11.05.2024.Untouchables News.Chennai.by Team Sivaji.
One thousand 140 crore rupees were taken from the Dalits and tribals suffering from atrocities in eight years.
CVMC’s study also revealed that at least 44 thousand victims were deprived of immediate assistance amounting to Rs 1,140 crore. However, this estimate may be lower than the actual figures, as no such data on cases of permanent disability is available in the annual report of NCRB.
A study by the Citizens Vigilance and Monitoring Committee (CVMC), Chennai, has revealed that during the period from 2015 to 2022, Rs 1,140 crore of the prompt assistance amount payable to the victims under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act Crore rupees were not given. Whereas according to the annual reports of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), during the last eight years, 44 thousand 377 cases of murder, rape and arson were registered under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Let us tell you that under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the assistance amount is given to the victims under Ambedkar National Relief Scheme (DENWAS). Interestingly, this scheme was launched in the initial months of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) central government’s first innings.
It should be noted that under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, provision was already made for immediate assistance to the victims/their dependents. But this scheme named Ambedkar National Relief Scheme (DENWAS) was started after the government reviewed the earlier provision. It is noteworthy that the contribution of the Central and the concerned State Government in the amount of immediate assistance is half each. The review found that aid funds were not reaching victims because states claimed they did not have the funds available. Under this new scheme, an autonomous organization called Dr. Ambedkar Foundation under the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment was given the right to approve quick assistance for the victims.
In 2015, a Dalit family from Ballabhgarh in Faridabad district of Haryana, whose house was burnt by upper castes. Two children had died in this incident.
For example, in case of murder, if the deceased was an earning member of the family, then Rs 5 lakh and if the deceased was a non-earning member, then Rs 2 lakh. Similarly, in cases of rape and arson this amount was Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh respectively. Whereas in cases of permanent disability, there was a provision of Rs 3 lakh if the victim was an earning member of the family and Rs 1.5 lakh if he was not. However, the condition was that all these cases should be registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the application for obtaining assistance should be accompanied by a copy of the FIR along with copies of post mortem report/medical certificate and related matters. It was necessary to be sent by the District Magistrate.
But studying the annual reports of the NCRB and Dr. Ambedkar Foundation and answers to a question asked in Parliament, CVMC’s Deepti Sukumar and Geeta Vani found that between 2015 and 2020, only two percent of eligible victims received assistance. Hui. Since the number of beneficiaries in 2021 and 2022 was unavailable, they calculated this number based on the average of previous years assuming 50 victims per year. Sukumar and Vani’s study also revealed that at least 44 thousand victims were deprived of immediate assistance amounting to Rs 1,140 crore. However, this estimate may be lower than the actual figures, as no such data on cases of permanent disability is available in the annual report of NCRB.
Immediate financial assistance in cases of murder, rape, arson by Dr. Ambedkar Foundation (in Rs.)
There is also a dark side to this news that on January 13, 2023, Dr. Ambedkar Foundation published a notification (DAF/1/2023–Admin-DAF 1/25058/2023 EO–64933) on its official website that ‘Denvas’ And the inter-caste marriage scheme is being made a part of the centrally sponsored scheme run by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for the implementation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 and Civil Rights Protection Act, 1955 from April 1, 2023. In view of this decision, the last date for the victims to apply for relief amount has been fixed as February 28, 2023 and the Foundation has said that it will resolve the pending applications (if any) by March 31, 2023.
While Deepti Sukumar and Geeta Vani write, “On February 26, 2024, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment issued a circular 11011/14/2023-PCR (Desk. ), in which formats for applying under centrally sponsored schemes were attached. But there is no mention of ‘Denvas’ in these formats.”
Why there was so much stinginess in providing financial assistance under ‘DENWAS’ and why prescribed assistance was not provided to thousands of Dalits and tribals who were victims of atrocities, remains a mystery. At the same time, the responsibility of applying for relief amount to the victims lies with the concerned District Magistrate and not with the victims. Deepti Sukumar and Geeta Vani write that so much care is taken in registering cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act that sufficient documents are available to the District Magistrate to prove eligibility under ‘DENWAS’. Such as – “Any information related to atrocities is taken into cognizance under Rule 5 and then under Rule 6, the Sectional Magistrate or Deputy Superintendent of Police or an officer of higher rank investigates them. “After verification of information, under Rule 12(1), both the Superintendent of Police and the District Magistrate inspect the crime scene and the Superintendent of Police ensures that FIR is registered under appropriate sections.”
But the annual budget of ‘Denvas’ is so small that it will not be able to cover even a small part of the victims. This obviously reflects the government’s intention from the very beginning that it was made inefficient in order to thwart the scheme for immediate relief to the suffering Dalits and tribals.
‘No one comes as we’re Dalits’: Resentment and perpetual struggle in UP’s poorest seat
The BJP is hoping for a hat-trick in Bahraich by relying on its welfare schemes. But locals say nothing has changed.
By:Rajan Chaudhary
This is the fifth story in a special series with The Mooknayak on the election machine in reserved constituencies.
Rajkumar Gautam, a daily wager from Mohammadpur gram panchayat in Bahraich district, doesn’t know who his local MP and MLA are. Lying on a broken cot in his mud house, all he cares about is whether he will be able to afford increasingly expensive food essentials and feed his family.
“I feel that no one comes to our village because we’re Dalits. A lot of work has been done in the neighbouring villages. But in my village, if we don’t cover the roof with plastic when it rains, the house gets flooded,” he said, claiming that nothing has changed for his family irrespective of who represents Bahraich.
Bahraich is the poorest district in Uttar Pradesh, and the Bahraich Lok Sabha seat, which is a reserved constituency for the Scheduled Castes, is among the state’s 13 segments going to the polls in the fourth phase on May 13. It’s been won by the BJP in the last two general elections in a state that has voted the BJP back to power for two consecutive terms.
Scheduled Castes form 20 percent of Bahraich’s electorate, Muslims 30 percent, backward castes 30 percent, and the rest are from the general category.
While multidimensional poverty in the district has dipped from 72 percent in 2016 to 55 percent, according to NITI Aayog’s Multidimensional Poverty Index last year, locals allege not much has changed on the ground.
: Newslaundry
Bihar.
25-year-old Dalit woman to contest Lok Sabha polls from seat once held by Karpoori Thakur in Bihar
Samastipur, the seat once held by Karpoori Thakur, has become the stage for two political debutants.
Samastipur, the seat once held by socialist leader and two-time Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur, has become the stage for two political debutants. 25-year-old Sambhavi Choudhary and 32-year-old Sunny Hazari, children of serving JD(U) ministers, are in the fray from this seat.
Who is Sambhavi Choudhary?
Choudhary is the youngest Dalit woman to contest Lok Sabha polls. She is the daughter of JD(U) minister Ashok Kumar Choudhary and a candidate of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas), both part of the NDA.
She graduated from Delhi University’s LSR College. She has a Master’s degree from the Delhi School of Economics, and is now pusuing doctoral research on “intersectionality of gender and caste in Bihar politics”.
“Sambhavi hai toh sambhav hai (With Sambhavi, it is possible),” she promises the voters.
Who is Sunny Hazari?
Hazari is the son of JD(U) minister Maheshwar Hazari, a former Samastipur MP. The 32-year-old has been fielded by the Congress – a dichotomy that the JD(U) has refused to speak about.
Sunny is a B. Tech graduate from NIT Patna and a businessman. His wife is a teacher. Notably, Sunny is well known due to his father in this constituency.
NDA has been winning the Samastipur seat since 2009. The only hitch in this is that LJP, led by Ram Vilas Paswan’s brother won this seat in the past two polls.
Editorji
Dalits and minorities coming back to the Congress fold, says Puthalapattu candidate
Around 200 families from Irala and Yadamarri mandals join the Congress in the presence of party candidate M.S. Babu in Chittoor
K Umashanker
Congress candidate from Puthalapattu Assembly constituency (SC) M.S. Babu, who switched his loyalty to the party from the YSRCP recently, has said that the Dalits and minorities are coming back to the fold of the Congress, having realised that the BJP rule will be “detrimental to their safety”.
During a door-to-door campaign in the Irarla mandal headquarters on May 10 (Friday), Mr. Babu said that the Dalits and minorities were impoverished without opportunities for employment and empowerment during the YSRCP rule. “The welfare corporations set up for them were defunct under the TDP and the YSRCP regime,” he alleged.
Around 200 families from Irala and Yadamarri mandals joined the Congress in the presence of Mr. Babu in Chittoor on May 10 (Friday).
He said the YSRCP and TDP were known for their caste-based politics which gave scope to the upper castes at teh cost of the welfare of the SCs and STs.
“After the entry of Y.S. Sharmila into the Congress, the party got back its life. The Dalits and minorities are looking forward to the legacy of the Congress. The visit of Rahul Gandhi to Kadapa will certainly boost the morale of the party cadre,” he said.
The Hindu.
‘Acknowledge Rohith’s Dalit identity, punish those responsible for his death’
In an open letter, the civil rights group All-India Feminist Alliance has expressed solidarity with the struggle of Radhika Vemula, mother of Rohith Vemula, Dalit PhD student of University of Hyderabad who was forced to commit suicide in 2016 because of the authorities’ indifference towards his plight after his scholarship was withheld.
Counterview Desk
The letter regrets the recent decision of the Telangana police to file a ‘closure report’, wrongfully stating that Rohith is not Dalit, calling it “an affront to his life, his struggle as a brilliant scholar, his Ambedkarite principles, his resistance to Brahmanical oppression, and the harrowing circumstances in which his institutional murder took place.”
Dear Radhika garu,
Jai Bhim. We, the undersigned members of the All-India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA), write to express our unwavering support and solidarity with you, as you are forced to undertake yet another struggle to challenge the erasure of Rohith’s identity. We share your pain and anguish, while we also salute your spirit to march onwards for justice and dignity, for Rohith, for yourself, for all Dalits in the country.
The recent development of the Telangana police filing a ‘closure report’, wrongfully stating that Rohith is not Dalit is an affront to his life, his struggle as a brilliant scholar, his Ambedkarite principles, his resistance to Brahmanical oppression, and the harrowing circumstances in which his institutional murder took place. This regressive report undermines his memory and dishonours the tireless pursuit by you, as his brave mother, his family, students and friends, in seeking justice and dignity for Rohith.
Rohith’s ‘death’ is a stark reminder of the systemic injustices and deep-seated discrimination and violence that Dalits continue to endure, despite constitutional safeguards, and this police report is yet another manifestation of that oppression. The attempt to erase Rohith’s Dalit identity is not just a denial of his life and experiences; it is a denial of the struggles faced by you and millions of Dalits across our country. It insults their dignity, their aspirations, and their right to justice.
Radhika garu, your strong determination to ensure that Rohith’s life, struggle and memory is not tarnished and that his legacy of resistance lives on, is a testament to your strength and resilience.
Rohith’s death is a stark reminder of the systemic injustices and deep-seated discrimination and violence that Dalits continue to endure
Owing to widespread student and public outrage and your meeting with the Chief Minister a few days back, the state police has clarified its decision to investigate the case further, with permission from the Court. In this situation, we call upon the authorities to conduct a thorough and fair inquiry.
We demand that Rohith’s Dalit identity be acknowledged and respected and all those responsible for his ‘death’, including former VC of the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) and those in high positions of power in the BJP-led Central Government, be brought to justice.
As has been promised by the Congress Govt repeatedly and even recently, we demand that the Rohith Vemula Act be passed, in order to safeguard the right to education, non-discrimination, safety and dignity of students from Dalit, adivasi, OBC backgrounds as well as students from religious minorities and gender marginalisations. Perpetrators of crimes against all these students must be punished as per Rohith Act.
Dear Radhika garu: As you continue your fight for justice, please know that you are not alone. You are fighting for millions of youth across India. And millions of people across India are with you. As feminists, we stand with you in your constant efforts at affirming Rohith’s and your struggle against caste-based discrimination, seeking a fair investigation and action towards justice and accountability. We are with you, shoulder to shoulder, in solidarity and sisterhood. Together, we shall overcome.
From shadows to the stars! Rohith Vemula Amar Rahe!
Jai Bhim, Jai Savitri!
Counterview.
‘Modi Won’t Be PM… Can Give You In Writing’, Says Rahul Gandhi; Admits Of Congress Having Made ‘Mistakes’
Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed at an event that the ruling BJP will be restricted to less than 180 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, adding that he can give in writing that Narendra Modi is not going to be the PM again.
Admitting that the Congress too has made mistakes, party leader and MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday said it will have to “change its politics in the future”. Rahul Gandhi, however, did not elaborate on what “change” he felt the Congress needed.
Rahul Gandhi made the remarks at the “Samvidhan Sammelan” event organised by the Samruddha Bharat Foundation in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, where he also said Narendra Modi was a “monarch” and not a prime minister, calling him a front for “two three financiers”.
Responding to a query from the audience at the event on the Constitution, the former Congress president said he was “100 per cent” prepared to take on Narendra Modi in a debate, but he knew that the prime minister will not agree.
Rahul Gandhi further said the Congress party will also have to change its politics in the coming times. “This will have to be done. I also want to say that the Congress party has also made mistakes and I am saying this while being from the Congress party,” Rahul Gandhi said in his speech.
‘Modi Won’t Be PM… Can Give You In Writing’
Rahul Gandhi also claimed that the ruling BJP will be restricted to less than 180 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. “I can give you in writing, if you want, that Narendra Modi is not going to be the PM again,” he said, repeating the prediction he made at joint rallies in Uttar Pradesh earlier in the day with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
“Some people in politics only think of how to get power. I was born into it and have no interest in it. But for me it’s just a tool to help public,” news agency PTI quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying at the Lucknow event.
He said 90 per cent of the population in India comprises of people from the SC/ST, OBC, Dalits, tribals, minorities and the poor from the general community who are not given equal participation.
He then repeated his call for a caste-based census.
“If the nation is to be strengthened, it cannot be done without including the 90 per cent. If you say that the 90 per cent will not come into bureaucracy, sports, media, judiciary and even beauty pageants, then what superpower will you make? Do you want to make 10 per cent of the population a superpower,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi On Modi’s ‘Ambani-Adani’ Mention
Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi recent remarks that Rahul Gandhi had stopped “abusing” Adani and Ambani and whether his party received money from them in return, the Congress leader said in Kannauj on Friday that PM Modi is making such statements out of fear.
Rahul Gandhi made the remarks while addressing a rally with Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party in UP’s Kannauj.
“In 10 years, Narendra Modi never mentioned the names of Adani and Ambani. He gave thousands of speeches in 10 years but he never took their names. When someone gets scared, he takes the names of people who, he thinks, can save them,” Rahul Gandhi said.
“So, Narendra Modi took the names of two of his friends – ‘Save me, INDIA alliance has cornered me, I am losing. Adani-Ambani, save me’. That is why Narendra Modi took their names. He even knows how Adani sends money in a tempo. Prime Minister has personal experience of the tempo,” Rahul Gandhi said, adding that now BJP, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah will “attempt to divert your attention”.
“For the next 10-15 days they will try to divert your attention…Don’t get distracted. There is just one issue in the General Elections in India, all issues arise out of it – Constitution of India,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Outlook India
The Jawaharnagar police station in Gujarat’s Vadodara city booked three people on Monday after they allegedly slapped a Dalit woman and threatened to evict her from her home in Ranoli village.
According to Jaya Parmar, Jay Patel alias Donny, Jana Patel and a third unidentified person had threatened to evict her from her house following an altercation with her son, Mitesh.
The complainant states in her FIR, "On the night of June 9, Donny arrived at our residence in Ranoli in search of my son Mitesh. He slapped me and hurled casteist abuses at me and threatened to abduct me if my son was not found... He threatened that we should vacate the house or he would throw us out himself."
According to the complainant, Donny and the two other accused had an altercation with Mitesh earlier at a pan shop of a Kathiyawadi highway hotel in the vicinity, where the three allegedly assaulted him. On Sunday, the complainant met Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani during a Congress outreach programme in Vadodara and claimed that the police had refused to register an FIR on her complaint. Mevani had announced that he would sit in protest at the Police Bhavan in Vadodara on Monday.
Mevani called off his protest after the accused were booked under Indian Penal Code sections for voluntarily causing hurt (323), uttering obscene words in a public place [294(b)] and crime committed in the presence of abettor (114) along with relevant sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The SC/ST Cell of the Vadodara city police will investigate the case.
Comments
Post a Comment