Dear Friends,
This is a fact finding report into the current caste conflict in Chennai.
The
purpose is to muster quick support to the Dalit students involved because
they
are just feeling helpless. If any of you (including organizations) wish to
come
forward, you may contact me. My contact is +91 9820216146.
- Anand Teltumbde
The Facts behind the Incidents of violence at Chennai
Dr. Ambedkar Law College.
The incident of violence on 12.11.2008 at Dr.Ambedkar
Law College has shaken the conscience of every body. This incident surely
needs to be condemned. The reason behind the submission of details herein
is to bring out the facts behind the incidents of violence at a law college
that we all believe is to produce future judges and socially conscious
lawyer.
That clashes take place in the law college is not a new phenomena.
We are shaken thoroughly to know the details of the brewing tension over the
past four years that has broken out violently today. "Thevar Peravai" that
functions with its headquarters at Chennai has been concentrating,
specifically targeting the Thevar community students from the southern
districts of Tamilnadu. It functions primarily in whipping up the passions
and utilizes them for their vested parochial goals. With these students a
casteist organization named ' Mukkulothor Student's Federation" has already
been formed.
The main objective of this organization is to target and attack the Dalits.
And they also raise queries like while all other 4 govt. law colleges are
named as Govt.law college, why should the Chennai law college be named after
Dr.Ambedkar and called Dr.Ambedkar law college. Since Dr.Ambedkar is a Dalit
this name should be changed. This is their contention for their past 4
years. They do not use Ambedkar's name in any of their advertisement and
mention it only as 'Chennai Law College'.
Such activities has raised unnecessary discomfiture amongst the
dalit students and raised a sense of hatred between the communities. In all
these issues Bharathi Kannan, belonging to Mukkulathor Student Federation is
the prime culprit. In the recent past,( in 6 months duration) Bharathi
Kannan was waiting with five of his friends with swords in hand prowling to
kill atleast tow Dalit boys. Police came to know of this and arrested him
red handed with 3 long swords in their possession. But they were released
without any complaints been filed against them. Though the college
authorities were in the know of his activities it did not make any efforts
to curb him. In the same manner he with his friends went and attacked the
students of Dr.Ambedkar Law college residing in hostel at Millers road,
Kilpauk. The Principal did not take any action. At least there are
17 cases including attempt to murder, pending on Bharathi Kannan.
In this circumstance on '30th October' during the Thevar
Jayanthi the passion were whipped up. The poster prepared by Mukkulothor
Students Federation expressed the re-assertion of its casteist hierarchy,
with usages avoiding Dr. Ambedkar's name. Also they teased the Dalit
students on that day. The Dalits who questioned this were beaten up and with
the law college students having exams from 3rd of November, Mukkulothor
Students Federation declared that any Dalit entering the college would be
thrashed and killed. They were roaming around in the college complex with
logs, iron rod, dagger and swords. Dalit boys could not enter the hall. Some
Dalit boys came sneaking through and wrote the exams. Police or college
authority did not take any action even though they were in the know of
things.
Only on such a condition they came on 12.11.2008 with logs, sticks
etc for self protection. College authorities insisted that the students
should avoid precipitating the issue. The Dalit students retorted stating
that when the college authorities did not take any action when they were
being prevented from attending exams, and they had come there for giving
protection for Dalits and not attacking the Mukkulathor. Since some Dalit
students have come for exams and
Mukkulathors have identified and planned to attack them, they came for their
defence. In such a situation Bharathikannan, Arumugam and Ayyadurai with
daggers
2 ft. long, jumped in shouting that they shall kill at least 5 or so and
moved towards the Dalit students. The Dalit students ran helter- shelter for
their safety. When Bharathi Kannan and Arumugam ran and caught hold of
Chithraiselvan, a Dalit student and tried to stab him down through the head.
When he turned and saved his head his ears were torn off by the dagger.
Other students joined in to save Chithrai Selvan and hit Bharathi kannan
and Arumugam.
The sole responsibility for this callous approach rests entirely
with the college authorities. For the last 4years when in the name of
celebrating
Thevar Jayanthi, efforts to assert caste hierarchy were being made,
specifically failing to address Dr.Ambedkar Law college as such and naming
it only as Chennai law college, threatening of the Dalit students, issuing
threat to life for those Dalit students who opposed bringing caste conflict
into the campus etc were brought to the notice of the college authorities no
action was taken.
Especially, for the last three days when it was brought to their notice of
the magnitude and massive proportion of the brewing trouble, police or the
college authorities made no action was taken to prevent the same.
In this situation Bharathi Kannan came in with daggers in hand to
attack Dalit students. If the college authorities had acted in time this
incident of violence could have been prevented.
Our demands:
1) Take appropriate action on the Principal for failing to take necessary
action in time to prevent the brewing violence.
2) College authorities should initiate necessary action to prevent the
casteist organizations that function from within the campus triggering
violence.
3) Give due protection to all the students especially the Dalit students.
4) Take necessary action on those behind the incidents of violence, the
organization, Thevar Peravai for fomenting casteist feelings.
5) Take appropriate action on the police authorities that failed to prevent
the students who prowled inside the college campus for the past one week
with weapons.
C Lakshmanan
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
New Delhi, Nov. 10:
Less than one percent of India's central university professors are from
the
Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, the latest government data show
the figure is just 10 per cent for teachers of all designations at these
universities, implying more than half the faculty posts reserved for SC/STs
on these campuses are vacant. This despite a special recruitment drive
launched by the Centre four years ago to fill vacant quota seats. The
revelations cast a cloud over the government's implementation of job
quotas in education.
All central universities — like other government institutions — are required
to reserve 15 per cent posts for the SCs and another 7.5 per cent for the
STs. But only 6.7 percent of teachers at India 39 central universities are
SCs, and a mere 3.5 per cent are STs, according to the data collected by the
human resource development (HRD) ministry from individual universities. The
data relate to
20 of India 23 central universities. The other three are Aligarh Muslim
University, which is locked in a legal battle for minority status that
exempts it from quotas, Sikkim University which started this year, and the
Indira Gandhi National Open University. These figures are extremely
embarrassing for us at the HRD ministry, since Parliament is certain to
ask why, even after a special drive, the vacancies exceed recruitments, a
senior ministry official said. The ministry today raised its concerns
over the vacancies at a conference with the vice-chancellors of central
universities and the directors of institutions like the IITs and the IIMs.
In July 2004, soon after coming to power, the United Progressive Alliance
government had announced the special recruitment drive to fill vacant seats
reserved for SC/ST candidates. Surveys had shown that the lack of teachers
applied across caste and community — there were many vacant general category
seats as well. But the SC/STs were a minuscule fraction even among those
recruited. The drive was seen as an acknowledgement by the government that
greater effort was needed to attract SC/ST candidates to teaching so
that the vacant seats could be filled. The new data, collected four years
after the drive and in the run-up to a slew of Assembly elections, however,
suggest that the drive may have failed. In all, the 20
universities covered in the data have 6,315 teachers in varsity departments
(that is, not including teachers at individual colleges of universities like
Delhi University).
According to the reservation policy, at least 947 of these posts (15
per cent) should be occupied by SCs and 474 (7.5 per cent) by STs. The
data collected by the HRD ministry, however, show that only 424 of the
teachers are SCs and 221 are STs, suggesting that 523 SC and 253 ST seats
are vacant. But the data also reveal a skew in the nature of the reserved
jobs that are vacant. Central universities do meet their quota obligations
when it comes to the post of lecturer, the entry-level post in varsities.
But higher up in the faculty hierarchy, SC and ST teachers become
increasingly rarer. Less than two percent of readers at central universities
are SCs, and STs fare no better, the data show. In the 20 central
universities, only 12 professors are SCs, while the number is 22 for STs.
Together, they make up less than one per cent of the total number of
professors at india central universities.
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