Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 12.04.12
Homeless dalits seek sites, submit memo - Deccan Herald
Rescued bonded labourers yet to be rehabilitated - The Hindu
Ensure SC/ST rape victims get pension: Nitish to DMs - The Financial Times
Human rights report exposes 7,563 rapes in Jharkhand in 10 years - Business Standard
She travelled far to find herself - The Hindu
Deccan Herald
Homeless dalits seek sites, submit memo
Kolar, April 11, 2012, DHNS:
The homeless dalits from the villages of Chodadenahalli, Bette Hosapura and Munjalli villages on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner seeking sites.
United Sainik Dal State Unit President M Venkataswamy said that in Survey No 72, 56 acres of government land is available along Narsapur-Vemgal Road near Bette Hosapura.
United Sainik Dal State Unit President M Venkataswamy said that in Survey No 72, 56 acres of government land is available along Narsapur-Vemgal Road near Bette Hosapura.
He said that sites should be given to 250 dalit individuals, who have been demanding the same for several years. Land sharks have set their eyes on the huts and are facing eviction, the memorandum alleged.
Representation
A representation has been made to this effect to the Chief Secreatary on April 5 along with the demands.
If the demands are not met, a protest will be led by Dalit leaders.
A representation has been made to this effect to the Chief Secreatary on April 5 along with the demands.
If the demands are not met, a protest will be led by Dalit leaders.
The Hindu
Rescued bonded labourers yet to be rehabilitated
D. Karthikeyan
NCPCR demands state intervention to put children back to schools under the
Right to Education Act
Bonded labourers, including children, who were rescued from 'murukku' making units in Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh and psychologically affected due to mental and physical torture in cramped working spots, are yearning for rehabilitation.
The Madurai district police, on March 24, brought home 42 bonded labourers who were rescued from three States. Fifteen among the 42 labourers were children and 21 among them were Dalits. The few lucky ones have been taken back to their homes by their parents but many are still at homes for runaway children in Madurai.
The condition of the youth and children, who were rescued, looks pathetic and it could be found that most of them were psychologically affected and needed rehabilitation, said Henri Tiphagne, state representative, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, who visited the affected persons.
Mr. Tiphagne told The Hindu that the district administration should take action under the Bonded Labourers Rehabilitation Act. "This case and the previous case in which children rescued were more in number actually is child trafficking against the vulnerable social groups and we have to fight it tooth and nail."
"As a representative of NCPCR, I visited them and found that most of them are psychologically affected. They need rehabilitation in a proper way and efforts should be taken to make them go back to schools. State and district administration should take serious efforts to put them into residential schools and the Right to Education Act should be used to take them to these schools."
"Remaining rescued bonded labourers could be given proper rehabilitation with the help of the State Nodal Officer, District Mental Health Programme, who is based in the city. They could be given land and help to have a self sustained economic activity. Compensation amount of Rs. 20, 000 under Bonded Labour Rehabilitation Act and in the case of Dalits an enhanced compensation of Rs. 60, 000 under SC/ST POA Act should be given without delay," he said.
Mr. Tiphagne cited the classic case of Bandhua Mukti Morcha vs State of Tamil Nadu, 16 October, 1986, where the Supreme Court, after the liberation of bonded labourers in and around Kodaikanal, instructed the government to provide specific facilities for the rehabilitation of liberated labourers, which included provision of land.
When asked why can't there be steps to prevent such trafficking of children and forms of bonded labour, he said that this had been a phenomenon in and around Usilampatti area. "It is just a tip of the iceberg; we never had any state-level intervention and no serious high-level police action has been taken. There are reports that still 500 more children could be working in 'murukku' making units in northern, eastern and western parts of India."
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, is scheduled to visit India during the third week of April. "Probably she could take cognizance of the issue and address it," he said.
Women and Child welfare department should take serious note of this issue and also take steps to prevent such trafficking . The NCPCR state representative also opined that the Madras High Court should suo motu monitor the investigation and State and district legal aid centres should swing into action.
The Financial Times
Ensure SC/ST rape victims get pension: Nitish to DMs
Santosh Singh
Posted: Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 at 0043 hrs IST
Patna: Ahead of his April 17 meeting with Union Home and Social Justice ministers on cases of atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered district magistrates to ensure that the monthly pension of Rs 3,000 reaches rape victims and the kin of those killed from SC/ST communities.
Nitish has taken a strong note of district administrations not conforming to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act norm which provides for pension to victims or their kin in case of rape, murder and carnage. There are over 100 cases in which beneficiaries have not received pension. Also, since 1994, police have been able to investigate only 1,895 cases. Over 1,800 such cases are still pending.
Nitish has already announced opening of SC/ST police stations at each district headquarters. At a high-level meeting here on Tuesday, he said: "While it will be the duty of district magistrates to monitor cases of atrocities, Social Welfare department Secretary needs to ensure that such victims or their kin get pension and compensation as per the provisions of the Act."
Business Standard
Human rights report exposes 7,563 rapes in Jharkhand in 10 years
Tapan Chakravorti / Kolkata/ Ranchi Apr 12, 2012, 00:41 IST
A report titled – "Jharkhand Human Rights Report 2001-2010", compiled by the Jharkhand Human Rights Movement, revealed 7,563 reported rapes, 3,398 dowry atrocities, 576 custody deaths and over 100 hunger deaths in Jharkhand in 10 years after constitution of the new Jharkhand state on November 15, 2000.
The report also cited 174 rapes on tribal women and 194 cases of atrocities on tribals Rights activist Gladson Dundung, also a member of the Jharkhand Human Rights Movement said that during compilation of the report we felt that human rights violations had been rampant in Jharkhand and it could be controlled if the state government was active.
The rights activist said of the 100 hunger deaths, 40 are from primitive tribe groups. Most of the deaths are reported from Palamau, Chatra, Ranchi, Koderma, Hazaribagh, Godda, Dumka and Giridih.
The report has also accumulated figures from the National Crime Records Bureau and annual reports of the National Human Rights Commission, besides fields verification.
The report also highlighted the plight of dalits where 60 murders, 106 rapes on dalit women and 1,437 cases of dalit atrocities and 19 cases of untouchability were mentioned.The report also mentioned 249 cases of child atrocities including six cases of sale and purchase of children for prostitution.
The Hindu
She travelled far to find herself
Pushpa Achanta
Title: Blissed Out Author: M.C. Raj Publisher: Frog Books Pages: 428
In the early 18th and 19th centuries, the British may have plundered many lands with little respect for the inhabitants. But a few of their own merged their lives with those of the local people. A fictional account of one such person is the premise of M.C. Raj's latest novel Blissed Out.
The plot
Set in Aotearoa (now New Zealand), India and the U.S., Blissed Out is the story of a Helen, an attractive Englishwoman who marries a Maori chieftain and travels to India in her quest for peace of mind after her husband's brutal assassination.
Helen is adopted by her uncle Philip, a ruthless English army commander, after her mother dies during childbirth. He leads the colonial army that is slowly taking over Aotearoa, supported by priests spreading Christianity with scant regard for the indigenous Maori culture. Among the powerful native chieftains, proud of their traditions, is the young and determined Ngai Tahu. Intending to appease Ngai, the colonel has Helen introduced to him. To his disappointment, the two fall in love. Soon, the chieftain is murdered and Helen leaves the country in search of herself. This leads her to India, Buddhism and a married professor.
Book within a book
Helen's story is revealed using a non-linear narrative.
The story unfolds as Iniyan, a young Indian student in New Zealand who befriends Helen's daughter Nyree, reads her dairy. A Dalit from Sira, a town between Mumbai and Bangalore, Iniyan decides to produce a television series around Helen's life, uncovering stories about his own family.
However, the book does not use the format of jottings in a diary with specific dates. In fact, one might think that Helen is recounting the story of her life to the reader, at her own pace.
A few parts of the book may seem far fetched, while others are typical, with some readers probably able to predict at least parts of the climax. But the plot is intriguing and bold overall in its treatment of sexuality and human relationships.
Writing on the subaltern
This is the third work of fiction by M.C. Raj who has earlier penned Raachi andYoikana. He has also authored books on Dalit culture and politics, a few of which have been done in collaboration with his wife Jothi Raj.
Based in Tumkur district of Karnataka, the couple has been working for over three decades for the progress of Dalits and their inclusion in various spheres of public life.
.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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