Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 15.09.15
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/500851/parents-kill-girl-eloping-dalit.html
4 Held for Molestation - The New Indian Express
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/4-Held-for-Molestation/2015/09/15/article3028815.ece
Dalits seek separate school in Tirunelveli village - The Hindu
Encroachment on patta lands alleged - The Hindu
HTTP://WWW.THEHINDU.COM/NEWS/CITIES/MADURAI/ENCROACHMENT-ON-PATTA-LANDS-ALLEGED/ARTICLE7653649.ECE
Tension affects studies of 1,000 students in CM Khattar's village - The Hindustan Times
Dharna against atrocities on Dalits - The Hindu
'Was locked in a room for two months to be cured' reveals Karnataka's first transgender student - DNA
Government Plan for Transgenders on Cards - The New Indian Express
SC farmers get over 2 cr for irrigation pumps - The Times Of India
SC asks girl facing Khap threat to appear before it - The Times Of India
Please Watch:
Rough Roads to Equality - Women Police in South Asia interviews
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-vJUktRPeU&feature=em-share_video_user
Note: Please find attachment for DMW Hindi (PDF)
Deccan Herald
Parents kill girl for eloping with Dalit youth
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/500851/parents-kill-girl-eloping-dalit.html
Bengaluru: Sep 14, 2015, dhns
Couple arrested for poisoning teen; lover held for kidnap
In a case of honour killing, a 16-year-old girl was poisoned to death by her parents in Ramanagara district on Saturday night as she had eloped with a Dalit youth.
Govindaraju, a barber by profession, and his wife Jayalakshamma fed the girl, a school dropout, food laced with poison. The police on Sunday arrested the couple on charge of murder.
The Ramanagara Rural police have also arrested Manjunath (21), the Dalit youth, on charge of kidnap and provisions of the POCSO Act as the girl was a minor.
The police said the girl fell in love with Manjunath, a painter and native of Hubballi, when staying at her elder sister's house at Sunkadakatte in Bengaluru.
After learning about the affair, her parents took her back to their village K G Hosahalli. However, the duo continued to meet as Manjunath used to visit her village.
On September 6, Manjunath went to K G Hosahalli and the duo eloped to Sunkadakatte and from there to Hubballi.
The girl's parents lodged a missing person's report with the police. The cops learnt about the girl's affair with Manjunath and tracked him down to Hubballi based on his mobile phone call details.
A police team went to Hubballi, traced the duo and brought them to Ramanagara on Saturday evening. After counselling the girl, the police handed her over to her parents.
Around 9 pm, the parents made her eat the poisoned food, and she died later. On Sunday morning, the neighbours suspected something fishy and informed the police.
The parents confessed to the killing during questioning, said the police.
"They said they could not live with honour in the village as their daughter had eloped with a youth from a lower caste, and thus decided to kill her," said a senior police officer.
The New Indian Express
4 Held for Molestation
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/4-Held-for-Molestation/2015/09/15/article3028815.ece
By Express News Service Published: 15th September 2015 05:49 AM Last Updated: 15th September 2015 05:49 AM
THRISSUR: Chavakkad police on Monday registered a case and commenced investigation into an incident where a mentally challenged youth from a backward caste was reportedly forced into unnatural sex for over a period of six months.
Going by the case diary, Thankamani, wife of Sukumaran, the mother of the youth has filed complaint against four persons.
According to Kunnamkulam DySP, the police have commenced investigation into the incident.
"We have taken statement from the complainant, according to which the accused had resorted to such deviant acts on four or five occasions over the past six months. We are verifying the veracity of the claims," he said.
A case has been registered under IPC 377 and under various provisions of the SC/ST Atrocities Act.
The Hindu
Dalits seek separate school in Tirunelveli village
They said Dalit students could not attend classes in Pannai Venkatramaiyar High School in North Gopalasamudram after a murder with caste overtones.
A group of women from South Gopalasamudram, a sleepy hamlet in the district that witnessed a murder with caste overtones in 2013, staged dharna on the Collectorate premises on Monday demanding separate school for Dalit students.
The petitioners sat on the ground in front the District Development Council Hall where the weekly grievance day meeting was going on. They said Dalit students of South Gopalasamudram could not attend classes in Pannai Venkatramaiyar High School in North Gopalasamudram after a murder with caste overtones. Classes for them were being conducted in a community hall in their village since November 2013.
Besides Caste Hindu students, a few teachers of the school also were against Dalit students, which forced them to continue with their studies in the temporary school at the community hall.
Even though the Collector had recommended to the Department of Adi Dravida Welfare to start a new school at South Gopalasamudram for Dalits, no further action had been taken by the higher-ups to convert the temporary arrangement into a full-fledged permanent school.
"While our children cannot go to the North Gopalasamudram school after the murder, they cannot go to the schools at Munneerpallam or Cheranmahadevi also as they have to travel for more than 10 km. Ultimately, good number of children who had been admitted at the temporary school, have put an end to education and have become child labourers. If a high school is started at South Gopalasamudram, Dalit dropouts can continue their education," said M. Perumal of South Gopalasamudram.
The Hindu
Encroachment on patta lands alleged
HTTP://WWW.THEHINDU.COM/NEWS/CITIES/MADURAI/ENCROACHMENT-ON-PATTA-LANDS-ALLEGED/ARTICLE7653649.ECE
STAFF REPORTER
Around 60 Dalits from Kuravakudi village in Usilampatti alleged that they had been unable to access patta lands given to them by the district administration in 1999 and assembled at the Collectorate here on Monday.
S. Tamilselvi, a resident said that 66 beneficiaries had been given individual patta lands in the village by the district administration in 1999. "We were shown the patta lands and given documents, but ever since we have been waging a battle with a few farmers who have been doing agriculture there," she said.
The villagers said that despite repeated attempts, they were not able to evict the encroachers and retrieve their lands.
"In the last 16 years, 6 of the beneficiaries have even passed away and none of us have got the chance to live in our lands till date. Earlier last month, we approached the district administration to retrieve our lands and knowing this, the encroachers began plantation activities on the lands," Pochammal, a resident alleged.
The Hindustan Times
Tension affects studies of 1,000 students in CM Khattar's village
Neeraj Mohan, Hindustan Times, Baniyani (Rohtak)
The ongoing tension between two communities following a clash over molestation of a minor girl of Thakur community by a Dalit boy, has adversely affected the studies of about 1,000 students in the government senior secondary school at chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar's native village Baniyani in this district.
Following the clash, which left five people injured, heavy police deployment had been made in the village, especially near the school, where the incident of molestation took place on September 9.
Ever since, the attendance of students in the government school in the village has drastically reduced. Out of 50 students in Class 12, only eight (all boys) were present on Monday. Similarly, the number of students in primary classes has also come down to 10-15%, as the parents are not sending their children to school.
"Several students, including the victim of molestation, are not attending their classes. This is very unfortunate as there is no problem at the school. The parents should send their children to school as the board exams are likely to start on September 29", said district education officer Satyawati Nandal.
"We are talking to parents of the children and urging to send their wards to school as their absence is affecting their studies," she said. "I will also talk to the Rohtak deputy commissioner for removal of the police from the school," she added.
'Dalits not sending children to school'
Majority of students studying in the government school belong to the Dalit community and the members of the upper caste alleged that the Dalits had stopped their children from attending classes to build pressure on the district administration and the police.
"Do you see anything wrong in our village. Everybody is safe. When 10-15% children are attending the classes without any fear, why the others are not coming to the school?" asked Ashok Kumar, a village resident.
Incident brings bad name to CM's village
The villagers say that the clash between Dalits and Thakur communities has sullied the image of the chief minister's village.
"Though peace prevails in the village, there are some people who, with an eye on the coming panchayat elections, are politicising the issue for their political interests," said Sonu, another resident of village.
Three more arrested
Following the threat by the Dalit community members to leave the village, the Rohtak police on Monday swung into action and arrested three people of the Thakur community, who have been booked under the SC/ST Act attacking the Dalits.
The accused have been identified as Somvir, Umedh Singh and Satish, all residents of Baniyani village.
Though the Dalit minor boy, the main accused in the molestation case, is under treatment at the PGIMS Rohtak, the police have not yet arrested him and the other three unnamed youths, who were booked on the same charges."The main accused is taking treatment at the PGIMS. Though he is not in police custody yet, we are keeping a vigil on him", said DSP Pushpa Khatri.
The Hindu
Dharna against atrocities on Dalits
Members of the district committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) staged a dharna in front of the Clock Tower here on Monday against the increasing atrocities on Dalits in the State.
Balakrishna Shetty, secretary of the district committee, said that it was unfortunate that after 68 years of Independence, Dalits were not being allowed entry in a temple in Sigaranahalli village in Holenarsipur taluk, which was part of the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency represented by the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. Mr. Gowda's son and the former Minister, H.D. Revanna, represented the Assembly constituency there.
On September 6, when four Dalit women tried to enter the temple, members of the upper castes opposed it. To protest against this, members of the CPI(M) and progressive thinkers and Dalit leaders decided to hold a "sahabhojana" (meal partaken by all communities) at Sigaranahalli and then enter the temple on September 12.
But the police arrested all the leaders at Hassan and prevented them from going to Siraganahalli.
This was an illegal act, he allged. The police not only arrested but also slapped legal cases against the State Secretary of the CPI(M) G.V. Sriram Reddy, writer J.H. Narayana Swami and journalist Venkatesh Murthy.
Several phases of protests were held against the boycott of Dalits in Malakumbi village in Gangavati taluk of Koppal district. A person Dodda Veeresh, who was a prime witness to the atrocities against Dalits there, had been killed. Though two months had elapsed since his murder, no one had been arrested.
Instead, the police arrested and foisted cases against leaders of CPI(M), who demanded a probe into Veeresh's murder. The persons against whom the cases were slapped included M.A. Baby, member of the CPI(M) politburo, K. Radhakrishnan, former Minister of Kerala, and Mr. Sriram Reddy. Mr. Shetty alleged that there was an increase in atrocities against Dalits in the State. The Congress government was doing nothing to prevent it, he added.
DNA
'Was locked in a room for two months to be cured'
reveals Karnataka's first transgender student
Wednesday, 26 August 2015 - 3:25pm IST | Place: Bangalore | Agency: iamin.in
After three years of sex work, Suma quit the profession forever. She started working at Samara, an NGO for sexual minorities where she got promoted as its director.
Suma works from 9 am to 6 pm after which she attends the evening college.
Lot of courage and struggle by Suma M, 26-year-old transgender has finally been fruitful as Suma is in the grounds of St Joseph evening college becoming the state's first transsexual student. Struggle, hard work, harassment, torture, rape are not mere simple terms for Suma M, who is pursuing a bachelors in Journalism, Political Science and Sociology (J.P.S) at the college in Bangalore.
Sharing her story with iamin, Suma said, "I applied for admission at many places like Bangalore University, Maharani College and IGNOU but I was denied admission everywhere due to my sex. Since Akkai Padmashali, transgender activist, had a good relationship with St Joseph administration, they immediately admitted me. I am thankful to the institution."
Before joining college, Suma had a 9 am to 6 pm job. She will now be managing studies and work at the same time as she also has to support her family. She said, "The teachers are very helpful and I have made friends here. So, I do not feel exhausted. I finally feel that I'm at the right place."
Suma has had a bad past because of the kind of horrors she faced in life. It was in 2005 when she was studying BBM in a reputed college in Bangalore when it all began. She narrated, "It was then that I started feeling that I was a female in a male's body. My classmates used to imitate me even though I was good at studies. I never answered any questions asked by the teachers out of shame. Unable to cope up with the physical and mental harassment, I left studies."
She thought she could be happy at home but she was wrong. "My family too thought that I had a mental problem and took me to NIMHANS where the doctor 'taught' me how to walk. I did try but it was very hard for me. Then they took me to a temple as that also did not work. They locked me inside a room also for two months," she said.
Suma finally escaped home and joined the Hamam. "I became a sex worker. Life was not easy. I got raped multiple times by goons, I had nowhere to go. After three years in this trade, I had my physiotherapy and sex reassignment surgery done from the money I had saved," she said.
After three years of sex work, she quit the profession forever. She started working at Samara, an NGO for sexual minorities where she got promoted as its director. She then shifted to Equations where she is currently handling a website. "Though I am good at work, I always wanted to get educated and that's when I started approaching universities for admission," she said. When Suma was asked why she chose journalism, she said, "Journalists have the power to bring about a change in the society. People choose different tools to identify social injustices. I chose journalism."
Head of Political Science Department Dr. Christopher said, "The management has taken a bold step by granting admission to Suma. We are not only teaching human rights to our students but also practicing it." "We can't discriminate them just because they are different. Many transgenders are not even given an opportunity. Who knows they might be better than the other students! The stigma with transsexuals persists even though we live in the IT hub. We hope other colleges take up this initiative too and give them an opportunity," he expressed.
Rune Regina, a classmate of Suma, thinks of her as friendly and enthusiastic towards studies. She said, "This is the first time I have a transgender as my classmate. It is our responsibility to make her feel conformable in the college. Everyone has the right to get educated regardless of their appearance.
The New Indian Express
Government Plan for Transgenders on Cards
By Express News Service Published: 15th September 2015 04:21 AM Last Updated: 15th September 2015 04:21 AM
BHUBANESWAR: The Department of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) has drafted a proposal for recognition of transgenders across the State and subsequently, enumerating them as third gender (TG).
The proposal also suggests that transgenders and eunuchs belonging to the SC/ST communities would be clubbed as SC/ST TGs and enjoy all benefits extended to SCs and STs.
Similarly, transgenders who belong to General category would be inducted into Socially and Economically Backward Communities (SEBCs), Commissioner-cum-Secretary, SSEPD Department Saswat Mishra said here on Monday.
Addressing a workshop on welfare of transgender and eunuchs, Mishra expressed confidence that the proposal was being reviewed at the top level of the Government and would be approved soon.
The Department has set up a 12-member committee which includes transgender community representatives, social workers and Government officials. The committee would frame modalities for effective implementation of these proposals.
This apart, certificates would be issued to transgenders on need basis through which they can avail reservation in education and public appointments.
The State Government move came in the wake of the Supreme Court decision which granted legal recognition to transgenders or eunuchs as third category of gender.
Speaking on the occasion, human rights activist Namrata Chadda said proper research should be done while identifying and recognising transgenders in the State. They should be segregated on the basis of their social and economic status.
"Half of the issues related to exploitation and harassment of transgenders would be solved if the society considers them as human beings first," Chaddha said and added that there should be a synergy among organisations working on transgender upliftment for streamlining of welfare programmes.
"Transgenders should ensure that they have a bank account and report any matter of harassment to the police. Instead of waiting for benefits from the public or Government, transgenders should cultivate a spirit of entrepreneurship," Chaddha added.
Among others, noted social activists and transgender community representatives, Saadhana Mishra, Meera Parida, Madhavi and Namita spoke on several issues related to harassment and public and Government apathy towards the community.
The conference was organised by social organisation Saathi.
The Times Of India
SC farmers get over 2 cr for irrigation pumps
TNN | Sep 15, 2015, 10.42 AM IST
RAIPUR: Chief minister Raman Singh sanctioned Rs 2.69 crore for electric connections at non-feasible irrigation pumps to 344 farmers belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) in the meeting of people's representatives and officers of SC Development Authority (SCDA) on Monday.
There is a proposal to provide financial help for self-employment to 300 SC youths under Mini Mata Swahalamban Yojana in the current financial year 2015-16. Raman Singh said Rs 1,50,000 will be given to an unemployed SC youth, who is selected by SCDA. On surplus requirement of finance, funds would be provided under Prime Minister's Mudra Bank Yojana. Singh said loans amounting from Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 lakh are provided to unemployed SC youths without any guarantee.
Singh also said the public utility 'nal-jal' yojanas will not be disconnected even if the electricity bills are not paid. The pending power bills will be cleared by panchayat and rural development department.
The Times Of India
SC asks girl facing Khap threat to appear before it
TNN | Sep 15, 2015, 07.03 AM IST
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday decided to get a first hand account of the recent case of a young Dalit woman and her family members from Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh being harassed and khap panchayat ordering for her rape.
A bench of Justices J Chelameswar and Abhay Manohar Sapre directed the woman and her family members to be present before it on Tuesday. The court directed Uttar Pradesh police not to take any action against them.
The young woman approached the Supreme Court for protection against the khap panchayat's diktat which was issued after her brother had eloped with a married woman from the Jat community. The girl, who fled from her village and is residing in Delhi, alleged that her family members were being falsely implicated by the state police in various criminal cases filed under the pressure from the Jat community.
She alleged that the state police, instead of protecting her, are harassing her family members and sought CBI probe.
The 23-year old woman said in her petition that she had to flee her village due to atrocities of members of Jat community and police.
"She and her family cannot return to her village and have been rendered homeless. She has been condemned by the Khap Panchayat to be raped and paraded naked because her brother Ravi fell in love and eloped with her friend Krishna who belongs to the dominant caste of Jat," the petition said.
According to the petition, her brother and the woman from the Jat community were in love but the woman was forcibly married off. A month after the marriage, the woman eloped with her (petitioner's) brother but they had to return due to pressure from the woman's family and UP police.
The petitioner said her brother was then implicated in a false narcotics case and arrested. He was later granted bail by a local court.
"The affair invited the wrath of UP police and Jat community as a consequence of which her family members were abducted and tortured by police. Her family had to flee their village and her home looted by the Jats," the petition said.
News monitored by AMRESH & AJEET
.Arun Khote
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
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