The National Commission for Schedule Castes (NCSC) ignores 30 evidences of untouchablity caught on camera and over 2700 Public Appeals
Goa — April 14th, 2013, Ambedkar Jayanti is the first anniversary of ‘ARTICLE 17’ the Campaign to end untouchability and Video Volunteers, the media and human rights organization who runs the popular campaign is demanding a response from the (NCSC) National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
Despite the passing of an entire year since the first appeal by Video Volunteers reached their offices,the National Commission has continued to ignore the 30 powerful videos which document instances of children segregated along caste lines in schools, Dalits forced to be employed in dangerous professions like manhole and sewage cleaning, Dalit women forced to remove slippers as they crossed upper caste neighbourhoods.
Over 2700 have watched these videos and signed the online petitions which have been delivered into the inbox of NCSC chairperson Dr. Punia. Hard copies of the petition, signatures and the video evidence have been submitted thrice to the NCSC office
A fax sent in April 2012 to intimate NCSC on the campaign was registered as diary entry ‘267/12’ which was later claimed to have been displaced. The package was later manually submitted in the complaints office of the NCSC in Delhi. The entry number was given as ‘10889/fc’. Efforts to track the numbers have been unsuccessful.
On all accounts, the office has claimed to either have not received or misplaced the 30 videos and 2700 petitions that clearly document evidences of continuing caste-based oppression from over 13 states across the country .
Video Volunteers has filed an RTI to this effect. Says Stalin K, noted Human Rights Activist and Managing Director, Video Volunteers — India, “Even though Article 17 of the Indian Constitution states that “Untouchability” is a punishable offense, the practice of “Untouchability” continues. The ARTICLE 17 campaign was launched on April 14th, 2012 with 22 video evidences (The number has now gone up to over 30). The demand was that the NCSC, the statutory body that is constitutionally appointed to direct and implement safeguards against untouchability, prosecute these specific cases documented in the videos and other cases like them. We will continue to campaign aggressively and have filed an RTI to the effect.”
Contact for Dr. Punia, NCSC
Ph: +919013180051, +919839224705
Email: pl.punia@sansad.nic.in
Fax: 0522-4022894
Contact for Video Volunteers:
Siddharth Pillai, Communications Manager
Ph: +918652625505
Email: siddharth@videovolunteers.org
Contact for Stalin K
Stalin K, Video Volunteers
Email: stalink@videovolunteers.org
For more information on Video Volunteers, please visit here
Our international community media organization equips women and men in underdeveloped areas with critical thinking, creative, activist and video journalism skills, enabling entire communities to expose underreported stories from their communities and take action to right the wrongs of poverty, injustice and inequality. In India, we have created the largest, most diverse network of salaried Community Producers in the world.
Youth Ki Awaaz supports the Article 17 Campaign by Video Volunteers to end untouchability