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 18, 2007 Dalit woman to get police protection- The Hindu <http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Hindu/400x60/0> http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Hindu/400x60/0 Verbal duel on land registration to Dalits- Andhra Café.com http://www.andhracafe.com/index.php?m=show&id=18882 Indian Govt. forms committee to curb atrocities against Dalits- IRNA http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-20/0702169084172218.htm 200 schools to be set up for SC/ST students- Economic Times http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/200_schools_to_be_set_up_for_SCST_studen ts/articleshow/1630233.cms Caste system still blighting India- Telegraph. Co.uk http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/14/windia14.xml The Hindu Dalit woman to get police protection <http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Hindu/400x60/0> http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Hindu/400x60/0 Staff Correspondent She has been unable to take possession of five acres granted to her BIJAPUR: It was relief at last for Puthalavva Madar, a Dalit woman from Jumnal village near here, who had been unable to take possession of the land granted to her family by the Government 25 years ago. Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Mohsin has asked the police to give her protection to cultivate the land. In a letter to Superintendent of Police Seemanth Kumar Singh, Mr. Mohsin drew his attention to the memorandum given by the woman seeking protection to cultivate five acres and 36 guntas of land in Survey Number 254/2. She feared a threat from the former owner, Babugouda Ninganagouda Bagali, from whom excess land was acquired under the Land Reforms Act, 1964 and distributed to her family in 1982. In a statement on Tuesday, Mr. Mohsin said Ms. Madar was the owner of the land. Andhra Café.com Verbal duel on land registration to Dalits http://www.andhracafe.com/index.php?m=show&id=18882 HYDERABAD: Pandemonium prevailed in the Assembly during Question Hour for nearly two hours with members from the ruling Congress and main Opposition Telugu Desam (TD) engaging themselves in a verbal duel over registration of lands belonging to Dalits in favour of others in Payakaraopeta Assembly Constituency in Visakhapatnam district. The TD members staged a walk-out after the State Government refused to concede the demand to withdraw eight cases registered against their MLA Ch Venkata Rao, who represents Payakaraopeta. The opposition members also had heated arguments with Speaker K R Suresh Reddy and accused him of being biased in favour of Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. While replying to a question tabled by Ch Venkata Rao (TD) and others, Revenue Minister D Prasada Rao said that the authorities had identified 102 acres belonging to Dalits in D L Puram of Nakkapalli mandal in Visakhapatnam district in 1999 which stood registered in the name of non Dalits. The Registration officials had not been provided with proper information by the local MRO. On learning about this irregularity, the Government examined the legal aspects and cancelled the GPA agreement as it was government land given to Dalits and could not be transferred to others. When TD members insisted that the lands be given back to Dalits, Prasada Rao said that the local MLA (Ch Venkata Rao) was the chairman of the land assignment committee and he can distribute them as per the guidelines issued by the State Government. On the question of punishing the MRO for not furnishing the details of the land, the Minister said that he would look into the matter. On the cases registered against Venkata Rao, he said that he was not aware about them and moreover it pertained to Home department. Not satisfied with the reply, Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu and other TD members walked out accusing the Government of trying to shield the errant officials. When the Chief Minister flayed TD members for trying to politicise every issue and recalled how they tried to involve his family members in the DSC examination scam based on a newspaper report, the TD members rushed to the podium and demanded that the Speaker allow them to speak. The Speaker, however, refused saying that the Chief Minister was already in the middle of his speech and one of the TD members was heard saying: "This is not Gandhi Bhavan." When Devender Goud and Ch Rajeswara Rao (TD) asked how the Speaker permitted the Chief Minister to speak after they walked out, the Speaker replied that Rajasekhara Reddy was only quoting the decisions taken in the Business Advisory Committee. IRNA Indian Govt. forms committee to curb atrocities against Dalits http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-20/0702169084172218.htm New Delhi, Feb. 16, IRNA Dalits-India Alarmed at the growing rate of atrocities against Dalits (backward class) in India and high acquittal rates in such crimes, the Indian Central Government has appointed a high-level committee for effective coordination to devise ways and means to curb such offenses. The committee headed by Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment would also see effective implementation of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and SCs/STs (scheduled castes/scheduled tribes) (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, PTI reported. The government is very keen to handle the atrocity cases under the Prevention of Crime Act, 1955, and SCs/STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 at the highest level in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and has held several meetings with representatives from different states to finalise an effective action plan in this regard. The Committee, which has already held three meetings, observed that a responsive police administration was essential to take care of its subjects and in the present context adding that it was essential for prevention of atrocities that are inflicted upon the members of SCs/STs by "unscrupulous elements from the dominant sections of society". As many as 87,647 cases of atrocities against scheduled castes were pending by the end of year 2005, which also saw lower conviction rate of merely 29.77 percent and high acquittals to the tune of over 70 percent. "There were 1,09,072 cases of atrocities against SCs registered during 2005. Of the total, 87,647 cases are still pending while merely 6,145 were convicted and 14,495 acquitted," they said quoting records from the National Crime Bureau. Economic Times 200 schools to be set up for SC/ST students http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/200_schools_to_be_set_up_for_SCST_studen ts/articleshow/1630233.cms URMI A GOSWAMI TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2007 02:31:32 AM] NEW DELHI: The paucity of funds for education has not deterred the government from furthering the agenda of increasing equity and access to education for the marginalised. The government has proposed setting up 200 secondary schools for SC/ST students. In the 2007 Budget, some Rs 175 crore will be earmarked for this expansion programme. The proposed schools will be part of the Navodaya Vidyalaya set up. These schools will be established in districts with a high population of SCs and STs. In order to improve access for students from these backward communities, 50% of seats will be reserved for SCs/STs depending on which of the two is numerically dominant in the district. The remaining 50% of the seats will be filled by general category students and SCs/STs. The reservation quota will be followed as well. In other words, in a district which has an overwhelming SC population, the Navodaya Vidyalaya will reserve 50% seats for SCs. For the remaining 50%, 7.5% seats will be set aside for STs. No further reservation will be made for SCs. It is not clear, how this proposal will pass muster, as the total percentage of reserved seats will be more than 50% at any given point. The Supreme Court in its judgement on the Indira Sahwney case set an upper limit of 50% for reservations. Though the case made references to institutes of higher learning, it is unlikely that things will be different for schools as well. The task of identifying the districts was undertaken by the Planning Commission that used the 2001 Census data as the basis for identifying the 200 districts, which will house these schools. Admission to these schools will be undertaken in the same way as it is for other Navodayas. The Planning ommission has been in favour of expanding the Navodaya Vidyalaya network. Telegraph. Co.uk Caste system still blighting India http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/14/windia14.xml By Peter Foster in New Delhi Last Updated: 2:27am GMT 14/02/2007 More than 50 years after caste discrimination was outlawed in India, millions of "untouchable" low-caste Hindus remain subject to daily petty humiliations, police violence, rape and even murder, a major new report claimed yesterday. Despite India's massive economic advances of the last decade, it is estimated that a crime is still committed against a Dalit every 20 minutes in India. The report, by New York-based Human Rights Watch, paints a sorry picture of life for 165 million low caste Hindus in the world's most populous democracy. They continue to experience discrimination at home, at school, in the workplace - even in refugee camps after the 2004 tsunami. Research published last year from surveys in 565 Indian villages showed that in 80 per cent of them old practices of untouchability endure and are "profoundly affecting" the psyches of Dalit residents. It said that Dalit children were forced to sit in segregated sections in village schools while their parents were denied a range of basic rights, including access to water, the right to stage marriage processions and entry to polling booths. The age-old practice of devadasi or temple prostitution - where a pre-pubescent Dalit girl is married to a deity for the "use" of upper caste villagers - also remains widespread. Indian government efforts to abolish the practice had been "largely unsuccessful", the report added. In the most serious cases the day-to-day discrimination can take the form of extreme violence, with Dalits being attacked, raped and murdered for protesting against upper caste excesses. In September last year a Dalit family in Maharastra State was murdered by a mob for refusing to allow upper-caste families to take their land. The women of the family were stripped, beaten and paraded naked through the village of Kherlanji. Most damagingly for India's reputation as a country now emerging onto the world stage is the report's contention that all arms of the Indian state - government officers, police and judiciary - collude in perpetuating old caste prejudices. The Indian government's own figures show that Dalits are routinely brushed off by police and the courts when they try to seek justice. Between 1999 and 2001 some 89 per cent of trials for offences against Dalits resulted in acquittals. In December the India's prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh conceded that the scourge of caste, which he described as a "blot on humanity", remains a fact of life for millions of India's poorest citizens. 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
