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 February 12, 2007 Backlog vacancies to be filled- Deccan Herald http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/feb112007/district2342572007210.asp Dalit beaten to death for praying at temple- The Pioneer http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Pioneer/400x60/0 States not paying attention to dalit problems: Commn- The Hindustan Times http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1924150,0008.htm D in Doaba stands for Dalits- Express India http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=221610 Deccan Herald Backlog vacancies to be filled http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/feb112007/district2342572007210.asp DH News Service Davangere: A directive has been sent to fill the vacant backlog posts, said SC/ST Commission President Channabasappa Olekar. A directive has been sent to fill the vacant backlog posts, said SC/ST Commission President Channabasappa Olekar. The backlog posts in the various departments has still not been filled. A report with regard to the same will be studied immediately and the official heads of the concerned departments have already been given orders to fill the vacant posts immediately, he said in a press conference on Saturday. The government is thinking of appealing to a higher court with regard to the Kambalapalli incident. The Commission will also look into the incident critically. Action will be initiated only after consulting the legal experts. When cases of atrocities against the SC/ST is considered the chances of the witnesses turning hostile is high. It is a tragedy, lamented Mr Channabasappa. There has been a delay in giving scholarships to the SC/ST students. Several complaints have been lodged with regard to this issue. The concerned departments have been asked to provide student scholarships in time, he added. The SC and the ST unit should function in close coordination to improve the situation. Once in every two months the district police should compulsorily hold meetings. Also the report of the meeting conducted will have to be sent to the Commission. After a thorough analysis of the report submitted appropriate actions will be taken, he added. The Commission will work for the overall comprehensive development of the SCs and the STs. It would draw the attention of the government towards the solving of the problems faced by the SC/STs and others. The Commission would also press for the release of grants for the upliftment of the SC/STs, said Mr Channabasappa Olekar. In cases of violence against them, the Commission will see to it that they are duly compensated. Another important goal of the Commission is to provide the communities with basic facilities, he added. Mallesh Linganna, K Omkarappa and others were present in the press conference. The Pioneer Dalit beaten to death for praying at temple http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Pioneer/400x60/0 Staff Reporter | Bhopal A Dalit youth who was beaten up by an upper caste youth for praying at a Shiva temple in Bhind district last week, died while undergoing treatment on Friday. The accused is still at large. Police said that on February 4, Radheshyam Jatav (26) had gone to offer prayers at the Shiva temple in Dahapura village near Nayagaon in Bhind district. Dashrath Rathore, an upper caste youth arrived at the temple and asked Radheshyam to leave. Radheshyam refused and soon an altercation took place between the two. Dashrath then beat up Radheshyam, who was later admitted to a local hospital. He was shifted to a private nursing home in Gwalior after his situation deteriorated. He succumbed to his injuries on Friday. Police sources said that the youth's body had been sent for post- mortem and search was on for the accused who was absconding. The Hindustan Times States not paying attention to dalit problems: Commn http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1924150,0008.htm Saroj Nagi New Delhi, February 9, 2007 The National Commission for Scheduled Castes is upset that several states have failed to set up special courts for the speedy trial of cases relating to atrocities on dalits. "There are several states which are yet to comply with one or more provisions of the SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act, 1989 which contains several significant provisions including setting up of special courts with special prosecutors, constituting state and district-level vigilance committees,'' said Fakir Bhai Vaghela, vice chairman of the commission. He emphasized that every provision of the Act has to be complied with by states. Speaking at the two-day national conference of the commission that concluded on Thursday, Vaghela also took serious note of the "negative" role of the "men in uniform" who instead of giving a sense of security to the victims sought to protect the culprits by inaction and inefficiency. Seeking empowerment of the commission, he also noted that the gap between reported crimes, their conversion into chargesheets or the conviction of the guilty tended to give the impression that crimes against scheduled castes is not getting the attention it deserves. Express India D in Doaba stands for Dalits http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=221610 <http://www.expressindia.com/about/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Anju Agnihotri Chaba Jalandhar, February 9: The Dalit factor can play an important role in Doaba region, which has about 33 per cent voters from the caste. Bhujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati has also been doing rallies here to strengthen her base as split in the party had made it weak as compared to the 1997 elections. Former BSP leader Pawan Kumar Tinu, who had a following among the Dalits, had left the BSP and joined the Bhujan Kranti Party and former BSP candidate Devi Das Nahar, who fought 2004 Lok Sabha elections on the BSP ticket, too floated a new party, BSP Ambedkar. Weakening of the BSP may benefit the Congress, which has always remained dependent on the Dalit voters. But the presence of Mayawati in Doaba in the last phase of election campaign could create trouble for the Congress candidates in Phillaur, Nakodar, Jalandhar Cantonment, Adampur, Sham Chaurasi, Mahilpur, Nawanshahr, Garhshankar and Phagwara. If Mayawati’s magic casts a spell even on two to three per cent Dalit voters, it may cause a big dent in the vote bank of the Congress. In Kartarpur constituency, where sitting Congress minister Chaudhary Jagjit Singh is facing a tough fight from SAD candidates, may face a difficult time. The Balmiki community, which has 21,012 voters in Kartarpur, accused the minister of getting all benefits under the reserved category for the Ravidasi community. Political observers said in the last two elections, the BSP candidates got 10,000 to over 20,000 votes on various seats, including Jalandhar (South), Phillaur, Adampur and Kartarpur, and if one per cent increase takes place in this vote bank, it would be a loss to the Congress. A veteran politician said the BSP has become quite weak due to divisions, and this may benefit the Congress. But it can still eat into the Congress vote bank on some seats. The Pioneer Annihilate caste http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=prasad%2Fprasad195.txt&writer=prasad Chandrabhan Prasad Globalisation has brought nations closer. It has triggered IT revolution, racism is a new social issue the world has come to debate. Slowly the issue of caste too will become just as debatable. India will soon emerge as a formidable world economic power, applauded and celebrated, the country will also have become a subject of social auditing. After WW-II, the US had emerged as the world's largest economy, but by 60s', its race question too had become intense. The embarrassed America looked for answers. Similarly the world is going to ask Indians the following questions. Why are nearly half of the Dalits still uneducated - can't read, can't write? Why are nearly half the Dalits landless agricultural labourers with less than US $ 1 in income per day? Why are English medium schools virtually shut for Dalits? Why are there no Dalit owned companies traded on India's stock exchanges? Why are there no Dalit models endorsing products? Why are Dalits not a part of Bollywood? Why are Dalits out of media workforce? Why are successive Finance Ministers un-connected with the Dalit intelligentsia? Why are Dalits outside the PMO which scripts fortunes of Indians? Why are there no census reports of the number of Dalit-non Dalit mix couples? Well, Indians can very well say - as they keep saying, that Dalits are unworthy and only they are to blame for what they are. But, will that satisfy that world public opinion! Who after all, wrote the Constitution of India? How did a Dalit become the President of India? How could a Dalit become the Chief Justice of India? How could thousands of Dalits became engineers, doctors, scientists, and doing very well in India's public sector. If the answer is "because of affirmative action", then why affirmative actions is not seen in other areas. Doesn't Hollywood have Black actors? Doesn't American Society for newspaper editors track representation Black journalists in the American media? Don't most of the US corporations have a "Diversity/Affirmative departments" monitoring recruitment of Blacks? The world leaders and opinionists will ask such questions. And India will have reply satisfactorily. As the debate would get intense, somebody from some part of the world would ask - "Why was it that Dr Ambedkar, and not Gandhiji, wrote Annihilation of Caste? Is it because Gandhiji was not a victim of caste order? The world would ask - "Why Dr Ambedkar, and not Pt Nehru, walked the path Buddha once laid?" Is it because Pt Nehru was not a victim of Hinduism? By each passing day, the world is becoming smaller, societies are getting too close within each other. Indian society thus will not be able to keep all its secrets as 'sacred'. All 'sacred' secrets will be known to the world. The viciousness of untouchability would amaze the world. Soon, the world would feel sorry for Mother Earth - "why should this planet have possessed South Asia!" Before India falls into that kind of situation and is despised, Indians should start asking themselves few questions. Why did they conceive a caste order? Well, the past cannot be erased. But, why does the present possess that vicious order. Then they must start questioning - can ever India have any glorious future without annihilating caste? The day the mainstream India asks itself these questions it will become a place worth living. And it is easy - one simple resolve to de-segregate society will make the caste order ineffective. Dalit Diary is a classic case. Dalit Diary happened two weeks after Dr Chandan Mitra thought the The Pioneer should have a Dalit columnist. Today, if other newspapers/TV channels want Dalit columnists, they can find many. If a film producer wants a Dalit actor, he is easy to find him. It's easiest to produce Dalit capitalists - start buying goods from a million Dalit manufacturers and hundreds of them will evolve into multi-millionaires. A Dalit billionaire will follow suit. But, can caste India tolerate this? 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
