Dalits Media Watch News Updates 01.11.14 Tamil Nadu’s garment workers ‘modern-day slaves’: Dutch Report - Dawn To Earth downtoearth.org.in/content/tamil-nadu-s-garment-workers-modern-day-slaves-dutch-report A clear case of discrimination? One third of Gujarats convicts are Dalits, which is highest in India - Counterview counterview.net/2014/11/a-clear-case-of-discrimination-one.html Dalits in Kheda village attacked over water dispute - The Times Of India epaperbeta.timesofindia/Article.aspx?eid=31805&articlexml=Dalits-in-Kheda-village-attacked-over-water-dispute-01112014004044 Angels of Hell focuses on the dirty truth - The Times Of India timesofindia.indiatimes/city/bangalore/Angels-of-Hell-focuses-on-the-dirty-truth/articleshow/45000747.cms How safe are Dalit families in Ahmednagar? - DNA dnaindia/india/report-how-safe-are-dalit-families-in-ahmednagar-2030812 The ‘Untouchable’ Bill - Tehelka tehelka/the-untouchable-bill-dalit-atrocities-casteism/ Dawn To Earth Tamil Nadu’s garment workers ‘modern-day slaves’: Dutch Report downtoearth.org.in/content/tamil-nadu-s-garment-workers-modern-day-slaves-dutch-report Rajat Ghai, Date:Oct 29, 2014 Workers at state’s textile mills are usually Dalit women, who live and work in appalling conditions, says report A report released on Tuesday by the Amsterdam-based Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) and the India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN) has revealed that workers in Tamil Nadu’s textile mills work under appalling conditions, almost equivalent to modern-day slavery. The report, titled ‘Flawed Fabrics’, details the condition of workers in five Tamil Nadu spinning mills including Best Cotton Mills, Jeyavishnu Spintex, Premier Mills, Sulochana Cotton Spinning Mills and Super Spinning Mills, according a press release by the ICN. For the report, researchers interviewed 150 workers and analysed corporate information and export data regarding the companies involved, said the press release. They found that most of the workers at the mills were rural Dalit women from impoverished households, who had been lured from their home villages with attractive promises of decent jobs and good pay. In reality, however, they did not get contracts or payslips and had nowhere to go to express their grievances. This was because there are no trade unions or functioning complaint mechanisms at the mills. In a blog on news website ‘The Guardian’, the researchers have talked about two mills that were supplying products to Bangladesh garment factories and fell under the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety. Eighteen months ago, the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh had collapsed, killing more than 1,100 garment workers, and prompting global shock and outrage. In response, more than 150 international retailers had signed up to the Bangladesh accord on fire and building safety, a legally binding agreement designed to make factories safer for workers. The report called upon all corporate actors along the global garment supply chain – from spinning mills to fashion brands – to be more transparent about their supplier base. Business efforts are failing to address labour rights violations effectively. Corporate auditing is not geared towards detecting forced labour and other major labour rights infringements. Moreover, there is a near complete lack of supply chain transparency. Local trade unions and labour groups are consistently ignored,” SOMO researcher Martje Theuws said. ICN programme officer Marijn Peepercamp said, Governments at the buying end of the supply chain are failing to ensure that companies live up to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The state duty to protect and the corporate responsibility to respect human rights as laid down in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are not being respected. Counterview A clear case of discrimination? One third of Gujarats convicts are Dalits, which is highest in India counterview.net/2014/11/a-clear-case-of-discrimination-one.html By Rajiv Shah, November 1, 2014 In a shocking revelation, just-released Government of India statistics suggest that 32.9 per cent of all convicts and 23.4 per cent of all undertrials in Gujarat’s prisons are Dalits. What makes the situation particularly precarious for the state, being projected as “model” for the whole country to follow, is that Dalits in Gujarat form a just about 6.7 per cent (2011 Census) of the total population of the state – lower than any other major state of the country. This would suggest that there are 4.9 times higher convicts and 3.5 times higher undertrials than the proportion of their population – a disproportion activists link with “discrimination” against vulnerable communities. The data were released early this week by the National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, in a 256-page book, “Prison Statistics India 2013.” The statistics pertain to different aspects of prisons and prison inmates in Indian jails as of December-end 2013. In absolute numbers, there were 3808 convicts in Gujarat as of December 2013, out of which 1251 were scheduled castes (SCs) or Dalits, 624 scheduled tribes (STs), 1360 other backward classes, and 573 “others.” As for undertrials in Gujarat, out of a total of 7604, there were 1778 SCs, 1405 STs, 2718 OBCs and 1703 “others.” While detailing these facts in the section on demographic profile of prisoners, the writeup in the book provides no explanation as to why there are so high rate of SC convicts and undertrials in proportion to Gujarat’s population, or for that matter other states. In fact, a comparison with other states suggests that the gap between the proportion of Dalit prisoners and Dalit population is the highest in Gujarat. Following Gujarat, Assam has 18.2 per cent SC convicts and 17.7 per cent undertrials while the state’s SC population is 7.2 per cent, suggesting much a lower disproportion gap. The demographic details of prisoners further suggests that Muslims formed 23.3 per cent of all convicts and 23.6 per cent of undertrials in Gujarat – which is also higher compared to the proportion of the community’s population in the state, 9.1 per cent (2011 Census). The disproportion between the prisoners (both convicts and undertrials) and the population is quite high – 2.6 per cent – though less than four out of total of 20 major states, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand. In Gujarat, there are 886 Muslim convicts out of a total of 3808, and 1796 Muslim undertrials out of a total of 7604. A comparison with all-India average would suggest that, while Dalits and Muslims do form a higher proportion of convicts and undertrials vis-à-vis their population, the all-India gap is not as wide as Gujarat’s. The data show that while Muslims constitute around 13.4 per cent of India’s population, their share of jail population is around 19 per cent – 17.1 per cent of convicts and 21 per cent of undertrials. The situation with regard to SCs is not very different. As against their population strength of 16.2 per cent, the SCs constitute 22.5 per cent of convicts and 21.3 per cent of undertrials. Gagan Sethi, a senior Gujarat-based activist, who heads Centre for Social Justice in Ahmedabad, believes the data go to suggest the system in which we live promotes “criminalization of the vulnerable sections” not just in Gujarat but in the country as a whole. “It discriminates against the backward sections. We activists brought this matter before the Planning Commission of India and other important forums in the past, but unfortunately there is so far little effort to see that this is because of intensive discrimination of Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims and other vulnerable sections”, he said. The Times Of India Dalits in Kheda village attacked over water dispute epaperbeta.timesofindia/Article.aspx?eid=31805&articlexml=Dalits-in-Kheda-village-attacked-over-water-dispute-01112014004044 Ahmedabad: TNN Members of the dalit community in Malwada village of Kheda district were allegedly attacked on Thursday in a dispute over water. Local police have booked 20 people for the incident. The incident took place on Thursday night after some members of the dalit community damaged the pipeline supplying water to the village, thereby disrupting water supply to the village. The pipeline was punctured by dalit women after water supply to taps in their street plummeted. They complained about this to the village sarpanch. But nothing happened. “Then, on October 21, the dalit women punctured the pipeline in order to draw water. This led to the village sarpanch filing a complaint before the local police who came to their area and threatened the dalits with arrest. A police officer even slapped a person,“ said Ashok Rathod, a local activist working with the NGO, Navsarjan. A meeting took place between the sarpanch with her supporters and the dalits in the presence of police officials on Thursday . However, a mob allegedly attacked the dalits and two persons were injured in the incident. The Times Of India Angels of Hell focuses on the dirty truth timesofindia.indiatimes/city/bangalore/Angels-of-Hell-focuses-on-the-dirty-truth/articleshow/45000747.cms Sunitha Rao R,TNN | Nov 1, 2014, 04.07 AM IST BENGALURU: Do you know why your father used to drink? Because he used to have shit on his hands. To forget that, he drank. Thats how Kiran, 12, son of a manual scavenger and a pourakarmika, consoles his girlfriend, Prema, when her father, also a manual scavenger, dies while cleaning a manhole. Angels of Hell, a 71-minute feature film, zooms in on the squalid lives of manual scavengers in our country. Through the eyes of Kiran, the film takes a sharp look at the exclusion - social and political - of dalits from society. Conceptualized, directed and produced by artist and social activist John Devaraj, the movie captures the true story of Kiran and his parents. It highlights the stark realities of sewer-cleaning and the problems faced by dalits who are forced to take up this job. In one scene, a scavenger enters a manhole to remove the muck after condoms thrown into drains block sewage flow and surface in front of a house. In the film, Kiran, a rebel, dreams of becoming an educated man so that he can liberate the dalit community from the menial job. Prema introduces him to dalit leader B R Ambedkar and his struggles to liberate the community. Leaving his gunny bag behind, Kiran joins Bornfree Art School meant exclusively for street, working and bonded-labour children. In real life, John Devaraj is my Ambedkar. In the film too, its he who gives me education, says Kiran, 21, who lost his father, a manual scavenger, to TB. He speaks in fluent English taught to him by an Irish girl who volunteered years ago at Bornfree Art School. John Devaraj plans to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of manual scavenging. Swacch Bharat shouldnt just be about sweeping our streets. Stop the evil practice of manual scavenging. There are at least 3 lakh toilet cleaners in Bangalores top hotels and companies who are bound not to step out of the washrooms for eight hours a day. This is ridiculous. Modi has to understand this, says John. DNA How safe are Dalit families in Ahmednagar? dnaindia/india/report-how-safe-are-dalit-families-in-ahmednagar-2030812 Friday, 31 October 2014 - 4:15pm IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA Webdesk The recent murder of a dalit family in Ahmednagar district has once again thrown a spotlight on the increasing violence against the community in Maharashtra. In a gruesome incident similar to the Khairlanji killings, three members of a family were killed, one of them decapitated, before being thrown into a dry well in the Jawakhede Khalsa village of Ahmednagar district on October 21. Growing atrocities against dalits is not something new in the district. Just four months ago, in July, a 17-year-old dalit boy Nitin R. Aage was killed in Kharda village of Jamkhed tehsil for allegedly having a love affair with an upper-caste girl. Also, a year-and-a-half ago, three dalit youth from Sonai village of Nevasa town of Ahmednagar were murdered. Sixty-eight years after Independence, atrocities in the name of caste, still continue to take place in the country. Talking about the increasing atrocities against dalits in Ahmednagar, senior journalist Sudhir Lanke says, “Incidents of dalit murders have mostly taken place in south Ahmednagar, which is adjacent to the (upper caste) Marathwada region. Casteism is a challenge in south Ahmednagar which is still sensitive and not so developed in terms of education.” While Buddhist and neo-Buddhists are more aware of their rights, this is not the case with other dalit communities, Lanke added. In the early 1950s, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar initiated his politics through the Republican Party of India. But today, with the division of RPI into various groups led by personal ambitions and egos of leaders like Joginder Kawade, R S Gavai, Ramdas Athavale and Ambedkars grandson Prakash Ambedkar, the dalit communities have no force and leader backing them. Kunal Shirsathe, a member of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) said, “Around 69 cases of atrocities have been registered so far in this year. The upper caste communities are not ready to accept the changing socio-economic situation, while no efforts are being made to deliver justice to dalits immediately. After the Sonai dalit murders, former Home Minister RR Patil had assured that the case would be taken up in a Mumbai court and justice would be delivered within one year. But it has been two years since the incident, and the case is still underway in a Srirampur court.” On October 26, Maharashtra Governor Vidyasagar Rao asked the State Director General of Police, Sanjeev Dayal to appoint a Special Task Force (STF) to probe last weeks brutal killing. Maharashtra Congress Pradesh President Manikrao Thakre visited Jawakhede Khalsa village in Pathardi Taluka. Republican Party of India (A) president and Rajya Sabha MP Ramdas Athavale had visited the village after the incident. His visit was followed by the visit of the director of National Commission for Scheduled Castes. However, it has been more than a week, with the culprits still at large and no answers on the motive behind the murder. Tehelka The ‘Untouchable’ Bill tehelka/the-untouchable-bill-dalit-atrocities-casteism/ The new and improved Bill to prevent atrocities against Dalits runs the risk of being put in the cold storage, says Nidheesh J Villatt Nidheesh J Villatt 2014-10-25 , Issue 43 Volume 11 A crime against Dalits happens every 18 minutes — three women raped every day, 13 murdered every week, 27 atrocities every day, six kidnapped every week and so on. This is the data compiled by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, an NGO, which paints a grim picture of Indian society. The data depicts a blatant violation of constitutional promises and international laws such as the Convention Against All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is in this context of growing caste violations that affect about one-fourth of the population that the fate of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill is raising disturbing questions. Introduced by Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot on 14 July, the Bill has been consigned to a parliamentary standing committee and some of its stringent clauses run the risk of being watered down. The Bill identifies that “despite stringent provisions… the Act has not been effective in preventing commission of offences, which is its main objective”. It further notes that “victims and witnesses confront hurdles at every stage of the legal process — from registration, investigation and chargesheeting, to the trial stage. The conviction rates under the Act remain low”. It also acknowledges issues such as the “high rates of acquittal and pendency and low rate of case disposals”. The Bill has included newer forms of atrocities and made provisions for more accountability from public servants. The Bill traces its genealogy to painstaking efforts by human rights groups led by the National Coalition for Strengthening of SC/ST PoA Act, academics and concerned MPs. Sources familiar with the background work reveal that the strong ‘casteist’ lobby within the Congress prevented the passage of the Bill, which was introduced by the UPA government in Parliament on 12 December 2013. The Bill was never taken up for discussion and finally a presidential ordinance came at the fag end of the UPA’s tenure. The NDA government introduced the Bill after the ordinance lapsed, but it was referred to a parliamentary standing committee despite pressure from the Opposition to pass it immediately. “The UPA government could have passed the Bill, but they played opportunistic politics,” says N Sukumar, human rights activist and assistant professor of political science at Delhi University. “But it is doubtful whether the Hindutva dispensation will work to enact a progressive legislation. The Sangh Parivar is cleverly trying to downplay the historical reality of caste. They are focussing on the campaign that we all are part of larger Hindutva. They are also trying to bring in new theories like it was the Mughals who introduced the caste system. The BJP’s strategy will be to play a double game. They will try to convince Dalits that we have tried our best to initiate the Bill. But, at the same time, they will align with all possible forces to dilute the amendments.” VA Ramesh Nathan, general convener of the National Coalition for Strengthening of SC/ST PoA Act, adds, “If one uses common sense, the current PoA Act is stringent and misused. But the government statistics and everyday incidents of brutal and subtle violence against Dalits and Adivasis prove that the Act is simply not working. Perpetrators use ambiguities and loopholes in the Act to evade punishment. An insensitive judiciary and police contribute in their own way to work around the Act.” Amendments that aim to include “new forms of offences to the existing punishable offences, addition of relevant IPC offences as punishable offences under the PoA Act, attempts to clearly define ‘willful negligence’ by public servants, establishment of Exclusive Special Courts and Exclusive Special Public Prosecutors, provisions that protect the rights of victims and witnesses and the expansion of the scope of presumption (to minimise loopholes in the applicability of the Act)” can bring positive changes, says Nathan. The new offences identified by the Bill include offences related to dignity, atrocities against women, offences related to land and housing, offences related to franchise and offences related to untouchability in the public sphere. For example, the Bill identifies new forms of commonly found atrocities such as social and economic boycotts, garlanding with footwear, physical harm on the allegation of practising witchcraft, etc. There are many documented cases of such atrocities cutting across all regions. But policemen refuse to register complaints arguing that these cases do not come under the purview of the PoA Act. “Even if the FIRs are registered under the PoA Act, at the later stages when the charges are framed or the chargesheet is filed, sections of the Act are taken out on the ground that the offence committed are not covered as an offence of atrocity under the Act. As a result, the perpetrators are never convicted,” says the Bill. Several academic studies have found that growing Dalit assertion is countered by dominant caste groups with the powerful tools of economic and social boycott, says GC Pal, Research Fellow, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies. When combined with existing violations such as labour market discrimination, social boycott can cause serious fissures in the livelihood and selfrespect of Dalits. In their seminal study titled Justice Under Trial, legal researchers Jayashree Manghubhai and Rahul Singh have recorded a curious case of social boycott of a Dalit victim’s family in an atrocity case handled by a special court in Telangana. “For instance, no share autos operated by dominant castes are allowed to accept the family as passengers, forcing them to walk the 3 km up to the main road to catch public transport,” they say. Another major thrust of the Bill on clearly defining the term “willful negligence” by public servants is aimed at making investigation agencies and other government departments concerned more sensitive and transparent. The negligence of the police was highlighted in the recent past when the Maharashtra Police infamously refused to register an FIR in the 2006 Khairlanji rape and murder case. The police did not listen to the complainant Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange and filed the FIR only after discovering the dead bodies of his wife and daughter. The amendments that aim to establish Exclusive Special Courts and Exclusive Public Prosecutors are aimed at tackling the “delay in the disposal of cases in a timely manner”. Scientific studies such as Justice Under Trial have identified that there is a strong link between “prolonged trials” and “obstruction of justice”. “The prolonged period of trial negatively affects the ability of the victims and witnesses to remember accurately the incidents and their statements before the police,” says the study. “Pressure can be exerted on the victims and witnesses to recant their statements as to the atrocity.” The prolonged legal battle is also leading to “forced compromises”. “As other studies have shown, the word ‘compromise’ is a misnomer in such cases where unequal power relations exist between the two parties in a case,” says the study. “These ‘agreements’ to end a prosecution are often forced or coerced, including through the payment of money to the economically poor victim. Pressure is put on the victims to enter into a compromise because they know they have to live in the same village as the accused and his/her caste community.” Interestingly, there are dissenting voices among civil society activists about the basic philosophy of the Amendment Bill. “The new Bill has not defined untouchability,” says Supreme Court lawyer Nithin Meshram. “It has just included new offences. It has failed to provide a notional change among the people.” Meshram recalls an incident in which a highly educated Dalit youth approached the father of his girlfriend (who belonged to an upper caste) for her hand in marriage. “The girl’s father told him that he would never marry his daughter to a Dalit or Muslim despite how good the boy is,” he says. “Isn’t that untouchability? Ethically, it is. But even according to the new amendments, it won’t be considered as untouchability in the strict legal sense.” News monitored by Girish Pant & Ajeet
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 11:07:36 +0000
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