Pitiful plight of Adi Dravidar hostels highlighted at hearing
        It is Time to  constitute  State Assembly standing committee consisting of SC/ST MLA/MLC on the line of Parliamentary standing committee to review and evaluate  the implementation of welfare measures to SC/ST by Various departments of State Governments!



Years of neglect and official apathy to the basic well being of students in Government Adi Dravidar Hostels in Chennai were reflected in the tears and anger of the students at a public hearing on Wednesday.

Eighteen students, past and present inmates of the Adi Dravidar hostels, deposed at a Consultation and Public Hearing on Discrimination and violation of Human Rights standards in Government (Adi-Dravidar) Hostels for College Students in Tamil Nadu. All of them spoke of poor conditions in these Adi Dravidar hostels.

“The State has been granted over Rs 3,000 crore under the Special Component Plan for Dalit welfare. Can anyone tell us where the money is going? It is used for bridges and roads. There is not even a booklet on the funds spent under the plans,” said K. Prem Kumar, setting the tone. “There are 62 IAS officers from the Dalit community in service but still no hope for us,” he said.

A past inmate of the M.C. Raja Hostel in Saidapet, he said that the Chennai Mayor inaugurated a library at the hostel which has no books. While the government announces sports, gym and computer facilities, he said the students have seen none so far.

“There is no point in talking about the issues all over again. Everyone knows the pathetic conditions in the Adi Dravidar hostels,” said Manikandan, who stayed at the same hostel. Dalit students have resigned themselves to the fact that they must lead a life of the condemned for the years they stay at the hostel, he said.
All the students complained of the negligence of officials in keeping the campus and toilets clean; of unhygienic food served in plastic buckets; lack of transparency in administration and inefficiency of wardens. The students were also critical of leaders of Dalit parties for failing to take any effort to improve the conditions in hostels.

Admitting that students, other than those allotted rooms, stayed with them, Pitchai Pillai asked how they could drive away friends from poor families. Students come to study and not protest, he said. Many students worked in catering service during the evenings to eat good food at least once a day, he said. Students of the PG Hostel in Royapuram said that students worked as security guards in neighbourhood to meet personal expenses.

“We live the life of refugees in Chennai,” said a PG student. Many students said they were prepared to starve but the government must set up library, computers and spoken English classes in hostels. “Our primary goal for coming here is knowledge that will give us job and a dignified life,” said G. Muthuvel, a student of Literature in New College. “The government spends Rs 62 on a sniffer dog everyday. Can't it spend Rs 50 on a Dalit student aspiring to be successful,” asked a student.

Based on the depositions, the six NGOs recommended a complete overhaul of administration in the hostels to ensure hygienic conditions, medical facilities, proper menu lists, and healthy food. The practice of serving food in buckets must be stopped immediately. Another recommendation strongly suggested prosecution of officials of the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department for decades of negligence and discrimination amounting to atrocities under the SC&ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Source : The Hindu dt 17.02.2011

Students bemoan state of govt hostels



M Ramajayam, a postgraduate student at Madras University, said that the government does not want him to study any further. “There are no government hostels for MPhil and PhD students in Chennai even though a lot of young people come here from all over the state for higher education,” Ramajayam, a resident of Government PG Students hostel in Royapuram, said.


He was one of the speakers at a consultation and public hearing on discrimination and violation of human rights standards in government (Adi-Dravidar) hostels for college students in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

The hearing, organised by human rights and dalit organisations, had an audience of nearly 40 students who live in five government hostels in the city. “Most of the undergraduate and postgraduate hostels are overcrowded as they are forced to accommodate MPhil and PhD students who have nowhere else to stay,” Ramajayam said.

Also, postgraduation students find limited accommodation as only one of the five hostels in Chennai is meant for postgraduate students. Organisers said that while there were 111 undergraduate hostels in the state, only 11 were meant to house postgraduate students.

Students also said the rooms were overcrowded, filled to three to four times their capacity. To protest against the bad conditions at these hostels, the students of the MC Raja college hostel in Saidapet had taken to the streets in December blocking the arterial Anna Salai for many hours.

“It was only after this protest that we have taken account of the conditions of these hostels,” said S Vikram, co-ordinator at the human rights advocacy and research foundation in Chennai which conducted a study of the five city hostels.

The students also asked for proper utilisation of funds allotted in the budget. As of now, the students receive a daily allowance of Rs 18.40 and a monthly allowance of Rs 35 for soap, oil and other basic requirements. “This allowance amounts to only Rs 1.10 per person per day which is very low,” another student said.


 Source: The Times of India dated 17.02.2011
For further reading on the above subject appeared in Front line please click the following link.
http://www.frontline.in/fl2802/stories/20110128280209000.htm

Puthiya Tamizhagam meet to decide on symbol


Puthiya Tamizhagam (PT) leader K. Krishnasamy on Wednesday said that a meeting of district office-bearers on February 19 would decide whether the party should contest on its own symbol or the two leaves symbol of the AIADMK.

Talking to reporters, he said the meeting would also finalise candidates and constituencies the party would contest in the Assembly elections.

Expressing happiness over allocation of two seats, he said it was the first step towards the victory of the AIADMK in the elections.

Dr. Krishnasamy termed “ridiculous,” the picketing organised by DMK leaders, including MP Kanimozhi, against the ‘detention' of Tamil Nadu fishermen by their Sri Lankan counterparts, wondering who the DMK was targeting when the party was part of the UPA government at the Centre.

“If the DMK has self-respect, it should quit the Central government and fight the failure of the Centre in protecting the interests of fishermen.”
Source: The Hindu Dated 17.02.11

Manmohan “dead serious” about tackling wrongdoers

சாதிக்கு ஒரு நீதி என்பதை இந்திய நிருபித்துவிட்டது !  செய்யாத குற்றத்திற்கு திரு எ.ராசா விற்கு ஜெயில்!! 2G spectrum ஏலம் விட்டு இருந்தால் லாபம் கிடைத்து இருக்கும் அரசுக்கு நட்டம் ஏற்பட்டுவிட்டது என்று தலித் என்பதால் உள்ளே தள்ளினார்கள் , ISRO வின் S  பேண்ட் வெறும் 1000 கோடிக்கு விற்றதில் அரசுக்கு நட்டம் இல்லையம் ஏனெனில் அது பிரதமர் கிழ் வரும் அமைச்சகம்  என்பதால் நட்டம் வராது ஏனெனில் அவர் தலித் இல்லை என்பதை தவிர வேறு என்னவாக இருக்கமுடியம்!!!

Speaking to the country via a televised media interaction, his first since a host of scams have come to light over the past few months, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday gave an assurance that his government was “dead serious in bringing to book all wrongdoers.” But even as he repeated his commitment to punish the guilty, Dr. Singh refused to accept any personal responsibility for the policy decisions that led to the 2G spectrum and S-Band scams.

Pressed on whether he absolved himself completely, the Prime Minister blamed his coalition partners. “No one should doubt that I am conscious of my responsibilities. But I have some compulsions. One has to tolerate a great deal in coalition politics, or else go for elections every six months, which is also not the proper course to adopt.”

Later, he said: “I have never said I have never made a mistake…,” and then added, with a weak smile, “I am not as much of a culprit as I am being made out.”
The Prime Minister also used his hour-long interaction with editors of television channels to slam the Opposition and chide the media for creating the impression of a “scam-driven country,” something that was “weakening the self-confidence of the people” and spoiling the “image of India.”

“In reporting the affairs of our nation, we mustn't focus excessively on the negative features, important though it is that the government should deal with them,” he said.

Dr. Singh was, however, very clear that he was “not afraid of appearing before any committee, including a JPC [the proposed Joint Parliamentary Committee to examine the 2G spectrum scam].” Indeed, he stressed that there was a wrong impression that he had blocked an agreement on a JPC.

He added that he had also never felt like quitting even though things were not entirely the way he would have wished them to be. “I never felt like resigning because I have a job to do. The country voted our party to be the leader of the coalition, and we have a lot of unfinished business to accomplish...I will stay the course.”

While the scams the government had got engulfed in were his biggest regret, its biggest achievement was that it had ensured, despite a very unfavourable international economic environment, that the Indian economy's growth rhythm was not grossly affected, he said.


The news conference was intended to clear the air on the issue of corruption and present a strong and confident Prime Minister. But his answers on the scale of the 2G scam — in the light of Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal's controversial claim that there had been “zero loss” — suggested a continuing unwillingness to concede that there had been wrongdoing on a massive scale.
Source: The Hindu dated 17.02.11

அல்ப விஷயங்களை ஊதி பெரியதாக ஆக்கும் சன தான ,சாதிய பத்திரிகைகள் உ பி  முதல்வர் அவர்களை அணுகி வேலை நிரந்தரம் கேட்ட தற்காலிக ஆசிரியர் ஒருவரை பனி நீக்கம் செய்ததாக அலுத்து கொள்ளும் பத்திரிகைகள் முன்னால் குடியரசு தலை வராக இருந்த வெங்கட்ராமன் என்பவர் பாராளுமன்ற SC/ST உறுப்பினர்கள் தங்க ளுடைய forum சார்பாக ,அரசு SC/ST நலனுக்கிற்கு எதிரக வெளி இட்ட உத்திரவுகளை திரும்ப பெற கோரி மனு கொடுக்க சென்றவர்களை சந்திக்கா மறுத்ததை  மறந்து விட்டார்களா இவர்கள்?

Source: The Times of India dated 13.02.2011

IP Surplus Results 2007

IP Surplus Results 2007

The Supplementary list of allotment of Surplus qualified Candidates against OC, SC & ST vacancies of IP Exam 2007 held from 10.08.07 to 12.08.07 is follows.

01. Shri.P.Parthan, SC -TN/066/IPO/07 - Total Marks 284 - opted to Gujarat & Jharkhand - allotted to Gujarat.
02. Shri.A.Rajasekharan - TN/172/IPO/07 - Total Marks 278 - opted to Gujarat & Jharkhand - allotted to Jharkhand.
03. Ms.Hema Bharathi, SC - TN/139/IPO/07 - Total Marks 2260 -  opted to Tamilnadu - allotted to Tamilnadu.

Dte Memo No : A-34013 / 03 / 2007-DE (Pt) Dt 11.02.11.

Officials 'ensure' Dalits get separate burial ground

Indian Administrative officers continuously taking side with majority people i.e caste Hindus and oppressing the SC/ST people,by joining  with Caste Hindus and local caste  political parties.   The Caste minded and weak   bureaucrats have no courage and efficiency to uphold the rights of SC/ST People.  The Following news item is a classic example. 

WHILE the double tumbler system at some tea shops has come in for much criticism, the practice of allotting a separate burial ground for Dalits continues to prevail in some villages. Even in death, the Dalits are discriminated by noting given a place in the common graveyard. But what is more shocking is that the government officials, who are charged with the responsibility of this form of untouchability, help in perpetuating the discrimination.

A case in point is the decision taken at the meeting recently at the office of the Revenue Divisional Officer at Uthamapalayam in Theni district, where it was decided that the Dalits should bury their dead in the place ear marked for them and not try to intern their dead in the burial ground allotted for non-Dalits.

The caste Hindus of Keelayanur village within the limits of Veerapandi police station in Bodinayakkanur block of Theni district had opposed the Dalits of the village burying their dead in the common burial ground. When the body of Raja, a Dalit, was taken to the common burial ground on January 3, 2011, the caste Hindus objected. This resulted in a clash and police who registered a case and had arrested 13 Dalits and four from other communities.

On January 27, petrol bombs were hurled at the house of Sinnayee, a Dalit woman, critically injuring her. She died at the Government Rajaji Hospital here on February 1. Four non-Dalits l e were arrested. Revenue offis cials convened a meeting in e the village inviting both comd munities, following which it r was decided that the old practice of double burial l grounds should continue.

e Subsequently, another t meeting was held at the ofg fice of the RDO where it was decided that the members of n the Devendrakula Velalar s (Dalits) should bury their dead at the same site they had used earlier. Cremation should also be done there.

The non-Dalits should continue to use the cremation shed on the bank of the river and bury their dead nearby.
It was stipulated that members of the Dalit community should not cremate their bodies at this shed nor bury their dead nearby.

The minutes of the meeting say the president of the Keelayanur panchayat agreed to construct a cremation shed for the Dalits on survey No. 49, and provide a pipeline and electricity, to construct a compound wall for the Dalit graveyard and to seek funds for it from the Collector.

Dalits were also told to ensure that when carrying a body on a bier, flowers should not fall on the streets of other communities. y e RDO'S ORDER r Death no leveller The RDO of Uthamapale ayam in Theni district e recently directed that r Dalits bury their dead in d the place earmarked for them and not try to intern e their dead in the burial  ground for non-Dalits
Source: The Indian Express dated 13.02.2011

India still neglecting SC/ST masses, says ex-civil servant

The Welfare and Plight  of SC/ST continuously neglected by political parties ,Government and caste Media .  This news item published by the media in 4 th page.  SC/ST Population of India is 1/4 the news item concerning them published in 4 page whereas news item concerning an individual actor(Prakash Raj) find a place in the front page.  Please click the following link   http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOINEW/navigator.asp?Daily=TOICH&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI.

The amount of Rs 678.91 crore diverted from the special component plan for scheduled castes to the Commonwealth Games are yet to be restored despite promises by the home minister, according to retired IAS officer P S Krishnan, a champion of the rights of SC and ST.


Addressing the fourth Gijubhai memorial lecture, Krishnan said the Indian state had long ignored the rights of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Backward Classes in its quest for 9 to 10% GDP growth.

PS Krishnan, a 1956 batch IAS officer, headed the social welfare ministry at the time when PM VP Singh announced implementation of 27% job reservation in government for OBCs.

“The largest number of landless labourers, the largest number of people below the poverty line, the largest number of malnourished children and the population with the highest infant and child mortality rate, are all SCs and STs,” he said.

He said the marginalised group had also been denied quality education with nearly one- third of SC families having no literate adult member, three-fifths having no literate female adult and SC and ST children in many schools being prevented from drinking water or eating mid-day meals with other children. “An amount of Rs 250 crore which was provided in 1996 for establishing residential schools for SC girls in low literacy districts all over India was also snatched away in 2003 and not a single residential school was established with these funds,” Krishnan said.

He said that though the Right to Education Act was welcome, in the absence of specific reservation for SC/STs, the goal of removing educational gap between them and the advanced castes would not be achieved. “Manual scavenging, bonded labour, abysmal working conditions and denial of social security for SCs/STs continue to exist despite laws and legislations against these in the country,” he said. Commenting on the census, he said that the enumeration for SC/STs and BCs had to be more comprehensive.

PS Krishnan and V Vasanthi Devi, former VC of Manonmaniam Sundaram University at the fourth Gijubhai memorial lecture

Source: The Times of India dated 11.02.2011

Call for leak-proof legislation for reservation for SCs/STs, BCs in employment
Watertight legislation for reservation in State jobs for SCs, STs and BCs, a comprehensive land distribution and minor irrigation programme and educational parity initiatives at all levels are key instruments for implementing social justice goals envisaged in the Constitution, former bureaucrat P.S. Krishnan said here on Thursday.



Delivering the Gijubhai Badekha Memorial Lecture under the joint auspices of the Asian College of Journalism and the NCERT, Mr. Krishnan said while irrigation-linked land distribution schemes were crucial for the economic liberation of SCs, STs, BCs and other landless peasants, evolving “leakage-proof” legislation for job reservation was necessary to remove loopholes in the present system and for providing due share to SCs, STs and BCs in governance and administration.


Mr. Krishnan, a former Government of India Secretary and a champion of the rights of the marginalised social strata, advocated the establishment of high quality residential schools for SC,ST and BC children as a starting point for achieving educational parity. On the higher education front, he sought the implementation of the recommendations (in 2008) of the high-level Ministerial committee on Dalit Affairs and the introduction in Parliament of “The Private Educational Institutions (Reservations in Admissions) Bill to fulfil the purpose foreseen in the 93 {+r} {+d} Constitution Amendment Act.


While advocating zero-tolerance of untouchability and forms of discrimination (such as social boycott), Mr. Krishnan wanted more teeth to the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989 through establishment of special courts and enhancement of punishment.

Pointing out that the pre-Independence slogan of “land to the tiller” remained substantively unrealised in rural India, Mr. Krishnan argued that in the case of SCs, landless state contributed to and aggravated agricultural servitude and “untouchability.”


According to the former bureaucrat, the rampant diversion of the Special Component Plan for SCs constituted a “serious social corruption.” The cavalier approach to the SCPs (and Tribal Sub-Plans), as borne out in the controversy over the Commonwealth Games, had reduced what was intended to bridge the gap between the marginalised and the advanced classes to a “meaningless, pointless arithmetical-statistical exercise.”


Making the case that the issues of the SCs, STs and BCs were not marginal issues but entwined with the core of India's aspirations to become a regional and global power, Mr. Krishnan said the operational cost of land distribution, educational parity and uplift programmes were well within the financial capability of the government.


Citing the Global Financial Integrity research group that pointed out that India had lost in illicit financial outflows at least Rs. 72,000 crore every year between 2002 and 2006 alone, Mr. Krishnan said “… even without taking this into account, the present and likely future annual plan size is enough to accommodate the needs of SCs and STs … .”


Terming the mainstreaming of the oppressed classes a national task, Mr. Krishnan said teachers had an important role to play in changing attitudes and mindsets through human rights education that promoted the egalitarian ideal in society — especially among children — and eliminated “the total mismatch between a big nation and small caste-shrivelled minds.”

V. Vasanthi Devi, former Vice Chancellor, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, and Shakuntala Nagpal from the NCERT also spoke.
Source: The Hindu Dt 11.02.2011