From: CHITTIBABU PADAVALA <afchittibabu@gmail.com>
Date: 9 March 2010 06:58
Subject: Demanding justice in unjust language
To: bahujanstudentnetwork@googlegroups.com
Dear Friends,
This analogy is striking and oft used in the media. For example
this comparison is used in Telugu media, by AP leaders, including Dalit
leaders. But, this needs to be used sensitively and carefully. It is quite
conformist madness to think that all those in jails are criminals or what
they have been convicted of are actually crimes or that only criminals are
jailed or even that all criminals are jailed. Rarely do such things happen.
Even when they jailed one is a criminal depriving them of decent life serves
no good. It is better for us not to use - as a matter of priniciple - the
word criminal when we refer to those who serve the jail term because such a
thing uncritically accepts the police+judiciary's version. Let's use only
one of the alternatives Laxman provided: Inmates.
Moreover, it is not a decent strategy to compare with other
oppressed category - jail inmates. The use of this analogy in Telugu media
quickly became insensitive within no time that jail mates could be deprived
of basic decent standards of living given the lack of access to them by
outside society, stigma associated with being jailed, complete and unchecked
power jail authorities enjoy over them, inmates' lack of access to outside
world, inattention of media, risks involved in protesting within the jail
and many more such things the conditions in jails are inhuman and degrading.
To top it all, most jails involve hierarchical structures within jails in
which some inmates are delegated illegal powers by the jail authorities
leaving them no possibility of introspection, self-correction. It is almost
always the case that those who are jailed hardened by the experience and
tend to get rid of any guilt than otherwise.
There is another point too. Dalits are more likely to be jailed. They are
more likely to get severe punishment relative to their offences. And, they
are most likely to be ill-treated and abused within the jail due to lack of
support systems from outside and sympathy within. Many of our people are in
jails very often not because they have been convicted of something but
simply because the jail authorities ignore to take them to the courts to
appear before it or attend the hearings. It happens sometimes years
together.
All these things are highlighted by many human rights organizations and
familiar things to those activists who are frequently jailed for being
social activists and join the protests and agitations. There are cases of
inmates being killed by jail police, goondas within cells and there are no
cases of murderers ever getting punished. Very often the inmates suffering
from ill-nesses are treated inhumanly and they die without attracting any
punishment to those neglected them criminally.
When the conditions in jails are so bad, it is insensitive to argue as if
their conditions are in any way better than the lot of the Dalit students.
It is much humane and radical to argue that so and so is the prescribed
standard of living for so and so age group according to a respectable
institution's estimates and the actual allocations fall short of such
prescription.
This temptation to make use of the prejudices of society and state our
own justifiable causes is something we fight back by all means. There is no
point in now talking about the honorable intentions of those who made
such comparisons. Being in and with the social movements involves being able
to express our demands as decently as our intentions are.
If a respectable gentleman is unfairly treated by others and he expresses
his legitimate anger by saying that he was being treated like an untouchable
rightly offends us. Why? That obvious answer is the reason for opposing this
unfair comparison of the plight of the under-provided dalit students with
the inmates of jails.
It is quite possible that our Parliamentary Committees are full of people
who could understand only such crude forms of articulation as my friend Dr.
Laxman thinks. But we don't have to appeal to their prejudices. May be it is
more effective to show what percentage of an MPs monthly petrol bill is
equal to the monthly allocation for a dalit student, or some such telling
detail.
Chittibabu Padavala
On 8 March 2010 17:07, C Lakshmanan <laxman@mids.ac.in> wrote:
> *Dear Friends,*
>
> *I draw your attention to analogy that once I was put forth to government
> officials in Tamil Nadu (TN). In government run hostels in TN budget per
> person per day Rs 15/- (Rupees Fifteen only) to a student of 6th to 12thStd. In case College student from Graduate to Doctorate - Rs. 20 per person
> per day. However, budget for a criminals/ inmates in the Jails is Rs. 45 to
> 100 per day, it may varies Class and nature of Crime.*
>
> *It would be opt analogy to the Parliamentary Committee to understand.*
>
> **
>
> *Warmly,*
>
> *Lakshmanan*
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: uaday singh <usingh2280@yahoo.co.in>
> Date: Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 3:29 PM
> Subject: Urgent
> To: "Venkatesh(ISM) Naik" <venkilale@gmail.com>, asheeshkr@gmail.com,
> Hitendra.petro@gmail.com, harryism@gmail.com, our-media@googlegroups.com,
> zestcaste@yahoogroups.com
>
>
> Dear Students,
> Parlimentart commitee is preparing a report on the Scholarships
> for SC/ST/OBC(notification attached). Plz writ individual mails to the
> commitee and write a joint letter to the commitee and send by post. In your
> mails you may write difficulties in getting scholarships, income criteria,
> mess bill etc.
> Treat it as urgent.
>
> Dr. Uaday Singh
> Assistant Professor
> Deptt. of Mathematics
> BHU,
> <http://www.bandoo.com/wp/ie.php?plg=ie&ad2=0&subs=yahoo&elm=sign>
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