DALITS/SCHEDULED CASTES - 2009 - Indian Social Institute

Marathwada where 150 cases were registered till May 2009. The region has a large number of SCs who
feel emancipated due to their belief in Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s teachings. Statistics reveal that most
atrocity cases involve molestation, rape and murder. Quoting figures for 1999-2004, President of
Ambedkar Centre for Justice & Peace, NK Sonare, said that of 4,249 cases in the state, less than 5 per
cent of accused had been convicted. “It gives culprits the message that they can rape and kill Dalits, and
still get away with such heinous crimes. The situation may explode into a caste war anytime,” Sonare
said. As senior leaders were unavailable for comment Minister of State for Home Nitin Raut told
Hindustan Times, “We have prepared a 15-point plan to create awareness and fix responsibility. We may
even levy fines on an entire village where atrocities are committed frequently.” (Hindustan Times 3/8/09)
Kerala Dalit stir enters third year but Red eyes still closed (2)
Pathanamthitta: About 10,000 homeless and landless Dalits including women, aged people and kids
belonging to 4,000-odd families have been agitating in the inhospitable hills of Chengara in Kerala’s
Pathanamthitta district for land for the past two years, but the LDF Government led by the CPI(M), who
claim to be the saviours of the poor, is still refusing to open its eyes to the reality. Instead, the captains of
the Government, including Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, have consistently ridiculed these hapless
indigenous people by terming them as rubber thieves and anti-national extremists. The Dalits’ stir had
started on August 4 2007, and when it entered the third year, they have lost almost all their hopes of
getting even a piece of land from the Government. However, they are determined to stay on in the
agitation camp, a 600-acre estate of aged rubber trees, bearing all the hardships posed by nature,
suffering diseases like viral fevers and jaundice and withstanding the attacks from trade unions acting
under orders of political parties. All because of one simple reason: They have no place to go. “We will
stay here till we get land. We will die here if we don’t get land. We have no place to go,” said a 70-yearold
woman in the camp. Eleven persons have died of diseases. More than 200 children from these
families have been missing school due to poverty as well as threat by trade union workers who have laid
siege on the estate since August 3, 2008. “This attitude of the Government shows that the CPI(M),
despite its slogans, is not interested in the lives of the poor people. We are sure that they will never
assure justice to the Dalits and other poor people,” Lhaha Gopalan, president, Sadhujana Vimochana
Samyuktha Vedi said, which is spearheading the struggle. More than 90 per cent of the families do not
even have land to bury the dead. The Vedi had started the stir demanding five acres of land and funds to
start cultivation per family, but the demand came down to mere one acre and money. But the
Government, which held several rounds of talks with them, continued to hold on to its stand that
Chengara could not be taken as a separate case and that land would be given to the landless as per the
rules. According to Gopalan, the Chief Minister even threatened to send in “police with teeth and claw” to
Chengara if the stir continued. (Pioneer 4/8/09)
Parliament approves SC/ST reservation Bill (2)
NEW DELHI: Parliament has adopted the Constitution (109th amendment) Bill, 2009, for providing
reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and the Legislative
Assemblies for another 10 years, with the Lok Sabha approving it by division of votes on Tuesday. The
Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on Monday. The Bill was adopted with an amendment by the government.
When the Bill was taken up for consideration in the Lok Sabha and put to vote later, 375 members voted
in its favour. One member opposed it and another abstained from voting. The Bill seeks to extend the
reservation beyond January 25, 2010, when the time period of 60 years under Article 334 of the
Constitution lapses, and also to extend the nomination of Anglo-Indians to the Lok Sabha and Legislative
Assemblies by another 10 years. Law and Justice Minister M. Veerappa Moily, who moved the Bill, said of
the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, SCs had 79 and STs 41. Similarly, of the 3,961 seats in the Legislative
Assemblies, SCs had been reserved 543 seats and STs 527. Urging the House to adopt the Bill, Mr.
Moily said there should be a “change of heart” in society towards SCs and STs. “We need to travel more
distance to ensure they join the mainstream. We must practice inclusive politics and not exclusive
politics...fragmented politics,” he said. (The Hindu 5/8/09)
Call for nominated Dalit member (2)
KOTTAYAM: Laha Gopalan, leader of the Sadhu Jana Vimochana Samyukta Vedi, which spearheads the
Chengara agitation, has called for the nomination of a member from the SC/ST and converted Christian
communities to the Assembly to effectively take up Dalit issues. Speaking to mediapersons here on