Friday, May 4, 2012

Minor Dalit girl sent out of village for inter-caste affair

Dalits Media Watch

News Updates 04.05.12

 

Minor Dalit girl sent out of village for inter-caste affair - The Hindu

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3381136.ece

Caste prejudices hit Bihar's anganwadi centres: Report - Jagran Post

http://post.jagran.com/caste-prejudices-hit-bihars-anganwadi-centres-report-1336102646

Castiest remarks case: Gujarat University vice-chancellor appears before court - The Times Of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Castiest-remarks-case-Gujarat-University-vice-chancellor-appears-before-court/articleshow/12988559.cms

60% rural India lives on less than Rs 35 a day - The Tribune

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120504/main7.htm

From Germany. For India - The Hindu

http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/society/article3380644.ece

 

The Hindu

 

Minor Dalit girl sent out of village for inter-caste affair

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3381136.ece

 

R. Krishna Kumar

 

A minor Dalit girl from Bannirsarige in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka was forced to leave the village by her family and local people for falling in love with a boy from a different caste and, in their view, bringing "ignominy" to the community.

 

Suma (name changed), 17, and pregnant, was left to fend for herself after her father and other family members threatened to commit suicide if she did not leave the house.

 

She was lured into a relationship by the boy from an adjoining village at a construction site where they worked. He had won Suma's confidence after promising to marry her. He did not tell her that he was already married. He is now absconding.

 

Suma's ordeal began after her mother's death when she was sent to her aunt's place in Maadigara bedi in Kollegal by her father, Dasaiah. But her aunt, on learning of Suma's pregnancy, sent her away.

 

Suma then went to the government hospital in Kollegal. The doctors, who learnt of Suma's predicament, sent her to Odanadi Seva Samsthe, an NGO working for the rehabilitation of women and prevention of child trafficking, in Mysore, for assistance on Sunday.

 

Speaking to The Hindu, Parashurama of Odanadi and a member of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) said the girl was emaciated, anaemic and could hardly speak, but she narrated the sequence of events. "I sat with her for some time to elicit information, but the girl, being asthmatic, was gasping for breath and unable to walk." Suma was being treated for asthma and a certificate issued by doctors at the Kollegal hospital confirmed her pregnancy.

 

Lochana of the CWC in Chamarajanagar said there were conflicting reports about Suma's banishment, and CWC staff had been sent to Bannisarige village for a probe.

 

Mr. Parashurama said the Chamarajanagar Rural police did not take any action as there was no case or complaint filed. But Deputy Superintendent of Police Mahadevaiah has promised to initiate action, if a complaint is filed.

 

Odanadi will file a complaint seeking action against the boy. "However, the larger issue of convincing the local people and her family to accept Suma will be challenging because of their misplaced sense of honour," said Mr. Parashurama. Till then the girl will be sheltered by Odanadi with the authorisation of the CWC, he added.

 

Jagran Post

 

Caste prejudices hit Bihar's anganwadi centres: Report

http://post.jagran.com/caste-prejudices-hit-bihars-anganwadi-centres-report-1336102646

 

Patna: Caste and religious prejudices in Bihar's villages are affecting the central government's education and health schemes - such as anganwadis - for impoverished families, says a report by the Institute of Human Development.

 

The report cites cases where upper caste children were not allowed to go to anganwadi centres in Dalit or lower caste hamlets and vice versa. Anganwadis are government sponsored child and mother care centres at the grassroots. Also, anganwadi centres in Muslim hamlets see no children from upper caste and Dalit families, says the report.

 

Anganwadi centres are part of the Ministry of Women and Child Development's flagship Integrated Child Development Scheme. The deeply-ingrained biases are depriving hundreds of children from education, mid-day meals and vaccination, says the report. The report was prepared after an on-the-spot survey of 14 villages of nine districts in Bihar by a team of researchers from the New Delhi-based institute.

 

The report says in Amrahi village of Rajpur block in Rohtas district, upper caste children did not go to the anganwadi centre in a lower caste hamlet. This led to many children not getting vaccinated against serious diseases. Vaccination could not take place either in the Dalit Paswan hamlets or the Brahmin hamlets because the Brahmins refused send their children to Paswan hamlets nor allow Paswan children into their area, says the report.

 

In Madhubani district's Mahisan village, children from backward caste Yadav and extremely backward castes Kahtve and Musahar did not attend anganwadi centres in a Muslim hamlet.Similarly, in Jitwarpur in Araria district, tribal Santhal children did not attend centres in a Brahmin hamlet since only the Brahmin were given food there, the report says.

 

In Dewan Parsa village of Gopalganj district, Paswan children were summoned only when there was an inspection, though the headcount was kept the same throughout the year. Similarly, the caste of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) also face prejudices in their work. It was found that they received cooperation or no cooperation depending upon their caste.

 

ASHAs are an integral part of the rural health care system related to deprived sections of society. In Dewan Parsa village, Brahmin women had no inhibitions in admitting that they did not cooperate with ASHAs who were Dalits, says the report. "In fact, caste is dominant and has destroyed the idea of cohesiveness and common schooling, which was the prime objective," the report says.

 

It says that the ramifications of practicing strict caste rules from an early age have far-reaching impact on socialisation and such obnoxious caste laws do not lend to community teaching and common school systems despite such huge fund interventions.The report also mentions the lack of facilities at the anganwadi centres due to rampant corruption.

 

The Times Of India

 

Castiest remarks case: Gujarat University vice-chancellor appears before court

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Castiest-remarks-case-Gujarat-University-vice-chancellor-appears-before-court/articleshow/12988559.cms

 

TNN | May 4, 2012, 03.39AM IST

 

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat University vice-chancellor Parimal Trivedi appeared before court on Thursday in connection with the atrocity charges levelled against him.

 

Trivedi's appearance as an accused before the court was a formal requirement before initiation of the trial as the accused is required to provide various personal details to the court. Additional sessions judge B V Zala has kept May 11 for framing of charges against the VC. Trivedi faces the allegations of hurling castiest remarks against Pankaj Shrimali, a faculty of GLS Arts College. Shrimali had filed the complaint on May 3, 2008.

 

During the initial stage of investigation, all witnesses backed out except senate member Pradeep Prajapati. After conducting the probe, the Navrangpura policerecommended the court to close the case on the ground that the accused was not available - by filing 'A' summary. However, a magisterial court rejected the summary report and directed the police to conduct further probe. Later, the probe was transferred to the SC/ST Cell. The superior officers even recommended 'B' summary in the case, but finally a charge sheet came to be filed earlier this month. Trivedi was arrested but released on bail immediately.

 

On the other hand, the police have told Gujarat High Court that filing of charge sheet in this case after 1,370 days cannot be considered as delay. The complainant alleged that the police made deliberate delay in this case in order to shield the high-profile accused. The court also opined that the police were at fault in causing delay, and kept the case for final verdict on May 10 on Shrimali's plea to impose penalty on cops.

 

The Tribune

 

60% rural India lives on less than Rs 35 a day

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120504/main7.htm

 

New Delhi, May 3

Around 60 per cent of India's rural population lives on less than Rs 35 a day and nearly as many in cities live on Rs 66 a day, reveals a government survey on income and expenditure.

 

"In terms of average per capita daily expenditure, it comes out to be about Rs 35 in rural and Rs 66 in urban India.

 

Around 60 per cent of the population live with these expenditures or less in rural and urban areas," said Director General of National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) J Dash in his preface to the report.

 

According to the 66th round of National Sample Survey (NSS) carried out between July 2009 and June 2010, all India average monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) in rural areas was Rs 1,054 and urban areas Rs 1,984.

 

The survey also pointed out that 10 per cent of the population at the lowest rung in rural areas lives on Rs 15 a day, while in urban areas the figure is only a shade better at Rs 20 day.

 

"The poorest 10 per cent of India's rural population had an average MPCE of Rs 453. The poorest 10 per cent of the urban population had an average MPCE of Rs 599", it said.

 

The NSSO survey also revealed that average MPCE in rural areas was lowest in Bihar and Chhattisgarh at around Rs 780 followed by Orissa and Jharkhand at Rs 820.

 

Among other states, Kerala has the highest rural MPCE at 1,835 followed by Punjab and Haryana at Rs 1,649 and Rs 1,510 respectively. The the highest urban MCPE was in Maharashtra at Rs 2,437 followed by Kerala at Rs 2,413 and Haryana at Rs 2,321. It was lowest in Bihar at Rs 1,238. The median level of MCPE was Rs 895 in rural and Rs 1,502 in urban India, indicating consumption level of majority of population.

 

According to the study, food was estimated to account about 57 per cent of the value of the average rural Indian household consumption during 2009-10 whereas it was 44 per cent in cities. — PTI 

 

Government survey

n The 66th round of National Sample Survey (NSS) carried out between July 2009 and June 2010

 

n It says all India average monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) in rural areas was Rs 1,054 and urban areas Rs 1,984

 

n The survey also pointed out 10 per cent of the population at the lowest rung in rural areas lives on Rs 15 a day, while in urban areas the figure is only a shade better at Rs 20 day

 

The Hindu

 

From Germany. For India

http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/society/article3380644.ece

 

SOMA BASU

 

Professor of Social Analysis, Dr. Gabriele Dietrich says we should prevent war at all levels over water, food and power

 

"Everybody must have food and never war again." This has always been Dr. Gabriele Dietrich's 'instinctive dream'. For someone born prematurely in civil bombardment in 1943 Berlin and raised in an occupied city of rubble, hunger and evacuations, it is not easy to "dream" of normalcy, she underlines.

 

For the first five years of her life, young Gabriele was on the run struggling to survive the devastation and scarcities of the post-war years with her mother and grandmother. "I remember the queues for food, the file of army tanks, the tales of rape. My father was a soldier in Hitler's army. He said he never killed anybody. My mother said she never knew about the concentration camps."

 

But in school she saw documentaries on the camps. Grappling with the culture of denial, her young mind couldn't fathom the catastrophe of the Holocaust. The difficulty of reconciling what she saw with what she was told propelled Gabriele "to live with open eyes". The urge to know, remember and be accountable for a collective history marked the birth of an activist and theologist.

 

Dr. Dietrich became a part of the students' movement in Berlin in the early 1960s and identified with the "free world" that asserted itself against socialist dictatorship. Today, when she sees the crushing of democratic struggles, -- with ordinary people throwing themselves in bravely and collectively -- (she cites the latest Kudankulam protest), she finds her "dream punctured." But, she marvels at human resilience.

 

The renowned researcher and professor of social analysis and feminist theology has written on the women's movement, ecology and religion in the last two decades. She has been a naturalized Indian citizen since 1990.

 

"When I applied for citizenship, someone enquired how I could be an Indian without having a caste. I said, at least abolition of caste system won't be a problem in my case. I don't have to rely on any kinship system."

 

Dr. Dietrich is disturbed by people's preoccupations with the politics of their kinship system. "They tend to overlook the strong networks of support structures in social movements. For transforming communities from casteism, patriarchy and communalism, it is necessary to address the problem of marginalization," she says.

 

In her work, Dr. Dietrich is recognized for having made insightful connections between patriarchy, caste, class, intensifying violence on nature and increasing militarization of the State.

The tragic situation of the Palestinian people, the Vietnam war, the apartheid- regime in South Africa, the 1989 shoot -out at Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, developments in Eastern Europe, the rise of communalism and fundamentalism under globalisation – all, in her opinion, have failed democratic socialism. "Dictated by weapons, capitalism has succeeded in projecting itself the winner and widened the rich-poor divide," she adds.

 

Influences

Two things influenced Dr. Dietrich. As a 10 -year -old, she witnessed the uprising of East German workers against the State for raising the norms of output and bringing the unions under strict control. Reading Anne Frank's diary helped her grasp the enormity of fascism and the need to live down racism.

 

Much to the embarrassment of her family, she enrolled herself at the local church for Bible studies. She realized that even under fascism, the church had actively resisted Nazi tyranny. She did her Ph.D in history of religions and studied theology because she "wanted to work with people." She read Jewish mystics in Hebrew, Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit and Buddhist texts in Pali.

 

Her arrival in India in 1972 "was unplanned". "India attracted me because of its religious and cultural traditions that fed the freedom struggle."

 

She came with her husband on a two- year study programme at the Christian Institute for Study of Religion and Society, Bangalore. They befriended many Marxists and Gandhians and advocates of Lohia socialism. During field research on struggles of landless farm labourers in East Thanjavur, they interacted with students from Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary, Madurai, who helped them with translations.

 

Soon the couple received a teaching offer from the seminary. "We couldn't resist and agreed for a five- year stint. It converted into a lifelong commitment," she smiles.

 

She set up the department and taught social analysis and feminist theology in a Tamil-medium institution for three decades. She also became actively involved in the women's movement, working closely with the unorganized sector. "It was challenging but rewards make it worth the sacrifice," she says

 

Dalit struggles

Dr. Dietrich gravitated towards Dalit struggles intuitively. She worked for two years in Kizhvenmani, where 44 Dalits were burnt in 1968 in a hut where they took refuge during a wage dispute with a violent landlord.

She feels Dalit and Adivasi struggles are most crucial in times of globalisation to protest the dominant development paradigm.

 

"Organization building of workers in the informal sector is very important because that's where their livelihood is.," she stresses. From farm workers, tobacco workers, fisherfolk and construction labourers to women activists, she has put her stamp on every movement radiating an uncomplicated spirit of affability.

 

As national convener of the National Alliance of People's Movements, Dr. Dietrich feels the good thing about the movement led by Medha Patkar is that different streams of socialism, Marxism, Ambedkarism and Gandhism are now coming together for dialogue and mutual understanding. "It is time everybody collectively has a better grasp of the reality we live in. Or else, there will be a war over everything from water to power and food to roads."

 

 


-- 
.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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