Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 19.02.11
NHRC team visits violence-hit Husheypur village - The Times Of India
Reservation Issue
Dalits clash with cops, five injured, 18 activists held - The Tribune
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110219/punjab.htm#16
Commission for SC/ST granted 4.9cr - The times Of India
Dalit groom hires chopper for 'baraat' - The Times Of India
The Times Of India
NHRC team visits violence-hit Husheypur village
TNN, Feb 18, 2011, 04.36am IST
JAIPUR: Nearly a month after Dalits and members of a minority community clashed in Husheypur village inAlwar district after a youth was shot dead, a three-member team of National Human Rights Commission visited the village and interacted with the members of the two communities.
On Thursday afternoon, a delegation headed by Viplav Chaudhary arrived at Husheypur village and visited those houses which were ransacked in the violence. The team also visited the family of Zahid Khan, who was shot dead after the Dalits accused him of killing a hen on January 19.
Though the district administration attempted to bring more Dalits who had actually ran away from the area after the violence, many were still fleeing and the members could hardly speak to the Dalit women of the village.
Haaji Kallu, father of Zahid, told the members that Zahid had five children including four girls. "No one visited us. At least the district administration should come with financial assistance and sympathy with the family," Kallu told the visiting members.
District collector, Alwar, Ashutosh AT, talking to TOI, said: "They asked us if the fleeing members of the Dalit community who ran away from the village have returned or not. We have told them that one of 10 families have not yet returned since their names are in the FIR and they were behind the attack on the youth Zahid Khan on January 4."
"They have also asked about the cases registered by the police against the people who disturbed communal harmony and were actually behind the firing on the youth," the collector added.
The team also visited the houses and families about which TOI had reported that the males of these families have ran away after the violence. "They met the women of Dalit families and asked if they were feeling safe in the village," a villager told TOI over phone.
Earlier in the day, many members of both the communities met the team at a government office in Bhiwadi town in Alwar district and urged on restoring peace in the village.
On January 19 a hen was run over by a tractor which was driven by Zahid Khan. The hen belonged to the members of Dalit community and in a fit of rage they opened fire on him in which Khan was killed.
The Tribune
Reservation Issue
Dalits clash with cops, five injured, 18 activists held
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110219/punjab.htm#16
Kulwinder Sandhu/TNS
Moga, February 18
As many as five policemen were injured as members of the Dalit community, who had blocked rail traffic between Moga and Ludhiana demanding reservation, clashed with the police at Mehna in Moga district on Friday night. The police arrested 18 protesters.
Several Valmiki orgnisations held protests and blocked rail traffic demanding 12.5 per cent reservation, which has been cancelled by the Punjab Government on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Activists belonging to Bhartiya Valmiki Dharam Samaj, Valmiki Mazhabi Sikh, 12.5 Reservation Bachao Sangharsh Morcha, Adi Dharam Samaj also raised slogans against the state government.
In view of the situation, a heavy police force was called to restore the rail traffic but the activists started pelting the police with stones injuring at least five cops.
The police later resorted to firing in air to disperse the agitators. Eye-witnesses said more than 50 rounds were fired in air by the police to protect themselves and disperse the agitators after which the rail traffic was restored late in the night.
Earlier, SP Gurmail Singh tried to pacify the agitators asking them not to block the rail traffic but to no avail.
It may be mentioned that the activists of this section of the dalits had earlier given a call to block the rail traffic on February 12 but following the assurance of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to solve this issue, they had withdrawn the call. Avtar Singh Sahota the state leader of the activists alleged that the CM today refused to fulfill their demands. He said besides resumption of reservation in jobs they also demand to wave-off electricity bills for their community and reservation in fixing of seniority/ promotion in the Education Department.
District Magistrate Dr VN Zade, SSP Sneh Deep Sharma and SHO of Mehna police station Pushpinder Singh could not be contacted.
The times Of India
Commission for SC/ST granted 4.9cr
TNN, Feb 19, 2011, 02.24am IST
PANAJI: Chief minister Digambar Kamat on Friday said the government had recently sanctioned 4.9 crore to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) commission in addition to the 5 crore allotted to it earlier.
Kamat made the anouncement at a press conference after a function wherein Cumbharjua Congress MLA Pandurang Madkaikar was formally administered the oath of office as the new chairman of the Goa state SC/ST commission. The SC community in Goa is estimated to be about 2% of the total population of the state while the ST community is estimated to be about 12.3% of the state's population.
Kamat said Madkaikar will now start functioning as the chairman of the SC/ST commission and that "this fulfils one more commitment given by my government that we would constitute the commission."
Kamat said the government has already constituted a separate department of tribal affairs and that he has requested Madkaikar to identify a suitable area to house the office of the tribal affairs department and the state commission for SC/ST.
"My government had at one stroke, given 5 crore to the ST commission for the implementation of various schemes for the benefit of the ST population. Recently we have alloted another 4.9 crore to the ST commission and I have asked its office bearers to see that this money is also utilized for the implementation of various schemes of the commission."
Madkaikar told TOI that the government has made a budgetary provision of 12% of the state's budget for the welfare of tribal people, to be implemented through various government departments. "My job is to see that these departments really utilize the funds for the welfare of tribal people."
He also said that the SC/ST commission has powers as enjoyed by civil courts and that its orders can only be challenged in the high court. Madkaikar said that although the commission does not have any schemes for the SC/ST population, its mandate is to monitor the implementation of schemes for the SC/ST community offered by other governmental agencies and departments.
The commission also has a mandate to monitor that the reservation policy for the SC/ST community in government departments is followed and that any injustice on this count is corrected. "If any one from the SC/ST community is deprived of their rights, he can petition our commission. Our job is give a hearing to the aggrieved party, summon anyone concerned with the case for a hearing and then issue orders," Madkaikar said.
The Times Of India
Dalit groom hires chopper for 'baraat'
Ashish Mehta & Rajendra Sharma, TNN, Feb 19, 2011, 03.33am IST
JAIPUR/ALWAR: In an area where Dalits face the ire of the upper class especially on the marriage ritual of a groom riding a horse, a young man from Sikarai village has done the jaw-dropping act of taking his 'baraat' in a helicopter.
On Friday, Deepak Kumar, who belongs to Nat, a Dalit family, chartered the helicopter and left for Girwas village of Alwar district to get his bride Santosh.
As many as 4,000 villagers turned up to witness the departure of the 'baraat' to bring his "royal bride" in the village. Around 4.30 pm, Kumar's chopper touched down at Girwas where he was given a king's welcome.
Kumar, who had to shell out a sum of Rs 1,50,000 for the one-hour helicopter ride, told TOI, "My family has a business of garments in Mumbai. Currently, I am pursuing Master's in geography and attending coaching camps for cricket in Jaipur."
He also said there has been no opposition from any section of society to his "big fat wedding". "I have not witnessed anything like this and many blessed me on the eve of wedding day," Kumar said.
As the helicopter charge is high, both the groom and the bride's family decided to take Santosh to her husband's home in a car after the marriage.
"Ladki to humari helicopter main naa ja rahi hai (Our daughter will go by our 'helicopter'," a beaming Roop Chand, uncle of the bride, said.
In Alwar, Kumar is not first come in a chopper for his marriage ceremony. Several grooms of Mev and Yadav communities have been hiring helicopters for their 'baraats' for years now.
"In 2008, Mev youth Asru Khan got married and brought his bride in a chopper. Bringing back brides in choppers is a common scene in Mewat region," said a tour operator who facilitates helicopters for travels.
"Hiring a chopper costs from Rs 1,50,000 per hour to Rs 2,00,000 depending upon the size and brand," he said.
In Mewsat region, lavish wedding with helicopters has been common since the last 10 years. Haaji Naseeruddhin, a resident, said, "It all started when we witnessed these things in the nearby villages bordering Haryana."
--
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
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