Dalit families in Kalanahundi Village, 5km from Chamarajanagar town, have threatened to convert to Buddhism, to protest against the alleged discrimination by upper-caste Hindus.  The District Federation of Dalit organizationshave planned a mass 'Buddha dhamma deeksha' programme in the village in the last week of February, when hundreds of dalits in the district, including Kalanahundi dalits, are anticipated toembrace Buddhism.  However, additional SP K H Chandrashekar said that the jathra that was...

Public hearing throws light on discrimination, violence When Norti Bai, sarpanch of Harmara in Rajasthan, refused to give in to the demands of upper caste men in her village, her daughter-in-law Ram Peari was branded a “witch.” The villagers called for Peari's “social boycott” and excommunication. In Alwar district in the State, Sunita Bairwa of Bahedakhah was assaulted because the upper castes were unhappy about a Dalit being elevated to sarpanch. These...

Interview with Teesta Setalvad of Citizens for Justice and Peace. TEESTA SETALVAD, through her organisation Citizens for Justice and Peace, has been at the forefront of the fight for justice for the victims of the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. She has also worked extensively on many other issues affecting minority communities in the State. In this interview to Frontline, she speaks about Chief Minister Narendra Modi's new tactics and the marginalisation...

There can be little quarrel with the argument that India requires a comprehensive policy to prevent sex selection as put forward by National Advisory Council members Farah Naqvi and A.K. Shiva Kumar in The Hindu (“India & the sex selection conundrum,” January 24, 2012). That the use of sex selection technologies to abort female foetuses is linked to the increasing devaluation and disempowerment of women is well known. It is...

-BBC   Police in India's Maharashtra state have arrested five members of an upper caste for beating, stripping and parading naked a low-caste Dalit woman. The victim was attacked because her son had eloped with an upper-caste girl about a month ago. She has alleged that police initially refused to file a case saying such incidents were not uncommon. The incident took place in Mulgaon village on Monday afternoon but reports of the atrocity have...