Himalayan Altitudes: 13,687 families depend on manual scavenging in Kerala

According to them, there are 13,687 families who depend on manual scavenging to eke out a living in Kerala which has won global acclaim for its high levels of social development.

Another perplexing finding is that there are 14,947 freed bonded labour families in the state.

Interestingly, even as per the census data of 1982 there were only 51 families who belong to the category of freed bonded labour in the state and all of them are known to have expired, the officials of the Rural Development Department (RDD) told TOI here. The data collection launched in April 11 was over in June. The SECC data also shows that 17,564 families belong to the primitive tribal group in the state and has accorded the status to five tribes, namely Kaadar, Cholanaikkar, Kattunaikkar, Koraka and Kurumba.

According to RDD officials, there could be a maximum of 5,000 families in the state in the group, mainly in Wayanad, Idukki and Kannur.

However, the data collected as part of the SECC indicates that there are about 1,500 families belonging to the group even in Thiruvananthapuram. The RDD officials clarified that some of the enumerators might have committed errors without knowing the criteria to be used for entering into different categories in the census data.

For instance the enumerators may have included the workers engaged in the city cleaning activities in the city areas as manual scavengers, he said.

The entire data collection exercise was paperless, done on hand-held electronic devices. This was expected to reduce data entry errors and enumerator discretion. Also officers at various levels were expected to make sure that there was no misreporting. But RRD officials are surprised that despite all these precautions such errors have crept in.

"We are trying to conduct another round of sample survey to trace how and where the errors have crept in," the rural development commissioner Nandakumar said.

Zee News

Bill for quota to SC/STs in promotions on Aug 22

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/bill-for-quota-to-sc/sts-in-promotions-on-aug-22_792612.html

Last Updated: Thursday, August 09, 2012, 14:47

New Delhi: After repeated adjournments in Rajya Sabha and turmoil in Lok Sabha, the government on Thursday agreed to members' demand for bringing a Constitution amendment bill for reservation in promotion of SCs and STs in state jobs.

Minister of State for PMO V Narayansamy informed the Upper House that a bill will be brought in this regard on August 22 after an all-party meeting, which will discuss the issue on August 21.

"The Prime Minister will call a meeting of leaders of all political parties on 21st of this month to discuss the issue of SC/ST reservation. This has been the demand of the honourbale members. On August 22, the government will be able to bring the bill in the House," Narayanasamy said bringing the uproar over the issue to an end.

The announcement came after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh talked to the members including BSP chief Mayawati on the issue in the House when it was adjourned for 15 minutes.

In the Lok Sabha, SP and BSP members trooped to the Well as soon as the House met for the day demanding reservation for SC/STs in promotions in government jobs.

With members refusing to relent, Speaker Meira Kumar allowed some of them to speak.

Shailendra Kumar (SP) said there was fear in the minds of a number of SC/ST government employees on the lack of reservations in promotions.

Panna Lal Punia (Cong) said Parliament had given SC/ST persons the right to reservation in government jobs and five persons cannot take away this right.

Dara Singh Chauhan (BSP) demanded that the SC/ST employees should be granted reservation in promotion in government jobs immediately.

In the Rajya Sabha, BSP supremo Mayawati said government had promised during in the last session to call an all-party meeting to discuss quota in promotion for SC and ST persons, but the meeting did not take place.

The Pioneer

SC order against promotion quotas rocks Lok Sabha

http://dailypioneer.com/home/online-channel/top-story/86287-sc-order-against-promotion-quotas-rocks-lok-sabha.html

Thursday, 09 August 2012 12:41

IANS | New Delhi

A Supreme Court ruling upholding an Allahabad High Court order quashing quotas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in promotions in government jobs in Uttar Pradesh rocked the Lok Sabha Thursday with members across parties demanding protection for the downtrodden.

Soon after the house met, members from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress raised the issue and did not let the question hour be taken up.

Members wanted Speaker Meira Kumar to allow an impromptu discussion on the subject.

The Supreme Court had in April overruled the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to provide reservations in government job promotions. The BSP, which was then in government, had raised the issue in the budget session too demanding a constitutional amendment to provide for such quotas.

The matter was raised by SP's Shailendra Kumar, who appealed to the government to uphold the interests of the downtrodden and come up with a constitutional amendment to provide for such reservations.

He was supported by Congress' P.L. Punia.

Responding to the members' concern, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the matter was important and the government was proactive in according the rightful place to Dalits in the country.

However, he said, "the government's response to the SC order must be considered".

He admitted that a meeting on the matter could not take place over the last one-and-half months due to various reasons, but assured the members that the government would respond appropriately to the issue soon.PTI

The Hindu

Final decision on Thorat panel proposals soon: Sibal

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3742888.ece

Special Correspondent

The Union government on Wednesday said the recommendations of the Thorat committee were being examined by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) through specified institutional processes and a final decision is expected to be taken seriously.

In a written reply, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal told the Lok Sabha that the Thorat Committee had submitted its report to the NCERT recommending some changes in four text books — Democratic Politics 1- Class X, Democratic Politics 11 - Class X, Indian Constitution at Work - Class XI and Politics in India since Independence - Class XII.

In addition, the Committee has made some general recommendations to be considered at the time of general review of books.

The NCERT enjoys full academic autonomy in developing, printing and distribution of text books, Mr. Sibal said.

The NCERT had constituted a six-member Committee under the chairmanship of Professor S.K. Thorat, chairman of Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) to provide suggestions for alternatives to be placed in the textbooks so that the material can be immediately made available to the learners, Mr. Sibal said.

Meanwhile, the NCERT has held several meetings with the textbook review committee to take a final call on the Thorat Committee report. A sub committee is also in the process of finalising a formal response to the Committee on behalf of the NCERT. The experts said the controversial cartoon on B.R. Ambedkar and another one on anti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu were most likely to be removed. The Committee's recommendations have, however, come under criticism as one of the members M.S.S. Pandian sent a dissenting note.

The Thorat panel has sought removal of about 21 cartoons, which it believes contains inappropriate messages.

The Times Of India

Ambedkar's statue desecrated

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Ambedkars-statue-desecrated/articleshow/15414943.cms

TNN | Aug 9, 2012, 07.58AM IST

KANPUR: Tension gripped Afsariya ki Madaiyya village in Satti police area of Kanpur Dehat district after a mob protested when Bhimrao Ambedkar's statue was found to be desecrated on Wednesday morning.

After coming across, the incident, district authorities along with senior police officials rushed to the spot and pacified the agitated mob. The police and PAC personnel are camping in the area to prevent any untoward incident, informed a senior district authority.

It all started, in the early hours of Wednesday, when members of Dalit community had gathered at Ambedkar's statue at Afsariya Ki Madaiyya village in large numbers after coming across the arm missing from the statue of Bhimrao Ambedkar. The word spread that some miscreants had vandalised Ambedkar's statue in Afsariya ki Madaiyya village.

SDM Sikandara Mahendra Kumar also rushed to the spot and assured to take prompt action. Later, he said that the broken part of Bhimrao Ambedkar's statue would be restored soon.

--
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
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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.

Himalayan Altitudes

Friday, August 10, 2012

13,687 families depend on manual scavenging in Kerala

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