http://www.mediavoicemag.com/home-mainmenu-1/cover-story/3820-urban-rules-of-untouchability.html

Several years ago it was reported that there are close to a million missing kids in India. The underworld of metro cities like Mumbai absorb them into their nefarious activities of human trafficking and drugs and crime. Poverty and social disparities born out of caste inequalities force these children into their nightmarish existence. Many of these kids belong to the oppressed and marginalized groups of people.

The New Year celebration in a few weeks will flaunt the obscene show of wealth and pomp of India's new elite through the New Year events and media. Who will take the trouble to reach out and help free just one of these children during this season?

Help us help the children of the marginalized. Go to our website.

www.dalitfreedomnetwork.com

~Joseph

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/interview/article523817.ece

The Indian intelligence agencies say that some of the extremist RSS leaders were directly in bomb attacks in the recent past in Muslim areas.

News stories on extremist hindu groups involved in terrorist activities continue in the national media. These same groups have been accused for carrying on violent attacks against Dalit Christians in different parts of India. Religious extremism of any kind that indulges and condones violence against others is not permissible in democracies.

~Joseph

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video/105552/42/saffron-brigades-terror-plots-exposed.html

View these video clips that expose the terrorist activities of these extremist groups. Members of these groups have now attacked the TV channel that broadcasted this expose.

~Joseph

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article523904.ece

~Joseph

Dalits withdraw kids from school in Kendrapada village

http://www.dailypioneer.com/263528/Dalits-withdraw-kids-from-school-in-Kendrapada-village.html

Pioneer News Service | Kendrapara

The innocent Dalit children have also to bear the brunt of the ongoing tussle between their elders and the upper caste fellow villagers of Karandiapatana Jenasahi under Mehendipur GP of Marshaghai block as their parents have been forced to withdraw their children from the local school fearing the wrath of the upper caste people.

The Dalit students were allegedly abused and misbehaved by the upper caste people recently when they were crossing the village road on way to school.

Sources informed, about 20 Dalits children were forced to take their School Leaving Certificates (SLCs) from Surendra Bidyapitha of Rankal.

The Dalits alleged that their children were debarred from using the road that passed through the houses of upper caste villagers.

Notably, the Dalits are leading a socially boycotted life meted out to them by both the fellow upper caste villagers and its adjoining Rankal village for the last couple of months following a group clash over the digging of earth from a gochar land for construction of a Hanuman temple on February
18.

The police had nabbed 10 upper caste persons for allegedly creating the mayhem, ransacking the houses and injuring 23 Dalits.

Later, the upper caste of Karnadiapatana and Rankal made a decision to socially boycott the Dalits by restricting them from working in their fields. Even they were allegedly debarred from using the road in the area and were threatened with dire consequences.

The Dalit students, having taken SLCs from the Surendra Bidyapitha are said to be Rina Jena Class, I, Ritun Jena, Litu Jena and Jhunubala Jena of Class II, Pradip Jena of Class III, Hemanta Jena, Aliva Jena, Sanghamitra Jena, Purnima Jena and Puspalata Jena of Class IV, Rajalaxmi Jena of Class V, Bhajahari Jena, Tanuja Jena, Lopamudra Jena, Jyotishree Jena, Bikram Jena, Sushil Jena and Biswanath Jena of Class VI.

Some Dalit parents have taken SLCs and have reportedly started admitting their children to Japada School, one-and-half km away from the village, informed a Dalit and Karilopatana ward member Sudhanshu Jena.

When contacted, Surendra Bidyapitha teacher Khageswar Parida admitted that some Dalit students of the Jena Sahi hamlet of Karilopatana village sought SLCs to study in other schools, recently.

Recently, Jajpur MP and Dalit leader Mohan Jena visited Karandiapatana and listened to the grievances of the Dalits.

He has brought the said matter to the notice of the local Tehsildar and district administration to take necessary actions against the upper caste persons for allegedly denying the basic right to education of the Dalit children.

Meanwhile, the Dalits have brought the matter to the notice of the Patkura PS IIC for justice.

When contacted, IIC Alok Ranjan Roy stated he has been conducting investigation.

~Joseph

http://www.sfexaminer.com/world/what-is-your-caste-potential-census-question-exposes-sensitive-divide-in-indian-society-95006229.html

~Joseph

*** From Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Dear friends,

Time has come to launch a fullfledge war against India's hidden apartheid against the Dalits.
A teacher who happened to belong to a Dalit community committed suicide today in Himachal Pradesh after humiliation from his upper caste colleague. Here is a Times of India Report..

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Dalit-teacher-kills-self-after-insult-by-colleague/articleshow/5959413.cms

The first point is to expose and express outrage at such assault which are regular..Ask for special trial even when media will not give it much importance like Jessica Lal and Ruchika Girhotra case as here the culprits are caste Hindus..

regards,

Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Dalit teacher kills self after insult by colleague
Anand Bodh, TNN, May 22, 2010, 03.05am IST

CHANDIGARH: At a time when caste-based census is still being debated, a 50-year-old dalit school teacher ended his life after being allegedly humiliated by an upper caste employee of a school in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. His body was recovered on Thursday.

Chandan Lal of Rinj village was posted as a physical education teacher at a government school and was deputed for census survey. On May 13, Lal along with Kesaru Ram, a lab attendant in the school, had gone for the census survey. Ram belongs to an upper caste community.

According to the police, Kesaru Ram, unaware that Chandan Lal belonged to the scheduled caste, had asked him to spend a night at his house. When he came to know about it, Ram allegedly insulted Chandan Lal for not revealing his caste.

DSP (headquarter), Mandi, Narinder Kumar said according to Chandan Lal's suicide note addressed to a tehsildar, he was not able to bear the humiliation and committed suicide by allegedly consuming some poisonous substance.

"The police will be directed to register a case under the Prevention of Atrocities Act if it is confirmed that there is a caste bias in the case," said Himachal Pradesh secretary for social justice Prem Kumar. "We'll verify the allegations and will take stern action," said Himachal Pradesh minister for social justice and empowerment Sarveen Chaudhary.

See this link from our local Hyderabad newspaper, the Deccan Chronicle:

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/dc-comment/goa-chargesheet-wake-call-281

~Joseph

Yet when Mr. Bachchan told the census enumerators that he does not believe in caste and is an Indian first, did he unwittingly reveal the discomfiture the privileged castes feel in coming to terms with the caste issue in modern India? Surely it is the oppressed people who have the first right to determine if there should be a caste census or not. Their interpretation of present day life vis-à-vis caste discrimination needs serious consideration.

In his defense Mr. Bachchan pointed out that he was married to a Bengali, his brother a Sindhi, his daughter to a north Indian and his son to a south Indian. That qualifies Mr. Bachchan for being a pan Indian. We have not heard anyone in the Bachchan family marrying a low caste or a Dalit!

But he is right about marriage being an important indicator of caste bias. How many forward caste families in the nation can boast of marriage to a low caste or a Dalit or a Scheduled tribe? Dr. Ambedkar saw inter-caste marriages as one final way of doing away with the caste system. Are we embarrassed about the caste question in the census because there is nothing to show in our family line in relation to inter caste marriage?

For now the vision of an inter-caste married, mixed India of Ambedkar is a far away dream. We will wait and see when caste based matrimonial columns cease to exist. Till then caste enumeration should continue to protect those who are constantly humiliated and discriminated.

Read more of my article at the Spero News Forum:

http://www.speroforum.com/a/33198/Bollywood-star-reveals-discomfiture-over-Indias-caste-system

~Joseph

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Caste-in-the-stone-age-/articleshow/5906263.cms

Check it out

~Joseph

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ET-Debate/Caste-discrimination-has-racial-overtones/articleshow/5753231.cms

See the link below.

~Joseph

http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/28/stories/2010032864051200.htm

~Joseph

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/columnists/tina-edwin/Inequitable-development/articleshow/5749202.cms

On April 1, 2010, India established the "Right to Education", but the question remains "What kind of education?" Will it be third class education for third class people and private English schools for the elite classes? It is time the Indian government delivers on English medium education for all people everywhere because that is what the Indian masses, the poor and the Dalits want!!!

Read on...

~Joseph

http://tehelka.com/story_main44.asp?filename=hub030410the_trouble.asp