DALITS/SCHEDULED CASTES - 2013 - Indian Social Institute

A love affair and economic boycott of Dalits (2)KRISHNAGIRI: Over 300 Dalit families of Deveerahalli Village, of Kudimenahalli Panchayat, in Krishnagiridistrict allege that they are being denied work by intermediate castes of the village and of six other nearbyvillages. The reason behind this, they say, is that a Dalit youth in their area had fallen in love with a girl ofan intermediate caste from Sathinayakkanpatti under Damodarahalli Panchayat. The girl is back with herparents after the youth’s parents wanted her to go back, as they feared the type of mob fury which wasunleashed on three colonies in nearby Dharmapuri district, over a similar issue in November last year.But, the boycott of the Dalits of the Krishnagiri village continues though the affair had come to light inDecember and the girl had gone back to her home. Intermediate castes have banned Dalits from workingon their agriculture fields, brick kilns and other income-earning activities since then. The decision to barthem from such forms of employment was allegedly taken by a ‘khap panchayat’ — a council of olderpersons who issue decrees to their community members on matters such as marriage — consisting of theleaders of seven villages, in and around Sathinayakkanpatti and Deevarahalli, on December 24 last year,alleged A. Manikandan, district convener of Naam Tamizhar Katchi. Many Dalits, who have also taken upthe lands of intermediate caste on lease, for cultivation of crops, lost lakhs of rupees due to the economicboycott. They were not allowed to step into the farm lands. M. Kumar (37), who is District president of HIVPositive Network, said, “After the incident in December, the neighbouring landowner refused to give waterfor irrigating my ragi crop, cultivated on half an acre. I was forced to buy water from another village andbring it by tractors to save my crop’’. S. Salamma (45) of Deveerapalli village says she has two youngsons to take care of. As her husband, a daily wage earner, has been rendered jobless because of theboycott, the family is totally dependent on the earnings from the Mahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) works and the free rice distributed through the publicdistribution system. M. Chitra (30), mother of two male children, said, “There is no discrimination at theMGNREGS worksite, but the intermediate castes stopped speaking to us after the order of the khappanchayat”. The decision taken at the khap panchayat allegedly ordered that Dalits should not beemployed under the MGNREGS also. But, it was rejected by the village panchayat president K.Murugesan. Himself a member of an intermediate caste, he told the village leaders that he could notindulge in discrimination as the head of a local body. The parents of the youth and the girl could not becontacted for their comments. X. Irudayaraj, District Secretary, Tamil Nadu Untouchability EradicationFront (TNUEF), and G. Sekar, District Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist), added the policeand revenue authorities should take proper action against those indulging in the boycott of Dalits, whichdenied them livelihood. Stating that his inquiry found a boycott of the Dalits, Deputy Superintendent ofPolice, Bargur, G. Gajendran said, on Saturday, that he would conduct a meeting between the Dalits andcaste-Hindus in a day or two to resolve the issue. As for the love affair, Mr. Gajendran said that evenbefore a formal complaint was lodged by the girl’s family, a police team visited the village and took allpossible measures to prevent any untoward incident, and the girl returned to her parents. Collector T.P.Rajesh said that he would verify the factual position in the Dalit village and take appropriate action as perthe law. (The Hindu 14/4/13)‘Governments have failed to show commitment to work for Dalits’ (2)BANGALORE: The governments formed after Independence, both at the Centre and the State, have notshown political will or commitment to work for the welfare of Dalits, said Yashodha P., president,Karnataka Dalit Women Forum. She was speaking at the launch of a national-level claim petitioncampaign here on Sunday that coincided with the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar. Ms. Yashodhapointed out that despite the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989,atrocities continued to be committed against Dalits. Manohar Elavarthi, core committee member of thePraja Rajakiya Vedike, pointed out that none of the political parties were committed to work for the causeof the Dalits. Pointing out that the issue of land played a pivotal role in the emancipation of Dalits, shesaid, “Various laws such as the land ceiling Act to reduce disparities by redistribution of land were not