Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 22.08.15
· Clamour for stern action against Made Gowda gets louder in Mandya - The Hindu
· Dalit pilgrims barred from entering temple in UP - India Today
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/dalit-pilgrims-barred-from-entering-temple-in-up/1/460283.html
· UP Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe staff to be demoted - Asian Age
http://www.asianage.com/india/scheduled-caste-and-scheduled-tribe-staff-be-demoted-516
· NCSC member visits Bhagana after conversion row - The Times Of India
· Cops Thwart Petrol Bomb Attack on VCK Chief - The New Indian Express
· AAP MLA held for assaulting NDMC worker - Asian Age
http://www.asianage.com/delhi/aap-mla-held-assaulting-ndmc-worker-662
· KCR: SC, ST given fallow land by previous governments - The Hans India
· SC asks Punjab & Haryana HC to decide on rehab - The Tribune
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/sc-asks-punjab-haryana-hc-to-decide-on-rehab/122840.html
· Manjhi The Mountain Man review: Inspiring story of a common man - The Hindustan Times
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Dashrath Manjhi - The Man Who Broke A Mountain Alone
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The Hindu
Clamour for stern action against Made Gowda gets louder in Mandya
Pressure is mounting on the Police Department to initiate stern action against G. Made Gowda, former MP, for allegedly abusing Mandya Deputy Commissioner M.N. Ajay Nagabhushan and Revenue Minister V. Srinivas Prasad.
Earlier, Mr. Made Gowda had allegedly abused Mr. Ajay Nagabhushan and Mr. Prasad on Tuesday in foul language just because the district administration was stated to have rejected his plea for allotting 25 acres of land to the 'Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Trust'.
Mr. Made Gowda is the president of the trust.
Meanwhile, Mr. Nagabhushan has filed a complaint against Mr. Made Gowda for his 'unruly behaviour' and the Police Department should initiate action against him, said the members of the Mandya district unit of the Karnataka State Government Employees Association.
Mr. Made Gowda had "threatened to kill the duo", association's president K. Nagesh told presspersons here on Friday.
Chandru, Appajappa, D. Thammanna Gowda and Mahesh, and office-bearers of the association also condemned the 'behaviour' of Mr. Made Gowda.
While Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) leader M.B. Srinivas criticised Mr. Made Gowda for his alleged misbehaviour, leader of the Karnataka Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (KDSS) Venkatagiriaiah condemned the 'feudal mentality' of the former MP.
Meanwhile, with the demand for initiating action against Mr. Made Gowda rising by the day, the Bharati Education Trust, owned by Mr. Made Gowda, launched a damage-control exercise here on Friday.
The trust secretary Nanje Gowda and others told presspersons here that Mr. Made Gowda's statements were made in a fit of rage. He had no intention to kill anyone, Mr. Nanje Gowda said.
India Today
Dalit pilgrims barred from entering temple in UP
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/dalit-pilgrims-barred-from-entering-temple-in-up/1/460283.html
The Dalit kanwariyas have filed the complaint against Gopal Mishra, the priest of Gauri Shankar temple, and his son.
Piyush Shrivastava | | Mail Today | Lucknow, August 22, 2015 | UPDATED 09:37 IST
A group of 50 Dalit kanwariyas have filed a police complaint, alleging that they were stopped from entering a temple to offer Ganga jal in Bareilly.
The incident occurred in the district's Chaudhary Talab area on Thursday.
The Dalit kanwariyas have filed the complaint against Gopal Mishra, the priest of Gauri Shankar temple, and his son.
"When we tried to protest, they snatched our kanwars and threw them away," said Rishi Kumar Diwakar, one of the Dalit devotees.
Talking about the complaint, Superintendent of Police Sameer Saurabh said: "It is a serious complaint. I have ordered a probe and sought a report within 24 hours."
Mishra, however, claimed the charges were false. "It is a false allegation that I or my son stopped them from offering prayers or ganga jal at the temple," he said.
But Umesh Valmiki, one of the Dalit devotees, said: "They have kept insulting us for many years now, but we didn't know that they will stop us at the gate of the temple."
Asian Age
UP Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe staff to be demoted
http://www.asianage.com/india/scheduled-caste-and-scheduled-tribe-staff-be-demoted-516
Aug 21, 2015 - Amita Verma | Lucknow
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees who had been promoted under the reservation in promotion policy will now be demoted after the Akhilesh government was pulled up by the Supreme Court.
The move will affect the employees in different cadres who were promoted through the reservation provisions after November 15, 1997 and before April 28, 2012.
The Akhilesh government, which had been delaying the implementation of the Supreme Court order of April 2012 in this regard, has now been asked by the top court to comply and report by September 15. The SC order came in response to a contempt petition filed by some government employees.
The SC order which has already led to the demotion of 64 engineers of the irrigation and water resources department in the state is bound to take on political overtones in a state that is drive by caste politics.
BSP president Mayawati has already accused the Akhilesh government of wrongly interpreting the SC order.
"The Supreme Court had not disapproved of reservation in promotion. It had only laid down stringent conditions for it. Instead of following the condition, the Samajwadi Party government has completely done away with it," she had said when the 64 engineers were demoted in June.
Mr Shailendra Dubey, president of the Sarvjan Hitaye Sanrakshan Samiti that has been fighting against the reservation in promotion policy, meanwhile, said, "The Supreme Court order is historic. One cannot be allowed to take the advantage of reservation twice — once at the time of getting the job and then in getting promotions. We welcome the court order and are confident that the state government would ensure its compliance at the earliest." The government spokesman said the government would ensure implementation of the order but considering the fact that UP is a vast state, the government may need some more time to complete the process of demotion.
Meanwhile, an executive engineer in a government department , who had benefited from the reservation in promotion policy, said that demoting officers at this stage would lead to a lot of problems and also lead to bad blood which would affect the working of the state machinery.
"We will take legal opinion and then appeal to the court to make the policy effective from the present date so that demotions can be prevented," he said.
The Times Of India
NCSC member visits Bhagana after conversion row
TNN | Aug 22, 2015, 03.32 AM IST
Sirsa: Two weeks after around 50 dalit families of Bhagana village in Hisar district converted to Islam at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) member Ishwar Singh visited the village and promised to sort out the problems being faced by the community.
"The district administration is trying to solve the problems and I have also visited the village thrice to check the situation," he said.
The dalit families have been sitting on a dharna since May 2012 outside the mini-secretariat in Hisar and at Jantar Mantar, demanding action against khap panchayat members for casteist remarks against them and provoking upper class people to attack the community.
They were also protesting against their eviction from the village common land, which is being acquired to construct a sports stadium.
"They would be given 100sqft plots in the village, but villagers have demanded plots 3km away from the place," the NCSC member said. He has also sought a report from the government on the issue.
The New Indian Express
Cops Thwart Petrol Bomb Attack on VCK Chief
By Express News Service Last Updated: 22nd August 2015 04:10 AM
THANJAVUR: Alert cops preempted an attack planned on VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan who was to hoist the party flag at Vadaseri village near Orathanadu on Thursday.
As many as 12 youth were held with petrol bombs. Two police special sub-inspectors were injured by blue metal used by the group.
Police said, Thol Thirumavalavan who participated in a wedding in Pattukkottai, Tiruchitrambalam on Thursday, planned to hoist the party flag at Vadaseri bazaar on his way to Vadapathy in Tiruvarur district.
Meanwhile, police was tipped that a group, belonging to a dominant caste from Vadaseri village, had planned an attack on Thirumavalavan as they resented the hoisting of VCK flag in an area where caste Hindus lived.
Following this, security in the Vadaseri bazaar and surrounding areas was intensified and police also patrolled the area. It was then that the SSIs of Pattukkottai taluk police, Rajendran and Gandhi, spotted a group on the banks of Pudhu Eri at Alathur village between Pattukkottai and Vadaseri, the route that was to be taken by Thirumavalavan.
As the SSI approached them, the group began fleeing after pelting blue metal stones at the policmen. In the attack, Rajendran sustained injuries on his head and arm. Gandhi also escaped with mild injuries.
Police found three Molotov cocktail made from beer bottles, two plastic bottles with petrol and a few empty beer bottles. They also alerted police in nearby areas.
When Meganathan, the Special Branch sub-inspector of Pattukkottai taluk police station spotted another group at Mullurpattikkadu village between Vadaseri and Alathur, he asked them to disperse.
The group first damaged his bike and then fled. Meanwhile, police diverted Thirumavalavan's car through another route for him to reach Vadapathy.
The Pattukkottai taluk police registered two cases based on complaints by the injured SI Rajendran and Meganathan, the Special Branch SI.
In the meantime, when the police were on the lookout for the gangs gathered at two places, they picked up two youth who attempted to board a bus at Ambalapattu branch road in Thanjavur-Pattukkottai Road.
The arrest was based on the information given by the SSIs who were injured when blue metal stones were thrown on them.
The police identified them as D Divakar (23) of Mahadevapattinam near Mannargudi and M Saranraj (25) of South Street, Vadasery who has been working in Chennai for the past few years.
Based on their confession, police arrested six youths from Vadaseri.
They also arrested another six persons including the two who were picked up from Ambalapattu bus stop who had gathered at Mullurpattikkadu village.
A car used by the gang was also seized. The police are also on the lookout for 20 others involved in the case.
Asian Age
AAP MLA held for assaulting NDMC worker
http://www.asianage.com/delhi/aap-mla-held-assaulting-ndmc-worker-662
Aug 22, 2015 |
More than two weeks after Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Delhi Cantonment, Surinder Singh, was booked for beating an NDMC employee and accused of hurling casteist abuses at another person, the Delhi police arrested the legislatoron Friday.
Sources in the police said that the MLA, who was served four notices to join the probe until Friday, arrived at the Parliament Street police station in the afternoon and was arrested after his questioning. Two more persons, including his driver, were also apprehended. "All three were taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for medical examination," said a senior police officer, adding, "They will be kept in the lockup for the night and will be produced before a Delhi court on Saturday."
On August 4, NDMC sanitary inspector R.J. Meena along with his junior colleague Mukesh Kumar was conducting a surprise check in an area under their jurisdiction. "They spotted an e-rickshaw plying on the road and stopped its driver for verification. Seeing this, the AAP MLA, who was passing by in his car, intervened and started questioning the NDMC officials, which led to an argument amongst the three men.
The AAP MLA and his driver then allegedly beat up Mr Mukesh Kumar and hurled derogatory abuses at Mr Meena after which a police complaint was filed and they were booked under Sections 332, 353, 367, 186, 511, 506, 34 of the IPC and SC/ST Act provisions by the Tughlak Road police. The legislator's anticipatory bail was already rejected by a city court on August 12. Senior counsel H.S. Phoolka, who had appeared for Mr Singh, had sought bail saying the MLA has been falsely implicated in the case. The prosecutor, on the other hand, had argued that Mr Singh has been evading the notices sent by the police to join the investigation and his interrogation was required.
The police added that former Army commando was being questioned at length on Friday. The AAP MLA also faces allegations of possessing fake degrees, an inquiry into which is also going on.
The Hans India
KCR: SC, ST given fallow land by previous governments
August 22,2015, 09.40 AM IST | | PTI
Sangareddy: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today said various governments ruling Andhra Pradesh before its division last year had offered fallow lands to SC and ST communities that cannot be used for agricultural activity.
Previous governments assigned fallow lands with huge boulders to members of SC and ST communities which cannot be used for agriculture. Government will carry a survey on these lands and verify the status, location and feasibility for agriculture.
We will extend maximum support to turn them into profitable agriculture land, Rao said. The chief minister participated in cleanliness programme under 'Grama Jyothi', the flagship programme of TRS government, at Erravalli village under his Gajwel Assembly constituency.
'Grama Jyothi' programme is aimed at planned and comprehensive development of villages. God will support every good work and definitely God will bless Telangana Government for its unique welfare and developmental activities, he said.
The Tribune
SC asks Punjab & Haryana HC to decide on rehab
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/sc-asks-punjab-haryana-hc-to-decide-on-rehab/122840.html
R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent New Delhi, August 21
The Supreme Court today asked the Punjab and Haryana High Court to look into rehabilitation of the Dalit victims of Mirchpur village in Hisar district. About 150 families had fled the village following an attack on them in April 2010.
The apex court's Social Justice Bench comprising Justices MB Lokur and UU Lalit passed the order while transferring a public interest litigation filed by the victims to the HC. The Bench pointed out that the Haryana Government had accepted the recommendations of the Justice Iqbal Singh Commission, which had gone into the violence and the relief work, and decided to place it in the state Assembly as required under the Inquiry Commission Act.
Tara Chand, a 70-year-old Dalit, and his physically-challenged teenage daughter were killed in the violence by a mob that set ablaze the houses of the Balmiki community on April 21, 2010.
Appearing for the state, advocate Nupur Choudhary said the inquiry commission had acknowledged in its report that the government had compensated the victims in excess of their entitlement under the SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act and did not have to do anything more.
The state had spent more than Rs 20 crore on them, she said. The Bench wanted to dispose of the PIL in view of the commission's report, but senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, arguing for the victims, pleaded that the SC should ensure the resettlement of his clients who were not in a position to return to their village as they feared for their lives.
After hearing the case for over five years, the apex court should not leave the victims at the mercy of the government, he said.
At this, the Bench asked the victims to file a fresh PIL in the HC. Gonsalves pleaded that the poor victims who were staying in make-shift camps did not have the means to file a fresh case. Accepting the contention, the Bench transferred the PIL pending with it to the HC, but clarified that the HC would deal only with rehabilitation.
A trial court in Delhi had convicted 15 of the 97 persons charged with the assault on the Dalits. Three of them were given life sentence, while five got imprisonment for varying periods up to five years. Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau let off the remaining seven convicts on probation for one year. The convicts have gone to the Delhi HC in appeal.
The Hindustan Times
Manjhi The Mountain Man review: Inspiring story of a common man
Sweta Kaushal, Hindustan Times, New Delhi Updated: Aug 22, 2015 12:41 IST
Manjhi The Mountain Man
If you have the will, you can move mountains. Bihar's Dashrath Manjhi proved this adage when he did the unthinkable and actually carved a path through a mountain with just a hammer and a chisel after toiling away for 22 years. Ketan Mehta's biopic Mountain Man tells this powerful story of a common man from Gehlaur village in Bihar's Gaya district. With a spirited story and talented actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte, Mehta has ensured that the film is true to its hero.
Nawazuddin plays Dashrath Manjhi while Radhika essays the role of his wife, Faguniya. Their village lacks even the basic amenities like schools and hospitals because of the mountain that lies in its path. Faguniya dies after falling off the mountain and succumbs to her injuries for the want of timely medical attention. Before dying she tells Dashrath, "Hum pahad paar nahi kar pae, bahut uncha hai." It does not take much time for Dashrath to decide that he must break through the mountain to carve an accessible path for the villagers. Manjhi The Mountain Man traces his tumultuous journey as he struggles to make the path and has to fight friends, family and bureaucrats alike.
Nawazuddin is definitely the most crucial and impressive part of the movie. During promotions the actor, who was last seen in Salman Khan's superhit Bajrangi Bhaijaan, had said that this was his most difficult role yet. But in Manjhi, you see an effortless performance. There isn't a single moment in the entire film where you can separate Siddiqui from Dashrath! Be it revolting against the zamindar or toiling for decades in the memory of his wife, Siddiqui brings out all the emotions to the fore with his facial expressions and emotes through his eyes. One of the most striking scenes is the one where Dashrath is arrested and told that he might rot in jail for the rest of his life. As he talks to himself and says, "Hum haar gaye Faguniya, lagta hai bina rasta banae hi mar jayenge," the helplessness in his eyes breaks your heart.
There is another scene where Dashrath is bitten by a snake that finds its way out in the open after he has cut through half of the mountain. He staggers, cries out in pain and soon cuts out the thumb that was bitten. Thanks to Siddiqui's acting, you can actually feel the pain he must face at the moment and his determination to live on. This is undoubtedly the kind of performance where you can say that Siddiqui deserves all the awards out there.
Nawaz also has the most powerful and touching dialogues in the film. Sample some of these:
"Hum tose itta pyaar karte hain, itta pyaar karte hain, itta pyaar karte hain, kitta pyaar karte hain? Hanuman jee ki tarah seena cheer ke dikhayein?"
"Bhagwan ke bharose mat baitho, ka pata u humre bharose baitha ho!"
And of course, the one that we've heard in trailers: "Pahad tode se bhi mushkil kaam hai ka?"
Manjhi The Mountain Man is also one of the most touching and inspiring love stories in Bollywood. Married in childhood, Dashrath and Faguniya hardly spent four-five years together before she dies. The bond that the duo develops during that short period can be clearly seen as the reason behind the 22-year-long struggle Dashrath undertakes to ensure that no one else dies the way his wife did. Mehta, too, has brought out that romance perfectly. Every time Dashrath is about to lose his patience, Falguniya's spirit appears and reminds him why he needs to do it, charging him up all over again. And, when the villagers are celebrating after he has cut away the mountain, Dashrath sees Faguniya once again dancing along the others in a colourful attire.
As they say, God lies in details and same applies for the art of cinema. Mehta's brilliant use of minute details of the socio-political milieu of Dashrath Manjhi's world helps the story along. He has made apt use of these details to highlight the politics of caste and class with remarked expertise. Dashrath was born a Musahar (the caste of bonded farm labourers once known for killing and eating rats or moos). They are one of the most marginalised groups in India and have suffered all kinds of discrimination at the hands of the upper caste including untouchability. As a young child, Dashrath ran away from his village to escape being a bonded labourer at the mercy of the zamindar (played by Tigmanshu Dhulia) and comes back to his village after seven years, when untouchability is declared to be illegal. Dashrath is colourfully clad in bright pink trousers, yellow shirt and black shades to show that he has returned from the city - Dhanbad in this case. We see the zamindar greeting him warmly but the moment he gets to know that Dashrath is the son of one his former bonded labourers, he instinctively backs off as if from a shock!
There is one sequence where prime minister Indira Gandhi arrives in Gaya and while she is delivering her speech and raising the famous slogan of 'Gareebi hatao', the stage crumbles. People from the crowd are asked to support the stage to ensure Gandhi can continue with her speech. And there we see Gandhi as the great leader of change, only to rise up on the shoulders of the common man. The excesses committed during of Emergency is also shown in the movie, with cops and the ruling class telling Dashrath he has chosen the wrong time to revolt against corrupt bureaucrats and threatening that they can simply put him in jail, without any proof.
Manjhi The Mountain Man also touches upon the menace of Maoist violence. Fed up with the atrocities of the 'upper caste', especially the village head Nirbhay Singh, one of Manjhi's friends turns a rebel. He returns to the village with a group of men flashing guns and hangs Singh to death. And no, just because a poor man is the hero here, Mehta does not end up advocating violence. Dashrath is seen arguing with the friend-turned-Maoist and telling him that guns are no solution only to be hit for his advice.
The main themes that run throughout the movie are love, passion and the strength of a man's willpower. From fighting corrupt bureaucrats to over-indulging villagers and annoying family members, Dashrath fights all odds to ensure that he completes the task he took upon himself, one that will serve the mankind and just not a selfish emotion.
It's not that the film is without jarring points. Most of the character artists goof up with the accent while mouthing the dialogues in the dialect spoken in the region. In fact, except Siddiqui, Dhulia, Apte and Pankaj Tripathi, everyone seems to have put on a fake and forced 'Bihari' accent. The very Bollywood-ised romance between Siddiqui and Apte seems out of place as well. At best, this should have been part of dream sequences. Given the realism of the story, the flying sarees and Apte roaming around without blouses do not quite fit into the cultural milieu.
However, in Manjhi The Mountain Man, ignoring the small bloopers is quite easy. The inspiring narrative, the powerful love story and hard-hitting performances make for a wonderful cinematic experience. Watch it for Siddiqui and Apte's acting, watch it for Dashrath Manjhi's empowering will power, watch it for the sheer realism with which Mehta has put it all together.
And we would say that if there's one movie you want to watch this year, let it be Manjhi.
News monitored by AMRESH & AJEET
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.