Date:22/09/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/22/stories/2007092254000400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Punish people getting jobs with false certificates’

Special Correspondent

JD(S)-BJP Government accused of not protecting interests of Dalits
Dalits demand action against those responsible for inhuman treatment meted out to them

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Seeking action: Activists of the Karnataka State unit of Dalit Vimochana’s Human Rights Forum staging a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Bangalore on Friday.

Bangalore: A large group of Dalits, including women and children, under the banner of Dalit Liberation Human Rights Forum-Karnataka, on Friday staged a demonstration in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue, here demanding punishment to those responsible for various types of inhuman treatment meted out to them in the State.

The protesters alleged that the Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party Government headed by H.D. Kumaraswamy had failed to protect the interests of women and children among Dalits and other weaker sections. They demanded dismissal of this Government for failing to discharge its responsibilities.

State convenor of the forum Basavaraj Kautal alleged that 16,000 persons had secured jobs in various cadres in the State Government producing false caste certificates and impersonating as Dalits. He demanded filing of criminal cases against them under the Prevention of Atrocities Act and replacing them with the qualified and eligible Dalits.

Mr. Kautal alleged that the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement, the special courts, special prosecutors and all commissions of enquiries appointed by the successive governments to redress the grievances of Dalits had failed in implementing the mandate given to these agencies.

He demanded that the agencies be made accountable. Criminal cases should be filed against the Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and MLAs concerned for atrocities against Dalits, he said.

The State Human Rights Commission should constitute a committee to go into the charges of untouchability in the anganvadis, midday meal centres and other public places, he said.

The villages where Dalits and their women were subjected to torture and harassment should be declared as a separate village and they should be rehabilitated. All such families and those, who were facing social boycott should be provided with land and irrigation facilities for eking out a respectable life in society, Mr. Kautal said.

The Dalits raised slogans condemning the Government’s inaction and urging implementation of their demands.

Later, the Forum presented a memorandum to the office of the Governor.