Row over ‘untouchable’ Indian dog

BBC South Asia

24 September 2010 Last updated at 19:26 GMT

Row over ‘untouchable’ Indian dog

Police in India are investigating claims that a Dalit woman has been ordered to pay compensation to the high-caste owners of a dog she fed.

Sunita Jatav fed Sheru some leftover bread

The woman says the village council wants her to pay a fine of 15,000 rupees ($330) for feeding the dog, which the owners have now kicked out. They are reported to have said the dog is “untouchable”, but deny being motivated by caste considerations. Although widespread, discrimination against Dalits is an offence in India. Dalits, who make up nearly 20% of the Indian population, say little has changed despite the government enacting various laws banning caste-based discrimination. ‘He got very angry’ The incident took place in Malikpur village in Morena district in central Madhya Pradesh state. “I made some roti [Indian bread] and took it to my husband who works in a farm. After I had fed him, we had some leftovers which I gave to the dog,” the Dalit woman, Sunita Jatav, said. She said the owner of the dog, Amrutlal Kirari, saw her feeding him. “He got very angry and said ‘You’ve fed my dog, it has become an untouchable now’.” Mrs Jatav said Mr Kirari left the dog, a black mongrel called Sheru, tied to a pole outside her house. On Monday, the village council met and decided that Sheru had been defiled and hence Mr Kirari should be paid 15,000 rupees as compensation, Mrs Jatav alleged.

On Tuesday, she approached the district collector of Morena who ordered an inquiry into the incident. Senior police officer in the area, Baldev Singh, told the BBC that he was investigating the matter. He said Mr Kirari had alleged that after eating the bread, Sheru fell ill. Mr Kirari said he abandoned the dog at Mrs Jatav’s house so she could look after it and nurse it back to health, Mr Singh added. Dalits – formerly untouchables – are considered at the bottom of the Hindu caste system. Any discrimination against them is an offence and punishable by law.

Courtesy: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11403486

 

India’s top court cracks down on tradition of “honour killings”

20 Apr 2011 15:02

Source: Trustlaw // Nita Bhalla

The bodies of Sunita Devi (L), 21, and her partner Jasbir Singh, 22, lie on the ground after they were killed by villagers in an “honour killing” in Ballah village in the northern Indian state of Haryana. REUTERS/Stringer

    By Nita Bhalla

    NEW DELHI (TrustLaw) – India’s Supreme Court has called for an end to customary practices which promote “honour killings”, saying the brutal tradition of parents killing their children to protect their so-called reputation is “barbaric” and “shameful”.

    Khap Panchayats — community groups comprising elderly men which set the rules in Indian villages in regions such as Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan — are often seen as instigating such murders in these highly traditional regions. Yet these village councils have no legal sanction.

    Activists say cases of families lynching men and women,who engage in relationships with those of a different caste or religion, to salvage their perceived honour are widespread in India’s conservative northwestern belt.

    “We have in recent years heard of Khap Panchayats which often decree or encourage honour killings or other atrocities on men and women of different castes or religion, who wish to get married or have been married …” said a bench comprising of Justices Markandeya Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra on Tuesday.

    “We are of the opinion that this is wholly illegal and has to be ruthlessly stamped out,” said the two judges who were hearing a case of caste discrimination.

    Any opposition to Khap Panchayats diktats are met with harsh punishment, including public beatings or ostracism. Political parties rarely speak out against these councils which form a major vote bloc for many of them.

    Despite India’s rapid modernisation and growing cosmopolitanism, which has been driven by accelerated economic growth, discrimination against low-caste communities known as Dalits and minority faiths such as Muslims persists in this predominately Hindu country.

    The intermingling of caste and religion remains a taboo — not only for largely rural illiterate populations, who have lived under a system of feudalism for centuries, but even for educated, well-off families in urban India.

    In May last year, India’s media highlighted the case of 22-year-old journalist Nirupama Pathak who allegedly was killed by her mother in their home in the eastern state of Jharkhand, after she was found to be pregnant by her lower caste boyfriend.

    India’s top court judges have now directed all administrative and police departments to ensure that couples in such relationships are not harassed or subjected to violence, adding that inter-caste marriages are in the national interest and would help dismantle India’s age-old caste system.

    “There is nothing honourable in such killings, and in fact they are nothing but barbaric and shameful acts of murder committed by brutal, feudal-minded persons who deserve punishment,” said the judgement. “Only in this way can we stamp out such acts of barbarism.”

http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/news/indias-top-court-cracks-down-on-tradition-of-honour-killings

ಭೈರಪ್ಪರಿಂದ ಹಿಂದೂ ಧರ್ಮದ ವೌಢ್ಯಗಳಿಗೆ ಬೆಂಬಲ: ಸಿಎನ್ನಾರ್

ಸೋಮವಾರ – ಜನವರಿ -24-2011

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು, ಜ. 23: ಎಸ್.ಎಲ್.ಭೈರಪ್ಪನವರು ಬಹುತೇಕ ತಮ್ಮ ಎಲ್ಲ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಹಿಂದೂ ಧರ್ಮದ ಅರ್ಥವಿಲ್ಲದ ವೌಢ್ಯ ಆಚರಣೆ ಗಳನ್ನು ಬೆಂಬಲಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ ಎಂದು ಪ್ರೊ.ಸಿ.ಎನ್. ರಾಮಚಂದ್ರನ್ ವಿಷಾದಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ನಗರದ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಪರಿಷತ್‌ನ ಸಭಾಂಗಣದಲ್ಲಿಂದು ನವಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಪ್ರಕಾಶನದ ವತಿಯಿಂದ ಹಮ್ಮಿಕೊಳ್ಳ ಲಾಗಿದ್ದ ಡಾ.ಕೆ.ಎಲ್.ಗೋಪಾಲ ಕೃಷ್ಣಯ್ಯ ಅವರ ‘ಡಾ.ಎಸ್.ಎಲ್.ಭೈರಪ್ಪನವರ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಗಳೊಡನೆ ಧರ್ಮ-ಕರ್ಮ ಜಿಜ್ಞಾಸೆ’ ಕೃತಿಯನ್ನು ಅನಾವರಣ ಗೊಳಿಸಿ ಅವರು ಮಾತನಾಡಿದರು.
ಭೈರಪ್ಪನವರು ತಮ್ಮ ಗ್ರಹಭಂಗ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಂದೂ ಧರ್ಮಕ್ಕೆ ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾಗಿ ಮರುಮುದುವೆಯಾಗುವ ಕ್ಯಾತಾಯಿನಿಗೆ ಮೂರು ಸಲ ಅಕಾರಣ ವಾಗಿ ಗರ್ಭಪಾತ ಮಾಡಿಸಿ ಸಾಯಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

‘ದಾಟು’ವಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಜಾತೀಯತೆ ಯನ್ನು ವಿರೋಧಿಸುವ ದಲಿತ ಸಮುದಾಯದ ಮೋಹನ್‌ದಾಸ್‌ನು ಗರ್ಭಗುಡಿಯನ್ನು ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುವಾಗ ಮೂರ್ಚೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಹಿಂದೂ ಧರ್ಮದ ನಂಬಿಕೆಗಳ ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾಗಿ ಈಜುವ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಪಾತ್ರಗಳು ಅವಸಾನ ಹೊಂದುವಂತೆ ಚಿತ್ರಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂದು ಅವರು ಆರೋಪಿಸಿದರು.

ಕವಲು ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂಡ ಬೈರಪ್ಪನವರು ಸ್ತ್ರೀಪಾತ್ರಗಳೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಹಣದಾಸೆಗಾಗಿ ಯಾರಿಗಾದರೂ ತಮ್ಮ ಮೈ ಮಾರಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಂತೆ ಹಾಗೂ ತಮ್ಮ ಗಂಡಂದಿರನ್ನು ವಿನಾಕಾರಣ ಕಾನೂನಿನ ಇಕ್ಕಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಸಿಲುಕಿಸುವ ಖಳ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳಂತೆ ಚಿತ್ರಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ಅವರು ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದ ಕಾನೂನುಗಳನ್ನು ಇನ್ನೊಮ್ಮೆ ಅಧ್ಯಯನ ಮಾಡುವುದು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದು ಎಂದು ಅವರು ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯಪಟ್ಟರು.

ಯಾವುದೆ ಧರ್ಮ ಎಲ್ಲ ಕಾಲ ಘಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದೆ ರೀತಿ ಇರಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯ ವಿಲ್ಲ. ಆಯಾ ಕಾಲದ ವಿವಿಧ ವರ್ಗಗಳು, ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಗತಿಯನ್ನು ಆಧರಿಸಿ ಧರ್ಮ ಸ್ಥಿತ್ಯಂತರಗೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಲೆ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ. ವೈದಿಕ ಧರ್ಮವು ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕ ಹಿಂದೂ ಧರ್ಮಕ್ಕಿಂತಲೂ ಪುರಾತನ ವಾದ ಇತಿಹಾಸವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದೆ. ಹಿಂದೂ ಎಂಬ ಶಬ್ದದ ಕೂಡ ಪರಕೀಯ ರಿಂದ ಬಂದುದಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದರು.
ಬುದ್ಧ ವೈದಿಕ ಪುರೋಹಿತಶಾಹಿ ಧರ್ಮವನ್ನು ವಿರೋಧಿಸಿದರೆ ಹೊರತು ಹಿಂದೂ ಧರ್ಮವನ್ನಲ್ಲ. ಕಾಲಕಾಲಕ್ಕೆ ಬದಲಾಗುವ ಧರ್ಮ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ರಕ್ಷಿಸು ತ್ತದೆ ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ನಂಬುವುದಾದರೂ ಹೇಗೆ ಎಂದು ಅವರು ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸಿದರು. ನೂರಾರು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಂ ಮಹಾರಾಜರು 2 ಸಾವಿರ ದೇವಾ ಲಯಗಳನ್ನು ನಾಶಗೊಳಿಸಿದರು.

ಅವರ ವಾರಸುದಾರರಾದ ಇಂದಿನ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಂರು ಈ ದುಷ್ಕೃತ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬಲಿಯಾಗಬೇಕೆಂಬುದು ಭೈರಪ್ಪನವರ ಆವರಣ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯ ವಾದವಾಗಿದೆ.

ಆದರೆ ಫರ್ಗುಶನ್ ಎಂಬ ವಿದೇಶಿ ವಿದ್ವಾಂಸ ಶೇ.99ರಷ್ಟು ಹಿಂದೂ ಧರ್ಮದ ಅನುಯಾಯಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದು ಕೊಂಡು ಹಿಂದೂ ಧರ್ಮದ ಕುರಿತು ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಗ್ರಂಥಗಳನ್ನು ರಚಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ಅವರು ಹಿಂದೂ ಧರ್ಮದ ವಾರಸುದಾರರಲ್ಲ ಎನ್ನುವುದನ್ನು ಭೈರಪ್ಪನವರು ಗಮನಿಸಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಅವರು ಹೇಳಿದರು

Courtesy : Varthabharathi

http://vbnewsonline.com/Benguluru/41448/