*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* *May 21, 2007* *Dalit woman beaten up-** The Tribune** * http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/400x60/0 *`Ostracised' dalits seek justice- **The Hindu** ** http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Hindu/400x60/0* *Caste bias rampant at AIIMS-** NDTV* *http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070012730* * * *Caste divide in Mid-day Meal programme<http://www.kalingatimes.com/orissa_news/news/20070521_Caste_divide_in_meal_programme.htm> **- **Kalinga Times*** * http://www.kalingatimes.com/orissa_news/news/20070521_Caste_divide_in_meal_programme.htm * *The Tribune* *Dalit woman beaten up ** * http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/400x60/0 Nahan, May 20. A dalit woman Sangeeta Devi, resident of Drabala Sanghthar near Rajgarh tehsil, was intercepted by a gang comprising 20 villagers who mercilessly beat her up in the absence of her husband who was away to Nahan. In a report filed at the Rajgarh police station, she said the gang destroyed her tomato crop and beans by ploughing her field and evicted the cows out of her gaushaala. She narrated her tale of woe to SDM Vivek Chandel and Sirmaur SP J.P. Singh for police action against the culprits. The SDM has instructed DSP Bhagmal Thakur to take urgent action against the accused villagers. *—TNS* *The Hindu* *`Ostracised' dalits seek justice* *http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Hindu/400x60/0* Staff Reporter *Approach Collector's grievances cell to represent their case*** ------------------------------ * Over 50 families leave Balichhai village in 2000 after a violent clash* * Accuse upper caste members of taking over their hoses, agriculture lands and BPL cards* ------------------------------ BERHAMPUR: As a blotch on the face of society, some 50 dalit families facing ostracism are living like refugees outside their own village since last seven years in Ganjam district. These families are from the Balichhai village under Aska police station. On Saturday, representatives of these families reached the grievance cell of the Ganjam district Collector V.K. Pandian at Bhanjanagar to apprise him about their plight. They requested him to provide necessary security to them so that they could return to their village. Fear continues to haunt them as they dispersed from the grievance cell soon after submitting their matter to the Collector. Their plight was related to a violent clash over untouchability at the village on February 20, 2000. A youth D. Pradip Patro touched some items at a grocery shop in the village, which was objected to by the shopkeeper. The issue simmered and after two days it erupted into a violent clash. Two dalits - Khira Nayak and Nandi Nayak - were killed in the clash and five others were seriously injured. *Collector's promise * Soon, the families left the village and had been staying at places like Balipadar, Kendupadar, Mamudiha, Jhagadei, Bhanjanagar, Jahada, Betarsing. It was alleged that the upper castes had taken over their houses and over 300 acres of agricultural land. These families did not even have their BPL cards with them. They alleged that the cards too were taken away by members of the upper castes. The Collector promised the families to make arrangements for their resettlement at their village. *NDTV* * * *Caste bias rampant at AIIMS*** * * *http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070012730* Deepti Sachdeva, Rajat Kain Monday, May 21, 2007 (New Delhi) AIIMS was at the centre of the reservations row and the debate still rages on about merit and caste. On the face of it, all appears well at the country's premier medical institute. But a closer look revealed a ghetto for the oppressed Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students. A final year student confirmed the rampant discrimination in the institute. He was earlier staying in hostel number 1 but had to vacate after he was allegedly ill-treated. He later shifted to the hostel number 5 and now almost all the SC, ST students are made to put up in the hostel number 4 and 5. This is not just the only incident but an example of its own kind. Every year many from all over the country appear for AIIMS admission, of which 50 are selected. Out of these 50, seven seats are reserved for the SCs and four for the STs. *Reservation unrest * * * However, the division along the caste lines happens to be a recent phenomenon in the AIIMS hostel, especially after the unrest created by the Youth for Equality, a student outfit last year opposing 27 per cent reservation for the OBC. The students belonging to SC-ST community allege discrimination and further ill treatment like their rooms being locked and sometimes obscene sentences written outside their rooms. Though the administration has denied any such ill treatment of the backward students, the UGC-appointed Thorat Committee in its report had said that there is a widespread caste-based discrimination at the Institute. The Committee was constituted by the Centre in September last year to look into allegations of discrimination against reserved category students. Caste based discrimination is not a recent phenomenon but the way it has grown in the nation's premier institute over the last year is indeed alarming. *Kalinga Times* * * *Caste divide in Mid-day Meal programme<http://www.kalingatimes.com/orissa_news/news/20070521_Caste_divide_in_meal_programme.htm> *** * http://www.kalingatimes.com/orissa_news/news/20070521_Caste_divide_in_meal_programme.htm * By Manoj Kar Kendrapara: Taking strong exception to the prevailing caste bias in the running of the Mid-day Meal (MDM) programme in government-run schools, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the Kendrapara district administration to comply 'the action taken report' for the undoing of the alleged discrimination. The recruitment of Dalit women for school kitchen in a government-run primary school in Marshaghai Tehsil region had triggered caste-bound conflict recently with upper caste children skipping the school meal. Driven by the fear that children from upper caste community may skip the free-meal scheme, the School and Mass Education Department of the district is often accused of shutting the 'kitchen' doors to Dalit women. The government agencies monitoring the MDM in the district have allegedly stopped recruiting them as cooks for the free meal scheme. The NHRC, taking cognisance of a batch of petitions by rights activists, served show cause notices and observed that "disengaging the Dalit cooks is unlawful and it's gross injustice to treat the women of lower caste in such a manner". The rights panel asked the local administration for a thorough inquiry into the alleged denial of rights to Dalit women and sought for an action-taken report in this regard in a month's time. In almost all the 1427 government-run primary schools, meritorious claims of the Dalit applicants were relegated to the rear and the Harijan women were ignored for the jobs notwithstanding the standing government guidelines. With hardly a dozen schools accommodating the Dalits for kitchens, it continues to trigger uproar among rights activists. Rights activists maintain that fundamental right of these Dalit women seeking employment opportunities is trampled down with impunity and the local mass education department officials overtly patronised despicable practice of 'untouchability'. The Women & Child Welfare Department through a notification had ordered that the enrolment of MDM cooks in primary schools should be preferably women from scheduled caste and tribe community. Priority should be accorded to widows from these lower castes for cook enrollment. On the contrary, in a majority of 1427 government-run primary schools in Kendrapara district, upper caste women sneaked into school kitchens relegating the meritorious claims of Dalits. "We came across stray cases where Dalit women managed the school kitchens. Harijans incidentally predominantly inhabited the places where lower caste women did the cooking. In rest of the schools, the Dalit women were debarred from the school kitchen despite the departmental instructions," alleged rights activists. It is indeed shocking that majority of teachers of various schools were of the view that the cooking by Dalits would lead the children from upper caste and other backward castes to skip MDM. The cooks are paid meager payment of Rs 200-a-month by the WCD department. But for these economically and socially backward community women, this meager amount is apparently bigger than what it seems, the petitions noted. ARUN KHOTE National Secretary National Campaign On Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) 8/1, 2nd Floor, South Patel Nagar, New Delhi-110008 Ph: 011- 25842249 /25842250 0- 9350183802 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: www.ncdhr.org
