More about Dalit hopes and despair
The Hindu S. Viswanathan, Readers' Editor, The Hindu
Last week's column, "The plight of Dalits and the news media" (October
25, 2010), has generated a lively and interesting response from
several readers. The column was about the prioritisation of the tasks
before the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes (NCSC) by its
new Chairman, P.L. Punia (not P.J. Punia as erroneously mentioned in
the column.) The concern of most who wrote was over the failure of
successive governments to achieve the empowerment of Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes, the most vulnerable of the country's poor, 63
years after Independence. This reveals not only their awareness of the
pain of these victims of anti-human oppression, but also of official
and bureaucratic indifference to their predicament. Readers are also
aware of the lack of political will among those in power to help find
a way out of this shameful situation. This is a far cry from the
situation prevailing, say, 15-20 years ago, when reports that
untouchability was still being practised in many parts of the country
as harshly as ever carried little credibility among readers.
As recently as in 1990, political leaders tended to deny that
discrimination was practised against Dalits in teashops, where the
beverage was served to Dalits and non-Dalits in two different sets of
tumblers. These leaders asserted that it might have happened in one or
two remote villages. It was as though they believed, and wanted others
to believe, that the constitutional ban on untouchability had
abolished it on the ground. The atrocities against Dalits were
depicted by most political parties and much of the media as
'inter-caste clashes' and the outcome of some needless provocation,
usually from the Dalit side. Further, there was a marked tendency to
equate the perpetrators of oppression and violence with the victims.
Policemen, the overwhelming majority of whom were 'caste-Hindus,'
almost always threw their weight behind their kin. Dalits thus became
the victims of both caste oppression and hatred and the custodians of
law.
It was only during the first decade of the present century that large
numbers of newspaper readers apparently began to see the Dalit
question in fact-based perspective. In turn, there was a perceptible
improvement in the media's approach to, and coverage of, what may
broadly be termed the Dalit Question, a critical challenge facing
rising India. Unlike the previous decade, when reader ratings of
Dalit-related reports were generally poor, the past decade has seen a
spurt of lively responses to reports and editorial articles on
poverty, caste-based oppression, and social injustice. Young men and
women entering the field of journalism after being sensitised to the
issue by good teachers in serious journalism schools or departments
began writing on Dalit issues boldly and with elan. At least a few of
the mainstream newspapers turned their focus on the plight of the poor
and the oppressed. This is a heartening trend in agenda building,
which in turn has sensitised and influenced readers.
The responses to last week's column on Mr. Punia's appeal to the
central government to provide job reservation came from readers with
different backgrounds. Almost all of them showed great concern for the
victims. The NCSC has prioritised the tasks ensuring reservation for
Dalits in the private sector and maximising the benefits of such plans
to Dalits.
Speedy and effective action called for
A former Governor of Mizoram, Dr. A. Padmanaban, who now lives in
Chennai, pointed out in his comment on the column that reservation for
Scheduled Castes in the private sector had been discussed and debated
over a long period: "The Bill introduced in Parliament some years ago
was deferred and not dropped on the assurances and promises given by
leading industrialists led by Mr. Ratan Tata in the form of a
statement for affirmative action. This statement and proposal were
given to them, on the initiative of Mr. Ratan Tata, to the Prime
Minister, the Minister of Social Justice and others on 25/5/2005. This
proposal includes training, scholarships, reservation in private
sector companies etc." He added that it was on the basis of these
assurances and in good faith that the Government of India deferred the
Reservation Bill. Dr. Padmanaban's assessment is that "the measures
taken by private sector to implement their affirmative action plan
have been tardy and unsatisfactory." He has been in correspondence
with the Prime Minister, the Minister for Social Justice, Mr. Ratan
Tata, and organisations such as CII-Assocham and FICCI on this matter.
"Speedy and effective action is called for. The Indian industrialists
have to be more liberal and discharge their social responsibility
effectively," Dr. Padmanaban concluded.
The Bill on Reservation, pending before Parliament, seeks to provide
job reservation for the weaker sections of society in view of
privatisation of several public sector units in the country. The
assurance was part of the electoral commitments made by UPA-1
(2004-2009) in its National Common Minimum Programme. According to
some newspaper reports, the representatives of the industry chambers
recently conveyed their "inability to implement" the suggestion made
to these organisations by the Union Commerce and Industry Ministry to
reserve five per cent of jobs for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes. In turn, Mr. Punia has recently at a meeting with the press at
Hyderabad served notice on the private sector that it "will … have to
do something for the disadvantaged sections," failing which he would
press for legislation to bring this about.
Another reader, Mr. Punitha Pandiyan, who edits a popular Tamil
magazine, Dalit Murasu, referred in his letter to the diversion of
funds meant for Dalit welfare projects under the Scheduled Castes
Sub-Plan to the Commonwealth Games. He regarded this as a notable
omission in this column. A report in The Indian Express of August 26,
2010 cited by Mr. Pandiyan said that the government admitted in the
Rajya Sabha that over Rs. 670 crore meant for Scheduled Castes welfare
projects was diverted to CWG work by the Delhi Government. Explaining
the diversion of funds, Home Minister P. Chidambaram told the House
that from 2006-2007 to the current fiscal, out of Rs. 7,062 crores
(under indivisible funds) Rs. 678.91 crores were given for CWG
projects. He further said while the divisible funds had to be
necessarily used exclusively for SCs, money from the indivisible pool
could be used for projects such as building stadiums, bridges and
flyovers. In Mr. Pandiyan's view, this diversion of funds amounted to
a breach of trust.
This reader also cited a report dated October 15, which said that Mr.
Punia took serious note of the Delhi Government's alleged diversion of
funds meant for the welfare of the Dalits to the Commonwealth Games
and "demanded refund in case it had happened." He was quoted as
saying: "As a Chairman of the Commission, I would not allow any
government whether of the Congress-ruled States or the
Opposition-ruled States, to divert the funds meant for the Dalits to
other purposes." Mr. Pandiyan wanted Mr. Punia to take action to get
the money refunded, in the light of the August 26 statement of the
Union Home Minister.
Another reader, M.N. Sanil from New Delhi, contended in his e-mail
that "reservation in the private sector is linked to the cultural
capital (in the Bourdieuan sense) of Dalits, which they acquire from
education and families. The oppression they face in the education
system and outside the system discriminates and excludes them in a
conscious-brutal fashion." He expressed optimism in his belief that
"contemporary Dalit struggles that are non-ngoised in nature can
challenge the diverse and existing ideological forms of caste."
Feudal foundation
S.V. Venugopalan of Chennai was clear about the root of the problem:
"The feudal foundation of this vast nation is too deeply entrenched
and the roots of social discrimination lie embedded in our genes…When
people of various social strata play an equally important role in
building a nation and nourishing it, [the] casteist perspective has no
place in any modern society." Another reader, S. Raghavan of Chennai,
commented: "If only our governments had organised a massive education
programme for Dalit children from the primary stage, the problem might
have been largely solved by now." This progressive observation has
some truth in it but the challenge is clearly not as single-track or
as simple as this assertion suggests.
This discussion on one of India's vital national questions must continue.
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