IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 08.12.2009
CORAM:
THE HON BLE MR.JUSTICE K.CHANDRU
W.P.Nos.12552,10336,10337 and
17454 of 2009 and
M.P.Nos.1 to 1 of 2009
N.Sathya ...Petitioner in
W.P.No.12552/2009
R.Sengottuvel ...Petitioner in
W.P.No.10336/2009
K.Prabu ...Petitioner in
W.P.No.10337/2009
C.Kalidasan ...Petitioner in
W.P.No.17454/2009
Vs
1.The Chairman,
Teachers Recruitment Board,
College Road, DPI Compound,
Chennai.
2.The Chief Educational Officer,
Namakkal, Namakkal District.
3.The District Elementary Educational
Officer,
Namakkal. ...Respondents in
W.P.No.12552/2009
1.State of Tamil Nadu,
Rep. By its Secretary to Government,
Adi Dravidar and Tribal
Welfare Department,
Secretariat, Chennai 600 009.
2.Teachers Recruitment Board,
Rep. By its Chairman,
IV Floor, E.V.K.Sampath Maaligai,
College Road, Chennai 600 006.
3.The Director of Elementary Education
College Road, Chennai 600 006. ...Respondents in
W.P.Nos.10336 & 10337/2009
1.The Chairman,
Tamilnadu Electricity Board,
No.144, Anna Salai,
Chennai -2.
2.The Chief Engineer/Personnel,
Tamilnadu Electricity Board,
No.144, Anna Salai,
Chennai 2. ...Respondents in
W.P.No.17454/2009
Prayer in W.P.No.12552/2009
Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for a Writ of mandamus, directing the respondents to implement G.O.Ms.No.50 Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (TD-2) Department dated 29.04.2009 in so far relates to appointment of the Secondary Grade Teacher and consequently appoint the petitioner in the Secondary Grade Teacher post by applying in the above said G.O.
Prayer in W.P.Nos.10336 and 10337 /2009
Petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for a Writ of mandamus, directing the respondents herein to implement that G.O.Ms.No.50 Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (TD2) Department dt.29.4.2009 in the matter of Direct Recruitment of Secondary Grade Teachers for Elementary/Middle schools under the Control of the Directorate of Elementary Education, Chennai for the year 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.
Prayer in W.P.No.17454 /2009
Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for a Writ of mandamus, directing the respondents to implement the G.O.Ms.No.50 Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (TD2) Department dated 29.4.2009 and G.O.Ms.No.61 Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (TD2) Department dated 29.5.2009 in the respondent Board and give appointment to the petitioner as technical Assistant Electrical under S.C.Arunthathiyar quota.
For Petitioners : Mr.C.Prakasam
in W.P.No.12552/2009
Mr.S.T.S.Murthi
in W.P.Nos.10336 & 10337/2009
Mr.S.Packiaraj
in W.P.No.17454/2009
For Respondents : Mr.A.C.Manibharathi,G.A.
In W.P.No.12552 of 2009
Mr.R.Neelakandan,G.A.
In W.P.No.10336 & 10337/2009
Mr.M.Vaidyanathan
for TNEB
C O M M O N O R D E R
Heard both sides. In Writ Petitions (W.P.Nos.10336 and 10337/2009), the petitioners seek for directions to the respondents to implement G.O.Ms.No.50 (Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (TD2) Department) dt.29.4.2009 in the matter of Direct Recruitment of Secondary Grade Teachers for Elementary/Middle schools under the Control of the Directorate of Elementary Education, Chennai for the year 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 and to pass appropriate orders.
2. In W.P.No.12552 of 2009, the petitioner seeks for a direction to implement G.O.Ms.No.50 Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (TD-2) Department dated 29.04.2009 in so far as it relates to the appointment of Secondary Grade Teachers and for consequential direction to appoint the petitioner as a Secondary Grade Teacher.
3. In W.P.No.17454 of 2009, the petitioner seeks for a direction, directing the respondents to implement G.O.Ms.No.50 Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (TD2) Department dated 29.4.2009 and G.O.Ms.No.61 (Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (TD2) Department) dated 29.5.2009 in the respondent Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and give appointment to the petitioner as a Technical Assistant (Electrical) under the Schedule Caste, Arunthathiyar quota.
4. The cause of action for these writ petitions arose because of the enactment of Tamil Nadu Act 4 of 2009 titled as 'The Tamil Nadu Arunthathiyars (Special Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions Including Private Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the services under the State within the Reservation for the Schedule Castes), Act, 2009. The Tamil Nadu Act 4/2009 is intended to provide reservation of seats in educational institutions including private institutions in the State and also for appointments or posts in the services under the State to the Arunthathiyar community people in the State of Tamil Nadu within the 18% reservation meant for the Schedule Castes.
5. The Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the Act referred to the Report of the One Man Committee of Inquiry headed by Justice M.S.Janarthanam which had submitted its report on 22.11.2008. The Committee recorded that the Arunthathiyar Community in Tamil Nadu have a population of 18,61,457 from out of the total population of Scheduled Castes of 1,18,57,504 as per 2001 Census Report. The respective percentage of population of Arunthathiyars in the total population of Scheduled Castes worked out is 15.70%. Therefore, the Committee after finding that the representation of the Arunthathiars in the services under the State Government was also incredibly the lowest since the major portion of such job opportunities had been taken by the other sub castes within the Scheduled Castes, recommended a quota within the reservation limit made for the Scheduled Caste Community.
6. Accepting the report, the Act was enacted by the Tamil Nadu State Legislature. As per Section 1(3) of the Act, the Act was made to come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification, appoint.
7. Section 4 of the Act reads as follows:-
"4.Reservation in appointments or posts in the services under the State:-
Notwithstanding anything contained in the 1994 Act or the 2006 Act or in any other law for the time being in force or in any judgment, decree or order of any Court or other authority, having regard to the social and educational backwardness of Arunthathiyars included in the Scheduled Casts, sixteen per cent of the appointments or posts reserved for the Scheduled Castes shall be offered to Arunthathiyars, if available, in appointments or posts in the services under the State, on preferential basis amongst the Scheduled Castes, in such manner as may be prescribed.
Explanation For the purposes of this Act, "service under the State" includes the services under -
i) the Government;
ii)the Legislature of the State;
iii)any local authority;
iv)any Corporation or Company owned or controlled by the Government; or
v) any other authority in respect of which the State Legislature has power to make laws." (Emphasis added)
8. Under Section 14, if any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Government may, by an order, published in the Tamil Nadu Gazette, can make such provisions which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as may appear to them to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty. Such a power to grant directions was however restricted to a two year period from the date of the enactment.
9. The State Government by its order in G.O.Ms.No.50, Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department dated 29.04.2009 has notified the date of coming into force of the Act as 29.04.2009. Paragraph 3 of Notification II, reads as follows:-
3.Reservation of seats for Arunthathiyars:- In the sixteen per cent of seats offered to Arunthathiyars within the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes for admission in Educational Institutions including Private Educational Institutions and of appointments or posts in the services under the State, the first seat shall be offered to Arunthathiyars as illustrated below:-
"The seats to Arunthathiyars shall be offered in the rotation 2,32 and 66", the following expression shall be substituted, namely:-
"The seats to be allotted to Arunthathiyars on preferential basis shall be offered in the horizontal rotation such as 2,32 and 66. The preferential seats if filled up, it does not mean that the other qualified Arunthathiyars shall not compete with the rest of the Scheduled Castes members on inter-se merit basis; vice versa, if no qualified Arunthathiyars are available to fill up the preferential seats, it does not mean that the vacancies so arising shall not be filled up by the Scheduled Castes members on merit basis".
10. Subsequent to the notification, the State Government also issued G.O(Ms)No.61 Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (TD2) Department dated 29.05.2009 by amending the earlier Rules. The amendment reads as follows:-
In the said Rules, in rule 3 in the illustration for the expression
"The seats to Arunthathiyars shall be offered in the rotation 2,32 and 66", the following expression shall be substituted, namely:-
"The seats to be allotted to Arunthathiyars on preferential basis shall be offered in the horizontal rotation such as 2,32 and 66. The preferential seats if filled up, it does not mean that the other qualified Arunthathiyars shall not compete with the rest of the Scheduled Castes members on inter-se merit basis; vice versa, if no qualified Arunthathiyars are available to fill up the preferential seats, it does not mean that the vacancies so arising shall not be filled up by the Scheduled Castes members on merit basis".
11. The State Government by way of illustration prescribed as to how the roster for filling up the Scheduled Castes candidates can be prepared by the respective employers in that order.
12. Notice was ordered on these writ petitions. Pending the writ petitions, in some cases this Court directed the respondents to keep one post vacant in each of the writ petition, pending final orders on the writ petitions.
13. In none of these cases, counter affidavit has been filed by the State. However, written instructions received from the Chairman of the Teachers Recruitment Board was filed before this Court.
14. It was stated by the Chairman of the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) that the Board had taken steps to fill up 5773 posts of Secondary Grade Teachers with the Employment Exchange seniority. The Board had conducted certificate verification of candidates sponsored by the Commissioner of Employment and Training, Chennai from 28.05.2009 to 05.06.2009. A total number of 24354 candidates had attended the certificate verification. After the certificate verification, the Board has released the list of provisionally selected candidates on 12.06.2009. It was only when the selection process were under midway, G.O.Ms.No.50 Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department dated 29.04.2009 came to be issued for providing internal reservation for the candidates belonging to Arunthathiyars within the Scheduled Caste Community. The second order in G.O.Ms.No.65 Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department dated 27.05.2009 was also issued revising the roster providing 3% reservation to Arunthathiyars on preferential basis.
15. It is the stand of the respondent TRB that the Government had directed that the roster prescribed in this order shall be applicable in respect of selection made by the recruiting agencies and appointments made on or after 29.04.2009. In the very same order, the Government has also indicated that the 200 point roster need not be re-opened. It is the stand of the TRB that since the Board has already notified the vacancies on 14.01.2008 based upon the 200 point roster and the recruitment process was already commenced, the Board could not re-open the earlier recruitment of selection of 5773 Secondary Grade Teachers.
16. Subsequently, by G.O.Ms.No.145 School Education Department dated 29.06.2009, the Government had issued orders to recruit 1943 secondary grade teachers by the Board. Those candidates have already attended the certificate verification. In the mean while, the Board has followed the revised roster issued in G.O.Ms.No.65 P & AR Department dated 27.05.2009 and followed the 3% reservation to Arunthathiyars on preferential basis. The Board had also conducted certificate verification at the District levels to identify the Arunthathiyars to follow the 3% preferential reservation and a circular was also issued to the respective Chief Educational officers of the Districts. Therefore, it is the contention of the respondents that the selection process of Secondary Grade Teachers were followed as per the Government Orders and there is no violation.
17. The same officer has also issued a further clarification on 10.09.2009 after prescribing the format under which such certificate verification has to be done by the officers vide his proceedings dated 10.09.2009. It reads as follows:-
Government in the G.O. First cited above have sanctioned 1943 number of Secondary Grade Teachers (Tamil Medium) for which the Teachers Recruitment Board takes all steps to select the candidates for appointment. In this connection, I would like to mention that 3% preferential reservation for Arunthathiyars (group and communities stipulated in Govt.Gazette published in G.O second cited in the reference) should be incorporated in the selection process for which community verification is to be done at the district level on 6.10.2009. On the same day i.e. On 6.10.2009 Certificate Verification is to be conducted for ineligible /rejected candidates. Certificate Verification for others are to done on 7.10.09.
(Emphasis added)
18. Therefore, it is the stand of the first respondent on the issue relating to the appointment of Secondary Grade Teachers that the orders of the Government in internally reserving candidates for Arunthathiyars community will hold good for the selection conducted by virtue of G.O.Ms.No.145 dated 29.06.2009 in respect of 1943 Secondary Grade Teachers.
19. In this regard, the administrative order of the Government in G.O.Ms.No.65 dated 27.05.2009 was also referred by the counsel for the respondents. Paragraph 3 reads as follows:
"3. The Government further direct that the roster prescribed in this order shall be made applicable in respect of those selections made by the recruiting agencies and appointments made on or after 29.04.2009. However, the recruiting agencies/ appointing authorities are informed that the selections/appointments, if any, already made with reference to the 200 point roster prescribed in the Government Orders first, second and third read above need not be reopened and for further selections/appointments, the revised roster prescribed in this Government Order shall be continued by the recruiting agencies/ appointing authorities from the last turn upto which the selection was already made."
(Emphasis added)
20. But however in respect of the employment in the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board is concerned in W.P.No.17454 of 2009, it was stated that they have received a letter from the Secretary to Government, P & AR Department dated 24.06.2009 issuing certain clarifications regarding the adoption of a revised roster. In the said order, it was stated as follows:-
"In the reference fourth cited, the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission, in the circumstances stated therein, has suggested that the special reservation to Arunthathiyars on preferential basis ordered in the Government Order third cited shall be made applicable to the fresh notification to be issued by the Commission on or after 29.04.2009. The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission has requested clarification in this regard.
2. The Government have examined the suggestion of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission and direct that in respect of those vacancies notified by the recruiting agencies on or after 29.04.2009, the revised roster prescribed in the Government Order third cited shall be continued. "
(Emphasis added)
21. Therefore, the stand of the Government which had consulted the TNPSC was that in respect of those vacancies notified by the recruiting agencies on or after 29.04.2009 alone, the revised roster shall be continued. In this order, the earlier order of the State Government prescribing revised roster in G.O.(Ms).No.65 P & AR Department dated 27.05.2009 is also referred as reference No.3.
22. In the light of the above, the question arises for consideration is whether the prayer made by the petitioners can be granted by this Court. In this context, it is necessary to refer to certain decisions of the Supreme Court which may have a bearing on the issue.
23.In Mohan Kumar Lal v. Vinoba Bhave University and others reported in (2002) 10 SCC 704, in paragraph 2 the Supreme Court observed as follows:
"2.The short question that arises for consideration in this appeal is whether the Service Commission could ignore the decision to make reservation policy applicable in respect of an appointment to the post, which was advertised on 10.01.1990 and the last date for submission of the application was 30.01.1990. The High Court in the impugned judgment is of the view that since appointments had not factually been made, the reservation policy would apply. As it transpires, the provisions of Section 57, which governs the field, did not contain any clause for reservation and sub-section (5) of the said Section 57 providing for reservation was introduced only on 22.08.1993. In this view of the matter in respect of the post advertised for which the process of recruitment had been initiated, the reservation policy could not have been made applicable. The impugned judgment of the High Court was, therefore, erroneous, and cannot be sustained. We, therefore, set aside the impugned judgment of the High Court and hold that the reservation policy, pursuant to the amended provision of sub-section (5) of Section 57 of the Act, will not apply to the present case."
(Emphasis added)
24. Subsequently, the Supreme Court dealt with the case of an Office Memorandum dated 06.11.2003 with reference to conversion of vacancies between Scheduled caste and Scheduled Tribe categories made such an action impermissible. The question arose before the Supreme Court whether the said Memorandum will have any bearing on the selection process which had started already.
25. The Supreme Court vide its judgment in Sonia v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd and others reported in 2007 AIR SCW 5329 held that the subsequent office Memorandum withdrawing conversion of posts between SC and ST candidates cannot have any bearing on the earlier selection made pursuant to an advertisement. Persons who were empanelled were requested to appear before the interview Board without being affected by the subsequent office Memorandum. The case of the petitioner is converse where the petitioner wanted an office memorandum to be applied even in case of the selection started before the Act was notified by the State.
26. The Supreme Court also dealt with the case where a particular community was included in the Other Backward Class (OBC) list. The question arose before the Supreme Court was that by the subsequent addition of a community in the list, if members can have the benefit of reservation under the Uttar Pradesh Public Services (Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Others Backward Classes) Act, 1994 (4 of 1994). The said judgment relating to Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission v. Satya Narayan Sheohare and others is reported in (2009) 5 SCC 473. The Supreme Court upheld the action of the High Court in directing the inclusion of such newly added OBC candidates for the written test for which selection had already been initiated was valid. In paragraphs 9 to 13, it was held as follows:-
"9. Section 2(b) of the Act defines "Other Backward Classes of Citizens" as those backward classes of citizens specified in Schedule I to the Act. Where a particular caste was not included in the list of "Other Backward Classes" in Schedule I to the Act, when the Act was enacted, and when such caste is subsequently added to the list of Other Backward Classes in Schedule I of the Act by way of an amendment, for all purposes, the Act commences in respect of the newly added caste from the date when the Amendment Act came into effect.
10.Thus, the principle contained in Section 15 would apply whenever a new caste, which was not an OBC earlier, is added to Schedule I of the Act by an amendment to the Act. Therefore whenever the Act is amended by including new castes/classes in the list of Other Backward Classes in Schedule I, the date of amendment to the Act would be the date of commencement of the Act in regard to such caste/class inserted by the amendment.
11.It is evident from the Explanation to sub-section (1) of Section 15 that where under the relevant service rules recruitment is to be made on the basis of written test and interview, the selection process shall be deemed to have been initiated on the date on which written test was started.
12. In this case, there is no dispute that the written test started on 4.8.2000. It is also not in dispute that before 4.8.2000 when the written test commenced, the State Government had issued a notification amending the First Schedule to the Act including the castes to which the writ petitioners belonged, in the list of OBCs. Therefore, though the writ petitioners were general category candidates when the recruitment notification dated 4.3.2000 was issued, as on the relevant date, namely, the date on which the selection process was deemed to have been initiated, they were OBC candidates.
13. Having regard to the fact that the Notification including their castes in the Schedule was issued on 7.7.2000 after the recruitment notification, the writ petitioners were not able to show their caste as an OBC nor could they claim the benefit of reservation as OBC candidates when they made applications. However when the Act was amended on 7.7.2000 before the commencement of the written test, they became entitled to claim the benefit of reservation, and they secured the necessary certificates and gave their representations without any delay on 29.8.2000 and 13.9.2000 respectively. Having regard to the principle underlying Section 15 of the Act, we are of the view that the decision of the High Court directing that the writ petitioners should be treated as OBC candidates does not call for any interference." (Emphasis added)
27. In the present case, the Act is only providing a percentage within the outer limit prescribed for Schedule Caste community. Consequently the Government's clarification can be considered to be a direction issued under Section 14 of the Act. Though the first two decisions did not support the case of the petitioners, the third decision in Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission' case (cited supra) help the case of the petitioners.
28. In view of the fact that the selection process were not over and the stand of the Government is also that the internal reservation giving preference to Arunthathiyar Community will also be counted in the existing selection, pursuant to G.O.Ms.No.145 dated 29.06.2009. Hence the prayer of the petitioners must succeed. Therefore, W.P.Nos.12552, 10336 and 10337 of 2009 will stand allowed to the extent indicated above, but cannot go to the selection held for the year 2007 2008.
29. In respect of the writ petition W.P.No.17454 of 2009, though M.Vaidyanathan, the learned counsel for the Electricity Board referred to a letter written by the Secretary to Government, dated 24.06.2009, in the light of the judgment of the Supreme Court in Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission's case (cited supra), the case of the petitioner will have to be considered. Though the petitioner has claimed consideration of his case and for grant of appointment to the post of Technical Assistant (Electrical) under the S.C.Arunthathiyar quota, it is for the Electricity Board to work out the number of posts available. In case the petitioner comes within the preferential quota, his case can be considered for the grant of an appointment.
30. In the result, all the writ petitions are disposed of to the extent indicated above. No costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petitions are closed.
08.12.2009
Index : Yes
Internet:Yes
svki/vvk
To
1.The Chairman,
Teachers Recruitment Board,
College Road, DPI Compound,Chennai.
2.The Chief Educational Officer,
Namakkal, Namakkal District.
3.The District Elementary Educational
Officer, Namakkal.
4.The Secretary to Government,
State of Tamil Nadu,
Adi Dravidar and Tribal
Welfare Department,
Secretariat, Chennai 600 009.
5.The Director of Elementary Education
College Road, Chennai 600 006.
6.The Chairman,
Tamilnadu Electricity Board,
No.144, Anna Salai,Chennai -2.
7.The Chief Engineer/Personnel,
Tamilnadu Electricity Board,
No.144, Anna Salai,Chennai 2.
K.CHANDRU,J.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
உத்தப்புரம் தலித் மக்கள் உண்ணாவிரதம் காவல்துறை தாக்குதலுக்கு கண்டனம்-உத்தப்புரம் : சிபிஎம் சட்டமன்றக்குழு ஆய்வு
உத்தப்புரம் தலித் மக்கள் உண்ணாவிரதம் காவல்துறை தாக்குதலுக்கு கண்டனம்
மதுரை, ஜூன் 21-
மதுரை மாவட்டம் உத்தப் புரத்தில் காவல்துறையின ரின் தடியடி தாக்குதலைக் கண்டித்து தலித் மக்கள் உண்ணாவிரதப் போராட் டம் நடத்தனர். இதில் மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கட்சியின் சட்டமன்றக்குழுவினரும் தீண்டாமை ஒழிப்பு முன் னணி தலைவர்களும் பங் கேற்றனர்.
காவல்துறை நடத்திய தடியடியை கண்டித்தும், நிழற்குடை அமைக்க வேண்டும். அரசு திறந்து விட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங் கள் செல்ல அனுமதிக்க வேண்டும் என்பன உள் ளிட்ட கோரிக்கைகளை வலியுறுத்தி உத்தப்புரம் தலித் மக்கள் கைக்குழந்தை களுடன் திங்களன்று காலை 9மணிக்கு உண்ணா விரதப் போராட்டத்தை துவக்கினர்.
அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதையில் ஆட்டோவோ, விவசாய பொருட்களை ஏற்றிச்செல்லக்கூடிய டிராக் டரோ செல்ல அனுமதிப்ப தில்லை என குறைகூறிய மக் கள். வாகனங்கள் செல் வதை காவல்துறையினர் தடுப்பதாக குற்றம் சாட் டினர்.
மாவட்ட ஆட்சியரும், காவல்துறை கண்காணிப் பாளர் மனோகரும் கைது நடவடிக்கை இருக்காது என உறுதியளித்தபின்ன ரும் கைது நடவடிக்கையை காவல்துறை தொடர்கிறது. அப்பாவிகள் காவல்துறை யின் மிரட்டலுக்கு உள்ளா கின்றனர் எனக்கூறினர்.
அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங்கள் செல்வதற்கு தடையில்லை. மக்கள் சுதந்திரமாகச் செல் கின்றனர் என முதல்வர் கரு ணாநிதி கூறியுள்ளார். ஆனால் முதல்வரின் அறி விப்பு நடைமுறைப் படுத்த வில்லை என்பதை திங்க ளன்று உத்தப்புரம் சென்று நிலைமைகளை ஆய்வு செய்து, உண்ணாவிரதத்தில் பங்கேற்ற, மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கம் யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சி சட்டமன் றக்குழுவினரும், தீண்டா மை ஒழிப்பு முன்னணித் தலைவர்களும் கண்கூடா கக் கண்டனர்.
மாவட்ட நிர்வாகத்தின் சார்பில் பேசிய பேரையூர் தாசில்தாரும், காவல்துறை சார்பில் துணை கண்கா ணிப்பாளர் கனகராஜூம் அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதை யில் வாகனங்கள் செல்வதற்கு எந்தத் தடையுமில்லை எனக் கூறி னர். ஆனால் மக்களோ அதி காரிகள் தவறான தகவல் களை தெரிவிப்பதாக குற் றம் சாட்டினர்.
இதைத்தொடர்ந்து தலைவர்கள், அரசு திறந்து விட்ட பாதையில் டிராக்டர் உள்ளிட்ட வாகனங்களை ஓட்டிச்செல்வதற்கு முடிவு செய்தனர். இதற்கு மாவட்ட நிர்வாகமும், காவல்துறை யும் முற்றாக மறுத்துவிட் டது. அரசு திறந்து விட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங்கள் செல்வதாக நீங்கள் (அதிகா ரிகள்) தானே கூறினீர்கள். இப்போது ஏன் அனுமதி மறுக்கிறீர்கள் என்பதற்கு அதிகாரிகள் சரியான பதி லை அளிக்க முடியாமல் திணறினார்கள்.
இதையடுத்து தலித் மக்க ளுடன் அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங்களை ஓட்டிச்செல்வது என தலை வர்கள் முடிவு செய்து வாக னங்களுடன் புறப்பட்ட னர். அவர்களை காவல் துறையினர் தடுத்து நிறுத் தினர். தலித்மக்களை சந் திக்க வந்த சிபிஎம் சட்ட மன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள் செம் மொழி மாநாட்டில் பங்கேற் பதற்காகச் சென்றுள்ள மதுரை மாவட்ட ஆட்சியர் சி.காமராஜை தொடர்பு கொண்டு பேசினர். ஆட்சி யரோ, செம்மொழி மாநாடு முடிந்து 28ம் தேதி வந்துவிடு வேன். வந்தவுடன் உத்தப் புரத்திற்கு நேரடியாகச் சென்று பிரச்சனைகளை ஆய்வு செய்து தீர்க்கிறேன் என்றார்.
அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங்களை ஓட்டிச்செல்ல அனுமதிக்க வேண்டும் என தொடர்ந்து வலியுறுத்தியதை அடுத்து மாவட்ட ஆட்சியர் மாலை 2.30 மணிக்கு அனுமதியளித் தார். பின்னர் ஓர் ஆட் டோவை வரவழைத்து, காவல்துறை ஜீப் முன்னால் செல்ல, ஆட்டோவில் ஜந்தாறு பெண்கள் சென்றனர். இவர் களது ஆட்டோவைத் தொடர்ந்து பாதுகாப்புக்கு காவல்துறையினர் சென் றனர்.
பேரையூர் தாசில்தார், சாக்கடையை ஊருக்கு வெளியே கொண்டு செல்வ தற்கு பணம் ஒதுக்கீடு செய் யப்பட்டுள்ளதாகவும், விரைவில் அப்பணிகள் துவங்குமெனவும் உறுதி யளித்தார்.
ஆட்சியர் அளித்த வாக் குறுதிகளை தலித் மக்களி டம் தலைவர்கள் எடுத்துக் கூறினர். உத்தப்புரம் தலித் மக்களின் கோரிக்கைகளுக் காக மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கம்யூ னிஸ்ட் கட்சியும், தீண்டா மை ஒழிப்பு முன்னணியும் தொடர்ந்து உறுதியான போராட்டங்களை நடத் தும் என உறுதியளித்தனர். இதையடுத்து மாலை 3 மணிக்கு மக்கள் தங்களது உண்ணாவிரதப்போராட் டத்தை விலக்கிக்கொண்டனர்.
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உத்தப்புரம் : சிபிஎம் சட்டமன்றக்குழு ஆய்வு
மதுரை, ஜூன் 21-
உத்தப்புரத்தில் காவல்துறை நடத்திய தடியடி தாக்குதலில் பாதிக் கப்பட்ட தலித் மக்களை மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சியின் சட்ட மன்றக்குழுவினர் திங்களன்று காலை சந்தித்தனர்.
உத்தப்புரத்தில் பிரச்சனைக்குரிய சாக்கடையை தோண்டி தலித் மக்கள் பேருந்துக்காக காத்திருக்கும் பகுதியில் போட்டதையடுத்து ஏற் பட்ட சம்பவத்தில் தலித்மக்கள் மீது காவல்துறை தடியடி தாக்குதல் நடத் தியது. தலித்மக்கள் மூன்று பேர் காயமடைந்தனர். மேலும் தலித்மக்கள் பலர் மீது கொலைமுயற்சி உள்ளிட்ட பல்வேறு பொய்வழக்குகளை பதிவு செய்து காவல்துறை சிறையில் அடைத்துள்ளது.
மேலும் காவல்துறையினர் இரவு நேரத்தில் ஆண்களையும்-பெண்களையும் வீடு புகுந்து மிரட்டியுள்ளனர். இதையடுத்து ஆண்கள் யாரும் ஊரில் இல்லாத நிலை உள்ளது. பெண்கள் மட்டுமே கிராமத்தில் உள்ளனர். தலித் மக்கள் வசிக்கும் பகுதியில் கடைகள் முற்றாக அடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. காவல்துறையின் தடியடி சம்பவத்தால் பாதிக் கப்பட்ட தலித் மக்களை மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சியின் சட்ட மன்றக்குழுத்தலைவர் கே.பாலபாரதி, சட்டமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள் என். நன்மாறன், எஸ்.கே.மகேந்திரன், தமிழ்நாடு விவசாயிகள் சங்கத்தின் மாநில பொதுச்செயலாளர் பெ.சண்முகம், மாவட்டச்செயலாளர் சி.ராமகிருஷ்ணன், தீண்டாமை ஒழிப்பு முன்னணியின் மாநிலத் தலைவர் பி.சம்பத், பொதுச் செயலாளர் கே.சாமுவேல்ராஜ், மதுரை மாவட்ட நிர்வாகிகள் எம்.தங்கராசு, எஸ்.கே.பொன்னுத்தாய், ஆர்.ராஜகோபால், மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சியின் மாவட்டசெயற்குழு உறுப்பினர்கள், மாவட்டக்குழு உறுப்பி னர்கள் திங்களன்று சந்தித்து ஆறுதல் கூறி நடைபெற்ற சம்பவங்கள் குறித்து கேட்டறிந்தனர்.
பின்னர் செய்தியாளர்களிடம் பேசிய தீண்டாமை ஒழிப்பு முன்னணி யின் மாநிலத்தலைவர் பி.சம்பத், உத்தப்புரத்தில் நிழற்குடை அமைக்க வேண்டும், அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங்கள் செல்ல அனுமதிக்க வேண்டும், அரசமர வழிபாட்டு உரிமையை உத்தரவாதப்படுத்த வேண்டும், தலித் மக்கள் மீது போடப்பட்டுள்ள பொய்வழக்குகளை வாபஸ் பெற வேண்டும் என்பன உள்ளிட்ட பிரச்சனைகள் குறித்து ஏற்கெனவே தமிழக அரசிடமும், மதுரை மாவட்ட நிர்வாகத்திடமும் தீண்டாமை ஒழிப்பு முன்னணியும், மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சியும் தொடர்ந்து வலியுறுத்தி வருகிறது. ஆனால் இன்றுவரை நிழல் குடை அமைக்கவில்லை, அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங்கள் செல்ல அனுமதிக்கப்படவில்லை. சாக்கடை பிரச்சனைக்குக்கூட தீர்வு காணப்படவில்லை என்றார்.
மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கட்சியின் சட்டமன்ற குழுத்தலைவர் கே.பாலபாரதி கூறு கையில், உத்தப்புரத்தில் தலித் மக்கள் மீது காவல்துறை நடத்திய தடியடி குறித் தும், மக்களின் பிரச்சனைகள் தீர்க்கப்படாதது குறித்தும் தமிழக முதல் வரின் கவனத்திற்கு கொண்டு செல்வோம் என்றார்.
மதுரை, ஜூன் 21-
மதுரை மாவட்டம் உத்தப் புரத்தில் காவல்துறையின ரின் தடியடி தாக்குதலைக் கண்டித்து தலித் மக்கள் உண்ணாவிரதப் போராட் டம் நடத்தனர். இதில் மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கட்சியின் சட்டமன்றக்குழுவினரும் தீண்டாமை ஒழிப்பு முன் னணி தலைவர்களும் பங் கேற்றனர்.
காவல்துறை நடத்திய தடியடியை கண்டித்தும், நிழற்குடை அமைக்க வேண்டும். அரசு திறந்து விட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங் கள் செல்ல அனுமதிக்க வேண்டும் என்பன உள் ளிட்ட கோரிக்கைகளை வலியுறுத்தி உத்தப்புரம் தலித் மக்கள் கைக்குழந்தை களுடன் திங்களன்று காலை 9மணிக்கு உண்ணா விரதப் போராட்டத்தை துவக்கினர்.
அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதையில் ஆட்டோவோ, விவசாய பொருட்களை ஏற்றிச்செல்லக்கூடிய டிராக் டரோ செல்ல அனுமதிப்ப தில்லை என குறைகூறிய மக் கள். வாகனங்கள் செல் வதை காவல்துறையினர் தடுப்பதாக குற்றம் சாட் டினர்.
மாவட்ட ஆட்சியரும், காவல்துறை கண்காணிப் பாளர் மனோகரும் கைது நடவடிக்கை இருக்காது என உறுதியளித்தபின்ன ரும் கைது நடவடிக்கையை காவல்துறை தொடர்கிறது. அப்பாவிகள் காவல்துறை யின் மிரட்டலுக்கு உள்ளா கின்றனர் எனக்கூறினர்.
அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங்கள் செல்வதற்கு தடையில்லை. மக்கள் சுதந்திரமாகச் செல் கின்றனர் என முதல்வர் கரு ணாநிதி கூறியுள்ளார். ஆனால் முதல்வரின் அறி விப்பு நடைமுறைப் படுத்த வில்லை என்பதை திங்க ளன்று உத்தப்புரம் சென்று நிலைமைகளை ஆய்வு செய்து, உண்ணாவிரதத்தில் பங்கேற்ற, மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கம் யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சி சட்டமன் றக்குழுவினரும், தீண்டா மை ஒழிப்பு முன்னணித் தலைவர்களும் கண்கூடா கக் கண்டனர்.
மாவட்ட நிர்வாகத்தின் சார்பில் பேசிய பேரையூர் தாசில்தாரும், காவல்துறை சார்பில் துணை கண்கா ணிப்பாளர் கனகராஜூம் அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதை யில் வாகனங்கள் செல்வதற்கு எந்தத் தடையுமில்லை எனக் கூறி னர். ஆனால் மக்களோ அதி காரிகள் தவறான தகவல் களை தெரிவிப்பதாக குற் றம் சாட்டினர்.
இதைத்தொடர்ந்து தலைவர்கள், அரசு திறந்து விட்ட பாதையில் டிராக்டர் உள்ளிட்ட வாகனங்களை ஓட்டிச்செல்வதற்கு முடிவு செய்தனர். இதற்கு மாவட்ட நிர்வாகமும், காவல்துறை யும் முற்றாக மறுத்துவிட் டது. அரசு திறந்து விட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங்கள் செல்வதாக நீங்கள் (அதிகா ரிகள்) தானே கூறினீர்கள். இப்போது ஏன் அனுமதி மறுக்கிறீர்கள் என்பதற்கு அதிகாரிகள் சரியான பதி லை அளிக்க முடியாமல் திணறினார்கள்.
இதையடுத்து தலித் மக்க ளுடன் அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங்களை ஓட்டிச்செல்வது என தலை வர்கள் முடிவு செய்து வாக னங்களுடன் புறப்பட்ட னர். அவர்களை காவல் துறையினர் தடுத்து நிறுத் தினர். தலித்மக்களை சந் திக்க வந்த சிபிஎம் சட்ட மன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள் செம் மொழி மாநாட்டில் பங்கேற் பதற்காகச் சென்றுள்ள மதுரை மாவட்ட ஆட்சியர் சி.காமராஜை தொடர்பு கொண்டு பேசினர். ஆட்சி யரோ, செம்மொழி மாநாடு முடிந்து 28ம் தேதி வந்துவிடு வேன். வந்தவுடன் உத்தப் புரத்திற்கு நேரடியாகச் சென்று பிரச்சனைகளை ஆய்வு செய்து தீர்க்கிறேன் என்றார்.
அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங்களை ஓட்டிச்செல்ல அனுமதிக்க வேண்டும் என தொடர்ந்து வலியுறுத்தியதை அடுத்து மாவட்ட ஆட்சியர் மாலை 2.30 மணிக்கு அனுமதியளித் தார். பின்னர் ஓர் ஆட் டோவை வரவழைத்து, காவல்துறை ஜீப் முன்னால் செல்ல, ஆட்டோவில் ஜந்தாறு பெண்கள் சென்றனர். இவர் களது ஆட்டோவைத் தொடர்ந்து பாதுகாப்புக்கு காவல்துறையினர் சென் றனர்.
பேரையூர் தாசில்தார், சாக்கடையை ஊருக்கு வெளியே கொண்டு செல்வ தற்கு பணம் ஒதுக்கீடு செய் யப்பட்டுள்ளதாகவும், விரைவில் அப்பணிகள் துவங்குமெனவும் உறுதி யளித்தார்.
ஆட்சியர் அளித்த வாக் குறுதிகளை தலித் மக்களி டம் தலைவர்கள் எடுத்துக் கூறினர். உத்தப்புரம் தலித் மக்களின் கோரிக்கைகளுக் காக மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கம்யூ னிஸ்ட் கட்சியும், தீண்டா மை ஒழிப்பு முன்னணியும் தொடர்ந்து உறுதியான போராட்டங்களை நடத் தும் என உறுதியளித்தனர். இதையடுத்து மாலை 3 மணிக்கு மக்கள் தங்களது உண்ணாவிரதப்போராட் டத்தை விலக்கிக்கொண்டனர்.
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உத்தப்புரம் : சிபிஎம் சட்டமன்றக்குழு ஆய்வு
மதுரை, ஜூன் 21-
உத்தப்புரத்தில் காவல்துறை நடத்திய தடியடி தாக்குதலில் பாதிக் கப்பட்ட தலித் மக்களை மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சியின் சட்ட மன்றக்குழுவினர் திங்களன்று காலை சந்தித்தனர்.
உத்தப்புரத்தில் பிரச்சனைக்குரிய சாக்கடையை தோண்டி தலித் மக்கள் பேருந்துக்காக காத்திருக்கும் பகுதியில் போட்டதையடுத்து ஏற் பட்ட சம்பவத்தில் தலித்மக்கள் மீது காவல்துறை தடியடி தாக்குதல் நடத் தியது. தலித்மக்கள் மூன்று பேர் காயமடைந்தனர். மேலும் தலித்மக்கள் பலர் மீது கொலைமுயற்சி உள்ளிட்ட பல்வேறு பொய்வழக்குகளை பதிவு செய்து காவல்துறை சிறையில் அடைத்துள்ளது.
மேலும் காவல்துறையினர் இரவு நேரத்தில் ஆண்களையும்-பெண்களையும் வீடு புகுந்து மிரட்டியுள்ளனர். இதையடுத்து ஆண்கள் யாரும் ஊரில் இல்லாத நிலை உள்ளது. பெண்கள் மட்டுமே கிராமத்தில் உள்ளனர். தலித் மக்கள் வசிக்கும் பகுதியில் கடைகள் முற்றாக அடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. காவல்துறையின் தடியடி சம்பவத்தால் பாதிக் கப்பட்ட தலித் மக்களை மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சியின் சட்ட மன்றக்குழுத்தலைவர் கே.பாலபாரதி, சட்டமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள் என். நன்மாறன், எஸ்.கே.மகேந்திரன், தமிழ்நாடு விவசாயிகள் சங்கத்தின் மாநில பொதுச்செயலாளர் பெ.சண்முகம், மாவட்டச்செயலாளர் சி.ராமகிருஷ்ணன், தீண்டாமை ஒழிப்பு முன்னணியின் மாநிலத் தலைவர் பி.சம்பத், பொதுச் செயலாளர் கே.சாமுவேல்ராஜ், மதுரை மாவட்ட நிர்வாகிகள் எம்.தங்கராசு, எஸ்.கே.பொன்னுத்தாய், ஆர்.ராஜகோபால், மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சியின் மாவட்டசெயற்குழு உறுப்பினர்கள், மாவட்டக்குழு உறுப்பி னர்கள் திங்களன்று சந்தித்து ஆறுதல் கூறி நடைபெற்ற சம்பவங்கள் குறித்து கேட்டறிந்தனர்.
பின்னர் செய்தியாளர்களிடம் பேசிய தீண்டாமை ஒழிப்பு முன்னணி யின் மாநிலத்தலைவர் பி.சம்பத், உத்தப்புரத்தில் நிழற்குடை அமைக்க வேண்டும், அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங்கள் செல்ல அனுமதிக்க வேண்டும், அரசமர வழிபாட்டு உரிமையை உத்தரவாதப்படுத்த வேண்டும், தலித் மக்கள் மீது போடப்பட்டுள்ள பொய்வழக்குகளை வாபஸ் பெற வேண்டும் என்பன உள்ளிட்ட பிரச்சனைகள் குறித்து ஏற்கெனவே தமிழக அரசிடமும், மதுரை மாவட்ட நிர்வாகத்திடமும் தீண்டாமை ஒழிப்பு முன்னணியும், மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சியும் தொடர்ந்து வலியுறுத்தி வருகிறது. ஆனால் இன்றுவரை நிழல் குடை அமைக்கவில்லை, அரசு திறந்துவிட்ட பாதையில் வாகனங்கள் செல்ல அனுமதிக்கப்படவில்லை. சாக்கடை பிரச்சனைக்குக்கூட தீர்வு காணப்படவில்லை என்றார்.
மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கட்சியின் சட்டமன்ற குழுத்தலைவர் கே.பாலபாரதி கூறு கையில், உத்தப்புரத்தில் தலித் மக்கள் மீது காவல்துறை நடத்திய தடியடி குறித் தும், மக்களின் பிரச்சனைகள் தீர்க்கப்படாதது குறித்தும் தமிழக முதல் வரின் கவனத்திற்கு கொண்டு செல்வோம் என்றார்.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
CORPSE OF DALIT BURIED IN DISPUTED BURIAL GROUND DESPITE POLICE RESISTANCE IN SORISPURAM
The burial ground in the enjoyment of dalit People of Sorispuram in Tuticorin District(TN) for more than 6 decades was all of a sudden denied on the ground that it located in a patta land of a private party.The dalit people under the banner of TN Untouchability Eradication front(TNUEF)undertook different form of struggle but in vain. A picketing of Collectorate on 5.7.10 was declared.In the meantime one Sri nainar of age 85 died of sickness all of a sudden.
The villagers led by TNUEF leaders P.Esakkimuthu(District Convener),K.P.Perumal(District Secretary of AIKS)K.S.Arjunan(Town Secretary of CPI(M) and Sankarasubbu (AIKS),Marimuthu(Town Secretary of DYFI)Vai.Balu(CITU), took the corpse in procession to the disputed burial ground.The RDO and Police denied permission to enter into the burial ground. The processionist with the corpse,however, managed to enter into the burial ground by breaking the fence and the stone pillars, dig the ground and buried the corpse despite the police snatched the crowbar and spades used for digging the burial ground. Thus the dead body was buried and a memorial stone was laid near the buried place. The police force was all of a sudden withdrawn from the scene.
After the burial was over, P.Esakkimuthu,K.S.Arjunan and K.P.Perumal addressed the gathering stressing the need to rally behind the TNUEF to protect the rights of the dalits.
It is thus again established that the abrogated burial ground can be restored with the unity and struggle of the dalit people under the banner of TNUEF despite fence, stonepillars and Police
The video clippings of the struggle can be seen below
P.Esakkimuthu,Dist.Convener,TNUEF,Tuticorin
The villagers led by TNUEF leaders P.Esakkimuthu(District Convener),K.P.Perumal(District Secretary of AIKS)K.S.Arjunan(Town Secretary of CPI(M) and Sankarasubbu (AIKS),Marimuthu(Town Secretary of DYFI)Vai.Balu(CITU), took the corpse in procession to the disputed burial ground.The RDO and Police denied permission to enter into the burial ground. The processionist with the corpse,however, managed to enter into the burial ground by breaking the fence and the stone pillars, dig the ground and buried the corpse despite the police snatched the crowbar and spades used for digging the burial ground. Thus the dead body was buried and a memorial stone was laid near the buried place. The police force was all of a sudden withdrawn from the scene.
After the burial was over, P.Esakkimuthu,K.S.Arjunan and K.P.Perumal addressed the gathering stressing the need to rally behind the TNUEF to protect the rights of the dalits.
It is thus again established that the abrogated burial ground can be restored with the unity and struggle of the dalit people under the banner of TNUEF despite fence, stonepillars and Police
The video clippings of the struggle can be seen below
P.Esakkimuthu,Dist.Convener,TNUEF,Tuticorin
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
MADRAS HIGH COURT JUDGEMENT ON “ PANCHAMI LANDS”
MADRAS HIGH COURT JUDGEMENT ON “ PANCHAMI LANDS”
a recent court judgment of the Madras High Court on the alienation of the "Panchami Lands" assigned to the 'Depressed Classes' (later termed Scheduled Castes) to persons who were not from the Depressed Classes raises questions about a problem that has defied solution over decades. Dismissing the writ appeals filed by a private builder and a residents' association against an order passed in 1996 by a single Judge of the Madras High Court, a Division Bench comprising Justice Prabha Sridevan and Justice P.P.S. Janarthana Raja affirmed the findings of the single Judge that the lands in question were the [Panchami] lands allotted to members of the Scheduled Castes, subject to the conditions stipulated in Standing Order No. 15 of the Board of Revenue and that the present alienation of the land was in violation of these conditions. According to the Standing Order, if there has been violation of the conditions in the alienation of Panchami land, the Government has the power to resume the land. In such cases, "the Government will be entitled to re-enter and take possession of the land without payment of any compensation or refund of the purchase money." The judgment pointed out that the conditions imposed by the Government when it assigned the land were that the allotted land should not be alienated to any person for 10 years from the date of assignment and thereafter they could only be alienated to persons belonging to the Depressed Classes and if they were alienated to persons other than the Depressed Classes, the Government had the power to retrieve such land.
The Division Bench quotes extensively from the observations of the Supreme Court of India while dealing with the question of the right to economic justice under Article 46 of the Constitution, "which casts upon the State a duty to provide economic justice to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections of the society in order to prevent their exploitation." Justice Prabha Sridevan, who delivered the judgment for the Division Bench, gives a brief history of the assignment of lands to the Depressed Classes, before elaborating the Bench's verdict. In 1891, the Collector of Chengalpet District in northern Tamil Nadu, J.H.A. Tremenheere, sent a report to the British government on the plight of the Depressed Classes. Lands were then in the total control of persons who were considered to be at higher levels in the caste hierarchy and the bonded agricultural labourers and landless workers mainly belonged to the Depressed Classes.
Tremenheere stated further in his report: "The small marginal land holdings, housing, literacy, free labour without force/bondage, self-respect and dignity are the factors that could lead to transformation (in their lives)." The British Parliament passed the Depressed Class Land Act in 1892 and 12 lakh acres of land were distributed to people from the Depressed Classes in Tamil Nadu. The lands were called Panchami Lands [also known as Depressed Classes Conditional Lands] and were given away on certain conditions.
Justice Prabha Sridevan noted in this judgment that it would appear that the conditions over sale were imposed bearing in mind that it would be easy to exploit persons belonging to the Depressed Classes who had been kept in a subjugated condition. Statistics showed that vast extents of lands distributed under the scheme were later in the possession of persons who did not belong to the Depressed Classes. The Judge observed that the conditions appeared to have been violated without any check or restraint. (The counsel for the appellants had submitted that such a restraint on alienation of land was void.)
The Judge drew attention to an excerpt from the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, which the Supreme Court referred to while dealing with a petition challenging the Act. The excerpt read: "Despite various measures to improve the socio-economic conditions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, they remain vulnerable. They are denied a number of civil rights. They are subjected to various offences, indignities, humiliation, and harassment. They have, in several brutal incidents, been deprived of their life and property. Serious crimes are committed against them for various historical, social and economic reasons." She added: "The very sad truth is that the conditions recorded in the Statement of Objects and Reasons in the year 1989 have not abated. Therefore, this only underscores the importance of protecting the rights of those who have been for centuries, denied this right [to live with human dignity]."
The verdict of the Division Bench, which has looked into the problem from the perspective of the constitutional rights of Dalits, such as the right to economic justice and the right to live with dignity, gains significance in the context of repeated appeals of Dalit and Left organisations to the government to retrieve Panchami lands, assigned to Dalits but now in the possession of non-Dalits, and restore it to Dalits. Only massive, concerted efforts of the government to survey the land assigned under the Panchami Land scheme and identify the land alienated to non-Dalits in violation of the conditions can lead to restitutive justice on the ground.
BY: P.ESAKKIMUTHU, DISTRICT CONVENER, TN UNTOUCHABILITY ERADICATION FRONT,TUTICORIN
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/untouchabilityeradicationfront/)
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Rally for justice
 The rally held by the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front in Pudukottai on May 29. |
பஞ்சமி நிலங்கள் மீட்கப்பட வேண்டும் -தே. இலட்சுமணன்
அண்மையில், சரியாகச் சொல்ல வேண்டுமானால், 5.4.2010 அன்று “மெட் ராஸ்” உயர்நீதிமன்றத்தில் டிவிஷனல் பெஞ்ச் ஓர் அற்புதமான தீர்ப்பு ஒன்றை வழங் கியது. பஞ்சமி நிலம் பறிக்கப்பட்ட - சட்டத் துக்குப் புறம்பாக அபகரிக்கப்பட்ட அந்தப் பஞ்சமி நிலம் பற்றிய தீர்ப்புதான் அது. |
Caste system a hypocrisy : B V Raghavulu CPI(M) AP STATE SECRETARY
Caste system a hypocrisy : B V Raghavulu
CPI (M) State secretary B. V. Raghavulu escorted Dalits into the temple at Hanavole near Adoni in Kurnool district on Monday as part of the campaign against untouchability.
Mr. Raghavulu accompanied by a handful of Dalit families entered the temples of Anjaneya Swamy and Laxminarasimha Swamy and offered prayers.
Tension prevailed in the village as the CPI(M) leaders attempted to do some thing radical for the first time. Earlier, he advocated local barber Mahanandiah to shave the beard of Dalits.
He volunteered but the family members of the barber tried to oppose it on the ground that they might invite the wrath of other villagers and may lose livelihood.
Mr. Raghavulu himself cut the hair symbolically to infuse confidence in Mahananadiah who did the rest of the job. Later, the CPI(M) leaders moved into Dalit locality and had lunch with the families.
Campaign
The CPI (M) leaders chose Hanavole as their place of campaign as several forms of untouchability were still prevalent in the village.
Dalits were denied entry to temples and were served food in the separate plates and glasses in the local roadside hotels.
Deputy SP and other senior officers were in the village when the CPI (M) leaders were around. They said they were for implementing the law and protecting the Dalits rights.
Meanwhile, addressing the gathering, Mr. Raghavulu said caste system was bane of Indian society and India could not progress without giving equal rights to all. He said a country developed only when people developed. India was the only country which discriminated people in the name of caste.
He said caste system was only a hypocrisy which prevailed only in villages. He wanted to know whether any patient asked for the caste of the blood donor or a customer asked for the caste of the cook in a star hotel before eating the food there.
CPI (M) district secretary T. Shadrak, Kula Vivaksha Vyathireka Porata Samithi leader Anandbabu and others were present.
(Courtesy : The Hindu)
Monday, April 12, 2010
Novel Protest against untouchability in Kurnool
New awakening: A barber offers his services to a Scheduled Caste person,ignoring the diktat of upper caste landlords, near Yemmiganur in Kurnool district on Sunday
Kula Vivaksha Vyatirekha Porata Samiti (KVVPS) a front organisation of CPI(M) organised a protest to remove the age-old residual untouchability in a remote village near Yemmiganur in Kurnool district on Sunday. Under threat from upper caste landlords, the washermen and barbers in the village refused to extend their services to Scheduled Caste families of the village.
The SC families either washed their clothes on the own or went to nearby town to have a haircut. The volunteers of KVVPS led by CPI(M) district secretary T. Shadrak counselled the service castes to extend the service to SC members.
Feudal practice
Bheemanna, an elder from the barber community told the activists that they were willing to undertake the job if protection was given to them from the landlords who wanted to enforce the age-old feudal practice. Mr. Bheemanna trimmed the hair of Samuel and Moshe and received remuneration for the service. Dalits of the village expressed happiness for breaking the age-old caste system and joining the mainstream social life.
(Courtesy : The Hindu)
Monday, June 14, 2010
Brinda Karat implement Forest Act to prevent sale of land to corporates
CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat (centre) with participants at the concluding session
NEW DELHI: The government's “pro-corporate policies” came under attack at a two-day national convention on tribal rights that concluded here with participants calling for an end to displacement due to developmental projects.
In a resolution, the participants said that many States, including Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, were not implementing the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 as it would prevent the sale of forest land to corporate houses.
Addressing a press conference later, Brinda Karat, (CPI-M) Polit Bureau member, said a struggle against displacement would be launched across the country in July.
She announced the launch of a National Platform for Tribal Rights with participation from all tribal States. A special 42-member committee was constituted to coordinate between the States on issues related to tribal communities.
Ms. Karat said Maoists had reportedly struck a secret deal to hand over 10,000 acres of forest land to corporate houses in at least four districts of Jharkhand without the government's knowledge. She said these districts were totally under their control.
Package for Adivasis
Demanding a special package for Adivasis, Ms. Karat said this was necessary as very few farmers were able to access the Centre's farmer loan waiver scheme. The government should announce compensation in case of destruction of minor forest produce (MFP) like tendu patta as this was a major source of income for the tribal communities. Under the present criteria, MFP is not within the purview of compensation.
The resolution also demanded that BPL status be given to Adivasis. At present, they are outside the ambit of Below the Poverty Line category, as most of them have some landholdings.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
பழங்குடியினர் உரிமைகளுக்கான சிறப்பு மாநாடு -பிருந்தா காரத் எம்.பி
பழங்குடியினர் உரிமைகளுக்கான சிறப்பு மாநாடு ஜூன் 12, 13 ஆகிய தேதிகளில் தில்லியில் நடைபெறுகிறது. நாட்டின் பல பகுதிகளிலிருந்தும் சுமார் 230 பிரதிநிதிகள் இம்மாநாட்டில் பங்கேற்கிறார்கள்.
பிரதிநிதிகள் தங்கள் அனுபவங்களை மாநாட்டில் பதிவுசெய்வதுடன், உடனடி எதிர்கால நடவடிக்கைகளையும் மாநாட்டில் திட்டமிடுகிறார்கள்.
மாநாட்டின் நிகழ்ச்சிநிரலில் முக்கியமான ஒன்று, தேசிய அளவில் பழங்குடியினர் உரி மைகளுக்கான தேசிய மேடை ஒன்றை அமைப்பதாகும். இவ்வமைப்பானது பழங்குடி யினர் உரிமைகளுக்கான இயக்கங்களை நாடு தழுவிய அளவில் ஒருங்கிணைத்து முன்னெடுத்துச் செல்ல உதவிடும்.
தொழிலாளர் வர்க்கம், விவசாய வர்க்கம் தங்கள் உரிமைகளுக்காகப் போராடுவதைப் போன்று, பழங்குடியினர் உரிமைகளுக்கான போராட்டமும் மிக முக்கியமானதேயாகும். மேலும், வேலைவாய்ப்பு, சுகாதாரம், கல்வி மற்றும் வாழ்க்கையின் அடிப்படை சமூக - பொருளாதாரத் தேவைகளிலும் பழங்குடியின மாணவர்கள், பெண்கள் மற்றும் இளைஞர்கள் மிகவும் அடித்தட்டு நிலையிலேயே இருந்து வருகிறார்கள். நாட்டின் பல பகுதிகளிலும் பழங்குடியினர் உரிமைகளுக்காகப் போராட் டங்களை நடத்தி வரும் பல்வேறு அமைப்பு களைச் சேர்ந்தவர்களும் இச்சிறப்பு மாநாட்டில் பிரதிநிதிகளாகக் கலந்து கொள்கிறார்கள். தங் கள் அனுபவங்களை மாநாட்டில் பகிர்ந்து கொள்கிறார்கள்.
முந்தைய தேசிய ஜனநாயகக் கூட்டணி அரசாங்கமும் சரி, இப்போதைய ஐக்கிய முற் போக்குக் கூட்டணி அரசாங்கமும் சரி, பழங் குடியினர் உரிமைகளைப் பறிப்பதில் முனைப் பாகச் செயல்பட்டு வருகின்றன. அவர்களைத் தங்கள் நிலங்களிலிருந்து கட்டாயமாக வெளி யேற்றுதல், பழங்குடியினர் நிலங்களை கார்ப் பரேட் நிறுவனங்களுக்கு அளித்திட முனை தல் போன்ற நடவடிக்கைகளில் இறங்கியுள் ளன. ஆட்சியாளர்களின் கொள்கைகள் பழங் குடியினர் மத்தியில் தொடர்ந்து உணவுப் பாது காப்பின்மையையும், ஊட்டச்சத்தின்மையை யுமே ஏற்படுத்தி வருகின்றன. இந்நிலையில் ஆட்சியாளர்கள் உள்ளீடான வளர்ச்சி குறித் துத் தம்பட்டம் அடிப்பதெல்லாம் கேலிக்கூத்தாகும்.
பழங்குடியினர், சமூக ரீதியாகவும், பொரு ளாதார ரீதியாகவும் கடும் சுரண்டலுக்கும் ஒடுக்குமுறைக்கும் ஆளாகியுள்ளார்கள். பழங் குடியினரில் பெரும் பகுதியினர் நாட்டில் மிக வும் மோசமாக சுரண்டப்படும் வர்க்கங்க ளைச் சேர்ந்தவர்கள் ஆவர். எனவே, இவர்கள் புரட்சிகர சமூக மாற்றத்திற்கான போராட்டத் தின் முக்கியமான முன்னணிப் படையாகும்.
பழங்குடியினரில் 70 விழுக்காட்டினர் சிறிய மற்றும் நடுத்தர விவசாய வர்க்கத்தைச் சார்ந்தவர்கள் ஆவர். இவர்கள் மிகவும் சிறிய அளவில் நிலங்களை வைத்துப் பயிர் செய்து வருகிறார்கள். அவற்றில் உற்பத்தித் திறனும் மிகவும் குறைவேயாகும். 30 விழுக்காட்டுக் கும் மேலான பழங்குடியினர் நிலமற்றவர்கள். 15 முதல் 20 விழுக்காட்டினருக்கிடையே உள்ளவர்களுக்கு சொந்த வீடோ, நிலமோ கிடையாது என்று மதிப்பிடப்பட்டிருக்கிறது. ஆனால் அவர்கள் வாழுமிடங்கள் மிகவும் கனிம வளம்மிக்க செறிவான நிலப்பகுதிகளா கும். இவற்றை கார்ப்பரேட் நிறுவனங்களுக் குத் தாரைவார்ப்பதற்காக, ஆட்சியாளர்கள் பழங்குடியினரை தாங்கள் வாழும் பகுதிகளி லிருந்து விரட்டியடிப்பதற்கான முயற்சிகளில் இறங்கியிருக்கின்றனர்.
இவ்வாறு நில உரிமைகள், நிலச்சீர்திருத் தங்கள், நிலத்திலிருந்து வெளியேற்றுவதற்கு எதிரான போராட்டங்கள் இச்சிறப்பு மாநாட் டின் மையப் பிரச்சனைகளாக அமைந்திடும் என்பதில் ஐயமில்லை.
பழங்குடியினர் உரிமைகள் சட்டம் அமல் படுத்தப்படுவது மிகவும் மோசமான நிலை யில் உள்ளன. பல மாநிலங்களில் வனத்துறை அதிகாரிகள் தலையீடு தேவையில்லாமல் இருக்கின்றன. பழங்குடியினர் விவகாரங்க ளுக்கான அமைச்சகம் இணைய தளத்தில் வெளியிட்டுள்ள தகவல்களின்படி, 2010 மார்ச் 31 தேதிவாக்கில் நாட்டில் 27 லட்சத் திற்கும் அதிகமான அளவில் நில உரிமைகள் கோரி மனுக்கள் நிலுவையில் உள்ளன. இவற் றில் நாலில் ஒரு பகுதியினருக்கு மட்டுமே அதாவது சுமார் 7 லட்சம் பேர்களுக்கு மட் டுமே நிலம் விநியோகிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கிறது.
பல மாநிலங்களில் பழங்குடியினரை மாவோயிஸ்ட்டுகள் பலிகடாக்களாகப் பயன் படுத்திக் கொண்டிருக்கின்றனர். அவர்களை எதிர்த்திடும் அனைவரையும் கொடூரமாகக் கொலை செய்து வருகின்றனர். சத்தீஸ்கர் போன்ற மாநிலங்களை மாவோயிஸ்ட்டு களை ஒடுக்குகிறோம் என்ற பெயரில் ஆட்சி யாளர்கள், பழங்குடியினர் மீது ஒடுக்குமுறைத் தாக்குதல்களைத் தொடுத்துள்ளனர். அப்பாவி பழங்குடியின மக்கள் ஒரு பக்கத்தில் மாவோ யிஸ்ட்டுகளாலும், மறுபக்கத்தில் ஆட்சியாளர் களாலும் தாக்கப்படும் கொடுமை தொடர்ந்து கொண்டிருக்கிறது.
இத்தகைய சூழ்நிலையில்தான் பழங்குடி யின மக்களின் சிறப்பு மாநாடு புதுதில்லியில் நடைபெறுகிறது. பழங்குடியினரின் உரிமை களைப் பாதுகாத்திட போராட்டப்பாதையைத் தீர்மானிக்கும் மாநாடாக இது அமைந்திடும் என்பதில் எந்தச் சந்தேகமும் இல்லை
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
A Hystorical judgement in Dalit Jurisprudence was pronounced by Supreme Court
A Hystorical judgement in Dalit Jurisprudence was pronounced by Supreme Court in
a case between State of Karnataka and Appa Babu Ingale(CriminalAppeal
No.164/1983) as back as in 1992.The fact of the case is as follows:
Appa Babu Ingale and 4others were tried for the offence under Sec 4 & 7 of
Protection of Civil Rights Act,1955.Though the trial Court convicted all,the
Appellate Court confirmed the conviction in respect of one person and set free
the others. On appeal, the High Court of Karnataka acquitted all the accused
stating the reason that the evidence of prosecution side is contradictory. The
Supreme Court heard the Criminal Appeal filed by the State of Karnataka . The
Supreme Court has observed the following in the judgement and confirmed the
conviction of trial court
1. PARA 2 . The charge against the respondents was that they restrained the
complainant party by show of force from taking water from a newly dug-up bore
well on the ground that they were untouchables. The prosecution produced four
witnesses who were all Harijans. The trial court and the appellate court, on
appreciation of the evidence, reached the concurrent-finding that the charge
against the respondents-accused was proved beyond reasonable doubt
2. PARA 11. Article 17 of the Constitution of India, in Part III, a Fundamental
Right, made an epoch making declaration that "untouchability" is abolished and
its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising
out of "untouchability" shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.
In exercise of the power in second part of Article 17 and Article 35(a)(ii), the
Untouchability (Offences) Act 1955 was made, which was renamed in 1976 as
"Protection of Civil Rights Act", for short 'the Act'. Abolition of
untouchability in itself is complete and its effect is all pervading applicable
to state actions as well as acts of omission by individuals, institutions,
juristic or body of persons. Despite its abolition it is being practised with
impunity more in breach. More than 75% of the cases under the Act are ending in
acquittal at all levels. Apathy and lack of proper perspectives even by the
courts in tackling the naughty problem is obvious. For the first time after 42
years of the Constitution came into force this first case has come up to this
Court to consider the problem
3. PARA 18. Neither the Constitution nor the Act defined 'Untouchability'.
Reasons are obvious. It is not capable of precise definition. It encompasses
acts/practices committed against Dalits in diverse forms. Mahatama Gandhiji in
his 'My philosophy of Life' edited by A.T. Hingorani 1961 Edn. at p. 146, stated
that "untouchability means pollution by the touch of certain person by reason of
their birth in a particular state of family. It is a phenomenon peculiar to
Hinduism and has got no warrant in reasons or sastras". According to Dr.
Ambedkar, "the untouchability is the notion of defilement, pollution,
contamination and the ways and means of getting rid of that defilement. It is a
permanent hereditary stain which nothing can cleanse". The Parliamentary
Committee on Untouchability headed by L. Elayaperumal in their 1969 report
stated that 'untouchability' is a basic and unique feature and inseparably
linked up with the caste system and social set up based upon it. It does not
require much research to realise that the phenomenon of untouchability in this
country is fundamentally of a religious or political origin. Untouchability is
not a separate institution by itself, it is a corollary of the institution of
the caste system of Hindu Society. It is an attitude on the part of a whole
group of people. It is a spirit of social aggression that underlies this
attitude.
4. PARA 33. When the mandate of Article 17 was being breached with impunity,
and commission of atrocities on Dalits and Tribes continued unabated, to stamp
out the evil, the Parliament stepped in and made Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 with stringent provisions to
eradicate those offences with speedy trial. Relief and rehabilitation of the
victims of such offence and related matters. The details thereof are not germane
for discussion.
5. PARA The power of judicial review must, therefore, be exercised with insight
into social values to supplement the changing social needs. The existing social
inequalities or imbalances are to be removed and social order readjusted through
rule of law, lest the force of violent cult gain ugly triumph. Judges are
summoned to the duty of shaping the progress of the law to consolidate society
and grant access to the Dalits and Tribes to public means or places dedicated to
public use or places of amenities open to public etc. The law which is the
resultant product is not found but made. Public policy of law, as determined by
new conditions, would enable the courts to recast the changing conceptions of
social values of yester years yielding place to the changed conditions and
environment to the common good. The courts are to search for light from among
the social elements of every kind that are the living forces behind the factors
they deal with. By judicial review, the glorious contents and the trite
realisation in the constitutional words of width must be made vocal and audible
giving them continuity of life, expression and force when they might otherwise
be forgotten or ignored in the heat of moment or under sway of passions of
emotion remain aroused, that the rational faculties get befogged and the people
are addicted to take immediate for eternal, the transitory for the permanent and
the ephemeral for the timeless. It is in such surging situation the presence and
consciousness and the restraining external force by judicial review ensures
stability and progress of the Society. Judiciary does not forsake the ideals
enshrined in he constitution, but make them meaningful and make the people
realise and enjoy the rights.
6. PARA 35. The Judges, therefore, should respond to the human situations to
meet the felt necessities of the time and social needs, make meaningful the
right to life and give effect to the Constitution and the will of the
Legislature. This court as the vehicle of transforming the nations life should
respond to the nation's needs and to interpret the law with pragmatism to
further public welfare to make the constitutional animations a reality. Common
sense is always served in the court's ceaseless striving as a voice of reason to
maintain the blend of change and continuity of order which is sine quo non for
stability in the process of change in a parliamentary democracy. In interpreting
the Act, the judge should be cognizant to and always keep at the back of his/her
mind the constitutional goals and the purpose of the Act and interpret the
provisions of the Act in the light thus shed to annihilate untouchability; to
accord to the Dalits and the Tribes right to equality, social integration a
fruition and make fraternity a reality.
7. PARA 36. The thrust of Article 17 and the Act is to liberate the society from
blind and ritualistic adherence and traditional beliefs which lost all legal or
moral base. It seeks to establish new ideal for society - equality to the
Dalits, at par with general public, absence of disabilities, restrictions or
prohibitions on grounds of caste or religion, availability of opportunities and
a sense of being a participant in the main stream of national life.
8. PARA 40. Accordingly, I agree with my brother on the conviction and sentences
imposed on the respondents and the appeal is accordingly allowed.
The full judgement is reported in http://indiankanoon.org/doc/514077/ (AIR 1993
SC 1126, 1993 (1) ALT Cri 390, 1993 CriLJ 1029 ) .If anybody wants full
judgement I am prepared to send the same
P.Esakkimuthu(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/untouchabilityeradicationfront/)
a case between State of Karnataka and Appa Babu Ingale(CriminalAppeal
No.164/1983) as back as in 1992.The fact of the case is as follows:
Appa Babu Ingale and 4others were tried for the offence under Sec 4 & 7 of
Protection of Civil Rights Act,1955.Though the trial Court convicted all,the
Appellate Court confirmed the conviction in respect of one person and set free
the others. On appeal, the High Court of Karnataka acquitted all the accused
stating the reason that the evidence of prosecution side is contradictory. The
Supreme Court heard the Criminal Appeal filed by the State of Karnataka . The
Supreme Court has observed the following in the judgement and confirmed the
conviction of trial court
1. PARA 2 . The charge against the respondents was that they restrained the
complainant party by show of force from taking water from a newly dug-up bore
well on the ground that they were untouchables. The prosecution produced four
witnesses who were all Harijans. The trial court and the appellate court, on
appreciation of the evidence, reached the concurrent-finding that the charge
against the respondents-accused was proved beyond reasonable doubt
2. PARA 11. Article 17 of the Constitution of India, in Part III, a Fundamental
Right, made an epoch making declaration that "untouchability" is abolished and
its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising
out of "untouchability" shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.
In exercise of the power in second part of Article 17 and Article 35(a)(ii), the
Untouchability (Offences) Act 1955 was made, which was renamed in 1976 as
"Protection of Civil Rights Act", for short 'the Act'. Abolition of
untouchability in itself is complete and its effect is all pervading applicable
to state actions as well as acts of omission by individuals, institutions,
juristic or body of persons. Despite its abolition it is being practised with
impunity more in breach. More than 75% of the cases under the Act are ending in
acquittal at all levels. Apathy and lack of proper perspectives even by the
courts in tackling the naughty problem is obvious. For the first time after 42
years of the Constitution came into force this first case has come up to this
Court to consider the problem
3. PARA 18. Neither the Constitution nor the Act defined 'Untouchability'.
Reasons are obvious. It is not capable of precise definition. It encompasses
acts/practices committed against Dalits in diverse forms. Mahatama Gandhiji in
his 'My philosophy of Life' edited by A.T. Hingorani 1961 Edn. at p. 146, stated
that "untouchability means pollution by the touch of certain person by reason of
their birth in a particular state of family. It is a phenomenon peculiar to
Hinduism and has got no warrant in reasons or sastras". According to Dr.
Ambedkar, "the untouchability is the notion of defilement, pollution,
contamination and the ways and means of getting rid of that defilement. It is a
permanent hereditary stain which nothing can cleanse". The Parliamentary
Committee on Untouchability headed by L. Elayaperumal in their 1969 report
stated that 'untouchability' is a basic and unique feature and inseparably
linked up with the caste system and social set up based upon it. It does not
require much research to realise that the phenomenon of untouchability in this
country is fundamentally of a religious or political origin. Untouchability is
not a separate institution by itself, it is a corollary of the institution of
the caste system of Hindu Society. It is an attitude on the part of a whole
group of people. It is a spirit of social aggression that underlies this
attitude.
4. PARA 33. When the mandate of Article 17 was being breached with impunity,
and commission of atrocities on Dalits and Tribes continued unabated, to stamp
out the evil, the Parliament stepped in and made Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 with stringent provisions to
eradicate those offences with speedy trial. Relief and rehabilitation of the
victims of such offence and related matters. The details thereof are not germane
for discussion.
5. PARA The power of judicial review must, therefore, be exercised with insight
into social values to supplement the changing social needs. The existing social
inequalities or imbalances are to be removed and social order readjusted through
rule of law, lest the force of violent cult gain ugly triumph. Judges are
summoned to the duty of shaping the progress of the law to consolidate society
and grant access to the Dalits and Tribes to public means or places dedicated to
public use or places of amenities open to public etc. The law which is the
resultant product is not found but made. Public policy of law, as determined by
new conditions, would enable the courts to recast the changing conceptions of
social values of yester years yielding place to the changed conditions and
environment to the common good. The courts are to search for light from among
the social elements of every kind that are the living forces behind the factors
they deal with. By judicial review, the glorious contents and the trite
realisation in the constitutional words of width must be made vocal and audible
giving them continuity of life, expression and force when they might otherwise
be forgotten or ignored in the heat of moment or under sway of passions of
emotion remain aroused, that the rational faculties get befogged and the people
are addicted to take immediate for eternal, the transitory for the permanent and
the ephemeral for the timeless. It is in such surging situation the presence and
consciousness and the restraining external force by judicial review ensures
stability and progress of the Society. Judiciary does not forsake the ideals
enshrined in he constitution, but make them meaningful and make the people
realise and enjoy the rights.
6. PARA 35. The Judges, therefore, should respond to the human situations to
meet the felt necessities of the time and social needs, make meaningful the
right to life and give effect to the Constitution and the will of the
Legislature. This court as the vehicle of transforming the nations life should
respond to the nation's needs and to interpret the law with pragmatism to
further public welfare to make the constitutional animations a reality. Common
sense is always served in the court's ceaseless striving as a voice of reason to
maintain the blend of change and continuity of order which is sine quo non for
stability in the process of change in a parliamentary democracy. In interpreting
the Act, the judge should be cognizant to and always keep at the back of his/her
mind the constitutional goals and the purpose of the Act and interpret the
provisions of the Act in the light thus shed to annihilate untouchability; to
accord to the Dalits and the Tribes right to equality, social integration a
fruition and make fraternity a reality.
7. PARA 36. The thrust of Article 17 and the Act is to liberate the society from
blind and ritualistic adherence and traditional beliefs which lost all legal or
moral base. It seeks to establish new ideal for society - equality to the
Dalits, at par with general public, absence of disabilities, restrictions or
prohibitions on grounds of caste or religion, availability of opportunities and
a sense of being a participant in the main stream of national life.
8. PARA 40. Accordingly, I agree with my brother on the conviction and sentences
imposed on the respondents and the appeal is accordingly allowed.
The full judgement is reported in http://indiankanoon.org/doc/514077/ (AIR 1993
SC 1126, 1993 (1) ALT Cri 390, 1993 CriLJ 1029 ) .If anybody wants full
judgement I am prepared to send the same
P.Esakkimuthu(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/untouchabilityeradicationfront/)
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
மின்னாத்தூரில் ஏற்பட்ட மனமாற்றம் தலித்துகளுக்கு பொது கிளாசில் டீ
|
Dalits of Chettipulam, who faced unprecedented violence by caste Hindus in October, offer worship at the Siva temple in the village.
A battle won
in Chettipulam
| Dalits of Chettipulam, who faced unprecedented violence by caste Hindus in October, offer worship at the Siva temple in the village. |
Statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the compound wall of the Ekambareswarar temple in Chettipulam.
“Untouchability is a crime against God and man…. Untouchability is a hydra-headed monster…. Untouchability, I hold, is a sin, if Bhagavad Gita is one of our divine books.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
THE Ekambareswarar temple at Chettipulam in Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu, presents an irony. Casteist forces in the village have all along denied Dalits their constitutional right to enter the shrine and offer worship there. And, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi reading the Gita sits on the southern compound wall of the temple as a witness to all this.
However, the Dalits’ determination to assert their right and the uncompromising stand of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) on the issue resulted in the Collector and other top officials of the district administration leading the oppressed sections into the shrine under tight police security on October 27, close on the heels of the “peace talks” held with representatives of different communities.
Interestingly, the temple entry programme coincided with a massive rally held in Chennai on the same day by the TNUEF and several Dalit organisations with the backing of the CPI(M). The issues highlighted at the rally related to the denial of access to the oppressed people at the places of worship and other public places such as burial grounds, and discriminatory practices they face at tea stalls and haircutting saloons. Leaders who addressed the meeting reiterated their commitment to the cause.
The rally, among other things, demanded the appointment of a commission headed by a High Court judge to recommend a time-bound programme for the socio-economic uplift of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the State. It called for steps to raise the percentage of reservation for Dalits from 18 to 19 per cent, clear the backlog of vacancies in the S.C./S.T. category, redistribute surplus lands to Dalits, retrieve the panchami lands belonging to Dalits, curb manual scavenging, ensure entry of Dalits into temples and extend internal reservation benefits for all sub-sects of the Arunthathiar community.
But the path that led the Dalits into the Siva temple was not strewn with roses. Unprecedented violence was witnessed on October 14. It was aimed not only at Dalits who tried to fulfil their long-felt desire to enter the temple but also at the revenue and police officials who tried to implement the decision of a peace committee meeting on October 8 held at the initiative of the district administration.
The TNUEF and the CPI(M), which have led the temple entry struggle at Chettipulam and other places in the State, had made it clear that they would not compromise on the issue. They set October 30 as the deadline for the district administration to find an amicable solution to the issue. Dalits would be helped to enter the temple on November 2 if the administration failed to fulfil its constitutional responsibility, they stated. When Frontline visited Chettipulam, the village wore a deserted look. The majority of the caste-Hindu men, particularly those who were directly involved in the violence, had gone into hiding, and Dalit farm workers were away in neighbouring villages to eke out a living. Most of the shops had downed their shutters. Daily pujas seldom took place at the 80-year-old Siva temple. Police pickets were set up at different places.
Nagapattinam Collector C. Munianathan offering prayers along with Dalits at the Ekambareswarar temple.
Recalling the circumstances under which the temple entry agitation was launched in the village, “Nagai” Maali, district convener of the TNUEF, and A.V. Murugaiyan, district secretary of the CPI(M), said a survey conducted in 36 panchayats in Vedaranyam block in November 2008 had revealed that discriminatory practices against Dalits existed in several villages. Chettipulam was only the tip of the iceberg. At Marudur (South), Vanduvancheri, Ayakkaranpulam, Kadinavayal, Panchanathikulam Naduchethi, Kodiyakarai and Pushpavanam, and many other villages, Dalits were denied access to temples, the survey found out.
According to the survey, in 15 villages, washermen and hairdressers turned away Dalit customers. In 10 villages, Dalits were forced to do menial jobs such as removing carcasses. Dalits were not allowed to use public ponds or bury their dead at the common burial grounds, they were denied a path to Dalit burial grounds, they were discriminated against with the two-glass system at tea stalls, Dalit children were humiliated in schools, Dalit staff members were insulted at noon-meal centres and Dalit women were sexually assaulted in several villages. In many villages, the survey found that the police were either reluctant to book cases relating to atrocities against Dalits or took no action even after registering cases.
After the findings of the survey were released, a special conference was held at Vedaranyam on January 31. It passed resolutions seeking the intervention of the district administration to end the social and economic oppression, increase employment opportunities for Dalits and provide financial assistance to them.
In the absence of any worthwhile response from the administration, the CPI(M) and the TNUEF decided to focus on the Chettipulam temple issue and highlighted it in their State-wide agitation, held on September 30, against acts of caste-based discrimination, the TNUEF convener P. Sampath said. The agitation coincided with the death anniversary of B. Srinivasa Rao, the doyen of the kisan movement in the State. Srinivasa Rao had led many a heroic battle against feudalism and atrocities against Dalits since the 1940s.
The agitation at Chettipulam assumed significance as the kisan and Left movements were not as strong in the tail end of the Cauvery delta region as they were in the rest of east Thanjavur, CPI(M) Central Committee member G. Ramakrishnan said.
V. Duraimanickam, the general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, recalled the powerful struggles launched by the kisan and Left movements in east Thanjavur against the onslaught of feudalism and the brutal punishment “erring farmhands” were subjected to, which included savukkadi(flogging) and saanipal (forced drinking of cow dung mixed in water). These brutalities came to an end through a tripartite agreement in 1942. Another landmark achievement of these movements was the enactment of the Fair Wages Act for east Thanjavur in 1970, enabling farm workers to get wages beyond what was prescribed under the Minimum Wages Act. However, the inhuman treatment of Dalits continued for several years in Vedaranyam taluk, he pointed out.
Chettipulam has a population of around 7,000, including 600 Dalits. The village is only 40 km away from Keezhavenmani, where 44 Dalit farm workers were torched on December 25, 1968, by landlords for demanding a paltry wage hike. Even today, almost all Dalits of Chettipulam are either agricultural workers or manual labourers. These landless people have to rely on the caste-Hindu farmers for their livelihood. Some of them migrate to far-off places in search of jobs.
The entire village once belonged to the family of Vadapathimangalam Thiagaraja Mudaliar. Settlements between 1965 and 1975 enabled the caste-Hindu tenants to bring most of the lands under their control. Ironically, the erstwhile tenants wanted the Dalit workers to be subservient to them.
Enquiries with the local people revealed that though casteism had blurred the political lines to some extent, politics of one-upmanship adopted by the non-Left parties, particularly the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Congress, in the area had complicated the issue.
Maheshwar Dayal, Superintendent of Police, Nagapattinam, with police personnel outside the temple at Chettipulam.
When Dalits were about to reach the Siva temple on September 30, caste Hindus, mostly belonging to the most backward Vanniyar, Mutharayar, Thevar, Konar and Nadar communities, gathered in strength under the leadership of the local panchayat president, A. Manimaran of the DMK, and vice-chairman of the panchayat union S. Sivaprakasam of the Congress, to block them from entering it. They locked the shrine. Even as the CPI(M) activists threatened to break the lock, the authorities clamped Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and sealed the lock. Around 300 activists belonging to the CPI(M) and the TNUEF were arrested.
The Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) ordered that the seal be opened only after persons belonging to all castes were allowed to enter the temple. However, the caste Hindus violated the ban and removed the lock on October 1 on the pretext of enabling devotees to offer worship on pradosham (the 13th day of the waning or waxing of the moon) when special pujas are offered to Siva. Both Manimaran and Sivaprakasam claimed that they only removed the seal, said Kovai Subramanian, Vedaranyam block committee secretary of the CPI(M). The police and revenue authorities were shocked at the high-handedness of the casteist forces. Condemning the unlawful act, the CPI(M) and the TNUEF announced that they would revive the temple entry agitation on October 22.
As events took a new turn, the district administration convened a peace committee meeting on October 8 of officials and representatives of Dalits and caste Hindus. It was decided that the RDO, along with the legislators of Vedaranyam and Nagapattinam, S.K. Vedarathinam (DMK) and V. Marimuthu (CPI(M)) respectively, would lead Dalits to the temple on October 14. The authorities also warned that action would be taken under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, if entry into the temple was obstructed.
But the local AIADMK leaders, including former panchayat president M. Santosham, were not prepared to allow the DMK and the Congress to gain political mileage out of the situation. At a meeting on October 13, they decided to ensure that the temple entry programme became a non-event. As part of their plan, the Village Administrative Officer was asked to go on leave on health grounds.
Roadblocks using wooden logs and cement pipes were put up by casteist elements along the 1.5-kilometre path leading to the temple. They also laid down several conditions; some of these were that Marimuthu and Dalits from other villages must keep away from the village and only a token entry by a small group of Dalits should be sought. Although the authorities fulfilled all these, caste Hindus unleashed violence. They did not spare even the RDO and the Deputy Superintendent of Police. They stoned the police van carrying 15 Dalits, including 10 women, into the temple, and attacked the victims with sticks and soda-water bottles. The police opened fire in the air to scare away the mob.
According to police sources, cases have been booked against 315 persons under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapons), 324 (violently causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servants from performing duty) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint). Cases have also been registered under Section 3 (1) (xiv) of the S.Cs and S.Ts (PoA) Act, 1989 (denial of customary rights of passage) and Section 3 (1) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 (mischief causing damage to public property). A total of 34 persons were arrested until October 23. The kingpins of the violence were yet to be arrested.
Birla Thangadurai, an activist of the Republican Party of India (RPI) and a resident of Chettipulam, said although he and his supporters had been keeping themselves away from the temple entry struggle, they had now decided to support the CPI(M) initiative. Apart from denying entry into temples, Dalits were forced to do meanial jobs, he said. “It is unfortunate that many of our parties talk about the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils, totally ignoring the plight of the Adi Tamils of our land,” he said.
S. Vanitha, who was among the persons taken to the temple in the police van, said caste Hindus blocked the van and attacked them from all sides. The van driver was also injured. The caste-Hindu men were armed with stones, crowbars, sticks and soda-water bottles while their women carried broomsticks, she added. Dalit women were prevented from offering worship at the temple and their archana plates were thrown away, she alleged.
The TNUEF and the CPI(M) staged a protest demonstration in Nagapattinam on October 20 condemning the violence in Chettipulam and demanding that the government take necessary steps to ensure Dalits’ entry into the Ekambareswarar temple.
District Collector C. Munianathan has a different perspective on the issue. According to him, the severity of untouchability has come down owing to various schemes and projects implemented by the government and also because of the growing awareness among Dalits, particularly the youth. Dalits’ dependence on landowners has become minimal mainly because of the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, although problems persist, he opines.
Caste discrimination is not peculiar to Chettipulam and other villages in Vedaranyam block. It was officially admitted a few years ago that discriminatory practices against Dalits prevailed in 7,000 villages in the State. It was against this backdrop that the CPI(M) intensified its struggle against different forms of untouchability, on the grounds that caste oppression was inseparably intertwined with class oppression. Through these struggles, it sought the government’s effective intervention to redress their long-standing grievances.
Members of the CPI(M) protesting at the Nagapattinam bus stand on October 20, demanding action to enable Dalits to worship at the temple.
As part of this struggle, protest programmes were held at eight places in seven districts – Nagapattinam, Dindigul, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Perambalur, Virudhunagar and Coimbatore – on September 30 to assert Dalits’ rights.
At Kangiyanur in Villupuram district, activists of the CPI(M) and the TNUEF, including legislator G. Latha and general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam K. Balakrishnan, were injured when police lathi-charged them to foil an attempt to ensure that Dalits of that village entered the Draupathiamman temple. Over 100 persons were arrested and remanded to custody. The police repression evoked widespread condemnation.
Another issue that has caused concern is the State’s not-so-impressive performance relating to the implementation of the Protection of Civil Rights Act and the S.Cs and S.Ts (PoA) Act. According to A. Kathir, executive director of Evidence, a Madurai-based non-governmental organisation, from 2004 to 2008 a total of 5,741 cases were registered under the S.Cs and S.Ts (PoA) Act but only 5 to 7 per cent of them ended in conviction. On several occasions, the police had shown reluctance to book cases relating to crimes against Dalits under this Act, he alleged.
Although the government and the ruling DMK viewed the protest programmes as an “attempt to disrupt law and order”, the CPI(M) and the TNUEF have stepped up their campaign against social and class oppression. CPI(M) legislators observed a dawn-to-dusk fast in Chennai on October 22 protesting against the police action in Kangiyanur and the high-handedness of the casteist forces at Chettipulam.
Condemning the attitude of the DMK and the AIADMK on this vital issue, Sampath said successive governments headed by the two parties had failed to find a lasting solution to the problems of Dalits. “There are over one crore Dalits in Tamil Nadu, who outnumber the entire population of Tamils in Sri Lanka. While fighting for the island’s Tamils, we should pay due attention to the problems of the oppressed people in the State,” he said.
The hostility shown by caste Hindus to the temple entry agitation by keeping away from the shrine on October 27 has led to a lot of scepticism about the efficacy of the compromise evolved by the officials. The district administration hopes that normality can be restored after arresting the kingpins of the violence. But one thing is clear: the Dalits of Chettipulam are not prepared to give up their hard-won right.
“It is strange and unjust that we have hitherto been denied access to this temple, though the fact remains that the manual transportation of granite stones for its construction was the result of the sweat and labour of our forefathers,” a Dalit lamented.
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