Sunday, April 11, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Preparations for Ambedkar Jayanti afoot

 

http://www.centralchronicle.com/viewnews.asp?articleID=32192

Preparations for Ambedkar Jayanti afoot

Posted On Saturday, April 10, 2010
By Our Staff Reporter
Indore, Apr 10:
Preparations are afoot to celebrate the birth anniversary of Dr
Bhimrao Ambedkar on April 14. The main function will be organized at
Mhow, the birth place of Dr Ambedkar. The dignitaries who are likely
to grace the occasion include former BJP president Venkaiyah Naidu,
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, State industry and commerce
minister Kailash Vijayvergiya, state tribal welfare minister Kunwar
Vijay Shah, besides a dozen of ministers from the Madhya Pradesh
cabinet.
In this regard, state industry minister Kailash Vijayvergiya had
already taken a meeting of the officials concerned at Maheshwar
Vidhyalay Mhow on Thursday. Another meeting to review the progress and
take stock of the preparation works was organized at Residency Kothi
here on Saturday under the chairmanship of state tribal welfare
minister Kunwar Vijay Shah.
Over one lakh followers of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar are expected to turn at
his birth anniversary in Mhow on April 14 from various parts of the
country. Preparations for the say of the people are being made on
war-footing. Pandals for the stay and programme will be erected at as
many as six places. PFE department will construct 400 temporary
latrines for the people at the programme venue.
Arrangements have also been made to provide food to one lakh people by
the district administration. Indore municipal corporation has been
vested with responsibility of making water arrangement at the venue
and as per the preliminary state, a total of 50 water tankers will be
made available by the IMC. Besides, the district administration, State
Bank of Indore, social and voluntary organizations are also
coordinating and offering their services to make the occasion a great
success. State government has sanctioned a sum of Rs 50 lakh for this
mega event.
To mark the occasion, an `asthi kalash yatra' wil be taken out in Mhow
on April 14. The yatra which would be attended by thre heads of Baudh
religious, after passing through various parts of Mhow town, will
culminate at Ambedkar Memorial.
Steps have also been taken to ensure the event from any politics. In
this regard, Cantonment Board has issued prohibitory orders from
putting up any posters, banners and hoardings by any political party.

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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati insulting Ambedkar by glorifying him: BJP

 

http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-87617.html

Mayawati insulting Ambedkar by glorifying him: BJP

Lucknow, Apr 11: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today alleged that
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati is insulting Dr B R Ambedkarby
glorifying him against his ideologies.

BJP national spokesperson Ramnath Kovind said here that Ms Mayawati
has insulted Dr Ambedkar by making his statue as he never supported
such ideologies.

''During his lifetime, Dr Ambedkar never accepted even a garland
during any function and always opposed glorification through statues
and other things,'' he claimed.

Talking to mediapersons, Mr Kovind, a former Rajya Sabha member, said
the ideology of collecting money and constructing statues by the
present BSP government was an insult to Dr Ambedkar and similarly it
has nothing to do with the promises made by Ms Mayawati when she came
to power in 2007.

''Corruption and law and order situation have worsened in the state
during the Mayawati regime and people have now started saying that the
previous Samajwadi Party government was better than the present
government,'' he claimed.

The BJP leader also took exception to the Mayawati government
concentrating on statues and parks while the issue of law and order,
corruption and development have been put on the back burner.

The national spokesperson also opposed the Rangnath Mishra
Commission's recommendation to give reservation to the minorities
saying that it would dent in the rights of the Schedule Caste,
Schedule Tribes and the Other Backward Classes in the country.

''Commision's recommendation to include the converted Muslim and
Christian in SC/SC quota would have a negative impact on the political
system in the country in future,'' he added.

''A statement by a US diplomat that nuclear policies of both India and
Pakistan are same and was concerning, proves that the UPA government
has failed in its foreign policy,'' Mr Kovind added.

--UNI

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[ZESTCaste] Gopinath Munde bats for OBC reservation

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_gopinath-munde-bats-for-obc-reservation_1369913

Gopinath Munde bats for OBC reservation
Kiran Tare / DNA

Sunday, April 11, 2010 0:25 IST


Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) deputy leader in the Lok
Sabha, Gopinath Munde, demanded that there should be a reservation for
Other Backward Castes (OBC) among women candidates in the assemblies
and Lok Sabha, on Saturday. He also disclosed his desire to work on a
national movement for the OBCs.

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"The OBC women should have a separate quota. I will persevere with my
party to see my point of view on this," Munde said, while speaking at
a felicitation function by the All India Muslim OBC Organisation at
Birla Matoshree Auditorium. Deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal was
also present at the function.

Munde also demanded that OBCs' count be included during the upcoming
census exercise. "OBCs' count should be included in the census. It has
not been done so far because some people fear that the OBCs will come
together once they know their true strength. This will be the first
time that OBCs will not be taken into consideration in the census,
which includes the count of cattle and domestic animals too," he said.

Munde said that he was willing to work for a national movement of
OBCs, under the leadership of Bhujbal. Bhujbal said the budgetary
allocation for OBCs was not being utilised fully. "Even the allocation
for SC/STs remains unutilised to a great extent. There should be 27
per cent reservation for OBCs in the Lok Sabha," he said.

Munde's statement has surprised political observers. "Munde has been
reportedly sulking in the BJP since the last three years. His desire
to work with Bhujbal, another heavyweight OBC, is an indication that
he wants to launch an OBC pressure group in the state," an observer
said.

Munde had said that had he left the Jan Sangh and continued working
for the RSS he would have been able to do some social work. "But once
you join the BJP there is no exit," he said at the party's state
conclave in Jalgaon.

There were reports before the last year's assembly election that Munde
and Bhujbal could come together to launch a separate political outfit.
Both of them refuted the reports.


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[ZESTCaste] Census: Bhujbal, Munde seek OBC headcount

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/census-bhujbal-munde-seek-obc-headcount/604303/

Census: Bhujbal, Munde seek OBC headcount

Express News Service Posted online: Sunday , Apr 11, 2010 at 0356 hrs
Mumbai : OBC leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal
(NCP) and BJP national general-secretary Gopinath Munde, have demanded
a separate count of OBCs in the census, besides reservation in
Parliament and the legislatures with a separate quota for OBC women.
Speaking at an event organised by the All India Muslim OBC
Organisation in Mumbai to bring various OBCs and sub-castes together,
the leaders also demanded a financial programme for development and
uplift of OBCs.

Munde said while the Rajya Sabha has approved the Women's Reservation
Bill giving 33 per cent reservation to women, he personally felt both
Parliament and Assembly should reserve seats for OBC women. "I will
strongly support this and make a demand from my party," he said.

Sharing the same dais, Bhujbal supported Munde's demand but stressed
the need for a separate Bill for OBC reservation in Parliament and
Legislative Assembly. "While changes are being made now in the law,
why not introduce a separate bill for reservation for OBCs. I have
already written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and NCP chief Sharad
Pawar on the issue," he said.

Both Bhujbal and Munde pressed for a separate head-count of OBCs in
the population census. They said from 1872 till 1941, OBCs were
counted separately but after that, their identity was merged in the
general category. "The Centre fears they will have to extend
reservation to OBCs from the current 27 per cent as our population has
increased. We are no more 41 per cent of the population but represent
52 per cent now," he said. Both said they would write to the Central
government to count OBCs as a separate category.

Make Bhujbal OBC movement leader: Munde
Though from a rival party, BJP leader Gopinath Munde said Chhagan
Bhujbal would be the right leader for the OBC movement. "I am willing
to fight for the cause under Bhujbal's leadership. He is a national
leader and people come in lakhs to hear him," he said. Other leaders
also demanded to make Bhujbal the first Chief Minister of the state
from the OBCs.


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Re: [ZESTCaste] Fwd: A NOTE FOR POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF BACKWARD MUSLIMS

 

Caste is descent-based and hereditary in nature. It is a characteristic determined by one's birth into a particular caste irrespective of the faith practiced by the individual. Some faiths believe in souls of human beings and no souls for other beings, so that they can do whatever they feel like. Some faiths believe in

1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th rate souls and human beings without any soul, so that they could do whatever they want to do with such human beings. The Buddha did not believe in any soul, but said all are equal.

 

Caste denotes a system of rigid social stratification into ranked groups defined by descent and occupation. Under various caste systems throughout the world, caste divisions also dominate in housing, marriage, and general social interaction-divisions that are reinforced through the practice and threat of social ostracism, economic boycotts, and even physical violence. 

 

Discriminatory and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of a vast global population has been justified on the basis of caste. In much of Asia and parts of Africa, caste is the basis for the definition and exclusion of distinct population groups by reason of their descent. Over 250 million people worldwide continue to suffer under what is often a hidden apartheid of segregation, modern-day slavery, and other extreme forms of discrimination, exploitation, and violence. Caste imposes enormous obstacles to their full attainment of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. 

The so-called untouchables of South Asia-including Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan-the Buraku people of Japan, the Osu of Nigeria's Igbo people, and certain groups in Senegal and Mauritania and prominence of caste as a social and economic indicator for the widespread South Asian diaspora share many features; features that have allowed even the most appalling practices to escape international scrutiny. In many cases, caste systems coexist with otherwise democratic structures. In countries such as India and Nigeria, governments have also enacted progressive legislation to combat abuses against lower-caste communities. Despite formal protections in law, however, discriminatory treatment remains endemic and discriminatory societal norms continue to be reinforced by government and private structures and practices, in some cases through violent means. 

Thus Spoke Ambedkar

Quotations of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

Untouchability shuts all doors of opportunities for betterment in life for Untouchables. It does not offer an Untouchable any opportunity to move freely in society; it compels him to live in dungeons and seclusion; it prevents him from educating himself and following a profession of his choice.

There have been many Mahatmas in India whose sole object was to remove Untouchability and to elevate and absorb the depressed classes, but everyone has failed in their mission. Mahatmas have come, Mahatmas have gone but the Untouchables have remained as Untouchables.

From the point of view of annihilation of caste, the struggle of the saints did not have any effects on society. The value of a man is axiomatic and self-evident; it does not come to him from the gilding of Bhakti. The saints did not struggle to establish this point. On the contrary their struggle had very unhealthy effect on the depressed classes. It provided the Brahmins with an excuse to silence them by telling them that they would be respected if they attained the status of Chokhamela.

It is mischievously propagated by Hindu scriptures that by serving the upper classes the Shudras achieve salvation. Untouchability is another appellation of slavery. No race can be raised by destroying its self-respect. So if you really want to uplift the Untouchables, you must treat them in the social order as free citizens, free to carve out their destiny.

What you have lost others have gained. Your humiliations are a matter of pride with others. You are made to suffer wants, privations and humiliations not because it was pre-ordained by the sins committed in your previous birth, but because of the overpowering tyranny and treachery of those who are above you. You have no lands because others have usurped them; you have no posts because others have monopolised them. Do not believe in fate; believe in your strength.

Learn to live in this world with self-respect. You should always cherish some ambition of doing something in this world. But remember that the age of selflessness has ended. A new epoch is set in. All things are now possible because of your being able to participate in the politics and legislature of your country.

Some people think that religion is not essential to the society. I do not hold this view. I consider the foundations of religion are essential to the society. At the roots of Hindu social system lies a Dharma as prescribed in the Manusmriti. Such being the case I do not think it is possible to abolish the inequality in the Hindu society unless foundations of the Smriti-religion is removed and a better one laid in its place. I however, despair of Hindu society, being able to reconstruct itself on such a better foundation.

My religious conversion is not inspired by any material motive. This is hardly anything I cannot achieve even while remaining an Untouchable. There is no other feeling than that of a spiritual feeling underlying my religious conversion. Hinduism does not appeal to my conscience. My self-respect cannot assimilate Hinduism. In your case change of religion is imperative for worldly as well as spiritual ends. Do not care for the opinion of those who foolishly ridicule the idea of conversion for material ends. Why should you live under the fold of that religion which has deprived you of honor, money, food and shelter?

I tell you, religion is for man and not man for religion. If you want to organise, consolidate and be successful in this world, change this religion. The religion that does not recognise you as a human being, or give you water to drink, or allow you to enter in temples is not worthy to be called a religion. The religion that forbids you to receive education and comes in the way of your material advancement is not worthy of the appellation 'religion'. The religion that does not teach its followers to show humanity in dealing with its co-religionists is nothing but a display of a force. The religion that teaches its followers to suffer the touch of animals but not the touch of human beings is not a religion but a mockery. The religion that compels the ignorant to be ignorant and the poor to be poor is not a religion but a visitation!

The basic idea underlying religion is to create an atmosphere for the spiritual development of the individual. This being the situation, it is clear that you cannot develop your personality at all in Hinduism.

In Hinduism, conscience, reason and independent thinking have no scope for development.

It is your claim to equality which hurts them. They want to maintain the status quo. If you continue to accept your lowly status ungrudgingly, continue to remain dirty, filthy, backward, ignorant, poor and disunited, they will allow you to live in peace. The moment you start to raise your level, the conflict starts. Untouchability is not transitory or temporary feature; it is eternal, it is lasting. Frankly it can be said that the struggle between the Hindus and the Untouchables is a never-ending conflict. It is eternal because the religion which assigns you the lowest status in society is itself divine and eternal according to the belief of the so-called high caste Hindus. No change warranted by change of time and circumstances is possible.

I have never claimed to be a universal leader of suffering humanity. The problem of the untouchables is quite enough for my slender strength. I do not say that other causes are not equally noble. But knowing that life is short, one can only serve one cause and I have never aspired to do more than serve the Untouchables.

Every man must have a philosophy of life, for everyone must have a standard by which to measure his conduct. And philosophy is nothing but a standard by which to measure.

Negatively I reject the Hindu social philosophy propounded in Bhagvad Gita, based as it is on the Triguna of Sankhya Philosophy which in my judgement is a cruel perversion of the philosophy of Kapila, and which had made the caste system of graded inequality the law of Hindu social life.

Positively, my social philosophy may be said to be enshrined in three words: liberty, equality and fraternity. Let no one however say that I have borrowed my philosophy from the French Revolution. I have not. My philosophy has its roots in religion and not in political science. I have derived them from the teachings of my master, the Buddha.

Indians today are governed by two different ideologies. Their political ideal set in the preamble of the Constitution affirms a life of liberty, equality and fraternity. Their social ideal embodied in their religion denies them.

Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man's life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self.

Freedom of mind is the real freedom. A person whose mind is not free though he may not be in chains, is a slave, not a free man. One whose mind is not free, though he may not be in prison, is a prisoner and not a free man. One whose mind is not free though alive, is no better than dead. Freedom of mind is the proof of one's existence.

What is the proof to judge that the flame of mental freedom is not extinguished in the mind of person? To whom can we say that his mind is free. I call him free who with his conscience awake realises his rights, responsibilities and duties. He who is not a slave of circumstances and is always ready and striving to change them in his flavor, I call him free. One who is not a slave of usage, customs, of meaningless rituals and ceremonies, of superstitions and traditions; whose flame of reason has not been extinguished, I call him a free man. He who has not surrendered his free will and abdicated his intelligence and independent thinking, who does not blindly act on the teachings of others, who does not blindly accept anything without critically analysing and examining its veracity and usefulness, who is always prepared to protect his rights, who is not afraid of ridicule and unjust public criticism, who has a sound conscience and self-respect so as not become a tool in the hands of others, I call him a free man. He who does not lead his life under the direction of others, who sets his own goal of life according to his own reasoning and decides for himself as to how and in what way life should be lead, is a free man. In short, who is a master of his own free will, him alone I call a free man.

Caste cannot be abolished by inter caste dinners or stray instances of inter caste marriages. Caste is a state of mind. It is a disease of mind. The teachings of the Hindu religion are the root cause of this disease. We practice casteism and we observe Untouchability because we are enjoined to do so by the Hindu religion. A bitter thing cannot be made sweet. The taste of anything can be changed. But poison cannot be changed into nectar.

What struck me most was that my community still continues to accept a position of humiliation only because caste Hindus persist in dominating over them. You must rely on your own strength, shake off the notion that you are in any way inferior to any community.

Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people have yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only a top dressing on an Indian soil whish is essentially undemocratic.

Majorities are of two sorts: (1) communal majority and (2) political majority. A political majority is changeable in its class composition. A political majority grows. A communal majority is born. The admission to a political majority is open. The door to a communal majority is closed. The politics of political majority are free to all to make and unmake. The politics of communal majority are made by its own members born in it.

The minorities in India have loyally accepted the rule of the majority whish is basically a communal majority and not a political majority. It is for the majority to realise its duty not to discriminate against minorities. Whether the minorities will continue or will vanish must depend upon this habit of majority. The moment the majority looses the habit of discriminating against the minority, the minorities can have no ground to exist. They will vanish.

We want our own people, people who will fight tooth and nail for our interest and secure privilege for the under-privileged; people who will undo the wrongs done to our people ;people who will voice our grievances fearlessly; people who can think, lead and act; people with principles and character. Such people should be sent to the legislatures. We must send such people to Legislatures who will be slaves to none but remain free to their conscience and get our grievances redressed.

Why does a human body become deceased? The reason is that as long as the human body is not free from suffering, mind cannot be happy. If a man lacks enthusiasm, either his body or mind is in a deceased condition.... Now what saps the enthusiasm in man? If there is no enthusiasm, life becomes drudgery - a mere burden to be dragged. Nothing can be achieved if there is no enthusiasm. The main reason for this lack of enthusiasm on the part of a man is that an individual looses the hope of getting an opportunity to elevate himself. Hopelessness leads to lack of enthusiasm. The mind in such cases becomes deceased.... When is enthusiasm created? When one breaths an atmosphere where one is sure of getting the legitimate reward for one's labor, only then one feels enriched by enthusiasm and inspiration.

The fundamental principle of Buddhism is equality... Buddhism was called the religion of Shudras. There was only one man who raised his voice against separatism and Untouchability and that was Lord Buddha.

The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have...Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.

I am myself a believer in Animas (non-violence). But I make a distinction between Animas and meekness. Meekness is weakness and weakness is voluntarily imposed upon oneself is not a virtue. I am believer in Animas but in the sense defined by the saint Takuma. Takuma has quite rightly said that Animas consisted of two things: (1) love and kindness towards all creatures and (2) destruction of evil doers. The second part of this definition is often lost sight of that the doctrine of Animas becomes so ridiculous.

Religion must mainly be a matter of principles only. It cannot be a matter of rules. The moment it degenerates into rules, it ceases to be a religion, as it kills responsibility which is an essence of the true religious act.

 

Men are mortal. So are ideas. An idea needs propagation as much as a plant needs watering. Otherwise both will wither and die.

In every country the intellectual class is the most influential class. This is the class which can foresee, advise and lead. In no country does the mass of the people live the life for intelligent thought and action. It is largely imitative and follows the intellectual class. There is no exaggeration in saying that the entire destination of the country depends upon its intellectual class. If the intellectual class is honest and independent, it can be trusted to take the initiative and give a proper lead when a crisis arises. It is true that the intellect by itself is no virtue. It is only a means and the use of a means depends upon the ends which an intellectual person pursues. An intellectual man can be a good man but he may easily be a rogue. Similarly an intellectual class may be a band of high-souled persons, ready to help, ready to emancipate erring humanity or it may easily be a gang of crooks or a body of advocates of narrow clique from which it draws its support.

My final words of advice to you are educate, agitate and organize; have faith in yourself. With justice on our side I do not see how we can loose our battle. The battle to me is a matter of joy. The battle is in the fullest sense spiritual. There is nothing material or social in it. For ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. It is battle for freedom. It is the battle of reclamation of human personality.

You must abolish your slavery yourselves. Do not depend for its abolition upon god or a superman. Remember that it is not enough that a people are numerically in the majority. They must be always watchful, strong and self-respecting to attain and maintain success. We must shape our course ourselves and by ourselves.

We must begin by acknowledging that there is a complete absence of two things in Indian Society. One of these is equality. On the social plane we have an India based on the principles of graded inequality, which means elevation for some and degradation for others. On the economic plane we have a society in which there are some who have immense wealth as against many who live in abject poverty.

The second thing we are wanting in is the recognition of the principle of fraternity. What does fraternity mean? Fraternity means a sense of common brotherhood of all Indians, all Indians being one people. It is a principle that gives solidarity to social life. It is difficult thing to achieve. It seems to me that there lies a heavy duty to see that democracy does not vanish from the earth as a governing principle of human relationship. If we believe in it, we must both be true and loyal to it. We must not only be staunch in our faith in democracy but we must resolve to see that whatever we do, we do not help the enemies of democracy to uproot the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity. It follows that we must strive along with other democratic countries to maintain the basis of democratic civilization. If democracy lives we are sure to reap the benefit of it. If democracy dies it will be our doom. On that there can be no doubt.

The basis of my politics lies in the proposition that the Untouchables are not a sub-division or sub-section of Hindus, and that they are a separate and distinct element in the national life of India.

The true function of law consists in repairing the faults in society. Unfortunately ancient societies never dared to assume the function of repairing their own defects; consequently they decayed. This country has seen the conflict between ecclesiastical law and secular law long before Europeans sought to challenge the authority of the Pope. Kautilya's Arthshastra lays down the foundation of secular law. In India unfortunately ecclesiastical law triumphed over secular law. In my opinion this was the one of the greatest disasters in the country. The unprogressive nature of the Hindu society was due to the notion that the law cannot be changed

Civilization has never been a continuous process. There were states and societies which at one time had been civilised. In the course of time something happened which made these societies stagnant and decayed. This could be illustrated by India's history itself. There could be no doubt that one of the countries which could boast of ancient civilization is India. When the inhabitants of Europe were living under the barbaric conditions, this country had reached the highest peak of civilization, it had parliamentary institutions when the people of Europe were mere nomads.

I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.

Justice has always evoked ideas of equality, of proportion of compensation. Equity signifies equality. Rules and regulations, right and righteousness are concerned with equality in value. If all men are equal, then all men are of the same essence, and the common essence entitles them of the same fundamental rights and equal liberty... In short justice is another name of liberty, equality and fraternity.

Anyone who studies working of the system of social economy based on private enterprise and pursuit of personal gain will realise how it undermines, if it does not actually violate the individual rights on which democracy rests. How many have to relinquish their rights in order to gain their living? How many have to subject themselves to be governed by private employers?

I hate injustice, tyranny, pompousness and humbug, and my hatred embraces all those who are guilty of them. I want to tell my critics that I regard my feelings of hatred as a real force. They are only the reflexes of love I bear for the causes I believe in and I am in no wise ashamed of it.

Indifferentism is the worst kind of disease that can affect people.

Political tyranny is nothing compared to the social tyranny and a reformer who defies society is a more courageous man than a politician who defies Government.

Every man who repeats the dogma of Mill that one country is no fit to rule another country must admit that one class is not fit to rule another class.

One cannot have any respect or regard for men who take the position of the reformer and then refuse to see the logical consequences of that position, let alone following them out in action.

History shows that where ethics and economics come in conflict, victory is always with economics. Vested interests have never been known to have willingly divested themselves unless there was sufficient force to compel them.

Slavery does not merely mean a legalised form of subjection. It means a state of society in which some men are forced to accept from others the purposes which control their conduct.

This condition obtains even where there is no slavery in the legal sense. It is found where as in caste system, some persons are forced to carry on the prescribed callings which are not their choice.

India is a peculiar country and her nationalists and patriots are a peculiar people. A patriot and a nationalist in India is one who sees with open eyes his fellow men treated as being less than man. But his humanity does not rise in protest. He knows that men and women for no cause are denied their rights. But it does not prick his civil sense of helpful action. He finds a whole class of people shut out from public employment. But it does not rouse his sense of justice and fair play. Hundreds of evil practices that injure man and society are perceived by him. But they do not sicken him with disgust. The patriot's one cry is power for him and his class. I am glad I do not belong to that class of patriots. I belong to that class which takes its stand on democracy and which seeks to destroy monopoly in every form. Our aim is to realise in practice our ideal of one man one value in all walks of life - political, economical and social.

There is no nation of Indians in the real sense of the world, it is yet to be created. In believing we are a nation, we are cherishing a great delusion. How can people divided into thousand of castes be a nation? The sooner we realise that we are not yet a nation, in a social and psychological sense of the world, the better for us.

It is not enough to be electors only. It is necessary to be law-makers; otherwise those who can be law-makers ill be the masters of those who can only be electors.

Walter Bagehot defined democracy as ' Government by discussion'. Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as ' A Government of the people, by the people and for the people'.

My definition of democracy is - A form and a method of Government whereby revolutionary changes in the social life are brought about without bloodshed. That is the real test. It is perhaps the severest test. But when you are judging the quality of the material you must put it to the severest test.

Democracy is not merely a form of Government. It is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience. It is essentially an attitude of respect and reverence towards our fellow men.

A democratic form of Government presupposes a democratic form of a society, The formal framework of democracy is of no value and would indeed be a misfit if there was no social democracy. It may not be necessary for a democratic society to be marked by unity, by community of purpose, by loyalty to public ends and by mutuality of sympathy. But it does unmistakably involve two things. The first is an attitude of mind, and attitude of respect and equality towards their fellows. The second is a social organisation free from rigid social barriers. Democracy is incompatible and inconsistent with isolation and exclusiveness resulting in the distinction between the privileged and the unprivileged.

Democracy is not a Form of Government, but a form of social organisation.

What we must do is not to content ourselves with mere political democracy. We must make our political democracy a social democracy as well. Political democracy cannot last unless there is at the base of it, a social democracy. What does social democracy mean? It means a way of life which recognises liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life. These principles of liberty, equality and fraternity are not to be treated as separate items. They form a union in the sense that, to divorce one from the other is to defeat the very purpose of democracy. Liberty cannot be divorced from equality, nor can liberty and equality be divorced from fraternity.

Without social union, political unity is difficult to be achieved. If achieved, it would be as precarious as a summer sapling, liable to be uprooted by the gust of wind. With mere political unity, India may be a state. But to be a state is not to be a nation and a state which is not a nation has small prospects of survival in the struggle of existence. This is especially true where nationalism - the most dynamic force of modern times, is seeking everywhere to free itself by the destruction and disruption of all mixed states. The danger to a mixed and composite state, therefore lies not so much in external aggression as in the internal resurgence of nationalities which are fragmented, entrapped, suppressed and held against their will.

The idea of fundamental rights has become a familiar one since their enactment in the American Constitution and in the Constitution framed by the Revolutionary France. The idea of making a gift of fundamental rights to every individual is no doubt very laudable. The question is how to make them effective? The prevalent view is that once the rights are enacted in law then they are safeguarded. This again is an unwarranted assumption. As experience proves, rights are protected not by law but by social and moral conscience of the society. If social conscience is such that it is prepared to recognise the rights which law proposes to enact, rights will be safe and secure. But if the fundamental rights are opposed by the community, no Law, no Parliament, no Judiciary can guarantee them in the real sense of the world. What is the use of Fundamental rights to the Untouchables in India? As Burke said, there is no method found for punishing the multitude. Law can punish a single solitary recalcitrant criminal. It can never operate against the whole body of people who choose to defy it. Social conscience is the only safeguard of all rights, fundamental or non-fundamental.

Rights are real only if they are accompanied by remedies. It is no use giving rights if the aggrieved person has no legal remedy to which he can resort when his rights are invaded.

Lost rights are never regained by appeals to the conscience of the usurpers, but by relentless struggle.... Goats are used for sacrificial offerings and not lions.

Life should be great rather than long.

For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice, necessity and importance of political and social rights.

I feel that the constitution is workable, it is flexible and it is strong enough to hold the country together both in peacetime and in wartime. Indeed, if I may say so, if things go wrong under the new Constitution, the reason will not be that we had a bad Constitution. What we will have to say is that Man was vile.

Equality may be a fiction but nonetheless one must accept it as a governing principle.

What are we having this liberty for? We are having this liberty in order to reform our social system, which is full of inequality, discrimination and other things, which conflict with our fundamental rights.

Our object in framing the Constitution is rally two-fold: (1) To lay down the form of political democracy, and (2) To lay down that our ideal is economic democracy and also to prescribe that every Government whatever is in power shall strive to bring about economic democracy. The directive principles have a great value, for they lay down that our ideal is economic democracy.

If I find the constitution being misused, I shall be the first to burn it.

On the 26th January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognising the principle of one man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of democracy which this Constituent Assembly has so laboriously built up.

There can be no gain saying that political power in this country has too long been the monopoly of the few, and the many are not beasts of burden but also beasts of prey.

The monopoly has not merely deprived them of their chance of betterment, it has sapped them of what may be called the significance of life. Those downtrodden classes are tired of being governed. They are impatient to govern themselves. This urge of self-realisation in the downtrodden must not be allowed to devolve into class struggle or class war. It would lead to the division of the House. That would indeed be a day of disaster. For, as has been well-said by Abraham Lincoln: "A house divided against cannot stand very long". Therefore the sooner room is made for realisation of their aspiration, the better for the few, the better for the country, the better for the independence and the better for the continuance of its democratic structure. This can only be done by the establishment of equality and fraternity in all walks of life.

It is disgraceful to live at the cost of one's self-respect. Self-respect is the most vital factor in life. Without it, man is a cipher. To live worthily with self-respect, one has to overcome difficulties. It is out of hard and ceaseless struggle alone that one derives strength, confidence and recognition.

Cultivation of mind should be the ultimate aim of human existence.

Sincerity is the sum of all moral qualities.

Man is mortal. Everyone has to die some day or the other. But one must resolve to lay down one's life in enriching the noble ideals of self-respect and in bettering one's human life. We are not slaves. Nothing is more disgraceful for a brave man than to live life devoid of self-respect.

My social philosophy may be said to be enshrined in three words: liberty, equality and fraternity. My philosophy has roots in religion and not in political science. I have derived them from the teachings of my master, the Buddha.

Emerson has said that consistency is a virtue of an ass. No thinking human being can be tied down to a view once expressed in the name of consistency. More important than consistency is responsibility. A responsible person must learn to unlearn what he has learned. A responsible person must have the courage to rethink and change his thoughts. Of course there must be good and sufficient reason for unlearning what he has learned and for recasting his thoughts. There can be no finality in rethinking.

John Dewey said: "Every society gets encumbered with what is trivial, with what is dead wood from the past and what is positively perverse. As a society becomes more enlightened, it realises that it is responsible not to conserve and transmit the whole of its achievement, but only such as makes a better future society"

There is nothing fixed, nothing eternal, nothing sanatan; everything is changing, change is the law of life for individuals as well as for society. In a changing society there must be constant revolution of old values.

No civilised society of today presents more survivals of primitive times than does the Indian society. Its religion is essentially primitive and its tribal code, in spite of the advance of time and civilization, operates in all its pristine vigor even today. Indian society still savors of the clan system, even though there are no clans.

An ideal society should be mobile, should be full of channels for conveying a change taking place in one part to other parts. In an ideal society there should be many interests consciously communicated and shared.

The strength of a society depends upon the presence of points of contacts, possibilities of interaction between different groups that exist in it. These are what Carlyle calls "Organic filaments", i.e. the elastic threads which helps to bring the disintegrating elements together and to reunite them.

Heroes and hero-worship is a hard fact in India's political life. I agree that hero-worship is demoralising for the devotee and dangerous to the country. I welcome the criticism so far as it conveys the caution that you must know your man is really great before you start worshipping him. This unfortunately is not an easy task. For in these days with the Press in hand it is easy to manufacture Great Men. Carlyle used a happy phrase when he described the Great Men of history as so many bank notes. Like bank notes they represent gold. What we have to see that they are not forged notes. I admit that we ought to be more cautious in our worship of Great Men. For in this country we have arrived at such a stage when alongside the notice boards saying "Beware of pickpockets", we need to have notice boards saying "Beware of Great Men". Even Carlyle who defended the worship of Great Men warned his readers how: "Multitudes of Great Men have figured in history who were false and selfish ".

Hero-worship in the sense of expressing our unbound admiration is one thing. To obey the hero is a totally different kind of worship. There is nothing wrong in the former while the latter is no doubt a most pernicious thing. The former is man's respect for which is noble and of which the great men are only an embodiment. The latter is the serf's fealty to his lord. The former is consistent with respect, but the latter is a sign of debasement. The former does not take away one's intelligence to think and independence to act. The latter makes one perfect fool. The former involves no disaster to the state. The latter is a source of positive danger to it.

In India, 'Bhakti' or what may be called the path of devotion or hero-worship plays a part in politics unequalled in magnitude by the part it plays in the politics of any other of the world. 'Bhakti' in religion may be a road to salvation of the soul. But in politics, 'Bhakti' or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.

The questions which President Roosevelt propounded for the American public to consider will arise here, if they have not already arisen: Who shall rule - wealth or man? Which shall lead - money or intellect? Who shall fill the public stations - educated and patriotic free men or the feudal serf's of the corporate capital? For the president, Indian politics, at any rate the Hindu part of it, instead of being spiritualised has become grossly commercialised, so much so that it has become a byword for corruption. Many men of culture are refusing to concern themselves in this cesspool. Politics has become a kind of sewage system intolerably unsavory and insanitary. To become a politician is like going to work in the drain.

History bears out the proposition that political revolutions have always been preceded by social and religious revolutions. Social reform in India has few friends and many critics.

Law and order are the medicine of the body politic and when the body politic gets sick, medicine must be administered.

The world owes much to rebels who would dare to argue in the face of the pontiff (high priest) and insist that he is not infallible.

A people and their religion must be judged by social standards based on social ethics. No other standard would have any meaning if religion is held to be necessary good for the well-being of the people.

Ethnologists are of the opinion that men of pure race exist nowhere and that there has been admixture of all races in all parts of the world - especially is this the case with the people if India. Mr. D.R. Bhandarkar has stated: "There is hardly a class or caste in India which has not a foreign strain in it. There is as an admixture of alien blood not only among the warrior classes - the Rajputs and Marathas - but among the Brahmins who are under the happy delusion that they are free from all foreign elements.

The question is not whether a community lives or dies, the question is on what plane does it live. There are different modes of survival. But all are not equally honorable. For an individual as well as a society, there is a gulf between merely living and living worthily. To fight in a battle and live in a glory is one mode. To beat a retreat to surrender and to live the life of a captive is also a mode of survival.

The sovereignty of scriptures of all religions must come to an end if we want to have a united integrated modern India.

Law and religion are two forces which govern the conduct of men. At times they act as handmaids to each other. At other times they act as check and counter-check. Of the two forces, Law is personal while religion is impersonal. Law being personal it is capable of being unjust and iniquitous. But religion being impersonal, it can be impartial, it is capable of defeating the inequity committed by law. Religion is believed to ennoble man and not degrade him. Hinduism is an exception.

I like the religion that teaches liberty, equality & fraternity.

The relationship between husband & wife should be one of closest friends.

To open or not to open the temples is a question for you to consider & not for me to agitate. If you think it is bad manners not to believe in the sanctity of human beings, then throw open the doors & be a gentleman, but if you wish to remain a orthodox Hindu then shut the doors & damn yourself, for I don't care to come.

We are Indians, firstly & lastly

Given the time & circumstances, nothing under the sun shall stop this country from becoming a super power.

Being grateful has limitations, no man can be grateful at the cost of his dignity, no woman at the cost of her chastity & no country at the cost of its freedom.

I hope that Mr. Gandhi will not drive me to the necessity of making a choice between his life & rights of my people, for I shall never consent to deliver my people bound hand & foot to the orthodox for generations to come.

A great man is different from an eminent one in that he is ready to be the servant of the society.

So long as you do not achieve social liberty, whatever freedom is provided by the law is of no avail to you.

On 26th Jan. 1950,India will be an independent country. What would happen to her independence? Will she maintain or will she lose it again? This is the first thought that comes to my mind. It is not that India was never an independent country. The point is that she once lost the independence she had. Will she lose it a second time? It is this thought which makes me most anxious for the future. What perturbs me greatly is the fact that not only India has once before lost her independence, but she lost it by treachery of some of her own people...
Will history repeat itself ?It is this thought which fills me with anxiety. This anxiety is deepened by the realization of the fact that in addition to our old enemies in the form of castes &creeds, we are going to have many political parties with diverse & opposing political creeds. Will Indians place the country above their creed or creed above their country? I do not know, But this much is certain that if the parties place creed above country, our independence will be put in jeopardy a second time & probably be lost forever. This eventuality we all must resolutely guard against. We must be determined to defend our independence with the last drop of our blood!




From: Siddhartha Kumar <mailsiddhartha.k@gmail.com>
To: zestcaste <zestcaste@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thu, 8 April, 2010 11:32:51 PM
Subject: [ZESTCaste] Fwd: A NOTE FOR POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF BACKWARD MUSLIMS

 



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From: Administrator- IDMV <dalitmuslims@ gmail.com>
Date: Apr 8, 2010 10:35 PM
Subject: A NOTE FOR POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF BACKWARD MUSLIMS
To:

URL:
http://www.pasmanda muslims.com/ 2010/04/note- for-political- and-economic. html


BY ANIS ANSARI, IAS (R)



This note pleads: (1) Clause (3) of Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 must be deleted in order to abolish religious discrimination against Muslim and Christian Dalits, (2) All the groups of Muslims and Christians which traditionally share the professions which are carried on by Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist Scheduled Castes must be treated at par with their counterpart Hindu Schedule Castes. (3) No reservation should be extended to all the Muslims just as it should not be extended to all the Hindus. Reservation benefits must be restricted only to socially and educationally backward classes of Muslims and Christians. (4) No division of OBC quota of 27% should be done on religious basis. However mechanisms should be made to ensure that Muslim OBCs get proportionate benefits in OBC quota. (5) To ensure that Muslim OBCs get their due share, Bihar model can be adopted wherein Muslim OBCs are grouped with most backward Hindu groups. (6) To ensure social and educational development of OBCs , on the pattern of Special Component Plan for Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes, 27% of Plan Budget should be earmarked for OBCs which will benefit Muslim OBCs also.

The root cause of decline of Muslims in India after independence is their under-representatio n in the political institutions and bodies of governance such as Parliament, Assemblies, Govts. and Panchayats etc. To rectify this situation, following suggestions are made:-

1. Clause (3) of Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 makes it obligatory that a member of Schedule Castes as listed under Article 341 of Constitution must be a Hindu, a Sikh or a neo-Buddhist. This clause bars Muslim and Christian dalits from sharing the benefits of reservation policy both at the Central and the State levels. Specially, this clause results in making Muslim and Christian dalits ineligible for contesting on the seats reserved in Parliament and Assemblies for Schedule Castes. Out of 119 seats reserved in Parliament for Schedule Castes, 36 reserved seats have substantial or majority Muslim population. Similarly, about 200 reserved Assembly seats would have similar population share of Muslims in them. Thus, if clause (3) were deleted, Muslims can almost double their representation in Parliament from the present level of 28 MPs to 28+36=64 MPs. Their representation in Assemblies too can increase by additional 200 seats. Muslims constitute more than 15% of the total population in the country. In the Indian Parliament having about 550 seats, Muslims' share should not be less than 15% of 550 MP seats i.e. more than 80 seats.

This enhanced level of representation of Muslims in Parliament and Assemblies can be secured without any constitutional amendment. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950 is an executive proclamation issued by President of India but approved by Parliament. Clause (3) of this Order can be deleted by a simple majority in Parliament.

Clause (3) of the above Order is plainly arbitrary, unconstitutional and unfair. This view has been taken by Rangnath Mishra Commission which was set up by Congress Government at the Centre. The demand for the deletion of clause (3) is based on the very sound principle of Indian Constitution that no citizen can be discriminated against on the basis of religion, race, caste and sex etc. This clause discriminates against Muslim and Christian dalits on the basis of their religion in as much as members of Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist Schedule Castes obtain benefits of reservation in different fields but Muslim and Christian dalits carrying on the same traditional, caste occupations such as washer-men (Dhobi) Sweepers (Lal Begis) Nat etc. are denied these benefits just because they follow Islam or Christianity.

2. Steps should be taken to abolish clause (3) of this Order and to include all those groups of Dalit Muslims and Christians as Scheduled Castes whose traditional occupations correspond to those carried on by Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist Schedule Castes. To illustrate, Muslim butchers, weavers, sweepers, vegetable seller etc. must not be treated differently from the same groups of people in Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist communities. Rangnath Mishra Commission made this recommendation very clearly. If the Indian society desires that Muslim poor should participate equally in the development of the country the above religious discrimination must be ended up forthwith.

3. A few Muslims are demanding reservation for all the Muslims. Muslims should be well advised not to press for this demand and Indian society should be wise enough to reject their demand outright. Under Article 15(3) of the constitution, State can make special provisions for socially and educationally background classes of citizens for educational purposes. Under Article 16(4) backward classes of citizens who are inadequately represented in public employment can be given reservation. Under the Indian Constitution all the Hindus cannot be given reservation because not all the Hindus belong to socially and educationally backward classes of citizens. If all the Hindus, who are 82% of the Indian population, per se cannot get reservation, how can all the Muslims be given reservation while they are only 15% of the population. It will be untrue to claim that all the Muslims of the country are socially and educationally backward. Attempt should be made to pick out those sections of Muslims and Christians who are socially and educationally backward and only they should be brought under the reservation safety net. This proposition, besides being unassailable under the Constitution, is also a non-communal approach to mitigating the under-representatio n of Muslim poor in the structure of governance. Any effort to raise a communal demand will ultimately be misused by the communal forces against Muslims presently lying low. Both before and after the partition of the country, Indian Muslims were damaged due to communal strategies adopted by the leaders. Present and future generations of Muslim must reject any communal strategy for improving their lot in the country.

Pursuing a non-communal approach would be more beneficial to the Muslims for two reasons. Muslims are only about 15% in the country. If they want their voice to be heard they must build up bridges of amity and goodwill with Hindus and other communities to obtain support of atleast 51% of the population. Secondly, Prophet Mohammad observed that love of the country is part of the faith of Muslims. Thus, it is a religions duty of Muslims to have amicable relations with the countrymen of other religions also in order to be good practicing Muslims.

4. In some quarters, a suggestion has been made that out of 27% quota reserved for other backward classes (OBCs), about 1/3 of 27% i.e. 9% quota should be created for Muslims. This is also not a wise suggestion. This suggestion implies that all the Muslims should get benefits of reservation even if they do not belong to socially and educationally backward classes of the society. It has already been clarified in the beginning that like all Hindus all Muslims cannot claim and should not be given the benefits of reservation.

5. Sometimes it is suggested that about one third of 27% i.e. 9% quota may be reserved for Muslim OBCs. Rangnath Mishra Commission has recommended that out of 27% reservation for OBCs, 6% should be reserved for Muslim OBCs In the long run, this suggestion will also damage Muslim poor because this suggestion amounts to separating Muslim OBCs from Hindu OBCs on religious lines. It is agreed that Muslim OBCs so far have not been able to secure even 1/3rd out of 27% of jobs reserved for OBCs. But to achieve this objective, creating a divide among OBCs on the basis of their religion would be harmful both to the Muslim OBCs and to the OBCs in general. Muslim OBCs and Hindu OBCs combined can fight out the ill-effects of social downgrading inflicted by casteist groups more effectively by working together rather than working separately as Muslim OBCs and Hindu OBCs.

6. A better strategy to ensure Muslim OBCs get their due share would be to adopt Bihar model. In Bihar, OBCs have been divided into 2 groups : Backwards and Most Backwards. Most Backwards include Muslim OBCs also. Most Backwards get higher quota than Backwards. This is a non-communal approach which will be more beneficial to the Muslim OBCs.

7. To ensure social and economic development of members of Schedule Caste & Schedule Tribes Government of India earmarks about 21% of Plan Budget as Special Component Plan every year. This amount is utilized for construction of pakka roads, school buildings, power, hand pumps, drainage, centres of public health and scholarship etc. for the areas pre dominated by these communities. If a similar provision is made for OBCs by earmarking 27% Plan funds, it will benefit Muslim poor in a big way. Roughly speaking every year 2.5 lakh crores are budgeted as plan expenditure in the country. 27% of this amount (Rs. 67,500 crores) is a big amount. Even if one third of this amount reaches Muslim OBCs, every year about Rs. 22,500 crores would be available for improving their condition. One important aspect of this suggestion is that as this demand is based purely on social and educational backwardness of the OBCs, any effort to give it a communal colour is likely to fail. Even small segment of those persons who keep raising artificially the issue of appeasement of Muslims would not be able to come out against this demand because this demand is in favour of more than half of India's population which is included in OBC category. In a democratic set up to oppose more than half the population would be like hitting oneself with one's axe.

[The author is the convener of Muslim Dalit Reservation Movement (MDRM). He is based in Lucknow (UP) and can be reached at anisansariias@ gmail.com or on phone number 91-522-2236192]


Thanks & Regards,
Pasmanda Muslim Forum
www.pasmandamuslims .com

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