10.06.24.Untouchables News.By Sivaji Team.
Kasganj: Magisterial inquiry begins in case of Dalit youth’s death in police custody, inspector questioned
Kasganj: Magisterial inquiry has begun in case of suicide by a Dalit youth by hanging himself in police custody in Amanpur police station. On Saturday, investigating officer Sahawar SDM reached the police station and saw the crime scene. He questioned the inspector.
On February 3, Gaurav, a resident of village Raslua Sulhapur of the police station area, was arrested by the police station in the case of kidnapping a teenager. The youth was in police custody. On February 9, Gaurav tried to commit suicide by hanging himself in the toilet of the police station. He was referred to Aligarh for treatment in critical condition. The youth died in Aligarh.
Magisterial inquiry of the case was given by the District Magistrate to Sahawar SDM Komal Pawar. SDM started the investigation on Saturday. SDM reached Amanpur police station. She inspected the crime scene. Statements were recorded after questioning the police personnel and inspector regarding the incident and statements of the victim’s family were recorded after questioning them. SDM said that investigation is going on. After the investigation, the report will be sent to the District Magistrate.
Abduction of Dalit youth from Jarauli village of Tijara: Case not registered even after 2 days, kidnappers demanding ransom of Rs 3 lakh
When the youth was not found anywhere till Saturday, the family reached the police station and started demanding the recovery of the kidnapped youth. Along with this, they stood on the demand to arrest the kidnappers. Seeing the matter escalating, now the police is saying to register the case and investigate in a hurry.
Jyoti, a resident of Jairouli village of Tijara area of ??Rajasthan, has told in a written complaint given to Tijara police that, her husband Rajesh son Sheeshram Meghwal left home on June 6 in the morning saying that he was going to work. He did not return home till late evening. After that, at around 8 pm, a call came on the mobile of her brother-in-law Rohitash from her husband Rajesh’s mobile number and on the phone Rajesh told Rohitash that 2 to 3 people have kept me hostage inside the room. These people are pressurizing me to get 5 lakh rupees from Kappa son of Ayub and Salman son of Naubat, residents of Jairoli. Otherwise we will kill you. After talking for this much, her husband Rajesh disconnected the phone.
Rohitash told this to his family. At around 9 pm, Rajesh’s family went to Kappa and Salman’s house, but they did not find Kappa and Salman at home. Rajesh called again at around 10 pm and 11:30 pm and asked them to send money to get him released. The next day on June 7, the family went to Kappa and Salman’s house again but they were not found at home. When the family members called Rajesh’s mobile phone again, his mobile phone was switched off.
‘Rajesh does not have any quarrel with anyone’
Jyoti told that her husband Rajesh works as a baldaari or labourer. He does not have any quarrel with anyone. He is feeding his family by doing labour work. He has two daughters. There is a 4 year old Mamta and a 3 year old Mahir, both of whom live with Jyoti.
Pratapgarh: Dalit youth shot in the head for protesting against molestation of sister, five accused including Noor Jahan arrested
Pratapgarh News: Dalit youth Vikas, who protested against molestation of his sister in Pratapgarh, was killed by Ashfaq, Iqbal, Salamat, Rustam and Noor Jahan. A Dalit youth has been murdered in Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh.
The name of the deceased is Vikas. Ashfaq, Iqbal, Salamat, Rustam and Noor Jahan have been accused of murder. On Thursday (6 June 2024), Vikas’s body was found lying under a bridge near the village. He was shot in the head. A day earlier on June 5, Ashfaq, Iqbal and Salamat had molested Vikas’s sister. Then Vikas had opposed it. Police have arrested Ashfaq, Iqbal, Salamat and Noor Jahan. Raids are being conducted in search of Rustam.
This incident is from Antu police station area of ??Pratapgarh district. Kamlesh Kumar, who belongs to the Dalit community, has filed a police complaint on 6 June (Thursday). In the complaint, he said that on 5 June, his daughter had gone out to defecate. During this time, Ashfaq, Iqbal and Salamat stopped the girl and started molesting her. When the girl protested, the three accused started abusing the victim with casteist slurs. Just then, the girl’s brother Vikas reached there. When Vikas also protested against the molestation of his sister, Ashfaq, Iqbal and Salamat threatened to kill him too.
According to the complainant, his son Vikas had gone missing from that day itself. The family members searched a lot but could not find anything. The next day, through the villagers, Kamlesh came to know that a dead body was lying under the bridge near the bypass. When Kamlesh went there and saw, the body was that of Vikas. Vikas was shot in the head. Vikas’s father alleged that his son was murdered by Ashfaq, Iqbal, Salamat and Rustam together. The police registered a case and started investigation.
Action has been taken against all these accused under sections 302, 201, 34, 354 (a) and 506 of IPC along with various sections of SC/ST Act. Police raided and arrested Ashfaq, Iqbal and Salamat. During the investigation, the name of 22-year-old Noorjahan came to light. Noorjahan is the sister of the main accused Ashfaq.
The other aspect of this case is that on 5 June 2024, Noorjahan’s sister Afsana had lodged an FIR against Vikas for molesting her sister and shooting her when she refused. It was alleged that the bullet had grazed Noorjahan. Now the police investigating the Vikas murder case also found Noorjahan’s involvement. After this, Noorjahan was arrested near Setapur Mosque in Antu area. Police is continuously raiding in search of the 5th accused Rustam who is absconding in this case. The houses of his relatives in Raniganj and Mandhata area were searched, but he is still out of reach.
Even though the population is less in the village, Muslims still have dominance. We talked to Kamlesh, father of the deceased Vikas. Kamlesh told us that the Muslim population in his village is less, but they still have dominance. There are about 150 houses in the village, out of which the number of Muslim families is only around half a dozen. It was claimed that the whole village is troubled by the acts of the accused. He told that the main occupation of the accused is to earn a living by driving. The relatives of the deceased also believe that Noor Jahan is the mastermind behind the entire incident. They also expressed themselves satisfied with the action of UP Police.
Kamlesh, father of the deceased Vikas told us that the Muslim population in his village is less, but they still have dominance. There are about 150 houses in the village, out of which the number of Muslim families is only around half a dozen. It was claimed that the whole village is troubled by the acts of the accused. He said that the main job of the accused was driving to earn a living. The family members of the deceased also believe that Noor Jahan is the mastermind behind the entire incident. They also expressed satisfaction with the action taken by the UP police.
Rustam is an old criminal
The father of the deceased is handicapped. He has a problem in his legs, due to which he is unable to walk properly. Vikas was about 24 years old. He was currently looking for a job after doing a computer course. Vikas’s uncle called Rustam, who is absconding, the biggest criminal among the accused. He claimed that Rustam has already served jail time in criminal cases. We were also told that Muslims in the village get support.
Modi Cabinet 3.0 has 71 ministers, including 27 OBCs, 10 Dalits, 5 tribals… Know the caste equations
New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking oath along with 71 ministers in Rashtrapati Bhavan. These include about 21 upper castes, 27 OBCs, 10 Dalits, 5 tribals and 5 minority caste MPs. BJP has divided the cabinet keeping in mind the caste equations. Know here which ministers belong to which category.
Upper castes – Amit Shah, S Jaishankar, Mansukh Mandaviya, Rajnath Singh, Jitin Prasad, Jayant Chaudhary, Dharmendras Pradhan, Ravneet Bittu, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Manohar Lal Khattar, Jitendra Singh, Gajend Singh Shekhawat, Sanjay Seth, Ram Mohan Naidu, Sukant Majumdar, Prahlad Joshi, JP Nadda, Giriraj Singh, Lalan Singh, Satish Chandra Dubey.
OBC– CR Patil, Pankaj Chaudhary, Anupriya Patel, BL Verma, Raksha Khadse, Pratap Rao Jadhav, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Rao Indrajit Singh, Krishnapal Gurjar, Bhupendra Yadav, Bhagirath Chaudhary, Annapurna Devi, Shobha Karandlaje, HD Kumaraswamy, Nityanand Rai are included.
Dalits- SP Baghel, Kamlesh Paswan, Ajay Tamta, Ramdas Athawale, Virendra Kumar, Savitri Thakur, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Ramnath Thakur are included.
Tribal- Jual Oram, Shripad Yesso Naik, Sarbananda Sonowal are included.
BIHAR CASTE DALIT NEWS NEWS POLITICS STATE
Chirag Paswan: The New Dalit Icon in Bihar Politics
Chirag Paswan, leader of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), has emerged as a pivotal figure in Bihar’s political scene. Recently inducted into Narendra Modi’s government, he secured all five Lok Sabha seats allocated to his party in the NDA alliance, affirming his status as the new Dalit icon.
Chirag Paswan, the leader of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), has firmly established his position as the legitimate political successor to his father, Ram Vilas Paswan. In a dramatic development, Chirag was inducted into Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Sunday, marking a noteworthy comeback in Bihar’s volatile political climate.
Chirag’s rapid ascent was underscored by winning all five Lok Sabha seats assigned to the party in the NDA alliance during the recent elections, maintaining an impressive 100 per cent strike rate. This remarkable achievement has propelled him to the forefront as the new Dalit icon in Bihar politics, eclipsing numerous veteran politicians.
The triumph stands in stark contrast to the 2019 elections when the LJP, led by Ram Vilas Paswan, won all six seats allocated to it. The political drama escalated in June 2021 when Chirag’s uncle, Pashupati Kumar Paras, executed a midnight coup, ousting Chirag from key party positions and securing a cabinet spot in Modi’s government, leaving Chirag to navigate political isolation.
The turning point came during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when the BJP, recognizing Chirag’s steadfastness and popular support, allocated five crucial seats to him under their seat-sharing agreement, sidelining the Paras faction despite its backing from four MPs.
Defying all adversities, LJP (RV) fielded candidates in key constituencies including Hajipur, Vaishali, Samastipur, Khagaria, and Jamui. Chirag’s victories, achieved independently of his father’s direct guidance, highlight his resolve. He is committed to advancing his father’s vision through the ‘Bihar first, Bihari first’ agenda, with a goal of transforming the state.
Chirag, against all predictions of his political decline, has silenced his critics. His leadership was further cemented when he was elected as the LJP (RV) Parliamentary Party leader in a dramatic assembly at his Delhi residence on Friday.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Courtesy : Devdiscourse
Dalit face Virendra Kumar sworn in as Union minister
BHOPAL, (PTI) Lok Sabha MP from Tikamgarh (reserved) seat in Madhya Pradesh Virendra Kumar was inducted into the Narendra Modi government on Sunday.
BJP’s prominent Scheduled Caste face and eight-time MP Virendra Kumar won for the fourth time in a row from Tikamgarh (reserved) seat, which was created in the 2008 delimitation process. Prior to this, he represented Bundelkhand’s neighbouring Sagar Lok Sabha seat four times.
He started working with his father at a bicycle puncture repair shop in Sagar at a young age, after which he did a PhD in child labour. He was made the Minister of Women and Child Development for the first time in September 2017.
ADIVASIS DALIT NEWS OBC POLITICS TRIBAL
Grassroots voices to echo in Parliament: Dalit, tribal leaders pose challenge for Modi govt
Leaders who are expected to raise the issues of the socially backward sections are Rajkumar Roat of the Bharat Adivasi Party, Chandrashekhar Azad of the Aazad Samaj Party, Kalicharan Munda of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress’s professor Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, and Engineer Rashid among others
Basant Kumar Mohanty
The NDA government could face real challenges to actions that have often been dubbed as antithetical to the interests of Dalits and tribals as the 18th Lok Sabha has several members who built their careers fighting for the people from these communities at the grassroots level.
Activists and academicians believe the deprived sections now have a few vocal representatives in Parliament after a long time.
Leaders who are expected to raise the issues of the socially backward sections are Rajkumar Roat of the Bharat Adivasi Party, who was also supported by the Congress, Chandrashekhar Azad of the Aazad Samaj Party, Kalicharan Munda of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress’s professor Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, who won from Inner Manipur, Engineer Rashid, who won as an Independent beating Omar Abdullah in Baramulla, Mohammad Haneefa Jan, the Independent candidate from Ladakh and CPM leader Amra Ram from Sikar in Rajasthan.
Academician Ganga Sahay Meena, who hails from Rajasthan and is working as an associate professor of Hindi at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said Roat built his career raising the cultural and land rights of the Bhil tribals of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
“Roat rose from the grassroots by working on people’s issues without any money and muscle power,” Meena said.
Azad, who won from Nagina in UP, is known for strongly raising the Dalit issues, particularly atrocities against the community. According to the National Crime Record Bureau data, UP is one of the leading states in cases of caste-based atrocities. Azad supported the agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Haneefa Jan has supported the ongoing demand for statehood for Ladakh, whose 90 per cent of the population are tribals and is currently a Union Territory. He has supported the demand for inclusion of the region under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution which would confer a special status on the hill councils, allowing them to decide on issues such as the utilisation of land and natural resources.
Akoijam has been critical of the roles of the Centre in controlling the violence in Manipur. Over 200 people have died in the sectarian violence in the state.
Jeetendra Meena, a faculty member of history at a college under Delhi University, said the NDA government has discontinued several scholarships or modified some schemes to reduce its beneficiaries. Such schemes were mostly helping the deprived sections. “The government may not be able to carry out such measures,” he said.
Some of the scholarships discontinued are the Maulana Azad National Fellowship, the National Talent Search Examination through which national scholarship used to be given to 2,000 meritorious school students every year, the National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education and Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY).
The scholarship schemes, whose scope for coverage has been limited, include the pre-matric scholarship for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, a medical practitioner fighting against the alleged discrimination of Dalits in faculty appointments in AIIMS, said the concerns of the Dalits such as discrimination in appointments, atrocities and denial of reservation will get echoed in Parliament now.
Ajay Tamta, Dalit MP, will keep Uttarakhand flag high in Delhi Durbar
BJP leader Rajnath Singh had hinted at appointing Baluni as a minister during a public gathering in Gopeshwar.
Narendra Sethi
DEHRADUN: After a hat-trick of clean sweep in Lok Sabha polls in Uttarakhand, Ajay Tamta, a Dalit face and third-time MP from Almora, was picked as a minister in the Modi cabinet.
BJP spokesperson Anil Baluni, former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat and outgoing minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt, who won with a record margin of 3.34 lakh votes, were contenders for a berth.
BJP leader Rajnath Singh had hinted at appointing Baluni as a minister during a public gathering in Gopeshwar. However, out of the five BJP MPs in the hill state, the BJP picked Tamta as a minister, bypassing upper castes.
According to BJP sources, the central leadership’s feedback was that if an MP from Pauri or Haridwar is made a minister, there is a possibility of a new power centre emerging in the state and a new round of political instability within the BJP. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, close to PM Modi, is against such a possibility.
Amid such an apprehension, the party leadership went by Dhami’s words and chose Tamta as a minister, the sources said. Congress state spokesperson Mohan Kala said, “The BJP will not desist from caste politics. Ajay Bhatt won with highest number of votes and yet he was denied ministerial berth, BJP doesn’t know how to respect the mandate.” Tamta was a minister of state in the Modi government back in 2014.
New power centre?
BJP sources: leaders said if an MP from Pauri or Haridwar is a minister, there’s a possibility of a new power centre.
Courtesy : TNIE
Kerala: In a collective fight for rights, SC/ST students form theatre movement
KOCHI: After years of oppression and lack of opportunity, a group of youngsters from the Thrissur School of Drama started a new movement to share their experiences with the world. The Adivasi Dalit Students Theatre Movement, a first of its kind initiative in India, was launched as a result of the collective efforts of a few students to make their lives better.
Anna Jose
“Growing up, we struggled a lot. After realising how unfairly scheduled caste and tribe members are treated in society and how we are discriminated against, we decided to form a group to collectively fight for our rights. The Adivasi Dalit Students Theatre Movement is a result of that,” said Jishnu, a founding member.
Though there are several Dalit/Adivasi theatre groups across the country, this could be the first students’ initiative, the members said.
On how the idea became a reality, Kallu Kalyani, a theatre artist, said she and Jishnu, along with a few friends, formed the troupe Plaphy in 2018.
“Plaphy used to write and perform street plays… taking up the Madhu murder case, the Kathua rape case, etc. However, we couldn’t continue with it as the members joined new courses or left for higher studies. The idea of a theatre movement again came to our minds when Jishnu and I were studying at the Thrissur School of Drama,” said Kallu, who is now an active member of the movement.
Started with three persons, the theatre group now has around 30 members from across the state.
“Several orientation sessions, in collaboration with the Adishakti Summer School, helped create awareness among the community members about the situation and in mobilising them,” Jishnu pointed out.
On Sunday, a team of 10 from the movement performed ‘Engale Oche’, a dramatic adaptation of C Ayyappan’s short story ‘Ente Kathayile Ningal’.
“We have included the recent political developments and issues faced by the scheduled caste communities in the play,” Kallu said.
At a time when the Constitution and the Ambedkarite ideologies are being questioned, the group felt it was important to tell society about the lives of scheduled caste and tribe people and their lives and struggles.
“The movement is to educate the youngsters in our community about our rights,” Kallu said.
Through the play, the movement is attempting to express everything from their political point of view.
“Around 300 SC or ST students drop out of colleges every year. The E-grant for the students is not distributed properly. At some point, we felt we should fight. All we want is to fight for our rights,” Jishnu said. The movement aims to perform the play across the country in tribal hamlets and college campuses to create awareness, he added.
Courtesy : TNIE
Pahari Reservation impacts General Category population in J&K
Nishikant Khajuria
While the grant of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Pahari community along with some others aims to uplift a historically marginalized group, it has inadvertently placed significant burdens on the general category population in Jammu and Kashmir. As the overall reservation touches 60 percent of the total following allotment of additional 10 percent quota to the newly included communities under ST category, the resultant reduction in educational and employment opportunities for the general category people has sparked a debate over rationale behind granting ST status to the Paharis and its adverse consequences for those not covered under any category.
As per the Statutory Order (S.O) number 305, notified by the Social Welfare Department of J&K Union Territory Government, dated 21-05-2024, amendments have been made in the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Rules, 2005, listing Pahari Ethnic Group, Gadda Brahmin, Koli and Paddari Tribe as Scheduled Tribe -II and granting them 10 percent reservation separately from the existing 10 percent quota for the Scheduled Tribe 1 (Bakerwal, Gujjar, Balti, Beda, Bot, Brokpa, Gaddi Sippi etc), who were already enjoying ST status.
The reduced opportunities for the general category people in respect of employment and education means more competition and increased cut off marks, respectively. Even as the Government may have its own logic and justification to defend exceeding of 50 percent reservation, the burden on the general category and its possible political ramifications in Jammu and Kashmir cannot be ignored, particularly at the time when Assembly elections are likely to be held soon.
Reduced opportunities for the general category people have apparently generated a sense of resentment among the communities not covered under reserved category, who believe that reduction in number of open seats means increased competition and further intensifying the pressure on them to secure admission in educational institutions. Now the general category students will have to face higher cut-off marks to secure admission for higher education and this would lead to an uneven playing field where merit-based opportunities further diminish for the general category, said Vinkal Sharma, an educated unemployed youth.
Similarly, there will be reduced job opportunities for the general category aspirants, potentially leading to higher unemployment rates within this group. As general category job seekers will face stiffer competition for the limited unreserved positions, this may result in increased stress and a possible rise in underemployment or career stagnation for highly qualified individuals unable to secure appropriate positions, observed the people.
“For the political reasons, Government accorded ST reservation to the Pahari people residing in two districts even as they were not technically qualified for the same. Whatever may be the reason or compulsion, the ultimate sufferer of Pahari reservation are we general categories people of Jammu and Kashmir who comprise 70 percent of the total population in the UT and will have to now compete for the rest of 35 percent vacancies in open category,” ” said Atul Sudan, an educated unemployed and Vice-president of Jammu Joint Students Federation (JJSF), while describing this as murder of merit.
Besides, political repercussions of the resentment among general category people because of increased reservation is also not ruled out. Since ruling BJP has been taking credit for granting ST status to the Pahari community, the party should also remain prepared for facing the annoyance of unreserved category people, particularly upper caste Hindus in Jammu region who have remained traditional supporter of the saffron party.
Therefore, the attempt to mollify Paharis by granting them ST status for their political support has apparently not yielded desired result for the ruling BJP while on the other hand, the move seems to have annoyed the party’s traditional voters. As the roster for reservation was issued by the Social Welfare Department on May 21, 2024, the issue did not come into prominence in the Parliament elections for Jammu and Udhampur constituencies. However, the situation would not be the same and the issue may damage BJP prospects if Assembly elections are held in Jammu and Kashmir by September this year, as per the Supreme Court direction.
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