Sunday, October 31, 2010

[ZESTCaste] An open letter to President Obama about dalits and tribal people in India

 

Dear friends,

 

I do not know if Indian media gave much publicity to, and whether it caught your attention, but on July 24 of 2007 the US Senate as well as House of Representatives passed a concurrent resolution expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should address the ongoing problem of untouchability in India. Well, Dr. A.K. Biswas did remember that resolution and would very much like to remind President Obama of the same. We have placed "An open letter to President Obama about dalits and tribal people in India" at:

 

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ToObama/

As you would note from the online Open Letter, realizing that these things take time, we propose to keep on reminding President Obama and the US Congress on July 24 of the next couple of years, anniversary dates of the well considered resolution passed by the Congress on July 24 of 2007, to review any follow up actions taken. In the mean time we will continue to invite more and more endorsements from across the globe sympathetic to the cause of dalit and tribal communities to complement the voice of voiceless.

 

Keeping the above in view, please sign the said online "Open Letter" and let us all try to collect thousands of endorsements to present to Obama not only when he is in India, but the next year as well as the year after with thousands more signature on the open letter. In this endeavor you can send letters to your friends and to other forums stating something to the effect:

 

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Dear Friends,

I have just read and signed the online petition:

"An open letter to President Obama about dalits and tribal people in India" hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, the free online petition service, at:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ToObama/

I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might agree, too.  If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider signing yourself.

Best wishes,

 

----

 

Thanking you very much,

With best regards,

Satinath Choudhary

 

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[ZESTCaste] Buddha Dhamma Conference at Alapalli Dist Gadchiroli (India) on October 30-31, 2010. [1 Attachment]

 
[Attachment(s) from Dr. Milind Jiwane included below]

Buddha Dhamma Conference at Alapalli Dist Gadchiroli (India) on October 30-31, 2010.

Dr Ambedkar Memorial Committee, Mahamaya Women's Committee, Nagsen
Buddha Vihar, Ramai Women's Committee, Sidharth Women's Committee jointly organized " Buddha Dhamma Conference" at Community Hall,
Alapalli, Tah. Aheri Dist Gadchiroli on 30-31 October 2010. on the
inauguration following dignitaries were participated
* Panchsheel Flag Hosting : Ven. H. Satyanand Thero
* Chairperson : Ven. Shantarakshit Mahathero
* Blessing : Ven. Rakhita Dhammo (Myanmar)
Ven. Payya Tissa ( Srilanka)
Ven. Sanghratna Manke (Japan)
Ven. H. Kashyapayan (England, UK)
* Inauguration : Hon. Prof. Pradeep Agalve
* Chief Guests : Dr. Milind Jiwane (Ashwaghosh Bddhists Foundation
Hon. Amar Ramteke ( Ambedkarite Drama Writer )
Hon. Rajabhau Taksande ( Ambedkarite Social leader)
Yours in the Dhamma,
Ven. Rajratna

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Attachment(s) from Dr. Milind Jiwane

1 of 1 Photo(s)

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Saturday, October 30, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Mr Obama's visit - sincere request to SC/ST officers in India

 

Dear SC/ST officers of India, especially from AP,

 

Please read this article and my humble request for you. Please allow me to take liberty in saying this.

 

We all know that Mr Obama is coming to India in November. Though I am not a great fan of him, it is the truth that he is the president of the most powerful nation in the world. He is able to influence if he really cares on any matter.

 

There is an euphoria of his coming to India. Media is agog about it. He is giving interviews of his great impressions of India, Gandhi and what not. How much he knew (or he pretends not know) of Dr Ambedkar, the real hero of the oppressed, the Dalits, and their sufferings. In the history, heroes are always needed for oppressed, not for already powerful.

 

The real Hero of India is Dr Ambedkar ( if one admits or not) as he struggled all through his life for the most oppressed and got them human dignity after centuries of discrimination - unlike Gandhi who said and never practiced what he preached with 100% commitment. Some may take objection to this statement, but that is the reality. While saying it I don't care what his limitations are as some try to defend.

 

I strongly feel, Mr Obama has to know more of Dr Ambedkar than Gandhi due to his background.

 

I don't care where he goes, what he does, and whom he pays homage to. But, I want him to know a bit about Dr Ambedkar and Dalits in this historic and much publicized tour.

 

I urge officers to see the possibility of meeting him and apprise him of the condition of Dalits. Please present him a good collection of books on Dr Ambedkar and Dalit situation and memorabilia.

 

Being in power, I feel, it is not impossible for SC/ST officers to have an opportunity with him, if good groundwork is done by the all-India cadre of SC/ST officers. After all, they are indispensable in every place he visits and in every meeting he attends.

 

I sincerely urge all officers in AP to work with their counter parts in Delhi, Mumbai and other places where he is supposed to visit or stay.

 

I wish him not to go without knowing much about Dr Ambedkar or Dalits as it was the case of Dr ML King. I do not want him wash his hands later saying that he did not know the real sufferings of Dalits in India during his presidency.

 

If doesn't care, it will be his fault. If we do not present our case, it will be our fault.

So, urge, again and again, please do something collectively to meet Mr Obama during his visit to India.

 

I doubt how far online petitions go. When we have a opportunity to present our case in person, why not try it out? If it doesn't work, so be it. Atleast we tried our best.

 

May I count on you to do something good to the suffering masses?

 

With regards

Ben Kaila

========================================================= 

 

http://www.newstate sman.com/ blogs/the- staggers/ 2010/10/india- caste-ambedkar- dalits

Being untouchable no longer

Posted by David Griffiths - 28 October 2010 12:36

Increasingly powerful voices in India are calling for a true end to
untouchability and discrimination based on caste.

Every day, Uma walks through the village with her basket to the
communal latrine. Nobody touches her along the way. She has an enamel
toilet in her own home, but she cleans the excrement of others because
this is the job assigned by her caste. This practi

When President Obama visits India next month, it is quite certain that
he will pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, perceived around the world as
one of history's most celebrated symbols of liberation, and a source
of inspiration for the American president himself.

But there are calls within India for Mr Obama to look further than
Gandhi in his homage to Indian heroes. For India's community of 167
million Dalits, once known as 'untouchables' , their true icon is Dr
B.R. Ambedkar. Himself an untouchable, Dr Ambedkar gained doctorates
from Columbia University, where Mr Obama himself was educated, and at
the London School of Economics, before becoming the architect of
independent India's new constitution.

Relatively little-known internationally, Ambedkar has accrued almost
divine status as the focal point for Dalit aspirations. Within India,
Ambedkar appears everywhere. His statues easily outnumber those of
Gandhi. Deep in communities of Dalits, you will hear the greeting,
"jai Bhim", meaning "hail Bhimrao [Ambedkar]". You will see Ambedkar's
portrait in any self-assertive Dalit's home, and his name is spoken
with pride. When the nation marked his fiftieth death anniversary in
2006, over 800,000 Dalits crowded to pay him their respects in Mumbai.

Dalits stress that unlike the Mahatma, Ambedkar challenged the very
existence of the caste system as the basis for discrimination against
Dalits. It is because of Ambedkar, they say, that the oppressed Dalits
play any part in India's political and administrative structures -
albeit a limited part. That is why anti-caste activists are urging Mr
Obama to pay homage to Dr Ambedkar, as a true giant of the cause of
liberation from oppression.

These calls are just one sign of the increasingly powerful
vocalisation of Dalit aspirations for the recognition of their cause,
and for social, economic and cultural equality. Dalit aspirations for
liberation from caste oppression - and it is important to add that
Dalits suffer discrimination in every religious community - are
resonating increasingly loudly around the world. The issue has gained
profile at the UN, with the Committee for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination having charged the Indian government to bring about
clear improvements in a number of areas. NGOs continue to press
companies investing in India to tailor their corporate social
responsibility (CSR) policies to address the specific challenges of
caste discrimination.

Two campaigners against caste discrimination, S. Anand and Meena
Kandasamy, visited London last week to highlight the cause, by
speaking at events around a photography exhibition, Being Untouchable.

The exhibition, by Marcus Perkins for CSW, offered a sympathetic
series of portraits of the many different faces of untouchability in
modern India, in a powerful reminder of the tens of millions of
victims among the Dalits whose plight needs to be addressed: the woman
who cleans excrement from a dry latrine because it is her caste job,
the young girl pushed into burning ashes because she walked on a path
reserved for 'high' castes and who may never get justice, the
destitute who may always be excluded from education and opportunities.
Theirs are the stories that truly need to be heard amid the cacophony
of coverage of India's economic boom.

Reading from her deeply moving 2006 poetry collection at the launch
last week, Meena Kandasamy offered a poignant reminder of the depth of
Dalit aspirations for drastic change:

We will rebuild worlds from shattered glass and
remnants of holocausts.
[...] It will begin the way thunder rises in our throats and we
will brandish our slogans with a stormy stress and
succeed to chronicle to convey the last stories
of our lost and scattered lives.

David Griffiths is South Asia team leader at Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An educated man without character and humility was more dangerous than a beast. If his education was detrimental to the welfare of poor, he was a curse to society.
-Babasaheb Dr B R Ambedkar

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[ZESTCaste] Post-Mirchpur, SC panel to have offices in 8 more states

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101030/main5.htm

Post-Mirchpur, SC panel to have offices in 8 more states
Haryana to have a separate office in Gurgaon
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 29
In the backdrop of April 21 Dalit atrocity in Haryana's Mirchpur, the
government is considering setting up eight new state offices of the
National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) to ensure larger
coverage of the SC population.

The country presently has only 12 state offices of the commission,
with the government now realising that they are insufficient to
deliver justice in lakhs of pending cases of SC atrocities and to
foster confidence among Dalits, who will like to report their problems
closer home. At the end of 2008, 98,702 such cases were pending in the
Indian courts for disposal.

Of the eight new offices being actively backed by the new chairman of
NCSC PL Punia, one will come up in Gurgaon to cater to 40.91 lakh SCs
exclusively in Haryana, which by government's admission has a large
number of cases of caste abuse and land grabbing.

Until now, Haryana's Dalits had to go to the NCSC's state office at
Chandigarh for justice, which ironically is also handling the SC
atrocity cases of Punjab, Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh.
"The state office of Chandigarh is finding it very difficult to attend
the frequent spot inquiries on atrocity on SCs. It is proposed that an
office of the director for SCs, Gurgaon, may be set up; it can also
have the jurisdiction for Himachal," says a proposal of the Ministry
of Social Justice, actively pursuing the new offices.

The government documents with The Tribune reveal another strange
scenario, when the State Departments of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes were bifurcated and two separate national commissions were set
up for SCs and STs, the assets and staff of most of the state
directorates went to the ST Departments, leaving close to 3.70 crore
Scheduled Castes unattended.

Additionally, 0.79 crore Dalits in J&K (0.08 crore), Himachal (0.15
crore), Haryana (0.41 crore) and Uttrakhand (0.15 crore) have been
finding it hard to protect their interests. Crimes against SCs have
surged with 40,000 cases registered in 2008, which are 3,600 more than
in 2007.

Until today, Orissa's Dalits go to Deputy Director for SCs in Kolkata,
who also has to look after the interests of SCs in West Bengal,
Tripura, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar, if they want justice.

Similarly, Madhya Pradesh's SCs are under the jurisdiction of director
for SCs, Hyderabad, also in charge of the SC affairs for Andhra
Pradesh and Chattisgarh. Rajasthan's Dalits and SCs report their
grievances to Director, Scheduled Castes, Ahmedabad, also in charge of
SCs of Gujarat, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

The SCs in Jharkhand, if they have grudges, report to the Director, SC
Patna and affected Dalits of Chattisgarh likewise go to the state
office in Hyderabad. Delhi for its part has no state office of SC
Commission, though it has the highest number of cases of
discrimination against the SCs in the government offices. The NCSC has
now sought a separate office for Delhi.


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[ZESTCaste] 'English Devi' set to find more devotees in India

 

http://sify.com/news/english-devi-set-to-find-more-devotees-in-india-news-education-kk3qklhebfc.html

IANS
'English Devi' set to find more devotees in India

2010-10-29 16:10:00

Lakhimpur-Kheri (Uttar Pradesh), Oct 29 (IANS) An eager bunch of
devotees await 'English Devi' in many towns and hamlets of India -- or
so it seems from the requests pouring in at the doors of those behind
a unique temple being set up in a village here to popularise English.

'We have received requests from our sister organisations in Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra for setting
up this novel 'English Devi' temple,' said Chandrabhan Prasad, a
researcher at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) who is the
brain behind the move.

Prasad chose the nondescript Banka village of Lakhimpur-Kheri
district, about 170 km from Lucknow, to undertake his dream project of
an 'English Devi' temple simply because of his old association with
the place.

'Way back in 1991, I had started a 'Dalit Shiksha Andolan' - a
campaign to promote education among Dalits; and Lakhimpur-Kheri was
among those few places where the response was tremendous,' he said.

'Even now, when I mooted the idea of setting up a temple with a view
to promoting knowledge of English among Dalits, one of my old
associates promptly offered to undertake the project in his native
village Banka,' Prasad added.

If Banka is in the spotlight because of this unique effort, it is the
Nalanda Public Shiksha Niketan there which gets all credit for making
Prasad's dream a reality.

Amar Chand Jauhar and his wife Nisha Pal Jauhar, who have been running
the only intermediate college under the banner of Nalanda Public
Shiksha Niketan in Banka, happily gave away 800 sq feet of land of
their institution for building the only temple of its kind.

The 'English Devi' deity planned for the temple is as unique as the
concept of the temple. The 'Dalit Goddess English', as the deity is
referred to, is cast more on the lines of the Statue of Liberty.

'It is three-feet tall, attired in a British gown and sporting an
English hat while standing atop a pedestal in the shape of a computer,
with a pen in one hand and a copy of the Indian Constitution in the
other,' explained Jauhar.

Said Prasad: 'We were hoping to complete this temple latest by October
25 when we had planned to hold a grand ceremony that would
simultaneously mark the birth anniversary of Lord Macaulay, the
architect of promotion of English language.'

Jauhar added: 'However, the work could not be completed, so we are now
hoping to see 'English Devi' installed in the new temple latest by the
end of November.'

Jauhar feels very strongly about English because he considers lack of
knowledge of the language as the biggest handicap to growth.

'You may have the best of degrees but unless you know English, you
cannot grow in today's modern world; and that is what I perceive as
the reason for continued deprivation of Dalits, who have been losing
out on account of poor English,' he pointed out.

The temple building that is now being given a final cladding of black
granite all around will have steps matching a computer keyboard.
Jauhar's wife Nisha Pal proposes to later have the granite walls
engraved with popular English sayings, besides a few physics,
chemistry and mathematics formulae to convey that this was a complete
temple of learning.

Asked why they chose this way to promote teaching of English among
Dalits, Nisha replied: 'Well, in any case we lay a lot of emphasis on
the teaching of formal English, but we could not think of a better way
to promote English learning than by making it a religious mission.'

'And you can see for yourself how the idea is being lapped up by the
entire media - local, national and even international! Don't you
believe that well begun is half done,' she added.

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[ZESTCaste] Untouchables idolise English as lady liberty

 

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/untouchables-idolise-english-as-lady-liberty/story-e6frg6so-1225944861648

Untouchables idolise English as lady liberty

Rhys Blakely, Mumbai From: The Australian October 29, 2010 12:00AM
Increase Text Size Decrease Text Size Print Email Share Add to Digg
Add to del.icio.us Add to Facebook Add to Kwoff Add to Myspace Add to
Newsvine What are these? A NEW language deity is about to appear in a
tiny, impoverished Indian village, where a temple is being built to
the "Goddess English".

A black granite shrine in Bankar, in the northern state of Uttar
Pradesh, will soon house a bronze idol of the new goddess. Locals,
most of whom speak Hindi, hope she will bring them prosperity and
fresh opportunities.

The temple has been paid for by members of the Dalit, or
"Untouchable", community, a group that has been oppressed for
centuries under India's caste system. The idol in the shrine will
depict a female figure inspired by the Statue of Liberty, standing
astride a computer, clutching a copy of the Indian constitution.

The symbolism is hard to miss: if India's Dalits want to live the new
Indian dream and join the burgeoning middle classes, they must first
learn the language of Shakespeare and Milton.

"Tell me, how are you going to get to Oxford knowing only Hindi?"
asked Chandra Bhan Prasad, a Dalit newspaper columnist and one of the
driving forces behind the new goddess. "If Dalits are going to make a
foray into the international economy, if they are going to take any of
the new professional jobs being created in India . . . they're going
to need to speak English. And when you make it a matter of faith, how
can you refuse to learn your ABCs?"

Under British rule, English was the language of the elite. After six
decades of independence - and despite Hindi being made the official
language in 1965 - little has changed.

The Untouchables, millions of whom are still forced to carry out the
most disgusting and dangerous jobs, have long regarded English as the
key to emancipation.

In Bankar, the village where the temple is being built, locals have
long celebrated English Day on October 25, the anniversary of the
birth of Thomas Macaulay, the British administrator credited with
choosing English as the language of Raj bureaucracy.

"English is neutral, it is more secular than India's own languages,
which carry the legacy of caste," Mr Prasad said.

"And everybody knows it is a global language without a rival - even
the French recognise that."

The Times

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Friday, October 29, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Versha Vas (Vesak) function held at Harshvardhan Buddha Vihar, Nazul Lay-Out Nagpur (India). [1 Attachment]

 
[Attachment(s) from Dr. Milind Jiwane included below]

Versh Vas (Vesak) Function held at Harshverdhan Buddha Vihar, Nazul-Lay-Out
Nagpur (India) on October 27, 2010.
Women Welfare Committee, Harshawardhan Buddha Vihar, Nazul-Lay
Out Nagpur (India) has organized Versha Vas (Vesak) function and doing
Pooja and The Buddha & His Dhamma Reading under Ven. Nag Mitta.
On that ceremony, following dignitaries were present.
* Blessing : Ven. Nag Ghosh
Ven. Nag Prakash
Ven. Nagsen
Ven. Nag Mitta
Ven. Sagar deep
* Chief Guest : Dr. Milind Jiwane
With Best Compliments from :
* Mrs. Chandrakanta Patil
* Mrs. Sarala Borkar
* Mrs. Sushma Bansod

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Attachment(s) from Dr. Milind Jiwane

1 of 1 Photo(s)

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[ZESTCaste] Behind Mayawati’s ‘reform surge’

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Behind-Mayawati-s--reform-surge-/704186

Behind Mayawati's 'reform surge'

Nistula Hebbar Posted online: Fri Oct 29 2010, 11:14 hrs
Lucknow : From food security to electricity to road infrastructure,
Chief Minister Mayawati is treading the reforms path — even opting for
Public Private Partnerships (PPP) at times. While contracts for over
25,000 MW of power generation have been given out this year, India's
largest expressway is being planned in Uttar Pradesh. And long before
the Centre came up with the idea of a food security bill, Mayawati
launched what is referred to as the Mukhyamantri Mahmaya Aarthik Madad
Yojana (MMAMY) scheme in 2008.
Instead of deputing ministers, Mayawati has hand-picked a core group
of bureaucrats to oversee the various reforms. At the helm of affairs
is Shashank Shekhar Singh, the only Cabinet Secretary in any state
government in India.

Commissioned in the Army in 1970, Singh was a batchmate of current
Army Chief V K Singh at the National Defence Academy. In 1979, he was
sent to Uttar Pradesh on deputation, to fly VIPs in the state-owned
chopper. He quickly became director, civil aviation, but it was when
Romesh Bhandari was Uttar Pradesh Governor that he got his lucky
break. He was appointed principal secretary to the Governor in the
early 1990s, when the state was under President's Rule.

Singh has played his cards right so far. When Mulayam Singh Yadav was
the chief minister, Singh refused to turn approver in the Taj corridor
case. This paid off when Mayawati came to power in 2007. He now
occupies a plush set of offices at the state secretariat. His clout
can be gauged from the fact that despite a running battle with BSP MP
and Mayawati's key political aide Satish Mishra, Singh calls the shots
in the state secretariat.

Singh ensured that all transfers and postings were centralised, with
him having the final say. "In a state like Uttar Pradesh that is a
huge amount of patronage at your disposal," says a disgruntled
bureaucrat.

Singh's confidante and right-hand man is Additional Cabinet Secretary
Net Ram. As principal secretary to the CM, Ram was witness to the feud
between Singh and Mishra. He threw in his lot with Singh, and was made
Additional Cabinet Secretary when Vijay Shankar Pandey was removed.

Among the most visible officers in the state is Navneet Sahgal, a
1989-batch IAS officer who not only heads the Uttar Pradesh Power
Corporation Limited (UPPCL) but also the Jal Nigam. He is also
Secretary to Mayawati. A chartered accountant by training, Sahgal, who
was Lucknow District Magistrate during Mayawati's last stint as CM.
Sahgal handles the massive power reforms undertaken by the state
government and is credited with many of the out-of-the-box ideas like
the franchisee distribution system in the sector.

When it comes to law and order, Mayawati depends on old faithful
Kunwar Fateh Bahadur, Principal Secretary, Home and Appointments. An
SC officer, Bahadur has the distinction of heading 53 departments in
the state government.

The one officer who stands out from this group is Secretary,
Information, Vijay Shankar Pandey, who shot to fame in the 1990s when
he waged a campaign against corrupt officers in the state, leading to
the indictment of Akhand Pratap Singh, who was reportedly close to
Mulayam. When Mayawati became CM, she rehabilitated Pandey as
Additional Cabinet Secretary. Although he was later shunted out,
Pandey has been made in-charge of the MMAMY.

POWER-ING THE REFORMS

Farmers in India are wary of governments which talk of just tariffs on
electricity. The only state which has successfully separated domestic
and commercial feeder systems is Gujarat. And the other state going
the same way could be Uttar Pradesh.

"We have already ordered the separation of feeders in Western UP. And
trust me, farmers have told us that as long as the supply of power is
constant, they don't mind paying for it," says UPPCL chairman Sahgal.

This is not the only new thing Sahgal and Industries Commissioner
Anoop Mishra have tried out. At a recent meeting of state power
secretaries in New Delhi, Mishra revealed that UP was trying out the
franchise system for power distribution in Agra and Kanpur.

The first contract for power distribution has gone to Torrent, which
also ran the Bhiwandi distribution franchise.

But there has been criticism from some, who feel that bulk power is
being sold cheaply to franchise holders and expensive power farmed out
to consumers. "It was a closely fought bid," counters Mishra.

What is more startling is the reforms in transmission that the UPPCL
is planning. "We have divided the state into two parts, Eastern and
Western UP, and plan to privatise transmission lines, upto 765 KV
lines, each for about Rs 4,000 crore. This is the first time in India
that transmission is going to be privatised, and we have already
issued Requests for Proposals," says Sahgal.

At the centre of the power reforms is the awarding of contracts
related to power generation. At last count, contracts for over 25,000
MW of power generation had been awarded or were in the works. This has
set off criticism and accusations of crony capitalism, as two major
power units at Bara (3 X 660 MW) and Karchana (2 X 660 MW) in
Allahabad have been given to the Jaypee Group, long considered a
favourite of Mayawati.

IN THE FAST LANE

How does one build a 167-km long expressway without having sufficient
money to pay the whopping 40 per cent viability gap fund (VGF)
required for construction of public roads in India. In Uttar Pradesh,
necessity became the mother of invention of a new financial model for
road building — giving birth to the Yamuna Expressway.

The financial model which the UP government hit upon was quite simply
to use land for development. "Basically, the entire land required for
the projects would be acquired and the amount of land available for
real estate development would be a bid variable," says Industries
Commissioner Mishra.

" The Government of India either follows the toll model or the annuity
model where the VGF is fixed at 40 per cent. We tried out a third
model and so far, apart from the protests in Aligarh, it has worked
out fine," he says.

Information Secretary Pandey says the government's decision to go a
certain way on social sector projects called for the creative
thinking.

The limited success of the scheme has encouraged the state government
to go ahead with an even more ambitious 1,047-km long Ganga Expressway
project, from Greater Noida to Ballia, and an Upper Ganga Canal
expressway which would connect Greater Noida to Purkazi. Not everyone
is convinced about the projects. "The Jaypee group has managed to
become the biggest real estate company in the state because of its
proximity to this regime," says Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh.
"I refuse to believe that state funds are at such a low that we cannot
afford a few good roads."


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[ZESTCaste] Punia to visit UP, ‘Dalit atrocities’ on agenda

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Punia-to-visit-UP---Dalit-atrocities--on-agenda/704173

Punia to visit UP, 'Dalit atrocities' on agenda

Express news service Posted online: Fri Oct 29 2010, 10:43 hrs
Lucknow : Mayawati government's performance in curbing atrocities on
Dalits, utilisation of funds meant for SCs from the special component
plan and filling of reservation backlog are some of the issues the
National Commission for Scheduled Castes will take up when its
chairman PL Punia visits UP next week.
Punia is arriving on his first official visit on November 3. Though he
was secretary to Mayawati during her previous tenure as CM, relations
turned bitter during the probe into the Taj Heritage Corridor case.
Punia said atrocities on Dalits in UP were on the rise but cases were
not being registered. Of the cases registered, over 50 per cent were
"settled" at police stations as victims face pressure for compromise
or withdrawing cases.


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[ZESTCaste] Highlighting injustice against the Dalits in India

http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/charity-news/highlighting-injustice-against-the-dalits-in-india

Highlighting injustice against the Dalits in India

Oct 28, 2010 04:59 PM

It is sixty years since India's constitution banned discrimination
along caste lines, but the millennia-old hierarchy still affects the
lives of millions of Indians today. People of low caste, known as the
Dalits or "untouchables" (the word 'Dalit' comes from the Marathi to
mean 'ground', 'crushed' or 'suppressed') still face widespread
discrimination and prejudice. A new exhibition of photographs, called
'Being Untouchable' has opened in London to highlight their plight.

It is sixty years since India's constitution banned discrimination
along caste lines, but the millennia-old hierarchy still affects the
lives of millions of Indians today. People of low caste, known as the
Dalits or "untouchables" (the word 'Dalit' comes from the Marathi to
mean 'ground', 'crushed' or 'suppressed') still face widespread
discrimination and prejudice. A new exhibition of photographs, called
'Being Untouchable' has opened in London to highlight their plight.

There are estimated 166 million Dalits in India or approximately 15%
of the population of 1.1 billion (though exact numbers are hard to
know, because census data has not collected caste information since
1931). The exhibition aims to draw attention to the violence suffered
by Dalits, who are often attacked by local communities if they are
perceived to have stepped outside their station. One photo shows a
girl called Kamlesh, who bears scars down her body. At seven years of
age, Kamlesh was shoved onto some burning rubbish for walking with her
mother on a road reserved for 'high-caste' people. According to
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) which organized the exhibition,
33,000 crimes against Dalits were reported in 2008, and this figure
doesn't include the many attacks which go unrecorded.

This week, a conference was held by the National Council of Churches
in India, to address discrimination against the Dalits. The ecumenical
group of churches (representing 13 million members) was joined by ten
other agencies and social justice groups. They met to review how the
continuing inequalities in India's society can be addressed and called
any discrimination against Dalits a "sin" and "shame".

The caste system stems from a very old Hindu social order, but even
when Dalits convert to Christianity, it is still difficult for them to
escape prejudice. For example, in one Catholic cemetery, Dalits are
still being buried on the other side of a wall, dividing the lower and
upper-caste families in the community. The Catholic Church has not
taken action over the wall because it does not own the burial ground.
Like other Christian churches, it is struggling to overcome the caste
attitudes of its followers, many of whom bring their prejudices with
them when they convert.

But there is hope for the Dalits. There is evidence that the free
market created by the growing Indian economy is driving social change.
A group of economists and scholars have conducted a study of more than
19,000 Dalit households in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The research
compared the living conditions of the Dalits today compared to 1990.
And encouragingly, there were concrete signs that the lives of Dalits
have improved significantly. For example, in the two districts
surveyed, 65% and 95% of Dalits lived in proper concrete houses,
compared to only 18% and 38% in 1990. And more than 60% of Dalit
children were found to go to school, with well over half of girls
attending.

As a spokesperson for the CSW points out, with India's booming private
sector there is an increasing need for a larger, more educated
workforce. Given the size of the Dalit community, these people will be
needed for sustained growth and therefore it's in India's
self-interest to address caste discrimination.


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[ZESTCaste] AP: Upper castes deny water to dalits in village

 

http://www.siasat.com/english/news/ap-upper-castes-deny-water-dalits-village

AP: Upper castes deny water to dalits in village
Thursday, 28 October 2010

Nellore, October 28: Tension prevailed in Vaddipalem hamlet of
Kothavangallu village panachayat in Kodavaluru mandal when the upper
caste people of the village prevented dalits from the Dalitwada from
using water of the village well.

As the news spread like wildfire, several dalit organisations rushed
to the village resulting in exchange of arguments between the upper
caste people and dalit leaders. District collector K Ramgopal directed
the Kodavaluru MRO to get the pipeline fixed and restore water supply
from the well to the Dalitwada and submit a report on the incident
immediately.

Vaddipalem, 30 km from here, has two wells, one used by the upper
castes and the other by dalits. The water in the well meant for dalits
got contaminated a few months ago. Following a request by the dalits,
the collector sanctioned Rs1 lakh for laying a pipeline from the other
well in the village to supply drinking water to the Dalitwada.

According to Kodavalur tahsildar N Syamalamma, the two groups had
agreed to the arrangement and things went smoothly.

However, four days ago, an upper caste person had allegedly de-linked
the pipeline cutting of water to Dalits.When the dalits went to the
well to fetch water, they were chased away by the upper caste people.
The dalits were forced to use the contaminated water for the last four
days.

As the news spread, several dalit leaders from other places rushed to
the village in support of the local dalits.

MRPS district president J Ramanaiah condemned the ill-treatment of
dalits and said even after six decades of independence, caste
discrimination was still prevalent and Vaddipallem incident stood
testimony to it. Bahujan Samaj Party Kovur incharge B Mastanaiah said
it was unfortunate that discrimination against dalits was still
continuing.

--Agencies

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