From: Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC <pmarc2008@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 8:27 PM
Subject: [PMARC] Dalits Media Watch - News Updates 01.03.10
To: Dalits Media Watch <PMARC@dgroups.org>
Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 01.03.10
Report on Siruthavur land grab submitted to CM - Express Buzz
India's Budget Casts Gloom on Dalits - News Blaze
http://newsblaze.com/story/20100228115842zzzz.nb/topstory.html
'Take up the cause of poor Dalits' - The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/01/stories/2010030156440300.htm
Sweepers deprived of EPF, ESI benefits - The Tribune
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100301/cth1.htm#8
Caste prejudice seems to gain ground in UP - The Times Of India
Express Buzz
Report on Siruthavur land grab submitted to CM
Last Updated : 01 Mar 2010 07:12:25 AM IST
CHENNAI: Justice K P Sivasubramanian on Sunday submitted the inquiry report on allegations of grabbing lands belonging to Dalits in Siruthavur near here.
The 813-page report in two volumes was finalised after recording the statements of 40 witnesses, former High Court judge Sivasubramanian told reporters here.
The judge inquired the charges of land grab that allegedly involved AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa and her friend Sasikala. A bungalow was built allegedly on the vast tracts of land originally owned by the Adi Dravidars and landless poor.
The State government appointed a Commission of Inquiry on July 27, 2006 to inquire into the causes and circumstances that resulted in the fraudulent grabbing of lands from Dalits and landless poor of Siruthavur village in Kancheepuram district.
The appointment of the Justice K P Sivasubramanian commission was the outcome of several protests spearheaded by the CPM that was joined by other parties.
In 1968, then Chief Minister Arignar Anna during the first tenure of the DMK had given 53 acre of land to Dalits and landless poor in Siruthavur village.
It was alleged that the bungalow in Siruthavur on the encroached land was used by AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa.
News Blaze
India's Budget Casts Gloom on Dalits
http://newsblaze.com/story/20100228115842zzzz.nb/topstory.html
Dr. Udit Raj, National President of the Indian Justice Party and All India Confederation of SC/ST Organizations, said India's budget has again cast gloom on Dalits. Rs. 4,500 crore have been allocated for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment which will be utilized not only for the welfare of Dalits but also for the welfare and upliftment of backwards and senior citizens etc.
It has also been said that scholarships to the students in these categories would also be raised. The money will be utilized to set up a Sign Language Research and Training Centres etc. According to the Special Component Plan, the planned budget expenditure on Dalits should be in proportion to their population.
Dr. Raj said that in 2010-2011, the total expenditure proposed in the budget is Rs. 11,08,749 crore in which the component of the plan expenditure is to the tune of Rs. 3,73,092 crore. According to the 2001 census, the Dalit population is 16.4% of the total population of India and the budget allocation for the Ministry of Social Justice and Employement should be increased from Rs. 4500 crore to Rs. 61,187 crore in proportion to the population of Dalits.
Even if it is taken for granted there may be budget allocation for Dalits in other Ministries also, the combined allocation for Dalit welfare of all the Ministries will not be more than 5%. It is a matter of great regret that budget allocation for Dalit upliftment has never been done even in the past in proportion to their population. If the total non-plan budget allocation of Rs. 7,36,657 crore is proportionately allocated to Dalits and Tribals, the amount will really be many fold.
There is always a great emphasis in the budget to increase revenue and expenditure but no serious attempts are made for proper management of funds. The Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi once said that, in effect, only 15% of the total money goes to the targeted people. Under these circumstances, emphasis should not only be on revenue and expenditure but also on implementation of the various schemes to ensure maximum benefit reaches the targeted people and corruption is eliminated.
If corruption is removed and even if 50% of the money is spent on the targeted people, then a great change can be brought in the rural areas and concerted efforts can be made to remove poverty from the country. If we could take care of these two points, then there would have been no need for increasing petrol and diesel prices.
The increase in petrol and diesel prices is mainly due to wrong economic policies. It has indeed been a matter of great frustration that no concrete steps have been outlined in the budget to control price rises of essential commodities like cereals, edible oils, wheat, rice, vegetables etc.
Much relief has been given to upper salaried people which was not warranted. Commodity prices will escalate and the tax burden will be passed onto the common people, who will suffer most.
The principal objective of this budget should have been to check price rises.
The Hindu
'Take up the cause of poor Dalits'
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/01/stories/2010030156440300.htm
Staff Correspondent
DHARWAD: Virabhadrappa Halaharavi, MLA, has stressed the need for economically well-off Dalits to take up the cause of poor among them and help them in getting their lawful rights. He was inaugurating the fourth All-Karnataka Grameena Bank SC/ST Employees and Officers' Conference in Dharwad on Sunday.
Chairman of the Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank K.P. Muralidharan said that every one was equal in the eyes of law, and there should be no scope for discrimination.
Mr. Muralidharan said that only education and concerted efforts would help in creation of a conflict-free and exploitation-free society. Congress leader F.H. Jakkappanavar said there were some problems with regard to proper implementation of the promotion system in banks. President of the association S.R. Kollur presided over the function.
The Tribune
Sweepers deprived of EPF, ESI benefits
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100301/cth1.htm#8
Arun Sharma, Tribune News Service
Panchkula, February 28
While changes in the sanitation system has led to heaps of garbage piling up in the town, it has left the sweepers deputed to Panchkula high and dry as every one of them has been deprived of employer's contribution towards the Employees Service Insurance Corp (ESIC) and Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
Not only has every sweeper suffered a loss of over Rs 750 every month, they have also been exposed to the risk of bearing huge expenses on medical treatment from their own pockets.
In fact, prior to the implementation of new system, sanitation was being taken care by a contractor deputed by the municipal council. Under the contract the sweepers were entitled to receive wages according to norms fixed by the district administration, which amounted to Rs 4,100 per month. In addition to this the contractor was responsible to deposit 13.61 per cent and 7.75 per cent of the wages against EPF and ESIC, respectively.
In the new year when ward executive committees were set up and asked to supervise the sanitation system in their respective areas, no EPF or ESIC contribution was deposited in the name of the sweepers.
So that it did not violate the Labour Act the number of sweepers under the ward executive committee was cleverly pegged below 20. And that was the reason many of the wards were also deputed with only 18 sweepers which was at par with other wards, despite the fact they had far bigger areas to be cleaned.
Under the Labour Act any organisation with 20 or more employees has to deduct a specific amount from the wages of an employee against EPF and ESIC and contribution of the employer's share has to deposit the total amount with the authorities concerned.
"With the new scheme the government has in fact fleeced the sweepers in the name of a rise in salaries," said Zile Singh, president of the Panchkala Safai Karmchari Association. "A sweeper who was receiving around Rs 3,500 after deduction of EPF and ESI contribution was getting Rs 4,100 in total, but their future has been jeopardised by the council as they will left with no savings in their hands," he added.
Panchkula municipal council executive officer KK Jain, when contracted, said, "Every\thing was done as per the rules and regulations and no sweeper has raised any objection to the new system". However, he said he would look into the matter if there were any complaints.
The Times Of India
Caste prejudice seems to gain ground in UP
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh may have been home to one of the tallest socialist leaders in the country, but winds of social change are yet to blow in the state. Despite successive political regimes making the right noises about caste equality, the depth of caste divide in the state continues, and cracks, in fact, are only getting wider.
One such instance of the increasing divide is the near failure, in implementation, of the centrally sponsored `inter-caste marriage' scheme. Under the scheme, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, for the implementation of Protection of Civil Rights Act and Prevention of Atrocities Act, gives an incentive of Rs 50,000 to couples when at least one spouse belongs to the scheduled caste, tribe or other backward classes and marries a person from a higher caste. In UP, aside from the monetary benefit, the government also offers interest-free loans for setting up cottage industries to such persons. According to government norms, couples can approach the state social justice and welfare directorate in order to avail of the benefits of this scheme.
But `official' data released by the ministry belies the situation on ground. Ranking abysmally low in performance, UP has recorded just 31 inter-caste marriages--of the total 4750 inter-caste marriages that took place across the country--in 2008-09. In 2007-08, the number was even lower at 10, while in 2006-07 the figure was marginally higher at 20.
If the caste barriers continue to stand tall, experts attribute a host of reasons to it. In most cases, political endorsement is neither forthcoming, not genuinely helpful. "In fact, political parties have traditionally been wary of supporting inter-caste marriages strongly because it can affect their performance during polls. To add to this, in UP, people are especially conservative about these issues," says Sushila Saroj, MP from the reserved Mohanlalganj seat in Uttar Pradesh.
This, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. The government and social organisations may, on paper, support the cause of caste less societies, but the fear of severe societal backlash prevents people from openly pledging their support to the cause. "For precisely this reason, many couples fail to come forward to declare their inter-caste marriages, despite the cash incentives," says a government official. In UP, the history of honour killings in certain parts of the state, further detracts from achieving the goal of castelessness. "The government can't achieve much by offering cash incentives to people. Education levels are dismally low. Moreover, mind sets need to change. A much larger mass movement is called for is such a change has to gain ground," says Rashmi Singh, a legal expert from Saharanpur district of the state.
The social divide may be losing its iron grip in other states of the country, but in UP, caste prejudice seems to be gaining ground. Annually, state governments send proposals to the central ministry for release of grants towards this incentive scheme. Ironically, the UP government seems to have made no such demands for the current fiscal ending in March 2010. In fact, in the last three years, the UP government has only received Rs 10 lakh worth of central assistance towards the incentives scheme for inter-caste marriages.
And that's not all, according to the union ministry data, while a total of 5862 couple across the country will stand to benefit from the inter-caste marriage scheme in 2010, not a single one of them will be sons or daughters of UP soil. Not, judging by the numbers they have submitted, if the government has it's way. As for explaining this unique phenomenon, government officials are tight lipped. Figures may paint a grim reality and `real' numbers may be better or worse, but to achieve a true state of castelessness in UP, monetary incentives can only act as half measures.
--
.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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