Social justice minister Meira Kumar: More laws to Protect Dalits and Tribals

'States must act on crimes against Dalits' 24 Sep 2008, 0358 hrs IST, Subodh Ghildiyal,TNN

The amendment proposed to the Prevention of Atrocities against SC/STs Act is serious as it is believed that it would push the states to act. Social justice minister Meira Kumar told TOI: "We have to make the PCR and POA Act more stringent."

According to the proposal mooted by the Union ministry, the states would have to submit reports for three types of crimes, which involve — fabricating evidence to implicate a Dalit in a crime providing for life sentence or death; using explosives or fire to damage property belonging to SC/STs, or commiting an offence which is punishable for a term of 10 years or more. The proposal is to insert a clause in section 21 of the POA Act dealing with "duty of government to ensure effective implementation of the Act".

In another key move, the Centre is seeking to cut down on the time of trial in crimes against SC/STs by completely doing away with the first level of scrutiny — the magistrate. The MSJ has proposed that special courts designated to try cases under the POA Act shall be "competent to try the offences as a court of original jurisdiction without the case having been committed to it by a magistrate under the said code (CrPC)". 


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Story of Resistance and Caste Victimization

Verdict in Khairlanji Dalit killings

IANS

Sunday, September 14, 2008  14:31 IST

BHANDARA (Maharashtra): Almost two years after the killings of Dalits in Khairlanji village here caused a nationwide outcry, a court will give its ruling on Monday.

A frenzied mob of about 50 villagers attacked the house of Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange, a Dalit farmer, Sep 29, 2006, and lynched four members of his family including his wife Surekha, young daughter Priyanka and two sons Dilip and Roshan.

Initially treated as a gory fallout of a village feud, the murders were later seen as a case of atrocity against a Dalit family by caste Hindus, inviting nationwide media attention.

With the case turning into a volatile political issue, the state government transferred investigations from the local police to the state Criminal Investigation Department and then to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The government also suspended four police officers and three medical officers for dereliction besides offering Bhaiyyalal Rs.1.2 million as compensation, a house and employment.

After taking charge of investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet against 11 of 46 accused in the court of First Ad-hoc Sessions Judge S.S. Dass Dec 27, 2006 but had a tough time marshalling clinching evidence.

That was because there were virtually no witnesses to the killings apart from Bhaiyyalal.

The immediate provocation for the attack was said to be the evidence given by Surekha and Priyanka against 15 of the villagers in a case of beating up of their kin and well-wisher Siddharth Gajbhiye a fortnight earlier.

After the framing of charges March 2, 2007, the trial court recorded the evidence and statements of 36 out of 74 witnesses (originally listed in the case). It heard arguments from both sides and announced Sep 15 as the date of pronouncement of verdict.

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End fraudulent conversions of Dalits and Tribals: Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM)

As the menace of conversions is perpetuated with the receipt of foreign funds, the Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM) has steadfastly demanded that the church utilize all foreign funds exclusively for the welfare and uplift of poor Christians who are suffering from terrible discrimination within the community. Indeed, this is the reason why PCLM has been petitioning the Government of India not to appoint Bishops, priests and nuns to official Commissions and Committees, and instead appoint ordinary Christians.    The church annually receives so much money that we want the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and the National Christian Council of India (NCCI) to set up a Rs. 1000 crore “Dalit Christian Development Fund” to ensure the integrated social and economic development of this huge populace that was lured to Christianity on the promise of a better life. ....>Read more   Considering the confusion created by propagation activities in remote areas, the PCLM demands that church authorities defer mass conversion programmes for at least a century. It is our view that evangelism cannot be a measurement of a society’s socio-economic development. Rather, the evangelism programme funds should be utilized for the welfare of Dalits and Tribals who have already been converted to Christianity, and whose lot has not been improved by the church.    There should be reservation of seats for Dalit and Tribal Christians, as well as other Dalits, in Church-run schools, colleges, technical institutions and other vocational organizations. As of now, the reality is that a handful of priests and bishops are monopolizing Church funds and property in the country. This has led to sharp deterioration of the conditions of   neo-converted Christians who are living in a pitiable condition, deprived of basic necessities.   Instead of worrying about their living conditions, the church leadership is interested only in increasing the numbers of its flock. Even worse, a large chunk of foreign funds are being utilized for purchasing land and for the luxurious lifestyles of a few Christian leaders in India. Bishops are monopolizing the Church estates and treating it as their own property and are indulging in its sale-purchase without the consent of the community....>Read more   

Race row erupts again

Scotland Yard's race row erupted again yesterday after the head of the National Black Police Association, Commander Ali Dizaei, was suspended from duty for allegedly wasting police time, perverting the course of justice, assault and unlawful arrest.

Dizaei is a close adviser to the force's assistant commissioner, Tarique Ghaffur, who is suing the Met for racial discrimination, and who was suspended last week.

Dizaei's supporters reacted to the news by accusing the Met of a "witch hunt".

He was suspended yesterday at the offices of the Metropolitan Police Authority and given the news by its chief executive, Catherine Crawford.

The main reason for the suspension is said to be an arrest he made outside a West London restaurant after he was allegedly assaulted by a man. Dizaei says he was approached by a man who shouted at him and then attacked him with the mouthpiece of a sheesha pipe. He arrested the man who has now made a complaint that is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Authority.

Dizaei was also suspended because of claims that he gave advice to a solicitor whose client was being prosecuted after a case brought by the Met, and because of allegations concerning the use of a police credit card.

Dizaei was previously suspended in 2001, when the force alleged he was a danger to national security, had consorted with prostitutes and taken illegal drugs. He was cleared unanimously by an Old Bailey jury after a £4m inquiry involving covert surveillance and undercover surveillance teams. The unit that investigated him then was headed by Sir Ian Blair, who is now the commissioner of the Met.

Blair's allies insist that their treatment of Dizaei has not been not influenced by the fact that he is a vocal and persistent critic of the Met's record on race. But Alfred John, chairman of the Metropolitan Black Police Association, said: "Without doubt it is a witch hunt. It is an attempt to destabilise our movement. It is a farce."

The Metropolitan police authority said it had unanimously decided to suspend Dizaei, adding: "Suspension is not a disciplinary sanction and suspension should not be taken as a presumption of guilt."

Last year the Met apologised to Dizaei for putting him on trial at the Old Bailey, and for aspects of the £4m inquiry. After his acquittal, he was reinstated and paid compensation.

He won promotion earlier this year to the rank of commander and oversaw the operation which led to the barrister Mark Saunders being shot dead after allegedly firing at police and neighbouring homes.

As the NBPA's head, Dizaei was planning further protest action against the Met over its treatment of Ghaffur. 

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Poor pay more for Groceries - Indian Researcher

Low-income? No Car? Expect To Pay More For Groceries

ScienceDaily (Sep. 2, 2008) — Households located in poor neighborhoods pay more for the same items than people living in wealthy ones, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Author Debabrata Talukdar (Columbia University) examines the impact of what has been dubbed the "ghetto tax" on low-income individuals. His study found that the critical factor in how much a household spends on groceries is whether it has access to a car.

"Arguably, as the bigger, more cost-efficient stores move out, the poor increasingly are likely to find themselves choosing between traveling farther to purchase nutritious, competitively priced groceries or paying inflated prices for low-quality, processed foods at corner stores," Talukdar writes. Read full story

Chicago Students Boycott First Day of School

Education and Social Construction: ABC News: Chicago Students Boycott First Day of School