Friday, February 19, 2010

Re: [ZESTCaste] University students cook beef, have a feast!

Great. Great.

On 19 February 2010 16:37, Siddhartha Kumar <mailsiddhartha.k@gmail.com>wrote:

> http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=169688
>
> University students cook beef, have a feast!
>
> BANGALORE Feb 19:


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[ZESTCaste] Dalit youth assaulted

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Dalit+youth+assaulted&artid=v2jUkL3NUcU=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==&SEO=

By M Rafi Ahmed
19 Feb 2010 02:44:00 AM IST

Dalit youth assaulted

COIMBATORE: Even after enactment of Prevention of Atrocities Act two
decade ago, Dalits continue to be targeted by the upper caste people
on one pretext or the other. An Arunthathiyar youth was allegedly
assaulted by a group of upper class men in the city's outskirts
recently.
Speaking to Express, M Thangavel, State Convenor for Avinashi based
NGO Vizhuthugal said P Karuppasamy was going to Mathipalayam in a bus
when a person belonging to upper caste allegedly questioned the youth
for sitting next to him. A few more caste Hindus joined him and
started using abusive language.
When Karuppasamy alighted the bus, they assaulted him. Later, he was
treated at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.
Though Perur police registered a case against five persons, no arrest
has been made so far.


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[ZESTCaste] Karuna flays remarks of SC/ST panel vice-chairman on Tamil Nadu

 

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_karuna-flays-remarks-of-sc-st-panel-vice-chairman-on-tamil-nadu_1350080

Karuna flays remarks of SC/ST panel vice-chairman on Tamil Nadu
PTI

Friday, February 19, 2010 20:53 IST

Chennai: Taking objection to the reported remarks of vice-chairman of
the national SC/ST commission NM Kambley that Tamil Nadu was not doing
enough for the welfare of the Adi Dravida community members, chief
minister M Karunanidhi today said he would take up the matter with
prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

Writing in DMK's mouth piece Murasoli, he refuted the reported
allegations by Kambley that the state had not kept the panel informed
about its decision to give a 3% reservation to the Arundathiyar
community (a Dalit sub cast).

"The chief secretary had written to the chairman of the commission,
Buta Singh in November 2008 on the state's decision to implement the
reservation and we also have a reply of the commission," he said.

Also, no rule stipulated seeking the nod of the commission to
implement the reservation, Karunanidhi said adding all efforts were
taken to implement the reservation to the community without any dealy
after the announcement was made.

DMK government had at different times, implemented various measures,
including increasing reservation ceiling for SC/ST
in education and employment as early as in 1971, he said.

It was in Chennai that a Law University was named after BR Ambedkar,
he said addingthe financial allocation for the welfare of SC/ST
community was increased four-fold at Rs2,615 crore in 2009-10 as
against the Rs567 crore in 2005-06.

"It is regrettable to note that the commission has made an impression
as if we dont care for the welfare of SC/ST people.
I will bring the issue to the notice of prime minister Singh," he said.

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[ZESTCaste] BJP trying to woo dalits for cheap political gains: Congress

 

http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-55192.html

BJP trying to woo dalits for cheap political gains: Congress

New Delhi, Feb 19 : The Congress today flayed BJP leader L K Advani
for criticising the UPA goverment on price rise and its proposed
policy on return of people from Pak occupied Kashmir (PoK) and said
the BJP was trying to woo dalits for cheap political gains.

Reacting to the BJP leader's statement that if the elections were held
today the UPA government would loose it on the price rise issue,
Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, ''Mr L K Advani is
living in a dream world wishing for fresh elections every year as he
is perpetually the Prime Minister in waiting. However, even if we hold
a monthly elections his chance of becoming the Prime Minister will
remain a dream.'' Terming as 'unfair' Mr Advani's criticism of Mr P
Chidambaram's proposed policy on return of people from PoK, he said
the Home Minister has used four to five caliberated words and the
policy is yet to be evolved with process of identification, selection,
separation and documentation, and only once the person pass through
all the test he could come back to Jammu and Kashmir.

''Mr Advani should stop fishing in troubled water especially since he
is a former Home Minister. Mr Advani's tenure as the Home Minister was
unbearably tragic as many terrorist incidents happened and with no
innovations,'' he added.

Regarding BJP leader Nitin Gadkari's recent efforts to woo dalits, he
charged the party with copying the Congress and said the new found
love for the dalits is for cheap political gains.

The BJP had earlier neither taken any disciplinary action against its
leader Arun Shourie when he had criticised the founder of Indian
Constitution B R Ambedkar in his book nor distanced itself from it.

Another BJP leader M M Joshi had said those undergoing religious
conversion should not get the benefit of reservation, he pointed out.

On the other hand the Congress during the past 100 years has supported
the dalit movement and struggled for the downtrodden and now the BJP
is trying to term it as 'meant for Photo-ops'.

During the Congress regime a Dalit woman has become the Lok Sabha
speaker while post of President and the Supreme Court Chief Justice
has been occupied by a member of the dalit community.

''We do not need to reiterate these issues but the BJP is doing all
the show off which the people of the country would reject,'' he added.

--UNI

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[ZESTCaste] BJP's Dalit-friendly agenda

 

http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/feb/18/slide-show-1-bjp-goes-all-out-to-woo-dalits.htm

BJP's Dalit-friendly agenda

Last updated on: February 18, 2010 17:57 IST

Aimed at broadbasing support for it, the Bharatiya Janata Party has
gone all out to woo the Dalit community, with party president Nitin
Gadkari invoking B R Ambedkar in his presidential address at the
national council in Indore and making a special mention of disgraced
former party chief Bangaru Laxman, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste.

"Dr Ambedkar was a true humanist who gave voice to the voiceless. His
life best teaches the values of social justice and samajik samarasta
(social cohesion). I offer my homage to this towering leader of all of
us," he said at the BJP national council which began its two-day
meeting on Thursday.

Soon after landing in the city on Tuesday, Gadkari, 52, had directly
gone to Ambedkar's birthplace Mhow, to pay tributes to the Dalit icon.
He also stopped on the way to Indore, at the home of Dalit BJP
Corporator Preeti Karosiya, to have lunch.

The symbolism of both these acts has not been lost on the people and
the party cadre.

Text: Rakesh Mohan Chaturvedi in Indore/PTI

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[ZESTCaste] India unable to do away with caste system

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100219/FOREIGN/702189856/1135

India unable to do away with caste system
Anuj Chopra, Foreign Correspondent

Last Updated: February 18. 2010 10:36PM UAE / February 18. 2010 6:36PM GMT

PUNE, INDIA // He is handsome, she is pretty. They met through a
common friend at a gathering, stealing glances at each other through
the crowd. Sparks flew, romance blossomed.

But in order to marry, they were forced to elope. The couples'
families are vehemently opposed to union – not because the girl is
rich and the boy poor, but because they belong to different castes.


Shree, the husband, 26, belongs to the Gurav caste – an upper caste of
priestly Hindus who have historically been revered as temple managers.
Rajini, 23, hails from the Mahar caste – who lie at the bottom rung of
the social ladder and are denounced as "untouchables".

The thought of mingling, let alone marrying someone from another
caste, was anathema to both families. But despite the opposition, the
couple married in September.

"All I know is that she is made for me and I am made for her," said
Shree, putting his arm around his wife. "The social reverberations of
inter-caste marriage – the fear of being judged by society, of being
mocked and jeered for defying traditional beliefs – held our families
back."

Shree and Rajini are not the only couple to transcend caste barriers;
5,862 Indian couples had inter-caste marriages in 2009, up from 3,945
in 2006. The numbers may be small in a country of 1.2 billion, but not
insignificant, observers say, given how entrenched caste divisions
still are in Indian society.


The trend, observers say, is emblematic of how a rapidly modernising
India is slowly trying to move beyond the legacy of an ancient system
that once tied social status to birth, though enduring prejudices
continue to hold sway.

"Inter-caste marriages are the ultimate sign of the loosening grip of
caste," said Chandrabhan Prasad, a leading Dalit intellectual and
writer. "India's caste order is under great strain."

For centuries, "casteism" has been one of the biggest maladies in
India's hierarchical social order.

The caste system traces back thousands of years in India, when people
were compartmentalised into four broad classes – Brahmin, or priestly
caste; Kshatriya, or warrior caste; Vaisya, or merchant caste; and
Shudra, or manual labourers and scavengers. Also known as Dalits, the
lower castes, mainly the labourers, were considered "unclean" and
historically treated as less than human. The upper castes avoided skin
contact or dining with them or drawing water from the same well for
fear of "spiritual contamination".

Bhim Rao Ambedkar, one of India's most iconic Dalit leaders, promoted
inter-caste marriages as a practical way to end caste-consciousness in
his lifetime. He died in 1956.

Less than five per cent of India's population are upper-caste Brahmins
while more than 70 per cent hail from lower castes. After
independence, the caste system was abolished under India's
constitution, but many of the prejudices remained.

At least in the cities, caste divisions seem to have become somewhat
blurred, if not erased, by more apparent class divisions spawned by
the country's torrid economic boom. High-caste Brahmins may well be
served by a Dalit waiter in swanky restaurants and members of the
lower castes occupy high government posts. Meira Kumar, the current
speaker in India's lower house of parliament, is a Dalit.

"Thanks to the new economic order, and global interconnectivity, so
many caste-neutral occupations are coming into being," said Mr Prasad.

To speed up dismantling the rigid caste divide, the government in
Maharashtra began offering a cash reward of Rs 50,000 (Dh3,978) –
nearly a year's salary for many Indians – to couples opting for
inter-caste marriages. Many other states introduced a similar bonus in
2006.

But despite the incentives and India's economic progress, at least in
its urban centres, large swathes of rural India remain entrenched in
the indignities of caste. Sons or daughters who rebel against
prevailing caste norms are sometimes banished, disowned or worse by
family members. The punishment for inter-caste marriages is often
death. In some cases, families avenge marriages between different
castes by resorting to "honour killings".

In October, an inter-caste couple in the Bijnour district of Uttar
Pradesh were physically assaulted and slapped with a fine of Rs 5,000
by hostile elders from the panchayat, or village council, and ordered
to separate. When they refused, they were paraded around the village
naked.

"In the vast spans of rural India caste rules the roost," said Anil
Kumar, a professor at the Institute of Social and Economic Change in
Bangalore. "It is wishful thinking that by opening up the economy and
increasing its economic pace we increase the pace of social change."

But this is not necessarily an urban-rural divide.

Even in cities, scan the matrimonial section of any Sunday newspaper
and the importance of same-caste marriages becomes apparent. In a
nation where more than 90 per cent of marriages are still arranged,
adverts reflect people hunting for eligible "Brahmins", "Gujjars",
"Meenas", "Aggarwals" – all surnames whose caste linkages are
immediately obvious.

According to a 2006 survey by the New Delhi-based Centre for the Study
of Developing Societies, 74 per cent of Indians said they were not in
favour of inter-caste marriages.

"The institution of caste survives, flying in the face of history and
progress, mainly because the various segments remain confined to their
separate social ghettos, policed by a host of deep-rooted taboos and
interdictions," said Swami Agnivesh, a Hindu scholar. "We need to heal
Indian society of this social leprosy."

Shree's mother, who lives in his hometown of Sholapur in Maharashtra,
has still not accepted his bride. She bristles with anger whenever he
telephones her and talks of bringing her to live with him. Instead,
she tries to sway him to dump Rajini.

"'How can you marry an untouchable, someone who eats meat?' she tells
me," Shree said, emphasising that for his caste, eating meat is
strictly forbidden. "I tell her, 'wake up and smell the 21st century.
These are all man-made divisions.'"

achopra@thenational.ae


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[ZESTCaste] University students cook beef, have a feast!

http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=169688

University students cook beef, have a feast!

BANGALORE Feb 19: Bangalore University students were in the mood for a
feast. Only this one was for a cause: to protest the proposed
amendment to the Cow Slaughter Bill.

Scores of students assembled in front of the college hostel, lit up a
fire, cooked beef and had a mass feast, all in protest. After this,
students marched to the Vice-Chancellor's office where they submitted
a memorandum opposing the Bill.

"The memorandum listed social and nutritional ramifications of such a
legislation and how it is discriminatory in nature towards Dalits and
members of minority communities," a student said.

The memorandum, addressed to the Governor, will be handed over by the
Vice-Chancellor. Students said that although this protest was not held
by any political party, several other protests were planned.

Vice-Chancellor N. Prabhu Dev said that the protest was peaceful.

Beef mela

The Republican Party of India's (RPI) State unit is organising a Beef
Mela in front of Town Hall in the city on February 23.

"Beef samosas, beef rolls and beef biryani will be served to the
people in front of the Town Hall," said RPI State unit president M.
Venkataswami before declaring that the State Government could not take
away the food rights of Dalits by enacting the proposed Bill.

Meanwhile, the CPI(M) will be holding a demonstration at Freedom Park
or Banappa Park on February 25, the opening day of the Legislature
session.

Hindu


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[ZESTCaste] Dalit welfare, temple on Gadkari’s agenda

http://www.livemint.com/2010/02/18232222/Dalit-welfare-temple-on-Gadka.html

Posted: Thu, Feb 18 2010. 11:22 PM IST
Economy and Politics

Dalit welfare, temple on Gadkari's agenda

The new leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under Nitin
Gadkari is attempting a consolidation of new sections of society such
as Dalits and minoritiesSantosh K. Joy

Indore: The new leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under
Nitin Gadkari is attempting a consolidation of new sections of society
such as Dalits and minorities, while a section of the party led by
Rajnath Singh advocates status quo.

"Dalit welfare is part of our philosophy of political life. BJP stands
for justice to the Dalits and to eradicate untouchability," Gadkari
said in his presidential speech, while suggesting a softer approach to
solve issues such as the proposed Ram temple at Ayodhya by consensus
and taking Muslims along.

"Today, I appeal to the Muslim community to be generous towards the
sentiments and feelings of Hindus... If you (Muslims) give up your
claim on the land at the disputed site, we will cooperate in the
construction of a magnificent masjid (mosque) in nearby land," he
said.


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[ZESTCaste] Dalit woman stripped in Chitradurga - BSP to hold stir

 

http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=169689

Dalit woman stripped in Chitradurga - BSP to hold stir

BANGALORE, February 19, 2010: The Bahujan Samaj Party, which has taken
up the issue of the alleged stripping of Dalit woman, has decided to
stage a protest in Chitradurga on March 1 seeking action against
culprits responsible for the incident and to protest the failure of
the Government to take action.

BSP State President Marasandra Muniyappa told media reporters here on
Thursday that the party would also organise a protest march from
Chitradurga to Bangalore if need be.

He expressed concern that Chitradurga district in-charge minister G.
Karunakara Reddy and Social Welfare Minister D. Sudhakar had not even
visited the victim though a month had passed ever since the incident
took place.

He demanded resignation of Mr. Sudhakhar from the Cabinet. He also
sought sacking of Karnataka SC/ST Commission Chairman Nehru Olekar
while charging him with trying to hush up the incident.

He further alleged that Dalits were being subjected to social boycott
in Boodhihalli village of Challakere. The Dalits were being denied
access to grocery shops in the village, he alleged. According to him,
the conflict has arisen in connection with an issue related to taking
up cultivation on government land.

Our Correspondent

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[ZESTCaste] Barbershop, ironing cart for Dalits set up

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Barbershop,+ironing+cart+for+Dalits+set+up&artid=XrCpgikYfrU=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==&SEO=

By P Krishnaswamy
19 Feb 2010 02:41:00 AM IST

Barbershop, ironing cart for Dalits set up

VIRUDHUNAGAR: District Collector Sigy Thomas Vaidyan, who assured the
Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that she would take action to
end the discrimination against Dalits by the washermen and barbers of
Irunchirai village, near Thiruchuzhi in the district, has ended this
form of untouchability.
Irunchirai was in the news last year when S Gurusamy of the village
filed a petition before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court
alleging that the Dalits of the village were subjected to various
forms of ill treatment by caste Hindus.
He had said that barbers refused to cut their hair and washermen
refused to iron their clothes, saying that they would be ostracised by
the majority community if they performed these tasks for the Dalits.
On the directions of the Bench, a revenue officer and the Inspector
General of Social Justice and Human Rights visited the village and
conducted inquiries. While the IG reported that there was no
discrimination against Dalits, the revenue officer had stated he had
been told that 22 Dalit families were ostracised.
When these reports were filed, the court directed Vaidyan to visit the
village. Vaidyan studied the situation and submitted a report.
She said that S Shanmugaraj of Ramanathapuram district had offered to
serve all communities in the village, while M Muthumari, also of
Ramanathapuram, had come to wash and iron the clothes of the Dalits as
well as other communities. The Collector had provided the necessary
equipment and facilities to the barber and the washerman with
donations.
A barbershop and a washerman's cart were inaugurated in the village
last week. The barbershop has been named as Thanthai Periyar Memorial
Saloon and the ironing cart, the Thanthai Periyar Washermen's Cart.


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[ZESTCaste] Statehood for Telangana: The Current Stalemate

http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1897.html

Mainstream, Vol XLVIII, No 8, February 13, 2010

Statehood for Telangana: The Current Stalemate
Thursday 18 February 2010, by C.H. Hanumantha Rao

The following article has been sent by the author for publication in
this journal for the benefit of its readers. He is a follow-up to his
earlier article, "Regional Disparities, Smaller States and Statehood
for Telangana", published in Mainstream (March 7, 2009).

The newly created smaller States, namely, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and
Chhattisgarh, have achieved much higher growth rates in their GSDP
than the targets set for the Tenth Five Year Plan, whereas the growth
rates achieved by their parent states, namely, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar
and Madhya Pradesh fell significantly short of the targets. (Planning
Commission, 2008; Rao, 2009) Further, the growth rates achieved in the
first two years of the Eleventh Plan, that is, 2007-08 and 2008-09, by
Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand were significantly higher than those
achieved by their parent States. Apart from releasing the creative
energies of the people, viability of smaller States may have
contributed to better governance, attracting greater private
investment from outside as well as planning and utilising resources
more efficiently. (World Bank, 2007)

An extremely encouraging development is in respect of Bihar, where the
average growth rate achieved at 9.7 per cent per annum during these
two years was significantly higher than for Jharkhand at 5.8 per cent
per annum. (Aiyar, 2010; Rao, 2010) This may be explained by improved
governance, of late, in this State, facilitated not the least by the
fact that with the creation of Jharkhand, Bihar has become less
heterogeneous and much smaller in area, with the size of its
population getting reduced by about 25 per cent.

Experience has demonstrated the failure of regional planning to ensure
adequate development of backward regions within the larger States.
This is explained by the politics of planning in democracy inherent in
such States characterised by regional unevenness in development. The
experience of Maharashtra and Gujarat amply illustrates the failure to
develop backward regions, despite the existence of constitutional
provisions for setting up Regional Planning Boards and the powers
entrusted to the Governor to review the progress of development under
such regional plans. This experience underlines the need for conceding
separate Statehood for certain backward regions like Telangana and
Vidarbha.

The observations of B.R. Ambedkar, the principal architect of our
Constitution, on the desirability of smaller States are prophetic. He
welcomed the recommendation of the States Reorganisation Commission in
1955 for the creation of Hyderabad State consisting of Telangana
region and creation of Vidarbha as a separate State. Further, he
envisaged the division of Uttar Pradesh into three States (Western,
Central and Eastern); Bihar into two (North and South or present
Jharkhand); Madhya Pradesh into two (Northern and Southern); and
Maharashtra into three (Western,Central and Eastern). He was for
linguistic homogeneity of a State in the sense of 'one State-one
language' and not 'one language-one State'. He thus envisaged two
Telugu speaking States, three Marathi speaking States and a large
number of Hindi speaking States. (Ambedkar, 1979)

While arguing for smaller States, Ambedkar was guided basically by two
considerations. One, no single State should be large enough to
exercise undue influence in the federation. Drawing from the American
experience, he thought that smaller States were in the best interests
of healthy federalism. On this issue, his views were similar to those
of K.M. Panikkar, set out in his note of dissent to the Report of the
States Reorganisation Commission. Second, he thought that socially
disadvantaged sections are likely to be subjected to greater
discrimination in bigger States because of the consolidation of
socially privileged or dominant groups. (Ambedkar, 1979)

Over the last half-a-century, two new dimensions have been added.
Population growth and the multiplicity of developmental functions have
rendered governance in large-size States inefficient. Secondly, in the
context of development planning under democracy, significant regional
diversities with respect to the historically inherited levels of
infrastructure and institutions within certain large States have given
rise to severe tensions concerning the distribution of benefits from
development. These tensions have reached a point where harmonious
development seems no longer possible without their break-up into
smaller States which are relatively homogeneous. (Rao, 2010)

¨

The agitations for separate Statehood for Telangana in the Telangana
region as well as for Samaikhya (United) Andhra Pradesh in the Andhra
region are in full swing now. The agitation in Telangana is
unprecedented in its sweep, being universal or, at any rate, far more
widespread than in 1969, involving, among others, students, farmers,
women and even children. The movement is virtually taken over and led
by the students, all of whom were obviously born at least a decade
after the agitation of 1969. It appears as if history is repeating
itself or time is standing still for over four decades so far as this
issue is concerned!

Curiously, in the case of the Andhra region, history appears to have
been overturned. The 'Jai Andhra' or separate Andhra agitation of
1972-73 was triggered-off by the land reform legislation and the
validation of Mulki Rules (preference for natives of Telangana in
employment) by the Supreme Court, because of which the big landed
sections as well as educated youth could lose in the integrated State.
Over the last four decades, however, certain leading business
sections, including those involved in real estate business from the
Andhra region, developed a big stake in Telangana, particularly in and
around Hyderabad city. Thanks to the lop-sided urbanisation and
concentration of financial sector services and IT industry in
Hyderabad in the post-reform period, the educated youth—most of whom
were born after the 'Jai Andhra' agitation like their Telangana
counterparts—could understandably have developed an emotional
identification with the capital city and so a stake in Samaikhya
(United) Andhra Pradesh.

Guided by the consensus among the major political parties in favour of
the formation of separate Telangana State, as espoused in their
election manifestos and reiterated by them as recently as on December
7, 2009, the Central Government on December 9 announced its decision
to initiate the process for the formation of the Telangana State.
Within hours, this decision triggered off a counter-agitation in the
Andhra region for a united Andhra Pradesh, leaders of the major
political parties taking sides by getting divided horizontally on
regional lines. It is not clear whether these leaders did not mean
what they promised earlier on Telangana in the expectation that no
worthwhile initiative would come from the Centre or could not
anticipate the adverse public reaction in the Andhra region in the
event of any favourable move on the issue. In any case, this has
placed the Centre in a difficult situation leading to the stalemate in
the resolution of the crisis.

As it is, the Constitution fully empowers the Centre to carve out new
States, the role of the State legislatures being limited to merely
expressing their views on the proposed Bill by the Centre. While
politics cannot be wished away in a democracy and the Centre cannot
normally be expected to proceed against the wishes of the majority of
legislators of a State, ultimately, politics in a democracy have to
come to terms with the provisions of the Constitution and respect the
universal demand of the people of a region for separate Statehood.
Also, in the long-run, the youth of any region in the modern age,
imbued as it would be with the democratic spirit, would come to
respect the people's wishes from the other region for separate
Statehood. Besides, a pride in the capacity to develop oppor-tunities
in one's own State is bound to come into play. Addressing the
legitimate concerns of the stakeholders is essential to facilitate
this process.

There is no alternative to the Centre as well as the leaders of both
the regions taking initiatives for a constructive dialogue for
resolving the outstanding issues by addressing the legitimate concerns
of the stakeholders, to pave the way for separate Statehood for
Telangana and thus end the perpetual uncer-tainty undermining the
harmonious develop-ment of both the regions. While agitations are
necessary for the assertion of legitimate rights, in a democracy,
constructive dialogue is indis-pensable for bringing such aspirations
to fruition.

References

Aiyar, Swaminathan S. Anklesaria (2010), "Fast Growth Trickles Up from
the States", Economic Times, January 6.

Ambedkar, Dr Babasaheb (1979), Writings and Speeches, Vol. I (Part
II—On Linguistic States), Education Department, Government of
Maharashtra.

Planning Commission (2008), Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012), Vol.
I, Government of India, New Delhi.

Rao, C.H.H. (2009), "Regional Disparities, Smaller States and
Statehood for Telangana", Mainstream, Vol. XLVII, No. 12, March 7.

Rao, C.H.H. (2010), "Statehood for Telangana", Economic Times, January 9.

Rao, C.H.H. (2010), Regional Disparities, Smaller States and Statehood
for Telangana, Academic Foundation, New Delhi.

World Bank (2007), Jharkhand: Addressing the Challenges of Inclusive
Development, Rural Poverty and Economic Management, India Country
Management Unit, South Asia.

The author, a distinguished economist, is currently an Honorary
Professor, Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad. He can
be contacted at chhrao9@yahoo.com


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[ZESTCaste] http://www.mp3raid.com/music/dr_babasaheb_ambedkar_movie.html

 


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[ZESTCaste] Dalit girl immolates after being raped

 

http://www.ptinews.com/news/524979_Dalit-girl-immolates-after-being-raped

Dalit girl immolates after being raped

STAFF WRITER 21:18 HRS IST
Lucknow, Feb 18 (PTI) A Dalit girl immolated herself and committed
suicide after being allegedly raped by a youth in Hamirpur district of
Uttar Pradesh, home department sources said here today.

Gomti (17), who was raped by a local youth Balkishan (18) on February
12, immolated herself at her grandfather's residence Khadakhar
village, they said.

Police said though Gomti narrated the incident to her grandfather and
some neighbours, they did not lodge a complaint against Balkishan.

On a complaint moved by Gomti's father Gangadeen, an FIR was lodged
against Balkishan and efforts were on to arrest him, they said.

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[ZESTCaste] Cop dismissed for beating Dalit woman

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/lucknow/Cop-dismissed-for-beating-Dalit-woman/Article1-510287.aspx

Lucknow, February 18, 2010
First Published: 20:46 IST(18/2/2010)
Last Updated: 20:49 IST(18/2/2010)

Cop dismissed for beating Dalit woman
The SHO of Musafirkhana police station (Sultanpur district)
Kailashnath Dewedi who had beaten up a dalit woman named Sangeeta at
the police station was terminated from service on Thursday.

The Principal Secretary, Home, Kunwar Fatehbahadur said Sangeeta was
taken into custody on the charge of killing her husband Deepak.
"During interrogation she confessed her crime, still the station house
officer beat her up before the journalists. Strict action would be
taken against those who commit atrocities on the common people
irrespective of his position or rank", he said.

Musafirkhana police station falls under Amethi Parliamentary
constituency represented by Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi.

Sangeeta resident of Maniyari village in Sultanpur district located
120 km from east of Lucknow had allegedly stangled her husband Deepak
when he was fast asleep on Tuesday night. The incident took place
following a heated exchange between husband and wife earlier in the
morning.

Sangeeta fled from the house and later police nabbed her in Gothawa
village from the house of a relative. Delighted over the quick work
out of the case the station house officer called media persons to the
police station and paraded Sangeeta before them. When the journalists
started questioning Sangeeta the station house officer got upset, as
she deviated from the statement recorded during interrogation.

In the presence of the women police constables the SHO, Kailashnath
Dewedi pulled Saneegta's shawl and slapped her on the face. Before
Sangeeta could react Dewedi pulled her hair and pushed her on the
ground.

Moreover taking serious note of the custodial deaths of two persons in
Ghurpur police station (Allahabad district) the state government
terminated the services of SHO of police station Vinod Kumar Dubey as
well as two constables Hari Prakash Rai and Anil Kumar Singh.

The Principal Secretary said earlier the state government had
suspended nine cops of Ghurpur police station including the station
house officer Vinod Kumar Dubey after death of two persons in the
police custody. On Wednesday the government had terminated the SHO and
two constables. The state government also handed over the inquiry of
the case to CBCID.

On February 14 some persons fired on the police team near a liquor
shop located in Gohaniya area of Allahabad. The constable Kamlesh
Pandey was injured in the firing. Later the police nabbed four persons
including Sanjay Nishad, Mukesh Nishad, Devanand Goswami and Ashok
Kumar Nishad.

All of them were beaten in the police lock up, later two Ashok and
sanjay succumbed to the injury. On the petition of Jitendra Kumar
Nishad an FIR was registered against the cops.

The state government also handed over the inquiry of the suicide
committed by Neelam Shukla at Kanpur to CBCID.

On December 18, last year Neelam resident of Kalyanpur locality was
kidnapped by three youths namely Ramu Katheriya, Irshad and Sachin
Gupta. An FIR was registered by her father Nand Kumar Shukla at
Kalyanpur police station. Later Neelam was found lying near her house.
"She was taken for medical examination to primary health center and
Ursala hospital and rape was not confirmed in the medical report",
Principal Secretary said.

"The additional city magistrate Surendra Kumar Sharma and CO Nazirabad
Niharika Sharma recorded statement of Neelam. On December 23 Neelam
told the court that after kidnapping her the three accused gave some
sedative to drink and raped her. The police registered an FIR and took
Ramu Katheriya and Irshad into custody while Sachin Gupta is
absconding" he said.

"On the request of her family members a medical board was constituted
by the administration. The report of the medical board was not
different from earlier one. On January 30 Neelam committed suicide.
Her father told the police that she was putting pressure on them to
shift to another locality. Since the accused belonged to influential
family Neelam feared that they would kill her after coming out of
jail", Fatehbahadur said.


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