At the AIIMS apartheid is practiced from cricket to class by upper caste students.

[Guest guest]

AIIMS practice apartheid from cricket to class

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, May 6: In the country's top medical college, Sateesh

Meena is not allowed to dine or play cricket with upper caste students. Neither,

he says, is any other Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe student.

Daily life at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) resembles that

in the country's feudal outbacks and Apartheid-era South Africa, a government

committee has discovered, confirming findings reported by The Telegraph.

" Some would just get up and walk away when I would sit at the table

(in the mess), " said Jiten Dash (name changed, like Meena's),

according to transcripts of conversations the panel had with SC and ST

students.

The committee interviewed 25 reserved-category students — half their

total number at the institute — of whom almost all said they were

told " not to play basketball or cricket by the upper caste students " . " Football

and volleyball (that the upper castes

don't fancy) were the only sports we were allowed to play, "

Meena said.

The committee claims " enough evidence " that the discrimination

is " linked " to the " proactive role the AIIMS administration

played " in fanning anti-quota sentiments on campus.

During last year's anti-reservation agitation, AIIMS authorities had

allowed student protesters from other institutions, too, to gather on

the campus. No other central institution did so.

Most of those the committee interviewed alleged the teachers ignored

Dalit students in class and deliberately failed them in exams,

especially the practical tests.

" Even in internship, they are harassing (us)… now they are

threatening us about the exams that are coming, " a medico complained

against teachers. " Last year, out of seven students… six were

failed — nearly by one or two marks. "

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had personally intervened to set up the

three-member committee, headed by University Grants Commission chairman Sukhdeo

Thorat, after this newspaper reported the campus discrimination.

The panel confirmed the finding that reserved category students were

bullied into vacating their hostel rooms, leading to an SC/ST ghetto

being formed on two floors of Hostels 4 and 5.

Each of the 25 interviewed said that despite a ragging ban, they were

humiliated when they had joined. " They would call us to their rooms

and order us… `tell us 10 reasons why you should get reservation… if you don't

we'll beat you', " one of them said.

" These incidents happen every year. Whenever a new batch joins they

are treated like this, " a general category student confirmed.

The authorities ignored repeated complaints from the SC and ST students,

encouraging their tormentors.

One Dalit boy who tried to join general category students in a game of

basketball was thrashed, the committee noted. Another boy was told to

" get out " by the cook when he walked into the mess where the

upper castes dined.

The committee said the institute, despite requests, " has not taken

any initiative to arrange remedial coaching in English, basic courses or any

other spheres for SC/ST students as is required by central

government educational institutions " .

Unlike many other central institutions, it lacks a grievance cell for SC and ST

students. The committee has recommended that AIIMS set up an

" equal opportunity office (EOO) " , answerable to the

institute's governing body and not the hospital administration.

The panel has also suggested that committees in AIIMS at every level

— dealing with student, faculty or administration issues — have

SC/ST members.

The committee last evening submitted its final report to health minister

Anbumani Ramadoss.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070507/asp/frontpage/story_7744209.asp

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

Re: /message/7240

Though this news does not have relevance to the issues that this group normally

shares or discusses, nevertheless it is one of deep-seated discrimination - a

practice familiar to those affected by HIV/AIDS, IDUs, etc., for some two

decades in this country.

The reason that I am responding to this, while being normally quiet and merely

observant mostly, is that India has just completed its appearance before the UN

Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) last

March. Furthermore, India is seeking a second term at the newly established UN

Human Rights Council (it is presently a member).

Members to the HRC get elected through an election process at the General

Assembly scheduled to take place on 17 May 2007 (this month).

I want to share, for the record and information of this very large group (many

are not Indians but it is still relevant to all) some information regarding

these two mentioned UN bodies and India. Please excuse this long response.

A) UN Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)

According to the concluding observations of this committee, after considering

India's 15th to 19th periodic reports that were submitted jointly

4. The Committee welcomes the special measures adopted by the State party to

advance the equal enjoyment of rights by members of scheduled castes and

schedules tribes, such as reservation of seats in Union and State legislatures

and of posts in the public service.

5. The Committee welcomes the establishment of institutions responsible for the

implementation of anti-discrimination legislation such as the Scheduled Castes

and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (1989) and for the

monitoring of acts of discrimination and violence against members of scheduled

castes and scheduled tribes, including the Ministry of Social Justice and

Empowerment, the Union and State Parliamentary Committees on Social Justice, the

Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and the National Commissions on Scheduled Castes and

on Scheduled Tribes.

6. The Committee notes with appreciation the declaration of the Indian Prime

Minister before the Dalit Minority International Conference in New Delhi on 27

December 2006 that “the only parallel to the practice of ‘Untouchability’ was

Apartheid in South Africa.” Such a declaration underlines the renewed commitment

to address the discriminatory practice of “Untouchability”.

However, the committee came down very heavily on the de facto situation in

India. It definitively rejected India's submission that caste based

discrimination is beyond the purview of the international Convention, noting a

wide of range of unacceptable and illegal disciminatory and violent practices

prevailing against the so called Scheduled Castes (Dalits).

Interestingly, it recommended that education among those practicing such

discrimination be carried out.

In fact. the good doctors, administrators, students, contractors in hostel

messes and karmacharis of AIIMS seem to be a very much neglected target audience

for education and awareness to " strengthen its (India's) efforts to eradicate

the social acceptance of caste-based discrimination and racial and ethnic

prejudice, e.g. by intensifying public education and awareness raising

campaigns, incorporating educational objectives of inter-caste tolerance and

respect for other ethnicities, as well as instruction on the culture of

scheduled castes and scheduled and other tribes, in the National Curriculum

Framework, and ensuring adequate media representation of issues concerning

scheduled castes, tribes and ethnic minorities, with a view to achieving true

social cohesion among all ethnic groups, castes and tribes of India. "

The concluding observations of CERD may be accessed at the UN's ohchr website,

for those interested to pursue this further.

[http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0ac7e03e4fe8f2bdc125698a0053bf66/8e0a046503560\

7e0c12572600045d6f5/$FILE/G0641115.pdf]

India, a candidate to Human Rights Council

States who wish to be a candidate for the elctions to the HRC are required under

GA resolution 61/175 to make a pledge regarding their commitment to human rights

standards and accountability to the international community in this regard. I

ndai too has made a pledge, attached for reference, which does not mention its

commitment to stated claims and assurances to end caste based discrimination but

only stating that the autonomy of certain Commissions will be maintained.

[http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N07/224/70/PDF/N0722470.pdf?OpenElement]

The pledge is an unacceptable one and we are initiating a campaign to discourage

States member sof the GA from voting for India in the upcoming elections giving

reasons why India is not a suitable candidate because of its record of

discrimination of all kinds.

The letter which will be circulated, and will be open to signatures/endorsements

from civil society organisations in India. Please be alerted and do sign on.

Once again, my apologies for this long email.

Roy Laifungbam

Loisanglen:

Gate No.2, Palace Compound

Imphal 795001

Manipur India

Tel/Fax: +91 (385) 2228169

Email: coreloisanglen@...