DALITS/SCHEDULED CASTES - 2009 - Indian Social Institute

Rahul dines with Dalits in Amethi (2)
LUCKNOW: While in Lucknow he may have resisted all suggestions to visit Rita Bahuguna Joshi's house
to avoid locking horns with the BSP supremo, back to Amethi the same night Rahul Gandhi once again
waved out a red cloth before chief minister Mayawati by dining with Dalit women in Kansapur, a small
hamlet in his constituency. Rahul reached Kansapur, nearly 9 km off Amethi, along with his friends at
10.30 pm. Though their host at the dinner at a short notice was a `savarn' (upper caste) Diptika
Srivastava, who heads a women self-help group in the area, all invitees who joined in the community
feast were Dalits from the neighbourhood. The number approximately 50 stayed up till late as the Gandhi
scion exchanged views with them. The conversation veered around a little bit of Maya bashing with Rahul
telling women how the chief minister did not accord any priority to Amethi for any dvelopement projects.
Rahul has lauched a similar self-help group in Budelkhand also, party sources told TOI and Amethi group
has been frequenting the region to teach them the nitty-gritty of the project. The MP shared their
experiences and gave suggestions. The visit lasted approximately five hours. Rahul and his cronies got
back to the rest house only after 3:00 am. It is his second visit to dine with Dalits in Kansapur, sources
claimed. (Times of India 8/8/09)
Tamil Nadu: Dalit Christians embrace Hinduism (2)
More than 200 Dalits who had embraced Christianity were ‘reconverted’ to Hinduism at a village near
Dindigul in a function organised by Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP). VHP sources claimed that 207 people
returned to Hinduism at a function in Tamaraikulam near here yesterday following alleged 'neglect' faced
by them in Christian community. The VHP presented mementos to the reconverted.(Indian Express
10/8/09)
Sonia batters BSP govt’s claims on uplift of Dalits (2)
Rae Bareli: On the second day of her visit to Rae Bareli, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi battered BSP
government’s claims of being a messiah to Dalits and downtrodden as also Chief Minister’s tall claims of
transparent police functioning in UP. The UPA chairperson not only exposed a case of setting up of a
Dalit asking the local Additional SP to probe but also ensured that the victim was released. In another
major embarrassment to the BSP government, personnel of a police station in Rae Bareli, approached
the Congress heavyweight for getting basic amenities at their workplace. Sonia Gandhi was too happy to
oblige the cops and immediately asked the local MLA to get the works done by using his Local Area
Development (LAD) fund. Atrocities on Dalits in the BSP regime came to the fore soon after Sonia
reached Sarai Digausa hamlet in Lalganj Assembly segment. Villager and kin of a local, Chedi Lal Pasi,
complained to the Congress chief that Pasi had been picked up by the police on Monday evening and
was set up in a fake case of manufacturing of illict liquor. A concerned Sonia Gandhi immediately asked
the accompanying Additional SP and CO of Rae Bareli to come out with the truth. The officers later said
that local cops at Ataura police station had picked up Pasi to achieve the ‘target of booking criminals’
involved in manufacturing of hooch. The officers after apologising to Sonia on their colleagues’ behalf
ensured the release of Chedi Lal. The Congress and other Opposition parties had earlier alleged that the
atrocities against Dalits and their unnecesary harassment had only increased during Chief Minister
Mayawati’s tenure. The Congress chief later moved on to Kesharuwa and Narpatganj hamlets where
local residents narrated their woes. Besides other central schemes, Sonia enquired whether Maulana
Azad Scholarship scheme for minority students was reaching them. Apalled at the poor condition of a
park named after freedom fighter Rana Beni Madhao, she instructed Youth Congress leaders and local
MLA Ashok Singh to spruce it up. Sonia then proceeded to Dhiru Govindpur and Pure Lal Saheb where
she made an on-the-spot inspection of a road laid under NREGA. Local pradhans told her that the DM
had taken up the project only three days back after learning of her visit. She also visited Ahirha and
Munshiganj villages. Sonia also met people from various sections of the society at the ITI Guest House in
the morning and NTPC guest house in the evening. She also inaugurated the Rajeev Gandhi Boys Hostel
at Feroz Gandhi Post Graduate College besides laying the foundation stone of Adminstrative
Block.(Pioneer 12/8/09)
Parents' plight drives Dalit boy to suicide (2)
VIJAYAWADA: It was a struggle between hope and despair. While hope pushed him to pursue his dream,
despair, in the form of poverty kept pulling him back and finally pushed him to death. This is the tragic
case of 18-year-old D Syam Kumar, an engineering student, who fought his circumstances as a member