Study on Arunthathiyar children -Findings

Study on Arunthathiyar children

Manual scavenging impact on Children :
•24% children dropped out from school; 3/4th were boys and 1/4th were girls.
•28 children (upto 18 years of age) from 200 Arundhatiyar families were working.
7 worked in agricultural farms; 12 worked in construction sites, factories and sales jobs.
•There was a high rate of indebtedness of all Arundhatiyar manual scavengers-ranging from below Indian rupees-10,000 to above 60,000. In the villages, large number of families had a debt of Indian rupees- 20,000; In municipalities- Indian rupees 30,000.
•Most loans were taken for the following three categories: medical, construction of homes and education.
•Irony of the situation was that none of the Arunthatiyar families covered under the study in the villages had toilets at home. Only less than half of the families had toilets in municipality or corporations.

School discrimination :

Majority of the students' parents (534) were daily wage earners working as coolie in various sectors.

262 children reported being abused and discriminated on the basis of their caste name.

607 children reported cleaning the schools bathrooms.

148 children reported doing the house hold work of their teachers.

228 children reported being sexually harassed in schools.

Almost 50% of children were denied scholarships opportunities.

532 children dropped out of schools mainly as a result of the discrimination and harassment.



Sumnagali Thittam:
•Almost 85% of the girls worked for more than 12 years.
•1/5th of the children who were working under the Sumangali scheme were illiterate.
•Almost 48% of the girls were enrolled into the scheme through the agents residing in the area and approaching the families.
•Most of the girls (around 98%) quoted ‘poverty’ as the reason for joining

the Sumangali Scheme.

•Nearly half of the girls under the Sumangali Scheme had worked or had been working with an agreed amount of Indian rupees 30,000/- after an aggregate agreement period of three years.
•The nature of work involved long hours of standing (around 12 hours) and working with bare hands operating dangerous machines. Nearly all girl children were forced to work and faced verbal and physical abuse.
Bonded children issue:
•50% of Arunthatiyar children dropped out of schools-mostly 5th standard onwards.
•36% of the children were separated from their family, this category of children were living with single parent or their grandparent or relatives.
•Amount of loan taken by the parents of the bonded child laborer-almost 71% of the loan size between 10 to 50 thousand Indian rupees.
•29% of the loan size was above 50 thousand Indian rupees.
•Nearly 3/4thof child bonded laborers monthly income was one thousand and five hundred Indian rupees.
•1/4th of child labourers earned an income of below 2 thousand Indian rupees.
•A child started working as early as 6 years of age; most children started working from ten years and above.
•Normal working hours were 11 hours-from dawn to dusk.
•Almost all 35 children reported caste discrimination at workplace by the employers-being called derogatively by their caste identity; practice of dual tumbler system; separate bed, food etc was followed for these children by their upper caste employers.

Government department has caste based discrimination

Dr.Jaya .He is belongs to Dalit community .He discriminated in Government hospital .Also fales complaint charged against him .He was suspended .But he fight against discrimination and fales complaint also he demanded for enquiry .12th Nove 2010 .Tirupur Government hospital higher officials did enquiry .During that time he play the drums to enquiry .

This is a situation if Dalits will get higher jobs in private and government they will always discriminate in the name of caste .

Therefore let us fight against the caste based discrimination and protect the human rights .

Karuppusamy

SKA-Bus yatra -Kaniyakumari to Delhi for Manual scavening eradication in India

In the name of caste discrimination happening every minutes and hour in India .Among Manual scavenging is inhuman work .It is a caste based work on Dalits .In Tamilnadu on Arunthathiyars(Dalits) .

It has to be eradicate with in December 2010 .Also SKA demanding 5 Laks for dignified rehabilitation ,

5 Aceres cultivate land for rehabilitation with other demand .

Therefore as a human being let us hand join them for eradication of manual scavenging ,and protect the human rights .

Rally web link :
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=35660&id=100000292101514&l=533608f4d0

Arunthathiyar children cleaning toilets

Dear Friends

We can able to understand the caste based discrimination till existing in India every where.But in government schools has different groups among children for conman work for school .But always our Arunthathiyar children get cleaning group .Because of Arunthathiyar community is a manual scavenging community in Tamilnadu .Therefore school teachers doing discrimination on Arunthathiyar children .So all ways our children have to do school toilets cleaning .This should be eradicate in India .Also we not publish children name and school

“Arunthathiyars' kids destined to do conservancy work”

http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/10/stories/2010101061230300.htm

The Hindu news

“Arunthathiyars' kids destined to do conservancy work”

Special Correspondent

Discrimination begins at school



YATRA:Members of the Safai Karmachari Andolan voicing their demands in the city on Friday.

MADURAI: Discrimination of Arunthathiyars began at school with children being asked to clean utensils and toilets, said members of Safai Karmachari Andolan, a movement for elimination of manual scavenging, on Friday.

Addressing a press conference here, members of the andolan, who are on a yatra from Kanyakumari to New Delhi, alleged that the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act 1993 remained only on paper and even officials were unaware of its existence. A. Renuga of Porayar, child of conservancy workers, said that she was asked to clean the toilets and vessels used in noon meal scheme while at school. Though she had managed to study an undergraduate course in the distance education mode, she was not able to make a choice either in studies or career. Karuppasamy of Sathiyamangalam said that children of Arunthathiyars were destined to undertake conservancy work and they were not given a choice even at the Plus One level. Sakthivel of Sivakasi pointed out that children who wanted to study to escape from scavenging work had to do it at school. The plates used to serve noon meal for Arunthathiyar children were marked in black paint, he said.

D. Velanganni, State Convenor, who is leading the yatra, said that their objective was to wean the members of Arunthathiyar community away from scavenging and provide appropriate rehabilitation for them. Though the State Government, in 2003, had denied the existence of manual scavenging in Tamil Nadu, a 2008 survey identified 28 manual scavengers in Nagapattinam district. A 2009 survey found that 174 persons were involved in manual scavenging in 13 districts across the State, he added.

People who had given up manual scavenging had joined the yatra with the intention of motivating others to come out of the inhuman practice. Rajamanickam of Ramanathapuram said that many of the social problems could be solved by putting an end to manual scavenging. Arunthathiyar children were treated as untouchables in classrooms and hence there was a high drop out rate among them.

The yatra, called ‘Periyar Pathai,' is one among the five yatras taken out from different parts of the country to New Delhi. It will culminate in a rally on October 28. The demands of the participants include demolition of dry latrines, implementation of the 1993 Act, award of punishment under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for those who forced people into manual scavenging and a comprehensive rehabilitation package.

Launching of Samajik Parivartan Yatra

Launching of Samajik Parivartan Yatra
(For Eradication of Manual Scavenging in India)

Press Release

The Samajik Parivartan Yatra has been flagged off on Wednesday 29th Septmber, 2010 in New Delhi. The liberated safai karmacharis Saroj, Maya Goutam, Anita,Neetu and Mamata from various states released the route maps and demands to symbolise the beginning of Yatra.

Speaking on the occasion, Saroj and others shared their own experiences of pain and suffering associated with manual scavenging. They narrated how they were inducted into the degrading jobs by their mothers or mother-in-laws, who were doing the same jobs from generation to generation. They explained how the dry latrine owners and users and the general public practised untouchability on them. Now that they have stopped doing the manual scavenging work, they feel liberated and are determined to carry the message to all other safai karamcharis in their respective districts and states. Saroja vowed not to rest until the last person is liberated from manual scavenging in this country. They are proud of their participation in rallies, dharnas and burning the baskets, the symbols of the shame of manual scavenging.

Mr. Harsh Mander, renowned intellectual, Social Activist and member of the National Advisory Council commended SKA for mobilising the safai karmacharis and inspiring them to accomplish their liberation and simultaneously enabling the country as a whole to envision a manual scavenging free India. He appreciated SKA for taking the path of persuasion and adopting the legal route to achieve their noble goal, in a non-violent way.

Ms. Usha Ramanathan, an accomplished legal expert and Legal Reform Activist felt that the struggle of Safai Karmacharis under the leadership of SKA will go down in history as phenomenal. A hitherto voiceless people have rallied together from the nooks and corners of India and have made tremendous progress within a short span of time to achieve near total eradication of manual scavenging.

Samajik Parivartan Yatra_routes released by liberated Safai Karmacharis in New Delhi Press club.jpg Saroj,Mamata,Maya,Netu,Anita release Posters.JPG

Saroj,Anita,Maya,Neetu and Mamata launching Samajik Parivartan Yatra & releasing posters

Chennai -Dharna for Annauniversity Arunthathiyar gril sucide by ragging

AHRF -Arunthathiyar human rights forum done a dharna at chennai on 21st sept for Anna University Arunthathiyar girl suicide by ragging .