Dalits Media Watch
News Update – 22.12.09
Dalit leader's body found - The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/22/stories/2009122260801000.htm
Take temple car through Dalit colony: High Court - Times Of India
"Discrimination against Dalits continues in Madurai city limits too" - The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/22/stories/2009122254500500.htm
Social equity? Not in govt jobs and promotions - DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_social-equity-not-in-govt-jobs-and-promotions_1325848
Action against those exploiting SC/ST: DM - Times Of India
The Hindu
Dalit leader's body found
http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/22/stories/2009122260801000.htm
Staff Reporter
HYDERABAD: The mystery surrounding the disappearance of a Dalit leader and professor from Mumbai came to an end on Monday with the police retrieving his body from the Hussainsagar lake here.
Arun Kamble (55), a resident of Mumbai, arrived here on December 13 to attend a lecture at the Birla Science Centre. He was reported missing since December 14.
Kamble, Head of Department (Marathi), University of Mumbai, had checked into the Alekya Hotel.
Police suspect that he committed suicide by jumping into the lake as he was reportedly suffering from depression. "The professor's family members came on Monday morning and identified the body fished out on Sunday. We have handed it over after an autopsy at the Gandhi Hospital mortuary," Saifabad sub-inspector S. Vijay Kumar said.
An eminent writer and poet, he was one of the founder-members of the Dalit Panthers of India, a renowned people's movement and political party. Known for his study of Ambedkarite movements and Dalit literature, Dr. Kamble will be remembered as the author of several works such as 'Ramayanatil Samskruti Sangharsh', 'Dharmantarachi Bheemgarjana', 'Chalvache Diwas' and 'Yug Pravartak Ambedkar.'
He also served as the general secretary of the Janata Dal and worked with the former Prime Minister V.P. Singh, apart from holding several other posts.
Times Of India
Take temple car through Dalit colony: High Court
A Subramani, TNN 22 December 2009, 05:17am IST
CHENNAI: Lambasting the trustees of a temple in Pottai village of Villupuram district for their opposition to diverting the temple car through a Dalit colony, the Madras High Court has asked the district administration ensure that the car, if necessary small in size, be taken through the colony.
Passing orders on two writ petitions one filed by the trustee of the Arulmighu Poottai Mariamman Temple near Sankarapuram and the other by 10 Dalits belonging to the village Justice K Chandru said: "The attempt by the trustees to prevent the Dalits from taking the temple car to their colony during the festival held during Aadi cannot be accepted by this court. Any such order in their favour will amount to perpetuating untouchability, which has been specifically prohibited by Article 17 of the Constitution. For the last three years, due to their (caste Hindus) intransigence and caste supremacy, the festival has been stopped."
The trustee wanted the court to quash a revenue divisional officer (RDO) order banning the car festival. He claimed that they were following Agama principles and that diverting the age-old car route was not feasible. The Dalits, however, wanted a direction to the authorities to take the temple car through their colony.
Controversy has surrounded the festival since 2007, when Dalits staked their religious rights over the temple, which is under the control of the state government's Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department. Last year, the authorities were able to broker peace by running a sagadai' (a small-sized car) through the Dalit colony. This year no amount of persuasion and meetings of the peace committee could solve the tangle.
Justice Chandru, quoting extensively from authentic sources, said the Mariamman temple could not be "trapped by any Agamas" as sub-cultural deities peculiar to south India fell outside the bracket. It was an attempt by certain castes to Sanskritise the ritual, he said.
In the absence of any established custom and right, there was no scope for the trustees to assert that they would take the temple car through a particular route, thereby denying the Dalits the right to worship the deity at the colony itself, Justice Chandru said.
Noting that the only constraint could be the width of the road leading to the colony, the judge pointed out that the Dalits had agreed to take the deity in a small car (sagadai')and bring it back. "Our Constitution also envisages equality, which includes special help and care for the weaker and oppressed sections of society, who have been downtrodden for thousands of years," Justice Chandru observed.
Upholding the RDO's ban order, imposed in the interest of communal harmony, the judge said: "The government cannot be a spectator in denying the rights of the Dalits, and the constitutional mandate will have to be enforced through all legal means."
He then gave four weeks to the revenue authorities to decide the route by which the temple car would be taken, including the feasibility of having a small car, and made it clear that the authorities could enforce the colony route.
The Hindu
"Discrimination against Dalits continues in Madurai city limits too"
http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/22/stories/2009122254500500.htm
Staff Reporter
MADURAI: A survey conducted by Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front revealed that casteist discrimination against Dalits continued in Madurai city limits too.
The survey was conducted by 50 members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, All India Democratic Women's Association, Students' Federation of India and trade unions in 25 Dalit-dominant places in the city in the last six months.
"Dalits mostly lived in slums where sanitation, proper drinking water supply, ration shop are absent. Their slums are along the drainage channels, where no distinction could be made between the living space and dwelling units," P. Sampath, State coordinator of the front, said on Friday.
One of the members of the front, K. Swaminathan, said in some cases, people from elsewhere were not coming forward to marry of their daughters to the youths of Thideer Nagar and Melavasal owing to the plight of their locality.
"The shocking revelation is that that doctors do not even touch the Dalits while giving treatment," Mr. Sampath alleged. Stating that discrimination against Dalits was done by the government itself, Mr. Sampath said non-Dalit sanitary workers were not involved in demeaning jobs such as removing night soil and blocks in underground drainages. "They worked either as assistants or involved in supervisory works, while the Dalits, especially the Arunthathiyars were made to do all those works," he said.
The families of sanitary workers were under the clutches of usury money-lenders as financial assistance under the Tamil Nadu Adi-Dravidar Housing and Development Corporation (TAHDCO) continued to elude them. The Dalits have to be at the mercy of middlemen to get loans even under TAHDCO.
Government-constructed dwelling units for Dalits were in bad shape. Dalits did not have house site pattas. Not only was the discrimination there in renting out houses, but also in fixing the market value of land in Dalit colonies. "The cost of land in Dalit colonies was far less than that of the neighbouring areas as evident in the colonies in Tallakulam and Arapalayam," Mr. Swaminathan said.
DNA
Social equity? Not in govt jobs and promotions
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_social-equity-not-in-govt-jobs-and-promotions_1325848
Vineeta Pandey / DNA
Monday, December 21, 2009 2:42 IST
New Delhi: The government's social equity policy does not reflect in its functioning. Despite reservation for scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) in government jobs and promotions, there is not a single SC at the secretary level.
Of the 874 central government officers posted at various levels, only 45 belong to SC and 23 to ST category. Not a single SC is among the 88 IAS officers posted as secretary in various central ministries. There are four secretaries who belong to ST category though.
Among the 66 additional secretaries, there is only one officer each from SC and ST category. Of the 249 joint secretaries, there are only 13 officers from SC and 9 from ST. And of the 471 director-level officers, only 31 are SC and 9 ST.
Upset with the disparity, the National Commission for SC (NCSC) has sought an explanation from the government. "We have asked the secretary of the department of personnel and training (DoPT) to explain this," commission chairman Buta Singh said. A commission member even hinted at bias. "There are many suitable people, but why are SCs/STs not picked up for top posts? One cannot rule out bias," NCSC member Mahendra Boddh said.
Dalit activist Udit Raj minced no words though. "The bias against competent SC/ST officers during the empanelment of joint secretaries stops them from becoming secretaries," he said.
DoPT clarified that officers on these posts are appointed on deputation from various cadres. Therefore, the percentage of SC/ST officers on these posts need not be the same as in their respective cadres. The posts of secretary, additional secretary and joint secretary in the ministries and departments are not promotion posts, like those in the ministry of external affairs where posts of these designations are cadre posts.
Under the Central Staffing Scheme (CSS), the posts of secretary, additional secretary, joint secretary and director are filled with officers from various cadres, including state cadres, who are empanelled from a list of those who opt for deputation under the CSS.
"There is no provision of reservation for SCs/STs in these posts. However, at the time of empanelment, every effort is made to empanel SC/ST officers, if needed by adopting liberal benchmarks," said Prithviraj Chavan, minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions.
An official claimed there is usually a shortfall of SC/ST officers during recruitment, which carries on till the end and is reflected in appointments of secretaries. UPSC had recommended only 34 candidates belonging to SC, 28 to ST and 136 to OBC during 2007-08, against 249 posts reserved for them in civil services, the official said.
Times Of India
Action against those exploiting SC/ST: DM
TNN 21 December 2009, 10:20pm IST
KANPUR: District magistrate Anil Kumar Sagar directed his subordinates to take effective action against those accused of exploiting Schedule Castes
and Tribes and ensure justice to victims along with immediate disbursement of compensation.
He was addressing a review meeting with public representatives and government officials on Monday. The DM told the SP to investigate complaints and take effective steps when he was informed that a majority of SC/ST exploitation cases were from Sajeti police station area. He also directed prosecution officer to take interest in SC/ST exploitation cases and their disposal, so that victims could get last instalment of compensation.
He asked the executive engineer Jal Nigam to install handpumps at the identified 467 SC/ST localities of the district without delay. During the meeting, he was informed that a sum of Rs 50 lakh had been sanctioned as financial assistance for wedding of SC/ST beneficiaries from social welfare advisory committees fund. Similarly, a sum of Rs 45 lakh had been sanctioned for poor general category beneficiaries.
When he was informed by the public representatives that there were anomalies in the distribution of stipends and old age pension, the district magistrate asked the district social welfare officer to identify big technical educational institutions, inter colleges and verify hundred per cent stipend distribution. He also asked him to ensure the disbursement of old age pension to persons who were more than 65 years and hailed from below poverty line families.
The district magistrate also directed the social welfare officer to investigate and take effective steps for the disbursement of stipend at Bhouti Pratappur inter college where, for the past two years, no stipend money had been transferred. He also asked him to take action against banks that had not opened accounts of students on zero balance.
The district magistrate also asked to register all the government and non-government construction agencies and contractors will labour department within a week and take action against officials who had adopted a negligent attitude.
--
.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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Sunday, December 27, 2009
Re: [PMARC] Dalits Media Watch - News Update 22.12.09
On Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 4:55 PM, Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC <pmarc2008@gmail.com> wrote:
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