DALITS/SCHEDULED CASTES - 2013 - Indian Social Institute

Debabrata Mohanty reportsUntil a month before Naveen Patnaik became Orissa's chief minister in March2000, Dalit labourer Ganapati Naik, now 42, had been living a happy if impoverished life with his brideand parents in Balichhai village of Ganjam district. On February 20, Babula Nayak, 28, of the Hadi caste(one of 93 scheduled castes in Orissa) of Balichhai was buying potatoes when his hand accidentallybrushed that of grocer Pradip Patra, who belonged to a higher caste. Patra hurled abuses at Nayak for"desecrating" him. The village was already tense as Dalit youths had started questioning thediscrimination they had been facing for generations. Over the next few days, Dalit houses were burnt ordemolished, men beaten up, and women abused and at times molested. Today, Ganapati and his familyof six are cooped up in a poultry farm in Balipadar village, 10 km from Balichhai, unable to return home asthe upper castes have taken over the village. The farm belongs to Ganapati's uncle, who has rented it outto the fleeing family. "I want to go back. Who would want to stay in a dark broiler farm?" says Ganapati."But who would guarantee my safety?" Fifty other Dalit families feel the same, having fled Balichhai toBhubaneswar and elsewhere. In judgments in 2006 and 2011, the Orissa Human Rights Commissionsaid the Balichhai case was a clear one of torture, social injustice and atrocities against the Dalitpopulation by upper caste Hindus. "The district administration and the police have to work out an actionplan... It would be just inhuman and unacceptable to leave a weaker section of the community sufferingthe atrocity caused by the rest of the community." Dalits form a little under 17 per cent of Orissa's fourcrore population and are concentrated mostly in the coastal districts. Between 2009 and 2011, policelodged over 3,700 cases under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, according to data withthe state SC/ST department. In the western district of Bolangir, the houses of 50 families of Lathor villagewere burnt in January 2012 after a boy had reportedly "stolen" a shirt from the shop of an upper-casteowner. In Puri district, a Dalit was killed last year, allegedly by upper-caste villagers, after he refused tosurrender land registered in his name. And in Kendrapara, a Dalit woman who cooked mid-day meals at aschool committed suicide in November 2010, allegedly because of harassment by upper castes…. (IndianExpress 13/3/13)Dalits protest at collectorate against casteist violence (2)GREATER NOIDA: A massive protest took place at the collectorate against periodic episodes of violencein Ramgarh village in Dadri area of Greater Noida. With almost 200 protesters forcing their way into thecollectorate demanding justice, the administration was forced to partially agree to their demands. Exactlya year ago, on March 14, 2012, 19 people were brutally attacked by upper-caste men. Residents of aDalit colony in the village were attacked with sticks. The violence was sparked off by a property-relatedcase wherein a Dalit family had lodged a case against an upper-caste Gujjar group. In July 2012, a 24-year-old Dalit man's legs had to be amputated after he was found on the rail tracks, days after heprotested alleged attempts made by Gujjars to sell off land that Dalits claim belongs to them. The victim,Tika Ram's family, was one of the 70 who were allotted land in the village by the Mayawati government tobuild houses, residents said. Several Gujjars, they said, had sold land to a real estate developer and wereasking Dalits to sell their plots as well. According to the protesters, the administration has not only failedto prosecute the accused in previous cases but also failed to stop the continued harassment of Dalitfamilies in the village. The protest forced the district administration to agree to meet the members of theRYA. "The district magistrate will listen to their demands in two days," said an official. (Times of India15/3/13)D’nal Dalit rape, murder: Main accused held (2)Bhubaneswar: Police arrested the principal accused in connection with the sexual assault and killing of a17-year-old Dalit girl of Mathatentulia village under Gondia police limits in Dhenkanal district on Tuesday.A manhunt has been launched to nab the other accused who are absconding. The main accused ShibajiNayak of Mathatentulia and his other four friends had raped the Dalit girl and then burnt her alive in herhouse in the absence of her parents on Tuesday night. The criminals before committing the heinous