http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/105732/India/dalit-cooks-divide-up-schoolkids.html
Dalit cooks divide UP schoolkids
Piyush Srivastava
Lucknow, July 17, 2010
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Over 1,000 students have left primary schools over Dalit cooksAt least
1,000 students belonging to upper castes and the other backward
classes (OBCs) in Uttar Pradesh have shifted from government to
private schools to avoid mid-day meals prepared by Dalit cooks.
The primary school students in Kannauj and Kanpur ( rural) districts
decided to give the meals a skip despite the fact that the state is
governed by the Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP), whose leader and chief
minister Mayawati is a Dalit icon.
In the 2007 UP assembly elections, the BSP had piggybacked on the
support from the Dalit- Brahmin combine to come to power.
But once there, Mayawati and her party failed to bridge the gap
between the upper castes and the Dalits. Rather than achieving social
harmony, it has led to increased casteism as is evident from the fact
that the students have been boycotting schools over Dalit cooks.
In the last three days, at least 500 students in Kannauj have stopped
attending school for this reason.
"We cannot allow our children to take meal cooked by an untouchable,"
said Ram Vilas Yadav, a villager from Madarpur in Kanpur ( rural).
For a nation which is fast emerging as a global player, it is
unfortunate that casteism and untouchability are still prevalent.
What is worrying is that Mahatma Gandhi's ideals about a classless
society seem to have been forgotten.
And this is no isolated incident.
In July 2009, upper caste students in at least 15 villages of Kannauj
had stopped going to government schools. This year, the OBC students,
too, joined them when schools reopened after the summer vacation.
The crisis intensified on Saturday when parents ransacked the
Majhigawan Primary School in Kannauj over a Dalit cook and pelted
stones at the police.
Similar scenes were also witnessed at Mairakhpur village in Kanpur (
rural) where over 200 villagers attacked a primary school, ransacked
property and sealed the kitchen.
This has mounted pressure on the BSP which had passed a diktat making
it compulsory for every government school to appoint a Dalit cook
where there are two vacancies.
Trouble started when the village chiefs and village secretaries, who
are authorised to appoint the cooks, went a step further and employed
a Dalit in the job even when there was a single vacancy.
In a bid to salvage the situation, the government has now asked
district level officers to replace Dalit cooks in case there is a
problem.
"There are reports that more than 1,000 students in Kannauj and Kanpur
( rural) have left school in protest against Dalit cooks. Although
there was no written communication, the officers in districts have
been asked to appoint upper caste cooks," said a senior officer of the
education department.
Talking about the state government's previous stance, the officer
said, " Earlier, it was under pressure from the ruling BSP leaders
that the village representatives used to appoint a Dalit cook against
a single vacancy. The chief minister knew about it and used to
appreciate these local representatives." The officer said that
Mayawati must have realised the mistake following reactions from
parents.
"Now we have been told that there must be an upper caste cook against
a single vacancy and in any case, the head cook has to be from the
upper caste.
The Dalit cook will be involved in cleaning work only.
"The government is in no mood to drag this issue because it might
damage the political prospects of the BSP, which is trying to keep the
upper castes and the OBCs in good humour," the officer added.
Even as damage control measures are undertaken, Saroj Kumar Tiwari,
district magistrate of Kanpur ( rural), blamed some political parties
for creating a hue and cry.
"Some mischievous elements active in the district are vitiating the
atmosphere and dividing people before the panchayat elections ( in
September)," Tiwari said.
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