IIMC Professor quits saying government targeted him; I&B Ministry denies charge – Ibn live
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india/iimc-professor-quits-saying-government-targeted-him-ib-ministry-denies-charge-1212080.html
Veenavanka gangrape case: Tests reveal rape accused not minors – The deccan chronical
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/crime/050316/veenavanka-gangrape-case-tests-reveal-rape-accused-not-minors.html
HC reinstates man who put up Ambedkar’s portrait in office – The hindu
http://m.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/hc-reinstates-man-who-put-up-ambedkars-portrait-in-office/article8302099.ece
Panel to high court: SC, ST land allotment survey impossible – The times of india
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Panel-to-high-court-SC-ST-land-allotment-survey-impossible/articleshow/51235953.cms
Dalit body seeks action against officials – The hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/dalit-body-seeks-action-against-officials/article8316785.ece
Rohith’s Caste Outshone His Merit, Talent: Mother – The new Indian express
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/andhra_pradesh/Rohiths-Caste-Outshone-His-Merit-Talent-Mother/2016/03/05/article3311305.ece
‘I am a patriot but not a nationalist’: The day after, Kanhaiya Kumar explains his vision of ‘azadi’ – Scroll.in
http://scroll.in/article/804636/i-am-a-patriot-but-not-a-nationalist-the-day-after-kanhaiya-kumar-explains-his-vision-of-azadi
Mahaur was killed because he was a ‘gau rakshak’: MoS Katheria – Nyoooz
http://www.nyoooz.com/lucknow/378763/mahaur-was-killed-because-he-was-a-gau-rakshak58-mos-katheria
11-yr-old found killed in Hardoi , human sacrifice suspected – The Indian express
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/lucknow-11-yr-old-found-killed-in-hardoi-human-sacrifice-suspected/
Please Watch:
Mr. Amit Sengupta’s last lecture at IIMC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5yFthoJDms
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PMARC: Dalits Media Wacth !
Ibn live
IIMC Professor quits saying government targeted him; I&B Ministry denies charge
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india/iimc-professor-quits-saying-government-targeted-him-ib-ministry-denies-charge-1212080.html
New Delhi: A senior faculty member of Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) on Friday resigned alleging that he was “targeted” by the I&B Ministry for supporting the protests over Dalit student Rohith Vemula’s suicide and JNU and FTII issues.
Amit Sengupta, an Associate Professor in the department of English Journalism, quit after an order was issued transferring him to the premier media school’s campus in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district, which he slammed as a “political decision”.
Information and Broadcasting Ministry officials said that a recent inquiry into incidents at the premier journalism school by I&B Ministry Joint Secretary Mihir Kumar Singh showed that Sengupta had in a Facebook post asked students to carry out protests after Vemula’s suicide.
In his resignation letter, Sengupta said that he had been “targeted” as he “supported the solidarity protest for Rohith Vemula (of Hyderabad Central University) in the campus, organised independently by students of IIMC in which other faculty members too participated.”
“I have been targeted also because I supported the JNU and FTII students,” he added.
Sengupta said that he was “proud” of standing up for Vemula and would continue to do so.
“This is my constitutional right. I think grave injustice has been done to him and the students of Hyderabad Central University. I will always stand and fight for Dalit rights,” he said.
He said the JNU and FTII “struggles” are glorious and the country will enrich itself with the great leap of imagination and the brilliant content of the peaceful, democratic debate the students and faculty of these great institutions have generated.
Countering the allegations levelled by Sengupta, I&B Ministry officials said Sengupta has been moved to the institute’s Dhenkanal branch till further orders only because of shortage of staff.
On January 19, they claimed, Sengupta had in a post said “Hello IIMC students; protests all over by students, why is IIMC silent? Put a poster at least. Also surely, the suicide note. I am ready to join you, I promise.”
A student of IIMC had then objected to the post, accusing Sengupta of trying to politicise the campus and disturbing harmony, I&B officials added. A verbal altercation between the student and Sengupta had also taken place, they added.
Asked about the charges related to his posts on Facebook, Sengupta said views expressed on social media fell on his personal domain and was his “constitutional right”.
The deccan chronical
Veenavanka gangrape case: Tests reveal rape accused not minors
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/crime/050316/veenavanka-gangrape-case-tests-reveal-rape-accused-not-minors.html
Karimnagar: Two of the three accused in the Veenavanka gangrape case, who were earlier thought to be minors, are likely to be declared majors, according to medical examinations.
It may be recalled that Gotte Srinivas, 23, and the two other accused, listed as 17-year-olds, were booked on charges of outraging the modesty of a Dalit girl of Challur village in Veenavanka mandal on February 25.
The two were sent to a juvenile home as they were considered minors, according to their study certificates. However, this led to an outcry and forced the investigating officials to cross-check the certificates submitted by the accused from different educational institutions.
They noticed that the date of birth of the two youths does not match. The cops then sent them to undergo a tests to determine their exact age.
The test revealed that one of them is aged 21 and the other is above 18. A juvenile court, which is hearing the case, will pronounce its verdict either on March 8 or 9.
The hindu
HC reinstates man who put up Ambedkar’s portrait in office
http://m.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/hc-reinstates-man-who-put-up-ambedkars-portrait-in-office/article8302099.ece
The Madras High Court has set aside the order of a single judge which upheld the decision of the State Bank of India terminating one of its office assistants for allegedly putting up a portrait of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on the bank’s premises.
Gowrishankar, an office assistant at the bank’s Adyar Branch and a member of the SBI SC/ST Employees Welfare Association, was charged with placing a picture of Dr. Ambedkar in the bank hall without permission.
On July 16, 2004, the bank issued a memo stating that the portrait “spoiled the ambience of the hall”. Various SC/ST Associations objected to the statement and resorted to agitations. On September 21, 2004 the bank issued another memo following the protests. Subsequently, an enquiry was conducted and Gowrisankar was dismissed from service on December 2, 2005.
Assailing the order, Gowrishankar approached the appellate authority, which modified the punishment to removal from service with superannuation benefits, on April 3, 2006.
The matter was then referred to the Central Government Industrial Tribunal-cum- Labour Court (CGIT) which held that the charges were proved. It, however, altered the punishment and ordered his reinstatement with continuity of service and all other attendant benefits but without back wages.
Mr. Gowrishankar appealed in the High Court questioning the portion of the award denying him back wages, while the bank challenged his reinstatement.
A single judge passed a common order dated October 17, 2014, allowing the plea moved by the bank, while dismissing the petition filed by the Gowrishankar. The reinstatement awarded by the CGIT was also reversed.
Gowrishankar challenged the single judge’s order.
In its order, a Division Bench of Justices S. Tamilvanan (since retired) and D. Hariparanthaman cited a circular issued by the Union Ministry of Finance dated September 8, 2006 to all the nationalised banks and other financial institutions directing to display portraits of Dr. Ambedkar in their offices.
Consequently it held, “In our view, the entire issue was not properly handled by the bank and the entire blame is on its own for irresponsibly using the remark in a sensitive matter”. Therefore, it directed that the employee be reinstated.
The times of india
Panel to high court: SC, ST land allotment survey impossible
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Panel-to-high-court-SC-ST-land-allotment-survey-impossible/articleshow/51235953.cms
Ahmedabad: The three-member panel, appointed by the state government on the order of Gujarat high court to look into allotment of agricultural land to dalits and tribals as part of land reforms, suggested on Monday to put an end to the exercise, terming the task “impossible”.
The survey was undertaken – with the panel formed at the HC’s behest – in response to a PIL by activist Jignesh Mevani, who complained that most of the allotments of 1.63 lakh acres of land to dalits has remained on paper only. He contended that the beneficiaries are not in actual possession of these pieces of land. The state government appointed three deputy secretaries of the revenue department – land acquisition, ULC and land reforms – to study the issue and bring out the details on encroachment on such land across the state. The panel produced details of a few villages, but the petitioner claimed that the details were at variance with other reports on Ahmedabad and Surendranagar districts. The panel told the HC that furnishing details on the allotment of lands, from the beginning to actual possession by the beneficiaries, “may be very difficult and may take a huge amount of time and perhaps may be nearly impossible even after putting in much efforts”. The panel recommends that the PIL to be disposed of and the government “may think of it if details with substantiation are submitted in particular cases”.
The PIL demanded that due procedure for allotment of land for agriculture be followed and that benefits reach SCs and STs. It stated that the Centre had declared that 56,873 acres of government land were allotted to members of the SC and ST communities in 2007 and 2010. However, when inquired into further, the government offices did not furnish the names of such beneficiaries
The hindu
Dalit body seeks action against officials
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/dalit-body-seeks-action-against-officials/article8316785.ece
Dalit Liberation Movement-Tamil Nadu has petitioned the Chief Secretary seeking departmental action against tahsildar, Revenue Inspector and Village Administrative Officer, all of Kangayam taluk, for carrying out renovation of a temple situated on the taluk office campus.
Karuppaiah, State joint general secretary of the Movement, said that the action was against the government orders and also a High Court order that had forbidden any construction, including renovation, of any temple situated on the government office premises.
Here, the taluk office campus also houses Kangayam Traffic and Law and Order police stations, All Woman police station and sub-treasury office apart from the Tahsildar’s office.
Against Centre’s order
“An order from the Centre, dated about 20 years ago, has even stated that no government office campus should have a temple or any place of worship,” Mr Karuppaiah pointed out.
Work stopped
When contacted, Revenue Divisional Officer (Dharapuram) G. Saravanamurthy told The Hindu that the renovation works on the 60-year-old temple were temporarily stopped now following complaints.
However, Mr. Karuppaiah was of the stance that action still needed to be taken against the Tahsildar and other revenue officials as they violated the rules to initiate the works.
The new Indian express
Rohith’s Caste Outshone His Merit, Talent: Mother
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/andhra_pradesh/Rohiths-Caste-Outshone-His-Merit-Talent-Mother/2016/03/05/article3311305.ece
VISAKHAPATNAM: “I will not relent fighting till I get justice for my son,” said V Radhika, mother of Rohith Vemula who committed suicide on the campus of University of Hyderabad.
Radhika, in her attempt to garner support from civil organisations to ensure justice for her son, arrived in the city on Friday.
She lamented that it was painful to watch her son being identified by his caste rather than his merit just because he was a Dalit.
“Rohith was an intelligent student who had secured an All-India 6th rank in UoH entrance exam and got admission. But after his suicide, people are raising doubt on his talent and credentials. Caste factor outshone his merits and intelligence,” a visibly pensive Radhika said.
Radhika went on to put the blame on the university management particularly the V-C for death of Rohith.
She demanded that a detailed probe be made into the series of events that led to Rohith’s suicide and punish the people responsible for it. “I have rejected the ex gratia of `8 lakh offered by the university management. We will not end protest till people who abetted Rohith’s suicide are punished,” she said.
At the meeting organised by Mahila Chethana here on Friday, various civil and women rights organisers demanded justice for Rohith and appealed to the government to bring out a law for protection of Dalit students who are facing problems in the higher institution of learning.
Mahila Chetana president K Padma said caste issues particularly those involving Dalit students were prevalent in Central Universities and we need to wage a fight to ensure that no student suffers like Rohith again.
Scroll.in
‘I am a patriot but not a nationalist’: The day after, Kanhaiya Kumar explains his vision of ‘azadi’
http://scroll.in/article/804636/i-am-a-patriot-but-not-a-nationalist-the-day-after-kanhaiya-kumar-explains-his-vision-of-azadi
In the middle of his electrifying speech after being released from prison on Thursday, Jawaharlal Nehru Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar decided to address Narendra Modi, making sure to use the phrase, “my esteemed, respected Prime Minister”. Grinning sarcastically, he explained, “I better use those words, right. Who knows, someone might doctor this video too and then slap sedition charges on me”. The enormous crowd outside the university’s administrative block went into raptures.
The moment exemplified the canny insouciance with which Kumar has steered through the maelstrom that he and five other students have been thrust into since February 9, the day “anti-national” slogans were allegedly raised on the JNU campus. The Modi administration’s response was swift and strong: it accused six JNU students of committing sedition against the government, bringing out the colonial-era law once used against Mahatma Gandhi.
Sedition and doctored videos
But it soon became clear that the police action against the students had been bungled, and was perhaps even malevolent. The Delhi Police based its case on videos of Kumar – videos that have now been proven to be doctored. Not only the police, even the JNU registrar, Bhupinder Zutshi,
incorrectly claimed that “Kanhaiya was also seen in the video raising anti-national slogans”. In an unprecedented move, the JNU Teacher’s Association has even asked for Zutshi to be
emoved, accusing him of conspiring with the police to frame students.
Kumar did indeed chant slogans asking for “azadi” but they weren’t a call for secession from India. Instead, he was asking for freedom from a range of societal ills. The doctored videos, though, made it seem as if he was a political separatist, setting of a chain of events: sedition, large-scale media vilification and even physical assault by lawyers as he was produced in court, as the Delhi Police looked on.
After this, many would have thought it prudent for Kumar to stay away from this slogan. But, of course, he didn’t do that. As his speech on Thursday was broadcast across the nation, Kumar made it clear that he was asking for freedom not from India, but in India. Kumar ended his speech by shouting the azadi slogan again – this time, as millions watched.
Ambedkarite leftism
Kumar already seems to have a rare pulse of public affairs. On Friday, the morning after his scintillating speech, Kumar held a press conference making sure to put on record his condemnation of the events of February 9 – and his admiration of the Indian Constitution. But then, he also made sure to firmly convey his political ideology with the nation watching. “These dark clouds will not be able to hide the red sun that shines against the blue sky,” referring to the Communist and Ambedkarite colours.
This was, by far, the most significant thrust of Kumar’s political messaging. The Left in India has always been blind to caste. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has never had a Dalit on its politburo. Kumar was attempting to change that. And thanks to the sedition case, he had a national audience to work with.
There was more: answering a question on what he thought of Afzal Guru’s death sentence, Kumar made it clear that the Kashmiri man convicted for his role in the 2001 Parliament attack wasn’t his hero, Rohith Vemula was. Vemula, the Dalit scholar from the University of Hyderabad, had been hounded by a minister in the Modi government, being called “anti-national” and his stipend stopped. Vemula committed suicide in January – an act Kumar pointedly described as “murder” in his Thursday speech.
Later, Kumar spoke to Scroll.in about the charge of sedition against him. “Large sections of the Hindi media have used the word deshdroh, treason for the charge against me rather than the correct term rajdroh, sedition,” Kumar explained animatedly. “Sedition is a colonial-era law – we need to question it.”
Outside the JNU campus, though, this difference is often blurred. The Bharatiya Janata Party senses a political opportunity in this and had, a week ago, led a Lok Sabha debate on the matter. During the discussions, Human Resource Development minister Smriti Irani played an ace, bringing up a previous event of alleged blasphemy against the goddess Durga on the JNU campus. This was an incendiary mix of religion and nationalism that can fire up not only the BJP base but many voters across the Hindi heartland.
Patriot but not a nationalist
Back in JNU, Kumar presents a sharp contrast, calmly debating the very concept of nationalism. “I am a patriot but not a nationalist,” explained Kumar. “Nationalism is a European concept. India is a land of diversity – she has no one uniform identity.”
He argued: “The BJP’s nationalism is fake. Remember, the first words in the Constitution are ‘We, the People’. A minority, who is being lynched, is part of the People. A Dalit, who is told that a cow is purer than him, is part of the People.
“Nationalism is a ploy, nothing else, for the BJP. They’re doing it to distract people from economic issues. So that the people don’t ask Modi how he is able to afford a suit worth lakhs of rupees.”
Azadi within India
The student leader said that he was glad the azadi slogan has become so popular across the country. “This isn’t a treasonous or seditious slogan,” he said. “This talks of bettering the country.”
During his press conference, Kumar had been asked if he has plans to enter politics. He answered that right now he was a student leader more concerned with removing bed bugs from hostel rooms. Indeed, till February 9, that is what Kumar was – a rather nondescript student leader. Like countless other Jawaharlal Nehru Student Union presidents before him, constricted by a shrinking Left wing space, Kumar would also have graduated from university and faded into obscurity. But the government’s near-comical overreaction to a student event in JNU has meant Kumar now has the platform to rise much higher. His oratory and grasp of ideas means that the traditional political class looks tired and slow in front of him.
For now, those around him are convinced that he’s in for the long haul. One JNU faculty member suggested that the government had made a mistake by picking on Kumar: “Not only is he a great orator, but he is plucky. He won’t back down.”
Nyoooz
Mahaur was killed because he was a ‘gau rakshak’: MoS Katheria
http://www.nyoooz.com/lucknow/378763/mahaur-was-killed-because-he-was-a-gau-rakshak58-mos-katheria
Summary: Katheria said, “Mahaur was a ‘gau bhakt’ and he was poor. His only fault was that he was a ‘gau rakshak’ who reported incidents of this nature. Mahaur was threatened with being shot to death two days before he was murdered in broad daylight. “Focusing his attack on BSP rather than the ruling Samajwadi Party, Katheria also alleged Mayawati and her family were “no longer dalits”. Two days before his death, another dalit, Satyendra Jatav, was also killed.
LUCKNOW: Even as controversy over the death of Dalit VHP leader Arun Mahaur spread to the Uttar Pradesh assembly on Friday, and BJP resorted to noisy sloganeering in the well of the house, Union minister of state for HRD Ram Shankar Katheria maintained he had not targeted any specific community when he said Mahaur was killed because he was a ‘gau rakshak’ (cow protector) given to reporting ‘unlawful’ activities in a ‘basti’ (slum) where ‘incidents of this nature happened regularly.On a whirlwind three-hour trip to Lucknow, Katheria said, “In the prevailing conditions, people are being killed. Mahaur was threatened with being shot to death two days before he was murdered in broad daylight. His only fault was that he was a ‘gau rakshak’ who reported incidents of this nature.
His death lead to natural social reaction. As MP of Agra, I spoke on the issue, but I did not say anything with the intent to target any community or person.”While the minister could not point out any concrete action the Centre had taken in its alleged fight-for-justice for Mahaur, he said that the Union home minister had bee n requested to intervene in the matter.In the run up to UP’s assembly polls in 2017, where Katheria is projected as the BJP’s most prominent dalit face, the minister’s statements made it amply clear the party would lumber forth with both its Hindutva agenda, and its dalit outreach, with Bahujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati identified as its chief opponent. Katheria said, “Mahaur was a ‘gau bhakt’ and he was poor.
The Indian express
11-yr-old found killed in Hardoi , human sacrifice suspected
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/lucknow-11-yr-old-found-killed-in-hardoi-human-sacrifice-suspected/
In a suspected case of human sacrifice, a 11-year-old girl was found murdered with her throat slit in a village under Behta Gokul police station area in Hardoi district Friday morning.
According to police, Anupriya, daughter of Ram Murti, went missing Thursday evening. The family searched for her but she could not be traced until the next morning when her body was found lying in an orchard.
“Her throat was slit with a sharp-edged weapon and a red chunri (scarf) was found lying near the body. The scene indicates that it could be a case of human sacrifice, but the family members of the girl have not alleged so in their complaint,” said Brajesh Tripathi, station officer of Behta Gokul police station. The girl was a student of Class V at the government primary school in her village, Kheria.
He said the family members of the girl have named nine persons from the village who they claimed had enmity with them. He said a few of the accused persons have been taken into custody for questioning.
He said the police are yet to receive the postmortem report, but are looking into all possibilities. The victim and the accused both belong to Dalit community.
Circle Officer Nitesh Singh said they are investigating the matter and declined to comment on the killing being linked to human sacrifice as the investigation is underway. However, he said the material used for worship was found from the spot where the girl’s body was recovered.
News monitored by AMRESH & AJEET
