[ZESTCaste] Cong plays caste card in UP (News)
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2theme=usrsess=1id=171449 Cong plays caste card in UP Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, Sept. 25: The Congress knows that it cannot prosper unless it becomes a challenge in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. And with Mr Rahul Gandhi now in the big league, he needs a well knit organisation in UP. The party has embarked upon its own form of social engineering in the state. It has replaced Mr Salman Khursheed, a Muslim, with Mrs Rita Bahuguna Joshi, a Brahmin, as state party chief. That Mr Khurseed would be replaced in the aftermath of the disastrous Assembly polls, was obvious. The change has been synchronised with the party reshuffle. As the Congress was losing its support base, particularly to the BSP, the counter efforts, apart from bringing Mr Gandhi to centre-stage, are nominating a Brahmin and a woman as party chief and making Mr Digvijay Singh, a Thakur, as organisational in charge of the state. The focus thus is on the upper castes. The leader of the legislature party, Mr Promod Tewari, is also a Brahmin. The BJP has a Brahmin chief and Mr Satish Mishra is the Brahmin face of the ruling BSP. The restructuring of the Congress organisation is designed to meet the challenge from caste-based regional forces. In the Assembly polls, the Congress remained on the margins, despite Mr Gandhi being in the picture. People decided in favour of Miss Mayawati as a strong alternative to Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party. In the process, the Congress won less than 25 seats. The tally could have been worse had Mr Gandhi not been to electioneering. Mrs Joshi's recent track record has been poor. She was a loser in Allahabad South Assembly constituency. However, her nomination as party chief in the state has been met with a chorus of approval. State level leaders have declared that the appointment will recharge the party. Mrs Joshi is the daughter of the late chief minister Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna. However, she has hardly been active in the mainline politics of the state and her detractors say she belongs to the same breed as Mr Khursheed ~ more active in Delhi than in Lucknow.
[ZESTCaste] 'Caste discrimination cause of suicide' (News)
'Caste discrimination cause of suicide' http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Hindu/400x60/0 Special Correspondent 'Anti-Dalit attitude' led to IISc student's extreme step, say parents and SSD SSD inquiry found that some professors were harassing Dalit students IISc denies discrimination and says independent report is due Bangalore: The suicide of Ajay Srichandra, a Ph.D. student of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on July 28, was a result of caste-related harassment, the Dalit boy's parents and members of Samata Sainik Dal (SSD) have alleged. Speaking to presspersons here on Tuesday, M. Venkataswamy, President of SSD, said that they would hold a protest in front of IISc on September 28 against the anti-Dalit attitude of some professors in the institution. Mr. Venkataswamy said that Ajay, a student of integrated Ph.D., had not committed suicide in his hostel room due to depression as made out by the police. Members of SSD had conducted an independent inquiry and found that some professors of IISc were harassing and discriminating against Dalit students, he added. B. Chennakrishnappa, Bangalore District President of SSD, said that other students were in the know about it but were not willing to openly admit it. Ajay's father Ravindra Kumar, who was also at the press conference, alleged that his son's suicide note had been tampered with. I was first told that my son had written a suicide note running to two or three pages. But some pages had been removed by the time I reached here from Hyderabad, he alleged. SSD has demanded that criminal cases be booked against professors and an independent inquiry conducted into the case by University Grants Commission. An official at IISc told The Hindu that there appears to be no harassment of any kind. The institute has formed a committee to look into the matter, the official said. A committee was formed immediately after the death of the student. The independent report should be coming through in a few days.
[ZESTCaste] AIIMS faculty member cries caste bias (News)
AIIMS faculty member cries caste bias http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Times_of_India/400x60/0 25 Sep 2007, 0131 hrs IST ,Dwaipayan Ghosh ,TNN NEW DELHI: An assistant professor of the radiotherapy department, Dr Suman Bhasker has written a letter to the SC Commission alleging caste discrimination by her colleagues. She has alleged that junior doctors refused to cooperate with her accusing her of practising ''discriminatory behaviour against the upper caste resident doctors.'' Sources in the commission said that her complaint was received in the third week of July. ''The commission has already summoned some of the administrators of AIIMS in this connection. These included the director, P Venugopal and the department HoD Dr G K Rath. On Monday, the commission sat for its third hearing and decided to give AIIMS a last chance to look into the matter so that the complainant's grievances can be properly addressed. Upon Dr Rath's suggestion, we decided to ask the HoD to accompany Dr Bhasker once she goes on her rounds from Tuesday. The next hearing has been scheduled for October 22,'' said an official of the commission. Speaking to Times City Dr Bhasker said that her trouble began towards the end of May this year when she was identified as a sympathiser of the pro-reservation group. ''On June 2, which was a half day, I was told verbally that an inquiry committee has been constituted against me. Nothing in written was passed to me. I was told that there were two charges against me - of not attending work and of discriminating against upper caste resident doctors.'' She added: ''When I went to the hospital the next day, I was gheraoed by sloganeering resident doctors. After that they stopped cooperating.'' Dr Bhasker alleged that her repeated requests to senior administrators to solve the issue fell on deaf ears. Dr Rath, HoD of radiotherapy department, said that a decision on the issue would be taken only after a high level meeting on Tuesday in the institute. Institute spokesman Dr Shakti Gupta said: ''I know there was a hearing today but I don't know what happened.''
[ZESTCaste] Untouchability finds new forms (News)
Untouchability finds new forms http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Hindu/400x60/0 Bageshree S. Bangalore: The appalling practice of untouchability seems to only assume new and less obvious forms after it is exposed and causes public outrage. The situation in Kadkol village of Basavanabagewadi taluk in Bijapur district, where 80 Dalit families were imposed social and economic boycott by caste Hindus on July 25, 2006 for daring to draw water from a tank till then reserved for caste Hindus, is a case in point. According to Chalavadi Ramanna of Karnataka Mula Asprushyara Manava Hakkugala Rakshana Vedike, the tank which is at the centre of the controversy, is now not barred to Dalits. However, in a strange reversal, it is shunned by caste Hindus who allegedly spare no opportunity to pollute it. They routinely leave their cattle to splash around in the tank, which is a source of drinking water, he alleges. What is even more shocking is that one year and two months after the incident was reported, the authorities are yet to book anyone for practising untouchability and imposing boycott. The police say it has to be handled by the Civil Rights Enforcement Cell. The cell says that it does not have adequate staff to conduct an inquiry and the police should do it, says Mr. Ramanna. As a result, those responsible for the act, including a member of the taluk panchayat and president of Gram Panchayat, are walking free, he said. In the meanwhile, the practice of untouchability, banned by the Constitution, continues in various forms. A local barber will not give a Dalit a haircut. This is not typical of Kadkol. This is the most normal thing in many villages in north Karnataka, says Mr. Ramanna. The demands put forward by Karnataka Mula Asprushyara Manava Hakkugala Rakshana Vedike for rehabilitation of the 80-odd families which faced boycott are yet to be fulfilled, barring the demand for housing. Seventy-three people have been identified for giving housing sites. Local political and caste Hindu interests, Mr. Ramanna alleges, diverted the loans sanctioned meant for victims to those who did not face social boycott. The other demands, including sanction of lands and creating job opportunities, are not even under consideration at the moment. The vedike submitted a memorandum with nine demands to the Deputy Commissioner on October 10, 2006. The Government has an obligation to rehabilitate people who face social boycott under sections of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, which was enacted in 1955. The sad part is even the victims of atrocities are often not aware of this, says Mr. Ramanna.
