[Onthebarricades] Global South and Global: Anti-racism, minority rights, castes and religious minorities

[Andy]

ON THE BARRICADES:  Global Resistance Roundup, April-August 2008
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/onthebarricades
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance/



*  INDIA:  Muslim group protests over scheduled caste quotas

*  MALAYSIA:  Protest over anti-Indian slurs in school

*  INDIA:  Barbers' caste protests against denigrating remarks

*  INDIA:  Sikhs protest against caricatures

*  INDIA:  Dalits protest wall, exclusion from temple

*  US/JAPAN:  Buddhists protest fundamentalist group

*  TURKEY/KURDISTAN:  Kurdish politicians skip speech in protest

*  EGYPT:  Coptic Christians protest attacks in land dispute

*  US/EGYPT:  Coptic solidarity demo

*  PAKISTAN:  Protests over killings of Shi'ite Muslims

*  INDIA:  Protest for better conditions at scheduled caste hostels

*  INDIA:  Protest against discrimination against Dalits

*  INDIA:  Karnataka Dalits urge budget quota, hostels

*  INDIA:  Protest for Kannadi preference in hiring

*  INDIA:  Muslims protest killing of Shi'ites in Pakistan

*  INDIA:  Dalits protest death at residential school

*  SOUTH KOREA:  Buddhists protest alleged discrimination by government

*  INDIA:  Kannada activists demand language status

*  SERBIA:  American book withdrawn after Muslim protests

*  INDIA:  Christians protest against fake cases

*  CANADA/INDIA:  Sikh protesters target Indian parade, demand homeland

*  INDIA:  Protest over alleged murder of Dalit

*  US:  Sikhs protest haircut assault

*  INDIA:  Attack on Dalit sparks protests


http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/30/stories/2008073053700400.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Association's protest
Thiruvananthapuram: The Muslim Employees' Cultural Association has expressed 
its protest against what it described as the 'freezing of the reservation 
for students belonging to the backward communities for degree and 
postgraduate courses.' In a memorandum submitted to Chief Minister V.S. 
Achuthanandan on Tuesday, with copy to the Education Minister, they urged 
the State government to restore the reservation immediately. - Special 
Correspondent

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=6f5a4766-6909-4165-bae3-cda57e4245cf&&Headline=Protest+over+racial+slurs+against+Indians+in+Malaysia&strParent=strParentID

Protest over racial slurs against Indians in Malaysian school
Kula Lumpur, August 05, 2008
First Published: 00:48 IST(5/8/2008)
Last Updated: 00:56 IST(5/8/2008)

About 500 angry ethic-Indians on Monday staged a protest outside a school 
demanding action against a teacher who allegedly hurled racial slurs against 
students from the community in western Malaysia's Selangaon state.
According to the police report, a woman history teacher had allegedly called 
Indian students in a Class four and five 'Negro', 'black monkeys' and other 
derogatory names.
The crowd began gathering outside the Banting school's main entrance near 
here at noon and staged a protest for two hours.
The teacher had also allegedly said that "Indians came from dogs" and the 
community members were stupid and prone to thuggery and thievery, the Star 
daily reported on its website.
The alleged incidents took place on July 17 and 22 when the teacher had 
allegedly beaten up some Indians students.
A students also alleged in his report that the teacher had written the word 
'keling pariah' on the board and lost her cool when the Indian students told 
her that they did not like being called names, it said.
Coalition of Malaysian Indian NGOs secretary Gunaraj George, who was among 
the protesters, said such abuse would only breed hatred and racial 
polarisation in schools.
"No one in his or her right frame of mind would have said these things. 
Given this, the best option would be for the teacher to be assigned to a 
desk job and not be allowed to be near youngsters anymore," he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong said the schoolteacher 
might be sacked if the allegations proved true. "The allegations were 
serious as no one was allowed to insult others, especially in a school 
environment," said Wee, who was asked to comment.
The ministry was awaiting an official report before taking any action, he 
added.

http://story.indiagazette.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/303b19022816233b/id/377065/cs/1/

Malay Indians protest against racial slur
India Gazette
Tuesday 1st July, 2008
(ANI)

Sungai Siput (Malaysia), July 1 : The Indian community in Malaysia protested 
against the prominent legislator for the Malay-majority Barisan Nasional 
coalition or the National Front, Hamidah Osman, for saying that Indians are 
worse than snakes in front of a State Assembly Speaker.

A group of about 50 people from the Indian community staged a 75-minute 
peaceful demonstration in fro
nt of the Sungai Siput police station to call for her resignation.

The demonstration, which began at 5.45 p.m. on Monday, saw the group holding 
up placards and asking passing motorists to sound their horns as a show of 
support.

The group dispersed at 7p.m., but not before five participants lodged a 
joint police report against her.

The Malaysian Government fearing a backlash from the Indian community to a 
racist insult from a prominent legislator has forced Hamidah Osman to tender 
an immediate apology to the community.

Osman, the Malaya legislator had said, "There's a well-known Malay saying 
that goes 'If you see a snake and an Indian, kill the Indian first.' Do you 
agree or disagree with it?"

The Malaysian government took redressed before the Indian government could 
lodge a complaint. The government was forced to retract after strong protest 
from Malay Indians, the NST Online reported.

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/02/stories/2008080252050300.htm

Nayee Brahmins' protest rocks Tirupati
Special Correspondent
- Photo: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar

On warpath: Nayee Brahmins protesting against J.C. Prabhakar Reddy's 
comments in Tirupati on Friday.
TIRUPATI: Nadaswaram and Dolu artistes who belong to the 'Nayee Brahmin' 
(barbers) community on Friday chosen a novel method to register their 
resentment over the intemperate outbursts of J. C. Prabhakar Reddy, brother 
of Panchayat Raj Minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy against denigrating their 
caste.
They were highly critical about the Minister's brother abusing Deputy 
Transport Commissioner, Gandhi, using his caste name and said his action 
smacked of his arrogance and 'caste hegemony'.
To register their protest against Mr. Prabhakar Reddy, heaping choicest of 
the epithets at the Deputy Transport Commissioner and other senior officials 
who were present during the unsavoury incident, the members of the community 
took a march through the main streets playing in chorus their nadaswaram and 
beating their traditional percussion instrument, dolu in concert.
The protest march with nearly 2,000 demonstrators started from the statue of 
social reformist Jyothirao Phule and culminated at the busy 'Nalagukalla 
Mandapam' where they concluded their 'concert' and held a mid-road protest 
meeting.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1165347

Members of Sikh community stage protest
PTI
Monday, May 19, 2008  20:39 IST

BANGALORE: Members belonging to the Sikh community staged a protest in the 
city, raising serious objection to jokes and caricatures printed on the menu 
card of a restaurant, which offended the 'sentiments' of the Sikh community, 
a spokesperson of the community said.

"About 60 members belonging to our community staged a peaceful protest in 
front of the restaurant yesterday and also lodged a complaint with the 
Cubbon Park police station against the owner of the restaurant", Raj Kamal 
Singh, Manager, Ulsoor Gurudwara said on Monday.

"Our Sikh bretheren who had been visiting this restaurant "Angeethi" owned 
by a Sindhi, noticed that each and every page of the menu card not only had 
jokes on Sikhs, portraying them as dumb, but also their caricatures, 
sporting a turban and a sword along with shoes, which is very offensive", he 
said.

"The turban (Pagadi) and sword (kirpan) have been bestowed upon us by our 
Guru, Guru Nanak Dev and is an essential part of the Sikh identity. The 
Kirpan specially is never sported along with shoes. It really hurts the 
sentiments of the community, which is basically peace loving", he said.

"While the manager of the hotel assured us that he would withdraw the menu 
card and get new ones printed, we are yet to speak to the owner, who is out 
of town", Singh said.

"In case the hotel authorities do not comply with our appeal, we will then 
decide about the further course of action", he added.

The cosmopolitan city has a Sikh population of nearly 10,000.

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/20/stories/2008052054110600.htm

Dalits protest against construction of wall
Special Correspondent
SALEM: Dalits of Sandhiyur village near here have protested against the 
attempt by caste Hindus to construct a compound wall around the Sri Periya 
Mariamman Temple.
They said that they had been offering prayers at the temple standing 
outside. Even during the annual festivals the Dalits were not permitted to 
enter the temple, they claimed.
But a week back the caste Hindus had started constructing a wall around the 
temple with the intension of denying the Dalits to have the darshan of the 
deity even from standing outside.
M. Matheswaran, a Dalit, told The Hindu that the caste Hindus had also 
encroached upon the village maidan (ground), which is common for all 
castes.The ground incidentally has village TV room and a school.

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/55134

Protesting Nichiren Shoshu's Use of Miller Theatre
By Lisa Kawai
PUBLISHED MARCH 17, 2008
On Sunday, May 18, the fundamentalist "Nichiren Shoshu"-or The True Sect of 
Nichiren-Buddhist Temple will be holding a 1 p.m. meeting at Miller Theatre. 
As a member of Columbia's Buddhism for Global Peace club, I am concerned 
about this event and will be in front of Miller Theatre in protest.
Nichiren Shoshu preaches the doctrine that "the living essence" of Buddhism 
exists solely within the lives of its anointed priests. Stemming from this 
untenable doctrine-so inimical to the contention of the Lotus Sutra that all 
beings are inherently respectworthy and equal-senior Nichiren Shoshu priests 
have issued numerous incendiary remarks about other religions. In fact, the 
Web site of the Nichiren Shoshu temple in Washington, D.C. clearly condemns 
the very concept of religious tolerance which, it bemoans, has "penetrated 
and become fixed in society" and is "actually hypocrisy and will definitely 
lead to ruin."
It is difficult to document what Nichiren Shoshu priests say behind the 
closed doors of their temples (the event at Miller Theatre is closed to the 
Columbia community.) However, snippets of their remarks have occasionally 
surfaced on Web postings. For example, in his posting of a monthly sermon, a 
local New York Nichiren Shoshu priest urged his congregants to "discard the 
imperfect precepts of imperfect religions and ideas such as the 
Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments." In a rare, publicly transcribed 
question-and-answer session, a priest from Argentina characterized Mother 
Teresa as "a Jihi Ma (literally "devil incarnate") leading people to hell.
Nichiren Shoshu priests, however, have reserved their most offensive remarks 
for Islam. In 1997 a senior priest referred to God and Allah as "heartless 
and uncharitable gods" who are mere figments of the imagination. "Religions 
that force people to believe in gods who do not exist," he continued, are 
"arrogant faiths that lack compassion." On the second anniversary of Sept. 
11th, 2001, ignoring the extreme duress experienced at that time by Muslims, 
a New York priest concluded, "Just as Indian Buddhism was destroyed by 
Islam . all slanderous religions, including Islam, will be defeated by true 
Buddhism." This remark caught the attention of the local chapter of the 
Council on American-Islamic Relations, which protested with a petition drive 
and a press conference in front of the priest's Flushing temple on July 9, 
2003. The priest refused to apologize-how can someone touched by "the living 
essence" of Buddhism make a mistake?-and just removed the objectionable 
passages from his Web site.
Laughable? Easily dismissed as the fodder of the ignorant? Yes, but it is 
important to remember the lessons of history which clearly teach that 
extremism must be immediately and strongly confronted whenever it emerges. 
The warning of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is clear on this point: "History 
will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social 
transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling 
silence of the good people."
Certainly the bar of verbal challenge to the Nichiren Shoshu priests should 
be no lower than the one raised when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 
spoke at Columbia on Sept. 24, 2007: "People of intolerance can speak but 
people of conscience must react," said University President Lee Bollinger. 
"To commit oneself to a life-and a civil society-prepared to examine 
critically all ideas arises from a deep faith in the myriad benefits of a 
long-term process of meeting bad beliefs with better beliefs and hateful 
words with wiser words."
As a member of the Buddhism for Global Peace club at Columbia, I must stress 
that our members do not support the intolerance and authoritarianism shown 
by the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood-such qualities are inimical to the beliefs 
and traditions of mainstream Buddhism. In particular, the life of Nichiren, 
a 13th century Japanese freedom fighter, exemplified the broad social 
activism, humanistic compassion, intellectual pursuit, and, above all, 
commitment to dialogue characteristic of the Mahayana teachings of engaged 
Buddhism.
Our club is affiliated with the Soka Gakkai International-USA, an 
international lay Buddhist organization dedicated to peace, culture and 
education. Our commitment to these goals is well illustrated by the efforts 
of our president, Daisaku Ikeda, one of the world's foremost advocates of 
intercultural dialogue. In recognition of his efforts to support higher 
education, he has been the recipient of over 230 honorary doctorates from 
universities all over the world.
Whereas Nichiren Shoshu is renting Miller Theatre and along with it the 
imprimatur of Columbia, Dr. Ikeda's relationship with Columbia University 
has lasted for 33 years. He visited the Columbia campus in 1975, presenting 
a collection of rare books to the C.V. Starr East Asian Library and 
conducting a dialogue about higher education with prominent Columbia 
professors and administrators. He lectured at Teachers College in 1996 and 
articulated a vision to revitalize schooling based on the paradigm of 
education for global citizenship. He has conducted dialogues on Buddhism 
with professor Robert Thurman. With Dr. Ikeda's support, Columbia University 
Press was able to publish a definitive English translation of the Lotus 
Sutra by professor Burton Watson. In collaboration with the Boston Research 
Center for the 21st Century, a research institution founded by Dr. Ikeda, 
Teachers College Press published two volumes of essays, Educating Citizens 
for Global Awareness and Ethical Visions of Education, edited respectively 
by professors Nel Noddings and David Hansen. Clearly, Dr. Ikeda fully 
understands the unique significance of Columbia and its students.
Please join me at 1 p.m. in front of Miller Theatre to hold Nichiren Shoshu 
priests visiting our campus publicly accountable to standards of tolerance, 
decency, and broadmindedness.
The author is a graduate student in the School of Social Work.

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=143101

Kurdish politicians skip Turkish prime minister's speech to protest 
government policies

Kurdish politicians have skipped a major speech by Turkey's prime minister 
to protest the government's refusal to recognize the country's Kurdish 
minority.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was giving details about plans unveiled 
in March for economic and cultural initiatives in the largely Kurdish 
southeast.
He suggests spending US$12 billion (¤8 billion) over five years to improve 
the region's agriculture, and says a TV channel with Kurdish-language 
programing will soon be launched.
The Kurdish politicians say the incentives do not go far enough.
Pro-Kurdish Mayor Osman Baydemir and other Kurdish politicians boycotted 
Erdogan's speech Tuesday in Diyarbakir to underline their demand that Kurds 
be fully recognized.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/06/200861503810963616.html

Egypt Copts protest against attacks

The Abu Fana monastery was damaged during clashes between Muslims and Copts 
over a land dispute [AFP]

Calm has returned to Deir Abu Fana, a village 210km south of Egypt's 
capital, Cairo, after the release of three monks abducted amid tensions 
between Muslims and Coptic Christians.

Violence erupted on Saturday when local Muslims claimed the expansion of a 
Coptic monastery was being carried out illegally on state property.
In Mallawi, a nearby town, on Sunday Coptic Christian protesters chanted: 
"With our blood and soul, we will defend the cross."

They appealed to Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, to intervene because 
"Coptic hearts are on fire".
Father Bulous, a priest at the Mallawi church who managed to visit the three 
freed monks in hospital on Sunday, said: "They said they were tortured, tied 
up and beaten and humiliated.

"One monk was hit with the back of a rifle and had his leg broken."

Deir Abu Fana, in the province of Minya, has a high proportion of Coptic 
Christians and contains several monasteries particularly sacred to the 
community.

A similar incident took place in Minya in October, resulting in 20 people 
receiving injuries.

Deir Abu Fana clash

A Muslim resident of Deir Abu Fana was killed during Saturday's 
inter-communal clashes.

Two Coptic Christian workers at the monastery suffered bullet wounds and 
were admitted to hospital in a critical condition, while two monks suffered 
injuries.

Father Dumadius, who witnessed the attack, said that at least 60 men 
carrying weapons stormed the Abu Fana monastery on Saturday.

"They split into several groups. One group proceeded to destroy the wall. 
Others entered a chapel used by the monks and destroyed and burned 
property," he said.

Muslim residents of the area claim the agricultural land on which the 
monastery's wall is being built as theirs, and say it is damaging their 
crops.

Shops robbed

The developments in Deir Abu Fana came against a backdrop of attacks against 
Christian jewellers over the past week that prompted one Coptic member of 
Egypt's parliament to claim on Thursday that police were not adequately 
protecting the community.

Armed men stormed a jewelry shop in Cairo on Wednesday and killed the Coptic 
Christian owner and three of his assistants, but did not steal anything.

The suspected assailant was arrested on Sunday, but another Coptic-owned 
jewelry store was targeted the same day, this time in the port city of 
Alexandria.

No one was killed, but about $28,000 worth of merchandise was stolen.

Police claim the incidents are entirely criminal in nature and not 
sectarian.

http://www.bosnewslife.com/index.php?//page.newsPayment&id=3700

Coptic Groups Protest At White House Against Killing Egypt Christians 
Thursday, 10 July 2008 BosNewsLife Middle East Service
CAIRO/WASHINGTON (BosNewsLife)-- Organizations of Coptic Christians said 
Thursday, July 10, they will demonstrate in front of the White House in 
Washington DC to protest against increased "persecution" of Coptic 
Christians in Egypt by the "government and Muslim extremists" following 
recent killings and attacks on Christian shops and institutions.

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php?sid=376114

Jafferia Alliance of Pakistan protests killings of Shia Muslims

ANI     Saturday 28th June, 2008
Karachi, June 28 : The Jafferia Alliance of Pakistan (JAP) held protests 
outside different mosques against the killing of Shia Muslims in the Kurram 
Agency and in Parachinar.

Addressing a protest rally outside the Masjid Shah-e-Najaf, Martin Quarters, 
Jamshed Town, the JAP president Allama Abbas Kumeli said the government 
should take immediate action against the Taliban for regularly killing Shia 
Muslims.

"Leaving more than 500,000 Shias at the mercy of the Taliban is a conspiracy 
against the country. We will have a worse situation than Afghanistan if the 
government and the Pakistan Army fail to stop the Taliban from spreading 
terrorism in the area," he added.

Kumeli claimed the Taliban have no concern with Islam or it's preaching, but 
are working in the interest of America. They are creating a false image of 
Islam in the world, the Daily Times reported.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1425553.php/Pakistans_Shiite_community_protests_deadly_hospital_bombing

Pakistan's Shiite community protests deadly hospital bombing
South Asia News
Aug 20, 2008, 9:50 GMT
Islamabad - Shiite Muslims on Wednesday protested a suicide bombing outside 
a hospital in north-western Pakistan, calling the attack a conspiracy 
against the country that aimed to fan sectarian hatred.
A suicide bomber on Tuesday detonated explosives he was carrying after 
infiltrating a crowd of Shiite Muslims in Dera Ismail Khan, killing 32 
people and injuring at least 20.
The crowd had gathered at the hospital where the body of a local Shiite 
leader was brought after he was gunned down earlier in the day.
A Shiite umbrella organization Tuesday night announced three days of 
mourning, called for peaceful protests throughout the country and appealed 
for forging unity 'to save the country.'
Markets remained closed as a tense calm prevailed in the Pashtun-dominated 
town about 300 kilometres south of North-West Frontier Province's capital, 
Peshawar.
'The situation is very tense in the town,' District Police Officer Nasir 
Satti said. 'However, police and paramilitary troops have been deployed in 
large numbers to avoid any untoward incident.'
Shiite activists rallied in several cities to condemn the 'cowardly act' and 
demanded security for the religious minority.
Meanwhile, police were searching for leads on the identity of the attacker, 
who is believed to have come from the adjoining lawless tribal region.
'We have found the severed head and limbs of the suspected bomber, which 
have been sent to the forensic lab for DNA testing,' Satti said.
Some analysts linked the deadly strike with the sectarian conflict in a 
tribal district where rival Shiite and Sunni tribes have been engaged in 
running battles that have killed up to 250 people in the past two weeks.
Pro-Taliban militants entrenched in the restive Waziristan region have 
joined the Sunni tribesmen, intensifying the fighting in the Kurram tribal 
district bordering Afghanistan.
A spokesman for Pakistan's Taliban Movement, Maulvi Omar, on Tuesday claimed 
responsibility for the suicide attack and said it was carried out to avenge 
the government's military operations against militants in the north-western 
district of Bajaur and Swat.
Pakistan's new government launched peace talks with the militants in March, 
bringing a brief lull in the violence, but the clashes re-erupted within 
months with the militants accusing security forces of violating the terms of 
a sketchy truce.

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/08/stories/2008070853030300.htm

There was another protest march by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad 
members in Dharwad demanding better facilities at hostels for students of 
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The protestors said that the food allowance sanctioned per student was 
meagre and should be increased from Rs. 500 to Rs. 1,000 month. They also 
demanded special grants for development of the SC/ST hostels.
Dharna
Members of the Dharwad district unit of Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samiti 
(Ambedkar Vaada) staged a dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner's 
office demanding steps for protecting the rights of Dalits and their social 
development.
The protestors urged the BJP Government to launch more welfare measures for 
the Dalit communities and sought a single window system for implementation 
of various schemes under 18 per cent programmes.

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/13/stories/2008071354550500.htm

Other States - Puducherry

DYFI to stage protest condemning discrimination against Dalits
S. Dorairaj
PUDUCHERRY: With different forms of untouchability such as the two-tumbler 
system and denial of entry to temples and streets still prevailing in some 
villages of Tamil Nadu, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) will 
revive the spirit of the Vaikkom Satyagraha to protect the rights of the 
Dalits.
DYFI Tamil Nadu unit secretary S. Kannan told The Hindu here on Saturday 
that the State conference of the organisation, to be held at Villupuram from 
September 27 to 29, would focus on this issue, besides employment with 
social security, education and health in rural areas. To start with, the 
DYFI would stage a protest on August 15 in three villages in Namakkal 
district and four villages in Sivaganga district where, he said, several 
forms of discrimination were being practised.

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/13/stories/2008071354650500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

DSS protest
BANGALORE: Dalit Sangharsh Samithi (N. Murthy faction) will stage a protest 
in Bangalore on Monday, urging the Government to allocate 23 per cent funds 
in the Budget for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. 
Addressing presspersons here on Saturday, samithi's State unit president N. 
Murthy said the funds allocated for the community should be used only for 
Dalit welfare, through a single-window system.
In another press conference, Karnataka Rajya Dalit Sangharsha Samiti too 
sought 23 per cent budgetary allocation for the community.
- Special Correspondent
Printer friendly page

 http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/11/stories/2008071152370300.htm

Karnataka - Bidar

Protest rally
BIDAR: Members of the district unit of the Karnataka State Dalit Sanghrash 
Samiti took out a protest rally in the city on Thursday, asking the State 
Government to start SC/ST hostels in the State.
In a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, the samiti 
members made certain demands including separate buildings for all SC/ST 
hostels at district headquarters and release of scholarship amount pending 
for two years. District unit convener of the samiti Maruti Boude led the 
protest. - Staff Correspondent

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/11/stories/2008071152350300.htm

Karnataka - Gulbarga

Members of KRV stage protest in Gulbarga
Staff Correspondent
GULBARGA: Members of the district unit of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike 
(Praveen Shetty faction) staged a protest here on Thursday.
They were demanding preference for Kannadigas while hiring people to work in 
the Rajashri and Vasavadatta cement factories in the district.
In a memorandum submitted to the Deputy Commissioner here, the vedike 
members alleged that the Rajashri factory located in Malkhed and the 
Vasavadatta factory in Sedam preferred persons from Andhra Pradesh when 
hiring workers. They also alleged that the factories were polluting 
agricultural fields by releasing waste material into them. The members 
demanded that suitable compensation be given to farmers whose crops had been 
damaged by this.
The members urged the managements of the two factories to make suitable 
arrangements for releasing the waste material.
The protest was led by the district unit president of the vedike, Arunkumar 
S. Patil. Leaders Malliakrjun Subedar and Sharanu Gaduge participated.

http://www2.irna.com/en/news/view/menu-234/0807201016185708.htm

Indian Muslims protest against killing of Shias in Pakistan
New Delhi, July 20, IRNA
India-Pakistan-Protest
Hundreds of Indian Muslims mainly Shias took to the streets on Sunday to 
protest the recent killings of innocent Shias in Pakistan at 
Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The protest, organized by Imamia Student Society (ISS) of Delhi, took place 
at Jantar Mantar in Central Delhi area.
Around ten innocent Shias of Turi tribesmen were brutally beheaded and 
mutilated after abduction by local Taliban terrorists on June 19 at Pir 
Qauoom and Saddaare of Pakistan-Afghanistan border area.
Condemning the silence of the Pakistani government over the killings Swami 
Agnivesh, prominent scholar and president of the World Council of Arya Samaj 
(Society of Nobles) said, "The Pakistani government and democratic forces in 
the country should take immediate notice of the killings of innocent Shias 
by Taliban".
Maulana Zeeshan Hidayati, a prominent Shia Scholar and Director of Safeena 
Charitable Hospital in Delhi who led the demonstration condemned the killing 
of innocent Shias in Pir Qauoom. He also demanded the arrest of those 
involved in the killing.
Holding banners and placards condemning the brutal killings of innocent 
Shias, the protestors were chanting slogans against Pakistan, America, 
Israel, Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/15/stories/2008081554440500.htm

Karnataka

Girl's death: DSS stages protest
KOLAR: Activists of Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS) and Human Rights Forum for 
Dalit Liberation (HRFDL) staged a dharna in front of the Social Welfare 
Office at Bangarpet on Wednesday. They demanded action against the Bangarpet 
taluk social welfare officer and the warden of the residential school run by 
the Social Welfare Department.
Holding these officials responsible for the death of Kavya, a Class 2 
student of the school, the Dalit outfits urged the Government to initiate 
disciplinary action against them. Delay in providing timely medical care had 
caused Kavya's death, they alleged. - Staff Correspondent

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200808/200808120011.html

Buddhists Protest against Gov't 'Discrimination'
The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the largest Buddhist group in the 
country, launched a campaign Monday against what it says is the Lee 
Myung-bak administration's religious bias with a solemn ceremony at the 
Jogye Temple in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The Ven. Hyegyeong takes on the first leg 
of a relay hunger strike that will continue until Aug. 23.
The Jogye Order also plans to stage one-man relay demonstrations in front of 
Cheong Wa Dae and the central government complex in Sejongno, Seoul, for the 
same period.
Leaders of other Buddhist sects and organizations on Monday held an urgent 
meeting to discuss a response to what they say is religious discrimination 
by the government, including a congress of Buddhists to be held at the Jogye 
Temple on Aug. 23.
President Lee is a devout evangelical Christian.
Earlier, the Jogye Order launched a complaint center for religious 
discrimination cases on its website. It vowed to "build religious peace and 
achieve national harmony by realizing the freedom of religion as guaranteed 
by the Constitution and preventing public servants from discriminating 
against certain religions." The online center will accept reports on 
complaints about religious bias or discrimination suffered by Buddhists and 
other ordinary people in their daily lives, it said. The complaints will be 
handled by the Jogye Order's Religious Peace Council.
In a bid to defuse the situation, Maeng Hyung-kyu, the senior presidential 
secretary for political affairs, and Kang Yoon-koo, the senior presidential 
secretary for social policy, visited the headquarters of the Jogye Order and 
met with its supreme leader.

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/13/stories/2008081353400300.htm

Karnataka - Hassan

KRV protest
HASSAN: Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (Narayana Gowda group) activists led by 
district president Satish Patel staged a dharna in front of Bharat Sanchar 
Nigam Ltd. office here on Tuesday demanding that the Centre accord classical 
language status to Kannada.
The protesters went inside the BSNL office and requested the staff to come 
out and support their agitation. The staff came out for a while but later 
returned to work. - Staff Correspondent

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080820/world/book_islamic_protest

Publisher withdraws book by U.S. author after Muslim protests in Serbia
Module body
Wed Aug 20, 2:42 PM
By The Associated Press

BELGRADE, Serbia - A Serbian publisher says it has withdrawn a controversial 
book by American writer Sherry Jones because of protests from the local 
Islamic community.
The book "Jewel of Medina" is about Aisha, one of the Prophet Muhammad's 
wives.
It gained worldwide attention after the original publisher, Random House 
cancelled its publication, fearing an uproar in the Islamic world.
Serbian publisher BeoBook released the book but has decided to withdraw it 
because of protests from local Islamic leaders who said it insulted Muhammad 
and his family.
The publisher expressed its "apology and regret" to the Islamic community in 
a statement published on the company website Wednesday.
The company says the book was withdrawn from all the book stores where it 
was initially distributed.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=130516

Protest against police, landlord Monday, August 18, 2008
By our correspondent

HYDERABAD: Members of the Christian community staged a protest against the 
alleged highhandedness of the police and an influential landlord here on 
Sunday. The villagers from a nearby village of Hyderabad gathered here 
outside the press club and complained that the Hatri police had arrested one 
of their relatives on the instigation of a local landlord who wanted to 
occupy his land. The protesting villagers, led by Rehmat Masih, Younus Masih 
and Yousuf Masih, also addressed a news conference at the press club. Father 
John Murad of Justice and Peace Commission, Hyderabad Chapter, was also 
present during the press conference.

Rehmat Masih, along with his wife and children, told newsmen that his son 
Shahzad, alias Nakoon Masih, was arrested and sent to the central jail by 
the Hatri police, which implicated him in false cases at the behest of 
influential people Asif Khokhar, Akram Arain, Zafar Arain and others.

He said that Shahzad Masih was a law-abiding resident of Hyderabad and he 
was implicated in fake cases. They appealed to the government to take notice 
of the situation and provided them justice.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/aug/11can.htm

Canada: Pro-Khalistan demonstrators stage protest at Indian I-Day parade

Police officers had to intervene in the arguments between some 
Indo-Canadians, who were marching in the Independence Day parade on August 
10 in downtown Toronto, and a handful of pro-Khalistani demonstrators.
The parade was organised by the Indian Consulate-General and Panorama India, 
a community organisation.
Before the parade started from the Dundas Square, downtown Toronto, Indian 
Consul-General Satish Mehta spoke briefly about India's Independence, its 
economy, etc.
Also present were a number of Ontario politicians like Minister for Small 
Business Harinder Takhar and Minister for Education Kathleen O Wynne.
On the other side of the road, nearly 40 turbaned Sikihs were holding 
placards in support of Khalistan and shouting slogans like 'Down with the 
government of India' and 'Long Live Khalistan'. They included a dozen kids 
also.
As the parade started, there was a sort of brush with these demonstrators 
and a couple of persons from the parade shouted, "You guys, you should be 
ashamed of yourself, shouting slogans for what here, better go back home" 
and three-four 4 people among the demonstrators started shouting back 
calling them 'turncoats' and 'puppets' and some unprintable expressions.
There were nearly 40 Metro police officers on bicycles and three/four of 
them quickly jumped in to keep them apart.
They prevented it from becoming physical, but for a few minutes the 
participants in the parade and the protestors kept shouting at each other. 
Tempers were high, but the police were in full force to ensure peace.
Before it happened, retired Major of the Indian Army [Images] Harbans S 
Dhatt was called to the podium with Consul-General Mehta and Minster Takhar 
also standing on the stage.
He had his walking stick that he raised addressing the demonstrators: "You 
guys don't have any sense of shame shouting these anti-India slogans from 
the foreign soil! Better go back to India and take up your fight for 
Khalistan there."
In an interview with RediffIndiaAbroad on August 11, Dhatt said, "I firmly 
believe there's no sense shouting slogans here. I have met them several 
times and I have always told them 'if you want Khalistan, go back to India 
and shout slogans there. Why are you making these kinds of demands living in 
another country? It's insulting for India. It's insulting for the Sikh 
community. If you have any problem, it is with the government of India and 
not with the Canadian government. Canada [Images] has such good friendly 
relations with India'."
Dhatt is president of the Indian Ex-servicemen Association of Ontario that 
has 200 members.
He repeatedly mentioned as to what Manmohan Singh [Images] as prime minister 
of India has done for the Sikh community: "Sikhs are now known all over the 
world, thanks to the fact that Dr Singh, the first Sikh ever in the history 
of independent India, is the prime minister of the country."
He also referred to recent nomination of General J J Singh as chief of 
India's Army staff. "These people (demonstrators) forget that 25 per cent of 
the Indian Army comprises of Sikhs and Sikhs protect the borders between 
India and Pakistan where Sikhs also live.
"Why do these people want to live in a small well than to be part of the 
ocean so that they could prosper?" Dhatt asked.
One of demonstrators included Sukhminder Singh Hansra, who's the founder of 
Punjabi Daily. When asked by this reporter as to what problems Sikhs have in 
India, his response was "problems are the same as in 1984. They have done 
nothing against the people behind the killing of thousands of Sikhs during 
that period."
When pointed out that India has a sikh prime minister, Hansra called him "a 
puppet of the Congress Party and that they are keeping peace in Punjab with 
the help of the guns."
The protestors circulated a one-page petition on  behalf of the 'Untied 
Front for Khalistan'. "We make an appeal to the international community to 
take notice of the denial of human rights in India' and that 'due to all the 
injustice that the minorities in India face, the Untied Front for Khalistan 
is committed to helping the Sikh people of India to establish their own 
country,' it said.
Dhatt said he would request "these demonstrators and Sikhs in general 'not 
to raise slogans on a foreign land. They forget what if Khalistan doesn't 
work like Pakistan. Would they then ask for 'Nakhalistan'?"

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/19/stories/2008071953670500.htm

Karnataka

Alleged murder of Dalit triggers protest
KOLAR: Scores of Dalits staged a protest at Chintamani in Chickballapur 
district on Thursday demanding the arrest of the accused in an alleged 
murder of a Dalit, Venkatarayappa (40), of Rampur, who belongs to the 
Scheduled Caste Bovi community.
Rampur is situated near Kambalapalli where seven Dalits of a family were 
burnt to death about eight years ago. The body was found on Thursday. 
According to the protesters, Venkatara-yappa was murdered for not repaying 
his loan.
- Staff Correspondent

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/religion/story/405374.html

NEW YORK: Sikhs protest recent harassment in schools
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Published: July 5th, 2008 01:00 AM
The Sikh community joined Friday in protesting an attack on a 12-year-old 
girl who had her hair cut off by a fellow student.
The June 9 incident was the third in two months targeting a Sikh student in 
Queens. Hair cutting violates Sikh beliefs.
Sikhs and elected officials planned a march through Queens on Monday.
The Associated Press

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/23/stories/2008062353210400.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Attack on Dalits triggers all-round protests
Special Correspondent
Minister says stern action will be taken; several organisations demand a 
probe into the incident

Photo: S. Rambabu

At crossroads: Family of Dalit youth Veerapandu, who died in an attack at 
Pottilanka village in Kadiyam mandal of East Godavari. -
HYDERABAD: Marketing Minister M. Mareppa has demanded that the government 
take stern action against those responsible for attack on Dalits in 
Pottilanka village in Kadiyam mandal of East Godavari district. Reacting to 
the incident, Mr. Mareppa said it was unfortunate that Dalits and those 
belonging to the weaker sections were still suffering at the hands of the 
influential persons in the society. Even before people could forget the 
incidents in Karamchedu, Neerukonda and Tsundur, the latest incident has 
only showed the insecurity faced by Dalits, he added.
Compensation sought
Meanwhile, the Committee Against Caste Discrimination demanded stringent 
action under the SC, ST Atrocities (prevention)Act against persons belonging 
to upper castes for the fatal attack on a Dalit, Iripandu, of Pottilanka, in 
East Godvari district.
John Wesley, general secretary, in a statement issued here wanted Chief 
Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to visit the village and initiate suitable 
steps. He demanded suspension of DSP for his alleged 'irresponsible' 
behaviour, protection to the seriously injured Dalits and payment of 
compensation of Rs.5 lakh to the victim's family and Rs.3 lakh to the 
seriously injured.
According to the statement, the attack was a sequel to Dalits questioning 
caste discrimination allegedly taking place in local hotels.
Dalit Stree Shakti, an organisation working for Dalit women empowerment, has 
demanded that the government set up special court to try all cases of 
atrocities on Dalits in East Godavari district in the last two years.
Convenor of the organisation Jhansi Geddam in a press note said that during 
a fact-finding visit to Pottilanka village in Kadiyam mandal of East 
Godavari district, the victims said people belonging to a dominant caste had 
led the attack to terrorise the Dalits.