Thursday, August 1, 2013

A 17-year-old Dalit girl was killed and a youth was injured when two groups opened fire at each other over a land dispute in Budha Saifi village in Bharthana area, police said on Thursday.

Alka died on the spot while Indresh, of the other group was injured and rushed to a local hospital, they said.

His condition is stated to be stable, police said, adding an FIR has been lodged in this connection.

The Times Of India

Another dalit-vanniyar couple run into community hurdle

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Another-dalit-vanniyar-couple-run-into-community-hurdle/articleshow/21499544.cms

CHENNAI: The ill-fated Divya-Elavarasan marriage, and the violence it triggered, has shattered peace in another household where a dalit-vanniyar couple was leading a peaceful life for more than three years.

Now the dalit woman, S Sudha , who married a vanniyar man in April 2010 at Kadaiyampatti village in Dharmapuri district , has come knocking at the doors of the Madras high court, claiming that the entire family, including her in-laws , had been excommunicated. She sought protection from 'community leaders' .

Justice K K Sasidharan, before whom the matter came up for hearing, directed the Dharmapuri district administration to provide police protection to Sudha and her family members, and ensure that they lived peacefully without any threat or attack from the 21 identified individuals of the village.

Lamenting the lack of camaraderie among people from different castes, Justice Sasidharan said: "This petition projects a sorry state of affairs inTamil Nadu, and Dharmapuri district in particular. The petitioner (Sudha) had a love affair with a man of another community resulting in their marriage. She now wants to live in the village along with her in-laws . In a matter of this nature, the court has to strike a balance between the right of the petitioner to live in the village and the need to preserve peace and tranquillity in the area."

Sudha said that after the Divya-Elavarasan episode, violence broke out in Dharmapuri. She claimed that members of the vanniyar community in the village boycotted her family. Life became so miserable that she was forced to leave the village, she said, adding that 21 local leaders conducted a katta panchayat (kangaroo court) and excommunicated her and the family. She wanted police protection to live in the village.

When the matter was taken up, the government pleader informed the court that police were already providing protection to her and that two sub-inspectors and eight constables had been posted for their protection.

Recording the submissions, Justice Sasidharan asked the Dharmapuri superintendent of police to ensure that Sudha's family was able to live peacefully, and was allowed to use the village well and other common amenities without any problem.

It was murder, Elavarasan's dad says in plea

Chennai: Dalit youth E Elavarasan's death was a case of murder, not suicide, said his father T Elango in a petition filed in the Madras high court. Raising serious doubts about the suicide theorycirculated by police, he has sought a stay on all ongoing investigations in the case and demanded that a special investigation team be set up.

Elango said there was no suicidal tendency in Elavarasan. He said police were circulating the suicide theory to close the case early and also to appease 'communal forces' . Elango also raised doubts over the nature of injuries on Elavarasan's body, and the position and location where it was discovered on July 4. He rejected the police claim that Elavarasan had written a suicide note, which was released a week after he was found dead near a railway track in Dharmapuri.

Taking exception to the alacrity with which police declared that forensic tests had confirmed it was a case of suicide, Elango said Elavarasan could not have jumped in front of the train without anyone noticing it, as it happened around noon. He also referred to the different conclusions arrived at by doctors and forensic experts who examined the body. The matter is likely to be taken up on Wednesday.

The Hindu

Cancel bail of rape accused, demand Dalit outfits

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/cancel-bail-of-rape-accused-demand-dalit-outfits/article4976362.ece

Hundreds of activists of the Karnataka Janashakti and different Dalit organisations, including Karnataka Dalit Sangharsh Samiti and Madiga Dandora, marched to Ganadal village on Wednesday, demanding cancellation of bail for the rape accused.

The march started at Ambedkar circle in Raichur, with a few hundred people on bikes and four-wheelers. A public meeting was held in the village.

The activists demanded that the bail sanctioned to Talari Anjinayya and Chinnarangala Chinni, who had raped a 17-year-old Dalit girl in Ganadal, and physically assaulted her family members after coming out of bail, be cancelled.

"Talari Anjinayya along with eight members, had assaulted the rape victim's brother and mother. They were arrested and again released on bail. The district administration should banish them from the district," Ambanna Aroli, leader of the contract workers' association said.

The tahsildar, who is also the taluk magistrate, should have booked a case against the accused for attacking the victim's family members, he added.

"We are marching to Ganadal village in support of Dalit families, including rape victim's," Basavaraj, leader of Karnataka Janashakti, said.Ravindranath Patti, G.B. Raju, M.R. Bheri, Shankar Chaluvadi, Satyanarayan Chaluvadi, and other Dalit leaders participated in the march.

'The tahsildar should have booked a case against the accused for attacking the victim's family'

Deccan Chronicle

Restraint on filing final report in Ilavarasan case

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130801/news-current-affairs/article/restraint-filing-final-report-ilavarasan-case

Chennai: The Madras high court on Wednesday restrained the investigating officer from filing the final report in the case relating to the mysterious death of Dalit youth Ilavarasan, who married a caste Hindu girl in Dharmapuri district.

Passing interim orders on a petition from T. Elango, father of Ilavarasan, Justice K.K. Sasidharan said, "The investigation is stated to be only in the preliminary stage and, as such, pending adjudication of the issue raised by the petitioner, the investigating officer is restrained from filing final report.

However, this direction should not be construed as an expression of opinion on the correctness of the investigation so far conducted by the investigating officer. Post on August 6.

The judge said the counsel for the petitioner by placing reliance on the materials produced by the petitioner contended that there was a deliberate attempt from the beginning to conclude that it was a case of suicide and not homicide.

By placing reliance on the report submitted by Dr Chandrasekaran, forensic scientist, the counsel contended that the expert very clearly opined that it was a clear case of murder. The counsel, therefore, wanted this court to form a SIT including forensic experts.

The government pleader contended that the police was conducting investigation without any pre-determination and all aspects would be looked into.

He further contended that the investigating officer would consider even the materials now produced by the petitioner and there was no need to appoint a SIT for the case, in view of the impartial investigation conducted by the police.

The judge said the petitioner being the father of the deceased maintained that his son would not commit suicide and the theory of suicide was invented to sidetrack the investigation.

The investigating officer maintained that he was investigating the case with an open mind and efforts would be taken to decide as to whether it was a case of suicide or homicide.

The question now raised by the petitioner requires to be decided after giving a reasonable opportunity to the investigating officer to explain the steps so far taken to ascertain the truth.

The government pleader seeks time to file a status report, the judge added.

PIL for CBI probe into Ramesh case

The Madras high court on Wednesday reserved orders on a petition to order CBI probe into the murder of BJP state unit general secretary 'Auditor' V. Ramesh on July 19 in Salem district.

A division bench, comprising acting chief justice R.K. Agrawal and Justice M. Sathyanarayanan, reserved orders on a public interest litigation filed by T. Manoharan, a family friend of Ramesh.

According to the petitioner, a series of attacks on leaders with Hindutva leaning has been reported in recent times in the state. The state intelligence force has become ineffective.

The special investigation division constituted by the state cannot investigate the murder conspiracy since multi-state fundamentalists might be involved, and to book the actual culprits with fair, free and effective probe.

SID announced rewards to those who give useful information regarding the brutal killing of Ramesh.

Under these circumstances, with the assistance of various other national investigating agencies, the CBI alone was the apt agency to unearth the truth behind the murder and book the real culprits, he added.

Defamation suit against captain's wife

TN government on Wednesday filed a defamation complaint before the principal sessions court against Premalatha, wife of DMDK leader Vijayakanth, and her brother L.K. Sudhish.

City public prosecutor M.L. Jagan filed the defamation complaint on behalf of CM. In the complaint, Jagan said Captain TV, telecast a news bulletin in which defamatory remarks were made against the CM, and Premalatha and Sudhish were responsible for the same, he alleged.

He said, "The news telecast is intentionally done to malign reputation of the chief minister, which constitutes an offence of defamation."

Suo motu case on Pulicat issue

The Madras high court on Wednesday initiated suo motu writ proceedings based on a news report relating to the hardship faced by the people, more particularly school-going children, in five fishing hamlets in Pulicat lake region of Tiruvallur district.

A division bench, comprising acting chief justice R.K. Agrawal and Justice M. Sathyanarayanan, which initiated suo motu writ proceedings, said it was represented by the government pleader that environment and forest department of Government of Tamil Nadu was also to be added as a party respondent to the petition.

Hence, secretary to the government, environment and forest department was suo motu impleaded as party respondent. The government pleader seeks time to file counter. Call on August 19, the bench added.

The New Indian Express

'Hold final report in Dharmapuri case'

http://newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/Hold-final-report-in-Dharmapuri-case/2013/08/01/article1711886.ece

The Madras High Court has restrained the investigating officer (IO) from filing the final report in the case pertaining to the death of Dalit youth Ilavarasan.

This direction, however, should not be construed as an expression of opinion on the correctness of the investigation so far conducted by the IO, Justice K K Sasidharan said on Wednesday.

The judge was passing interim orders on a writ petition from Ilavarasan's father T Elango of Natham Colony in Dharmapuri district, praying the court to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) consisting of efficient and honest officials along with a forensic expert of his choice to hold the probe. He alleged that his son was done to death and the police were attempting to bury the case, holding it to be a suicide.

When the matter came up today, the government pleader (GP) submitted that the IO was conducting the probe without any pre-determination, as alleged by petitioner, and all aspects would be looked into. Even the materials now produced by Elango would be considered by the IO and there was no need to appoint a SIT in view of the impartial probe being conducted.

The IO submitted that he was holding the probe with an open mind and efforts would be made to decide as to whether it was a case of suicide or homicide.

The judge observed that the right to conduct a fair investigation was a basic right given to citizens of the country. The question now raised by the petitioner required to be decided after giving a reasonable opportunity to the IO to explain the steps so far taken to ascertain the truth, the judge said, and directed the GP to verify the pending proceedings connected to this issue and produce the list of cases to ascertain the feasibility of clubbing all such cases for disposal.

As the investigation was said to be in the preliminary stage, pending adjudication of the issue raised by the petitioner, the IO was restrained from filing the final report, the judge added.

The Times Of India

Will Telangana see a dalit CM from Congress?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Will-Telangana-see-a-dalit-CM-from-Congress/articleshow/21521710.cms

The question is uppermost in the minds of observers as the Centre gets down to dividing Andhra Pradesh, with Congress having last put a dalit in the top post over three decades ago - Jagannath Pahadia in Rajasthan.

The new state has a strong presence of dalits along with OBCs and Reddys in a diverse social mix favourable for Congress. With the likelihood of Telangana becoming a reality by the year-end, Congress may find it alluring to hoist a dalit CM to send a signal to the community nationally ahead of the 2014 elections.

The choice of a dalit from Telangana as deputy CM in Andhra Pradesh has long held out the possibility, first raised by Telangana Rashtra Samithi after it became a political force in 2004. Congress made another dalit from Telangana deputy speaker of the assembly.

SCs/STs comprise 24.7% of Telangana's population while the share goes up to 26.9% outside Hyderabad.

Congress leaders believe the choice of CM would depend on the combination the party opts for after division. If Andhra continues to have a Reddy at the helm, the chances of Reddy claimants would be bleak in Telangana.

But if the party plumps for a non-Reddy (like Kapu) in Andhra, thinking the Reddys would anyway side with YSR Congress, then a Reddy would be in contention in Telangana.

Significance is attached to Congress recently passing a law on SC/ST sub-plan, making it mandatory for state ministries to spend on dalit welfare in proportion to their population. The stress on dalit agenda is seen as dictated by the exodus of the community to Jaganmohan Reddy, largely because they identify the welfare schemes with his late father YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

A dalit CM from Congress ranks has become a near impossibility, contrasting poorly with Mayawati who is the product of a bahujan movement dedicated to weakening the grand old party's hold over the community.

Congress insiders and observers believe that Telangana presents the best chance to end the barren patch that keeps coming up for sniggers and which questions the party's commitment to political empowerment of the weaker caste.

The recent Karnataka elections came tantalizingly close to giving a dalit CM, with PCC chief G Parameshwara seen as a strong claimant for the top post. But Parameshwara failed to win his assembly seat.

Hindustan Times

Telangana state may help settle old caste war

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/AndhraPradesh/Telangana-state-may-help-settle-old-caste-war/Article1-1101372.aspx

The creation of Telangana is likely to solve a long-standing social dispute in Andhra Pradesh: the demand for a scheduled caste sub-quota by the Madiga caste.

To put it simply, Madigas, the most numerous Dalit caste in Andhra, feel that the benefits of reservation have been cornered by the more advanced Mala caste, another prominent Dalit community in the state. Thus, they have been demanding bifurcation of the SC quota in the state.

The Usha Mehra Commission constituted to examine the Andhra situation found merit in the grievance and recommended sub-quotas to ensure that the weaker communities among the Dalits did not get left out. However, things haven't moved either way five years after the report.

There are two reasons why the dispute is likely to ebb with the announcement of Telangana. One, Madigas outnumber Malas in Telangana, while Malas outnumber Madigas in coastal Andhra. This means their domains of domination will get separated.

"In coastal Andhra 58 % of the SCs are Malas, while Madigas constitute 20 % of the SCs there. In Telangana the situation gets reversed. In Rayalseema, their populations are 45-45%," says Yagati Chinna Rao, an expert on the Andhra Pradesh Dalit movement who teaches at JNU.

Rao cites another reason why the dispute is likely to ease out. He says that the levels of advancement of the two warring Dalit castes are similar in Telangana and coastal Andhra. The backwardness of Madigas, in other words, is also because they are found in large numbers in backward Telangana.

"Coastal Andhra was under the British and saw Christian missionary educational efforts and better irrigation, which Telangana did not enjoy historically. This is the reason why Malas are better off than Madigas. But with the state's bifurcation, this disparity would end in the states that are created," Rao adds.

The Mehra commission found the representation of the Malas in the IAS and the IPS ranging from 76% to 86% against 13% to 23% for the Madiga caste. Numerically, however, the Malas constitute 41% of Andhra's SC population against the Madigas 49%.

News Monitor by Girish Pant

--
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
...................................................................
Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre- PMARC has been initiated with the support from group of senior journalists, social activists, academics and intellectuals from Dalit and civil society to advocate and facilitate Dalits issues in the mainstream media. To create proper & adequate space with the Dalit perspective in the mainstream media national/ International on Dalit issues is primary objective of the PMARC.