Dharma Singh, a member of outlawed outfit Ranvir Sena and prime accused in the Laxmanpur-Bathe massacre in which 58 Dalits were killed in 1997, was arrested here Thursday, police said.

He was evading arrest for nearly 16 years and was taken into custody by a police team from Arwal district, said Superintendent of Police Anand Kumar Singh.

Laxmanpur-Bathe village situated on the banks of the Sone river in Jehanabad district was targeted by armed members of Ranvir Sena, a private militia of land owner upper caste people, who butchered 58 Dalits, including 27 women and 10 children, to death on Dec 1, 1997.

According to police records, four Dalit families were completely wiped out in the bloodbath.

Soon after the massacre, the state government then led by Rabri Devi set up the Amir Das Commission to probe the political connections of the Ranvir Sena.

But the commission was wrapped up by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar soon after he came to power in 2006.

The Hindu

Spectre of caste trails yet another couple

http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Hindu/400x60/0

Even before the district has fully recovered from the reverberations set off by the tragic end to the life of Dalit youth Ilavarasan after his inter-caste marriage, another couple is facing trouble. G. Suresh (31), belongs to the Vanniyar community and his wife, S. Sudha (23) is a Dalit. Village elders belonging to the Vanniyar community have ordered a social boycott against them.

The youth's family at Veppararathur village has been ostracised allegedly by people of his community for having married a Dalit woman from Parayapatti in Harur taluk. Alleging no action had been taken on a complaint she lodged with Bommidi police on June 22, Sudha submitted a petition to the Superintendent of Police Asra Garg on Wednesday, seeking protection from those who opposed the marriage.

Sudha said she and Suresh got married on April 21, 2010 with the consent of the parents on both sides. After the wedding, Suresh went to Hosur for work every day and Sudha stayed with her in-laws at Veppamarathur village. The couple then had a male child.

Trouble began around May-end when villagers at Veppamarathur collected Rs.1,000 from every house to celebrate the Mariamman Temple festival. When they came to know that Suresh was married to a Dalit, they returned the money his family had contributed. Suresh told The Hindu that the Rs.14,000 his family contributed earlier for the construction of the temple was also returned. The village elders then convened a 'panchayat', which ordered that none from Suresh's family should enter the temple. They were also barred them from drawing water from common facilities and other villagers were asked not to have any contact with the couple's family.

It was alleged that even before the elders' meeting was held, some persons entered their house on June 7 and beat up everyone. Only then did the couple get their marriage registered (on June 12). They feared an attack on the scale of the November 7, 2012 mob fury on Natham colony (where Ilavarasan lived).

Sudha lodged police complaint on June 22. A case was registered under Sections 147 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (1) (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code and Section 3 (1) (XIV) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act against 22 persons, including former village panchayat president Ranganathan and village head Periyasamy. But, none of them has been arrested yet. Harur Deputy

Superintendent of Police V. Sampath is investigating the case. When contacted, DSP V. Sampath said the accused could not be arrested as they had obtained anticipatory bail from a local court.

The Pioneer

CIVIL BODIES DEMAND LAND RIGHTS FOR POOR TRIBALS, DALITS

http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Pioneer/400x60/0

Thursday, 18 July 2013 | PNS | BHUBANESWAR | in Bhubaneswar

Thousands of Dalits and tribals living in the State are yet to get land rights, alleged social activists of various organisations while participating at a State-level meet on development and protection of land rights organised by the Odisha Dalit Adhikar Manch (ODAM) and the Odisha Jami Adhikar Abhijan (OJAA) here on Tuesday.

ODAM coordinator Prashant Mallick and OJAA chairman Manas Jena said 10,000 landless families had applied in the OGLS-I form to get land, but they are still in confusion whether they would get a patch of land or not. Due to the Government's apathy, families could not get it, they alleged.

There are so many hamlets in the State, but they could not be taken as revenue villages. Though the State has ceiling surplus land, Patita Kissam land and Bhoodan land, the State Government has failed to distribute these lands among the poor landless families, said the activists and demanded that the Government take appropriate steps to distribute the surplus land among the needy.

Activists including Ekta Parishad Odisha convener Kahnu Mohanty, Sishir Tripathy of Omapan, Lokmukti Sangathan Anant Panda and Tribal Organisation Network's Theophyl Gamango demanded that the Government distribute forestland among the traditional forest dwellers. "If the Govt fails to fulfil the demands, we will take the issue to the streets," said the activists.

The Hindu

Crime, caste and judicial restraint

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/crime-caste-and-judicial-restraint/article4921389.ece

Recent judgments on the disqualification of convicted legislators and candidates in custody, and the banning of caste rallies, are not correct in law and need to be revisited

Two judgments of the Supreme Court, delivered on July 10, 2013, regarding the disqualification of Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies, and one interim order of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court banning caste rallies have been the subject of a great deal of discussion and debate recently.

I have perused and considered these judgments, and with great respect to the courts which passed these orders, have serious reservations about their correctness in law.

In Lily Thomas v. Union of India, the Supreme Court declared Section 8 (4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, (RPA) which allowed legislators a three-month window to appeal against their conviction — effectively delaying their disqualification until such appeals were exhausted — as unconstitutional.

In Government of Andhra Pradesh v. P. Laxmi Devi (2008), the Supreme Court considered at great length the doctrine of judicial review of statutes. In paragraph 36 of that judgment, the Court observed that invalidating an act of the legislature is a grave step and should never be lightly taken. A court can declare a statute to be unconstitutional "not merely because it is possible to hold this view, but only when that is the only possible view not open to rational question" (vide paragraph 41 of that judgment).

The philosophy behind this view is that there is a broad separation of powers under the Constitution, and the three organs of the state must respect one another and must not ordinarily encroach on one another's domain. In paragraph 44 of the aforesaid judgment, the Court observed there is only one ground for striking down a statute, and that is if it clearly violates some provision of the Constitution in so evident a manner as to leave no manner of doubt.

Keeping the above considerations in mind, one fails to see how Section 8(4) could be held to be unconstitutional.

TWO REASONS

The Supreme Court has given two reasons for its verdict: First, it held Section 8(4) to be in violation of Article 102, and its corresponding provision for the States, Article 191, of the Constitution. A careful perusal of Article 102 shows there is nothing therein which renders it inconsistent with Section 8(4).

Article 102(1) of the Constitution states:

1) A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament

(a) if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State, other than an office declared by Parliament by law not to disqualify its holder;

(b) if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court;

(d) if he is not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State, or is under any acknowledgement of allegiance or adherence to a foreign State;

(e) if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament

In my opinion, none of the five clauses in Article 102(1) are attracted so as to invalidate Section 8(4). Clause (e) is not attracted because Section 8 (4), which is a law made by Parliament, specifically states that a legislator convicted is not disqualified during pendency of his appeal if it is made within three months.

Second, the Supreme Court has held that Parliament had no legislative competence to enact Section 8(4). This reasoning, too, is difficult to accept because Entry 72 to List 1 of the 7th Schedule in the Constitution specifically allows Parliament to legislate on elections to Parliament or the State legislatures. It is well-settled that legislative entries in the Constitution are to be widely construed, and in any case Parliament has residual power to legislate under Entry 97 to List 1.

The second judgment of the Supreme Court in Chief Election Commissioner v. Jan Chawkidari also merits reconsideration because it has held that if a person is in jail or police custody, he cannot contest an election.

The Supreme Court has relied on the definition of "elector," as found in Section 2 (e) of the RPA, and observed that in view of Sections 3, 4, and 5, to be qualified for membership of the legislature, one has to be an elector.

Section 2(e) defines an elector as "a person whose name is entered in the electoral roll of that constituency […] and who is not subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in section 16 of the RP Act."

It is difficult to comprehend how the Supreme Court relied on Section 62(5) of the RPA to disqualify persons who are in jail or police custody from standing for elections, given that there is no mention of section 62(5) in the Act's definition of "elector." The Act clearly distinguishes a voter and an elector — Section 62(5) only debars a person in jail from voting, not from contesting an election.

If the view of the Supreme Court is accepted, then a rival politician need only get a false First Information Report (FIR) filed against his political rival and have him sent to police custody or jail to disqualify him.

MEETINGS

As regards the interim order of the Allahabad High Court on caste rallies, with due respect I submit that it requires further review.

I make this argument because the view taken by the High Court required a final, well considered judgment and not an interim order, and second, since there is no legal bar to a caste rally, as long as no law is violated. In fact Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitution gives citizens a fundamental right to assemble peaceably. A political party can call a meeting of a caste, for example, of Dalits to discuss the problems facing that community, and there is no law barring such a meeting.

With respect, the aforementioned decisions of the Supreme Court and the Allahabad High Court may be perceived as making or amending the law, a function that is in the domain of the legislature (vide SC decision in Divisional Manager, Aravali Golf Course v Chander Hass (2007)).

Let me make it clear that I am totally against the criminalisation of politics or casteism in politics, but the problem we are discussing is not about one person's view but what the correct, legal position should be.

(Markandey Katju is a former judge of the Supreme Court.)

Deccan Herald

DSS urges probe into dalit atrocity case

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/177120/dss-urges-probe-dalit-atrocity.html

Mysore, July 17, DHNS:

Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS) has demanded a probe into the harassment meted out to a dalit family in Honnenahalli in Hunsur taluk. Accusing the district administration of failing to provide relief to the victims, the samithi said the government has become insensitive to atrocity on Dalits across the state.

In a press conference, Dalit leader Harihara Anandaswamy said a group belonging to upper castes harassed Cheluvaiah's family in Honnenahalli following a dispute over land issue.

The group assaulted Cheluvaiah and his family members and threatened with dire consequences. Though, the victim lodged a complaint with the police and the district administration, there was no action on the perpetrators so far.

DSS had been leading an agitation over the issue in front of deputy commissioner's office for the past three days. But, there has been no relief for the family, he said.

"The number of cases of atrocity and harassment against Dalit families is on the rise in state since Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa-led BJP government came into power," Anandaswamy stated.

The Hindu

Court fed up, summons Chief Secretaries of 4 States

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/court-fed-up-summons-chief-secretaries-of-4-states/article4921560.ece

Failure to file affidavits in police reforms case

Taking a serious view of the failure of the Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh governments to file their response in the 'Police reforms case' despite several reminders, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Chief Secretaries to be present in court on July 31 to explain the lapse.

The order was passed by a Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and V. Gopala Gowda in the case in which a Dalit girl and her father were beaten up in Punjab, and some women teachers were assaulted in Patna during an agitation. The court took suo motu cognisance of newspaper reports on the two incidents. Later the Bench expanded the scope of the case to include monitoring implementation of the 2006 judgment on police reforms.

The court earlier asked all States to file status reports on the implementation of the judgment. On Tuesday the Bench was told that the four States were yet to file their affidavits.

"We have to adjourn the case every time because one or the other State did not file affidavits. Now we are fed up. Advocates for the States concerned also take up this issue very casually. Unless some officers are convicted under the Contempt of Courts Act, things will not improve. We are pained to call these Chief Secretaries but there is no other option," the Bench said.

The Hindu

Sathya Sai family feud out in the open

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/sathya-sai-family-feud-out-in-the-open/article4921603.ece

In what seems to be the first-ever display of groupism in support of a member of the Sathya Sai Central Trust, supporters of trust member and nephew of Baba -- R.J. Ratnakar -- staged a dharna opposite the Puttaparthy police station against the investigation into a few allegations levelled against him by another relative of Sathya Sai Baba.

Mr. Ganapathy Raju, cousin by relation to Sathya Sai Baba, has been complaining about the alleged illegal activities of Mr. Ratnakar for quite some time now, frequently writing to the all key personalities, including the Prime Minister and the President besides the State police chief. One of the allegations made by him pertaining to Mr. Ratnakar, allegedly using a fake email ID, caught the attention of the State police which directed the district police to start an inquiry into the allegations.

A group of people went in a rally up to the town police station and raised slogans demanding that "false allegations" not be made against the trust or its members. Slogans were also raised specifically against Mr. Ganapathy Raju and an effigy of him was burnt. Meanwhile, a case was registered against Mr. Ganapathy Raju under the SC/ST Atrocities Act for abusing a dalit besides injuring him by attacking him on Sunday evening. On the other hand, while Mr. Ratnakar denied the charges.

The Hindu

The chimera of Dalit capitalism

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-chimera-of-dalit-capitalism/article4924873.ece

The recent launch of the first Dalit venture fund occasions an examination of the moral and ethical emptiness of capitalism

History shows that where ethics and economics come in conflict, victory is always with economics

B.R. Ambedkar

If only Milind Kamble, founder of the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) and Chandra Bhan Prasad, Dalit thinker, columnist and DICCI mentor, had imbibed the wisdom of Manning Marable's How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America, a classic work in African-American studies, they would not have been such virtuoso performers of the ballad of Dalit capitalism (which claims Black capitalism among its inspirations). And this ballad is increasingly getting mainstream attention as evidenced by the interview of the duo in a famous talk show after the recent launch of the first Dalit venture capital fund.

The fundamental argument made by them is that it is time for Dalits to change their image of being perpetual victims (always in need of state support through reservations and doles) to that of being in charge of their own destiny — to put it pithily, "Dalits are not only takers, they are givers." And what better way to achieve this than Dalits becoming capitalists themselves, and welcoming with open arms, economic reforms and globalisation:

"we see that there is an economic process, that capitalism is changing caste much faster than any human being. Therefore, in capitalism versus caste, there is a battle going on and Dalits should look at capitalism as a crusader against caste."

IN THE U.S.

It is, of course, understandable that an oppressed people would look to any and every avenue that would help overthrow the shackles of oppression. In that sense, the limited use of the market in dissolving some of the millennia-old feudal and caste hierarchies has to be acknowledged. But to move from that to romanticising the relationship between capitalism and caste is completely different, especially when it is done in an anodyne and vacuous manner as Prasad does: "along with globalisation came Adam Smith to challenge Manu. So that's why for the first time, money has become bigger than caste... bigger than Marx, bigger than everybody because in this marketplace, only your ability is respected." And "Montek [Singh Ahluwalia] is a friend of Adam Smith and Adam Smith is an enemy of Manu, so therefore, Montek is our friend.

If indeed the market is a level playing field, one wonders why is it that after centuries of glorious capitalist growth and decades of Black capitalism in the headquarters of world capitalism, African-Americans languish at the bottom of socio-economic indicators. In 2011, the poverty rate among blacks was 28.1 per cent, almost three times the rate for non-Hispanic whites. In the prison capital of the world, African-Americans are incarcerated at almost six times the rate of non-Hispanic whites, thus constituting almost a million out of a total prison population of 2.3 million! So much for a market place that respects one's ability. If capitalism is so democratic and benign, why is it that its biggest crisis since the Great Depression — the financial crisis in 2008 — had a particularly devastating effect on the African-American population?

The Pew Research Center analysis shows that the median wealth of white households was a staggering 20 times that of black households in 2009. This was the largest gap in 25 years and almost twice the ratio before the crisis.

Despite the optimism that people like Prasad and Kamble exude about Dalits becoming equal participants in a democratic capitalism, there are other Dalit and non-Dalit scholars who have demonstrated the immense barriers for Dalit entrepreneurs within the so-called capitalist market, and the ugly casteism that marks corporate India.

But my concern is not about the inability of Dalits to become capitalists within a structure marked by gargantuan economic and social inequalities, but about the moral and ethical emptiness of capitalism as a liberatory mechanism for an oppressed people. When Chandra Bhan Prasad speaks in glowing terms about the four Mercedes Benz cars that Rajesh Saraiya, the richest Dalit businessman, worth about $400 million and based in Ukraine, owns, he does not ponder about the gross inequalities that characterise the global capitalist system which bestows such bounties on a minuscule number at the expense of the vast majority who inevitably pay the price.

THE FLAW

The fundamental flaw in the argument for Dalit capitalism is that it merely seeks to find an equal space for Dalits within what is inherently an exploitative system: thus the hitherto exploited sections of the people will now play the role of exploiters. In sum, Dalit capitalism, while it seeks to dismantle age-old hierarchies and discriminations, is hardly bothered about the new oppressions perpetrated by capitalism.

What is particularly shocking is that Dalit liberation seeks to join hands with capitalism at a juncture when it is at its carnivorous worst. The Golden Age of capitalism and industrialisation has given way to "casino capitalism," driven by financial speculation and what Marx calls as "fictitious capital." The greatest example of this is the crisis of 2008. In a desperate bid to sustain its profit margins, capitalism resorts to, in the words of distinguished professor of anthropology and geography David Harvey's words, "accumulation by dispossession" — privatisation of public property, forcible expulsion of peasant and indigenous populations from their lands, unbridled exploitation of natural resources and so on.

Rather than grapple with the question of a comprehensive transformation of political, economic and cultural relations towards equality in society, Dalit capitalism ingratiates itself with the present exploitative order. There are no radical questions asked, like that of reparations for slavery in America (the Harper'sMagazine estimated the value of reparations to be over $100 trillion for forced labour from 1619 to 1865). Instead, Dalit capitalism becomes the new darling of mainstream media simply because it refuses to question the commonsense of market as the saviour. As a prominent columnist gushed about the Dalit venture capital fund: "This is a vision of shared equality among castes, not of trickle down. It is a vision of Dalit entrepreneurs taking their place at the top of the pyramid and offering to share their profits with investors from all castes that historically dominated them."

Ultimately, what is most disturbing is that Dalit capitalism is mainly inspired by the "economic thought of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar"! The great man would definitely turn in his grave when he sees his followers seeking the liberation of his people through capitalism when global multinational capital is pillaging the Aymara people of Latin America for oil and minerals, and the Ethiopian peasants for land. In an interlinked world, the former's destiny is irrevocably tied to the latter.

(Dr. Nissim Mannathukkaren is with Dalhousie University, Canada, and author of The Rupture with Memory: Derrida and the Specters That Haunt Marxism. E-mail: nmannathukkaren@dal.ca)

The Times Of India

CJI-to-be calls for more women, SC/ST judges

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/CJI-to-be-calls-for-more-women-SC/ST-judges/articleshow/21130831.cms

NEW DELHI: Chief Justice-designate P Sathasivam on Wednesday said he would favour relaxation of stringent selection criteria to see more Judges in SC and HCs from among women, SC, ST and OBCs, in a not-so-subtle pitch for caste/community/gender-based quotas in the recruitment of judges to higher judiciary.

"There is no provision for the reservation for women and backward classes in appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. For long, there had been very little space for these sections in the higher judiciary. Appointing them as Judges in theSupreme Court and the high court without compromising the basic merit criteria would reflect country's social diversity and would send a healthy signal to the society at large," justice Sathasivam told TOI just two days before he takes oath as the 40th Chief Justice of India (CJI).

The CJI-designate said, "I am all for relaxing the selection criteria. As the next Chief Justice of India it is my responsibility to convince the apex court collegium the need for giving meritorious among the backward classes a small helping hand."

He elaborated by saying that while backward class members who have chosen a career in law and aspiring to be Judges must help themselves by equipping themselves to satisfy basic requirements for selection as a judge before demanding their pie in the form of representation in higher judiciary, the collegium of SC judges who decide appointments to higher judiciary can help by relaxing the criteria in such cases.

"Those who have strived to work hard despite facing hardship, we can give some concession," he said.

Justice Sathasivam explained that the relaxation could be in the form of lowering the criteria adopted for other candidates, which included consideration of their gross annual income and the rate of case disposal in the last three years.

There has been a dearth of women Judges in the Supreme Court, it has had just five of them, two sitting women judges — Justices Gyan Sudha Mishra and Ranjana P Desai included — in the 63 years of its existence. It was in 1989 that the Supreme Court got its first woman judge in justice Fathima Beevi. Her appointment was followed by Sujata V Manohar and Ruma Pal.

India got her first dalit CJI in K G Balalkrishnan in 2007 but selection of judges from backward classes had been rather infrequent.

Justice Sathasivam spoke strongly against the political affiliations influencing the court judges must eschew political connections and leanings. "They should not be politically linked," Justice Sathasivam said of those aspiring to be judges.

Justice Sathasivam will take oath as CJI on July 19 and have a tenure of little over nine months. He said he would write to all chief justices on this issue and seek their views.

The Times Of India

35 hostels to be constructed for scheduled caste girls in Madhya Pradesh

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-07-15/bhopal/40589173_1_girls-hostels-caste-madhya-pradesh

BHOPAL: As many as 35 hostels are being constructed for quality education of scheduled caste girls this year in Madhya Pradesh.

For this, scheduled castes welfare department has provisioned Rs 37 crore in its budget. Minister of state for scheduled castes welfare Harishankar Khatik has directed district officers to ensure construction of these buildings with quality and within time-limit.

This year, 3 scheduled caste girls hostels each are being constructed in Shivpuri, Ujjain and Tikamgarh districts, 2 each in Sehore, Chhatarpur, Khandwa, Dewas, Khargone and Narsinghpur and one each in Chhindwara, Gwalior, Bhind, Ashok Nagar, Guna, Seoni, Raisen, Rajgarh, Ratlam, Satna, Morena, Vidisha, Panna and Harda districts.

In the state, 1388 hostels are being run for scheduled caste students. Of these, 163 do not have building of their own. The department has also sanctioned construction of additional rooms in 190 buildings.

The Hindu

No evidence of torture on Ilavarasan's body

http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Hindu/400x60/0

Viscera reports suggest he had consumed alcohol

Ilavarasan's death was due to fatal injuries caused by a moving train and there were no other injuries on the body to suspect physical torture, according to the autopsy report of a panel of experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), police sources said.

The conclusion by the AIIMS panel was based on the nature of injuries on the body and also on the fact that there was no other injury on the body of the deceased that could lead to suspicion of physical torture, the police sources said. Viscera reports also point out traces of alcohol consumption by the accused, sources added.

A copy of the autopsy report was sent to the Dharmapuri Principal District Sessions Court by the Registrar General of the Madras High Court on Wednesday. The sealed cover containing the autopsy report and video recordings of the post-mortem were sent by a special messenger and was handed over in person, police sources said.

The sources said the report of forensic experts from AIIMS, New Delhi was handed over to the investigating officer of the case - Deputy Superintendent of Police, V. Sampath. Further investigations by the special will be overseen directly by the Superintendent of Police Asra Garg.

The report of forensic experts from AIIMS, New Delhi will be handed over to the investigating officer of the case - Deputy Superintendent of Police, V. Sampath, by the court through the Dharmapuri Judicial Magistrate I for further investigation.

Dalit boy Ilavarasan was married to Vanniyar girl Divya and this resulted in violence in Dalit colonies on November 7, 2012. The girl chose to walk out of the marriage and went with her mother after declaring it before the Madras High Court in June 2013.

Ilavarasan was found dead along the railway track on July 4 and a post-mortem was conducted at the Dharmapuri District Government General Hospital on July 5. Subsequently, a second post-mortem was conducted by experts from Chennai on July 11. A team of experts led by Dr. D.N. Bharadwaj Professor and Head of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology of the AIIMS along with Additional Professors Sudhir Kumar Gupta and Milo Tabin performed the third autopsy on July 13 based on the orders of the Madras High Court.

(With inputs from R. Arivanantham in Dharmapuri).

The Hindu

'My identity' campaign to empower SC/STs

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/my-identity-campaign-to-empower-scsts/article4924496.ece

Omar Rashid

This month and the next will see an energetic campaign in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand to ensure that Dalits and tribals acquire birth and caste certificates that will entitle them to state privileges

Knowing one's rights often serves as the first line of defence against exploitation.

But to enjoy the entitlements of these rights, it is necessary for the citizens to possess an authentication card. In the absence of these "identity" cards, even the most basic rights sometimes get trespassed, resulting in exploitation and discrimination, and even violence.

The case is true of the Dalits and tribals living in some of the most backward regions of India.

An attempt is being made to educate villagers about the importance of identity cards and their contribution in creating a torture-free climate by the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, an organisation based in Varanasi.

To this end, the PVCHR has kicked off the Meri Pehchaan or 'My Identity' campaign in 72 model villages in different blocks of the Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.

Equating "identity" with dignity, the campaign will hold discussions in each village on the importance of identity cards.

The activists of PVCHR will reach out to the homes of the villagers and list the persons who do not possess some of the basic identity cards, including caste certificates and birth certificates, says PCVHR programme Manager Shirin Shabana Khan.

"These areas are mostly inhabited by tribals and dalits. They are unaware of their rights and even if they have rights they do not have the proper cards to validate them. We will meet the concerned officials and submit an application to them so that the villagers get their identity cards,"she said.

The target blocks are Pindre in Varanasi, Tanda in Ambedkar Nagar, Robertsganj in Sonbhadra, Chaka in Allahabad and Domchach in Jharkhand.

A preliminary survey of 3000 persons by PVCHR activists had concluded that most of the people did not own any type of identity cards such as election card, caste certificate, birth registration and death registration certificate.

A caste certificate is the proof of one's belonging to a particular caste, especially in case one belongs to any of the 'Scheduled Castes.' Through the possession of this card, these citizens can avail the privileges granted to them, including reservation of seats in the legislatures and in government service, waiving off a part of or the whole fees for admission to schools and colleges, and quotas in educational institutions.

To ensure that children are counted and have access to basic services such as health, social security and education, birth registration is central. It also protects the child from child labour, being arrested and treated as adults in the justice system, forcible conscription in armed forces, child marriage, trafficking and sexual exploitation. In effect, birth registration is their 'passport to protection.' The campaign, which kicked off in July, will last till August 15.

News Monitor by Girish Pant

--
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
...................................................................
Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre- PMARC has been initiated with the support from group of senior journalists, social activists, academics and intellectuals from Dalit and civil society to advocate and facilitate Dalits issues in the mainstream media. To create proper & adequate space with the Dalit perspective in the mainstream media national/ International on Dalit issues is primary objective of the PMARC.

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Thursday, July 18, 2013

Dalits Media Watch - News Updates 18.07.13

CIVIL BODIES DEMAND LAND RIGHTS FOR POOR TRIBALS, DALITS

Recent judgments on the disqualification of convicted legislators and candidates in custody, and the banning of caste rallies, are not correct in law and need to be revisited

TWO REASONS

MEETINGS

Court fed up, summons Chief Secretaries of 4 States

Failure to file affidavits in police reforms case

Sathya Sai family feud out in the open

The recent launch of the first Dalit venture fund occasions an examination of the moral and ethical emptiness of capitalism

IN THE U.S.

THE FLAW

Viscera reports suggest he had consumed alcohol

'My identity' campaign to empower SC/STs

This month and the next will see an energetic campaign in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand to ensure that Dalits and tribals acquire birth and caste certificates that will entitle them to state privileges

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