Fwd: [PMARC] Dalits Media Watch - News Updates 11.04.10

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC <pmarc2008@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Apr 11, 2010 at 6:48 PM
Subject: [PMARC] Dalits Media Watch - News Updates 11.04.10
To: Dalits Media Watch <PMARC@dgroups.org>

Dalits Media watch

News Update 11.04.04

Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan yet to be implemented - The Hindu

http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/11/stories/2010041161230200.htm

Police role seen in increased violence against Dalits – The Hindu

http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/11/stories/2010041163490500.htm

'Right over land holdings still evading SCs, STs' - The Hindu

http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/11/stories/2010041151690300.htm

BSP alleges congress for insulting Ambedkar - The Pioneer

http://www.dailypioneer.com/248298/BSP-alleges-congress-for-insulting-Ambedkar.html

The Hindu

Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan yet to be implemented

http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/11/stories/2010041161230200.htm

Staff Reporter

MADURAI: Irrespective of the party which rules the State, the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (previously known as Special Component Plan) has not been implemented properly and is derelict and this shows the indifference of parties to the cause of Dalits, said P.Sivakami, founder president, Samooga Samathuva Padai and former Civil Services Officer.

Addressing a seminar SCSP and discussion on 'Special Component Plan/Scheduled Castes Sub Plan for the socio-economic development of Dalits,' on Saturday, she said that SCSP has various small components and if it had been properly implemented would have made significant difference to the everyday lives of Dalits.

The indifference of the rulers was to such an extent that the respective governments did not even prepare and publish the 'Citizens Charter on the SCSP'. Ms.Sivakami also alleged that for many other schemes advertisements were given on a large-scale but when it comes to SCSP no advertisements were given.

Under the scheme, both Central and State governments were to allocate funds to the SCSP in proportion to the percentage of Dalits in the population with a priority for education and public health.

However, statistics released at the event says that 13,936 Crore rupees is the amount that has eluded the Dalits during the last 14 years starting from the year 1995-96 under the Special funds earmarked for Adi Dravidar welfare have been diverted in the past.

Stalin Rajangam writer and Lecturer, American College, said that the SCP was introduced by Indira Gandhi during the turbulent period of emergency as an instrument of rapid development of Dalits. K. John Moses, State general secretary, Janata Dal (Secular), said that Dalits should identify their real representatives and work tirelessly like Ambedkar towards liberation.

Explaining the idea of the seminar, Rajni, convenor, Centre for Dalit Solidarity, said that it was important to have discussions and debates about the SCSP, which would have benefited the Dalits in a great way by improving their socio-economic condition.

Chandrabose of Thiyagi Immanuel Peravai said that the Puducherry Government had properly implemented SCSP. Balakrishnan, Lecturer, Arul Anandar College, said that Dalits should read Ambedkar's thoughts clearly and capture the elements of power both at the civil societal level and cultural spheres. Dalits should either capture power or become strong political players, said Guru Vijayan, Bahujan Samaj Party.

The Hindu

Police role seen in increased violence against Dalits

http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/11/stories/2010041163490500.htm

Special Correspondent

JAIPUR: The Centre for Dalit Rights (CDR) on Saturday blamed the police officers posted in rural areas for increase in violence against the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, saying they were often found subverting the law to shield the accused and deny relief to the victims because of their own caste prejudices.

The CDR activists listed seven cases from across Rajasthan involving alleged dubious role of police personnel at a press conference here and demanded prompt action to render justice to the Dalit victims.

In each of these cases, the victims were allegedly pressurised to change their statements and very mild action was taken against the accused.

The CDR patron, P. L. Mimroth, and the director, Satish Kumar, said the concern about the increasing violence expressed by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at a meeting of the State-level Monitoring Committee here recently would yield result only if the police officers were instructed to "strictly follow the legal provisions" in the cases of Dalit atrocities.

"Our practical experience shows that the officers at police stations in the villages are often hand in glove with the accused belonging to higher castes. Instead of conducting a fair investigation, they put pressure on the victims to dilute the cases," said Mr. Mimroth.

The seven cases listed by the CDR included those of murder of a Dalit woman in which the Bharatpur Sessions Court pulled up the police, rape of a minor Dalit girl in Bharatpur in which she was forced to change her statement to arraign her brother and the attack on a Dalit family in Tonk in which a false case was registered against the victims.

The CDR demanded registration of cases against the guilty police officers under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The Hindu

'Right over land holdings still evading SCs, STs'

http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/11/stories/2010041151690300.htm

Special Correspondent

Legal luminaries express concern over continued socio-economic subjugation

TIRUPATI: Legal luminaries and retired judges of the Apex court and AP High Court have at a meeting here expressed their concern over the continued socio-economic subjugation of the SCs and STs and sought to mobilise the marginalised sections to fight for their rights as enshrined in the Constitution.

The former judges were participating in the two-day centenary celebrations of the Challappa Masthry Memorial Ambedkar Bhavan in Tirupati on Saturday. Retired judge of the Supreme Court, Justice K. Ramaswamy, who spoke on the implementation of the rule of reservation in judiciary, regretted that the facility still remained a far cry and said unless the suppressed and the oppressed communities took up the cudgels for the cause, it could never be achieved.

He also lamented that because of the lacunae in the present Act, right over their land holdings was still evading the SCs and STs though more than 51 per cent of them depended heavily on agriculture and were still living below the poverty line.

Retired judge of the AP High Court, Justice Chandraiah spoke on the four major rights – political, social, education and employment and economic rights-- conferred on the SC/STs under the Indian Constitution and underscored the need to sensitise them towards asserting their rights for their own socio-economic and political development.

Justice Motilal B. Nayak, another retired judge of the AP High Court bemoaned that even 63 years after independence, the evil of untouchability still haunted the Dalits and said the only way to root it out was to give them the political clout which still evaded them despite all legislations and Acts.

Among the other participants were Dr.K. Nagaiah, Chairman of the Ambedkar Bhavan and former head of the AP State S.C. Welfare Association, P. Dasaramaiah, retired District Judge and T. Doraswamy, Director of Prosecutions (retired).

The Ambedkar Bhavan, which is celebrating its centenary was built 102 years ago by one Challappa, a wealthy Dalit from Gudiyattam taluk of Tamilnadu, to serve as a rest house for the Dalits visiting Tirupati/Tirumala, as they were being denied 'darshan' and accommodation during their pilgrimage here because of 'untouchability'.

The Pioneer

BSP alleges congress for insulting Ambedkar

http://www.dailypioneer.com/248298/BSP-alleges-congress-for-insulting-Ambedkar.html

Pioneer News Service | Lucknow

The Bahujan Samaj Party has alleged that the Congress had never gone under any change regarding its insulting attitude towards the Dr B.R.Ambedkar which was yet again proved when the Congress skipped his photo from the posters prepared for the occasion of Congress' proposed rally at Amebdkar Nagar on birth anniversary of the Dr Ambedkar on April 14.

The state president of the BSP Swami Prasad Maurya said on saturday that when the disrespect for Dr Ambedkar came to fore the Congress in face saving exercise propmptly replace the earlier posters by the new ones having Dr Ambedkar's photo but much smaller in size than of Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh which again confirmed its apathy towards the architect of the Indian Constitution.

The state BSP president said that beacuse of this disregarding attitude of the Congress towards him, Dr Ambedkar himslef has cautioned the dalits to keep themselves away from the Congress. " Not till I am alive only but even after my death dalits will not become the ordinary members of the Congress" said Dr Ambedkar during his life time as claimed by Maurya. He said that depsite all this dramatics the Congress has miserbaly failed to win the confidence of dalits as it now stands expsoed to its anti dalit approach and policies.

Maurya alleged that the Congress has always used dalits as vote bank and never cared to solve their problems. The BSP state president in an obvious reference to AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi said that merely picking up te children of dalits or spending a couple of hours at the hamlet of any dalits will not serve any purpose. "It is the pious intention which is needed to uplift the the living standrads of the dalits" Maurya said.

--
.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.

Visit web site | Reply to sender | Click here to unsubscribe
The email is intended only for the recipients. The owners of the Dgroups cannot be held responsible for the contents of the email message.