An intervention against caste - based feudal and patriarchal structure

Case Details of File Number: 19835/24/47/2013
Diary Number	5474
Name of the Complainant	DR. LENIN RAGHUVANSHI, SECRETARY GENERAL
Address	PEOPLES VIGILANCE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS, SA 4/2 A, DAULATPUR,
	VARANASI , UTTAR PRADESH
Name of the Victim	DALITS
Address	R/O VILLAGE. KALOTHRA, BLOCK. TALBAHET,
	LALITPUR , UTTAR PRADESH
Place of Incident	VILLAGE. KALOTHRA
	LALITPUR , UTTAR PRADESH
Date of Incident	Not Mentioned
Direction issued by the Commission	These proceedings shall be read in continuation of the earlier proceedings of the Commission dated 11.3.2015. This Commission called for a report from the concerned authorities upon the complaint of the complainant Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi wherein it is alleged that Bundelkhand being the most backward part of the country having backward caste population of 53%, Scheduled Caste 25%, Tribals 10%, remaining 12% are Thakurs and Brahmins. There is a rampant caste based discrimination, sexual exploitation and untouchability. The women of the Valmiki community manually dispose of human faeces and carcasses of dead animals. Violence against women is rampant. There is large number of cases of domestic violence and deaths. The child sex ratio is also alarming. In village Kalothara Block, Talbahet of Lalitpur in UP, if Thakur came in front, then dalit need to bring their shoes in hand. It is extreme form of atrocities on Schedule Caste people. The Chief Secretary of UP was directed to submit the report and DG(I) of NHRC was also directed to get the fact investigated from the team after visiting Lalitpur. DG(I) constituted a team under Shri S.N. Pandey, Deputy SP comprising Shri Rajbir Singh and Shri Lal Bahadur, Inspectors. The Govt. of UP directed the DM, Lalitpur to make thorough investigation and report. The SP, Lalitpur also submitted a report. Commission has perused the report submitted by the administration and the Deputy SP, Shri S.N. Pandey of NHRC. All the facts mentioned in the complaint have been more or less denied by the administration. No case of any atrocities upon the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes have been reported. Shri S.N. Pandey in his report confirms the allegation that dalit women carry their shoes in their hands when they move through the locality of the upper caste people. The team has observed two such incidents during its visit but the team found that it is not done out of compulsion from forward class people. The dalit women carries their shoes in their hands in front of the elderly people even of the dalit community. If they do not do so, the elderly people of the dalit community may complaint to their husbands for not removing shoes by their wives in front of the elders of the community. This appears to be a case of customs prevalent in the dalit community which has received the social sanction. The team of the NHRC recommended to issue directions to the Chief Secretary, Govt. of UP for taking effective, preventive, educative and awareness generating measures to eradicate this social evil in which a dalit women carry their shoes in hands when they move in front of the elderly and upper caste people as it is against the dignity of the women. The Govt. of UP should strictly comply the provision of the PNDT Act and guidelines of the Hon’ble Supreme Court issued in the petition filed by the Centre for the Enquiry of Health and Allied Themes and the Mahila Sarrangeen Mandal and Dr. Sabu George, as the sex ratio in the area is alarmingly imbalanced. On examination of two reports, this Commission directs Government of UP to take effective measures to prevent this social evil of carrying shoes in hand by woman when they moves in front of elderly and upper caste people. The Government of UP shall appoint a senior officer to conduct a thorough enquiry to find out if the women’s of the dalit community are taking of their shoes out of compulsion or fear from the upper caste people or under pressure from the elders of their own community. An awareness programme should be organized in whole of the Bundelkhand region to eradicate this evil for upholding the honor of the women’s of the dalit community. Large scale publicity should be made to stop this illegal practice. Government of UP also take steps to educate women’s of the dalit community about their human rights. This Commission further directs the Government of UP to make on the spot enquiry regarding the cause of imbalance in sex ratio in the region and shall take immediate steps to check the female foeticides. The Chief Secretary, Govt. of UP shall submit action taken report to this Commission within ten weeks.
Action Taken	Additional Information Called for (Dated 6/9/2017 )
Status on 6/29/2017	Response from concerned authority is awaited.

 http://nhrc.nic.in/dispArchive.asp?fno=12906

http://www.hindustantimes.com/lucknow/dalit-atrocities-in-lalitpur-nhrc-demands-report/story-GuRl8U8NRRr5QPlLAc3xxN.html