Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 24.04.14
Dalit villagers attacked for casting votes in Giridih- The Hindu
Complaint against misuse of ST Act- Deccan Herald
Tsundur case: Dalit bodies to chalk out future course- The Hindu
‘Dalit poll boycott a conspiracy’- The Hindu
Attack on Dalits condemned- The Hindu
Hindu temple refuses to serve food to 'non-Brahmin' academic in Karnataka-Deccan Chronicle
The Hindu
Dalit villagers attacked for casting votes in Giridih
Giridih Superintendent of Police Kranti Kumar Gadhesi had ordered an enquiry into the incident
Dalit villagers were attacked lathis, with bricks and stones thrown at them by upper-caste Bhumihars when they tried to cast their vote in villages in Gardih village in Jamua block in Giridih. Jamua which falls in Koderma constituency was scheduled for polling in the first phase of elections on April 10. Dalit villagers here said they had tried to vote for CPI (ML) when they were stopped by Bhumihar villagers, supporters of BJP, who assaulted a Dalit woman from their hamlet while she was casting her vote leading to a scuffle.
The FIR names 100 youth from the Dalit hamlet as accused of capturing the polling booth and of violence, and nine men from the Bhumihar village. The Bhumihar farmers have since accused the Dalit villagers of assaulting a woman from their village. The Chief Electoral Office PK Jajoria told The Hindu he had not received any complaints from the polling staff of voting being disrupted.
In Jamua, the Dalit hamlets are separated by the Bhumihar houses by an under-construction road. The fields around the Bhumihar houses lay fallow after the wheat harvest. Dhudhwatoli, where a majority of the accused of the poll day violence live is a hamlet of 50 Dalit Turi families. The Bhumihars live less than a kilometer away in Jiyatoli in a mix of kachcha and concrete houses.
In Dhudhwatoli, four men – Govardhan Rai, Lakhan Rai, Nakul Ram, Reetal Rai – bear deep cuts and fresh wounds on the front and back of their heads. Santosh Turi has the mark of a lathi injury on his left arm. The villagers recounted a scuffle had broken out in the morning soon after the women from Dhudhwatoli made their way to the polling booth set up at the village school. “When I tried to cast my vote, they cut the “line” (power supply) and there was no sound of a beep. I tried again but Suraj Dev and Manoj Dev from Jiyatoli entered the booth and caught me from my behind. I screamed and tried to run. My husband who waiting outside rushed in. They hit him with stones and tore his clothes,” said Uma Devi, in her early 30s. Her husband Govardhan Rai bore a deep gash on his forehead. Sunil Kumar Singh, a CPI(ML) worker showed medical bills from Bengabad Government Hospital for treatment of the injuries.
“The men from Jiyatoli were sitting outside at the table of the polling staff. They cut the “line” when I cast my vote and said said “Hato, vote nahi dalne denge” (Leave. You will not be allowed to vote.) They told the staff we were trying to vote twice,” said Devanti Devi. “The presiding officer sat there like a Surdas, as if he could not see. Once he tried to get up and intervene, the Bhumihar men caught him by his collar and made him sit again,” alleged Anup Turi. He alleged the Home Guard who arrived at the polling booth Ashok Narayan Dev, a Bhumihar himself, had sided with the men from Jiyatoli.
Ganesh Rai, a village elder showed a voter ID from January 1995 which he said he had never been allowed to use to vote independently. “The Bhumihar are angry we will not work on their farms for wheat alone now and demand wages. They always voted on our behalf, they cannot tolerate that we wish to vote for CPI(ML). Even in the 2010 panchayat election a fight had broken out as we tried to vote,” he said. The villagers said only ten of them were able to vote on April 10.
In Jiyatoli, Home Guard Ashok Narayan Dev who is on medical leave now and back in his village said he had tried to intervene after CPI(ML) workers captured the polling booth. He showed three of his front teeth had been broken in the scuffle. “I got a report from Jiyatoli that CPI(ML) had captured the booth and were not letting anyone vote for BJP or Congress. I reached there, and asked everyone to make a queue but they hit me with a brick and I fell. I did not see anyone from Jiyatoli carrying any stones, which were stacked by men from Dhudhwatoli,” he said, adding that later voting had resumed peacefully. Munna Narayan Dev, the BJP polling booth agent in Jiyatoli, alleged the Dalit villagers had tried to vote twice leading to the Bhumihars to call the police. He alleged the Dalit villagers had assaulted a woman from Jiyatoli but that she was not available to speak about the incident.
Giridih Superintendent of Police Kranti Kumar Gadhesi said he had ordered enquiry.
Deccan Herald
Complaint against misuse of ST Act
Mandya, April 23, 2014, DHNS
Condemning the misuse of The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act during the communal clash that was reported from Ragimuddanahalli recently, residents of the vilage and members of Swabhimani Vokkaligara Sangha staged a protest in front of DC’s office, in Mandya, on Wednesday.
It is said that residents belonging to one community, majority of them women, took part in the protest. They submitted a memorandum at the DC’s office.
The protesters demanded the Police department and district administration take steps to solve the issue or warned of intensifying the protests.
Addressing a press meet earlier, Naganna Banaswadi of Swabhimani Vokkaigara Seva Trust complained that a petty issue between a Dalit and two persons belonging to an upper caste, was blown out of proportion by Dalit organisations. “The Act, which was implemented in an effort to protect the people of the community, is being misused.
Dalit organisations, utilising the benefits under the Act, have been trying to lodge cases against innocent people. This has created fear and anxiety among the residents of the village.” He demanded probe into the issue.
He also alleged that Dalit youths have been abusing the girls and women of the upper castes, and a complaint would be lodged with the police in this regard, he added.
The Hindu
Tsundur case: Dalit bodies to chalk out future course
Representatives of several organisations representing the interests of people from different walks of life, including Dalits and other weaker sections, will meet at the Sundaraiah Vignana Kendra between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Thursday to discuss their future course of action to register their protest against the verdict of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh, acquitting the accused in the Tsundur carnage of 1991. A few dozens of representatives of different organisations on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest at the statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on Wednesday, demanding justice. Prominent among those present were Vara Vara Rao of the Revolutionary Writers’ Association, M. Anjaneyulu, Director of the Centre for Dalit Studies, M. Veda Kumar of the Telangana Praja Front President and State general secretary of the Committee Against Caste Discrimination, John Wesley.
They regretted that the line ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ appeared to be proved correct. On Thursday, they would meet to firm up their future course of action, which included petitioning Governor to see that government went in appeal to the Supreme Court, apart from meeting the Chief Justice of India, Justice P. Sathasivam and Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh, Justice Kalyanjyoti Sengupta. “We will also move the Supreme Court in our appeal, separately,” he said.
Representatives of different organisations stage a peaceful protest at the statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar demanding justice
The Hindu
‘Dalit poll boycott a conspiracy’
District Dalit Sangharsha Samithi (DSS) president K Omkarappa has alleged that vested interests in Hosakere village in Dharamapur hobli of the district deliberately prevented Dalits from visiting the polling stations on April 17 in the name of boycotting elections.
In a press release issued here on Monday, he said that after delimitation of constituencies, the Hiriyur constituency became general and since then the leaders of some upper communities were systematically hatching conspiracies to keep Dalits of the constituency away from polling. Since a majority of them were illiterates, the leaders were misguiding these Dalits to boycott polling demanding basic amenities, he alleged.
Motive
The motive behind encouraging people to boycott elections was to ensure that these candidates should not vote in favour of the Congress candidate and also tarnish the political career of MLA D. Sudhakar, Mr. Omkarappa said. Hosakere village had all the basic facilities including drinking water, road and street lights and recently beneficiaries in the village were provided with borewells and other facilities under different government schemes, he said.
He demanded the authorities concerned to take note of the issue and create awareness among the people of such areas not to become victims of conspiracies of vested interests in the future, added the release.
The Hindu
Attack on Dalits condemned
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has condemned the recent attack on Dalits at Ragimuddanahalli in Mandya taluk. Addressing presspersonson Tuesday, the CPI (M) activists said the attacks on Dalits had increased in the district due to the government’s apathy in punishing the guilty. They urged the authorities to initiate action against those involved in the attack.— Staff Correspondent
Deccan Chronicle
Hindu temple refuses to serve food to 'non-Brahmin' academic in Karnataka
Udupi: The humiliation of a woman assistant professor by an employee of the Udupi Krishna Mutt who refused to serve her food recently because she was not a Brahmin, has kicked off a row in this temple town with progressive thinkers and activists strongly protesting such discrimination against devotees.
Ms Vanitha N Shetty, an assistant professor from Manipal, who was at the “Bhojana Shala,” (dining hall) of the Udupi Krishna Mutt on April 15, was taken aback when a server who realised she was a not a Brahmin but a Bunt, asked her to leave, telling her the ground floor was reserved for Brahmins and food was served to non- Brahmins on the first floor of the dining hall. An upset Ms Shetty preferred to leave without having the meal she had come for.
Enraged by her humiliation, activists have submitted a memorandum to the authorities, calling for an end to discrimination based on caste among diners at the math.
District president of Karnataka Komu Sauhardha Vedike, G Rajashekhar says it’s time the government banned the “Pankti Bedha,” or separate seating arrangements for Brahmins and other castes in the mutt's dining hall. “We do not want the government to take control of the temple, but it must put an end to this practice,” he told Deccan Chronicle.
When contacted, math media coordinator, Venugopal Rao said paryaya seer, Sri Vidhyavallabha Teertha Swamiji, had expressed regret at the incident and steps had been taken to ensure it didn’t happen again.
“The swamiji has promised to discuss the matter of bringing changes with the other seven seers. He will see to it that they are not hurt again,” he added.
News Monitor by Girish Pant
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of “Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC”)
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of “Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC”)
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