Saturday, March 27, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Cong, BJP, SP "anti-Ambedkar": Mayawati

 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/uttarpradesh/Cong-BJP-SP-anti-Ambedkar-Mayawati/Article1-524025.aspx

Cong, BJP, SP "anti-Ambedkar": Mayawati

Press Trust Of India
Lucknow, March 27, 2010
First Published: 19:19 IST(27/3/2010)
Last Updated: 19:20 IST(27/3/2010)

Playing the Dalit card to the hilt, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Mayawati on Saturday accused Congress, BJP and Samajwadi Party of
being anti-B R Ambedkar.

She alleged the Women's Reservation Bill would not benefit SC/ST,
other backwards, religious minorities and poor women of upper caste.

During a meeting of party leaders, including ministers, MPs and MLAs,
Mayawati alleged policies and behaviour of all opposition parties,
specially Congress, had always been anti-Ambedkar.

"This was the reason he (Ambedkar) was forced to sign Pune Pact (under
which Dalits agreed to reservation of SC/ST seats for Lok Sabha poll
and gave up demand for separate electorate) and was not conferred with
Bharat Ratna by the Congress government," she alleged.

She charged the opposition with adopting a similar attitude towards
BSP founder Kanshiram.

"Now when the BSP is trying to give Dr Ambedkar his due honour by
constructing grand memorials, park, university and district,
opposition parties like Congress and BJP are feeling bad and are
trying to create hurdles," Mayawati said.

The BSP supremo said the issue of memorials and parks was being
dragged to the court.

"Even SP's attitude towards Babasaheb is very similar to that of
Congress and this is the reason its leaders give baseless statements
against Dr Ambedkar memorial which is a pilgrimage centre for his
followers," she said.

The UP Chief Minister said the Women's Reservation Bill "would not
benefit SC/ST, other backwards, religious minorities and poor women of
upper caste because no separate quota has been fixed for the women
from these categories."

Mayawati said there were "serious shortcomings" in the Bill and asked
BSP workers to stage demonstrations against "anti-Ambedkar" attitude
of opposition parties and Women's Reservation Bill at all district
headquarters across the country on the birth anniversary of Ambedkar
on April 14.

"The party workers should take time out for Dr Ambedkar and make
agitation a success," she appealed.

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[ZESTCaste] Reserve seats for SC, ST, minorities in private schools: Delhi House committee

 

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_reserve-seats-for-sc-st-minorities-in-private-schools-delhi-house-committee_1363806

Reserve seats for SC, ST, minorities in private schools: Delhi House committee
PTI

Friday, March 26, 2010 21:27 IST

New Delhi: A House Committee of Delhi assembly today recommended
reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBC and
minorities in private schools and other technical institutions which
were given land by the government free of cost or at nominal rates.

The report of the Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled
Tribes, OBC and Minorities was tabled in the assembly today.

Headed by Congress legislator Malaram Gangwal, the committee also
recommended that the caste of a child be mentioned in the birth
certificate and that it should be considered as caste certificate.

"Often students eligible for scholarships find it very difficult to
get the caste certificate from the government officials. We recommend
that the birth certificate mentioning the caste be considered as caste
certificate," said the report.

The committee has also recommended that the income limit of a family
be raised to Rs2 lakh a year from the current Rs1 lakh annually so as
to become eligible for getting scholarships from the government.

"Though the income of the people has gone up in the recent times, the
fact is that the there has been price rise as well which does not make
the limit of Rs 1 lakh the criteria of being well off," the committee
has stated.

It further recommended that the cut off year of living in Delhi since
1993 for getting benefits under various welfare schemes for SC, ST,
OBC category be done away with and in stead those having stayed in the
capital for at least 10 years be considered for inclusion welfare
schemes. PTI

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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati versus Rajwati

http://www.zeenews.com/zeeexclusive/2010-03-27/613536news.html

Mayawati versus Rajwati

Updated on Saturday, March 27, 2010, 12:52 IST

Shobhika Puri

The recent controversy over Mayawati's currency garland worth anywhere
between 21 lakhs to 22.5 crores, makes one wonder whether she lives in
the same India as the common man does? Are these inflationary times?
Has the economy actually slowed down? One look around us once the
television news is switched off, brings us face to face with another
extreme form of reality. On one hand is Mayawati, with crores of
rupees sitting pretty around her neck and on the other is my maid,
Rajwati, with a black thread around hers.

There is no denying the fact that Mayawati must have worked very hard
to reach where she is today, more so because of the underprivileged
background she comes from. However, the premise on which she was
elected by the people of UP was to serve them and 'not to serve
herself'. By no logic can such a blatant display or accumulation of
wealth be justified. Even if for a minute one presumes that the
garland money shall be used for the good of the public, how can Rs 200
crores that were spent on the 25th anniversary celebrations of BSP or
thousands of crores of rupees spent on erecting statues, be justified?
That is sunk cost.


Shifting focus to Rajwati now. She too toils very hard for over 16
hours a day for a measly income of Rs 100. She has 5 kids to look
after with a husband who earns an equal amount daily. She depends on
her masters for her clothes and food. There are no holidays, no
weekends, no festivals, no birthday parties, no anniversaries etc for
her. She has never heard of the concept called 'savings' or
'luxuries', as there is never any disposable income left for her. She
cannot afford education for her children who are just looked upon as a
means of earning additional income the moment they become teenagers.

If both Mayawati and Rajwati work equally hard, then why this stark
contrast? A part of it can be attributed to luck, the rest to
opportunity but, the gap is too huge to fathom. The rich seem to be
becoming richer and the poor poorer.

By no means am I trying to say that people with the means should not
indulge in luxuries. We all do but, there is a limit to everything.
The politicians are public servants. The money that they
unscrupulously spend is not theirs but that of the tax-payers. Mind
you, Mayawati is 'not the only politician' who has done this. She is
just symbolic of this growing tribe of politicians. It would also be
appropriate to mention here that not all politicians take advantage of
their position. Dr Manmohan Singh would be the best example of this.
Some of you may remember that way back in 2004, on one of his
international tours as the PM of our country, Dr Singh asked for some
currency to spend, much to the surprise of the people around. This
just goes to show that there are still many reasons for us to believe
in our political system.


For a moment, let us keep aside all other excesses committed by
Mayawati for the sake of simplicity except the Rs 200 crores spent on
BSP anniversary celebrations. Does she even realise that had she just
donated this money to the poor, how many lives would she have
enriched? Presuming the average daily income of an urban poor is Rs
100, she spent in one day an amount equal to the daily income of two
crore urban poor!

Instead of blowing away this money on a rally, had she given this
money to two crore poor people, they would have got a day's off out of
their 365 days-a-year work schedule. Or, they could have treated
themselves or their families with good food, new clothes or simply
some rest and peace of mind for a day, things that are considered
luxuries for them. But, why would she do this? By no means would this
have been an act of charity. It would be foolish on my part to even
suggest this. She would have instantly won at least two crore votes!
What better way to defeat her opponents? As regards the legitimacy of
such donations, we need not worry. When she can manage to allocate Rs
3,000 crores for the statues in UP or wear another currency garland
right after the first one was publicly criticised, she would find a
way out of this as well.

This issue reminds me of the growing debate on the Women's Reservation
Bill. The proponents of the Bill believe that if women are in power,
they would do good for the womenfolk at least. If this is true, then
Mayawati could have used the afore-mentioned Rs 200 crores for
improving the plight of women, if not poor people in general. She has
not and there is little evidence to believe otherwise. Hope the
pro-Bill people are listening.

To conclude, it may not be incorrect to say that it may be too much to
expect from some politicians to think of the public good, but if they
get some incentives for doing so, they would not hesitate. All that is
required for some politicians or their partymen is to think
out-of-the-box and come up with innovative strategies like the
above-mentioned strategy of winning two crore votes. This shall be a
win-win situation for all. Their constituency would get developed and
nobody shall ever doubt their intentions. The result? Votes, votes and
more votes…

(Shobhika Puri is a freelance writer and an LSR (DU) and IIM Lucknow,
Noida Campus alumna.)


Shobhika Puri

The recent controversy over Mayawati's currency garland worth anywhere
between 21 lakhs to 22.5 crores, makes one wonder whether she lives in
the same India as the common man does? Are these inflationary times?
Has the economy actually slowed down? One look around us once the
television news is switched off, brings us face to face with another
extreme form of reality. On one hand is Mayawati, with crores of
rupees sitting pretty around her neck and on the other is my maid,
Rajwati, with a black thread around hers.

There is no denying the fact that Mayawati must have worked very hard
to reach where she is today, more so because of the underprivileged
background she comes from. However, the premise on which she was
elected by the people of UP was to serve them and 'not to serve
herself'. By no logic can such a blatant display or accumulation of
wealth be justified. Even if for a minute one presumes that the
garland money shall be used for the good of the public, how can Rs 200
crores that were spent on the 25th anniversary celebrations of BSP or
thousands of crores of rupees spent on erecting statues, be justified?
That is sunk cost.


Shifting focus to Rajwati now. She too toils very hard for over 16
hours a day for a measly income of Rs 100. She has 5 kids to look
after with a husband who earns an equal amount daily. She depends on
her masters for her clothes and food. There are no holidays, no
weekends, no festivals, no birthday parties, no anniversaries etc for
her. She has never heard of the concept called 'savings' or
'luxuries', as there is never any disposable income left for her. She
cannot afford education for her children who are just looked upon as a
means of earning additional income the moment they become teenagers.

If both Mayawati and Rajwati work equally hard, then why this stark
contrast? A part of it can be attributed to luck, the rest to
opportunity but, the gap is too huge to fathom. The rich seem to be
becoming richer and the poor poorer.

By no means am I trying to say that people with the means should not
indulge in luxuries. We all do but, there is a limit to everything.
The politicians are public servants. The money that they
unscrupulously spend is not theirs but that of the tax-payers. Mind
you, Mayawati is 'not the only politician' who has done this. She is
just symbolic of this growing tribe of politicians. It would also be
appropriate to mention here that not all politicians take advantage of
their position. Dr Manmohan Singh would be the best example of this.
Some of you may remember that way back in 2004, on one of his
international tours as the PM of our country, Dr Singh asked for some
currency to spend, much to the surprise of the people around. This
just goes to show that there are still many reasons for us to believe
in our political system.

For a moment, let us keep aside all other excesses committed by
Mayawati for the sake of simplicity except the Rs 200 crores spent on
BSP anniversary celebrations. Does she even realise that had she just
donated this money to the poor, how many lives would she have
enriched? Presuming the average daily income of an urban poor is Rs
100, she spent in one day an amount equal to the daily income of two
crore urban poor!

Instead of blowing away this money on a rally, had she given this
money to two crore poor people, they would have got a day's off out of
their 365 days-a-year work schedule. Or, they could have treated
themselves or their families with good food, new clothes or simply
some rest and peace of mind for a day, things that are considered
luxuries for them. But, why would she do this? By no means would this
have been an act of charity. It would be foolish on my part to even
suggest this. She would have instantly won at least two crore votes!
What better way to defeat her opponents? As regards the legitimacy of
such donations, we need not worry. When she can manage to allocate Rs
3,000 crores for the statues in UP or wear another currency garland
right after the first one was publicly criticised, she would find a
way out of this as well.

This issue reminds me of the growing debate on the Women's Reservation
Bill. The proponents of the Bill believe that if women are in power,
they would do good for the womenfolk at least. If this is true, then
Mayawati could have used the afore-mentioned Rs 200 crores for
improving the plight of women, if not poor people in general. She has
not and there is little evidence to believe otherwise. Hope the
pro-Bill people are listening.

To conclude, it may not be incorrect to say that it may be too much to
expect from some politicians to think of the public good, but if they
get some incentives for doing so, they would not hesitate. All that is
required for some politicians or their partymen is to think
out-of-the-box and come up with innovative strategies like the
above-mentioned strategy of winning two crore votes. This shall be a
win-win situation for all. Their constituency would get developed and
nobody shall ever doubt their intentions. The result? Votes, votes and
more votes…

(Shobhika Puri is a freelance writer and an LSR (DU) and IIM Lucknow,
Noida Campus alumna.)


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[ZESTCaste] Social networking sites have become caste wide

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Net-is-caste-wide/articleshow/5729775.cms

Social networking sites have become caste wide
Mansi Choksi, TOI Crest, Mar 27, 2010, 09.42am IST

Social networking sites have become a fertile ground for groups based
on ethnicity and caste.

When 3,000 members of an online community of scheduled castes were
asked recently whether they felt they could match up to their
upper-caste counterparts, one user admitted that his caste identity
had been a "hurdle in life". Another user promptly replied with a
prescription: "Ignorance is bliss." The conversation was then
interrupted by a user who accused the two of being undeserving
"beggars" who had cornered seats in schools, colleges and government
offices. Soon, the thread was ablaze with hundreds of responses in a
free-for-all mudslinging competition and a crash course in the
choicest Hindi expletives.

Social networking sites Orkut and Facebook have become a fertile
ground for scores of groups based on ethnicity and caste. Key in the
word 'caste' into either site, or indeed others, and up pops a
cascading list of virtual caste colonies, some of which aim to unite
members and some which spew venom. Orkut has thousands of these
communities — for instance, 'Brahmins Culture and Tradition' , 'I Hate
Intercaste Marriage' and 'The Great Maratha' — which have hundreds of
members.

Interestingly, participants of these groups are increasing rather than
dying down. A study by Sunil Gangavane and Urvi Shah, researchers at
PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action and Research) found that
32 random Orkut communities based on caste showed an increase of
nearly 30,000 members in just three months. Gangavane and Shah, who
joined these communities to keep tabs on them, primarily wanted to
document the involvement of middleclass youth and their understanding
of caste identity in these spaces.

Gangavane says that most members of castebased groups are highly
educated: "Very few are only graduates — they are mostly engineers,
MBAs, post-graduates and doctors." Another finding is that most are
from metropolises like Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore. "Social
networking sites have the power to reproduce stifled opinions on taboo
topics. People discuss things here that they can't face-to-face," he
says.

But social media expert Gaurav Mishra, who is the CEO of online
marketing firm 2020 Social, argues that it's not the anonymity that
comes with a virtual profile which is breeding online caste
communities. "The phenomenon is only a reflection of the fact that
caste is an important part of identity for many urban Indians," he
says. "Identity is more persistent and real in the virtual space. You
are connected to friends, they can see what you are up to. There is
nothing unique about it and it is not more or less pronounced in the
virtual space. The dysfunctionality exists in the real world, and that
is being reflected."

While Facebook has fewer caste-based groups, friend requests from
people who identify one's caste through their name is not a rarity.
Most groups are updated almost every minute, and some of them spew so
much venom that scraps are reported and subsequently deleted.
Hearteningly, there are also communities against casteism, but, again,
sometimes these too are prey to casteism. In one community called 'We
hate caste feeling' , for instance, a member posted a discussion
asking how many members were from the upper castes.

Another finding of the PUKAR research is that there are many more
upper-caste groups, with many more members. Mishra believes that the
low number of Dalit communities says something about Indian society.
"Higher, more powerful castes like Brahmins, Rajputs and Yadavs tend
to have more money and better access to the internet. Old disparities
are further accentuated by the net," he says. "Not that the Dalit
community isn't active on the net — it is. But most of the sites have
been started by NRI Dalits."

The caste polarisation on social networking sites is also being used
by several political parties. "Politically influenced communities like
RSS, BSP, MNS and Shiv Sena are the most updated ones," says
Gangavane.
According to social scientist Shiv Vishwanathan, who is also a senior
fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, caste is
not an old-fashioned system. "It has adapted to politics, diaspora and
technology too. Social networking sites are only newer platforms ," he
says. "The fact that people are still discussing their gotra means
it's important to them and they want to discuss it in a group they
feel they can trust and in an environment in which they are sure they
won't be laughed at. Social networking sites provide just that."

JAATI GUPSHUP
In the 'modern Yadav girls and boys' Orkut community (7,924 members),
members are asked whether they think Yadav girls are 'masoom'
(innocent), flirtatious, stylish or 'dramebaaz' (dramaqueens) and
whether Yadav boys have attitude, are handsome or hot. In the 'Brahmin
Culture and Tradition' community (8,453), members are asked to name
great Brahmins in history. Responses include Parshuram (the Brahmin
god who cleansed the world thrice), Chanakya (advisor to Chandragupta)
and the Marathi Peshwas. In the 'I hate caste feeling' community
(42,891), members discuss what they have lost because of the caste
system. Responses include "love of life", "frndship" , mental peace
and "seat in good college" In 'Dalits' (858), members take a poll on
what they think of "Mayawati joining hands with Brahmins in UP".


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[ZESTCaste] DMK wants more police in dalit areas

 

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=DMK+wants+more+police+in+dalit+areas&artid=QdmxDADCo9M=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==&SEO=

DMK wants more police in dalit areas

Express News ServiceFirst Published : 27 Mar 2010 04:34:00 AM ISTLast
Updated : 27 Mar 2010 08:20:57 AM IST

CHENNAI: The ruling DMK on Friday urged Chief Election Commissioner
Navin Chawla to provide enough police personnel to 84 polling booths
in Pennagaram constituency where the presence of Dalits are in large
numbers so that the people of that community could exercise their
franchise peacefully during the by-election scheduled for March 27.

In a representation to the CEC, the DMK said the constituency is caste
sensitive and there had been instances in the past that Dalit voters
were prevented from exercising their franchise by a section of caste
Hindus of various villages using violent methods. The letters of
Thagadur VCK district secretary Tamilselvan and DMK election wing
secretary TM Selvaganapathi were attached with the representation.

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