NATIONAL CAMPAIGN ON DALIT HUMAN RIGHTS 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 December 27, 2006 Torture of Dalit youth: four more arrested- The Tribune http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/400x60/0 Patels fail to erase caste lines, Gangapur's Dalits now plan agitation- Express India http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=214851 RSS, VHP seek to stall Dalits' conversion plan- The Pioneer http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Pioneer/400x60/0 Paswan calls for quotas in Army- DNA <http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1071429> http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1071429 Dalit body's campaign on 'low-cost marriages' gains ground- Express India http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=214917 The Tribune Torture of Dalit youth: four more arrested http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/400x60/0 Rewari, December 26 The police has eventually arrested four more accused, Ganga Ram Yadav, Govind Yadav, Attar Singh Yadav and Satbir Yadav, allegedly for torturing a Dalit youth, Kalu Das (30), at Lisan village, about 30 km from here, on the night of September 2. All of them have been remanded in judicial custody by a local court. One accused Bobby Prajapat was arrested by the police about a fortnight ago. It is reported that one of the main accused of this case was still at large. Earlier the police had registered a case of causing hurt, trespass and rioting under Sections 323, 452, 147 and 149 of the IPC as well as Section 3 of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against 10 alleged torturers. Barring Bobby Prajapat, all other accused of this case belong to the upper caste. The families of the two Dalit youths, Ramesh Kumar and Kalu Das, which had abandoned their houses in Lisan village in September, after being tortured and threatened by men of the upper caste in connivance with the police, were yet to return to Lisan. The torture had come as a sequel to the elopement of the wife of Surender Singh Yadav with Ajay Kumar, son of Ramesh Kumar of the village, on August 29, 2006. Meanwhile Mr Ved Prakash Godara, DSP, Kosli, said that most of the alleged torturers had already been sent behind the bars and the Dalit families could now return to Lisan. Express India Patels fail to erase caste lines, Gangapur's Dalits now plan agitation http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=214851 Two months after Patels in the village boycotted them, the Dalits say little help has come from police, dist administration <http://www.expressindia.com/about/[EMAIL PROTECTED] a.com> D. P. Bhattacharya Ahmedabad, December 26: It is close to two months now, but there seems to be no end to the boycott on Dalits by upper-caste Patels at Gangapur in Nadiad taluka of Kheda district. With even basic amenities like their water supply being snapped off by Patels, and the district administration turning a deaf ear to their pleas, the Dalits' patience is fast running out. ''We have placed our case before the police, the district administration as well as the social welfare department. But nothing seem to be working,'' said Shashikant Parmar, a Dalit lawyer from the village. ''If things go on in this manner, we may soon have to think on the lines of an agitation, to put an end to this,'' he added. Newsline had reported earlier that the Parmars in Gangapur village have been facing total social boycott from the rich and influential Patels since November 1. The boycott began over a dispute between Dalit panchayat member Narottam Parmar and former sarpanch Mangal Patel over the latter laying an RCC road on his personal land using State Government grants. The boycott involves shutting off water supply from wells owned by the Patels to agricultural lands of the Dalits, not employing Dalit daily wage agricultural labourers, throwing out landless Dalit sharecroppers and snapping off total communication with the community. While the daily labourers and sharecroppers have been out of work for quite some time now, the better-off Dalit agriculturists are facing trouble in irrigating their land as no water is available. They only get drinking water from the panchayat well, said Parmar. He said that with such boycotts becoming a regular feature, Keshav Bhai Parmar, a Dalit, had decided to set up a borewell on his land. ''However, the Patels objected even to this and refused to allow us to carry the machine to Keshavbhai's land through a patch of land owned by one of the Patels,'' said Shashikant, adding that finally the machine was taken to Keshavbhai's plot with police assistance. ''The boycott is being carried out in a very smart way,'' said Parmar, adding that while Patels were ensuring that nothing untoward takes place, they were getting labourers from nearby villages like Rampur and Ramol to work on their fields. ''Everyone needs labourers here with the tobacco season on,'' he added. However, when contacted, one of the boycotters, Narsi Patel, said that the boycott was over and that the Patels were not employing the Parmars on their Patels fail to erase caste lines, Gangapur's Dalits now plan agitation land, only because they don't require their services any more. Talking about the water issue, he said that the Parmars were getting enough water from the panchayat well. ''Aur ab to woh log apna kuan bhi bana rahein hain (And now they are digging their own well),'' he added. He admitted that periodically, Patels used the boycott weapon against Parmars to settle scores. ''Last time we boycotted them during 2001 elections when they registered cases of atrocities against a few of our boys,'' he admitted. Nadiad district collector RR Varsani said that an official had been asked to visit the village following, complaints of atrocity. ''But we will look into it once again immediately and ensure that nothing like this goes on any longer,'' he added. The Pioneer RSS, VHP seek to stall Dalits' conversion plan http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Pioneer/400x60/0 Pioneer News Service | Bhubaneswar The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad have jointly started efforts to convince the Dalits not to embrace any other religion in the wake of the Keredagada Jagannath Temple entry row. Despite peace brokered by the administration over the vexed issue of Dalit entry into a Hindu temple at Keradagada in Rajnagar block of Kendrapara district, thousands of Dalits residing nearby by the temple have decided to embrace "some other tolerant religion." After BJD MP Mohan Jena's backdoor game with both the Kendrapara district administration and the Kanika Royal Palace, another political figure, who claims to be the messiah of Dalits Bhajaman Behera came to the rescue of the Dalits by inciting them to convert to Buddhism in protest against the attitude of the upper caste people. But for the RSS, VHP and the Bajarang Dal, this effort put them on an alert as to find what would be the solution. Some are eyeing the Puri Seer Nischalananda Saraswati's reaction while some have already started convincing Dalits not to take such steps. Though the saffron family in Orissa has had many successes on re-conversion what they call 'homecoming', for some senior Sangh Swayamsevaks it is hard to accept the Dalits' ultimatum. If the Dalits really go ahead with their decision, it would be an embarrassing precedence for the Sangh Pariwar, because conversion has not been happening in the coastal districts, as is the case with the tribal dominated regions of the State. The tribal pockets share more than 80 per cent of the conversion figures of the State. "While poverty stricken and underprivileged groups embracing other religions have been the traditional reasons behind conversion, the temple entry issue is purely a social and religious issue and conversion on account of this is very dangerous for the Hindus," some RSS and VHP leaders said. On the other hand, Dalits believe the concept of equality enshrined in the Indian Constitution and reinforced by the Supreme Court's many verdicts has remained a mirage for them. Ironically, the pro-Hindu stalwarts, who have been relentlessly vowing to metamorphose India into a Hindu nation, in which all Hindus, despite their caste, would live in solidarity and symbiosis, have not provided leadership on this issue. "The Hindu caste system, consisting of four castes, with Dalits on the lowest rung, practically deprives them of the barest human status, and the veil covering the inequality, discrimination and denial of human dignity that characterise it has been ruptured. This is so despite the fact that the main Hindu scriptures scaffolding the four-caste system, called Chatur Varnasharam do consider them human, claiming the caste system to be anchored in one's professional vocation and not in some lunatic splitting of humanity into low and high," one Dalit leader said. VHP and RSS sources however told The Pioneer efforts are on to convince the Dalits and expressed confidence they would not be converted to other religion, as they are Hindus. Dalits have declared to file affidavits with the district administration on January 3 expressing their intention to change their faith as required under the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act. DNA Paswan calls for quotas in Army <http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1071429> http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1071429 Kay Benedict Wednesday, December 27, 2006 Adding a new dimension to reservation politics, Union Minister for Steel and Lok Janashakti Party chief Ramvilas Paswan on Tuesday demanded reservation for Dalits, Adivasis and minorities in the army. The demand was part of a series articulated at the two-day national executive of the LJP, which ended yesterday. The proposals come at a propitious time: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to inaugurate the first-ever 'Dalit and Minorities International Conference' in New Delhi today. The conference, organised by Paswan, will be attended by as many as 11 senior Cabinet ministers, including External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, and HRD Minister Arjun Singh. Social activists, MPs, NRIs, and leaders of the Dalit and Muslim communities have also been invited to attend the two-day conclave. At the LJP executive, Paswan called for 33 per cent reservation for women in government and non-government services. Political parties are divided on a bill seeking a similar percentage of reservation for women in Parliament and the state assemblies. A resolution adopted at the executive said women should be given interest-free loans to run industrial units. Express India Dalit body's campaign on 'low-cost marriages' gains ground http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=214917 Realisation is dawning among the weaker communities of the state, that by avoiding expenditure on lavish marriages and not giving dowry, they could put their hard earned money to better use <http://www.expressindia.com/about/[EMAIL PROTECTED] dia.com> Rajendra Khatry Chandigarh, December 26: A new awareness campaign on 'low cost marriages sans dowry for Dalits' being carried out by the Confederation of SC/ST and BC Organisations in Haryana has started gaining ground in the state. Under this new initiative, the Confederation not only creates awareness among the Dalits about the benefits of such low-cost marriages, but also helps perform the marriage. Talking to The Indian Express here today, Karamvir Singh, President of Confederation of SC/St and BC Organisations, said the campaign launched some time ago has started bearing fruit now. A new realisation is dawning among the weaker communities of the state, that by avoiding expenditure on such functions and not giving dowry, they could put their hard earned money to better use. "Marriages generally are lavish affairs in India. The moneyed people of course have the money and the resources to make extravagant expenditures, but the poor either end up spending their lifetime savings or taking loans for such occasions. Either way they get into a debt trap for life,'' he says. All this could be avoided if they spend less on the marriages of their wards. The money thus saved could be utilised for the education of their children or the maintenance of their houses, says Karamvir. The confederation not just creates awareness, but also puts its well-established Dalit network in the state to help the concerned family perform the marriage through Buddhist customs. The last such marriage performed with the help of the confederation was in Shivani in Bhiwani district on December 24. "Even though people from more than 100 villages came to attend the marriage, the actual expenditure was very low. We avoided expenses on music and cut down food items to the minimum. Instead of arranging tables and chairs we made all guests sit on the ground. We did not install any tent either. Just the bare necessary domestic items and some clothes were given to the newly weds,'' says Karamvir Singh. On the issue of why the confederation encourages people to marry in the Buddhist manner, Karamvir says the Hindu marriages are full of rituals and daan to the Brahmins and Pundits that add up to the cost. Hinduism also encourages caste system and disparity among people, while Buddhism does not,'' he says. The confederation has planned the next such 'low-cost marriage' in Yamunanagar by the middle of January where impressed by the confederation's campaign, an LIC Development Officer has agreed to marry a girl from a poor family without asking for any dowry . "More and more people from various parts of the state are approaching us to help us in their marriage plans. This is a very positive sign as our campaign is slowly turning into a movement,'' says Karamvir. To help the Dalits, the Haryana government has a plan to give Rs 15,000 at the time of the marriage in their families, but according to Karamvir, the process of getting this special government grant is very cumbersome and in many cases the Dalits just give up hope. ARUN KHOTE National Media Secretary NATIONAL CAMPAIGN ON DALIT HUMAN RIGHTS (NCDHR) Add: 8/1, South Patel Nagar, NEW DELHI- 110008 ( INDIA) Mobile : 91# 9350183802 Ph & Fax- 91#11-25842249, 91#11-25842250 E Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website : www.dalits.org www.ncdhr.org
