After a long wait of 17 years, justice was delivered to dalits of Badanawalu village of Nanjangud taluk where three community members were killed by a mob following a row over puja at a village temple. Sixth additional sessions judge L Malvalli convicted Suresh and 19 others. The sentence will be pronounced on October 30 or November 2. Though the chargesheet was filed against 23, three died during the prolonged trial. The...

Hundreds of Dalits belonging to Chettipulam, a village near Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district are planning to embrace Buddhism on December 6, the death anniversary of B R Ambedkar. During September 2009, the CPI(M) had alleged that the Dalits were not being allowed entry into the temple by the villagers. The party organised temple entry agitations twice - on Sep 30,and Oct 14 of that year. On the first occasion, the temple remained...

The one-man inquiry commission constituted under Justice Iqbal Singh, a former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana HC, to probe the Mirchpur incident of April 1this year in which two Dalits were burnt alive and 18 houses of the community were torched, has got an extension of six months. Sources said the notification pertaining to the extension of the commission’s tenure would be issued shortly. The commission, constituted on June...

Eminent writer and social activist Arundhati Roy on Saturday alleged India is witnessing a war within itself since independence and is actually a poor super power. "Since the country gained independence there have been wars against tribals, dalits and others in several parts of the country leading to violation of human rights," she said. "Now people are struggling for human rights more than justice," Roy told a conference "Attack on Life,...

Uttar Pradesh may be ruled by a Dalit Chief Minister but poor Dalits in the state's rural areas continue to suffer under the oppression of upper caste politicians. One such case is that of a 50-year old dalit Budhai Ram of Sidhauli village in Sitapur district, 80 kilometres from Lucknow. Budhai Ram apparently made the mistake of filing a Right to Information petition at the office of the Sitapur district...