Le blog de Antonio Artuso - Reconstruction communiste Canada

20 décembre 2013 5 20 /12 /décembre /2013 16:29

*Dalits Media Watch*

*News Updates 20.12.13*

*Students disrupt Amartya Sen's lecture over campus suicides-** The Times

Of India*

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Students-disrupt-Amartya-Sens-lecture-over-campus-suicides/articleshow/27667892.cms

*Dalit supporters water-cannoned-** Church Times *

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/20-december/news/world/dalit-supporters-water-cannoned

*Dalits plan contempt proceedings against Collector-** The Hindu*

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/dalits-plan-contempt-proceedings-against-collector/article5481151.ece

*Orissa Revenue Minister questioned on land rights of the poor-** The Hindu*

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/orissa-revenue-minister-questioned-on-land-rights-of-the-poor/article5473327.ece#.UrPwCHMuWMM.gmail

*The big challenge-** The Hindu*

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/the-big-challenge/article5479824.ece

*Will Ambedkar statue be a tall order for Modi?-* *The Times Of India*

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Will-Ambedkar-statue-be-a-tall-order-for-Modi/articleshow/27669258.cms

*Dalit Literacy Rate Up by 9 pc in Pondy-** The New Indian Express*

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/Dalit-Literacy-Rate-Up-by-9-pc-in-Pondy/2013/12/20/article1955577.ece

*The Times Of India*

Students disrupt Amartya Sen's lecture over campus suicides

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Students-disrupt-Amartya-Sens-lecture-over-campus-suicides/articleshow/27667892.cms

HYDERABAD: A group of students from University of

Hyderabad<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/University-of-Hyderabad>(UoH)

disrupted Nobel laureate Prof Amartya Sen's lecture, demanding that

he talk on caste-based discrimination in institutions of higher learning

instead of the scheduled topic: 'Are Coffee Houses important for Education?'

The students under the banner of 'Raju-Venkatesh Joint Action Committee',

an organization formed to protest suicides of several Dalit students and

alleged caste discrimination, disrupted the talk for 15 minutes, soon after

Sen announced the topic of his lecture.

After briefly protesting in front of the auditorium, they marched in around

4.30 pm, holding placards that read: 'De-castesize education', 'Counsel the

faculty, not the students' and 'Say no to suicides'.Though the protestors,

who had black bandages tied around their mouths, initially indicated they

would carry out a silent protest against rising suicide rate among students

from marginalized sections on campus, events took a turn for the worse soon

after Sen introduced the subject of his lecture.

Angry students, raised slogans demanding that Sen, known to preach and live

by the teachings of Dr B R Ambedkar, speak on the discrimination against

Dalit students on university campuses instead of dwelling on coffee houses,

where Dalits seldom set foot.

The protest was the culmination of an online campaign endorsed by 198

people, which had started on December 17, requesting Sen to "address the

issue of discrimination in higher education and distinctly explain

institutional forms of caste discrimination." Amidst cries of 'Jai Bheem'

and 'They all want us to die', the students accused varisty authorities of

oppressing Dalit students and driving them to suicide.

In fact, some protestors even went to the extent of asking the Nobel

laureate to explain why he received a doctorate from a vice-chancellor who

resorted to "discrimination" on his campus.

Even Sen's curt response to their protest, on how agitations should be

about "presenting an argument rather than preventing others from speaking,"

failed to have any impact on the students.

"If I was told earlier to speak on the Dalit issue, I would have done so.

But considering I have no idea about this particular issue, it would be

outrageous for me to speak on it now. I am not competent to do so," Sen

later added.

While the students refused to call off the protest even at the insistence

of vice chancellor Ramakrishna Ramaswamy and some faculty members, they

finally relented after much persuasion by the university administration.

*Church Times *

*Dalit supporters water-cannoned*

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/20-december/news/world/dalit-supporters-water-cannoned

THE Prime Minister of India has apologised to church leaders in the country

after police used batons and water cannons on protesters demanding an end

to discrimination against Dalit Christians.

The rally in New Delhi on Wednesday of last week was organised by the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, the National Council of Dalit

Christians, the National Council of Churches in India, and the Church of

North India.

Protesters demanded equal rights for Dalit Christians. Dalits were formerly

known as "untouchables", and are regarded as the lowest caste in India.

Addressing the rally, the General Secretary for the Church of North India,

Alwan Masih, said that the Presidential Order of 1950, which denies equal

rights to Christians and Muslims of Dalit origin on the basis of religion,

was "violative of the fundamental rights assured by the Constitution of

India".

A report from the Church of North India said that, during a peaceful march

towards the Parliament House, the police "brutally cane-charged"

protesters, before using water cannons to throw "cold and dirty water with

unbearable pressure". A number of protesters were "badly injured".

Among the many senior church leaders arrested were Mr Masih and the RC

Archbishop of Delhi, the Most Revd Anil Couto. Several monks and nuns were

also arrested. The Church reported that this was the first time since 1997

that bishops had been arrested for supporting the Dalit cause.

The day after the protest and arrests, the Prime Minister of India, Dr

Manmohan Singh, met church leaders and apologised for the use by the police

of batons and water cannons.

Last Thursday, the Revd David Haslam, convener of the Churches Dalit

Support Group, said: "This appalling incident shows again how caste

discrimination is still all around in Indian society. Daily news briefings

tell of threats, beatings, rapes, and house-burning. Dalits - Christian,

Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu - remain in constant danger, especially when they

stand up to protect their rights."

*The Hindu*

*Dalits plan contempt proceedings against Collector*

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/dalits-plan-contempt-proceedings-against-collector/article5481151.ece

Dalits in Vellakoil block, who have been fighting to gain rights for

unrestricted access to the New Uthamapalayam Mariamman Temple in the

locality since 2010, have decided to initiate contempt of court proceedings

against the District Collector in Madras High Court.

S. Karuppaiah, convener of the Uthamapalayam temple entry agitation

committee, said the move was planned as the Collector, despite a High Court

direction to him on September 26, had failed to issue appointment

notification to lawyer B. Mohan, who practices in various courts, as

special public prosecutor in the case in which Dalits were assaulted by

non-Dalits when they tried to enter the temple in 2010. When contacted, Mr

Mohan said that he too had taken up the issue with the Collector on the

delay in issuing the notification to him.

“Without the Collector issuing the notification under Section 24 (8) of

Criminal Procedure Code, I am not able to appear in the court as special

public prosecutor in the case. Due to this, “absent” has been marked

against my name when the case recently came up for hearing at the Tirupur

Principal District and Sessions Court, designated as special court for

trial of cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled

Tribes,” he pointed out.

*The Hindu*

*Orissa Revenue Minister questioned on land rights of the poor*

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/orissa-revenue-minister-questioned-on-land-rights-of-the-poor/article5473327.ece#.UrPwCHMuWMM.gmail

Narayan Patro says there is a need to carry out reforms to do justice

Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Surya Narayan Patro had to deal

with innumerable questions pertaining to land rights of the marginalised

communities in the State here on Tuesday.

The questions were posed by several men and women from the backward regions

of the State who attended a meeting organised on the occasion of the

release of a report on a study on mining and land rights of the Dalits and

marginalised communities. The meeting was organised by the Development

Initiative, Bhubaneswar.

Mr. Patro had a tough time in answering the queries that ranged from

multiple displacements to land rights for the thousands of landless

families in different corners of the State.

While assuring that he would try his best to resolve the land issues that

would be brought to his notice, Mr. Patro said the need of the hour was to

carry out reforms and bring a change in the system and mindset of those

manning the administration to do justice to the landless and displaced

people. The Minister lamented that despite the State government making

several new laws relating to issuance of record of rights in favour of

landless families and rehabilitation of displaced families, a lot was still

left to be done to streamline the system to ensure that the benefits

reached the marginalised communities.

Stating that land had to be acquired in order to ensure industrial

development in the State, Mr. Patro, however, observed that many Central

laws were still posing hurdles in the mineral rich regions of the State.

The plight of thousands of families who had been displaced by various

projects in the past was also highlighted by the participants who came from

different regions of the State. The need for reclaiming of the abandoned

mines from where iron ore, coal and other minerals had already been

extracted by various government undertakings and private companies was also

stressed by the participants so that the people who had lost their land and

had been affected by mining could be benefited in the future.

The Minister assured the participants that the government was trying its

best to give land to the landless under the Vasundhara scheme, and where no

government land was available money was being paid to the families to

purchase private land.

*The Hindu*

*The big challenge*

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/the-big-challenge/article5479824.ece

Ten years ago, when Rajiv Goswami died due to complications arising out of

his self-immolation bid as a student in 1990, online media attributed

martyrdom to him. His co-agitators fondly recalled their hero of

anti-Mandal protests, as they did the glorious days when police refused to

baton them-- ‘Yeh andar ki baat hain, police hamare saath hain’, was the

slogan!

Not police alone, but media also actively collaborated with the

anti-reservation public spectacles, in 1990 and on every given occasion.

Absence of vocal intelligentsia from the dalit and OBC groups only

encouraged the casteism manifested through protest forms scoffing

bottom-of-the-hierarchy vocations such as boot polishing and sweeping of

roads.

Brazen parade of upper-caste arrogance they were in their form and content,

asserted K. Balagopal, one of the very few intellectuals trenchant and

unblinking in their support for the millions of oppressed people in the

country.

But sane voices such as Balagopal’s which could have shamed the agitators

by holding a mirror to their undemocratic and greedy aspirations, remained

in bulletins from AP Civil Liberties Committee or ‘Reservations Protection

Forum’.

Thankfully, truth is available now for those seeking it. The newly

published compilation of Balagopal’s Telugu writings,

*Reservationlu-Prajaswamika

Drukpatham* , promises to shred into fine pieces and consign to dust, every

celebrated argument against reservations.

It is a collection of 23 carefully edited articles addressing the concerns

of oppressed sections including dalits, aadivasis, OBCs, Muslims, and

physically challenged.

And the list of whose constricted thought horizons the book seeks to widen

includes not only students celebrating misplaced martyrdom, but also

university authorities, politicians, policy makers, civil servants, and

even judiciary.

Nearly 25 years after the Mandal agitations, relevance of these writings

has not waned vis-à-vis the rock-hard impenetrability of the upper-caste

ethos still ruling the country. Opposing the skewed interpretation of

reservations as electoral hand-outs, Mr.Balagopal asserted the quotas as

the democratic right of the multitudes languishing behind in the social

order for centuries.

He demystified the concept of ‘merit’ by problematising the very

epistemological grounds it stands on. Apart from 3,000 years of cultural

capital, the ‘merit’ has behind it, learning convenience, caste-based

cohesion and unquestioned laws of inheritance with no precondition of merit.

Faith in the court-room justice and in the happy ending it would bring to

the sordid tale of discrimination, would take a beating upon reading his

piece on OBC reservations in central universities. A finely delineated

account of the Sachar Committee report equating Muslims with the Scheduled

Castes in all the comparable indicators of human and social development,

pits an inescapable argument for extending reservations to them.

>From calling universities and higher learning institutions ‘Modern

Agraharas’, to castigating the apex court’s judgment against categorization

as lacking in wisdom and reason, the posthumously published compendium

spares nobody. Chastised on a tad lesser note are OBC groups for opposing

Muslim reservations and Mala Mahanadu for opposing categorisation.

Published by Perspectives, the book is recommended for less narcissistic

introspection by forward castes; for deprived classes to develop a belief

in their rights; for more nuanced understanding of law by judiciary; and

for improving the honesty quotient of Indian society.

*The Times Of India*

Will Ambedkar statue be a tall order for Modi?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Will-Ambedkar-statue-be-a-tall-order-for-Modi/articleshow/27669258.cms

?

AHMEDABAD: A new movement among dalits in Gujarat asking for the world's

tallest statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar could test Narendra Modi's political

tightrope-walking skills ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Having anointed himself 'Chhote Sardar', the BJP's prime ministerial

candidate is in the midst of a record-breaking drive to create awareness

about the 182-metre statue of Sardar Patel being built near Narmada dam.

Barely days after a mammoth 'Run for Unity', some 3,000 dalits plan to take

to the streets across Gujarat demanding a similar statue for Ambedkar. The

rally will be held at Badharka, a village 10 km from Dholka on December 25,

the day Ambedkar burnt the

Manusmriti<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Manusmriti>in

1927.

In Gujarat, nearly one lakh families from across 3,500 villages covering 14

districts will light lamps at home at 9 pm on December 25. The event is

being managed by independent dalit rights groups. Special paraphernalia,

matchboxes and candles carrying the message — 'Bharat desh ni sauthi unchi

pratima, adhunik Bharat na gadhvaiya, Dr

Ambedkar<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Dr-Ambedkar>,

ej emnu sachu samman' have been distributed in villages.

This is a Gujarat-based movement, but could become a headache for Modi if

it spreads to other states as it is known that Sardar and Ambedkar strongly

differed on a number of issues, including reservation.

"If the state government can mobilize Rs 2,500 crore for the tallest statue

of Sardar from across the country, why can't there be a similar drive for

Babasaheb's statue? After all, he stood for equality among all communities

and a socially cohesive nation," says Martin Mackwan, founder of Navsarjan

Trust, which is spearheading the movement.

Macwan wants a debate on why Ambedkar does not deserve the world's tallest

statue. He wants this message of alleged injustice to reach out to the 17%

dalit population in the country.

*The New Indian Express*

*Dalit Literacy Rate Up by 9 pc in Pondy*

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/Dalit-Literacy-Rate-Up-by-9-pc-in-Pondy/2013/12/20/article1955577.ece

There has been a substantial increase in the literacy rate among the

Scheduled Caste people with the literacy rate going up to 77.9 per cent in

2011 from 69.1 per cent in 2001. The rural literacy has seen a jump from

64.3 per cent to 73.9 per cent while the urban literacy has increased from

75 per cent to 83 per cent, according to a presentation given by deputy

director of census operations, Puducherry, J Jayapragasam, at a workshop

here on Wednesday.

The male literacy rate has gone up from 78.4 per cent to 85.2 percent,

while the female literacy rate has increased from 60.1 per cent to 71.1 per

cent.

The work participating rate of SC has gone down from 40.2 per cent in 2001

to 38 per cent in 2011. More significantly, in rural areas, the rate has

decreased from 44.4 per cent to 39.7 per cent. But in urban areas, it has

gone up from 34.9 per cent to 35.9 per cent. While 66 per cent are male

workers, 44 per cent are female workers.

A total of 18.98 per cent of the SC population in Puducherry town lives in

slums, while 56 per cent of the population lives in slums in Yanam, 9.71

per cent in Mahe and 30.88 per cent in Karaikal.

While cultivators in the general population has declined from 3.18 per cent

to 2.71 per cent in the last decade, among the SC population, it has

marginally increased from 1.18 per cent to 1.62 per cent.

The literacy rate in slums is 82.37 per cent in Puducherry, 97.18 per cent

in Mahe and 83.78 per cent in Karaikal. The agricultural labourers have

declined from 55.36 per cent to 39.11 per cent. The percentage of SC

population employed in household industry as compared to other industries

has increased from 0.83 per cent to 1.03 per cent. In other industries also

it increased from 42.63 per cent to 58.24 per cent.

*News Monitor by Girish Pant*

*ARUN KHOTEPMARC*

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Le blog de Antonio Artuso - Reconstruction communiste Canada

Marxist-Leninist List - PMARC (Peoples Media Advocacy & Resources Center) - Dalits Media Watch - News Updates 20.12.13

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