Dalits Media Watch
In an article written in the latest issue of 'Kerala Sabdam' weekly, Ashok alleged that dalit and backward class officers had to face serious disciplinary action for minor faults, while the upper caste officers went scot-free even after committing serious crimes.
"In my analysis, only two upper caste officers - Govindan Nair and Amitabh Kant - had to face suspension in the history of Kerala civil service. Nair was an officer of Travancore-Kochi state and had to face disciplinary action before the formation of Kerala. Amitabh Kant paid the price for inviting the wrath of a senior politician," Ashok told TOI.
Listing out names of senior civil servants who had to face disciplinary action in the recent times, Ashok said the list was skewed and there were no upper caste names in it.
"About 10 officers had been suspended in the history of Kerala civil service and several others had to face punitive action. Recent officers who had to face action were J Sudhakaran, K Suresh Kumar, P Subbaiah and P C Sanalkumar. Interestingly, all of them are dalit officers," said Ashok. K R Viswambharan, another dalit officer, is still fighting a case for eligible service benefits, which he had been denied.
"It is clear that caste alone is the factor that defines disciplinary action against officers," said Ashok. "A classic case is the disciplinary action against P C Sanal Kumar. He faced action for travelling abroad without seeking government sanction. A senior IPS officer travelled along with him to the US for the same programme, but only Sanal Kumar had to face the music," said Ashok.
Official language department secretary K Suresh Kumar, who was denied eligible promotion as principal secretary recently, said he won't term the disciplinary action as just caste-based discrimination. "I had to face two CBI inquiries and three vigilance cases in my career. I was exonerated after probe. But those cases occurred because I chose to fight a corrupt system," Suresh Kumar told TOI. He said in his 25-year-long career, all superior officers rated him excellent or outstanding. "I don't think they judged me based on my caste," he said.
In his article in the vernacular weekly, Ashok also observed that the upper hand of Brahmin and Nair officers in Kerala cadre is over and Christian officers are calling the shots now. "Christian officers enjoy direct support from various Christian denominations. The Catholic influence that grew strong in New Delhi recently added to their power," Ashok said.
He found ministers from dalit and backward classes as guilty of not providing enough support to backward class officers, while ministers from upper castes and Christian/Muslim religions try their best to save them in crises. "If you ask me whether caste system exists in IAS, I will say all evils in society exist in the service too," said Ashok.
Senior civil servant and Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Dr B Ashok has alleged that dalit and backward class officers in the Kerala cadre of IAS still suffer discrimination from a section of higher officials who belong to upper class. In an article written in the latest issue of 'Kerala Sabdam' weekly, Ashok alleged that dalit and backward officers had to face serious disciplinary action for minor faults while the upper caste officers escaped unhurt even after committing serious crimes.
"In my analysis, only two upper caste officers - Govindan Nair and Amitabh Kant - had to face suspension in the history of Kerala civil service. Nair was an officer of Travancore-Kochi state and had to face disciplinary action before the formation of Kerala. Amitabh Kant paid the price for inviting the wrath of a senior politician", Ashok told TOI.
Listing out names of senior civil servants who had to face disciplinary action in the recent times, Ashok said the list was skewed and there were no upper caste names in it. "About 10 officers had been suspended in the history of Kerala service and several others had to face punitive actions. Recent officers who had to face action are J Sudhakaran, K Suresh Kumar, P Subbaiah and P C Sanalkumar. Interestingly, all of them are dalit officers", said Ashok. Another dalit officer, K R Viswambharan is still fighting a case for eligible service benefits which he had been denied.
"It is clear that caste alone is the factor that define disciplinary action against officers", said Ashok. "A classic case is the disciplinary action against P C Sanal Kumar. He faced the action for travelling abroad without seeking government sanction. A senior IPS officer travelled along with him to the US for the same programme, but, only Sanal Kumar had to face action", said Ashok.
Official language department secretary K Sureshkumar, who was denied eligible promotion as principal secretary recently said, he didn't want to treat disciplinary actions as simple as caste-based discrimination. "I had to face two CBI inquiries and three vigilance cases in my career. I was exonerated after probe. But, those cases occurred because I chose to fight a corrupt system", Suresh Kumar told TOI. He said in his 25 year long career, all superior officers rated him excellent or outstanding. "I don't think they judged me based on my caste", he said.
In his article in the vernacular weekly, Ashok also observed that the upper hand of Brahmin and Nair officers in Kerala cadre is over and Christian officers are calling the shots now. "Christian officers enjoy direct support from various Christian denominations. The catholic influence that grew strong in New Delhi recently added to their power", Ashok said.
He found ministers from dalit and backward classes as guilty of not provide enough support to backward class officers while ministers from upper castes and Christian/Muslim religions try their best to save them in crises. "If you ask me whether caste system exists in IAS, I will say all evils in society exist in the service too", said Ashok.
Ahmedabad has witnessed 18 deaths because of manual scavenging - the highest in the state. "For long, manual scavenging has been discouraged but deaths have taken place across municipal corporations and other civic bodies. The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 prohibits engagement of persons for manually carrying human excreta," says Kirit Rathod, a member of dalit activists group Navsarjan.
Rathod claims that there are around 50,000 official safai kamdars in the state who clean gutters but the state government has failed to uplift them through the Safai Kamdar Nigam.
News Updates 28.04.14
Tsundur Dalit massacre case: Govt to file plea in SC against accused- One India
Conductor Killed for Inter-caste Wedding?- The New Indian Express
Tussle Over Poll Booth Representation Triggers Attack on Dalits; 14 Booked- The New Indian Express
Police Can Force Accused to Undergo Paternity Test- The New Indian Express
Casteism still exists in civil service, says officer- The Times Of India
Yet another case of manual scavenging in city?- The Hindu
‘Over 10 years, 98 manual scavengers died in state’- The Times Of India
Police treating our cases lightly, say Dalits- The Hindu
One India
Tsundur Dalit massacre case: Govt to file plea in SC against accused
Hyderabad, Apr 27: A Special Leave Petition (SLP) will be filed in the Supreme Court against the Andhra Pradesh High Court's judgement acquitting all the accused in Tsundur killings, state DGP B Prasada Rao said here today. Addressing a 'Meet-the-Press' programme organised by the Telangana Union of Working Journalists (TUWJ), the DGP said the government would appeal in the apex court against the high court order in the case and a SLP will be filed soon. He, however, ruled out failure on part of police over not getting sufficient evidence in the case. A division bench of the high court on April 22 had set aside an order of a special court sentencing 21 persons to life imprisonment and awarded jail sentence of one-year to 35 others for the massacre of Dalits at Tsundur in Guntur district in 1991. The high court had set aside the sentences for lack of evidence in the sensational case, wherein eight Dalits were killed allegedly by persons from non-Dalit farming communities in August 1991. Meanwhile, responding to a query, Prasada Rao said the AP CID had on April 25 received an Interpol red corner notice against Congress Rajya Sabha member KVP Ramachandra Rao in the titanium bribery matter. "...It was not accompanied by a warrant. And hence, the CID sent them (the CBI) a request, asking them to send the warrant. We are in correspondence with the CBI in this regard," the top cop said, adding that "He (Rao) is an MP and we are not keeping a vigil on him." On April 23, the US had approached India for Ramachandra Rao's arrest. The notice was sent by Interpol to CBI after a US federal jury indicted Rao and five others on charges of receiving bribes of USD 18.5 million from an American firm to allow it to mine titanium in Andhra Pradesh. CBI had then sent the letter to Andhra Pradesh police asking them to take action against Rao. Ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state, unaccounted cash of Rs 120 crore was seized by the police and nearly 3,000 cases were booked for poll code violations so far, the DGP added. PTI
The New Indian Express
Conductor Killed for Inter-caste Wedding?
High tension grip-ped areas around the Salem Government Mohan Kuma-ramangalam Medical College Hospital here on Sunday morning following a road-roko staged by the VCK cadre demanding the immediate arrest of the gang that had murdered a government bus conductor on Saturday night.
Police said that Jambu ali-as Shanmugam (46), a resident of Pallipatti near Veeranam and a town bus condu-ctor, was en route to the Old Bus stand from Valasaiyur around 8.30 pm, when some bike-borne persons intercepted the bus and threatened the driver, Sivakumar, stop it near Chinnanur.
The gang members entered the bus and began indiscriminately stabbing Shanmugam.
When a grievously-injured Shanmugam tried to get off the bus, the assailants slit his throat. The gang crushed his head with boulders before fleeing the spot.
On information, Veeranam police rushed to the spot and sent the body to the Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital for post-mortem.
Sources said that Shanmugam, a Dalit and an active VCK trade union functionary, had helped many inter-caste couples unite. By such activities, he earned the wrath of many people.
A few years ago, Shanmugam had helped his son Surendhar marry a caste Hindu girl despite stiff opposition from her brother Manikandan. Surendhar and his friends had allegedly mu-rdered Manikandan in 2009 and the case was pending be-fore a court. Suspecting that Manikandan’s kin might ha-ve murdered Shanmugham in revenge, police have pic-ked up four persons for interrogation, sources added.
Shanmugam’s relatives received the body after assurances from the police that speedy action would be taken to arrest the culprits.
The New Indian Express
Tussle Over Poll Booth Representation Triggers Attack on Dalits; 14 Booked
A total of 14 persons were booked for assaulting Dalit youth near Papanasam over a tussle during the polling day.
According to police, a group of Dalit youth of Veerancherry questioned the non-inclusion of members of their community in the work being carried out at a booth set up by DMK alliance parties beyond 200 metres of the polling station. It was objected by the dominant community members. As the polling was on, the issue was settled then. However, on Friday when Dalit youth Ilayaraja, Prasath and eight others were at a tea shop, 14 members of a dominant community questioned the Dalit youth act on the polling day. The gang also threw stones at them.
Ten persons were injured. Of them Ilayaraja, Sathyamurthy, Arivazhagan were admitted to Kumbakonam Government hospital. Based on a complaint by T Murugan, the brother of the injured Ilayaraja, Kabisthalam police have registered a case against 14 persons including J Baskar of Pudutheru, A Suresh and M Satheesh, belonging to dominant community. They were booked under sections 147 (rioting), 324 (causing hurt with dangerous weapons) of Indian Penal code and under sections 3 (i)(x) of SC, ST (Prevention of atrocities) Act.
The police also booked a case against the 13 Dalit youths including Ilayayaraja of Keezhatheru and Saravanan under various sections including 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 307 (attempt to murder) and 392 (robbery) of Indian penal code based on a complaint filed by J Baskar of the dominant community.
It is said in the complaint that seven persons including Kunjammal, Tamilselvi and Marimuthu of the dominant community were attacked and injured by the Dalit youth.
The New Indian Express
Police Can Force Accused to Undergo Paternity Test
Holding that in cases relating to paternity dispute, a Judicial Magistrate was well within powers to send an accused to undergo DNA test, the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) has said even the police could exert reasonable degree of physical force on the accused to subject him to the said tests.
A Dalit woman had originally filed a complaint alleging that one Dhanasekara Pandian had lured her into a physical relationship on the promise of marriage. Later, when she delivered a male child, Pandian allegedly deserted her.
When the case came up for hearing before the Melur Judicial Magistrate, the Deputy Superintendent of Police filed an application seeking permission to send Pandian and the baby for a DNA test to ascertain their biological relationship.
The accused objected to this following which the Magistrate rejected the plea to conduct a DNA test saying it violates the protection giv-en to a person under Article 20 (3) of the Constitution. Besides, the Magistrate said as per Section 53A of the CrPC a medical examination can be conducted on an accused only when he is arrested and produced before the Magistrate or at any time during his detention period. Otherwise, a Magistrate has no power to pass an order for medical examination.
Aggrieved by this, the woman filed a criminal revision petition in the High Court. When the case was admitted for hearing before Justice P N Prakash, it was submitted that the accused Pandian was not appearing before the Judicial Magistrate and non-bailable warrant was issued against him but his whereabouts were not known.
Passing orders Justice Prakash, citing the Supreme Court ruling in the State of Bombay Vs Kathi Kalu Og-had case, held that the accused is not entitled to protection under Article 20 (3) of the Constitution.
Besides, in the Selvi Vs State of Karnataka case, the Constitution Bench of the SC had held that taking of finger impressions, footprints, ha-ndwriting, signature, blood, semen, saliva etc. from the accused, will not in any way violate the said Article.
“Therefore, a Magistrate has got the power to send the accused for DNA profiling even if he is on bail or has been granted anticipatory bail by the superior court. Just because the police, either on account of oblique motives or due to genuine remiss, had failed to act under Section 53-A, the court cannot throw its hands up and plead helplessness,” he said.
The Times Of India
Casteism still exists in civil service, says officer
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior civil servant and Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University vice chancellor B Ashok has alleged that dalit and backward class officers in the Kerala cadre of IAS still suffer discrimination from a section of higher officials who belong to upper class.
In an article written in the latest issue of 'Kerala Sabdam' weekly, Ashok alleged that dalit and backward class officers had to face serious disciplinary action for minor faults, while the upper caste officers went scot-free even after committing serious crimes.
"In my analysis, only two upper caste officers - Govindan Nair and Amitabh Kant - had to face suspension in the history of Kerala civil service. Nair was an officer of Travancore-Kochi state and had to face disciplinary action before the formation of Kerala. Amitabh Kant paid the price for inviting the wrath of a senior politician," Ashok told TOI.
Listing out names of senior civil servants who had to face disciplinary action in the recent times, Ashok said the list was skewed and there were no upper caste names in it.
"About 10 officers had been suspended in the history of Kerala civil service and several others had to face punitive action. Recent officers who had to face action were J Sudhakaran, K Suresh Kumar, P Subbaiah and P C Sanalkumar. Interestingly, all of them are dalit officers," said Ashok. K R Viswambharan, another dalit officer, is still fighting a case for eligible service benefits, which he had been denied.
"It is clear that caste alone is the factor that defines disciplinary action against officers," said Ashok. "A classic case is the disciplinary action against P C Sanal Kumar. He faced action for travelling abroad without seeking government sanction. A senior IPS officer travelled along with him to the US for the same programme, but only Sanal Kumar had to face the music," said Ashok.
Official language department secretary K Suresh Kumar, who was denied eligible promotion as principal secretary recently, said he won't term the disciplinary action as just caste-based discrimination. "I had to face two CBI inquiries and three vigilance cases in my career. I was exonerated after probe. But those cases occurred because I chose to fight a corrupt system," Suresh Kumar told TOI. He said in his 25-year-long career, all superior officers rated him excellent or outstanding. "I don't think they judged me based on my caste," he said.
In his article in the vernacular weekly, Ashok also observed that the upper hand of Brahmin and Nair officers in Kerala cadre is over and Christian officers are calling the shots now. "Christian officers enjoy direct support from various Christian denominations. The Catholic influence that grew strong in New Delhi recently added to their power," Ashok said.
He found ministers from dalit and backward classes as guilty of not providing enough support to backward class officers, while ministers from upper castes and Christian/Muslim religions try their best to save them in crises. "If you ask me whether caste system exists in IAS, I will say all evils in society exist in the service too," said Ashok.
Senior civil servant and Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Dr B Ashok has alleged that dalit and backward class officers in the Kerala cadre of IAS still suffer discrimination from a section of higher officials who belong to upper class. In an article written in the latest issue of 'Kerala Sabdam' weekly, Ashok alleged that dalit and backward officers had to face serious disciplinary action for minor faults while the upper caste officers escaped unhurt even after committing serious crimes.
"In my analysis, only two upper caste officers - Govindan Nair and Amitabh Kant - had to face suspension in the history of Kerala civil service. Nair was an officer of Travancore-Kochi state and had to face disciplinary action before the formation of Kerala. Amitabh Kant paid the price for inviting the wrath of a senior politician", Ashok told TOI.
Listing out names of senior civil servants who had to face disciplinary action in the recent times, Ashok said the list was skewed and there were no upper caste names in it. "About 10 officers had been suspended in the history of Kerala service and several others had to face punitive actions. Recent officers who had to face action are J Sudhakaran, K Suresh Kumar, P Subbaiah and P C Sanalkumar. Interestingly, all of them are dalit officers", said Ashok. Another dalit officer, K R Viswambharan is still fighting a case for eligible service benefits which he had been denied.
"It is clear that caste alone is the factor that define disciplinary action against officers", said Ashok. "A classic case is the disciplinary action against P C Sanal Kumar. He faced the action for travelling abroad without seeking government sanction. A senior IPS officer travelled along with him to the US for the same programme, but, only Sanal Kumar had to face action", said Ashok.
Official language department secretary K Sureshkumar, who was denied eligible promotion as principal secretary recently said, he didn't want to treat disciplinary actions as simple as caste-based discrimination. "I had to face two CBI inquiries and three vigilance cases in my career. I was exonerated after probe. But, those cases occurred because I chose to fight a corrupt system", Suresh Kumar told TOI. He said in his 25 year long career, all superior officers rated him excellent or outstanding. "I don't think they judged me based on my caste", he said.
In his article in the vernacular weekly, Ashok also observed that the upper hand of Brahmin and Nair officers in Kerala cadre is over and Christian officers are calling the shots now. "Christian officers enjoy direct support from various Christian denominations. The catholic influence that grew strong in New Delhi recently added to their power", Ashok said.
He found ministers from dalit and backward classes as guilty of not provide enough support to backward class officers while ministers from upper castes and Christian/Muslim religions try their best to save them in crises. "If you ask me whether caste system exists in IAS, I will say all evils in society exist in the service too", said Ashok.
The Hindu
Yet another case of manual scavenging in city?
Manual scavenging appears to persist in Bangalore despite repeated assurance by the government that it will be done away with and the process would be fully mechanised. A recent incident in J.P. Nagar V Phase stands as a testimony.
The Dalit Bahujan Movement (DBM), a non-governmental organisation, has lodged a complaint with the Jayaprakashnagar police station that a worker was made to get into a manhole by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to clear the clogged manhole at the intersection of Puttenahalli Main Road and 18th Main Road earlier this month.
A case was booked under Section 336 of the Indian Penal Code (Act endangering life or personal safety of others) and under The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
Curiously, when the police are yet to start investigation, the Karnataka State Safai Karamchari Commission has done a spot inspection and given a report to BWSSB that there had been no manual scavenging and a worker only helped remove obstacles to attach the hose pipe of the jetting machine.
M. Venkatesh, State president of DBM, is perplexed by this. “It is strange that we, as complainants, were not even approached by the commission before giving BWSSB a clean chit,” he said, adding that the worker was standing knee-deep in the slush inside the manhole and had no protective gear. “I have submitted photographic and video evidence,” he said, adding that a sucking-and-jetting machine was parked closeby but was not used. Responding to this, K.R. Mohan, secretary of the commission, said: “We did not find any witnesses when we visited the spot. But we can re-investigate the case.”
The Dalit Bahujan Movement has also submitted petitions to the Governor, Chief Minister, Social Welfare Minister and the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission demanding action. The organisation had brought to light a similar incident last year on Mysore Road and The Hindu had reported it. (“Machines to clean sewage lines can’t come sooner”, November 13, 2013). In its petition, DBM has recalled similar incidents reported from Mulbagal in Kolar, Kolar Gold Fields, Mandya, Anekal and Mysore. On March 2 this year, Kumar (29) was killed when the clogged manhole he was cleaning got flooded in Mysore.
Speaking to The Hindu , M. Shivanna, chairperson of the National Safai Karamchari Commission, said that the law against manual scavenging was stringent and anyone failing to implement safety measures (including deploying mechanical apparatus), were liable to be prosecuted.
I have submitted photographic and video evidence: activist
Commission says worker helped remove obstacles to attach the hose pipe of the jetting machine
The Times Of India
‘Over 10 years, 98 manual scavengers died in state’
AHMEDABAD: In the last decade, Gujarat has seen deaths of 98 manual scavengers. This fact was brought forth by the Safai Kamdar Vikas Nigam in reply to an RTI query. Of these, families of 43 victims have not yet been paid compensation.
Ahmedabad has witnessed 18 deaths because of manual scavenging - the highest in the state. "For long, manual scavenging has been discouraged but deaths have taken place across municipal corporations and other civic bodies. The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 prohibits engagement of persons for manually carrying human excreta," says Kirit Rathod, a member of dalit activists group Navsarjan.
Rathod claims that there are around 50,000 official safai kamdars in the state who clean gutters but the state government has failed to uplift them through the Safai Kamdar Nigam.
The Hindu
Police treating our cases lightly, say Dalits
The city police came under fire for taking lightly cases of atrocities against Dalits during the monthly Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe grievance meet held at Mangalore Police Commissioner’s office here on Sunday.
Sumitra Umesh, a resident of Konaje and a regular at the meeting, reiterated that even though she had presented her grievance against the neighbours who were harassing her family and against the laxity of Konaje police station officials, no action had been taken.
“Five atrocity cases have been booked against the accused since 2010, but there has been no progress in the investigation. The harassment has intensified and we’re facing threats. The police have done nothing to ensure our safety,” she said, adding that the most serious of the cases registered was an attempted poisoning of the water tank of the house.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) N. Vishnuvardhan assured her of an immediate inquiry and appropriate action.
Similarly, activist Girish Kumar complained that lower-level police officials take action only when atrocities come to the knowledge of higher-level police authorities.
Citing an example, he said though Keshav, a quarry worker, had lost his finger in a quarry accident in Bajpe, and subsequently was mentally and physically harassed by the quarry owner, the Bajpe police had refused to consider his complaint.
“It was only when Dalit organisations approached the commissioner, that a case was filed,” said Mr. Kumar.
It was not only the police that the activists targeted. “Malicious” dalit leaders were the subject of complaint too.
Vishu Kumar told the DCP that Ismail Bala, a resident of Suratkal, had formed a “fake” organisation, All Karnataka Dalit, Backward and Minorities Committee, to threaten locals and the local police.
Mr. Vishnuvardhan asked the Surathkal Police inspector to investigate the case.
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/
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of “Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC”)
Pl visit on FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/
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