'The judgment of the Supreme Court in the Raj Bala case deals a near fatal blow to the health of the Indian democracy. In essence, the court has held that those who have no formal education, those who have no “functioning toilet” and those who are in rural indebtedness cannot contest an election for the position of sarpanch. The judgment effectively disenfranchises – and it recognises this – 68% of Scheduled Caste women, 41% of Scheduled Caste men and over 50% of all women in Haryana from contesting a panchayat election.
'From relative anonymity to becoming the subject of a campaign to free him, Kovan, a small-town anti-liquor campaigner based in Trichy, Tamil Nadu is now being seen as a symbol of the state’s abuse of power against an individual.
'The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has taken cognizance of the "indecent" remarks made by Haryana's Health Minister Anil Vij against IPS officer Sangeeta Kalia and has sought a report from the state Chief Secretary in the matter. Slamming Vij's "get out" remarks against the woman officer, the Commission's member Ishwar Singh said on Saturday that he has sought a report from the Haryana government within a week.
'Members of the upper-caste Jat community smeared cow dung on the face of a Dalit family residing in Mujadpur village in Haryana’s Hisar district on Sunday. Cow dung was forcibly stuffed inside the mouth of the head of the Dalit family, Ramdhari, who along with his daughter were also beaten in the melee. Tension gripped the village following the incident. The provocation was over a statue of Bhim Rao Ambedkar that the Dalit family had installed at their house.
'The strident campaign against cow slaughter will have an adverse impact on the leather industry, which employs close to 2.5 million people, mostly Dalits... There is no cause to believe that the decisive defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s communal and caste politics in Bihar will mean an end to its vicious campaign against cow slaughter. The online threat from a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) official’s twitter handle to retailers to stop selling goods made of cow hide is clear evidence.
'Citing 'rising intolerance' in the country, noted Kannada litterateur and social activist Devanur Mahadeva on Saturday said he would be returning his Padma Shri and Sahitya Akademi awards. He said returning of these awards now was only a gesture as he would be unable to return the indirect benefits he has enjoyed from these awards and feels constricted for it.
'One of the largest rights organizations working against caste discrimination and caste crimes, CasteWatchUK, has announced it would be participating in the demonstration against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be held on November 12 at Downing Street. A protest call by organizations like the Awaaz, South Asia Solidarity Group would have been well attended but with CasteWatchUK’s announcement that it would also be protesting against Modi visit it is being speculated that it would be a massive protest in thousands.
'Although I do not believe that awards are a measure of the work we do, I would like to add the National Award for Best Screenplay that I won in 1989 to the growing pile of returned awards. Also, I want to make it clear that I am not returning this award because I am “shocked” by what is being called the “growing intolerance” being fostered by the present government. First of all, “intolerance” is the wrong word to use for the lynching, shooting, burning and mass murder of fellow human beings.
'The Hindu notions of purity and pollution, inextricably linked with the caste system and the practice of untouchability, underlie the unsanitary practices in Indian society. These beliefs perpetuate the oppression of the “polluted castes,” who are forced to undertake manual scavenging, unclog manholes and clean other people’s filth. The availability of cheap Dalit labour to do these dehumanising jobs can be cited as one of the reasons why development of toilet facilities and a modern garbage and sewage management system have been neglected so far.
'The gloves are off in the election campaign for Bihar, where BJP president Amit Shah created a hugely controversial moment today when he said at a rally that "fire crackers will be burst in Pakistan if the BJP is defeated in Bihar." Rival parties criticised the comment as yet another attempt by the BJP to turn the election into a "majority vs minority battle". KC Tyagi of the Janata Dal United told NDTV, "The BJP had started the campaign with talk about development. But as it has started trailing it has decided to totally communalise the campaign."
