By Jadumani &  Ratnakumar

1.1 The situation
The present situation is pathetic.  From the last four days justice is being denied to victims, rally by rally and protest by protest are happening in all around the districts of Odisha. Families are poorly  contained in the Same Govt school. Innocent women children and men are having with same dress from last four days, the soap, oil, and all sanitation facilities are far from them. The feelings and emotions of victims Dalits have replaced into sorrow and suffering. All the relief work are insufficient to the victims people, still people do not have proper clothes to save themselves from winter or cold in the night time people sleep with cold without bed. Dalit down one generation back.

1.2 Govt Response
Still victims are poorly rehabilitated by local administration.  Govt officials are distributing paltry amount relief. Intentionally wrong, Govt officials  taking hardly any serious step forward . On the contrary they they assure something and doing something.  They are  and harassing and  playing with already victimized  Dalits.

1.3 At last few Arrests
42 men are being arrested for the incident so far. Recently the news came that 40 women from upper caste also got arrested as they were protesting against the police asking them to leave those who are arrested. 

1.4 Massive Protest
Yesterday a massive really was led by Dalits of Odisha in the district of Bolangir, fearing the district collector announced a committee for relief.  Simultaneously  a team of  local educated people formed a “Peace Committee” however people want justice  not an artificial architecture of peace .  In  rest  of Odisha,  Dalits  seeming to come together and  uniting. There is wide support from different Dalit communities all over the district.

1.5  Demands of local people
These are the six demands:

1-     To declare Bolangir District as  a Atrocity prone area.

2-     To arrest the Political Master brain behind Lathur House burning.

3-     To provide New houses to all victims.

4-     To give compensations such as all the furniture, materials things, gold, silver, clothes ornaments, property, and food grains.

5-     To provide a govt service to each person of a victim’s family.

1.6 Ground Zero Pictures:

Please find following the Gallery of the pictures that potrays the deadly caste violence brings a fear to commoners. If this is India 25% of Dalits rae unsafen anytime their houses be burnt.

In Lathur village (bolangir) no Dalit Househols anymore there. What Central Government is doing many asking question. We seek explanation from INDIA, what next?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk8j7edbols

This is the second year of this festival. In the year 2011, in its very first year, the festival was planned on a grand scale and was attended by over 30,000 people in a span of four days – from 6th to 9th January 2011.

For details plz visit www.buddhafestivalnagpur.com/

The festival was conceptualized with the aim of celebrating and propagating Buddhist teachings, art, culture and heritage. The programs at the festival were also designed to fulfill the main aim behind the festival. It includes performances such as music, dance and drama by professional artists as well as competitions such as drawings, paper presentations to induct new generation into the teachings of the Lord Buddha. The festival being a formidable event in the Buddhist calendar of India. This year – equipped with learning from last year – the ‘Grand Buddha Festival Organising Team’ wishes to make the 4-day event even better. The team is global in composition and outlook and it intends to attract thousands of Buddhists from diffrent traditions.

Watch for the full coverage on LIVE TV 4 Social Change

He comes with the insight that the REAL problem of Caste subjugation. This is/was never noticed by the existing power structures whether it be a political or economic or be a social. This is detrimental to NATION making in long run as many scholars understand.

Leaders in Orissa are engaged in finding solutions differently, sometimes thru fake religious conversions or sometimes thru blood baths (Naxals). Lets listen to him, he being a student of political science too, it makes another sense..

About her… She is a Professor of Rhetoric & Composition at Oberlin College, USA. She has association of 30 years with India and Dalit culture. She uses her own writing and research to cut across genres and disciplines. Her research interests include cultural studies, non-fiction prose, South Asian culture and religion, and Tibetan studies. She is currently the mentor for Posse 4 at Oberlin.

Topic: Dalit Literature & Cultural Significance.

Inteview by:  Santosh Raut, Asst Prof , Department of Asthetics & Philosophy,  English & Foreign Language University, Hydrabad, India  who visited Europe recently for study events at London University and also for presenting a paper on ’Knowledge of Development’ at  Erasmus University,Amsterdam.