Fwd: [PMARC] Dalits Media Watch - News Updates 04.06.10

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From: Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC <pmarc2008@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jun 4, 2010 at 6:39 PM
Subject: [PMARC] Dalits Media Watch - News Updates 04.06.10
To: Dalits Media Watch <PMARC@dgroups.org>

Dalits Media Watch

News Updates 04.06.10

Angry Dalits drive out Hissar officer sent by Supreme Court - DNA

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_angry-dalits-drive-out-hissar-officer-sent-by-supreme-court_1391268

Cong not showing concern for Mirchpur incident, says Jatia - The Pioneer

http://www.dailypioneer.com/260364/Cong-not-showing-concern-for-Mirchpur-incident-says-Jatia.html

Manual scavenging: human rights team conducts probe - The Hindu

http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/04/stories/2010060462970300.htm

Balakrishnan is NHRC chairman - The Hindu

http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/04/stories/2010060455571500.htm

DC accused of filing false cases against pourakarmikas - The Hindu

http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/04/stories/2010060452150300.htm

The agony & the ajaat - The Hindu

http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/04/stories/2010060455241300.htm

School final at 53, spurred by Rahul - The Telegraph

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100604/jsp/nation/story_12527832.jsp

DNA

Angry Dalits drive out Hissar officer sent by Supreme Court

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_angry-dalits-drive-out-hissar-officer-sent-by-supreme-court_1391268

Rakesh Bhatnagar / DNA

Thursday, June 3, 2010 0:59 IST

New Delhi: A Hissar officer was on Wednesday at the receiving end of 100 Dalit families — who had been victims of caste violence — after he went to console them and rehabilitate them in their native Mirchpur village.

The Supreme Court (SC) had directed deputy commissioner (DC) Yudhvir Singh earlier in the day to visit the families and ensure jobs to the victims' families under government schemes.

Armed with the court order, Singh straightway drove to the Mandir Marg police station, about 6 km from the court complex, but faced an anguished gathering of Dalits.

They prevented Singh, shouted slogans against the Congress government in Haryana and ridiculed the Hissar district administration for its apathy in dealing with the perpetrators of violence against them.

The Dalit families had fled Mirchpur in Jat-dominated Haryana after their houses were torched in a case of caste violence on April 21. The families had fled Mirchpur to escape more persecution and refused to return ever since.

The Dalits attacked Singh when he tried to tell them about the instructions given to him by the apex court.

Singh had barely finished addressing the enraged gathering when one Kamla Devi rose and shouted "My family was burnt alive. I want justice first. Can you or your government give it?" Failing to convince them, when Singh went back to his car, angry protestors didn't let his car move, an eyewitness said.

And when he tried to escape with his colleagues and securitymen on foot, they chased and manhandled him.

Police came to Singh's rescue finally. A police official said Singh should have first come to police station and taken adequate security along with him. "This incident happened due to his casual approach," he said.

The Pioneer

Cong not showing concern for Mirchpur incident, says Jatia

http://www.dailypioneer.com/260364/Cong-not-showing-concern-for-Mirchpur-incident-says-Jatia.html

Staff Reporter | Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Friday, June 4, 2010
Terming the SC/ST inclination of national general secretary of the Congress Rahul Gandhi as a show off, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has condemned the negligence of the incident by the UPA Government in which SC families of Mirchpur in Hisar district of Haryana were harassed severely.

National president of SC front of BJP and former Union Minister Satyanarain Jatia in a statement on Thursday informed that 150 families of the particular community were forced to flee their homes before one and half month and are wandering even after the favour of Human Right Commission and Apex Court, there is no arrangement of roof for these families.

Jatia further informed that these families are suffering from starvation and in this situation, it was expected from the Central Government that it would arrange the employment and rehabilitation for these families after directing Haryana Government, otherwise a dissatisfaction would spread in SC families with the coming of Mansoon. He said that in the condition of dissatisfaction, the Centre and Haryana Government would be responsible because Congress is ruling at both places.

Satyanarain Jatia alleged that the Haryana Government has failed in providing relief to the harassed families at Mirchpur even after passing one and half month of the incident where Human Right Commission has also termed this incident as middle age terrorism and barbarism.

He further informed that influential of village set ablaze a physically challenged person and an old man in their house, later charred 25 hamlets and when these people complained against the incident, they looted the victims and threw them from their residence.

He also provided information that these families are forced to live in the premise of a Valmiki temple, due to apathy of the Government and terror created by influential and these families are not daring to enter in their village due to the fear of powerful people of the village. He further asked what could be the bigger apathy and insensitivity in this condition by a Government?

The Hindu

Manual scavenging: human rights team conducts probe

http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/04/stories/2010060462970300.htm

Staff Reporter

Officers inspect public toilets at Gomezpalayam where sanitary workers live

MADURAI (Tamil Nadu): A two-member team from National Human Rights Commission conducted a probe on a complaint on "practice of manual scavenging" in the city on Thursday.

The investigating officers, P.S. Rao, and Ashish Kumar, inspected public toilets at Gomezpalayam, where Corporation sanitary workers live, and interacted with the workers, residents and the complainant.

The members came to Madurai to investigate into the complaint made by P. Sathya, district organiser, Safai Karamchari Andolan. Ms. Sathya said that she had sent photographs of two Corporation sanitary workers, A. Muthiah and a temporary worker K. Kaliammal, cleaning two toilet complexes that were indiscriminately soiled. "They had just broom sticks and buckets to clean the muck (in the toilets of the colony where over 1,200 people live)," she said.

Just eight toilets — four each for men and women — were not adequate for over 200 houses. "The Corporation had not adopted any modern techniques such as using machinery to clean these complexes," she told the members. It was inhuman to force the sanitary workers to do such a dirty job.

City Health Officer V. Subramanian told the members that the Corporation had plans to build individual toilets at all the 210 houses that would be rebuilt under the Basic Services to Urban Poor scheme. The members enquired Muthiah and Kaliammal about their pay/wages, health condition and working hours.

Few other residents also complained to the members that despite many representations, additional toilet facility had not been provided to them. "Our people clean the entire city. But the place where we live is filthy," a functionary of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, M. Muthamizhan, said.

No safety gear

One of them complained that manual cleaning of blockades in underground drainage was still prevalent in the city. "The men have no safety gear such as gloves and masks," he added. They handed over a compact disc on the plight of sanitary workers to the members. Mr. Rao said that he would hand over the report to the NHRC Chairman.

The residents wanted to allow them to make use of a nearby "pay and use" toilet for free. They wanted two more public toilets as a temporary measure.

Later, they discussed the issue with Corporation Commissioner S. Sebastine. The Commissioner said that the members were appreciative of the 12 free modern toilets functioning in the city.

Mr. Sebastine said that the Corporation had supplied safety equipment such as uniform, masks, caps, boots and gloves to the workers under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Orders had been placed for four jet-rodding machines to remove blockades in underground drainages and they were expected to be delivered in 15 days, he said.

The Hindu

Balakrishnan is NHRC chairman

http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/04/stories/2010060455571500.htm

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday announced the appointment of the former Chief Justice of India, Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, as the sixth chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). He will take charge on Monday, it was officially stated here.

Justice Balakrishnan, 65, retired as CJI on May 12.

He was appointed a Supreme Court judge in 2000 and sworn in as CJI on January 14, 2007. The post of NHRC chairperson had been lying vacant for the past one year after the retirement of Justice Rajendra Babu. Since then, Justice G. P. Mathur had been acting as the commission's chairperson.

The Hindu

DC accused of filing false cases against pourakarmikas

http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/04/stories/2010060452150300.htm

Special Correspondent

Kanta and pourakarmikas brought to Gulbarga court from Hindalga Jail

GULBARGA (Karnataka): The former Labour Minister S.K. Kanta on Thursday accused Deputy Commissioner R. Vishal of using coercive methods and filing false cases against pourakarmikas and their leaders for protesting against the city corporation for not releasing wages for 36 months.

Mr. Kanta was speaking to presspersons from inside a KSRTC bus in which he and 129 pourkarmikas were brought from the Hindalga Jail in Belgaum district to the court here as their judicial custody ended on Thursday. "Dr. Vishal is anti-dalit and anti-worker," Mr. Kanta alleged.

He said that 14 cases under various sections had been filed against him and pourakarmikas who were staging a protest in front of the office of the Gulbarga City Corporation on May 19. "The district administration and the police want me behind bars permanently. I have been told that the police are planning to re-arrest me even if I am released on bail," he added.

"Such actions will strengthen our resolve to fight against injustice," Mr. Kanta said. "The pourakarmikas are firm on their resolve to continue the struggle. My absence will not weaken their agitation," he said.

Referring to the repeated statements of the Deputy Commissioner asking the pourakarmikas to accept the pending salary proposed to be paid through a self-help group (SHG), Mr. Kanta said: "The pourakarmikas directly come under the Commissioner of the Gulbarga City Corporation and the Commissioner is the right person to speak on such issues." Holding the district administration, police and the corporation authorities responsible for the death of Ambubai Ramachandra, pourakarmika, a few days ago, Mr. Kanta said that the Government should pay compensation to the family of Ambubai Ramachandra. It should also give employment to a member of the family of Ambubai Ramachandra.

The Hindu

The agony & the ajaat

http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/04/stories/2010060455241300.htm

P. Sainath

The ajaat, a once proud anti-caste social reform movement, have been reduced to an isolated group viewed as something like a caste themselves.

Amitabh Bachchan says that if ever asked about his caste by Census enumerators, his answer would be: Caste – Indian. That, of course, would do little more than stoke the media's bollywood feeding frenzy yet again. Shyam Maharaj is no Bachchan. Nor is his brother, Chaitanya Prabhu. But they and the followers of their fraternity will likely throw up far more complex answers — and questions — if Census enumerators do finally pop that query on caste. "Our answer: we are ajaat. Here is my school leaving certificate to prove that. But you can write what you like," Prabhu tells us at his house in Mangrul (Dastgir) village of Amravati district.

Ajaat: this literally means ones without caste. The ajaat was a bold social movement of the 1920s and '30s that at its peak had tens of thousands of committed followers in what are present-day Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It was led by the colourful and eccentric social reformer Ganpati Bhabhutkar better known as Ganpati Maharaj. Chaitanya Prabhu and Shyam Maharaj are his surviving grandsons. Apart from the usual anti-liquor and anti-violence norms of such movements, Ganpati Maharaj threw in others. He attacked caste frontally. Many stopped idol worship at his call. He pressed for gender equality and even railed against private property. And, in the 1930s, he and his followers declared themselves as ' ajaat.'

His inter-caste dining drive raised hackles in the villages he worked in. As one of his disciples P. L. Nimkar put it: "he would ask his followers from all castes to bring cooked food from their homes. This, he would mix up totally and distribute the mix as prasad." Caste was his great target. "Inter-caste weddings and widow remarriage — that's what he sought and achieved," says Prabhu. "In our own family, from granddad to us, we married into eleven different castes, from brahmins to dalits. In our extended family there have been scores of such weddings. Ganpati Maharaj himself had such a marriage." He also "created the religion of ' maanav' (humanity) and opened the temple here to dalits, offending the upper castes," says Shyam Maharaj. "They filed cases against him and no one would touch his case. All the vakils here at the time were brahmins."

The movement waned over years, as some followers left on the caste issue, and with its Gurus's death in 1944. (He is buried at a community centre he built here decades ago, just opposite Prabhu's home). Still, it remained known and respected for some time after independence. "See my school leaving certificate," says Prabhu, showing it to us. "As late as the 1960s, even the '70s, we still got certificates calling us ajaat. Now, schools and colleges say they've never heard of us and won't give our children admission." The surviving ajaat are not doing too well. Shyam and Prabhu just about make ends meet as petty agricultural traders.

Forgotten by the late '70s, the ajaat were re-discovered some years ago by Nagpur journalists Atul Pandey and Jaideep Hardikar who wrote about their plight in Marathi and English respectively. Their reports sparked a Maharashtra government move to help them. But that died with the exit of the one senior official who had shown interest in the matter.

Ajaat candidates can't contest panchayat polls. Poll officials refuse to accept their forms — which state no caste. " Ajaat folk can't get ration cards without a huge struggle," says Prabhu. College admissions, scholarships and government jobs elude them for the same reasons. Other villagers won't marry into these families now as their caste status lacks clarity. In short, the followers of a once proud anti-caste reform movement have been reduced to a couple of thousand people viewed as something like a caste themselves.

"My niece Sunaina could not get into college," says Prabhu. "The college said: 'we don't recognise this ajaat. Bring us a proper caste certificate and we'll admit her'." His nephew Manoj who did finally make it to college says: "They treat us as an oddity there. There were no scholarships for any of us. No one there believes such a thing as ajaat exists." A restless younger generation feels imprisoned by the past. Many of the ajaat, including Prabhu's family, have faced the ignominy of having to trace out an ancestor whose caste could be clearly proven.

"Imagine our humiliation," he says. "We have to take out caste certificates for our children." Not easy, given the generations of inter-caste marriages these families have seen. And even the ledger of the village kotwal lists them as ' ajaat.' Some have had to trace a great grandfather whose caste could be established. "To recover and rebuild those old records is a horrible job," says Prabhu. "The authorities suspect us of concealing things and faking our caste. And it hurts us like anything to make these caste certificates. But without them our children are truly stuck." Sadly, they had no choice but to trace out the caste origin of anti-caste crusader Ganpati Maharaj himself. That was needed for his great-grandchildren.

Quite a few of the remaining 2,000 or so ajaat gather at that centre in this village in November each year. "Now there is only one such family we have contact with in Madhya Pradesh," says a glum Prabhu. The rest are in Maharashtra. "Only 105 are formally registered with our body, the ajaatiya maanav sanstha. But far more than that come to our annual meeting. However, consider that we once had 60,000 members in this movement."

"We need a much more comprehensive survey of caste than the mere introduction of a question in the Census will permit," says economist Dr. K. Nagaraj (formerly with the Madras Institute of Development Studies) who has worked on the subject. "That we need caste data is beyond doubt. But we need that data in a frame that captures the huge diversity, location-specific nature, and the many other complexities of caste. A single question in the 2011 census will not achieve that. This is perhaps a job for the National Sample Survey and its team of trained investigators with much advance preparation."

So what happens if that enumerator does come around to your house with the question on caste? "Believe me," says Prabhu, "It will confuse him. I think they should create a different category in the Census for people like us. We must declare who we are. We have fought against everything that stands for caste. But in this society, caste is in everything."

The Telegraph

School final at 53, spurred by Rahul

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100604/jsp/nation/story_12527832.jsp

TAPAS CHAKRABORTY

Lucknow, June 3: The humiliation of failing a Class X board exam at 53 can be worse than losing an election.

But Dal Bahadur Kori wasn't daunted. The former minister in the Kalyan Singh government and the father of three graduates passed the Uttar Pradesh high school board exam with a first division, scoring 63.5 per cent.

So, what drove him to take the gamble of his life? Pat comes the reply: Rahul Gandhi.

"Rahul Gandhi encouraged me to complete my education," said Kori, whose Padmanpur Bijauli village is in Rahul's Amethi constituency.

So nervous was Kori on June 1, the day the results were declared, that he sent an aide to find out if he had passed.

"People were already jeering at me (when I took the exam). If I had failed, I would have been ridiculed. Still I went for it," said Kori, now a state Congress general secretary who lost his father at eight and reared others' cattle to support his day-labourer mother.

Kori, who had joined the Congress in 2007 after several years in the BJP and a rather short spell in the ruling BSP, concedes being a matriculate isn't necessary in politics. But he still felt it was a "stigma" he should wipe off.

"I did not want the secondary certificate to get a job. I know politics and education aren't inseparable. We know Devi Lal (who became deputy Prime Minister) wasn't highly educated. But I put myself through this test. The moment I heard this (that I passed), I felt the stigma of being an uneducated politician would go," Kori said.

State Congress leaders felt the feat was an example for other Dalits. Prabesh Kori, a senior member of the state unit's SC/ST cell, said: "Dal Bahadur's exam success would go a long way in making illiterate Dalits muster courage to get educated."

Only 3 per cent of the Dalits in the state are graduates, 1 per cent skilled in technical education, Prabesh Kori pointed out, adding that the rest are largely unskilled labourers.

Kori has four sons, including the three graduates, and a daughter. The youngest son and the daughter are in school.

Kori belongs to one of Uttar Pradesh's 66 castes recognised as Dalits. According to the 2001 census, Dalits make up 21 per cent of the state's population.

Recalling his struggle as a child — which he says is typical of most Dalits — Kori said: "I was sent to grazing grounds at the age of 9 when I was supposed to be in school. As a day labourer in the 1970s, my mother used to earn only Rs 20."

Later, hunger drove him to Kanpur in the 80s where he get a job as an unskilled labourer. "I worked in households and tanneries. I began to defend the rights of Dalits and, in the process, began to lead protests," he says.

In 1993, the BJP gave him a ticket to contest from Salone but he lost. He eventually won in 1996, when the state had a mid-term election. "In 1997, Kalyan Singh made me a minister of social welfare. I continued to be minister even after Kalyan Singh resigned and Ram Krakash Gupta became chief minister," Kori said.

Then, he switches to Rahul, calling him "a great inspiration for us". "When he visits a Dalit home, he talks about everything — education, agriculture, health — but not votes," says Kori, alluding to the Amethi MP's trips to Dalit homes as part of his efforts to bolster the Congress in the state.

Kori's mission isn't over yet. "I would like to pass my intermediate (Class XII) exam 2012. And then in 2014, I would like to be a graduate. In between is the 2012 (state) election. We have to fulfil Rahul Gandhi's mission."

--
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
..................................................................
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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