Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 28.03.14
CDS releases Dalit and Adivasi Agenda- The Hindu
Untouchability persist in schools, fairs: Dalit movement- Hindustan Times
Labourer from MP was beaten to death in Raj- Business Standard
Railway Cop 'Kidnaps' Dalit Youth- The New Indian Express
Woman charges police of detaining her illegally in police station- The Times Of India
Website to track atrocities on dalits launched- The Times Of India
YUVARAJA’S COLLEGE SC/ST STUDENTS SEEK WAIVER OF EXAM FEE FOR REPEATERS - Star Of Mysore
The Hindu
CDS releases Dalit and Adivasi Agenda
Will be circulated among all the political parties fielding candidates in polls
The Centre for Dalit Studies (CDS) here released an eight-page ‘Dalit and Adivasi Agenda’, a manifesto containing demands from people across 22 different areas, to be circulated among all political parties fielding candidates in the coming elections.
At a press conference on Wednesday, former IAS officers — Kaki Madhava Rao and K.R. Venugopal — said the manifesto was prepared by a working group of concerned citizens and experts. They said the thrust of the document was on core issues that needed to be included in the political agenda during the elections, as the timing could not be any better.
Mr. Venugopal said that it gave people the opportunity to raise some pertinent questions. He lauded the CDS initiative and said it would go a long way in helping improve the lot of the weaker sections.
Mr. Madhava Rao said the manifesto was a result of a brainstorming process and based on feedback received from people at large. An important point was people’s wish as to who they would prefer as leaders.
Senior journalist Mallepalli Laxmaiah and CDS secretary Y.B. Satyanarayana said among the main demands in the agenda were free and compulsory education from kindergarten to post-graduate for Dalits and Adivasis, conversion of all existing SC/ST welfare hostels into residential schools and reservation of seats for SCs and STs in all private educational institutions with fee reimbursement, apart from government bearing students’ full mess charges in college/university hostels and periodic enhancement of scholarships in tune with the price rise.
On the employment front, the agenda demanded that reservations be introduced in private sector too, in line with the existing reservation system in the government departments. As for health, it sought strengthening of primary health centres, labs and diagnostic facilities, supply of essential medicines free of cost and provision of additional nutritional supplements like milk, eggs and pulses to children five years of age and for pregnant and lactating women too.
Hindustan Times
Untouchability persist in schools, fairs: Dalit movement
Dalit Social and Financial Rights Movement (DSFRM) convener Balak Ram has alleged discrimination against Dalits in Mandi district.
Speaking to HT here on Thursday, Ram said the movement was pursuing the matter with the Mandi district administration, the state government and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), New Delhi.
He said discrimination against persons belonging to the schedule castes (SC) and schedule tribes (ST) continue unabated. The practice of untouchability still persists in schools, educational institutions, temples and in fairs.
Ram said the movement had submitted reports to the state government and to the NHRC, New Delhi, on few government schools of the Seraj segment of Mandi district and Kangra district where school authorities serve mid-day meals to SC and ST students separately from the upper caste students.
“The school authorities give food to Dalit students after serving upper-class students. Moreover, Dalit students are made to sit in separate rows. It is discrimination and violation of human rights” he said.
Ram further said that the same practice was being adopted by the traditional fairs organisers. They not only cook food for them separately but earmark the space where lower and upper caste people will eat separately.
“The Mandi Shivratri fair is one of the major fair of the state and fair organizers provide common feast to the local deity's accompanists and musicians in U-Block building of Government Primary School, but cook and serve the meal separately for the Dalits. No social organization or administration officials object to the repeated discrimination,” he said.
He added that Article 17 of the Indian Constitution had abolished such practice.
“It is the duty of upper caste people to provide equal platform to celebrate religious occasion and enjoy common feast to deliver justice to downtrodden community and enable them to live with dignity and self-esteem” said Ram.
Business Standard
Labourer from MP was beaten to death in Raj
A 40-year-old labourer was beaten to death by his employer after the daily-wage worker asked for his due wages, which was reportedly unpaid for over a month.
Pratap Bheel, a resident of Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh, who was working as a watchman was beaten to death by his employer Purshotam Kumawat yesterday in Deendayal Upadhayanager here when he asked for his due wages, police said today.
Later, Pratap was taken to Maharao Bheem Singh hospital, where he was declared brought dead, police said.
Anantpura Police Station House Officer Haricharan Meena said that a case has been registered against Kumawat under Section 302 of IPC (murder) and section 3 of SC/ST Act (prevention of atrocities) and he has been arrested last night.
The New Indian Express
Railway Cop 'Kidnaps' Dalit Youth
In a curious case of police stepping into the shoes of criminals, a Dalit youth was allegedly abducted by Special Sub-Inspector, who demanded a ransom of 300 sovereigns gold.
According to a Habeas Corpus Petition filed by 51-year-old Ramalakshmi on March 13, her son Vijayan, an unemployed graduate, was picked up by SSI R Subramanian, Special Team, Railways, Tiruchy on the pretext of an enquiry while he was travelling to Chennai by train. According to the petition, Vijayan was forcibly made to get down from Podhigai Express at Tiruchy on March 9 and was kept in illegal detention at Railway Police Station.
On March 14, a day after the HCP was filed, Vijayan’s arrest was recorded, he was remanded in judicial custody and subsequently lodged in Palayamkottai Central prison. Her son was beaten up and tied to the furniture and was not provided proper food, Ramalakshmi contended.
A day before the youth was taken into illegal custody, Subramanian and another policeman had visited Vijayan and his father Palanisamy, a retired BSNL employee, at their house in Sivakasi, initially introducing themselves as marriage brokers. In the course of the conversation, Subramanian revealed that he was a policeman and suspected the youth’s involvement in a laptop theft case. He also allegedly abused the father and son in the name of caste and searched the house, the petition said.
The policemen even forced the duo to drop them at nearest railway station and rode pillion on their two-wheelers before collecting `200 as “transport charges”, the complaint said.
After detaining Vijayan the next day, Subramanian contacted family members and told them that the youth was involved in a series thefts of laptops and jewelry weighing around 300 sovereigns.
The SSI demanded the family cough up 300 sovereigns of gold so that the issue could be “settled” without a case being registered.
In course of the negotiations, the SSI allowed a family member to speak to Vijayan. Four conversations with the SSI had been secretly recorded by the relative and was submitted before the High Court to substantiate that the youth was kidnapped for ransom.
The youth told his mother Ramalakshmi when she met him at the central prison that Subramanian was the only officer who handled his case.
“The cop forced me to give a written confession statement after thrashing me since the family was not relenting to his demands... I was abused by my caste name. My legs were tied during the nights,” Vijayan was quoted as saying in the petition.
Vijayan was produced before the Bench comprising of Justice V Dhanapalan and Justice G Chockalingam in connection with the HCP on March 21, when he categorically told the court that he was kept in unlawful custody since March 9.
After hearing the case, the court issued a notice to the policeman and asked to file a counter.
In reply to the notice, the SSI admitted of having arrested Vijayan but denied keeping him in illegal custody. He claimed that the youth was summoned everyday for interrogation in the said period of illegal detention and he had voluntarily confessed to various crimes that fell in various jurisdiction of the Railway Police.
Express has a copy of the voice recordings submitted in the court, which proves the SSI indeed had Vijayan in his custody and bargained for ransom.
The Times Of India
Woman charges police of detaining her illegally in police station
MADURAI: A dalit woman from Virudhunagar district who has alleged that police personnel took her and her brother into illegal custody on March 21 and abused them in the police station, has demanded that justice be imparted to them.
In a petition to the DGP of Tamil Nadu, Vijayabharathy (30) from Ahasampatti village in Watrap in Virudhunagar district has said that she was a B.Com graduate and was living with her husband Sellasamy (34), a coolie working in Kerala. They have two children - Reshmashree (8) and Sriram (7). Her orphaned cousin Aravind (14) was also living with them.
Her sister Sarathi had got married to a fellow villager Singaraj a year ago. His cousin Suresh (40) who was a writer in the Watrap police station had alleged that Vijayabharathy was responsible for this marriage and a feud existed between them.
Suresh, his aunt Palaniammal (48) and some others had come to her house on the night of March 21 and allegedly attacked the petitioner and her brother brutally. Some of their neighbours had rushed to the spot upon hearing their cries and rescued them.
On the same night, Watrap police sub inspector Karuppasamy, constable Muthukumar and five others had come to their house and taken her and Aravind forcefully to the Watrap police station at around 11.30pm in a SUV.
At the police station, Suresh, who was not wearing his uniform and his colleagues attacked them brutally and Aravind sustained an injury on his left arm which needed seven stitches. An MLC case was registered in the Watrap Government Hospital. The policemen had then threatened her to withdraw the case. A receipt was given and no FIR registered. On March 25, she and her brother were admitted to the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai for further treatment. She said that action be taken against the policemen who illegally dragged her to the police station at night and abused her and her brother.
Evidence, a NGO has demanded that cases be booked against the erring policemen under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and that the boy be compensated with Rs 3 lakh for his medical expenses and that the woman be given protection.
The Times Of India
Website to track atrocities on dalits launched
CHENNAI: A new website to track atrocities on dalits has been launched. Any aggrieved person can send an SMS to the cellphone number 9898915455 or log in to the website www.annihilatecaste.in to seek help for incidents of caste atrocities across the country. The person has to send his name and the type of offence to the number.
The 'atrocity tracking and monitoring' (ATM) website will also help send alert messages to the collector and other officials to take actions within a stipulated time under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. The interactive website, launched by the National Coalition for Strengthening SC/ST Act 1989 and Social Awareness Society for Youths (SASY), attains prominence after the SC/ ST Act amendment ordinance 2014 was signed by the President on March 4.
The 'atrocity tracking and monitoring' (ATM) website will also help send alert messages to the collector and other officials to take actions within a stipulated time under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. The interactive website, launched by the National Coalition for Strengthening SC/ST Act 1989 and Social Awareness Society for Youths (SASY), attains prominence after the SC/ ST Act amendment ordinance 2014 was signed by the President on March 4.
"Establishment of exclusive courts and final judgments in two months from the date of filing the chargesheet are included in the ordinance," said I Pandiyan, director of SASY. "Cases of attack on dalits are on the rise. We hope the state government will enforce this ordinance by issuing an order to the concerned department," he said.
Star Of Mysore
YUVARAJA’S COLLEGE SC/ST STUDENTS SEEK WAIVER OF EXAM FEE FOR REPEATERS
Mysore, Mar. 27 -Over 100 students of Yuvaraja’s College, staged a stir in front of Crawford Hall here today, alleging that the College was collecting examination fees from SC/ST/BC students for re-examination and from repeaters.
They said that the government had waived the fees for the said students which was not abided by the college.
Members of Bahujana Vidyarthi Sangha (BVS) too extended their support for the stir. Varsity Student Welfare Dean Dr. Rudraiah convinced the students that the issue would be resolved following which the students withdrew their stir.
BVS City Convenor Ganesh Murthy, student Union leaders Janardhan, Naveen and others were present.
News Monitor by Girish Pant
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of “Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC”)
Pl visit on FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/
..............................
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.
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of “Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC”)
Pl visit on FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/
..............................
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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