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[1] From: "DALIT MONITOR" <pradip@pwtn.org> Date: Wed Aug 10, 2005 Subject: Dalit Human Rights Monitoring- Peoples Watch-Tamilnadu Dalits demand State SC /ST panel Pioneer News Service/ Kochi Dalit Human Rights Protection Service (DHRPS) office-bearers asked the Kerala Government to constitute an SC/ST Commission in line with the National SC/ST Commission to bring an end to the problems faced by citizens of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The State Government is engaged in double play regarding the setting up of SC/ST commission and there is a lobby working against such a move, they alleged. "Though the Government decided to set up such a commission in 1997, the decision hasn't been realised yet. The State Government gave a statement in the High Court that setting up such a commission is being considered seriously and action will be taken soon. "Four years have passed since that statement was issued and SC/ST citizens are greatly dissatisfied due to that," said NT Prabhakaran, chief coordinator of DHRPS. Fed up with the inaction of the State Government, DHRPS office-bearers visited Congress president Sonia Gandhi and submitted a memorandum to this effect on July 14. They sent copies of the memorandum to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Former Chief Minister AK Antony and Speaker Therambil Ramakrishnan. DHRPS officials said all the leaders neglected their memorandum demanding setting up of a State-level SC/ST Commission. Mr Prabhakaran said SC and ST citizens are denied of their rights in all parts of the State and the setting up of a commission with the power to look into these matters will be a major step in the development of backward communities. Moreover, Public Service Commission fails to report vacancies in the SC/ST category promptly. This results in considerable job loss for these communities, said Mr Prabhakaran. The educational facilities for SC/ST students is also very limited, points out Mr Prabhakaran. "SC/ST students are not able to avail good education facilities and there aren't good hostel facilities for them." Police is also hostile to SC/ST citizens, Mr Prabhakaran said. "Though the Scheduled Castes/Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 requires criminal cases to be registered against atrocities to SC/ST communities, the police officials often fail to implement them. "There have been several incidents of SC/ST citizens being tortured and killed in police custody," he said. Presenting the statistics of torture of SC/ST citizens, he said "According to the government statistics of 2003, out of the 315 women tortured in the State, 165 belonged to SC/ST communities. Of the 165 SC/ST women tortured, 50 were killed. The statistics of other years haven't been made public." Alleging that a lobby is functioning at the Secretariat to see to it that the Central Government funds for the welfare of SC/ST communities are lapsed every year, Mr Prabhakaran said "Not only are the funds made to go lapse, but they are also being diverted for other purposes. The sole aim of this lobby is to prevent the development of SC/ST communities." www.dailypioneer.com 100805 Unemployed SC/ST engineers demand backlog recruitment Tuesday August 9 2005 11:40 IST GULBARGA : The SC/ST unemployed engineers have urged the State government to take immediate steps for the recruitment of backlog vacancies, in the departments of public works and water resources. The Karnataka SC/ST Unemployed Engineers Action Association has decided to launch an indefinite dharna from Aug 11 to pressurise the government to fulfill their demands. Association president B B Chandki said that the statutory requirement was to maintain 18 per cent quota for SC/ STs as the present quota was inadequate. The matter has been brought to the notice of the government and a memorandum was submitted to the Chief Minister through the Deputy Commissioner after a rally here on Aug 1. However, the govererment has not yet responded to their grievance. Of the total backlog posts, the government has not sent a notification for the recruitment of 400 assistant engineers and 200 junior engineers in the PWD and water resources departments. The Association urged the government to send a notification for recruitment of backlog vacancies in many other departments also. www.newindpress.com 100805 Dalits prevented from taking part in Kandadevi festival, says petition Staff Reporter DivisionBench issues notice to the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Devakottai sub-division, returnable by August 16 MADURAI: : A public interest litigation petition moved before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday alleged that the Sivaganga district administration and the police prevented the Dalits from taking part in the Kandadevi car festival on June 21. Admitting the PIL that sought permission to take out a procession against the denial of rights of the Dalits, a Division Bench of Justice K.P. Sivasubramaniam and Justice S.K. Krishnan issued notice to the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Devakottai sub-division, returnable by August 16. A. Ganesan, organiser of the Federation for the Rights on Kandadevi Car Festival,' a body of 25 organisations, said in his petition that the principal seat of the High Court on June 16 had directed the Collector to ensure participation of all Hindus in the car festival of the Swarnamoortheeswarar temple. Subsequently, an Inspector General of Police, 7 Superintendents of Police, 13 Additional Superintendents of Police, 37 Deputy Superintendents of Police, 60 inspectors, 150 sub-inspectors, 2,000 constables and a battalion each from the Tamil Nadu Special Police and the Home Guards were deployed. Preventive arrests He alleged that over 100 Dalits were arrested as a preventive measure and some more detained at Aravayal station. Cases were foisted on these people. Leaders of some parties were also illegally detained for more than 10 hours until the end of the festival. Though the Government claimed that 26 Dalits participated in the festival, only 7 of them were allowed to pull the car. www.thehindu.com 100805 Ex-councillor arrested in caste certificate case Mahesh Sharma Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 9 Acting on a complaint filed by a councillor and advice of the SCBC Welfare Department, the police arrested a former councillor for allegedly getting prepared a caste certificate to get the benefit of reservation for candidates of backward classes in civic body elections held in March 2003. The other accomplices of the accused were yet to be identified. Claiming to be a BJP leader, the accused said he had been falsely implicated in the case. According to Mr Harinder Singh Chahal, Senior Superintendent of Police, Sangrur, Kishori Lal Verma, a former municipal councillor, had been arrested by the police after being booked under Sections 420, 419, 198, 465, 468, 471 and 120 B of the IPC. The accused had been booked on the complaint of Mr Mohamad Yaseen a Congress-supported municipal councillor from ward number 6.Mr Yaseen had objected to the candidature of Mr Verma, who had claimed himself to be belonging to Soni caste that had been declared backward class by the Welfare Department. The candidature of Mr Verma was cancelled by the then SDM Malerkotla and Returning Officer. Mr Yaseen sent a separate complaint for the registration of a criminal case against Mr Verma. The SSP said that during investigation, Mr Rachhpal Singh, DSP, Malerkotla, had sought clarification about the issue of two certificates, mentioning different castes of the same person. The SCBC Welfare Office at Chandigarh had mentioned that it was illegal to get two certificates issued and the person who had tried to take the advantage of the caste certificate should be dealt with according to law. Investigations revealed that Mr Verma had got a certificate for swarankar caste, issued by Tehsildar of Malerkotla on June 28, 2002. The same authority issued him another certificate of Soni caste on February20, 2003 . Mr Verma presented the caste certificate of Soni caste before the returning officer for civic body elected held in March 2003. Though his candidature was cancelled, the complainant urged the police authorities to initiate action against him. www.tribuneindia.com 100805 ------------------ [2] From: "DALIT MONITOR" <pradip@pwtn.org> Date: Wed Aug 10, 2005 Subject: FW: UPDATE (India): Wait for justice continues after ten years; Vacant court denies justice to a handicapped Dalit woman UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM Update on Urgent Appeal 9 August 2005 [Re: UA-07-2005: INDIA : Handicapped torture and rape victim waits ten years for justice. Ms. Hasna Mondal, a handicapped woman, from East Daukimari , District Jalpaiguri, WestBengal is still waiting for the perpetrators to be punished, ten years after the brutal incident. A complaint which was filed the day after the incident, on 28February 1995, was registered by Officer-in-Charge Mr. Gautam Sen, who was involved in Hasna's abuse. For this reason, Hasna was not produced before a magistrate until 1996, until Mr. Sen was transferred and a new investigating officer for her case was appointed. The matter was then transferred to the Sessions Court, Jalpaiguri and pending hearing before the Additional Sessions Judge. And since at present the Additional Sessions Court has no judge, it is now indefinitely delayed. In the meantime, Hasna and her family have been receiving threats to withdraw the case--although she has filed complaints against the threats, the police have typically taken no action.] (See further UA-07-2005) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- UP-93-2005: INDIA : Wait for justice continues after ten years; Vacant court denies justice to a handicapped woman INDIA : Rape; Torture; Impunity; Failure of justice --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received further information on the case of Ms. Hasna Mondal, a handicapped woman from East Daukimari , District Jalpaiguri, West Bengal who is still waiting for her perpetrators to be punished ten years after her brutal torture and rape. Ms. Hasna was tortured and raped on 27 February1995 and a complaint was lodged the next day. As of today, however, her case is indefinitely adjourned, since the court in which her case is to be heard has not had a presiding judge since 26 February 2004 . Even though there were previous appearances on five dates from 4 July 2003 no witnesses were examined and the case has been adjourned ever since. The case now stands posted to 11August 2005, yet there is no hope that the case will be taken up on this date or in the near future. This case exposes the hollowness of the Indian legal system which claims that it sets a precedence for the rest of the legal systems in the world, when in reality justice to the ordinary remains very much a pipedream. Despite the passing of more than ten years the case of Ms. Mondal is yet to be taken up by the court. Ms. Mondal??™s case is just one amongst the several thousand cases pending before various courts in the state of WestBengal and one amongst several hundred thousand pending across the country. The AHRC therefore calls for your urgent intervention in this case. Please send a letter to local authorities and others urging them to immediately take action in this case. All necessary steps must be taken to have Ms. Mondal??™s case heard and decided without any further delay. Please also urge the authorities to ensure that the victim is protected from the perpetrator pending the trial in this case. Urgent Appeals Desk, Asian Human Rights Commission ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRIEF REMINDER OF THE CASE: Name of victim: Ms Hasna Mondal, daughter of the late Mahadeb Mondal, 23-years-old, (13-years-old at the time of incident and studying in class VIII of Daukimari D.N. High School) Place of incident: East Daukimari, Dhupguri Police station, Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, India Alleged perpetrators: 1. Prafulla Sarkar, son of the late Manmohan Sarkar, a local quack doctor 2. Sandhya Sarkar, wife of Prafulla Sarkar 3. Pradip Sarkar, son of Prafulla Sarkar 4. Adhir Sarkar, son of Harmohan Sarkar, Village- Jharalta Gram, Dhupguri 5. Brajeswar Sarkar, East Daukimari , Dhupguri 6. Tapan Singha Roy, driver of car no WGV 2335 7. Bahumulya Sarkar, son of Prafulla Sarkar, village-South Kanthulia, Dhupguri 8. Gobinda Sarkar, East Daukimari, Dhupguri 9. Gautam Sen (deceased), Officer in Charge of the Dhupguri Police station 10. A.K.Saha , the then Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dey.S.P.) of Jalpaiguri 11. C.V.Muraleedhar, the then Superintendent of Police, Jalpaiguri (now promoted to Inspector General of Police) Date of incident: 27February 1995 at about 7:00pm to 28 February 1995 at about 4:30am Hasna Mondal, an orthopaedically handicapped girl (certified by the Government of West Bengal ) belongs to the Scheduled Caste community. On the night of 27 February 1995 , Ms. Hasna was tortured by members of her own village, allegedly to force from her details regarding the whereabouts of the son of Mr. Prafulla Sarkar, Mr. Prabir who had eloped with one of Hasna??™s neighbor. She was then taken to the Dhupguri Police Station where she was further tortured and beaten up. Ms. Hasna was put back into the taxi car in which she was brought to the police station and soon she was gang raped in the car. She was later dragged into an open field and further raped in the cover of darkness. She was abandoned in front of her house by the perpetrators early the next morning. Local villagers were outraged by this incident, and went to the police station the next morning (February 28) to file a complaint. However, the FIR was registered by the same Officer-in-Charge Mr. Gautam Sen who was responsible for torturing her the night before. For the initial inaction by the police to register the case and also due to the willful negligence in investigating it, there was public protest organised by the villagers. The case (No: 15/95) which had been registered under 376(2)(g) and 120B of the Indian Penal code had Gautam Sen as the investigating officer. He was later transferred and Mr Ashim Ghosh took over as the officer-in-charge of the police station and as the investigating officer. It was only then that Hasna was produced before a Judicial Magistrate attached to the District Criminal Court where her statement was recorded under section 164 of the Criminal Penal Code. The charge sheet (no: 67/96) was finally made after the investigations were completed and submitted on 26 December 1996 before the Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate, Jalpaiguri. The matter was then transferred to the Sessions Court of Jalpaiguri and was heard by the 1st Additional Sessions Judge. Since then, all of the witnesses have been examined except for the Investigating Officer. The last witness, Dr Basumata was examined as prosecution witness number 9 on 4 July 2003 . After that the court seems to have been simply assigning dates without any action having been taken. The dates that were fixed for the examination of the investigating officer have been 9August 2003, 9 September 2003 , 5 December 2003 , 22 January2004, 26February 2004, 15 May 2004 , 19 August 2004 , 20 August2004 and 12October 2004. Hasna's examination has also been delayed along similar lines. Furthermore, at present the 1st Additional Sessions Judge court is vacant as the presiding judge has been transferred. This has added further delays to the already prolonged case. The case now stands adjourned to 11August 2005. Ms. Hasna and local human rights groups engaged in fighting the case with her has no expectation that the case will be heard on August 11. In the meantime, Hasna's father passed away, resulting in a reduced income for the family - her sisters and mother are in the business of making bidis (a local substitute for cigarettes). This case reflects how deteriorated the institutions which should be ensuring rule of law in India are. The very fact that the police officer who is duty bound to safeguard citizens' rights and liberty participated in the persecution campaign of the victim and that the very same officer was entrusted with the investigation of the case exposes the fathoms into which the policing of India has fallen. The manner in which the proceedings in the court has been stalled shows how far the judiciary in India is able and willing to safeguard the rights of perpetrators and how few remedies there are in cases of violations. This case also exposes the significant flaws in India ??™s domestic legal system, which evidently is unable to safeguard the rights of innocent victims in cases of torture and other abuses. SUGGESTED ACTION: Please send a letter to the Chief Minister of West Bengal requesting him to take immediate steps to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of this horrific crime against an innocent handicapped girl and also to ensure the safety and protection of the victim and her family. Please also send copies of that letter to those persons listed below. Sample letter: Dear Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Re: INDIA : Handicapped torture and rape victim waits ten years for justice Name of victim: Ms Hasna Mondal, daughter of late Mahadeb Mondal, 23-years-old, (13-years-old at the time of incident and studying in class VIII of Daukimari D.N. High School) Place of incident: East Daukimari, Dhupguri Police station, Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, India Alleged perpetrators: 1. Prafulla Sarkar, son of the late Manmohan Sarkar, a local quack doctor 2. Sandhya Sarkar, wife of Prafulla Sarkar 3. Pradip Sarkar, son of Prafulla Sarkar 4. Adhir Sarkar, son of Harmohan Sarkar, Village- Jharalta Gram, Dhupguri 5. Brajeswar Sarkar, East Daukimari , Dhupguri 6. Tapan Singha Roy, driver of car no WGV 2335 7. Bahumulya Sarkar, son of Prafulla Sarkar, village-South Kanthulia, Dhupguri 8. Gobinda Sarkar, East Daukimari , Dhupguri 9. Gautam Sen (deceased), Officer in Charge of the Dhupguri Police station 10. A.K.Saha , the then Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dey.S.P.) of Jalpaiguri 11. C.V.Muraleedhar, the then Superintendent of Police, Jalpaiguri (now promoted to Inspector General of Police) Date of incident: 27February 1995 at about 7:00pm to 28 February 1995 at about 4:30am I am outraged to hear of the torture and subsequent rape of Hasna Mondal, an orthopaedically handicapped girl belonging to the scheduled caste community of East Daukimari , District Jalpaiguri, WestBengal. I am as equally disturbed that ten years have now passed since this brutal act was committed without the perpetrators having yet been prosecuted or punished. Hasna was abused and violently beaten by Prafulla Sarkar and his family after she denied having any news of Prafulla's son who had eloped with Hasna's classmate. She was then forced into a taxi, and along with Prafulla, his sons and some others was taken to the police station of that jurisdiction where she was further ill-treated by the officer-in charge, Gautam Sen. At around midnight , Prafulla and the others dragged her back to the car, while removing her clothes. Significantly, although this occurred in the police compound, Hasna was not helped by any police personnel. She was then taken to a nearby school field and repeatedly raped by the occupants of the car. She was then left unconscious in front of her house at about 4:30am . Ten years later, the investigating officer and the victim herself have yet to be examined in court. At present there is no judge at the Additional District and Sessions Court and so the case is being delayed even further. It is an absolute outrage that the case has been with the courts for all these years with no justice given to the victim. As you must be aware, this is not the first case where justice has been delayed in West Bengal . I urge you to take immediate steps to ensure that the court case proceeds as quickly and effectively as possible, so that those responsible for the rape and abuse of Hasna are thoroughly punished. I further urge you to give adequate compensation to the victim without waiting for the criminal case to be over and ensure that she and her family are given protection. To ensure that such abuses do not continue in the state of West Bengal as well as throughout India , it is imperative that you pressure the Government of India to ratify the International Convention against Torture (CAT) and implement the convention domestically. Cases such as this, as well as numerous others, give lie to the excuse that India 's existing legislation provides adequate protection against torture and other abuses. Yours sincerely, ---------------------- Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Chief Minister and Minister in Charge of Home (Police) Department Government of West Bengal Writers' Buildings, Kolkata - 700001 West Bengal INDIA Tel: +91 33 2214 5555 (O) / 2280 0631 (R) Fax: +91 33 2214 5480 Email: cm@... SEND A COPY TO: 1. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam President Office of the President Rashtrapati Bhawan , New Delhi, 110004 INDIA Tel: +91 11 3016767 (Joint Secretary), 3014507 (Personal Secretary) Fax: +91 11 3017290, 3014570 Email: presssecy@... or Pressecy@... 2. Shri Justice A. S. Anand Chairperson National Human Rights Commission of India Sardar Patel Bhawan, Sansad Marg New Delhi - 110 001 INDIA Tel: +91 11 2334 0891 / 2334 7065 Fax: +91 11 2334 0016 E-Mail: mailto:chairnhrc@... 3. Justice Shyamal Kumar Sen Chairperson West Bengal Human Rights Commission Bhabani bhavan, Alipore Calcutta-700027 INDIA Tel: +91 33 4797259 / 5558866 Fax: +91 33 4799633 Email: wbhrc@... 4. Prof. Manfred Nowak Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture Attn: Mr. Safir Syed C/o OHCHR-UNOG 1211 Geneva 10 SWITZERLAND Tel: +41 22 917 9230 Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general) 5. Ms. Yakin Erturk Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women OHCHR-UNOG Palais Wilson, 8-14 Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 10 SWITZERLAND Fax: +41 22 917 9022 Thank you. Urgent Appeals Programme Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) --------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list visit http://www.ahrchk.net/phplist/lists/?p=unsubscribe&id=16 To update your preferences visit http://www.ahrchk.net/phplist/lists/?p=preferences&id=16 --------------------------------------------------- Asian Human Rights Commission 19/F, Go-Up Commercial Building, 998 Canton Road, Kowloon, Hongkong S.A.R. Tel: +(852) - 2698-6339 Fax: +(852) - 2698-6367 ------------------------------------------------ [3] From: "DALIT MONITOR" <pradip@pwtn.org> Date: Wed Aug 10, 2005 Subject: FW: INDIA: Human rights activist facing death threats for working with Dalit and Backward Community ulhasdisha URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM 9 Aug 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- UA-138-2005: INDIA: Human rights activist facing death threats for working with Dalit and Backward Community INDIA: Human rights defenders; --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to bring to your immediate attention the situation faced by Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, a human rights activist working for the Dalits and the backward class in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Dr Lenin and his colleagues have been subjected to death threats from the upper castes to stop working for the dalit and backward classes. Dr Lenin has been working in Belwa village, largely to provide education to children from the dalit and backward class who have been denied this right by the upper castes. The state government has not provided schooling for this community despite their long-standing demand. The backward classes and the dalits have also been denied the right to vote. Belwa village and its surrounding areas are known for booth capturing and election related fraud. During the February 2002 election, people from these communities were brutally assaulted when they went to vote. Belwa will hold another election on 17 August 2005. Mr Giri, Dr Lenin's associate has filed his nomination and is expected to be a strong contender due to his popularity amongst the backward community. On August 5, Mr.Rama Sharay Singh called Dr Lenin on his mobile phone (No: 9415810955) and demanded that Mr. Giri withdraw his nomination. Around the same time, Mr.Giri also received death threats in the village where he was working. Once again, on August 7, Mr Singh called up Dr. Lenin and said that if the nomination was not withdrawn, Mr Giri and his family would be shot dead. Dr. Lenin recorded the conversation, made copies of it and is now meeting the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr. Brij Bushan and the District Magistrate, Mr. Gokaran to lodge his complaint. Dr. Lenin has also faxed a complaint to the Chief Minister of the state regarding the incident. In this context, the AHRC requests you to intervene and call upon the Government of India and the State Administration of Uttar Pradesh in particular, to provide full protection to Dr. Lenin, Mr. S. N. Giri and their families. An impartial inquiry into the incident must also be conducted immediately. Please also urge the State Human Rights Commission to conduct an independent inquiry into the incident and make public its report and findings. The district administration should immediately consider the long pending request of the Dalit and backward community of Belwa to open a public school for the children. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Backward Community should also look into the incident, conduct an inquiry into the situation of Dalits and backward community in Uttar Pradesh and recommend effective measures to the State as well as the Central Government in order to put an end to the existing caste based oppression and discrimination. And finally, the State as well as National Election Commission should inquire into the incident and take appropriate action against those who are threatening Mr. S. N. Giri to withdraw his candidature. Urgent Appeals Desk Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) ------------------------------------------------------------- Case Details: Since 2000, Dr. Lenin has been working with the dalits and the backward community in Belwa village, under the jurisdiction of the Phoolpur police station in Varanasi. One of the issues Dr. Lenin focuses on is education for children from the Dalit and backward community and the right to self determination for these community members. Dr. Lenin??™s colleague, Mr. S. N. Giri is also involved in this work. Mr. Giri is an accepted person among the Dalits and the backward community in the village. To provide education to the children from these communities, Dr. Lenin with the help of the benefactor families and with financial assistance from CRY, an international organisation, has started a local school where approximately 200 children receive primary education. It is alleged that the local village head Mr. Ranjedra Thiwari, who has held this position for the last 27 years, is opposed to the presence of this school. Since the post of the village head has been reserved for a woman, Mr. Thiwari??™s wife is holding the post. It is also alleged that Mr. Thiwari in the past has publicly declared that the children from the Dalit and backward community do not have a right to education and that no one from this community has the right to cast their vote in any election. Mr. Thiwari comes from the upper Brahmin caste. It is alleged that owing allegiance to the pressure from the upper caste community, the state government has not provided any school for the lower caste and backward community in this village despite their long pending demand. These children are also not permitted to attend other schools. On 26 August 2003, Dr. Lenin and his colleagues, together with the support from the local lower caste and backward community, organised a protest before the Sub Divisional Magistrate in Varanasi. Dr. Lenin was immediately arrested and detained by the authorities. The Sub Divisional Magistrate also comes from the same caste as Mr. Thiwari. Dr. Lenin was released after four hours of detention following a huge outcry from individuals and groups within the national and international community. This village and its surrounding places are known for booth capturing and election fraud. In 2001, a people??™s tribunal headed by Mr. Justice Sukumaran concluded after a public hearing that there is a clear denial of the right to vote for Dalits and the backward community. The tribunal in its report categorically stated that the police, administration and even the judiciary is biased against the Dalits and the backward community. Belwa was also in the news when there was rampant booth capturing during the 21 February 2002 election in which Mr. Ajay Rai was declared elected to the state legislative assembly. During this election, many people from the Dalit and backward community were brutally assaulted when they came to cast their vote. It is alleged that Mr. Rai is known for his involvement in numerous criminal activities. Belwa will hold another election on 17August 2005. Mr. Giri, Dr. Lenin??™s associate has filed a nomination from Belwa and it is expected that he will be a strong contender in the election owing to his popularity amongst the poor, Dalits and the backward community. On August 5 at about 8 am, a Mr. Rama Sharay Singh called Dr. Lenin on his mobile phone (number 9415810955) and demanded that Mr. Giri withdraw his nomination. Dr. Lenin responded that to file the nomination and to stand for election is Mr. Giri??™s right and that no one can object to that. Around the same time, Mr. Giri also received threats in the village where he was working and therefore immediately went to Dr. Lenin??™s office in Varanasi. At about 8.35 p.m. on August 7, Mr. Singh again called Dr. Lenin on the same number and threatened that if Mr. Giri did not withdraw his nomination, Dr. Lenin and his family and Mr. Giri will be shot dead. This is not the first time that Dr. Lenin and his colleagues have come under the line of fire of the upper castes. On 13 November 2001, Mrs. Durga, an activist associated with Dr. Lenin??™s organisation and her husband Mr. Adya Prasad were attacked by Mr. Thiwari and his armed men. A month ago, on October 23, Dr. Lenin and his wife Mrs. Shruti were attacked by Mr. Thiwari??™s men for organising an educational campaign. Immediately after the incident, Mr. Thiwari called Dr. Lenin and informed him that he would be murdered along with his family if he continued his work. Mr. Thiwari has also threatened that he would kill Ms. Asha Devi, a teacher in the local school for educating Dalit children. This incident is yet another glaring example of how the upper caste dominates the lower caste and the backward community in India and exposes the poor defence that the Government of India continues to use when challenged on caste issues. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Varanasi and the surrounding region was, in the past, known for Lord Buddha??™s work and his early activities. However, this region is now known for hardcore and often fanatic upper caste Hindu religious activities and propaganda. The region is infamous for upper caste atrocities against the lower and backward castes such as bonded labour, systematic oppression, feudal systems of punishment where the entire village is punished in the most inhuman way for alleged acts of disrespect by the members of lower caste and also for destruction of statues of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, in Dalit and backward class villages. For centuries, education has been denied to the children from the Dalit and the backward community. Even political leaders who have been elected in this region have publicly stated that the children from these communities must not be provided education and members from this community should not be allowed to participate in elections. It is within this environment that Dr. Lenin and his colleagues are working for the Dalits and the backward class. SUGGESTED ACTION: Please send a letter to the following people urging them to immediately order an impartial investigation into this incident. Sample letter: Dear ___________, Re: Human rights activist facing death threats for working with the Dalits and backward community I am deeply concerned with the situation faced by Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, a human rights activist working for the Dalits and the backward class in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Dr Lenin and his colleagues have been subjected to death threats from the upper castes to stop working for the Dalit and backward classes. Dr Lenin has been working in Belwa village, largely to provide education to children from the Dalit and backward class who have been denied this right by the upper castes. The state government has not provided schooling for this community despite their long-standing demand. The Dalits and backward classes have also been denied the right to vote. Belwa village and its surrounding areas are known for booth capturing and election related fraud. During the February 2002 election, people from these communities were brutally assaulted when they went to vote. Belwa will hold another election on 17 August 2005. Mr Giri, Dr Lenin's associate has filed his nomination and is expected to be a strong contender due to his popularity amongst the backward community. On August 5, Mr. Rama Sharay Singh called Dr Lenin on his mobile phone (No: 9415810955) and demanded that Mr. Giri withdraw his nomination. Around the same time, Mr.Giri also received death threats in the village where he was working. Once again, on August 7, Mr Singh called up Dr. Lenin and said that if the nomination was not withdrawn, Mr Giri and his family would be shot dead. Dr. Lenin recorded the conversation, made copies of it and is now meeting the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr. Brij Bushan and the District Magistrate, Mr. Gokaran to lodge his complaint. Dr. Lenin has also faxed a complaint to the Chief Minister of the state regarding the incident. I thereby call for your urgent intervention. Please provide full protection to Dr. Lenin, Mr. S. N. Giri and their families and immediately conduct an impartial inquiry into the incident. The State Human Rights Commission should also conduct an independent inquiry into the incident and make public its report and findings. The district administration should immediately consider the long pending request of the Dalit and backward community of Belwa to open a public school for the children. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and backward community should also look into the incident, conduct an inquiry into the situation of Dalits and backward community in Uttar Pradesh and recommend effective measures to the State as well as the Central Government in order to put an end to the existing caste based oppression and discrimination. And finally, the State as well as National Election Commission should inquire into the incident and take appropriate action against those who are threatening Mr. S. N. Giri to withdraw his candidature. Yours sincerely, -------------- SEND A LETTER TO: 1. Senior Superintendent of Police Mr. Brij Bushan S.S.P Varanasi INDIA Tel: + 91 542 2500441/ + 91 542 2501450 2. Mr. Gokaran District Magistrate Varanasi INDIA Tel: + 91 542 2508585 3. Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's Secretariat Lucknow Uttar Pradesh INDIA Fax: + 91 52 2223 0002 / 2223 9234 4. Justice A.P. Mishra Chairperson Uttar Pradesh Human Rights Commission 6-A Kalidass Marg Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh INDIA Tel: + 91 52 2272 6742 Fax: + 91 52 2272 6743 5. Shri Justice A. S. Anand Chairperson National Human Rights Commission of India Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg New Delhi-110001 INDIA Tel: + 91 11 23074448 E-mail: mailto:chairnhrc@... 6. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Government of India 5th Floor, Loknayak Bhawan Khan Market New Delhi 110003 India Tel: + 91-11 2462 0435 Fax: + 91-11 2462 5378 7. Ms. Hina Jilani Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders Att: Ben Majekodunmi Room 1-040 C/o OHCHR-UNOG, 1211 Geneva 10, SWITZERLAND Tel: + 41 22 917 93 88 Fax: + 41 22 917 9006 8. Mr. Ambeyi Ligabo Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression Att: Ms. Julie De Riviero Room: 3-042 C/o OHCHR-UNOG 1211 Geneva 10 SWITZERLAND Tel: + 41 22 917 9177 Fax: + 41 22 917 9006 (general) Thank you. Urgent Appeals Programme Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) --------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list visit http://www.ahrchk.net/phplist/lists/?p=unsubscribe&id=16 To update your preferences visit http://www.ahrchk.net/phplist/lists/?p=preferences&id=16 --------------------------------------------------- Asian Human Rights Commission 19/F, Go-Up Commercial Building, 998 Canton Road, Kowloon, Hongkong S.A.R. Tel: +(852) - 2698-6339 Fax: +(852) - 2698-6367 |
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