Saturday, October 31, 2009

[ZESTCaste] Uttar Pradesh CM writes to PM; terms new pricing system 'anti-cane farmers'

 

http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-141196.html

Uttar Pradesh CM writes to PM; terms new pricing system 'anti-cane farmers'

Lucknow, Oct 30 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today wrote a
letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking to reconsider the
implementation of the new pricing system of Fair and Remunerative
Price(FRP) for the sugarcane that was 'anti-farmers'.

'' The Centre should reconsider the implementation of the new pricing
system as per which the state government is supposed to pay the
difference between the FRP and State Advisory Price (SAP),'' Ms
Mayawati stated in the letter to the PM.

The central government did not take UP government in confidence before
bringing the FRP arrangement, the letter read.

As many as 40 lakh cane farmers were dissatisfied as their rights were
being ignored under the new system to be applied this crushing season.

The CM said the central government raised Statutory Minimum Price
(SMP) for wheat and paddy, but cared little for the cane farmers.

As per the new system, the state government would have to bear the
burden of difference, if it fixes SAP above the FRP.

Yesterday, the Centre had announced a price of Rs 130 per quintal
under FRP which has replaced the SMP.

--UNI

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[ZESTCaste] Fwd: Muslim backwardness- some constitutional restrictions

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Administrator-IDMV <dalitmuslims@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Oct 31, 2009 at 7:11 PM
Subject: Muslim backwardness- some constitutional restrictions
To:


URL:
http://www.dalitmuslims.com/2009/10/muslim-backwardness-some-constitutional.html

By Irshadul Haq

Who can deny the fact that Indian Muslims have gone far behind in
almost all walks of life as compared to their compatriots. Their
social and economic condition is even worse than 'Dalits'. A number of
intellectuals from our own community do not tire of uttering the same
old words 'Muslims are themselves to be blamed for their
backwardness.'

Muslims have not been given the concessions and privileges enjoyed by
Hindus, Buddhists, Sikh and Dalits. Under certain provisions Dalits
have been given 14 percent reservation in all state and central
government jobs. This has been laid down in section 341of the
Constitution. According to this Section, Harijans were identified on a
countrywide scale and seats were reserved for them in all government
departments save the judiciary. They were called scheduled castes and
schedule tribes. They were also given the privilege of reservation in
the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in the same proportion. Dalits are
also given the facility of building their houses under the Indira Awas
Scheme. But Dalit Muslims have been deprived of all these
constitutional privileges and concession, whereas the fact is that the
financial, social and political condition of these Dalit Muslims is
worse than the Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist Dalits in all respects. In
certain places it is almost impossible to differentiate whether they
are Dalit Muslims or non-Muslims. The financial and social condition
of Halalkhors, Nats, Bhatyaras, Dhunias and Bhants etc is so bad that
they are leading a life worse than that of Dalits.

In this connection it is worth noting that under religious
restrictions of section 341 of the Constitution Dalit Muslims are
deprived of the benefits available to scheduled caste people whereas
section 14 of the constitution specifies that government will not
discriminate on religious grounds. Though there are strict
instructions in the Constitution not to discriminate on the basis of
race and religion, the followers of a particular religion have been
deprived of their basic rights. What kind of Constitution is this?
Now, when the central government has formed a Constitution Review
Committee half a century after independence, different Muslim
organization should pressurize the government to bring this fact under
discussion. Another noteworthy aspect in connection with scheduled
caste reservation is that those Muslims who got fed up with the
tyranny of Hindu and embraced Islam(which preached religious equality)
centuries ago, were Hindu sweepers, shoe makers, washer-men etc at
that time. But when they became Muslims, the Constitution of free
India turned them out of the scheduled castes category as a
punishment. They were given such a harsh social and political
punishment for embracing Islam and our Muslim thinkers and leaders are
still silent. In this connection the well known journalist, Kuldeep
Nayar clearly said that Muslims should not demand the inclusion of
Dalit Muslims in the category of notified castes. He was of the
opinion that reservation for schedule castes is due to their
exploitation for thousands of years in the past. Since these people
have deserted Hinduism and embraced Islam, these Dalit Muslims have
become free from the tyranny of Brahmins. All are equal in Islam; so
why should they be included in the category of scheduled castes? But
Nayar probably forgets that on the recommendations of the Mandal
Commission, backward Muslims have also been included in the category
of 27 percent reservation together with the backward people of other
religions and these Muslims are enjoying the benefits from the times
of the former Prime Minister VP Singh.

People who say that the privilege of reservation available to
scheduled castes and other backward classes are against religious
principles are trying to spread serious misunderstanding because the
motive behind such reservation is to provide opportunities to those
people in the society who are left behind in the social ladder. As a
matter of fact, this idea is exactly akin to the principles of
equality in Islam.

Now let us think about the dangerous consequences that will emerge on
account of non-inclusion of Dalit Muslims in the category of scheduled
castes. Just think: Hindu sweeper is SC, whereas a Muslim sweeper is
OBC.; Hindu juggler is SC (in Bihar), Muslim washer-man is OBC; Hindu
'Paasi' is SC, Muslim 'Paasi' is placed in the OBC category. There are
dozens of such examples where despite similarity of social standing
and profession, Muslims have not been included in this list only to
deprive them of the privileges and facilities. Harmful consequences of
all such policies are now cropping up. There are dozens of families of
Nuts, Bhatyaras and Bhant etc in the suburban areas of East Champaran,
Siwan and Vaishali districts in Bihar whose forefathers converted to
Islam, but there was no perceptible difference in their way of life.
But when their later generations became somewhat literate, they
realized that the constitutional privileges and facilities were not
available to them because of being Muslims and these could be readily
available to them if they revert to their old religion. The number of
such people in Bihar is increasing who are going for government jobs
from the category of scheduled castes. How serious this problem is
from the Muslims' point of view, can very well be imagined. The
problem is how to prevent this trend of conversion? Under these
circumstances there appears to be only one way – that all Muslim
organizations should join together on one common platform and start a
movement for bringing about an amendment to section 341 of the
constitution that lays down the religions restriction.

It is a matter of satisfaction that in Bihar some organizations are
carrying on a movement for amendment in section 341 and certain
perceptible results of this movement are being observed. It is because
of the pressure of these organizations that on 21 July last the Bihar
Assembly unanimously forwarded a recommendation to the central
government for inclusion of Dalit Muslims in the category of scheduled
castes, because their economic, social and political condition is
unimaginably worse.

Unfortunately, the problem of these organizations in Bihar is that
their leaders are becoming more and more selfish which has made them
quite ineffective. Leaders of these organizations have started using
their public image for their own political gains. Some leaders are
using their influence and approach for distribution of tickets for
Assembly elections while others are using these for getting their
seats reserved in the Legislative Council. The overall result of all
such activities will be that the movement will be weakened and will
become a victim of horse trading and 'give' and 'take' policy of
political parties.

Hence the need of the hour is to publicize such movements on a
country-wide scale so that 'Dalit' Muslims could not be exploited
anymore.

(Irshadul Haq could be contacted on irshadulhaque786@googlemail.com)

Thanks & Regards,
Indian Dalit Muslims Voice
www.dalitmuslims.com

To get daily updates from IDMV Subscribe via Email:
http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=idmv&loc=en_US


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[ZESTCaste] Fwd: Corporates: Caste, Child labour,Victory at Unilever and making IT Fair

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <g.oonk@indianet.nl>
Date: Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 11:19 PM
Subject: Corporates: Caste, Child labour,Victory at Unilever and making IT Fair
To:

Dear reader,

There are five messages in this newsletter.

Address caste discrimination in the private sector
Do you want to know more about how caste discrimination affects around
260 million Dalits in the private sector in India and elsewhere? But also how
companies can address this issue or what e.g. unions, NGOs and
academics can tell them to do?
Then have a look at the background information in Outlook Business India,
the (revised) 'Ambedkar Principles and Guidelines to Address Caste
Discrimination in the Private Sector' and the 'Dalit Discrimination Check' for
companies:
http://www.dalits.nl/dnn_bedrijven_e.html

Union Victory Pakistan in Unilever Casual-T Campaign
A settlement between Unilever and the International Union of Food Workers
(IUF) has led to a settlement of the conflict over precarious work at Lipton,
Pakistan. A negotiated settlement between Unilever and the IUF has
resolved the long, difficult conflict over the rights of precarious workers at
the company's directly-owned Lipton/Brooke Bond tea factory in Khanewal,
Pakistan. The negotiations took place under the auspices of the UK's
National Contact Point responsible for the application of the OECD
Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
From the press release of IUF: 'The Khanewal workers' Action Committee
has warmly thanked the many trade unionists and human rights defenders
around the world who supported their struggle with demonstrations,
messages to the company, meetings, pickets, political action and other
ways of expressing solidarity. Their support was crucial.'
http://www.iuf.org/den6281

The Elimination of Child Labour: What role can the European
Parliament Play?
Report of a meeting held in the European Parliament organized by the Stop
Child labour campaign and hosted by Mrs. Jean Lambert, Member of the
European Parliament for the Green Party:
http://www.indianet.nl/pdf/RoleEuropeanParliament.pdf

Make IT Fair: NOKIA should become the trailblazer
Nokia is asked to become the trailblazer in developing more ethical mobile
phones by the Finnish makeITfair campaign. The petition has over 5,000
signatures already, but there is still time to add yours before it is handed
over to Nokia on 13 November. Act now and help us get our voices
heard: www.makeitfair.fi/petition
The manufacture of consumer electronics creates many problems that are
shared across the industry. Nokia is the largest mobile phone company in
the world, so we the undersigned want Nokia to take the lead in improving
conditions in its supply chain. We therefore demand that:
*   Nokia trace the minerals in its products to individual mines in
   conjunction with other manufacturers. Given that mineral trading
   contributes to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nokia
   should use its influence to contribute towards bringing peace to the
   country.
*   Nokia adopt an ethical code based on multi-stakeholder participation
   and external auditing through its supply chain, cooperate with the
   international free trade union movement and begin negotiations for a
   global framework agreement.
*   Nokia provide full public disclosure of its supply chain.

RESET: Clear guidance on CSR for the global electronics sector
The publication RESET offers guidance to companies in addressing human
rights and environmental issues in the global electronics supply chain. Reset
argues for a more serious involvement of civil society organisations, trade
unions in the first place. This is one of the key points of the publication
released today by the Dutch CSR Platform and the GoodElectronics
network. The publication gives an analytical review of the failing
effectiveness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts in the global
electronics sector. It provides a sample of progressive initiatives and
recommended steps for companies to enhance their social and
environmental performance.
See for more information and the report and the report itself:
http://mvoplatform.nl/publications-en/Publication_3248

Kind regards,

Gerard Oonk

director India Committee of the Netherlands
Mariaplaats 4e,
3511 LH Utrecht
tel. 030-2321340;
fax.030-2322246

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[ZESTCaste] Re: Little Indians

 

This one is really, I hate to say it, but it really captures a true snap shot of our pathetic country!

Regards,
Satinath

=========

Little Indians
Friday, 30 October, 2009 12:18 AM
From: "Shiva Shankar" <sshankar@cmi.ac.in>
To: undisclosed-recipients

Little Indians.
--------------

Millions of little Indians, Hindus Muslims and others
for them no law, no land, no fathers mothers brothers.

They slave in little tea shops, they beg along the road,
they sleep upon their little feet, they have no bed, no board.

Government makes new budgets of which they are no part.
Governments feed on government grants, they eat their little heart.

The rich perform ablutions to please the gods above;
the gods return their favours and increase their treasure trove.

Little Indians find employment in hell holes we call factories;
their lungs fill up with poison gas, government collects the taxes.

Some little Indians go to public school in bus or car or jeep;
a million others look for food in wayside garbage heap.

Their schools are in Government file, their meals are part of Plan,
but when nation needs an atom bomb, they eat whatever they can.

Little Indians, they are taught to sing 'mera bharat mahan';
Little Indians wipe their hunted eyes - they wonder what is on.

-- Badri Raina.

------------------------------------------------
'All you have shall someday be given, therefore give now that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors' - Kahlil Gibran

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