The Hindu : Call to counter `campaign' against Dalits

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Call to counter `campaign' against Dalits

By Our Staff Reporter

CUDDAPAH March 24. Dalit organisations and democratic-minded organisations should counter the movement launched by upper caste persons under the banner of `OC Samkshema Sangham', as it was not only detrimental to the rights to Dalits but an impediment to the progress of society, said Human Rights Forum leaders on Monday.

The HRF State Committee member, K. Balagopal and district convenor, K. Jayasri, said in a statement here that the OC movement was being built on the pretext of misuse of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Admitting that some false complaints were being booked under the Act, deliberately or otherwise, they urged Dalit organisations to check such misuse of the Act. There were several instances of Dalits fearing to lodge complaints despite being abused in the name of caste, they said.

In some instances, the police were not registering complaints and when cases were registered under SC/ST Act, they had summoned the accused to police stations and received counter-complaints and registered both cases, they alleged. The upper castes were behind most of the false cases, in which Dalits were used as `pawns', and the number of false cases booked at the behest of Dalit organisations were fewer, they observed.

The OC Samkshema Sangham was trying to exploit the heartburn among the unemployed youth and marginal farmers and pit them against the Dalits, they alleged. They described as improper the demand for scrapping of the rule of reservations and SC/ST Act and withdrawal of subsidies in welfare schemes meant for Dalits and said such propaganda would instigate the Dalits.

Dalits' rights and sops might be lost if such attempts of upper castes were not countered effectively, they maintained and added that it would ultimately benefit the Government, which was keen on shirking its responsibility of being a welfare State. They called upon the democratic-minded organisations and Dalit organisations to unitedly counter the undemocratic movement.

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