Dalits Media Watch
News Updates – 07.01.10
Dalit girl set on fire after rape attempt - The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/06/stories/2010010659730700.htm
LJP leaders demand end to manual scavenging - Zee News
http://www.zeenews.com/news592911.html
'Indian democracy belongs to crorepatis' - Express Buzz
SC declines PIL on quota for Dalits embracing Buddhism - PTI
http://www.ptinews.com/news/455766_SC-declines-PIL-on-quota-for-Dalits-embracing-Buddhism
Law sought on quota for SC/ST in private sector - The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/07/stories/2010010753350300.htm
Inside the mind of young India - The Economic Times
Dalit girl set on fire after rape attempt
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/06/stories/2010010659730700.htm
Staff Reporter
BHOPAL: A minor dalit girl has been burnt alive by two boys in Kodari village of Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh. The boys allegedly entered the girl's house on Monday afternoon when she was alone and attempted to rape her. The victim was a student of Class VIII.
When she resisted, the boys allegedly poured kerosene over her and burnt her. The girl's mother rushed the badly-burnt girl to hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. The police have arrested both the accused for murder and attempted rape.
The incident was among three incidents of violence against girl students in the State on Monday, including a college student allegedly shooting his girlfriend and an M.Phil student being allegedly gang-raped in Bhopal Memorial Hospital in the State capital.
LJP leaders demand end to manual scavenging
http://www.zeenews.com/news592911.html
Updated on Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Patna: Demanding an end to the practise of scavengers carrying night soil on their heads, LJP president Ramvilas Paswan, party leaders and activists on Tuesday courted arrest here.
Hundreds of LJP workers marched in a procession to the busy R-block and courted arrest but were later freed, police said.
The LJP leader called for regularisation of sweepers appointed on contract saying those on government pay roll were inadequate in number to meet the demand.
"The monthly salary of sweepers should also be hiked from Rs 7,000 to Rs 15,000 as received by Group D employees in government offices," he demanded.
A commission should be formed to look into the problems of the sweepers, he said adding that they should be included in the BPL list and one acre of land be provided to each family.
LJP would demonstrate before Parliament in New Delhi on March 9 demanding immediate dismissal of the Bihar government for neglecting the demands of scavengers.
According to government data, nearly 1.3 million people are engaged in manual scavenging across India.
Manual scavenging has been banned in the country since 1993 by a law that also prohibits use of unplumbed toilets.
'Indian democracy belongs to crorepatis'
First Published : 07 Jan 2010 05:32:00 AM IST
Last Updated :
In December, 1996, Murugesan, a Dalit, contested for the post of president of Melavalavu panchayat, near Madurai, and won. The members of the dominant community, the Kallars, were aghast and angry. "They told Murugesan he would be taught a lesson," says Dr George Mathew, founder-director of the Delhi-based Institute of Social Sciences.
On June 30, 1997, Murugesan and a few Dalits were travelling on a bus from Madurai. About 2 km from Melavalavu, the bus was forcibly stopped.
More than 20 people attacked Murugesan and his companions. All were killed instantly.
"In many parts of India, people refuse to accept the empowerment of Dalits, women and marginalised people," says Mathew. "They say, 'My father, a high caste, sat on this chair. I will not allow anybody else to sit on it.' Because of this feudalistic attitude, many suffer from harassment at the grassroots level. Scores of people have also been killed." Most state governments also want to kill off the panchayati raj system.
According to the 73rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution, 29 subjects like agriculture, irrigation, fishing, housing, roads and water, have to be transferred to the panchayats, but so far only lip service has been done.
"The fault lies with the politicians, the bureaucracy, the upper castes, landlords and middlemen, like contractors," says Mathew. "How can a few thousand powerful people manage this crowd of 30 lakh elected representatives? They prefer to deal with a single MLA or the bureaucracy. So they will not allow the panchayats to flourish." But Mathew is all praise for Kerala, which has allowed decentralisation to take place. "There is a culture of local government here, thanks to forward-thinking leaders like EMS Namboodiripad, and social reformers like Ayyankali and Sree Narayana Guru," he says. "Many government departments have to work through the panchayats." Mathew is also happy with the infrastructure.
"There are proper buildings and the offices are equipped with computers and all the modern facilities," he says. In other states, the panchayat offices are usually located in the homes of landlords. People from lower castes are not allowed to enter.
There is no office equipment. Despite this, Mathew and the institute have been propagating the need to develop local self-government. "If power is not decentralised, it will lead to alienation," says Mathew. "When that happens, people will resort to violence." Mathew says that this is already happening. More than 200 districts in India are under the control of the Naxalites. "Where are we heading?" he says. "The people in the cities are going one way, while the rest of the country is going somewhere else. We must ensure that the other India also becomes developed." Mathew was in Kerala recently to deliver the Dr. N. Parameswaran Nair Memorial Lecture at the Sree Narayana Guru Institute of Science and Technology at North Paravoor. He spoke on 'Power to the people: where are we?' and sounded pessimistic.
"There are 150 MPs who have criminal antecedents," he says. "Out of that, more than 100 are crorepatis.
Initially, these people did not have a fortune.
After two terms as MLA or MP, they become crorepatis. Can we call it a democracy? The world might respect us because of our system, but, fundamentally, our democracy is flawed," Mathew points out.Shevlin Sebastian.
SC declines PIL on quota for Dalits embracing Buddhism
http://www.ptinews.com/news/455766_SC-declines-PIL-on-quota-for-Dalits-embracing-Buddhism
New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) The Supreme Court today declined to entertain a petition questioning a provision in the legislation that extends the benefits of reservation to Dalits converted to Buddhism.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice B S Chauhan dismissed the PIL seeking annulment of the Constitutional (Scheduled Castes) Orders Amendment Act, 1990 providing reservation to Dalits converted to Buddhism.
The PIL filed by R H Boudh had contended that bringing the converted Buddhist in the fold of caste-based reservation amounted to defeating the purpose of their conversion.
"We are treated as the same lower caste people of the Hindu religion, to escape from which we had converted to Buddhism," the petitioner submitted adding that the Buddhist community did not need reservation as it would mean converting the religion of Buddhism into a caste.
Law sought on quota for SC/ST in private sector
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/07/stories/2010010753350300.htm
Special Correspondent
Meet organised by RPI for Ambedkar anniversary
VELLORE: The Oppressed People's Unity Pledge-Taking Day Conference, organised by the Republican Party of India (RPI) in connection with the 53rd death anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar here on Tuesday, urged the Central government to bring in legislation without delay to ensure reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the private sector. It said it is in the light of the dilution of reservation in the public sector on account of privatisation and the livelihood of the oppressed classes "becoming a question mark."
A resolution was adopted at the conference presided over by C.K. Thamizharasan, Tamil Nadu State president of the RPI, in the presence of national president Prakash Ambedkar.
The conference urged the United Progressive Alliance government to bear the education expenses of Dalit students in all colleges. It requested the Centre to ensure reservation for SCs/STs in its higher educational institutions. The conference appealed for a separate budget for schemes for the welfare of the SCs/STs, as done for the Railways. It wanted allocations to be made directly to the Department of Adi Dravidar Welfare of State governments for implementation.
The conference appealed to the State government to establish bank branches for the Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing and Development Corporation (TAHDCO) in all districts and to enhance the TAHDCO loans by three times. It urged the Central and State governments to waive the TAHDCO loans and educational loans granted to the SC/ST people.
The conference urged the State government to prevent the Palar River from becoming dry and polluted and to take steps to strengthen the waterbodies in such a way that they permanently yield water. It pleaded for the extension of the Hogenakkal scheme to Vellore.
Mr. Prakash Ambedkar called upon the Dalits to be vigilant and ensure that the schemes meant for the welfare of the SCs/STs are not only implemented but also lead to the fruition of the efforts taken by Dalit organisations.
With many SCs/STs having educated themselves and become doctors, engineers, business people and entered the Information Technology and management sector thanks to the reservation brought by the efforts of B.R. Ambedkar in the government sector, the Central government was slowly depriving the Dalits of scholarships and subsidies. He recalled the words of his grandfather, B.R. Ambedkar, who said that the moment the Dalits stopped being vigilant, exploitation would start. Mr. Prakash Ambedkar said that the present problem arising out of the announcement of a separate Telangana State, leading to the demand for the bifurcation of other States, would not have arisen, had the Central government followed the advice of B.R. Ambedkar to form smaller States during the process of linguistic reorganisation of States. Mr. Thamizharasan accused the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government of failure to introduce new schemes for the welfare of Dalits. He urged the DMK government to provide for reservation for Dalits in the Cabinet, and the Central government to increase the reservation for Dalits and tribals from 19 to 22 per cent. C. Senguttuvan, State general secretary of RPI, spoke.
Inside the mind of young India
7 Jan 2010, 0640 hrs IST, Rama Bijapurkar, ET Bureau
Do we know what young India is thinking? The English media give us their take based on surveys that they do, which, as has been pointed out often in this column, represent less than 5% of the country's youth. Often, it's hard to even figure out what segment of youth such surveys represent, because the write-up is most economical about facts like which income group or social strata the study was done amongst, merely stating "xx number of respondents aged xyz, from the following cities and towns".
The internet surveys give us a window into the minds and worlds of the internet-enabled youth; but this sample universe leaves out large chunks of those who form part of our much-promised demographic dividend. That's why it was so wonderful to see a book, Indian youth in a transforming world: Attitudes and perceptions. Jointly published by CSDS and Sage Publications, it is the report of a high-quality survey of 5,000 people, aged 14 to 34, drawn from all states excluding the north-east, Uttarakhand, Goa and Himachal Pradesh, and representing all socio-economic classes.
The sampling methodology and the survey instrument have been explained in detail, and the fieldwork relatively recent, done in mid-2007. Not meaning to be xenophobic, it was still a bit sad to note that such a study got done because Konrad Adenauer Stiftung initiated and commissioned — and presumably funded — it.
It is true that in India, we generally have trouble finding adequate funding for regular studies of this kind which tell us more about ourselves. If the quantum of data were proportionate to the quantum of our usage of the term demographic dividend, we should have had several more and larger youth studies in the public domain. One is not referring to countrywide studies done for private companies that measure cola consumption or media habits or advertising preferences of young India; but of public domain insights on how young people think and feel about issues like those that this book captures — 'family and social networks', engagement with 'politics and democracy', views relating to 'governance and development', and their view of the world and globalisation, their hopes, dreams and concerns and so on.
To set the big-picture context, according to the Census of India, 2001, we have almost 20% of our population in the age group of 15 to 24 — that's what actually ought to be considered the core youth target group — and around 27% in the age group of 15 to 29. They are 69% rural and 31% urban, yet what rural youth are thinking about is a big blind spot for many of us, because it never finds mention in any media survey; only 14% have finished school, and the number is just 9% for women. Even in urban India, only 25% of urban youth have finished school, and that actually represents around 8% of all-India youth. So, let's mute the applause for the big bold move with wide ranging benefits of the MHRD initiative to abolish the Standard X exam.
espite low levels of education and income for the most part, according to the survey report, optimism runs very high. About 84% of the 15 to 34-year-olds in India — referred to in the report, and henceforth in this article, as the youth — are optimistic about the future, and only 3% are pessimistic, the remaining 13% are uncertain. We always talk about aspiring young India and, indeed, 53% have high or very high aspirations as compared to 28% who have low or very low aspirations. Does it hold for the weaker sections of society too? It most certainly does.
About 30% of upper class youth have low or very low aspirations, while only 24 and 26% respectively of the Dalits and tribals have low or very low aspirations. However aspiration levels do rise with socio-economic status, but even on this count, at the lowest strata, 43% have high or very high aspirations and outnumber those who have low or very low aspirations. Just imagine the power of hope and desire that we are sitting on, if only we could channelise it properly!
With aspiration comes anxiety of course, and 68% of the youth have high anxiety about their future, 50% very high anxiety. If my generation paid the price of the socialist ideology, then this generation is bearing the cross of the free market, survival of the fittest, keep up with the Joneses society that we are becoming.
What do they see as the big problem that this country has to deal with? It is poverty and unemployment (27% votes each), while only 4% chose illiteracy and lack of education, 3% terrorism and 6% corruption. In fact, if we were to add population growth to unemployment and poverty, then 67% of young people are saying, " I'm optimistic but please give me opportunity and improve my quality of living".
Poverty is seen to be the No. 1 problem ahead of unemployment by those in the lowest socio-economic strata and the illiterate, but unemployment is what everyone is deeply concerned about across the board — irrespective of education levels or socio-economic status.
When asked 'what should be the first priority of the government', guarantee of employment wins by a very wide margin over provision of educational facilities or betterment of health services. May be it is time to debate the value of jobless growth in the economy, and the notion that growing self-employment is out of choice.
And what kind of social issues will gen-next grapple with? Ensuring environmental sustainability comes in a distant third after 'strengthening defence'. Gender equality will be a strident call, especially from the women, and more so from the less educated women. Related to that, presumably, will be shaky marriages, though belief in family still reigns supreme.
A big thank you to the editors and publishers of the volume for putting this important study the public domain, and let's make a new year wish that we will have internally-generated funding to do more of this kind of work that will help us both in business strategy and in public policy, to understand ourselves better, and shape the future better.
--
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
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Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre- PMARC has been initiated with the support from group of senior journalists, social activists, academics and intellectuals from Dalit and civil society to advocate and facilitate Dalits issues in the mainstream media. To create proper & adequate space with the Dalit perspective in the mainstream media national/ International on Dalit issues is primary objective of the PMARC.
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