Showing posts with label dalit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dalit. Show all posts
Badaun shows way for scrapping inhuman manual scavenging practice
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No more Kandhamals!
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| Photo credit: Deepak Srinivasan, Maraa |
Opposing the auction of Karnataka
State Information Commission slapped fines on errant officers
In a significant order, the State Information Commisison has slapped a fine of Rs 9,750 (about USD 200) on two errant public information officers of the Nandurbar district administration (Maharashtra) for having caused enormous delay in satisfactorily responding to an application for information filed by a Sardar Sarovar project affected adivasi Siyaram Singa Padvi. Read more
Jurmil Morcha and CPJ Karnataka enlighten Bangaloreans about Chattisgarh's marginalized
Jurmil Morcha and CJP Karnataka enlighten Bangaloreans about Chhattisgarh's marginalized
Jurmil Morcha, a local people’s movement from Chhattisgarh participated in a recent series of events in Bangalore as a response by the Campaign for Justice and Peace, Karnataka (CJPKar) to the gross human rights violations on adivasis and dalits in that state. From 4th-9th December, four Jurmil Morcha members highlighted the prevalent injustice towards adivasis and other excluded minorities using powerful and lively folk music and puppetry in parks, colleges, auditoriums and streets across Bangalore. Alongside the Jurmil Morcha activists, CJPKar volunteers (some of whom had visited Chattisgarh earlier this year) informed the general public, concerned individuals, civil society groups and community based organizations about the need to pressurize the State to follow Supreme Court directives to rehabilitate displaced adivasis and restore civil administration in affected areas of Chhattisgarh. CJPKar sources have revealed that nearly 3.5 lakh adivasis in 700 villages have been displaced while their resource rich land is being sold off to Indian and foreign mining corporations.
Jurmil Morcha's core group plans to initiate the formation of Naanchun Morcha (children’s front). It dreams of establishing a centre for cultural expression and publish a children’s newspaper to strengthen kids' voices. Despite financial hurdles due to its reliance on the minimal contributions from the extremely marginalized people with whom it associates, Jurmil Morcha continues to invest more time and energy in them. The group is scheduled to formalize its constitution and leadership next year. Its three fold strategy is to:
* Demand smooth and transparent operation of government’s welfare schemes for the excluded
* Endeavour collective production by marginalized communities
* Resist programmes, policies and processes leading to further marginalization
Further, CJPKar comprising civil society groups, students, lawyers and individuals who condemn Operation Greenhunt demands that the Governments of India and Chhattisgarh:
Pushpa Achanta
(The author is a freelance writer, a Fellow of Citizen News Service (CNS) Writers' Bureau, and a community volunteer based in Bangalore, India)
Published in:
Modern Ghana News, Accra, Ghana
Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand
Elites TV News, USA
Banderas News, Mexico
Orissa Diary.com, Orissa, India
World News Network, USA
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS)
World News Network, USA
Littleabout.com
Country.com
Jurmil Morcha, a local people’s movement from Chhattisgarh participated in a recent series of events in Bangalore as a response by the Campaign for Justice and Peace, Karnataka (CJPKar) to the gross human rights violations on adivasis and dalits in that state. From 4th-9th December, four Jurmil Morcha members highlighted the prevalent injustice towards adivasis and other excluded minorities using powerful and lively folk music and puppetry in parks, colleges, auditoriums and streets across Bangalore. Alongside the Jurmil Morcha activists, CJPKar volunteers (some of whom had visited Chattisgarh earlier this year) informed the general public, concerned individuals, civil society groups and community based organizations about the need to pressurize the State to follow Supreme Court directives to rehabilitate displaced adivasis and restore civil administration in affected areas of Chhattisgarh. CJPKar sources have revealed that nearly 3.5 lakh adivasis in 700 villages have been displaced while their resource rich land is being sold off to Indian and foreign mining corporations.
Jurmil Morcha performs at Cubbon Park, Bangalore
Meaning United Front, Jurmil Morcha, formed in January 2009 is based in Ambargarh Chouki block of Chattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district. Its core group consists of five talented and energetic yet economically backward and barely literate dalit and adivasi women empowered by challenging patriarchy. They include Pandwani artist Budhan Bai Meshram, orator Bhan Sahu and Jaswanta who all live in an Ashram (a refurbished Kothar or crop storage space) in Paangri, a remote, yet picturesque adivasi village with a primarily dry river surrounded by dense forest and hills. Through songs and oral narratives, Jurmil Morcha has been actively mobilizing communities and increasing awareness about social discrimination, child rights, migration, health and women’s problems in Chattisgarh. A founder member of Chhattisgarh Visthaapan Virodhi Manch (a state level coalition for joint action against displacement of adivasis and other marginalized communities), following its emergence, the group raised the demand for implementation of the Famine Code in all drought hit areas of Chattisgarh including Ambagarh Chouki block. Apart from highlighting the issue of long delayed payments of wages under the NREGS, the group also organized a children led padyatra on 2nd October invoking women's independence and joy for all villagers particularly kids.
Jurmil Morcha's core group plans to initiate the formation of Naanchun Morcha (children’s front). It dreams of establishing a centre for cultural expression and publish a children’s newspaper to strengthen kids' voices. Despite financial hurdles due to its reliance on the minimal contributions from the extremely marginalized people with whom it associates, Jurmil Morcha continues to invest more time and energy in them. The group is scheduled to formalize its constitution and leadership next year. Its three fold strategy is to:
* Demand smooth and transparent operation of government’s welfare schemes for the excluded
* Endeavour collective production by marginalized communities
* Resist programmes, policies and processes leading to further marginalization
Further, CJPKar comprising civil society groups, students, lawyers and individuals who condemn Operation Greenhunt demands that the Governments of India and Chhattisgarh:
- Withdraw all paramilitary forces in adivasi areas and disband Salwa Judum
- Implement the Supreme Court’s order on rehabilitating adivasis in Chhattisgarh
- Repeal the Unlawful Activity (Prevention) Act & Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act
- Cancel all existing MOUs with large corporations (especially those engaged in mining minerals) and start dialogue with adivasi representatives
Pushpa Achanta
(The author is a freelance writer, a Fellow of Citizen News Service (CNS) Writers' Bureau, and a community volunteer based in Bangalore, India)
Published in:
Modern Ghana News, Accra, Ghana
Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand
Elites TV News, USA
Banderas News, Mexico
Orissa Diary.com, Orissa, India
World News Network, USA
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS)
World News Network, USA
Littleabout.com
Country.com
Human Rights office takes the sacrifice of a slum in Lucknow
Human Rights office takes the sacrifice of a slum in Lucknow
In preparation for the inauguration of the Human Rights Commission Office in Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow by the Governor (behind Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, next to Indian Oil office) on 29 September 2009, the authorities have demolished the Gandhi Nagar Ward slum in which about a hundred families lived.
Most of them were 'dholak' manufacturers from Gonda District and stone cutters from UP. This slum was located on the adjacent piece of land on which the Human Rights Commission Office is supposed to come up. "Was it really necessary to demolish this slum merely because the Governor has to make an appearance momentarily on the adjacent piece of land?" said noted social activist and Ramon Magsaysay Awardee (2002) Dr Sandeep Pandey. Dr Pandey is also the national convener of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM).
On the other hand these families living in the slum, and thousands still to continue to live this way, are not being accommodated in the much publicised housing schemes for the poor, both central and state. "One wonders who is availing the benefit of these housing schemes - the Basic Services for Urban Poor of central government and the "Kanshiram Shahri Garib Awas Yojana of the state government and what happened to the funds allocated for these schemes?" asks Dr Sandeep Pandey.
Published in:
Elites TV News, USA
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Wikio.com
In preparation for the inauguration of the Human Rights Commission Office in Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow by the Governor (behind Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, next to Indian Oil office) on 29 September 2009, the authorities have demolished the Gandhi Nagar Ward slum in which about a hundred families lived.
Most of them were 'dholak' manufacturers from Gonda District and stone cutters from UP. This slum was located on the adjacent piece of land on which the Human Rights Commission Office is supposed to come up. "Was it really necessary to demolish this slum merely because the Governor has to make an appearance momentarily on the adjacent piece of land?" said noted social activist and Ramon Magsaysay Awardee (2002) Dr Sandeep Pandey. Dr Pandey is also the national convener of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM).
On the other hand these families living in the slum, and thousands still to continue to live this way, are not being accommodated in the much publicised housing schemes for the poor, both central and state. "One wonders who is availing the benefit of these housing schemes - the Basic Services for Urban Poor of central government and the "Kanshiram Shahri Garib Awas Yojana of the state government and what happened to the funds allocated for these schemes?" asks Dr Sandeep Pandey.
Published in:
Elites TV News, USA
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Wikio.com
Regional Award to AIR broadcast on dreams of rag-pickers and homeless children
Regional Award to AIR broadcast on dreams of rag-pickers and homeless children
NEW DELHI, 18 September 2009 – A broadcast on the hopes and dreams of rag-pickers and homeless children by All India Radio (AIR) Lucknow has won the International Childre
n's Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) Regional Award.
ICDB is a day set aside each year to celebrate children’s broadcasting and encourages young people to get involved in television and radio broadcasting. The 2009 ICDB theme, "Unite for Children: Tune in to Kids," asked children to explore what they care about and what are their values, fears and dreams.
"I am very happy. I am speechless," said Archana Prasad, the chief producer of the Lucknow program called "Kids Tune in to Us." Other broadcasts included programs on classical singing and "Our Planet Earth." The children have worked so hard."
The winner of the 2009 ICDB Awards will be announced at an awards ceremony dinner at The Modern on 10 November 2009 in New York. The awards are given by UNICEF for outstanding commitment to the ICDB by television and radio broadcasters.
"We are thrilled with broadcasters' dedication to the ICDB and children's programming," says Stephen Cassidy, Chief of UNICEF's Internet, Broadcast and Image Section. "We are inspired by the diversity and creativity these broadcasters exhibit in celebrating UNICEF's mission to involve young people in the media-making process. Children around the world reap the benefits of their commitment."
The nominees each won a regional competition and now go on to compete for global honors. This year's nominees come from Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Germany, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malaysia, South Africa, Suriname, Togo and Ukraine and represent the best work produced in 2009.
Regional judging took place between June and August and entries were evaluated by teams of broadcasters, radio and television experts and communications specialists. The judges looked at content, execution and year-round youth participation.
The ICDB was launched in 1991 to encourage broadcasters worldwide to create awareness for children’s issues and takes place the first Sunday in March. On that day, youth write, report, produce and present programs that allow them to reach a wide audience with their thoughts on the issues that affect them.
Other winners included ATN Bangla (Bangladesh, "Voice of Children"), Cambodia National Television (CNT) ("Youth Today"), Citizen TV (Kenya, "Angel's Cafe"), Surinaamse Televisie Journaal (STVS) (Suriname, "10 minuten Jeugd Journal," created and produced by The Backlot), Télévision Togolaise (TVT) (Togo, "A Nous la Planete) and Studio 'Razom' (Ukraine, "Big Secrets").
The ICDB Regional Prizes for radio went to Rádio Justiça (Brazil, "Sintonize as Crianças na Rádio Justiça"), EUCHIRA (Germany, "Kids from Germany Meet Kids from the Balkans"), Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (Ghana, "UNIIQ Curious Minds / Gems of our Time"), TRAXXfm, Radio Televisyen Malaysia ("Tune in to Kids") and Maputaland Community Radio Station (South Africa, "Zisize Children’s Radio Project").
The 2008 ICDB Award for Television went to China Central Television (CCTV) for their program "On the Road." The 2008 ICDB Award for Radio went to Ghana Broadcasting Corporation for their program "Curious Minds."
The next ICDB will take place on 7 March 2010 with the theme "All Children All Rights."
Photo Credits and captions:
Photo 1: Tuhina the ten year old was among those who took over the Lucknow Radio Station on the International Children's Day of Broadcasting. (Photo credit: AIR, Lucknow)
Photo 2: Some of the ICDB participants with their mentor and guide Archana Prasad (6th from left) a senior programmer with AIR Lucknow. ( Photo credit: AIR, Lucknow)
Published in:
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Elits TV, USA
Wikio News
World News Report
Human Right Today
Inbox Robot, USA
News4u
Redioandmusic
NEW DELHI, 18 September 2009 – A broadcast on the hopes and dreams of rag-pickers and homeless children by All India Radio (AIR) Lucknow has won the International Childre
n's Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) Regional Award.ICDB is a day set aside each year to celebrate children’s broadcasting and encourages young people to get involved in television and radio broadcasting. The 2009 ICDB theme, "Unite for Children: Tune in to Kids," asked children to explore what they care about and what are their values, fears and dreams.
"I am very happy. I am speechless," said Archana Prasad, the chief producer of the Lucknow program called "Kids Tune in to Us." Other broadcasts included programs on classical singing and "Our Planet Earth." The children have worked so hard."
The winner of the 2009 ICDB Awards will be announced at an awards ceremony dinner at The Modern on 10 November 2009 in New York. The awards are given by UNICEF for outstanding commitment to the ICDB by television and radio broadcasters.
"We are thrilled with broadcasters' dedication to the ICDB and children's programming," says Stephen Cassidy, Chief of UNICEF's Internet, Broadcast and Image Section. "We are inspired by the diversity and creativity these broadcasters exhibit in celebrating UNICEF's mission to involve young people in the media-making process. Children around the world reap the benefits of their commitment."
The nominees each won a regional competition and now go on to compete for global honors. This year's nominees come from Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Germany, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malaysia, South Africa, Suriname, Togo and Ukraine and represent the best work produced in 2009.
Regional judging took place between June and August and entries were evaluated by teams of broadcasters, radio and television experts and communications specialists. The judges looked at content, execution and year-round youth participation.
The ICDB was launched in 1991 to encourage broadcasters worldwide to create awareness for children’s issues and takes place the first Sunday in March. On that day, youth write, report, produce and present programs that allow them to reach a wide audience with their thoughts on the issues that affect them.
Other winners included ATN Bangla (Bangladesh, "Voice of Children"), Cambodia National Television (CNT) ("Youth Today"), Citizen TV (Kenya, "Angel's Cafe"), Surinaamse Televisie Journaal (STVS) (Suriname, "10 minuten Jeugd Journal," created and produced by The Backlot), Télévision Togolaise (TVT) (Togo, "A Nous la Planete) and Studio 'Razom' (Ukraine, "Big Secrets").
The ICDB Regional Prizes for radio went to Rádio Justiça (Brazil, "Sintonize as Crianças na Rádio Justiça"), EUCHIRA (Germany, "Kids from Germany Meet Kids from the Balkans"), Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (Ghana, "UNIIQ Curious Minds / Gems of our Time"), TRAXXfm, Radio Televisyen Malaysia ("Tune in to Kids") and Maputaland Community Radio Station (South Africa, "Zisize Children’s Radio Project").
The 2008 ICDB Award for Television went to China Central Television (CCTV) for their program "On the Road." The 2008 ICDB Award for Radio went to Ghana Broadcasting Corporation for their program "Curious Minds."
The next ICDB will take place on 7 March 2010 with the theme "All Children All Rights."
Photo Credits and captions:
Photo 1: Tuhina the ten year old was among those who took over the Lucknow Radio Station on the International Children's Day of Broadcasting. (Photo credit: AIR, Lucknow)
Photo 2: Some of the ICDB participants with their mentor and guide Archana Prasad (6th from left) a senior programmer with AIR Lucknow. ( Photo credit: AIR, Lucknow)
Published in:
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Elits TV, USA
Wikio News
World News Report
Human Right Today
Inbox Robot, USA
News4u
Redioandmusic
Reality Check for XIth Five-Year Plan: People evaluate women & child development schemes
Reality Check for XIth Five-Year Plan:
People evaluate women & child development schemes
People of Uttar Pradesh (UP) participated in the "mid-term appraisal" consultation geared to harness their perspectives on the eleventh five-year plan of the Government of India. The
meeting "Listening to Voices from the field" was organized for the Planning Commission in the state capital of UP, with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), in collaboration with the Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI), Path and national Alliance of Women (NAWO).
The objective of the exercise was to obtain the community’s perspective and gauge the effectiveness of the various Women and Child Development schemes launched by the Central government of India. The participants discussed in-depth on the different schemes, their visibility, effectiveness, implementation and identified the road blocks for their optimal implementation.
The eleventh Five Year Plan aims on "inclusive growth." As a midterm appraisal of the plan is being scheduled this year, it is prudent to feed in the perceptions from the poor and the marginalized social groups regarding delivery of different schemes which are specifically targeted to improve their quality of life. In this context, it is critical to listen directly to intended beneficiaries of these schemes in the social sector with special reference to access and quality in delivery schemes.
"The community members are the ones to whom the benefits of the plans, programmes and the schemes should ultimately reach and thus it is important that their opinion is duly taken and passed on to the planners of schemes," said JP Sharma, Director, Uttar Pradesh Voluntary Health Association (UPVHA). He termed the meeting as one of the masses.
Referring to the meeting as a "reality check and recommendation attempt", Dr Manju Agarwal, one of the organizers of the event said that through such reality checks, the common citizens will get a chance to get their point of view on the subject across to the Planning Commission and an opportunity to inform the recommendations for the 12th Five Year Plan.
For this meeting in UP, the participants were divided in five groups based on their expertise. These groups were women, children, minority, HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and health. Each group, comprising about ten participants was given a reality check list. The discussion was divided in two parts- ground realities and recommendations. Each groups reported back to the plenary which led to
the open house.
It is shocking to acknowledge the low levels of awareness about these Central government schemes in the masses. While the group representing the minority put this as a planned strategy to under serve the community, the other groups felt there were different reasons for purposely holding back information related to development schemes.
Intentionally there was no representation from the government at this meeting so that the draft recommendations remain unbiased and participants from the civil society feel comfortable to conduct an honest appraisal of these schemes. The final shape to the appraisal and recommendation document will be given at a forthcoming meeting in Chandigarh on 23-24 September 2009.
Published in:
Modern Ghana News, Accra Ghana
Citizen News Service, (CNS)
World News Network, USA
Assam TV News, Assam, India
Healthcare Industry Today
Bihar and Jharkhand News, Bihar And Jharkhand, India
Wikio News
People evaluate women & child development schemes
People of Uttar Pradesh (UP) participated in the "mid-term appraisal" consultation geared to harness their perspectives on the eleventh five-year plan of the Government of India. The
meeting "Listening to Voices from the field" was organized for the Planning Commission in the state capital of UP, with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), in collaboration with the Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI), Path and national Alliance of Women (NAWO).The objective of the exercise was to obtain the community’s perspective and gauge the effectiveness of the various Women and Child Development schemes launched by the Central government of India. The participants discussed in-depth on the different schemes, their visibility, effectiveness, implementation and identified the road blocks for their optimal implementation.
The eleventh Five Year Plan aims on "inclusive growth." As a midterm appraisal of the plan is being scheduled this year, it is prudent to feed in the perceptions from the poor and the marginalized social groups regarding delivery of different schemes which are specifically targeted to improve their quality of life. In this context, it is critical to listen directly to intended beneficiaries of these schemes in the social sector with special reference to access and quality in delivery schemes.
"The community members are the ones to whom the benefits of the plans, programmes and the schemes should ultimately reach and thus it is important that their opinion is duly taken and passed on to the planners of schemes," said JP Sharma, Director, Uttar Pradesh Voluntary Health Association (UPVHA). He termed the meeting as one of the masses.
Referring to the meeting as a "reality check and recommendation attempt", Dr Manju Agarwal, one of the organizers of the event said that through such reality checks, the common citizens will get a chance to get their point of view on the subject across to the Planning Commission and an opportunity to inform the recommendations for the 12th Five Year Plan.
For this meeting in UP, the participants were divided in five groups based on their expertise. These groups were women, children, minority, HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and health. Each group, comprising about ten participants was given a reality check list. The discussion was divided in two parts- ground realities and recommendations. Each groups reported back to the plenary which led to
the open house.It is shocking to acknowledge the low levels of awareness about these Central government schemes in the masses. While the group representing the minority put this as a planned strategy to under serve the community, the other groups felt there were different reasons for purposely holding back information related to development schemes.
Intentionally there was no representation from the government at this meeting so that the draft recommendations remain unbiased and participants from the civil society feel comfortable to conduct an honest appraisal of these schemes. The final shape to the appraisal and recommendation document will be given at a forthcoming meeting in Chandigarh on 23-24 September 2009.
Published in:
Modern Ghana News, Accra Ghana
Citizen News Service, (CNS)
World News Network, USA
Assam TV News, Assam, India
Healthcare Industry Today
Bihar and Jharkhand News, Bihar And Jharkhand, India
Wikio News
Queer Habba: A festival of fun and understanding
Queer Habba: A festival of fun and understanding
Background
After last year’s colourful and vibrant queer parade, various groups and individuals under the banner of Campaign for Sex-workers and Sexual Minorities’ Rights (CSMR) and its supporters successfully organized the Karnataka Queer Habba from Jun-21 to Jun-28. Starting with a cricket match, the celebrations included inter-group dialogues, public discussions and cultural performances that culminated in the Pride march.
Queer Pride’s significance dates back to the night of June 28, 1969, when drag queens (men dressed in women’s clothes) and others resisted armed police who raided the Stonewall Inn, a New York city pub, humiliating and arresting people. This was the first time that LGBT people defended their rights. In India, LGBT people face harassment from the police, organized rackets and even their own families, sometimes driving them to suicide. Same sex couples who have been partners for years cannot buy a house together, have a joint bank account or will their property to each other without being challenged by their families.
Accordingly, the sexual minorities and sex workers have been demanding:
1. Amendment of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code decriminalizing homosexuality and sex work. This is currently under parliamentary review.
2. Preventive steps from the state government against police/goonda violence towards sexual minorities and sex workers and effective measures to punish offenders.
3. The state’s legal recognition of trans-genders and subsidization of the cost of sex assignment surgery, irrespective of whether they can afford the surgery or not.
4. Addressing forced marriage of lesbian women and legal support from the state government when they face violence and threats from their families.
5. Special measures by the state government for the welfare of hijras and transsexuals (the most marginalized section of sexual minorities) like education, employment, savings-credit facilities, housing, skill development, etc.
6. Guaranteed provision of all entitlements by the state and central governments including voter id., ration card, passport, driving licence, housing, education, employment, savings and credit facilities, insurance, old age pension and shelter homes with no discrimination.
In this context, discussions on the current socio-cultural, legal and religious frameworks impacting sexual minorities and sex workers were part of the Queer Habba. While some of the conversations were in Kannada, those in English, Tamil or Telugu were translated into Kannada simultaneously. Here is a peek into some of them.
Dalits, Sex Workers and Sexual Minorities: A Dialogue
Jun-22-09 2-4 pm, ISI
In a first of its kind dialogue in Karnataka, each group shared its concerns and struggles initially and then identified the common and unique issues. Everyone agreed that they needed to understand each other’s problems better and work jointly for their rights and sensitizing the general public, the police and other authorities. Manohar Elavarthi, a tireless worker on minority issues who moderated the interaction and other participants felt that such exchanges should be regular and longer.
Some of the primary challenges facing Dalits (D) and Sexual Minorities (SM):
• EDUCATION
o D: Discrimination continues in government schools (despite majority being Dalits) in the form of separate noon meal utensils, segregated seating, etc. as in Anekal taluk
o SM: Humiliation by teachers and peers who question their behaviour and compel them to change forcing them to dropout resulting in minimal education.
• EMPLOYMENT
o D: Despite the SC/ST quota for government jobs, vacancies exist due to fewer qualified people and lesser awareness. Even in private firms, where employees need not reveal their caste, subtle and indirect discrimination persists.
o D: NREGA benefits haven’t reached them although crores are allotted to them like in Anekal taluk. Rice at Rs. 25/kg (and more) is too expensive for the paltry daily wage.
o SM: In the private sector, colleagues, management et al view them as ‘abnormal’ in fundamental aspects like using restrooms, specifying gender, despite inclusive labour and organizational policies thus discouraging from revealing their alternate sexuality. Further,
o SM: Unable to find or retain steady jobs, Kothis and Hijras take to the streets for survival and become easy victims of sex seekers. Employers, land/house owners and others abuse and exploit them.
• GOVERNANCE
o D: No implementation and monitoring of the 17-18% reserved posts at the Gram Panchayat level.
o D: Land, especially agricultural is encroached/reclaimed by the government and others but with minimal or no compensation as in Teni district.
• SOCIO-CULTURAL
o D: Temples still discriminate against Dalits while accepting offerings or distributing prashad
o D: Similar sub-castes are classified differently in various states. For eg., Lambanis are BC in Maharashtra while they are ST in Andhra and SC in Karnataka causing inconsistencies.
o D: Caste determination and/or stereotyping often based on culinary preferences and personal habits persists
o SM: Parents who discover the altered sexual orientation of their adult children pressurize them to revert to normal behaviour. They classify them as mentally unstable and subject them to psychological counseling, heterosexual marriage, etc. They sometimes refuse to give them a share of their assets.
• SUPPORT
o D: Non-Dalits assume that Dalits have better family, social, legal support and umpteen benefits like job quotas, reservations in educational institutions, etc.
o SM: English news media (visual and print) highlights their problems more than the vernacular versions.
o SM: Obtaining financial and other support for them is tough except for HIV/AIDS related issues
o SM: They have no recognizable representatives like Dr. Ambedkar for Dalits
• OTHER
o SM: Suicide rates (especially among lesbians who are least understood and accepted) are high – highest in Kerala but mainstream media rarely reports it.
o SM: Many alternate sexual persons migrate to cities hoping for better acceptance.
o SM: They continue to experience discrimination in public transport, common spaces, etc. Some have countered this stating that they are also human beings deserving fundamental rights!
Religion and Sexuality: An Interactive Discussion
Jun-22-09 4-7 pm, UTC
Over a 100 people including students and the general public from different religious and socio-cultural backgrounds participated in this interactive discussion. “I am overwhelmed by the response”, said Shubha Chacko, a long time champion for the rights of sexual minorities, as she initiated the proceedings. Researchers, sexual minorities and grassroots social workers shared instances of the prevalent patriarchal interpretation of sex work and alternate sexuality in various faiths and society at large. Encouragingly, they all mentioned that education and awareness through sustained campaigns and public debate are changing attitudes, although very gradually.
Meera Baindur, a researcher on eco feminism mentioned that some Hindu that narratives/ myths equate bhoomi (the earth), with umpteen male rulers to a woman with multiple husbands, like a Devdasi, Jogini or prostitute who is ‘unclean’ and ‘illegitimate’. According to Evangeline Rajkumar a faculty member at Bangalore’s United Theological College (UTC), in the history of Christianity, there has been a negation of the body as against the soul, and further denial by looking at the female body, sex and sexuality as that which stands for sin (assigning everything a negative connotation). The root of the problem therefore is this linking of sin, sex, sexuality with the female body. Any change/transformation within the system cannot overlook the importance and urgency of affirmation of the body, sex and sexuality as a gift from God which we need to use responsibly.
Dr. Ali Khwaja, a social scientist and grassroots counselor at the Banjara Academy, (http://www.banjaraacademy.org/index.php) finds some parents shocked and confused on their adolescent daughters and sons seeking information and indulging in sexual acts. He notices parents condemning the former strongly while just admonishing the latter. And he continues to be surprised that in this ‘modern’ day, urban girls and boys who have been childhood friends are sometimes suddenly discouraged from even interacting from early teenage.
Father Cyriac, a Catholic priest who works with the “young at risk”, especially street children through BOSCO (http://boscoban.org/web/home/home.htm) revealed that although they are sexually active from early teenage, these children declared that they prefer to avoid it at least until marriage. As per Edwina Pereira, training director at the International Services Association, India (http://insa-india.org.in/) even NGO’s stigmatize HIV/AIDS training and religious groups reluctantly agree to proactive counseling only due to the high prevalence of this disease.
Dr. Surendra, an ophthalmology professor cum practitioner and a member MahaBodhi society of India quoted The Buddha’s humane approach to all life with a healthy mind respecting the laws of nature as the means to healthy living. While sharing the influence of Islam and Hinduism on the existing socio-cultural traditions and religious rituals, Revathi, director, Sangama (http://sangama.org/), a hijra and former sex worker reiterated that the community is very secular and genuinely respects all faiths.
For someone who received the ‘badhai’ (blessing) from a ‘hijra’ group as a newborn in Hyderabad, hearing and writing this has not only been insightful and enriching but also personally bonding.
Pushpa Achanta
(The author is a freelance writer, a Fellow of Citizen News Service (CNS) Writers' Bureau, and a community volunteer based in Bangalore, India)
Background
After last year’s colourful and vibrant queer parade, various groups and individuals under the banner of Campaign for Sex-workers and Sexual Minorities’ Rights (CSMR) and its supporters successfully organized the Karnataka Queer Habba from Jun-21 to Jun-28. Starting with a cricket match, the celebrations included inter-group dialogues, public discussions and cultural performances that culminated in the Pride march.
Queer Pride’s significance dates back to the night of June 28, 1969, when drag queens (men dressed in women’s clothes) and others resisted armed police who raided the Stonewall Inn, a New York city pub, humiliating and arresting people. This was the first time that LGBT people defended their rights. In India, LGBT people face harassment from the police, organized rackets and even their own families, sometimes driving them to suicide. Same sex couples who have been partners for years cannot buy a house together, have a joint bank account or will their property to each other without being challenged by their families.
Accordingly, the sexual minorities and sex workers have been demanding:
1. Amendment of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code decriminalizing homosexuality and sex work. This is currently under parliamentary review.
2. Preventive steps from the state government against police/goonda violence towards sexual minorities and sex workers and effective measures to punish offenders.
3. The state’s legal recognition of trans-genders and subsidization of the cost of sex assignment surgery, irrespective of whether they can afford the surgery or not.
4. Addressing forced marriage of lesbian women and legal support from the state government when they face violence and threats from their families.
5. Special measures by the state government for the welfare of hijras and transsexuals (the most marginalized section of sexual minorities) like education, employment, savings-credit facilities, housing, skill development, etc.
6. Guaranteed provision of all entitlements by the state and central governments including voter id., ration card, passport, driving licence, housing, education, employment, savings and credit facilities, insurance, old age pension and shelter homes with no discrimination.
In this context, discussions on the current socio-cultural, legal and religious frameworks impacting sexual minorities and sex workers were part of the Queer Habba. While some of the conversations were in Kannada, those in English, Tamil or Telugu were translated into Kannada simultaneously. Here is a peek into some of them.
Dalits, Sex Workers and Sexual Minorities: A Dialogue
Jun-22-09 2-4 pm, ISI
In a first of its kind dialogue in Karnataka, each group shared its concerns and struggles initially and then identified the common and unique issues. Everyone agreed that they needed to understand each other’s problems better and work jointly for their rights and sensitizing the general public, the police and other authorities. Manohar Elavarthi, a tireless worker on minority issues who moderated the interaction and other participants felt that such exchanges should be regular and longer.
Some of the primary challenges facing Dalits (D) and Sexual Minorities (SM):
• EDUCATION
o D: Discrimination continues in government schools (despite majority being Dalits) in the form of separate noon meal utensils, segregated seating, etc. as in Anekal taluk
o SM: Humiliation by teachers and peers who question their behaviour and compel them to change forcing them to dropout resulting in minimal education.
• EMPLOYMENT
o D: Despite the SC/ST quota for government jobs, vacancies exist due to fewer qualified people and lesser awareness. Even in private firms, where employees need not reveal their caste, subtle and indirect discrimination persists.
o D: NREGA benefits haven’t reached them although crores are allotted to them like in Anekal taluk. Rice at Rs. 25/kg (and more) is too expensive for the paltry daily wage.
o SM: In the private sector, colleagues, management et al view them as ‘abnormal’ in fundamental aspects like using restrooms, specifying gender, despite inclusive labour and organizational policies thus discouraging from revealing their alternate sexuality. Further,
o SM: Unable to find or retain steady jobs, Kothis and Hijras take to the streets for survival and become easy victims of sex seekers. Employers, land/house owners and others abuse and exploit them.
• GOVERNANCE
o D: No implementation and monitoring of the 17-18% reserved posts at the Gram Panchayat level.
o D: Land, especially agricultural is encroached/reclaimed by the government and others but with minimal or no compensation as in Teni district.
• SOCIO-CULTURAL
o D: Temples still discriminate against Dalits while accepting offerings or distributing prashad
o D: Similar sub-castes are classified differently in various states. For eg., Lambanis are BC in Maharashtra while they are ST in Andhra and SC in Karnataka causing inconsistencies.
o D: Caste determination and/or stereotyping often based on culinary preferences and personal habits persists
o SM: Parents who discover the altered sexual orientation of their adult children pressurize them to revert to normal behaviour. They classify them as mentally unstable and subject them to psychological counseling, heterosexual marriage, etc. They sometimes refuse to give them a share of their assets.
• SUPPORT
o D: Non-Dalits assume that Dalits have better family, social, legal support and umpteen benefits like job quotas, reservations in educational institutions, etc.
o SM: English news media (visual and print) highlights their problems more than the vernacular versions.
o SM: Obtaining financial and other support for them is tough except for HIV/AIDS related issues
o SM: They have no recognizable representatives like Dr. Ambedkar for Dalits
• OTHER
o SM: Suicide rates (especially among lesbians who are least understood and accepted) are high – highest in Kerala but mainstream media rarely reports it.
o SM: Many alternate sexual persons migrate to cities hoping for better acceptance.
o SM: They continue to experience discrimination in public transport, common spaces, etc. Some have countered this stating that they are also human beings deserving fundamental rights!
Religion and Sexuality: An Interactive Discussion
Jun-22-09 4-7 pm, UTC
Over a 100 people including students and the general public from different religious and socio-cultural backgrounds participated in this interactive discussion. “I am overwhelmed by the response”, said Shubha Chacko, a long time champion for the rights of sexual minorities, as she initiated the proceedings. Researchers, sexual minorities and grassroots social workers shared instances of the prevalent patriarchal interpretation of sex work and alternate sexuality in various faiths and society at large. Encouragingly, they all mentioned that education and awareness through sustained campaigns and public debate are changing attitudes, although very gradually.
Meera Baindur, a researcher on eco feminism mentioned that some Hindu that narratives/ myths equate bhoomi (the earth), with umpteen male rulers to a woman with multiple husbands, like a Devdasi, Jogini or prostitute who is ‘unclean’ and ‘illegitimate’. According to Evangeline Rajkumar a faculty member at Bangalore’s United Theological College (UTC), in the history of Christianity, there has been a negation of the body as against the soul, and further denial by looking at the female body, sex and sexuality as that which stands for sin (assigning everything a negative connotation). The root of the problem therefore is this linking of sin, sex, sexuality with the female body. Any change/transformation within the system cannot overlook the importance and urgency of affirmation of the body, sex and sexuality as a gift from God which we need to use responsibly.
Dr. Ali Khwaja, a social scientist and grassroots counselor at the Banjara Academy, (http://www.banjaraacademy.org/index.php) finds some parents shocked and confused on their adolescent daughters and sons seeking information and indulging in sexual acts. He notices parents condemning the former strongly while just admonishing the latter. And he continues to be surprised that in this ‘modern’ day, urban girls and boys who have been childhood friends are sometimes suddenly discouraged from even interacting from early teenage.
Father Cyriac, a Catholic priest who works with the “young at risk”, especially street children through BOSCO (http://boscoban.org/web/home/home.htm) revealed that although they are sexually active from early teenage, these children declared that they prefer to avoid it at least until marriage. As per Edwina Pereira, training director at the International Services Association, India (http://insa-india.org.in/) even NGO’s stigmatize HIV/AIDS training and religious groups reluctantly agree to proactive counseling only due to the high prevalence of this disease.
Dr. Surendra, an ophthalmology professor cum practitioner and a member MahaBodhi society of India quoted The Buddha’s humane approach to all life with a healthy mind respecting the laws of nature as the means to healthy living. While sharing the influence of Islam and Hinduism on the existing socio-cultural traditions and religious rituals, Revathi, director, Sangama (http://sangama.org/), a hijra and former sex worker reiterated that the community is very secular and genuinely respects all faiths.
For someone who received the ‘badhai’ (blessing) from a ‘hijra’ group as a newborn in Hyderabad, hearing and writing this has not only been insightful and enriching but also personally bonding.
Pushpa Achanta
(The author is a freelance writer, a Fellow of Citizen News Service (CNS) Writers' Bureau, and a community volunteer based in Bangalore, India)
'Adivasi' and farmers meet MP Governor to demand justice
'Adivasi' and farmers meet MP Governor to demand justice
A delegation comprising representatives of adivasis and farmers from the districts of Badwani, Alirajpur, Khargone and Dhar met the Hon’ble Governor of Madhya Pradesh Shri Rameshwar Thakur and appealed to him to take appropriate steps to guarantee peace and good governance, as per the Constitution in the scheduled adivasi areas of the state. In particular, they urged him to ensure that the rights of the Gram Sabhas in the scheduled areas, as granted by the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA) Act, 1996, which was passed by the Parliament using the authority conferred on it by Article 243-M 4 (b) of the Constitution, are safeguarded.
Before undertaking any development project in these areas, the Gram Sabhas, as per the PESA Act, are to be consulted twice, once before land acquisition and again before resettlement and rehabilitation. This right of the Gram Sabhas has been re-affirmed by the Hon’ble High Court of Madhya Pradesh through its interim order dated 01-07-2009, whereby the Court directed a status quo into the land acquisition and excavation work for the canals of Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar Projects. Unfortunately, this significant Order is not only being ignored and side-stepped but also violated by the State Government which has created a lot of furore in the villages and tahsils Badwani, Dhar, Khargone and to an extent in Khandwa as well.
While the State Government was to follow the PESA Act and bring in amendment into its Panchayat Adhiniyam of 1993 by incorporating the non-negotiable features of the Act, the GoMP has done the diametrically opposite by removing any reference to the very clause of ‘Gram Sabha consultation’. The High Court of M.P. thus endorsed the rights of the Gram Sahas (local self government) and village communities, irrespective of what has been changed or omitted in the state enactment.
The sequence of events to derail the process and deny the rights, however, began immediately after the Order was passed. Firstly, the canal excavation work continued at many villages with the giant JCB machines for the next 15-20 days after which NBA filed a contempt petition to actual ‘stay’ the work and penalize the Government and contractors for contempt. Noting the gravity of the issue, the Court extended the status quo on the 6th August.
In many cases the State Government has actively pushed unlawful resolutions at the Janpad, without a quorum or in cases even by pressuring them, which has been objected to by many Janpad members (ex from Manawar, Badwani, Nisarpur).
Unlawful attempts have also been made to make changes in the Gram Sabha resolutions. From the ongoing happenings, it is evident that some Panchayat CEOs and Collectors are both under pressure and also pressurizing the other officials.
Meanwhile, thousands of adivasis, farmers, fish workers and others from various villages of the districts of Alirajpur, Badwani, Dhar and Khargone assembled at a huge gathering in Badwani on the 24th and submitted a detailed memorandum to the Collector Mr. N.B.S Rajpur through the Tehsildar. They burnt the Order of the state government trampling upon the rights of Gram Sabhas and gave out slogans such as ‘Lok Sabha se oopar Gram Sabha’ and ‘Hamaare Gaon mein
Hamaara Raj’. Yesterday, i.e on the 25th, hundreds of adivasis, particularly those affected and displaced for many years due to the Sardar Sarovar and Jobat dams, marched to the Collector’s office in Alirajpur district and had an intense dialogue with him on various issues including their right to rehabilitation by consultation in the Gram Sabhas and the duty of the district and state administration to implement the rehabilitation Policy and Supreme Court judgements.
In such a context it is necessary, the delegation urged the Governor, to “seriously consider the integrity and constitutionally of the Order issued by the GoMP on the 30th of July, substituting consultation with ‘Janpad’ instead of Gram sabhas; particularly in the case of Narmada valley projects and that too when the Court stay order is in vogue and that a suitable direction be issued to rescind the impugned Order and instead insist that consultation with Gram Sabhas mandatorily takes place in the V schedule adivasi areas.
Addressing a large press conference, Medha Patkar said that in none of the projects, neither is there is any guarantee of alternative land or livelihood nor is the command area work plan and execution even half-way through. But illegality and wrong tactics seem to be way to take forward evey Project. The series of letters (July, August 2009) written by the Minister and Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to the Chief Minister and State Chief Secretary on the poor environmental compliances of the Omkareshwar, Indira Sagar and Sardar Sarovar Projects are indicative of this.
CAD works are no way near completion despite the fact that they had to be completed by 1987 and 1994 for Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar respectively. “But the state govt. does not seem to have an iota of guilt in using urgency clause to push acquisition without consulting the adivasis in the Gram Sabhas”, she rued.
“In the case of many ongoing projects be it Goi where the Gram Sabhas’ voice was suppressed and the Project imposed by the State by using the brutal force of lathi charge and a misinformation campaign or in Gomai in Pansemal where even the Gram Sabhas are not being called and false resolutions are passed, every single law in the rule book of advasi rights is being eroded, said adivasis and farmers at the Press Conference.
All this only clearly brings out the fact of poor planning and monitoring in mega projects such as the Narmada Valley Projects, squandering away crores of rupees without public accountability and public participation and the tall claims of never-yielding promises of benefits and rehabilitation on paper.
Narmada is a classic example, where even after 15-20 years neither have canals been built properly not has rehabilitation been done, as per law. Leave along the hope of ‘Green Revolution’, destruction of irrigated and fertile cultivable land along with problems of water logging, canal breaches and salinization is only looming large.
Later in the evening, the delegation later met senior authorities at the State Election Commission, Madhya Pradesh and conveyed to them as well ongoing violations in the Narmada valley, the inconsistencies in elections at the local government level, disrespect of Gram Sabhas’ rights and conspiracy to dissolve them in many villages (Pariseeman) in the valley. The authorities promised to take appropriate steps in this regard.
The people from the valley warned the State Government to implement the law and respect the Constitution, otherwise people will have to struggle, which is what is they are doing and constitutional authorities such as the Governor have a sincere mandate to safeguard the same.
- Medha Patkar, National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM)
Published in:
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Elites TV, USA
Tamil.Net, Tamil Nadu, India
National Federation of Republicans, India
A delegation comprising representatives of adivasis and farmers from the districts of Badwani, Alirajpur, Khargone and Dhar met the Hon’ble Governor of Madhya Pradesh Shri Rameshwar Thakur and appealed to him to take appropriate steps to guarantee peace and good governance, as per the Constitution in the scheduled adivasi areas of the state. In particular, they urged him to ensure that the rights of the Gram Sabhas in the scheduled areas, as granted by the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA) Act, 1996, which was passed by the Parliament using the authority conferred on it by Article 243-M 4 (b) of the Constitution, are safeguarded.
Before undertaking any development project in these areas, the Gram Sabhas, as per the PESA Act, are to be consulted twice, once before land acquisition and again before resettlement and rehabilitation. This right of the Gram Sabhas has been re-affirmed by the Hon’ble High Court of Madhya Pradesh through its interim order dated 01-07-2009, whereby the Court directed a status quo into the land acquisition and excavation work for the canals of Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar Projects. Unfortunately, this significant Order is not only being ignored and side-stepped but also violated by the State Government which has created a lot of furore in the villages and tahsils Badwani, Dhar, Khargone and to an extent in Khandwa as well.
While the State Government was to follow the PESA Act and bring in amendment into its Panchayat Adhiniyam of 1993 by incorporating the non-negotiable features of the Act, the GoMP has done the diametrically opposite by removing any reference to the very clause of ‘Gram Sabha consultation’. The High Court of M.P. thus endorsed the rights of the Gram Sahas (local self government) and village communities, irrespective of what has been changed or omitted in the state enactment.
The sequence of events to derail the process and deny the rights, however, began immediately after the Order was passed. Firstly, the canal excavation work continued at many villages with the giant JCB machines for the next 15-20 days after which NBA filed a contempt petition to actual ‘stay’ the work and penalize the Government and contractors for contempt. Noting the gravity of the issue, the Court extended the status quo on the 6th August.
In many cases the State Government has actively pushed unlawful resolutions at the Janpad, without a quorum or in cases even by pressuring them, which has been objected to by many Janpad members (ex from Manawar, Badwani, Nisarpur).
Unlawful attempts have also been made to make changes in the Gram Sabha resolutions. From the ongoing happenings, it is evident that some Panchayat CEOs and Collectors are both under pressure and also pressurizing the other officials.
Meanwhile, thousands of adivasis, farmers, fish workers and others from various villages of the districts of Alirajpur, Badwani, Dhar and Khargone assembled at a huge gathering in Badwani on the 24th and submitted a detailed memorandum to the Collector Mr. N.B.S Rajpur through the Tehsildar. They burnt the Order of the state government trampling upon the rights of Gram Sabhas and gave out slogans such as ‘Lok Sabha se oopar Gram Sabha’ and ‘Hamaare Gaon mein
Hamaara Raj’. Yesterday, i.e on the 25th, hundreds of adivasis, particularly those affected and displaced for many years due to the Sardar Sarovar and Jobat dams, marched to the Collector’s office in Alirajpur district and had an intense dialogue with him on various issues including their right to rehabilitation by consultation in the Gram Sabhas and the duty of the district and state administration to implement the rehabilitation Policy and Supreme Court judgements.
In such a context it is necessary, the delegation urged the Governor, to “seriously consider the integrity and constitutionally of the Order issued by the GoMP on the 30th of July, substituting consultation with ‘Janpad’ instead of Gram sabhas; particularly in the case of Narmada valley projects and that too when the Court stay order is in vogue and that a suitable direction be issued to rescind the impugned Order and instead insist that consultation with Gram Sabhas mandatorily takes place in the V schedule adivasi areas.
Addressing a large press conference, Medha Patkar said that in none of the projects, neither is there is any guarantee of alternative land or livelihood nor is the command area work plan and execution even half-way through. But illegality and wrong tactics seem to be way to take forward evey Project. The series of letters (July, August 2009) written by the Minister and Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to the Chief Minister and State Chief Secretary on the poor environmental compliances of the Omkareshwar, Indira Sagar and Sardar Sarovar Projects are indicative of this.
CAD works are no way near completion despite the fact that they had to be completed by 1987 and 1994 for Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar respectively. “But the state govt. does not seem to have an iota of guilt in using urgency clause to push acquisition without consulting the adivasis in the Gram Sabhas”, she rued.
“In the case of many ongoing projects be it Goi where the Gram Sabhas’ voice was suppressed and the Project imposed by the State by using the brutal force of lathi charge and a misinformation campaign or in Gomai in Pansemal where even the Gram Sabhas are not being called and false resolutions are passed, every single law in the rule book of advasi rights is being eroded, said adivasis and farmers at the Press Conference.
All this only clearly brings out the fact of poor planning and monitoring in mega projects such as the Narmada Valley Projects, squandering away crores of rupees without public accountability and public participation and the tall claims of never-yielding promises of benefits and rehabilitation on paper.
Narmada is a classic example, where even after 15-20 years neither have canals been built properly not has rehabilitation been done, as per law. Leave along the hope of ‘Green Revolution’, destruction of irrigated and fertile cultivable land along with problems of water logging, canal breaches and salinization is only looming large.
Later in the evening, the delegation later met senior authorities at the State Election Commission, Madhya Pradesh and conveyed to them as well ongoing violations in the Narmada valley, the inconsistencies in elections at the local government level, disrespect of Gram Sabhas’ rights and conspiracy to dissolve them in many villages (Pariseeman) in the valley. The authorities promised to take appropriate steps in this regard.
The people from the valley warned the State Government to implement the law and respect the Constitution, otherwise people will have to struggle, which is what is they are doing and constitutional authorities such as the Governor have a sincere mandate to safeguard the same.
- Medha Patkar, National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM)
Published in:
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Elites TV, USA
Tamil.Net, Tamil Nadu, India
National Federation of Republicans, India
Indian Police: Broken System
Indian Police: Broken System
SR Darapuri
"This week, I was told to do an encounter," a police officer told Human Rights Watch (HRW). He was referring to the practice of taking into custody and extra judicially executing an individual, then claiming that the victim died after initiating a shoot- out with police. "I am looking for my target," he said. “I will eliminate him. .. I fear being put in jail, but if I don't do it, I'll lose my position." This is the confession of an Officer from Uttar Pradesh but it is applicable to any officer in any state of India.
This is how Human Rights Watch report titled “Broken System: Dysfunctional, Abuse and Impunity in the Indian Police” starts its narrative. This report was released by HRW in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) on 7th August, 2009. The Repot was earlier released at Banglore on 4th August, 2009. (Full report available at www. hrw.com)
This 118-page report documents a range of human rights violations committed by police, including arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and extrajudicial killings. The report is based on interviews with more than 80 police officers of varying ranks, 60 victims of police abuses, and numerous discussions with experts and civil society activists. It documents the failings of state police forces that operate outside the law, lack sufficient ethical and professional standards, are overstretched and outmatched by criminal elements, and unable to cope with increasing demands and public expectations. Field research was conducted in 19 police stations in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and the capital, Delhi.
"India is modernizing rapidly, but the police continue to use their old methods: abuse and threats," said Naureen Shah of Asia Division of HRW. "It's time for the government to stop talking about reform and fix the system."
The repot describes the story of a fruit vendor in Varanasi who narrates how police tortured him to extract confessions to multiple, unrelated false charges:
"[M]y hands and legs were tied; a wooden stick was passed through my legs. They started beating me badly on the legs with lathis (batons) and kicking me. They were saying, ‘you must name all the members of the 13-person gang.' They beat me until I was crying and shouting for help. When I was almost fainting, they stopped the beating. A constable said, ‘With this kind of a beating, a ghost would run away. Why don't you tell me what I want to know?' Then they turned me upside down... They poured water from a plastic jug into my mouth and nose, and I fainted."
Almost every police officer interviewed by HRW was aware of the boundaries of the law, but many believed that unlawful methods, including illegal detention and torture, were necessary tactics of crime investigation and law enforcement.
Human Rights Watch also said that while not excusing abuses, abysmal conditions for police officers contribute to violations. Low-ranking officers often work in difficult conditions. They are required to be on-call 24 hours a day, every day. Instead of shifts, many work long hours, sometimes living in tents or filthy barracks at the police station. Many are separated from their families for long stretches of time. They often lack necessary equipment, including vehicles, mobile phones, investigative tools and even paper on which to record complaints and make notes.
Police officers told HRW that they used "short-cuts" to cope with overwhelming workloads and insufficient resources. For instance, they described how they or others cut caseloads by refusing to register crime complaints. Many officers described facing unrealistic pressure from their superiors to solve cases quickly. Receiving little or no encouragement to collect forensic evidence and witness statements, tactics considered time-consuming, they instead held suspects illegally and coerced them to confess, frequently using torture and ill-treatment.
"Conditions and incentives for police officers need to change,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, Senior Researcher,HRW. "Officers should not be put into a position where they think they have to turn to abuse to meet superiors' demands, or obey orders to abuse. Instead they should be given the resources, training, equipment, and encouragement to act professionally and ethically."
"Broken System" also documents the particular vulnerability to police abuse of traditionally marginalized groups in India. They include the poor, women, Dalits (so-called "untouchables"), and religious and sexual minorities. Police often fail to investigate crimes against them because of discrimination, the victims' inability to pay bribes, or their lack of social status or political connections. Members of these groups are also more vulnerable to arbitrary arrest and torture, especially meted out by police as punishment for alleged crimes.
Colonial-era police laws enable state and local politicians to interfere routinely in police operations, sometimes directing police officers to drop investigations against people with political connections, including known criminals, and to harass or file false charges against political opponents. These practices corrode public confidence.
In 2006, a landmark Supreme Court judgment mandated reform of police laws. But the central government and most state governments have either significantly or completely failed to implement the court's order, suggesting that officials have yet to accept the urgency of comprehensive police reform, including the need to hold police accountable for human rights violations.
"India's status as the world's largest democracy is undermined by a police force that thinks it is above the law," Naureen said. "It's a vicious cycle. Indians avoid contact with the police out of fear. So crimes go unreported and unpunished, and the police can't get the cooperation they need from the public to prevent and solve crimes."
"Broken System" sets out detailed recommendations for police reform drawn from studies by government commissions, former Indian police, and Indian groups. Among the major recommendations are:
- Require the police to read suspects their rights upon arrest or any detention, which will increase institutional acceptance of these safeguards;
- Exclude from court any evidence police obtain by using torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in suspect interrogations;
- Bolster independent investigations into complaints of police abuse and misconduct through national and state human rights commissions and police complaints authorities; and
- Improve training and equipment, including strengthening the crime-investigation curriculum at police academies, training low-ranking officers to assist in crime investigations, and providing basic forensic equipment to every police office
The report also gives selected accounts of persons who wee tortured and kept in police custody. Some of the narratives are the following:
"She was kept in the police station all night. In the morning, when we went to meet her, they said she had killed herself. They showed us her body, where she was hanging from a tree inside the police station. The branch was so low, it is impossible that she hanged herself from it. Her feet were clean, although there was wet mud all around and she would have walked through it to reach the tree. It is obvious that the police killed her and then pretended she had committed suicide." –
- Brother-in-law of Gita Pasi, describing her death in police custody in Uttar Pradesh in August 2006.
The police officers have their own tale of woes as narrated below:
"We have no time to think, no time to sleep. I tell my men that a victim will only come to the police station because we can give him justice, so we should not beat him with a stick. But often the men are tired and irritable and mistakes take place."
- Gangaram Azad, a sub-inspector who heads a rural police station in Uttar Pradesh state
"They say, ‘investigate within 24 hours,' but they never care about how I will do [that]; what are the resources. ... There is use of force in sensational cases because we are not equipped with scientific methods. What remains with us? A sense of panic surrounds our mind that if we don't come to a conclusion we will be suspended or face punishment. We are bound to fulfill the case; we must cover the facts in any way."
- Sub inspector working near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
"Often, it is our superiors who ask us to do wrong things. It is hard for us to resist. I remember, one time, my officer had asked me to beat up someone. I said that the man would be refused bail and would rot in jail and that was enough punishment. But that made my officer angry."
- Constable in Uttar Pradesh
"With all the mental stress, the 24-hour law-and-order duty, the political pressure, a person may turn to violence. How much can a person take? ... We have to keep watch on an accused person, their human rights, but what about us? We live like this for 24 hours. We are not claiming that our power makes us born to work all the times. Sometimes we beat or detain illegally, because our working conditions, our facilities are bad. So we are contributing to creating criminals and militants."
- Inspector in charge of a police station in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
On the above occasion giving the details of fake encounter cases, SR Darapuri, a retired IPS Officer and Vice President Of U.P. PUCL who contested the general election-2009 from Lucknow said, “Only countable genuine encounters like that of Ghanshyam Kewat which took place on June 17, 2009 made U.P. Police cops to taste a real encounter, rest 99 percent are fake.” Darapuri said, “I had been a police officer for 32 years and I know how encounters are planned.” “A common man does not feel safe in the state,” said Darapuri.
Lenin Raghuvanshi, Director People’s Vigilance Committee for Human Rights (PVCHR), while presenting the report said, “We studied 125 cases. In majority of cases justice was either delayed or denied to poor people for they had no approach to get the FIR lodged or to pursue the case fro proper investigation. There have been instances when cops violated even the basic policing norms. They a voided post mortem and even effused to hand over the body of victims of fake encounter to their families.”
It is the high time that the Indian government should take major steps to overhaul a policing system that facilitates and even encourages human rights violations, said the report. For decades, successive governments have failed to deliver on promises to hold the police accountable for abuses and to build professional, rights-respecting police forces. If the states
refuse to undertake the police reforms, the civil society, human rights organizations and all right thinking persons should bring pressure on the states and political parties to force them to do it. We should not forget that democratic nations need democratic police.
SR Darapuri, is a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer (former Inspector General (IG) of Police), Vice-President of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), UP, and also represents the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and Lok Rajniti Manch (People's Politics Front). Email: srdarapuri@yahoo.co.in
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SR Darapuri
"This week, I was told to do an encounter," a police officer told Human Rights Watch (HRW). He was referring to the practice of taking into custody and extra judicially executing an individual, then claiming that the victim died after initiating a shoot- out with police. "I am looking for my target," he said. “I will eliminate him. .. I fear being put in jail, but if I don't do it, I'll lose my position." This is the confession of an Officer from Uttar Pradesh but it is applicable to any officer in any state of India.
This is how Human Rights Watch report titled “Broken System: Dysfunctional, Abuse and Impunity in the Indian Police” starts its narrative. This report was released by HRW in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) on 7th August, 2009. The Repot was earlier released at Banglore on 4th August, 2009. (Full report available at www. hrw.com)
This 118-page report documents a range of human rights violations committed by police, including arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and extrajudicial killings. The report is based on interviews with more than 80 police officers of varying ranks, 60 victims of police abuses, and numerous discussions with experts and civil society activists. It documents the failings of state police forces that operate outside the law, lack sufficient ethical and professional standards, are overstretched and outmatched by criminal elements, and unable to cope with increasing demands and public expectations. Field research was conducted in 19 police stations in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and the capital, Delhi.
"India is modernizing rapidly, but the police continue to use their old methods: abuse and threats," said Naureen Shah of Asia Division of HRW. "It's time for the government to stop talking about reform and fix the system."
The repot describes the story of a fruit vendor in Varanasi who narrates how police tortured him to extract confessions to multiple, unrelated false charges:
"[M]y hands and legs were tied; a wooden stick was passed through my legs. They started beating me badly on the legs with lathis (batons) and kicking me. They were saying, ‘you must name all the members of the 13-person gang.' They beat me until I was crying and shouting for help. When I was almost fainting, they stopped the beating. A constable said, ‘With this kind of a beating, a ghost would run away. Why don't you tell me what I want to know?' Then they turned me upside down... They poured water from a plastic jug into my mouth and nose, and I fainted."
Almost every police officer interviewed by HRW was aware of the boundaries of the law, but many believed that unlawful methods, including illegal detention and torture, were necessary tactics of crime investigation and law enforcement.
Human Rights Watch also said that while not excusing abuses, abysmal conditions for police officers contribute to violations. Low-ranking officers often work in difficult conditions. They are required to be on-call 24 hours a day, every day. Instead of shifts, many work long hours, sometimes living in tents or filthy barracks at the police station. Many are separated from their families for long stretches of time. They often lack necessary equipment, including vehicles, mobile phones, investigative tools and even paper on which to record complaints and make notes.
Police officers told HRW that they used "short-cuts" to cope with overwhelming workloads and insufficient resources. For instance, they described how they or others cut caseloads by refusing to register crime complaints. Many officers described facing unrealistic pressure from their superiors to solve cases quickly. Receiving little or no encouragement to collect forensic evidence and witness statements, tactics considered time-consuming, they instead held suspects illegally and coerced them to confess, frequently using torture and ill-treatment.
"Conditions and incentives for police officers need to change,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, Senior Researcher,HRW. "Officers should not be put into a position where they think they have to turn to abuse to meet superiors' demands, or obey orders to abuse. Instead they should be given the resources, training, equipment, and encouragement to act professionally and ethically."
"Broken System" also documents the particular vulnerability to police abuse of traditionally marginalized groups in India. They include the poor, women, Dalits (so-called "untouchables"), and religious and sexual minorities. Police often fail to investigate crimes against them because of discrimination, the victims' inability to pay bribes, or their lack of social status or political connections. Members of these groups are also more vulnerable to arbitrary arrest and torture, especially meted out by police as punishment for alleged crimes.
Colonial-era police laws enable state and local politicians to interfere routinely in police operations, sometimes directing police officers to drop investigations against people with political connections, including known criminals, and to harass or file false charges against political opponents. These practices corrode public confidence.
In 2006, a landmark Supreme Court judgment mandated reform of police laws. But the central government and most state governments have either significantly or completely failed to implement the court's order, suggesting that officials have yet to accept the urgency of comprehensive police reform, including the need to hold police accountable for human rights violations.
"India's status as the world's largest democracy is undermined by a police force that thinks it is above the law," Naureen said. "It's a vicious cycle. Indians avoid contact with the police out of fear. So crimes go unreported and unpunished, and the police can't get the cooperation they need from the public to prevent and solve crimes."
"Broken System" sets out detailed recommendations for police reform drawn from studies by government commissions, former Indian police, and Indian groups. Among the major recommendations are:
- Require the police to read suspects their rights upon arrest or any detention, which will increase institutional acceptance of these safeguards;
- Exclude from court any evidence police obtain by using torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in suspect interrogations;
- Bolster independent investigations into complaints of police abuse and misconduct through national and state human rights commissions and police complaints authorities; and
- Improve training and equipment, including strengthening the crime-investigation curriculum at police academies, training low-ranking officers to assist in crime investigations, and providing basic forensic equipment to every police office
The report also gives selected accounts of persons who wee tortured and kept in police custody. Some of the narratives are the following:
"She was kept in the police station all night. In the morning, when we went to meet her, they said she had killed herself. They showed us her body, where she was hanging from a tree inside the police station. The branch was so low, it is impossible that she hanged herself from it. Her feet were clean, although there was wet mud all around and she would have walked through it to reach the tree. It is obvious that the police killed her and then pretended she had committed suicide." –
- Brother-in-law of Gita Pasi, describing her death in police custody in Uttar Pradesh in August 2006.
The police officers have their own tale of woes as narrated below:
"We have no time to think, no time to sleep. I tell my men that a victim will only come to the police station because we can give him justice, so we should not beat him with a stick. But often the men are tired and irritable and mistakes take place."
- Gangaram Azad, a sub-inspector who heads a rural police station in Uttar Pradesh state
"They say, ‘investigate within 24 hours,' but they never care about how I will do [that]; what are the resources. ... There is use of force in sensational cases because we are not equipped with scientific methods. What remains with us? A sense of panic surrounds our mind that if we don't come to a conclusion we will be suspended or face punishment. We are bound to fulfill the case; we must cover the facts in any way."
- Sub inspector working near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
"Often, it is our superiors who ask us to do wrong things. It is hard for us to resist. I remember, one time, my officer had asked me to beat up someone. I said that the man would be refused bail and would rot in jail and that was enough punishment. But that made my officer angry."
- Constable in Uttar Pradesh
"With all the mental stress, the 24-hour law-and-order duty, the political pressure, a person may turn to violence. How much can a person take? ... We have to keep watch on an accused person, their human rights, but what about us? We live like this for 24 hours. We are not claiming that our power makes us born to work all the times. Sometimes we beat or detain illegally, because our working conditions, our facilities are bad. So we are contributing to creating criminals and militants."
- Inspector in charge of a police station in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
On the above occasion giving the details of fake encounter cases, SR Darapuri, a retired IPS Officer and Vice President Of U.P. PUCL who contested the general election-2009 from Lucknow said, “Only countable genuine encounters like that of Ghanshyam Kewat which took place on June 17, 2009 made U.P. Police cops to taste a real encounter, rest 99 percent are fake.” Darapuri said, “I had been a police officer for 32 years and I know how encounters are planned.” “A common man does not feel safe in the state,” said Darapuri.
Lenin Raghuvanshi, Director People’s Vigilance Committee for Human Rights (PVCHR), while presenting the report said, “We studied 125 cases. In majority of cases justice was either delayed or denied to poor people for they had no approach to get the FIR lodged or to pursue the case fro proper investigation. There have been instances when cops violated even the basic policing norms. They a voided post mortem and even effused to hand over the body of victims of fake encounter to their families.”
It is the high time that the Indian government should take major steps to overhaul a policing system that facilitates and even encourages human rights violations, said the report. For decades, successive governments have failed to deliver on promises to hold the police accountable for abuses and to build professional, rights-respecting police forces. If the states
refuse to undertake the police reforms, the civil society, human rights organizations and all right thinking persons should bring pressure on the states and political parties to force them to do it. We should not forget that democratic nations need democratic police.SR Darapuri, is a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer (former Inspector General (IG) of Police), Vice-President of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), UP, and also represents the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and Lok Rajniti Manch (People's Politics Front). Email: srdarapuri@yahoo.co.in
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The Spring Of Despair And The Winter Of Hope
The Spring Of Despair And The Winter Of Hope
The sultry Saturday afternoon of 7th August, saw around 70 odd academicians, social activists, writers, journalists and other members of civil society gather in the Academic Staff College of Lucknow University, for intense deliberations on state sponsored terror.
The programme, chaired by Professor (Dr) Nishi Pandey, Director, Academic Staff College and Dean, Students' Welfare, University of Lucknow, started with a reading by Shahira Naim (a senior journalist working with Tribune who received the 2nd International KCK Merit Award for Excellence in Journalism 2009) of her thought provoking and award winning article ‘Azamgarh: District In Discomfort’. It focussed on the infamous Batla House Encounter of Delhi, in which two ‘alleged’ terrorists (belonging to Azamgarh district) were killed along with a police officer. This, coupled with a few other happenings, senselessly branded Azamgarh as the ‘nursery of terrorism’ and a centre of religious orthodoxy, just as Bhojpur was called the cultivating ground of Naxalism in the late 70s.
The dubious role of the police in the Batla house incident raised many an eyebrow. Unfortunately, the National Human Rights Commission has recently given a clean chit to the police, cocking a snook to all evidences pointing to the contrary.
The animated discussion which followed this reading set the ball rolling for the screening of the internationally acclaimed film ‘Terror Storm’ by Alex Jones. This film (based on documentary proofs and recorded evidences) goes one step ahead of ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ in indicting the US Government of stage managing the bombing of the World Trade Centre.
Without mincing any words, Alex Jones elaborates on State sponsored ‘False Flag Operations’ with the sole aim of controlling the minds of the people by instilling fear in them.
Hitler’s subterfuges in Germany; US actions in Vietnam, Cuba, Iraq and in its own territory; the Madrid and London bombings of 2004 and 2005; the Babri Masjid demolition and the Godhra carnage incidents in India --- all point to sleek government involvements carried out to perfection. The flag operations scare people into believing government rhetoric, filling their minds with hatred and dividing them on caste/communal lines. This prepares the ground to achieve the states’ nefarious objectives of ousting elected governments and/or maligning a particular sect/community for partisan and economic gains.
We are living in an age where, the sunshine of wisdom is darkened by clouds of foolishness, the age of incredulity overshadows the age of belief. There is mistrust and fear in the air we breathe. Our confidence in the police (the so called custodians of law and order), the judiciary and the executive has been eroded to the extent that we have become indifferent to their wicked demeanor in these turbulent times. Terror is being fuelled by state and society alike. We do not know when we will come under the police scanner, (particularly if we are young and belong to the minority community); we do not know when one of our own family will exterminate us (in the name of honour killing) if we dare to challenge age old orthodoxies (like not bringing enough dowry or marrying outside our caste); we do not know when we will be branded as anti social and anti national if we dare to question the government for the atrocities committed against marginalized sections of society (as has happened to the likes of Sharmila Irom and Binayak Sen). We cringe at the fate which would befall us (as happened to Manjunath) if make an attempt to fight the corruption so rampant in all walks of life . So our senses are dulled into a state of suspended animation and toe the line rather than swim against the tide.
Meanwhile fake encounters, incarceration of innocents, exploitation of dalits and heinous crimes against women continue unabated. We prefer to turn a blind eye to them and rather talk of the rising prices of pulses and the Target Rating Point (TRPs) of television soap operas/reality shows. Occasionally we also speak the bitter truth, and that too not for a noble cause, but for money (a la Sach Ka Samna).
One needs to ponder a little more as to why the development index of regions rich in natural resources is abysmally low and as to why these areas become the breeding grounds of people’s reactionary movements turning violent (like in the Punjab, Bihar and the North East). Without endorsing violence, all of us have to work towards a more just social order where everyone lives in harmony, without predating upon each other. If we have the will we can do it. Amen.
Shobha Shukla
(The author is the Editor of Citizen News Service (CNS), has worked earlier with State Planning Institute, UP, and teaches Physics at India's prestigious Loreto Convent. Email: shobha@citizen-news.org, website: www.citizen-news.org)
Published in
Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, India
Modern Ghana News, Accra, Ghana
Scoop World News, New Zealand
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS), Bihar and Jharkhand
Citizen News Service (CNS)
The sultry Saturday afternoon of 7th August, saw around 70 odd academicians, social activists, writers, journalists and other members of civil society gather in the Academic Staff College of Lucknow University, for intense deliberations on state sponsored terror.
The programme, chaired by Professor (Dr) Nishi Pandey, Director, Academic Staff College and Dean, Students' Welfare, University of Lucknow, started with a reading by Shahira Naim (a senior journalist working with Tribune who received the 2nd International KCK Merit Award for Excellence in Journalism 2009) of her thought provoking and award winning article ‘Azamgarh: District In Discomfort’. It focussed on the infamous Batla House Encounter of Delhi, in which two ‘alleged’ terrorists (belonging to Azamgarh district) were killed along with a police officer. This, coupled with a few other happenings, senselessly branded Azamgarh as the ‘nursery of terrorism’ and a centre of religious orthodoxy, just as Bhojpur was called the cultivating ground of Naxalism in the late 70s.
The dubious role of the police in the Batla house incident raised many an eyebrow. Unfortunately, the National Human Rights Commission has recently given a clean chit to the police, cocking a snook to all evidences pointing to the contrary.
The animated discussion which followed this reading set the ball rolling for the screening of the internationally acclaimed film ‘Terror Storm’ by Alex Jones. This film (based on documentary proofs and recorded evidences) goes one step ahead of ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ in indicting the US Government of stage managing the bombing of the World Trade Centre.Without mincing any words, Alex Jones elaborates on State sponsored ‘False Flag Operations’ with the sole aim of controlling the minds of the people by instilling fear in them.
Hitler’s subterfuges in Germany; US actions in Vietnam, Cuba, Iraq and in its own territory; the Madrid and London bombings of 2004 and 2005; the Babri Masjid demolition and the Godhra carnage incidents in India --- all point to sleek government involvements carried out to perfection. The flag operations scare people into believing government rhetoric, filling their minds with hatred and dividing them on caste/communal lines. This prepares the ground to achieve the states’ nefarious objectives of ousting elected governments and/or maligning a particular sect/community for partisan and economic gains.
We are living in an age where, the sunshine of wisdom is darkened by clouds of foolishness, the age of incredulity overshadows the age of belief. There is mistrust and fear in the air we breathe. Our confidence in the police (the so called custodians of law and order), the judiciary and the executive has been eroded to the extent that we have become indifferent to their wicked demeanor in these turbulent times. Terror is being fuelled by state and society alike. We do not know when we will come under the police scanner, (particularly if we are young and belong to the minority community); we do not know when one of our own family will exterminate us (in the name of honour killing) if we dare to challenge age old orthodoxies (like not bringing enough dowry or marrying outside our caste); we do not know when we will be branded as anti social and anti national if we dare to question the government for the atrocities committed against marginalized sections of society (as has happened to the likes of Sharmila Irom and Binayak Sen). We cringe at the fate which would befall us (as happened to Manjunath) if make an attempt to fight the corruption so rampant in all walks of life . So our senses are dulled into a state of suspended animation and toe the line rather than swim against the tide.
Meanwhile fake encounters, incarceration of innocents, exploitation of dalits and heinous crimes against women continue unabated. We prefer to turn a blind eye to them and rather talk of the rising prices of pulses and the Target Rating Point (TRPs) of television soap operas/reality shows. Occasionally we also speak the bitter truth, and that too not for a noble cause, but for money (a la Sach Ka Samna). One needs to ponder a little more as to why the development index of regions rich in natural resources is abysmally low and as to why these areas become the breeding grounds of people’s reactionary movements turning violent (like in the Punjab, Bihar and the North East). Without endorsing violence, all of us have to work towards a more just social order where everyone lives in harmony, without predating upon each other. If we have the will we can do it. Amen.
Shobha Shukla
(The author is the Editor of Citizen News Service (CNS), has worked earlier with State Planning Institute, UP, and teaches Physics at India's prestigious Loreto Convent. Email: shobha@citizen-news.org, website: www.citizen-news.org)
Published in
Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, India
Modern Ghana News, Accra, Ghana
Scoop World News, New Zealand
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS), Bihar and Jharkhand
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Overhaul policing system to arrest the alarming human rights violations by police
Overhaul policing system to arrest the alarming human rights violations by police
The Indian government should take major steps to overhaul a policing system that facilitates and even encourages human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said in a report released in Lucknow on 7 August 2009 at UP Press Club. For decades, successive governments have failed to deliver on promises to hold the police accountable for abuses and to build professional, rights-respecting police forces, according to the report 'Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police.'
The report launch was organized by 'Uttar Pradesh Shehri Gharib Kaamgar Sangharsh Morcha', People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) and Human Rights Watch.
"This 118-page report -Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police - documents a range of human rights violations committed by police, including arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and extrajudicial killings. The report is based on interviews with more than 80 police officers of varying ranks, 60 victims of police abuses, and numerous discussions with experts and civil society activists. It documents the failings of state police forces that operate outside the law, lack sufficient ethical and professional standards, are overstretched and outmatched by criminal elements, and unable to cope with increasing demands and public expectations. Field research was conducted in 19 police stations in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and the capital, Delhi" said Asheesh Awasthi, Convener, 'Uttar Pradesh Shehri Gharib Kaamgar Sangharsh Morcha.'
"India is modernizing rapidly, but the police continue to use their old methods: abuse and threats," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch in a press statement. "It's time for the government to stop talking about reform and fix the system."
A fruit vendor in Varanasi described how police tortured him to extract confessions to multiple, unrelated false charges:
"[My] hands and legs were tied; a wooden stick was passed through my legs. They started beating me badly on the legs with lathis (batons) and kicking me. They were saying, ‘You must name all the members of the 13-person gang.' They beat me until I was crying and shouting for help. When I was almost fainting, they stopped the beating. A constable said, ‘With this kind of a beating, a ghost would run away. Why won't you tell me what I want to know?' Then they turned me upside down... They poured water from a plastic jug into my mouth and nose, and I fainted."
Several police officers admitted to Human Rights Watch that they routinely committed abuses. One officer said that he had been ordered to commit an "encounter killing," as the practice of taking into custody and extra-judicially executing an individual is commonly known. "I am looking for my target," the officer said. "I will eliminate him. ... I fear being put in jail, but if I don't do it, I'll lose my position."
Almost every police officer interviewed by Human Rights Watch was aware of the boundaries of the law, but many believed that unlawful methods, including illegal detention and torture, were necessary tactics of crime investigation and law enforcement.
The Indian government elected in May has promised to pursue police reforms actively. Human Rights Watch said that a critical step is to ensure that police officers who commit human rights violations, regardless of rank, will face appropriate punishment.
"Police who commit or order torture and other abuses need to be treated as the criminals they are," said Adams in the statement. "There shouldn't be one standard for police who violate the law and another for average citizens."
Human Rights Watch also said that while not excusing abuses, abysmal conditions for police officers contribute to violations. Low-ranking officers often work in difficult conditions. They are required to be on-call 24 hours a day, every day. Instead of shifts, many work long hours, sometimes living in tents or filthy barracks at the police station. Many are separated from their families for long stretches of time. They often lack necessary equipment, including vehicles, mobile phones, investigative tools and even paper on which to record complaints and make notes.
Police officers told Human Rights Watch that they used "short-cuts" to cope with overwhelming workloads and insufficient resources. For instance, they described how they or others cut caseloads by refusing to register crime complaints. Many officers described facing unrealistic pressure from their superiors to solve cases quickly. Receiving little or no encouragement to collect forensic evidence and witness statements, tactics considered time-consuming, they instead held suspects illegally and coerced them to confess, frequently using torture and ill-treatment.
"Conditions and incentives for police officers need to change," Adams said in the statement. "Officers should not be put into a position where they think they have to turn to abuse to meet superiors' demands, or obey orders to abuse. Instead they should be given the resources, training, equipment, and encouragement to act professionally and ethically."
"Broken System" also documents the particular vulnerability to police abuse of traditionally marginalized groups in India. They include the poor, women, Dalits (so-called "untouchables"), and religious and sexual minorities. Police often fail to investigate crimes against them because of discrimination, the victims' inability to pay bribes, or their lack of social status or political connections. Members of these groups are also more vulnerable to arbitrary arrest and torture, especially meted out by police as punishment for alleged crimes.
Colonial-era police laws enable state and local politicians to interfere routinely in police operations, sometimes directing police officers to drop investigations against people with political connections, including known criminals, and to harass or file false charges against political opponents. These practices corrode public confidence.
In 2006, a landmark Supreme Court judgment mandated reform of police laws. But the central government and most state governments have either significantly or completely failed to implement the court's order, suggesting that officials have yet to accept the urgency of comprehensive police reform, including the need to hold police accountable for human rights violations.
"India's status as the world's largest democracy is undermined by a police force that thinks it is above the law," said Adams in the statement. "It's a vicious cycle. Indians avoid contact with the police out of fear. So crimes go unreported and unpunished, and the police can't get the cooperation they need from the public to prevent and solve crimes."
Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police report sets out detailed recommendations for police reform drawn from studies by government commissions, former Indian police, and Indian groups. Among the major recommendations are:
* Require the police to read suspects their rights upon arrest or any detention, which will increase institutional acceptance of these safeguards;
* Exclude from court any evidence police obtain by using torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in suspect interrogations;
* Bolster independent investigations into complaints of police abuse and misconduct through national and state human rights commissions and police complaints authorities; and
* Improve training and equipment, including strengthening the crime-investigation curriculum at police academies, training low-ranking officers to assist in crime investigations, and providing basic forensic equipment to every police officer.
The Indian government should take major steps to overhaul a policing system that facilitates and even encourages human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said in a report released in Lucknow on 7 August 2009 at UP Press Club. For decades, successive governments have failed to deliver on promises to hold the police accountable for abuses and to build professional, rights-respecting police forces, according to the report 'Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police.'
The report launch was organized by 'Uttar Pradesh Shehri Gharib Kaamgar Sangharsh Morcha', People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) and Human Rights Watch.
"This 118-page report -Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police - documents a range of human rights violations committed by police, including arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and extrajudicial killings. The report is based on interviews with more than 80 police officers of varying ranks, 60 victims of police abuses, and numerous discussions with experts and civil society activists. It documents the failings of state police forces that operate outside the law, lack sufficient ethical and professional standards, are overstretched and outmatched by criminal elements, and unable to cope with increasing demands and public expectations. Field research was conducted in 19 police stations in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and the capital, Delhi" said Asheesh Awasthi, Convener, 'Uttar Pradesh Shehri Gharib Kaamgar Sangharsh Morcha.'
"India is modernizing rapidly, but the police continue to use their old methods: abuse and threats," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch in a press statement. "It's time for the government to stop talking about reform and fix the system."
A fruit vendor in Varanasi described how police tortured him to extract confessions to multiple, unrelated false charges:
"[My] hands and legs were tied; a wooden stick was passed through my legs. They started beating me badly on the legs with lathis (batons) and kicking me. They were saying, ‘You must name all the members of the 13-person gang.' They beat me until I was crying and shouting for help. When I was almost fainting, they stopped the beating. A constable said, ‘With this kind of a beating, a ghost would run away. Why won't you tell me what I want to know?' Then they turned me upside down... They poured water from a plastic jug into my mouth and nose, and I fainted."
Several police officers admitted to Human Rights Watch that they routinely committed abuses. One officer said that he had been ordered to commit an "encounter killing," as the practice of taking into custody and extra-judicially executing an individual is commonly known. "I am looking for my target," the officer said. "I will eliminate him. ... I fear being put in jail, but if I don't do it, I'll lose my position."
Almost every police officer interviewed by Human Rights Watch was aware of the boundaries of the law, but many believed that unlawful methods, including illegal detention and torture, were necessary tactics of crime investigation and law enforcement.
The Indian government elected in May has promised to pursue police reforms actively. Human Rights Watch said that a critical step is to ensure that police officers who commit human rights violations, regardless of rank, will face appropriate punishment.
"Police who commit or order torture and other abuses need to be treated as the criminals they are," said Adams in the statement. "There shouldn't be one standard for police who violate the law and another for average citizens."
Human Rights Watch also said that while not excusing abuses, abysmal conditions for police officers contribute to violations. Low-ranking officers often work in difficult conditions. They are required to be on-call 24 hours a day, every day. Instead of shifts, many work long hours, sometimes living in tents or filthy barracks at the police station. Many are separated from their families for long stretches of time. They often lack necessary equipment, including vehicles, mobile phones, investigative tools and even paper on which to record complaints and make notes.
Police officers told Human Rights Watch that they used "short-cuts" to cope with overwhelming workloads and insufficient resources. For instance, they described how they or others cut caseloads by refusing to register crime complaints. Many officers described facing unrealistic pressure from their superiors to solve cases quickly. Receiving little or no encouragement to collect forensic evidence and witness statements, tactics considered time-consuming, they instead held suspects illegally and coerced them to confess, frequently using torture and ill-treatment.
"Conditions and incentives for police officers need to change," Adams said in the statement. "Officers should not be put into a position where they think they have to turn to abuse to meet superiors' demands, or obey orders to abuse. Instead they should be given the resources, training, equipment, and encouragement to act professionally and ethically."
"Broken System" also documents the particular vulnerability to police abuse of traditionally marginalized groups in India. They include the poor, women, Dalits (so-called "untouchables"), and religious and sexual minorities. Police often fail to investigate crimes against them because of discrimination, the victims' inability to pay bribes, or their lack of social status or political connections. Members of these groups are also more vulnerable to arbitrary arrest and torture, especially meted out by police as punishment for alleged crimes.
Colonial-era police laws enable state and local politicians to interfere routinely in police operations, sometimes directing police officers to drop investigations against people with political connections, including known criminals, and to harass or file false charges against political opponents. These practices corrode public confidence.
In 2006, a landmark Supreme Court judgment mandated reform of police laws. But the central government and most state governments have either significantly or completely failed to implement the court's order, suggesting that officials have yet to accept the urgency of comprehensive police reform, including the need to hold police accountable for human rights violations.
"India's status as the world's largest democracy is undermined by a police force that thinks it is above the law," said Adams in the statement. "It's a vicious cycle. Indians avoid contact with the police out of fear. So crimes go unreported and unpunished, and the police can't get the cooperation they need from the public to prevent and solve crimes."
Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police report sets out detailed recommendations for police reform drawn from studies by government commissions, former Indian police, and Indian groups. Among the major recommendations are:
* Require the police to read suspects their rights upon arrest or any detention, which will increase institutional acceptance of these safeguards;
* Exclude from court any evidence police obtain by using torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in suspect interrogations;
* Bolster independent investigations into complaints of police abuse and misconduct through national and state human rights commissions and police complaints authorities; and
* Improve training and equipment, including strengthening the crime-investigation curriculum at police academies, training low-ranking officers to assist in crime investigations, and providing basic forensic equipment to every police officer.
Mayawati’s Idolization and quest for Dalit Emancipation
Mayawati’s Idolization and quest for Dalit Emancipation
SR Darapuri
During the Assembly elections 2007, the people of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) India and especially the Dalits voted Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to absolute majority. They expected that this time with a stable government she will be able to take U.P. out of the quagmire of underdevelopment and backwardness. They also hoped that now she will work out a development agenda for the State as well as for the Dalits and implement it faithfully. During her previous three stints as Chief Minister she took the plea that due to her dependence on other parties for support she could not act independently. As such she needed a government with majority to give her a free hand in running her government. But even this time Mayawati did not come up to the people’s expectations. Neither she neither worked out development agenda nor stopped wasting public money on installing statues, creating memorials and making parks.
If judged from the point of view of development, at present U.P. is the one of the most backward states of India. As per 2001 Census Repot it has the largest population (16.16 crores) which stands as 16.16 % of total population of India. According to development parameters the total literacy rate of U.P. is 56.30 % (Male 68.8 and Female 42.2 %) whereas at the national level it is 68.84 % (Male 75.26 and 53.67 %). The sex ratio of U.P. stands at 898 whereas the national ratio is 933. According to available statistics the per capita income in U.P. during 2005-06 was Rs. 13,316 which is the lowest in the country excepting Bihar (Rs. 7875) whereas at the national level it is Rs. 25,716. During this period the per capita power production and consumption in U.P. was 113 and 167 K.W.Hour as compared with 563 and 372 K.W.Hour at the national level.
From the Public Health angle the birth rate, death rate and child mortality rate for U.P. were 30.4, 8.7 and 73 respectively whereas the national rates were 23.8, 7.6 and 58 respectively. As per the findings of NFHS-III, 2005-06 the infant mortality (number of infant deaths per thousand live births in the last five years) rate at national level is 57 whereas for U.P. it is 73. In India, 46 per scent children under three yeas of age are underweight whereas in U.P. it is 47 percent. Almost 38 % children (under three years age) are stunted (too short for their age). In U.P. their percentage is 46. Almost 79 % of children (6-35 months) and 56 % of women in India are anemic. In U.P. the figures are 85 and 51 percent respectively. From the employment angle during 2001 in U.P. only 23.78 % of total workers were Main Workers and 66 % were engaged as Agriculture Labourers. At present 32 % of U.P. population is living below poverty line against the national average of 27.5 percent.
From the above details it is clear that from the development point of view U.P. is one of the most backward states of India. In such a situation, not only Mayawati but every government is expected to utilize all the resources of the State for the development of the people. But it has not happened for last many years. According to Sudha Pai “There is evidence that the conditions of the poorer sections in U.P. which include the major chunk of the Dalits have become worse during the 1990s. The National Human Development Report (NHDR) has pointed out the poor conditions of life in comparison with many other states. The State’s position in terms of Human Development Index was 29th in 1981 and has fallen to 31 out of 32 states (NHDR 2001:140-41). Similarly the Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure registered a fall in the State between 1993-94 and 1999-2000; that this is due to a drastic reduction in the consumption expenditure on food between two periods clearly suggest deterioration in the standard of living. This down slide took place when the B.S.P. supported by B.J.P. was in power in U.P. for the most part (National Herald, Lucknow May 1, 2002). Despite the fact that the BSP. had formed a government twice during the 1990s and was again in power with the support of the Bhartiya Janta Party, the conditions of Dalits have not improved according to the draft proposals of the Tenth Five Year Plan (Jha, 28 December, The Times of India, New Delhi-2002). The BSP did not put forward any policies for improving the socioeconomic conditions of the subaltern sections of the Dalits. The emphasis has been on political empowerment only.”
It is well known that Mayawati did not take up any development agenda during all her tenures of Chief Minister ship. During the elections BSP never came out with an election manifesto. This was done purposely. Because declaration of an agenda being about the responsibility of implementing it and failure to do so invites public wrath. Mr. Kanshi Ram, the mentor of Mayawati, attracted Dalits by promising to fulfill the incomplete mission of Dr. Ambedkar but cleverly he never defined it in writing. “First capture political power and then any work” was the promise given by BSP. In the beginning, Dalits were instigated against higher castes by raising emotional and non-material issues but later on all sorts of unprincipled and opportunistic alliances were made to get political power. All the principles of Ambedkarism were thrown to winds and dalits were exploited emotionally in the name of caste. Personal ambitions were pursued in place of Dalit issues. This unprincipled, non developmental and corrupt politics has resulted in poverty, unemployment and backwardness of the people of U.P. and the Dalits at large.
Now it will be pertinent to see on what items the budget money was spent during this period. It has been found that major part of budget was spent on non-development projects. It is noticeable that 90 % of Cultural Department and about 40 % of Public Works Department budget was spent on parks, memorials and statues. What ever money was spent on welfare programmes, a major apart of it was eaten away by corruption. As such the poor were deprived of any benefit there of. The main cause of it has been the personal greed and corruption of Mayawati which may land her in jail in the near future. She has spent a major portion of state budget on installing statues, making parks and creating memorials. Along with the statues of Dr. Ambedkar and some other Dalit icons she has installed her own statues along with her mentor Kanshi Ram. She seems to have taken inspiration from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Ill. She has made history by installing her own statues as a living person. According to available information she has spent more than 3,000 crores of Rupees on statutes and parks. These statues and memorials are so grand and costly which can put any king or queen to shame. According to one German scholar Maren Schempp, “Mayawati is building her own Rome.” Another scholar has labeled it as a criminal waste of public money.
Now Mayawati is ruling the State for the fourth time and she proclaims to be the savior of Dalits. In the face of this claim it will be proper to see what she has done to for the upliftment of Dalits of U.P. According to 2001 Census Report the population of Dalits in U.P. is 3.51 crores which is 21.2 % of State population and is the largest in whole of India. Ordinarily it is expected that in a state where a Dalit Chief Minister has occupied the chair for the fourth time, the Dalits of that state might have benefited much from her rule. But the ground reality is totally to the contrary. At present U.P. dalits are the most backward in whole of India leaving aside the Dalits of Orissa and Bihar. According to 2001 Census Report the Male- Female sex ratio of U.P. dalits is 900 whereas the national average of Dalits is 936. Similarly the literacy rate of U.P. Dalits is 46.3 % (Male 60.3 and Female 30.5 Percent) against the national average of 54.7 percent (Male 66.6 and Female 41.9 %). According to above Census report out of 1.33 crore children between the age of group 5-14 yeas only 58.3 lacs ( 56.4 % ) were going to school.
According to above census Report among total workers U.P. has got 42.5 % dalits working as Agriculture Labourers against the national average of 45.6 %. The percentage of U.P. dalits below poverty line is about 50 %. In U.P. Work Participation Rate of Dalits is 34.7 % which is lower than the national average. Being a dominantly agriculture based society land is an important source of production. In U.P. the number and size of land holdings with dalits is very small but land reforms have not been given proper priority in the State. What ever land was given to the landless, most of it is under illegal possession of higher castes and Mayawati cannot afford to annoy them as they form an important part of her Sarvjan (all included) followers.
On account of feudal social set up caste discrimination and practice of untouchability are the main factors behind atrocities against Dalits in U.P. Their number is highest in whole of India. A decrease in atrocities and prompt action against the offenders is the general expectation from Mayawati but the reality is totally otherwise. During 2001 Mayawati in order to keep her crime figures low issued a written order suspending the use of Scheduled Cases and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities ) Act but was forced to withdraw the same in 2003. This had a very adverse effect on dalits. The atrocities continued to be perpetrated but their cases were not being registered by police. Besides this, the practice of untouchability is quite prevalent in midday meals in Primary Schools, Anganwari Centres and government hospitals but very little action is taken at government level. Thus Dalits continue to suffer under Mayawati’s rule. They have not experienced any empowerment material or otherwise.
“The statues serve as a source of inspiration for dalits” is the argument put forward by Mayawati for justifying her idolization. But this argument is quite contrary to the philosophy of Dalit icons. Let us see what Dr. Ambedkar said in a letter published in Bombay Chronicle in 1916. Following the death, in 1915, of Pherozeshah Merwnjee Mehta, one of the founders of Indian National Congress, and of Gopal Krishana Gokhle, another Congress leader and founder of Servants of India society, Ambedkar notes: “The memorial for Gokhle is to take the form of establishing branches of Servants of India Society at various places, while that of Sir P.M. Mehta is to stand in the form of a statue before the Bombay Municipal Office.” While appreciating the memorial for Gokhle, Ambedkar records his dismay over a statue for Mehta being “very trivial and unbecoming.” He is “at pains to understand why this memorial cannot be in a form that will be “of permanent use to posterity.”. He suggests that the memorial should be a public library named after Mehta. Drawing from his experience at “one of the biggest universities in the U.S., Ambedkar laments how we have not yet “realized the value of the library as an institution in the growth and advancement of society.”
Later, Dr. Ambedkar acted on these principles when he had the opportunity. He was driven by the belief that education was the greatest weapon for advancement. He founded “People’s Education Society” in 1944; three branches of Siddharth College beginning 1946; and Milind Mahavidhyalya in 1950. With a view to benefit the maximum number of students he established colleges in Bombay and Marathwar which is the most backward area in Maharashtra.
It is true that statues serve as source of inspiration but this role is very limited. The lasting inspiration comes by following their ideals and propagating their philosophy. But Mayawati has done hardly any thing in this direction. If the money spent on statues had been spent in establishing educational institutions in the name of dalit icons, it would have brought a qualitative change in the society.
From the brief above discussion it transpires that the emancipation of dalits can be achieved not by installation of statues but by working out a Dalit development agenda and implementing it honestly. In stead of spending crores on the statues, establishing educational institutions, hospital, libraries and useful institutions in the name of Dalit icons will be a true honour and memorial to them.
SR Darapuri, is a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer (former Inspector General (IG) of Police), Vice-President of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), UP, and also represents the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and Lok Rajniti Manch (People's Politics Front). Email: srdarapuri@yahoo.co.in
SR Darapuri
During the Assembly elections 2007, the people of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) India and especially the Dalits voted Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to absolute majority. They expected that this time with a stable government she will be able to take U.P. out of the quagmire of underdevelopment and backwardness. They also hoped that now she will work out a development agenda for the State as well as for the Dalits and implement it faithfully. During her previous three stints as Chief Minister she took the plea that due to her dependence on other parties for support she could not act independently. As such she needed a government with majority to give her a free hand in running her government. But even this time Mayawati did not come up to the people’s expectations. Neither she neither worked out development agenda nor stopped wasting public money on installing statues, creating memorials and making parks.
If judged from the point of view of development, at present U.P. is the one of the most backward states of India. As per 2001 Census Repot it has the largest population (16.16 crores) which stands as 16.16 % of total population of India. According to development parameters the total literacy rate of U.P. is 56.30 % (Male 68.8 and Female 42.2 %) whereas at the national level it is 68.84 % (Male 75.26 and 53.67 %). The sex ratio of U.P. stands at 898 whereas the national ratio is 933. According to available statistics the per capita income in U.P. during 2005-06 was Rs. 13,316 which is the lowest in the country excepting Bihar (Rs. 7875) whereas at the national level it is Rs. 25,716. During this period the per capita power production and consumption in U.P. was 113 and 167 K.W.Hour as compared with 563 and 372 K.W.Hour at the national level.
From the Public Health angle the birth rate, death rate and child mortality rate for U.P. were 30.4, 8.7 and 73 respectively whereas the national rates were 23.8, 7.6 and 58 respectively. As per the findings of NFHS-III, 2005-06 the infant mortality (number of infant deaths per thousand live births in the last five years) rate at national level is 57 whereas for U.P. it is 73. In India, 46 per scent children under three yeas of age are underweight whereas in U.P. it is 47 percent. Almost 38 % children (under three years age) are stunted (too short for their age). In U.P. their percentage is 46. Almost 79 % of children (6-35 months) and 56 % of women in India are anemic. In U.P. the figures are 85 and 51 percent respectively. From the employment angle during 2001 in U.P. only 23.78 % of total workers were Main Workers and 66 % were engaged as Agriculture Labourers. At present 32 % of U.P. population is living below poverty line against the national average of 27.5 percent.
From the above details it is clear that from the development point of view U.P. is one of the most backward states of India. In such a situation, not only Mayawati but every government is expected to utilize all the resources of the State for the development of the people. But it has not happened for last many years. According to Sudha Pai “There is evidence that the conditions of the poorer sections in U.P. which include the major chunk of the Dalits have become worse during the 1990s. The National Human Development Report (NHDR) has pointed out the poor conditions of life in comparison with many other states. The State’s position in terms of Human Development Index was 29th in 1981 and has fallen to 31 out of 32 states (NHDR 2001:140-41). Similarly the Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure registered a fall in the State between 1993-94 and 1999-2000; that this is due to a drastic reduction in the consumption expenditure on food between two periods clearly suggest deterioration in the standard of living. This down slide took place when the B.S.P. supported by B.J.P. was in power in U.P. for the most part (National Herald, Lucknow May 1, 2002). Despite the fact that the BSP. had formed a government twice during the 1990s and was again in power with the support of the Bhartiya Janta Party, the conditions of Dalits have not improved according to the draft proposals of the Tenth Five Year Plan (Jha, 28 December, The Times of India, New Delhi-2002). The BSP did not put forward any policies for improving the socioeconomic conditions of the subaltern sections of the Dalits. The emphasis has been on political empowerment only.”
It is well known that Mayawati did not take up any development agenda during all her tenures of Chief Minister ship. During the elections BSP never came out with an election manifesto. This was done purposely. Because declaration of an agenda being about the responsibility of implementing it and failure to do so invites public wrath. Mr. Kanshi Ram, the mentor of Mayawati, attracted Dalits by promising to fulfill the incomplete mission of Dr. Ambedkar but cleverly he never defined it in writing. “First capture political power and then any work” was the promise given by BSP. In the beginning, Dalits were instigated against higher castes by raising emotional and non-material issues but later on all sorts of unprincipled and opportunistic alliances were made to get political power. All the principles of Ambedkarism were thrown to winds and dalits were exploited emotionally in the name of caste. Personal ambitions were pursued in place of Dalit issues. This unprincipled, non developmental and corrupt politics has resulted in poverty, unemployment and backwardness of the people of U.P. and the Dalits at large.
Now it will be pertinent to see on what items the budget money was spent during this period. It has been found that major part of budget was spent on non-development projects. It is noticeable that 90 % of Cultural Department and about 40 % of Public Works Department budget was spent on parks, memorials and statues. What ever money was spent on welfare programmes, a major apart of it was eaten away by corruption. As such the poor were deprived of any benefit there of. The main cause of it has been the personal greed and corruption of Mayawati which may land her in jail in the near future. She has spent a major portion of state budget on installing statues, making parks and creating memorials. Along with the statues of Dr. Ambedkar and some other Dalit icons she has installed her own statues along with her mentor Kanshi Ram. She seems to have taken inspiration from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Ill. She has made history by installing her own statues as a living person. According to available information she has spent more than 3,000 crores of Rupees on statutes and parks. These statues and memorials are so grand and costly which can put any king or queen to shame. According to one German scholar Maren Schempp, “Mayawati is building her own Rome.” Another scholar has labeled it as a criminal waste of public money.
Now Mayawati is ruling the State for the fourth time and she proclaims to be the savior of Dalits. In the face of this claim it will be proper to see what she has done to for the upliftment of Dalits of U.P. According to 2001 Census Report the population of Dalits in U.P. is 3.51 crores which is 21.2 % of State population and is the largest in whole of India. Ordinarily it is expected that in a state where a Dalit Chief Minister has occupied the chair for the fourth time, the Dalits of that state might have benefited much from her rule. But the ground reality is totally to the contrary. At present U.P. dalits are the most backward in whole of India leaving aside the Dalits of Orissa and Bihar. According to 2001 Census Report the Male- Female sex ratio of U.P. dalits is 900 whereas the national average of Dalits is 936. Similarly the literacy rate of U.P. Dalits is 46.3 % (Male 60.3 and Female 30.5 Percent) against the national average of 54.7 percent (Male 66.6 and Female 41.9 %). According to above Census report out of 1.33 crore children between the age of group 5-14 yeas only 58.3 lacs ( 56.4 % ) were going to school.
According to above census Report among total workers U.P. has got 42.5 % dalits working as Agriculture Labourers against the national average of 45.6 %. The percentage of U.P. dalits below poverty line is about 50 %. In U.P. Work Participation Rate of Dalits is 34.7 % which is lower than the national average. Being a dominantly agriculture based society land is an important source of production. In U.P. the number and size of land holdings with dalits is very small but land reforms have not been given proper priority in the State. What ever land was given to the landless, most of it is under illegal possession of higher castes and Mayawati cannot afford to annoy them as they form an important part of her Sarvjan (all included) followers.
On account of feudal social set up caste discrimination and practice of untouchability are the main factors behind atrocities against Dalits in U.P. Their number is highest in whole of India. A decrease in atrocities and prompt action against the offenders is the general expectation from Mayawati but the reality is totally otherwise. During 2001 Mayawati in order to keep her crime figures low issued a written order suspending the use of Scheduled Cases and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities ) Act but was forced to withdraw the same in 2003. This had a very adverse effect on dalits. The atrocities continued to be perpetrated but their cases were not being registered by police. Besides this, the practice of untouchability is quite prevalent in midday meals in Primary Schools, Anganwari Centres and government hospitals but very little action is taken at government level. Thus Dalits continue to suffer under Mayawati’s rule. They have not experienced any empowerment material or otherwise.
“The statues serve as a source of inspiration for dalits” is the argument put forward by Mayawati for justifying her idolization. But this argument is quite contrary to the philosophy of Dalit icons. Let us see what Dr. Ambedkar said in a letter published in Bombay Chronicle in 1916. Following the death, in 1915, of Pherozeshah Merwnjee Mehta, one of the founders of Indian National Congress, and of Gopal Krishana Gokhle, another Congress leader and founder of Servants of India society, Ambedkar notes: “The memorial for Gokhle is to take the form of establishing branches of Servants of India Society at various places, while that of Sir P.M. Mehta is to stand in the form of a statue before the Bombay Municipal Office.” While appreciating the memorial for Gokhle, Ambedkar records his dismay over a statue for Mehta being “very trivial and unbecoming.” He is “at pains to understand why this memorial cannot be in a form that will be “of permanent use to posterity.”. He suggests that the memorial should be a public library named after Mehta. Drawing from his experience at “one of the biggest universities in the U.S., Ambedkar laments how we have not yet “realized the value of the library as an institution in the growth and advancement of society.”
Later, Dr. Ambedkar acted on these principles when he had the opportunity. He was driven by the belief that education was the greatest weapon for advancement. He founded “People’s Education Society” in 1944; three branches of Siddharth College beginning 1946; and Milind Mahavidhyalya in 1950. With a view to benefit the maximum number of students he established colleges in Bombay and Marathwar which is the most backward area in Maharashtra.
It is true that statues serve as source of inspiration but this role is very limited. The lasting inspiration comes by following their ideals and propagating their philosophy. But Mayawati has done hardly any thing in this direction. If the money spent on statues had been spent in establishing educational institutions in the name of dalit icons, it would have brought a qualitative change in the society.
From the brief above discussion it transpires that the emancipation of dalits can be achieved not by installation of statues but by working out a Dalit development agenda and implementing it honestly. In stead of spending crores on the statues, establishing educational institutions, hospital, libraries and useful institutions in the name of Dalit icons will be a true honour and memorial to them.
SR Darapuri, is a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer (former Inspector General (IG) of Police), Vice-President of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), UP, and also represents the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and Lok Rajniti Manch (People's Politics Front). Email: srdarapuri@yahoo.co.in
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