Sunday, February 28, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Budget silent on Plan outlay for SC/STs

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/the-sunday-et/dateline-india/Budget-silent-on-Plan-outlay-for-SC/STs/articleshow/5625970.cms

Budget silent on Plan outlay for SC/STs

28 Feb 2010, 0105 hrs IST, ET Bureau


NEW DELHI: What is the budgetary outlay for the welfare of Scheduled
Castes and Tribes? The answer is not immediately apparent to a lay
reader of
the Budget documents. For a government and a political leadership
trying to establish its pro-Dalit credentials, this kind of sloppy
accounting is quite surprising.

Dalit leader and Indian Justice Party president Udit Raj, for example,
has demanded that the government increase the outlay for the ministry
of social justice and empowerment from the Rs 4,500 crore allocated in
the Budget, to Rs 61,187 crore, the share of the total Plan
expenditure that corresponds with the share of Scheduled Castes in the
population. While conceding that outlays of other ministries would
also include the special component outlays meant for Dalits, the sheer
lack of accounting transparency in this regard has led him to conclude
that the government is unlikely to have allocated more than 5% of the
total Plan expenditure to Scheduled Caste welfare and development.

The government now undertakes gender budgeting. A question that arises
from Mr Raj's demand is whether the government should not create an
accounting framework that makes it clear how much of the taxpayers
money actually goes to improve the lives of the subaltern sections of
society that the government and the political class seek to uplift.


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[ZESTCaste] Eklavya bows to arjun no more

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Eklavya+bows+to+arjun+no+more&artid=lZYR7hRqmnY=&SectionID=f4OberbKin4=&MainSectionID=f4OberbKin4=&SEO=political+parties,Dalit+parties+,+militant+group&SectionName=cxWvYpmNp4fBHAeKn3LcnQ==

Eklavya bows to arjun no more

G Babu JayakumarFirst Published : 28 Feb 2010 10:23:00 AM ISTLast
Updated : 26 Feb 2010 10:55:56 PM IST

Driving through Chennai's roads, it is hard to miss those ubiquitous
hoardings, posters, wall paintings and signboards with a common
picture of a man with a moustache. Even the most politically ignorant
modern-day urbanite knows the name of the man. He is Thol
Thirumavalavan, founder of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK).
Though all those who have heard his name also know that he is a Dalit
leader, many people may not know that he is also a member of the Lok
Sabha.


His recent entry to Parliament, however, signifies just one of the
many successes of Dalit parties in capturing political and social
space in Tamil Nadu, which, despite being the home of social justice,
till recently, had not seen many leaders from the Dalit community
capturing the imagination of the common people, particularly in the
urban areas.

Today the situation has changed with urbane and educated persons like
Dr K Krishnasamy and P Sivakami, a former IAS officer, heading parties
that strive for a casteless society. In fact, it was Krishnasamy who
was the first leader of a Dalit organisation to win an election. He
was elected to the state assembly from Ottapidaram in 1996 when he
headed the Devendra Kulla Vellalar Federation.

Even before that, Tamil Nadu had been the pioneer in having Dalits in
legislative bodies: M C Rajah became member of the Madras Legislative
Council in 1920. But not many leaders from the oppressed classes
emerged on the political horizon which was dominated by the Backward
Classes.

Even Rajah, a contemporary of B R Ambedkar, was part of the Southern
India Liberal Front, popularly known as the Justice Party, which was
started on a plank to fight Brahmin domination in all spheres of life.
Though several other intellectuals and scholars from the Dalit
community, like Ayothia Dasar and Rettamalai Srinivasan, have been
part of the struggle for social justice, the oppre­ssed communities,
mainly in the villages, led miserable lives, often being at the
receiving end of violence unleashed on them by the better-off
communities.

One of the main causes for the Dalits being unable to assert
themselves was their lack of a distinct political voice. Of course,
Ambedkar, who remains the universal icon of Dalits, had ensured
representation for them in the state legislatures and Parliament by
reserving constituencies for Scheduled Caste representatives. But the
nomination of candidates was made by the other political parties,
whose top rung leaders never had Dalit empowerment as an agenda.

As Krishnasamy says, "Big parties chose their own henchmen and they
were not independent Dalit representatives." Those party members
elected to Parliament and state legislatures could voice only the
party's viewpoint and not present any case from a Dalit perspective.
Krishnasamy, who launched the Puthiya Tamilagam (PT) party in late
1997 feels the same forces that dominated and oppressed Dalits in the
social sphere continue to treat Dalit parties the same way in the
political sphere, too.

Listing the hurdles he faces in running PT as an independent party, he
cites lack of money as the main reason behind the inability of Dalit
parties to challenge the mainstream political parties. Next, he says,
is the press. Accusing the mainstream media of projecting a negative
image of Dalit parties, Krishnasamy says the media always ignores the
Dalit parties and their candidates during elections.

Even Sivakami, who contested the 2009 Parliamentary election as a BSP
candidate from the Kanyakumari constituency, complains that the media
refuses to give sustained support to Dalit parties. Issues like
atrocities do not get the required the amount of coverage and
editorial analysis, she feels.

Sivakami, who recently launched her Samuha Samathuva Padai (Party for
Social Equality), adopts an activist's approach to Dalit issues. But
she is sure that more can be done to empower Dalits through electoral
politics than by being part of the bureaucracy. But even activism has
its limitations, particularly in the context of Dalit activism being
branded as violent, says Sivakami, who was also involved in activism
during her days with the government.

The main challenge in mobilising Dalit voters is in educating the
people, she feels. As she has started meeting the poorest of the poor
in the villages, she has found the ignorance of the people over
economic, social and political issues to be the first hurdle towards
their uplift. For instance, she says most of the downtrodden people
see a free television set as a bonanza. "I had to point out to them
that they would pay Rs 48,000 for cable charges in four years even if
they got the television set worth Rs 2,000 free of cost."

Sivakami even found that the poor had no idea about taxes. "Ask them
what taxes they pay, and they'd talk about electricity charges and
water charges. They have no idea about commercial tax that every
consumer of any goods pays," notes Siva­kami, who has taken upon
herself the task of mobilising the people through education and
creating awareness on issues that impact daily life.

But as the third Dalit party to emerge on Tamil Nadu's political
horizon, does Samuha Samathuva Padai underline the dearth of unity
among Dalits? Not necessarily, says Sivakami, pointing out that all
Dalit parties have the same ideology and agenda. There are no
differences on core issues like reclaiming land for Dalits, the thirst
for a personal identity, a casteless society and of course having
Ambedkar as their idol, she says.

In fact, she feels that no single leader can manage to mobilise the
state's entire Dalit population. "It is hard work," she says,
suggesting that different leaders can take care of the interest of
people in different areas. Perhaps there is no proper strategy now to
coordinate the work of the various parties, she feels.

N Ravikumar, MLA and ideologue of the VCK, flinches at the suggestion
of 'Dalit disunity', asking which caste, religious or ethnic group
enjoyed total unity. He feels the idea of 'disunity' has been
constructed in order to weaken Dalit politics. But, Ravikumar, who was
a CPI(ML) activist before taking up a role at the vanguard of the VCK,
is convinced that electoral politics brings in more gains than
activism.

When the VCK was known as the Dalit Panthers of India and was more
into activism than politics, the popular image of the organisation was
that of 'militant outfit', though the fight was only for just causes.
But after the party started contesting elections in alliance with
other parties in 1999, the leaders gained a more respectability and
acceptability.

Besides that, the Dalit community and the party leaders were taken
seriously by the mainstream parties. However, listing the hurdles that
parties like his face in the political sphere, Ravikumar says there is
always a bid to brand them as a 'militant group' and also isolate
them.

But then in a state where the Dravidian movement launched by E V R
Periyar (1879-1973), who transformed the elitist SILF into a common
man's party and also spoke in favour of Dalits, has been dominating
electoral politics, when was the need to have a separate party for
Dalits felt?

For the present VCK, the Venmani incident of 1968, was the defining
moment that created a stir among the Dalits, while for the PT, it was
the murder of Immanuel Sekaran in 1957. Sivakami, however, feels
Periyar himself did not encourage Dalits to take up leadership roles
and sees the social justice movement as a revolution that took place
at the middle level of society and not as one that started from the
grassroots level.

In Venmani, a village near Nagapattinam, caste Hindus massacred 44
agricultural labourers, including 20 women and 19 children, on
Christmas Day. The incident that took place a year after the DMK had
captured power and when C N Annadurai was the chief minister, made the
Dalits in the region lose their faith in the party, according to
Ravikumar.

Krishnasamy sees the murder of Immanuel, a politician owing allegiance
to the Congress, that took place in 1957 at Mudukulathur in
Ramanathapuram district during a peace talk between communities, as a
turning point in Dalit politics. That incident prompted the educated
Dalits to look for an alternative to the mainstream political parties,
Krishnasamy, who was also associated with the CPI (ML) earlier, said.

Yet the Dalit parties have not been able to win elections
independently and have had to rely on other bigger parties for
support. Do they see a time coming when they will able to win
elections on their own? All the leaders feel that there is no need for
that. Their parties are not exclusive but only inclusive. The parties
have no qualms about having people from other castes and communities
as their members and office-bearers. In fact, they are functioning
even now in that fashion.

"Puthiya Tamilagam means a new Tamil Nadu sans caste differences and
discriminations," explains Krishnasamy, while Ravikumar says, "We want
to go beyond caste. Our aspiration is to achieve a casteless society
so we do not discriminate between people on the basis of their caste.
We take in everybody."

Have these leaders and their parties, through their electoral politics, helped

Dalits? In many ways, says Ravikumar. The classic example is the Tamil
Nadu government's recent announcement about replacing 21 lakh mud huts
in the state with concrete houses. "For the past three years I have
been speaking in Assembly in favour of a hut-less society. The
government has now heeded my plea," Ravikumar says and adds that more
than an activist, a legislator can bring changes in the life of the
people he represents.

Does that mean that the ex-Maoist feels that his former comrades,
currently holding the government to ransom, should also enter
electoral politics? "Yes," says Ravikumar. "In fact, I would like to
send across the message to all those poor and low-caste people going
with the Maoists to take a practical route towa­rds empowerment."

babujayakumar@expressbuzz.com


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[ZESTCaste] A platform for shared experience

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=A+platform+for+shared+experience&artid=/SzMX5QZZD8=&SectionID=f4OberbKin4=&MainSectionID=f4OberbKin4=&SEO=Dalit+,+magazine,+Insight&SectionName=cxWvYpmNp4fBHAeKn3LcnQ==

A platform for shared experience

Anoop KumarFirst Published : 28 Feb 2010 10:32:00 AM IST

Last Updated : 26 Feb 2010 11:03:24 PM IST

Why did you start the magazine and when?


Insight magazine was started by a group of students from JNU in August
2004. Its main objective was to create a platform for Dalit students
of the university to share their experiences and articulate their
views on issues that concern them as well as the larger Dalit society.
Also, Insight is a platform for the community's mobilisation and
networking towards removing the vacuum that exists between the
students and larger Dalit movement as we never had our youth platform.

The idea of this magazine came in response to student outfits like the
SFI, AISA and ABVP. You know, JNU has a strong Left movement that
professes liberalism and progressiveness. However, on caste issues,
every political group tends to ignore these issues or raise it in a
patronising way. But our weak socio-economic and political background
made it tough for us to create a counter-organisation. Hence this
journal.


How did it pick up?

The magazine initially used to be a compilation of photocopies. We'd
type the articles using computer, take Xerox of the printouts and
staple it into a booklet form. And sell them. Within the first three
issues, the magazine became known outside JNU and we started getting
requests for copies across to other places and educational
institutions. Within one year, Insight was printing more than 1000
copies; it had more than 800 subscribers from 50 varsities and
educational institutions across the country and even abroad.

It all began with money being pooled in from within the group but
later we found we could generate finances from the larger Dalit
community. One big achievement is our lending a platform of networking
Dalit students at the national level: we organised a national
convention in JNU in 2005 to commemorate our first year of
publication.


Wasn't there a break after that?

Soon after the convention, reasons like financial crunch and academic
pressure led to stoppage of the printing of hard copies of magazine.
We could restart it only in 2007 — and some editions came out till
early last year. Since last June, we again stopped publication for
lack of funds — it's instead running as a blog. It's a stopgap
arrangement. We are working on a long-term solution to sustain
publication.


Who are the people involved in the making of the magazine?

It was started basically by a group of Dalit students which included
Rajneesh, Rajesh Katulkar, Kaushal Panwar, Pratap and Samuel Tharu
besides me. All of us were students of JNU doing their post-graduation
or PhD. After coming out with a few issues, our team broadened. It has
now more than 20 people from different castes and various part of the
country. Some of us bec­ame full-timers for the publication.


Why did you think young Dalit voices (in particular) needed this medium?

Apart from being able to respond towards other student groups on caste
issues, such a medium is important to raise voice against the
discrimination Dalit students suffer in campuses — even from faculty
members and even in premier institutions.


Is there a new Dalit identity you are trying to

articulate?

We don't try for an identity other than what leaders like B R Ambedkar
envisaged. A majority of us come from rural or semi-rural background
and share a similar level of caste prejudices. This movement helps us
contribute back to the communities we come from.


Who is the target reader?

Primarily educated Dalit students and fresh Dalit professionals, who
are our mentors too. We also target non-Dalit students, academicians
and professionals who are sympathetic to our cause. We want to others
to know about the community's long struggle.


What is the most powerful medium to reach your audience, given that
your magazine includes even poetry and cartoons?

Feedback says it's the interviews with scholars,

activists, writers and students on socio-political issues. Then come
articles and poems.


What are the core ideas behind the articulation and mobilisation?

To intervene so as to ensure higher education beco­mes conducive for
the Dalit students, fight against casteism, fill up a gap that exist
between the Dalit movement and students/youth of the community, create
a Dalit youth leadership, sensitise larger society on the issues of
discrimination inside and outside campus.

iwitnessfeedback@expressbuzz.com


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[ZESTCaste] The dalit treasure hunt

 

http://wap.business-standard.com/storypage.php?id=0&autono=387073

As on February 28, 05:41 pm Font Size S M L

News for the hour

Sreelatha Menon: The dalit treasure hunt
Sreelatha Menon/New Delhi - Feb 28,2010 00:42 AM

There is no end to the variety of demons that the mind can engender.
The feeling of hatred or fear based on one's position in the caste
hierarchy is only one of them.

In a Madurai village, some people recently went to the extent of
building a wall so that they are saved the "impure'' sight of dalits
living in the other part of the village.

In north Indian villages, a Harijan basti is a common sight.
Caste-based discrimination is a mental illness, a virus that hits the
brain, as Dr A Rosaiah of Tata Institute of Social Sciences Mumbai
puts it.

In this lunacy, all institutions become suspect. Recently, the social
justice ministry's Ambedkar Chair at Indian Institute of Public
Administration (IIPA) and Pria, a non-government organisation,
organised a workshop on dalit leadership in panchayats. At the event,
activists pointed fingers at the panchayati raj system itself.

Is panchayati raj the right way to go? Is it right just because
Mahatma Gandhi recommended it? It was something BR Ambedkar, known as
the father of the Constitution, was against. He felt it could not work
in a caste-ridden society.

There are so many cases of dalit panchayat presidents acting as rubber
stamps, of panchayat presidents being forced to sit on the floor, of
being forced to wash their chairs at the time of leaving.

Today, if a dalit becomes a panchayat president, he becomes the worst
enemy of his community, says Paul Diwakar, who heads the National
Campaign for Dalit Human Rights. The reason is that he is chosen by
the upper caste leaders of the community. So, he acts in the interests
of his "masters," leaving the dalits feeling betrayed.

This proves right the thesis of dalit leaders that India got freedom
from external masters but continued to be a slave of internal masters.

There had to be a cultural revolution, Ambedkar had said, to reverse
the hierarchical system. How can dalits get their due?

Quotas are like a balm. But a balm is not enough, for there are fresh
wounds every day.

Five years ago, Arun Khote, a dalit activist, started an online news
magazine to document atrocities on dalits. It goes to almost everyone
who matters in the country. Yet, the country doesn't recognise the
apartheid that is being played out in the name of democracy.

Just shedding tears about these atrocities is not enough. There has to
be a celebration of the wealth that the community stands for. The
wealth of its tradition and history needs to be studied.

The social justice and empowerment ministry's Budget allocation has
seen a huge jump in this Budget. It beats both the National Employment
Guarantee Scheme and the government's education and health programmes.

The Ambedkar Foundation under the ministry has already made a
beginning by setting up ten research chairs in ten different states.
In New Delhi, the IIPA conference brought together researchers and
dalit organisations. This will lead to more information on dalit
culture, where seeds of a cultural revolution lie. Khote is talking
about dalit festivals, dalit music. It's a new beginning to kill the
virus of hatred.

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[ZESTCaste] Courage ensures justice

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Courage+ensures+justice&artid=dNWjbCjQ7zw=&SectionID=mvKkT3vj5ZA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=nUFeEOBkuKw=&SEO=

Courage ensures justice

Riyan Ramanath V

First Published : 28 Feb 2010 05:16:00 AM IST

Last Updated : 28 Feb 2010 08:04:55 AM IST

BALANGIR: She finally plucked up the courage and narrated before the
court her plight.


She testified despite opposition from her in-laws. And her exemplary
courage helped the court punish the culprits, who raped and tortured
her in a brick kiln in Andhra Pradesh in 2003.

Prabhanjali Deep (name changed), a Dalit girl, who had gone to
Rangareddy district of Andhra Pradesh to work in a brick kiln, was
raped and held captive in Bharat Nagar in Hyderabad. Three other
tribal girls, who had gone with her, also underwent the same trauma.

After the girls were rescued by some organisations, they returned to
village and a case, which was filed in AP, was put in cold storage
because no victim was ready to appear before the court to narrate
their plight.

Meanwhile, Prabhanjali got married.

Although the torture still haunted her, she couldn't do anything
because of opposition from her in-laws. However, she finally stepped
out and decided to testify before the court in Hyderabad. After she
agreed to narrate her ordeals, court fixed a new date for hearing and
she courageously narrated the ordeal before the court.

Prabhanjali heaved a sigh of relief when the court held three persons
guilty and sentenced them to 10 years rigorous imprisonment.

The court gave the verdict in January.

"Other girls decided to forget the incident but it haunted me even
after my marriage," narrated Prabhanjali who turned emotional. She
said she felt happy when the court pronounced the judgment in her
favour. Brick kiln owner Feroz Khan, his brother Ayub Khan and labour
agent Sanju Sagaria were involved in the heinous crime. The trio were
punished. Sources said the case was heard in-camera.

One of the members of the rescue team Umi Daniel said the matter had
come to light when the parents of one of the girls escaped from the
brick kiln and reported the matter to the local media.

Immediately some activists from Balangir rushed to Hyderabad and
rescued 40 persons, including the rape victims. However, he said it
was because of Prabhanjali's courage, she got justice. "We initiated
the rescue operation and then the government officials came to know
about the rape incident. Immediately a case was registered in the
police station", said Daniel. He said after the court issued summons,
no girl except Prabhanjali was ready to go to the court.


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Saturday, February 27, 2010

Re: [ZESTCaste] Fwd: Two teaching posts for SC/ST in computer science (pls circulate)

 

It is good that IGNOU is giving the SC/ST reservation on teaching posts in full. The Delhi University is still providing SC/ST reservation at the level of Assistant Professor only. If some one knows what is happening in DU. Please tell me.

Dr. Uaday Singh
Assistant Professor
Deptt. of Mathematics
BHU Varanasi

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: jkjatav jatav <jkjatav@gmail. com>
Date: Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 5:17 PM
Subject: Fwd: Two teaching posts for SC/ST in computer science (pls circulate)

pls circulate

Two reserved posts one is Reader (SC) and another is Professor (ST) in
computer scince at SOCIS IGNOU.
Check www.ignou.ac. in, academic post link.
http://www.ignou. ac.in/adv/ appointment. htm

With regards
Naveen Kumar

On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 1:08 PM, Ranjit Ranjit <ranjit.ranjit@ gmail.com> wrote:
>
> dear friends,
>
> i have shifted to Hyderbad and my new contact no. is 09177619254
> best
> --
> Ranjit

--

--
Dr Jitendra Kumar Jatav

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[ZESTCaste] AP: Loans without guarantee for SC’s, ST’s from April 1

http://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdisplay.aspx?9c096330-131c-4440-a7b1-53d52ca3321d

AP: Loans without guarantee for SC's, ST's from April 1
2/26/2010

Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs in Andhra Pradesh
will be provided with loans without collateral security up to Rs one
crore from April one, Major Industries Minister K Lakshminarayana
informed the State Assembly.

Replying to Mr P Ramulu and other TDP members during question hour, he
said the Reserve Bank of India had made it clear that it had no
objection to the state government providing guarantee for loans
extended to SC/ST entrepreneurs.

He said Credit Guarantee Trust with a corpus fund of Rs 250 crore was
being set up jointly with Social Welfare Department and, subsequently,
the quantum of loan amount without collateral security would be
enhanced to Rs five crore to each of the SC, ST entrepreneurs.

Presently, applications of 60 SC and two ST entrepreneurs were under
consideration, the Minister said.

As of now, under the special policy for promotion of SC/ST
entrepreneurs, 150 units of SC entrepreneurs with a term loan of Rs
63.15 crore and 56 units for ST entrepreneurs with term loan of Rs
26.14 crore had been sanctioned, he added.

UNI


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[ZESTCaste] Caste Hindus oppose burial of Dalit convert

http://www.thehindu.com/2010/02/27/stories/2010022751430300.htm

Tamil Nadu

Caste Hindus oppose burial of Dalit convert

Staff Reporter

VEDARANYAM: Dalit graveyards have always been contested spaces. The
caste fault lines re-emerged when caste Hindus opposed the proposed
burial of a Dalit convert in a graveyard for Scheduled Castes at
Katripulam in Vedaranyam on Friday.

The only ten Dalit families of Katripulam had converted to
Christianity three years ago.

However, there has been a samudaya thadai, or community restraint, on
commemoration of their religious practices within the village. With
the first death in their community, the issue came to the fore.

Dalit graveyards have had a chequered trajectory here. All the
graveyards on government poramboke lands are common for all, except
Dalits. As in life, Dalits are ostracised in their graves and the 'SC
graveyards' are government-sanctioned euphemisms for such ostracism.

"We have no issues with their cremating in the space allotted, but
burying them with a crucifix would not be allowed. It would affect
future burials by SCs in the limited space of three cents allotted to
them," Veeramani, ex-president, Katripulam, told The Hindu.

Communal markers


When pointed out that there were just 10 SC families in the village,
all of whom had converted, and none had issues with burial, Mr.
Veeramani said that the "peaceful village need not have communal
markers."

According to Birla Thangadurai, member of District Committee against
Bonded Labour, those families had converted to escape caste
oppression. The point is to have them bonded for eternity. An RDO or a
Collector would forever be an outcaste in her or his own village, said
Mr. Thangadurai.

Following 'peace talks' with the Revenue Divisional Officer, and at
the intervention of the priest of the Chapel, it was decided that the
body would be cremated.

Alternative site


If the Dalits sought an alternative burial site, it could be
considered, said the RDO.


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[ZESTCaste] Rs 4,500 cr for Dalit welfare, Rs 2,600 cr for Muslims

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Rs-4-500-cr-for-Dalit-welfare--Rs-2-600-cr-for-Muslims/585050

Rs 4,500 cr for Dalit welfare, Rs 2,600 cr for Muslims

Manoj C G Posted online: Saturday , Feb 27, 2010 at 0144 hrs
New Delhi : The Congress's ongoing drive to win back Dalits and
Muslims, evident in general secretary Rahul Gandhi's visits to Dalit
homes and Digvijay Singh's visit to Azamgarh, found a reflection in
the Budget proposals on Friday with an increased allocation of 80 per
cent for the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry and 50 per cent
for the Minority Affairs Ministry.
Plan allocation for the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry, which
mainly deals with the welfare of SCs, increased from last year's Rs
2,500 crore to Rs 4,500 crore while for the Minority Affairs Ministry,
which is concerned more with Muslim welfare, the figure rose from Rs
1,740 crore to Rs 2,600 crore. For Bundelkhand, an additional
allocation of Rs 1,200 crore was made.

The total plan allocation under different heads meant for the welfare
of the SCs increased from Rs 1,788 crore last year to Rs 3,142 crore.
Allocation for post-matric scholarship for SC students was more than
doubled from Rs 818 crore to Rs 1,675 crore. Though the Ministry also
deals with the welfare of OBCs, a small portion of the total
allocation is earmarked for the section. That too, however, saw a jump
from Rs 218 crore to Rs 413 crore.

Pradhanmantri Adarsh Gram Yojna, the scheme for integrated development
of SC-dominated villages in the country, was allocated Rs 388 crore
compared to Rs 98 crore in the last Budget. The scheme announced in
the last Budget would be taken up as a pilot project in some states,
and Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress is eyeing to regain power,
figures prominently.

Similarly, for pre-matric scholarships for minorities, the allocation
was more than doubled, with the government earmarking Rs 400 crore
under this head in comparison to Rs 176.99 crore allocated in the last
Budget. Post-matric scholarships and merit-cum-means scholarships saw
considerable increase too, with allocation under post-matric
scholarships going up to Rs 234 crore from Rs 132 crore.
Multi-Sectoral Development Programme for Minorities being implemented
in 90 minority-concentrated districts of the country, too, saw a
significant jump from Rs 873 crore to Rs 1,223 crore.

"With the much-needed enhancement in allocation, we will now be able
to carry out revision in the rates of post-matric scholarships for SCs
and OBCs," said Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik.

Asked if the enhanced allocation would help the Congress woo the
"Dalit-Muslim" votebank, he said: "The Congress has always been
committed to the empowerment of the deprived sections. The enhanced
allocation reaffirms our commitment to the deprived sections."
Print Close Window

Rs 4,500 cr for Dalit welfare, Rs 2,600 cr for Muslims
Manoj C G Posted online: Saturday , Feb 27, 2010 at 0144 hrs
New Delhi : The Congress's ongoing drive to win back Dalits and
Muslims, evident in general secretary Rahul Gandhi's visits to Dalit
homes and Digvijay Singh's visit to Azamgarh, found a reflection in
the Budget proposals on Friday with an increased allocation of 80 per
cent for the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry and 50 per cent
for the Minority Affairs Ministry.
Plan allocation for the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry, which
mainly deals with the welfare of SCs, increased from last year's Rs
2,500 crore to Rs 4,500 crore while for the Minority Affairs Ministry,
which is concerned more with Muslim welfare, the figure rose from Rs
1,740 crore to Rs 2,600 crore. For Bundelkhand, an additional
allocation of Rs 1,200 crore was made.

The total plan allocation under different heads meant for the welfare
of the SCs increased from Rs 1,788 crore last year to Rs 3,142 crore.
Allocation for post-matric scholarship for SC students was more than
doubled from Rs 818 crore to Rs 1,675 crore. Though the Ministry also
deals with the welfare of OBCs, a small portion of the total
allocation is earmarked for the section. That too, however, saw a jump
from Rs 218 crore to Rs 413 crore.

Pradhanmantri Adarsh Gram Yojna, the scheme for integrated development
of SC-dominated villages in the country, was allocated Rs 388 crore
compared to Rs 98 crore in the last Budget. The scheme announced in
the last Budget would be taken up as a pilot project in some states,
and Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress is eyeing to regain power,
figures prominently.

Similarly, for pre-matric scholarships for minorities, the allocation
was more than doubled, with the government earmarking Rs 400 crore
under this head in comparison to Rs 176.99 crore allocated in the last
Budget. Post-matric scholarships and merit-cum-means scholarships saw
considerable increase too, with allocation under post-matric
scholarships going up to Rs 234 crore from Rs 132 crore.
Multi-Sectoral Development Programme for Minorities being implemented
in 90 minority-concentrated districts of the country, too, saw a
significant jump from Rs 873 crore to Rs 1,223 crore.

"With the much-needed enhancement in allocation, we will now be able
to carry out revision in the rates of post-matric scholarships for SCs
and OBCs," said Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik.

Asked if the enhanced allocation would help the Congress woo the
"Dalit-Muslim" votebank, he said: "The Congress has always been
committed to the empowerment of the deprived sections. The enhanced
allocation reaffirms our commitment to the deprived sections."


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[ZESTCaste] Nepal: Ethnic federalism will further marginalise Dalit.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/-guestcolumn/4137-dalit-doubts-.html


By Mitra Pariyar

In his Kantipur column of 20 December Hari Roka, a pro-Maoist
commentator and lawmaker, argued that part of the reason why India
opposed the Maoists promoting a federal state was that it feared "the
establishment of a new social system based on the redistribution of
property and freedom from untouchability would have consequences on
its states close to Nepal".

The statement is, inter alia, representative of how the Maoists
continue to use Dalits in their propaganda. They have always claimed
that theirs is a movement of the oppressed masses, and indeed many
Dalits have sacrificed their lives for the cause. However, Roka's
claim about untouchability rings hollow because there is little
evidence to show that the ex-rebels actually care about the deeply
entrenched problems of low castes.

On the contrary, Dalits increasingly feel they have had the rug pulled
out from under them, not least because of the Maoists' unilateral
declaration of autonomous ethnic states. Firstly, Dalits are not going
to have their own autonomous state; they will be a tiny minority in
all states. More importantly, Dalits suffer indignities and injustices
not only at the hands of Bahuns and Chhetris, but also from Rais,
Limbus, Madhesis, Gurungs, Magars, Newars, and others.

A 2006 report in Nepali Times stated: "In the hotbed of Tarai ethnic
politics, mainstream Madhesi rights activists, anti-hills-people
vigilantes, Maoist splinter groups and Tharu groups are demanding
everything from greater autonomy to secession. But Madhesi Dalits are
nowhere in the equation". The parties' attitude to Dalits in the Tarai
and the hills remains the same, despite the pressure of massive
political changes.

Hugo Gorringe, a British anthropologist who studied Indian Dalits,
observes: "untouchability, it is clear, is irreconcilable with
nationhood, and undermines the democratic project". The Nepali
Congress and UML, despite their democratic credentials, have always
refrained from taking Dalit issues seriously; their own workers and
supporters regularly practice untouchability. The former rebels'
initial enthusiasm about doing away with caste-based subordination has
also been ephemeral. For instance, the Maoist government didn't,
despite the popular expectation, start anything concrete to help
Dalits; neither did it attempt to include them in important positions.
Although they have been insisting on federal states named after
particular groups, they have not yet articulated their policies on how
untouchability can be effectively tackled.

Whilst Dalits are still struggling to become bona fide citizens of
Nepal, they will have to fight separately to become the citizens of
autonomous states as well. Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar's prescription for the
Dalit movement was: "educate, agitate, organise". The implementation
of autonomous ethnic states is likely to hinder these strategies, not
least because the Dalit movement will then be dispersed and
consequently further weakened.

Some believe that untouchability cannot be tackled until caste is
annihilated; others think it can be challenged by emphasising the
socioeconomic relationship between castes on the basis of modern
national laws over customary ones. We should attempt to integrate low
castes with other castes or ethnic groups to pave the way for a more
egalitarian society. Ethnic federalism will only institutionalise and
solidify caste or ethnic boundaries, instead of undermining them.
The Maoists are likely to lose the support of many Dalits and others
by pushing for their retrograde demand for ethnic federalism, even if
it helps them in the short term. Like most Nepali citizens, Dalits
want to live in peace with more dignity and better economic
opportunities. This simple dream cannot be fulfilled if the powers
that be don't give up their stance on ethnic federalism under the
facade of revolutionary change.

(Courtesy: Nepali Times)

(Pariyar is currently doing MPhil in Social Anthropology at Oxford
University. He can be reached at: mitrepari@gmail.com This e-mail
address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled
to view it )

(Editor's Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of
Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their
views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day
Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should
not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of
clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may
also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to
editors@mos.com.np


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Friday, February 26, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Panchami the Dalits Land

 


 Panchmi  the  Dalit`s  Land....Read.

http://dalitskerala.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/panchami-land-in-tamil-nadu/



The  Dalit  Land  of  Tamilnadu



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,.BharathRethna.-





The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See your Yahoo! Homepage.

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[ZESTCaste] Untouchable prejudice

http://www.theage.com.au/world/untouchable-prejudice-20100226-p94d.html


Untouchable prejudice

AMRIT DHILLON, NEW DELHI
February 27, 2010

A Dalit ("untouchable") man sits on the outskirts of the city of
Lucknow. Photo: Reuters

A VIBRATION of sympathy ran through the audience at the recent Jaipur
Literary Festival in Rajasthan as author Omprakash Valmiki, his voice
trembling with indignation, spoke of the daily humiliations suffered
by his community.

As one of India's 160 million ''untouchables'', Valmiki is part of an
emerging genre of writers now telling their stories of centuries of
abuse under the rigid and hierarchical Hindu caste system. Brimming
with anger and bitterness at the injustices meted out by upper caste
Hindus for more than 2000 years, the writing has a singular quality to
it: raw and jagged, full of anger and pain.

His people, Valmiki told the audience, were not allowed to wear decent
clothes, ride on a horse during marriage processions, draw water from
the village well or remain seated while an upper caste person was
standing.

Indeed, the very word ''untouchable'' hurts - denoting a status so
lowly it falls outside the caste system, a system that deems
untouchables too filthy for higher castes to touch, and which has in
the past decreed that molten lead be poured into the ears of
untouchables who tried to memorise Hindu sacred texts, and that the
tongues be cut from upstarts who dared to read them.

Hardly surprising then that many of India's 160 million untouchables
would rather be known by a term of their own choosing, ''Dalit'' - the
word is derived from the Sanskrit for destroyed or crushed - much as
African Americans rejected ''Negro'' during the civil rights movement
in the US.

As Valmiki spoke, the largely upper caste audience almost visibly
winced with embarrassment. Dalit children, he continued, were seated
apart in school, forced to sweep the classroom and given water in
different glasses. Upper caste Hindus refused to be treated by a Dalit
doctor or rent their homes to Dalits for fear of ''pollution''.

The session's title, Why Hindus Feel No Shame, had been chosen by
Valmiki's colleague, Dalit writer and academic Kancha Ilaiah. "Whites
in America fought alongside the blacks in the civil rights movement in
the '70s. White South Africans fought to end apartheid,'' said Ilaiah.
''But which upper caste Hindus have fought to end untouchability?"

In the Hindu system, the four castes are, in descending order, the
Brahmins (priests and teachers), Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors),
Vaishyas (merchants and traders), and Shudras (servants). The
''untouchables'' are outside the caste system and as outcasts, their
very touch pollutes a high caste Hindu who regards them as
''unclean''.

The reason Hindus had never struggled to end untouchability, said
Ilaiah, author of the acclaimed Why I Am Not a Hindu, was because they
felt no guilt, this absence arising from their conviction that the
caste system was morally just. Thus, said Ilaiah, although
untouchability was a much deeper form of human degradation than racial
discrimination, upper caste Hindus could countenance it without
discomfort, the segregation being, in their world view, divinely
ordained.

Racism, he continued, had for many years dictated that black Americans
could not sit next to whites on buses or in restaurants. In South
Africa, it had meant that blacks could not vote. ''But if a white
person touched a black person, he did not have to go and bathe because
the black was 'unclean','' he said. ''The black person was still
regarded as a human being created by God.

''But Hindus have to bathe if they touch a Dalit because God himself,
according to them, created him as an untouchable.''

That Dalit literature was a special theme at a mainstream book
festival such as the now globally known Jaipur Literature Festival,
attended by Indian and international authors, was thanks to festival
co-founder and publisher Namita Gokhale.

''I wanted to bring this genre to the attention of a wider audience.
Their voices, their stories need to be heard. They have a message for
India about the deep injustices in our society that have been glossed
over for millennia," she said.

Although the Indian constitution bans any caste-based discrimination,
the reality is quite different. True, owing to affirmative action in
politics and government jobs, Dalits are more visible than before in
these two spheres of Indian life. But few Dalits can be found in the
world of books, music, film, theatre, art and the media. India has no
famous Dalit actor, model, singer, journalist or television
personality. No Dalit version of the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire
- portraying the lives of Dalits sympathetically - has ever been made.

And even today, Dalits, who form 17 per cent of India's 1.2 billion
people, continue to be subjected to routine brutality.

Against such a backdrop, even the act of writing a book becomes a
powerful gesture, asserting the right to intellectual creativity for a
community that has never before moved beyond simple survival. ''By
writing, Dalits are claiming their right to beauty instead of being
confined to struggling for bare necessities,'' said Dalit novelist
Ajay Navaria, who teaches at Jamia Millia Islamia University in New
Delhi.

Political scientist Christopher Jaffrelot sees Dalit writing as a
specific literary genre. ''It gives us a new history of India, a
history from below, a history that is not found in the textbooks," he
said. It was inevitable, he said, that Dalit works should be full of
rage and rebellion, for it was the first time in their history that
Dalits were narrating their experiences. ''Just as with feminism and
the American civil rights movement, the first wave of writing tends to
be autobiographical.''

This is not to say that upper caste Indian authors have never
portrayed Dalits in their novels. On occasion, they have, but these
characters are invariably drawn as passive victims. ''When Dalits
write about themselves, it is a totally different kind of writing. It
is a cry of anguish. It is very moving and powerful,'' said Jaffrelot.

S. Anand, head of Navayana, which exclusively publishes Dalit works,
believes it is impossible for Dalits to sever their relationship with
pain, which is why their works make uncomfortable reading. ''When your
entire early experience has been shaped by caste cruelties, it can
never be a light-hearted, easy read,'' he said.

The days when untouchables had to wear a bell around their necks to
alert any approaching high caste person so that the latter could
quickly cross to the other side of the path to avoid being
''polluted'' may be over, but other forms of dehumanisation flourish,
particularly in the countryside, where 75 per cent of Indians live.

Valmiki, writing in his book Joothan, describes being forced by the
headmaster to sweep the classroom in the village school he attended
while the upper caste pupils studied, and writes of how his parents,
whose caste required them to remove human excrement from upper caste
toilets, squatted outside the homes of upper caste villagers, waiting
patiently for leftover food to be thrown out.

Years later, Valmiki feels sick whenever the memory of those days
returns. ''It was not so much that we had to eat the leftovers but the
fact that we were so hopelessly poor we relished them. That is what
rankles still.''

Elsewhere in Joothan, he describes how, not being recognised as a
Dalit, he is mistakenly treated with kindness by a family. They invite
him home for tea. Valmiki's heart melts with gratitude on being
treated like a human being. Not all people are wicked, he thinks to
himself. Minutes later, his host asks him his name and, realising his
mistake, throws Valmiki out, hurling obscenities at him.

Valmiki defends the genre against critics who have derided Dalit
writing as lacking in literary merit, dismissed it as propagandist or
claimed that the stark portrayals of injustice have been exaggerated.

''What they don't understand is that the Dalit literary movement is
not just a literary movement. It is also a cultural and social
movement because Dalit books portray the aspirations and wishes of
tormented Dalits,'' he said.

Even at the Jaipur Literary Festival, some people furtively exchanged
quizzical looks as P. Sivakami, until recently a senior civil servant
in Tamil Nadu, spoke about her experiences. Sivakami said caste kept
intruding into her life, no matter how hard she fought to escape it.
As the guest of honour at a school, she had recently stood alongside
an upper caste colleague as they watched a procession of Dalit
students.

''The first thing my colleague said was that they were 'too pretty',
they couldn't possibly be Dalit girls,'' said Sivakami. Her latest
Tamil novel, translated into English as The Grip of Change, marks a
departure from Dalit literary tradition, tackling the male domination
of the Dalit social movement rather than recounting her childhood
experiences.

S. Anand is never surprised at the charge that Dalit authors
exaggerate their suffering or the degree of caste consciousness in
India. As a Brahmin who had a Dalit girlfriend at university, he had
been sceptical too the first time his girlfriend remarked that he was
getting higher marks than her for literature because he was a Brahmin
and the department was full of Brahmin lecturers.

''I was shocked at her assertion. I didn't believe caste played any
part in it. But … once, because she was feeling lazy, I wrote a paper
for her and submitted it in her name. It was good because I worked
hard at it. It got only reasonable marks.

''Later, I wrote a very shoddy and mediocre paper and submitted it in
my name. It got top marks. I realised they were not marking me but
marking me as a Brahmin,'' he said.

Even among his liberal friends, Anand is constantly struck by how
little they realise the unconscious exclusion they practise when it
comes to Dalits. ''They don't realise it is manifested in every choice
we make - who we eat with, what we eat, who we marry. If I point out,
say, that they have never had a Dalit over for dinner, they say it's
not deliberate but that is exactly my point. That we practise
exclusion without being aware of it.''

AUTHORS such as Sivamani represent a new breed of Dalit writers who
are moving away from autobiographies and exploring issues of identity,
patriarchy or sexuality. For example, Anand is publishing an anthology
soon of Dalits writing on love.

And Navaria, a rising star in Dalit literature, has written about a
gigolo's travels in India and recounted his relationships with
non-Dalit women in which a niggling worry is that he might be
attracted to them only because they are not Dalits.

Dalit literature is also slowly emerging as a discipline of academic
study. The department of English at Pune University features Dalit and
African-American literature in a course entitled ''Literature of
Protest''. Jamia Millia Islamia University has received support for an
endowed chair in Dalit studies from the Ford Foundation.

While he welcomes such developments, Ilaiah is convinced that it will
take someone from outside India, perhaps a Hollywood director or a
European author, to make a film or write a book that will make Hindus
ashamed of what they have done to Dalits.

''We need someone who can portray the evil of caste in a way that
captures people's imagination globally, because we have tried and
failed to rouse the conscience of the upper castes,'' he said. ''If
creative Western minds can portray the evils of the Holocaust or
apartheid, why not untouchability?''

Amrit Dhillon is a Delhi-based journalist.


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[ZESTCaste] Ambedkar’s statue unveiled

http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/26/stories/2010022652920300.htm

Karnataka - Mysore

Ambedkar's statue unveiled

Special Correspondent

Floral tribute: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's statue was unveiled at Ashokapuram
Park in Mysore on Thursday.

MYSORE: A statue of B.R. Ambedkar was unveiled at Dr. Ambedkar Park in
Ashokapuram here on Thursday by Mayor Purushottam.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Purushottam lamented that the principles
and thoughts of Dr. Ambedkar were not being followed. This was
reflected in the failure of the socio-economic development of the
depressed class and socially backward communities in the country, he
said.

Mr. Purushottam described Dr. Ambedkar as a visionary who did not
belong to any particular community. He was a national leader whose
principles should be imbibed by the people, he said.

V. Srinivas Prasad, MLA, stressed the need for converting the Ambedkar
bhavans into centres of learning.

Mysore City Corporation Commissioner K.S. Raykar, corporators Byrappa,
Pushpalatha Chikkanna, and Sunanda Palanetra were among those present.


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[ZESTCaste] No let up in caste-bound tension in Odisha village

http://www.kalingatimes.com/odisha_news/news2010/20100225_No_let_up_in_caste-bound_tension_in_Odisha_village.htm

No let up in caste-bound tension in Odisha village
By Manoj Kar
Kendrapara, Feb. 25: Situation continues to remain surcharged in
strife-torn Rankala village even as panic-stricken Dalits fearing
further attack from upper caste have begun fleeing from the village.

A day after their noisy demonstration in front of the district
collectorate, the dalit settlers are plagued by palpable sense of
insecurity. Despite deployment of armed police, there are reports of
dalits fleeing the village.

Meanwhile, in a latest twist to the caste-bound violence, police have
arrested a man on charge of outraging the modesty of a dailt woman.

Yesterday, two dalit women lodged complaint with the local police that
they were sexually assaulted when the mob went on rampage attacking
the dalit settlements.

Two separate cases have been registered in connection with the alleged
rape charges. Both the victims were medically examined, said police.

"We have taken shelter in dalit-dominated Tunupur village. We are
feeling unsafe. After police arrested trouble makers from the upper
caste groups, there is every likelihood of retaliatory attack. We are
unable to repose faith on law enforcing agency. They are partisan and
tilting towards the upper caste groups. That's why, a large number of
people who resorted to violence are yet to be arrested. They are
roaming free in the village," according to a cross section of dalits.

The ransacked houses in the village, that was witness to bloody
caste-bound battle on 18 February, remind one of the scenes of
devastation of 1999 super-cyclone days.

At least 23 persons mostly dalit women were injured armed upper caste
groups had launched a murderous attack on their houses.

As upper caste groups resorted to dig earth from a government grazing
land in close proximity to dalits' place of inhabitation, the dalits
offered resistance and stopped the digging work. The upper caste who
were lifting the earth for construction work in the local lord
Hanumanjew temple were deeply enraged and attacked the other groups.

An armed mob comprising over 300 people from the group had barged into
dalits' settlement and had let loose vandalism spree. After beating up
the families, they targeted their houses and caused damage to 33
houses and household articles. The incident had occurred when the male
members of the victimized families were away from their homes as most
of them were daily wagers.

Till date, ten persons involved in the violent attack have been taken
into custody. A platoon of armed police is still camped in the
troubled village as a precautionary measure. Situation is fast
returning to normality in the affected village, said Kendrapara
Superintendent of Police, Narasingha Bhol.


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