Latest News Update: 04/01/2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Dalit girl burnt alive in Haryana village

http://www.hindustantimes.com/rssfeed/haryana/Dalit-girl-burnt-alive-in-Haryana-village/Article1-534141.aspx

Dalit girl burnt alive in Haryana village

Press Trust Of India
Chandigarh, April 21, 2010
First Published: 19:23 IST(21/4/2010)
Last Updated: 19:28 IST(21/4/2010)

A physically challenged girl was burnt alive and her father received
serious burn injuries when some persons set afire houses belonging to
dalits in a village in Haryana's Hisar district on Wednesday.

Eighteen-year-old Suman was charred to death while her father Tara
Chand, 70, suffered 90 per cent burns, official sources said adding
the incident happened in Mirchpur village.

Members of a particular community raided the village and set afire
some 12 to 15 dalit houses, they said.

Old enmity between the two communities coupled with flaring up of the
tension in the past few days led to today's incident, the sources
said.

A few days back, some members of a community allegedly passed some
objectionable remarks on dalit women.

This provoked retaliation from the dalits who roughed up some youths
of the rival community, villagers said.

A physically challenged girl was burnt alive when some persons set on
fire dalit houses, Hisar Deputy Commissioner OP Sheron said.

Asked how many houses were torched, he said "we are yet to get full details."

He said a case under various sections of the IPC had been registered
against some persons and promised strict action against the guilty.

A large posse of policemen were deployed in the village where tension ran high.

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[ZESTCaste] 16 Dalit labourers assaulted

http://www.siasat.com/english/news/16-dalit-labourers-assaulted

16 Dalit labourers assaulted
Tuesday, 27 April 2010

Muzaffarnagar, April 27: Atleast 16 Dalit labourers were seriously
injured after being allegedly attacked by some men for refusing to
work in fields at Jagaheri village, police said today. The incident
occurred last evening and the victims were assaulted with sharp-edged
weapons and lathis.

A case against 18 people has been registered under Scheduled Castes
Prevention of Atrocities Act 1987, S P Rajiv Malhotra said, adding the
injured have been hospitalised.

----PTI

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[ZESTCaste] Statistics prove Buta wrong: BSY

http://expressbuzz.com/states/karnataka/statistics-prove-buta-wrong-bsy/169583.html

By Express News Service
30 Apr 2010 04:46:00 AM IST

Statistics prove Buta wrong: BSY

BANGALORE: Dismissing chairman of National SC Commission Buta Singh's
allegations against his government as "baseless" and "politically
motivated," Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Thursday took strong
objections to Singh for making adverse comments on his government
without any documentary evidence.
"I don't understand what made him make such comments on my government
when statistics (of the Centre and the state) prove him wrong," said
Yeddyurappa, while terming Singh's comments as an effort to bring bad
name to his government at the national level. "Being a senior
politician, Singh should have made an impartial assessment of the
steps taken by my government," he said, adding he would write to Singh
on the measures taken by his government for the development of Dalits.
"My government is the first to set aside 22.75 per cent of its plan
size for the development of SCs," he said.
To Singh's complaint that Dalits were not being given proportionate
reservation, The CM said the state was giving 15 pc reservation to
Dalits, whereas it was much less in states like Maharashtra and Andhra
Pradesh — states ruled by the Congress — where the Dalit population is
considerably higher than in Karnataka. "Increasing reservation to
Dalits is not in state government's purview. It has to be done by the
Centre through an amendment to the Constitution and I hope Singh knows
it better.'' Yeddyurappa added the government had been maintaining
roster very carefully and a cabinet sub-committee had been exclusively
set up to oversee recruitment.
In 2008-09, the state government had spent Rs 44 crore in addition to
the Central assistance of Rs 146 crore. Minister Govind Karjol accused
Buta of not allowing officers of the state government to present facts
before the commission.
'Action on Bellary case after report'
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said he would take appropriate action
on alleged illegal mining in Bellary after getting the survey report
which was submitted to the Supreme Court on Thursday by the Central
team.
The CM said he was yet to get the survey report. Appointment to the
Upalokayukta, which has been lying since the retirement of Justice
Patri Basavangoud four months ago, will be made soon, he added.

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Re: [ZESTCaste] Modi on target again for his remarks on Ambedkar

REVIVAL OF BUDDHISM IN INDIA

The month of October in India is the month of Revival of Buddhism. Throughout this month and particularly on 14th of October thousands of majority native Indians called SC/STs keep taking refugee in the Triple Gem. This process has been going on since 1956 for last 50 years and still continues.
Today most of the educated SC/STs praise Dr.B.R. Ambedkar- The symbol of
SC/ST movement for his embracing of Buddhism and on the other hand they
themselves feel that it is time to rid themselves of internal caste divisions and organize themselves strongly under one umbrella. For which one of the most
effective ways they find is to convert with one voice and one choice to Buddhism.

First of all one may ask why Dr.B.R. Ambedkar the architect of Indian constitution himself left Hinduism? To which Ambedkar himself says:
"I thought for long that we could rid the Hindu society of its evils and get
the depressed classes incorporated into it on terms of equality. That motive
inspired the Mahad Chaudar Tank satyagraha and the Nasik temple entry
satyagraha. With that object in mind we burned the Manu smriti and performed
mass thread ceremonies. Experience has taught me better. I stand today
absolutely convinced that for the depressed classes there can be no equality
among the Hindus because on inequality rest the foundations of Hinduism. We
no longer want to be part of the Hindu society." (Source material on Dr.
Babasaheb Ambedkar and the movement of untouchables vol-1 Bombay, Govt. of maharastra, 1982, page 250)
The modern SC/STs have found that most of the Hindu leaders are hypocrites who profess to fight casteism while in reality practice its rules. Similarly the Bhraminical bureaucrats who claim to have democratic ideas wishing to raise the backward castes but who really crave nothing better than an oligarchy for themselves. The unity of SC/STs especially political consolidation proves to be very difficult to achieve because some of the lower castes are often not against caste system but in the system and try to rise within it which, earlier Ambedkar himself had sincerely tried and failed and finally along with five hundred thousand of his followers he embraced Buddhism on 14th october, 1956 at Nagpur.
Since the teachings of Buddha are based on the central fact of life that is
suffering, the cause for suffering, the cessation of suffering and the path
leading to cessation of suffering. Here for Indian SC/STs there is
suffering, the cause for their suffering is casteism, the cessation of
suffering is abandoning this castiest religion, the path leading to
cessation of suffering is taking refugee in Buddhism. So now the people of India
with the common sense think why not they take refugee in this Indian
religion when the people all over the world are taking. Buddhism is the only
Indian religion which as become the world religion and is considered to be
the only religion with rational outlook and scientific temper inviting
people to come and see and not to come and believe. The main object of
Buddhism is to emancipate the suffering humanity. So people who have become
refuge less and hope less in the casteist system in India take refugee in cast
less system which is of course Buddhism as recommended by the Dr.B.R. Ambedkar- The greatest Buddhist leader of India. He himself has said that Buddhism is an all-comprehensive Religion and is the best of all.

Once Ambedkar said: "Question is being asked why I am inclined towards Buddhism. The direct answer to this question is that I regard the Buddha's Dhamma to be the best. No religion can be compared to it. If a modern man who knows science must have a religion, the only religion he can have is the Religion of the Buddha. This conviction has grown in me after thirty-five years of close study of all religions. The Buddha's Religion is the only religion which a society awakened by science could accept, and without which it would perish.
For the modern world Buddhism is the only religion which it must have to
save itself".
Throughout his life he was questioned on related issues to which he answered in very effective manner. Some of the questions and his answers are compiled here as follows:

SOME QUESTIONS & DR. AMBEDKAR'S ANSWERS
(Q-stands for question and A-stands for Ambedkar's answer)

Q: Why had our country lost her freedom time and again? Why have we been
subjected to foreign domination so often?
A: It is because this country as a whole never stood against the enemy. It was always a small section of the society and whoever overpowered it became the victor. This is mainly due to the pernicious caste system of the Hindus.
Second world war was fought in Europe during the period from 1939-45. The
soldiers who were killed in the battles were immediately replaced by the
fresh recruits. Nobody ever paused to say that the credit for winning the
war should go to a particular community or section of the society. Whereas
in our country in the past if all the Kshatriyas were done away with the
battle then there could be no mobilization or recruitment according to the
"chaturvarna" since according to this abominable law, Kshatriyas and
Kshatriyas alone were entitled to fight. This is what has been enslaved many
times. Had the right to bear arms not been denied to us this country would
never have lost her freedom nor could any invader have succeeded in
conquering her.
This religion and this social order have ruined us. But this is not going to
stop here. This would ruin the Hindus themselves and ultimately India.
Q; Should you continue to be Hindu?
A: Why should remain bound to a religion which does not even treat you
as a human being? Why do you remain in a religion which prohibits you from
entering its temples? Why do you remain in a religion which prohibits you
from entering temples? Why do you remain under that religion which prohibits
you from drawing water from public wells? Why do you remain in that religion
which bars you from decent occupations and jobs? Why do you remain in the
religion which insults you at every step? The religion which teaches man to
behave with man in an inhuman manner is not religion but infamy. The
religion which does not recognize a human being as a human being is a curse.
The religion in which the touch of animals is permitted but the touch of a
human being pollutes is not a religion but the mockery of a religion. The
religion which precludes some classes from education forbids them to
accumulate wealth and to bear arms, is not a religion but tyranny. The
religion which compels the ignorant to remain ignorant and the poor to
remain poor does not deserve to be called a religion.
Q: Is conversion necessary?
A: I should like to impress this thing on your minds very clearly that
religion is for man and not man for religion. I would like to ask you all
what is the sense in living in a society which is devoid of humanity, which
does not respect you, protect you, humiliates you, and never misses and
opportunity to hurt you. Any person with an iota of self respect and decency
will not like to remain in this satanic religion. Only those who live to be
slaves can remain in this religion.
In view of the facts that the Hindu religion which forced our forefathers
to lead a life of degradation and heaped all sorts of indignities on them,
kept them poor and ignorant, why should you remain within the fold of such a
diabolical creed? If, like your forefathers, you too, continue to accept a
degraded and lowly position, and humiliation, you will continue to he hated.
Nobody will respect you and nobody will help you. It is for these reasons
that the question of conversion has become important for us. To change this
degraded and disgraceful existence into golden life, conversion is
absolutely necessary.

Q: Can education destroy caste?
A: The answer is 'yes' as well as 'no' If education is given as it is today
education can have no effect on caste. It will remain as it will be. The
glaring example of it is the Brahmin caste. Cent percent of it is educated;
majority of it is highly educated. Yet not one Brahmin has shown himself to
be against caste. In fact an educated person belonging to the higher caste
is more interested, after his education, to retain the caste system than was when he was not educated. For education gives him an additional interest in the retention of the caste system, namely by opening additional opportunity of getting a bigger job. From this point of view, education is not helpful as means to dissolve caste. So far is the negative side of education.
But education may be solvent if it is applied to the lower strata of the
Indian society. It would raise their spirit of rebellion. In their present
state of ignorance, they are the support of the caste system. Once their
eyes are opened they will be ready to fight the caste system.
The fault of the present policy is that though education being given on a
larger scale it is not given to the right strata of Indian society. If you
give education to those strata of Indian society which has a vested interest
in maintaining the caste system for the advantages it gives them, the caste
system will be strengthened. On the other hand, if you give education to
the lower strata of Indian society which is interested in blowing up the
caste system, the caste system will be blown up. All the moment the
indiscriminate help given to education by the Indian Government and American
Foundations is going to strengthen the caste system. To make rich richer
and poor poorer is not the way to abolish poverty. The same is true of
using education as a means to end the caste system. To give education to
those who want to keep up the caste system is not to improve the prospects
of democracy in India, but to put democracy in India in greater jeopardy.
–TALK FOR VOICE OF AMERICA ON PROSPECTS OF DEMOCRACY IN INDIA - 20th May 1956 by DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR

Q: In India some people remark that Buddhism has become the religion of
untouchables and thereby makes others reluctant to come to this religion.

A: Brahmins in his time did not spare even Lord Buddha. In kasibhradwaja
sutta they addressed him as Vasala- an outcaste. In spite of all the
vilifications and the abuses showered on this religion, Buddhism has spread
throughout the world. It is the only Indian religion to become world
religion.

According to history even when Christianity made its way into Europe the
situation in and around Rome was appalling. People did not get enough food
to fill their bellies. The people who extended a sympathetic response to the
call of Christianity when it entered into Europe were not those who were
convinced of its spirituality but those miserable poor and oppressed people
for whom porridge, distributed free of cost, served as a meal. The poor and
the oppressed became converts to Christianity.
Thus Mr. Gibbon, the renowned historian and author of the rise and fall of
the Roman Empire scornfully branded Christianity as a religion of the poor
and the beggars. Mr. Gibbon is not alive today. He would have been shocked
to see the whole of Europe engulfed by Christianity.

Q: Why should one convert to Buddhism alone and not to any other religion?

A: For such high principles are not to be found in any other religion. There
is a world of difference between this religion and other religions of the
world. Main principles of Buddhism form no part of theistic religions.
According to other religions God created the world, this earth and
thereafter he created heaven, air, moon and other planets. That means he has
created also the stone in the bladder. God has done all that was required to
be done and now there remains nothing for us to do. All that we are required
to do is, just to sing the praises of Almighty God. This does not appeal to
rational man today.
According to Christianity, there will be a day of judgment and everything
will depend on the judgment that day. One can be sent to heaven or hell on
that day.
Buddhism denies the existence of God and Soul. The real basis of Buddhism is
rational way to eradicate suffering. 'There is' Buddha said, "Suffering in
the world-suffering wide spread". 90 percent of the people are afflicted
with suffering or misery of some kind or the other. The main object of
Buddhism is to emancipate the suffering humanity.

The first point, which marks off Buddha from the rest, is his
self-abnegation. JESUS insists that he is the Son of God. MOHAMMED went a
step further. He claimed that he was the messenger of God on earth and
insisted that he was the last messenger. KRISHNA went a step beyond both
Jesus and Mohammed. He claimed that he was "Parameshwar" - the God of Gods. BUDDHA never arrogated to himself any such status. He was born a son of man and was content to remain a common man and preached his gospel as a common man. Jesus, Mohammed and Krishna claimed for themselves a role of
MOKSHADATA. Buddha was satisfied with playing the role of MARGADATA.

Brothers and Sisters, I have said whatever there was to be said. This is the
best religion in the world and there can be absolutely no doubt about it.
With the education, intelligence, knowledge and experience that I have, it
is not difficult for me to oppose or fight against any evil. But there is a
mountain-colossal mountain of caste hierarchy; Brahmins, Kshatriyas,
Vaishyas sitting on our heads. The question before us is, how to topple it
down and blast it. It is for this reason that I wanted to acquaint you fully
with the religion of Buddha. I owe it as a duty, too. - Dr.B.R,Ambedkar

So we see that finally Dr.B.R.Ambedkar on 14th October 1956 along with 5 lakh people went to the refuge of Buddha ,Dhamma and Sangha. Committed as he was to rationality and empiricism, he was attracted by Buddhism's rational out look tuned with morality further strengthened by scientific temper rather than blind belief. It's teaching of equality and solidarity, its emphasis on transforming both self and world through self effort with self confidence. Thus with this understanding he was able to accomplish "diksha (conversion on 14th oct. 1956)and shiksha,(instruction n through his book –The Buddha and His Dhamma.)

Thus Dr. B.R. Ambedkar went to these three refugee of Buddha, Dhamma
and Sangha because
In BUDDHA he found a True Teacher of Spirituality,
In DHAMMA the true teachings of equality
In SANGHA the true friends of humanity.

Buddhism does not actively look for converts, but it is thoroughly welcoming
to those who do want to convert. The segmented morality endemic to Hinduism
is Oppressive to those who suffer under it, while enabling beneficiaries to
sleep well and feel morally upright in their houses while pain, hunger and powerlessness cries loudly right outside their homes. The data speaks this truth. Long verbal arguments are a waste of time in this denial.

Dr.Ambedkar' s wish before death was to make the whole of India
a Buddhist country. Thus SC/STs feel that the only and best way to express gratitude to this great leader is to embrace Buddhism and full fill his death wish on this dhamma deksha day of 14th october every year in India. Thereby bringing equality, liberty, and fraternity in India and welfare to the whole of humanity.

Dr. Ambedkar once said "Our ancestors had no means to fight this slavery and
therefore they could not revolt. They were compelled to live in Hindu
religion. Nobody can force this type of slavery upon the present generation.
We have all sorts of freedom. If the present generation does not avail of
such freedom and free itself from the clutches of Hinduism they are sure to
be dubbed as cowardly, mean and slavish people devoid of self-respect" .
Thus what the Indian SC/STs have to say is as follows:

This day of fourteen October,
Is the day for Indian Buddhists to remember.

Taking Buddha as spiritual Teacher,
Noble Dhamma as spiritual Mother;
Noble Sangha as spiritual Elder;
The natives went again to Triple refuge forever.
All this was due to efforts of Babasaheb Ambedker,
Who unfortunately passed away on sixth December.

This movement created scientific temper,
And rescued people from castist viper.
Present generation should work like sniper,
Eliminating from within the immoral character;
Giving reins to moral leader.

Never should you ever surrender,
Nor just be watching like a bystander;
But strive hard and be a defender.
Lead a life like that of a brave commander,
Express your gratitude on this day to Bodhisattva Ambedker.

MAY ALL BEINGS BE HAPPY & LIBERATED.
Ven.Bhikkhu Vinayarakkhita

________________________________
From: Siddhartha Kumar <mailsiddhartha.k@gmail.com>
To: zestcaste <zestcaste@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wed, 28 April, 2010 11:13:20 PM
Subject: [ZESTCaste] Modi on target again for his remarks on Ambedkar

http://news4u.co.in/?p=60470

Modi on target again for his remarks on Ambedkar

Published on April 28, 2010 by admin

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[ZESTCaste] Rahul's visit to dalit riot victims a wake-up call for Hooda

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rahuls-visit-to-dalit-riot-victims-a-wake-up-call-for-Hooda/articleshow/5874326.cms

Rahul's visit to dalit riot victims a wake-up call for Hooda
Subodh Ghildiyal, TNN, Apr 30, 2010, 03.28am IST

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi on Thursday reached out to dalit families
which suffered at the hands of Jat rioters in Mirchpur in Hisar,
promising that stringent action would be taken against the guilty.

Unannounced to the state government, Rahul's visit to the village
where two persons including a polio afflicted girl were killed when
rioters set fire to dalit houses on April 21 is in line with his focus
on SCs/STs. However, for second-term chief minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda, whose tenures have been riddled with serious dalit atrocities
starting with infamous Gohana carnage, it is seen as a "wake-up call".

Skipping Parliament on Thursday, Rahul reached Mirchpur around
afternoon and spent around an hour with victims which included the
family of Tarachand who along with daughter Suman were killed by the
rampaging mob.

AICC general secretary and Union minister Prithviraj Chavan, who
accompanied him, said, "The visit was kept a complete surprise so that
Rahul could get a first hand picture of the issue."

The victims accused the administration of apathy. As Rahul sat
listening to them, they repeated their demand to be rehabilitated
elsewhere. Only two days back, CM Hooda visited the village and
assured the victims of police safety when they sought to be settled in
a new place.

It is unlikely to make a good impression about the Congress regime.
Rahul's visit may dent the impression that presence of his son
Deepender among young MPs gives Hooda an added layer of immunity.

Rahul's decision to go unannounced may have been to win the confidence
of SC victims after reports that they were facing a hostile
administration and the backdrop of recurring violence against dalits.

The Hisar riots have set a few heads in Congress thinking. For the
party, which experimented by putting a Jat at the helm, the perception
of the state being lenient on the dominant community vis-a-vis SCs is
not encouraging. The party has been an umbrella of social groups under
non-Jat patriarch Bhajan Lal and the threat of a restive dalit
community which is also big in numbers and socially assertive can risk
the party's tried and tested social combination.

It is significant that parties identified with Jat community like INLD
have protested Mirchpur riots. Somewhere, they may see an opening in
recurring cases of violence.

The tricky bit is that after a perception that the government was
light on the strong groups, action against Jat rioters now can rub the
community the wrong way. INLD's aggression may be aimed at trapping
the Congress between Jats and dalits.

As pressure mounts on Hooda for remedial action, the dissident group
may wadeinto the intra-party politics. A leader said the failure of
administration to enforce the rule of law was symptomatic of the CM's
lose grip.

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[ZESTCaste] Stampede kills five at sect headquarters in India

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321342,stampede-kills-five-at-sect-headquarters-in-india.html

Stampede kills five at sect headquarters in India

Posted : Fri, 30 Apr 2010 07:35:23 GMT
By : dpa

New Delhi - At least five women devotees were killed and several
injured in a stampede at the headquarters of a religious sect in
India's northern state of Haryana on Friday, news reports said.

The stampede occurred at a function to mark the foundation day of the
Dera Saccha Sauda (True Deal Sect) at its headquarters in the Sirsa
district, 300 kilometres south-west of state capital Chandigarh, PTI
news agency reported.

District police officer Yudhvir Singh told PTI that preliminary
reports indicated the stampede was triggered by rumours about the
presence of a snake.

The victims were all aged between 56 and 60, the report said. Singh
said many others were hospitalized, without giving a figure.

Police said since Thursday night over 100,000 sect devotees had
gathered at the headquarters for the function.

The Dera Saccha Sauda sect draws most of its followers from the Dalit,
or low-caste, Sikhs. There are several such sects across Haryana and
neighbouring Punjab state with many Dalit Sikh followers.

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[ZESTCaste] Rajya Sabha adjourned over remarks against Ambedkar

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/rajya-sabha-adjourned-over-remarks-against-ambedkar_100356289.html

Rajya Sabha adjourned over remarks against Ambedkar

April 30th, 2010 - 3:36 pm ICT by IANS -
New Delhi, April 30 (IANS) The Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice Friday
over Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's alleged "unwarranted
remarks" against Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar, after a Congress member was
not allowed to raise the issue.
Praveen Rashtrapal sought to raise the issue during zero hour, saying
Modi had made "unwarranted" remarks against Ambedkar. But Deputy
Chairman K. Rahman Khan prevented him from speaking.

"Sir, how can I be prevented from speaking? My name is number two in
the list (of speakers)," asked Rashtrapal, who is also from Gujarat.

"The chairman has not given permission," Khan countered.

As Rashtrapal moved towards the presiding officer's podium, Minister
of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prithviraj Chavan also moved up to
Khan.

As Rashtrapal continued to protest, Khan adjourned the house for 15
minutes till 12.30 p.m.

When the session resumed, Khan called P. Rajeeve of the Communist
Party of India-Marxist to speak but Rashtrapal continued his protests.

Two minutes into the sitting, Khan adjourned the house till 2 p.m.

Speaking at the launch of his book at Ahmedabad Monday, Modi
reportedly said that Ambedkar embraced Buddhism instead of Islam or
Christianity because these two religions did not originate in India.

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[ZESTCaste] Rahul Visits Mirchpur Village

http://samaylive.com/english/nation/676462975.html

Rahul Visits Mirchpur Village

29/04/2010 21:10:00
Font size:
Hisar : AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi paid an unannounced short
visit this afternoon to Mirchpur village where arsoning and attacks on
Dalits had claimed two lives recently, and assured the aggrieved
Valmiki community of all possible help and stringent action against
guilty.

An argument over a barking dog in the street led to one of the most
violent clash that Haryana has seen.On April 21, 15 houses belonging
to the village's Dalits were set on fire by the upper caste Jats. The
incident of violence witnessed a physically challenged girl and her 70
year-old-father being burnt alive. The attackers, allegedly from the
Jat community, identified houses of the more well-off among the
Balmiki community and set them on fire. The mood in the village was
that dalits 'need to be taught a lesson'.
The young Congress leader took the authorities by surprise as he
disembarked from his private vehicle and made straight to the cluster
of houses burnt down in the arson.

Located in Hissar district, Mirchpur has a handful of dalits: about
100 Balmiki families, 350 'Jatav' families and 50 Doms to the 1700-odd
Jat families. The team found that growing economic prosperity among a
section of the minority dalits seemed to be the root cause this time
around.He remained in the village for about half an hour with the
aggrieved families and specially sympathised with the bereaved family
of Tara Chand and Suman. He also observed a two-minute silence to pray
for the departed souls.
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has been demanding the resignation
of the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government for its failure in preventing
the Mirchpur incident. The party said Hooda has no moral or democratic
right to stay in power after the incident in which houses of Dalits
were torched resulting in the death of a disabled girl and her father.
The party said the incident was a blot on the government and was
enough to prove that there was "jungle raj" in the state. Police
arrested 25 people for the incident and said the attack was due to an
old enmity between the two communities.

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[ZESTCaste] Cong condemns Modi for comparing Dalits to mentally retarded

http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-98649.html

Cong condemns Modi for comparing Dalits to mentally retarded

New Delhi, Apr 28 : The Congress today condemned Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi for comparing Dalits with mentally retarded
children and asked the BJP to clarify whether it subscribed to the
Chief Minister's view and, if not, what action it would take against
him.

Congress spokesman Manish Tewari told mediapersons here that Mr Modi
during release of his book has said that dalit community was like
mentally retarded children. Earlier, the Chief Minister had said
Valmiki community was involved in manual scavenging as it was
''spiritual experience,'' he pointed out and said that such distorted
comments were a challenge to the Constitution and efforts to empower
the Dalit community.

Stating that it was a sensitive issue concerned with people's
emotions, he said that the Gujarat Congress has already condemned it.

However, now the BJP should clarify whether it agreed with its Chief
Minister's view and if not then what action it was proposing to take
against him.

--UNI

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[ZESTCaste] Contesting India’s caste system

http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2010/04/30/opinion/commentary/doc4bd9fcdcaf276019777467.txt

Contesting India's caste system

The Pochabhai Foundation hopes to bring civil rights to India's
"untouchable" class.

By Arielle Stambler
CJN Teen Reporter
Published: Friday, April 30, 2010 1:08 AM EDT
On the first day of this new decade, I met a family of seven who face
a lifetime of discrimination because of their last name – Chauhan. The
Chauhans live in Golana, a rural slum in Gujarat, India, and because
they are Dalits, or "untouchables" in India's caste system, the
majority of upper caste members will not touch, speak to, or even look
at them.

I received Hathaway Brown's Harriet Mullin Barry Fellowship to travel
to India over this past winter break with 14 classmates. We made the
journey to Golana around mid-morning on Jan. 1. The sun was out as it
almost always is in India, but we were all covered from head to foot
because women in particular are expected to dress modestly. As we
walked along the unpaved, dusty roads behind Himat, the oldest Chauhan
brother, we fought off swarms of mosquitoes and shook people's hands
to say "Happy New Year." The mother of the family, Daniben, welcomed
us to her two-room house with chai tea and platefuls of Indian snacks
and invited us to sit on the ground with her. Then Himat began to tell
us his family's story.

In 1986, Himat's father Pochabhai started working to obtain civil
rights for Dalits. However, Golana's neighbors are an upper caste
community of people called Darbars. They live on the other side of a
straw fence, which is literally four feet tall, but the Darbars feel
such fervent animosity toward the Dalits that it is more like an Iron
Curtain reaching miles into the sky. Daniben explained to us that if
she had prepared a plate of food for a group of Darbars, they would
reject it. In fact, they would not even deign to touch the plate she
had handled for fear of becoming "contaminated." However, if a Darbar
and a Dalit ran into each other in Mumbai, the Darbar would have no
way of knowing that he had just met a Dalit unless the Dalit provided
his last name.

India's caste system is not based upon skin color or religion or
economic standing. It is based entirely upon birth, and no matter how
wealthy or educated a Dalit becomes, he will always be a Dalit because
of his family name. The Darbars saw Pochabhai's work as an attempt to
breach that Iron Curtain of caste between these two groups of people,
and they murdered him in 1986 along with four other Dalits in the
village. As Himat told us this story, he looked at the wall where the
only picture he has of his father was hanging and cried.

The Chauhans now run the Pochabhai Foundation, which strives to obtain
civil rights for Dalits and to raise awareness about the injustices of
India's caste system. The Chauhans are just one family out of the
millions who face both the cruel realities of discrimination and the
knowledge that the caste system has deprived them of the opportunities
they deserve for self-improvement. Daniben started the foundation
shortly after her husband's death and has worked tirelessly ever since
to keep it running. The foundation's main focuses are human rights,
basic education, safe drinking water, and rights to land for Dalits.
The major target groups of the foundation are Dalit youth, women, and
other poor communities. One of the foundation's most important annual
events is the celebration of the Day of Dalit Freedom on January 25.
On this day, about 5,000 Dalits from all over India come to Golana to
pay tribute to Pochabhai and to recognize his sacrifice for the whole
Dalit community. Daniben's dream for the future is to build a museum
in memory of Pochabhai to educate students interested in studying the
plight of Dalits.
But the Chauhans don't stop giving there. A tribe of nomads called
Jats, originally from Afghanistan, lives 25 minutes from Golana. They
rarely ever interact with anyone from the outside world, which means
their children cannot go to school. The Chauhans set up a straw-hut
schoolhouse on their land and even hired them a teacher. The tribe is
also facing the possibility of losing their land to the Indian
government, so the Chauhans are helping the tribe with the paperwork
they need to hold onto it. I was absolutely astonished by how much
this family was willing to give, and I want the world to see that they
truly are incredible.

I could not imagine being denied a job because of my last name. I can
barely comprehend the idea that someone would refuse to take a plate
of food from me because I might have "contaminated" it. And I am
unbelievably frustrated by the fact that when most upper-caste Indians
look at the Chauhans, they only see an invisible impurity that, to
them, justifies inhumane treatment. They don't see that, despite the
social obstacles they face, every member of this family is educated,
and they all speak beautiful English as well as Gujarati and Hindi.
But most of all, the rest of India doesn't see that they are good
people.

But the Chauhans already have an unflinching conviction that they are
worthwhile people. I know they are proud of their last name because
they want to create a world in which they can say it and be respected
for the humane, caring people they truly are. It is humbling to think
that our lives intersected and that, for a few hours, I had the
privilege of living in their world.

Arielle Stambler of Shaker Heights is a senior at Hathaway Brown
School and a Fellow in the CJN's Write On for Israel program. The
daughter of Paige Pratt and Bruce Stambler plays piano and violin and
runs cross-country.

For details on the Pochabhai Foundation, contact pochabhaifoundation@gmail.com.

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[ZESTCaste] Unlikely friends (Opinion)

http://beta.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article417981.ece

Editorial
Published: April 29, 2010 23:48 IST | Updated: April 29, 2010 23:48
IST April 29, 2010

Unlikely friends

The euphoria in the United Progressive Alliance camp over the defeat
of the Opposition-sponsored cut motions in the Lok Sabha is belied by
the numbers: 289 for the government and 201 against. Exclude the
Bahujan Samaj Party's 21 MPs — and it is immediately apparent that the
Manmohan Singh government is a minority regime surviving on divisions
within the Opposition, and leveraging its position to exploit the
vulnerability of some of its rivals. That the dramatic rescue act by
the BSP owes to some deft back-room understanding is plain enough. The
larger question is the impact of this quid pro quo agreement on
BSP-Congress relations in Uttar Pradesh. The BSP and the Congress have
formally aligned just once, in 1996 when neither could have foreseen a
situation where they would emerge as principal rivals in U.P. With 83
of 85 Lok Sabha seats from the State in 1984 and 269 of 425 Assembly
seats in 1985, the Congress was master of all it surveyed in India's
most populous State. Yet by 1991, the party was out of the reckoning
in U.P. with only five seats in the Lok Sabha and 46 seats in the
Assembly. While the Congress' marginalisation in U.P. was politically
humiliating, it allowed the party the freedom to throw its weight
behind whoever it perceived as a friend — the BSP in 1996 and the
Samajwadi Party in later years, with a fair amount of cross-wooing
thrown in.

Once Ms Mayawati wrested power from Mulayam Singh, the Congress's
equation with the BSP changed — from on-again, off-again friendship to
bitter rivalry accentuated by the deep personal animosity between the
U.P. Chief Minister and Rahul Gandhi. The BSP chief and the Congress
general secretary tend to bring out the worst in each other. The two
fought bitter public battles much before the 2009 Lok Sabha election.
The feud intensified after the Congress staged a surprise victory over
the BSP. Not only has the Congress' rising star set himself the task
of winning the 2012 U.P. Assembly election, he has left no one in
doubt that he means to achieve this by weaning away Ms Mayawati's
phenomenal Dalit following. But the BSP chief did not earn her
formidable reputation for nothing. She has not deviated from the
strategy of building an independent base and repeatedly testing its
strength. Following her Lok Sabha setback, she has assiduously
targeted her core constituency, placing Dalits in key positions of
power and directing resources to Dalit-specific programmes. Against
this background, it is difficult to see either party giving effect to
the new 'friendship' forged at the Centre. It is a cardinal principle
in politics that principal rivals cannot be friends. And that is how
it looks, at least in U.P.

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[ZESTCaste] From Behenji to Il Duce

http://himalmag.com/blogs/blog/2010/04/29/from-behenji-to-il-duce/

From Behenji to Il Duce
By Nandini Ramachandran

The IPL controversy has so preoccupied the Indian media this past
fortnight that they clean forgot to lampoon their favourite
whipping-woman, Mayawati. The BBC, uncomfortable with the lull and
anxious to contribute to the cause, has thus decided to jump into the
fray-http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8625337.stm.
The correspondent, who 'tiptoes around caste' and mystifyingly manages
to cover Indian politics nonetheless, evidently believes his political
correctness will eclipse (or excuse) his palpable ignorance.

The entrance to Ambedkar Udyan, Lucknow. Mayawati's chief
architectural legacy till date

The Palazzo delle Civiltà del Lavoro, popularly known as the EUR aka
The Giant Beehive, fascist Rome's most enduring image
The article follows the blueprint for Mayawati-bashing, and was
probably written by someone in London after they read a few Times of
India articles. It projects Mayawati as a megalomaniac obsessed by her
vanity projects, diverting precious resources towards irrelevant
architecture when people are starving; someone who exploits her Dalit
womanhood to garner votes (isn't she the lucky one, to be born into
such a fortuitous combination of identities) while she spends the rest
of her time being irredeemably corrupt. It is a standard-issue rant:
misleading, condescending and often plain wrong.

Just one example of this is the the article's take on the Lady's plan
for a publicly funded militia to protect Ambedkar statues across UP:
"What for, asked one incredulous opponent? Will they lose height or
weight? Is someone planning to disfigure them?" If the reporter had
done his job, he would know that these statues have a remarkable
tendency to get decapitated and thus while the move might be
extraordinary, it is certainly not ludicrous.

But the purpose of this post is not to deconstruct such a mediocre
piece of reportage. A small section of media (notably the
indefatigable Shivam Vij) has already made a good case for the
importance of iconography in empowering identity, and I will not
repeat their excellent arguments here.

What puzzles me is the lack of creativity in the mainstream ire. With
the column-space the Lady commands, surely editors would find it
prudent to break free of the dated formula and be marginally
distinctive? I find it incredible, for instance, that no one has drawn
(to my knowledge) the Mussolini analogy yet. Here is an
architecture-obsessed dictator just waiting to bestow Mayawati with
evil-fascist associations, and yet he remains an untapped resource.
Mussolini's buildings display the awesome scale Mayawati seems to be
vying for, and the man was as haunted by Augustus as Mayawati is by
Ambedkar. The Hindutva branch of bashers understandably will not want
to stir such a murky cauldron, but one would've expected liberal India
to have cottoned on to the connection years ago. It would be a project
of dubious historicity to club Il Duce and Behenji into the same fold,
but when has that ever stopped anyone in the quest for political
expedience?

Nandini Ramachandran lives and writes in Bangalore. She plans to blog
about media and politics in the region for Himal.

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[ZESTCaste] Congress cosying up to Mayawati after cut motion support

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_congress-cosying-up-to-mayawati-after-cut-motion-support_1377174

Congress cosying up to Mayawati after cut motion support

Deepak Gidwani / DNAFriday, April 30, 2010 1:55 IST

Lucknow: The Congress's terms of reference vis-a-vis Mayawati seem to
have changed overnight following her party's support to the UPA regime
on the cut motion in parliament.

On Thursday, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh was courtesy
personified as he thanked Mayawati for her support.

Digvijay is in charge of the party's affairs in Uttar Pradesh.
"By supporting the UPA government, she has taken an important step
towards strengthening secular forces in the country," Digvijay told
reporters at the state Congress headquarters here.

The Congress leader denied that Mayawati had fallen in line because of
a disproportionate assets case against her which is being investigated
by the income tax department and the CBI. "The BSP had supported the
UPA government from Day 1… that support continues. So, where's the
confusion?" he asked.

Interestingly, this is precisely the explanation Mayawati herself gave
out while announcing her decision to support the UPA regime on the
BJP-sponsored cut motion in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Digvijay did not stop at that. He even went ahead and welcomed
Mayawati's drive against criminals in her party. However, he also
raised questions about how they had managed to enter the BSP.

Despite the rather mild criticism, Singh's statements clearly indicate
a change of tactics on the Congress's part towards the BSP. The shift
could change political equations in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh
assembly election in 2012.

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