DALIT ATROCITIES - 2005 - Indian Social Institute

went to Bedkalan on April 11, found that cas-teism in the region was deep-rooted and
untouchability was acute. Any small attempt of assertion by Dalits is viewed as an act of
arrogance and disobedience to the social hierarchy in which Rajputs and other higher castes
dominate. (The Hindu 24/4/05)
Dalit resigns within 5 mins of assuming panchayat post (2)
Madurai, April 24: Mr Azhagumalai in Keeripatti has done his job well. Sponsored by upper
caste The-vars in the April 19 panchayat president election, the Dalit scored a huge victory
against a challenger put up by the Dalit Panthers of India, thereby reaffirming the caste
dominance in his village about 45 km from here. However, within five minutes of taking charge of
his new office on Saturday morning, the 60-year-old Dalit handed over his resignation to election
officer S. Ramachandran as per the diktat of his upper caste bosses. It was a reenactment of the
socio-political farce that has been going on for almost a decade in Keeripatti and two other
villages in Madurai district, where the upper caste landlords have been effectively sabotaging the
panchayat president elections just because the posts were reserved for Dalits. The upper castes
do not want to be administered by a Dalit, that too, a labourer working in their fields. Mr. Azhagu
won 487 votes in the Tuesday poll to trounce DPI’s Poongodi who managed a mere 29 votes. But
there were no celebrations for the victor as he knew that he must affix his thumb print on the
resignation letter already penned by an upper caste boss. Receiving the letter, election officer
Ramachandran said he will hand it over to district collector D. Rajendran. Sources at the
collector's office told this newspaper that the resignation will be forwarded to the state Elec-tion
Commission for notifying the by-election once again next year. (Asian Age 25/4/05)
Dalit resignation spurs protests in TN (2)
Madurai, April 25: The Dalit Panthers of India held demonstrations in 29 district headquarters
protesting against the resignation of newly-elected Keeripatti panchayat president V.
Azhagumalai on Sunday. The DPI is also calling for a CBI probe into the death of Karayanapatti
Narasingam, the DPI candidate for Papapatti, who died under mysterious circumstances.
Mr Azhagumalai, the Dalit candidate fielded by the villagers, scored a thumping victory over his
rival and DPI candidate Poongodi with a margin of 458 votes. The election to this reserved constituency
was held on April 19 and out of the 521 votes polled, Mr Azhagumalai secured 487 and
his rival only 29 votes. Five votes were, declared spoilt. But within minutes of assuming office, Mr
Azhagumalai submitted his resignation. This panchayat has not had a president for the past nine
years as only a Dalit can hold this post under the Panchayat Act. In the year 2002, the victorious
candidate Karutha Kannan, who was also the village candidate, quit soon after he assumed
charge. On Sunday morning, tight security arrangements had been made when Mr Azhagumalai
came to the panchayat office in Keeripatti to assume charge accompanied by his lawyers and
upper caste supporters. He was sworn-in by the election officer Ramachandran. He signed his
acceptance and occupied the official seat. But five minutes later, he handed his resignation letter
to the assistant returning officer Rajendran. When the officer asked him an explanation for his
resignation, Mr Azhagu-malai kept silent. His advocates then handed over an explanation letter to
the officer. He said in his letter that he was resigning from the post of his own free will and was
not being forced to do so. He said members of the Piramalai Kallar community who had elected
him to the post with a big majority, were classified under the schedule caste till January 26, 1950,
and enjoyed the same benefits as Dalits. (Asian Age 26/4/05)
National campaign on Dalit rights welcomes U.N. resolution (2)
NEW DELHI: The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) has welcomed the United
Nations resolution on the appointment of special rapporteurs to undertake a study on the
condition of communities suffering from "work and descent-based discrimination." In a statement
issued here on Tuesday, the NCDHR general secretary, J. Vincent Manoharan, said that it was a
belated victory in the international recognition of the plight of Dalits. "I also recognise and
welcome the stand of the recently elected Indian Government which did not come in the way of
the passing and adoption of this resolution," he said. The special rapporteurs, Yozo
Yokota and Chin-Sung Chung, will undertake a three-year study, and will put together a draft set
of principles and guidelines to eliminate the form of discrimination under scrutiny. The NCDHR