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The Buddhist renascence had already begun before Udit Raj started his campaign.Unknown and unsung Dalit and Bahujan intelligentsia had been converting to Buddhism. In Kerala too,which was under the influence of Buddhism much before aryan-brahminic hinduism stepped it's foot on the land,this is becoming noticable. Balachandran Chullikkad, one of the noted poets had become a Buddhist much before Udit Raj's camapaign. The quake that Udit Raj unleashed in New Delhi has sent it's tremors to far south. Buddhist missionaries from the North toured through the districts during last November -December.This year,there has already been an internal frothing of the resurgence.The new book on Onattukara and it's historic links to Buddhism is giving food for thought. Kerala's single largest community of Ezhavas ,some hold were Buddhists earlier.In that community too, there is a subtle move by intellectuals to revive the Buddhist past. It may be recalled how the conversion of a large chunk of Ezhavas to Christianity had been scuttled by the brahminists and hinduists of the day. The temple entry proclamation was a move to curb the flight of the ezhavas,dalits and other bahujans to Christianity.Today the Dalits have understood that the brahminist promise have never been kept and the Dalits have launched a campaign to boycott the temples.A smaller scale replay is seen in Andhra Pradesh were the CM tried to open up temples for Dalits in some areas.Some see this as a positive step,some see it as a populist step and yet others compare it to the trick played by Sir CP Ramswami Iyer . Buddhism is marketing itself as a relevant faith, and one which doesn't remove the benefits of the affirmative actions of the state.A faith which treats the new comers as equals and not as aliens will certainly have more takers. The church has almost been reduced to an impotent watcher and a section of it's leadership a pawn in the hands of the successors of Sir CP Ramaswami Iyer. The Church which should have been part of the Dalit quest for liberation from the clutches of an oppressive caste system is holding parleys with a parmour who wants to chain the Dalits to the oppresive system for ever.The Church should be the part of a reformation process to welcome the Dalits,uplift them by throwing open the doors of their schools and by integrating them into the Church hierarchy. Buddhism On A Comeback In Kerala Arun Lakshman/Kollam Buddhism seems to be on a comeback trail in Kerala, with the recent arrival of a number of Buddhist monks to many parts of South Kerala, especially Trivandrum, Kollam and Karunagapally. A number of Buddhist institutions are coming up and a lot of people, especially Dalits are planning to embrace Buddhism. A school in the name of Lord Buddha has already started functioning at Karunagapally in Kollam District. The Government of Kerala has already granted approval for an Engineering College named after Buddha. A trust for the same has already become functional. Forty-two acres of land has also been acquired. Prof Sasidharan, Principal S N College Kollam, is the brain behind these moves. He is supervising the construction of the international Buddhist Centre. http://www.dailypioneer.com/secon3.asp?cat=\state6&d=STATES
Tension in Orissa over conversion of Dalits Kendrapara, Nov. 21: Fresh conversions in Orissa’s Kendrapara district have sparked off tension in the region. The Bajrang Dal unit in Kendrapara district alleged that more than 10 Dalit families of the village have been converted to Christianity. District administration officials confirmed the incident. The conversions came to light when one Kalicharan Patra and his family of Chhapali village attended a Christian prayer session. Official sources said Kalicharan Patra, head of the family, maintained that their decision to embrace Christianity was voluntary and no extraneous influence had been exerted on them to change their faith. However, police said the action violated the provisions of law which specified that the person changing his religious faith and the priests involved in the conversion process should intimate the district administration about the matter through affidavits. Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar said cases were being registered against those who had violated the provisions of the Act. Besides, further investigation was on to ascertain whether more conversions had taken place in the area in violation of the law. Sources said no permission had been taken from the administration for the conversion. Under the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, any person who wishes to change his or her religion must first obtain official permission. Meanwhile, State Bajrang Dal coordinator Bhuban Mohan Jena said the Bajrang Dal is committed to bringing the 10 families back to Hinduism. Ten families of Korua block had recently converted to Christianity. However, they later reconverted to Hinduism. http://www.deccan.com/regional/template.shtml#2%20tribals%20die%20after%20eating%20poisonous%20roots 2 tribals die after eating poisonous roots Vizianagaram, Nov. 21: Two tribals died and two others were seriously taken ill after consuming poisonous root vegetables, which they fetched from the nearby forest on Saturday, according delayed reports reaching here on Wednesday. The incident took place in Chidagamvalasa village of Gajapathinagaram mandal. According to sources, four tribals B Somulu, 40, Baggapu Seethaiah, 16, Gedela Somulu, 35 and Chidagam Simhachalam, 25, who went to the nearby forest for grazing their animals brought back some root vegetables. They consumed the roots after boiling and went to sleep. However, Baggapu Somulu and Baggapu Seethaiah were found dead on Sunday morning. G Somulu and Simhachalam who also consumed the roots were admitted to a private hospital in Mentada and are out of danger. Meanwhile, Joint collector of Vizianagaram has ordered the local mandal revenue officer to probe into the tribal deaths
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2001/11/21/stories/05212523.htm By Kancha Ilaiah THE DALITS embracing Buddhism in Delhi on November 4 became a national issue as it was made controversial. The Central Government, at the behest of the BJP's parivar organisations, used repressive measures making it more visible than it normally would have been. Why are the Hindutva organisations opposed to Dalits embracing Buddhism? For that matter, why should they oppose anyone embracing any religion or anyone converting to any other religion? The right to religion has almost become a natural right of all human beings. It is a fundamental right as well. In the history of religions the right to religion was never confined to national boundaries. The citizenship question is not related to the religion one belongs to or the religious views one holds. It is a known fact that the Dalits - even the Shudras and tribals - never became part of any major religion with full spiritual equality. It is an elementary issue that the right to religion includes the right to priesthood, as it integrates a person fully into the religion. The Dalits have suffered untouchability and atrocities within the Hindu social order and they need to enter into a religion that grants them full religious rights. Even Hindu scholars concede that religion plays a key role in the development of the human personality. Caste hierarchy does not allow Dalits entry into popular Hindu temples. The resistance to such an entry was witnessed in Andhra Pradesh after theGovernment recently took up a Dalit temple entry programme. This gave the State machinery the titters. While the priestly class maintained a cold silence in public over such a programme, in private it instigated the upper castes to counter it in all possible forms. In Hinduism two streams are operating now. One is the ritual- centred purely Brahmin-headed stream that handles temples and mutts. They have never declared that Dalits are Hindus and they should get all the rights within that religion. Nor did they say that there is no hurdle for Dalits' entry into temples or into a Vedapatashala (school for Vedic studies). In other words, this school believes that ritually they cannot grant equal rights to Dalits as they do not want to modify or change the Varnadharma theory that remains integral to Hindu scriptures. This is Hindu fundamentalism. While Afghanistan's Taliban believed that no part of a woman's body should be seen in public, the whole world condemned the militia as fundamentalists and medievalists. Why are we not applying that norm to Hindu Brahminism, which does not allow Dalits into religious institutions with equal rights? This is a paradox of understanding religion itself. This mode of caste fundamentalism is not acceptable to any reasonably well-educated Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or Backward Class person. This mode of Brahminic fundamentalism forced almost an entire community in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh to embrace Islam. The history of the Bamiyan Buddhas itself shows that once Afghanistan was a Buddhist region and after Buddhism got rooted out it must have come under the influence of Hinduism. But as of now there are no traces of Hinduism there. In recent times we have seen that in India - by driving out a single caste, Brahmin Pandits, who did not convert to Islam, Kashmir became a totally Islamic region. A major part of the North-East region has become Christian. Several sections of society converted to Christianity even in other parts of the country. In South India, a majority of the Dalits have moved into Christianity, but since the reservation benefits are attached to the Hindu religion they register themselves as Hindus in the census records. The former Prime Minister, Mr. V. P. Singh, created a legal channel by issuing a Government Order that all Buddhists based on their caste hierarchy could claim reservation. The government employees who embraced Buddhism at the Delhi rally did so because that did not affect their reservation position. Since Buddhism has the sanction of Ambedkar in the contemporary context, it exclusively became a Dalit religion. This is why the Bahujan Samaj Party leader, Mr. Kanshi Ram, privately confessed that he was not embracing Buddhism at this stage because that would affect his Bahujan formation. He said, ``I can embrace Buddhism with ten million people but all of them will be only SCs.'' If Mr. Kanshi Ram can take even a thousand OBCs with him when he embraces Buddhism he will bahujanise Buddhism and expand Ambedkarism. The indications are that such a day is not too far. Thus, because of Brahminic caste fundamentalism, the space of Hinduism is shrinking day by day within this very land. The other stream of Hinduism is the RSS, BJP, VHP and other Sangh parivar organisations. This is the neo-Hindu school that looks at Hinduism in political terms. They say Dalits and STs (OBCs in their view need not raise the issue at all) are Hindus and propagate that when they have citizenship rights the other rights are not so important. The serious problem of right to religion is carefully relegated to non-debatable areas. Their agenda is to construct Hindus as a vote bank with a majoritarian ideology. They want to convince Dalits that their citizenship rights are being respected and hence they are being allowed to become Governors or even the President and the president of a party such as the BJP and so on. However, with the parivar coming to power on the Hindutva plank, the Hindu religion began to face severe contradictions. The non- Brahmin forces within that organisation - particularly educated Dalits - seeking spiritual equality and dignity want equal rights in religion as well. They know that the priestly class is not at all ready for that change. A prominent BJP representative to the Durban conference on racism, Mr. Sangapriya Gautam, himself, in the course of discussions, said, ``Who asked the Dalit to be Hindus when they have their own Buddhism to be embraced any time?'' But when the educated Dalits decided to embrace Buddhism, the BJP and its allied organisations suppressed that right by using the state apparatus as they are in power. This is a challenge the Buddhists in the BJP have to address. India's Dalits are like cats in a cage. For the first time in history, the Durban conference brought all the oppressed communities of the world face to face. There, the history of oppression, its intensity and the forms of brutalities of the oppressed communities were compared. No other community's oppression, sufferings match the history of sufferings of the Dalits. The Government that denied them the right to be heard, the right to register their historical agony in the world federal Government called the United Nations is not allowing them to get into religions that grant them equal rights. The BJP says Hinduism is a great religion and that the Dalits are part of it without even having the right to touch others. Since the BJP- headed NDA came to power, the priests, sadhus and sanyasis are feeling freer than ever before. They are holding state-sponsored sansads, melas (not only kumbha melas) with the full mobilisation of the international media. In this situation, if a Hindu rashtra is established what will be the position of the Dalits? Though the VHP boasts of spreading Hinduism across the world it is shrinking in its own soil. It has no agenda to seriously reform Hinduism to take it out of the caste system. It has no agenda to rewrite the scriptures where the varna-jati systems do not find space. The Shankaracharyas and high priests have no programme to re-examine their understanding and practice. The Indian Christians and Muslims have begun to seriously examine the influence of caste in the church and masjid. The All- India Christian Council (AICC) is making appeals to churches to promote Dalits in all spheres of spiritual life. Where is such an appeal from any Hindu organisation? In the absence of a major reform in Hinduism, can political Hindus stop anybody moving in the direction of spiritual liberation? Would it not be as good as the Taliban trying to control women and convince the world that the militiamen are good human beings as well?
Mayoral post: Govt. changes plan on altering reservation roster By Our Staff Reporter BANGALORE, NOV. 22. In a bid to avoid legal complications through ``last-minute'' changes in the reservation roster for the mayoral post, the State Government on Thursday reversed its plans on changing the category for the top post from General to SC. Sources close to the Chief Minister, Mr. S.M.Krishna, told The Hindu that the Mayor's post was reserved for the General category for the first two years of this BMP Council's term. ``In the third year it will be reserved for BC(A) category, for BC-A (Woman) in the fourth year, and for SC category in the fifth year.'' The roster for the Deputy Mayor's post is yet to be decided. The new changes were made to comply with the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (KMC) Election Rules, 1995, sources said. On Wednesday, the State Government had proposed changes in the roster of reservation for the top post to accommodate a consensus candidate. But the Housing and Urban Development Department officials turned down the proposal considering its legal implications, sources said. The fresh reservations have been made considering factors such as caste, seniority, and merit. A mayoral post with General category reservation for the first two years will help the Congress give equal representation to candidates of all communities, sources said. ``Mr. K.Chandrashekar (Hanumanthnagar), who reportedly has Mr. Krishna's backing, may be accommodated in the first year. But next year (also General) `any' or `able and senior' candidate from the Vokkaliga, Lingayat, or Brahmin communities will get a chance,'' sources said. The State's six mahanagara palikes have six mayoral and six deputy mayoral posts every year. According to the rules, of these 12, two posts must be reserved for the SC category with one being a woman candidate; four should be BC (A) and BC (B) -- again one must be a woman and six should be for the General category with two being women. But the mayoral polls for Hubli-Dharwad, Gulbarga, Belgaum, and Mysore corporations are already over for the first year of their councils. ``So the Bangalore and Mangalore corporations must share three posts for the General category and one for the BC (A). That is what the existing roster says,'' sources said. Meanwhile, the Bangalore City District Congress Committee (BCDCC) President, Mr. Ramalinga Reddy, has invited the elected Congress corporators to a breakfast meeting at the BCDCC office on Friday. Congress leaders will hear corporators' opinions on the choice of the mayoral candidate. ``If there are any conflicts, they will be asked to reach a consensus,'' sources said. The same evening, the Chief Minister will preside over a ``crucial meeting'' on the issue. These two meetings will finally decide on the posts.
Rapist convicted on dying declaration The dying declaration of a 40-year-old woman labourer, who was brought to the hospital with 95 per cent burn injuries after she poured kerosene on herself and set herself afire, has landed her employer in jail. The deceased had alleged in her statement that contractor Ram Swaroop, who had engaged her as a casual labourer, allegedly raped her in January 2000. The victim, a resident of Madangir and mother to four daughters and a son, said that she did not tell anyone about the incident for fear of inviting public disgrace and rebuke. She said that she waited for nearly a month expecting that Ram Swaroop would repent, but he never apologised. All this while, she suffered from great mental stress and psychological trauma.
Outrage over change in history syllabus Teachers and historians are outraged by the changes made in the history syllabus for classes VIII and XI by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The board has ordered schools to delete several portions in their textbooks, which critics say is the BJP's attempt to saffronise education. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which makes the syllabus for all the CBSE schools, had on October 19 sent a notification to the Central Board of Secondary Education saying that it had deleted certain portions and statements from the history textbooks of various classes. Subsequent to the notification, the CBSE issued a circular on 23rd October asking schools affiliated to it to "not to teach or even discuss" the said portions in the respective classes, CBSE chairman Dr Ashok Ganguly said. No hidden agenda Though CBSE admits that the paragraphs had to be omitted because they were sensitive, it argues against pointing to any hidden political agenda. Ashok Ganguly, Chairman CBSE, said, "I think it is a simple matter that has been blown out of proportion. These books have been in circulation for 10 years, but it is good that even at this stage this decision has been taken. If these books or portions are creating some objections to certain sections then we must accept it as such." Implementing secular education The resolution adopted by the Assembly by voice vote on September 28 said per se, "This house strongly condemns the attempt made to distort the history of the country and resolves to support the implementation of secular education policy based on the provisions of our constitution." The proceedings of the Assembly on the said date, which were communicated to CBSE on October 4, mentioned that the "House also recommends that books authored by individual writers containing objectionable comments about various religions be proscribed forthwith." In Romila Thapar's book Ancient India, a paragraph in the chapter on Life in the Vedic Age reads as, 'for special guests, beef was served as a mark of honour (although Brahmans were forbidden to eat beef)'. In Arjun Dev's book Modern India for Class VIII students, the segment of the rise of the Jats has been completely deleted. In fact, in Ram Sharan Sharma's Ancient India several sections have been deleted including a paragraph that states, 'the cattle wealth slowly decimated because the cows and bullocks were killed in numerous sacrifices'. According to Shabnam Hashmi of Sahmat, "This is the way the Taliban behaves. The kind of restrictions on the way that people talk and sing, this circular does the same. It even asks for no discussions to be held. It is worse than the Taliban." Protests in Rajya Sabha There was shouting and protests today in the Rajya Sabha over the re-writing of school textbooks by NCERT. Opposition parties charged the government with what they called Talibanisation of education, which provoked strong reactions from the BJP. The house had to be adjourned for a few hours and later the BJP's parliamentary party spokesperson said school textbooks must be written by nationalist and not by communist historians. As the battle of what to include in the CBSE syllabus rages on, one thing is clear, the students are happy with a lighter workload, though they are certainly a little confused as to why this has been done. Anti-Dalit chief justice retires Bangalore: At last Justice A.S. Anand, who bent the judiciary to suit the needs of the ruling brahminical races and broke the backbone of the SC/ST/BC original residents of India, has retired. As the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court he destroyed the human rights (reservations) of the Dalits forcing them for the first time (Sept.1, 1999) to stage a massive demonstration against the Supreme Court itself. New Delhi: Supreme Court Chief Justice A.S. Anand laid down office on Oct.31. Dr. Anand had been a Supreme Court judge for a decade, including three years as the Chief Justice and a total tenure of 27 years as judge. Justice S.P. Bharucha (Parsi) succeeded Dr. Anand. (Hindu, Nov.1, 2001). Human rights destroyed: This Punjabi upper caste (Khatri) became the darling of the rulers for serving their jati interests through a series of judgments that systematically destroyed their human rights. The upper caste rulers, who are in a micro-minority (not even 15% of the population) have been for long facing a dilemma because the growth of democracy brought greater awareness to the deprived Dalits. The SC/ST/BCs and Muslims/Christian/Sikhs understood the strength in their numbers and started gaining political power. To frustrate the deprived castes and communities from capturing political power, the ruling upper castes tried to destroy the Indian Constitution itself with the help of the upper caste-loaded higher judiciary. No other judge in recent history did so much to destroy the Constitution of India as Justice Anand, according to Dalit representatives. Soon Anand will be properly rewarded for the great service he rendered to his jatwalas. Reservation in judiciary: The deprived SC/ST/BCs and Muslim/Christian/Sikhs may be in a big majority. As per the democratic principle, the majority should rule. But this rule does not apply to Hindu India because the brahminical micro-minority has invented the "merit-mantra" to destroy this rule and impose their Manuwadi rule. If the disappointed, defeated, deprived castes want to fight back, they have to force reservations in higher judiciary to stop judges like the Anands destroying the Constitution. Reference DV Nov.1, 2000 p. 5: "Racism in judiciary". DV Sept.16, 2000 p. 7: "Supreme Court practising racism". Edit Oct.16, 1999: "DV declares war on judicial terrorism: anti-people Supreme Court". DV Oct.16, 1999 p.5: "How dare Supreme Court say quota in PG medicine is anti-national", Dr. K.C. Yadav, and p.7: "To say Dalit doctors have no merit is clearest case of racism in judiciary", Dr. R.P. Harsh. DV Oct.1, 1999 p.6: "Dalit protest against Supreme Court". DV April 16, 1999 p.17: "Judiciary suffering from brahminical prejudices", BAMCEF document. DV April 1, 1999 p.6: "MPs criticise Supreme Court monopoly". DV March 16, 1999 p.11: "Dalits furious with Chief Justice Anand". DV Feb.16, 1999 p.4: "Judiciary sabotaging social justice". DV Edit Dec.1, 1997: "Democracy in danger because of judicial terrorism on Bahujans". (Dalit Voice, Dec.1, 2001 p.19) http://www.dailypioneer.com/secon3.asp?cat=\luck1&d=LUCKNOW
Yet another life sacrificed at the altar of love Incidents of killing of youths because of love affair are on increase in the area. A youth was allegedly killed by the family members of his beloved in village Lallupur on tuesday. The villagers cremated his body secretly in a bid to hush up the matter. It was also alleged that the local police is trying to ignore the matter. According to sources, Anil Kumar (17) of village Lallupur had an affair with Rukmesh of his own village. Rukmesh's father Rajpal is a prosperous and influential person of the area whereas Anil's family is comparatively weak. Rukmesh's family members had strongly reacted when they came to know about this affair and her brothers and father had warned Anil's family for dire consequences, if Anil keeps on meeting Rukmesh. It is being said that the couple, knowing that Rukmesh's family members would not let them marry, had decided to run away from their houses to get married at some remote place. According to the villagers, Anil and Rukmesh left their houses on Tuesday evening when they were recognised by the chowkidar (Guard) of village Pittanhedi who saw them moving towards Kotwali Dehat. The guard approached a local villager and told him that he has seen the couple trying to leave the village. The villager with the help of the guard brought back the couple and locked them in a room. They then informed the Rukmesh's family about the incident on phone. Rukmesh's father Rajpal and his sons reached there around midnight and took the couple to their house. Rajpal and his sons allegedly beat Anil mercilessly and locked Rukmesh in a separate room . Anil's mother Kalawati somehow came to know that Rajpal and his sons have kept her son in their captivity and beating him. She reached the Rajpal's house where she found her son in a bad shape. She was allowed to give a glass of milk to her son when she requested Rajpal for mercy. Rajpal then assured her that he would leave her son in the afternoon. It is being said that Anil was beaten to death by Rukmesh's family members when he refused not to meet Rukmesh in future. Anil's mother Malawati found her son dead, when she went to Rajpal's house to give food to her son on Thursday. Kalawati rushed to her house and told her family members about Anil's death. Sources said that Anil's family members informed the area police but the police asked both the parties to keep silence and cremate the dead body. It is also alleged that the villagers held a panchayat in which it was decided that Rajpal would give compensation to Anil's family and the matter would not be reported to the police. The villagers alleged that the police is trying to hush up the matter. Circle Officer (Nagina) Praveen Ranjan Singh denied about the alleged murder. He however admitted that the couple had a love affair and both the boy and the girl were caught when they were trying to run away from their houses. He said that Anil's parents have denied that their son was murdered. Anil's parents according to CO said that their son had died because of heart attack.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/secon3.asp?cat=\state2&d=STATES A Dalit woman was beaten to death by excise officials in Manjeri in district Malappuram. In an excise raid, claiming illicit brew was made in the house officials ransacked the house of 39 year-old Palathy alias Nalli. Not being satisfied by the find, they kicked her on her on the chest and all over the body. When she collapsed, the officials rushed in Dr Vijayaraghavan, who declared her dead. Blood was seen all her body and marks of thrashing and torture were visible. The excise team left immediately after the doctor pronounced her dead. Later two constables from the local Police station came to remove the body. By that time an enraged mob had gathered and did not let the body be removed. Higher police officers and RDO came to the scene and pacified the mob. Nalli had been preparing to go and see her ailing father after borrowing Rs 50 from a neighbour at the time of the incident. Custodial deaths and such incidents are rampant in Kerala.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/0424210l.htm BANGALORE, NOV. 23. A Scheduled Caste couple from Nallahalli village of Uyyamballi hobli in Kanakapura taluk alleged here on Friday that two persons of the village kidnapped their 13-year- old daughter and one of them raped her. Narrating the tale of woe of their family, Mr. Ningamadiah and his wife, Ms. Dundamma, who came to the city with their daughter, said that they were being harassed. Mr. Ningamadiah said he had two acres of land in Satnur Police Station limits and was cultivating groundnut on it. He alleged that Putte Gowda, son of Deviah, let his goats to graze in the field and he had to chase them away. Angered by this, Gowda picked up a quarrel with him and used abusive language against his community. Yet Gowda gave a complaint to the police that he was beaten up. He alleged that the members of the Tigala community to which Gowda belonged were organising themselves to make him pay for the incident. Towards this end, Gowda even got treated in a hospital. Two days later on November 13, his daughter was going to a school at Harobele when Devaraju and another man, whose father is Kadavenkatayya, kidnapped her after stuffing her mouth with a piece of cloth. He alleged that she was taken to Hongehalla first and then to an open place. Devaraju kept a watch while the other accused raped her after tying her up. On seeing someone approaching, they fled the scene. Ms. Dundamma and the victim went to the Satnur Police Station in the afternoon after the crime was committed. She alleged that instead of registering a case and sending her daughter for medical examination, the Sub-inspector, Mr. Lokesh, asked them to meet him the next day. Some policemen came to the village the following day and took them to the place of the crime. Late in the day, they were taken to Vani Vilas Hospital in Bangalore. There were no doctors at the hospital then. On the morning of November 15, a woman police constable took the victim to the police station where she had to wait till afternoon for senior police officers to come. She was later taken to Victoria Hospital where a male doctor attended to her. She was not given any treatment and they returned home. Mr. Muniyappa, vice-president of the Bahujan Samaj Party State unit, who was present, alleged that no medical examination was conducted on the victim for more than a day. The accused were supporters of the district in-charge Minister, Mr. D. K. Shivakumar, so that they had not been arrested though the incident occurred nine days ago. Police had not given either a copy of the FIR or an acknowledgement in this regard to the victim. Mr. Muniyappa said the father of Mr. ShivaKumar visited the house of Mr. Ningamadiah and promised to pay some compensation but he did not condemn the incident. The accused would go scotfree as the Minister was supporting them, he alleged and demanded Mr. Shivakumar's dismissal from the ministry. He said Mr. Ningamaidiah would fight till his family was given justice. A sum of Rs. 5 lakhs should be paid to the family and for the education of the victim, he added.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/01240003.htm NEW DELHI, NOV. 23. The Rajya Sabha, which had barely gone through the second question of the day, adjourned today after tumultuous scenes marked the proceedings over a disagreement on the usage of the word - Taliban - which the BJP wanted expunged but the Opposition refused to withdraw. A row erupted when the House was discussing a question on the policy for writing textbooks and the CPI(M) member, Mr. Jibon Roy, referred to reports that the National Council of Education, Research and Training was set to rewrite history. As the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Ms. Rita Verma, countered the charge and the question hour progressed, the senior Congress leader, Mr. Arjun Singh, wanted to pose supplementaries when a comment by a BJP member irked him. Mr. Singh, a former Union Human Resource Development Minister, charged the BJP-led Government with the `Talibanisation of education' leading to immediate protests from the BJP members who demanded that the word `Taliban' be deleted. The Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Manmohan Singh, regretted that a senior member like Mr. Singh was prevented from posing a question and the Congress chief whip, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, said the party would not withdraw any word. He reiterated that the members ``on the other side'' were both fascist and Talibanist. As the verbal duel continued, the Chairman, Mr. Kishan Kant, adjourned the House till 12.15 p.m. On reassembly, Mr. Suresh Pachauri, who was in the Chair, adjourned the Upper House till 2.30 p.m., to enable the Chairman to sort out the matter with the leaders of the political parties. Deadlock persisted when the members returned after lunch. The Deputy Chairperson, Dr. Najma Heptulla, reminded the members that Friday afternoon was reserved for Private Members' business. However, the Opposition members, led by Mr. Pachauri, demanded an apology for the way the ruling party members had acted. The BJP counter came from Mr. S. S. Ahluwalia, who insisted on deleting the word `Taliban'. Dr. Heptulla's observation that `Taliban' was not an unparliamentary expression, did not pacify the agitated BJP members. With noisy scenes continuing for nearly 20 minutes, Dr. Heptulla adjourned the House till Monday morning.
http://www.deccan.com/national/template.shtml#LS%20rejects%20Bill%20on%20reservations%20for%20SC,%20ST New Delhi, Nov. 23: The Lok Sabha on Friday rejected by a voice vote, a private members’ Bill seeking to extend reservation for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes in establishments in the private sector. The vote came after Praveen Rashtrapal of the Congress refused to withdraw the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (reservation in services) Bill, 2000. Earlier, Minister of State for Personnel Vijaya Raje Scindia said the government would make every effort to mitigate the sufferings of the SC and ST. The government was not in a position to increase the existing percentage of reservation which is 49.5 per cent. Unsatisfied with the assurance, Rashtrapal accused the Minister of misleading the House and refused to withdraw the Bill. He wanted to know what action the government was taking against officers who were not carrying out the constitutional provisions regarding reservation.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/nov/24tara.htm Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra went on the offensive on Saturday saying it was his party that spearheaded the deletion of 'offending portions' in the National Council for Educational Research and Training history textbooks prescribed for Class VI students. The issue had snowballed into a major controversy in the Parliament on Friday, with Rajya Sabha MP and Congress party member Arjun Singh describing the deletion as 'Talibanisation' of education. The NCERT book written by well-known historian Romila Thapar, as also another book written by Rajendra Lal Mitra contended that beef was served to guests during the Rig Vedic age. Malhotra said the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government had taken grave exception to Thapar's book. Malhotra contended that these were 'factual errors' being spread by 'Marxist historians', which was why the Union Human Resources Development ministry had recommended the deletion of the 'offending portions'. Significantly, a former Delhi University professor Ram Sharan Sharma's book on Ancient India has established that the Rig Vedic society was primarily pastoral and the chief possession of the people during those times was cattle. As pointed out by Malhotra, the BJP has also taken umbrage to Sharma's reference in the book that archaeological evidence does not support the existence of Rama's Ayodhya in 2000 BC and Krishna between 200 BC and 300 AD. "These are lies being spread by these historians which is extremely unfortunate," Malhotra pointed out and underscored the government's objection to it. The government has also deleted a paragraph of Arjun Dev and Indira Arjun Dev's book Modern India for Class XI students which mentions that the Jats founded their kingdom at Bharatpur and plundered regions around Delhi and participated in court intrigues. According to Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP Somnath Chatterjee, the government does not like the reference in history books that Brahmins during the time of Ashoka benefited from the ritual of killing animals. But since Ashoka outlawed this practice, the Brahmins objected because they wanted their privileges upheld, he said. Satish Chandra's book Medieval India for Class XI on Sikhs has also had portions deleted because he mentioned that there was no clash between Sikhs and the Mughals till 1675. Chandra has provided details regarding the conflict between the Sikhs and Mughals after the execution of Guru Teg Bahadur. He has mentioned that according to Sikh tradition, the execution was because of the intrigues of some members of his family who wanted to usurp succession. Chandra wrote in his book: "We are told that Aurangzeb was annoyed because the Guru had converted a few Muslims to Sikhism." This portion has been deleted. As underscored by senior Congress leaders Arjun Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad and S Jaipal Reddy, the party will continue its fight against the 'saffronisation of education without any let or hindrance'.
Alleged rape of Dalit minor The Bahujan Samaj Party has appealed to Chief Minister S M Krishna to drop Minister for Cooperation D K Shivakumar from the Cabinet alleging that he was trying to shield his supporters in his home constituency - Sathanur - who had allegedly raped a Dalit minor girl recently. Addressing a press conference here today, BSP State unit Vice-President Muniyappa alleged that supporters of Mr Shivakumar had molested a 13-year-old girl, daughter of a Dalit farmer at Nallahalli village in Kanakapura taluk, in the second week of November. "The incident was unprovoked. All that the victim's father had done was to drive away sheep that were grazing on the standing crop in his agricultural fields. The infuriated owner (belonging to Tigala community) lodged a complaint against the victim's father on the grounds that the latter had attacked him," he said. He alleged that in the following days, two youths belonging to Tigala community abducted the victim while she on her way to the school, molested, and later abandoned her. A police complaint was lodged against the perpetrators of the crime, but no action had been taken so far, he alleged. The victim and her parents were produced before the press at today's press conference. Mr Muniyappa further alleged that the perpetrators of the crime were supporters of Mr Shivakumar and that the investigation into the case was being scuttled. He demanded that the victim be paid a compensation amount of Rs 5 lakh apart from setting up a special cell to conduct investigation into the incident. He also demanded that Mr Shivakumar be dropped from the Cabinet as he was allegedly trying to protect the 'criminals'.
First categorise castes under SC: Venkatappa Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee's Scheduled Castes/Tribes Department President H T Venkatappa today opined here that the State Government should first categorise the castes coming under SC and then go in for filling up backlog of vacancies. Stating this to the press here today, he said that the State Government was coming forward to fill the nearly 24,000 backlog of vacancies. But if this was done now, some of the castes in the SC list would corner away most of the posts, he feared. It may be recalled that, certain castes coming under the SC list in the State have been stating that a few of the dominant castes among SC had been successful in cornering most of the Government jobs and other facilities till now. Stating that these benefits should be distributed among all castes coming under the SC, they demanded that castes coming under the SC should be categorised into A, B, C and D groups based on percentage of their population, as has been done for Backward Classes. This would ensure that the benefits would reach all castes coming under the SC in accordance with their population. Confirming with this stand taken by some of the castes among the SC, Mr Venkatappa stated that, for the equal distribution of benefits to all castes among the SC, it was better to categorise these castes based on their population. Only after this categorisation should the State Government go in for filling up the backlog, he added. Regarding the welfare of SC/ST in the State, he stated that after the Krishna Government came to power in the State, atrocities on Dalits had decreased. But, when pointed out that Chairman of the Karnataka Legislature Committee on SC/ST Welfare Anjanmurthy, who was in Gulbarga on Thursday, had reprimanded the district police by saying that even though atrocities on Dalits were increasing, yet the police were not doing much in this direction, Mr Venkatappa stuck to his words saying that the atrocities were less now. Regarding slums, he stated that the State Government had prepared a Rs 1,200 crore scheme for the over-all development of slums in the State and was trying to get loans from international funding agencies to implement the scheme. He however stated that the promises made in the Congress manifesto at the time of elections two years ago were slowly being implemented now. Mr Venkatappa, who is here to attend the district-level SC/ST meet, stated that a division-level meet of the SC/ST would be held in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region in December. "The exact date and place would be announced soon," he said adding these meetings were being held to know the problems being faced by SC/ST. Newly appointed Gulbarga District Congress Committee President Gundappa Korwar was also present at the press conference.
Community role in promoting Valmiki culture stressed The president of the Bagalkot district Valmiki Hitabhivriddhi Sangha, Mr Y K Naik, has said that it was the duty of the community to develop and also protect their culture. He was speaking at the Valmiki Jayantotsava programme organised by the taluk committee of the Sangha at Chikkayaranakeri recently. Mr Y K Naik stressed on the need for better education among the people of the community. Mr R D Dalawai inaugurated the programme and called upon the youth of the community to abstain from the bad habits. Mr Suresh N Goudar and Mr Basavaraj Gaddi spoke. Mr Yamanappa Surpur presided while Mr Appanna Bhairamatti, Mr I H Dalwai and Mr Mallappa Ghanti were present. Messers Venkanagouda Gudadamavar and R S Pujari were also felicitated on the occassion.
MPs' plea to PM on JNU V-C appointment By Our Special Correspondent NEW DELHI, NOV. 24. The Parliamentary Forum for Education and Culture today urged the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, to intervene and ensure that the next Vice-Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) would be a person of ``both intellectual prominence and academic and personal integrity.'' A letter signed by 54 MPs belonging to different parties said a state of uncertainty was prevailing since the Government was unable to achieve unanimity over naming a successor to Prof. Asis Datta, whose tenure ended on November 14. Referring to reports, the MPs said the main reason for the government's indecision was the fact that while the Human Resource Development Ministry would like to have someone sympathetic to the Sangh Parivar, the academic community opposed it and would prefer someone ``with an open mind'' to be at the helm of affairs. They said since the JNU was one of Asia's most prestigious universities and a symbol of India's intellectual and academic achievement in the realm of natural and social sciences, it was important to maintain its competitive edge in the world for coming generations. The signatories include Mr. Eduardo Faleiro, convenor of the forum, Dr. Raja Ramanna, Mr. Arjun Singh and Mr. S.R. Bommai, Mr. Ranganath Misra (Cong.), Mr. Fali S. Nariman, Mr. Kuldip Nayyar, Dr. C. Narayana Reddy and Mr. Mrinal Sen (Nominated), Mr. S. Ramachandran Pillai and Prof. Bharti Ray (CPI-M), Mr J. Chittaranjan (CPI), Prof. Ram Deo Bhandary (RJD), Mr. Obaidullah Khan Azmi (JD-S), Mr. Kripal Parmar (BJP), Mr. Mohammed Azam Khan (SP) and Mr. Debabrata Biswas (AIFB) among others.
Tribal uplift project launched in A.P. By Our Special Correspondent HYDERABAD, NOV. 24. STEP, a Rs. 58-crore European Union-funded project, aimed at sustainable empowerment of two lakh tribals in four coastal districts, was launched by the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, here today. Acronym for Sustainable Tribal Empowerment Project, it is a holistic development model aimed at helping the community to help themselves for bettering their lives. The EU funds a lion's share of the project cost with CARE India chipping in with the rest. CARE India will implement the project in tandem with the NGOs and the Government of Andhra Pradesh in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts over a five-year time frame. On hand at the CM's office where the project was launched were a number of Ministers, Messrs. Pascal Lamy, Commissioner, Trade & Commerce, EU, MM Joe Cunnane, EU, New Delhi, Will Day, CARE international, UK, Tom Alecedo, Country Director, CARE India, and a host of other EU, CARE officials, senior Secretaries of the State Government and others. Welcoming the EC-Care initiative to help the most disadvantaged people, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu suggested that the project life be reduced to three years and its scope widened to cover tribals in other districts and areas such as West Godavari, Khammam, Adilabad and Srisailam in order to hasten development. Mr. Naidu said tribals, who lived in remote and inaccessible forest areas, deserved this project the most since they were a disadvantaged lot even among the weaker sections. He referred to his Government's initiatives in tribal uplift - network of schools, residential institutions, primary health centres, participatory management of forest resources like Vana Samrakshana Samitis and the latest Rs. 87-crore coffee plantation scheme - and said the situation was conducive for launching of another major project like STEP. Mr. Lamy said EU had a development cooperation with India with commitments to a tune of more than Rs. 4 crores. These included 130 projects implemented through NGOs, A.P. accounting for 15 of them. Landmark projects in the State related to disaster prevention in coastal areas, child labour and `back to school' and food aid for street children etc. The kind of `sound policies' that the State Government was pursuing, he felt, were the best guarantee for creating stability, ensuring access to education, encouraging savings and achieving progress. Mr. K. Gopalan, Director, CARE, A.P., who welcomed, outlined the salient features of the project. The Chief Minister had a brief interaction with Collectors of the four districts and select women beneficiaries of the project.
Church confirms Jogi's status as tribal JABALPUR, NOV. 24. The Chhatisgarh Chief Minister, Mr. Ajit Jogi, who is braving Opposition's demands to quit in the wake of the controversy over his status as a tribal, on Saturday received a shot in the arm as the Church of North India (CNI) stated that its records showed his grandfather was a tribal. The records of the Diocese of Jabalpur revealed that Mr. Jogi's grandfather was a Kanwar, a community recognised as a Scheduled Tribe, the Church of North India said in a press release. Rt. Reverend Sunil Cak, Bishop of Jabalpur, said the Diocese of Jabalpur, which came under the Protestant Christian CNI, maintained records which showed that Mr. Jogi was a tribal. The entry number 429 in the old church register covering July 1887 to August 1918 shows Dulare Jogi from Pendra as a member of Kanwar community of the Scheduled Tribes. The Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court had last year dismissed a petition filed by Mr. Amar Singh, a voter from Mahasamund, challenging Mr. Ajit Jogi's caste. Mr. Singh later approached the High Court's Principal Seat at Jabalpur, which also dismissed his petition in July this year and imposed a heavy fine for wasting the court's time. The Bilaspur Court granted a stay in favour of Mr. Jogi on October 22 following the order from the National Commission for Minorities. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/stories/2001112500140200.htm The story of Asoka, the emperor who embarked on a mission of peace and atonement, is powerful and timeless. And so, Santhosh Sivan's `Asoka' could have been a great film. But the result is an uneven, visually exciting experiment with too much mixing of elements. SANTHOSH SIVAN has said that with "Asoka", he wanted to make a commercial film, not a festival film. "Asoka" has also been called a crossover film. Perhaps that is where the problem lies in all the labels. The question is not really whether "Asoka" has turned out to be the "Crouching Tiger", "Hidden Dragon" of the year, because "Asoka" could have been so much more. How one wishes that our better film-makers would just go ahead and make not a commercial film or a festival film, but exactly the film they want to make no more, no less. Without compromises or concessions. Sivan's film asks: whose destiny is greater than that of the emperor? As valid a question for the violent times we live in as for this Third Century B.C. tale of war and peace. The man thing seems to be to go to war, whether in Kalinga or in Afghanistan, while the women - Asoka's mother, his wife and his lover - long for peace. Sadly, this philosophy of compassion does not really get the complex treatment it deserves in the film. It is worth looking at the story and treatment again to search for answers. Asoka begins as an impulsive and hotheaded young prince (Shahrukh Khan) who leaves the kingdom, dressed as a commoner, at his mother (Subhashini Ali) Dharma's behest, temporarily, at least, forsaking his claim to the Mauryan kingdom of Magadha. He chances upon the tribal lovely, Kaurwaki (Kareena Kapoor with kohl-lined eyes) under what else but a waterfall, in what Shobha De has noted as a very "Liril" moment, and the child-prince Arya, played cloyingly by Suraj Balaje. But suddenly Asoka's mother sends for him, and he must return to Magadha. He promises Kaurwaki that he will return. Meanwhile the Kalingan army chief, Bheem (played interestingly by Rahul Dev in dreadlocks), escorts Kaurwaki and Arya back to Kalinga. Asoka, thinking that Kaurwaki is dead, and driven almost mad by grief, lands up in a Buddhist centre under the ministrations of Devi (Hrishitaa Bhatt). The web of intrigue around the throne continues to grow, and it is the murder of Asoka's mother by his brother Susim (Ajit, pleasing even sans stubble) that triggers his bloodthirsty quest for revenge. A quest that not only leaves his brothers dead but also continues to grow tentacles, reaching out to swallow new territories and lives. Finally the inexorable march of Asoka's armies takes them to Kalinga, where one of the Magadhan royal brothers is taking shelter. The Kalingan court has given him shelter against Asoka's fratricidal thirst. There must be war. Kalingan women fight alongside their men, but they are outnumbered against the Magadhan hordes, and even though Kaurwaki and, finally, young Arya, come to the battlefield, the end of the bloody war is defeat for Kalinga. Asoka himself, who has come to lead his men against Kalinga, stands on the cold, quiet battlefield, surveying the aftermath. He must turn over the corpses of women on the battlefield to see if any of the faces is that of Kaurwaki. The horror of war finally begins to hit him. He covers his nostrils to keep the stench out and moves on from corpse to corpse. A dying Kalingan soldier reaches for a drink of water; when Asoka bends down to give it to him, the dying soldier pushes him away. He will not quench his thirst with water from Asoka's murderous hands. The story of Asoka, the emperor who embarked on a mission of peace and atonement, is powerful and timeless. It is a story of passion and peace, of war and wisdom. And so, Sivan's "Asoka" could have been a great film. It could have been a testament to the horror of war and the need for love and compassion. It could have been a compelling depiction of the traditional notions of virility and masculinity juxtaposed with the desire of women - that of Asoka's mother Dharma, his wife Devi and of Kaurwaki - for peace, compassion and non-violence. Dharma, after all, forces Asoka to leave the kingdom and make peace with is brothers by taking a vow of silence. Devi warns her husband that he will never see his child if he continues to kill and she keeps her word, leaving for an undisclosed location. Kaurwaki keeps her word and waits for her lover but when he does not return, she fulfils her responsibility to her brother and to the kingdom of Kalinga. And when it becomes necessary, she takes up her sword to defend Kalinga on the battlefield. While the women's roles have been depicted with nuances and texture, Shahrukh's Asoka is all bluster and mannerism, with no depth. Except for the nosebleeds and the mudbaths, he is the same Shahrukh of every other movie that he has acted in. The film leaves its many complex moments unexplored and disjointed, choosing to pitch it as a love story instead of an epic tale of war and peace. It is an uneven film, visually exciting but intellectually no more challenging than caramel popcorn. Cinematically, the tale could have had the force of a Greek tragedy with the prince dressed as a commoner, the passion, the chance missing of paths, the coincidences, the tragic build up, the dark end and the renunciation. But the gaps and weaknesses of the script trivialise the story, and we never really understand Asoka's conversion from a man of war to a leader of peace. Visually, too, this crossover thing has been overdone: there is too much mixing of elements, from Kerala lamps and sarees and Kathakali to Egyptian body art and vivid tribal colours. Sivan's work for Kerala tourism seems to have travelled with him into this work too. As for his mastery of light and shadow, there are moments when the camera lingers solong on the water, the landscape, or the woman's face that it becomes an effete indulgence. Anu Malik's derivative compositions are light and forgettable. It is Sivan's biggest directorial effort to date, but I must say that I enjoyed his earlier efforts much more. This has happened to other talented directors as well, from Govind Nihalani with "Thakshak" to Shyam Benegal with "Zubeidaa". Somehow the desire to make a splashy mainstream film seems to undo their creative effort. Behind the camera, for "Roja", "Dil Se","Iruvar", Sivan was splendid; in the director's chair, with "Halo" and "Terrorist", he showed a rare originality. "Terrorist", a visual delight, was also a thought-provoking and tragic. And ah, "Halo"! I look at my cherished copy of the "Halo" video, for which I paid less than the price of our tickets for "Asoka" and I think "Halo" is a much better film. A simple story of a child who loses her puppy and begins to search for him, "Halo" succeeds because it comes straight from the heart. It shows us how the Mumbai rains look, how the sea face looks, and how life looks. It is the film that the filmmaker just wanted to make, and that is why it works, while "Asoka" does not quite. UMA MAHADEVAN-DASGUPTA
Jalandhar's Buddhist connection TIMES NEWS NETWORK ALANDHAR: While the Padma Purana says the "country" of Jalandhar takes its name from the great daitya king Danava Jalandhra, the son of Ganga and the ocean, archaeologists push the antiquity of the city to the Harappan period, and the Mahabharat refers to it by the name of Trigarta. But the most interesting revelation comes from Sansar de Dharam, a book written by Harbans Singh and L M Joshi, and published by Punjabi University, that claims that the city has been named after a Buddhist monk, Jalandharpada. Jalandharpada was born in Sindh and brought up in Jalandhar. He was among the 84 Buddhist monks who lived here between 800 and 1200 AD and were known for their skills in tantra and yoga. And yet, there is not a trace of Buddhism to be found in the collective subconscious or in physical reality here. What people know and narrate here mostly is the legendary history of the great daitya king Danava Jalandhara. State editor Baldevraj Sharma writes in the Punjab gazette of 1980 that during the reign Kanishka, the Kushana, who ruled from Kabul to UP, there met at Kuvana, near Jalandhar, in about AD 100, a council of Buddhist teachers, who set themselves the task of collecting and arranging the sacred writings of Buddhism.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/secon3.asp?cat=\state2&d=STATES A Dalit woman was beaten to death by excise officials in Manjeri in district Malappuram. In an excise raid, claiming illicit brew was made in the house officials ransacked the house of 39 year-old Palathy alias Nalli. Not being satisfied by the find, they kicked her on her on the chest and all over the body. When she collapsed, the officials rushed in Dr Vijayaraghavan, who declared her dead. Blood was seen all her body and marks of thrashing and torture were visible. The excise team left immediately after the doctor pronounced her dead. Later two constables from the local Police station came to remove the body. By that time an enraged mob had gathered and did not let the body be removed. Higher police officers and RDO came to the scene and pacified the mob. Nalli had been preparing to go and see her ailing father after borrowing Rs 50 from a neighbour at the time of the incident. Custodial deaths and such incidents are rampant in Kerala.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/0424210l.htm BANGALORE, NOV. 23. A Scheduled Caste couple from Nallahalli village of Uyyamballi hobli in Kanakapura taluk alleged here on Friday that two persons of the village kidnapped their 13-year- old daughter and one of them raped her. Narrating the tale of woe of their family, Mr. Ningamadiah and his wife, Ms. Dundamma, who came to the city with their daughter, said that they were being harassed. Mr. Ningamadiah said he had two acres of land in Satnur Police Station limits and was cultivating groundnut on it. He alleged that Putte Gowda, son of Deviah, let his goats to graze in the field and he had to chase them away. Angered by this, Gowda picked up a quarrel with him and used abusive language against his community. Yet Gowda gave a complaint to the police that he was beaten up. He alleged that the members of the Tigala community to which Gowda belonged were organising themselves to make him pay for the incident. Towards this end, Gowda even got treated in a hospital. Two days later on November 13, his daughter was going to a school at Harobele when Devaraju and another man, whose father is Kadavenkatayya, kidnapped her after stuffing her mouth with a piece of cloth. He alleged that she was taken to Hongehalla first and then to an open place. Devaraju kept a watch while the other accused raped her after tying her up. On seeing someone approaching, they fled the scene. Ms. Dundamma and the victim went to the Satnur Police Station in the afternoon after the crime was committed. She alleged that instead of registering a case and sending her daughter for medical examination, the Sub-inspector, Mr. Lokesh, asked them to meet him the next day. Some policemen came to the village the following day and took them to the place of the crime. Late in the day, they were taken to Vani Vilas Hospital in Bangalore. There were no doctors at the hospital then. On the morning of November 15, a woman police constable took the victim to the police station where she had to wait till afternoon for senior police officers to come. She was later taken to Victoria Hospital where a male doctor attended to her. She was not given any treatment and they returned home. Mr. Muniyappa, vice-president of the Bahujan Samaj Party State unit, who was present, alleged that no medical examination was conducted on the victim for more than a day. The accused were supporters of the district in-charge Minister, Mr. D. K. Shivakumar, so that they had not been arrested though the incident occurred nine days ago. Police had not given either a copy of the FIR or an acknowledgement in this regard to the victim. Mr. Muniyappa said the father of Mr. ShivaKumar visited the house of Mr. Ningamadiah and promised to pay some compensation but he did not condemn the incident. The accused would go scotfree as the Minister was supporting them, he alleged and demanded Mr. Shivakumar's dismissal from the ministry. He said Mr. Ningamaidiah would fight till his family was given justice. A sum of Rs. 5 lakhs should be paid to the family and for the education of the victim, he added.
Rape victim enters Bollywood filmscript but stays an outcast BHATERI, NOVEMBER 23: AS bureaucrats and senior police officials thronged the premiere of Jagmohan Mundhra's Bawandar (Storm) in Jaipur last week, in Bhateri village, 50 kms from the state capital, the woman on whose life the film is based spent yet another evening baking bajra rotis in her three-room hut. Filmmaker says I paid up, she says not one paisa The Bawandar experience is a throwback to Bandit Queen: like with Shekhar Kapur, Jagmohan Mundhra has been accused of exploiting Bhanwari Devi for his film, of refusing to pay her after promising to. And, like with Bandit Queen, there have been differing versions of the truth, claims and counter-claims: n Bhanwari Devi initially said she hadn't received a single paisa for the film, starring Nandita Das. ''Mundhra and Das came to meet me, she spent hours recording how I live, but they didn't mention the film nor seek my permission to make it. Now they're telling the world they gave me 10 bighas of land. It's a lie.'' n The umbrella organisation of NGOs that has been aiding Bhanwari, the Mahila Atyachar Virodhi Jan Andolan, too says Mundhra hasn't paid up. n Mundhra, on his part, says the women's groups are ''misleading'' Bhanwari. He says he sent her the film's cassette in February, which she reportedly viewed at the house of social worker Subhash Bharati. 'She lied about not seeing the film was because the women's group hadn't seen it yet. This group has a stranglehold over Bhanwari, they helped her after the rape... I have opened a bank account for her in Jaipur where I deposited 3,000 pounds, and promised to get her another 2,000 US dollars shortly.'' (Mundhra spoke to Rajeev Masand) All 47-year-old Bhanwari Devi, who was allegedly gangraped by five upper caste farmers in 1992, would say is: ''I fought for justice and the cause of oppressed women. What did I get?'' There are no easy answers to that question. Ever since the alleged rapists were acquitted by the Sessions Court in 1995, little has changed for the saathin. The appeal in her case, filed by the CBI in 1996, has been pending in the Rajasthan High Court ever since, without a single hearing having been held. In the interim, she says, the alleged rapists constantly threaten and abuse her. Their eldest son, unable to bear the unrelenting humiliation, left home to work as a labourer in Dausa, 19 km away. While her second son Mukesh, a first year student, says he's stopped attending classes. ''My classmates make fun of me, calling me randi ka ladka. So I sit at home,'' he says. Their sister Rameshwari says she faces similar harassment from her in-laws. ''Only God has looked after me all these years,'' says Bhanwari. And, her potter husband, Mohan. Bawandar, then, should have bolstered Bhanwari's case. Instead, she says, it 's only strengthened the villagers' case against her. ''As it is, the villagers curse me, saying gaon mein bawandar failaya hai. Dooni ulti meri khaal khichayi (They accuse me of bringing a storm upon the village. With the film, it's like I have been skinned twice over).'' The backward village, dominated by affluent Gujjars and Brahmins, makes no effort to discourage Bhanwari's fears. ''The film has been produced to deliberately malign our village. She has insulted the whole village by her acts,'' says a group of incensed elders at the local tea-stall. ''Bhanwari invented the rape story, she's a blot on the entire female community. She will pay for her sins,'' says Babu Lal, the tea-stall owner. Dharam Singh Gujjar, 18 and literate, believes she already has. ''She has no izzat in society,'' he says. Like almost everyone in the village, he believes the alleged rapists were falsely accused. ''The poor men had to spend lakhs to acquit themselves. Two of them weren't even in the village that day, she just made up the story.'' Bhanwari wants to leave Bhateri, but says she can't afford to. ''My sole source of income is a buffalo; three years of drought have made my two bighas of land completely unproductive.'' Most of the 1 lakh cash she received as part of the Neerja Bhanot award in 1994 is locked away in a trust to aid women. Kavita Srivastava, a social activist who has been at the forefront of the Bhanwari Devi support campaign, says, ''The women's organisations still haven't decided what to do with the money.' |