Wednesday, May 12, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Mayawati govt is govt of criminals: Congress

 

http://www.ptinews.com/news/649741_Mayawati-govt-is-govt-of-criminals--Congress

Mayawati govt is govt of criminals: Congress

STAFF WRITER 16:26 HRS IST
Moradabad, May 12 (PTI) Congress has criticised the Mayawati
government in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly misusing grants from the
central government and blamed it for rising crime and corruption in
the state.

Addressing a public meeting here last night during the Congress'
Sandesh Yatra, senior leaders Digvijay Singh and Shri Prakash Jaiswal
said the ruling BSP government is a government of criminals.

"We are visiting rural and backward areas and demonstrating the
negative aspects of the BSP government in the state. The response is
very positive," Singh said.

He said the state government is responsible for rising crime and
corruption in the state and accused it of misusing grants from the
central government.

On why the Congress failed to form a government in Uttar Pradesh in
the last two decades, Singh said there was "lack of interaction" due
to which people of the state were unaware of Congress policies.

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[ZESTCaste] Bathani Tola massacre: Three sentenced to death, 20 get life term

 

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/05/12/bathanitola-massacre-three-sentenced-to-death-20-get.html

Bathani Tola massacre: Three sentenced to death, 20 get life term

Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 9:25 [IST]

Ara (Bihar), May 12 (ANI): A court here on Wednesday awarded death
sentences to three persons and life imprisonment to over 20 others in
connection with the infamous Bathani Tola massacre in Bhojpur District
in 1996 in which 21 Dalits were killed.

Buzz up!Additional District and Sessions Judge A K Srivastava
announced the quantum of punishment for the accused.

Earlier on May 5, Srivastava had convicted 23 accused persons and
acquitted 30 others for want of evidence in connection with the
carnage that took place under Sahar block of Bhojpur district on July
11, 1996 by suspected activists of Ranvir Sena, a private militia of
land owners.

Around 70 Sena men had raided the village and killed 21 Dalits, mostly
women and girls, including two babies in the age group of three to
nine months. (ANI)

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[ZESTCaste] Dalits will be protected against atrocities: Wasnik

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/dalits-will-be-protected-against-atrocities-wasnik_100362703.html

Dalits will be protected against atrocities: Wasnik

May 12th, 2010 - 7:44 pm ICT by IANS -
Chandigarh, May 12 (IANS) Rights of Dalits will be protected and
strict laws will be implemented to prevent atrocities against them
like the arson attack on Dalit homes in Haryana, Union Minister of
Social Justice and Empowerment Mukul Wasnik said here Wednesday.
"I have travelled to various states of the country to see whether
there is any discrimination with these sections of society. We will
strictly implement the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 1989 at all places," Wasnik told reporters.

Asked about last month's arson attack on Dalit families in Haryana's
Mirchpur village, he said: "It is our responsibility to ensure an
environment of safety and we are working in this direction."

A 70-year-old man and his 18-year-old physically challenged daughter
were killed and at least 18 houses were damaged in an arson attack
April 21 on Dalit families in Mirchpur village in Hisar district.

Wasnik was in Chandigarh to participate in a function organised by the
Seva Dal, a grassroots organizational outfit of the Congress party,

On the issue of Khap panchayats (community councils) demanding an
amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act and a complete ban on marriages
within the same gotra (common lineage), Wasnik said a final decision
would be taken by the union government.

"Everyone has the right to express his desire but in this case, a
final decision will be of the central government. Nobody is above law
in our country and we cannot go against it," Wasnik said.

The demand of khap panchayats comes after a Haryana court in March
gave capital punishment to five people for the "honour killing" of a
couple who married despite belonging to the same gotra.


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[ZESTCaste] Nagar Brahmin Samaj grateful to CM

 

http://www.centralchronicle.com/viewnews.asp?articleID=35174

Nagar Brahmin Samaj grateful to CM

Posted On Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Nagar Brahmin Samaj is grateful to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan because of his generosity to the community. On 9th May,
Chouhan addressed a congregation of Nagar Brahmin community at
Ravindra Bhawan in Bhopal and proved his greatness to accept that
every Nagar Brahmin is not economically sound and they need not only
the support of society but of government also. His announcement
regarding land allotment to community for hostel and dharmashala in
Bhopal is appreciable and Nagar Brahmin Samaj of MP is grateful to
Chief Minister Chouhan.
OP Sharma, Bhopal

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[ZESTCaste] A blinkered vision (Opinion)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/A-blinkered-vision/Article1-542336.aspx

A blinkered vision

Sagarika Ghose
May 11, 2010
First Published: 23:00 IST(11/5/2010)
Last Updated: 09:28 IST(12/5/2010)


The headlines scream almost every day: 'Girl allegedly murdered
because of inter-caste romance', 'Couple killed by relatives because
of caste honour'. The matrimonials are unabashed: 'Match sought for
fair khatri girl' or 'Brahmin boy seeks Brahmin partner.' A Delhi
mother whispers that her daughter's choice of husband is not "our kind
of person," but stops short of admitting that the prospective groom is
not from the same caste. Characters in Bollywood films bear surnames
that are drawn from the very narrow social pool of Sharma, Mehta and
Roy. Indians may be holidaying in Phuket, shopping at Mango and
devouring Sex and the City. But one social reality just refuses to go
away. And that reality is caste.

Should caste matter to a modern Indian? Of course it shouldn't. Yet,
whether we like it or not, caste is still a defining category.
Excluding a narrow westernised elite band, Indians marry according to
caste, socialise within similar castes, education is determined by
caste and caste, by and large, corresponds to class when it comes to
backwardness. Twenty years ago when then Prime Minister V.P. Singh
implemented the Mandal recommendations reserving 27 per cent
government jobs for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), many caste Hindus
heard the word OBC for the first time. Today there are similar
feelings of dread that the government has decided to include caste in
the 2011 census. But it's time that the elite and middle class came to
terms with caste, debated it openly and exorcised caste demons.

When Parliament pushed for a caste census there was near panic about
an impending caste war. It was argued that counting OBCs would only
add further muscle power to the caste chieftains to once again lobby
for that terrible 'Q' word: quotas. But will counting OBCs make caste
loyalties deeper or will it, on the other hand, provide, for the first
time, hard reliable information on how many OBC castes are there and
what their numerical strength is? Confronted by real numbers, it may
be more difficult for the quota warriors to argue for reservations.
The Constitution makers aimed to progressively abolish caste
discrimination, not abolish caste as an identity. Unless we all
understand and study caste, we will never be able to fight it or
develop a genuinely anti-caste mindset.

Political scientists Yogendra Yadav and Satish Deshpande say that a
colonial caste-based census where all castes, including the Hindu
'upper castes' , are counted and ranked is neither feasible nor
desirable. What we need is to count OBCs in the same manner as we
count SCs and STs. We need to count Socially and Educationally
Backward Classes (SEBCs) in order to get an accurate picture of their
actual number. We are, thus, not counting all castes, but only
backward communities. When reservations for OBCs have been provided
for at the Union and state levels, surely a census is essential to
find out what the hard numbers are and whether the quotas are
accurate.

So how does caste operate nowadays? There is the robust argument that
caste is irrelevant in contemporary India. What matters is quality
health and education for all irrespective of caste. Increasingly,
elections are showing that caste is no longer the sole criterion for
voting preferences: voters are voting for bijli, sadak, pani, padhai
and hardworking candidates and not for Gujjars, Reddys and Ezhavas.
But while caste may be irrelevant for a minority, it is highly
relevant — indeed saliently — for others.

When it comes to social and economic progress, certain castes have
done better than others and the advantages of the English language and
a modern education are distributed along caste lines. Generalisations
are risky, and rural Brahmins can be impoverished and backward too.
Yet, access to English and to quality education has traditionally been
the monopoly of upper castes. Class and caste are still by and large
coterminous, and there is every likelihood that an upper class person
in India is also 'upper

caste' and a 'lower class' person is also 'lower caste'. Secure amid
our Krishnamurthys, Sens and Vermas, we never stop to think about how
we got so secure in the first place.

The English-speaking elite is overwhelmingly 'upper caste' that is
comprising the forward levels of the Hindu varna system. The Bengali
'bhadralok' class, or the genteel class, which was supposed to be the
only non-caste class in India, is also a caste-based category, as the
bhadralok are restricted to the upper caste even though they may not
be exclusively Brahmin. A Bengali Dalit bhadralok is still unheard of.
In 1996, when B.N. Uniyal undertook a survey of national newspapers,
he found that among 686 journalists accredited to the government, 454
were upper caste, the remaining 232 did not carry their caste names
and in a random sample of 47, not a single one was a Dalit. In a
survey of matrimonial advertising carried out in 2000, ad agency
McCann Erickson noted that caste remains as important in the new
century as it was four decades ago. In 2002, Virginius Xaxa found that
only six of Delhi University's 311 professors are Dalits.

Thus, a caste census should not be seen as simply a political
instrument designed to secure quotas. The fight against caste is best
fought when we know the enemy. Caste is an immutable, invisible and
overwhelming reality in our daily lives. If we continue to act as if
caste does not exist, or deny its existence, we would be failing to do
battle with one of the most urgent social inequalities of our time.

Sagarika Ghose is Senior Editor, CNN-IBN

ghosesagarika@gmail.com

The views expressed by the author are personal


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[ZESTCaste] Social change not static: SC on Kerala quota

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Social-change-not-static--SC-on-Kerala-quota/617501

Social change not static: SC on Kerala quota
Express news service Posted online: Wed May 12 2010, 23:08 hrs
New Delhi : The Supreme Court while deciding on whether the Kerala
government has the power to make reservation for the economically
backward in the forward communities, said that social change could not
be viewed in a static way. It was seeking a response from the state
government on a petition against a Kerala government order issuing 10
per cent reservation in government colleges for poor students
belonging to forward castes.
Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan said a frozen attitude could
not be taken of the changing social milieu, while seeking a response
from the state government on a petition filed by Kerala Muslim Jamaath
Council against the order 10 per cent quota as per a public order in
2008.

"Some of these students are definitely backward socially because they
are below the poverty line," the court said.

The council had approached the apex court challenging a Kerala High
Court decision to dismiss their plea to revoke the 2008 order on the
ground that "such a reservation is permissible or is valid under the
Constitution of India or under any other law in force". The bench will
now decide the Council's query as to whether a state government has
the power to make reservation for forward communities on the "basis of
economic condition".

"The very concept of reservation solely on the basis of economic
condition of individuals is alien to the Constitution of India. The
government order does not state the source of power to make the
reservation in dispute," the Council, represented by senior advocate
Rohinton Fali Nariman, said in its petition.

The Council has asked how the state can justify the reservation under
Article 15 (4), a provision "enabling the state to make any special
provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally
backward classes of citizens". "Kerala has already identified and
classified the backward classes in the state. 'Economically backward
sections of forward communities is not among the backward
communities," it contended.


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[ZESTCaste] SC upholds OBC quota in Kerala local bodies

 

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/sc-issues-notice-to-provide-quota-for-upper-caste-poor/115058-3.html?from=tn

SC upholds OBC quota in Kerala local bodies

CNN-IBN

Thiruvananthapuram: The Supreme Court (SC) has issued notices to the
Kerala government for providing reservation to the poor among the
upper caste people.

In 2008, the government provided reservation at graduate and
post-graduate levels to forward communities at 10 per cent and seven
per cent respectively.

The Supreme Court has also upheld reservation for the Other Backward
Classes (OBCs) in local bodies. The court ruled that reservation for
the OBCs in municipalities and Panchayats did not violate the
Constitution.

The SC dismissed a petition filed by a private body questioning
whether the OBCs should be given reservation at Panchayat level. The
petitioners cited article 73 and 74 of the Constitution which provides
for reservation for the OBCs in Panchayats and municipalities.

The argument made was that the OBCs are entitled to reservation only
in employment and educational fields; there can't be political
reservations for them. But a five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice
K G Balakrishnan, said reservation can be given to the OBCs at this
level.

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[ZESTCaste] SC upholds notification for reserved category in panchayats

 

http://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdisplay.aspx?c910d878-08ea-4aa4-8125-f570812b0b16

SC upholds notification for reserved category in panchayats

5/12/2010

The Supreme Court upheld the notification providing reservation for
reserved category candidates in local self-government bodies such as
panchayats and municipalities.

A five-judge constitution bench comprising Chief Justice K G
Balakrishnan, Justices R V Raveendran, D K Jain, P Sathasivam and K M
Panchal ruled that provision for reservation for OBCs did not violate
the provisions of Article 15 and 16(4) of the Constitution of India.

The government notification had provided reservation for reserved
category candidates including SCs and STs for the post of Sarpanch of
the Panchayat as well as for chairman of municipality.

The main contention of the petitioner was that it would be in the
interest of the people that they are ruled at local level by their own
who belonged to their caste and community since such persons would
understand their problems better.

The stand of the government was that such reservation was in the
interest of socially, educationally and economically backward sections
of the society who require concessions as well as proactive and
affirmative action to bring them at par with the well-off sections of
the population.

Moreover, they have been subjected to caste-based discrimination for centuries.

The apex court also noted that the constitutional amendment providing
quota for backward sections of society in local bodies is in
conformity with the concept of social justice.

UNI

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[ZESTCaste] With Gandhi as guide, Gates goes to a Dalit village

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/with-gandhi-as-guide-gates-goes-to-a-dalit-village_100362268.html

With Gandhi as guide, Gates goes to a Dalit village
May 12th, 2010 - 12:39 am ICT by IANS -

Kande Rao ka Purwa (Uttar Pradesh), May 11 (IANS) After showing Bill
Gates a glimpse of the development he had initiated in the social and
the health sectors in the Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies
represented by him and his mother and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi,
Rahul Gandhi took the Microsoft chief to experience life in a Dalit
village in Pratapgarh district Tuesday evening.
It was here that Gates opened up to a closer interaction with the
locals - men, women and children - making inquiries about their
personal lives, their livelihood, education and the general quality of
life in this village.

Dodging the media, Rahul and Gates drove off to this village, some 25
km away from the Munshiganj guest house where they were spending the
night.

They chose to halt at the Dalit dominated Chamrahi locality of the
village where they squatted on a charpoy and entered into a
free-wheeling interaction with the villagers, for whom it seemed like
a treat with Rahul acting as interpreter between them and Gates.

"We have never had the opportunity to see and talk to Rahul Gandhi
one-to-one manner. It was great," said 55-year-old Siya Ram, a local
farmer.

Adding to their delight was Gates' introduction as the "world's
wealthiest man", who gave a new dimension to computers.

Excited with the brief interaction that she had with Gates,
14-year-old Asha told this scribe: "I could have never imagined myself
face to face with such a personality."

What had clearly impressed her most was the concern that Gates showed
on learning that she had dropped out of school in class VIII as her
family did not have enough money to support her studies.

Forty-year-old Rama Devi felt proud giving an account of how as a part
of a women self-help group she had succeeded in motivating a number of
women in her neighbourhood to create a decent kitty out of small
savings.

"The Gora sahib (referring to Gates) listened to me with rapt
attention as Rahul bhaiyya went about explaining things to him after
asking me different questions," she said.

AS word spread about the arrival of Rahul Gandhi with a foreigner
VVIP, men, women and children made a beeline for the corner where
Rahul and Gates were chatting away with the locals.

After spending about 45 minutes in Chamrahi, the two returned to the
guest house and then again ventured out to yet another village to
interact with more people.


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[ZESTCaste] 50 Years Of Maharashtra: Shame Or Celebration

http://www.countercurrents.org/teltumbde110510.htm

50 Years Of Maharashtra: Shame Or Celebration

By Anand Teltumbde

11 May, 2010
Countercurrents.org

On May 1, Maharashtra completes 50 years of statehood. It would be the
moment of jingoist celebrations orchestrated by politicians and meekly
joined by gullible Marathi masses. Maharashtra, as it has in its name
itself, has some narcissist streak, a kind of megalomania. It called
itself the land of Phule - Ambedkar, intrinsically progressive
therefore, and monopolized the legacy of these two social
revolutionaries. It always imagined itself to be ahead of all the
states even in the face of contrary evidence. Whether it is innocence
of people or the trickery of their leaders, Maharashtra always seemed
to be in love with itself. The golden jubilee will certainly take the
pitch of self glory to a crescendo. Unfortunately, in it will be
drowned all possibilities of introspection over its accomplishments
vis-à-vis the aspirations of the movement that brought it into being.

Aspirations of socialist Maharashtra

Maharashtra was born out of the mass struggle for a linguist state
like any other but in its course it had gained unusual radical tinge
that resonated in a slogan of 'Samyukta Maharashtra, socialist
Maharashtra'. Unrealistic though, the movement in its conclusive phase
was guided by this slogan. The workers, peasants, Dalits, and
minorities who came together and constituted the support base of this
movement, had hoped that the new state of Maharashtra will at least be
sensitive to their plight, work for its alleviation. Leave apart
socialism, it will at least march in the direction of thwarting the
growing inequality around them. Inspired by such a hope 106 of them
had embraced martyrdom. However, the new ruling class that sprung up
in their dream state, their own in appearance, did not take much time
to belie their hopes and bury their aspirations. They entombed the
latter for ever into a memorial erected at the place where the martyrs
were felled by the bullets of the then chief minister Morarji Desai.
It still stays there in the anachronistic company of a colonial
structure called flora fountain, accompanied by another memorial
created by the Shiv Sena led BMC over the scarce open spaces around in
1990s. It no more reminds Maharashtrians what their Maharashtra was
all about because it is fully capitalized by the Shiv Sena and its
offspring Maharashtra Navnirman Sena to promote their parochial
agenda. No one even suspects that this false pride about Marathi is
clean antithesis of the aspirations of the Martyrs who have been
memorialized there.

The idea of Maharashtra was not based on Marathi parochialism. Of all
the movements for linguistic state, the movement for united
Maharashtra, being the last in the series and located in the
capitalist centre of Mumbai had developed an ostensible radical vision
of its future. Although the communist and socialist leadership
articulated it in terms of socialism, it definitely meant that the new
state would be in favour of workers, farmers, Dalits and minorities.
Marathi merely provided socio-cultural glue for carving out such a
model state. Much of the Marathi speaking province presented a picture
of non-Marathi capitalists and businessmen exploiting the Marathi
workers and farmers. Marathi in this context became ready ammunition
in the class struggle between capitalists and workers. It never meant
to identify friends and foes. Maharashtra was to be the assurance to
all workers about their security from the marauding capitalists and
businessmen irrespective of what language they spoke or where they
came from. What it is reduced to by the Thackerays and other
politicians is its antithesis. Maharashtra became the threat to
non-Marathi workers, false security to Marathi people and protected
jungle for the capitalist beasts to prey upon all. It is beyond
symbolism that the Parel-Lalbaug area of Mumbai, the den of the
textile workers, who played vanguard role in the united Maharashtra
movement, is transformed into the area of ultra rich, displacing and
decimating the entire working class.

Maharashtra of Phule-Ambedkar

It is true that the first salvos against the decadent caste system
were fired in Maharashtra. There could be several reasons for that but
one of which was the severity of caste oppression in the state. The
lower castes have struggled against this oppression and gave a lead to
the entire country, thanks to the towering leadership of Mahatma Phule
and Babasaheb Ambedkar. These castes have made significant progress
during these 50 years. Despite this, Maharashtra has failed to show
any progressive edge over others. It has a dubious distinction of
first devising the cooptation strategy to debilitate the post-Ambedkar
Dalit movement in its promising phase. It was Yashwantrao Chavan
trying it out on none other than Dadasaheb Gaikwad. The process
resulted in splintering Dalit movement. The strategy was taken to its
most unscrupulous level by the prodigy of Chavan, Sharad Pawar, which
has almost decimated the Dalit movement in the state.

Weakening of the Dalit movement has certainly been the major cause
behind the growing atrocities on Dalits. While swearing by
self-proclaimed progressivism, Maharashtra always had its fair share
of atrocities on Dalits. In 2008, there were 1192 cognizable crimes
against Dalits (SC) in Maharashtra which ranked 10 among the states
and union territories in terms of its percentage share in the country.
Not alone in statistical terms, Maharashtra also had its fair share in
gory incidents of atrocities like Khairlanji. While the entire world
was aghast at Khairlanji, similar incidents of violent crimes against
Dalits kept on happening in the state unabated.

Going through the names of 106 martyrs, one can clearly see that all
of them were not Marathi; they typically represented the cosmopolitan
character of Mumbai. There were several non-Marathis, Christians and
notably at least three Muslims among them. One feels sorry to see
Maharashtra forgetting their contribution and treating them as
traitors. Maharashtra figures very prominently in the list of
post-1960 communal riots in the country. Not only Bhiwandi and
Malegaon, which have been synonymous with communal strife, but the
unlikely places such as Sholapur, Aurangabad, Jalgaon and Mumbai
itself have been tarnished by the repeated anti-Muslim riots.
Maharashtra never felt the need to rethink its communal pedigree in
the birth place of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or a home to the
assassin of Gandhi. It has been as prone to anti-Muslim riots as ever.
According to the Police data, Maharashtra has witnessed on an average
one communal riot in about every 20 days during the last five years.
When Abhinav Bharat rioters were found behind the blasts at Malegaon,
and Nanded, and were suspected in many others, Maharashtra again
shocked the world with its communal prowess.

Pro-People Development

The socialist rhetoric of the united Maharashtra movement was actually
meant decentralization of development away from Mumbai-Pune belt so
that its gains would spread to wider Marathi population thus reducing
prevailing inequality. Nothing of that kind happened and the entire
development remained confined to this small belt as before.
Maharashtra minus this belt still compares well with the most backward
parts of the country. Maharashtra remains one of the most unequal
states in the country. Inequality in terms of per capita consumption
expenditure for Haryana, Maharashtra and Punjab, the top three states
in terms of per capita income, shows Maharashtra to be the most
unequal state with Gini coefficient of 0.345 as against that for
Haryana and Punjab at 0.285 and 0.290 respectively. The Gini
coefficients for the states with low per capita income such as Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar at 0.327 and 0.318 respectively, also were far lower
than that of Maharashtra.

The majority of Maharashtrians were engaged in agriculture but
remained neglected at the hands of ruling classes. In terms of
increase in irrigated area Maharashtra scored the least with only
10.78 per cent as against Gujarat with 22 per cent followed by Tamil
Nadu with 21 per cent. For the past decade, due to its enthusiastic
adoption of neoliberal policies, it has earned itself a dubious
distinction with maximum farmers' suicides. According to official
count more than 50,000 farmers committed suicide in Maharashtra. No
other State comes close to that total. This means that of the roughly
1.5 lakh farmers who killed themselves across the country in that
period, almost every third one was from Maharashtra. According to a
Report of Prof. K. Nagraj of Madras Institute of Development Studies,
Chennai the General Suicide Rate (GSR) (overall suicides per 1 lakh
population) in the country between 1997 and 2005 was 10.6, and the
Farmers Suicide Rate (FSR) was 12.9. As against this, Maharashtra
clocked GSR of 15.1 and FSR of 29.9, a whooping increase of over 40
and 131 per cent over the country.

Much of the pro-people development gets reflected in the Human
Development Index. The sorry state of Maharashtra is that almost 12 of
its 35 districts figure in the 100 lowest HDI districts of the
country. No district of other state in the developed category figures
in this list. Some districts in Vidarbha and Marathwada have lower HDI
than that of backward districts of Orissa and Jharkhand. The
developmental state of Maharashtra perhaps may be better gauged in
comparison with Orissa on HDI: whereas 53 per cent districts of Orissa
are below the HDI for India, 68 per cent districts of Maharashtra fall
under that category. In terms of proportion of people below the
poverty line, Maharashtra is third from the bottom, after Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar. If one looked at rural and urban poverty
separately, rural poverty ratio is probably among the worst in the
country. The state economic survey, 2010 admits that the poverty ratio
in the state is 30.7%, 3.2% more than the all-India (27.5%) figure.
Tamil Nadu and West Bengal had the same level of poverty figures
during 1993-94 as Maharashtra, but by 2004-05 their poverty ratios
slid much lower than that of Maharashtra, it said.

Facilitating Global Capital

Maharashtra had huge historical advantage over other states because of
its inheritance of colonial infrastructure. But, during the recent
years it appears to be squandering it. Gujarat, its twin state, has
almost left it behind on many parameters. The decennial growth of the
State GDP of Gujarat (181.10 per cent) has been much better than
Maharashtra's (160.49 per cent). However, Maharashtra still scores
best on parameters marking neoliberal reforms and aspires to become a
'global state'. It prides on being on top in terms of GDP
contribution, FDI friendliness, acquisition of huge agricultural lands
through MIDC and facilitating capitalists to do so themselves for the
maximum number of SEZs nominated within the state. In the name of
creating infrastructure for the rich, it has indulged in unprecedented
fiscal profligacy and has become the most indebted state. The public
debt of Maharashtra is expected to increase to Rs 1,85,801 crore
during 2009-10. CAG in its report for the year ended March 2005
itself, when the debt was just 1.21 lakh crore, had observed that the
state with ever increasing ratio of fiscal liabilities to gross state
domestic product (GSDP) at 34% together with a large revenue deficit,
was getting into a debt trap.

But that beside the point, when the project is to make it a global
state! The problem is to locate masses of common Maharashtrians in
this global schema.

Anand Teltumbde is writer and civil rights activist with CPDR, Mumbai

Contact: tanandraj@gmail.com


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[ZESTCaste] Why Jat’s the way

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Why-Jat-s-the-way/617637

Why Jat's the way

Vipin Pubby Posted online: Wed May 12 2010, 01:37 hrs
Chandigarh : Notwithstanding Rahul Gandhi's visit to Mirchpur village,
where a polio-stricken Dalit girl and her father were burnt alive by a
mob of Jats, no party in Haryana, including the Congress, can ignore a
harsh reality: when it comes to votes, Jat's the way.
Kurukshetra's high-flying industrialist MP Naveen Jindal, a product of
the University of Texas, realises it, as much as the "sons of the
soil" Chautalas and the cautious Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh
Hooda. That explains the circle of complicit silence and implicit
acceptance around the khap panchayats, irrespective of what they have
come to represent in 21st-century India.

What may have also decided matters, prompting at least Jindal and Om
Prakash Chautala to speak up publicly for the khaps, is the panchayat
elections coming up next month. Support in rural areas would be
crucial to win the polls, and it's hardly the time to alienate the
khaps. The stakes are higher this time around because both the Indian
National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Congress are hoping to play a bigger
hand with this win behind them.

Khaps have been known to support candidates unanimously, but even the
split ones leave parties enough room for exploitation.

Comprising village leaders of the Jat community, these panchayats have
been in the news recently for their stand against same gotra marriages
and tacit support for action against those who defy the norms. Though
the khap leaders claim they have never ordered murders, these
panchayats have turned a blind eye to instances of honour killings.

However, tackling the khap panchayats is no easy task for the state
Congress. The Jats, who constitute a formidable 28-30 per cent of the
electorate, are in a position to make a difference in almost 40 per
cent of the Assembly constituencies. Their vote swing is believed to
have decided both the Congress's thumping win in 2005, as well as the
INLD's surprise resurgence in 2010.

It is this struggle for Jat votes (or at least to not annoy them) that
has seen the two main parties flexing muscle. Having nothing to lose,
Chautala has plunged headlong and supported the khaps as well as their
demand for amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act to bring in a clause
banning intra-gotra marriages. "It was proved scientifically and
medically" that such marriages were not desirable, he says, adding
that they would raise the issue at all public platforms.

Hooda and his colleagues, on the other hand, have been playing it
safe. Without taking a clear stand, the Chief Minister has been saying
that khaps have an important role in society and the government shall
not intervene in any "social issue". Worse, despite noises against
"medieval diktats" of such khaps, his government has not initiated
action against panchayats which have issued patently illegal orders
and has been soft on those accused in honour killings.

Tacitly, he has gone a step further, with one of his close aides,
Shadi Lal Batra, MP, moving a private member's resolution in the Rajya
Sabha seeking amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act.

As for Jindal, the reason one of the Congress's "promising" Young
Turks risked possible ire of the Congress high command by backing
khaps is that he was left with little choice. Khap panchayats dominate
his constituency and they had announced a gherao of his house in
Kaithal, demanding that he take an unambiguous stand on their call for
the amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act to ban same gotra marriages.

While Jindal's supporters believe his detractors within the Congress
put the khaps up to the threat, the MP decided not to take any chances
and landed up at their mahapanchayat instead. He offered to take up
their demands with the Centre.

"They are the constituents of my constituency and voted for me,"
Jindal admitted. "At this juncture, when they need my help, how can I
keep off from them? So I went there and agreed to play my role to take
the controversy to a logical end. What would they think about me if I
keep aloof?" While he clarified that he would not support any breaking
of the law by the panchayats, the two-time MP is obviously treading on
very thin ice.

"It is not a question of being personally convinced or supportive of
khaps' opinion on same gotra marriage," Jindal says. "My personal
opinion does not matter much, but their collective opinion should be
heard by the right quarters."


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