SC/ST quota in pvt sector: India Inc.
responds
After initial reservations, the private sector has
reportedly started responding positively to the idea of job reservations for SCs
and STs in the private sector. "While a number of industry associations have
come out in support of affirmative action, including job reservations in the
private sector, they have sought more time from the government to discuss the
proposal with their members", said a report in The Indian Express.
Following a meeting of the ministerial group on affirmative action appointed by
the Union government, secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment ministry, Sarita
Prasad wrote to captains of Indian industry explaining the need for affirmative
action and soliciting their suggestions on the subject. Reminding the business
world of its corporate social responsibility, Prasad’s letter stated: "The
future engine of expansion and growth of employment is the private sector and it
should carry with it the marginalised sector of society". The government has
also initiated a direct dialogue with several industrial houses. Reportedly, the
Tata group and the Videocon group of companies are among those that have
responded positively.
Meanwhile, the national commissions for Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes have sought a policy of job reservations in the private sector.
‘’A start can be made with all those economic activities which are getting the
benefit of institutional finance or are being supported by the state in some
other way,’’ said the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes,
Suraj Bhan. The Puthiya Tamizhagam president, K. Krishnasamy, has urged the UPA
government to introduce legislation in Parliament making reservation for SCs/STs
compulsory in private sector units.
Dalits threaten to embrace Islam
They may have no real intentions of converting, but some Dalit groups seem to
have found a new strategy in their struggle for justice: threat to convert to
Islam if the authorities refuse to respond to their demands. Dalits from several
villages of Salem district in Tamil Nadu converged before the district
collectorate last month to publicise their intent to embrace Islam in protest
against the "inaction’’ of the Department of Adi Dravidar Welfare with regard to
issuing house site pattas for lands reportedly identified long back for
constructing group houses for them. A petition submitted by them alleged that it
is because of the resistance of people from the upper caste, who continue to
treat Dalits as "untouchables" and "second class citizens", that the welfare
department was not acting on its own promise. But district authorities said they
were offering an alternate site to the Dalits as the site earlier promised had
run into legal hurdles but the Dalits were saying no to the new site. (The
Hindu, December 10).
Aluminium matters more than tribals
On December 1, 2004, the Orissa police attacked and critically injured 16
Adivasis (tribals) in Rayagada district. Many, disproportionately women, were
arrested. More than 300 Adivasis and Dalits were targeted for protesting the
creation of a police station and barrack for armed police at Karol village, near
the proposed aluminium plant site of Utkal Alumina International Limited (a
joint enterprise of Aditya Birla Group, and ALCAN, a Canadian company) at
Doraguda. The people were demanding that the state construct healthcare and
education facilities instead. Those injured were dumped in Rayagada jail and
denied hospital care; some were reportedly missing. Armed police, the CRPF and
the Indian Reserve Battalion patrolled the area as thousands gathered, demanding
justice. The government of Orissa has violated its legal and ethical mandate by
suppressing public dissent through police brutality. Why are state police
prioritising the interests of corporations over those of citizens? (The Asian
Age, December 11).
Paraded naked for marrying out of caste
A couple in Manhu village of Khunti subdivision were tonsured and paraded naked
on December 9 for daring to tie the knot last week against their parents’
wishes, as they belonged to different castes. Bishun Ghasi (20), a Dalit,
managed to escape the wrath of a mob showering shoes and blows on him and
informed the police at Torpa, 18 km from here. His wife, Galo, is an Adivasi.
They were receiving threats from the village elders to end their affair or face
social ostracisation. Police today raided the village and lodged an FIR against
10 persons, including the father of the girl, Bagun Munda. Torpa sub-inspector
Ashok Bhagat said four village elders - Bhadrav Pahan, Birsa Pahan, Somar Pahan
and B. Pahan - were arrested. "The village elders did not accept the affair as
the girl belongs to the Adivasi community and the boy to Ghasi. Her parents are
against the affair,’’ Bhagat said. The couple were paraded naked after a meeting
of village elders, police said. (The Indian Express, December 11).
Unicef’s cover girl has a doctor’s
dream
The youngster from Bihar who defined girl power for the entire world when she
became cover girl last year for Unicef’s global report on children has just had
a change in plans. She wants to become a doctor, not a teacher. Lalita Kumar,
18, from the community of Musahars in a village in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district,
became a harbinger of hope for millions of underprivileged children when she
featured on the cover of the UN body’s State of the World’s Children 2004
report. She was the first girl from India to receive the rare honour. The Class
8 student who came to this Bihar capital as chief guest at a Unicef function
says her mission in life continues to be to pursue higher studies. But her final
goal is now to become a doctor and help the poor. "If I get the opportunity to
pursue higher studies after completing Class 10, I will try to become a doctor
to help the poorest of the poor in the rural belt," said the Dalit girl, who
managed to pull herself out of her straitened life to not only dream big but
also go about achieving those dreams. "It was Unicef that gave me confidence and
courage," said Lalita in an interview. (IANS, The Asian Age, December
13).
‘Atrocities against SC, STs declining’
Atrocities against those belonging to the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled
Tribes (SC/ST) were on the decline in the state, particularly in the district,
claims D. Karthikeyan the collector, Erode district, Tamil Nadu. Inaugurating a
seminar, ‘Protection of Civil Rights and Prevention of Atrocities Act’, in
Erode, the collector said that the government had been providing compensation to
the victims. Cases seeking compensation were coming down every year, he noted.
According to figures provided by him, while in 1999-2000, 26 persons were
provided a compensation of Rs. 2 lakh, Rs. 3 lakh was given to 22 of them in
2000-01, Rs. 9 lakh to 94 persons in 2001-02, Rs. 1.25 lakh to 11 in 2002-03 and
Rs. 11.80 lakh to 59 persons in 2003-04. In the current financial year, of the
Rs. 4 lakh sanctioned for compensation, the need arose only for Rs. 1.65 lakh,
which had been given to victims. Urging members of the Scheduled Caste Vigilance
Committee to ensure that the provision was not misused, he warned that stringent
action would be initiated against those who indulged in atrocities against SC
and STs. The district’s superintendent of police, P. Balasubramanian, said that
the atrocities had come down drastically due to awareness. (The Hindu,
December 18).
Dalits ask Sonia for Andhra quota bill
Dalits from Andhra Pradesh, led by Congress MP Sarvey Satyanarayana, met
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and urged her to ensure that a legislation was
brought in the ongoing winter session of Parliament. The bill is required in the
wake of the Supreme Court striking down the categorisation of reservation for
Dalits. This assumes significance in the backdrop of the Supreme Court ruling on
November 5 proclaiming that only Parliament can pass a law for categorising
reservation for the Dalits. The AP government had issued a government order on
June 6, 1997, classifying the scheduled castes in A, B, C and D categories. An
Assembly resolution was passed on April 22, 1998, and later an ordinance was
promulgated and presidential assent was obtained. Finally, the Andhra Pradesh
Assembly on April 1, 2000, made an act to rationalise reservations in order to
facilitate the categorisation. Mr. Satyanarayana said it was at the instance of
Mrs. Gandhi that the AP Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution on December
10, in order to pave the way for the categorisation of reservations. (The
Asian Age, December 20).
Have Dalit lives no value?
Dalit organisations demand to know why the TN state government adopted a
selective approach to paying ex-gratia to the kin of murder victims. They said
those murdered in Melavalavu, including a panchayat president, were in no
way inferior to Sankararaman, manager of the Kancheepuram Varadaraja Perumal
Swamy temple, who was killed recently. Then why did the government choose to
compensate the loss of just this one person and ignore families of hundreds of
murdered Dalits, they asked. Addressing presspersons in Chennai on Dec. 23,
representatives of the Ambedkar Makkal Sabhai, the Makkal Thamizhagam and the
All-India Ambedkar Makkal Viduthalai Munnani said a similar compensation should
be paid to those killed in the Tamirabarani firing. This incident happened
during the DMK regime, but merely because of that the families should not be
denied adequate compensation. (The Hindu, December 24).
Pension for tribals over 60
The West Bengal government has decided to pay a monthly pension of Rs. 500 to
tribals past 60 and living below the poverty line. In the first phase, the
scheme will be launched in 50 blocks of Burdwan, Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia and
West Midnapore that have been identified by the Centre for its Integrated Tribal
Development Project. If it is a success, the government will bring more areas
under it. A study to identify tribals over 60 has begun in Burdwan and will be
carried out in the other districts subsequently. "We want to start paying the
pension from this financial year. We have asked the district magistrates to
carry out a survey to identify tribal people over 60 years of age," said
Bilasibala Sahis, the minister of state for backward classes welfare. Officials
of her department said according to a rough estimate, there are about five lakh
tribals in the area covered by the central project. Of them, over 50,000 are
over 60. (The Telegraph, December 27).
Dalits irked by Rajasthan CM
Accusing the Rajasthan chief minister, Vasundhara Raje, of being "totally
inaccessible" to Dalits ever since she assumed office, Dalit organisations in
the state have approached the governor, Pratibha Patil, seeking her intervention
to ensure justice to Dalits and stop caste-based discrimination. Representatives
of Dalit organisations led by the chairperson of Centre for Dalit Rights, PL
Mimroth, met Ms. Patil here on December 29 and charged that the administrative
machinery in the state was insensitive to the plight of Dalits who were the
victims of endless atrocities. He said Ms. Raje had shown no willingness to
listen to the grievances of Dalits during the past one year. The delegation of
Dalits urged the governor to direct the state government to take steps for
strict implementation of laws protecting the Scheduled Castes and Tribes and
ensure their access to the means of livelihood by safeguarding their share in
land, water, wealth and capital. Mimroth said those belonging to so-called
higher castes had grabbed the Dalits’ lands at several places. (The Hindu,
December 31).
|