The Hindu : Other States / Rajasthan News : Dalits seek Governor's intervention

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Friday, Dec 31, 2004

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Dalits seek Governor's intervention

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, DEC. 30. Accusing the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje, of being "totally inaccessible" to Dalits ever since she assumed office, the Dalit organisations in the State have approached the Governor, Pratibha Patil, seeking her intervention to ensure justice to Dalits and stop caste-based discrimination.

Representatives of Dalit organisations led by the chairperson of Centre for Dalit Rights, P.L. Mimroth, met Ms. Patil here on Wednesday and charged that the administrative machinery in the State was insensitive to the plight of Dalits who were the victims of endless atrocities. He said Ms. Raje had shown no willingness to listen to the grievances of Dalits during the past one year.

The delegation of Dalits urged the Governor to direct the State Government to take steps for strict implementation of laws protecting the Scheduled Castes and Tribes and ensure their access to the means of livelihood by safeguarding their share in land, water, wealth and capital. Mr. Mimroth said those belonging to so-called higher castes had grabbed the Dalits' lands at several places.

A memorandum submitted by Dalit bodies to Ms. Patil alleged that there were serious lapses on the part of the State Government in the abolition of untouchability and prevention of the denial of basic human rights to Dalits in the rural areas. "The incident in Chakwada where Dalits were denied access to the public pond was a glaring instance of untouchability still practised in the name of customs," it said.

The memorandum called for launching of an official campaign against untouchability with wide publicity in the mass media on the lines of the pulse polio campaign and establishment of a Land Tribunal to look into the allotment of land to Dalits and give them necessary inputs, such as seeds, fertilisers and irrigation facility. "The Dalits' land grabbed by others should be recovered and handed over to the original beneficiaries," it stated.

While demanding that the land reforms, ceiling laws and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act be honestly implemented, the memorandum said legal and disciplinary action should be launched against the police and Government officials found guilty of neglect in the discharge of their duties under these legislations.

The memorandum made a special mention of the infamous Kumher massacre of 1991 - when 17 Dalits were killed in broad daylight in the organised violence in Bharatpur district - and demanded that the Justice K.S. Lodha Commission's report on the carnage be tabled in the Assembly in its next session.

Besides, the reservation policy for recruitment and promotion of Dalit employees should be implemented effectively and all budgetary allocations meant for weaker sections should be properly utilised for their benefit, said the memorandum. It also sought reconstitution of the district-level vigilance committees under the SC/ST Act with adequate representation of Dalit activists.

In addition to the Centre for Dalit Rights, other organisations represented in the delegation that met the Governor were the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights, Dalit Advocates' Forum and Dalit Mahila Manch.

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