[ZESTCaste] Arrest SI for abusing Dalit woman: KVPS
http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/27/stories/2010082752700600.htm Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad Arrest SI for abusing Dalit woman: KVPS Staff Reporter HYDERABAD: The ‘Kulavivaksha Vyathireka Porata Samithi' (KVPS) has demanded suspension and arrest of a Sub-Inspector of Police in Mahabubnagar district alleging that he had attempted to rape a dalit women after confining her in illegal custody in Nagarkurnool recently. KVPS state secretary John Wesley and Nagarkunool division secretary K. Bharath told mediapersons here on Thursday that a 30-year-old dalit woman, a widow, was picked up by SI Habeebullah Khan on August 14 from Telakapalli village in Mahabubnagar district on the suspicion that she was involved in a theft that took place in a house opposite to her tea-vending shed. She was beaten up badly to own the responsibility for theft, but was let off later. Narrating her ordeal, the victim, a mother of two children, explained that the SI had picked her up again on August 15 and took her to Nagarkunool police station. She alleged that the police officer had beaten her up, used filthy language in the name of caste, disrobed her and attempted to outrage her modesty. INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to zestmedia-dig...@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to zestcaste-subscr...@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: zestcaste-dig...@yahoogroups.com zestcaste-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: zestcaste-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[ZESTCaste] Reforms helped UP Dalits, says study
http://www.livemint.com/2010/09/03191143/Reforms-helped-UP-Dalits-says.html?atype=tp Posted: Sat, Sep 4 2010. 1:00 AM IST Published on page 3 Home Reforms helped UP Dalits, says study Pallavi Singh, pallav...@livemint.com Economic liberalization since the 1990s has helped Dalits in Uttar Pradesh (UP) overcome caste inequalities, according to a research paper that argues against the view that reforms have exacerbated such disparities. The study by Devesh Kapur, Chandra Bhan Prasad, Lant Pritchett and Shyam Babu titled “Rethinking Inequality: Dalits in Uttar Pradesh in the Market Reform Era”, and excerpted last week in the Economic and Political Weekly, finds significant changes in patterns of consumption, agriculture and occupation among Dalits since the 1990s, reflective of a higher social status for the community. The study, conducted in two blocks of UP—Bilaria Ganj in Azamgarh district in eastern UP and Khurja in Bulandshahar district in western UP—reflects two significant changes in economic activity: More and more Dalits are working as sharecroppers on farm land rather than as labourers, and fewer among them are handling animal corpses, traditionally an occupation limited to the community. “Dalits are now becoming sharecroppers because upper-caste landlords won’t find labourers in the village. Earlier, all they would get to till the land was a small share of the cereals,” said Prasad, a Dalit writer and one of the co-authors of the report. In three-quarters of the villages in the western block in 1990, only Dalits disposed of dead animals belonging to non-Dalits. By 2007, the study says, this was only true of 5% of villages. Around four-fifths of the Dalit households in the two blocks surveyed had at least one family member, and sometimes more, who was a migrant worker by 2007. They would be working as tailors, masons and drivers or be running a grocery or paan shop. “Migration is key to this change. Economic growth has led to opportunities in the urban informal sector, driving enhanced migration, which has meant more money flow into rural Dalit households,” said Prasad. The percentage of houses with at least one sharecropper stood at 31% in Bilaria Ganj and 11.4% in Khurja in 2007. Among other things, important shifts in consumption and social behaviour have also been noticed. Almost none of the respondents in the study recalls using shampoos, toothpastes and oils in 1990, while today, over half the people in both blocks surveyed report someone in the household using each of the two. “There was a time when Dalits only ate cereals and couldn’t afford rice and pulses. They were seated separately in weddings and even upper-caste men wouldn’t accept food in their homes. Caste for Dalits has traditionally limited their choices in food, social and occupational activities,” said Prasad. The study also documents changes in ownership of basic goods such as cellphones and television sets among Dalits as a means to assert their social aspirations. “The market provides a space to Dalits to assert themselves. For them, this rise in social status is more important than the money they might be making,” said Prasad. However, not everything has changed, said Surinder Jodhka, professor of sociology at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. “This is something that has happened but where do they go from here? Is everything open for them? I would say: yes and no.” In his paper titled “Dalits in Business: Self-employed Schedule Castes in Northwest India”, Jodhka found that most Dalit entrepreneurs ventured into basic businesses such as small shop-keeping, contracts and dealerships, and skilled services, but hardly 1-2% entered more capital-intensive enterprises such as hotels, factories and educational institutions due to discrimination. INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to zestmedia-dig...@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to zestcaste-subscr...@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required)
[ZESTCaste] Honour Killing: Newly-weds seek police protection
http://news.oneindia.in/2010/09/03/honour-killing-newly-weds-seek-police-protection.html Honour Killing: Newly-weds seek police protection Friday, September 3, 2010, 14:17 [IST] Ghaziabad, Sep 3: Fearing that they would also be killed in the name of honour, a newly-wed couple here on Thursday, Sep 3 sought police protection. Buzz up!The couple are learnt to have married outside their caste. While the boy is a Brahmin by caste, the girl is a Rajput. The two fell in love when they were studying in a local professional college. The couple have cited threat from girl's family for seeking police protection, SSP Raghubir Lal informed, adding that Kavi Nagar police has been asked to lodge their complaint. OneIndia News
[ZESTCaste] Flooding hits ten million people in India's most populous and poorest state
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/218275/128352885295.htm Flooding hits ten million people in India's most populous and poorest state 03 Sep 2010 15:45:00 GMT Source: Christian Aid - UK Jo rogers Website: http://www.christianaid.org.uk Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone. Christian Aid is launching an immediate appeal for the people hit by the devastating India floods. More than 800,000 people have had their villages submerged by severe flooding in Uttar Pradesh, Northern India. More than 30,000 people have taken shelter in government-run relief camps while thousands have fled to local schools and community centers for safety. 150 villages are marooned, cut off from all relief efforts. The flooding is the result of heavy rainfall over the last three weeks in Nepal, which caused the river Ghaghra to burst its banks, a steep rise in water levels in rivers throughout Uttar Pradesh and has affected up to 10 million people. Sajjad Mohammad Sajid, Christian Aid's Regional Emergency Manager for South Asia, said: 'The disaster in Uttah Pradesh has not gained the attention needed to scale up the necessary emergency response from the government and international community. 'We are very concerned for those affected by the floods, many of whom are from the Dalit communities, India's oppressed class, who have nothing to depend upon during an emergency situation other than relief assistance from the government and humanitarian agencies.' Christian Aid and its partners are already responding by delivering food and other relief supplies to the worst affected communities. The local partners, CASA and PGVS, have long experience of acting quickly in humanitarian emergencies.' Said Sajjad Mohammad Sajid. Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous state and nearly 40 % of its 140 million people live below the poverty line. Many are from the Dalit communities, formerly known as untouchables. Exclusion based on caste and religion is rampant in these areas. Most are landless labourers and small-scale farmers who work on land belonging to people from upper castes, which leads exploitation by the landowners. The destruction of crops in the field means they will not have any work for months to come. This means they are particularly vulnerable in this kind of disaster. ends To donate to Christian Aids India floods appeal, please visit India floods If you would like further information or to speak to a spokesperson based in India please contact Jo Rogers on 020 7523 2460 and Jo Rogers or the 24 hour press duty phone - 07850 242950 Notes to Editors 1. Christian Aid works in some of the world's poorest communities in nearly 50 countries. We act where the need is greatest, regardless of religion, helping people build the lives they deserve. 2. Christian Aid has a vision, an end to global poverty, and we believe that vision can become a reality. Our report, Poverty Over, explains what we believe needs to be done - and can be done - to end poverty. Details at Poverty Over report 3. Christian Aid is a member of the ACT Alliance, a global coalition of 100 churches and church-related organisations that work together inhumanitarian assistance and development. Further details at Act Alliance 4. Follow Christian Aid's newswire on Twitter: caid_newswire 5. For more information about the work of Christian Aid visit Christian Aid [ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
