A RESEARCHER WORKING on the State of Panchayats Report (SOPR) 2008-09 met Mahangu Madiya in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, a dangerous place for gathering data. Madiya’s story was startling. In January, he was given Rs 55 lakh compensation for his land, but the amount is sitting in his bank account. He does not even own a mobile phone. “I am concerned with farming. My land is important to me. What will I...
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Dalits write to Hooda by Deepender Deswal
At Bopara, around five or six youths assaulted Bhoop Singh with lathis on Tuesday. The victim, who is a Dalit and a relative of the newly-elected sarpanch, also named Bhoop Singh, was beaten up following a verbal duel on the ongoing controversy over the recently conducted Panchayat Elections. The sarpanch had triggered the casteist row by participating in the polls despite a call for boycott on the ground that all...
More »Policing the police by Moyna
Surprise was in store for Sushil Kaushik when in 1989 he first joined duty as a constable in Serkot in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district. He had no idea how corrupt police officials can be. He saw policemen taking bribes, and superiors deducting constables’ salaries without giving any explanation. Kaushik questioned his bosses on the irregularities he came across. In Serkot his colleagues would take bribes from villagers who brought fire-wood...
More »Dalit fights sarpanch election, ostracized by Deepender Deswal
The family of newly-elected Dalit sarpanch of Bapora — village of Army chief VK Singh — has been ostracized for participating in election despite the village deciding to boycott it on ground that all major panchayat and zila parishad posts had been reserved for Scheduled Castes. The ostracization has led to a situation in which the new sarpanch, a brick-kiln labourer and an SC, has been given armed security by...
More »Over 16,000 women in Haryana will show their might
Haryana is infamous for its skewed sex ratio. But thanks to quotas for women in grassroots bodies, over 16,000 women are set to be elected in the Panchayat Elections next month, getting a chance to show their might. "The Panchayat Elections in the state are being held June 6 and 12. The reservation of seats for women candidates will give them a fair representation in these bodies," said state election commissioner...
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