Untouchability hasn’t been banished in all its forms, a meeting of state ministers with the Centre concluded today and expressed anguish at the dismal conviction rate in crimes against Dalits. “Untouchability is gone, but only the face of it, as its definition changes. Banks deny credit to Dalits and this is another form of untouchability,” Union home minister P. Chidambaram said at the specially convened meeting as part of the two-day...
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Dalit sugarcane worker burnt to death, one held by Amruta Byatnal
He was killed on Sunday for not returning Rs. 5,000 at his residence A day after 32-year-old Dalit sugarcane labourer Shahadev Tayad succumbed to burns, the accused Vashisht Dhake who allegedly burnt him was caught by the police on Monday, but the Tayad's family's efforts to come to terms with the loss have just begun. According to the police, Dhake burnt Tayad on January 8 for not returning Rs. 5,000 at his...
More »What Is The Real Goal Of The Anna Movement? by Rohini Hensman
Many people including members of Team Anna have expressed reservations about the way in which their campaign has been developing, and some have even resigned. This raises questions about the real aim of the leadership around Anna. Is it really what it is proclaimed to be? Is the aim to get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed by parliament? Team Anna has repeatedly stated that they have just a one-point agenda: to get...
More »Some provisions of Prevention of Atrocities Act discriminatory: Judge by Jiby Kattakayam
Mirchpur Dalit naib tehsildar can't be prosecuted due to his caste Drawing upon a couple of instances in the Mirchpur caste violence trial in which the Judge was constrained by two sub-sections of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, to sentence three convicted Jat men to life imprisonment offering no judicial discretion for a lighter sentence, and the neglect of duties by a Dalit naib tehsildar of Mirchpur...
More »Justice for Vachathi by S Dorairaj
It has been a long and difficult road to justice for the tribal residents of this village in Tamil Nadu's Dharmapuri district The injustice done to the tribal people of India is a shameful chapter in our country's history. The tribals were called ‘rakshas' (demons), ‘asuras', and what not. They were slaughtered in large numbers, and the survivors and their descendants were degraded, humiliated, and all kinds of atrocities inflicted on...
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