Friday, July 1, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Notes on Forbesganj Violence

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Notes on Forbesganj Violence

ASHOK YADAV & KHALID ANIS ANSARI

The police firing and subsequent killing of five OBC Muslims in
Bhajanpur village in Forbesganj of Araria district in Bihar on June 3,
2011 has been analyzed in most reports in the public sphere through
the frame of 'communalism' and there has been little effort to grapple
with the other dimensions that the event entails. Increasingly, it is
being felt that the discourse around secularism/communalism is being
employed to reinforce the restorative politics of Indian ruling elite,
broadly the upper caste sections of all religious identities, and is
working as an instrument to subvert the counter-hegemonic peoples'
solidarity at large. While the normative understanding of secularism
is under pressure in almost all jurisdictions, for all practical
purposes secularism in India has been thoroughly trivialized and
reduced to the stand one takes with regards to the 'Indian Muslim'. So
any formation which takes a pro-Muslim stand, even for the sake of
public consumption, is paraded as secular. On the other hand those
formations that publicly interrogate or abuse the Muslim identity are
communal. Thus, the Congress Party is 'secular' even when there is
overwhelming historical evidence that implicates it in numerous riots
against Muslims in the post-independence period simply because it
never mouths anti-Muslim jargon. In contrast the BJP is undisputedly
'communal' because its growth as a political party has so far depended
on its anti-Muslim rhetoric.

The Changing Nature of Political Space

In the last two decades the political space in India has transformed
drastically. One of the most significant fallouts of the Mandal
moment, especially since the report included both Hindu and Muslim
lower castes in the OBC list, has been the fissure in the naturalized
notion of the Hindu and Muslim monolith. Consequently, while on the
one hand the Hindutva forces are facing sustained challenges in
manufacturing an overarching Hindu vote-bank, on the other the
enactment of the 'pasmanda' identity (OBC/Dalit Muslims) within Indian
Muslims has interrogated the notion of Muslim unity in interesting
ways. Hence, due to the counter-hegemonic identity politics of the
lower castes as opposed to the entrenched politics of religious
identity controlled by the upper caste elites, it has become
increasingly difficult to consolidate the Hindu or Muslim vote-bank.
The saffron brigade has so much weakened that it has to bank upon OBC
leaders like Sharad Yadav and Nitish Kumar, that too from outside the
RSS-BJP fold, in order to conduct its politics. In a similar vein the
Muslim upper caste elite sections too are experimenting with the Peace
Party, by foregrounding a pasmanda Dr. Ayub, in North India.

Broadly, the constitutional and policy consensus on social justice
(affirmative action) and minority rights is under pressure from
various quarters. In this respect, the Mala-Madiga contradiction in
Andhra Pradesh or the enactment of mahadalit identity in Bihar
recently, the emergence of EBC/MBC (Extremely or Most Backward Castes)
politics, the challenges to minority religious identities from
pasmanda Muslims, dalit Christians or dalit Sikhs, and the growing
assertion of women generally, have all contributed to destabilizing
the dominant imagination of dalit, OBC or minority identities. While
on the one hand such fragmentation and multiplicity is a sign of
penetration of Indian democracy, on the other hand this
differentiation has to be arrested at some point and some broad-based
political principles need to be evolved that could enable subaltern
solidarities in order to tackle the increasing crisis of
representative democracy (the gap between the leaders and the lead).
In the absence of the latter the popular issues like corruption,
electricity, education, health, employment, etc. will eventually be
taken up by populist movements led by the elite which will only go on
to construct a false 'we' that reflects the most powerful. In recent
times both Anna Hazare's and Baba Ramdev's movements indicate towards
this crisis badly. Both movements have hijacked the peoples'
legitimate anger that could have been channelized in reforming the
actually-existing Indian democracy by debating on the pitfalls of
First-Past-the-Post electoral system (in contrast to a Proportional
Electoral System), Right to Recall, deepening of the Right to
Information, and other such relevant issues so necessary to unleash
the next phase of people-led democratization in India.

More pertinent to this essay is the manner in which the dynamics of
the changing nature of political space have parochialized the received
politics around the axes of secularism-communalism. If we look at the
moves by pasmanda politicians in Bihar then in the assembly elections
of 2005 they took a decision to reject Laloo Yadav led secular RJD
alliance and opted to vote for Nitish Kumar led NDA with the communal
BJP as an important ally. Nitish Kumar had later credited the support
of pasmanda sections for ensuring his victory. Obviously, the
preference of the pasmanda sections for a non-BJP government had not
dwindled but at the same time they had stopped thinking in terms of
the restricted options which secular-communal axis provided. Their
support to JD (U)-BJP alliance was mostly driven by the fact that
Laloo Yadav, under the influence of ashrafia politicians, had refused
to acknowledge them. However, at that point of time it must be
remarked that in the absence of non-BJP leaders like Nitish Kumar and
Sharad Yadav, the pasmanda sections would have probably never voted
for the NDA.

In terms of discourse, the pasmanda have claimed that they are one of
the indigenous bahujan sections of India who in historical times
converted to Islam due to various reasons. However, caste
discrimination continued to be practiced against them within the
Muslim body politic even after conversion despite the egalitarian
teachings of Islam. Consequently, there is a serious discomfort in
pasmanda discourse with the minority tag as it is seen to be inhabited
predominantly by the upper caste ashrafiya sections who utilize it to
bargain for privileges from the state. The overall focus is on
discounting the emotive issues and addressing the basic issues of
bread-and-butter by democratizing the state and community structures.
In strategic terms the pasmanda sections are keen to develop a
horizontal unity with the lower caste sections of the so-called
majority (and other minority) communities. Afterall, if caste is the
primary basis of Indian society then the concept of 'minority' and
'majority' is irrelevant because no caste in India is numerically so
strong that it may claim to be a majority community. Hence, the
pasmanda movement is fast rendering the hegemonic Muslim-centric
secular politics irrelevant and forcing us to rethink secularism in a
new light. In liberating themselves from the minority psyche, the
pasmanda movement is also attempting to liberate the country from
religious conflicts which have so far frequently rocked India. It is
in this context that we will read the tragic incident that happened at
Forbesganj recently.

Forbesganj Violence: A Brief Recapitulation

As we mentioned earlier the lower caste pasmanda muslims, the victims
in this incident, had greatly facilitated the formation of JD (U) led
NDA government in Bihar in 2005 as well as in 2010. It is no wonder
then that the entire opposition politics in Bihar and the 'secular
parivar' sees the event as an opportunity to beat the NDA with the
secular stick so as to send a strong message to the pasmanda social
block that their security is guaranteed only in a non-NDA regime. It
also goes without saying that the interests, electoral and otherwise,
of the Congress and its cronies goad them to capture the entire
Forbesganj episode in a monochromatic frame: the epic battle between
the BJP, the eternal communal evil and the Muslim, the good and
hapless victim. This version of the event is further reinforced by the
involvement of a BJP politician in the actual facts of this case and
the visit of the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar from BJP to the spot
five days prior to the event. While one cannot discount this take
considering the brutality of violence that foregrounded the deep
rooted hatred of the perpetrators of the violence for the victims, one
will also have to explore other dimensions of the issue for the truth
of social events is seldom one-dimensional.

The background of Forbesganj incident in short is that some sixty
years ago the villagers of Bhajanpur and Rampur, the twin adjoining
villages predominantly populated by socially backward pasmanda
(OBC-dalit) muslims, donated their land, money and labor to build a
road that reduced the distance from their villages to the main
Forbesganj market from eight to one kilometer. ANHAD has reported that
in 1984 Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority acquired 105 acres
of agricultural land from the villagers which was meagerly compensated
resulting in the pauperization of farmers from small land holders to
agricultural laborers. Very recently, in 2010, the Bihar Cabinet
approved an industrial unit for the manufacturing of starches from
maize to M/S Auro Sundaram International Company. Incidentally, one of
the directors in the Board of this company is the son of a BJP
politician. The road that the villagers had themselves built on their
land with their money and labor was given away to the company. This
was understandably resisted by the villagers. On June 1, 2011 in a
tripartite meeting between the company, the villagers and the
administration, the villagers showed their accommodative spirit by
agreeing to forgo their right over the village road provided an
alternate road was built. The three parties agreed to this. However,
on June 3 the company, in connivance with the local administration,
breached the compromise formula and without providing for the
alternate road began to raise a wall on the existing road.
Consequently, the villagers after returning from the Friday prayers
protested against this breach of trust. The administration in
collusion with the Company opened indiscriminate firing on the hapless
villagers. A reign of terror was let loose on the poor villagers by
the police. Five people were killed including a pregnant woman and
fifteen persons were grievously injured. A petty police official
kicked and danced on the injured and unconscious body of a young boy.
The still alive boy was sent for postmortem where the doctor noticed
life in the body. However, he later succumbed to the injury.

The Question of Developmental Violence

Since the occurrence of this macabre incident the secular brigade has
been campaigning and working overtime against the state government
which is a joint collaboration of JD (U) and the saffron BJP.
Political figures like Ram Vilas Paswan, who once sang the song of
Muslim CM so much that Bihar slipped into the hands of NDA, and Laloo
Prasad Yadav, who enjoyed power for fifteen long years by flaunting
the so-called MY (Muslim-Yadav) equation, are still to visit the spot.
What is striking is that the entire campaign of the opposition
parties/voices is being run around the anti-minority character of the
state government with no mention of developmental violence whatsoever.
The opposition parties have conveniently chosen to underplay the link
of this event with the chain of developmental violence in other
jurisdictions (Singur, Nandigram, Bhatta-Parsaul, etc.). In our view,
this is yet another example where the dominant discourse of
communalism feeds into a hegemonic identity politics than informing
any processes of a counter-hegemonic peoples' solidarity. Very
recently, we witnessed the strange use of the discourse of communalism
again when the Congress suddenly discovered that Baba Ramdev was an
RSS agent and the news that RSS was conspiring to burn the camp in the
midnight hours and foment nationwide riots was broken not by the
government and intelligence agencies but by a famous Muslim secular
operator. While we have no sympathies with Ramdev's or Hazare's
movement but the way the discourse of communalism was skillfully
employed to polarize public opinion on this issue and further to elide
the problems with actually-existing Indian democracy from the public
discourse was indeed remarkable. In a similar vein, in the case of
Forbesganj violence the fact that the land and road of the village
were forcibly grabbed by the capitalist raiders has been reduced to a
non-issue and the religious identity of the victims (why not caste?)
has been continuously foregrounded. The spree of land grabbing of the
poor and the marginalized by the powerful corporate and business
houses in India and the crushing of subsequent peoples' resistance
with brutality by the state in collusion with capitalist raiders has
become the order of the day. It would be too simplistic and
opportunistic to define the Forbesganj violence in terms of religious
communalism alone.

Foot Soldiers in, Masterminds out!

Moreover, the state government has lodged a murder case against the
petty police official who danced on the unconscious body of the young
boy. The state government has been forced to do this because the video
clip of Suneel Kumar Yadav, the police officer in question here,
kicking and dancing on the body has been uploaded on YouTube and a few
TV channels have been broadcasting this continuously. It is indeed
incomprehensible that while Suneel Kumar Yadav has been slapped with a
murder case, no case has been lodged against the senior
police/administrative officials or the company management who were
present on the spot and who bear primary responsibility for the
firing. But there is also a historical and sociological background to
such selective action by the state machinery. Nitish Kumar, who
succeeded Laloo Yadav with the support of the BJP, also ordered
enquiry into Bhagalpur riots earlier. While the report of the
Bhagalpur riots enquiry commission instituted by Nitish Kumar is not
known but what is fairly clear is that the entire blame was sought to
be imposed on Kameshwar Yadav, without mention of any action against
the masterminds of the riots. The news portal thebihar.com had
reported on April, 13, 2010 that: "The only thing the Nitish Kumar
government could do is to get Kameshwar Yadav, a local goon, arrested
and jailed. However, the big fish in the Bhagalpur riots are still
free…" [http://www.thebihar.com/bihar-news/five-commissions-crores-of-rupees-no-result/].
In another related judgment fourteen persons were convicted of rioting
and murdering Muslims at Sabour near Bhagalpur. Of these fourteen
persons twelve were reported to be belonging to the lower-caste
kushwaha community. The same news portal had reported on September 2,
2010 about the award of rigorous imprisonment for attack on a police
party during the days of Bhagalpur riots. The news report has
reproduced the names of all the ten accused and all of them are OBCs
[http://www.thebihar.com/bihar-news/10-sentenced-to-ri-in-bhagalpur-riot-case/].
There is remarkable consistency in these cases where the masterminds
of violence against minorities are never brought to justice and it is
only the lower-caste foot soldiers from the majority community that
are routinely axed. Neither Laloo Yadav nor Nitish Kumar could muster
courage to lay their hands on the masterminds of the riots. The dalits
and OBCs are selectively punished in symbolic actions to appease the
hurt feelings of the Muslims and ultimately to get their votes.
Moreover, this selective handpicking of the accused belonging to the
dalit-OBC sections for punishment also symbolically subverts the
attempts of horizontal consolidation of lower castes across religious
affiliations. This becomes an important dimension as since the
inauguration of Pasmanda Movement in the post-Mandal phase the
attempts of lower castes to make inter-religious horizontal unity has
gathered momentum.

The Silence of Pasmanda Politicians

Lastly, the reluctance of Pasmanda political leaders in different
political parties to come out openly against the killing of their
brothers and sisters in Forbesganj throws up another crisis of Indian
politics (though a few pasmanda figures like Noor Hasan Azad, Dawood
Ansari, Hishamuddin Ansari and Mohd. Hasnain did visit the spot and
spoke against it openly). The political line of respective parties
which is nothing but the dictate of the party boss has a stifling
effect upon the leaders of subaltern groups. The politicians belonging
to subaltern groups prefer to show their allegiance to their party
boss rather than to their caste or community in whose name they get
the political opportunities in the first place. Even where the party
bosses themselves belong to subordinated groups they prefer not to
rake up radical issues and generally align with the status quo. For
example, the main opposition party of Bihar, Laloo Yadav led RJD, is
still not recognizing the victims of Forbesganj violence as belonging
to the lower caste pasmanda muslim group. They are still comfortable
in playing the old minority card and do not wish to subvert the Muslim
monolith. While the pasmanda are claiming that they are primarily
Bahujan, the RJD and other secular parties are still pushing them into
the quagmire of Muslim politics and learning nothing from the debacle
of 2005 and 2010 in Bihar. The RJD is still under the impression that
the Pasmanda movement is at the best an aberration and that majority
of Pasmanda populations are still under the influence of religious
Muslim leaders. In time it is hoped that with the increasing
sedimentation of the pasmanda discourse they will be forced to do a
reality check once again.

[The authors can be reached at ashokyadav2007@gmail.com and
khalidanisansari@gmail.com]


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[ZESTCaste] Priest elopes with minor, arrested

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Priest-elopes-with-minor-arrested/Article1-715755.aspx

Priest elopes with minor, arrested
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Muzaffarnagar, June 30, 2011

A priest in Baghpat district was arrested and booked for rape on
Thursday for allegedly eloping with a 17-year-old Dalit girl. A court
for trying cases on atrocities on scheduled castes and tribes has
remanded the priest in judicial custody. The date for the next hearing
has not been
fixed. Station house officer CP Kathoria said charges of rape were
lodged against the priest.

The girl has been sent to her family for a medical check-up.

About eight months ago, a woman contacted the priest to correct some
"defect" (mangali dosh) in the horoscope of the girl, who is her
brother's daughter. The priest assured the family he'd perform a
religious remedy for the girl.

On the pretext of 'puja', the priest started enticing the girl and
about seven months ago, he eloped with her. The girl's father then
registered an FIR against the priest. Subsequently the police were
able to trace the priest and the girl in Gurgaon.


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[ZESTCaste] Much married groom handed over to police

 

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/much-married-groom-handed-over-to-police/743377.html

Much married groom handed over to police
PTI | 06:06 PM,Jun 30,2011

Kochi, June 30 (PTI): A man, who almost took a Dalit woman for a ride
by trying to enter into wedlock after dating her for three years, was
handed over to police after the bride's relatives learnt he was
already a married man with two children. Forty-year-old Sajiv, a
medical repersentative, had come to the marriage mandap at nearby
Chottanikara dressed as a groom yesterday. But to his ill luck, a
close relative of the bride recognised her neighbour, who was earlier
staying near her house with his wife and two kids. She immediately
informed the others, following which he was handed over to police. The
man had come alone for the marriage saying his mother was against the
match as it was an inter-caste wedding. Police, who have registered a
case against him under Sect 420 (cheating) and 34 IPC, said he was
produced before a court and remanded to Muvattupuzha sub jail. More
sections could be added as the accused had knowingly tried to cheat
the Dalit girl. The man is presently living with another woman.

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[ZESTCaste] “Melavalavu massacre, a milestone for Dalit movement”

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article2147849.ece

MADURAI, June 30, 2011
"Melavalavu massacre, a milestone for Dalit movement"
Staff Reporter

The gruesome murder of six Dalits in broad daylight was a scar on the
history of oppressed classes in Tamil Nadu. It was carried out at a
time when the Dalits had been welcoming local self governance that
provided them space for empowerment at the grassroots, said
Thol.Thirumavalavan, MP, and president, Vidhuthalai Chiruthaigal
Katchi.

Addressing the cadres who had gathered in thousands at Melavalavu near
Melur in Madurai district on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of
'Melavalavu Massacre' on Thursday, he said that the sacrifice made by
Murugesan and other Dalits in the face of various atrocities were
important for the Dalit movement as they were made to claim lost
rights. They lost their lives in the battle to uphold basic democratic
and political rights and give shape to the dreams of Dr. Ambedkar. "We
take oath here every year to ensure that we are on the track to
organise the oppressed and fight for their political rights."

"Our everyday life is to toil for others; work for the economic uplift
of others; announce death; dig up graves etc since none is there to
voice our concerns. Leaders talk about French Revolution and Russian
Revolution. There are people who speak about animal rights but none to
speak for Dalits. And it was Dr.Ambedkar who gave face for these
faceless people," he said.

Mr. Thirumavalavan said that they should thank late Chief Minister M.
G. Ramachandran for doing away with Village Karnam/Munsiff posts and
bringing in the post of Village Administrative Officer. It changed the
power equations in the village and provided a chance for landless
Dalits to become VAOs.

Panchayati Raj system gave Dalits a chance to share power at the
grassroots and this shook the foundation of power which was always
with the dominant castes.

At Melavalavu, unmindful of threats from the dominant castes,
Murugesan contested the election with the support of VCK and won. But
he was murdered along with five others while travelling in a bus.

The VCK leader also remembered the sacrifice of two Dalits at
Sennagarampatti who died fighting for land rights.
Demands

He wanted the government to stop giving freebies and instead provide
free education. Education stood as the most commoditised service and
it should be made free. The government should close all TASMAC-run
liquor shops as drinking habit was affecting working classes,
especially the Dalits.

Earlier he paid floral tributes at the 'Viduthalai Kalam' memorial,
gave dress materials to members of the families of victims, christened
a dozen babies in chaste Tamil names and conducted an anti-caste
marriage.

He also said that the party would start a television channel and have
its new headquarters in Chennai.

Cadres of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), led by A,. Lazar and
R. Annadurai, MLAs, and members of Tamil Nadu Untouchability
Eradication Front, including K. Samuel Raj, general secretary, paid
tributes at the memorial.


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[ZESTCaste] SC Coordination Committee Holds State Conference

http://pd.cpim.org/2011/0703_pd/07032011_13.html

July 03, 2011


TRIPURA


SC Coordination Committee Holds State Conference

Rahul Sinha


DEFENDING the Left Front government of Tripura in order to safeguard
the democratic rights of the people in general and of the scheduled
caste and dalit people in particular, was the central call that
emerged out of the seventh conference of the Tripura Tapasili Jati
Samanwaya Samiti (Tripura Scheduled Caste Coordination Committee) held
at Agartala from June 25 to 27.

The conference took place at the Panchayati Raj Training Institute of
Arundhatinagar in Agartala. The venue of the conference was named
after Comrade Baidyanath Majumdar, one of the stalwarts of the Left
and democratic movement in the state.

IMPRESSIVE

OPENING RALLY

The conference got off the mark with an impressive mass meeting at
Sarvadharma mission ground in Arundhatinagar. Braving the scorching
heat and intermittent showers, thousands of working people, including
a large number of youth and women, attended the mass meeting that was
presided over by Anil Sarkar.

Addressing the mass meeting, Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar came
down heavily on the Congress led UPA-2 government at the centre. The
latter, he said, has added insult to injury by increasing the prices
of diesel, kerosene oil and LPG at a time when the people of this
country are already suffering from unabated rises in the prices of
essential commodities. He said the impact of this hike in the prices
of petro products would not be confined to the these products alone;
rather its cascading effect would be felt on the passenger fares as
well as freight charges, leading to a further rise in the prices of
essential commodities. Such a hike has been unprecedented since
independence, Manik Sarkar said, adding that the policies of this
government are directed towards protecting the interests of black
marketers and hoarders. Never has the country witnessed in the past
such all encompassing corruption and plunder of the wealth belonging
to the masses, he said.

Sarkar also came down heavily on the opposition BJP, saying it never
speaks for the people but is rather busy in misleading the people.
Attempts are on to create a situation of anarchy. He urged upon the
mass of people to build up a united struggle against the policies of
the centre which are harming the vital interests of the poor, toiling
and backward sections of the people. He also urged the people of
Tripura defeat all the attempts at creating anarchy in the state.

Sukumar Barman (general secretary of the organisation), Sudhan Das
(general secretary, Tripura Fishermen's Union), Jharna Das Baidya
(member of parliament) and other leaders of the association also
addressed the meeting. CPI(M) state committee secretary Bijan Dhar and
CPI(M) Central Committee member Rama Das were also present.

In his presidential address, Anil Sarkar elaborated the steps taken by
the Left Front government for the development of the scheduled castes.
He said the democratic minded people of the state must intensify their
struggle against the conspiracies to unseat the Left Front government.

Before the mass meeting started, Anil Sarkar hoisted the red flag of
the organisation amidst slogans in memory of the martyrs.

DELEGATES

SESSION

The delegates session of the conference got under way on June 25
evening, with 518 delegates including 66 women from different parts of
the state taking part in it.

CPI(M) state secretary Bijan Dhar inaugurated the session. Explaining
the national political situation for the delegates, Dhar said the Left
is under a particularly severe attack from the ruling class and all
reactionary forces for the last the years. The natural resources of
the country are being plundered. The corporates are capturing the
national wealth. People's money is being looted by a nexus of the
corrupt big corporates, politicians and bureaucrats. The Congress led
central government is not willing to give any relief to the people who
are suffering from the rising prices of essential commodities. The
agrarian crisis has become all the more acute, with farmers' suicides
going on unabatedly. It is the Left parties alone who are organising
the people against this situation. So it is quite natural that they
are the target of corporate onslaughts. The continued attacks ---
killing of 19 CPI(M) cadre, capture of more than 550 party offices in
West Bengal etc --- are parts of the heinous attempts to strangulate
democracy itself. Attempts are on to undo the political and
socio-economic advances that have been made in favour of the scheduled
castes, tribes and other poor during the 34 years of Left Front
government in West Bengal. Dhar said a conspiracy is afoot in Tripura
too to destabilise the atmosphere of peace, development and democracy
here. We have to consolidate our strength, win new sections over and
make them politically conscious in order to resist the anti-Left
attacks.

Sukumar Barman placed the draft political-organisational report in the
conference. The report attacked the neo-liberal policies of the
Congress led UPA government at the centre for the unabated rise in the
prices of essential commodities and the unprecedented corruption in
the country. Referring to the pathetic situation facing the dalit
mass, the report said the SCs constitute 17 per cent of India's
population but 85.25 per cent of them are landless. Incidents of
brutality and social oppressions are perpetrated against them, day in
and day out, in different Congress and BJP ruled states. The report
stressed that it is the Left alone which is fighting for social
justice for the dalits, and detailed the efforts of the Left Front
government of Tripura for their development. It urged upon the masses
to build up a massive, intensified and sustained class based movement
to usher into a classless society which alone can ensure social
justice for dalit masses, doing away with the present oppressive class
and caste based structure of society. At the same time it asked the
dalit masses in particular and people of the state in general to
protect the Left Front government against the attempts to unseat it by
anarchy and misinformation campaign of the opposition and to ensure a
stable atmosphere of peace, development and democracy in the state.

A total of 46 delegates participated in the discussion on the report.
The delegates mentioned the efforts of the Left Front government of
the state for the benefit of the dalits. They were vocal against the
anti-poor policies of the central government. They criticised the
heinous attempts of the opposition to unseat the Left Front government
by creating an atmosphere of terror and vowed to build up resistance
against them.

Leaders of constituent organisations of the Coordination Committee,
like Sudhan Das, Sunirmal Hrishidas, Ratan Dhanuk and Priyatosh Das,
also addressed the delegate session.

On the second day of the conference, chief minister Manik Sarkar
addressed the delegates. He said the oppressors use the caste system
as a ploy to create division among the people to continue their system
of exploitation. Since long the Congress party has been representing
the class interest of the monopoly capital, landlords and Jotdars. No
matter how tall it talks of protecting the interests of the dalits and
other poor, it is difficult to believe them. Despite their attempts
to perpetuate the exploitation of lower and downtrodden sections, the
ruling classes are unsure of sustaining this exploitative system. So
they are trying to ensure that no force emerges so strong as to
destroy this system. In areas where the Left and democratic forces are
not strong enough, a section of dalit leaders is helping to weaken the
class movement. A large section of the media and a section of the
intelligentsia are working overtime for them. The Left bastion of West
Bengal has been playing a vital role in fighting the class
exploitation, uniting the people against the centre's anti-people
policies and for alternative policies. So it is natural that those
representing vested interests are elated at the electoral defeat of
the Left Front in West Bengal. He said in Tripura too, the Congress is
overjoyed at this electoral result and is dreaming of pulling down the
Left Front government here too. But the toiling, democratic minded
people of the state are determined to protect this government.

CPI(M) Central Committee member Rama Das, AIDWA state secretary
Krishna Rakshit, DYFI state secretary Amal Chakraborty and Narayan Deb
(AIKS) greeted the conference. In his concluding speech on behalf of
the presidium, Anil Sarkar said the Left led governments have always
been steady allies in the downtrodden people's struggles. The debacle
of the Left in other states has to be turned around into a victory
there.

NEW

COMMITTEE

The conference unanimously elected a new state committee with 129
members, including 45 new faces. Anil Sarkar and Sukumar Barman were
re-elected president and general secretary respectively. A new
29-member secretariat was also elected.

The conference adopted the draft polorg report, a 21 point charter of
demands and 7 resolutions. The resolutions were on the attacks on the
Left and democratic movement in West Bengal, on the social-political
and economic atrocities against dalits all over the country, on the
callous attitude of the centre to price rises, on a universal public
distribution system and food security, on immediate passage of the
Women's Reservation Bill, on the deprivation meted out to Tripura by
the 13th Finance Commission and on the conspiracies to unseat the Left
Front government etc.


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[ZESTCaste] DU employee was main link between kingpin, SC/ST Cell

http://www.hindustantimes.com/DU-employee-was-main-link-between-kingpin-SC-ST-Cell/Article1-715849.aspx

DU employee was main link between kingpin, SC/ST Cell
Faizan Haider, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, July 01, 2011

Sanjeet Mahajan, an employee of the SC/ST Cell of Delhi University who
was arrested for his involvement in the fake certificate scam, was in
constant touch with Himanshu Gupta, kingpin of the racket. Police
sources said Mahajan had bought two phones for this admission season
and shared over 300 cal
ls with Gupta in the past two months.

"Mahajan used to keep three phones, two for calling Gupta and one for
sending text messages. The duo used to chat regularly and Mahajan used
to give him information on the admission process," said a senior
police officer. Mahajan has now emerged as the main link between the
university staff and Gupta. He facilitated all admissions (taken on
fake certificates) this season, the officer added.

While his name emerged during Gupta's interrogation, the call details
of Gupta also raised suspicion about Mahajan.

"Gupta was dependent on him as he was the one who used to get the
admissions cleared. Mahajan even issued provisional admissions slips,
which in the normal course are given to students by the SC/ST cell,"
the officer added.
Sources said Gupta was not very keen on meeting students and did most
of the work through email.

"Gupta used to contact students through email. In case he required any
documents, he would ask the student to send it through email," the
officer added. Police said the SC/ST cell has three centres in east,
north and south campus and Mahajan used to sit at Shyam Lal College in
east Delhi. "Most of the forms were submitted there only," officer
added.


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[ZESTCaste] '90% suicides in IITs are of SC/ST students’

 

http://churumuri.wordpress.com/2007/05/18/90-suicides-in-iits-are-of-scst-students/

'90% suicides in IITs are of SC/ST students'

By churumuri

On a CNBC discussion last night, while talking of Arjun Singh's relentless efforts to push in the 27 per cent reservation quota for OBCs, seemingly unmindful of the consequences, the economist and journalist Prem Shankar Jha stopped the anchor Karan Thapar from interrupting him and made an astounding claim:

"The majority of those who commit suicide in the IITs are those belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes."

Over the phone this morning, Jha confirmed saying that. He said a friend in the IIT had put the figure close to 90 per cent. In other words, nine out of every ten students who have ended their lives in the Indian Institutes of Technology are SCs and STs.

Truth to tell, it is not as if students are killing themselves in the IITs by the drove. Still, a death is a death. Statistically speaking, if even a single student commits suicide and he belongs to the SCs/STs, it will go down as 100 per cent.

Can Jha's claim be true? Is there any solid research to prove this number? And if it's true, has anyone tried to find out why it is happening and how further suicides can be prevented?

"There's so much pressure put on the SC/ST students that they can't cope. You're throwing them in the same water and expecting them to compete. In a place where the average IQ is said to be in the range of 140, it places enormous pressure on those who can't measure up.

"We make bad policy [like extended reservations] but don't think about the net result of it. For instance, I would be interested to know how many SCs and STs, who have graduated from the IITs, have gone on to higher educational institutions like MIT."


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[ZESTCaste] Times Impact: IIT-Delhi 'self-enrichment' programme open to all

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Times-Impact-IIT-Delhi-self-enrichment-programme-open-to-all/articleshow/9057916.cms

Times Impact: IIT-Delhi 'self-enrichment' programme open to all
Hemali Chhapia, TNN | Jul 1, 2011, 03.04am IST

MUMBAI: The Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi has opened its doors
wider: all students wanting to take up the week-long self-enrichment
programme can do so now. It was earlier meant only for SC/ST
candidates.

TOI had reported about the course in its Thursdays edition. But
various experts were anguished that IIT-Delhi was running the
programme only for SC/ST students and termed the grooming course as
smacking of apartheid and causing segregation on campus. Reacting
promptly, the tech school changed its stand; it will now allow all
students to take the course. The co-ed programme, which will run from
July 10 to July 17, is made up of modules on communication,
personality development and theatre for communication.

"(All) JEE selected students who are planning to join IIT-Delhi are
encouraged to register for the special Self-Enrichment Programme
starting July 9. The programme is open for limited registration for up
to 200 students and preference will be given to SC/ST and other
students from economically weaker background," read a fresh note put
out by IIT-Delhi on Thursday.

The residential programme is conducted by the Centre for Research and
Education for Social Transformation, Kerala . It will enable students
to improve communication skills, better time management and public
expression as well as build self-confidence, says the note put up by
the institute.

Ashley Paul, a course co-ordinator, says, "Most of these students
don't have the social capital; they come from rural parts of India.
The course leaves them a lot more certain than when they walked in."

From classes in communication to touching on aspects of personality
development, Paul says the course is meant to help students shed their
inhibitions and come out of their shell.

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[ZESTCaste] IIT-Delhi CREST workshop not restricted to SC, ST students anymore

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/IIT-Delhi-CREST-workshop-not-restricted-to-SC--ST-students-anymore/811223/

IIT-Delhi CREST workshop not restricted to SC, ST students anymore

Express News Service Posted online: Fri Jul 01 2011, 02:06 hrs
New Delhi : IIT DELHI has reworded the notice for its 10-day
"self-enrichment course" for students from marginalised backgrounds,
on its Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) website. From inviting just
SC/ST students enrolled into B Tech programmes for the new academic
session, the course will now be open for all students.

However, institute Deputy Director M Balakrishnan said preference
would still be given to SC/ST students.

The 10-day workshop, which will be organised by the Centre for
Research and Education for Social Transformation (CREST), will
commence from July 10 for a maximum of 200 students. "This will be the
second year of the workshop. Last year, around 150 students attended
our programme. We will open a registration system this year, clearly
stating that it will be on a first-cum-first-serve basis for a cap of
200 candidates," said Professor Balakrishnan of CREST, which is an
autonomous institute under the Kerala government.

Mounav Das, a second-year B Tech student from IIT Delhi who had
attended the course last year, told Newsline: "The students knew it
was a confidence-building measure for reserved category students. It
was a very positive experience because we were told how to deal with
specific situations, and it helped build our confidence."

A former student of Delhi Public School-Dhaligaon in Assam, Das said
the course was designed to help students "develop their personality".

"Most of my batchmates from the general category also knew about the
course. There was nothing discriminatory about it. I thought it was a
brilliant experience," he said.

Explaining the philosophy behind such a workshop, Dr Balakrishnan
said, "In 2009, the Bangalore-based National Institute of Applied
Sciences conducted a meeting for all IITs, where CREST made a
presentation. Their course — which we adopted last year — provides for
confidence-building measures to help students shed their inhibitions
and come out of their shells."

Balakrishnan said that on an average, the SC/ST students who attended
last year's programme managed to clear one course more than those who
did not. Of the 240 SC/ST candidates admitted last year, 100 had
attended the course. Quoting the Supreme Court verdict in a 2009 case,
he said institutions have been directed to provide special facilities
for the betterment of students from socially and economically backward
classes.

Professor D D Nampoothiri, executive director of CREST, said the
course was modelled on the lines of a course developed by the
University of Michigan, and had three components.

"The first part deals with developing communication skills, so
students are able to articulate themselves freely. The second segment
of the course helps students develop their academic writing skills,
and the final part deals with theatre workshops. Last year, we had
trainers coming from the National School of Drama for this component."


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[ZESTCaste] Two employees of DU SC/ST Cell held

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/article2149367.ece

NEW DELHI, July 1, 2011
Two employees of DU SC/ST Cell held
Staff Reporter

Two employees of the SC/ST Cell of Delhi University have been arrested
by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police for alleged involvement in
admission of students to prestigious colleges on forged caste
certificates supplied by a gang.

Upper division clerk Sanjeet Mahajan and office assistant Neeraj
Sharma were arrested after the Crime Branch found that they had
assisted the main accused Himanshu Gupta in enticing the candidates
and getting them admitted to the colleges. Himanshu was arrested
earlier along with his accomplice Vikas and Ketan Gupta, a data entry
operator at the Mehrauli Tehsildar's office.

Investigations revealed that Sanjeet, who was posted along with Neeraj
at the East Delhi unit of the SC/ST Cell, was in regular touch with
Himanshu through mobile phone. The accused would allow Himanshu to
insert documents in the files of his candidates. The duo would
allegedly hand over the provisional admission slips of the students to
Himanshu instead, on the basis of which he would bargain with their
parents for more money. Sanjeet would also inform the gang about the
cut-off percentage.

The police said Sanjeet was paid Rs.12,000 and Neeraj Rs.5,000 for the
job. Himanshu allegedly took Rs.3 lakh to Rs.5 lakh from each
candidate to secure their admissions on fake caste certificates. He
demanded the money only after the students would start attending
classes. The gang had supplied the certificates to nearly 40 students
since 2008.

"Raids are being mounted to arrest one Satish, who worked at the
Ghaziabad Tehsildar's office on contract basis and had allegedly
prepared caste certificates for Himanshu," said a police officer.


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Re: [ZESTCaste] Caste census takes off

 

is the case census breaking by sub castes and caste and religion matrix?

frankly measures to capture bpl are set too low. the nfhs data on standard of living places figures on poverty as per this measure much higher. if one takes malnutrition or anaemia it is even  higher. whom is the govt. fooling.     

when are we going to have land, house (kind of house), livestock (kind of livestock), access to common prop resources, bank balance, post office account balance,. share ownership, vehicle onwerhsip, toilet ownership and other asset ownership by caste/sub caste and caste/religion? too much of tv, free rice, marriage assistance in the form of gold and none of the above leads to huge problems. 

 i know agric. census gives some data but it puts all dalits under one category. does this census include all the above resources

ranjani

--- On Thu, 30/6/11, Siddhartha Kumar <mailsiddhartha.k@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Siddhartha Kumar <mailsiddhartha.k@gmail.com>
Subject: [ZESTCaste] Caste census takes off
To: "zestcaste" <zestcaste@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Thursday, 30 June, 2011, 10:18 AM

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110630/jsp/northeast/story_14176292.jsp

Caste census takes off
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Agartala, June 29:

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