DH News Service
BANGALORE, March 12

Activists of the Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samithi (DSS) today took out a huge rally in the City demanding from the State government the setting up of a committee to study the classification in reservation to Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes.

The rally, which began at the Jakkarayanakere grounds, culminated in a public meeting at the Government Arts College grounds. Speakers at the meeting, including KDSS State convenor M Jayanna, former chairman of the Kannada Development Authority, Prof Chandrashekar Patil and former MP P Kodandaramaiah, demanded that several new categories of reservation for inter-caste couple, rural families, women and physically challenged among SCs should be created to assist the deprived classes in benefiting from reservation.

They further said the reservation of 50 per cent being provided to SC/STs and backward classes should be increased, keeping the year 2001 population census as the basis. Some of their other demands include - filling up of vacant backlog posts in various departments of the government, "discarding" liberalisation policies and making provision for reservation of jobs for SCs/STs in private organisations.

The demands of the activists also included, prevention of child labour, bonded labour and recognition of Lambani "tandas" as human settlements (villages). They demanded that the State government should appeal to the Centre to drop review of the Constitution.

More than 10,000 activists of the DSS took part in the rally. Members of Karnataka Dalit Vidyarthi Okkuta, Karnataka Dalit Mahila Okkuta, Karnataka Dalit Workers' Federation and Karnataka Dalit Kala Mandali also took part in the rally. It was led by Dalit leaders M Jayanna, Mavalli Shankar, N Shivanna and M Veerupaksha.

A delegation of the KDSS later met Chief Minister S M Krishna and submitted a memorandum. He reportedly assured the delegation that he would look into their demands.