Several activists have asked the Planning Commission to take into account cultural norms if it wanted to ensure success of minority welfare schemes. To make his point, Shabnam Hashmi, of the NGO Anhad, cited as example the plan panel’s proposal of giving bicycles to girls from the minority community where school attendance is low. “This,” Hashmi said, “shows the complete lack of understanding of cultural norms in Muslim areas.” While bicycles provide mobility...
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Untouchability under security meet scanner-Nishit Dholabhai
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...
More »Dalits suffered most during Maya rule: MHA report
-PTI Uttar Pradesh saw the maximum number of attacks on Scheduled Castes in 2010 when the erstwhile Mayawati government was in charge of the state. The annual report of the Home Ministry for 2011-12 released on Wednesday said Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number (6,272) of cases of crime against SCs out of a total of 32,712 —19.2 per cent of the total incidents in the country in 2010. The numbers mentioned in...
More »Poverty levels fall by 7 percentage points in 5 yrs, faster in villages than in urban areas
-The Indian Express Rural areas have shown a faster pace of decline as poverty levels dipped by over seven percentage points in the past five years in the country. As per Planning Commission estimates released on Monday, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttarakhand are among the top performers, with the decline in poverty in each of these states estimated at 10 percentage points or more between 2004-05...
More »Now, Planning Commission lowers the poverty line-K Balchand
The Planning Commission on Monday released the latest poverty estimates for the country showing a decline in the incidence of poverty by 7.3 per cent over the past five years and stating that anyone with a daily consumption expenditure of Rs. 28.35 and Rs. 22.42 in urban and rural areas respectively is above the poverty line. The new poverty estimates for 2011-12 will only add to the furore triggered by the...
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