Dalit women abused and paraded naked by Upper Castes in Orissa

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Dalit women abused and paraded naked by Upper Castes in Orissa
From our correspondent

Women from barber community in a coastal Orissa village of Puri district have alleged that they were sexually abused and paraded naked in apparent retaliation for the community’s refusal to perform rituals like washing the feet of Upper Caste ‘baratis’ in a marriage ceremony.

Four women of the Bhubanpati village disclosed the shocking incident on 22 September 2005. They said** they were ‘‘punished’’ on 19 September 2005 because their husbands had refused to wash the feet of ‘‘baratis’’ during a marriage ceremony sometime back. **

The women said they were dragged out of their house and made to parade naked on the village streets. Three of them alleged that **Upper Caste people confined them in a room and outraged their modesty. Other barbers were assaulted and their houses looted. **

They fled the village and took shelter in the office of the Orissa unit of Ambedkar Lohia Vichar Manch (ALVM). Although the ALVM lodged an FIR and submitted memoranda to the home secretary, DIG of Police and the Human Rights Commission, no action has been taken so far.

The police when contacted admitted that the caste conflict in the village had been brewing up for sometime between the Upper Caste and the barbers over the performance of certain traditional rituals. They however denied that barber women were sexually abused by the Upper Caste people.

ALVM Orissa unit general secretary Sagram Mallick alleged that the Upper Caste people not only assaulted the barbers but looted their property forcing them to flee the village in panic. He said nearly 40 members belonging to the four barber families had abandoned the village and had been taking shelter in neighbouring villages. Two of them were hospitalised in the Puri Sadar Hospital for treatment.

The ALVM in its memorandum to the state home secretary demanded that all the accused named in the FIR be arrested and the looted property of the barbers be recovered. It also demanded adequate compensation for the victims’ family and posting of armed police in the village to ensure safety of the barber community.

Mallick said under section 108 of the IPC, cases should be booked against the Upper Caste people who have been assaulting the barbers in the village.

http://www.aiccindia.org/news/dalit_women_abused_and_paraded_naked_by_upper_castes_in_orissa.htm

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Re: Dalit women abused and paraded naked by Upper Castes in Orissa

Private armies a threat to Dalits in Andhra Pradesh
From our correspondent

The private armies owned by Upper Castes run almost a parallel government in Bihar, one of the most backward (and lawless) states in India. The Government of Bihar, now under the President’s rule, has proved time and again to be powerless in dealing with the highhandedness exercised by these forces with the help of private armies.

Unfortunately Andhra Pradesh has gone the Bihar way. The emergence of caste-based private armies like Nallamalla Cobra (Nallatrachu) will have serious repercussions, as private armies in the North are used primarily to oppress the weaker sections. The police and the administration do not help the victims of private armies as they lack clout.

If such caste-based private armies are allowed to survive, a majority of attacks would be directed against Dalits and the landless poor. Most of the private armies are operated by rich, upper-caste people. For them, the weaker sections are the target. In addition to organised massacres, private armies use dehumanising programmes to insult the weaker sections. The Tsundur massacre of 1991 is a case in point.

Private armies take the guise of anti-Maoist groups and spring up after a major attack by extremists. Green Tigers, Nalladandu, Red Tigers, Tirumala Tigers and Narsa Cobras are some of the gangs. Narsa Cobras was formed after the Maoists shot Maktal Congress legislator Narsi Reddy in Mahbubnagar district on 15 August 2005. Narsa Cobras has already killed Kanakachari, who belonged to a backward caste, for being an alleged Maoist sympathiser. Another victim to fall was Alladi Ravi (26) of Chimakurthy Dalitwada. He was hacked to death on 17 September 2005.

The Nallamala Nallatrachu has threatened to kill residents in a Dalit colony in Prakasam district. The police have launched a search for Nallatrachu activists in the area. The scare began after unidentified persons wearing masks went around houses at night, questioning residents.

Among the oldest is Green Tigers, formed in the then Naxal base of north Telangana in 1994. The Maoists have since set up base in the Nallamala forests bordering four districts in central Andhra. Police sources say among these, the Nallatrachus are known for targeting Dalits. The group takes its name from the deadly cobras of the Nallamala forests. It has already claimed responsibility for killing M Prasad of Kula Nirmulana Porata Samiti (Society for eradicating caste) on 10 September 2005. Prasad, who belonged to the scheduled castes, was killed the day when KNPS State president Duddu Prabkahar was released on bail.

The gangs earlier killed human rights activists Azam Ali and Purushottam. We suspect that these gangs have cyanide weapons that can kill easily,” a senior police official says.

The State government should address these issues in right earnest. If timely measures are not initiated, the situation could soon worsen.

http://www.aiccindia.org/news/private_armies_a_threat_to_dalits_in_andhra_pradesh.htm

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Re: Dalit women abused and paraded naked by Upper Castes in Orissa

^ Plain sickening, I "hope" the culprits get captured and justice served!

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Re: Dalit women abused and paraded naked by Upper Castes in Orissa

India dalits protest arson attack

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40765000/jpg/_40765644_police_203afp.jpg Protestors damaged four buses during protests in Amritsar

**Lower-caste Hindus, or dalits, have demanded a federal inquiry into the burning of more than 50 dalit homes in the Indian state of Haryana. **

The houses in Gohana village were burnt by members of the upper-caste Jat community on Wednesday.

The Jats said they were protesting at “police inaction” over the alleged murder of a member of their community.

Several thousand dalits met in Delhi on Monday in protest and also demanded increased security in the village. The dalits say that they want an “honourable homecoming” for those whose houses were burnt down last week. Convenor of the dalit panchayat (dalit council) in Delhi, Darshan Ratna Ravan, told the BBC that if the dalits did not get justice they would take further action.

http://feeds.southeastasianews.net/?rid=cc38a199aa34a2b9&cat=303b19022816233b&f=1

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Re: Dalit women abused and paraded naked by Upper Castes in Orissa

It’s time the Indian state had guts to stand upto to these Brahmin terrorists.