19.03.2024.Indian Untouchables News.by Sivaji.ceo.chennai 26.Help the poor SC.STs.
NEWS
Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation Distributes Blankets in Bodh Gaya to Combat the Winter Cold
- By Craig C Lewis
- March 18, 2024
The Taiwan-headquartered global charity and humanitarian organization Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation has distributed 822 blankets to 411 vulnerable families in five villages in Bodh Gaya, in the Indian state of Bihar, this winter as they struggled to cope with cold nighttime temperatures.
“When temperatures began to drop sharply during the winter months, Tzu Chi volunteer Raymond Kua from Malaysia felt for the villagers who were struggling against the cold,” Tzu Chi explained in a recent announcement. “At night, many had to layer up with multiple blankets just to keep warm. Kua noticed that most of their blankets were thin and torn. In one village, he saw people lighting fires outside their homes because the thin blankets could not provide enough warmth.” (Tzu Chi Foundation)
Kua and a team of Tzu Chi volunteers distributed two thick winter blankets to households in five villages in January, the coldest month of the year, delivering the blankets by truck on 18–19 January. Arriving at the first village, Jagdishpur, the volunteers distributed blankets, while a medical team went door-to-door with medical supplies.
“Even animals were struggling against the damp cold. Villagers often draped them with old clothes or burlap sacks,” Tzu Chi related. “The volunteers had noticed that villagers would burn anything to keep warm, even plastics, which emitted toxic fumes harmful to health. So they took the opportunity to raise their awareness of fire safety and health protection through photos and videos.” (Tzu Chi Foundation)
Tzu Chi recounted the touching gratitude at one home, where the resident Anita expressed joy at receiving two much-needed blankets. Her husband, who was unwell and unable to work, was deeply grateful for the blankets, which they could not afford to buy themselves, Tzu Chi noted.
“Now that we have blankets, we can avoid the cold,” said Anita gratefully. “Blankets are very expensive, and we can’t afford them. We’re very poor, so I used this old shawl instead. Now that we have blankets, we can get through the winter. Thank you!” (Tzu Chi Foundation)
Tzu Chi added that Anita’s simple home, which houses a family of six, was insulated only by a layer of straw on the floor covered by a thin cloth. Anita and her family sleep on beds made from straw and strips of cloth.
“We use old clothes and saris we find, stitching them together to stay warm in cold weather,” Anita remarked. ”[Now] we’re using the new blankets along with our homemade ones, which keeps us warmer. If we only use the homemade ones, it feels cold. The new blankets are warm, and we sleep better covered with them.” (Tzu Chi Foundation)
The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Republic of China, more widely known as the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, was founded in Taiwan in 1966 by the Buddhist nun and Dharma teacher Master Cheng Yen. With a focus on “putting compassion into action,” the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation is a UN-accredited NGO with some 10 million supporters and 432 offices worldwide across 51 countries, undertaking regular activities in the fields of humanitarian aid, medical care, education, and environmental sustainability.
As a global icon of socially engaged Buddhism, Master Cheng Yen has expressed a deeply held belief that all people are capable of manifesting the same great compassion as the Buddha. She has noted that true compassion is not simply feeling sympathy for the suffering of others, but is found in reaching out to relieve suffering with concrete action.
Master Cheng Yen is popularly known in Taiwan as one of the “Four Heavenly Kings” of Buddhism, the others being: Master Sheng Yen, founder of Dharma Drum Mountain; Master Hsing Yun, founder of Fo Guang Shan; and Master Wei Chueh, founder of Chung Tai Shan. These four global Buddhist orders, correspondingly known as the “Four Great Mountains,” have grown to become among the most influential Chinese Buddhist organizations in the world.
also a keen mountain trekker and photographer, finding particular inspiration in the peoples, cultures, and Buddhist expressions of the Himalaya. In his column for BDG, “Chasing Light,” Craig seeks to document encounters, experiences, and epiphanies resulting from his own tentative and faltering path toward liberation. Contact: craig@bdglobal.org.
Nuwakot Dalits: A
grim story
Water is considered a superconductor of ‘caste pollution’ in our Hindu-dominated society.
Mitra Pariyar
It was the warm and sunny morning of March 9, and our team (Dalit activists with the Caste Watch Network and a journalist) gathered at the Machhapokhari junction in Kathmandu. An electric van took us across Balaju Bypass and Tokha before we climbed the hill of Shivapuri, dotted with red rhododendrons. As we descended towards the other side of the hill, our eyes, lungs and ears sang joyfully. The scenery was great, and we had left the hustle and bustle of the capital city behind.
We were also increasingly conscious that while the physical environment had become much cleaner, the social environment was getting increasingly filthy. Caste bites harder in rural areas. An unbelievable incident associated with this caste pollution—as it were—had caused us to make this two-and-a-half-day trip to the village of Chainpur in ward number 12 of the Bidur Municipality, Nuwakot district.
Water: Superconductor of caste
It is common knowledge that access to drinking water has been a principal source of conflict between nations, people, ethnic groups, cities, villages, settlements, neighbourhoods and even households. A cruel principle and practice of many Hindu communities in South Asia and beyond has been to deny the Shudra access to clean drinking water.
In Nepal, the very definition of “low caste”—published in the 1854 Civil Code, the nation’s first written constitution—is “someone whose water cannot be used by others”—pani nachalne jat. In religious and cultural terms, the same principle is strongly held in society today, even though the formal laws have changed over time.
Water is considered a superconductor of “caste pollution” in our Hindu-dominated society. Caste pollution through contact with low castes is purified, for example, by sprinkling water that has been sanctified by dipping a piece of gold in it. Not everyone would practise this now, of course, particularly in towns, but the traditional belief is still strong in society.
It is commonly held that upper castes’ lineage deities and other gods will get angry if the Shudra touches their water. Many homes in Kathmandu and other towns refuse to rent their rooms or flats to the low castes because they fear the Shudra’s touch contaminating their water, mainly the water used for daily worship.
Across the swathes of the countryside, sources of water have been the principal sites of caste domination and humiliation. Even today, we hear stories of Dalits being openly excluded and humiliated, if not physically assaulted, when they attempt to share the wells and taps with other castes. Dalits are told to either use the wells and taps after other castes have used them or to drink the dirty water from these sources.
The Nuwakot story
The things happening in the Chainpur village of the Nuwakot district are quite extraordinary, something not seen or heard about in some of the most casteist societies of the far western and Karnali regions. This village on a dry slope suffers from an acute shortage of clean drinking water, and the municipality has done little to resolve the crisis.
A little spring in the field of a Damai family has caused much contention in the community. It has potentially risked the life and property of the family there. This is what we had come to observe and report that day and, if possible, to resolve the dispute. We had been invited to the site by relatives and friends of the victims.
The Dalit family has collected and used fresh, clean spring water for generations. A Chhetri man wants to use it as well, but not share it with the Dalit family! The Dalits are happy to construct a small reservoir and share water with the Chhetri family, but the Chhetri man does not accept this proposal. He believes using water from the same source would be ritually polluting, thus potentially offending his deities.
The upper-caste man has been using every tactic, including money and muscle, to harass the Dalit family so that he will be able to gain full control of the spring. He has tried to beat the Dalit man into submission. He has showered rocks on the Dalit home. Emboldened by his own nephew as the ward chairman, he has also filed a case in the district court, accusing the Dalits of denying his use of the spring. He has concocted the myth that his family has used the water for decades.
The victim family is living in grave danger, but they are not going to give up easily. They have sought the help of the ward office, the local police and the local judicial committee to resolve the crisis. The Dalit couple is happy to share water with the Chhetri family, but they cannot afford to let the bully fully appropriate it.
Our efforts
Typically, local Dalit households have been unable to come together to seek justice for the victims. Local political economy means that the relatives and friends of the suffering Dalits are unable to speak up. After all, dominant Chhetris are often the sources of their livelihoods.
The place is less than 80 km away from Kathmandu and overlooks the growing town of Bidur—yet the traditional patron-client system is still strong here. The tailors—who cannot enter homes and who must wash their own dishes after eating and drinking there—visit upper-caste clients in their homes to make new dresses or to mend the old ones. They are paid little, often in the form of grains and old clothes, for their services. In a word, caste discrimination is strong here, and nobody seems bothered.
We visited the spring, interviewed the victims and organised a small gathering on a common platform. The alleged victimiser did not turn up to discuss the matter. The victims were quite vociferous about their plight and adamant that they wouldn’t relinquish their right to use the natural spring on their own property, no matter what. They directly accused the ward chairman of not protecting the victims and throwing his weight behind his abusive uncle instead.
The gathering also involved the district representatives of the Dalit wings of the major parties—the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and the Maoist Centre. They did offer some lip service but clearly were not able to defend the rights of the victims. The incident was tricky for them, too, as the offender belonged to the Congress party and was the uncle of the ward chairman of the Maoist party. Partisan interests often render Dalit activists ineffective, which has also been the case in this village.
As activists, we did our best to convince the gathering to protect the lives and properties of the Dalit family and ensure their right to use the water originating on their own property. We posted a video clip of the whole affair, including the views of the victims, chairman and Dalit representatives on the Facebook page of the Ujyaalo Network channel which has thus far been watched by over 1.3 million.
My hope is that with the video going viral, the suffering Dalits will finally get justice. If anything, the video will discourage the perpetrators and encourage those, both Dalits and non-Dalits, on the side of justice. Hopefully, this will also influence the district judge’s decision, who will rule on the case filed by the aggressor himself.
Mitra Pariyar
A graduate of Oxford University, Pariyar is a Dalit rights activist who has worked in universities in Australia and England.
‘Ch**te we will kill your family’: Nasim, Mushtaq and aides hurl casteist abuses; threaten Dalit family to leave village after they are stopped from cutting a tree
In this case, the victim filed a complaint against Naseem, Tapis, Haris, Mushtaq, and Yasin with the court. Based on the victim’s complaint, an FIR was filed on the 16th of March. The FIR also mentions several other unidentified people.
The case pertains to Kotwali Dehat, a police station area in Bulandshahr. Netrapal Jatav, a resident of the village Dariyapur here, filed an FIR with the police on Saturday (March 16) through the court. In the FIR, Netrapal identified himself as a simple person and stated that on 5th January, Naseem, Tapis, Haris, Mushtaq, and Yasin forcibly cut down a Sheesham tree planted in his field. This tree was roughly 50 years old, and the named accused and some unknown others hacked it down, placed it into a trolley and hauled it away.
When Netrapal’s wife intervened to stop the accused from doing so, the accused gave her death threats. The complaint stated that the accused told Netrapal Jatav’s wife, “Ch**te we will kill your family. If you complain at the police station, you will be killed. The police cannot harm us.” The victim claims he then filed a complaint with the police. However, no action was taken. It is claimed that, on the contrary, the victim was placed on bond.
A few days later, on 28th January, the victim Netrapal Jatav went somewhere with Vijendra and Jagveer from the same village. Then Naseem, Tapis, Haris, Mushtaq, and Yasin surrounded him along the way. The accused first attacked the victim and passed casteist slurs. Later, the accused stated, “You leave the village and run away; otherwise, we will not leave you anywhere,” leaving the victim terrified. According to the complaint, even the district’s SSP did not take action.
Netrapal Jatav has filed an application with the court to register an FIR. On the court’s orders, the police have filed an FIR against Naseem, Tapis, Haris, Mushtaq, and Yasin. Apart from sections 379, 504, and 506 of the IPC, all of them have been booked under the SC/ST Act. OpIndia has obtained a copy of the FIR. Meanwhile, the police are investigating the matter.
- Rewind| Kcr Calls For Dalit Unity Fight Together Welcomes Praveen Kumar Into Brs
Addressing the dalit youngsters who joined the party along with the former IPS officer R S Praveen Kumar at Erravelli, Chandrashekhar Rao stressed on the need for further debate on Bahujan ideology and said one should not back out from the commitment once a stand was taken.
Hyderabad: BRS president and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said on Monday that the Dalits, who constitute 20 per cent of the population, would have nothing beyond them if they stood united.
Addressing the dalit youngsters who joined the party along with the former IPS officer R S Praveen Kumar at Erravelli, Chandrashekhar Rao stressed on the need for further debate on Bahujan ideology and said one should not back out from the commitment once a stand was taken.
“You are the ones who strived for the raising the awareness levels among millions of Bahujans. As a social reformer, Kanshi Ram had worked for bonding Bahujan Shakti with Dalit Shakti. But now, Dalits are still being targeted and attacked from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in the country,” he said.
Differing with the opinion voiced in certain quarters to recent reviews that the party was affected by the Dalit Bandhu Scheme, he stressed that such a contention was not correct. The families that were covered under the Dalit Bandhu scheme were better off today compared to others. He called upon the Bahujan youth and intellectuals to think and analyse why the dalit society could not take it on a positive note.
Emphasising the need to fight against the rulers with unity to get what was due to them, even the poorer sections from the upper castes should be part of the struggle, he said.
No other leader in the country was targeted and cursed so much like him when he embarked on the movement for Statehood. “No matter how many hardships were encountered, I never gave up the cause of Telangana,” he said.
Irrigation projects were implemented in a big way enabling the paddy farmers to produce a record three crore metric tonnes in a year in Telangana.
Referring to the ups and down that are common in public life, he said one should be able to take victories and losses in the same stride. People were carried away with the false promises of the Congress party and they had now started realising what had really gone wrong.
One would be able to know the value of a horse only when one found oneself trailing a donkey. “There is nothing lost if you happened to lose once,” he said.
Former ministers Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, G Jagadish Reddy and others were present.
BandaThree gets life imprisonment for murder of Dalit in Uttar Pradesh
Three persons, including a father-son duo, were sentenced to life imprisonment along with a penalty of Rs 90,000 each by a special court here on Monday for murder of a Dalit youth, public prosecutors said here.
Public Prosecutors Mahendra Kumar Dwivedi and Vimal Kumar Singh said that on July 11, 2002 Bhalua was shot dead in front of his house in Devrar village under Marka police station over land dispute.
"A case was lodged against Surajbali, his Lambri alias Shiv Mangal Yadav and their accomplice Satyadev Yadav in this regard," they said.
"Based on the evidence available on record the SC-ST court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Anu Saxena held the accused guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment," they said.
(With UNI inputs)
ததமிழ்நாடு: SC/ST பெண் மாணவர்களில் பாதி பேருக்கு இன்னும் அரசு உதவி கிடைக்கவில்லை
சென்னை: மற்றொரு கல்வியாண்டு முடிவடையும் நிலையில், மாநிலம் முழுவதும் உள்ள அரசுப் பள்ளிகளில் படிக்கும் பட்டியலின சாதி (எஸ்சி) மற்றும் பழங்குடியினர் (எஸ்டி) சமூகத்தைச் சேர்ந்த மொத்த பெண் மாணவர்களில் கிட்டத்தட்ட பாதி பேருக்கு சிறப்பு ஊக்கத்தொகையின் கீழ் அவர்களுக்கான நிதி இன்னும் கிடைக்கவில்லை. ஆதி திராவிடர் மற்றும் பழங்குடியினர் நலத்துறை மூலம் செயல்படுத்தப்படும் திட்டம்.
நலிந்த சமூகத்தைச் சேர்ந்த பெண்கள் பள்ளிக் கல்வியைத் தொடர ஊக்குவிக்கும் வகையில், இத்திட்டம் 3 முதல் 5 ஆம் வகுப்பு வரை படிக்கும் ஒவ்வொரு எஸ்சி/எஸ்டி பெண்ணுக்கும் ஆண்டுதோறும் ரூ. 500, 6-ஆம் வகுப்பில் உள்ளவர்களுக்கு ரூ. 1,000 மற்றும் 7-ஆம் வகுப்பில் உள்ளவர்களுக்கு ரூ. 1,500 வழங்க உத்தேசித்துள்ளது. மற்றும் 8. இத்திட்டத்தின் கீழ் 4.5 லட்சம் பெண்கள் தகுதி பெற்றுள்ள நிலையில், உதவிக்காக ரூ.43 கோடி ஒதுக்கப்பட்ட நிலையில், நிர்வாகச் செயல்பாடுகள் காரணமாக நிதி வழங்குவதில் தாமதம் ஏற்பட்டுள்ளதாக பள்ளி தலைமையாசிரியர்கள் கூறுகின்றனர்.
“பொதுவாக பிப்ரவரி இறுதி அல்லது மார்ச் முதல் வாரத்தில் இந்தத் தொகை வரவு வைக்கப்படும். ஆனால், இந்த ஆண்டு அது மேலும் தாமதமானது. லோக்சபா தேர்தலின் காரணமாக தேர்வுகள் முன்கூட்டியே நடைபெறக்கூடும் என்பதால், இந்த ஆண்டும் பெண்கள் அதை பெறுவார்களா என்று எங்களுக்குத் தெரியவில்லை, ”என்று சிவகங்கையைச் சேர்ந்த ஒரு தலைமை ஆசிரியர் கூறினார், இது இந்த ஆண்டு திட்டத்தின் கீழ் இதுவரை நிதி பெறவில்லை.
தமிழ்நாடு தீண்டாமை ஒழிப்பு முன்னணியின் பொதுச்செயலாளர் கே.சாமுவேல்ராஜ் கூறியதாவது: மொத்த தகுதியுள்ள பயனாளிகளில் பாதிக்கும் மேற்பட்டோர் இன்னும் பிற மாவட்டங்களில் ஒதுக்கப்பட்ட தொகையை பெறவில்லை. "கடந்த ஆண்டு வரை, அந்தத் தொகை மாவட்டங்களுக்கு விநியோகிக்கப்பட்டது மற்றும் அதன் சில பகுதிகள் செயலற்ற கணக்குகள் உட்பட பல்வேறு காரணங்களுக்காக திருப்பி அனுப்பப்பட்டன. இந்த ஆண்டு, மாநில அளவில் இருந்தே நேரடியாக விநியோகிக்கத் துறை முடிவு செய்து, வங்கிக் கணக்குகளுடன் ஆதார் அட்டை இணைப்பை கட்டாயமாக்கியது, மேலும் தாமதத்திற்கு வழிவகுத்தது,'' என்றார்.
மேலும், புதிய செயல்முறை குறித்து பள்ளி தலைமை ஆசிரியர்களிடம் விழிப்புணர்வு ஏற்படுத்தப்படவில்லை என்றும், இதனால் பயனாளிகளின் வங்கிக் கணக்குகள் ஆதாருடன் இணைக்கப்படுவதை பலர் உறுதி செய்யவில்லை என்றும் அவர் கூறினார்.
தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட சமூகங்களைச் சேர்ந்த மாணவர்கள் தங்களுக்குத் தேவையான அனைத்து ஆதரவையும் பெறும் வகையில், நெறிப்படுத்தப்பட்ட நிர்வாக செயல்முறைகள் மற்றும் சரியான நேரத்தில் தகவல்தொடர்புகளை அதிகாரிகள் உறுதிப்படுத்த வேண்டும் என்று தலைமையாசிரியர்கள் கோரிக்கை விடுத்துள்ளனர். “மிகவும் பிற்படுத்தப்பட்ட வகுப்பைச் சேர்ந்த மாணவர்களுக்கு ஊக்கத்தொகை வழங்க இதே போன்ற திட்டம் உள்ளது. அந்தத் திட்டத்தின் கீழ், பள்ளிகளின் கணக்கில் பணம் அனுப்பப்பட்டு, பின்னர் மாணவர்களுக்கு விநியோகிக்கிறோம். பல தலைமையாசிரியர்கள், பிற துறைகளால் செயல்படுத்தப்படும் இதுபோன்ற திட்டங்களைப் பற்றியோ, விண்ணப்பிக்கும் நடைமுறையில் மாற்றம் செய்வதோ தெரியாமல், பல மாணவர்களுக்கு பலன் கிடைப்பதில்லை,'' என்கிறார் திண்டுக்கல் மாவட்டத்தைச் சேர்ந்த மற்றொரு தலைமை ஆசிரியர்.
இதற்கிடையில், 50% நிதி இன்னும் விநியோகிக்கப்படாமல் இருப்பதாக ஆதி திராவிடர் நலத்துறை அதிகாரிகள் ஒப்புக்கொண்டனர். “அனைத்து பயனாளிகளின் வங்கிக் கணக்குகளுடன் ஆதார் இணைப்பை எங்களால் உறுதிப்படுத்த முடியவில்லை. கல்விப்பணிகள் முடியும் தருவாயில் உள்ளதால், பழைய முறையிலேயே நிதியை அந்தந்த மாவட்டங்களுக்கு வழங்க திட்டமிட்டுள்ளோம். மார்ச் இறுதிக்குள் மாணவர்களுக்கு பணம் கிடைக்கும், ”என்று துறையின் உயர் அதிகாரி ஒருவர் கூறினார்.
பிரவீன் குமாருக்கு உற்சாக வரவேற்பு அளித்த அவர், "ஒன்றாகச் செயல்படுவோம். ஒன்றாக நிகழ்ச்சி நிரலை அமைப்போம்.
பிரவீன் குமாருக்கு அன்பான வரவேற்பு அளித்த அவர், “ஒன்றாகச் செயல்படுவோம். ஒன்றாக நிகழ்ச்சி நிரலை அமைப்போம்.
தலித் சக்தியை ஒன்றிணைக்க நீங்கள் அனைவரும் உறுதியுடன் செயல்பட்டால் முடியாதது எதுவுமில்லை” என்று முன்னாள் முதல்வர் இளைஞர்களுக்கு உறுதியளித்தார், வேறு எந்த அரசியல் கட்சியும் வழங்க முடியாத அவர்களின் அரசியல் வளர்ச்சிக்கு அவர்கள் போதுமான இடத்தைப் பெறுவார்கள்.
“தொடர்ச்சியான பயிற்சித் திட்டங்களை ஏற்பாடு செய்வோம். வலுவான ஆதரவு தளத்தை உருவாக்குவதற்கும், புதிய குழுக்களை அமைப்பதற்கும், பகுஜன் சித்தாந்தத்தை செயல்படுத்துவதற்கான நிகழ்ச்சி நிரலை அமைப்பதற்கும், நாட்டிற்கு தீபம் ஏற்றுபவர்களாக உருவாவதற்கும் களம் அமைப்போம்,'' என்றார்.
கடந்த சில மாதங்களாக காங்கிரஸ் ஆட்சியின் தோல்வியால் மக்கள் வேதனையடைந்துள்ளதாக கூறிய அவர், மிஷன் பகீரத திட்டத்தை திறம்பட செயல்படுத்திய அரசால் குறைந்த பட்சம் குடிநீரையாவது வழங்க முடியாதது ஏன் என்று கேள்வி எழுப்பினார்.
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