'A case of arson has been filed against 25 people from the Dalit community in Alur in Karnataka’s Hassan district, for allegedly setting on fire the home of the accused in the murder case of a 45-year-old Dalit man Ramu. Ramu was murdered on November 15 allegedly for trying to break up a fight between two people from Alur. At the time, the Alur Police had registered a case of murder against Mahesh and three others from his family. On the night of the murder, Mahesh’s house was set on fire and the police have now booked 25 people from the Dalit community for arson.
'The huge stone wall, reportedly built to isolate the arunthathiyar community, collapsed early Monday after incessant rains in Mettupalayam in Tamil Nadu... Seventeen people, including three children and 11 women of A T Colony in Mettupalayam of Coimbatore district, were crushed to death after a huge wall constructed by a local textile shop owner belonging to a dominant caste fell down on the houses on the early hours of Monday. Four houses were totally damaged in the incident.
'The assault on Dalit gender equality activist Bindu Ammini, by a fervent Ayyappa devotee, reveals the fragility of the Hindu nationalist male ego and a deals a chink to the Hindutva armour... Like other nativist and anti-pluralist projects, Hindutva is premised upon the restoration of a primeval order that involves the dominance of man over woman, father over son, savarna over avarna, avarna over Dalit, fair skin over dark, state over subjects, religion over law, priest over devotee, teacher over student.
'Amitbhai Jerambhai Parmar, a dalit RTI activist and social worker was attacked reportedly by men belonging to upper caste while he was returning to his home at Khopala village in Gadhada taluka, Botad. At around 2.30 pm on November 25, Parmar was attacked by at least three men, who left him grievously injured. Parmar who has undergone surgery on his right hand at Bhavnagar civil hospital is awaiting surgery for his legs—fractured due to the attack. An FIR was filed at the Gadhada police station after Parmar was admitted to the hospital.
'...A little more than a month after the horrific double murder of the Dalit father and son, their family members face more threats of violent action. While the case is pending in the courts, the accused and the victims’ families in the village of Shirol in Mudhol taluk, Bagalkot district, are forced to live within spitting distance of each other. The accused meanwhile are out on anticipatory bail... Angered that they were being instructed by a lower caste man, a group of men allegedly came to their house that evening, beat up both men and women of the family and destroyed their things.
'The rampant use of the draconian National Security Act (NSA) by the Uttar Pradesh government, which is being used a weapon for harassment, has consumed one more life in the state. In an incident that went largely unreported nearly a month ago, a dalit man allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison in Shabbirpur village under Badgaon police station of Saharanpur district. His family family members claimed that he was depressed over not being able to produce himself in the court regularly... “Sonu used to work in someone else's farm. There was no money to feed the children.
'The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has expressed displeasure over the release of 13 convicts in connection with the Melavalavu massacre case, and has directed the Tamil Nadu government to produce before it copies of the government orders pertaining to their release, ANI reported... In the village of Melavalavu, Madurai, following the election of a Dalit to the village council presidency, members of an upper caste Hindu (Kallars) group murdered six Dalits in June 1996.
'A 37-year-old Dalit construction worker in Punjab’s Sangrur has died after he was beaten over a dispute earlier this month, reported The Tribune. On November 7, Jagmail Singh was tied to a pillar and beaten by four upper caste men. When he asked for water, he was forced to drink urine. Subsequently, he was admitted in a hospital in Chandigarh and both his legs had to be amputated to prevent the spread of infection as the injuries that he sustained were severe...'
'A Dalit youth was allegedly stripped and beaten at a roadside eatery at Sabarmati Toll Naka in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on Sunday by a group of men while another was assaulted, The Indian Express reported. The incident took place at around 7.30 PM when two Dalit youths PragneshParmar and Jayesh arrived at the restaurant. An argument ensued and the owner, along with other people, started beating the two youths with sticks.
'“It was not my intention to hurt their sentiments” begins the ‘clarification’ that yet another Indian academician has been forced to issue on one of her well-researched writings. Vinodini Madasu, senior assistant professor of Telugu at the Yogi Vemana University in Andhra Pradesh, is the latest addition to the long and growing list of academics under attack from conservative elements... She is considered a powerful Dalit-feminist voice in literary circles and among activists. Her interventions are based on rigorous research and her lived experience...
