panel
Staff Reporter

Days after the Union government accepted the demands of social leader
Anna Hazare concerning the Lokpal Bill, Republican Party of India
leader Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday came out in support of the
anti-corruption crusader.

"I support Anna's movement but I demand that two members of the Dalit
community should be included in the draft committee," Mr. Athawale
said at a press conference here on Tuesday.
'Arrest Anupam Kher'

"Persons like Arun Kejriwal who support actor Anupam Kher in changing
the Constitution should be made to resign from the draft committee,"
he said. He demanded that the State government immediately arrest Mr.
Kher for his remarks. "Strict action should be taken against Mr.
Kher."


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[ZESTCaste] "Untouchable" no longer

http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/news/untouchable-no-longer

"Untouchable" no longer

13 Apr 2011 02:19

Source: trustlaw // Purple S. Romero
Dalit for today sub

A Dalit woman is seen on the outskirts of the northern Indian city of
Lucknow January 16, 2008.Picture taken January 16, 2008. Pawan Kumar/
REUTERS

By Purple S. Romero

AHMEDABAD, India (TrustLaw) – "Untouchable" is the identity that has
been attached to Ushaben since she was born but the 34-year-old
doesn't feel like one anymore.

Dalits are considered "impure" in India's caste system and their
status has often been associated with jobs considered as dirty labour,
such as removing carcasses and cleaning sewers and latrines.

The country's 164 million Dalits also encounter other forms of
discrimination--from not being allowed to touch produce in a shop to
not being able to own land – even though India outlawed the caste
system in its 1950 constitution.


Being a Dalit woman is even harder – many are treated like outcasts
even by their husbands and communities, barred from having their own
opinions and making their own decisions.

But Ushaben has become a woman who decides what she wants to do and
earns her own money since becoming a home manager with the help of
Saath Livelihood Services, an organisation that strives to empower the
poor in urban areas through public-private partnerships.

Saath's system provides workers with job security and protection. The
hours and rates of pay are fixed, and there is security against
abusive clients as well as legal advice. Home managers pay 4,000
rupees ($80) for their training. The money is deducted from their
salary once they start working

Ushaben earns 8,000 rupees ($160) per month providing house-cleaning
and care services in this western Indian city.

If she wants to buy anything for herself, she spends her own money.
She does not have to ask her husband, a tea shop manager, who earns
less than she does.

"The best part is: I have financial independence," the mother of
three boys, aged 15, 9 and 8 years, told TrustLaw with a warm smile.

Every month, she saves 2,500 rupees. "This will be my life
insurance," she said.

Ushaben said she is also able to give some money to her in-laws,
which is important for her because her father-in-law initially refused
to let her work.

ONLY SKILLS COUNT

Ushaben has not suffered the fate of many Dalits, who are often
turned away by employers because of their status. As a home manager
working under Saath for the past eight years, she is valued for her
skills just like anyone else.

Saath does not include caste in the profile of any of their 200 home
managers. "We don't believe in the caste system," said Bella Joshi,
consultant at Saath Livelihood Services.

Saath provides the same set of data for its home managers to potential
employers - name, age, address, plus police clearance and medical
certificate. This levels the playing field for everyone.

Their names, however, could give away the caste of a home manager. But
when a client refuses to hire one of Saath's employees because she is
a Dalit, the organisation blacklists the employer.

HELPING OTHER DALIT WOMEN

Being part of Saath has meant a lot more to Ushaben than just getting a job.

She realised how important it is to join forces and reach out to
other women, including some of her fellow home managers, who are
either victims of domestic violence or whose husbands do not allow
them to work or even leave their houses.

Some have been beaten up by drunken husbands. As the sale of alcohol
is prohibited in Ahmedabad, some men make their own liquor, and this
can result in domestic violence when they drink too much.

"They threaten to prohibit their wives from working if they don't give
them money," Joshi said. Ushaben said she and other home managers try
to intervene.

"When the husband has not got a hangover any more, we talk to him,"
she said, noting not all of them are willing to change their ways.

Ushaben said she also helps convince the family members of some of the
women in her community in Chimmanbhai Market to allow them to work.
This is difficult as some families won't even let the women out of
their sight, an attitude that has caused problems for Saath, said
Joshi.


She cited a case where one of the home managers was stopped from
working after her husband thought she was having an affair when he saw
her hitching a ride at a bus stop to go to work.

"She has not worked in six months," said Joshi.

(Additional reporting by Gauarav Nigam)

- Purple S. Romero is a Manila-based journalist.


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[ZESTCaste] Spl courts for speedy trial of Atrocities cases in Maharashtra

 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Spl-courts-for-speedy-trial-of-Atrocities-cases-in-Maharashtra/Article1-684406.aspx

Spl courts for speedy trial of Atrocities cases in Maharashtra
Pradip Kumar Maitra, Hindustan Times
Nagpur, April 12, 2011

The state government has agreed to set up special courts for the
speedy trial of cases under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities)Act.
There are about 3,000 pending cases under the Act in Maharashtra. The
Maharashtra minister for Social Justice, Shivajirao Moghe, who was
here on Tuesday, informed tha
t these courts would be set up in each of the six divisional
headquarters in the state to ensure speedy trial of cases.

Responding to a debate on budget allocation for the social justice
ministry, Moghe informed the Assembly on late Monday night that the
chief minister has in principle accepted the proposal and it would be
placed before the cabinet for consideration soon. Later a proposal
would be sent to the high court for an approval.

According to Moghe, the conviction rate in the SC/ST (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 1989, was hardly 3% in Maharashtra while it was over
30% in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

"The reason behind low conviction rate in the state is because of
witnesses turning hostile, out-of-court settlements, or insufficient
evidence," he pointed out and said that this was not the case in Bihar
and Uttar Pradesh.

The union minister for Social Justice, Mukul Wasnik, held a meeting in
Mumbai in January this year to review cases under the Atrocities Act
and suggested for setting up of special courts in every division to
clear the pending cases.

According to Wasnik, the state did not have a high rate of conviction
under the Act as there were no special courts for atrocities cases.

"The union social justice ministry has also sought suggestions from
the states as to how the Atrocities Act can be amended for better
results," Moghe said.

He said that the state Social Justice ministry would bear the all
expenses for setting up of special courts, including the salaries and
perks of the proposed court employees. "A budgetary provision was made
in the current financial outlay in this regard," he informed.

Moghe is hopeful that the special courts would become functional in
state from August this year.

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[ZESTCaste] UP: Dalit girl gangraped

 

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/up-dalit-girl-gangraped/1/135097.html

UP: Dalit girl gangraped
ITGD Bureau | Meerut (UP), April 13, 2011 | Updated 12:57 IST

A dalit woman has been allegedly gangraped after being abducted by
three youths in Parikshit village in Meerut, police said on Wednesday.

According to the complaint lodged by the relatives of the victim, the
woman was abducted on Tuesday night by three youths -- Zamir, Nasir
and Rahat and later gangraped, they said, adding Zamir was arrested on
Wednesday morning.

The incident came to light when the victim returned home and told
members of the family about it.

Investigation into the case was on, police added.

- With PTI inputs

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[ZESTCaste] BJP plans Ambedkar anniversary celebrations

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bjp-plans-ambedkar-anniversary-celebrations/775571/

BJP plans Ambedkar anniversary celebrations

Express News Service Posted online: Wed Apr 13 2011, 04:52 hrs
lucknow : In a bid to win over Dalit voters in the state, the
Bharatiya Janata Party will be celebrating the birth anniversary of Dr
B R Ambedkar as "Samajik Samrasta Diwas" on April 14. Senior party
leaders will be addressing public meetings in Dalit-dominated areas
across the state and share the party's vision on Ambedkar and his
ideas. The party workers have also been instructed to reach out to all
the Dalit pockets in the state and make the celebrations a big
success.

Giving details about the programmes, BJP state general secretary
Vindhyavasini Kumar said, "There are many things which Baba Saheb had
preached or promoted and are relevant in today's time. Through the
'Samajik Samrasta Diwas', we would like to create awareness about it
and reach out to the marginalised people. We also want people to know
what the BJP feels about Ambedkar's philosophy and also Dalit welfare"

The party's Anusuchit Morcha has been given the task to select the
areas and organise public meetings and mass community feasts.


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[ZESTCaste] Dalits threaten to block traffic over Ambedkar memorial issue

 

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/dalits-threaten-to-block-traffic-over-ambedkar-memorial-issue/646348.html

Dalits threaten to block traffic over Ambedkar memorial issue
PTI | 09:04 PM,Apr 12,2011

Indore, Apr 12 (PTI) Dalits from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh have threatened to block the Delhi-Nagpur rail-road
traffic to protest against the Centre not according the Rajghat-like
status to Dr B R Ambedkar National Memorial in the national capital.
"Delhi based Dr Ambedkar Memorial is wearing a deserted look because
of centre's neglect over the last eight years and dalits are upset
over this issue," Dr Ambedkar Parinirvan Bhumi Samman Karyamaram
Samiti President Indresh Gajbhiye told reporters here. He said that
though several dalit organisations have been demanding that Ambedkar
Memorial should be given Rajghat- type status, the centre has not done
anything about it. Gajbhiye said that different organisations would
meet at Nagpur on April 24 to decide on blocking of train movement
between Delhi and Nagpur. He said that the architect of Indian
constitution breathed his last at a house situated on 26 Alipur Road
in Delhi on December 6,1956 and Ambedkar Memorial has come up there
which was dedicated to the nation in 2003.

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[ZESTCaste] Low-caste India man's office 'cleansed' with cow dung

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jnqA7wdfg2xpyUL0xN5nWyWCCCng?docId=CNG.864e5bdaf5e056f22152cf07470cb4b2.911

Low-caste India man's office 'cleansed' with cow dung

(AFP) – 23 hours ago

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India — Officials in the Indian state of Kerala
said Tuesday they had ordered a probe into claims that the office of a
low-caste civil servant was "cleansed" with cow dung after he retired.

A.K. Ramakrishnan, who retired at the end of March as an inspector
general in the southern state's ministry of registration and
fisheries, complained to the Kerala Human Rights Commission that his
office, furniture and even his car had been washed with cow dung water
when he left.

Ramakrishnan belongs to the dalit, or "untouchable" community that
inhabits the lowest rung of India's caste system.

"On the day of my retirement, some of my colleagues burst crackers
outside my office as I had taken serious steps against their corrupt
practices, and on April 1, they cleansed my office and vehicle" with
dung, Ramakrishnan told AFP.

Many Indians believe that dung from cows, which are sacred to Hindus,
has strong purifying properties. Watered-down cow dung is often used
to wash a house after someone's death.

The state minister for registration and fisheries, S. Sharma, said the
government took the complaint very seriously and had ordered an
inquiry to submit a report within a week.

There are an estimated 165 million dalits in India, and while
officially banned, caste discrimination still pervades many aspects of
daily life.

Shunned by higher castes, dalits are usually limited to the lowliest
occupations and are the poorest in terms of income, literacy and land.


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