30.09.24.Untouchables News.....अछूत समाचार.தீண்ட தகாதவர் செய்திகள்.by Team Sivaji.
Highest ever count of Dalit ministers in TN cabinet as Chezhian gets higher education portfolio
However, the move has invited criticism with PMK founder S Ramadoss labelling it a “cosmetic change” and calling on the DMK-led government to allocate at least five ministerial posts to Dalits
TIRUCHY: With the induction of Govi Chezhian, the state cabinet now has four ministers from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, the highest ever. Chezhian’s inclusion as the Minister for Higher Education also marks a significant moment in the state’s history as he is the first ever from the SC community to hold the portfolio. M Mathiventhan, N Kayalvizhi Selvaraj, and CV Ganesan, are the other ministers from the SC community in the state cabinet.
However, the move has invited criticism with PMK founder S Ramadoss labelling it a “cosmetic change” and calling on the DMK-led government to allocate at least five ministerial posts to Dalits, given that 21 DMK MLAs belong to the SC/ST community. Ramadoss also pointed out that Govi Chezhian is the first Dalit minister to handle a major portfolio since Sathyavani Muthu and OP Raman in the 1971 Karunanidhi cabinet.
Writer R Kannan, author of The DMK Years, noted that since the time of Omandurar and Kamarajar, one or two ministers from the SC community consistently held cabinet positions, often managing the SC Welfare Department. “Kamaraj trusted Kakkan with key portfolios such as Home and Industry. Also, Parameshwaran as HR&CE minister. When Karunanidhi reshuffled his cabinet in 1969 he took the number of the SC ministers from one to two,” he said.
Despite the expansion of the cabinet during MGR’s tenure (1977-87), the number of Dalit ministers remained limited, with only two throughout his period. The allocation of the Industries portfolio to P Soundarapandian in 1980 was a notable exception, he added.
Kannan also observed a shift in representation after the rise of caste-based politics, which saw key positions going to caste Hindus in both the DMK and AIADMK governments.
On the latest cabinet rejig, writer Stalin Rajangam argued that the appointment of Dalits to key ministries, such as Higher Education and Human Resources, is a response to VCK’s demands for power-sharing within the DMK-led alliance.
Punitha Pandian, editor of Dalit Murasu, attributed the change to decades of cultural and social movements advocating Dalit empowerment, particularly since the Ambedkar centenary celebrations in the past 25 years. He said that mainstream society has become more conscious of Dalit issues, reflected in popular culture and now, in political appointments.
Courtesy : TNIE
Dalit family ostracised for refusing to play drums at funeral in Medak village.
Dalit family in Medak was ostracised by village elders for declining to play drums at a funeral due to work commitments.
MEDAK: A Dalit family from Gouthojee Guda village, Manoharabad mandal in Medak district, was ostracised by village elders after refusing to play drums at a funeral. Panchami Narsamma, whose husband passed away in 2015, explained that her sons, who are employed, were unable to fulfil the request due to their work commitments. The incident took place on September 3, when a village resident passed away. Narsamma was approached to have her son play the drums for the funeral procession. However, she informed the villagers that her sons, Panchami Chandram, an M.Com graduate, and Panchami Arjun, an M.Sc graduate, could not take leave from their jobs to attend.
In retaliation, the village elders declared that no one should communicate with Narsamma’s family. They even warned that anyone found speaking to them would face a fine of Rs 5,000 and possible expulsion from the village. This decision led to the family’s isolation, with Narsamma lamenting that even their close acquaintances had stopped interacting with them. She also mentioned the difficulties they were facing, including having to procure household essentials from neighbouring villages. Following media coverage of the incident, the SC/ST Commission intervened, prompting Narsamma’s family to lodge a formal complaint. The local police have since initiated action and have conducted awareness programmes in the village to prevent such incidents in the future.
Courtesy: Newstap
Heartfulness consecrates Mahabodhi sapling at the world’s largest meditation centre for interfaith unity and peace
Representative of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and senior heads of International Buddhist Confederation take part in the consecration
Mumbai : Heartfulness Institute held a special consecration of Mahabodhi sapling (a descendant of the Mahabodhi tree of Bodh Gaya under which the Buddha attained Enlightenment) in the premises of Kanha Shanti Vanam – the world’s biggest meditation centre in the outskirts of Hyderabad. The celebrations also mark the birthday of Rev. Daaji – Guide of Heartfulness & President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission. Shri Geshe Tenzin Pelchok – representing His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama; Shri Ven Khemachara Bhikkhu – Deputy Secretary General, International Buddhist Confederation; and Mr. Daminda Porage – Additional Secretary General, International Buddhist Confederation (Sri Lanka) graced the occasion as special guests. Buddhist monks from Gaya, Sri Lanka and elsewhere joined the special consecration ceremony. About 60,000 practitioners from the various corners of the world arrived at Kanha Shanti Vanam and also virtually to witness the consecration ceremony and participate in Heartfulness meditation. The consecration of the Mahabodhi sapling marks a milestone in the Bhandara festivities. The event was also marked by a soulful musical rendition by students of Heartfulness International School followed by felicitation of the esteemed guests and Rev. Daaji.
Shri Geshe Tenzin Pelchok – representing His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama said, “His Holiness the Dalai Lama revolutionised the whole concept of the earlier thoughts on human instincts. He made Universal Compassion the tool for humanity. At Heartfulness too I can feel oneness of all. Since my time in the Global Spirituality Mahotsav, how I wished the two visionary giants – Daaji and His Holiness the Dalai Lama were to meet. They are practical and full of compassion and these people should come together. The term ‘Heartfulness’ reverberates in my mind. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has a similar concept of universal ethics. One question is that is always put to different experts is as to where we are going wrong – while the modern education is to give peace. It is the vacuum in education – which is the lack of compassion and universal ethics. Heartfulness is beautiful. Let us see that all of us get the message of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Heartfulness -whatever ethnicity – let’s shun miseries and embrace happiness.”
Dr. Daminda Porage – Additional Secretary General, International Buddhist Confederation said, “The descendent form the holy Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya is coming to your place at Heartfulness. This Bodhi tree is considered the tree of awakening under which the Buddha attained his enlightenment in the fifth century BC. For us in Sri Lanka it is very holy because we received a descendent of the holy tree in 239 BC by the daughter of Emperor Ashoka. Pujya Daaji brought the holy tree to this land. It is a great blessing for all of us who have gathered here. This holy tree is a wishing tree. Millions of people go to Bodh Gaya and go to Shri Lanka. And this is a very significant moment for all of us.”
Rev. Daaji – Guide of Heartfulness & President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission added, “The Mahabodhi Tree has special significance for the entire humanity. Each of us is internally always seeking for ultimate happiness and peace which comes only when being centered within. Buddha showed the way. But it is for each of us to explore and experiment by ourselves to discover the Ultimate Truth. Through the consecration of the Mahabodhi Tree we are also inviting the Divine to constantly guide us on the path.”
Thirty young ordinands from the Mahabodhi Buddha Vihara in Hyderabad, a prominent Buddhist temple and monastery, along with their tutor, attended the Maha Bodhi consecration ceremony at Kanha Shanti Vanam. Immersing themselves in the spiritual atmosphere, they stayed overnight to experience the serenity of the center. They explored the renowned Yatra Garden and received guidance on Spiritual Anatomy from a senior Heartfulness Trainer at the Yatra Garden. The following morning, with the divine blessings of Daaji, the young ordinands eagerly participated in the sacred ceremony.
The Mahabodhi tree is venerated all around the world for under it was Gautama Buddha known to have attained enlightenment. A few offspring saplings of the Mahabodhi tree have travelled to a few other places including one sapling planted at the Theosophical Society in Chennai. The consecration of the Mahabodhi sapling at the Heartfulness premises is also significant in that it is intended at being an energy-centre of positivity and aid in evolving collective consciousness. The event also signified the coming together of two great traditions of Shri Ram Chandra Mission and International Buddhist Confederation paving way for peace and human evolution together.
Dalit teen’s IIT dream hangs by a thread & Rs 17,500, family awaits relief from SC
Dalit teen’s IIT dream hangs by a thread & Rs 17,500, family awaits relief from SC
"I had to sell a house that we owned to pay for my eldest child’s education... I don’t regret it at all,” says Rajendra, who dropped out of school after Class 9.
- Written by Nirbhay Thakur
Almost every day at 3 pm, the lights go off at Titora village in western Uttar Pradesh, rendering the small room on the first floor of Rajendra Kumar’s house largely useless for the next five hours.
“This is the only space my children have to study. Since this room gets almost no sunlight, the lights need to be on constantly. I could have bought an inverter, but that costs nearly Rs 25,000 and I have to choose wisely. I have four children who are in college,” says the 45-year-old, sitting in the unplastered room that is crammed with three cots — two of these propped against the wall — and a few plastic chairs.
These are choices Rajendra, who works as a part-time tailor and a daily-wage labourer at a transformer factory in Meerut, earning Rs 11,000 a month, has had to constantly make. But each time, he knew exactly what to choose. “I had to sell a house that we owned to pay for my eldest child’s education… I don’t regret it at all,” says Rajendra, who dropped out of school after Class 9.
While Mohit, 24, the eldest of Rajendra’s four children, is doing his BTech in computer science & engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, his second son, Rohit, 22, is studying chemical engineering from IIT Kharagpur. His third son Amit, 20, is a Hindi undergraduate student at Sri Kund Kund Jain Inter College in Khatoli, Muzaffarnagar.
So when his youngest son Atul, 18, was denied a seat at IIT Dhanbad after failing by a few minutes to meet the deadline to pay the fee that would have secured him his dream college, Rajendra decided he would give it his all — go right up to the Supreme Court. On September 30, the court is expected to hear Atul’s case to see “if something can be done for protecting the admission of the petitioner”.
At the far end of Titora village, past the sugarcane fields and the bigger homes of the Gujjar community, in one of the many houses with exposed bricks and blue Ambedkar flags fluttering on their rooftops, the family has been facing a nerve-wracking wait.
“My son has worked hard for this. I hope he gets what he wants,” says Rajendra.
After his Class 12, Atul took a gap year before enrolling for JEE coaching classes at Kanpur at GAIL Utkarsh Super 100, a CSR initiative of the energy PSU that provides free residential coaching to meritorious students from economically weak backgrounds.
On June 9, the family, crowding around Atul’s brother Mohit’s laptop as they nervously checked the list of successful candidates, had broken into smiles and hugs when they spotted his name for IIT Dhanbad. Though there was still the online payment of Rs 17,500 to be made to secure the seat, that day, the family didn’t hold back on the celebrations – they distributed ladoos in the village.
“Rs 17,500 is a big amount for me, but I knew I had to arrange the money for my children’s education somehow,” says Rajendra.
He initially turned to a local moneylender. “He kept telling me I would get the money, but I shouldn’t have taken his word for it,” he says, adding that till the afternoon of June 24, the last date to make the payment, he was hopeful that the moneylender would keep his promise. “But he backed out at the last minute.”
Then began the scramble. Rajendra’s friend Titu “bhai” lent him Rs 10,000, another friend, Ompal, gave him another Rs 4,000. “I transferred Rs 3,500 into my account and we managed Rs 17,500,” he says.
Finally, as they sat down to make the online payment, 180 seconds before the deadline of 5 pm, the server of the portal stopped responding, says Atul. The fee could not be submitted. He had lost his seat.
“We panicked and called IIT Dhanbad… Even the coaching institute where I studied tried reaching out to the (IIT Dhanbad) authorities,” says Atul.
“That day, no one ate anything,” says Rajendra’s wife Rajesh, 40.
Over the next few months, the family knocked on several doors – the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the Jharkhand Legal Services Authority, where they were advised then to go to the Madras High Court since IIT Madras was the JEE Advanced exam conducting authority for this year. After the High Court said that the relief sought by Atul was not under its jurisdiction, the family approached the Supreme Court.
The family is now pinning its hopes on a similar case that ended on a happy note in the Supreme Court. In 2021, a bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud had allowed Prince Jaibir Singh, a Dalit student, to take admission in IIT Bombay despite a delay in paying the admission fee. Through a senior at his coaching centre, Atul managed to get the contact of Prince’s family, who, in turn, introduced them to Amol Chitale and Pragya Baghel, lawyers who had in 2021 argued and won the case for Prince in the Supreme Court.
On September 24, appearing for Atul, Chitale and Baghel pleaded before a bench of the CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that this was his second and final attempt at JEE Advanced and unless the top court cleared the decks for his admission, he would lose his IIT seat.
The bench had then said, “Bearing in mind the social background of the petitioner and the hardship which he has undergone, we are of the view that this is a fit and proper case for the issuance of notice to explore whether something can be done for protecting the admission of the petitioner.” It’s this that the family is hanging on to.
“I trust the courts fully…they can never do anyone wrong,” says Rajendra.
Atul is optimistic too. “I used to be nervous earlier, but now I have got used to this. We have been going to the courts for a month now,” he says.
Dalit student awaits AP govt’s help to pursue PhD from top UK varsity
Hyderabad: A Dalit student from Andhra Pradesh has secured admission to pursue a PhD in History at Lancaster University, United Kingdom. Joseph Ananda Paul Sandrapati, a resident of Yerragonda Palem village in Prakasham district, has written to Nara Lokesh, the Education minister of Andhra Pradesh, requesting the state government’s overseas scholarship for underprivileged students to support his studies.
In his letter, Sandrapati mentioned that he has completed his master’s degree in history from the University of Hyderabad (UoH). He emphasized that his doctoral research project titled “History of Sanitation in Colonial Andhra 1858-1947” is directly relevant to the welfare schemes of the Andhra Pradesh Government, as it will provide insights into the historical context of public health in the state.
Despite his academic achievements, Sandrapati said that he faces severe financial hardships as a first-generation student from an economically disadvantaged Telugu Dalit background and is unable to cover the PhD tuition fees and maintenance costs required to study at Lancaster University.
The university has given him a deadline of less than a month and he needs to obtain an official supporting letter from the Government of Andhra Pradesh to sponsor his education.
In his letter, Sandrapati urges the Education minister to expedite the overseas scholarships for underprivileged Dalit students like him, which would aid his pursuit of a PhD in the history of sanitation in colonial Andhra.
“The generous award of the Andhra Pradesh government overseas scholarship for the underprivileged can support my PhD study, which will investigate the understanding of pandemics and diseases by both British Western medicine and indigenous medicines in colonial Andhra. Pursuing my Doctor of Philosophy degree, I shall analyse colonial Telugu documents to investigate the myriad medical treatments employed within indigenous efforts to address public health and wellness in colonial Andhra Pradesh,” he said in the letter.
He emphasised that without the support of the Andhra Pradesh government, he cannot pursue this opportunity, which is a rare chance for a poor Telugu Dalit student like him.
Courtesy : TSD
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