Dalits Media Watch

News Updates 06.09.15

Miscreants damage Ambedkar statue - The Hindu

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/miscreants-damage-ambedkar-statue/article7620505.ece?css=print

Rape, SC/ST atrocities cases against MPDO - The Times Of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Rape-SC/ST-atrocities-cases-against-MPDO/articleshow/48799868.cms

SC/ST commission seeks FIR against scientist at DRDO wing - The Times Of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC/ST-commission-seeks-FIR-against-scientist-at-DRDO-wing/articleshow/48781734.cms

Mirchpur communal violence probe nails police, magistrate - The Hindustan Times

http://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/mirchpur-communal-violence-probe-nails-police-magistrate/article1-1387829.aspx

SEBI on hiring mode;to appoint 46 official from SC, ST, OBC - The Hindu

HTTP://WWW.THEHINDU.COM/BUSINESS/ECONOMY/SEBI-ON-HIRING-MODETO-APPOINT-46-OFFICIAL-FROM-SC-ST-OBC/ARTICLE7582488.ECE

Local people up in arms against housing project - The Hindu

HTTP://WWW.THEHINDU.COM/NEWS/CITIES/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/LOCAL-PEOPLE-UP-IN-ARMS-AGAINST-HOUSING-PROJECT/ARTICLE7621649.ECE

Please Watch:

Dalit Muslims of India

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeraworld/2015/09/dalit-muslims-india-150902080746653.html

Note: Please find attachment for DMW Hindi (PDF)

The Hindu

Miscreants damage Ambedkar statue

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/miscreants-damage-ambedkar-statue/article7620505.ece?css=print

Special Correspondent

Dalit leaders and activists staged a dharna at Pidimgoyyi village in Rajahmundry rural mandal on Saturday after some miscreants damaged the statue of B.R. Ambedkar and threw it in the nearby bushes.

According to East Zone DSP Asma Farheen and in-charge RDO Radhakrishna, the incident took place in the wee hours and the police had received a complaint in the morning from TDP SC Cell State secretary Kasi Naveen Kumar and others. Mr. Naveen sought immediate arrest of accused and a probe into the incident.

According to preliminary probe by the police, there was a Sivalayam on 5.16 acres that was given to the Dalits by the government long ago. Recently members from two other communities tried to renovate the temple, which did not go well with a section of the Dalits, who said their consent was not taken.

Meanwhile, some Dalits installed an Ambedkar statue on the premises, which was damaged by miscreants and thrown into the bushes. The DSP pressed a CLUES team and a dog squad into service and booked a case.

The RDO assured that the government would install a new statue in place of the damaged one and settle the issue. However, Mr. Naveen said if the police failed to nab the accused within three days, he would intensify the agitation.

Dalit leaders agitate, Revenue, Police officials pacify them

The Times Of India

Rape, SC/ST atrocities cases against MPDO

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Rape-SC/ST-atrocities-cases-against-MPDO/articleshow/48799868.cms

TNN | Sep 4, 2015, 11.48 AM IST

VISAKHAPATNAM: The mandal parishad development officer (MPDO) of V Madugula in the district was arrested by the PM Palem station cops in the city on Thursday for allegedly cheating and sexually exploiting a tribal woman from Araku by promising to marry her.

Cases were registered against the MPDO, R Satyanarayana, under sections 376, 417, 420 of IPC as well as the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly sexually exploiting, raping and cheating a tribal woman, Korra Lakshmi, from Araku area in the district.

While Satyanarayana was working as MPDO at Araku, he allegedly ensnared Korra Lakshmi, who was working as a sweeper on a contract basis at his office. Lakshmi, a widow and mother of two children, was repeatedly sexually exploited by the MPDO after promising to marry her. The woman, with the support of a few women's organizations, lodged a complaint against Satyanarayana at the Araku Valley police station on June 11 this year after Satyanarayana deserted her.

After the complaint, Satyanarayana enlisted the help of a local political leader, village sarpanch and two others to thrash out a compromise at a meeting at Simhachalam. He agreed to pay her maintenance of Rs 3,000 per month and also signed on a stamp paper stating the same. However, after a few days he put her up at a rented house at Rajiv Gruha Kalpa in Marikavalasa on the outskirts of Vizag. However, after three months he stopped paying the rent.

When she began insisting on payment of last month's rent and that he take her to a doctor as she was suffering from pain in her eyes, Satyanarayana took her to the Government Hospital for Mental Care at Peda Waltair and admitted her on August 26.

The woman got suspicious when the mental hospital doctors started treating her for mental ailments the next day and pleaded with them to let her go as she was not mentally deranged. She recounted her story to the hospital staff, who summoned Satyanarayana, pulled him up and asked him to leave the naive woman at her native place in Araku.

Sources said that Satyanarayna then took her to a hotel in the city and after ordering her a meal, fled while she was eating. With the help of the hotel staff, the woman met Mahila Chetana, a voluntary organization working for women, on August 31. The women's organization took the woman to the PM Palem police station on Thursday after which the police filed a case and arrested the MPDO.

The Times Of India

SC/ST commission seeks FIR against scientist at DRDO wing

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC/ST-commission-seeks-FIR-against-scientist-at-DRDO-wing/articleshow/48781734.cms

Yogesh Kumar,TNN | Sep 3, 2015, 04.58 AM IST

DEHRADUN: The SC/ST commission has recommended registration of an FIR against a senior scientist of the Defence Electronic Application Laboratory (DEAL), Dehradun. The complainant, a technical officer, had alleged that his assessing officer, the scientist, was biased against him and had reduced his annual grades that are crucial for promotion. The DEAL, a wing of the DRDO, is likely to take action. 

The commission's deputy chairman, Rajendra Barakoti, passed the order, a copy of which is with TOI, against the scientist on the petition of Jagdish Kumar, a technical officer, on August 31. 

The SC/ST panel has directed the DEAL director to take cognizance of the evidence before registering an FIR against the scientist under relevant sections of the SC/ST Act. In 2014, the complainant had approached the commission seeking action against R K Aggarwal, group H-level scientist, posted at DEAL, Dehradun. 

The complainant had alleged that Aggarwal, his reviewing officer, had deducted his annual marks that were crucial for promotion due to caste bias. "Assessing officers have always given me good marks on the basis of my real work and contribution. But the reviewing officer, Aggarwal, who was biased against me, deliberately used to deduct my marks. It scuttled my promotion for more than four years." 

Aggarwal, however, claimed that the matter had been blown out of proportion. "In my entire career, I never had any kind of bias against anyone. The complaint is baseless," he said. 

DEAL director Dr RS Pundir told TOI, "I have received a copy of the order and action would be taken as per the law. The commission has recommended registration of an FIR and we will do the needful after going through the order." The DEAL director has also been asked to submit an action taken-report to the commission. 

DEAL is a DRDO wing involved in the indigenous development of sensitive equipment such as satellite communication and software radios, and image processing and analysis. 

The Hindustan Times

Mirchpur communal violence probe nails police, magistrate

http://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/mirchpur-communal-violence-probe-nails-police-magistrate/article1-1387829.aspx

Rajesh Moudgil, Hindustan Times, Chandigarh

| 

Updated: Sep 06, 2015 12:05 IST

The one-man judicial commission of inquiry into the Mirchpur communal clash of five years ago has held the police and the duty magistrate responsible for the escalation of the tension.

On Friday, the 220-page report of Justice (retd) Iqbal Singh Commission was tabled in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha during its ongoing monsoon session. On April 21, 2010, at Mirchpur village of Hisar district, Dalit Tara Chand (70) and his handicapped daughter, Suman (16) were burnt alive in their house while several other people were injured in the arson and rioting between dominant Jats and oppressed Dalits. Even Parliament took note of the atrocities on the Dalits by the upper-caste group.

The inquiry report based on spot visits and the statements of many people, including the villagers, victims, and witnesses, has held that though there was tension at Mirchpur a day before the clash as well because of an altercation between members of the two communities, the local police failed to alert the seniors; and inaction on the part of the Narnaud police escalated the tension.

Evidence shows that on the morning of the riot, cops at the Narnaud police station had ignored an alert about simmering tension at the village and done nothing, later, to control the situation, reads the report, adding that even the duty magistrate failed to restore peace. "The assertion of the police that they had inadequate force is not correct. They were mute spectators. The duty magistrate did not order fire, which allowed to mob to run riot," says the report, adding that even if women and children were in the mob, the duty magistrate "had no reason to abdicate his duty".

The report suggests that the requisitioned police personnel, some of whom were armed with self-loading rifles, ran away from the spot, which allowed the mob to burn the houses. "Had the Narnaud police deployed adequate force and taken prior action, this unfortunate incident could have been prevented," the commission reported.

The findings suggest, however, that the state government did all it could to provide the victims with relief and restore peace.

Report says

The assertion of the police that they had inadequate force is not correct; they were mute spectators

The duty magistrate did not order fire, which allowed to mob to run riot

The requisitioned police personnel, some of whom were armed with self-loading rifles, ran away from the spot, which allowed the mob to burn the houses of the Dalits.

The Hindu

SEBI on hiring mode;to appoint 46 official from SC, ST, OBC

HTTP://WWW.THEHINDU.COM/BUSINESS/ECONOMY/SEBI-ON-HIRING-MODETO-APPOINT-46-OFFICIAL-FROM-SC-ST-OBC/ARTICLE7582488.ECE

PTI

Capital market regulator SEBI has embarked on a special recruitment drive for hiring 46 officers from SC, ST and OBC community of the society, as part of its plan to beef up its headcount for faster and more effective execution of its work.

Currently, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has workforce of over 700 people.

The watchdog plans to recruit legal experts, researchers, engineers and other officials for general administration from Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Class (OBC) categories.

SEBI has invited applications for 32 posts in general administration department, nine in legal stream, two each for research and official language team and one for engineering department.

The candidates can apply for the positions between August 22 and September 7.

The regulator would select the officers through a written examination followed by interview.

Earlier, an independent consultant had suggested SEBI to increase its workforce to about 1,000 employees in order to meet future manpower requirements to take full ownership of regulatory oversight of all investment schemes besides staff requirement in regional offices as well as local offices.

The Hindu

Local people up in arms against housing project

HTTP://WWW.THEHINDU.COM/NEWS/CITIES/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/LOCAL-PEOPLE-UP-IN-ARMS-AGAINST-HOUSING-PROJECT/ARTICLE7621649.ECE

STAFF REPORTER

A major reason cited by the Corporation for the delay in the project housing project for SC/ST families here is opposition from the local people.

The two-acre plot on which the Dalit families set up tents last week is situated inside the Chandrasekharan Nair residents association in Mannammoola.

According to Krishna Pillai, president of the residents' association, the residents here are not too keen on having a 'colony in the centre of their residential area'.

"When this land was taken over by the Corporation in 1998, we expected some developmental project to happen here. But over the years, it has been a bane for us. We are concerned that bringing a group of people from outside and making them stay here will spoil the peaceful atmosphere here. Rather than putting them together in a colony, the government should try to give them separate houses in different areas," he says.

At the same time, he says that the residents are not against a housing project for 'low income groups'.

The land is currently leased out to a private contractor engaged in a road development project near here. A part of the land is being used now to park JCBs, trucks and for housing some of the migrant workers involved in the project.

The residents evidently are also 'not comfortable' at having migrant workers staying in their locality. Some of them volunteered with loose unsubstantiated comments on criminality among migrant population when The Hindu talked to them on Saturday.

News monitored by AMRESH & AJEET

 .Arun Khote

It is role of the police to see law and order situation of the State and not to create problems of law and order.

—Debaranjan, a human rights activist and documentary film-maker from Odisha

On 15 June 1969, J Edgar Hoover, the notorious chief of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) declared, "the Black Panther Party, without question, represents the greatest threat to internal security of the country." He swore that the party would be exterminated by the end of 1969. Nearly six decades later, it was not any lowly counterpart of Hoover in India but the country's most learned Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, who repeated the phrase while referring to the Naxalites. However, Singh did not fix a date for decimating the Naxalites in spite of unleashing an all-out war on them through Operation Green Hunt and the most unconstitutional Salwa Judum that pitched Adivasi against Adivasi. It was not possible for Singh to fix a date because he knew that the Naxalites were homomorphous with the poor and Adivasis and represented their survival concerns.

As both the state's open war on its own people and the crooked Salwa Judum began being questioned by the civil rights groups and concerned intelligentsia, the government came out with a high-pitch propaganda about Naxalites building an urban network. This propaganda insinuated a threat that any word of criticism of the government action against the Naxalites would be construed as support to them and would incur the wrath of the state. The government made an example by arresting Binayak Sen, a saintly doctor with impeccable record of public service, and sentencing him to life imprisonment. He was repeatedly denied bail despite the huge public outcry both inside andoutside the country—including by a group of Nobel laureates.

Sen stands released on bail after suffering 47 months in jail, but not without a crisp communication about what lies in store for anyone wanting to raise a voice against the mighty state. Sen's incarceration was followed by that of many others. Of course, their arrests were proved pure mala fide but only after they had already put in three to four years of jail and suffered media infamy as "dreaded Naxalites."

Narendra Modi, who rode a massive wave promising acche din to people, has within no time intensified the bure dinof his predecessors. His regime has outdone its predecessor in declaring to the Supreme Court, the ultimate custodian of the country's Constitution, that Naxal ideologues (read civil rights activists) are more dangerous than armed cadres. State terror is unfolding all over the country and intimidation of all those who raise their voice against the violation of civil rights of poor people is palpable.

&lsquoPainful Experience'

On 14 August, all the members of the CDRO (Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisations), a confederation of 20 civil liberties and democratic rights organisations from across India, received a shocking mail from Debaranjan. Known in the circle of civil rights activists as Deba, Debaranjan is a human rights activist and documentary film-maker from Odisha. The mail described Deba's horrific experience during his recent visit to Malkangiri where he had gone to shoot a documentary on the land problem and the agricultural situation of tribals of the district. Deba is no stranger to this area, having closely followed the tribal peoples' movement through his participation in several fact-finding missions, his articles (see countercurrents.org and academia.edu for specimens) and films. No sensible person, who has read his reports or watched his films, will describe him as sympathetic to Naxalites. But that did not deter the state from putting him under surveillance and unleashing harassment.

On 8 August, the day Deba arrived in Malkangiri, he reported that several anti-Naxal forces visited Tapobhumi Trust, where he was staying. These security personnel insisted that Deba and a Tapobhumi trustee accompany them. Since these security personnel did not disclose their identity, Deba refused to comply and instead told them that he would see their boss in the evening if they gave him his name and address. Since they called him "Debraj," he thought that it could be a case of mistaken identity.

The next day when Deba was shooting at Udupi village, two officers of the special branch of intelligence who introduced themselves as Ashok Parida and Jagannath Rao visited him at about 1 pm. They were accompanied by a constable who introduced himself as Pradhan. The three interrogated Deba for more than an hour. He was questioned about his activities, his association with GASS (Ganatantrik Adhikar Suraksha Sangathan) and the purpose of his visit to Malkangiri. He cooperated and answered all their questions. But when these officials visited the place where he was camping again, in the evening, Deba refused to entertain them. Later, when Deba was preparing to return, Sunita Das, a sub-inspector in civilian dress came with her unit. She alleged that Deba had molested a woman that morning at Champakhari village and insisted on taking him to the Malkangiri Police Station in her vehicle. Stunned by the allegation, Deba asked her for a copy of the first information report. But Das did not show him the document. So Deba refused to comply and left on his bike after a few hours.

That night at around 1 am, several security personnel came to the camp and asked for Deba. They detained his cameraman and an employee of the trust for a day. Later, Deba learnt that the police was harassing local tribals who had given him interviews and the local teachers who had assisted him. On 16 August, he was sent a notice in connection with the molestation charge (U/S 294/ 341/323/354/354-B/506(ii)  Indian Penal Code) and was asked to appear at the Malkangiri Police Station on 23 August.

Any sane person can gauge from the sequence of events that the charge is a fabrication and perhaps a ploy to entangle Deba with a charge designed to bring social disrepute on him, instead of the usual method of harassment by raking up Naxal connections—possibly because they could not find any such connections. It, however, served their purpose in sending Deba into hiding, stopping his activities and possibly embroiling him in long-drawn legal battles.

Back to Hoover

In the film, A Huey P Newton Story (2001) on the life of Huey Newton who along with Bobby Seale founded the left-wing Black Panther Party for Self Defense in October 1966, Newton, played by Roger Guenveur Smith, has a perceptive statement,

If you read the FBI files you will see that even Mr J Edgar Hoover himself had to say that it was not the guns that were the greatest threat to the internal security of the United States of America... it was the Free Children's Breakfast Program.

The statement in the biopic was probably a true picture of the state of affairs. The Free Children's Breakfast Program, an innocuous sounding community programme, was launched by the Black Panthers in January 1969 by feeding a handful of kids in an Oakland church. It became so popular that by the year end, the programme spread to 19 cities where more than 20,000 children were fed free breakfast (bread, bacon, eggs, grits) before going to school. While the programme operated in predominantly Black neighbourhoods, children of other communities including a partly middle-class neighbourhood in Seattle were also fed.

The programme raised public consciousness about hunger and poverty in America, and also brought people closer to the ideology of the Black Panther Party. It spoke volumes about both the needs of the Black community, and the reach and capacity of the party nationally. Hoover acutely noted it as "infiltration." This is precisely what the Indian government thinks. It is worried about the uncongenial ideas that progressive expression represents. It is not afraid of the guns of the Naxalites; it is afraid of the counterpoint they represent. It is not the Naxalite ideology, whatever that may be; it is sheer dissent, the uncompromising disagreement with the state's anti-people policies that scares it. Taking up the cudgels for the poor, speaking against the violation of democratic rights and questioning the constitutionality of government actions do not go well with the state. It wants to create a fear psychosis among gullible people that there is a Naxalite network in urban areas. In fact, there may not be any because not many would agree with the ideology and methods of Naxalites. But there would still be many who would speak against the excesses by the government on poor people labelling them Naxalites.

FTII Imbroglio

As I write this, the news of the midnight crackdown on the protesting students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) at Pune and arrest of five of them is flashing on television. Those who do not see a connection between the government's targeting of the "urban base of the Naxalites" and the arrests of the FTII students need to be reminded about Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Subramanian Swamy's statement of 10 July. Swamy had described the protesting students of FTII as Naxalites. Indeed, the doggedness of their protest in these neo-liberal times will surely make the government sniffers smell Naxalism. After all Gajendra Chauhan, whose singular lack of qualification to head the prestigious FTII society has spilled into public domain, is not such a great gun that the government should incur negative publicity over such a long time. The entire who's who of the film industry and progressive India have come out to endorse the students' demand and urged the government to accept them. The recent revelation that Chauhan is a disciple of the god-woman, Radhe Maa, should only add to the government's shame. But despite all this, the government will not concede victory to the "Naxalites."

It is simple. The agitation of the FTII students represents dissent, it questions the propriety of the government decision, it exposes the mala fide design to saffronise institutions and poses a democratic challenge to fascist mentality. If conceded, it could be infectious, threatening the very raison d'etre of the ruling junta.

Not a bad logic! The only flaw is that they are dealing with students who could be a far bigger threat than the "greatest threat" they knew so far.

These Personal Accounts Of Racism Expose The Sad, Dark Side Of Bollywood

http://www.scoopwhoop.com/entertainment/racist-side-of-bollywood/?ref=social&type=fb&b=0

Gaurav Arora

SW Staff Writer

68 years after Independence, Indian society still suffers from a colonial hangover which discriminates on the basis of tanned skin tone. The colour bias is so ingrained in our society that even the most influential sections like the film fraternity have fallen prey to it. While Indian media cries foul over Bollywood actors facing racism in the West, innumerable untold tales of racism remain waiting to be exposed in Bollywood itself. Here are 10 popular Bollywood celebs who faced racist discrimination in their own backyard:

1. Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Nawazuddin is one of the finest finds of Bollywood and the talented actor has proved that with each performance. However, even he had to suffer the brunt of racist remarks by none other than senior actor Rishi Kapoor. Replying to Nawaz's views on cliched romance in Bollywood, Kapoor called him an average actor who is not capable of doing romantic films because he doesn't have the image and the talent to pull them off. | Source: TOI

2. Bipasha Basu

Cat fights between Bollywood actresses are common. One such alleged verbal duel between Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu took place during the shooting of Ajnabee and ended on a racist note. According to reports, Kareena Kapoor allegedly called Bipasha Basu a 'kaali billi' (black cat), referring to Basu's dusky complexion. While Bipasha never cleared the air over this controversy, it still remains one of the low points of Bollywood. Source: Mid Day

RSS TAKEOVER IN JUST 15 MONTHS, BHAGWAT IN COMMAND: "THE FUTURE IS OURS"

SEEMA MUSTAFA.

India – Do you know Jaswant Singh Khalra who was Martyred for Exposing State-Sponsored Genocide ?

On 6th September  1995, the Punjab police abducted, tortured, and murdered human rights defender Jaswant Singh Khalra for his work in uncovering thousands of disappearances, extrajudicial deaths, and secret cremations of Sikhs perpetrated by the Punjab police

On the 20th death anniversary of Jaswant Singh Khalra , we all remember the martyr and  the relentless work and  of Ramnarayan Kumar  Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency andHuman Rights in Punjab , he report of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP), authored by Ram Narayan Kumar, Amrik Singh, Ashok Agrwaal and Jaskaran Kaur. The report focuses on human rights violations committed by the Punjab Police during its operations to suppress the Punjab insurgency in India, from 1984 to 1994.

The issue of Khalistan was used by the State to divert attention from real issues of democracy, constitutional safeguard and citizens' rights.  Being part of CCDP  the research under guidance of Ram Narayan Kumar was grwat learning experience on the state sponsored atrocities and human rights violations in Punjab.

Kamayani

पत्रकार और जसम से जुड़े संस्कृतिकर्मी मुकुल सरल की कविता प्रो कलबुर्गी, कामरेड गोविन्द पानसरे और डा नरेन्द्र दाभोलकर की याद में.