Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 21.10.11
Three TV channel staffers booked under SC/ST act - IBN Live
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/three-tv-channel-staffers-booked-under-scst-act/195019-60-121.html
Dalits from two villages boycott elections - The Times Of India
For first time, Dalits of Madurai village vote in local body polls - The Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/article2554384.ece
Dalit family embraces Islam, media loses objectivity - Two Circle
http://twocircles.net/2011oct16/dalit_family_embraces_islam_media_loses_objectivity.html
IBN Live
Three TV channel staffers booked under SC/ST act
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/three-tv-channel-staffers-booked-under-scst-act/195019-60-121.html
Express News Service , The New Indian Express
HYDERABAD: A case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was registered against three employees of a private television channel on Thursday following a complaint by a former cameraman. Ch Balaswamy, cameraman, lodged a complaint with the Banjara Hills police against input editor Vasudevan, principal editor Sai and reporter Shyam of the TV channel. He told the police that he was being harassed by the trio for the past two months. He was also abused in the name of his caste by them.
Balaswamy also said he was beaten up by the trio for covering the separate Telangana agitation. He said that when he had complained to the management of the TV channel, it did not take any action against the trio. Later, Balaswamy was removed from service without prior intimation.
The Times Of India
Dalits from two villages boycott elections
Padmini Sivarajah, TNN | Oct 21, 2011, 05.19AM IST
MADURAI: While the second phase of polling was in full swing throughout Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, voters in the villages of Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar preferred to keep away as their demands had not been heeded to.
The people of M Pacheri in Mandalamanickam panchayat near Kamudhi in Ramanathapuram district did not vote en masse, protesting the murder of a plus two student on September 9 and also the Paramakudi shooting.
Selvam (name changed) said that the Paramakudi firing incident proved that dalits had no protection in this society.
T Palanikumar (17) was hacked to death by a gang when he was returning after participating in a village festival in the neighbouring Virudhunagar district on September 9. "Throughout our lives we have lived with people looking down on us as untouchables and now atrocities against us are on the rise," he said.
These villagers including Thangavel and Bhuvaneswari had demanded a CBI enquiry into the murder where non-dalits had allegedly murdered the boy for his derogatory remarks about their leader Pasumpon Thevar. The Mandalamanickam police apprehended five persons, but the people want justice by having everyone involved being arrested.
None of them turned up from the first ward of the Mandalamanickam panchayat, which has a total of 859 voters, including 439 women. Agents and booth officials waited till 5 pm before wrapping up the ballot boxes.
Rajan another villager, questions why they should vote when the non-dalits who dominate Mandalamanickam are the deciding force as far as the panchayat is concerned. "The place where we (dalits) reside is easily recognizable by its bad road and drainage conditions, when compared to the other parts," he said.
Meanwhile, in the reserved panchayat of Kilavikulam in Virudhunagar district, the people of Muthanadhi village decided to stay away. Out of the 847 voters, only three voted, with 844 of them staying away.
Though the lack of basic amenities was said to be a reason for this boycott, some people say that the internal caste issue is the problem. They said that the panchayat was dominated by the Thevar voters of about 850, who were constantly making a man from the Arundhadiar community the panchayat president and preventing the other schedule castes to head the panchayat.
The Hindu
For first time, Dalits of Madurai village vote in local body polls
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/article2554384.ece
D. Karthikeyan
They could vote freely in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections but had to plead and fight for their right to exercise their franchise in local body polls.
The Dalits (Pallars) of Gramapatti village in Kovilankulam panchayat under Chellampatti panchayat union near here finally got to vote in the panchayat elections for the first time in four decades.
According to a section of the Dalits, the local elite's dominance, in the form of caste control by the dominant Piramalai Kallars, was the reason why they never got a chance to vote. The Dalits could not be assertive as they were dependent on the caste Hindus for work.
However, for the first time, the whole village, with a population of 200 belonging to 60 families with 71 votes, cast its vote at the polling station in Government Kallar Middle School, Kovilankulam, thanks to the efforts of District Collector U. Sagayam.
P. Deiva Lakshmi (28) of Gramapatti represented the injustice meted to Dalits at the grievance day on October 10 at the Collectorate. The Collector asked the Block Development Officer of Chellampatti union to immediately look into the issue and make arrangements for the villagers to vote.
"I really cannot remember the last time our villagers cast their votes in the panchayat elections," said Ms. Lakshmi. "We also made an appeal to the Collector to shift the polling station, which is five km away from our colony, to the nearby village, which is two km away. Since the arrangements were already made, it was difficult to change the station but the officials promised to consider the request next time."
The village does not have a proper pathway. There is no ration shop and residents have to travel six km to Nathampatti for buying essentials. They do not have a cremation ground, street lamps, cement roads or community hall.
P. Veeran (32), a construction worker, said that every time the Dalits went to vote in the panchayat elections they were informed by the caste Hindus that their votes had been cast in the "proper manner," and hence they could go back to the village.
The villagers, while feeling elated about the fact that they had cast their vote, harboured the fear that they could be attacked any time by the dominant castes for taking up the issue with the Collector and the police, said Kasi Mayan, a social worker.
Two Circle
Dalit family embraces Islam, media loses objectivity
http://twocircles.net/2011oct16/dalit_family_embraces_islam_media_loses_objectivity.html
Submitted by admin4 on 16 October 2011 - 2:32pm
By Rehan Ansari, TwoCircles.net,
Mumbai: Mainstream media once again lost objectivity in reporting Islam and Muslims. A Dalit family of five living in a Mumbai suburb converted to Islam after studying its teachings. The neighbors of their community retaliated violently and attacked the family leading to a communal clash as the family called Muslim neighbors for help.The media covered the incident as a communal clash relying wholly on police version. None bothered to reach the family.
This is the story of a Dalit family, living in Valmiki Nagar in Bandra, a western suburb of Mumbai.
Mumbai Dalit family showing their wounds they received in attack by Dalit neighbors after they announced their conversion to Islam "We converted to Islam because of its teachings and we do not have any affair with Muslim boys nor were we forced to convert" said Harsha Anil Dagao,7, Jagruti, 15 and Gauri, 13. These three minor girls reverted to Islam along with their family and renamed as Zohra, Sadiya and Iqra. They added, "We studied Quran and Fazaile Aamal in Hindi and believed that Islam is the true religion."
"We have been brutally assaulted by the people of our community even Police arrested us for rioting but we will not leave Islam" exclaimed Zohra and her two sisters who were later released on bail by the ourt.
Dayawati Dagao, mother of these juvenile girls is also reverted to Islam and named Aisha. She was arrested too and granted bail later by the court. Anil Dagao, the father of these girls, who was also studying Islamic literature converted to Islam after the incidence.
The clash began when the Dalit family who had converted to Islam were being targeted and beaten up brutally by their community people.
situation turned violent when a few Muslims living in the area tried to interfere in the matter when approached by the victim Dalit family. But covering the incident, the media forgot the basics of journalism –to take the view of all parties. They relied on police version of the
incident and published their stories. Here are a few.
Times of India screamed, "Affair sparks clash, 5 cops among 14 hurt."Reporter went on with his story, "The girl, who lives in a BKC slum along with her two sisters and mother, had a elationship with a boy living in the vicinity and planned to marry. However, members of her
community had reservations and this led to tension between the two groups."
Free Press Journal reported, "Cops state that the unrest was triggered after a blossoming love affair between a Dalit girl and a Muslim youth came to the fore."Mumbai Mirror reported, "Police say the cause of the clash was that two people, from different communities, were having an affair. When the girl's parents found out, they assaulted the boy. Later, the boy brought a few friends along and retaliated, which led to an escalation of tension and violence."
Indian Express reported, "The clashes occurred when members of one community objected to a girl's alleged relationship with the boy of the other community."
No reporter even bothered to talk to the family and report their quotes.Thirty people including 5 policemen were injured in the clash erupted in the night of October 7, 2011.
--
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
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Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre- PMARC has been initiated with the support from group of senior journalists, social activists, academics and intellectuals from Dalit and civil society to advocate and facilitate Dalits issues in the mainstream media. To create proper & adequate space with the Dalit perspective in the mainstream media national/ International on Dalit issues is primary objective of the PMARC.
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