Dalit News from Kerala

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article110985.ece

Nitish reaches out to Maha Dalits
Staff Reporter

PTI

The Bihar Assembly elections may be more than six months away, but the
major political parties in the State have begun gunning for the
crucial ‘Maha Dalit’ vote-bank.

The Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP) held a “Dalit unity” rally here in
December last. At a “Maha Dalit Unity” rally, organised by the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) here on Sunday, Janata Dal (United)
leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar urged the Maha Dalit community
to remain united and vigilant against divisive forces.

“Please do not think that our government is doing you a great favour
by launching so many development schemes for your benefit. It is your
right after having suffered centuries of oppression,” he said.

Attacks Paswan

In a veiled reference to LJP supremo Ram Vilas Paswan, Mr. Kumar said:
“There is this leader who is bent on defaming me and who asks for my
resignation practically every day. I would appeal to these people to
stop indulging in baseless slander and instead engage in some
constructive work for the uplift of the Backward Classes.”

As of now 21 Backward Castes, with the exception of the Paswan
community, have been included in the Maha Dalit caste list.

Mr. Kumar reiterated the government’s desire to include the Paswan
community in the list to enable it to avail itself the benefits given
to Maha Dalits.

“We have no intention of leaving anybody out. In fact, it is my
fervent wish that a study of the Paswan community be carried out so as
to pinpoint the avenues for their development,” he said.

Referring to the recent constitution of the Maha Dalit Development
Committee, Mr. Kumar said the State government had appointed ‘Vikas
Mitras’ to oversee the development of the community.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi also spoke.

___Polonnaruwa Ruins, Sri Lanka

http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/80398/SRI-LANKA–Di-t%C3%ADch-Ph%E1%BA%ADt-Gi%C3%A1o—Polonnaruwa-ruins

Just north of present-day Polonnaruwa town, 140km (90 miles) north of Kandy, are the ruins of ancient Polonnaruwa, which date from the late 10th century, when the Chola kings of southern India invaded Sri Lanka and conquered Anuradhapura. The invaders moved their capital to Polonnaruwa, strategically located for defence against attacks from the unconquered Sinhala kingdom of Ruhuna, in the southeast (which has lent its name to Sri Lanka’s most visited national park). Their defences ultimately proved inadequate and in 1070 they were forcibly evicted from Polonnaruwa by the Sinhalese ruler Vijayabahu 1. Recognizing, however, that Anuradhapura’s location made it vulnerable to any assault from southern India, he and his successors made their capital at Polonnaruwa, adding enormous temples,palaces, parks, gardens and huge tanks. By the 13th century AD, however, new waves of attacks from southern India forced the Sinhalese kings to abandon the north of the island, and the kingdoms of Kotte in the southwest (near modern Colombo), and Kandy, in the highlands, became the centres of Sinhalese power. The ruins of the ancient city stand on the east shore of a large artificial lake, the Topa Wewa Lake, or Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama), created by King Parakramabahu I (1153-86), whose reign was Polonnaruwa’s golden age. Within a rectangle of city walls stand palace buildings and clusters of dozens of dagobas, temples and various other religious buildings. A scattering of other historic buildings can be found to the north of the main complex, outside the city walls and close to the main road to Habarana and Dambulla. To see many of the relics excavated from the site such as the stone lion which once guarded the palace of King Nissanka Malla, or the fine Hindu bronzes unearthed from the ruins of the Siva Devale Temple – you may have to visit the National Museum in Colombo, where they are kept. However, with the opening of the new Polonnaruwa Visitor Information Centre and its museum in 1998/9 some of the key exhibits were scheduled to return to the place where they were discovered. http://www.lanka.com/sri-lanka/polonnaruwa-sri-lanka.html To unsubscribe from my mailing list, please send an email to : kamal.rajapakse

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UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS

Dr. Ambedkar Centre for Economic Studies

DISCUSSION ON "SOCIAL EXCLUSION"

Date: 30th July 2010

Time: 4.30 to 5.45 pm

Speaker: Dr. A. Karuppiah

Professor and Head

Department of Sociology

University of Madras

Venue: Periyar Arangam

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M. Thangaraj

Coordinator

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/106581/India/dalit-students-tortured-in-mayawatis-state.html

Dalit students tortured in Mayawati’s state

Rajat Rai
Lucknow, July 25, 2010

In a state ruled by a Dalit chief minister, atrocities against the
community is on the rise.

At a school at Bhartana in Etawah district of Mayawati’s Uttar
Pradesh, four Dalit students were allegedly brutally beaten up by the
principal and other school staff.

Late on Friday, hostellers Ankit, Dharmendra, Hari Babu, Rakesh (all
Dalits) and Ravi, the students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Samho,
approached the local media with their tales of woes. While Rakesh was
hit on his private parts, Ankit was tonsured and paraded in the
hostel.

According to the victims, Ravi, a Class X student, had misplaced his
mobile phone and Dharmendra and Hari Babu (Class XII students) who
found it, kept it with them. Ankit and Rakesh came to know of this and
began threatening Dharmendra and Hari Babu that they would inform
hostel warden G. K. Sharma, alias Mishra ji, about it.

"But Mishra ji got wind of this and took the mobile from us,"Dharmendra said.

On Friday, Rakesh told Ravi that Mishra ji had his mobile phone and
the students approached the warden to claim it. But the warden did not
return the phone and took all five students to the principal instead.

"The principal, S. K. Tiwari, and other teachers and staff of the
school thrashed us brutally," Hari Babu said.

Ankit said the principal pulled him by his hair and got his head
shaved. "He (the principal), the warden and other teachers, paraded me
in the hostel saying it will send a message to other erring students,"
he said.

Rakesh, who claimed he sustained injuries to his private parts during
the beating, said: "We were made to lie on the ground and beaten as
though we were animals."

Rakesh was taken to a private hospital in Lucknow. The medical report
issued by the hospital says Rakesh had "swelling of testes". Hari Babu
and Ankit, too, alleged the behaviour of the school staff was
different towards Dalit students. "We are often physically harassed
for simple reasons such as not switching off the lights in our rooms
or wearing sullied shirts," Hari Babu said.

The principal, however, said he administered corporal punishment to
the students as they were involved in acts of indiscipline.

He admitted, though, that it was "wrong" hitting the students.

"Rakesh was suffering from hydrocele," Tiwari said, while referring to
the student’s allegations.

The district administration has taken up the matter. "I have talked to
students and have received some serious complaints.

We are inquiring into the matter and action will be taken if the
allegations are proved,"subdivisional magistrate A. K. Awasthi said.