Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 21.03.12
Uthapuram's will broke wall: HC - Deccan Chronicle
Pipili 'rape' victim critical - The Times Of India
Rahul Gandhi's Dalit visit exposed as photo-op by local woman - Mail Online
Sibal slams Sri Sri Ravishankar for saying govt schools breeding grounds for Naxalism-The Times Of India
Stress on education for Dalits - IBN Live
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/stress-on-education-for-dalits/241218-60-119.html
Deccan Chronicle
Uthapuram's will broke wall: HC
March 21, 2012 , By AR. Meyyammai ,DC
Describing the peace agreement reached between caste Hindus and dalits of Uthapuram at the behest of Madurai SP Asra Garg as "historic", the Madras high court has directed the collector to implement all demands mentioned in the agreement within two weeks.
Justice K. Chandru in an order passed on Tuesday, ordered the collector to erect a bus shelter at a place agreed by the two groups and remove obstructions in the new pathway (created upon demolishing a portion of the 'untouchability wall') and improvement of drainage system at the earliest.
In the agreement signed by representatives of both the castes in the presence of the SP, they had agreed for a bus shelter near the police outpost for which the land would be given by caste Hindus.
The caste Hindus also accepted the demands of the dalits to broaden the pathway by removing obstructions and to withdraw the case filed by them in the civil court objecting to the demolition of the old wall.
Both sides also accepted to withdraw criminal complaints lodged against each other so as to ensure lasting peace in the village.
"The relief claimed in these writ petitions has almost become infructuous," the judge said disposing of a batch of petitions filed by Uthapuram dalits through their counsels U. Nirmala Rani and others.
He directed the chief secretary to issue appropriate orders to the district administration to withdraw the criminal cases pending against both parties after complying with all legal requirements under the provisions of the CrPC within eight weeks.
The SP, the court said, shall continue to monitor the happenings in the village and take appropriate corrective action. "He shall be responsible in implementing the agreement reached between the two groups…
It is needless to state that the district administration will take all steps to ensure peace and to implement the terms of settlement in its letter and spirit, so that the strife between two sections will be remembered as a thing of the past and the constitutional spirit of Article 17 can be firmly established."
Both parties having reached a compromise on the major social issues, the district administration should grant compensation within 12 weeks in terms of the offence committed against the dalits as per the enhanced compensation ordered by the Central Government in its notification dated Dec 23, 2011.
Justice Chandru observed, "The Uthapuram experience shows that if the will of the people are strong, they can find solutions among themselves even in the absence of a state intervention. Ultimately Uthapuram message is very clear. It was a case of a Wall (caste) which divided but their Will (power) united them."
The Times Of India
Pipili 'rape' victim critical
TNN | Mar 21, 2012, 03.36AM IST
Cuttack: The health of the alleged gang rape victim form Pipili has turned critical and she has been on a ventilator since Monday night, after developing breathing problems.
Doctors said the victim is suffering from pneumonia. "The condition of the girl deteriorated on Monday night and she was unable to breathe. So, we have to put her on a ventilator support system," said Dr B.N Moharana, emergency officer of SCB Medical College and Hospital.
The 19-year-old girl, who is in a semi-comatose state at the ICU of SCB Medical College and Hospital since January first week, is suffering from low blood pressure too. The team of doctor that has been closely monitoring the condition of the victim convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss her health condition. The team of doctors, comprising neurologist, cardiologist, medicine specialists and orthopaedics, discussed the further course of her treatment.
"We are administering a few antibiotics to improve the victim's health. But the patient is in a vegetative state and immune system of such patients becomes very weak. We hope she responds to medicines," said Dr Moharana. He said the doctors are trying their best to save the girl. Hospital authorities will also submit a detailed report on the condition of the victim in Orissa high court, which is monitoring her health on a regular basis. Meanwhile, a team of crime branch officials visited SCB and inquired about the victim's health.
The girl was allegedly gang-raped in November last year for being a court witness in a molestation case. Four persons were arrested in this connection. But the crime branch, which recently filed a chargesheet in the matter in Pipili court, ruled out rape and said the girl was a victim of attempt to murder only.
Mail Online
Rahul Gandhi's Dalit visit exposed as photo-op by local woman
PUBLISHED: 19:22 GMT, 20 March 2012 | UPDATED: 19:22 GMT, 20 March 2012
The superficiality of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's photo-op moments in Dalit households were exposed on Tuesday by none other than Sunita Kori, a Dalit woman in whose Gauriganj house he had stayed for a night.
The occasion was the laying of foundation of a pucca house for the 30-year-old woman by Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, the Samajwadi Party's (SP) newly elected legislator from Gauriganj in Amethi.
Prajapati had offered help to Sunita after her house was burnt down by alleged SP goons during the party's victory celebrations on March 6.
On the campaign trail of the last Lok Sabha polls, Rahul had spent a night at the 30-year-old woman's house to show that the Congress identified itself with the Dalit cause.
But he was nowhere to be seen when the woman lost her house, proving that Rahul's bonhomie was just a poll gimmick. Prajapati sought to take political mileage out of her disillusionment with the Congress.
'I just laid the foundation stone of a pucca house for Sunita. Rahul Gandhi had spent one night here and promised the moon to the Dalits. But he was beyond her reach when she was in distress. I am here within the reach of the people,' Prajapati said in a brief speech before the villagers of Purey Jawahar Singh on Tuesday.
The village in Gauriganj forms part of the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency represented by Rahul.
Rahul had spent the night of January 26, 2008 in her mud house and later mentioned her plight in many of his public meetings to highlight the plight of Dalits during Mayawati's rule.
Sunita virtually was made the mascot of Congress' anti- Mayawati campaign.
Highlighting her status as the oppressed in a meeting in Gauriganj on December 22, 2008, Rahul had said Aman, Sunita's seven-year-old child, was scared of the police because they used to beat Madanlal, his father, every now and then.
The hapless Sunita, however, was disillusioned by her MP's lip service.
Describing Rahul's concerns for her family as superficial, she said on Tuesday: 'I tried to contact our MP after my house was set on fire by some criminals. I also went to almost every Congress leader in the constituency to help me out because we had no place to sleep and cook. But neither Rahul was available nor other Congress leaders showed any sympathy for me. The SP MLA is helping me and so I will only vote for the SP in the future.'
Sunita has been working with a self-help group floated on Rahul's direction.
'But it doesn't help us much. Rahul even got Aman's gender wrong. He is my son and not daughter as Rahul had said in his public meeting,' she said.
Such is her transformation that Sunita said there was no need for Prajapati to apologise for the act of his party's vandals.
'The Congress leader should have helped her when he had seen her living in a mud house. But he used her to gain Dalit votes. The time has come to realise that we need to do substantial work for the people before expecting their votes.'
Of the 15 assembly seats in Amethi, Rae Bareli and Sultanpur, the adjoining fief of the Gandhi-Nehru family, the Congress won only two seats in the recently concluded assembly election, an indicator that more Sunitas are disillusioned with the prince of the party.
The Times Of India
Sibal slams Sri Sri Ravishankar for saying govt schools breeding grounds for Naxalism
PTI | Mar 21, 2012, 04.02PM IST
JAIPUR/NEW DELHI: Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar courted controversy by claiming that government schools are breeding grounds for Naxalism and his comments were condemned by educationists and a minister today as "unfortunate and illogical."
Union human resources development minister Kapil Sibal expressed surprise at the remarks and posed a question as to whether people in high positions in all walks of life who have studied in government schools are Naxals.
Asked by mediapersons in Delhi for his response, Sibal said people who are in the highest positions in the government and outside government, members of the judiciary and former Presidents have studied in government schools. "Can it ever be said that they are all Naxalites," he asked.
Sibal said he would give a "benefit of doubt" to Ravishankar "because I do not think even temporarily a person would be inclined to say such a thing because it would be such a sweeping statement that no individual having a sense of balance would make such a statement.
Addressing a function in Hindi at a school near Jaipur last evening, Ravishankar said government should privatise education and close state-run schools as they breed Naxals.
"Government ko koi school nahi chalana chahiye. Aksar paya jata hai ki government school se padhe hue bacche hi is tarha naxalvad me hinsa ke marg me chale jate hai" (Government should not run any school. It is often found that boys studied in government schools go into Naxalism and violence). The Art of Living founder, who is also popularly called Guruji, had also said that all government schools should be privatised.
"I feel that all the schools and colleges should be privatised and handed over to some other Sanstha (organisation). Such things are not in the boys of private schools and they (from private schools) move ahead with an ideal and teachers are responsible for it," he added.
Rajasthan education minister Brijkishore Sharma said Ravishankar's remarks were unfortunate and uncalled for. Around 50 people including students of government higher secondary school at Jhalana in Jaipur, their guardians and other locals burnt an effigy of Ravishankar in front of the school. They demanded an apology from the spiritual guru. People's Union for Civil Liberties(PUCL) while criticising Ravishankar demanded legal action against him.
IBN Live
Stress on education for Dalits
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/stress-on-education-for-dalits/241218-60-119.html
BANGALORE: The Karnataka Dalit Shangarshana Simiti held its leadership summit at Senate Hall, Central College. This summit was in the backdrop of Ambedkar's first initiative of declaring war against untouchability. Prominent dalit leaders like K Mukudappa, Ahinda President, M Venkatswamy of RPI/SSD and Buddhist Leader Dutta Bhante attended the summit.
Speaking to young dalit leaders, Dutta Bhante said, "We need to raise the bar for ourselves. Dr B R Ambedkar set all of us free from clutches of untouchability. He drew inspiration by taking a dip in the Chavadar Lake, which was a taboo for Dalits." He added that to stop the practice of untouchability, the Dalits have to strive hard using education as their tool.
--
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
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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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