Latest News Update: Feb 15, 2010

Monday, February 15, 2010

[ZESTCaste] RE: DALIT UNIVERSITY - MY VIEW

Dear Ramendra Bhai,

I believe, institutions like Aligarh University, Jamia Islamia, Osmania University are Muslims majority universities. I believe, at least Muslim students feel more at home in those universities than they do elsewhere. If wrong, I stand to be corrected. Even if I am wrong in imagining that Muslim students feel more at home in those universities, I think there should be some universities where a weaker section feel more at home than the usual upper caste Hindu dominated university.

From the above premise, I would say that it would be good to have a couple of universities where Dalits feel more at home and feel like having greater ownership in those universities than the usual run of the mill universities. I do not feel all or most Dalit students should attend only such Dalit universities. However, it may turn out that such universities would produce more Dalit leaders than other colleges or universities would. This conjecture is based on the facts related to HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) in the USA. The US has more than 100 colleges and universities where African American students are in overwhelming majority; African Americans, even if not in majority, form major chunk of the faculty, far greater share than in other colleges and universities. Nearly 40% of Black college students attend HBCUs, and yet they produce majority of African American leadership. Further, far higher percentage of African African
students finish their graduation in HBCUs than in other colleges and universities.

All of these go to show the need for a few colleges and universities for each of the marginalized and weak communities (like Muslims, SCs, STs, Lower OBCs, Christians, Sikhs, etc.) where students from these respective communities are in majority. The faculty too in such institutions should mostly come from the said respective communities, as far as possible.

Regards,
Satinath

====

--- On Sun, 14/2/10, Ramendra Jakhu <rjakhu@hotmail.com> wrote:
> From: Ramendra Jakhu <rjakhu@hotmail.com>
> Subject: RE: DALIT UNIVERSITY - MY VIEW
> To: dalitconference@googlegroups.com
> Date: Sunday, 14 February, 2010, 7:15 AM
>
> Dear wasnik,
>
> The idea of having a dalit university is not
> required as v need to have more such institutions in the
> name of Dr Ambedkar only.A university is meant for all
> not for dalits only.Do v have any such varsity in india
> named after any group ?
>
> jakhu
>
> > From: smwasnik@rcfltd.com
> > To: dalitconference@googlegroups.com
> > Subject: Re: DALIT UNIVERSITY - MY VIEW
> > Date: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 09:02:01 +0530
> >
> > Dear Virenderji,
> > very true thinking.....
> >
> >
> > On Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:19:59 +0530, anuj verma wrote
> > > Dear Virender,
> > >
> > > My brother you are very correct in your opinion
> about these MPs,
> > > MLAs and bureaucrats who actually belong to SC
> community but they
> > > deny or accept to be a part of this community
> when they reach to
> > > higher posts. They [WINDOWS-1252?]don't add
> anything to our community and
> > instead
> > > they serve their own interest in the name of
> their community. I
> > > also have some personal experiences when these SC
> big shots
> > > responded very indifferently to their own
> community men. The most
> > > recent example is the Karnataka High Court Chief
> Justice P.D. Dinakaran
> > > who grabbed the land for his relatives which was
> meant for the
> > > Dalits. These kind of people have only one caste
> and that is greed.
> > > We should strongly condemn these kind of selfish
> people who are of
> > > no use to our community. A true dalit is the one
> who regard all the
> > > dalits as his brothers and sisters
> >
> >
> > --------------------------------------------
> > Regards
> > SANJAY M.WASNIK

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[ZESTCaste] BSP to celebrate its silver jubilee on Kanshiram's b'day

BSP to celebrate its silver jubilee on Kanshiram's b'day

Updated on Monday, February 15, 2010, 18:06 IST

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Monday said the BSP
would celebrate 25th anniversary of its foundation on the birth
anniversary of its founder Kanshiram on March 15.

"The party, which came into existence on April 14, 1984 completed 25
years last year, but the party could not celebrate silver jubilee due
to Lok Sabha and assembly elections in some states," Mayawati told
reporters here.

She said now the party has decided to celebrate its 25th foundation
day on the birth anniversary of BSP founder Kanshiram on March 15 in
Lucknow.

"As part of its silver jubilee celebration the party will also
organise a massive national rally in the state capital at Ramabai
ground on the same day," she said.

During the rally, two special bulletins on the party and its founder
Kanshiram would also be released, Mayawati said.

"A film depicting life struggle of Kanshiramji would be screened so
that the party workers should take inspiration and complete his
unfulfilled work," she said.

Attacking the Congress, the chief minister alleged that the party
which ruled the country and states for several years did nothing for
the upliftment of the downtrodden, backwards, and religious
minorities.

Other parties also adopted a similar attitude, she added.

PTI

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[ZESTCaste] NHRC intervenes to get Orissa's Dalit family justice

http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a115123.html

NHRC intervenes to get Orissa's Dalit family justice

New Delhi, Feb 15
Kallu Sethi, a washerman in Orissa, has been running from pillar to
post against oppression by the powerful upper castes in his village.
He finally approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC),
which has directed his case be taken up in an open court, signalling
hope for others similarly facing oppression.

Kalu Sethi's problems began a few years back when he applied for a
piece of land under a government scheme for the landless Dalit
community. Since then life has been one long tale of harassment and
torture for him and his family at the hands of the powerful upper
caste. Hapless, Sethi finally knocked the door of the NHRC for mercy
and justice.

"My entire family, including the women, are often beaten up by upper
caste henchmen because we mustered enough courage to leave the bondage
of washing clothes of the upper caste communities and bought a piece
of land to cultivate," Sethi told reporters at a press meet here
Monday.

Sethi, a resident of Shantipur village in Puri district, was a victim
of the 'bartan' system in which a person belonging to a lower caste
can only work as a barber or a washerman, rendering service to the
higher caste - not for money, but for just 15 kg of paddy per year. He
approached an NGO for help which in turn directed the case to the
NHRC.

Sethi said around 60 people of the Dalit community still work as
washermen in the village.

"I had filed several FIRs and complaints to various agencies and so
did some of the other villagers. But no action was taken against all
these atrocities. I approached the NHRC in December 2008 after which
it issued a notice to the district magistrate of Puri. But the state
simply replied that no such thing happens there," the 45-year-old
Sethi said.

"Then with the help of an NGO, I approached the NHRC again. It has now
summoned the Puri district collector, the secretary of the Panchayati
Raj tomorrow (Tuesday) at their office for a hearing. I will go and
represent members of my village and members of my community. It will
be an open court," he added.

According to Parvinder Singh of ActionAid, the NGO whose partner
organisation in Orissa has been helping Sethi, there are around 2,000
similar cases in Orissa pending before various agencies.

"There are 1,000 cases in Puri alone of human rights violations,
bonded labour and caste based discrimination, and 2,000 cases in the
whole of Orissa. If Sethi's case goes through successfully with the
NHRC help then it will set a precedent for all the others," Singh told
IANS.

While the case that Sethi will be deposing for is related to land,
there are numerous other atrocities that he and other people of the
Dalit communities are subjected to by the upper caste.

"We are three brothers and ever since we have got the piece of land,
we have been boycotted socially and economically. When my father
passed away, we were not allowed to carry out the last rites. My home
was razed to the ground. Attacks happen often and food is taken away,"
Sethi said.

"I hope this will be an end to all our miseries," he added.

Last updated on Feb 15th, 2010 at 18:39 pm IST--IANS

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[ZESTCaste] Fwd: "The Caste of Our Class Room" (13th Feb @ 2.15PM by Insight Study Circle)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: INSIGHT FOUNDATION <foundation.insight@gmail.com>
Date: 12 February 2010 14:47
Subject: "The Caste of Our Class Room" (13th Feb @ 2.15PM by Insight
Study Circle)
To:

Insight Study Circle

Invites you for a panel discussion on

"The caste of our class room"

Democratizing Indian University System: Dalits in Academia

Dalit faculties in Indian Universities and colleges is a growing
tribe. Yet it is a new phenomenon in a system that thrives on
exclusion and reflects monopolizing tendencies of couple of privileged
caste groups in India. How does the system respond towards the
presence of Dalit faculties in the campuses? What are the experiences
of these faculties as teachers and scholars, belonging to a particular
identity?

Given the level of prejudice and discrimination against Dalit students
too, particularly in higher education, the role of Dalit faculties
assumes huge importance. In a space where the credentials of Dalit
students and even their humanity are always called into question, the
need of mentoring and affirmation from someone who has 'crossed the
barrier' is crucial.

In this context Insight Study Circle invites you for a panel discussion.

Discussants:

Bodhi DSR Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai

P. Srinivas English and Foreign Languages University
(EFLU), Hyderabad

Kaushal Panwar Delhi University

Subhash Arya Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad

Moderated by Ranjit Thankappan from Indira Gandhi National Open
University (IGNOU), New Delhi

Date: 13th February (Saturday)

Time: 2.15 pm – 4.15 pm

Venue: Indian Social Institute (ISI), Lodi Road, New Delhi

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[ZESTCaste] Re:Excellent work done by BLISS

Friends,

Excellent work by BLISS. Everybody must help and contribute ones efforts.

Another sites near Mumbai are Elephanta caves. Historian MSMore writes about Elephanta caves in his Maharshtra til boudh dharma cha iitihas as follows:

Elephanta Caves were Buddhist

Chalukya king Pulkeshi II (619 – 642 AD) defeated most of his feudatories who were trying to be independent. After defeating Kadambas of Vanvasi, he sent hundreds of boats to capture Maurya's Puri, which was described variously as Laxmi in the Western Sea. This might be one of the capitals of the Mauryas. Bombay Gazetteer: Thana District Vol.II has expressed the possibility that this Puri was same as Gharapuri. When the Portuguese came here, they found a huge image of an elephant here and they named it as 'Elephanta'. [More: 2007: 18]

There were three branches of Shilaharas in Maharashtra. One branch was in north Konkan and had 1,400 villages under it. Their capital was this Puri, meaning Gaharapuri. All branches of Shilaharas were using the birud of 'Tagarpurvaraadhiswara', meaning the master of city of Tagar, the greatest of cities. Tagar was same as Ter in district of Usmanabad. Shilars were Buddhists, as shown by Rahul Sankrutyayan in 'Boudha Sanskriti' p.34. [More: 2004: 19]

About Ter friens are requested to see my book TIRUPATI BALAJI WAS A BUDDHIST SHRINE, where it is described the conversion of Ter from Buddhist to Brahminic.

Khodiar Mata of Gujarat

Mr. M. S. More narrates an interesting episode of his visit to see Buddhist caves at Talaja in Gujarat. In a cave called 'Khediar Mata', a pujari was telling the people assembled there how Khediar Mata came in a dream of a king and told him to dig at a certain place in hills, how king did so and how she was found there etc. After the people left, Mr. More enquired whether anybody from Archeological department was present to show all Buddhist caves. The priest now put his official dress of Archeological department and showed him all the caves. [More: 2007: 5]

This shows this devi Khediar Mata was a Buddhist deity. It is still an important deity of lower caste people of Gujarat. A recent TV serial depicts a large section of population being devotees of this Devi of lower castes.

Kolis and Mahars were friendly

Five copper plate grants were found in a town of Chinhani in Dahanu Taluq. From Bhillmal of Rajasthan, some merchants came and settled in 'Koli-Mahar Vishaya' (province) of 'Samyana Mandal' and built a Buddhist vihar there. The grants show that a village named 'Kandukka' was given as grant to this vihar by the local Arab Muslim Tajik Governor, named Mohemed, who was given authority to rule this area by the Rashtrakuta king Krishnaraj (878 – 915 AD). This is the oldest record of mention of Mahar caste and is historically important. Dr. Sankalia believes there must have been such small kingdoms of Koli-Mahars scattered in different parts of Maharashtra, which were later destroyed by Aryan tribes coming from North. [More: 2004: 20]

Ekvira Devi

This also shows the affinity of Mahars and Kolis. In this connection, it may also be interesting to note the Kolis establishing a Ekvira Devi in Karle. Was it by mere chance, that the Kolis selected Karle caves of Buddhists to establish their Devi here?

I believe older wise men of Koli community must have found some reason to have affinity with Buddhist deity and they must be in habit of worshipping the stupa in Karle for long time before hand and must have forgotten their Buddhist connection. Ekvira Devi has hardly got much of a profile of Brahminic deity.

Thanks

Dr K. Jamanadas

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[ZESTCaste] Gender Bender

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Gender-Bender/579753

Gender Bender
Georgina Maddox Posted online: Monday , Feb 15, 2010 at 0350 hrs
It's black it's white," crooned the late pop icon Michael Jackson in
his 1991 music video on racial peace and harmony. For most, it was an
over exploited cliché that made the world happy briefly for the length
of the music video. But almost twenty years later, the video holds
resonance for Afro Modern dance performer, Diepiriye Sungumote Kuku,
who will be collaborating with Dalit artist Savi Savarkar for a
presentation titled 'Cross-dressing to Cross-over: Queering Michael
Jackson's gender, race and class performance', slotted to unfurl at
the M F Husain Gallery, Jamia Millia Islamia, on 18th and 23rd
February.
"There are deeper layers to the music video and Michael's transition
from his Thriller days. Michael's queer, pimp-like black sexuality
morphed to a more polished, feminine boyish drag that was acceptable.
But underneath, lurked a well-concealed rage at being black and
marginalised," says Kuku, who will be bringing to life Savarkar's
larger than life paintings and drawings of Dalit monks and fictional
heroes.

"It is this rage that I want to tap into and highlight," adds the
dancer. Savarkar first invited Kuku to collaborate in 2008 as a means
to explore caste and racism for his Expo 'Eyes Re Caste' at Rabindra
Bhawan, Lalit Kala Akademi where Kuku performed to 'Four Women' by
Nina Simone. This time the collaboration is to express solidarity
through subversion in pop culture.

"All my projects are about social exclusion and Dalit aesthetics in
the last 25 years," says Savarkar who was discovered by theatre
activist and curator Lokesh Jain, and later supported by Mustafa Khan,
of Jamia. "Collaborating with Kuku has brought life to my work since
his body and posture is so much like a living sculpture. It adds
another layer to the paintings-our friendship has blossomed into a
great working relationship," observes Savarkar.

Aside from the performance, Kuku's talk will highlight the kind of
solidarity expressed by black pop icons like Jackson and Tina Turner.
"Tina was a big lesbian icon in the '80s and '90s but she was really a
projection of Ike Turner's own inability to express his masculinity.
The use of drag in pop music, whether it's Tina, James Brown or Jack
Wilson is really a compromise that people have made to become
acceptable in dominant society," he observes.

Savarkar's Expo opens on February 18, while Kuku's dance performance
is on February 23 between 3 and 4.30 pm at the M F Husain Gallery
Jamia

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