A dalit gangrape victim, who had gone to lodge a complaint, was allegedly beaten up by station officer (SO) of Jahangirabad police station in Bulandshahr district on Friday. The SO was allegedly forcing her to withdraw the name of the main accused, who is the son of a local corporator.

The three accused, who were summoned for an inquiry, were allowed to go from the police station before the case was registered.

SSP Nitin Tiwari said a case of gangrape has been registered on the victim's complaint and she has been sent for medical examination. A team from Mahila police station has also been sent to record her statement and action will be taken if the girl speaks about any harassment at the police station, Tiwari said.

The victim's father, who is a roadside vendor, said his 16-year-old daughter was sleeping on the terrace of their house in Lodhan locality late on Wednesday night when local corporator Om Prakash's son Shanker and his friends Vinod and Neeraj forcibly dragged her to a building in the same locality.

He alleged that Shanker and his friends raped his daughter and threatened her not to tell her family members or others about the matter.

The girl's father, along with some locals reached the Jahangirabad police station Friday morning to lodge a complaint, where, he said, SO Manoj Pathak summoned the corporator, his son and two of his friends.

However, Shanker denied his involvement in the crime and claimed that the girl was having a love affair with a local youth named Ved, and that he had raped her.

While the girl denied having seen or met anyone by that name ever, the SO slapped her and asked a woman constable to beat her up, alleged the victim's father.

Hindustan Times

Dalits of Feroze village fear threat to lives

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Punjab/Jalandhar/Dalits-of-Feroze-village-fear-threat-to-lives/SP-Article1-1095071.aspx

Dalits of village Feroze have condemned Jalandhar rural police inaction against upper-castes of the village, who reportedly thrashed a dalit youth and his mother for not casting votes in their favour in the recently held panchayat elections.

The attackers used derogatory comments against the community and threatened them, the attackers have alleged.

The victim Raj Kumar told HT that on July 15 evening, he was attacked by village resident Amritpal Singh and his friends.

"They used abusive language and passed derogatory comments. I managed to escape luckily. After a few minutes one Gurcharan Singh, alias Vicky, along with his friend Kaka reached my home and started misbehaving with me and my family. They manhandled with my mother and wife."

"At around 10 pm, Gurcharan and Kaka attacked us again with a mob of 40-50 unidentified people. I scaled the walls of my house to flee. They vandalized my house and property," he alleged.

New sarpanch Gurmej Thapar said, "We have submitted a written complaint to Lambra police station demanding action against the accused but police had failed to do so. We all are living under threat to life these days."

"Even SSP (rural) has been informed. We have come to know that Gurcharan has now inflicted a injury on himself to get out of the case and prove that he was also attacked. The police are helping the accused and protecting them," Thapar alleged.

Kartarpur DSP Jasbir Singh Rai, said, "We received a complaint from dalits of Feroze village on this matter two days ago and are probing the complaint. After investigation, a case would be registered against the accused."

Deccan Chronicle

Outsiders can't attend Ilavarasan's last rites: TN Government

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

Chennai: Outsiders will not be permitted to attend the last rites to be performed by the family members of E. Ilavarasan, said special government pleader I.S. Inbadurai in the Madras high court on Wednesday.

Inbadurai informed the second bench, comprising justices R. Banumathi and T.S. Sivagnanam, hearing a writ petition from C. Vaidhyanathan, president of the Lok Jansakthi Party of Valasaravakkam, seeking permission to participate in the last rites of Ilavarasan.

Dalit youth Ilavarasan was found dead on the railway track in Dharmapuri on July 4 after his wife Divya decided to stay with her mother. The petitioner also challenged the imposition of section 144 in Dharmapuri district.

The special government pleader argued that the petitioner was neither a blood relative of Ilavarasan nor a close friend of the family. In an effort to get publicity, he had filed the writ petition, he added.

Inbadurai sought time to respond to the matter concerning section 144. The bench adjourned the matter to July 29.

The Hindu

CBI probe sought into Ilavarasan's death

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/cbi-probe-sought-into-ilavarasans-death/article4933098.ece

Activists for invoking provisions under the SC/ST Act

The National Alliance of People's Movements has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the death of E. Ilavarasan, the Dalit youth who was found dead along the railway track in Dharmapuri on July 4.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, NAPM representatives, including representatives of various Dalit and Human Rights organisations, said Ilavarasan was subjected to harassment and mental torture just because he married a Vanniyar girl. They demanded that provisions under the SC/ST Act be invoked in the case.

A. Vinoth, general secretary of Athi Tamilar Liberation Movement, alleged that the Dharmapuri district administration and police were pursuing a pre-determined line of investigation.

Though there were many valid suspicions in the suicide theory, the police had not deployed sniffer dogs. "Crucial evidence at the scene was lost as the police arrived late. There was no indication of the youth being hit by a train and even the railway authorities had ascertained that no run-over was reported in Dharmapuri on July 4," he said.

Even in the attack on Dalits in Marakkanam, police arrived at least six hours late. "The violence in Marakkanam was not a clash…it was a planned attack on Dalits. The atrocities against Dalits are continuing. The death of Ilavarasan only proves his commitment and love for his wife Divya."

Mr. Vinoth demanded suitable action against PMK and Vanniyar Sangam functionaries for unleashing violence against Dalits. P.V. Rajagopal of Ekta Parishad urged the government to take steps to protect Dalits and marginalised groups in society.

Advocate S. Thenpandian of the People for Human Rights said several one-man Commissions were formed whenever caste clashes occurred. People had the right to know whether the recommendations were implemented.

The Hindu

Protest at temple festival

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/protest-at-temple-festival/article4934181.ece

Tension prevailed for close to five hours on the Namakkal - Rasipuram State Highway at Thuthikulam Panchayat on Friday as more than 100 Dalits, including women and children, blocked the road alleging that Caste Hindus denied them entry into a local temple to take part in the festival.

The police and revenue officials told The Hinduthat the protest was a result of miscommunication between the two groups. A few Dalits went to the Maariamman temple on Friday. The Caste Hindus were also waiting outside the temple for the homam performed there to end, the police said.

Three temple office-bearers, who were assisting the ritual and purohits, were the only persons inside the temple. "All the devotees were asked to wait for sometime for the ritual to come to an end. Apparently misunderstanding this, the Dalits were agitated, mobilised more persons from nearby villages and staged the protest," the officials said.

Superintendent of Police P. Kannammal, Revenue Division Officer (in-charge) of Namakkal Division M. Balasubramaniam and Deputy Superintendent of Police (Namakkal) P. Annamalai and other police and revenue officials spoke to the agitators and brought the protest to an end.

It was then decided that the Caste Hindus would first offer prayers, followed by the Dalits as more than 500 persons thronged the place. The Dalits were agitated once again when they were allowed to enter the compound but not the temple. Caste Hindus too were not allowed into the temple on Friday as it was believed that the idol would lose power if anyone other than the purohits entered the temple, the police said.

Refusing to accept this explanation, the Dalits blocked the road again.

They cleared the road and offered prayers after a few more rounds of talks.

Ms. Kannammal said that about 100 police personnel from Namakkal and Salem districts were mobilised to ensure that the situation was under control.

The New Indian Express

SC/ST organisations to boycott zero landless programme

http://newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/SCST-organisations-to-boycott-zero-landless-programme/2013/07/20/article1692936.ece

By Express News Service - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

20th July 2013 10:55 AM

The All-India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations has said that they will boycott the Zero Landless programme, stating that the three cents of land that will be disbursed is insufficient for a family.

"As per the Zero Landless programme, the government has said that three cents of land will be provided in urban areas and five cents in rural areas. We demand that it should be increased to five cents and ten cents," Confederation president K Ramankutty said. Stating that the Confederation had given many representations to the government in this regard, he alleged that Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash was adamant on his stand.

He said that memorandums had been submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who are being invited for the function, he said. Ramankutty said that they would stage protests against the denial of promotions and charging fake cases against SC/ST employees.

The agitation will be staged in Kozhikode, Malappuram and Kollam on August 12, 13 and 27.

The Times Of India

Untouchability remains untouched in Gujarat report

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

RAJKOT: Four years after an exhaustive study revealed the massive prevalence of untouchabilityin Gujarat, a state government-sponsored report seemingly offers a weak rebuttal to the 2009 findings.

Ahmedabad-based Cept University, which was hired to evaluate the 'Understanding Untouchability' study, has attempted to show flaws in Navsarjan Trust's methodology of research but the report has not even touched upon the prevalence of the social evil.

While Navsarjan's study found 99 forms of untouchability by collecting data from 1,589 villages, Cept has based its report on findings from just five villages. The state government had paid Cept Rs 27.53 lakh for preparing the report 'The impact of caste discrimination and distinctions on equal opportunities: A case study of Gujarat.'

Renowned social scientist Ghanshyam Shah said, "I have gone through the (Cept) report. The main issue of untouchability has been completely sidetracked. More surprisingly, the report does mention incidents of untouchability but does not categorize them as a social evil."

Notably, the state government had desperately tried to keep the Cept report under wraps until Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) directed in June that it should be given to RTI applicant Kirit Rathod.

When contacted, R Parthasarathy from Cept's faculty of planning and public policy who prepared the report, said, "Our study was not aimed at countering Navsarjan Trust's report. We have already told the government that Navsarjan Trust's study is comprehensive and excellent. Our study should be viewed as complimentary to it."

Dalit rights' activist Martin Macwan said, "If the government report compliments ours, there should be white paper detailing what steps does the state propose to eradicate untouchability."

Cept was also asked for suggestions to eliminate untouchability. However, experts say that the propositions are nowhere close to addressing the core issue.

The Hindu

'Improve facilities in ST hostels'

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/improve-facilities-in-st-hostels/article4934460.ece

A delegation of dalit leaders urged the tribal welfare department officials to improve the infrastructure facilities in the hostels using the SC/ST sub-plan funds.

Led by Centre for Dalit Studies Prakasam district convenor Dasari Anjaiah, they called on District Social Welfare Officer K.Mayuri and lamented that one month after the starting of the new academic year, the students had not been provided with textbooks, uniforms, blankets, steel plates, tumblers and trunk boxes fully.

They pressed for increase in cosmetic charges for the students and provision of nutritious food for them. They also drew her attention to the plight of the students in tribal welfare hostel in Chimakurthi due to persistent low voltage problem.

The Indian Express

SC/ST panel doing well, with staff can do better

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/scst-panel-doing-well-with-staff-can-do-better/1144336/

Three members of the Mehtar community, traditional manual scavangers, were hacked to death at Sonai village in Ahmednagar district at the beginning of the year just because one of them was in love with a Maratha girl.

Police arrested the accused but only after the media and activists exerted pressure.

Acting chairperson of Maharashtra SC/ST Commission Justice (retired) C L Thool visited the village. He passed strictures, demanded immediate compensation for families of the victims and a police report.

Despite being severely short of hands — 13 of 27 staff posts and five member posts are vacant — and government apathy, the commission formed in June 1, 2006, has been performing efficiently.

The appointment of Thool was made on January 14, 2008, and that of another member, R P Walvi, in October 2008.

The commission operates from the first floor of Worli Dairy office. Thool looks into SC cases and Walvi ST.

The commission has disposed 3,381 of the 4,206 cases filed since 2006, granting relief to almost all complainants.

But with just 50 per cent staff, it is not able to follow up disposed cases. For proper functioning, all seven members are needed, including a social worker, economist, IAS officer and an IPS officer.

'Lately, the commission has been active. Whenever an atrocity has been brought to its notice, members have intervened.

However, the commission does not check if its recommendations are followed,'' said Pradip More, an activist associated with Delhi-based Dalit Foundation.

Most complaints of atrocity are from Vidarbha, Marathwada and to an extent Mumbai.

"These three regions are more aware and proactive in raising voice against atrocity," said Thool.

The commission recieves average 500 cases a year but is unable to pursue all and grant speedy relief due to the manpower crunch. Almost 1,000 cases are pending.

Also, the state has an abysmal conviction rate (0.46 per cent) in atrocity cases and does not have a special court. Mangesh Dahiwale of Manuski, a Pune fighting for Dalit rights, said, "The commission is a quasi-judicial body but it should not limit itself to listening to grievances. It should actively intervene and hold the state responsible for laxity in setting up courts and not taking atrocity cases seriously.''

Business Line

Different bench to hear case on govt ban on Tamil book

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/different-bench-to-hear-case-on-govt-ban-on-tamil-book/article4931856.ece

CHENNAI, JULY 18:

A different three-judge bench of the Madras High Court will hear the case relating to the government's recent ban on a Tamil book.

A bench of Justices V Dhanapalan, R Subbiah and C T Selvam referred the matter to acting Chief Justice R K Agrawal after counsel for the author said it should be heard by a bench in which a Dalit judge is not present.

The government had on May 30 banned the book "Meendezhum Pandiyar Varalaru" (Resurgence of Pandiyar history) written by K Senthil Mallar, which claimed that Pallars, a Scheduled Caste, were the original rulers of southern Tamil Nadu.

The court recorded that a letter dated July 8 had been sent to acting Chief Justice R K Agrawal to be posted before a different bench." ...Accordingly, the Registry is directed to place the matter before the acting Chief Justice for constitution of a different bench," the judges said.

The government had banned the book due to an apprehension that it might incite violence and promote ill-will among various communities in the state.

Questioning the ban, the counsel for the author had sought to read out the ban order in the court. When it was disallowed, he addressed to acting Chief Justice favouring transfer of the case to a different bench.

In his petition, Mallar said that ever since its release, more than 1,000 copies of the book had been sold and there was no disturbance of public order during the period. He said the ban notification had been issued without any application of mind.

Meanwhile, founder of Tamil Sanga Palagai (organisation working for promotion of Tamil language) M C Tamilpithan sought to implead himself as a party to the proceedings, saying if the book was allowed to be circulated it would adversely affect the culture, tradition, history and communal harmony in Tamil Nadu and other states. According to him, most of the contents in the book were "misleading, incorrect and false".

The Hindu

Living in the danger zone

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

Those from economically weaker sections have been given unfinished houses at Ragigudda

"If you can't eliminate poverty, eliminate the poor. That's the government's grand plan," says Shekhar, a Dalit leader at the controversial Ragigudda Colony for economically weaker sections, when The Hindu visited the site on Thursday.

This, from Mr. Shekhar, is no empty polemic. Disease and death haunt this multistorey housing project for the poor, bang in the middle of upmarket J.P. Nagar.

A month ago, Dhanapal Goundar (80) fell to his death from a flight of stairs that had not been protected by a railing. "We have been asking for the railings to be built for the last five months. Now my father is dead," says C. Mani (55), a construction worker.

In March this year, 12-year-old Saraswati was hospitalised after she was stung by a live electricity wire that was left dangling dangerously by the men contracted to finish the job.

Brothers Jeeva (10), Santosh (13) and Arjun (15) are all in hospital suffering from Malaria. Their mother, V. Vasanta (30), claims the uncleared debris from the construction of the complex has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, rodents and other pests.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

The residents of the colony have not yet been given electricity connections, and so steal from nearby high-tension cables, only adding to the danger. Power fluctuations from the illegal connections have caused many accidents and ruined countless electrical appliances, they say.

They have not been given water connections either. Water stolen from Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board pipelines is often not enough, and has to be supplemented by that bought from tankers.

Some houses have no doors, and windows are without panes.

Dogs and birds enter and leave like the houses belong to them, claims Michael (35).

Evidently, the complex was not ready for occupation. So why then were they handed over to the beneficiaries? "Because the previous government was eager to claim credit for it in the lead up to the elections," alleges Kani Ammal (55).

SAGA OF IRREGULARITIES

The complex was inaugurated by the former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar at a widely publicised function on November 21, 2012. Built under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission at a cost of Rs. 33.34 crore, the project was riddled with irregularities from the word go.

When The Hindu visited the site a few days after this, we found that hundreds of beneficiaries had been given fake allotment tokens by the government.

It turned out that their houses were allotted to politically connected persons, who did not even need the dwelling. Many of those illegal allottees sold their flats for a huge profit, The Hindu's investigation had found. ('How did my house become yours, ask allottees', February 2, 2013).

The issue of unfinished construction was flagged by a subsequent report in these columns ('More irregularities emerge at Ragigudda EWS quarters', February 8, 2013).

BETWEEN TWO EVILS

But if the colony was incomplete, why did the residents move in? "Because life in the tin sheds where we were living was worse," says Chand Bi (61).

Like in the case of the infamous Ejipura EWS Colony, the 1,443 residents of Ragigudda were evicted from their shanties on the same site in September 2009.

Then Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had promised them new multistorey blocks within 18 months. Four years later, the houses are still not complete. Meanwhile, the residents lived in tiny tin sheds nearby.

"I have lost count of the number of people who died when we were in those sheds," recalls Chand Bi. Some died of dog bites, some were bitten by snakes, while most just succumbed to diseases such as typhoid or malaria. "It was mostly the very young and the very old," adds M. Kanna (31).

Ms. Chand Bi, a devout Muslim, is not observing a fast this Ramzan. "So many have taken ill, particularly after the rains, that many Muslims are not observing Roza," she says.

Officials at the Slum Board, who oversaw the construction, refused to comment on the issue using the ongoing Assembly session as an excuse. "It would be a breach of [House] privilege," said one official dismissively.

DaijiWorld

Maoists to be charged under SC/ST atrocity prevention act

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=180424

Raipur, July 20 (IANS): Maoists in tribal areas in Chhattisgarh will now be also tried under the sections of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 also for their brutal acts of terror, the state government said Friday.

A decision to this effect was taken here at a meeting of the state-level vigilance and monitoring committee presided over by Chief Minister Raman Singh.

Raman Singh, who is heading the BJP government since December 2003 in the insurgency-ridden state, said, "If people of tribal sections are targeted in the violent acts of Maoists, then along with other relevant sections, the sections under SC/SC Atrocity Prevention Act will also be imposed on the Maoists or Naxalites."

He added that it will not only help the victims get justice, but also offer them entitlement to relief aid provisioned under this Act.

The chief minister further said that necessary directives and instructions in the context would be issued to all the police stations.

Those attending the meeting were also informed that the state government's proposal of establishing five more special courts in the state for redressal of cases under the SC/ST Atrocity Prevention Act had been approved.

The new special courts will be started in Janjgir-Champa, Jashpur, Koriya, Raigarh and Korba districts. After these courts are established, the state will have 11 special courts.

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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Sunday, July 21, 2013

Dalits Media Watch - News Updates 20.07.13

Dalits of Feroze village fear threat to lives

Outsiders can't attend Ilavarasan's last rites: TN Government

CBI probe sought into Ilavarasan's death

Activists for invoking provisions under the SC/ST Act

Protest at temple festival

SC/ST organisations to boycott zero landless programme

'Improve facilities in ST hostels'

SC/ST panel doing well, with staff can do better

Living in the danger zone

Those from economically weaker sections have been given unfinished houses at Ragigudda

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

SAGA OF IRREGULARITIES

BETWEEN TWO EVILS

Maoists to be charged under SC/ST atrocity prevention act

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