Thursday, December 31, 2009

[ZESTCaste] Happy New Year 2010

 

To all FFEI donors, friends, and well-wishers

 

Happy,

Prosperous,

Meaningful,

and

Purposeful 

New Year

2010

FFEI is grateful for the help it receives from each of you. We exist because of you. Thank You.

 

 Benjamin Paul Kaila

(on behalf of everyone at FFEI)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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] The Day We Defeated Brahminism - The Battle of Bhima Koregaon: 1st January, 1818

 

The Day We Defeated Brahminism

The Battle of Bhima Koregaon: 1st January, 1818

By Pardeep Singh Attri

"If we wish to be free, we must fight. Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? I know not what course others may take; but asY for me, give me liberty or give me death." – Patrick Henry (March, 1775)

bhima-koregaon1

Bhima Koregaon Pillar: Honouring the Bravery of Untouchable Soldiers

History of India is nothing but the struggle between untouchables and so called upper castes. However the Indian historians have always misled us by not showing the true face of Indian History.

The glorious victory of few hundred untouchable soldiers over numerically superior Peshwa's army in the battle of Koregaon, fought on 1st January, 1818, is one such chapter in Indian history whose significance has been carefully hidden.

On that day, when many were busy celebrating the new year, a small force of 500 mahar (an untouchable caste in Maharashtra) soldiers in the British army were preparing for a war against the most brutal Indian state of that times – Brahmin Peshwa rulers of Pune, Maharashtra.

In the history books, this battle is considered an important one and is known as second Anglo-Maratha war that resulted in the total destruction of Peshwa kingdom and sealed the victory of British Empire in India. However, there is a different historical dimension to this war that all of us need to be aware of. Read more… »


read the complete post at www.blog.insightyv.com 

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[ZESTCaste] 60 years of constitution of india

 

60 years of the Constitution of India
By 26th November 2009, the Constitution of India has completed 60 years of its functioning. The Constitution of India as drafted and presented by the Chief Architect of the Constitution                      Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949 and certain articles came into force on the day and whole of the Constitution came into force with effect from 26th January 1950, on which date, India became a republic.
On the eve of completion of sixty years of its functioning, it is imperative to have an appraisal of the Constitution, since it is not only an administrative index or compilation of instructions relating to the governance of the country, but, primarily, it holds out certain promises to the citizens, assured certain guarantees, conferred certain fundamental rights to them, with a protection of the various High Courts and the Supreme Court. it is now, the time to assess how far the Constitution fulfilled its promises and protected the rights guaranteed.
The important feature of the Constitution is its promise of Justice- Social, Economic and Political; Equality of Status and of Opportunity; Liberty and Fraternity. The Constitution is more essential for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other poorer sections of the society, because, it promised equality and equal opportunity, to which these communities were denied for centuries. In addition to this the constitution through Directive Principles issued instructions to the government to establish a Welfare State, where there is no social, economic exploitation and oppression.
It has directed the government to take care of health and education of the children and particularly of women and aged. It has also cautioned that the natural recourses and wealth of the nation is not concentrated in the hands of a few people, but should be made available to all, to better their conditions of life. Therefore, it is necessary to assess, what happened to its promises and its guarantees.
In this context, it is trite to remind ourselves, the question posed by the then president of India Sri K R Narayanan, on the eve of the Golden Jubilee of the Constitution of India, "whether the Constitution failed? Or We failed the Constitution?"
On this occasion let us also remind ourselves the caution held out by Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, on the day of adoption of the Constitution that: "On the 26 th January 1950 we are going to enter into a life of contradictions … we must remove this contradictions at the earliest possible moment or else, those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of the political democracy which this assembly has so laboriously built-up".
Facts after sixty years reveal that the contradictions are widening. Then, why, those who suffer from inequality do not blow up the structures of the political democracy? This question is also to be addressed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Drafted by- Bojja Tharakam, Senior Advocate, High court AP, state president Republican Party of India, and Chairmen of   Celebrations committee on 60 Years of Indian constitution
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Celebrations committee on 60 Years of Indian constitution was formed with the collaboration of 20 Dalit organizations in the state of Andhra Pradesh to launch a state wide campaign on 60 years of constitution of constitution of India to analyse its functioning, to have an appraisal of the Constitution
The committee held its first meeting on 26/11/2009 in Hyderabad Press Club, Chief Guest, Justice K.Ramaswamy (former judge supreme court of India), Honorable Guests V.S Ramadevi (former Governor Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh states) and S.R Shankaran (former secretary of Tripura state) and the meeting presided over by Bojja Tharakam, Senior Advocate, High court AP, state president Republican Party of India, and Chairmen of   Celebrations committee on 60 Years of Indian constitution
The member organizations are 1) National Dalit Forum 2)AP SC welfare society 3) Confederation of Sc ST Organizations 4)Dalitha Sthree Shakthi 5) AP ST Employees union, 6) APSEB SS ST Employees union 7) AP SC rights protection society 8) Dalitha Bahujana Front 9) Sakshi Human Rights Watch 10) Peoples Monitoring Committee 11) WAASSAN (Bhoomi Kendram) 12) APVVU 13) HRLN 14) All India Samatha sainik dal 15)AP Dalitha Bahujana workers union 16) All Indian SC ST Bank Employees Union 17) All India Defense SC ST Employees union 18) AP Grameena Bank SC ST Employees union 19) AP Buddhist Trust 20) Republican Party of India
The Member organizations are organizing meetings all over the state starting from 26/11/2009, and the state level final meeting will be held on constitution day on 26/01/2010 in Hyderabad
 
With Jaibheem
- Karthik Navayan
Programme Officer
National Dalit Forum
www.nationaldalitforum.org

--
B.Karthik Navayan,
Advocate,
H.No. 21-7-761,
Opp.High Court Post Office,
Gansi Bazar, Hyderabad,
PIN-500002, AP.
Cell:09346677007,Email:navayan@gmail.com
http://sites.google.com/site/karthiknavayan/home
http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile.aspx?uid=10379805095932756525

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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

[ZESTCaste] Sate wide Compaign on 60 years of the Constitution of India - Celebrations committee on 60 Years of Indian constitution

 

60 years of the Constitution of India 

By 26th November 2009, the Constitution of India has completed 60 years of its functioning. The Constitution of India as drafted and presented by the Chief Architect of the Constitution                      Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949 and certain articles came into force on the day and whole of the Constitution came into force with effect from 26th January 1950, on which date, India became a republic.

On the eve of completion of sixty years of its functioning, it is imperative to have an appraisal of the Constitution, since it is not only an administrative index or compilation of instructions relating to the governance of the country, but, primarily, it holds out certain promises to the citizens, assured certain guarantees, conferred certain fundamental rights to them, with a protection of the various High Courts and the Supreme Court. it is now, the time to assess how far the Constitution fulfilled its promises and protected the rights guaranteed.

The important feature of the Constitution is its promise of Justice- Social, Economic and Political; Equality of Status and of Opportunity; Liberty and Fraternity. The Constitution is more essential for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other poorer sections of the society, because, it promised equality and equal opportunity, to which these communities were denied for centuries. In addition to this the constitution through Directive Principles issued instructions to the government to establish a Welfare State, where there is no social, economic exploitation and oppression.

It has directed the government to take care of health and education of the children and particularly of women and aged. It has also cautioned that the natural recourses and wealth of the nation is not concentrated in the hands of a few people, but should be made available to all, to better their conditions of life. Therefore, it is necessary to assess, what happened to its promises and its guarantees.

In this context, it is trite to remind ourselves, the question posed by the then president of India Sri K R Narayanan, on the eve of the Golden Jubilee of the Constitution of India, "whether the Constitution failed? Or We failed the Constitution?"

On this occasion let us also remind ourselves the caution held out by Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, on the day of adoption of the Constitution that: "On the 26 th January 1950 we are going to enter into a life of contradictions … we must remove this contradictions at the earliest possible moment or else, those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of the political democracy which this assembly has so laboriously built-up".

Facts after sixty years reveal that the contradictions are widening. Then, why, those who suffer from inequality do not blow up the structures of the political democracy? This question is also to be addressed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Drafted by- Bojja Tharakam, Senior Advocate, High court AP, state president Republican Party of India, and Chairmen of   Celebrations committee on 60 Years of Indian constitution
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Celebrations committee on 60 Years of Indian constitution was formed with the collaboration of 20 Dalit organizations in the state of Andhra Pradesh to launch a state wide campaign on 60 years of constitution of constitution of India to analyse its functioning, to have an appraisal of the Constitution

The committee held its first meeting on 26/11/2009 in Hyderabad Press Club, Chief Guest, Justice K.Ramaswamy (former judge supreme court of India), Honorable Guests V.S Ramadevi (former Governor Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh states) and S.R Shankaran (former secretary of Tripura state) and the meeting presided over by Bojja Tharakam, Senior Advocate, High court AP, state president Republican Party of India, and Chairmen of   Celebrations committee on 60 Years of Indian constitution

The member organizations are 1) National Dalit Forum 2)AP SC welfare society 3) Confederation of Sc ST Organizations 4)Dalitha Sthree Shakthi 5) AP ST Employees union, 6) APSEB SS ST Employees union 7) AP SC rights protection society 8) Dalitha Bahujana Front 9) Sakshi Human Rights Watch 10) Peoples Monitoring Committee 11) WAASSAN (Bhoomi Kendram) 12) APVVU 13) HRLN 14) All India Samatha sainik dal 15)AP Dalitha Bahujana workers union 16) All Indian SC ST Bank Employees Union 17) All India Defense SC ST Employees union 18) AP Grameena Bank SC ST Employees union 19) AP Buddhist Trust 20) Republican Party of India

The Member organizations are organizing meetings all over the state starting from 26/11/2009, and the state level final meeting will be held on constitution day on 26/01/2010 in Hyderabad

 

With Jaibheem

- Karthik Navayan

Programme Officer

National Dalit Forum

www.nationaldalitforum.org






--
B.Karthik Navayan,
Advocate,
H.No. 21-7-761,
Opp.High Court Post Office,
Gansi Bazar, Hyderabad,
PIN-500002, AP.
Cell:09346677007,Email:navayan@gmail.com
http://sites.google.com/site/karthiknavayan/home
http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile.aspx?uid=10379805095932756525

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[ZESTCaste] Paswan for reservation for economically-backward

 

http://www.ptinews.com/news/446189_Paswan-for-reservation-for-economically-backward

Paswan for reservation for economically-backward

STAFF WRITER 16:50 HRS IST
Patna, Dec 30 (PTI) Lok Janshakti Party supremo Ramvilas Paswan today
called for ensuring reservation for 'economically-backward' people
among the upper castes.

"We stick to the demand for ensuring reservation for the
economically-backward among upper castes in jobs," Paswan told
reporters, while ridiculing Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's announcement
that his government would give either three decimal of land or Rs
20,000 in cash to each dalit family.

"We will like Kumar to publish a list of the dalits, who have received
benefits under the scheme," he said.

The LJP supremo also said that his party would ensure reservation for
economically-backward among upper castes and provide one bigha of land
for each dalit family, if voted to power in the 2010 assembly polls.

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[ZESTCaste] Scholarships for SC, ST students to be delayed

 

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Scholarships+for+SC,+ST+students+to+be+delayed&artid=Pgs1jitSigA=&SectionID=e7uPP4%7CpSiw=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EH8HilNJ2uYAot5nzqumeA==&SEO=

By Express News Service
30 Dec 2009 03:21:00 AM IST

Scholarships for SC, ST students to be delayed

HYDERABAD: Sanctioning of scholarships and rebursing the fees of SC,
ST, BC and EBC students, numbering about 9.8 lakh, for the current
academic year is likely to be delayed.
Officials could not complete verification of applications, including
those for renewal, in view of the fact that many colleges in the State
have been closed for the past one month due to agitations.
Speaking to mediapersons here today, Social Welfare Minister P Subash
Chandra Bose said that the verification of applications was held up
due to closure of colleges following agitations for and against
separate Telangana.
However, the officials are learnt to have been preparing plans to
complete the verification process before the conclusion of the current
academic year at the earliest. About Rs 920 crore has already been
sanctioned which will be released to 7.3 lakh students for renewal of
scholarships.
For the academic year of 2008-09, the government received 24.19 lakh
applications online for scholarships covering students belonging to
SC, ST, BC and EBC sections. Of these, 10.6 lakh applications are for
renewals while 13.3 lakh students are fresh applicants. Fee
reimbursement for all renewal applications of students will be
completed by January 15. The government would initiate the process of
fee reimbursement and scholarships to fresh applicants after January
15, Bose said.

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[ZESTCaste] After bumps, Maya recasts b’day: fund drive out, welfare in

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/After-bumps--Maya-recasts-b-day--fund-drive-out--welfare-in/561271


After bumps, Maya recasts b'day: fund drive out, welfare in

Express news service Posted online: Wednesday, Dec 30, 2009 at 0327 hrs
Lucknow : Having faced a lot of flak for fund collection on her
birthday, which falls on January 15, UP Chief Minister Mayawati on
Tuesday asked BSP functionaries to henceforth observe it as Jan
Kalyankari Diwas and organise welfare activities for the poor, widows
and the physically challenged on the day.
Earlier, the day used to be observed as Arthik Sahyog Diwas with party
functionaries being given targets for fund

collection.

Last year, M K Gupta, a PWD engineer at Auraiya, was killed when he
allegedly failed to meet local BSP MLA Shekhar Tiwari's demand for
funds for Mayawati's birthday.

Among the other accused in the case are MLA's wife Vibha, who was
president of the local civic body, and Yogrendra Dohrem, the then
district BSP president.

In a meeting with party's top functionaries, including coordinators
from various states and zonal coordinators from UP, Mayawati
reportedly apprised them of the decision for her 54th birthday
celebrations.

The UP CM is also said to have tried to distance herself from the
practice of fund collection on her birthday, saying it started during
the days of BSP founder Kanshi Ram.She accused the Congress, BJP and
other parties for politicising the tradition of observing her birthday
as Arthik Sahyog Diwas, a party leader said.

Mayawati asked her party functionaries to launch a membership drive
next month. "The membership drive is only for party functionaries; we
will get detailed directions in this regard," said a party's state
coordinator.


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[ZESTCaste] Dalits attacked for touching ‘ceremonial umbrella’; Caste Hindus claim they had “defiled” it

http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/30/stories/2009123051250400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Dalits attacked for touching 'ceremonial umbrella'

Staff Reporter

Caste Hindus claim they had "defiled" it

Group armed with sticks and weapons is said to have abused 3 youths

Members of VCK and Dalits of Ambedkar Street stage road roko

MADURAI: Three Dalit youths are alleged to have been attacked by a
Caste Hindu group for touching the sacred ceremonial umbrella (kovil
kudai) of the Ayyappan Temple during a ritual procession at Uthangudi
on the outskirts of Madurai.

The group, armed with sticks and weapons, is said to have abused
Prathap (19), P. Vinod Kumar (19) and Kannan (20) of Ambedkar Street,
Uthangudi, by their caste names and attacked them claiming they had
"defiled" the umbrella with their touch on Saturday night.

Dalit women were not spared as the group entered the street and
attacked them; a pregnant woman Lakshmi (21) is undergoing treatment
at the Government Rajaji Hospital.

Police were yet to file a first information report after members of
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and Dalits of Ambedkar Street staged a
road roko.

The Othakadai police filed cases against Vannappan, Ravichandran,
vice-president, Uthangudi panchayat, Ambiga, Senthil, Palani Kumar,
Sasi Kumar, Nagaraj, 'Auto' Selvam and K. P. Pandi of Uthangudi, under
Sections 147, 323, 452, 307 of the Indian Penal Code and Section
3(1)(10) of the Scheduled Caste and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act 1989 on Sunday.

Team members of Evidence, a non-governmental organisation based in
Madurai working among Dalits, conducted an enquiry and found that the
assertion of Dalits under the VCK and claiming their rights were the
major reasons behind the attack.

A. Kathir, executive director, Evidence, wanted the State government
to provide adequate compensation to the Dalits who were attacked and
also urged the district administration to take action against the
office-bearers of Uthangudi panchayat who were involved in the attack.

Attacks citing defilement due to touch was on the rise and Dalits
joining queues at ration shops and at photo sessions for medical
insurance had invited the wrath of Caste Hindus in the recent past.
Complaints in this regard had been sent to the National Human Rights
Commission and State Human Rights Commission, he said.


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[ZESTCaste] Dalits not being hired for work

http://www.thehindu.com/2009/12/30/stories/2009123051280400.htm

Tamil Nadu

Dalits not being hired for work

P.V. Srividya

VEDARANYAM: Two months after the Dalits of Chettipulam were ushered
into the Ekambareshwarar temple by the district administration, they
are not finding work.

The village has placed a Samudaya Kattupadu, or unwritten social
control, against engaging Dalit labour, said a police source. Dalits
do not find jobs in all seven Kadus (administrative divisions) of
Chettipulam.

There were attempts to pressurise people from nearby villages to
exclude Dalits from labour.

"A Dalit man, who was de-weeding a field, was asked to leave after a
Caste Hindu refused to work on the same field," says Pushpavalli, a
Dalit woman, who was relieved as domestic help.

According to a Revenue Department official, the tacit agreement among
Caste Hindus is real, though it would never be acknowledged.

Dalits have not entered the Ekambareshwarar Temple after October 27,
when they were led in by the district administration as the State
watched.

"Self-restraint"


It is 'self-restraint' on the part of Dalits to 'avoid conflict' in
the face of evident hostility, they say. "We have a 'Samudaya Kovil'
[community temple] and we do not want any trouble," says Birla
Thangadurai.


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[ZESTCaste] Dalits ‘beaten up’ for touching deity parasol

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Dalits+%E2%80%98beaten+up%E2%80%99+for+touching+deity+parasol&artid=QSbG355mtAg=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==&SEO=

Dalits 'beaten up' for touching deity parasol

P KrishnaswamyFirst Published : 30 Dec 2009 03:22:00 AM ISTLast
Updated : 30 Dec 2009 06:53:45 AM IST

MADURAI: Yet another case of unbridled atrocity against Dalits in a
village in Madurai has been reported and police have belatedly filed a
case.


The Dalits were allegedly assaulted and a woman from the community
pushed into the gutters - the 'provocation' for this action was that a
Dalit youth had touched the decorated parasol held above the idol of a
deity during the temple festival.

The festival of Ayyappan temple in Uthangudi near Madurai is
celebrated every year. The chariot bearing the idol of the Lord used
to be taken around all streets of the village, except those in the
Dalit area, claiming that the 'untouchables' were not fit to worship
the deity.

This year the festival was celebrated on December 26 and the deity was
taken in procession. Some people of high caste were holding aloft the
decorated umbrella above the idol. One of the men holding the umbrella
had asked a Dalit, Pratap (19), to hold the umbrella while he tied his
dhoti.

When Pratap held the stem of the umbrella, a high caste man had pulled
him out, abused and slapped him saying,"how dare you defile the sacred
umbrella? Have you developed such courage?''.

Other Dalit youth who were witnessing the incident had tried to
prevent this assault but they were also subjected to the same
treatment. Other caste Hindus had also joined the rabble and beaten
the Dalits.

The Dalits had fled from the place to avoid further attack. According
to A Kadir, director of Evidence, a Madurai-based NGO which went to
the village on a fact finding mission, that night about 30 caste
Hindus armed with lethal weapons had entered the Dalit colony and
broken open the door of Vinothkumar.

The mob had dragged Letchumy (21) wife of Arumugam and sister of
Vinothkumar, who was pregnant and beaten her with chappals.

She was then pushed into the sewer and kicked.

Kadir said that the affected Dalits had lodged a complaint with the
Othakadai police who had not filed a case. Therefore, the Dalits of
the village and members of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Party resorted
to picketing on December 27, after which the police registered cases.

Letchumy's mother Rasammal had given a separate complaint about the
molestation of her daughter and the atrocities she was subjected to.


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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Re: [ZESTCaste] The Dalit students Chargesheet against Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University

 

please send in englihs, iam publishing The Mster Key tamil and english news paper in tamilnadu

________________________________
From: INSIGHT MAGAZINE <insightjnu@gmail.com>
To: BuddhistCircle@yahoogroups.com; sakyagroup@yahoogroups.com; ZESTCaste@yahoogroups.com; bahujan <Bahujan@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sun, December 27, 2009 6:24:48 PM
Subject: [ZESTCaste] The Dalit students Chargesheet against Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University

 
महात्मा गांधी अंतरराष्ट्रीय हिन्दी विश्वविद्यालय के प्रशासन के खिलाफ दलित चार्जशीट
Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University is located at Wardha, near Nagpur, Maharashtra.  Formed in 1997 to promote and develop Hindi languague and literature, this University was established by Union government through Act of  Indian Parliament.  However, like any other educational instituion of the country, this university also has turn itself into a brahmanical space reverberating with nepotism and anti-Dalit/caste prejudices. Given below is the chargesheet prepared by Dalit students, who have been protesting against the University administration for quite some time. What is happening in this University is nothing peculiar but is just one reflection of the debasement of our university system. Is Pandit Ramchandra Guha listening?
The following peice has been taken from a blog [http://mgahv. blogspot. com/] run by the University students. We will shortly publish this peice in English too.
——–
देश भर में धर्मनिरपेक्ष प्रशासक की छवि निर्मित करने वाले पुलिस अधिकारी विभूति नारायण राय के महात्मा गांधी अंतरराष्ट्रीय हिन्दी विश्वविद्यालय में कुलपति बनने के बाद दलितों का उत्पीड़न तेजी के साथ बढ़ा है। क्या कोई धर्मनिरपेक्षवादी जातिवादी नहीं हो सकता है ? दलित उत्पीड़न की घटनाएं एक नई बहस खड़ी करती है।
——–
1. विश्वविद्यालय के अनुवाद विद्यापीठ में राहुल कांबले ने एम फिल की परीक्षा में टॉप ( स्वर्ण पदक) किया लेकिन पीएचडी में उसका नामांकन नहीं किया गया।अनुवाद विद्यापीठ में दो विद्यार्थियों का ही नामांकन करने का फैसला विश्वविद्यालय ने किया। पीएच.डी. के लिए चयनित विद्यार्थियों में राहुल कांबले को तीसरे नंबर पर दिखाया गया। लेकिन जब चयनित दो विद्यार्थियों में से एक
विद्यार्थी ने अनुवाद विद्यापीठ में पीएचडी में नामांकन नहीं लिया तो राहुल ने अपना दावा पेश किया। लेकिन लगातार तीन महीने तक उसे प्रताड़ित किया गया। उसने नामांकन की पूरी प्रक्रिया को समझने के लिए सूचना के अधिकार के तहत विश्वविद्यालय प्रशासन से जानकारी मांगी थी।
अनुवाद विद्यापीठ के डीन प्रो. आत्मप्रकाश श्रीवास्तव ने सूचना का अधिकार कानून का इस्तेमाल करने की आड़ लेकर राहुल का नामांकन लेने से मना कर दिया। राहुल कुलपति विभूति नारायण राय के समक्ष अपनी फरियाद लेकर गया। लेकिन कुलपति ने बजाय उसके साथ न्याय करने के प्रो. आत्म प्रकाश श्रीवास्तव से माफी मांगने का निर्देश दिया। राहुल ने प्रो. आत्म प्रकाश श्रीवास्तव से चार बार माफी
मांगी। उनके पैर तक पकड़े। लेकिन कुलपति ने नामांकन की स्वीकृति नहीं दी। आखिरकार राहुल ने आंदोलन करने की चेतावनी दी।

Read more… »Read the full post at www.blog.insightyv. com

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[ZESTCaste] India's silent prejudice

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/dec/29/india-caste-hinduism

India's silent prejudice

Caste permeates Indian society, even today. But its influence most
often lurks beneath the surface


Abhinav Ramnarayan
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 29 December 2009 15.00 GMT

Since I have been writing about Hinduism for Comment is free, I have
been inundated with comments asking about the caste system – some
people have been curious, others have just about fallen short of
demanding my blood.


I am – pardon the refrain – no expert on religion, but I thought I
would put down some of my thoughts on the caste system, and how it has
affected my life.


It may surprise some to learn that I actually don't remember hearing
any open caste-ist statement until I was in my early twenties. I was
visiting a distant, elderly relative, and we were chatting comfortably
of this and that, when he leaned forward and said: "You know, the dean
of students at Anna University [in Chennai] doesn't wear a poonal?" He
was referring to the sacred thread worn across the body by Brahmins,
the highest denomination in the Hindu caste system.


At first, I was a bit befuddled by the gentleman's apparent interest
in what the dean of students at the engineering institute chose to
wear under his shirt (I almost said, maybe he finds it itchy?) but I
realised soon enough that he was saying that the said official was a
non-Brahmin, and he clearly disapproved.


I was quite taken aback by his comment, and I was telling a distant
aunt of mine that I was surprised at this caste-prejudice, and she
responded: "Oh, Iyengars are all like that," referring in turn to my
relative's denomination. I don't think she saw the irony. Generally
speaking, this is how the caste system works in practice in urban
India. On the surface, it does not necessarily seem to exist, but it
always lurks beneath the skin.


You can spend your whole life being unaware, until it's time to get
married, when it suddenly assumes importance. The more conservative
families would just lay down the law in this respect, and the more
liberal ones would say something along the lines of, "I don't mind any
caste, but I think you would have a better married life if you chose
someone of a similar cultural background … "


In terms of education, the government-imposed quota system for lower
castes means it is quite hard for higher castes to get a university
seat, and in terms of employment, many companies are suspiciously full
of people from a particular caste or denomination.


From what I gather, the caste system originated in the concept of
division of labour – people were divided into priests, warriors,
merchants and the serving class. But this simplified division does no
justice to the complexity and the hundreds of subdivisions within
those. I am a Brahmin myself, and we are subdivided into Iyers,
worshippers of Shiva, and Iyengars, worshippers of Vishnu. Within
other castes, there are hundreds of subdivisions, and the protagonist
of Mulk Raj Anand's pioneering novel The Untouchable, refers to the
lowest of the low in the caste of Dalits – the toilet cleaners.


The sad thing about caste in India is that it transfers across
religions. One of my professors once told us a story – the rector of
the institution had organised a trip for students to the villages in
order for the kids to "observe the caste system". This professor
immediately asked the rector, "Why not just ask them to observe the
church congregation this evening, Father?"


And even amongst the most liberal families, it does play an important
part in your upbringing if nothing else. Many Indians I meet here in
the UK, for example, are Brahmins like myself; they are often well
educated, either making good money as engineers or pots of money as
bankers and lawyers. Hence the general perception that Indians are
vegetarians: it is actually only my members of my caste – originally
priests – that are supposed to be vegetarian. But in discussing my own
experience of caste, I am leaving out a vast majority – more than 60%
of India's population is in rural areas, where the caste system is
much stronger. I once visited a farm owned by my school, which had
appointed a Harijan to take care of the property. There was much
consternation in the village because a Harijan had been allowed to set
foot inside a farmhouse. Petty acts of retribution followed, such as
the stealing of the water pump that irrigated the fields. It can get
much, much worse.


In fact, the more I read about it, the more depressing it gets. But
there are positives.


Unlike some other countries where violation of human rights is part of
the constitution, there is official recognition in India of the need
for change. We can argue the merits and demerits of positive
discrimination, but the fact is that 69% of university seats are
allocated for disadvantaged castes.


When will we see a caste free society? Probably never. But can it
possibly change for the better?


It is changing already. India is a country in flux – two years ago, I
could never have imagined that the ludicrous law banning homosexuality
would ever be lifted, and yet that process has started.


What the country will look like a decade on is anybody's guess.


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