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Dalits Not Allowed to Enter Tirupur Temple, HR&CE Dept Says It Will Lose Its Sanctity – The new Indian express
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/Dalits-Not-Allowed-to-Enter-Tirupur-Temple-HRCE-Dept-Says-It-Will-Lose-Its-Sanctity/2016/03/18/article3332993.ece
Police lathi-charge protesting Dalits, bury Sankar’s body by force – Round table india
http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8511&catid=129&Itemid=195
‘Kausalya wants to return to husband’s family’ – Nyoooz
http://www.nyoooz.com/coimbatore/394575/kausalya-wants-to-return-to-husbands-family
RECOGNISE INHUMANITY OF THE CASTE SYSTEM – The pioneer
http://www.dailypioneer.com/letters-to-the-editor/recognise-inhumanity-of-the-caste-system.html
What Tamil Women Want in 2016: An End to Domestic Violence – The wire
http://thewire.in/2016/03/18/what-tamil-women-want-in-2016-an-end-to-domestic-violence-25050/
“Arm-twisting defeats purpose of reservation” – The hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/armtwisting-undermines-reservation/article8368104.ece
Italian firm accused of posing threat to thousands in Ethiopia, Kenya – Sudan tribune
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article58336
Polls took a toll on utilisation of funds under SC, ST Sub-Plan, says Anjaneya – Nyoooz
http://www.nyoooz.com/bengaluru/394550/polls-took-a-toll-on-utilisation-of-funds-under-sc-st-subplan-says-anjaneya
Winning SCP proposals to be reviewed while redrafting Panjim plan – Oheraldo e paper
http://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Winning-SCP-proposals-to-be-reviewed-while-redrafting-Panjim-plan/100055.html
DDC distributes cheques under SCA – Daily excelsior .com
http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/ddc-distributes-cheques-sca/
Please Watch:
Celebration of Dalit man’s murder in Tamil Nadu on social media
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvFs25IyFyI
The new Indian express
Dalits Not Allowed to Enter Tirupur Temple, HR&CE Dept Says It Will Lose Its Sanctity
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/Dalits-Not-Allowed-to-Enter-Tirupur-Temple-HRCE-Dept-Says-It-Will-Lose-Its-Sanctity/2016/03/18/article3332993.ece
TIRUPUR: Dalits of seven villages in Tirupur district are not allowed to worship at the a new Uthamapalayam Mariyamman temple, which was built by the area’s caste Hindus because the old temple, under HR&CE (Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments) Department, ‘lost its sanctity’ when Dalits entered it in 2010.
The old Mariamman Temple in Utthamapalayam, near Vellakoil, was built in 1964.
However, caste Hindus then formed the ‘Mariamman Kovil Trust’ and built a new temple in the village. The trust was later renamed as ‘Pudhu Mariamman Koil Trust’ in view of questions about the legality of a trust in the name of the existing temple under the HR&CE Department. There are no Dalits in the 11-member trust.
When Dalits tried to take part in the consecration ceremony of the new temple, caste Hindus attacked them for entering it. Following this, the Dharapuram Revenue Divisional Officer ordered its closure.
The attackers were booked under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the district administration paid compensations to 149 Dalits. However, only one person was given Rs 1 lakh and the others were given amounts as low as Rs 12,500.
“The amount should be equal for all victims as the compensation was not for physical injuries, but for the injury to their rights,” said S Karuppaiah, convener of the Uthamapalayam Temple Entry Agitation Committee and State joint general secretary of Dalit Liberation Movement. Dalits from the villages of Uthamapalayam, Velampalayam, Thasavanaickenpatty, Naganaickenpatty, Thenkalipalayam, Kaattupalayam and Thalakkarai got the right to enter the old temple only decades after it was built and are now continuing their legal battle to enter the new temple.
A case about the ownership of the temple is currently pending in the Dharapuram Sub-court. The next hearing is scheduled to be held on June 3, 2016.
A member of the Pudhu Mariamman Koil Trust said that it owns the new temple and that others could not claim ownership. “We can provide documents showing that we own the new temple. The HR&CE Department has not acquired it,” he told Express.
Round table india
Police lathi-charge protesting Dalits, bury Sankar’s body by force
http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8511&catid=129&Itemid=195
On 13.3.16, Sankar was murdered by a caste Hindu group for his inter caste marriage. His wife was seriously injured and now in stable condition in hospital. Sankar’s body was brought yesterday (14.3.16) to his native Komaralingam, Udumalaipettai from Coimbatore after post mortem. Dalits refused to bury his body till the murderers are arrested and blocked the road in order to prevent the police from taking the body. Some started protesting inside the cemetery. Later at around 11 pm police lathi charged the protesting Dalits, took control of the body and forced Sankar’s father to bury him.
This video is part 1 of the 2 videos acquired by VCK media wing that documents the police atrocity on Dalits. This shows protesting Dalits on the road and cemetery. It shows police lathi charging and arresting them. Jallipatti Murugan, VCK district secretary and Sathish Kumar, VCK spokesperson of Thirupur south district helped us in getting this video.
Sankar’s body buried by police in presence of his father and relatives (part 2 of 2)
Follow my earlier part 1 video. After police lathi charged and arrested Dalits, Sankar’s body was taken by police along with his father and buried. VCK and other movements were protesting with the Dalits, around 10 were injured in the lathi charge. Earlier Sankar’s legally married wife Kausalya was denied her request to see her husband’s body for the last time by the administration. It took us a whole day to get access to these videos that document police atrocities over Dalits. Due to the sensitive nature of the issue Please share widely or download them and post it on your own. Update: A team from National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) is investigating Dalit youth Sankar’s murder case in Udumalaipettai and met with Sankar’s parents today. Media reports that the commission has issued notice to the district police department to explain the lathi charge on peaceful Dalit protesters and burial of Sankar’s body by force. Please send the videos documenting police atrocity on Dalits accessed and shared by VCK media wing to the commission, which will help them in their investigation.
Nyoooz
‘Kausalya wants to return to husband’s family’
http://www.nyoooz.com/coimbatore/394575/kausalya-wants-to-return-to-husbands-family
Summary: Kausalya, the caste Hindu wife of Dalit youth V. Shankar, the victim of ‘honour’ killing in Udumalpet, wants to return to her husband’s family once she is discharged from hospital, according to Puthiya Tamilagam leader K. Krishnasamy. Meanwhile, hospital authorities said that Kausalya may remain in the ICU for a few more days despite her speedy recovery. He also suggested that the government should confiscate the property of persons involve in “honour” killings and expressed confidence that such measures would end such heinous crimes. “Kausalya named a few of her relatives and held them responsible for the brutal incident,” he said and added the girl has evinced interest in returning to the boy’s family. Mr. Krishnasamy urged the State government to provide jobs for Shankar’s wife and his brother.
Kausalya, the caste Hindu wife of Dalit youth V. Shankar, the victim of ‘honour’ killing in Udumalpet, wants to return to her husband’s family once she is discharged from hospital, according to Puthiya Tamilagam leader K. Krishnasamy. The Dalit party leader had met Kausalya at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, where she is undergoing treatment for injuries sustained during the attack by an armed gang allegedly hired by her father, who was opposed to her love marriage with Shankar.
“She is physically improving but is mentally disturbed,” Mr Krishnasamy told journalists here on Thursday. “Kausalya named a few of her relatives and held them responsible for the brutal incident,” he said and added the girl has evinced interest in returning to the boy’s family. Stating that he has made repeated representations in the Tamil Nadu Assembly seeking a separate legislation to end to “honour” killings, he hoped that the State and Union Governments would at least now work on this without delay. He also suggested that the government should confiscate the property of persons involve in “honour” killings and expressed confidence that such measures would end such heinous crimes. Mr. Krishnasamy urged the State government to provide jobs for Shankar’s wife and his brother.
The pioneer
RECOGNISE INHUMANITY OF THE CASTE SYSTEM
http://www.dailypioneer.com/letters-to-the-editor/recognise-inhumanity-of-the-caste-system.html
The killing of a Dalit youth, married to a high-caste girl, in Tamil Nadu is disturbing. No less disturbing is the widespread indifference to such honour killings in society at large. To ignore these brutal murders is to betray humanity. Hacking a young man to death, in the presence of his injured wife, in full public view on a busy road, as was done to V Shankar, is unfathomable.
Many regard inter-caste marriages involving Dalit men as unforgivable crimes. Concepts of family honour and the so-called purity of the gene pool are used to rationalise these macabre murders. All caste votaries have the blood of young Dalit men, murdered for being born into the ‘wrong’ caste, on their hands.
Following these dreadful killings, society must recognise the inhumanity of the caste system. These caste-based murders vindicate and strengthen BR Ambedkar’s case for the annihilation of caste.
The wire
What Tamil Women Want in 2016: An End to Domestic Violence
http://thewire.in/2016/03/18/what-tamil-women-want-in-2016-an-end-to-domestic-violence-25050/
Half of the electorate in Tamil Nadu faces brutal violence every day; women are now demanding an end to fear, beatings and rape in Periyar’s land.
Barely a child herself, 20-year-old L Sindhika carries a toddler in her arms while peeking shyly from behind a pillar. Her haunted eyes speak volumes about life in the Thiru Vi Ka Nagar slum in the heart of Trichy in Tamil Nadu.
Five years ago Sindhika fell in love with and married an autorickshaw driver, Selvakumar. For the last three years, Sindhika is filled with dread as dusk falls; Selvakumar comes home drunk and beats her brutally every single day.
“I have given a police complaint and he has even gone to jail,” Sindhika told The Wire, speaking softly. “After a month or so he comes out of jail and begins beating me again.”
Why doesn’t she leave, maybe go back to her parents’ house? “I ran away and married him, so they don’t accept me anymore,” said Sindhika, adding, “I went home once unable to bear the beatings. My own parents asked me to go away. I don’t have anywhere to go.”
Her neighbour and friend S Sermathangam spews abuse at Selvakumar. “All the teenage boys in this slum are learning from him,” she said. “It is a cycle – they watch older men behave like this and they grow up to become like them, beating their wives,” she added.
Sindhika is another hidden number in Tamil Nadu’s growing crime rates. In 2012, the state topped the charts with a record 3983 cases of domestic violence out of the total 9431 cases reported in the country, as tabled in parliament by the then Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath. According to 2014 data from the National Crime Records Bureau, Tamil Nadu’s statistics are not particularly alarming, with only 1.9% to India’s crimes against women and cases under Section 498-A pertaining to cruelty by husband or his relatives numbering merely 2103.
The statistics may seem rosy but the reality is in truth grim, say experts working to help women facing violence. “Most people go in for a compromise and cases are not filed,” explained PA Lucia, an advocate and co-ordinator of the Federation Against Atrocities on Women in Tamil Nadu. “It is very tough to bring perpetrators of violence to book in such cases. First the police negotiate and settle things. If the woman crosses that barrier, the lawyers negotiate. Families put pressure on the woman not to file complaints,” she said.
The last National Family Health Survey conducted in 2005-06 and released in 2008 throws up some stark data – among women aged 15-49 in Tamil Nadu, 39% had experienced violence.
Violence against women in the state has taken increasingly morbid forms, with honour killings on the rise in recent years, say experts. Madurai-based Evidence, an NGO dealing with atrocities against Dalits, has compiled a list of 81 honour killings in the past three years, with most victims being women. “Women are seen as carrying forward the honour of the caste,” said Kathir, Managing Director of Evidence. “So-called “upper caste” women who marry Dalits are sacrificed by their own parents,” he said. On March 13, a young couple was hacked in broad daylight in Udumalaipet, Tirupur district by a group of assailants on bikes. Dalit engineer Sankar and his 19-year-old wife Kausalya, from the Thevar community (an other backward caste), were attacked with sickles, killing Sankar and grievously injuring the young woman.
A tale of three acts of violence
Hailing from a small village in Ariyalur, 30-year-old A Jayakumari fell in love and eloped with Alphonse, a native of a Dombivili slum in Mumbai in 2010. Six years later, having been subjected to daily beatings from her husband and his family –mother, father, two sisters and an elder brother – Jayakumari called it quits and ran back home, leaving behind her two children.
“It became unbearable,” she told The Wire in a shaky voice. “One day after I had a C-section I was forced by my husband’s family to work. I did everything they asked. When I got up from sitting on the floor, there was a pool of blood there. I was the only earning member of the family, my husband never earned a penny. They would beat me and take my money from me,” she said. Jayakumari is desperately trying to get her children back from Mumbai. But with no money and her parents unwilling to support her, she says she has nowhere to turn.
Another young woman from Koliyanur village in Villupuram, 28-year-old B Kalaichelvi, decided to walk out of her marriage after she was forced to stay indoors for a few years, disallowed from calling home or even answering phone calls from her mother. Her husband, when questioned about having a mistress, tried to strangle her, she said. But she did not leave him then. She decided to leave with her infant and walk out only when he told her that she would have to sleep with the men he brought home.
“My father died when I was eight-years-old, leaving my mother with me and three other siblings,” said Kalaichelvi. “We only have each other. I have still not told my mother the whole truth of what happened,” she said. Kalaichelvi is now the sole breadwinner in the family, working for a paltry sum of 3000 rupees a month as a sanitary worker, struggling to feed six mouths in all. On top of this, she is paying off huge loans, taken to fight an unending court battle for a divorce from her husband.
Although Tamil Nadu boasts of a relatively better record than other states in terms of rape, survivors say there is no support system in place for them, either in society or by the government, as 39-year-old P Sathya from Tiruvannamalai found out when she was raped ten years ago. Despite successive state governments boasting of fast-track Mahila courts, Sathya’s legal battle continues without an end in sight. “I got married after that to a man who then beat me regularly,” she told The Wire. “In March 2015 my husband died, saddling me with a loan of 2 lakh rupees that he had taken without my knowledge. I don’t know how I am going to support my three children all on my own and repay this debt,” she said, shaking her head in resignation.
Advocate Lucia says it is high time women became a part of the political rhetoric of the state. “Just as there is a demand for closing liquor shops, it is time to demand an end to violence against women,” she said. “Women must only vote for the party that promises concrete action to put an end to violence against women. There is an urgent need for that now,” she added.
Hemmed in by aggression from an increasingly male-dominated society, the women of Tamil Nadu are stuck in a cycle of debilitating violence. They are demanding support from the state and society. Women in Periyar E.V. Ramasamy’s land are demanding respect.
The hindu
“Arm-twisting defeats purpose of reservation”
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/armtwisting-undermines-reservation/article8368104.ece
The purpose of reservation was being undermined as even the communities doing well as per socio-economic parameters were demanding reservation just because they could arm-twist governments, said Yagati Chinna Rao, Chairperson of Centre for the Study of Discrimination and Exclusion at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
He made the observation here on Thursday while referring to the recent protests by Jats in Haryana, Patidars in Gujarat and Kapus in Andhra Pradesh during a seminar on ‘Form and content of castes and communities of South India: past and present’ at Madurai Kamaraj University.
He said that some of these communities had high representation in government jobs, disproportionate to their population percentage. “They are also predominantly powerful in social and economic aspects. For instance, the Patidars control the diamond trade in Gujarat,” he said.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the governments bowing to such demands by these communities, Mr. Rao said, “Things have come to a pass that if a community is dominant and powerful enough, it can demand reservation.” He expressed concern over the recent honour killing of Dalit youth V. Sankar (22) at Udumalpet. “Till now, only Haryana was notorious for honour killings. It is sad that the phenomenon is on the rise in a progressive State like Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Earlier, in a sarcastic remark on the ongoing issue over sedition cases against JNU students, Mr. Rao began his speech by saying that he came from the land of ‘anti-nationals.’
Later, in his lecture, he explained how even Dalit movements were called ‘anti-nationals’ during the freedom struggle as their stand differed on many occasions from the mainstream freedom movement.
Scholars from various universities and colleges are presenting their papers at the two-day Indian Council of Social Science Research-sponsored national seminar organised by the School of Historical Studies at the MKU which began on Thursday.
Sudan tribune
Italian firm accused of posing threat to thousands in Ethiopia, Kenya
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article58336
March 17, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Survival International (SI)‚ a global movement for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples has lodged complaint against an Italian giant construction company, Salini, over impacts of one of Ethiopia mega projects, the Gilgel Gibe III hydro power plant it has built.
Survival said it has reported the Italian engineering giant Salini to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) over the rights impacts to communities in Ethiopia and Kenya.
It also stressed that the construction of the controversial dam in Ethiopia’s Omo River cuts off the Omo River’s regular flooding‚ over which 100‚000 people rely on to water their crops and livestock and a further 100,000 depend on indirectly.
It said the dam project will eventually destroy the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in Ethiopia and Kenya.
“Up to half a million people face starvation as a result of the dam Salini has constructed on the Omo River,” Survival said in a statement it issued on Monday.
According to experts, the dam project threatens Lake Turkana – the world’s largest permanent desert lake – and disaster for the 300,000 people from tribes living along its shores.
Survival said Salini did not seek the consent of local people before building the dam, but claimed that an “artificial flood release” would compensate them for their losses. However, this promised flood never came and thousands of people now face starvation.
According to Survival, the region is one of the most important sites in early human evolution‚ and an area of exceptional biodiversity‚ with two World Heritage Sites and five national parks.
“The head of Kenya’s conservation agency said last week that the dam is unleashing “one of the worst environmental disasters you can imagine.”
Stephen Corry of Survival international said “Salini has ignored crucial evidence‚ made false promises and ridden roughshod over the rights of hundreds of thousands of people.”
“Thousands are now facing starvation because Italy’s largest contractor‚ and one of its best known companies‚ didn’t think human rights were worth its time,” he said.
He said the real consequences of the Ethiopian government’s devastating policies for its country’s ’development’‚ which were “shamefully supported by western aid agencies like the UK’s DFID and USAID”‚ are plain for all to see.
Stealing people’s land and causing massive environmental destruction, he added, is not progress; it is a death sentence for tribal peoples.
Ethiopia has been facing massive protests from a number of international rights groups and environmental campaigners over the construction of the Gibe III dam project.
Groups like the International Rivers, Friends of Lake Turkana, The Oakland Institute, and other groups argued that no inclusive Environmental and Social Impact Assessment was made ahead of the construction and extensively campaigned for halt of the project.
According to the groups, Gibe III like those Gibe I and II diverts the flow of the Omo River in Ethiopia, which feeds 90% of Lake Turkana in Kenya and endangers the lake and tens of thousands of people from 17 ethnic groups who live in the Lower Omo Valley.
Despite huge pressure, Ethiopia however recently completed the Gibe which is the country’s second largest hydro power plant after the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam; the horn of Africa’s nation is building along the Nile River.
Gibe III, a 610 meter-long and 243 meter high roller-compacted concrete dam has power generation capacity of 1,870 Megawatt.
Ethiopia has dismissed allegations that its dam projects will cause environmental damage to populations in Ethiopia and Kenya.
Previously, Addis Ababa however said claims released by the rights groups are bogus. It further accused them of working for the interest of their western alleys.
Nyoooz
Polls took a toll on utilisation of funds under SC, ST Sub-Plan, says Anjaneya
http://www.nyoooz.com/bengaluru/394550/polls-took-a-toll-on-utilisation-of-funds-under-sc-st-subplan-says-anjaneya
Summary: He said the departments of Social Welfare, Scheduled Tribe Development and Backward Classes together had spent Rs. He added that Karnataka’s Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan Act was progressive as the unutilised funds could be carried forward to the next year. Refuting allegations by Opposition parties on poor utilisation of funds under the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan, Minister for Social Welfare H. Anjaneya said at a press conference on Thursday that 73 per cent of the funds released had been utilised under the scheme. Mr. Anjaneya attributed laxity in utilisation to elections to local bodies. Discounting the allegation by the Opposition parties on the dismal performance of the Ganga Kalyana Yojane, he said over 36,000 borewells had been dug in the last three years and power connections had been given to over 26,000 borewells.
Refuting allegations by Opposition parties on poor utilisation of funds under the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan, Minister for Social Welfare H. Anjaneya said at a press conference on Thursday that 73 per cent of the funds released had been utilised under the scheme. He promised to utilise 90 per cent by end of this fiscal.
Mr. Anjaneya attributed laxity in utilisation to elections to local bodies. He added that Karnataka’s Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan Act was progressive as the unutilised funds could be carried forward to the next year. He said the departments of Social Welfare, Scheduled Tribe Development and Backward Classes together had spent Rs.
Oheraldo e paper
Winning SCP proposals to be reviewed while redrafting Panjim plan
http://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Winning-SCP-proposals-to-be-reviewed-while-redrafting-Panjim-plan/100055.html
while redrafting the SCP for Panjim. The deadline for submission of new SCP before the Centre is April 15.
The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has decided to seek fresh public inputs on the proposals which include city level criteria, area based development and pan city solutions.
“We are preparing a document of all the selected SCPs, which would be properly analyzed and wherever possible will incorporate the methods while drafting revised SCP for Panjim city,” CCP Commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues told media persons on Thursday.
Rodrigues said the first meeting of the council will be held on March 21, wherein the resolution would be passed on the revised proposal. The upgraded SCP will be placed before High Powered Select Committee and Council on March 23.
A special public consultation is scheduled on March 22. “The council will clear the new proposal on March 30 and the HPSC on March 31,” he said. “By April 15, our revised proposal will be sent to Union Ministry,” he added.
Panjim failed to find a place in the first 20 cities selected for the Smart City Mission fund in January. The city ranks 5th in the smart city fast-track competition list.
Panjim secured the 32nd rank in the first round. The Union Ministry is on record that SCP failed in the city level criteria, area based development and pan city solutions. Some of the specific gaps in the proposal include lack of quantified service indicators, inadequate justification of urban design, lack of spatial detailing, user charges, inclusiveness, etc.
Daily excelsior .com
DDC distributes cheques under SCA
http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/ddc-distributes-cheques-sca/
JAMMU, Mar 17: District Development Commissioner Jammu, Simrandeep Singh today distributed cheques among 82 beneficiaries for setting up dairy units under the Scheme ‘Special Central Assistance to Scheduled Caste Sub Plan’ (SCA to SCSP) 2015-16 during a programme organized by the Department of Animal Husbandry at Belicharana.
Under the scheme, Rs. 20,000 each were given away as cash incentive which was directly credited into the respective accounts of beneficiaries for purchase of dairy animals, one chaff cutter, feed and mineral mixture required for establishment of such units.
Among others, Director Animal Husbandry Department Jammu, Chief Animal Husbandry Officer and other concerned officers were present on the occasion.
News monitored by AMRESH & AJEET
