Monday, July 19, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Why am I being asked my caste?

http://sify.com/news/what-is-my-caste-news-columns-khtlezicdcd.html

Why am I being asked my caste?

By a Confused Indian | 2010-07-19 11:04:25

Three weeks ago the census workers knocked on my door. After asking me
about my educational qualification, profession et al, they popped the
question, "What is your caste?"

I was taken by surprise since, as per the news reports, the issue of
whether to include caste in census is still being debated. But
obviously, like many things in India, our rulers have no clue what is
happening outside the limits of Lutyen's Delhi.

My answer to that loaded question was "my caste is Indian." The
enumerator did give me a quizzical look, but did not comment. She made
her notes and went away. I do not know what she is going to report
anyway.

I was then reminded of the stern warning given by our honourable Law
Minister that it was my duty to co-operate in census operations and
failure to do so would invite the charge of obstructing a government
servant from doing his duty.

But, Mr Law Minister, I have some genuine doubts and I hope you will
clear them since you have been very vocal about including caste in
census operations.

My place in the caste system

The origin of caste is the Chatur Varna, or fourfold division. The
Bhagavad Gita, chapter IV, stanza 13 says that God divided humankind
into a fourfold division - the Brahman or the intellectual, teacher
and administrator, Kshatriya or the defender and ruler, Vaishya or the
trader, artisan and farmer, and Shudra, the menial worker.

The stanza clearly says that this division is based on Guna and Karma
(qualities or ability and deeds or application). There is no mention
of birth.

Incidentally, before the ignorant start screaming Brahminical
conspiracy, the Bhagavad Gita was told by an OBC to a Kshatriya and
was written by an SC/ST (with a thousand apologies to Purushottam Lord
Krishna, who was a Yadav, Arjun, who was a Kshatriya, and
Sage/Maharishi Ved Vyas, who was from a scheduled caste).

I am aware that our esteemed cultural minister would say all this is
fiction and myth, but nevertheless, I will stick to my guns.

I was born in a Brahmin family; my father was a minor civil servant,
so I suppose he qualified as a Brahmin.

But then, I broke the family tradition and joined the armed forces;
that should, in all fairness, make me a Kshatriya.

But post retirement, about 20 years ago, I took up teaching and
research. That should make me a Brahmin again.

The new caste - Rajnitigya

However, while this may be fine in theory, in practice, the caste or
varna system over the years has certainly degenerated into becoming
birth-based. Why just the varna system, in the last 60 years we have
seen birth of a new caste, that of 'Rajnitigya' (Politician).

It would be an interesting exercise under the RTI (Right to
Information) Act to find out how many of our rulers (MPs, MLA's and
sundry elected representatives) are brothers, sisters, sons or
daughters or sons-in-law, wives or daughters-in-law of the rulers.

Mr Law Minister, since you represent the biggest feudal party of
India, I would be obliged if you could provide me this information.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the enthusiasm for a birth-based
caste is, like the good old Brahmins, a clever attempt by the
Rajnitigya caste to perpetuate their monopoly over power.

Who is backward in today's India?

Coming back to the distortion of the caste system, it was most cruel
to the shudras, who suffered all kind of indignities and did not have
a chance to move upwards till the modern era and pioneering work of
Hindu social reformers, saints and leadership of Dr. Ambedkar.

That is why there is a national consensus on quotas for the scheduled
castes and, to some extent, scheduled tribes as well.

But in case of the OBC, the issues are very different. It is common
throughout Indian history for the farmers to have become
soldiers/rulers.

This has been observed in the Jats in Haryana and Punjab, Marathas in
Maharashtra and various farming communities in the South. These
communities are also the biggest landholders, dominate politics and
are in virtually all professions.

Even in the case of other professions, like potters, barbers etc, how
many are still carrying on their ancestral profession?

Let us look at some concrete examples.

One of the largest princely states in Madhya Pradesh was ruled by a
family that came from the caste of shepherds. Are they to record
their caste as shepherds and enjoy concessions?

Yadavs from UP and Bihar, at the forefront of caste-concession
movement, may consider themselves backward, but in Maharashtra, they
were the last major rulers at Daulatabad (Devagiri near Aurangabad).

And what of the several Generals and Colonels? Are they of backward
castes and a soldier of a forward caste?

In my avatar as Kshatriya, I vividly remember an incident. I joined an
infantry battalion in 1968. The battalion was posted in Ladakh at that
time.

One day, the battalion barber, while giving me a haircut, asked me if
I knew an officer called Trivikram Singh. It so happened that he was
one term my senior in Zozila Company (of the Indian Military Academy,
Dehradun).

So I said yes, of course I knew him, and that he was my senior. With
obvious pride, the battalion barber told me that Trivikram was his
younger brother!

As an officer of the Indian Army, Mr Moily, what caste should
Trivikram fall into? Barber?

Incidentally, some of the battalions including the one that I joined
were entirely composed of the so-called forward castes. All our
soldiers are Kshatriyas and Thakurs. It is also mandatory that all our
cooks are Brahmins, for traditionally, the upper caste will only eat
food cooked by a Brahmin.

But a lot of water has flowed down the Ganga since then, and in the
1980s, out of the ten-twelve officers of the battalion, no less than
half were Yadavs, a supposed backward caste.

So we had a paradoxical situation. While the educationally, socially
and economically backward jawans were supposedly 'forward', their
officers were 'backward', and their children were to get special
treatment and concessions.

If this is not travesty of justice, then what is?

What about mixed marriages? Does the caste of girl/boy change after
marriage? Before the casteist bloggers howl blue murder, let me
clarify that in my closest family we have had several such inter-caste
marriages. So Mr Moily, it is not just an academic question for many
like us.

Caste and class

Caste does not equal Class.

Late Ram Manohar Lohia, possibly the most destructive personality of
independent India, propagated a concept that equated caste with class.

Class in this sense is both economic and social classification. Thus
it was a short leap for the casteist leaders to justify their approach
and then take shelter under the constitution that mandates 'special
measures' to help backward classes.

Let us look at this skulduggery in the light of Indian reality.

The King who was Kshatriya, was at the top of social hierarchy. The
soldier who guarded his palace was also a Kshatriya and of the same
caste. But do they belong to same class?

A Brahmin was the minister and advisor to King. Another Brahmin cooked
his meals, while yet another was the priest of the royal temple. Can
they be of same class?

The Nagar Seth, or the chief merchant, often a member of the royal
court, was lower in the so-called caste hierarchy than both the
Brahmin and Kshatriya. But were the soldier guards of the palace or
the royal cook, of a higher class than he?

The truth is that even in the most regressive period of the Indian
caste system, class and caste were not synonymous. In the modern era,
it is even more so.

But equating them for reservation at the national level has played
havoc with the country. For instance, in Maharashtra, thanks to Dr.
Ambedkar and efforts of the community, the Mahars have virtually
monopolised the SC reservations. We now have families of IAS/IPS
monopolising the concessions. This has left the real deserving out of
the net.

Even more glaring is in inequity of Tribal reservations. Virtually the
entire quota is usurped by the tribals from North East. Can anyone
show me a single Gond, Katkari, Madia or Warli tribal in the elite
central services?

The growth of Naxalism in Central India is the direct result of this
terrible distortion. Sadly, there is no exit clause from this. So we
have even a daughter of a former President, former Speaker or such
worthy, eligible for concessions.

Caste in census – and what next?

Let us not kid ourselves - the whole rationale behind asking for caste
in census is to then ask for more reservations on the basis of
percentage in population.

Are we to then become a country that follows proportional
representation in all walks of life?

Let us also look at a hypothetical case of a caste that calls itself
backward. What is going to be the criterion for its educational and
social backwardness? Will a caste be declared forward if, say, 51% of
its members become graduates? Or will we await a day when 100% are
graduates?

How do we measure social backwardness? Can social backwardness be
cured by reservation in jobs or with social reforms? Can the
government legislate social reforms?

It is another Shah Bano moment for the Congress party (when the party
bowed to obscurantist elements and denied alimony to a Muslim
divorcee).

A misstep at this stage will be a trigger for another bout of
Mandal-like divisiveness and would mean handing over the country to
Khaps (caste panchayats) and take the country backwards.

Perhaps we should declare everyone backward so that there is no
conflict, and then begin a race to the starting line, running
backwards.

Historically, India was at the top during the agricultural epoch of
the history of mankind. The whole focus was thus towards the
perfection of existing technology and skills.

There was thus no incentive to be inventive and all benefits and
profits were seen in refinement of existing skills. It can be seen in
many walks of life that Indians continue to use instruments and
techniques practised for thousands of years. In no small measure, this
gave rise to birth based 'caste' system where a son followed the
profession of his father. It was practical.

There were several exceptions, where people changed their professions,
but the norm was to follow tradition.

Dr. Ambedkar was one of the severest critics of Gandhi on this ground,
as Gandhi extolled the virtues of village life while Ambedkar rightly
saw that as a disaster.

The result of this feudal approach was that war was seen to be an
activity exclusive to the warrior caste, with the rest of the society
being bystanders.

Despite its huge population, in all its major wars, the Indian armies
were generally numerically inferior to the invaders. Not only was the
caste system the cause of India's loss of independence, it was largely
responsible for the country's other misfortunes.

Courting disaster

Through the caste survey, caste leaders want to turn the wheel back to
bad old days, shun social reform and jeopardise the dream of
egalitarianism.

Urbanisation and industrialisation are the forces that break caste barriers.

Soon more than 50 per cent of our population will be living in urban
areas. To revert to rural caste identities at this stage is a
retrograde step.

The main motivation behind this resurrection of caste is the fear of
becoming politically irrelevant.

So should we say to hell with the future peace and security of our nation?

Should we further divide the country on caste lines, and have a repeat
of the violent Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan, with people fighting to
be declared backward?

The saddest part is that even the so-called young leaders of this
community, who should know better, do not dare to swim against the
current.

These are not leaders, but followers, of their followers.


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[ZESTCaste] A dog too has a caste

 

http://sify.com/news/a-dog-too-has-a-caste-a-legal-reporter-s-diary-news-national-khspOcccfci.html

A dog too has a caste (A Legal Reporter's Diary)

2010-07-18 15:50:00

In India's hierarchical society even an unsuspecting dog must have a
caste. So it seemed when in Mirchpur village of Haryana, some dogs of
a Dalit 'basti' dared to bark at Jat boys. There was an angry backlash
by the Jat boys and counter protests by the Dalit owners of the dogs.

To demonstrate their physical and social might, the Jats rallied
around and attacked the Dalit dwellings, resulting in the death of two
people, including one physically challenged girl.

The incident strained the sensibilities of Justice G.S. Singhvi of the
Supreme Court who pointedly asked how 'a dog of a Balmiki basti
barking at a (Jat) child (could) become a cause of violence and murder
of a physically challenged girl'. Justice Singhvi went on to say: 'A
dog could not have been killed on this ground. If that was the case
then all the dogs would have been killed'.

Learn basics, Supreme Court to judges

Judges in the Supreme Court have often expressed concern over the
state of affairs in the appellate judiciary, particularly the high
courts. The other day Justice G.S. Singhvi lamented that a number of
lawyers and even some high court judges did not know the basic
concepts of law.

Justice Singhvi made this observation while assailing a high court for
granting stay in a case. It was on his direction that Solicitor
General Gopal Subramaniam collected facts to prove that high courts
were indiscriminately granting stays in cases involving murder, rape,
dacoity and kidnapping.

Little wonder why Justice Singhvi, through tongue in cheek remarks,
singled out the Punjab and Haryana High Court for often passing verbal
orders. He said the shortest order would be 'dismissed', a longer one
would be 'heard and dismissed' and the longest would be 'heard on
merit and dismissed'.

-*-

What court can do, TV can't

Can Valmiki, the author of the epic Ramayana, be described as a dacoit
in a television serial simply because the Supreme Court had made
similar references to him in judgments?

Senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi asked the vacation bench to stay
proceedings in a trial court against a television channel for airing a
serial wherein Valmiki was described as a 'thief'. Rohtagi said: 'If I
am guilty of calling Valmiki a thief, so is the Supreme Court'. He
referred to three judgments of the apex court wherein Valmiki was
described as a dacoit.

But the court washed its hands off. It said by airing the information
in a TV serial 'you have taken the information to people who did not
even know it'.

Valmiki, before becoming a saint, was indeed a notorious bandit by the
name of Ratnakar. But for the judges, it was clearly a case of once
bitten twice shy. After all, in actress Khushboo's case, misreporting
of the court's observations on the relationship between the divine
Radha and Krishna had given anxious moments to one particular judge.

-*-

Looking for a 'sweet' suicide

If a man intends to commit suicide, will he consume poison with plain
water or with liquor? The point arose during the hearing of a murder
case in Haryana.

The defence lawyer argued that it was a case of suicide wherein the
deceased consumed pesticide (sulphas) powder mixed with drinks. The
prosecution lawyer said anyone intending to commit suicide would
consume pesticide with water and not liquor.

Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan intervened to say he did not know the
practice in Haryana, but if a person was planning to commit suicide in
Gujarat, he would rather do so with sweets. He said Gujaratis are so
fond of sweets that they couldn't think of anything unless it was
coated with sugar.

Thus if someone wanted to commit suicide, he or she would probably
look to sweeten the lethal mix before consuming it. Justice
Radhakrishnan, before being elevated to the Supreme Court, was chief
justice of the Gujarat High Court.

(Parmod Kumar can be contacted at mazak1453@gmail.com.)

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[ZESTCaste] Historic Sanklap Bhoomi tree gives away

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Vadodara/Historic-Sanklap-Bhoomi-tree-gives-away/articleshow/6184529.cms

Historic Sanklap Bhoomi tree gives away
TNN, Jul 18, 2010, 10.59pm IST

VADODARA: A portion of the unique banyan tree in Sayajibaug, under
which Father of India's constitution Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar took
resolution of equality for Indians, gave away on Sunday. A big branch
fell off the tree known as Sankalp Bhoomi and disturbed its main trunk
that slanted backwards. While Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC)
officials rushed to the spot to check the damage, members of Sankalp
Bhoomi Trust (SBT) alleged that someone had tried to fell the tree.

The tree got its name in 2006 and was identified as tree of historical
importance by VMC. It was also recently identified and marked by the
forest department among the 10 trees of historical importance in the
district. "The main trunk of this banyan tree has become weak owing to
decay. On July 14, a portion of tree weakened owing to heavy rains,
and on Sunday, that part gave away. It is a natural process," said V R
Shikhaliya, director, parks and gardens.

"This tree is very old and hence its trunk had started decaying since
last few years. We were treating it to reduce the decaying process and
the treatment will continue in coming days," he added. He, however,
ruled out any foul play.

This tree assumes lot of significance as Dr Ambedkar had taken
resolution of equality for Indians on September 23, 1917 under it.
Ambedkar later wrote India's Constitution and its first page talks
about equality.

However, members of SBT said that someone may have tried to damage the
tree. "We saw cut marks on the damaged portion and it is possible that
some miscreant may have tried to cut it. We will submit a memorandum
to collector on Monday, asking for an investigation into the incident.
We want that the tree should be preserved as it is invaluable," said
Dr RK Singh, member of SBT.

Shikhaliya, however, said that they were taking full care of the tree.
"A banyan tree's roots weaken over decades and so they fall off
naturally. But, new branches have been growing on this tree and we
hope that they grow better in coming days," he said.

Ambedkar and Baroda

In 1907, Dr Ambedkar passed his matriculation examination and entered
the University of Bombay, becoming one of the first persons of
"untouchable origin" to enter a college in India. In 1908, he entered
Elphinstone College and obtained a scholarship of Rs 25 per month from
Sir Sayaji Rao III, the erstwhile ruler of Baroda state. By 1912, he
obtained his degree in economics and political science from Bombay
University, and prepared to take up employment with the Baroda state
government.

In 1913, he received Baroda State Scholarship of 11.50 British pounds
a month for three years to join the political department of the
Columbia University as a postgraduate student. Later, in June 1917, he
was obliged to return to India as the term of his scholarship from
Baroda ended. However, he was given permission to return and submit
his thesis within four years. As his education was facilitated by the
Baroda State, he was bound to serve the state.

He was appointed as military secretary to the Gaekwad of Baroda, which
he had to quit within short time. This fiasco was described by
Ambedkar in his autobiography as "Waiting for a Visa". He stated,
"This scene of a dozen Parsis armed with sticks line before me in a
menacing mood, and myself standing before them with a terrified look
imploring for mercy, is a scene which so long a period as eighteen
years had not succeeded in fading away. I can even vividly recall it
and I never recall it without tears in my eyes. It was then for the
first time that I learnt that a person who is an untouchable to a
Hindu is also an untouchable to a Parsi". Then he tried to find ways
to make a living for his growing family. He worked as private tutor,
as an accountant, investment consulting business, but it failed when
his clients learned that he was an untouchable.

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[ZESTCaste] Social engineer Maya orders caste census

http://www.asianage.com/india/social-engineer-maya-orders-caste-census-879

Social engineer Maya orders caste census

Jul 19th, 2010 -- MANISH ANAND | New Delhi Share
BSP supremo Mayawati is reinventing her famed "social engineering"
strategy, which in its new avatar seeks to carry out a caste head
count in the state. "Social Engineering II" is being attempted by the
ruling BSP in UP as a more focused approach at the grassroots level in
contrast to the broader alignment of dalits and brahmins in its
earlier avatar.
Ms Mayawati is learnt to have put the party machinery in overdrive to
complete the caste head count in the next six months. "The party cadre
at the booth level has been asked to conduct the exercise. They will
not be knocking at the doors of residents. The exercise will be based
on inputs collected at the grassroots levels," said a senior BSP
functionary.
The BSP top brass has reportedly told Ms Mayawati the social
engineering strategy, as scripted for the 2007 state elections, has
outlived its utility and has been dented with the brahmins drifting
away. "The party is not very confident of the support of the brahmins
now. The 2009 LS?elections indicated that the party needs to reinvent
its social engineering," added the party functionary.
With the reinvented strategy, the BSP is looking at better candidate
selection and revamping the party leadership at the local level based
on caste data collected at least a year before the elections. "The
caste head count will help the party arrive at a formidable caste
equation. The BSP is now looking at dalits, most backward castes and
Muslims as its new support base. It will help identify which groups to
focus on among the most backward castes apart from the non-Yadav OBC,"
the functionary revealed.
The exercise will involve collecting data about beneficiaries at the
grassroots level during the term of Ms Mayawati. "The party wants to
know who has been left behind in getting benefits from the BSP-led
government. This will help the party make amends before the polls. The
data about those having benefited will be part of the campaign," the
functionary said.


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[ZESTCaste] Tradition comes full circle at this village

http://expressbuzz.com/states/karnataka/tradition-comes-full-circle-at-this-village/190575.html

Tradition comes full circle at this village

Devaraj B Hirehalli

First Published : 17 Jul 2010 09:50:29 AM IST

Last Updated :

TUMKUR: Does time change in the form of a circle? Einstein would have
been baffled at this question. But, it is a truth of sorts at
Shettikere, Kunigal taluk.


Animal sacrifice was an age-old tradition at the village. As time
changed, the practice was given up. But now, it is back to square one.
Caste Hindus ensured that the practice has resumed.

They argued that dalits should resume the sacrifice of male buffaloes
to the village deity Maramma so that it would keep the people in
harmony.

Last year, the caste Hindus had brought dalits from the neighbouring
Teradakuppe village to sacrifice animal as the locals had not obliged.

On Tuesday last, the upper caste people split the local dalits over
the issue and tutored some of them to resume the age-old tradition.
They identified one Ganga Narasaiah to be the butcher and handed him a
male buffalo.

The tipsy butcher who was trying to catch the buffalo for the
sacrifice was gored by the animal and he ultimately fell into an
abandoned well.

He got his ribs broken and sustained severe injuries and was admitted
to a hospital in Bellur. However, the upper caste people managed to
get the animal sacrificed on the outskirts of the village and spared
the head and corpse of it to the dalits.

For ages, dalits used to sacrifice buffalo to the village's deity for
the simple reason that they would get the flesh of it. Educated dalits
not only opposed it, but managed to get it stopped. They even
installed a deity of their own in a thatched hut to detach from the
buffalo-wanting' deity.


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[ZESTCaste] Dalits see need for broader unity

http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/18/stories/2010071852040300.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Ongole

Dalits see need for broader unity

Staff Reporters

Martyrs memorial held at Karamchedu

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Six persons were killed in caste clashes some 25 years ago

Supreme Court verdict against guilty hailed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ONGOLE: Dalit leaders of the Karamchedu movement on Saturday vowed to
work for broader unity among the 'bahujans', comprising the SCs, STs,
BCs and minorities, to attain political power.

The leaders, as also families of the victims of six persons killed in
caste clashes on this day 25 years ago, came together and held a
meeting at Karamchedu to mark the Karamchedu dalit martyrs' memorial
anniversary.

They felt happy over the Supreme Court upholding the trial court
verdict, though belatedly, and awarding punishment to the guilty in
2008.

The Karamchedu movement marked the beginning of dalits organising
themselves to assert their rights and fight for social justice.

"We should rise above the level of just putting forth our demands and
fight for political power and realise the vision of Babasaheb Ambedkar
and Jyotirao Phule," the speakers said.

Among others, the memorial meeting was addressed by Thella Jedson,
hailing from a bereaved family, and dalit leaders – Koti James, Duddu
Bhaskara Rao, A Chennaiah and Palanati Sriramulu – of the movement.

It may be recalled that on December 19, 2008, the Supreme Court
awarded life sentence to the main accused and three years of
imprisonment to 29 others in the case.


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[ZESTCaste] A likely dishonour killing, now in Noida

 

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/a-likely-dishonour-killing-now-in-noida-38432

A likely dishonour killing, now in Noida
Press Trust of India, Updated: July 19, 2010 16:44 IST

Bulandshahr: A Noida-based woman was allegedly murdered by her
relatives here for marrying in a different caste, in a suspected
dishonour killing case.

Acting on a complaint, Noida police recovered skeletal remains,
believed to be of victim Sangeeta, from a field owned by her family in
village Barmadpur and arrested four of her relatives, including a
woman.

According to Superintendent of Police, city, JK Shahi, 22-year-old
Ravindra, who is a dalit and had recently married Sangeeta, had lodged
an FIR with Sector 58 Noida Police apprehending threat to her life
from her family members.

Sangeeta, 20, who belongs to the Gujjar community, had been taken to
her native village by her relatives on the promise of arranging a
formal wedding function.

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[ZESTCaste] 'Khairlanjis could be deterred by tit for tat'

 

http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/jul/19/slide-show-1-khairlanji-dr-anand-teltumbdes-interview.htm

'Khairlanjis could be deterred by tit for tat'

Last updated on: July 19, 2010 14:42 IST

On July 14, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court commuted the
death sentence awarded to six convicts in the Khairlanji murder case
to 25 years' rigorous imprisonment.
On September 29, 2006, a mob brutally raped a mother and daughter
before killing them along with her two sons. Surekha Bhotmange (then
42), Priyanka Bhotmange (17), Roshan Bhotmange (19) and Sudhir
Bhotmange (21) belonged to one of the three Dalit families in
Khairlanji, a remote village in Mohada tehsil of Maharashtra's
Bhandara district.

Bhayyalal Bhotmange, the head of the family, survived as he was away
from home that fateful day.

The perpetrators of the crime belonged to the upper castes.

In a way Khairlanji is a metaphor for all the atrocities committed
against Dalits across the country. Despite their numerical strength
(Dalits constitute 16.6 per cent of India's population), Dalits in
India are routinely at the receiving end of caste conflicts. While
some atrocities against Dalits get wide media coverage, a majority of
the incidents are ignored.

Khairlanji, too, would have been ignored had it not been for huge
protests over the incident across the country by Dalits, believes Dr
Anand Teltumbde, a Mumbai-based Dalit intellectual, thinker and human
rights activist, who authored Khairlanji: A Strange And Bitter Crop
two years after the incident.

In an e-mail interview with Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore, Dr Teltumbde
speaks of how atrocities like Khairlanji can be prevented, why Dalits
in India have failed to organise themselves into a powerful political
bloc despite Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's emergence, how
the Congress party in Maharashtra treacherously suppressed the Dalit
voice, and how and why Dalits have digressed from the essence of Dr
Ambedkar's ideals.

Was Khairlanji an aberration? What needs to be done to prevent such atrocities?

No, Khairlanji was in no way an aberration or a unique occurrence. It
is just incidental that it came into the limelight.

The reason perhaps lay in the blatant manner in which the police
sought to suppress it initially as an incident caused by the outrage
of simple village folk over the defiance of a woman who persisted with
her illicit relationship with a man despite their sane advice to stop
it. The Khap-kind of izzat (honour) syndrome!

There have been similar incidents before and they continue to occur
even now; they either go totally unnoticed or get buried in the
records of some innocuous police station.

In fact, there was an incident at Jhanjhardi just 40 km from
Aurangabad in Marathwada just prior to the release of my book on
Khairlanji in October 2008, where a Dalit woman was raped and her
husband badly thrashed.

Both were to be set afire but just then the police reached the spot.
Potentially it was no different from Khairlanji, but no one took note
of it.

There is no easy method to stop the occurrence of such atrocities on
Dalits. The legal course is tedious and full of hurdles for the
victims. You know, the police records nearly 30,000 atrocity incidents
(against Dalits) every year. But they represent just the tip of the
iceberg.

It is said that at least nine out of ten atrocities go unreported.

The village dynamics is such that a poor Dalit victim would not
firstly dare to go against the powerful upper castes to report the
crime. Even if s/he musters enough courage to reach a police station,
the police machinery would not pay heed to her/him.

It is only with some activists' backing that the police will record
the atrocity. These are well-acknowledged facts. What happens later is
also well known.

Even if the atrocity gets recorded, they would not apply appropriate
sections of the relevant Act (as happened in the Khairlanji case where
many Dalit leaders,activists and scholars are upset that the case was
not properly built by the police who recorded the FIR, and then the
prosecution which made no efforts to bring the Atrocity Act into
play).

The police investigation would be so lackadaisical that it paves the
way for the eventual release of victims.

When the case comes up for hearing in courts, the prosecution could be
more callous and then come the judges who would not see any caste
angle in such crimes.

What would you call it if the lower court as well as the high court
does not see any evidence of caste in Khairlanji, which may veritably
be a text book case otherwise of a caste atrocity?

This being the legal process, how can one think of a systemic remedy?

The remedy to my mind lies only in people's action.

It is clear that if there had not been a strong spontaneous agitation
over Khairlanji, the courts would not possibly have given the
punishment they gave.

It is only public pressure that extracts judgments from the courts. I
would go so far as to have a viable anti-caste movement against such
atrocities.

Atrocities in my analysis constitute the metrics of caste and need to
be curbed with force by those who want caste to be annihilated. The
deterrent could only be in terms of tit for tat.

Unless the perpetrators of atrocities are hit back with matching brute
force, they would not realise that they are doing something wrong.

It may sound like raw revenge by jungle law when I say such a thing,
but I have an elaborate theory behind this.

There is a deep-rooted caste prejudice against Dalits, and this
(prejudice) would not tolerate them being conducted on equal terms.
There is no method to correct such a deep-seated cultural residue than
the shock treatment (I have suggested).

Moreover, there is empirical evidence that support my theory. This,
however, would be possible when Dalits learn to join hands with other
people on the basis of class.

Caste can never bring them this kind of strength.

Persisting with the caste idiom, I am sure Khairlanjis will keep
happening and this kind of interviews will keep recurring for
centuries to come.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit association demands welfare measures

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangalore/Dalit-association-demands-welfare-measures/articleshow/6184556.cms

Dalit association demands welfare measures
TNN, Jul 18, 2010, 09.34pm IST

MANGALORE: Karnataka Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (Dr Ambedkar Vaada) will
lay siege to Vidhan Soudha in Bangalore on Tuesday to press for what
the Samiti terms pro-people demands. A press release from Ramesh
Kotiyan, district convener of DSS here stated that state government
has ignored protests organised by dalits and memorandums submitted at
the district level in the past seeking fulfilment of their demands.

The committees headed by respective MLAs that select beneficiaries of
various schemes implemented by the Dr B R Ambedkar Development
Corporation should be scrapped, Kotiyan stated. The other demands
include setting up of a separate welfare directorate to ensure
effective spending of funds released to various departments under the
special component plan through a single window system.

Social welfare department should stop outsourcing of labour, stop
large-scale outsourcing of material purchased for hostels administered
by it, and the material must be procured locally. Irrigation bore
wells for members of scheduled caste and scheduled tribes under a
scheme of the Corporation must be as per certificates issued by the
geologists and not as per the existing norms, which has not yielded
the desired results, he explained.

The scheme granting ownership of land, and Ganga Kalyana must be
implemented effectively, and loans given to beneficiaries through the
Corporation must be waived off. Dalits who are undertaking 'bagar
hukum' cultivation of land based on application filed under form 53
should be given land cultivation rights forthwith. The services of
pourakarmikas working on contract basis should be regularised, wage
dues settled, and basic amenities provided to places where they
reside. Similarly, people residing in slum areas and revenue lands
across the state too should be given permanent site title deeds.

The SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act should be implemented
effectively and criminal cases should be registered against those who
obtain false caste certificates. The state government should withdraw
cases filed against Dalit activists across Karnataka and separate
internal quota should be provided to SC/STs and BCM in women's
reservation. Steps should also be taken to fill all backlog posts in
government departments, the Samiti demanded.

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