Dalit women denied access to water in MP village on Ambedkar Jayanti – The Hindustan times
http://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/dalit-women-denied-access-to-water-in-mp-village-on-ambedkar-jayanti/story-RDGOoDt65U2ej8mmjErGaP.html
Dalits in Bechar village draw water under police guard, attacked later – The times of india
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Dalits-in-Bechar-village-draw-water-under-police-guard-attacked-later/articleshow/51849541.cms
Bhopal: ‘Saffron police’ punish ITI trainer for stalking Dalit student – Hindustan times
http://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/bhopal-saffron-police-punish-iti-trainer-for-stalking-dalit-student/story-LSRfotNMMq9KCEqtlzs81K.html
The Untouchables in a Land Where Ambedkar Still Stands Behind Iron Bars – The new Indian express
http://www.newindianexpress.com/assembly-elections-2016/tamil-nadu-polls/The-Untouchables-in-a-Land-Where-Ambedkar-Still-Stands-Behind-Iron-Bars/2016/04/16/article3382491.ece
That awkward moment RSS realised it’s been in love with Dalits all along – Daily O
http://www.dailyo.in/politics/br-ambedkar-dalit-politics-caste-system-rss-narendra-modi-sangh-parivar-organiser-hindutva/story/1/10103.html
Hindutva Efforts to Rewrite History in California Schools Fail – The wire
http://thewire.in/2016/04/15/hindutva-efforts-to-rewrite-history-in-california-schools-fail-29751/
Tempers run high in Eflu over Dalit scholar’s ouster – The times of india
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Tempers-run-high-in-Eflu-over-Dalit-scholars-ouster/articleshow/51848130.cms
Dalit organisations protest against Nandyal MLA – The hans india
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Andhra-Pradesh/2016-04-16/Dalit-organisations-protest-against-Nandyal-MLA/221912
Sorry BR Ambedkar, modern India has let Dalits down – Dna
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-sorry-br-ambedkar-modern-india-has-let-dalits-down-2202460
Dalit gang-rape, murder victims to get Rs 8.25L relief – Deccan herald
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/540747/dalit-gang-rape-murder-victims.html
3,30,64,900 SC and OBC students get Scholarships worth Rs 7,465 Crore during 2014-16 – Odisha news insight
http://www.odishanewsinsight.com/breakingnews/33064900-sc-and-obc-students-get-scholarships-worth-rs-7465-crore-during-2014-16/
Congress remembers Dalits only at the time of elections, says Raje – The hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/congress-remembers-dalits-only-at-the-time-of-elections-says-raje/article8481627.ece
The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Rules, 2016 notified – Live low .in
http://www.livelaw.in/scheduled-castes-scheduled-tribes-prevention-atrocities-amendment-rules-2016-notified/
Please Watch:
Ravish kumar criticise political parties on 125th anniversary of Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umcuU1Y-l8o
Note: Please find attachment for DMW Hindi (PDF)
The Hindustan times
Dalit women denied access to water in MP village on Ambedkar Jayanti
http://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/dalit-women-denied-access-to-water-in-mp-village-on-ambedkar-jayanti/story-RDGOoDt65U2ej8mmjErGaP.html
Dalits continue to be denied access to drinking water allegedly on caste lines in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.
The latest incident was reported from Betul district on Monday, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was praising the exalted persona of architect of constitution BR Ambedkar at latter’s birthplace 275 km away at Mhow-Indore.
Dalit woman in Barahwi village of Betul district, including Parwati were allegedly denied access to water from taps connected to a tube well, allegedly on caste lines.
The 45-year-old Ingle alleged that the Dalit women had gone to fetch water for an Ambedkar Jayanti program, when the women from the powerful Thakre clan stopped them from drawing water from the taps.
When the Dalits protested, the women from other caste allowed them to have water from two of the nine taps, but along with a rider that neither the Dalits nor their buckets should touch the water vessels of the other caste, which dominates the village.
The Dalits protested over this development, after which the women from the other caste started verbally abusing the Dalits and forced them to go away from the spot.
The matter was subsequently taken up by the village panchayat headed by a tribal sarpanch Mamta Sariyam, but with none of the two groups ready for a compromise, the matter remained unresolved.
Parwati and other Dalit women subsequently submitted a complaint to the Betul AJK police station on Friday morning, demanding action against the other caste women.
Acting in the matter, an AJK police team led by sub-inspector RK Bisare conducted on spot investigations in the village and recorded statements of all concerned. “We’ve recorded statements of both groups and will take necessary action in the matter on Saturday,” RK Bisare told Hindustan Times.
Several incidents of Dalits allegedly denied access to drinking water have been reported in the recent past in MP.
Past incidents
A 13-year-old Dalit boy in MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s home district Sehore was allegedly assaulted and his arm broken when he drank water from the well of an upper caste farmer on April 7.
A month earlier in Damoh district, a nine-year-old Dalit boy drowned in a well in March where he had gone to drink water after being denied access to the hand pump in his school.
The same month Dalits and Patels had clashed over drinking water dispute in Chhattarpur dispute and cases were lodged by both sides against each other.
The times of india
Dalits in Bechar village draw water under police guard, attacked later
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Dalits-in-Bechar-village-draw-water-under-police-guard-attacked-later/articleshow/51849541.cms
Ahmedabad: A dalit family was attacked on Friday, for drawing water from a well in Bechar village of Bechraji taluka of Mehsana district by some persons of the Bharwad community. Four people, including a 14-year-old boy and two teenage girls suffered head injuries in the attack, said police.
This came was after the dalit community were allowed to draw water at the village for the first time following police intervention. After ToI report exposed the issue of dalits being barred from drawing water from the village well, a team of the Mehsana SC-ST Cell visited Bechar. During the visit, the sarpanch of the village accompanied the dalit community members as they drew water from the well. However, this harmony didn’t last long, as a Bharwad family attacked the dalits with sticks for ‘polluting their village well’.
S C Rathwa, deputy superintendent of police (DySP) with Mehsana Police’s SC and ST cell, said that he and a social justice department officer visited the village.”On April 14, we took the sarpanch to the village well and asked the dalits to draw water from it. The sarpanch gave an undertaking that the dalits would not be barred from drawing water,” Rathwa said.
“On Friday however, a Bharwad family attacked the dalits saying that they were untouchables and ‘had no right to pollute their water’,” Rathwa added.
He said an FIR has been registered against one Viha Popat Bharwad and two members of his family under the Atrocities Act.
The victims were identified as Hina Solanki (18), Damini Solanki (15), Karan Solanki and Poonam Solani (33).
Dilip Solanki, whose family was attacked, said they were beaten brutally because they drew water from the village well. He alleged that their community have been socially boycotted and supplies of milk and vegetables to them were stopped by members of dominant castes.
The sarpanch of the village – Kanu Bharwad – said all the communities in the village were “living in harmony”. About the violence, he said he was not at the village at that time.
Hindustan times
Bhopal: ‘Saffron police’ punish ITI trainer for stalking Dalit student
http://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/bhopal-saffron-police-punish-iti-trainer-for-stalking-dalit-student/story-LSRfotNMMq9KCEqtlzs81K.html
A 55-year-old teacher of an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Madhya Pradesh’s Hoshangabad, was arrested by police for alleged sexual harassment of a Dalit student, but not before he was “punished” by the saffron brigade.
A video recording of the incident being aired by television channels, shows a group of VHP, Bajrang Dal and ABVP activists storming into the administrative office of the ITI in Hoshangabad, about 75 km from Bhopal, on Wednesday and pulling out the accused Narayan Khatri, trainer wireman with the institute, dragging him to an adjoining hall and forcing him to touch the feet of the alleged victim–a fourth semester student.
The video clip shows that when the teacher refuses to touch the alleged victim’s feet, the group shouted and threatened “to get him arrested for alleged sexual assault under Section 376 (of Indian Penal Code)”.
One of the activists was seen pulling the teacher with a towel that he wore on shoulder, forcing the teacher to bow before the alleged victim.
The group led by Gajendra Chouhan and Ashiwini Sikarwar did not end “the punishment” there, as they are seen prompting the 19-year-old alleged victim to slap on the trainer and beat him up with her slippers.
The group raised Bharat Mata ki Jai, Vande Mataram and Jai Sri Ram slogans while the girl beat up Khatri.
A police team from Dehat police station rushed to the institute after getting a call on the dial 100 and arrested Khatri, said Dehat police station chief D Chandrawanshi.
“The girl in her statement alleged that Khatri was seeking sexual favours from her, verbally abused and slapped her,” he said.
“The girl in her statement alleged that Khatri was troubling her for more than a year, however, she never reported the matter either to the college administration or the police,” he told Hindustan Times.
“Khatri has been arrested and booked for stalking, obscenity and voluntarily causing hurt under Sections 354D, 294 and 323 of Indian Penal Code. He was also booked under the provisions of Scheduled Caste /Scheduled Tribe Act and will be produced before a court,” he said.
Asked about what action the police initiated against the group that was seen in video clip, rough up the trainer, Chandrawanshi said he did not have any information about the incident.
Khatri denied the allegation made by the victim student, saying that he was forced to touch her feet and beaten up by the group.
The new Indian express
The Untouchables in a Land Where Ambedkar Still Stands Behind Iron Bars
http://www.newindianexpress.com/assembly-elections-2016/tamil-nadu-polls/The-Untouchables-in-a-Land-Where-Ambedkar-Still-Stands-Behind-Iron-Bars/2016/04/16/article3382491.ece
On Thursday, politicians in Tamil Nadu celebrated yet another birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar. In many interior parts of the State, however, his statues were kept inside iron fences to protect them from casteist vandals. In this dichotomy lies the current status of Dalits in Tamil Nadu, the politics of which was influenced by Periyarist ideology but not entirely shaped by it, neither socially nor politically.
“Dalits have been denied their share in political power,” says Thol Thirumavalavan, leader of the Dalit outfit Vidhuthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). He should know. For, despite accounting for 20 per cent of the State’s population which should have helped them influence politics, Dalits in Tamil Nadu have always struggled to get their due. Thiruma’s anguish reflects not just his party’s concerns for a leap in electoral politics but also the anxieties shared by the community.
Dalit movement in the State has been a predecessor to the Dravidian movement and a host of Dalit intellectuals, including Pandit Iyothee Thass and Rettaimalai Srinivasan, had been against caste discrimination since the 1890s. After their demise, the independent Dalit movement in the State weakened in the absence of leadership. And in the first half of the last century, most of them were with the Congress.
Once the Dravidian movement gained traction, it gave them hopes of a new order where casteism could be a thing of the past. However, say critics, the move to reform the society happened only from the top to the middle, from the Brahmins and other upper castes up until the intermediary castes, but never percolated to the bottom.
Dalit youth V Shankar, who was hacked to death a month ago in Udumalaipet by a gang of intermediary caste Hindus for marrying a girl from their caste, shows that for the Dalit community, in effect, only the figures have changed not the equation. “Though DMK president M Karunanidhi rose to power from a lower caste, he diluted the Dravidian idea of abolishing caste,” notes Dalit activist, writer and poet, Yazhan Aathi, rather critically.
According to him, Karunanidhi instead institutionalised caste by selecting candidates belonging to the caste that is dominant in a particular region which eventually led to strengthening of OBCs in their own pockets. There indeed were Dalit politicians within the Dravidian parties, but they were patronised rather than accepted, and were allegedly not allowed to raise issues faced by their communities.
A turning point in Dalit politics came a quarter of a century ago, when the country celebrated Amdebkar’s centenary. A new consciousness among them coupled with continuing atrocities — particularly in the southern districts — gave birth to two social organisations: VCK that attracted the Parayar sect of the Dalit community concentrated in the north, and Puthiya Thamizhagam (PT) in the south where the Pallar population is high. But they haven’t been successful either.
“Rather than coming together on a common platform and creating a separate political space to fight for Dalit issues, these two have often traded their mobilisation strengths for electoral tickets with either DMK or AIADMK. As a result, they were treated as only accompaniments during electoral seat-sharing talks,” points out Dalit activist and political analyst, A Marx.
VCK has announced it would be contesting in 25 constituencies on behalf of the Third Front comprising smaller parties. On the other hand, PT would be contesting only in four seats as part of the DMK-led front in the upcoming 2016 TN Assembly elections.
Though these parties emerged as a counter-hegemonic discourse opposing Dravidian ideologies, the Dalit votes remain unconsolidated even today because of the complex fragmented nature of Dalit votes and strong identity politics followed by the Dravidian parties, Marx added.
Observers cite three main reasons for non-consolidation of Dalit votes: fear of leaders that they might lose electoral identity, psychology of people as a group and geo-politics. Yazhan Aathi says after this election, VCK and PT would realise how their alliance parties have used them for their vote-banks.
While the major parties are said to be losing momentum, parties like Pattali Makkal Katchi are returning to casteist roots, consolidating the support of all anti-Dalit, intermediary caste outfits. At this crucial juncture, Dalit parties would be forced to think about ‘Dalit Liberation’ based on Dr Ambedkar’s ideology, he believes.
Daily O
That awkward moment RSS realised it’s been in love with Dalits all along
http://www.dailyo.in/politics/br-ambedkar-dalit-politics-caste-system-rss-narendra-modi-sangh-parivar-organiser-hindutva/story/1/10103.html
A palimpsest of ideologies formed by the falling of Ram Navmi (the day Lord Ram was born) and Ambedkar Jayanti on consecutive days allows us to look at the “race to appropriate Ambedkar” through these two antithetical figures. One, Ram, however a mythological character, dominates political Hindutva as championed by the RSS (Rashtriya Swamasevak Sangh).
In 1954, Dr Ambedkar, in his series of essays called Riddles of Hindusim, lays bare his views on both Ram and Krishna. Besides other flaws, he holds Ram responsible for the murder of Shambuka, a “Shudra”/Dalit not too far from present-day Nagpur, for the sake of Brahmin appeasement.
None of the speeches made by RSS or BJP leaders on Dr Ambedkar’s birth anniversary cared to touch upon this bedrock of Dalit politics; that oppression by upper castes is endorsed by Hindu myths. This didn’t stop them from trying to lay credit on Ambedkar and his politics though.
But, speaking in many tongues is an old RSS tactic.
From being anti-caste to turning pro-Ambedkar, the godly men of Nagpur are perfect when it comes to the art of (mis)appropriation.
In 2006, Organiser, the RSS loudspeaker, published a scathing article by its editor MV Kamath against reservations. It said, ” …how long is this reservation system to last? Five more years? Ten? Fifteen? Twenty five? Fifty? Another sixty? When will this stop? There must be a clear understanding on the issue so that those involved know where they stand. Governmental complacency is as much to be blamed as Dalit complacency.”
It also said: “Reservations have been the bane of our society. Reservations have perpetuated the caste, class and religious divide in our society which is self-destructive. Instead of forgetting their caste or religious affiliations, the people belonging to various social groups have long-and insistently-felt the need to maintain their identities in order to get a share of the power-cake.”
This is an old Hindutva trope: reservations breed incompetence and devalue merit. They are counter-productive and were responsible for the “brain-drain” from India. These are the famous grouse of India’s upper-castes.
“When one is used to privilege, equality feel like oppression”, whoever said this, was also speaking on behalf of India’s elites, who had to unlearn and give up attitudes and privileges acquired over centuries, once India became a constitutional democracy.
68 years later they are still unlearning and the pace has only slowed down since the Modi government came to power.
Since 1949, when it burnt Dr Ambedkar’s effigy for the first time, the RSS, in myriad savarna ways, has finally realised, or so it seems, that it can no longer appear to treat Dalits like lesser human beings.
The realisation is catalysed by the country-wide mobilisation of Dalit forces and progressive groups after the student wing of the BJP colluded with Hyderabad Central University administration against Rohith Vemula and other Dalit students. If the anti-Dalit tag has been like a birthmark, like a mole, for the RSS and BJP, Rohith’s death and its treatment has transformed it into an inerasable blotch on their faces.
It is to dispel this impression that the RSS is doing all it can to shed the anti-Dalit tag. RSS organised “guards of honour” at Ambedkar statues in various places in the country as well at his birthplace Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.
While no party can claim to have done justice for Dalits, the BJP is certainly the last party that should try to appropriate Dalits. In Mhow itself, Dalits are still forced by upper-castes to cremate their dead in a separate burning ground. Madhya Pradesh tops the chart when it comes to atrocities against Dalits.
In 2013, a written order by a collector was issued, demanding that in order for a Dalit to obtain a scholarship, he/she must produce a photograph with a dead animal as “proof”. The Modi-media campaign to rebrand itself as pro-Dalit cannot succeed till such incidents keep taking place under the aegis of RSS and its offshoots.
Another example that illustrates the Sangh agenda of upper-caste domination is reflected in the tourism campaign of neighbouring Rajasthan. For decades, royals and traders have held the power-knobs of this state: while the royals have packaged culture to be sold to foreign tourists, the traders have benefitted from it equally since India’s economic liberalisation in 1991.
Its latest advertising campaign brands itself as “Aryasthan” through the eyes of a tourist who could be Indian or not, but the name Arya cannot be a coincidence. It lies at the core of the RSS view of India or Aryavrat, the land of Aryas: the noble race that brought civilisation to the sub-continent. How about calling Rajasthan, Meenasthan or Banjarasthan or even Dalitasthan!
It is unlikely to happen at least in the present Vasundhara Raje government’s tenure which is currently shielding the principal and warden of the college where Delta Meghwal, a Dalit student was raped and murdered. Even in 2016, and even under a “strong leader” like Narendra Modi, atrocities against Dalits continue unabated and might have increased in fact.
PM’s opportunistic ‘Dalit Prem’
On April 14, the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar, Modi thanked him for creating the constitutional framework that allowed the son of a poor person to become the prime minister and in typical Modispeak, he praised farmers and showered accolades and pithy adjectives on them.
Ironical and self-explanatory is the fact that while a person from a marginalised community can be the prime minister, it is, nevertheless, still impossible for him/her to become the chief of the RSS, where Modi was once a pracharak. Till date, the RSS hasn’t had a single Dalit in its top rungs leave alone a Dalit heading the organisation itself. One wonders if the Prime Minister has to say something about this.
PM’s love for Dalits is not surprising given they are crucial to the formation of any government be it in the states or at centre. What is intriguing is the RSS’ new found love for Dr Ambedkar. Its mouthpieceOrganiser‘s April 17 issue has Ambedkar on the front page and there are reams of pages praising his politics.
Sample this from the editorial, “There is a need to implement the spirit of reservation more vigorously and genuinely, beyond short term political considerations, so that we can attain the social equality and fraternity expected by Babasaheb as early as possible”. In its entire history, the RSS has never given a “guard of honour’ to Dr Ambedkar; also, in the last ten years at least, the Organiser has never had a cover story on Ambedkar; and, most importantly, in the last ten years, there has not been a Dalit mobilisation in the manner and degree that we are witnessing today.
Perhaps this more than anything else explains the mad rush to appropriate Ambedkar by the Hindutva brigade. But, the indelible anti-caste taint on them was only made darker and deeper by the conversion of Rohith’s family to Buddhism.
Like Dr Ambedkar who famously said, “I was born a Hindu but I will not die a Hindu”, and embraced Buddhsim in 1956, 60 years later Rohith’s family converted to Buddhism (dismissed by RSS as an “offshoot of Hindusim”).
“From today, my mother and I will be free from shame, free from the daily humiliation, free from the guilt of praying to the same god in whose name our people have been tortured for centuries”, his brother Raja said after the conversion.
The high priests of RSS and Modi should heed these words.
The wire
Hindutva Efforts to Rewrite History in California Schools Fail
http://thewire.in/2016/04/15/hindutva-efforts-to-rewrite-history-in-california-schools-fail-29751/
New York: California reviews its textbooks every six years, inviting public opinion each time. The process has never been easy. The ‘golden state’ has again got far more than it bargained for in its latest round of reviews, with American right-wing Hindu groups demanding changes to the history and social science textbooks used in the sixth and seventh grades.
On March 28, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), the Uberoi Foundation for Religious Studies and the Dharma Civilization Foundation suffered a setback when a history and social science committee in Sacramento threw out most of the changes they wanted to make to the new California textbooks, which are slated for publication later this year. However, the California State Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the proposed framework changes in May.
“As much as it is about California textbooks, it is truly a battle which is ideological in nature,” said Thenmozhi Soundararajan of the Ambedkar Association of California, which with six other secular Indian groups is trying to make sure the “egregious edits” submitted by HAF to the education board don’t find their way into the textbooks.
According to activists like Soundararajan, right-wing Hindu groups want to gloss over Indian history and deny the reality of caste discrimination by deleting the word ‘Dalit’ from the history textbooks of the state.
“You can’t distort facts, whitewash history and deny what’s happened to millions of Indians from marginalised communities who are victims of caste apartheid,” said Soundararajan, who is the co-founder of Dalit History Month. “You cannot tamper with and bring ideology into the framing of the past.”
HAF and other right-wing Hindu groups, however, maintain that issues such as the caste system, the plight of dalits and discrimination against women do not belong in a sixth-grade introduction to world civilisations.
HAF says that Indian American children are embarrassed by the depiction of Hinduism in ancient India in the history textbook.
California ninth grader Akanksha Maddi wrote in a statement released by HAF that the textbooks are unfair to students of Indian heritage.
“My classmates and teachers think that we Hindus still believe in primitive and unjust practices,” Maddi wrote. “I don’t want my friends to look down upon me and my culture because of my textbook.”
The Uberoi Foundation for Religious Studies says Hindus are merely seeking parity with other religions in sixth grade textbooks, where social problems of other religions are not given the same prominence, even as the redeeming features of Hinduism are ignored.
Shiva G. Bajpai, professor emeritus of Asian Studies at California State University, asked the education board for a revision, writing: “Hindu children are bullied by their classmates for the system of varna and jati because the social iniquities of other religions go unmentioned… If the commission insists on keeping lines 862 to 874, it should add 300 to 400 word comments on social order and slavery for the Abrahamic religions.
However, the South Asian Faculty Group made up of South Asian scholars from Stanford, UC Berkeley, San Francisco State University and UCLA, among others, held that history should not be tampered with, even if it is unpleasant.
“We are disturbed by claims that an equitable portrayal should prevail over historical accuracy,” said an expert who didn’t want to be named for fear of being targeted. “It is a slippery slope.”
Protests over “erasing” India
HAF is spearheading protests across America because it says it has discovered over 30 places in the sixth and seventh grade history textbooks where the words “Hindu” or “India” would be replaced in the new textbooks with “South Asia.”
Samir Kalra, senior director of HAF, told The Washington Post that the proposed changes could have “implications for several years forward,” and could diminish the significance of Hindus in the ancient civilisation of India. Kalra told the newspaper that the textbook changes appear to only reflect revisions aimed at India and Hinduism: China will not be changed to “East Asia,” nor will there be changes to any references to Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism or any other religions.
The South Asian Faculty Group has fired back, saying that during the submissions in the public comment process it suggested that in some places “India” be replaced with “South Asia” because some of the areas discussed currently belong to Pakistan and are not aligned with modern-day India
“Although ‘Ancient India’ is common in the source material, when discussing the Indus Valley Civilisation, we believe it will cause less confusion to students to refer to the “Early Civilisation of South Asia” or “Ancient South Asia” because much of the Indus Valley is now in modern Pakistan. Conflating “Ancient India” with the modern nation-state of India deprives students from learning about the shared civilisational heritage of India and Pakistan,” the group said in a letter responding to HAF.
The California State Board of Education will vote in May on whether to retain descriptions of the caste system, role of women, Aryan migrational history and polytheism in ancient Hindu religion and other issues – as the textbook furore rages on.
The times of india
Tempers run high in Eflu over Dalit scholar’s ouster
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Tempers-run-high-in-Eflu-over-Dalit-scholars-ouster/articleshow/51848130.cms
Hyderabad: Fresh protests erupted in the English and Foreign Languages University (Eflu) after the proctor imposed restrictive orders on Dalit research scholar Koonal Duggal, a day after he was manhandled and forcibly removed from the campus. Students are now demanding that the proctor, Prakash Kona, be booked under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
On Friday, Koonal, along with a few other scholars, went to meet the proctor, but was allegedly ‘abused’ by him and labelled an ‘instigator’. He was later handed over a prohibitory order dated March 29, restricting his entry into the campus for ‘anti-university activities’.
“He continues to trespass on this campus, indulging in anti-university activities. Therefore, his entry in to the EFL University campus, which includes the hostels, is strictly prohibited, except with the permission of the proctor,” the circular handed over to Koonal reads.
The Dalit scholar, who belongs to the Juhala caste but goes by a Kshatriya surname that his father had ‘appropriated’ to avoid being treated as an untouchable, is amazed by this development. “I wish I had participated in some anti-Eflu incident, but there has not been a single protest in the university this year. I don’t know what anti-university activity the proctor is talking about,” he told TOI.
“I have been given this kind of a show cause notice when I do not even stay on campus. I have submitted my thesis and only come to university for viva or on few occasions,” Koonal added.
He also pointed out how discrimination against Dalits has been prevalent in Eflu for long. “Eflu has a notorious history of discrimination against Dalit students. In 2013, Dalit and tribal students were rusticated based on a false case saying they had broken the library door. The case is still going on. Also there is a professor in the German department who has been abusive to Dalit students,” said Koonal, who is also a visiting faculty at the department of fine arts in the University of Hyderabad (UoH).
At UoH, Koonal did actively participate in the students’ agitation following the suicide of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula. “If at all there could be anything I participated in, it was the voluntary boycott of classes that was called upon by UOH Joint Action Committee for Social Justice on March 29. But that was a protest against the police treatment of students and faculty members and against the UOH management,” he said.
Meanwhile, tempers ran hight at Eflu on Friday. The Dalit Adivasi Bahujan & Minority Students’ Association (DABMSA), Students’ Alliance for Justice and Democracy – EFLU (SAJD-E), Students’ Islamic Organization (SIO) and Muslim Students’ Front (MSF) released a joint statement condemning the circular. The statement pointed out how the proctor’s circular does not specify what he meant by ‘anti-university activities’.
The hans india
Dalit organisations protest against Nandyal MLA
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Andhra-Pradesh/2016-04-16/Dalit-organisations-protest-against-Nandyal-MLA/221912
Atmakur: The Dalit organisations staged a protest demonstration at Pamulapadu mandal headquarters condemning the rude comments by the Nandyal MLA. The MLA insulted Dalits on Dr BR Amedkar’s birth anniversary, alleged Kula Vivaksha Porata Samithi (KVPS), Mala Mahanadu, Dandora and other organisations.
The division president of KVPS Ramdas said that the MLA abused the Dalit leaders, when requested for a land for Ambedkar Bhavan. The representatives of Mala Mahanadu and Dandora Deva Bakthudu and Swamulu demanded the district administration to file SC/ST Atrocities case on the MLA. They demanded an unconditioned apology. Otherwise, we would launch a massive protest across the district, they warned.
Dna
Sorry BR Ambedkar, modern India has let Dalits down
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-sorry-br-ambedkar-modern-india-has-let-dalits-down-2202460
On April 14, every political party in town, from the Shiv Sena to the BJP, made a huge show of putting BR Ambedkar’s photo on their posters to show their respect for a man who was a political outcast during his lifetime. They celebrate Ambedkar’s legacy as if they’re doing everything in their power to uphold his values. Even the PM went big. Modi visited Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, Ambedkar’s birthplace, and spoke about how Congress had let Ambedkar down as he launched the Gramodaya Se Bharatodaya Abhiyan (Development of the Nation through Development of the Village)
The sad truth is that we’ve made little inroads as a nation against caste oppression, despite the lip-service that we continue to pay to this Dalit icon. Most of you reading this can’t imagine what caste oppression stands for because by the virtue of our privilege we’ve never experienced it. Our closest call with caste probably comes when people pick partners or fill up exam forms and lament how life is terrible for general students.
While I’ve been one of those complaining about it, only in later life does one realise that a few engineering seats hardly make up for years of oppression, which continues in this day and age. The only reason we don’t see it is because the urban Indian has become insulated from the harsh reality that most people in our nation face.
Real life isn’t like quantum mechanics and just because you didn’t observe the event doesn’t mean it didn’t occur. In fact, most people’s upbringing is such that we don’t even notice the oppression, as if a certain class of society doesn’t exist at all.
The chase for a couple of engineering seats doesn’t begin to make up for the years of atrocities that we have heaped on our Dalit brethren simply by the virtue of their birth.
As a youngster, Ambedkar was segregated in school and not allowed to sit with the rest of the children. When they needed water, someone from a higher caste would pour it for them from a height so that they didn’t ‘contaminate’ the water by touching it. This was usually done by the school peon and they would have to forgo the element of life if the peon was absent. Ambedkar would later write about this calling it “No peon, no water”.
If we think this is an incident that’s unthinkable in modern-day India, then we need to step out of our comfortable arm-chairs. Dalits, even today, continue to experience caste oppression that existed during Ambedkar’s time.
In October 2015, a Dalit student was thrashed by his teacher for touching the mid-day meal plates by his teacher. His father was also thrashed when he came to pick up his son.
In November 2015, around 100 children left a school in Kolar in Karnataka, refusing to eat the food dished out by a Dalit cook. The cook, Radhamma, broke down while talking to NDTV and said, “It has been like this since the day I joined in February 2014. The children would not drink the milk I gave them or eat the food I cooked. What can I tell the children? Their parents are telling them not to eat.”
In February, at the height of the agitation against Rohith Vemula’s death, a Congress leader wrote to Sonia Gandhi about how he was thrown out of a party meet in Ghaziabad by the party’s district president Om Prakash Sharma. In his letter, he quoted Sharma as saying, “How come you are in this meeting? Your meeting is at 3 pm. This meeting is for big people. Small people like you have no role in this meeting.”
Sharma allegedly added, “If people from a Dhobi caste will sit with us, what would be left of our status? We don’t need you here. Your place is under our feet.”
In March, a 17-year-old Dalit girl in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district was raped and murdered by her PT teacher in college. Similarly, in April, three young boys from the Kanjar community were thrashed by a mob for stealing a motorcycle in Chittorgarh district.
Despite 69 years of independence, the caste system remains strong in both rural or urban India. If you think urban India is free from the spectre of caste, all you have to do is look at the matrimonials in your daily newspaper.
Of the 1.72 lakh crimes against SC/STs on trial in 2014, only 13% trials were completed. Reports suggest that crimes against Dalits have increased in 2014. The number of cases registered under the SC/ST atrocities act against Dalits in 2013 was 39,000 while the number rose to 47,000 in 2014.
A survey by the NCAER, India’s oldest and largest independent non-profit economic policy research institute, found that one of every four Indian still practised some form of untouchability. Here are some findings from the survey:
— 27% admitted to practising some form of untouchability
— 52% Brahmins admitted to still practicing it.
— State-wise, untouchability is most widespread in Madhya Pradesh (53%), Himachal Pradesh (50%), Chhattisgarh (48%), Rajasthan and Bihar (47%), UP (43%) and Uttarakhand (40%).
— West Bengal proved to be the most progressive state with only 1% of the respondents claiming they practised untouchability.
In his suicide note, Rohith Vemula had called his birth a fatal accident. He had written: “The value of a man was reduced to his immediate identity and nearest possibility. To a vote. To a number. To a thing. Never was a man treated as a mind. As a glorious thing made up of star dust. In every field, in studies, in streets, in politics, and in dying and living.”
Rohith’s suicide note, more than anything, sums up how we continue to oppress. It’s sad that in 2016, this is still an issue. If the political parties really wish to show their support for our Dalit brethren, it’s time they started walking the talk.
Deccan herald
Dalit gang-rape, murder victims to get Rs 8.25L relief
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/540747/dalit-gang-rape-murder-victims.html
A Dalit victim of gang-rape or murder could get at least Rs 8.25 lakh from states with the Centre on Ambedkar Jayanti notifying the substantial increase in compensation.
The Centre has amended the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules of 1995 and issuance of notification came on April 14, the day the nation celebrated the 125th birth anniversary of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar.
The latest changes make the list of crimes to be compensated more specific under 47 heads compared to 22 in the previous amendment, and put more clear instructions on the disbursement of the compensation that ranges from Rs one lakh to Rs 8.25 lakh. Until now, the compensation ranged between Rs 60,000 to Rs 5 lakh.
The state government will now have to provide monetary relief within seven days besides providing immediate relief like food, water, clothing, shelter, medical aid and transport facilities to victims.
According to the amendments, abusing by caste name in public place and garlanding Dalits with footwear or parading naked will result in Rs 1 lakh compensation.
With cases of Dalits being discriminated on electoral front coming to light, the compensation on such incidents has been raised to Rs 85,000 from Rs 50,000.
The enhanced compensation for a gangrape victim will be disbursed in three instalments with half of the money being given soon after medical examination confirming the crime. A rape victim would get at least Rs 5 lakh.
The new rules have changed the compensation for kin of murder victims. Previously, the kin would have got Rs 5 lakh if an earning Dalit member was killed and Rs 2.5 lakh for a non-earning victim, the fresh regulations do not make any such distinction and give Rs 8.25 lakh as relief.
Compensation for crime against Dalit women has also been clearly delineated compared to the 2011 amendments.
A acid attack victim, whose face was damaged, could get at least Rs 8.25 lakh while Rs 2 lakh should be given to victims of incidents of intentionally touching a Dalit woman without consent, using acts or gestures, as an act of sexual nature.
Odisha news insight
3,30,64,900 SC and OBC students get Scholarships worth Rs 7,465 Crore during 2014-16
http://www.odishanewsinsight.com/breakingnews/33064900-sc-and-obc-students-get-scholarships-worth-rs-7465-crore-during-2014-16/
To build a society, wherein members of Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes can lead productive, safe and dignified lives with adequate support for their growth and development, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing various schemes. These schemes aim economic, educational and social empowerment of these target groups.
Measures for educational empowerment SCs
To enable Scheduled Caste students to complete their education at post matriculation or post-secondary stage, Department of Social justice & Empowerment provides financial assistance in the form of post matric scholarship. SC boys and girls studying in middle, school higher secondary schools, colleges and universities are also given assistance for hostel facilities.
The Government also provides financial assistance to scheduled Caste students for pursing research studies leading to M. Phil., Ph.D. and equivalent research degree in universities, research institutions and scientific institution. Not only that selected Scheduled Caste are also given National Overseas Scholarship for pursing higher studies of Master level courses and Ph.D. programmes abroad in specified fields of study.
During 2014-15 and 2015-16,Departmentof Social welfare and Empowerment Also, disbursed scholarships worth approximately Rs.7,465 crore under the various Schemes, e.g., Pre-matric, Post-matric, National Overseas, National Fellowship and Dr. Ambedkar Post-matric Scholarship for EBC, being run for students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, Economically Backward Classes etc. The scholarships benefitted approximately 3, 30, 64,900 students.
Measures for Economic empowerment
Rs. 38,832 crore has been allocated to SC Sub plan during current fiscal year to provide 100% grant to the States/UTs, as an additive to their Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP). The main objective is to give a thrust to family oriented schemes of economic development of SCs below the poverty line.
Also, the Government has decided to provide financial assistance to 2.5 lakh Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Women Entrepreneurs under the Stand Up India Campaign.
Some of the other measures for Economic Empowerment of these targeted groups include:
Hubs are being created for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Entrepreneurs at a cost of Rs.500 crore.
Under the Mudra Yojana, 3.22 crore loans have been disbursed out of which 72.89 lakh loans have been disbursed to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe, Entrepreneurs.
The Government of India and PSUs have special provision for purchasing goods from Micro and Small Scale Industries. They have been asked to purchase at least 4% from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Entrepreneurs, which will be intensively followed up.
Under the Scheme of Venture Capital Fund, 36 proposals worth Rs.135.91 crore have been approved for Scheduled Caste Entrepreneurs. Rs.64.86 crore have been disbursed also.
The National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation has imparted motor driving training to 250 women, working as Safai Karmacharis or their dependent, out of which 60 women have got employment.
The authorized share capital of NSFDC has been increased from Rs.1000 crore to Rs.1500 crore to provide loans to SCs for taking up self-employment.
First ever the National Conference of Dalit Entrepreneurs organized by the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi on 29th December, 2015to discuss special need of these entrepreneurs.
Social Empowerment of Schedule Cast
In order to strengthen provisions to check atrocities against Schedule Cast and Schedule Tribes, amendments in the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, have been made and new Act has come into force w.e.f. 26.1.2016. New provisions will play very significant role in Social Empowerment of Schedule Cast.
The Parliament passed the Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order (Amendment) Act 2015 last year by virtue of which new communities were incorporated in the list of Scheduled Castes of Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and now they will also get all benefits of the schemes being run for empowerment of SCs.
In order to create harmony in the society and to sensitize people about the empowerment of schedule cast, the Government has decided to observe 14th April every year as ‘Samrasta Diwas’. Places related to life and work of Dr. Ambedkar are being developed as memorials. Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, laid the foundation Stone for Dr. Ambedkar International Centre at 15 Janpath and Dr. Ambedkar Memorial at 26 Alipur Road, New Delhi on 20th April, 2015 and 21st March, 2016 respectively. Commemorative Postal Stamp and Coins were released on Dr. Ambedkar. The first two days of the winter session of the Parliament were dedicated to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. A Tableau on Dr. Ambedkar was displayed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 26th January, 2016, the Republic Day.
The hindu
Congress remembers Dalits only at the time of elections, says Raje
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/congress-remembers-dalits-only-at-the-time-of-elections-says-raje/article8481627.ece
Hitting back at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for targeting her government over the case of the 17-year-old Dalit girl who was allegedly raped and found dead under mysterious circumstances, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Friday questioned his party’s track record of mitigating Dalit atrocities when it was in power in the State.
Addressing a public rally to mark Babasaheb Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary at Mundla village here, she said a prompt investigation was conducted in the case which occurred in Bikaner district.
“We ordered the police to probe the matter expeditiously and in a fair manner and all the accused have been arrested.
“If the girl’s family members want, the case can be at once transferred to CBI,” she said even as she questioned why the previous Congress government in Rajasthan had not asked the central probe agency to investigate cases of alleged atrocities against Dalits.
“For 60 years, Congress has been using Dalits and other marginalised communities as vote banks,” she claimed.
“That is the difference between BJP and Congress. Congress remembers Dalits only at the time of elections,” she added.
The Chief Minister earlier attended an event organised by Ambedkar Welfare Society, Rajasthan, where she said her government would provide funds for the body to build a conference hall. Rajasthan Higher Education Minister Kalicharan Saraf for his part offered Rs 10 lakh to the society out of his MLA funds.
Mr Gandhi had on Thursday charged that efforts were being made to suppress the case of rape of the Dalit girl and said that CBI should probe the incident.
The minor girl’s body was recovered on March 30 from a water bank on the premises of her college.
On the intervening night of March 28-29, she was found by her hostel warden in the room of the college’s physical trainer, who was arrested and booked in the case under IPC section 376 (rape) and other relevant sections of SC, ST and POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences)
Live low .in
The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Rules, 2016 notified
http://www.livelaw.in/scheduled-castes-scheduled-tribes-prevention-atrocities-amendment-rules-2016-notified/
Amendments done in the Principal Rules namely the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995 by the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Rules, 2016 have been notified yesterday. Consequent upon amendments done in the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention