Latest News Update: May 19, 2010

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

[ZESTCaste] 2009 Ambedkar Scholarships function: mark your calendar May 29, 2010

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Friends for Education International (FFEI) invites to its 7th Ambedkar Scholarships distribution ceremony on May 29, 2010 in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.
 
Date : May 29, 2010 at 2:00pm
Venue: Ambedkar Bhavan, Opp. Andhra Christian College, Guntur, AP
 
Chief Guest: Mr B Ramanjuneyulu, Collector, Guntur District
 
Honorary guests: 
Dr Sudhakar, Dooradarsan
Dr Siddoji Rao, Hyderabad
Mr G P Neelakantam, Project Director, DRDA
Prof Challapalli Swarupa Rani, Head of Buddhist Studies, Nagarjuna University, Guntur
Mr Maddu Ankaiah, Advocate
In this ceremony a total of 92 scholarships will be distributed to bright Dalit students and to organizations working among Scavenging communities in Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Tamilnadu, and Karnataka.
Please grace the occasion if you are in the area, can spare a day away from home town. It is crucial as these students lack support and encouragement though they beat all odds to excel in education. Your presence will give them moral support to continue their education with more efforts.
We are also looking for book sponsorships. We need the following books, 100 copies each:
1. Dr Ambedkar's biography in Telugu, English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Oriya
2. Prof Kancha Ilaiah's epic book on dignity of labor: Turning the pot, tilling the land. It is also available in several languages. You can sponsor some or all of them.
3. Any English improvement or self improvement books
 
Any help will be greatly appreciated. If you can't help us, please attend the function that is free and give moral boost to these bright students.
 
With regards
Benjamin
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An educated man without character and humility was more dangerous than a beast. If his education was detrimental to the welfare of poor, he was a curse to society. 
-Babasaheb Dr B R Ambedkar
Please visit www.friendsforeducation.org 

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[ZESTCaste] The caste system and CSR

http://csr-asia.com/weekly_detail.php?id=12033

Vol.6 Week 20 19/05/2010
FEATURE ARTICLES
The caste system and CSR

by Sharan Bal sharan.bal@csr-asia.com

India is the largest functioning democracy in the world, yet the
systemic perpetuation of caste discrimination enforces inequality at
the level we would expect under authoritarian regimes. Although caste
discrimination was officially banned by the Protection of Civil Rights
Act of 1976, the caste system is still entrenched in Indian society.

Social division based on caste dates back to 3,000 years ago and is
debated to have its roots in the ancient Hindu religious structure,
which demarcated five main strata of society with Brahmins at the top
and "untouchables" and tribal people at the base. In modern Indian
society, the lower castes are officially documented as Scheduled
Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
Untouchables came to be referred to as such from the belief that they
are polluted or dirty, hence not to be associated with, but are now
commonly referred to as Dalits.

It is a system in which your birth (heredity) determines the kind of
job you are allowed to do. However, in its more powerful incarnations,
it can be viewed as a chance for those in power to continue to exploit
lower caste Hindus into doing jobs deemed 'dirty'. Dalits are excluded
from land ownership, denied access to water (in fear of polluting it),
education and employment, subjected to separated housing and forced
assignment to manual scavenging (removing faeces from toilets that
cannot flush). Dalits are also excluded from society through denied
access to institutions vital for enabling social mobility such as
banks, business, and formal employment.

Since 1950 the constitution of India has upheld the reservation of
places for lower classes in politics, education, and employment. We
have seen this with political reservations for proportional
representation of lower castes in the Upper (members elected by
legislative bodies of States) and Lower (members voted by citizens)
Houses of Parliament and students from lower castes being given places
in state colleges. Yet, the debate of caste based reservations in the
business sector through the implementation of affirmative action
policies has sparked controversy and is unlikely to be mandated by the
Indian government in ways we have seen in the United States with
African Americans or in South Africa.

"After 60 years of constitutional legal protection and
support...Dalits face a unique discrimination in [Indian society] that
is fundamentally different from the problems of minority groups in
general. The only parallel to the practice of untouchability was
Apartheid in South Africa. Untouchability is not just social
discrimination. It is a blot on humanity." Monmohan Singh, Indian
Prime Minister.

For any company, national or multinational with a presence in India,
the caste system represents both a social and human rights risk to the
management of that company. It also represents an opportunity to
institute change through its CSR policies and practice. Because of the
caste system's intrinsic association with trade and employment, it
makes it a critical CSR issue and differentiates it from other
commonly understood aspects of diversity such as ethnicity.

A very interesting report written in 2007 by the UK branch of the
International Dalit Solidarity Network profiles multinationals
operating in India and their current CSR and employment policies with
respect to caste. Companies analysed included Shell, Unilever, Cadbury
Schweppes, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Marks and Spencer, and
Tesco; companies that stakeholders would generally deem to be good CSR
performers. Many of these companies have signed up to the UN Global
Compact and the Sullivan Principles, among others initiatives with
explicit commitments to uphold human rights. In addition, they have
been operating in India for decades, so it is perplexing to see that
they are missing the connection between human rights and the caste
system in India.
The majority of these companies have extensive diversity policies
citing sexual orientation, physical appearance and thinking styles as
basis for non-discrimination; however, only HSBC explicitly mentions
caste as a basis of non-discrimination.

When approached by the Dalit Solidarity Network UK on this issue,
company responses were based on three major justifications:

1. Many companies stated that their hiring practices were based on
merit and as a result do not ask candidates to reveal caste, race or
origin at the time of recruitment and do not use it as reference in
any employee's career.

2. Furthermore, these companies believe their definition and policy of
diversity can be applied to all countries of operation, including
India.

3. There is no need to include a caste statement specific to India
because a manager would not be discriminating on the grounds of caste
anyway.

In response to the first justification: What these MNCs are failing to
understand is that they are entering a system of endemic
discrimination and that only recognising merit is futile in a context
whereby Dalits are denied access to the very opportunities and
institutions necessary to demonstrate and develop merit.

In response to the second justification: It is insufficient to
translate a diversity framework to the Indian context that does not
mention caste explicitly. CSR policies, including recruitment policies
must be localised to be made relevant in the region of operation. Any
company operating in the U.S. would be sure to mention ethnicity and
would be likely to include affirmative action quotas for African
Americans due to the historic social and political relevance to
American society. In a reverse sense, the rhetoric of ethnicity and
race is less relevant to India and cannot be equated to caste due to
the unique factors upon which caste discrimination is based. For any
diversity initiative to be relevant to India, it must mention caste.

In response to the third justification: While managers may not
necessarily discriminate on the grounds of caste, a manager would be
naive to believe caste is not in the minds and hearts of their
employees. A study conducted by Princeton University confirms that
Dalits and other minorities are discriminated against in the Indian
business sector because personal prejudices are bound to manifest.
Caste can be denoted through knowledge of a surname. Cases of
entrepreneurs changing their names to get their foot on the corporate
ladder abound. A company needs mechanisms to guard against prejudice
among local management and staff. If you are a foreign multinational
operating in India but are hiring local employees, they will be caste
conscious even if you are not.

Corporations in India need to become caste conscious rather than caste
blind if anything is to change. Due to the implications of the caste
system, merit cannot exist in an objective sense. Inequalities run
deep in society and institutions in India exclude Dalits from
opportunities for social mobility. Failing to acknowledge caste will
not change the status quo. Caste inequities can be reduced only by
highlighting caste and the divisions it perpetuates. It becomes quite
clear that few companies in India truly understand the business case
for diversity when they perpetuate the rhetoric that caste based
reservation should be abolished because merit and efficiency are in
danger. Leading companies in India are in a unique position to push
this business case for diversity through their CSR policies.

So how do companies do this? The Ambedkar Priniciples have been
established by the International Dalit Solidarity Network as a useful
set of guidelines for companies and investors to follow in order to
eliminate caste discrimination in the labour market. Bhimrao Ramji
Ambedkar has been regarded as a Dalit hero who escaped the cycle of
poverty, earned doctorates from Columbia University and the London
School of Economics, and later went on to chair the committee that
wrote the Indian Constitution alongside the likes of Gandhi, Nehru and
Jinnah. Key elements of the Principles include: implementing a plan of
affirmative action for Dalits; developing comprehensive training
opportunities for employees and potential recruits from Dalit
communities (with a focus on English language teaching); developing
effective monitoring mechanisms, such as external audits and liaising
with relevant sector and state departments to ensure proportional
representation; reporting on progress of their implementation; and
adopting board level responsibility for their oversight.

Here are some other suggestions on how to make your CSR caste conscious:

1. Localise your CSR strategy - Global CSR strategies are developed to
align with business practice to ensure sustainable operations that
reduce harm to the environment and act as a positive force in society.
However, in this complex world we live in, companies need to implement
policies with regard to local politics, culture and social norms. Your
company could start by adopting the Ambedkar Principles to demonstrate
commitment.

2. Stakeholder Engagement – The best way to understand local issues is
through engaging local stakeholders to ascertain their perceptions and
expectations of your company. Prominent organisations such as the
International Dalit Solidarity Network and other stakeholders in this
area can prove to be very useful representatives of the disadvantaged
castes.

3. Workplace policies - As other CSR policies are localised to the
region of business operation, so too should workplace policies. The
inextricable link between employment and caste discrimination provides
an opportunity for companies to redress the imbalance through their
recruitment practices, training programs, and grievance mechanisms.
Examples of companies already demonstrating such initiatives include:
a) The Tata Group of companies have recently put in place a positive
discrimination policy, similar to affirmative action like in the U.S.
b) The Forbes Marshall Group is also drawing from US experience to
draft an affirmative action and diversity policy.
c) Voltas, the air conditioning and engineering services company
supports an initiative in vocational training for underprivileged
Dalit youth at a technical school in Mumbai.
d) HSBC has recently added caste as a non discriminatory factor in
their employment policy and signed the Ambedkar Principles
4. Supply Chain management - By engaging with a diverse network of
lower caste suppliers, companies can make a huge difference by
extending influence across their supply chain and providing much
needed business for minority suppliers to flourish. Furthermore,
companies should pay proper attention to Dalit workers in their supply
chains, especially in the agricultural and textile sectors, as they
may face discrimination against fair and just employment practices.

5. Community Investment – Caste awareness should be embedded into
community investment strategies. In rural areas where approximately
70% of the Indian population lives and the majority of Dalits remain
socially deprived, companies have an opportunity to affect change at
the grass roots level. Upon evaluation of effective community
investment programs in India, the major question is whether the
poorest of the poor are really being impacted, and this discussion
must include an analysis of the Dalits in rural areas. Many companies
operating in India will focus on empowerment of women, micro-finance
programs, rural community development, health and hygiene, and
education. Access to these programs must be extended to the Dalits,
who are potentially barred from access. The Ambedkar Principles
promote the inclusion of Dalits in the planning and implementation of
community development programs. Caste should also be included as a
factor in the measurement and reporting of community investment
programs and the impact that they have– how effective is your program
at building capacity amongst the most downtrodden in society and
providing opportunities for social mobility? ■

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[ZESTCaste] India Goes Backward on Caste

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703315404575251542186672462.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines

MAY 19, 2010

India Goes Backward on Caste

Identity politics yields diminishing returns.

By BARUN S. MITRA
Caste has cast its shadow once again over Indian politics. Over the
past few weeks, parliament has witnessed uproarious scenes on whether
to include caste in the once-a-decade census that has just gotten
underway. Opinion is split among political leaders, social activists
and the public. But far from being ultimately divisive, this debate is
a perfect demonstration of how India's vibrant democracy and growing
economy is making caste less and less important.

For a start, counting castes is increasingly a practical absurdity.
When the British tried it as part of the first census in 1881, they
identified fewer than 2,000 subcastes, and found that 58% of these
groups had a population of less than 1,000. They omitted caste from
the 1931 census because they couldn't standardize the categories in
view of enormous local variations.

Even Indians have problems defining caste. When a commission was set
up in the 1980s to identify socially and economically backward
classes, it identified more than 4,000 "other backward castes."
Including all the subcastes among the upper castes, there might be
around 10,000 castes in India today—or more.

But does any of this really matter? As time goes on, economic growth
is eroding strong caste distinctions. Indians who want to escape
restrictive social customs in their villages can find economic
opportunities and upward mobility in cities. Urbanization has also
provided an opportunity to remain anonymous in a sea of humanity, in
contrast to small towns or villages where it was easy for residents to
know each other's ancestry and caste.

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They're more concerned with development than social class.
Society is also becoming more tolerant. A century ago, caste-based
discrimination prevailed in social and religious practices, marriage
customs and eating habits. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, who chaired the
committee that drafted the Indian Constitution, was forbidden to touch
water pots at his school because he was from a lower caste. Barely 40
years ago in New Delhi, it was not uncommon to find Brahmin teachers
refusing to eat or drink if they were served by lower castes. Today,
students and teachers at government schools participate equally in
midday meals, and schools that are found to discriminate on the
grounds of caste are castigated.

Thus the only people who would advocate a caste census would be the
people who personally benefit from it: namely, politicians who depend
on identity politics to win votes. They hail from mostly smaller
parties like the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar or the Samajwadi Party
in Uttar Pradesh. Marginalized from the halls of power, they think a
caste census could facilitate the flow of more money and affirmative
action programs to their political constituencies.

This trend started in the late 1980s, when the Congress Party's grip
on power eroded. Smaller parties emerged to seize the political
opportunity and sought to mobilize voters based on their regional,
religious or caste identities. But to win support, they had to give
those groups special benefits. Citizens quickly realized they needed
to be classified as certain castes to obtain certain benefits. In the
1990s, so many groups in Andhra Pradesh demanded to be recognized as
"backward" that the total number was a figure four times larger than
the official population of the state.

The bigger problem is that playing identity politics has a diminishing
marginal return. Indians are generally comfortable with multiple
identities—ethnic, linguistic, regional and religious, as well as
caste. Hardly any narrow homogeneous identity dominates any specific
electoral constituency or region.

That's why in a country where over 80% of the population professes to
be Hindu, the Bharatiya Janata Party's attempt to mobilize support
based on that identity did not assure them electoral success. Uttar
Pradesh chief minister Mayawati figured this out in 2007, when she
expanded the base of her Bahujan Samaj Party to include all castes,
rather than just untouchables. The strategy propelled the party to
power by itself for the first time ever in India's most populous
state.

Thus it's little surprise that the big political parties—the Congress
Party and the BJP—have mixed views of the calls for a caste census.
Since these parties are national in scope, they are naturally more
cautious.

They also understand the limits of Indian politics. The "first past
the post system" mandates that the winning candidate must win the
maximum number of votes in a geographic constituency. Given the
diversity of India's population, a candidate has to form political
coalitions that cut across caste, religious and ethnic identities to
have any chance of winning. This is especially true for state or
national-level legislative elections—and invariably necessitates a
degree of compromise.

More practically, there is a limit to political patronage that can be
distributed. The public sector, including national, state and local
levels, employs barely 5% of the more than 450 million people in the
labor force. Even if all the jobs were reserved for the lowest and
backward castes, it would barely make a dent on the socio-economic
status of these communities. In addition, finding qualified and
competent people from within a lower caste would be a challenge, given
35% of that population is illiterate, and less than 15% of the youth
actually enroll for any kind of college education.

India's politicians face a clear choice: They can side with the old
social order and try to secure their own political future through
patronage, or they can discard it, like the rest of the country is
doing. Indians are on the move and their many identities are becoming
optional. It is the politicians who are in danger of being left
behind, exposing the true nature of their own identities.

Mr. Mitra is director of the Liberty Institute, an independent think
tank in New Delhi, and a columnist for WSJ.com.

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[ZESTCaste] Caste no bar in South Indian private companies

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Caste-no-bar-in-South-Indian-private-companies/Article1-545519.aspx

Caste no bar in South Indian private companies

Gaurav Choudhury,
Delhi, May 19, 2010

While India debates whether caste should be included in its population
census, industry chamber CII has done its own statistical digging to
assess the ground reality. Its findings: despite the absence of
reserved quotas in the private sector, scheduled castes (SCs),
scheduled tribes (STs) and other backward classes (OBCs) are already
well entrenched in southern India's private firms.

The Confederation of Indian Industry data reveals SC/STs make up 16.2
per cent of its member workforce — not far behind the 22.5 per cent
reservation mark for these categories of people in government jobs.
OBCs account for 51.8 per cent.

The survey was across 270 firms (10 per cent of CII firms) in Tamil
Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Puducherry, where average
SC/ST population is 19.3 per cent.

A similar exercise is on for the north and will be followed by surveys
in the west and east.

"The findings in the south show there is already a fair representation
of SC, ST and OBC in the private sector," CII president Hari S.
Bhartia told HT.

Tamil Nadu appears to employ a higher number of SC/STs, owing to the
presence of a large base of textile and apparel manufacturing units,
the survey carried out by Feedback Ventures said.

Excluding Puducherry, the four states have 44 per cent of the total
urban OBC population, according to a 2006 parliamentary standing
committee report. That year, the government had asked industry to
prepare base-line data on SC/ST employment to ascertain industry-wise
progress later on.

Industry leaders oppose mandatory job quota. "Voluntary action would
get better results," Bhartia said. "Companies will continue to invest
in the 4Es — employability, education, entrepreneurship and employment
— with the focus on employability. This may be an incremental method
of addressing this social issue but is a surer way of doing things,
and in alignment with the inclusiveness agenda of the government."

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[ZESTCaste] Congress will defeat BSP in 2012: Rahul

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article433128.ece

Published: May 18, 2010 20:48 IST | Updated: May 19, 2010 01:55 IST
LUCKNOW, May 18, 2010

Congress will defeat BSP in 2012: Rahul
Special Correspondent

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday declared that the
ruling Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh would taste defeat at the
hands of his party in the 2012 Assembly elections.

Mr. Gandhi scotched rumours of a tie-up between the Congress and the
BSP in the light of the latter's support to the UPA government on the
cut motion in Parliament. There would be no understanding between the
two parties, he said.

The Amethi MP alleged that dalits were unhappy in the present regime.
Whenever he asked them about the functioning of the State government
during his visits, they said, "yahan to sarkar nahin hai" (the
government is non-functional here), he said.

There would be no compromise on the State's development and youth
would emerge as the fulcrum of the impending change, he said. He was
ready to be at the vanguard of the struggle to bring about a regime
change. "This government will go, but the future of the State is a
relatively bigger issue than mere defeat of the BSP."

Addressing a public meeting at Ahraura in Mirzapur district on
Tuesday, his second in the State since the launch of the Congress
"sandesh yatras" on April 14, Mr. Gandhi said thousands of crores was
given to the State in the form of Central funds. But the money was not
put to good use and the benefits of the central measures were not
reaching the poor. The State government's record on implementation of
welfare schemes and providing power and employment was dismal. The
Mayawati regime's stand that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Programme would not benefit the poor was not
right.

The power units in the Mirzapur-Sonebhadra region supplied electricity
to the entire State, but the villages here were given barely five to
six hours of power supply. Compared to U.P., which had a population of
18 crore, Punjab with a population of just 3 crore was generating more
electricity.

Mr. Gandhi said the State people had rejected politics based on
religion pursued by the BJP and caste politics pursued by the
Samajwadi Party and the BSP. "U.P. of the last 20 years has to
change," he said.

Mr. Gandhi also pointed out that U.P. was the biggest power-bloc in
India and if it prospered, the nation would progress.

"U.P. has the power to change the equations in the country, but the
first step is to enforce a change in the State."

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[ZESTCaste] Annul Marriage or Desert Village: Panchayat to Couple

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?682502

Annul Marriage or Desert Village: Panchayat to Couple
Rohtak | May 18, 2010

A Dalit khap panchayat has asked a couple, who got married just two
days back, to annul their marriage holding it has violated an age-old
village custom prohibiting wedding in same gotra (clan).

However, Kulwant Maidaland Sushila Badgujjar, who got married on
Sunday at Samain village, 30km from Rohtak, have rejected the
panchayat's as "Talibanesque" and "unethical".

The panchayat says the marriage has violated the custom that prohibits
matrimonial ties between a girl and a boy if one of his his or her
parents or grandmother belongs to Bahamnia gotra (clan) as majority of
residents of Samain village of the Scheduled Caste community belong to
the same gotra.

The panchayat also said if the couple fails to break their marriage
within ten days, the groom's family would have to leave the village or
be evicted.

The marriage between Kulwant and Sushila, a resident of Dadula village
in Panipat district, landed into controversy almost immediately when
some guests at the wedding function objected to the solemnisation
after coming to know that Sushila's mother belonged to Bahamnai gotra.

The villagers had yesterday convened a panchayat and termed the
marriage as against the social custom.

The district police contacted the panchayat's member and directed them
to withdraw their verdict.

The police today also recorded the statement of some villagers in this
regard after taking stock of the situation in the area.

Khap panchayats in Haryana, mostly dominated by Jat community members,
are notorious for issuing diktats asking married couples to live as
brother and sister after holding their marriages as invalid for having
violated gotra norms.

Filed At: May 18, 2010 22:11 IST , Edited

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit woman attempts suicide

http://www.thehindu.com/2010/05/19/stories/2010051952590300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Salem

Dalit woman attempts suicide

Special Correspondent

SALEM: Facing harassment for running a petty shop, a 51-year-old Dalit
woman attempted to commit suicide inside the Collectorate campus on
Tuesday in protest against the failure of police to arrest a group of
persons who ransacked her shop at Saminaickenpatti, at Omalur, near
here.

Rajamani, wife of one Raman, came to the Collectorate to submit a
petition to the collector during the monthly grievances day meeting
here on Tuesday.

All of a sudden she poured kerosene over her body and attempted to light it.

The near-by policemen and general public overpowered her, snatched the
match box and saved her.

The police took her to the Town Police Station where she alleged that
she and her family were being harassed by a group of persons in the
village since they were Dalits.

The group had opposed to the running of petty shop in that locality. A
few days back, she alleged, the group came and ransacked her shop.
They threw all the goods in the shop on the street.

"Now our family is living in constant fear and could not run the shop
too," said Rajamani, who also is the president of Annai Theresa Women
Association, a non-governmental organisation.

She told the police that despite a complaint with Omalur police, they
had not taken any action so far.

The police registered a case and are investigating.

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[ZESTCaste] No pact with BSP; will fight battle for better future: Rahul

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/uttarpradesh/No-pact-with-BSP-will-fight-battle-for-better-future-Rahul/Article1-545381.aspx

No pact with BSP; will fight battle for better future: Rahul
Anuraag Singh, Hindustan Times
Ahraura , May 18, 2010

In his maiden public rally in the naxal heart of UP, Congress national
general secretary Rahul Gandhi made it loud and clear that his party
will not have any truck with ruling BSP ever.

A day after the killer landmine blast in Dantewara (Chattisgarh),
Gandhi, however, remained mute on naxalism and against expectations
did not make any statements about how to win away misguided youths
from naxal extremism.

"Speculations have been rife of a pact between the Congress and the
BSP, after the recent voting in the parliament. But let me make it
crystal clear, we'll never have any pact with the BSP at any cost, but
will defeat the present govt in Lucknow," said Gandhi towards the end
of his 15 minute speech in naxal hit hillside Ahraura Deeh of Mirzapur
district of East UP.

Addressing a crowd of over one lakh people gathered from across East
UP, Gandhi lashed out against the BSP govt in UP, saying the BSP govt
terms itself as govt of Dalits.

But ask me as during my tour to various Dalit villages, what I've
heard. "The Dalits say kaun si sarkar, yahan koi sarkar nahi hai"
(which govt there is no govt here).

It's the Congress that will defeat the BSP, but the story will not end
here. We need to build a UP of bright future for which youth like you
are necessary.

Maintaining that youth power is the instrument of change and
development in UP, Gandhi said "aap jahan bulayenge main aane ke liye
taiyar hoon aur apki ladai ladoonga" (call me where ever you want and
I will be there to wage a fight for you) said Gandhi sowing the seeds
of a youth movement for political change in UP.

Youths from UP, not finding development here go to Maharashtra, where
they are ousted insultingly. Also they bring prosperity in New Delhi,
Punjab and Haryana, but don't find jobs in their own state with a
population of 18 crores.

Added Gandhi, look at Sonebhadra district of East UP, which has lost
it's copper industry and the present govt in the state has also failed
to do anything for weavers..is there really a govt here.

Let me assure you Cong will bring development in UP and build a
prosperous future for youths, who have not reaped benefits of MNREGS,
largest employment scheme in the world.

"In all states (irrespective of who rules there) MNREGS is a hit, but
in UP the commoners say they don't know about it due to faulty
implementation by the BSP govt, which does not send use full central
funds.

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[ZESTCaste] Bangladesh’s Dalits seek better life

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/bangladeshs-dalits-seek-better-life_100366166.html

Bangladesh's Dalits seek better life

May 19th, 2010 - 2:38 pm ICT by IANS -
Dhaka, May 19 (IANS) Bangladesh's 1.5 million Dalits are seeking
recognition for the menial work they do and also a better deal for
their children.
The Dalits were brought to present-day Bangladesh by the British
rulers in 1835 from India's Kanpur and Nagpur cities.

Community leaders say that although they educate their children, they
are not given jobs because of their identity as Dalits.

Krishnalal, chairperson of the Bangladesh Harijan Oikya Parishad, said
at a conference here Tuesday: "We keep the city clean and for that
occupation we are considered untouchables."

"Our children receive formal education, but they do not get jobs
because of their identity as Harijans," The Daily Star quoted him as
saying.

He received support from social organisations, human rights bodies and
NGO speakers who called for creating alternative job opportunities for
them.

They called on the Dalits to send their children to schools and
prepare them for the future.

The Dalit leaders urged the government to reserve 80 percent of
cleaning jobs for the community in city corporations and government
offices as well as providing them basic rights enshrined in the
constitution.

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[ZESTCaste] No political understanding with BSP in UP: Rahul Gandhi

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/No-political-understanding-with-BSP-in-UP-Rahul-Gandhi/articleshow/5945614.cms

No political understanding with BSP in UP: Rahul Gandhi
PTI, May 18, 2010, 06.20pm IST

MIRZAPUR(UP): Ruling out any political understanding with Mayawati-led
BSP, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hinted that Congress may go it alone in
the 2012 assembly polls in the state.

"I am ready to fight your battle. Take me wherever you want. Together,
we will change Uttar Pradesh for the better," Gandhi said addressing a
rally here.

He dismissed suggestions of a political understanding reached with the
BSP to help the UPA government sail through trying times in
Parliament.

"Listen to me carefully. There will be no political understanding or
pact with the BSP. Congress will defeat the BSP government. The youth
of UP will help us achieve this," Gandhi said.

"During voting in Parliament on the cut motions, newspapers wrote that
Congress has struck a deal with the BSP. I would like to say there
will be no agreement with the BSP and no compromise with the future of
UP," he said.

The Congress leader claimed that successive governments led by BJP, SP
and BSP have failed to bring change to the state where people were
forced to seek employment in other states.

"You go to Maharashtra and are chased away. You go to Haryana and
Punjab and help those states progress. If UP strides to progress, the
entire country will make a beeline to this state," he said.

Gandhi exhorted the youth of the state to be drivers of change and
take UP to the heights of glory it enjoyed in the past.

"BJP said it will work wonders. SP played the caste card and BSP said
it has formed a government of Dalits. But have you ever asked the
Dalits, whether the government works for them," he asked aloud.

"The Dalits say there is no government in Uttar Pradesh and I know
that you will send the BSP packing as you did with the BJP and the SP
in the past," he said.

Gandhi claimed that the funds the Centre allocates to Uttar Pradesh
never reach the intended beneficiaries.

"Government at Delhi is sending crores of rupees to UP, but it is not
reaching the people. We are sending funds for MNREGS, but it is not
reaching the people it is meant to benefit," he alleged.

He said that the Centre launched MNREGS, where 100- day employment was
being provided to the people in the rural areas.

"While in other states the scheme is being implemented, in UP when I
visit villages and talk to people, they said that it is nowhere on the
ground," Gandhi said.

Gandhi also spoke about the power problem in this district. "Power
generated here is being used by the entire state, but you (people) are
not getting electricity even for five to six hours," he said.

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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati hits at centre for not supporting anti-naxal efforts

http://www.ptinews.com/news/658549_Mayawati-hits-at-centre-for-not-supporting-anti-naxal-efforts

Mayawati hits at centre for not supporting anti-naxal efforts

STAFF WRITER 20:5 HRS IST
Lucknow, May 18 (PTI) Accusing the centre of failing to take positive
steps to find an effective solution to naxal problems, Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Mayawati today alleged it was not supporting the
state's efforts against the menace.

"The state government has initiated steps to find an effective
solution to naxalism, as a socio-economic problem.

Unfortunately, the centre's support to the efforts being made by the
state had been very disappointing," Mayawati said in a statement
issued here.

"The Centre neither paid any attention towards finding an effective
solution to naxalism problem nor did it take any positive step in this
direction," she alleged.

The BSP president said that some districts of UP, including Mirzapur
and Sonbhadra, which share their boundaries with naxalism affected
states, the problem has surfaced.

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Wednesday, May 19, 2010

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