NCDHR is an Advocacy Platform committed for Dalit Human Rights at the Grass root, National and International levels. Dalits In News aims at sensitizing Civil societies, HR Mechanisms and providing updates of HR violations on Dalits for their Intervention.
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN ON DALIT HUMAN RIGHTS NCDHR Dalits In News Monday, September 18, 2006 1.Death of Dalit boy in police custody alleged http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/400x60/0 2. Panel for speedy trial of cases related to SCs/STs http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=323530 <http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=323530&sid=NAT&ssid> &sid=NAT&ssid= 3. Caste stranglehold http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Hindu/400x60/0 The Tribune - Punjab Death of Dalit boy in police custody alleged Sushil Goyal http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/400x60/0 Sangrur, September 16 The death of a 20-year-old Dalit boy, Balwinder Singh, alias Ballu Singh, resident of Chathe Sekhwan village, near here, today confused mediapersons as Gurpal Singh, elder brother of the deceased, said his brother had died in police custody while the police claimed that he had fled from the fields where he had been taken for the recovery of the money which he had allegedly stolen from the shop of a person of the same village. Talking to The Tribune here this afternoon, Mr Surjit Singh Grewal, SP (D), Sangrur, said one Shiv Kumar of Chathe Sekhwan village lodged a complaint with the Sangrur Sadar police on September 14 that Ballu Singh had stolen Rs 3,700 from his shop. The SHO marked the complaint to ASI Kashmira Singh for investigation. Some persons, along with Ballu Singh, came to the police station where the ASI told them that during preliminary interrogation Ballu Singh had already confessed that he had hidden the stolen money at a tube well motor in the village. ASI Kashmira Singh, along with them, went to the tube well motor on September 15 in the evening. Mr Grewal further said, according to ASI Kashmira Singh Ballu Singh fled from the fields on some pretext. Mr Grewal said the deceased's relatives had levelled charges on Shiv Kumar, Kala Singh, Harbans Singh, Ishar Singh, Nirmal Singh and Sukhdev Singh that they had got Ballu Singh murdered by way of getting him "beaten up" severely by the police. He said so the police registered a case under Sections 302, 148 and 149 of the IPC against the six persons. On the other hand Mr Gurpal Singh, elder brother of the deceased, claimed that ASI Kashmira Singh along with some policemen had picked up his brother from the village in the morning. When he, along with members of the panchayat, came to the Sangrur Sadar police station the ASI told them that Ballu had not confessed to the theft. So they should come the next morning. But the next morning they saw the dead body of Ballu. This showed that Ballu had died in police custody, he added. He also demanded the registration of a case against ASI Kashmira Singh and other persons who had brought his brother from the village. Zee News- New Delhi Panel for speedy trial of cases related to SCs/STs http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=323530 <http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=323530&sid=NAT&ssid> &sid=NAT&ssid= New Delhi, Sept 18: Concerned over "long delay and acquittal" in a large number of cases related to atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, a panel set up by the government today suggested setting up of fast track courts for speedy trial of such cases. "In the special courts, conviction is few while acquittal is large.... Instead, fast track court can be set up to go through the SCs/STs related cases, otherwise conviction will take 20-25 years and all efforts of speedy justice would be defeated," a panel member said. This views were expressed at the first meeting of the committee constituted for effective coordination to devise ways and means to curb atrocities against SCs/STs and effective Implementation of the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 and the SCs/STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989. The meeting was presided over by Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Meira Kumar, who suggested setting up the "help line" for prevention of atrocities against SCs/STs as also "toll free connection" at the state headquarters in the absence of the help line. Certain members were of the view that though statistically there were reduction in number of atrocities, the "ground reality is different as they have been receiving a number of complaints which were not registered at police stations". Kumar said her Ministry along with Ministry of Tribal and Home Affairs are putting their "collective" efforts in taking steps for effective implementation of the two acts. "I had also addressed chief ministers, suggesting their specific steps towards implementation of these acts". Frontline Caste stranglehold Annie Zaidi http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Hindu/400x60/0 IF India has not been able to do away with a practice that is admittedly `a blot on humanity', it is because the issue goes beyond poverty, indifference, lack of awareness, or a reluctance to switch from traditional practices. Manual scavenging is rooted in caste as surely as caste is rooted in the nation's psyche. Manual scavengers are called Han, Hadi, Balmiki, Dhanuk, Methar or Mehtar, Bhangi, Paki, Thotti, Madiga, Mira, Lalbegi, Chuhra, Balashahi and so on in different languages, but they are invariably considered `untouchable'. Without exception, all of them are Dalits, the overwhelming majority being women. Gita Ramaswamy in her book India Stinking gives a historical overview of the problem, pointing out that India had covered drains and toilets with water as far back as 2500 B.C. (in Harappa). Vedic times brought changes. "We find that one of the fifteen duties for slaves enumerated in the Narada Samhita was the disposal of human excreta." She writes that, in India, since excreta avoidance is ritualised, "caste-Hindu society, not surprisingly, found the solution in the `polluted castes'." This view is supported by other experts, for instance Mari Marcel Thekaekara, the author of Endless Filth. In the book she explains: "The word `bhangi' is derived from `bhanga' or broken, implying a community whose character is broken or destroyed. In its essence, it describes a community of untouchables... in colloquial usage, the word turns into an insult." The conclusion is borne out by her research in Gujarat, bearing testimonies of people who were crushed down, and kept down, through their inherited work and caste. For instance, bhangi women wait hours at the local well since they are not allowed to draw water, not even from Dalit wells. They must wait until some upper-caste woman takes pity on them, draws a pot of water and pours it into their pot, from a non-polluting distance of course. "Martin [Macwan] describes in detail some traditional practices designed to keep bhangis in their place," she writes, explaining the bhangi women's routine of begging for food every day along with their children. "Appropriate behaviour has to be learned. The correct tone, the suitably humble stance, the posture of the supplicant. The bhangi mother has to ensure, to teach her children that they must never, ever, even accidentally, touch the upper-caste person. In some States it could lead to a severe beating or if the ire of the polluted one is sufficiently aroused, even death... . Waiting with the bhangis are the street dogs." The situation may not be so bad everywhere, but there is almost no upper-caste household where a manual scavenger is allowed to eat or drink from the same vessel as the family. Little wonder then that the Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) has filed a petition "in view of the continuing violation of the right against untouchability", and on the grounds that it was "wholly illegal and unconstitutional and an affront to human dignity". Bezwada Wilson, national convener of the SKA, sums it all up when he says, "No matter how poor, would any upper-caste person carry another man's shit? We must educate scavengers so that they stop doing this." ARUN KHOTE Secretary-Media National Campaign On Dalit Human Rights-NCDHR 8/1,2nd Floor, South Patel Nagar NEW DELHI-110008 ( INDIA) Ph/ Fax-91#11-25842249/ 25842250 Mobile:0-9350183802 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: dalits.org -- Subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a BLANK email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join 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: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
