tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73245522140537360252023-11-15T07:46:10.026-08:00"Shudra""Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-68172467731179508212012-05-27T05:37:00.003-07:002012-05-27T05:37:53.012-07:00Dalits from another village sits on dharna<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
CHANDIGARH: Two days after 70 dalit families in Haryana left their homes alleging <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/social-boycott-by-upper-caste">social boycott by upper-caste</a> residents of Bhagana village, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/dalits">dalits</a> from another village held a sit-in protest in Hisar on Wednesday.<br /> <br />
Ten dalit families from Dhani Thakriya met superintendent of police
Anil Dhawan to complain that they were facing caste-based discrimination
after a dispute with people of upper caste over village's common land.
On their complaint, police had booked over a dozen persons under the
SC/ST Act and also arrested three of them. "We want all the accused
arrested," said Mohan, the representative of the protestors.<br />
However, the SP said it was a dispute between two familes belonging to
two different castes. "Its not a caste conflict," he said. Even the
village sarpanch, who belongs to a dalit family, doesn't agree with the
allegations of the agitators, said Dhawan. After meeting the SP, the
dalit families left for their village.<br /> <br /> However, the 70 dalit families from <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Bhagana-village">Bhagana village</a>
are still camping in front of the district headquarters. "We will
return to the village only after an FIR against members of the upper
caste is registered for passing caste-related remarks," announced BSP
leader Balraj Satrodia. Meanwhile, the district administration has
appointed an investigation officer of the rank of deputy superintendent
of police to investigate the allegations.<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Dalits-from-another-village-sits-on-dharna/articleshow/13449651.cms" target="_blank">Source</a></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-75130898242986332482012-05-24T04:15:00.002-07:002012-05-24T04:15:34.352-07:00The mythology of the Dalit student suicide<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In the midst of the ongoing debate over reservation, and outside the
media spotlight, Dalit students are struggling for a life of dignity in
our nation’s top educational institutions. A new <em>Outlook</em> magazine article by S Anand reveals that age-old bigotry is alive and well on the Indian campus. [<a href="http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?280461" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read the story here</a>.]<br />
Suicides by Dalit students in elite institutes like AIIMS, IIT, etc.
are a well-known fact – and usually attributed to the “stress”
experienced by poorly qualified students who get in due to a quota but
are not able to make the grade. There have been 18 Dalit suicides over
the past four years, and many do not fit the “couldn’t hack it” profile.
Anand rebuts this popular stereotype by offering some recent examples:<br />
<blockquote>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_273921" style="width: 390px;">
<a href="http://www.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/reservation.jpg"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-273921" height="285" src="http://www.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/reservation.jpg" title="reservation" width="380" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="width: 370px;">
Setting
aside the debate over the effectiveness of reservation, what these
deaths reveal is an India that is simply unable to shake off its feudal
legacy of caste. Reuters</div>
</div>
Earlier last month, on March 3, Anil Kumar Meena, an adivasi medical
student at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, killed himself
in his hostel room. Educated in the Hindi medium, the son of poor
farmers in Baran, Rajasthan, Meena had scored 75 per cent in Class 12
and a second rank in the AIIMS entrance test. He was following in the
footsteps of Bal Mukund Bharti, a final year MBBS student, who exactly
two years ago hung himself to death in his hostel room in AIIMS. As I
write this, news comes of Neeraj Kumar, a first-year Dalit medical
student in Lucknow’s Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University,
failing in his attempt to take his life.</blockquote>
Anand’s claim is buttressed by a recent documentary, <em>Death of Merit</em>, which <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/article2425965.ece" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">took a closer look</a> at three such cases, including Bharti’s:<br />
<blockquote>
The first case was that of Bal Mukund, a Jatav (Chamar)
Dalit from Kundeshwar in Uttar Pradesh, the first Dalit from the village
in 50 years to enter an elite institute like All India Institute of
Medical Sciences, Delhi. The whole family, including his mother and
sister, had toiled hard to pour all their earnings to support Mukund.
Mukund, a topper all through his life, had scored 82 per cent in Class
X; had won the International Mathematics Contest and cleared the IIT and
AIIMS entrance examinations but chose AIIMS as he had the dream of
becoming a doctor.</blockquote>
What emerges is a deliberate pattern of harassment by both students
and faculty. It’s not just the taunts or physical abuse, but also the
threat of losing a hard-earned opportunity:<br />
<blockquote>
Jaspreet Singh, a Dalit by birth and a student from
Chandigarh, ended his life unable to bear the insults and taunts thrown
at him at the medical college library. Unable to overcome the loss of
her elder brother, his sister, a student of Bachelor of Computer
Application, also committed suicide, heartbroken at the injustice done
to him. The suicide note recovered from his coat pocket charged his head
of the department with deliberately failing him and threatening to fail
him over and over. Seven months later, after the National Commission of
Scheduled Castes intervened; a three-member team of senior professors
re-evaluated his answer sheet and found that he had in fact passed the
examination. NCSC’s intervention only made the police file the FIR under
SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.</blockquote>
Setting aside the debate over the effectiveness of reservation, what
these deaths reveal is an India that is simply unable to shake off its
feudal legacy of caste. And that the burden of post-Mandal
anti-reservation fury is being borne by these young men and women. And
if these are the attitudes in our highest institutions, what hope do the
Dalits have in remote villages?<br />
Anand makes two additional points that offer grist for thought. One,
he points out that most “reformist” solutions – usually campus
self-enrichment programmes to help Dalits adjust to the culture of these
institutions – are aimed at the victims not their oppressors, who are
in greater need of re-education.<br />
And two, he underlines the hypocrisy of getting angry about racism
against Indian students in places like Australia, while tolerating far
greater injustices closer to home.<br />
<blockquote>
When Indian students in Australia — predominantly
students with surnames like Gupta and Sharma not good enough to make it
to IITs, IIMs and AIIMS —are attacked, it is “racism”; it even becomes a
diplomatic issue. When Dalit and adivasi students on Indian campuses
are hounded to death, there’s not a murmur. What makes Indian society so
shameless as to not just deny but even justify such prejudice against
Dalits that lead to murders?</blockquote>
Whatever one’s position on the efficacy of reservations in addressing
age-old discrimination, Anand’s article raises important questions that
deserve serious consideration<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://www.firstpost.com/india/the-mythology-of-the-dalit-student-suicide-272191.html&ct=ga&cad=CAEQAhgAIAAoATABOAFA6pqf_ARIAVgBYgVlbi1JTg&cd=G18TNIDis_0&usg=AFQjCNHD32WlOfxsR4dYNp4djQLxA6UQSQ" target="_blank">Source</a></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-41248645449621746822012-05-24T03:59:00.003-07:002012-05-24T03:59:59.198-07:00Madurai villages still practising the two-tumbler system<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="body">
Selvam is a postgraduate who works in a private company.
Neither his economic or educational status can guarantee social
equality at a tea shop in his village where he will be served tea only
in a separate tumbler. </div>
<div class="body">
The socially abhorrent
practice of having separate tumblers for caste Hindus and Dalits is
still in vogue in some villages in Madurai. The district police have
filed a case against a teashop owner at Madaipatti in Usilampatti taluk
for practising the ‘two-tumbler' system, which has once again brought to
light the practice of discrimination against Dalits. Following a
complaint by Kallusami belonging to the Dalit community, a case has been
registered against teashop owner N. Raja Thevar, under Section 3(1) 10
of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
1989. His shop has been ‘sealed.' After coming to know of the police
action, the accused is absconding. </div>
<div class="body">
Raja Thevar has
disposable cups for Dalits and stainless steel tumblers for caste
Hindus. This discrimination extends to outsiders visiting the village;
if he is a relative of a caste Hindu he would get tea in a stainless
steel tumbler or in a glass tumbler. If the person is known to have come
to meet a Dalit, he would be given tea in a plastic cup. </div>
<div class="body">
The village has a population of 90 families belonging to Dalits and 400 belonging to Piramalai Kallars. </div>
<div class="body">
The
village had already earned notoriety for its practices of
untouchability where Dalits were prevented from using footwear in the
caste Hindu area. </div>
<div class="body">
A few months ago, police intervened and filed cases against those who practised the discrimination after which it was stopped.</div>
<div class="body">
The
practice of having two tumblers has undergone many changes with subtler
forms to escape the attention of monitoring agencies. Citing pollution,
once Dalits were served tea in coconut shells; then came separate glass
tumblers for Dalits which they had to wash themselves, while everyone
else was served tea in steel cups. </div>
<div class="body">
Then, Dalits were
given tea in separate glass tumblers and in order to prevent the mixing
of tumblers owners used red/yellow/green paint marks on the bottom of
tumblers meant for Dalits. In many places, they were asked to bring
their own cups. Now, for Dalits, it is disposable plastic cups and for
others it is stainless steel cups. In most cases, Dalits can't sit on
benches in tea stalls but have to squat or sit on the floor. </div>
<div class="body">
A
recent study by an NGO, Evidence, found that the two-tumbler system is
in vogue in 104 villages in Tamil Nadu. Its prevalence was found to be
high also in 14 villages in Coimbatore district. The practice was found
in 14 villages in Dindigul district and in 13 villages n Salem. </div>
<h3>
SP warns of stern action</h3>
<div class="body">
Superintendent of Police Asra Garg, talking to <i>The Hindu,</i>
agreed that the practice existed in a few villages in Madurai and now
“we have identified a shop where it was practised and have filed cases
under SC/ST Act.” </div>
<div class="body">
All the police stations coming
under the district would be asked to issue warning to owners of tea
stalls in their respective limits to stop it immediately. </div>
<div class="body">
“We
will ask intelligence officials to monitor and if the practice is not
stopped serious action would be taken and the practice which is against
the Constitution will be eradicated,” he said. </div>
<div class="body">
The
Supreme Court Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra in
April, 2011 has described the two-tumbler system as highly objectionable
and an offence under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and
criminal proceedings must be carried out against those practising such
acts. They must be given harsh punishment, if found guilty.<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article3449855.ece" target="_blank">Source</a></div>
</div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-68382184480147482632012-05-23T08:26:00.001-07:002012-05-23T08:26:12.439-07:00Dalits allege social boycott, quit Haryana village<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span id="advenueINTEXT" name="advenueINTEXT">CHANDIGARH: Around 70 dalit families of a <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Haryana-village">Haryana village</a>
have left their homes and are camping outside the Hisar district
administration headquarters to protest discrimination by upper-caste
villagers. Dalits of <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Bhagana-village">Bhagana village</a> allege they are facing <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/social-boycott">social boycott</a>. <br /><br />
Police have been deployed in the village to avert a flare-up. The dalit
protest is also receiving support from members of other backward
communities. <br /><br /> When a low-caste farmer was stopped from entering a
village pond by upper-caste men, the dalits bolted their houses and
marched to the district headquarters the next day. "On Monday, we
decided to finally leave. We have suffered enough," said Satish Kumar,
who is leading the protests. He alleged dalits are being ostracized for
the last three months. <br /><br /> On Tuesday, a delegation of upper-caste
villagers met the deputy commissioner, Amit Aggarwal, and denied
imposing a boycott on dalits. "A few people are trying to create a
rift," said village sarpanch Rakesh Kumar. <br /><br /> Sparks were first lit in 2011 when dalits demanded free residential plots of 100 square yards under <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Mahatma-Gandhi">Mahatma Gandhi</a>
Gramin Basti Yojana. This was strongly opposed by upper-caste villagers
even though 220 acres of shamlat (community) land lay vacant. "Upper
caste men distributed this land among themselves. Now, they are forcing
us to withdraw a complaint against encroachment of land," said Balraj
Satrodia, district president of <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Bahujan-Samaj-Party">Bahujan Samaj Party</a>. <br /><br />
Deputy commissioner Amit Aggarwal said a probe has been ordered. "It's
not a case of atrocities on dalits, but a dispute between two groups,"
Aggarwal said. <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Dalits-allege-social-boycott-quit-Haryana-village/articleshow/13401854.cms" target="_blank">Source</a></span></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-45611519660524082392012-05-19T07:19:00.001-07:002012-05-19T07:19:07.449-07:00Increase in violence against SCs and STs, reveals report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="body">
Decades after enacting a legislation to prevent
atrocities against the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes through the
SCs/STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and the SCs/STs
(Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995, the picture continues to remain
quite grim, according to a civil society report. </div>
<div class="body">
The
report on the “Status of Implementation of SCs and STs [Prevention of
Atrocities] Act 1989 and Rules 1995” reveals that there has been
substantial increase in cases of violence against SCs and STs. </div>
<div class="body">
Released
by Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, the first Dalit Chief Justice of India,
here on Thursday, the report highlights loopholes in the implementation
of the Act and argues that it has not been able to check atrocities
against Dalits and Adivasis in an effective manner. </div>
<div class="body">
Prepared
after collecting evidences by visiting the places of incidents and
talking to victims across the country, the study says “to begin with
first the cases of violence against SCs/STs are not registered” and even
in those that are registered the conviction rate is quite low. “At
least one-fourth of the cases have been disposed of at the investigation
stage itself by the police and these complaints have been referred to
as ‘mistake of fact,” adds the report which was prepared by the National
Coalition for Strengthening SCs & STs (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act</div>
<div class="body">
The report which explains in details the trends
and nature of discrimination and atrocities against SCs/STs over the
years, recommends that “a high-level committee should be appointed to
review implementation of the Act and the Rules in all the States”.</div>
<div class="body">
While
expressing disappointment over the States' failure to check crimes
against Dalits and Adivasis, Justice Balakrishnan favoured the reports'
recommendation that “exclusive special courts with powers to take
cognizance of the offences under the Act should be set up and special
public prosecutors for speedy trials of cases registered under the Act
should be appointed”. </div>
<div class="body">
According to the report crime
rate against SCs has increased from 2.6 per cent in 2007 to 2.8 per cent
in 2010. In 2010, Uttar Pradesh accounted for 19.2 per cent of the
total crimes against SCs (6,272 out of 32,712) in the country. In the
same year, Rajasthan reported the highest rate of crimes (7.4 per cent)
against SCs compared to the national average of 2.9 per cent.</div>
<div class="body">
According
to the report, the number of crimes against STs drastically increased
in 2010 to 5,885 cases and murder cases of STs alone totalled 142. </div>
<div class="body">
When
it comes to registration of atrocity cases, the report says “police
resort to various machinations to discourage SCs/STs from registering
cases, to dilute the seriousness of the violence, and to shield the
accused persons from arrest and prosecution. FIRs are often registered
under the PCR Act and IPC provisions, which attract lesser punishment
than PoA Act provisions for the same offence.” </div>
<div class="body">
At national level, only 11,682 (34.2 per cent) out of 34,127 atrocity cases were registered under PoA Act in 2010. </div>
<div class="body">
Of
all the cases registered in 2010 investigation was completed only for
37,558 cases of the total of 51,782 cases. Charge sheets were submitted
only for 26,480 cases (51 per cent) because of which even by the year
end, around 14,092 cases remained pending for investigation.</div>
<div class="body">
In
2010, of the 16,601 cases registered across the country under PoA Act
for atrocities against SCs, the police closed almost 2,150 cases (13 per
cent) in 2010. Meanwhile, of the 1,714 registered cases of atrocities
against STs, 223 (13 per cent) were closed.</div>
<div class="body">
The
report says that with 101,251 cases of crimes against SCs/STs (80 per
cent) pending for trial by the end of 2010, no significant improvement
was seen in the trial pendency rate (82.5 per cent) at the end of 2011. <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article3435469.ece" target="_blank">Source</a></div>
</div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-36715161158280716442012-05-19T00:21:00.000-07:002012-05-19T00:21:45.114-07:00Drunk men set 14-yr-old Dalit ablaze in Vidisha<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="mod-timesofindiaarticletext mod-articletext" id="mod-a-body-first-para">
BHOPAL:
Three men apparently under the influence of liquor, set a 14-year-old
Dalit boy afire after dousing him with country liquor in Vidisha town,
60 kms away from here.<br />
The boy's fault was that he refused to
fetch glass tumblers for the three. The boy, Rajesh Ahirwar, sustained
40% burns and is hospitalized at the district hospital.<br />
<br />
<div class="mod-timesofindiaarticletextwithadcpc mod-timesofindiaarticletext mod-articletext" id="mod-a-body-after-first-para">
At 10 pm Vijay Jadon, Prem Pal Singh Gadariya and Sanju Ahirwar
reportedly queued-up outside a liquor shop in Kararia Chouraha on the
outskirts of Vidisha. They already had several rounds of country made
liquor but wanted to continue with their binge.<br />
The boy, Rajesh,
had hardly thought that ignoring the order of the accused would cost him
his life. They purchased more country liquor from a nearby shop and
were walking towards an open space to consume it when they realised they
needed glass tumblers.<br />
The drunken men spotted a young boy
sitting on a bench near a roadside 'paan' stall. The teenaged boy, a
student of class VII, was playing with a stick. The trio approached
Rajesh and asked him to fetch three glass tumblers from his home. The
boy refused and got busy with his play.<br />
Before Rajesh could
understand what happened, one of the accused allegedly doused him with
the country liquor left in his bottle and the other walked over to paan'
shop.<br />
They snatched a lantern from the shop and threw it at the
boy. People rushed to inform the boy's family after which Ahirwar rushed
his son to the hospital. "There was no electricity and it was warm
inside the house hence my son had gone out to play in the cool breeze,''
said the victim's father Ram Pravesh Ahirwar.<br />
The incident
occurred less than 25 feet from the local Kararia police station. Father
of the victim alleged that his son was set on fire by hoodlums and no
one from the police station came to help or take the boy to the
hospital.<br />
DGP Nandan Dubey ordered an inquiry into the incident
by inspector general of police Vijay Yadav. Police said a case has been
registered against the three under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 294
(obscenity), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and relevant
sections of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. <a href="http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-18/bhopal/31764832_1_country-liquor-liquor-shop-dalit-boy" target="_blank">Source</a></div>
</div>
</div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-63869996163495084242012-05-17T22:39:00.001-07:002012-05-17T22:39:28.788-07:00‘Social boycott made Dalits in 77 Gujarat villages migrate'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="body">
Dalits in at least 77 villages in Gujarat have been forced to migrate
due to social boycotts, according to chairman of the National Human
Rights Commission Justice K.G. Balakrishnan.
</div>
<div class="body">
A team of the NHRC, headed by Justice Balakrishnan, on Tuesday completed
a two-day visit to Gujarat for an Open House to hear the complaints of
the backward classes. He rounded it up with a meeting with Chief
Secretary A.K. Joti and some other government officials to discuss steps
being taken by the government to attend to the complaints.
</div>
<div class="body">
Talking to journalists at the conclusion of the visit, Justice
Balakrishnan said nearly 100 complaints were also received by the NHRC
on alleged police atrocities, particularly the police refusing to
register their complaints, or showing total inaction in pursuing the
cases after registering the complaints. Some of the specific cases,
however, were promptly refuted by the government. It pointed out that
the complainants might be unaware of it, but the police had filed FIRs
on the basis of their complaints, and investigations were on. </div>
<div class="body">
Expressing concern at the low conviction rates — just 5 per cent — in
atrocity cases in the State, Justice Balakrishnan said this usually
happened because of improper investigation by the police, or due to the
failure of the public prosecutors to present the cases properly. He said
the attention of the State government had been drawn to the situation,
and it had promised to take necessary remedial measures. The government
had also agreed that henceforth the meeting of the vigilance committee
for the backward classes would be held twice a year as required.
</div>
<div class="body">
Justice Balakrishnan said the NHRC was satisfied with the past
performances of almost all State governments, as most of the suggestions
and recommendations of the commission had been implemented by all
States. </div>
<div class="body">
As far as social boycott of the Dalits by the upper castes was
concerned, it was the outcome of the “mindset” of the people for
centuries, which would take time to be removed. </div>
<div class="body">
Justice Balakrishnan was all praise for the Gujarat government, for
formulating “innovative schemes” for the betterment of the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Describing Gujarat as a “model State”
in this sphere, he said: “Many innovative schemes are being implemented,
which are all working well. This is the State where the penetration of
education among the SC and ST communities has reached 70 per cent,” he
said in his opening remarks. <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3423130.ece" target="_blank">Source</a></div>
</div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-89084514456440543052012-05-14T03:32:00.004-07:002012-05-14T03:32:52.626-07:00SC/ST grievance meet: Dalits flay Bajrang Dal members’ behaviour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="postedBy">
Mangalore, May 13, 2012, DHNS:</div>
<a href="" name="top"></a>
<strong>The way in which Bajrang Dal members behaved in
connection with the case of a Dalit girl, at Kadaba 15 days ago was
flayed by all the leaders who attended the SC/ST grievance meeting held
under the presidentship of Superintendent of Police Abhishek Goyal here
on Sunday. </strong><br />The issue was raised by Dalit Sangharsha
Samithi (Ambedkar vada) leader Guruvappa Kallugudde who alleged that the
Bajrang Dal members misbehaved with an innocent girl. <br /><br />However,
ASP Prabhakar said that three persons have been arretsed in the case.
Dalit Hakkugala Horata Samithi’s Shekar asked why atrocity on Dalits
case was not registered against the accused, to which, the SP promised
to look into the issue and initiate action. <br />Guruvappa said that the girl was visiting her ailing uncle in a car belonging to one Sajuddin on April 26.<br /><br />
The duo was followed by Bajrang Dal activists who blocked them and
assaulted Sajuddin. The girl was threatened by the Bajrang Dal activists
to file a complaint against Sajuddin. The incident was an attempt to
sow the seeds of hatredness among one community against the other. <br /><br />When
the girl narrated the story in the meeting, the SP said that he was not
aware of the incident and action will be initiated against ASI if he
was found guilty. <br />Naxal infested areas<br /><br />When Shekar asked why
senior police officials visit Naxal infested areas when Mutt heads visit
the region, but no police officials escort the MP when he visits the
region, the SP said that no VIPs should visit Naxal infested areas
without informing the police. Those who violate the rules, then the
police department will have to file case against them. <br /><br />V A Naik
alleged that no acknowledgement is given when a Dalit registers FIR in
the police station. Reacting to it, the SP said that all the police
stations should issue acknowledgment soon after registering FIR. <br /><br />The
participants said that the service buses to Vittal, Bakrabail and
Mudipu remain off the road without informing the public, thus causing
severe inconveneince to the public. The KSRTC buses should ply in the
region. Puttur ASP M N Anucheth and Directorate of Civil Rights
Enforcement SP Sarvotham Pai were present on the occasion. <a href="http://www.deccanherald.com/content/249267/scst-grievance-meet-dalits-flay.html" target="_blank">Source</a></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-36257457067766748892012-05-13T11:44:00.003-07:002012-05-13T11:44:16.206-07:00प्रो. पालशिकर ! मुझे खेद है - डॉ. आंबेडकर<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
प्रो. पालशिकर ! मुझे खेद है - डॉ. आंबेडकर<br />
<br /> एस. आर. दारापुरी<br />
<br />
प्रो. पालशिकर कल आप के कार्यालय में तथाकथित रिपब्लिकन पार्टी के चार
सदस्यों दुआरा मेरे कार्टून को लेकर जो तोड़फोड़ की गयी उसके लिए मुझे बहुत
खेद है. मुझे विश्वास है कि शायद वे नहीं जानते कि उन्होंने क्या किया है.
इस लिए आप उन्हें माफ़ करदें. उनके इस कृत्य प<span class="text_exposed_show">र
मैं भी बहुत दुखी हूँ कि उन्होंने ऐसा क्यों किया. मैं समझ नहीं पा रहा
हूँ कि ऐसा करके उन्होंने मेरे कौन से आदर्श की पूर्ती की है. मैं तो जीवन
भर दलितों के बोलने की आज़ादी की लडाई लड़ता रहा क्योंकि दलित सदियों से
चुप्पी का शिकार रहे हैं. उन्हें सदियों से गूंगे बहरे बना कर रखा गया था.
वे सदियों से सभी प्रकार का अपमान सह कर चुप रहने के लिए बाध्य किये गए.
मैंने भी यह सब झेला. पढ़ लिख कर मैं उनकी ज़ुबान बना और मैंने उन्हें
ज़ुबान देने की जीवन भर कोशिश की. परन्तु कल उन्होंने आप के साथ ऐसा करके
मेरी ज़ुबान ही बंद कर दी .<br /> <br /> नहीं ! मैं चुप नहीं रह सकता. मैं इस
घटना पर अवश्य बोलूँगा क्योंकि यह सब कुछ मेरे नाम पर किया गया है. मुझे
पता चला है कि यह सब एक पुस्तक में मेरे से सम्बंधित एक कार्टून को लेकर
किया गया है. इस में मुझे अपमानित किये जाने का बहाना लेकर पहले तो
पार्लिआमेंट में मेरे अति उत्साही अनुयायिओं ने दिनभर हंगामा किया और सदन
का काम काम काज नहीं चलने दिया. कुछ ने तो पुस्तक को तैयार करने वाले
विद्वानों पर एससी एसटी एक्ट के अंतर्गत मुकदमा कायम करके कार्रवाही करने
की मांग कर डाली. मेरे एक शुभचिंतक ने तो इन पुस्तकों को तैयार करने वाली
संस्था को ही भंग करने का प्रशन उठा दिया. मुझे यह सब जान कर बहुत दुःख हुआ
है. मैं तो जीवन भर पुस्तक प्रेमी रहा हूँ और मैंने जीवन भर अपनी
लाईब्रेरी में सभी प्रकार की पुस्तकों का संग्रह किया और उन्हें पढ़ा भी
था . अब अगर मेरे नाम पर किसी पुस्तक को प्रतिबंधित करने की मांग की जाती
है तो आप अंदाज़ा लगा सकते हैं कि इस से मुझे कितना कष्ट होगा.<br /> <br />
मुझे उम्मीद थी कि जब सदन में सरकार ने किसी औचित्य पर विचार किये बिना
वोट की राजनीति के अंतर्गत केवल कुछ लोगों के दबाव में पुस्तक में से उस
कार्टून को निकाल देने का आश्वासन दे दिया था तो उन्हें शांत हो जाना चाहिए
था परन्तु उन्हें इस से भी संतुष्टि नहीं मिली और कल उन्होंने आप के
कार्यालय में आ क़र तोड़फोड़ की कार्रवाही की जो कि मेरे दुआरा अपने
विरोधियों के तमाम कटाक्षों और आलोचनायों को धैर्य से सुनने और शालीनता से
उनका उत्तर देने के स्वभाव का अपमान है. मैंने तो अपने जीवन में कितने
कटाक्षों और आलोचनाओ का सामना किया था परन्तु मैं ने कभी भी अपना मानसिक
संतुलन नही खोया था. मैं तो जीवन भर वाल्टेयर के उस कथन का कायल रहा
हूँ जिस में उसने कहा था ," मैं आप से सहमत न होते हुए भी आप के ऐसा कहने
के अधिकार की आखरी सांस तक रक्षा करूँगा." मैंने गाँधी, नेहरु, पटेल न जाने
कितने लोगों से गंभीर मुद्दों पर बहसें की थीं परन्तु मैंने कभी भी
विरोधियों के कथन को दबाने की कोशिश नहीं की बल्कि हमेशा तर्क और तथ्यों
सहित शालीनतापूर्वक उनका उत्तर दिया था . मैंने तो गाँधी जी को भी पहली
मीटिंग में ही कहा था, "अगर आप मुझे मारना चाहते हैं तो सिद्धांतो से
मारिये भावनायों से नहीं." अब अगर कुछ लोग मेरे नाम पर वार्तालाप का रास्ता
छोड़ कर तोड़फोड़ का रास्ता अपनाते हैं तो यह मेरे सिद्धांतों के बिलकुल
खिलाफ है.<br /> <br /> जिस कार्टून को लेकर ये सब हंगामा खड़ा किया गया है वह
कार्टून तो १९४९ में मेरे सामने ही छपा था. मैं ने भी उसे देखा था और
उसमे शंकर के संविधान निर्माण की धीमी गति को लेकर किये गए व्यंग और
चिंता को भी पहचाना था. मुझे यह बहुत अच्छा लगा था. नेहरु और हम दोनों ही
संविधान निर्माण की धीमी गति को लेकर चिंतित रहते थे परन्तु संविधान
निर्माण की प्रक्रिया में ऐसा होना स्वाभाविक था. बाद में मैंने २५ नवम्बर,
१९४९ को संविधान को अंगीकार करने वाले भाषण में संविधान निर्माण में लगे
समय के औचित्य के बारे में सफाई भी दी थी. मुझे ज्ञात हुआ है कि उक्त
कार्टून वाली पुस्तक में भी संविधान निर्माण की धीमी गति के कारणों का
उल्लेख किया गया था और कार्टून के माध्यम से इस के बारे में छात्रों से
प्रशन पूछा गया था. काश ! कार्टून में मेरे अपमान के नाम पर तोड़फोड़ और
हंगामा करने वालों ने भी पुस्तक में कार्टून के सन्धर्भ को पढ़ा होता तो
शायद वे ऐसा नहीं करते.<br /> <br /> मैंने जीवन भर विरोध के संविधानिक तरीकों
की ही वकालत की थी. मैंने अपने जीवन काल में जो भी आन्दोलन किये वे सभी
शांति पूर्ण और कानून के दायरे में ही थे. मैं ने कभी भी हिंसा और तोड़फोड़
की सलाह नहीं दी थी. मेरे नाम पर तोड़फोड़ करने वालों को मैं सलाह दूंगा कि
वे मेरे संविधान अंगीकार के अवसर पर दिए भाषण के उस अंश को ज़रूर पढ़ लें
जिस में मैंने कहा था, "हमें सत्याग्रह, असहयोग और अवज्ञा के तरीको को छोड़
देना चाहिए. जब सामाजिक और आर्थिक उद्धेश्यों को संवैधानिक तरीके से
प्राप्त करने के साधन न बचे हों तो तो गैर संवैधानिक तरीके अपनाने का कुछ
औचित्य हो सकता है. परन्तु जहाँ संवैधानिक तरीके उपलब्ध हों तो गैर
संवैधानिक तरीकों को अपनाने का कोई औचित्य नहीं हो सकता. यह तरीके अराजकता
का व्याकरण हैं और इन्हें जितनी जल्दी छोड़ दिया जाये उतना ही हमारे लिए
अच्छा होगा."<br /> <br /> मुझे आज यह देख कर बहुत दुःख होता है जब मैं देखता
हूँ कि हमारे देश में विरोध की आवाज़ को सरकारी और गैर सरकारी तौर पर दबाने
की कितनी कोशिश की जा रही है. मैं जानता हूँ कि हम लोगों ने संविधान में
अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता का समावेश कितनी उम्मीद के साथ किया था. आज मैं
देखता हूँ कि कुछ लोग अपने संख्याबल या बाहुबल से कमज़ोर लोगों की सही
आवाज़ को दबाने में सफल हो जाते हैं. आज की सरकारें भी इसी प्रकार से
जनता की आवाज़ को दबा देती हैं. हमारे देश में से तर्क और बहस का माहौल
ख़त्म हो चुका है. मैं जानता हूँ कि कुछ लोग धर्म अथवा सम्प्रदाय की
भावनाओं के आहत होने की बात कर के दूसरों की आवाज़ को दबा देते हैं. मैंने
देखा है कि किस तरह कुछ लोगों ने हो हल्ला करके शिवाजी पर लिखी गयी पुस्तक,
तसलीमा नसरीन तथा सलमान रश्दी दुआरा लिखी गयी पुस्तकों को प्रतिबंधित करवा
दिया था. इन लोगों ने तो मुझे भी नहीं बख्शा था. आप को याद होगा कि जब
महारष्ट्र सरकार ने मेरी अप्रकाशित पुस्तक "रिडल्स इन हिन्दुइज्म' को
प्रकाशित करवाया था तो किस प्रकार कुछ लोगों ने इसे हिन्दू तथा हिन्दू
देवी देवता विरोधी कह कर इसे प्रतिबंधित करने की मांग उठाई थी. यह तो मेरे
दलित अनुयायिओं और बुद्धिजीवियों का ही प्रयास था कि उन्होंने इस के पक्ष
में बम्बई में भारी जन प्रदर्शन करके इसे बचा लिया था. परन्तु कल
उन्होंने जो कुछ किया है वह तो अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता के बिलकुल खिलाफ
है. कल अगर कुछ लोग मेरे दुआरा लिखी गयी पुस्तकों में अंकित आलोचना को
लेकर मेरी पुस्तकों को प्रतिबंधित करने की मांग उठा दें तो दलितों के पास
इस के विरोध का क्या तर्क बचेगा. <br /> <br /> मैं समझता हूँ कि मेरे दलित
अनुयायी ऐसा क्यों करते हैं. मैं जानता हूँ कि वे मेरा कितना सम्मान करते
हैं. वे मुझ से भावनात्मक तौर पर किस सीमा तक जुड़े हुए हैं. जब कभी कोई भी
उन्हें मेरे बारे में कुछ भी सही या गलत बता देता है तो वे भड़क जाते हैं
और इस प्रकार की कार्रवाही कर बैठते हैं. इस में उनका कसूर नहीं हैं. वे
अपने नेताओं दुआरा गुमराह कर दिए जाते हैं. उनमें से तो बहुतों ने मुझे
पूरी तरह से पढ़ा भी नहीं है. अतः वे दूसरों दुआरा निर्देशित हो जाते हैं.
मुझे लगता है दलितों ने मेरे " शिक्षित करो, संघर्ष करो और संघटित करो "
नारे को सही रूप में समझा नहीं है. मुझे यह भी देख कर बहुत दुःख होता है
कि मेरे नाम पर आज किस प्रकार की दलित राजनीति हो रही है. मेरे दुआरा
बहुत उम्मीद के साथ बनायीं गयी रिपबल्किन पार्टी आज कितने टुकड़ों में बंट
चुकी है और उसके नेता व्यक्तिगत लाभ के लिए किस तरह के सिद्धान्तहीन एवं
अवसरवादी गठ जोड़ कर ले रहे हैं. वे दलितों के मुद्दों के स्थान पर
विशुद्ध वोट बैंक और सत्ता की राजनीति कर रहे हैं और लोगों का भावनात्मक
शोषण कर रहे हैं. इस कार्टून के मामले में भी ऐसा ही हो रहा है.<br /> <br />
मुझे यह देख कर बहुत कष्ट होता है कि मेरे कुछ अतिउत्साही और अज्ञानी
अनुयायियों ने मुझे केवल दलितों का ही मसीहा बना कर रख दिया है. मैं तो
पूरे राष्ट्र का हूँ. मैंने जब स्वतंत्रता, समानता और बंधुत्व की बात की थी
तो यह केवल दलितों के लिए ही नहीं की थी. मैंने इसे देश के सभी लोगों
के लिए माँगा था. मैंने जब हिन्दू कोड बिल बनाया था तो मैंने इस में
सम्पूर्ण हिन्दू नारी की मुक्ति की बात उठाई थी. हाँ मैंने दलितों को कुछ
विशेष अधिकार ज़रूर दिलाये थे जो कि उनको समानता का अधिकार प्राप्त कराने
के लिए ज़रूरी थे. अतः मेरा अपने अनुयायिओं और प्रशंसकों से अनुरोध है कि
वे मुझे एक जाति के दायरे में न बांध कर पूरे राष्ट्र के फलक पर देखें.<br /> <br />
मैं अपने अनुयायियों से यह भी अनुरोध करता हूँ कि वे मेरे जीवन दर्शन और
मेरे जीवन मूल्यों को सही तरीके से जानें और उन्हें अपने आचरण में
उतारें. उन्हें यह भी स्पष्ट तौर पर समझ लेना चाहिए कि उनकी अभिव्यक्ति की
स्वतंत्रता तभी सुरक्षित रहेगी जब वे दूसरों की स्वतंत्रता की रक्षा करेंगे
अन्यथा वे देश में बढ़ते फासीवाद और कट्टरपंथ को ही मज़बूत करेंगे. मेरे
नाम पर राजनीति करने वाले नेताओं से भी मुझे कहना है कि वे दलितों का
भावनात्मक शोषण, वोट बैंक और जाति की राजनीति के स्थान पर मुदों पर आधारित
मूल परिवर्तन की राजनीति करें जिस से न केवल दलितों बल्कि सभी भारतवासियों
का कल्याण होगा.<br /> <br /> प्रो. पालशिकर ! अन्तः में मैं आप के साथ मेरे
तथाकथित कुछ अनुयायियों दुआरा किये गए दुर्व्यवहार के लिए पुनः खेद
प्रकट करता हूँ.</span></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-29705464091678234382012-05-12T10:55:00.002-07:002012-05-12T10:55:41.938-07:00Pipli rape: Chargesheet against dismissed cop<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span id="advenueINTEXT" name="advenueINTEXT">Bhubaneswar: A charge sheet
was on Friday filed against a dismissed police inspector for criminal
liability in the Pipli rape case of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Odisha's
Puri district.
<br /><br />
The charge sheet against dismissed inspector Amulya Kumar Champatiray
was submitted by the state police's Crime Branch in the court of
judicial magistrate at Pipili under SC & ST (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act.
<br /><br />
</span><br />
<table align="right" height="260">
<tbody>
<tr><td> <ins style="border: none; display: inline-table; height: 250px; margin: 0; padding: 0; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 250px;"><ins id="aswift_0_anchor" style="border: none; display: block; height: 250px; margin: 0; padding: 0; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 250px;"></ins><ins id="aswift_0_anchor" style="border: medium none; display: block; height: 250px; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 250px;"><a href="http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/pipli-rape-charge-sheet-filed-against-dismissed-cop_774750.html" target="_blank">Source </a></ins></ins>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Champatiray, who was officiating as inspector in-charge at the Pipili
police station when the incident took place on November 28 last year,
had allegedly neglected the offence committed against the girl.
<br /><br />
Due to the alleged negligence of the inspector, prompt police action
and consequent medical treatment could not be provided to the victim.
<br /><br />
Four persons have been arrested for the alleged rape of the girl at
Arjungada village. The victim was transferred from one hospital to
another and was later administered anti-venom medicine after which she
slipped into coma.</div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-56064229838030462402012-05-11T01:25:00.000-07:002012-05-11T01:25:23.557-07:00Dalit movemnet in India and its present day crisis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="body">
The Dalit movement in India, which started nearly 100 years ago, is
going through a crisis today. This crisis is at both the ideological and
political levels. Although nothing like a pan-Indian Dalit movement
probably exists today, scattered Dalit movements are found in some form
or the other at various State and regional levels. The common factor in
all these movements is that they are all based on Babasaheb Ambedkar's
ideas and have evolved directly from them.
</div>
<div class="body">
The emergence of Kanshi Ram — and his success in politically empowering
Dalits in Uttar Pradesh — is undoubtedly the second-biggest event in the
history of Dalit movement since Ambedkar. The Dalit movement in U.P was
inspired by Ambedkar and was born of the womb of Ambedkarism. However,
while the U.P. movement has helped to empower Dalits in the State, it
has also created tensions within the Dalit movement because of the
conflict between Ambedkar's values and ideals-based ideology and Kanshi
Ram's practical and pragmatic politics. The Dalit movement in
Maharashtra which followed the path shown by Ambedkar has not yet been
able to fulfil his dreams.
</div>
<div class="body">
Kanshi Ram organised the Dalits of U.P into a wider category called
Bahujan Samaj. Mayawati brought them under the bigger umbrella of
‘Sarvajan'. The experiment failed in the last U.P. Assembly elections.
To understand today's Dalit movement in U.P., it is important to study
the ideological differences between Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram, since a lot
has already been said about their similarities.
</div>
<div class="body">
The ideological differences between Kanshi Ram and Ambedkar arose mainly
from their education and backgrounds. While Ambedkar studied at
Columbia University and was trained in Western knowledge tradition,
Kanshi Ram was born in a small village in Punjab and trained in the
school of Pune's Dalit politics. Because of Ambedkar's western training,
his ideological ingredients were derived by seeing Dalits in the
context of history. Kanshi Ram's political arguments in favour of Dalits
on the other hand merged historical and mythological contexts. This is
because he understood the mythology and folk-based culture and society
of U.P. Kanshi Ram initially tried to follow Ambedkar's path that had
been adopted in Maharashtra. However, he changed course and asserted
that although Dalit politics got its grounding in Maharashtra, it grew
and was nurtured on the soil of U.P. Ambedkar called the politics of
emancipation of marginalised groups the ‘Dalit movement' while Kanshi
Ram preferred to term it the ‘Bahujan movement', avoiding the use of the
word ‘Dalit'.
</div>
<div class="body">
<b>Ethicality vs. pragmatism</b>
</div>
<div class="body">
Ambedkar provided an ethical context to the politics of Dalit liberation
since morality was very important to him. Kanshi Ram chose to be
pragmatic in his attempt to politically empower Dalits. He was unmindful
of the means of acquiring political power, emphasising the end, i.e.,
attainment of political power. If he was criticised for his
‘opportunism' he used to immediately reply that if Brahmins can become
influential by being opportunistic then Dalits too could use opportunism
to empower themselves. Kanshi Ram believed that until a casteless
society was formed it was necessary for Dalits to strategically use
their caste as a tool in their own emancipation and to dethrone
Brahminism. While Ambedkar saw the abolition of the caste system as
vital for Dalit emancipation, Kanshi Ram and Mayawati favoured the
awakening of Dalit and backward identities in order to link these with
the Bahujan movement. Kanshii Ram and Mayawati transformed Ambedkar's
‘slogan, ‘abolish the caste system' — propagated in his book, <i>Annihilation of Caste </i>— into ‘promote the caste system' to mobilise Dalits towards the restoration of their caste identity and self-esteem.
</div>
<div class="body">
Kanshi Ram viewed caste as a double-edged sword and he wanted to use it
in a way that benefited the Bahujans but destroyed Brahminical hegemony.
He wanted to rouse the consciousness of the Dalit and backward classes
and believed in associating them with Bahujan society. However, he
disagreed with Ambedkar's demand for a separate electorate for Dalits
even though, like Ambedkar, he too wanted Dalits to attain
respectability and glory in mainstream society. Kanshi Ram's idea was to
transform society into a <i>samta muluk</i> (equal) society with all castes seen as equal and each having its own caste identity. This dream of a <i>samta muluk</i> society was the philosophical underpinning of the BSP.
</div>
<div class="body">
Kanshi Ram's and — by consequence, the BSP's — ideology was based on
Ambedkar's theory of the ‘origin of the Dalits' (arising from a
Aryan-non-Aryan difference). But crucially, Ambedkar had refused to
accept Manu as the founder of the caste system in India while Kanshi Ram
gave Indian politics the new concept of ‘Manuvad'. Kanshi Ram always
kept in mind Ambedkar's motto that political power was the master-key
for Dalit liberation and that acquiring this master-key should be the
Dalit war-strategy. But he used to say that Ambedkar learnt from books
while he had learnt from his own life and people. He further said, ‘He
used to gather books; I tried to collect people.'
</div>
<div class="body">
If the Dalit movement in India is to succeed, it is important to analyse
both the similarities and differences between Kanshi Ram and Ambedkar
so that a new strategy can be developed for the movement. The
Bahujan-Sarvajan movement in Uttar Pradesh may want to borrow from
Ambedkarite values in its U.P. experiment while the Dalit movement in
other parts of India may learn from Kanshi Ram on how to mobilise new
Dalit Politics.
<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article3405293.ece?homepage=true" target="_blank"> Source</a></div>
</div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-15186351624355998092012-05-10T04:24:00.000-07:002012-05-10T04:24:03.878-07:00Torch bearers of Dalit Emancipation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="body">
Makhdumpur is a village in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi district. Adjoining
it is a cluster of huts inhabited by people of the Nat caste, one of the
lowest among Dalits. Congress party general secretary Rahul Gandhi
visited a hut in the settlement just before the recent State Assembly
elections. He spent some time inside the hut, interacted with the
residents, shared a meal with them and then went on his way. After the
victory of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the elevation of Akhilesh Yadav
as Chief Minister, the hut was vandalised and burnt down by a mob
claiming its affiliation to the Yadav caste. Though the act was a grave
offence against Dalits, neither Mr. Gandhi nor Bahujan Samajwadi Party
(BSP) leader and former Chief Minister Ms Mayawati condemned it. In
fact, atrocities against poor and vulnerable Dalits by powerful middle
castes and supporters of the SP have been on the rise in the State but
there have hardly been any protests by political parties.
</div>
<div class="body">
Mainstream intellectuals and the media too have not reacted to the
Makhdumpur violence. However, since the incident, some protestors have
been holding meetings in Allahabad, Bhadohi and Varanasi highlighting
instances of escalating violence against Dalits and also exchanging
booklets on the issue. </div>
<h3>
Insights into issues
</h3>
<div class="body">
So, who are these protestors? They are Dalit intellectuals who write
popular booklets on Dalit issues, which they self-publish. These
publications are sold in large numbers in fairs organised in honour of
Dalit heroes. They are also stocked by Dalit <i>Chetna Mandaps </i>—
small bookshops catering exclusively to Dalits. From these outlets, the
booklets (which are printed on cheap newsprint and cost between 50 paise
and Rs.20) reach political rallies organised by the BSP. The literature
can be easily tucked in the waistbands of <i>dhotis </i>worn by Dalit rickshawpullers or menial workers. </div>
<div class="body">
The authors of these booklets usually live in the provincial towns of
Balia, Ghazipur, Etawa, Allahabad, Bahraich, Gonda, Aligarh and Hathras.
Most of these authors are not well-educated and teach in local schools
in these towns. Some of them are also BSP activists. Although most of
them belong to the Dalit castes, some are also from the OBC social
group.
</div>
<div class="body">
Interestingly, the booklets do not feature the biographies of celebrated
Dalit icons. Instead they offer social critiques against Brahminism,
caste histories, narratives of struggles of Dalits, and so on. Some of
them also publish songs and poems written by Dalit poets like A.R. Akela
from Aligarh. Published from towns, the books are affordable and have
found a new readership among Dalits who find them educative, addressing
their sense of identity and nurturing their desire to read. However, the
very reasons that attract Dalit readers to the books also offend the
upper castes who feel insulted by the criticisms. At times they even
lodge complaints against the authors who end up facing police and legal
actions.
</div>
<div class="body">
The authors don't just write in a different style from Dalit authors
living in Delhi. The subjects they deal with are those that directly
affect Dalits living in villages and small towns. Exploitation,
oppression and land issues are the most commonly discussed topics, and
the authors even organise agitations, demonstrations and protests around
these subjects. </div>
<div class="body">
Some of them also bring out newspapers and newsletters for Dalits. One
such popular writer, Dev Kumar, who lives in Duari village in Kanpur,
led a demonstration against the acquisition of land belonging to Dalits.
While Dev Kumar is fighting for the liberation of the Balmiki caste of
Kanpur, Guru Prasad Madan, a lawyer living in Ajuha village close to
Allahabad is a prominent figure who is fighting against the exploitation
and oppression of Dalits in his region. </div>
<div class="body">
In the mould of Antonio Gramsci's “Organic Intellectuals,” the authors
are playing the role of agents of change in the lives of Dalits. Though
they have played a strong role in strengthening the BSP in U.P., hardly
any was granted recognition either with positions or with awards during
the BSP regime.
</div>
<div class="body">
Today when everyone is silent on the issue of the rise in the incidents
of violence and crime against Dalits in U.P., at least the popular
writers are registering their protest, even if they are like the
flickering lights of candles in the darkness.
</div>
<div class="body">
(<i>The writer teaches at the Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute in Jhusi, Allahabad, and is an analyst of Dalit issues.)<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article3377562.ece" target="_blank">Source</a></i>
</div>
</div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-39387435733564384672012-05-10T04:21:00.000-07:002012-05-10T04:21:22.577-07:00Sham democracy and its dirty games!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sedition as an offence was introduced to suppress the voices of those seeking freedom from colonial rule.<br />
Those who 'excite or attempt to excite disaffection' towards
the state are penalised under the Indian Penal Code. It is a tool used
by the state to quash dissent by those opposing their policies.<br />
Section
124-A of the IPC, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and
other such repressive laws have no place in a democratic setup. Several
activists have been arrested under and imprisoned merely because they
made a film or enacted a play or published a pamphlet reflecting the
state's conduct.<br />
<div style="border-bottom: 1px solid #e4e4e3; margin: 0 0 15px; padding: 0px 0 10px; text-align: center; width: 500px;">
<div style="border-bottom: 1px solid #e4e4e3; margin-bottom: 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; text-align: left;">
Article continues below the advertisement...</div>
<div id="google_ads_div_report_mr_336x280_ad_wrapper">
<div id="google_ads_div_report_mr_336x280_ad_container" style="display: inline-block;">
<ins style="border: 0pt none; display: inline-table; height: 280px; position: relative; width: 336px;"><ins style="border: 0pt none; display: block; height: 280px; position: relative; width: 336px;"></ins></ins></div>
</div>
</div>
Sudhir Dhawale, a Dalit activist, writer and editor of a Marathi magazine <em>Vidrohi</em>,
was arrested in January 2011, and was booked for waging war against the
state under Section 121 of the IPC and charged with sedition (Section
124) and under the UAPA. As a writer, poet, playwright and editor,
Dhawale had brought the issues of injustice and atrocities against
Dalits into public domain.<br />
According to the media watch website
The Hoot, in 2011, surveillance and electronic interception of mail or
other electronic communication, phone-tapping - including that of
activists of the anti-nuclear agitation in Jaitapur - continued
unabated. The arena for free speech battles may have temporarily shifted
to the courtroom but freedom of expression — both virtual and otherwise
— is at peril everywhere. In November 2011, the Bombay high court
directed the state not to restrain activists from entering Ratnagiri
district.<br />
The district magistrate passed orders on the report of
the superintendent of Ratnagiri stating that there was a possible law
and order problem at the site and that activists were provoking
villagers.<br />
SK Sen, their advocate, argued that restrictions on
freedom of speech and movement could not be imposed on such grounds and
that the government was acting illegally and restraining them from going
to Jaitapur for over a year.<br />
The judges said the petitioners do
not deserve to be restrained on the ground that in the past orders were
passed under Section 144.<br />
Mumbai-based Arun Ferreira, a civil
rights activist, spent over four years in jail as the police believed
that he was a Maoist. He was acquitted of all charges by the high court
in 2011, but re-arrested outside Nagpur jail days later. He was charged
for two more cases, again acquitted of one, and is currently out on bail
for the other. Ferreira has filed a case against the state on his
re-arrest.<br />
A lawyer says the state wants to keep the activists
busy by slapping one case after another, thereby deterring them from
their activities of spreading awareness about issues.<br />
Ferreira
blogged, "Given the Centre's patronage, every state police department is
eager to show the arrest of 'Naxals' by fabricating evidence, conjuring
crimes of sedition and prolonging incarceration by re-arrests. Such
strategies will enable the states to join the anti-Naxal bandwagon,
resulting in a free flow of funds and assistance."<br />
Seven people,
including a post-graduate student and a member of the nomadic tribe who
works for Kabir Kala Manch, a cultural organisation, were arrested by
the Anti Terrorism Squad for being pro-Maoist under the UAPA. <br />
The
group has been charged from participating in seditious plays to burning
a police station. The case is being heard at Sewri court.<a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column_indian-democracy-s-dark-side_1686757" target="_blank">Source</a></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-17783006668914682512012-05-09T10:27:00.000-07:002012-05-09T10:28:09.335-07:00Jai Bheem Comrade- a narrative on dalit movement<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span id="Label4"></span><br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td class="f1-BLACK1" style="width: 3%;" valign="top">F</td>
<td style="width: 97%;" valign="top"><strong>IVE WEEKS BEFORE INDIA CELEBRATED</strong>
its 50th year of independence, in Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar in
suburban Ghatkopar East, a part of northern Mumbai where many Dalits
live, someone placed a garland of footwear around the neck of a statue
of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the Dalit lawyer who drafted the Indian
Constitution that</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
guarantees the fundamental rights that all Indians take for granted.
Even if not the worst atrocity committed against Dalits, it was a mean,
insulting act: many Dalits live in abject conditions; many are
routinely abused; and many have faced far worse physical atrocities.
The act of garlanding the statue with shoes was entirely unprovoked. It
seemed it was meant to incite a reaction; if not, at least to remind
the Dalits that they had to submit to those who had treated them with
contempt for centuries.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Ambedkar</span> not only wrote the
rules by which India governs its society, he also empowered his
community to assert its rights, reclaim its dignity, and be proud of
its identity. And so, that July morning, Dalits gathered round the
statue, protesting what many viewed as desecration.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">One</span> has to be careful using a
word like ‘desecration’ while talking about Ambedkar, because he wasn’t
one for placing individuals on a pedestal. Indeed, in Anand
Patwardhan’s new documentary <em>Jai Bhim Comrade</em>, which is
inspired from the incident at Ramabai Nagar, a leader says as much in a
speech to a crowd of Dalits: “Unfortunately, we gave up 330 million
gods, but made Ambedkar into a god. We wear Babasaheb (as he was
affectionately known) Ambedkar’s photo around our neck. On waking up,
we say ‘<em>Jai Bhim</em>.’ Before sleeping, it is ‘<em>Jai Bhim</em>,’ and when having a little drink, it’s ‘<em>Jai Bhim</em>’.” Blind faith was not for him. Another speaker reminds his audience that they should not be Ambedkar <em>bhakta</em> (devotees); they should be <em>anuyayi</em> (followers).
<br />
<br />
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="imgborder_new" style="width: 200px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img alt="" src="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/Upload/Story/Revolution-Will-sml1.jpg" style="float: right;" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="authername3"><a class="highslide" href="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/Upload/StoryBigImages/Revolution-Will-big1.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/images/enlarge.jpg" style="border: 1px solid; float: right;" /></a></span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">But</span> on that day, 11 July 1997,
the Dalits were angry and wanted to protest. The city’s police force
turned up at the site, and Manohar Kadam, then a sub-inspector with the
State Reserve Police Force, ordered his men to shoot. The protesters
were unarmed, and 10 died, including an autorickshaw driver who had
left his vehicle on the main road to see what the commotion was about.
Many years later, Kadam was found guilty for having ordered the firing
without adequate reason or warning. In May 2009, the Sessions Court
sentenced him to life. A month later, the Bombay High Court suspended
the sentence and released him on bail. The legal process continues.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Few</span> believed the police account
of that day that the Dalit mob had turned violent. Over the next few
days and months, much of the police evidence of mob violence (including
the burning of an oil tanker) began to fall apart. But the case drags
on.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Meanwhile,</span> the incident claimed
one more victim. Six days after the firing, Vilas Ghogre, a Dalit
balladeer who sang for the left-leaning theatre group, the Avahan Natya
Manch, ended his life. Ghogre, who used the <em>ektara</em> to anchor
his revolutionary songs, had been depressed: he had recently been
suspended from Avahan because he had performed for Dalit politicians to
make ends meet, and the theatre group believed that his dalliance with
mainstream politicians eroded discipline.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Taking</span> these fragments of the
story—an insult to a statue, police killings and an activist
balladeer’s suicide—Patwardhan has put together in a film shot and
edited over 14 years an extraordinary, engrossing and understated
history of Dalit and communal politics in Maharashtra, tracing the
origin of reforms to Jotiba Phule in the 19th century, who with his
wife Savitribai pioneered the education of women, and introducing us to
the brimming confidence of two cheerful, bright young Dalit sisters,
aptly named Samata (equality) and Pradnya (wisdom). He juxtaposes this
development of Dalit narrative with the cultural stagnation among the
upper castes, with their fetish for skin-lightening creams, and the
popularity of websites like SimplyMarry.com that advertise Brahmin
grooms and perpetuate the caste system, all within the framework of the
resurgence of exclusionary upper-caste pride in politics.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">At</span> nearly 200 minutes, <em>Jai Bhim Comrade</em> is longer than <em>Sholay</em>, GP Sippy’s 1975 blockbuster, or <em>Gandhi</em>,
Richard Attenborough’s 1982 biopic, but I didn’t need to look at my
watch even once. That doesn’t mean it is fast-paced; it does mean it
lingers just long enough over an episode to gently move to the next.
Revolving around the Ramabai Nagar firing, the film makes transitions
to different stories using music as the glue that binds, ensuring that
the framework becomes stronger with each new layer of complexity. Built
upon a series of probing interviews that express sympathy for the
victim and raise tough questions to those who acquiesce with the status
quo without taking obvious sides, the film’s effect is sobering, with
the camera doing all the talking.
<br />
<br />
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="imgborder_new" style="width: 200px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img alt="" src="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/Upload/Story/Revolution-Will-sml2.jpg" style="float: right;" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="authername3"><a class="highslide" href="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/Upload/StoryBigImages/Revolution-Will-big2.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/images/enlarge.jpg" style="border: 1px solid; float: right;" /></a><br />
Vilas Ghogre was a Dalit balladeer who sang for the left-leaning
theatre group Avahan Natya Manch.</span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Ghogre</span> was a balladeer, a <em>shahir</em>, like the <em>powadé</em>
singers of the past, who narrated heroic tales to educate their
audiences. Music is an essential aspect of Dalit politics: the loud <em>dholak</em>; the occasional harmonium; the <em>ektara</em>; but, above all, the <em>pawād</em>, the rousing, booming voice. And, of course, words, words that inject pride, inspire courage and reinforce dignity. Such <em>jongleurs</em> and balladeers go from slum to slum, colony to colony, <em>basti</em> to <em>basti</em>,
village to village, singing songs that resonate with contemporary
meaning and inspire people so that they don’t give up hope. Armed only
with the <em>ektara</em>, some of these singers trace their tradition to devotional singers like the 16th-century Sant Tukaram, whose <em>Abhanga</em>
(devotional poetry) continue to offer solace to many. The lyrics of
these modern-day balladeers may not be high poetry, but they lift the
spirits of the Dalits and give protest poetry a new rhythm.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">So</span> why would a balladeer like
Ghogre, whose lyrics were meant to offer hope, kill himself? Trying to
understand the motive behind any suicide is difficult, but Ghogre took
his own life at a time when the future of Dalit politics in Maharashtra
looked dismal. The right-wing Hindu nationalist alliance of the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena had come to power in
Maharashtra for the first time in 1995, following widespread communal
riots in Bombay in 1993, which had occurred within weeks of the
destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. The inclusive, cosmopolitan
city Bombay had shrunk into a narrower identity—Mumbai, the ‘old’ name
being officially changed in 1996.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">In</span> a chilling scene in the film shot during this phase, the Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray refers to Muslims as “<em>landya</em>”
(meaning ‘small penis’, a crude, contemptuous reference to ‘circumcised
Muslims’) before a large gathering of followers. As the Srikrishna
Commission, which inquired into the riots of 1993, shows, Thackeray
used that pejorative often in his speeches during those years.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Concurrently,</span> the
marginalisation of Dalits became even more pronounced. Their party—the
Republican Party of India (RPI)—was disintegrating. I can remember at
least eight factions of the RPI active at various times, each named
after the leader who attempted to claim supremacy: Ramdas Athavale,
Prakash Ambedkar, Jogendra Kawade, (the late) BD Khobragade, RS Gavai,
BC Kamble, Raja Dhale and Namdeo Dhasal, each forging alliances with
mainstream political parties.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">The</span> rise of Hindu nationalism
coincided with the splintering of Dalit political consciousness among
many claimants to its primacy. With the Hindu right resurgent, what
would happen to the state’s Dalits who had emphatically rejected
Hinduism?
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Patwardhan</span> is easily among
India’s most thoughtful filmmakers: his documentaries force viewers to
think and to demand change. While overtly political, Patwardhan’s tone
is not didactic. I remember young people in the audience in tears after
an early screening of <em>Hamara Shahar</em> (<em>Bombay: Our City</em>;
1985), which humanised the lives of those who lived in the slums so
well that it shook the complacency of the city’s elite, who looked
disdainfully at the slums and wanted them removed. In <em>Ram Ke Naam</em> (<em>In the Name of God</em>;
1991), Patwardhan presciently observed the creeping Hindu nationalism
of the anti-Babri Masjid Ramjanmabhoomi movement, and how it could
destroy the intricately interwoven tapestry of a multi-everything
society like India. <em>Jang aur Aman</em> (<em>War & Peace</em>;
2002) was made during the years when India and Pakistan tested their
nuclear bombs, becoming de facto nuclear-weapon powers. The film
travels through the world of peace activists, focusing on the
belligerence of India and contrasting it with the pacifism of Japan.
<br />
<br />
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="imgborder_new" style="width: 200px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img alt="" src="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/Upload/Story/Revolution-Will-sml3.jpg" style="float: right;" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="authername3"><a class="highslide" href="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/Upload/StoryBigImages/Revolution-Will-big3.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/images/enlarge.jpg" style="border: 1px solid; float: right;" /></a><br />
A man is being rounded up for protesting the police firing in Ramabai
Nagar that killed 10 Dalits on the afternoon of 11 July 1997.</span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Patwardhan</span> has made other
films, too, such as on the unionisation of Sikh farmworkers in Canada,
on ‘Shaheed’ Bhagat Singh, and on the livelihood of fishing communities
in India and Bangladesh. Throughout his long career, he has made films
without compromising his message: of compassion for the vulnerable. He
has challenged the powerful without shouting at them, letting the power
of his images, his irony and his deft cuts speak for him.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Patwardhan</span> knew Ghogre, whose
music he had used in an earlier film—so his death troubled him; in
Ghogre’s despair, Patwardhan saw a helplessness that was at odds with
the revolutionary optimism of his songs. Ghogre’s politics was shaped
by two progressive movements—the left, which challenged economic and
political power structures, and the Dalit movement, which challenged
the social hierarchy in India. Maharashtra’s Dalits had shocked the
state out of its complacency when Shiv Sena-Dalit Panther riots broke
out in January 1974 in the Worli BBD chawls in Bombay. (The Dalits had
adopted the ‘Panther’ identity in 1972 after the Black Panther Party
formed during the civil rights movement in the US in the mid-1960s.)
When the Republican Party of India began to pull in different
directions, Ghogre aligned with the left. But, as noted earlier, the
left suspended him because it disapproved of his singing for Dalit
politicians and extolling their activities. That blow hurt him; his
life began to unravel, and the firing at Ramabai Nagar may well have
pushed him over the edge.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Using</span> Ghogre’s passing as his
hook, Patwardhan sets about probing the history of Dalit activism in
Maharashtra. The resulting film is an education for India about the
extent of the discrimination and injustice that Dalits continue to
face, the cynical way political parties attempt to co-opt them, and the
tone deafness of the upper-caste middle class, which believes not only
that it is superior to Dalits, but is also convinced that the Dalit
problem has been solved.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Patwardhan</span> also castigates the
Dalit leadership. In the scene where Thackeray is spewing venom at
Muslims, the camera sees, a few feet away, Namdeo Dhasal, the legendary
Dalit activist-poet who will receive a special Sahitya Akademi Golden
Jubilee award this November, and who, married to Mallika, a Muslim, has
somehow made his peace with Bal Thackeray, writing a column for the
Shiv Sena mouthpiece, <em>Saamana</em>, and sharing a platform with the then RSS <em>sarsanghachalak</em>
KS Sudarshan in September 2006. Patwardhan doesn’t have to say
anything; the image says what the words can’t convey about the Dalit
tragedy.
<br />
<br />
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="imgborder_new" style="width: 200px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="right" class="authername3">AMIT CHAKRAVARTHY / TIME OUT</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><img alt="" src="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/Upload/Story/Revolution-Will-sml4.jpg" style="float: right;" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="authername3"><a class="highslide" href="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/Upload/StoryBigImages/Revolution-Will-big4.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/images/enlarge.jpg" style="border: 1px solid; float: right;" /></a><br />
Anand Patwardhan at the first screening of <em>Jai Bhim Comrade</em> at BIT Chawl in Byculla, Mumbai.</span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Patwardhan</span> also shows the
renewed swagger of upper-caste Hindus, ranging from the sinister to the
ridiculous. Gandhi’s assassin, Nathuram Vinayak Godse, gets valorised
in Pradeep Dalvi’s play, <em>Mi Nathuram Godse Boltoy</em> (‘I’m
Nathuram Godse Speaking’), and members of the audience come out
strutting, saying to the camera that Gandhi was wrong in taking up the
cause of Dalits. Konkanastha ‘Chitpavan’ Brahmins (or KoBras, the
acronym for Konkan Brahmins) demand that their genetic superiority be
recognised. In a bizarre cymbals-clashing and smoke-emitting tableau of
BJP leaders making a stage entrance as if floating in from outer space,
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi emerges like an avatar, wearing a <em>mukut</em> and spinning a chakra, accompanied by senior BJP leaders and serenaded by Lata Mangeshkar’s rousing rendition of <em>Vande Mataram</em> from the 1951 film <em>Anand Math</em>.
The coda is even more brazen, with a BJP candidate for the 2009 Lok
Sabha elections, Kirit Somaiya, canvassing for votes in, of all places,
Ramabai Nagar—where the firing took place under the rule of the Shiv
Sena-BJP alliance. And, yet, public memory is so short that even some
Dalits think it was the Congress in power at the time of the firing.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Patwardhan’s</span> focus on
Maharashtrian Dalits may have been practical. He is from the state, and
understands its politics. But there is a deeper story here. This is the
state where Ambedkar was born, a state that divides north from south.
Go south of Maharashtra, and you enter a zone of accommodation where
the upper castes have accepted the rise of the lower castes. They live
with the reality that a large proportion of college seats and
government jobs are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes. But north of Maharashtra, the upper castes revolt at the merest
hint of reservation, thinking that jobs and seats in colleges are <em>their</em>
entitlement. It’s an entitlement they clothe in the language of merit,
implying that merit is hereditary and extending the life of Manu’s
appalling doctrine that codifies customary Hindu practices. Maharashtra
sits at the centre, a line of demarcation that is itself unable to
decide whether it should embrace progressiveness or resist it.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">To</span> be sure, reservations have
created an elite class within the Dalit community, too—a creamy layer.
But for anyone suggesting that the Dalits are now doing fine and don’t
need any further support would be wrong or blissfully unaware or
deliberately disingenuous. Think of the track record that says
otherwise: insults continue to be heaped on Dalits—as recently as the
1970s, human excreta was being flung into their wells; if they marched
in protest (as a Dalit woman recalls in the film), ‘they’ would throw
large grinding stones on the marchers from their highrise buildings.
Virulent upper-caste opposition to reservations continues. If a Dalit
falls in love with someone from an upper caste, violent retribution,
while no longer exactly common, is hardly unusual. A Dalit demanding
rights is often made an example of, usually violently: recall, if you
will, the Khairlanji episode of September 2006, in which all four
members of the Dalit Bhotmange family in Bhandara district were lynched
(the two women were paraded naked before being killed). It happened in
Maharashtra, the frontline of both the regressive north and the
progressive south.<br />
<br />
<br /><br />
<span id="Label7"><span style="padding-left: 8px;">And</span> it is in
Maharashtra that Ambedkar showed a new path to the Dalits, urging them
to discard centuries of oppression by taking leave of Hinduism, even if
it meant turning their backs on the well-meaning but patronising
embrace of Mohandas Gandhi. While Gandhi meant well, his aim was not
the emancipation of Dalits but the reform of Hinduism. He wanted the
Dalits to remain part of the culpatory fold; his calling them Harijan
(Children of God) was well-intentioned but, according to Gandhi’s Dalit
critics, the rubric reinforced the existing hierarchy that the Dalits
wanted to overthrow. They sought equality, not tolerance, and Ambedkar
turned to Buddhism in the belief that its non-hierarchical ethos would
empower the Dalits: they would no longer feel beholden to the upper
castes; they would shed their fear. And many did.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">In</span> a telling sequence in the
film, Patwardhan takes us to Beed district in the Marathwada region,
where upper caste men raped a young woman. When her family challenged
the attackers, they were also beaten up. An old man from the family
tells Patwardhan’s all-seeing camera: “We are responsible for this. We
never got organised or converted to another religion. Had we done it,
we could have mentally discarded caste and made others understand we
are humans. We, Mangs, bear the brunt of injustice.”
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Patwardhan</span> asks him: “But those who converted to Buddhism have also faced atrocities.”
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">“Yes,</span> it happens to Buddhists, too,” the old man says. “But they now have the strength to retaliate. We lack that strength.”
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Inarguably,</span> the Dalits who
heeded Ambedkar’s call have acquired this pride, this courage, their
empowerment coming primarily from education. And even as they demand
their rights, powerful and recalcitrant elements among the upper castes
want to crush their spirits even more. The film refers to an edict from
Manu: if the Dalits want to study, pour molten lead in their ears.
These ancient tables of caste are truly turned when you see, in a
terrific scene, school-going Dalit children laughing when a Brahmin
priest on a Hindi TV channel tells viewers they should utter a
particular <em>mantra</em> to cure themslves of some ailment.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">How</span> is an upper-caste stalwart
to tame such temerity? Perhaps garland with shoes a bronze statue of
Ambedkar to remind the Dalits of their long history of being
subjugated. Your leader may have written the Constitution, an
upper-caste hothead might say, but for us, he means nothing: That’s the
message of the footwear festoon.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">What</span> the Dalits seek of their
effrontery is not just nominal equality, but also respect and
dignity—it’s an inalienable right, but that right remains elusive.
Early in the film, Patwardhan takes us to a large garbage dump where we
meet a man whose job is to sort through the rubbish and load it on
trucks. In the waste he must clear is human excrement, which he must
carry on his head in a basket that has holes that often leak, and when
they leak, the human waste smears his body. He stinks. Why wouldn’t he?
He isn’t allowed to board buses; in trains, people don’t sit near him;
nor can he afford a rickshaw. So he must walk.
<br />
<br />
</span><br />
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="imgborder_new" style="width: 200px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img alt="" src="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/Upload/Story/Revolution-Will-sml5.jpg" style="float: right;" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="authername3"><a class="highslide" href="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/Upload/StoryBigImages/Revolution-Will-big5.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/images/enlarge.jpg" style="border: 1px solid; float: right;" /></a></span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">During</span> the rains—Mumbai’s
monsoons are harsh—his employers won’t give him gumboots or raincoat or
mask or rain-hat. This man has worked for 10 years at this site, 10 to
12 hours a day. At the end of each day, he takes home <img alt="" height="10" src="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/images/rupee_new_sign.jpg" width="8" />73 ($1.40).
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Through</span> <em>Jai Bhim Comrade</em>,
Patwardhan shocks our senses and appalls our smugness continuously by
exposing us to such facts without embellishing them. Even as he shows
us raw injustices, Patwardhan notes the failure of the better-off to
see how the worse-off live. A student at an elite college in the city
says, with entirely misplaced certainty, that Dalits face no
discrimination, and that their situation has improved in the past
decade. On the screen you see plain data noting that each day, three
Dalits are raped and two are killed—and that the conviction rate of
crimes against Dalits is about one percent. Patwardhan then asks the
student if he knows any Dalits, or if he has had any direct experience
in support of his claim that their situation has improved. The student
looks slightly hesitant, and then shakes his head.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Other</span> upper-class (and
upper-caste) Indians appear callous. One couple complains about the
crowds of Dalits that come every December to Dadar’s Chaitya Bhoomi, a
Buddhist memorial to Ambedkar, with a gate resembling an ornate Shinto
shrine torii and a white dome like a stupa, located where the ‘Father
of the Constitution’ was cremated in December 1956. When Patwardhan
asks if those crowds are any different from the ones that take over
Mumbai’s streets during Ganesha Chaturthi in the late monsoon, a woman
responds, “You can’t compare <em>this</em> with <em>Ganeshotsav</em> (the festival of Ganesha)!” suggesting that whatever she thinks <em>this</em> is, it is disgusting.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Another</span> man complains about the
mess the Dalits leave behind in his nice middle-class neighbourhood. He
doesn’t seem to know much about Ambedkar either. When Patwardhan asks
him if he has read the Constitution, he responds, derisively: “Yes,
yes, yes, we the people, for the people…,” at once conflating the
opening lines of the Indian Constitution with a misremembered phrase
from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The man’s offhandedness
reveals just how deracinated he is, how alienated from his milieu. He
is a resident non-Indian, an ‘RNI’.
<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="f1-BLACK1" style="width: 3%;" valign="top">I</td>
<td style="width: 97%;" valign="top"><strong>T IS INSTRUCTIVE</strong> that Patwardhan has titled his film <em>Jai Bhim Comrade</em>.
Some think that the Dalits should have been the natural constituency of
India’s left, but the Indian left never liked Ambedkar: in his
constitutionalism, they saw the postponement of ‘revolution’, and
collusion with the Indian state that they so wanted to overturn.
Ambedkar’s focus on</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
caste, not class, interfered with Marxist orthodoxy. The founder-member
of the Communist Party of India, Shripad Amrit Dange, worked to defeat
Ambedkar in the 1952 Lok Sabha election. In 1975, when Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi declared the Emergency, Dange—and the CPI—supported that
authoritarian retreat from democracy. (Patwardhan astutely observed
after a recent screening in New Delhi that like all Indian major
political parties, Brahmins dominated the communist leadership, too.)
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">(And</span> the communists do have
apparently more pressing priorities. The week I saw the film in Delhi,
the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was hosting a major meeting of
its politburo. At a time of grave disenchantment with the Indian state
over charges of corruption, debasement of the polity, violence upon the
poor, marginalisation of the vulnerable, and increased
authoritarianism, the issue that divided the leadership—and which led
to a walkout—was whether to call North Korea and China socialist
anymore.)
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">The</span> film also shows that neither the slogan “<em>Jai Bhim</em>” not the word “<em>comrade</em>”
will do much for the Dalits. An Ambedkar who becomes an icon will no
longer be their comrade. But the comrades don’t appear to have a clear
strategy of wooing the Dalits either.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">The</span> film does not set out to be a critique of the Indian left, and wisely so. <em>Jai Bhim Comrade</em>
steers clear of Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party and its politics, in
particular, and of Dalit politics elsewhere, in general. But
Patwardhan’s film is not unremittingly bleak. Towards the end, he shows
us the emergence of a spirited musical troupe from Pune, Kabir Kala
Manch. This leftist cultural group, founded in 2002, with students and
professionals as its members, draws inspiration from Kabir’s poetry,
and conveys its social message—of denouncing injustice and
oppression—through public performances. The film introduces us to a
lively singer, Sheetal Sathe, who married a fellow group member not
from her caste and against her family’s wishes. She has a lovely voice,
full-throated and high-spirited, and sings about feminism, casteism,
equality and unbridled capitalism.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">The</span> state doesn’t like her
music. Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad is after her, and she is on
the run, along with other group members, because they have been accused
of being in contact with Maoists. S Anand of Navayana Publishing,
referring to the plight of the Kabir Kala Manch, pointedly observes in
his April 2012 essay on <em>Jai Bhim Comrade</em> published on the
blog, Pratilipi that the Indian media, which rightly championed the
protests against Binayak Sen’s detention, hasn’t shown much interest
when the victims are Dalits. Whether that’s because of the media’s
caste prejudices or not is a legitimate debate. But it can no longer be
out of plain ignorance, for in a film with many heroic victims, Sheetal
Sathe’s winsome personality and cheerful spirit make her a very special
heroine. There should be posters demanding that she should be free to
sing; there should be Facebook pages celebrating her. Yes, one can
hope.
<br />
<br />
<span style="padding-left: 8px;">Sheetal’s</span> mother hasn’t seen
her daughter for a year, and must hope she returns safe one day. The
film shows that belief in an ideology, or faith, can become an
illusion. You have to break that illusion and take charge of your life.
You have to reclaim your dignity—and you alone can do it<br />
<br /><br />
Source - <a href="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/Story/1394/The-Revolution-Will-Be-Sung.html#">http://www.caravanmagazine.in/Story/1394/The-Revolution-Will-Be-Sung.html#</a></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-24833647702059782832011-02-02T05:33:00.000-08:002011-02-02T05:33:58.391-08:00Dalit oppression result of myriad years of caste system<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, verdana; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Violence against Dalits is the outcome of thousands of years of subjugation due to the existence of the caste system. But the situation of Dalit women becomes more vulnerable due to the intersectionality of caste with gender.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The oppression against Dalit women becomes multiple and is manifested through extreme forms of atrocities committed against them by non-Dalits and violence by the Dalits.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">After the framing of the Indian constitution, very few laws have been enacted to protect the rights of Dalits. One of the laws whereby some relief is given to the rights of the Dalit women is sec 3 (1) (X1) and 3 (1) (X11) under prevention of atrocities against SC and ST Act, 1989. There are certain sections under Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the protection of women in general, where Dalit women are also covered.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Some of the important sections relating to gender violence under the IPC are sec. 304B (dowry death), sec. 306 (abetment to suicide) sec. 354 (assault or use of criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), sec. 376 (rape), sec. 498 A (punishment for subjecting a married woman to cruelty).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Apart from the IPC sections there are no stringent laws for the protection of the rights of women. A law to protect women against domestic violence has been enacted in 2005, but it does not impose any punishment to the accused.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Gujarat as an independent state is celebrating 50 years of its existence and the prevention of atrocities Act enacted on January 30, 1990, has completed 20 years. The population of Dalits in Gujarat as per the National Census of 2001 is 7.01 % of the total population.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">While boasting about its development and progressiveness, the government of Gujarat also needs to be questioned on the grounds of implementation of laws and sections for the protection of Dalits and Dalit women's rights.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">As per the fifth report of the National Commission on SC and SC of1998-1999, Gujarat stands second i.e. 62 cases per one lakh population, in terms of volume of crime against Schedueld Castes, just after Rajasthan.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Navsarjan, an organisation dedicated to the upliftment of Dalits, has been addressing the issues of social justice and rights of Dalits and Dalit women in particular for more than 20 years in Gujarat.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Through the legal aid programme, we provide legal aid, moral and social support to the survivors and victims of caste and gender based violence in Gujarat. Navsarjan has dealt with and is working on several cases of extreme forms of violence against Dalits and Dalit women.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">One of these cases was the multiple rape of a female Dalit student in the Patan PTC College. Although the six accused were sentenced to life imprisonment, in the judgment, the court removed the sections under the Atrocity Act, its stand being that the rape survivor was raped by a non-Dalit and Dalit accused so it won't fit in as an atrocity case.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">There are several cases of rape of Dalit girls and women being handled by Navsarjan in the past few years and are being highlighted in the media, but in how many cases is the criminal justice system ensuring that the accused are punished under the law?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">A case of sexual trafficking of a Dalit girl who was kidnapped from the primary school in Bavla and sold off at many places is going on in the Ahmedabad Sessions court for more than one year, but due to weak criminal justice system, the survivor is still awaiting justice.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Another case of gang rape of a Dalit girl who was studying in the 12th grade in a high school in Limbdi town is pending in the Limbdi Sessions court. The rape survivor has sent an application to the state legal department for appointment of Nainaben Bhatt as special public prosecutor, but the state is denying appointing her without giving any valid reasons.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The recent cases of gang rape and trafficking of young Dalit girls and women set off alarm bells to the vulnerable position of Dalit women in the state. Ultimately the question to the state is, "Is there an effective criminal justice system in place to ensure safety and dignity of the Dalit community and Dalit women especially"?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The time has come when Dalit women should be recognised as a distinct social group rather than classifying them under the general women or Dalit category. Accordingly the state should evolve and implement a specific focus andprogrammes on Dalit women's rights within the broader framework of the Dalit and women's empowerment agenda.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/india/analysis_dalit-oppression-result-of-myriad-years-of-caste-system_1502060">Source</a></div></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-358693678985626192011-02-02T05:32:00.000-08:002011-02-02T05:32:28.679-08:00Cong sees ‘political vendetta’ in fresh probe against Punia in graft case<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"></span><br />
<div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">The Congress on Tuesday accused the state government of trying to frame National SC Commission Chairman P L Punia on false charges of corruption by reviving a 22-year-old corruption case against him. The case in question is the alleged corruption in Pradeshiya Industrial and Investment Corporation of UP (PICUP) when Punia was its managing director.</div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">Congress state president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said Punia had been given a clean chit by the investigation agencies in the past and even during previous regime of Mayawati, but now the state government wanted to act against the panel’s chairman out of vendetta.</div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">“The state government is pursuing the case because Punia is highlighting the atrocities against dalits and is exposing state government. Mayawati should remember that Punia holds a constitutional post,” said Joshi.</div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">In 2009 just after Punia won the Lok Sabha election from Barabanki on a Congress ticket, the state government directed the economic offence wing to probe the case again.</div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Cong-sees--political-vendetta--in-fresh-probe-against-Punia-in-graft-case/744960/">Source</a></div></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-39440465197746435252011-01-28T03:16:00.000-08:002011-01-28T03:20:22.316-08:00Dalit girl raped and murdered in Lucknow<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #383636; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><b><br />
</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #383636; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Lucknow: Close on the heels of the Banda rape incident involving a ruling BSP MLA, a teenaged dalit girl was raped and killed on the outskirts of Lucknow, prompting the opposition parties to renew their attack on the Mayawati government.<br />
<br />
The body of Arti, who had gone for sewing classes in Chinhat area, was found in an agriculture field in Malhaur yesterday. Though there were injuries on her body, the post mortem report did not mention rape leading to allegations of foul play.<br />
</span></span><br />
<table align="right" style="width: 210px;"><tbody>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><th width="200"><u><br />
</u></th></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #383636; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">A second post mortem was conducted today which proved that the girl was raped. "The hymen was ruptured and the girl died of asphyxiation," </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #383636; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #383636; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Special Director General of Police Brijlal said, adding a case will be registered against the doctor, who conducted the first autopsy, on charges of hiding evidence.<br />
<br />
Samajwadi Party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary alleged that "like in the Banda case, there is an effort to save the real culprits of Arti rape case".<br />
<br />
Members of different political parties have been visiting the victim's family. Among the first was Congress MP and chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes P L Punia who took stock of the case yesterday.<br />
<br />
"Though the Uttar Pradesh government is being headed by a Dalit woman, the maximum number of complaints of atrocities on Dalits-- almost 90 per cent-- are from this state," Punia said.<br />
<br />
A BJP delegation led by the national president of its Scheduled Castes Morcha, Diwakar, today met Arti's family and lashed out at the state government.<br />
<br />
"The mother of the deceased who is mentally disturbed ever since the girl's body had been recovered is repeatedly saying that it is a crime to be poor," Diwakar said, adding that an agitiation would soon be launched in case the government failed to take action against the real culprits.<br />
<br />
An official spokesman, however, rejected opposition allegations saying that four people have already been detained in the case.<br />
<br />
SP spokesman Chaudhary claimed that family of the victim has been saying that the four who have been detained are not the real culprits and "our party workers are exerting pressure to get the real offenders nabbed".<br />
<br />
Arti had left for her sewing classes on Tuesday which used to be held between 3 PM-5 PM but did not return home.<br />
<br />
On Janury 13, BSP MLA Purshottam Dwivedi was arrested in Banda a month after he allegedly raped a 17-year-old dalit girl who was later implicated in a false theft case. </span> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #383636; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://www.zeenews.com/news683320.html">Source</a></span></span></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-59883747136126661932011-01-28T03:11:00.000-08:002011-01-28T03:11:20.799-08:00Writer charged for casteist remark<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">A special `Prevention of Atrocities Act' court today convicted a column-writer for making casteist comments in a write-up published in a local tabloid.<br />
<br />
Anish Trivedi, a columnist, had written on the bad state of affairs at government offices, and attributed it to the reservation policy.<br />
<br />
The special court today convicted Trivedi and sentenced him to six months' imprisonment, and fine of Rs 25,000.<br />
<br />
The case dates back to April 30, 2006, when Trivedi wrote an article titled <span style="font-style: italic;">Children of a Lesser God</span>, blaming caste- based reservations for bad governance.<br />
<br />
A case was then registered with the Bhoiwada police station under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after some Dalit activists filed a complaint.<br />
<br />
"The column was derogatory and directly attacked the Dalits. He not only tried connecting the inefficient government offices with caste reservations, but at several places he made distasteful comments, which were clearly casteist," said public prosecutor Shrikant Dukhande.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?709991">Source</a></span></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-75236848485037403762011-01-28T03:04:00.000-08:002011-01-28T03:06:00.035-08:00Mayawati showering lollies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">LUCKNOW: An aggressive Congress trying to make in roads among dalits and backwards has made chief minister and <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=BSP" style="color: #336797; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">BSP</a> supremo <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Mayawati" style="color: #336797; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Mayawati</a> reinforce her dalit agenda.<br />
<br />
Last week, the BSP government decided to reserve 70% seats for candidates belonging to scheduled castes (SC) and 15% seats for other backward classes (OBCs) in 50 government industrial training institutes (ITIs) and four government medical colleges to be set up at Jalaun, Kannauj, Saharanpur and Ambedkarnagar. Now, Mayawati has directed officials concerned to expedite the implementation of dalit welfare schemes and conduct on the spot verification of whether the benefit has reached the target group or not.<br />
<br />
The emphasis is laid on schemes like free housing for poor dalits under the housing scheme launched in the name of her mentor Kanshiram, Rs 400 per month to the poor who do not have below poverty line card or any other certificate which makes them entitled to welfare schemes meant for poor and downtrodden and implementation of the Forest Rights Act which provides ownership rights to tribals on forest land. The CM has instructed officials that the people at grassroot level should get the feeling that government is working for them.<br />
<br />
The move to reserve 70% seats for SC in ITIs and medical colleges is aimed to blunt the allegations by National SC and ST Commission chairperson PL Punia that the money given to the state under special component programme is being misused by the BSP government. Punia as a bureaucrat was close to Maya at one point of time but after retirement joined Congress and won Lok Saba elections from Barabanki by getting substantial dalit votes. Congress has now appointed Punia as chairman of the commission with cabinet minister status to woo dalits.<br />
<br />
Punia has been troubling the BSP government in state by raking up issues like rise in atrocities on dalits. He has been personally visiting the places from where crime against dalits are reported. As a counter, Mayawati has also issued instructions to deal strictly with any incident of atrocity on dalits. Senior officials such as commissioners, district magistrates and district police chiefs have been warned that they would be held responsible for any laxity in the implementation of the government policies and schemes for dalits.<br />
<br />
Maya also made it clear that only a dalit would succeed her as chief minister of UP, in case she goes to Centre or post fells vacant due to some other reason. The BSP government had already announced reservation (21% for SC and 2% for ST) in allotment of construction contracts upto Rs five lakh in all government departments. She wants that all work related to dalit welfare schemes and projects should be implemented by July this year so that she can publicise it thoroughly before next assembly elections in April-May 2012.<br />
<br />
Though dalit form BSP's core vote bank, it had played brahmin card to win 2007 assembly elections. It came to power with absolute majority through its dalit-brahmin-muslim combination. BSP also got ample support of most backward classes (MBCs). However, poor performance in 2009 Lok Sabha polls has made Maya revert to her dalit agenda for 2012 state assembly elections. Taking a head start in comparison to other parties, she has shortlisted around 200 candidates and remaining will be selected soon. Total assembly seats are 403.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Mayawatis-maya-showers-on-dalits/articleshow/7363984.cms">Source</a></span></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-83531559946508566792011-01-22T03:57:00.000-08:002011-01-22T03:57:15.251-08:00Dalits ostracized- A shameful reality of modern India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">MYSORE: Little has changed for the Dalits of Saligrama village of K.R. Nagar taluk in Mysore district who have been ostracised by ‘caste' Hindus since September 26 following a silly altercation.<br />
<br />
The Dalits in the village are having a tough time finding work. They are disappointed with the Government, which, they say, has not attempted to ensure social justice for them. The district administration has not distributed the compensation of Rs. 30 lakh released by the Government, they add.<br />
Taking objection to what they consider the apathy of the administration, the district unit of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has decided to hold a protest rally on Republic Day. Speaking to The Hindu, district BSP president Shivamahadeva regretted that the administration, which had promised to protect the rights of Dalits after the media highlighted the issue, had failed to keep its word.<br />
<br />
According to Srinivas of the village, Dalits have been dismissed from their jobs by ‘caste' Hindus after the announcement of the social boycott. People who were earning Rs. 150 to Rs. 200 in the village were forced to trek 10 km to earn Rs. 50, he says, adding that people travelled to nearby Haradanahalli, Karpoorahalli or even Kodagu district for work.<br />
<br />
“Except for providing work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the district administration has not done anything so far,” he claims. Although on the surface it appeared that the social boycott had been withdrawn, Dalits were not getting jobs. “We are living under fear,” he says.<br />
<br />
Fact-finding team<br />
<br />
Of a population of about 10,000, 2,000 people living at Saligrama are Dalits. The social boycott stemmed from an incident where cattle belonging to ‘caste' Hindus grazed on land belonged to a Dalit. When the Dalit registered a complaint with the police, he was reportedly assaulted and a social boycott was called.<br />
<br />
A fact finding team of the Communist Part of India (Marxist) led by State Secretariat member Maruthi Manpade found that Dalits were being denied work in farms, while many had lost their jobs. A.H. Vishwanath, Mysore MP, had also appealed to Minister in charge of the district S.A. Ramdas to help the people. “But nothing has changed,” bemoans Krishnamurthy, Dalit leader of Saligrama.<br />
<br />
Challenge<br />
<br />
The Dalits have taken the social boycott as a challenge, Mr. Srinivas says. “Reposing our faith in the law of the land, we have decided to fight against social boycott. We want the Government to support us under the rights enshrined in the Constitution.” </span><br />
<a href="http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/19/stories/2011011952700300.htm)">Source</a></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-30133207182027858492011-01-22T03:49:00.001-08:002011-01-22T03:49:26.674-08:00Dalit youth dies in police station, probe ordered<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"></span><br />
<div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">Sanjiv Kumar alias Sipu, a Dalit boy and resident of Fajjupura village in Gurdaspur district, died mysteriously inside the Dhariwal police station on Wednesday, where he was lodged on theft charges. While the police termed it a case of suicide, a judicial inquiry has been ordered and three policemen suspended.</div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">According to reports, the police arrested Sanjiv on the complaint of one Raj Kumar who claimed his mobile phone shop had been burgled and that he suspected Sanjiv.</div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">Claiming that Sanjiv was innocent, his family alleged that he was tortured by the police, which led to his death. Gurdaspur Senior Superintendent of Police Varinderpal Singh, meanwhile, said Sanjiv committed suicide. “He used the string of his underwear to hang himself from a water tap,” he said.</div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">The SSP, however, confirmed that they had suspended ASI Amarjit Singh, Constable Harpinder Singh and Constable Parminder Singh for negligence.</div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #3f3f3f; display: block; font: normal normal normal 15px/20px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Dalit-youth-dies-in-police-station--probe-ordered/739656">Source</a></div></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-48232375503244962382011-01-22T03:44:00.000-08:002011-01-22T03:44:25.649-08:00Dalit girl stripped by boutique owner in Kanpur<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Kanpur: </b> A minor Dalit girl was allegedly kept in illegal confinement and stripped in the presence of<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />two women by a boutique owner in Kanpur, police said on Wednesday.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />When the 13-year-old girl cried and protested, the woman, at whose house her mother worked as a domestic help, let her go but "implicated" the duo in an alleged "false" case of theft, senior police and civil officials said quoting the victim's complaint.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />While the girl has been released on bail, her mother is still behind bars.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">DIG Ashok Mutha Jain and District Magistrate Mukesh Meshram told a press conference that the girl's mother worked as a maid at the house of Shalini Gujral, a boutique owner, in Seesamau area here. The minor also used to help her mother in the work.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />A few days ago, when the girl visited Gujral's house, the woman accused her of theft and allegedly confined her with the help of two other women and stripped her after tying her hands<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />and legs, they said. The woman set her free when she cried and strongly protested, the victim claimed in a statement before the DIG.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />On January 16, the boutique owner lodged a complaint against the mother-daughter duo at Fazalganj police station claiming that they had stolen two rings from her house. The next day, the police arrested the two, and a court sent the mother to jail while releasing the girl on bail due to her minor age.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />The teenage girl, however, told the police that the rings were given to her by Gujral, and her mother later sold them. The girl claimed that her mother's employer never talked about the rings as they continued to work there. <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />The DIG said that considering the seriousness of the allegations, the girl's statement has been recorded before a woman magistrate.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />A police inspector has been suspended with immediate effect for filing the case without any investigation, he said, adding the SP (crime) will probe into the incident.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />An FIR has been registered against the boutique owner and the two other women besides filing a case under SC/ST Act. <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />The matter comes close on the heels of the Banda incident in which a girl belonging to a backward community was allegedly raped by a BSP MLA and the Divya case in which a<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />minor girl died after allegedly being sexually assaulted inside her school. <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><a href="http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/dalit-girl-allegedly-stripped-by-boutique-owner-in-kanpur-80487)">Source</a></div></div></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-56100297586957854812011-01-20T21:43:00.000-08:002011-01-20T21:43:36.873-08:00Dalit activist now booked for waging war against state<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><b>Police claim radical Marathi editor Sudhir Dhawale was responsible for putting up incendiary posters in Gondia on December 14; wife says he was in Mumbai that night</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><b><br />
</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-weight: normal;"></span></b></span><br />
<div style="color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The state upped the ante against Dalit activist and editor of Marathi magazine Vidrohi, Sudhir Dhawale, booking him for waging war against the state under section 121 of the Indian Penal Code. On January 2, Dhawale was arrested on charges of sedition. The difference between the two is that unlike sedition, waging war against state also has a provision of death penalty.</span></b></div><b><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><div id="pvideos" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><span style="font-size: x-small; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Police alleges on the midnight of December 14-15, posters were put up in Gondia district in connection with the ‘Shaheed Saptah’ or Martyrs’ Week observed by Naxalites in the area. An FIR was registered against unknown persons. Dhawale has now been shown as an accused in that case.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 200px;" summary=""><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><img alt="" height="275" src="http://cms.mumbaimirror.com/portalfiles/1/15/201101/Image/cov011.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div align="center" style="color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Sudhir Dhawale (right) at a protest outside CST last month to free Binayak Sen</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />After his arrest, the court had remanded Dhawale to police custody till January 12, after which he was sent to Bhandara Jail. However, on January 14, the police made him an accused in this FIR and asked for custody again. After three days of questioning, he was sent back to Bhandara Jail.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />His wife Darshana counters that on December 14 Dhawale was in Mumbai participating in the birthday celebrations of well-known Dalit Panther Samadhan Navkar, Dalit Panther and now Mumbai president of Mumbai Democratic Republican Party at Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />“This is the police’s known modus operandi,’’ said advocate Surendra Gadling, Dhawale’s lawyer. “I have handled about 60 cases where the suspect, usually someone who is vocal against government policies, is picked up in one particular case, then slapped with one case after the other, so as to keep him inside for a long time.’’<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Meanwhile, the inquiry into Dhawale’s arrest, ordered by Home Minister R R Patil, after a delegation led by filmmaker Anand Patwardhan met him, was indeed held by a DIG-rank officer. Only, the officer never met Dhawale, claims Gadling.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Gondia Sub Divisional Police Officer Borate told earlier told this newspaper that Dhawale had been named by one Bhimrao @ Bhanu Bhovate, whom he described as a ``State Committee Naxalite leader’’, arrested recently in Gondia. Bhovate had reportedly told the police that he had given his computer, which had Naxalite literature in it, to Sudhir. Thus it was necessary to seize Dhawale’s computer, said Borate. <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />A well-known name in Dalit and Left circles, Dhawale was one of the founders of the Republican Panther Jaatiya Antachi Chalwal (movement for annihilation of caste), formed on December 6, 2007, Dr Ambedkar’s mahaparinirvan day, at Shivaji Park.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />This group grew out of the anger of Dalit youth against the Ramabai Nagar firing (1997) and the Khairlanji killings (2006). He joins a growing list of men from Mumbai including Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Shridhar Shrinivasan alias Vishnu who have been held for their Naxalite connections.</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/15/2011012020110120055310177dfac4c73/Dalit-activist-now-booked-for-waging-war-against-state.html">Source</a></span></span></b></span></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-15836136728478707752011-01-20T21:39:00.000-08:002011-01-20T21:39:38.860-08:00Dalit activist arrested, charged with sedition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<div style="color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Dalit activist and editor of Marathi magazine Vidrohi, Sudhir Dhawale, was arrested on Monday morning at Gondia and charged with sedition (sec 124) and under Secs 17, 20 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).</span><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></div><div id="pvideos" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><span style="font-size: x-small; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">These sections relate to: raising funds for terrorist acts; being a member of a terrorist organisation and providing support to a terrorist organisation.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Gondia Sub-Divisional Police Officer Borate told Mumbai Mirror that Sudhir had been named by one Bhimrao, alias Bhanu Bhovate, whom he described as a “State Committee Naxalite leader”, arrested last week in Gondia.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Bhovate had reportedly told police that he had given his computer, which had Naxalite literature in it, to Sudhir. Thus it was necessary to seize Sudhir’s computer, said Borate. The police searched Sudhir’s home in Byculla for over three hours in the evening.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 200px;" summary=""><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><img align="left" alt="" height="147" src="http://cms.mumbaimirror.com/portalfiles/1/2/201101/Image/04012011/08-01.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div align="center" style="color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Sudhir Dhawale protesting Binayak Sen’s arrest</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Sudhir has been remanded in police custody till January 12. He had addressed a Ambedkar-Phule Sahitya Sammelan near Wardha on Sunday, and was on a train when he was arrested. Borate said they had been trailing him for the last few days, emphasising that his arrest had nothing to do with the Sammelan.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Expressing shock at his arrest, award-winning documentary maker Anand Patwardhan compared it to that of Binayak Sen.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />“I know Sudhir well. He is a gentle person. His arrest is an outrage. It’s like what happened with Dr Binayak Sen - hounding those who have sympathy for the oppressed.” Interestingly, Sudhir is an active member of the Mumbai-based Committee for the Release of Binayak Sen.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />A well-known name in Dalit and Left circles, Sudhir was one of the founders of the Republican Panther Jaatiya Antachi Chalwal (movement for annihilation of caste), formed on December 6, 2007, Dr Ambedkar’s Mahaparinirvan Day, at Shivaji Park.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />This group grew out of the anger of Dalit youth against the Ramabai Nagar firing (1997) and the Khairlanji killings (2006).<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />According to Shyam Sonar, a member of the Republican Panthers, their group was created seeing the failure of the Dalit Panthers to live up to their original aim of working among people to wipe out caste. “We believe in raising awareness about atrocities on Dalits and the government’s destructive pattern of development in a democratic way,” said Sonar.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />A full-time activist, Sudhir edited the bi-monthly Marathi magazine Vidrohi, which has among its editorial advisers Nikhil Wagle, Anand Patwardhan, and Anand Teltumbde.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />His wife, a nurse, ran their home, while his friends paid his mobile bills and for his railway pass, said Sonar. Sudhir has two school going children.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: x-small; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">A year ago, Sudhir had performed Hindi film director Sagar Sarhadi’s play Raj Durbar in Nagpur. Describing him as a “decent man and an enthusiastic and curious student of theatre”, Sarhadi said his arrest was a form of “witch hunting”.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Folk artiste shahir Sambhaji Bhagat recalled having first met Sudhir as a college student in Nagpur, where he had attended Bhagat’s theatre workshops. “Sudhir was very active in organising the parallel Vidrohi Marathi Sahitya Sammelans,” said Sambhaji. “He is also a good singer. His arrest bodes ill for those who believe in open democratic work.”<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Last week, Home Minister Chidambaram had asked Maharashtra’s police to go on the offensive against Naxalites in the state. “When the government puts pressure on the police, they catch Leftists who work in an open manner because these are easy targets,” said Anand Patwardhan. “Dr Binayak Sen and now Sudhir, are being tarred as Naxalites for doing human rights work. It is a continuation of the dangerous pattern of blurring the lines in order to shut people up.”</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: x-small; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=2&contentid=20110104201101040202095098109b7de">Source</a></span></span></div>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7324552214053736025.post-4396932358335133502011-01-18T01:04:00.000-08:002011-01-18T01:04:41.851-08:00Gulabi gang and The monir, dalit, rape victim<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Lucknow, Jan 16 (PTI) Taking up the cudgels for the minor dalit girl, allegedly raped by a BSP MLA, a group of pink-sari clad women who have been holding demonstrations under the banner of "Gulabi Gang" to highlight her plight say their fight is still not over despite the legislator''s arrest.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">A determined Sampat Pal (48), whose group of lathi-wielding women is fighting against discrimination and atrocities in the Bundelkhand region for a decade now, took up the cause of the dalit girl after her relatives claimed that she had been framed in a false theft case.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Sampat claimed she was offered a bribe of Rs five lakh and promised several development works in her village by MLA Purshottam Naresh Dwiwedi if she dropped the agitation.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">"The fight is still not over... her (girl''s) family is living in fear in their Shahzadpur village and we want to help," he said, adding that the accomplices of the MLA were still moving about freely.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">"After we came to know that she had been framed in a case of theft in the house which is guarded like a fortress, we organised the first protest in Banda and later at the house of the MLA where she was raped and beaten up," she said.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">"The girl told me how the MLA told her to marry one of his servants so that he could continue with his misdeeds within the confines of his house," she alleged.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Alleging that the jailor of the district prison where the victim had been lodged did not allow any of her family members as well as her sympathisers to meet her, Sampat alleged that "the MLA''s cronies were free to go and threaten her anytime".</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">The group is now planning an agitation to press for action against the erring police personnel.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Sampat said the group held demonstrations all over the district to draw the attention of the media, politicians and local people.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">"The anger of the local people was against not only Dwivedi but also the government and had the MLA not been arrested it could have become a major problem," she said.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">"We have offered to give shelter to the girl and help her complete her education or else she could be subjected to further exploitation," Sampat said.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">It has also offered to provide security to the girl.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">"If she wants, she can join the Gulabi Gang," said Sampat.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">"We will provide complete security to her," she said, adding, "we will stage a massive agitation in case anyone tries to harass her."</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Dwivedi and his two aides have been arrested while on of the accused is absconding.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Sampat claimed the group has over 1.4 lakh members and has spread its activities in districts other than the Bundelkhand region.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">"We have activists in Mahoba, Orai, Fatehpur, Kanpur, Farrukhabad, Etawah besides other districts of the state who fight for the powerless," she said.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><a href="http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4808470">Source</a></span></span></span>"Marginalized"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17634830849525591958noreply@blogger.com0