*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* *June 24, 2007* *Youth marries girl he assaulted-** Chennai On Line* http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7BD012443D-D14A-413B-AC73-B654FAD3016D%7D&CATEGORYNAME=CRME *International Companies Flocking to India Disregard Caste System in Favor of Merit-Based Hiring Processes- **CNN Money*** http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/primenewswire/121858.htm *Harijan` word to be removed from land records: UP govt-** Zee News* http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=378585&sid=REG *Free education to 300 SC/ST girls-** Chennai On Line * http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7BFFA2F7AD-E0A5-40AC-9665-860B599923FB%7D&CATEGORYNAME=TAMNA ** *Human rights violations against Dalits in India cited-** neurope.eu * http://www.neurope.eu/view_news.php?id=75384** *Clueless elite-** The Pioneer** * http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=prasad%2Fprasad213.txt&writer=prasad *SC,ST benefits:pvt sector recognises need for affirmative action-** Out Look India* http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=483185 *Chennai On Line* * * * * *Youth marries girl he assaulted* http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7BD012443D-D14A-413B-AC73-B654FAD3016D%7D&CATEGORYNAME=CRME Kanpur, June 23: A Dalit youth married a young girl whom he had allegedly assaulted criminally. Anil Sonker, a resident of Fatehpur, had gone to the house of his relative Chander Pal, a resident of Karbigwa village of Narwal police circle, on Thursday night. Pal along with other family members had gone to attend a marriage ceremony, leaving his daughter alone in the house at that time. Taking advantage of the situation Sonker had allegedly assaulted the girl criminally. When Pal returned, his daughter told him what had happened. He went to Narwal police station to lodge a report against Sonker. Then the family members of Pal approached the BSP MP Anil Shukla Varsi who intervened in the matter and both parties finally agreed to Sonkar marrying the girl. A marriage function was arranged at Narwal police station premises last night. Meanwhile, some persons had contacted top police officials in Lucknow and alleged that the girl was a minor. However, the local police officers maintained that both of them were adults and the marriage ceremony was solemnised in the police station premises in the presence of Varsi and station officer of Narwal police station. A large number of people of nearby village also participated in the marriage. * * *CNN Money** * *Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition Examines the Impact of Economic Expansion On India's Caste System* *International Companies Flocking to India Disregard Caste System in Favor of Merit-Based Hiring Processes* http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/primenewswire/121858.htm June 22, 2007: 09:00 PM EST NEW YORK, June 22, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- This week's Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition centerpiece will focus on how rapid economic expansion is beginning to chip away at India's historical Hindu caste system that reserves well-paying jobs for upper castes and menial jobs for the bottom caste. Advancement in India had previously been shaped by its caste system, which reached into every part of Indian society, often dictating everything from what one does and where one worships to whom one marries. Now, foreign and domestically based companies are looking beyond traditional sources of employees and as a result, some of the lowest caste members -- known as Dalits -- are rising into India's middle class. Many companies are taking steps to ensure that they hire a diverse mix, in some cases providing tuition in social skills programs akin to finishing school. "International companies are bringing formalized, merit-based hiring processes to India," writes Paul Beckett, the Journal's New Delhi bureau chief in this week's Weekend Edition. "Still, success stories are rare. Many Dalits, especially in rural areas, don't have a shot at a decent education -- a must for fastest-growing areas of India's economy like software development, medicine and engineering. Some technology executives acknowledge that while merit is the ultimate consideration, personal behavior and social skills play a big role." *Zee News* *`Harijan` word to be removed from land records: UP govt* http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=378585&sid=REG Lucknow, June 22: The Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh hasdirected all land consolidation officers to remove the word "Harijan"from revenue records and replace it with Scheduled Caste. The directives were given by Revenue Minister Swami Prasad Maurya at a meeting with land consolidation officers here. A section of Dalits including the Bahujan Samajwadi Party led by Chief Minister Mayawati object to the use of the term "Harijan", coined by Mahatma Gandhi, to denote members of the community. Maurya also directed the officers to expedite land consolidation works and remove corruption in the process and warned of strict action against laxity.A section of Dalits including the Bahujan Samajwadi Party led by Chief Minister Mayawati object to the use of the term "Harijan", coined by Mahatma Gandhi, to denote members of the community. Maurya also directed the officers to expedite land consolidation works and remove corruption in the process and warned of strict action against laxity.A section of Dalits including the Bahujan Samajwadi Party led by Chief Minister Mayawati object to the use of the term "Harijan", coined by Mahatma Gandhi, to denote members of the community. Maurya also directed the officers to expedite land consolidation works and remove corruption in the process and warned of strict action against laxity. Bureau Report *Chennai On Line* *Free education to 300 SC/ST girls* http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7BFFA2F7AD-E0A5-40AC-9665-860B599923FB%7D&CATEGORYNAME=TAMNA Chennai, June 22: ASSOCHAM today decided to provide free education to 300 SC/ST girls living below the poverty line as part of steps by Indian industry on inclusiveness for these communities. The decision was taken at the meeting of the ASSOCHAM managing committee here. A press release said 300 girls having a family income of less than Rs 5,000 per month would be provided free education along with boarding, lodging, clothing, books and other essentials, at the bachelor or MBA level and helps them get jobs. ASSOCHAM president Venugopal Dhoot said in the release that the ASSOCHAM-Rai Foundation would be implementing the decision with immediate effect. (Our Correspondent) *neurope.eu*** *Human rights violations against Dalits in India cited*** http://www.neurope.eu/view_news.php?id=75384 23 June 2007 - *Issue :* 735 The European Parliament has adopted a resolution urging the government of India to end violence against Dalits, the approximately 165 million Indians living at the bottom of the caste hierarchy. Green MEP and drafter of the resolution, Margrete Auken said: "Caste discrimination in India is one of the best kept secrets in terms of human rights violations and to date the EU has failed to address this serious issue openly. Even though the caste system has been legally abolished for many years, Dalits still experience discrimination across the spectrum of human rights, including stigmatisation, segregation and social exclusion, due to their status as 'untouchables'. The Indian government has for years escaped the criticism from both EU and the UN, and even worked to try and water down the criticism in this resolution. "In the context of expanding trade relations with India, the EU must put pressure on the Indian government and demand basic human rights for all Indian citizens. We hope that the Council and the Commission will act on this resolution and raise the issue of cast discrimination in the coming EU-India summits with the aim of ending violence against Dalits and the widespread impunity against those who commit crimes against Dalits." *The Pioneer* *Clueless elite * http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=prasad%2Fprasad213.txt&writer=prasad Chandrabhan Prasad A segregation of elite from the masses brings doom to any society. It happened in Germany and we know what happened before and during WWII. The middle class runs riot with mass legitimacy. In case of Germany, it was a temporary phenomenon. In India, the elite's segregation from the mass culture appears inestimable. Once the segregation is aspired and celebrated, the elite turn nationless and socially deficient. They turn emotionless, which distorts their consciousness - or a state of social-unconsciousness. The elite turns into a loner making them feel threatened by all other social classes. Anxious of their sectarian aspirations the elite starts creating problems in the society they live in. The US has undergone this when its elite sparked off the rise of the Ku Klux Klan called KKK. From the late19th century to early 1930s, the KKK insisted on white supremacy, anti-semitism, racism, anti-catholicism, homophobia and nativism. The KKK remains one of the ugliest, uglier than the slave trade, scar on American civilisation. Scars on the Indian civilisation are much vicious, wide spread and lasting. While the White elite in the US abandoned the KKK nuisance in less than half a century - this to end their own segregation. But, the Indian elite hasn't even recognised the fact that they are tormented from an incomparable cultural cruelty of segregation. Squeezed between the segregation and ignorant of the same, the elite turns hostile to all forms of reason and social logic. Interrogate therefore, for instance proprietors of Times Now, India TV, NDTV-24X7, NDTV India, CNN-IBN, IBN-07 as to how often they dine with Dalits in a non-official settings. "We never consider caste of the guests/hosts on dinning table," they would say. Probe further and one will only develop empathy with them as they would keep lying - without knowing they are lying. This can be described as the state of social-unconsciousness. Since proprietors of these channels don't hire Dalits, there is no way they will have opportunities to dine with Dalits. This however, can't be described as discrimination against Dalits as any act done in a state of social-unconsciousness can't be value loaded. Since the elite are clueless of the Dalit world in the new social order, the elite could not understand the growing popularity of the BSP as a political synthesiser Uttar Pradesh. To be fair to these news channels, it is not just them who have turned into a state of social-unconsciousness. The entire Indian elite - business houses, film makers, academicians, and cultural czars suffer from similar state of social-unconsciousness. The news channels are only a case in point mirroring plight of the Indian elite. Trapped into an exceptional history predestined psychological illogic, the Indian elite keeps growing into the regime of segregation. After all, most books with some degrees of credibility on India's social crises, are authored by foreign scholars. We know that the elite are not oppressors by design. They are in fact, victims of a larger social phenomenon as they in their evolution have lacked historical process of change. The lack of any historical process in the end deprives the class of any history. No history deficient social class can ever pass the test of reason. The question therefore, is what is the solution? Should we fight the Indian elite, or is there a way to change their mindset? Since all their problems are born out of their cultural segregation, they need to be integrated with Dalits. However, this is not so simple. One will need an aggressive integration of Dalits in corporate board rooms, media, film, knowledge centers, art, and literature. An aggressive integration of Dalits into elite's world can start ending the elite's segregation. The elite can therefore, transform from a sect into a social class. Also, culturally the segregated elite can transform itself from being a liability on the society to an asset. *Out Look India* *SC,ST benefits:pvt sector recognises need for affirmative action* http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=483185 *Bangalore, Jun 23 (PTI): Union minister for social justice and empowerment, Meira Kumar said that the private sector today recognized the need for 'affirmative action', to complement efforts of the government and PSUs in providing benefits to SCs and STs in a liberalised economy. "It is heartening to note that the private sector recognises that in a liberalised and decontrolled economy, the government has a reduced role and the benefits of SCs and STs in government and public sector undertakings need to be complemented by affirmative action by industry", she said.* While the government has done the maximum possible for the marginalised sections by way of rebates and concessions, the private sector, which is acquiring global dimensions, should come forward to supplment the government's efforts in creating an inclusive society, she said, presiding over the Special Training Programme (STP) graduation day for SC, ST students, conducted by Infosys here today. There are various ways, she said, in which the private sector can be a partner in addressing issues of social divide. In the past couple of years, the government has been in constant dialogue with the corporate sector on the issue of affirmative action. Many useful suggestions have emerged out of these dialogues about the form and shape of the affirmative action that the private sector was willing to undertake, Kumar said. (MORE) Kumar said it was during her interactions with the corporate sector for seeking their support on the issue that N R Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor Infosys offered to train SC, ST youth in IT related skills. Accordingly, 100 SC,ST candidates were selected on merit for training at the Indian Instituteof Information Technology, Bangalore, (IIIT-B) here. She said that of the 89 candidates who successfully completed the programme, 76 candidates, 31 of them women had already been placed in reputed companies including Infosys. While lauding Infosys's initiative as a "novel and noble example", Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy took a dig at the private sector for "rarely coming to the aid of deprived sections of society". He hoped other corporate entities would emulate the example set by Infosys. The ceremony, Kumaraswamy said also marks the completion of the pilot project jointly started by Infosys and IIIT-B for empowerment of disadvantaged and deprived sections. While exhorting the students to learn on a continuing basis, he appealed to other IT companies to come forward to conduct such training programmes to meet the growing demands of the IT industry. Kumaraswamy suggested that such training classes should involve employers in selection of trainees. Secondly, these companies should help to design learning programmes, he said, adding that a significant part of the training should be organised on-the-job. He requested the Vision Group on IT, headed by Narayana Murthy, to recommend similar socially innovative initiatives for ado. 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
