Fact Finding Report On Mudhigonda Police Firing

Introduction :

1. Title/Gist of Atrocity: 7 killed in police firing.

2. Type of Atrocity: Unruly and Intentional firing by Police.

3. Date of Incident/Time: On 28th July’07 between 12.30 pm and
1.30 pm.

4. Date of Fact Finding: 29th July’07.

5. Members of Fact Finding Team:
1. Bojja Tarakam President-RPI & Senior High Court Advocate.
2. B.Venkat General Secretary-Vyavasaya Karmika Sangh.
3. Korivi Vinay Kumar Convener-APNCDHR & President-DBF.
4. Jhansi Geddam Co-convener-NCDHR & Convener-DSS.
5. Daniel Vijay Prakash Gonthupuli Organizing Secretary-DBSU.
6. V.Venkateswarulu State Secretary-Vyavasaya Karmika Sangh.
7. Vimala HRF.
8. Varun Kumar Editor-Samathara.

6. Mandate of Fact Finding:
a. Has the police fired at the mass involved in land struggle ?

b. If so what are the reasons for firing and who have fired ?

c. Action taken by the state actors ?

7. Brief Summary of the Incident:

Indefinite hunger strike was going on at Mudhigonda Mandal headquarters in Khammam district since 24th July’07 demanding agricultural lands. A state wide bandh(protest) was called on 28th July’07 protesting against the attitude of the state government on the ongoing state wide agitation demanding house sites and agricultural land. People from the surrounding villages have started coming in since morning (28th ) to Mudhigonda to participate in the bandh in support of indefinite hunger strike. Mudhigonda is 13 kms away form the district head quarters.

On 28th July ’07 a meeting was organized at the camp by stopping the vehicles on the road and the CI & SI of Police have demanded the organizers to stop the meeting. The organizers informed that the bandh is going on through out the state and they shall continue until 4 pm in the evening. Around 12.30 pm the Addl Supdt Of Police entered into the camp and pulled off the mike. When the local leaders objected this, Addl Supdt Of Police reacted strongly deployed his men., pulled out Bandi Ramesh and beat him black and blue with the lathis and the bonnets of the guns. When the 75 yrs old Rayala Venkateswarulu the local leader questioned it, the police beat him up and his grandson who came for his rescue. The police lathicharged the activists who came for the rescue of their leaders. The police pelted stones on the activists who were returning back to the camp. Some threw back the same stones on the police. In retaliation Ramesh Babu Addl Supdt Of Police opened fire from his revolver, followed by Surender Reddy CI, Tirupathi Reddy Rural SI, Venkat Reddy Mudhigonda SI and some police men in civil dresses also opened fire without any caution and continued until the bullets were over. It is said approximately more than 200 rounds have been fired. Some have run to the camp, expecting that the camp could be safe for them, but 2 have died on the spot as the police even fired on the camp. Totally 6 were killed, 3 are fighting against death and 16 others are seriously injured in the police firing.

Findings :

1. Spots Possessing Bullet Marks :

- Ambedkar statue.
- Shutters of the closed shops.
- Walls of the houses.
- Tree trunks.
- Telephone Polls.
- STD Booth.
- Blood stains could be seen clearly.

2. The police have not taken any precautionary measures before the
firing, but have directly opened firing at the mob with most
powerful guns like AK 47,etc. They left away only when the
bullets were over.

3. The local people only moved the 6 dead bodies and 17 injured
persons to the Government Hospital at Khammam.

4. Persons Killed :

1. Kathula Pedda Lakshmi aged 65yrs of Venkatapuram village.
2. Usikala Gopulu aged 60yrs of Venkatapuram village.
3. Banka Gopaiah aged 40 yrs of Mudhigonda village.
4. Pasupulati Kutumba Rao aged 30yrs of Chirumarri village.
5. Chittoor Babu Rao aged 40yrs of Medepalli village.
6. Yalagundula Veeraiah 50yrs of Mudhigonda village.
7. Jangam Bala (died on 30th )
8. 16 others injured are in the hospital.

5. The police firing was triggered at the following :

- The people hiding themselves in cool drink shop.
- Road side Fruit Vendors.
- Women hiding herself in STD booth.
- Rickshaw pullers.
- Lorry drivers.
- People moving on the road.
- People in the hunger strike camp.

6. Though 24 hrs have passed by demanding for justice by keeping
the dead bodies infront of the collectorate, neither the
authorities nor the ministers have not visited either the place
of the incident nor the dead bodies or even the family members
of the deceased.

Demands :

1. A case U/s 302 of IPC should be registered against the police
who have killed 6 persons and they should be arrested
immediately. Likewise a case under SC/ST(POA)Act should be
registered against the police as 4 among the deceased belong to
Scheduled castes.

2. The identified land of 3.50 acres should be distributed as house
sites to the local poor.

3. The 530 acres under Kattakura tank, Yadavalli small tank and
Yadavalli big tank be distributed to the poor.

4. The cases registered against the people agitating for 116 acres
of the above mentioned which is in the hands of the ineligible
landlords should be waived off and the land be taken over.

5. The cases registered against 18 persons demanding house sites be
waived off.

6. An exgratia of Rs 10 lakhs to the deceased, Rs 1 lakhs to the
injured, 5 acres of land, permanent house and a job to person
from the family be given immediately.

Judgment on Massacre Of Dalits At Tsundur

Dalits were massacred at Tsundur in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh on 6th August 1991 by the so called dominant caste landlords belonging to Reddy and Telga castes. All the accused were from the near by villages Tsundur, Munnangivaripallem, Modhukur and Valiveru. The blood flew like lava from the dalit locality. 8 dalits were mercilessly murdered and their bodies were brought out from Thungbabhra Canal and nearby fields packed in the gunny bags. With the massacre of the dalits the dalit movement rose like a tidal wave from Tsundur demanding arrest of the accused and protection & rehabilitation to the survivors. Indefinite hunger strike was going on demanding justice and action against the police who were also involved in massacre. When the police started moving the dalits on hunger strike, there was a stiff resistance. During this altercation Anil Kumar was shot dead by the police assuming that he was Korivi Vinay Kumar (President-DBF at present). Latter a case was registered against Subba Rao, Korivi Vinay Kumar and others.

The rescue camp started at Mangalmandir in Guntur and reached Ambedkar Bhavan in New Delhi. Delhi was moved with the slogan “ Not Welfare but Self Dignity”. At last on 3rd October’04 the Prime Minister heard the survivors. Dalits achievement was Special Court to conduct Trial in the same place where the massacre took place apart from rehabilitation to the survivors.

It is history and for the first time in the country and can also be said as the achievement of the dalit movement that a special court was established under SC/ST(POA)Act on 01/12/04 to conduct the trial separately at the place of the incident and judgement from the same place.

The Public Prosecutors for the case are B.Chandra Sekhar and G.Siva Nageswara Rao. At one stage the accused objected B.Chandra Sekhar as he is a human rights leader, but since the victims have requested he was retained back as the public prosecutor.

Many times the accused approached the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and the Supreme Court saying as the victims are Christians, therefore SC/ST(POA)Act of 1989 doesn’t applies, likewise as they are afraid of the dalits, the trial may be taken up at some other place instead of Tsundur, but all in vain.

The chargesheet was filed showing 219 as accused. Except for 2 all the other belong to the so called dominant caste such as Reddy and Telga castes. In the process 38 accused have passed away and finally 179 were prosecuted.

Totally 130 witnesses were taken into consideration, in the process 20 have passed away and ultimately 70 witnesses were examined.

The final argument form the Public Prosecutor was that death penalty should as in some of the judgments of Supreme Court. The defence lawyer argued that lot has been already done to the dalits, such as Rakthakshetram where all the bodies were buried amidst the village, which is no where in the country and this has been done as the dalits have an upper hand, likewise a lot has been spent for the development of the dalits by the government, further the population of dalits is more than the Reddy community and hence they are not in minority.

Judgment Pronounced on 31st July’07 as follows:

1. 21 have been given life imprisonment U/s 302.

2. 35 have been given imprisonment for 1 year and a fine of
Rs.2000/- each U/s 148.

3. 61 have been acquitted.


Response of the Public Prosecutor on the Judgment:

Ø The judgment was given based on the IPC and nowhere SC/ST (POA) Act of 1989 was taken in to consideration.

Ø The court nowhere treated the case as the rarest of the rare cases and many have been acquitted.

Ø Therefore the public prosecutor would like to approach the Government on the same lines.

Ms.Jhansi Geddam the Convenor-DSS being an advocate was present in the court during the Day of Judgment with special permission, apart from attending to the trials.

We thank one and all for the immense support and solidarity expressed and are proud to say that this day shall be an eventful day which has turned a new leaf in the saga of dalit struggles for self respect.

EFFECT OF FLOODS IN ANDHRA PRADESH

In Anndhra Pradesh 11 districts are affected by floods. Among them five districts are worstly affected. They are Kurnool, Mahaboob Nagar , Guntur, Prakasam, kadapa. Total state wide 41 people were died.

Floods affected 30,000 Acres of cultivated land in Andhra Pradesh. Particularly in Kurnool district 27,000 hectares land has affected. Presently 26 urban colonies in kurnool town still under flood water .At Nandyal division Rs.5.5 Crore worth crop has been collapsed. Dalita wada of nandyal town totally damaged. Nearly six thousand people of daliths are shelterless. The folk of prakasam district are also facing the same problem.
In Guntur district nearly 887 hectares of cotton crop, 220 hectares of groundnut crop is drowned, another 1310 fertile fields are covered with sand.
State wide heavy rains damaged 942 irrigation sources, i.e. rivers, canals, tanks, ponds, check dams. Only at Nandyal division 100 tanks were breached. In Prakasam districts also most of the irrigation sources breached, which caused a lot of loss to commercial crops.

Electricity is also affected by floods. Officially Government has announced that 1453 connections were de-connected due to heavy rains. Particularly at Mahboob Nagar district Vanaparthi area roughly 40 tribal villages are in dark from past 4 nights.

Totally in Andhra Pradesh a loss of 47,059 livestock has taken place. Particularly at Guntur district 170 domestic and milching animals were dead which worth nearly Rs. 8.5 lakhs. It is in severe range in Kurnool and Mahaboob Nagar. It is necessary for us to take immediate precautions to save the remaining livestock because it is the main income source of poor like Dalits and Tribes.

· Weavers are also affected. Loom-pits are filled with flood water. Due to this rain the thread became unable to weave.
· At Kurnool town 2000 tanning families are affected by these floods. nearly 20,000 leathers which are ready for sale have affected by fungus due to rains.
· The rain water has wetted 2215 tons of cattle feed and it is dibbled. And most of the cattle sheds are also heavily damaged. Means these many poor people lost their livelihood.


Due to these heavy rains Andhra Pradesh state wide 1,87,201 houses are affected. Among them majority of houses belong to Dalit and Tribal families.
· In this 1,87,201 houses ,12,686 houses have washed out totally . this caused the tribe to scatter to different places.
· 1,56,909 houses are collapsed. They are not at all useful to reside, means these many families became houseless.
· 15,606 houses are partially damaged, means these houses are main with half covered roofs and walls. Means compulsory they should rebuild. From past 5 days 1,87,201 families are suffering from hunger.
· Particularly Gadwal division of Mahboob Nagar district 880 families became houseless and foodless. Most of these are poor Dalits.In this division 140 houses were washed out, 429 were collapsed.
· In this situation the first and foremost sufferers are children. Students in social welfare hostels of 5 districts have attacked by viral diseases. At least these children have parents who take care of them. But it is very horrible situation of 5,000 RBC students of Kurnool district, who have joined in this hostels recently. All these were street children.

ESTIMATION OF FLOOD REVIVE:

· In this connection to revive the loss of state an amount of Rs.492.25 is necessary to fulfill the damages. From these 205.65 crores are nessary to spend on restoring the roads for transportation.
· there is a necessity of Rs.61.41crores for irrigation sector like reconstruction of banks of ponds, cannals and tanks to stop the rain water flow into villages.
· To conduct health camps, to engage the staff and to take some primary, precautionary measures Rs.8.45crores is necessary.
· To restore and assist the fisherman community (for nets& boats etc) Rs.1.30crores are necessary as estimated by the Government.




· There is a necessity of Rs.4.69crores to rebuild the sheds of cattle and to restore the other livestock.
· At Panchyatraj Rs.108.77 crores are necessary to restore roads and others transport related in full structure to give a permanent solution.
· At municipal areas Rs.74.69 crores are necessary to clean and rebuild the sanitation sources.
· At rural areas most of the school compound walls and school buildings are collapsed. To revive this 13.07crores are necessary.
And to compensate the damages of agriculture and horticulture lands the Government estimated Rs2.71crores. Government is planning to provide subsidized seeds and fertilizers and pesticides.


All the above revive estimations done by Government is only up to the areas where People can reach in this flood situation. But there are more remote areas where Government hasn’t reached and hasn’t estimated. At such remote areas mostly Dalits and Tribes are living. Our Dalit Bahujan Front activists started to serve and help the people at such remote areas. And they are estimating the damages, losses caused by floods. But it is taking time to them to pass on the information due to continuous floods. This is for your kind information.

EFFECT OF FLOOD IN PRAKASAM DISTICT TOO,


Dear Madam/Sir,
As earlier we informed you that total Andhra Pradesh is worstly affected by
floods, still it is continuing the damage. Last night we got the information by
our DBF activists, that most of Prakasam District has been damaged due to
heavy rains.8 mandals are damaged fully and 34 are partially.

Numbers of the irrigation tank bunds in this district are damaged and
that water has flown into cultivated lands and villages. This caused the high
loss in crops like sesame crops, green gram crops, which are

totally damaged. The roads are also damaged and water is over flowing on
them which effected transportation. Nearly 1234 Houses are fully damaged
and nearly 400 houses are partially damaged in this district. The rain water
has sunk most of the colonies. Still water is standing over at colony houses,
which is causing inability to cook food and reside.

Only at Ongole town 13 urban colonies and 70 to 80 slums are still under water. They have to wade waist-deep water. This is leading to spreading of insects, mosquitoes and flies, which are causing epidemic diseases. This is for your kind information.

Korivi Vinay Kumar
Administrative Office
Dalit Bahujan Front
H.No.1-3-183/40/68/c-7,
First floor,Bank colony,
opp. To MCH play ground,
Gandhi Nagar,
Hyderabad-80.
Phone/Fax: 040-27546996
Email: korivi_vinay @yahoo.com
Korivivinay @gmail.com

Due to heavy rains hits the Many dalit,tribals daytoday life in Guntur district of Andhrapradesh. perticularly Guntur,Narsaraopet,Repalle revenue divisions worstly effected. Nearly 30 mandals were badly damaged by rains. many of dalits and fishermen were homeless.Official sources declares 617 houses were washed out of sudden floods. All are belongs to dalit community,meanwhile 1378 houses are fully, and 195 were partly damaged. After four days most of dalits and tribes particularly yanadis still under flood water.
There are 2472 houses were still under water sources conformed. Crops like cotton nearly 887 hectors,Groundnut 220 hectors were droned,another 1310 fertile feilds were covered with sand. officials estimated the agriculture loss nearly Rs.208.17 lakhs, Horticulture loss was estimated nearly Rs.1.45 lakhs. most of Banana,boppai,citras plants were damaged badly,yeilds were worstly hitted.perticularly 945 hectors of Flower gardens in 30 mandals were totally washed out due to heavy flood flow.It estimated heavy loss to marginal formers belongs to dalits.
Coastal area of repalle division most were Fisher men and yanadis were badly effected this situation.This is for your kind information.

korivi vinaya kumar
Dalit bahujan front

DBF is a socio Political movement in Andhra Pradesh,formed with gross root Dalit Activist, civil society organization and other like minded professionals.Core activities of DBF are• Promoting community leadership among Dalit BahujanCommunities• To Address the issue of Dalits, Tribals and Women of Dalit, Tribal and other marginalized communities.•And mainly protecting and promoting the Human Rightsof Dalits.Duty heavy rains and floods in Andhra Pradesh 5 to 6Districts (Kurnool, Mahaboobnagar, Anatapur, Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna) have been badly affected. No ofvillages has affected badly and some villages aretotally vanished. Some people have lost their lives,some are missing more became shelter less andsuffering with hungry and ill health from fast 5 days. The agriculture land has been worstly affected andmost of the people last their livelihood and livestocks.At Kurnool District Kunool, Nandyal, Adoni towns andthe other surrounding villages are worst- hit. Roughly 500 to 600 rural villages, 30 to 40 urban colony'shave been affected. At Srisailam dam the water levelhas been increased due to overflow of rivers and waterhas been flowed back. This case most of the urban colony's to sink in water where Dalits are residing.Still their houses are in flood water. They don't havefood and water from past 5 days. Roughly 1500 acreshas been damaged at Kurnool District Government has declared that 70,000 to 75,000 became shelter less 13died, 22 are missing, 6,000 houses are fully damaged,55,000 are partially damaged a loss of 40,000 hasaccrued, and the rivers, canals and roads are badly affected only at Kurnool district even High Ways arealso under water.Most of the effected people are from Dalit and Tribalfamilies who depend upon the daily wages. Thesesummer days they were registered with Employment Guarantee Scheme and are working. But due to suddenfloods they lost their lively hood daily wage which isfor total year. Now they are totally helpless.Particularly at Nandyal Division of Kurnool District1.5 core worth works have been stopped due to floods,means the daily wage labourers lost this amount.At Mahaboobnagar District Gadwal Division, Palnaduarea of Guntur, Nallamala forest area of Prakasam andKurnool which are under hilly areas and where the mostof Tribes particularly Chenchus and Yanadis are livingtotally lost their livelihood and shelter and theybecame helpless. These areas are located in remoteareas, where Government hasn't reached and neglectingthem. But our DBF folk reached those places andserving them. Government is also enumerating thesufferers they are supplying food, water and openedrelief camps but they are doing nominal work. Most of folk who affected by floods badly are Yanadis, Chenchus and Dalits. We have good, young & dynamicmanpower and we are expecting some more to serve. Itwill be very helpful to us if you join with us to give immediate support to 20 to 25 thousands of Dalits,Yanadi and Chenchu families who are totally affected.We are expecting the favorable answer from you as soonas possible because already the water diseases started to spread.Thanking youKORIVI VINAY KUMAR

Subject:
[sakya] 1 lakh Dalits and tribal Hindus embraced the Buddhist


Tens of thousands gathered at Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai on Sunday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism. More than 1 lakh Dalits and tribal Hindus embraced the Buddhist faith in what is considered the largest mass conversion in the country. (The Hindu, 28th May 2007)------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----
MUMBAI: A place marked by and perhaps limited to the elite and the popular in Mumbai on Sunday witnessed nearly 1 lakh people from tiny pockets of Maharashtra come together for a mass religious conversion rally at the Mahalaxmi Race Course.
Around 4 lakh people attended the rally organised by the Republican Party of India to declare their support for this conversion on the golden jubilee year of Babasaheb Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism (Bauddha Dhamma Deeksha).
However, while mass support was more than obvious, the guests mentioned on the invitation card — Dalai Lama and Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh — did not attend citing different reasons.
NEW PATH: A Dalit woman taking part in a mass conversion ceremony in Mumbai on Sunday. About 1 lakh Dalits and tribals converted to Buddhism in one of the largest conversions in the country. At right, the new converts offer prayers at the ceremony.
A majority of the people who took the "Deeksha" were tribals and followers of Sahitya Akademi winner and Dalit writer Laxman Mane, who has been touring the State after converting to Buddhism in October 2006.
Laxman Mane said: "Thousands of people from 42 different nomadic tribes have embraced Buddhism." He said tribals did not follow Hinduism and so it could not be termed a move away from Hinduism.
However, he said it was a step taken to protest against the apathy of the Government towards the basic needs of these people.
Several monks were present on the dais to offer prayers and "Deeksha" for the thousands who converted. Buddhism does not believe in the Hindu gods, hierarchy and idol worship. Republican Party of India President Ramdas Athawale, who was chairman of the organising committee, informed people about the rules and regulations of the new religion.
People came in vans, buses, and cycles, on foot from all over Maharashtra. They were chanting "buddham sharnam gacchami," "dhammam sharnam gacchami," and other slogans in praise of Dr. Ambedkar and Gautam Buddha. The entire area was dotted with colourful flags.
Suresh Alavane said: "We are bauddhas. We have to come to see Laxman Mane and to attend this function from Pune. Dr. Ambedkar wanted this function on December 16 in 1956 on the same venue but unfortunately he passed away just 10 days before that. Now his dream has come true."
Followers of Dr. Ambedkar kept streaming in from gate no.1 at the racecourse from early afternoon till late in the evening. Police presence was minimal and the organisers kept announcing directions for the thousands of children, women and men to follow.
The new converts offer prayers at the ceremony.
Chunnu PrasadCentre for Political StudiesJawaharlal Nehru UniversityNew Delhi-67
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Sakya Means Humanity. May all beings be happy!Sakya Sangha8/A, Thiyagarayapuram,Thangsl, Thiruvottiyur, Chennai - 600 019.Tamil Nadu, IndiaPh: +91 44 25930383www.sakyasangha.orgMAY ALL BEINGS BE HAPPY

Attack on humanity anywhere is a threat to humanity everywhere

We strongly condemn the bomb blast that occurred at the Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad killing and injuring many devout Muslim brethren. We express our heart felt sympathy to the bereaved families and wish speedy recovery to the injured.

We call upon the citizens of all faiths not to succumb to the vicious plan of the perpetrators of the evil design to cause enmity, disturb communal harmony and bring about destruction and division among us. Let us stand united together in this moment of crisis and demonstrate that all of us, to whichever religion one may belong, are all the children of God and members of the same human family.

While terrorism of all hues in general is condemnable, bomb blasts at the sites of prayer and holy places like the temples, mosques, churches and gurudwaras, and attacks on the people who are at prayer anywhere at all are abominable in the sight of God. No religion would approve this. Such incidents are blots on our country which is known world wide for religiosity and spiritual search. The perpetrators of such heinous crimes, to whichever religion or nationality they may belong to, should be brought to book by thorough investigation.

We also appeal to the citizens of Hyderabad in particular and the citizens of our country in general to ensure that no one falls prey and contribute to these fallacious designs by expressing their anger in the form of aggressive and violent attacks on innocents since this will contribute to the objective of the anti-nationals who wants to see the people divide and fight in the name of religion.


A P Federation of Churches
Apna Watan
Arya Samaj
Coalition for Peace and Harmony
COVA
Forum for Better Hyderabad
Inter-faith Forum
International Sikh Center for Inter-faith Relations
Jain Samaj
Jamat-e-Islami Hind
Jana Vignana Vedika
PIPFPD-Andhra Pradesh

http://www.house. gov/franks/ releases. shtml
http://www.house. gov/list/ press/az02_ franks/dalit_ resolution. html
For Immediate Release Contact: Bethany Barker 202-225-4576
Congressman Franks Introduces Dalit Resolution Speaks on the plight of “Untouchables” in India May 2, 2007—Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) today introduced a Concurrent Resolution of which he is the original sponsor, “expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should address the problem of untouchability in India. In accordance with the Resolution, Congressman Franks offered the follow speech on the Floor of the House:
“Mr. Speaker,
“This afternoon, I introduced a resolution calling for the United States to address the ongoing problem of untouchability in India. Last December, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recognized the similarities between untouchability in his country and apartheid in South Africa. It is now time for this Congress to speak out about this ancient and particularly abhorrent form of persecution and segregation – even if it is occurring in a country considered to be one of America’s closest allies. This Congress must urge an end to the social discrimination and injustice faced by the nearly 250 million people known as Dalits and Tribals in India.
“Although the Indian Constitution guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms for all Indians, the untouchables continue to face widespread social and caste injustices. Article 17 of the Constitution outlaws untouchability; however, despite numerous laws enacted for the protection and betterment of the Dalits and Tribals, they are still considered outcasts in Indian society and are treated as such.
“At best, untouchability involves social segregation, including separate educational facilities, drinking water, and restaurants. This is a sad and familiar tune to many of us in our own country. At worst, untouchability entails widespread violence against untouchable women – especially in the form of rape with impunity, being targeted for abortions, and comprising the majority of temple prostitutes and women trafficked from India.
“The untouchables are poor, their most basic needs are not fulfilled, and they face great difficulties in accessing employment, education, food and healthcare. Most are among the poorest people in the world, living on less than $1 per day. Moreover, Dalit women are often sold into bonded prostitution and there is increasing religious persecution against untouchables who change their faith. In 2005, USAID stopped funding an organization after it was revealed that they were preventing many of these women from leaving prostitution. In a recent instance, a whole Dalit village was forced to leave their tribal land because they had converted to Christianity in a state that had laws against conversion.
“This resolution is a direct statement by Congress that untouchability is an unacceptable practice in America’s largest trading partner and close ally. We appreciate that Prime Minister Singh and many others have recognized this as a serious social problem that needs to be confronted and we urge the rest of Indian society and American diplomats, aid workers, and businesses working in India to do the same, and work toward the eradication of caste discrimination in India.
“This resolution encourages our government to work with India to find new approaches to an age old problem.
“Moreover, this resolution will ensure that we as a government and as a people in no way encourage or enforce caste discrimination and untouchability through our policies with India or through our foreign direct aid. I urge my colleagues to join with me in calling on the Indian government and the world community to look with compassion upon India’s untouchables and reach out to one of the most oppressed peoples on earth.
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”
Congressman Franks is serving his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives, and is a member of the Committee on Armed Services, Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Readiness Subcommittee, Committee on the Judiciary, and is Ranking Member on the Constitution Subcommittee. ###
1237 Longworth HOB, Washington, D.C. 20515202-225-4576

Posted by: "Tarun Udwala" tarun.udwala@gmail.com tarunudgir
Sun May 20, 2007 11:39 am (PST) http://www.tehelka.com/story_main30.asp?filename=Ne260507The_strategy_CS.asp THE STRATEGY PAYS OFFThere is nothing new about the BSP's plan to move beyond its coreDalit base and include other sections of the society. Inclusion wasalways integral to the BSP's ideology and strategy, writes Christophe JaffrelotJaffrelot is a French political scientist and an authority on the riseof the Indian Right and the caste system. He has long been predictingthat Dalit forces will come to head political power structures in the NorthThe success of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh has comeas a surprise to many, but it is the outcome of a well thought-outstrategy harking back to the heyday of the Kanshi Ram-Mayawati duo. Both of them always strove to broaden the BSP's electoral base.Certainly, the BSP's core group has comprised of Dalits. The BSP hasbuilt its cadre by attracting middle-class Dalits who benefited fromthe reservation system. After Brahmins and Kayasthas, Scheduled Casteofficers form the largest number in the UP cadre of the IAS. Yet theseofficers felt frustrated because they were denied important posts. Thefirst bamcef (All India Backward and Minority Communities EmployeesFederation) cadres came from this new, frustrated Dalit elite.The consolidation of this constituency resulted then from the specialtreatment Mayawati granted to the Dalits when she was the chief minister. Her Ambedkar Villages Scheme, for instance, consisted ofallotting special funds for socio-economic development for one year tovillages with a high proportion of SCs. Eventually, 25,434 villagesreceived special treatment in the form of roads, hand pumps, houses, etc, being built in their neighbourhoods.However, the BSP has never been an only-Dalit party. This is evidentfrom the fact that in 1996, according to a survey by the Centre forthe Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), 27 percent of the Kurmis and 24.7 percent of the Koeris voted for it in the Assembly elections. In1999, however, the BSP received only 13 percent of the non-Yadav OBCvote. At the time, the Kurmis had deserted the party — largely becauseof the splits orchestrated by Kurmi leaders such as Raj Bahadur andJung Bahadur who formed, respectively, the BSP (R) and the BahujanSamaj Dal, while another Kurmi leader from the BSP, Sone Lal Patel,created the Apna Dal. But a significant section of the Koeris were supporting it, and Kanshi Ram never gave up his initial attempt atamalgamating Dalits and OBCs under the "Bahujan" label.Not a Dalit-only partySLOW AND STEADY AND RISINGPercentage of votes polled by the BSP In the last six general elections YEAR % OF VALID VOTES1989 2.071991 1.611996 3.641998 4.71999 4.22004 5.3When he lived in Maharashtra, Kanshi Ram was very critical of theRepublican Party of India's (RPI) tendency to work only among the Dalits. For him, the OBCs and the religious minorities were parts ofthe "Bahujan Samaj". The first all-India association he created in1978, interestingly, was called the All India Backward (SC, ST, OBC) and Minority Communities Employees Federation. After establishing theBSP in 1987, he continued to defend the OBCs as much as the Dalits.This is evident from a speech he made during the election campaign forthe Vidhan Sabha of Haryana in 1987 where he admitted that in somerespects the conditions of the SCs were better than those of the OBCsbecause of reservations.After gaining power in UP in 1995, Mayawati announced that OBCs would benefit from 27 percent of the state budget. Similarly, Muslims wereto receive the same grants as SC children, and Mayawati implementedthe recommendations of the UP Backward Classes Commission whichinsisted, in a report dated July 11, 1994, that low caste Muslims should benefit from reservations in the state administration. MulayamSingh Yadav had not been in favour of such a measure because it wasbound to reduce the quotas, which the Hindu OBCs tended to monopolise.Mayawati granted the Muslims 8.44 percent of the 27 percent due to theOBCs. A comparable proportion of the police officers' posts (8percent) were also allegedly reserved for Muslims.The BSP's ambition to be more than just a Dalit party became clear in the 1980s when it nominated non-SC candidates for the UP elections. In1996, only 29 percent of all the candidates nominated by the BSP wereSCs, whereas 34 percent were OBCs and 18 percent Muslims.Interestingly, the BSP's OBC candidates were relatively more successful since there were almost 40 percent OBCs among the partyMLAs and only 28 percent among the SCs. The share of the OBCs was evenmore important among the state party office-bearers — 46 percent in2000. By contrast, only 21 percent of the office bearers were Dalits — comparable almost to the 14 percent upper-caste office-bearers! Amajority of the lower-caste leaders of the BSP come from the MostBackward Castes, and not from larger, dominant Backward castes such asthe Yadavs and the Kurmis, who were important till the mid-1990s but whose role diminished after the Samajwadi Party — a Yadav-dominatedparty — and the BSP developed hostile relations. Yadavs and Dalits'class interests are clearly contradictory, the latter being oftenlandless labourers or cultivators with very small plots, working for Yadav farmers.Kanshi Ram was very critical of the Republican Party of India'stendency to work only among the Dalits. For him, the OBCs and thereligious minorities were parts of the 'bahujan samaj' To cope with the rise of OBCs, and more especially of the party of theYadavs, the BSP developed two strategies. First, it joined hands withthe BJP, which was equally anxious to sandwich Mulayam Singh.Secondly, it decided to focus on the OBCs. As a result, the list of BSP candidates started to include people from small, dominated castessuch as Nishads, Sainis, Shakyas, Baghels, Kashyaps and Rajbhars. TheOBC MLAs and office-bearers of the BSP in UP come today from differentjatis, whereas its SC MLAs are almost all Jatavs. But the former arein larger numbers anyway.A catch-all party?In order to further broaden the social base of the party, the BSPwooed the upper castes too. Since the mid-1990s, the party has made it a point to give tickets to a significant number of upper-castecandidates. In both cases, the percentage of the upper castes inquestion approximates their share in the population: 15-20 percent.This was in tune with Kanshi Ram's assumption that Assemblies should reflect the composition of society. In the 1999 elections, Kanshi Ramnominated candidates in proportion to the caste and community break-upof society: out of 85 candidates in UP, he fielded 17 Muslims (20percent), 20 SCs ( 23.5 percent), 38 OBCs (45 percent) and 10 savarns(12 percent). In 2002, the BSP did the same during the UP Assemblyelections: it gave tickets to 37 Brahmins and 36 Rajputs. In 2004,this strategy started to bring some dividends since 5 percent of Brahmin voters and 4 percent of Rajputs cast their vote in favour ofthe BSP, according to the CSDS survey.The share of the BSP's OBC office-bearers was 46 percent in 2000. Bycontrast, only 21 percent were Dalits — comparable almost to the 14 percent upper caste office-bearersAmong the upper castes, the BSP seems to be particularly keen onwooing the Brahmins. In May 2005, the party coined a new slogan"Brahmin-Dalit bhai-bhai" and Mayawati decided to set up bhaichara samitis in all Assembly seats with Brahmins as presidents and Dalit assecretaries! Mayawati also organised a series of Brahmin Sammelansacross UP.The BSP's current success is the outcome of a constant effort to broaden the base of the party. This may well be a landmark in thepolitical history of India for two reasons. First, it shows thattoday's socio-political coalitions are bound to be led by subalterngroups and not by savarnas anymore. This is good thing for the democratisation of India's democracy. Second, this victory of the BSPis also one of the few defeats of the BJP. If Mayawati sticks to ananti-BJP line of conduct — as she should now that she does not needHindu nationalists to form a government — the upa should turn to herahead of the 2009 general elections so that it can consolidate theanti-communal front and give more substance to its "pro-poor"discourse. How long can the Congress ignore the fact that it cannot go it alone in UP any longer?

Join Hands with “Dalita Bahujana Samara Bheri”
Dalit Bahujan Front & Dalit Bahujan Sramik Union jointly organising with Co-opetation of various Dalit, Ambedkar organizations and Sanghas to village level campaign throughout Andhra Pradesh in the name of “Dalita Bahujana Samara Bheri” from 2nd April to 14th April 2007.
The main focus of the campaign to demanding Government should take action against the Untouchbility Practice and to prevent atrocities, and also we are once again demanding compressive development of Dalits in all aspects to allocation of Budget and distribution of Land as per their demanding share.
On the occasion of 5th April the event of Babu Jagjeevan Ram Centenary Birthday celebrations we are organising with a big way.
From 2nd onwards 12th April we are re-visiting various pending issues from village to village with a Massive programmes through Padayatra, Cycle Rallies and Community Gatherings . 13th April organizing Dalit Darbars at District Head Quarters to bring in to the notice of District Officials with various Dalit Bahujan Issues which are noticed at village level.
On the occation of 14th April Birth Day Celebrations of Babasaheb Ambedkar. We requesting all Dalit Organisations raise a question to the public representatives that they have no right to garland the Babasaheb statues due to their irresponsible attitude towards Dalit Issues.
We are kindly requesting to participate and co-operate the campaign.
Thanking you,
Regards,
Korivi Vinaya Kumar G. Sudhakar
State President State Gen.Secretary

dalith bahujan agraha pradarsana

Dalits demand share in Land and Budget: Dalit Bahujan Front
Report of Chalo Assembly organized by DBF, A.P. on 13-03-2007


Dalit Bahujan Front (DBF) has demanded the Andhra Pradesh State Government to give the legitimate share of A.P. Dalits in land and budget. To pressurize the A.P. Government DBF has organised a massive rally in the state capital on 13-03-2007. People allover the state reached state capital on 13th morning itself. They came by every means of transport i.e. by trains, buses, cars and hired Lorrie’s/ vehicles. The rally started at 12 noon from Ambedkar Bhavan.
Noted civil rights leader, dalit scholar and president of Republican Party of India(RPI) Mr. Bojja Tarakam waved the DBF Flag and started off the “Anger and Anguish Rally” of Dalit Bahujans.Addressing the rally he gave call to all Dalitbahujans to unite and enter into the state assembly on their own to solve their socio-economic problems. He reminded the people about the famous saying of Babasaheb Dr.B.R.Ambedkar that political power is the master key to resolve all problems of Dalitbahujans. Thousands of Dalits from allover the state took a large procession with their demands raising slogans against the discriminative policies of the congress government against dalits. The participants with the blue flags in their hands and with drum beatings marched under the hot sun and culminated into a large public meeting at Indira Park.

Meanwhile in the afternoon a 5 member delegation team led by the DBF state president Mr. Korivi Vinaya Kumar met Mr. Y.S. Rajasekara Reddy, the Chief Minister (CM) of A.P. in the State Legislative Assembly in his chamber and submitted the memorandum on behalf of dalitbahujans. Dr. G. Vijaya Rama Rao, Floor leader of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) accompanied the team. The delegation explained the CM that for the last 2 months DBF has organized Dalit Durbars nearly in 70 Assembly Constituencies and collected thousands of memorandums from poor / needy Dalitbahujans and categorized them in to 5 major areas of concern. Land being the most important element for the comprehensive development of Dalits, should be distributed to all landless poor people i.e. 5 acres to each family in the state. At present there are 1.20 crore acres of land in the possession of the government readily for distribution, the delegation reminded the CM. It also requested the CM to constitute an independent LAND COMMISSION to look into the matters of land Re- Survey of total land and to distribute. The delegation urged him to extend the time limit of NABARD’s RIDF-9 funding upto 2008, March for the development of assigned lands. It also requested the CM to allocate 30% of the total ayicut (irrigated) land which would come out of 1 crore acres of irrigated land after the implementation of the prestigious Rs.100000 Crore jalayagnam project by the congress government. The second demand is about budgetary share of Dalits and Adivasis according to the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) and the government should allocate 22.8% share in State plan budget and according to these plans the dalits should get Rs.5022 crores and Rs.2046 crores to the adivasis respectively for the financial year 2007-08 and should constitute separate nodal agencies to channel these funds, the delegation requested the CM. It demanded the government to reconstitute the A.P.State S.C., S.T. Commission and to empower it with judicial powers and also to take necessary steps to prepare chargesheets in 25 thousand pending SC, ST atrocity cases. It requested the CM to take necessary steps to protect the interests of SC,ST,BC students residing in 4765 social welfare hostels in the state and to immediately release Rs.274 crore pending scholarships to the dalitbahujan students. The delegation also urged the CM to issue orders to all state authorities to organize meetings every week and to observe “Civil Rights Day” on 30th of every month in all villages to eradicate untouchability, seperate glass system, forced and bonded labour, Jogini/pothuraju (Hindu religious prostitution systems), Beliefs in Banamati (witchcraft), manual scavenging and to educate the villagers about the provisions of PCR Act, SC, ST (POA) Act according to the G.O.M.S. (S.W.) Nos. 105, 128, 129 which were issued in earlier political regime. The fifth demand consists of filling the 50,000 government backlog posts of SCs and STs which were vacant; the DBF delegation explained the CM. It also demanded the government to provide monthly allowance of Rs.1000 to the unemployed youth, old age people, widows, physically challenged persons / separate finance corporations to occupational communities, to implement reservations in promotions, a resolution in the A.P.Legislative Assembly on Reservations in private sector and to amend the A.P.R.E.G.S (Andhra Pradesh Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) to provide 100 work days in a year to each and every labour including the poor residing in town/municipal /all mandal areas in the state. The CM patiently heard the demands and assured the DBF team that his government will fulfill all the demands.

The public meeting started at 1’O clock and Mr. K. Vinaya Kumar presided over the meeting and invited the speakers onto the Dias. Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) M.L.A.s Mr. T.Harish Rao, Dr.Laxma Reddy, Padma Devendar, CPI(M) State secretary Mr.B.V.Raghavulu, CPI State secretary Dr.K.Narayana, Kula Vivaksha Porata Samithi(KVPS) state secretary Mr. John Wesley, Centre for Dalit Studies (CDS) coordinator Mr.Mallepalli Laxmaiah, Dalit Bahujana Shramika Union(DBSU) state general secretary Mr.G.Sudhakar, Dalit Bahujana Mahila Samakhya(DBMS) state convenor Ms. Chinta Pramila, Jogini Vyavastha Vyatireka Porata Sanghatana (JVVPS) convenor Ms. Grace Nirmala, Dalit Stree Shakthi(DSS) convenor Gaddam Jhansi, Manjira Dalit Seva Samithi convenor Mr.P.Shankar, Ambedkar Vidyardhi Samakhya president Bandi Bhikshapathi, Rayalaseema Dalit Vedika convenor Reddanna, Dalit Bahujan Employees Front convenor Jeldi Ismael Babu, DBF State Committee leaders Alladi Devakumar, Melam Bhagya Rao, Perumaallu Devudu, K.Kusuma Kumari were invited onto the Dias.

Mr.Vinaya Kumar explained the gathering masses about the essence of the memorandum and announced that DBF will conduct a campaign for the next two years and will make these demands an Election agenda in 2009 State Assembly elections. The speakers stressed the need for the unity of SC,ST,BC,Minorities (Dalit Bahujans) and advised them to wage unified political struggles to achieve dalit bahuajan demands. They critisised the attitude of government towards the Dalits. Troops of Dalit Bahujana Kala Mandali performed cultural action. The meeting concluded at 4 P.M. Nearly 5,000 people of SC,ST,BC,Minorities allover the state attended the rally, public meeting and made it a grand success. The meeting drew the attention of both electronic / print media and the media widely publicized the entire event. The media and widely published the whole event. Food and water was served to the 5,000 people in the afternoon and they were also provided with dinner while returning to their homes.

Report by
State Secretariat
Dalit Bahujan Front

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