Thursday, May 27, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Please sign petition it will take only one minute to sign and support the cause

 

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Jaibheem
 Please sign petition it will take only one minute to sign and support the cause
 

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To:  President of India



To Date: 21/05/2010
Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil,
President of India
Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi
PIN- 110004, India

Subject: Requesting intervention of honorable President of India In the suicides of dalit students (Scheduled castes and scheduled castes) in the universities and other educational institutions

Respected Madam

The campaign for the elimination of caste discrimination in education institution is formed with the collaboration of different social service organizations (Non government organizations) people�s organization and likeminded individuals to work for the elimination of caste based discrimination in education institutions. Though the caste based discrimination of any individual is punishable as per the law of the land, we feel in many forms persons belonging to lower caste or Dalits have been humiliated and ultimately some of them have committed suicide. The above mentioned cases are few examples for such type of discrimination existed in the educational institutions. Cases from educational institutions are presented here as the situation of dalit students in educational institutions and universities is becoming more vulnerable. The educational institutions are expected to inculcate caste free values to their pupil. However this is a clear demonstration of how educational institutions have failed in their primary duty of grooming generations of pupil on the values that are enshrined in the constitution of India and the values that all the national leaders have cherished.

Official records are revealing that in a span of two years (2008 and 2009) three dalit students have committed suicide in Andhra Pradesh. They have also recorded one attempt suicide. . But there could be several more such cases which were either not reported or the reasons were distracted. In the recent past number of Dalit student�s suicides cases as a whole in the country in educational institutions is increasing alarmingly. The situation needs urgent attention from not only the administration of those institutions but also all government departments, educationists and intellectuals.

Madam, we like to bring to your kind notice some of such cases of suicides of dalit students. These incidents will reflect (or stand as examples) the negligence of not only authorities of those institution but also the negligence of police and education departments in taking preventive actions.

1) Bandi Anusha Dalit student, studying B.Com final year in Villa Mary College, committed suicide on 5th November by jumping from the 3rd floor of her college building. The college management/ administration removed all the blood stains from the spot and then called electronic media and reported that the girl was forced into the act as there was a scuffle with her mother on the same day. And the same version was telecasted in the news channels and published in the news papers. Incidentally, the authorities forgot to inform the police and parents before they could call the media persons.

But according to the parents and relatives, Anusha was facing harassment and caste discrimination in the college from her classmates and they made to sit her on the front bench alone from the time they came to know her scheduled caste status, and that has forced her to commit the act.

On 4th November, 2009, Anusha informed her father about the harassment by her classmates in the college. Also she told that she don�t want to continue her study in the same college as her classmates are teasing her because of her scheduled castes status. Her father seemed to have assured that he will come soon to the college to solve the problem by speaking with her classmate friends and requested Anusha to continue her studies in the same college, as in another three months she will finishing Degree Course (B. Com)

But on the next day, 5th November, 2009 Anusha faced same kind of harassment by her classmates and was unable to bare this. Apparently, she told everyone in the class that she is going to die by jumping from the building, but none of the classmates stopped her. She came out of the classroom and she again called her father and informed him that she is going to die, and also she sent a sms to her father�s mobile �Bye dad im gng to die�. Her father immediately informed his brother Rajendra and he called Anusha on her mobile and tried to convince her. But while talking over phone itself she jumped from the 3rd floor of the building. A case was registered in the Panjagutta police station as Crime number 1137/2009 under section 306 of IPC R/W 34 IPC but no accused was arrested yet.

A team constituted by the campaign for the elimination of caste discrimination in education institutions have visited villa Mary collage to know the details of the incident of suicide of .Anusha, but college management was not ready to reveal any information or reasons for the suicide and they have also instructed all the staff not to speak to visitors to the college regarding the suicide this was revealed by one of the ayah openly to the enquiry team, without revealing her own identity.

2) Amaravathi a national-level dalit woman boxer from Hyderabad committed suicide by consuming poison in her hostel room at the Centre of Excellence, a sports hostel of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, at Lal Bahadur Stadium on 4th November 2009, The 21-year-old boxer won the bronze medal at the boxing nationals in 2006-07

The victim�s shocked family members alleged that �undue pressure mounted on her by the coach and the coach blamed her status of Scheduled caste and threatened her to perform better or die�. �She used to tell her family that Omkar Yadav (the coach) was frequently scolding her to achieve results. He used to ask her to quit the hostel saying she was just enjoying free amenities in the hostel,� they said. That is the whole reason for the suicide of Amaravathi

The members of the campaign for the elimination of caste discrimination in education institutions have visited the residence of Amaravathi in Chinthalbasti � Hyderabad and interacted with her parents they says that she is the bread winner of them now they become orphans

A case was registered but there is no progress of investigation and the coach Omkar Yadav was t neither arrested nor even questioned by the police.

3) Mr. Senthil Kumar, S/o Palaniswamy and Devani age 28, a research scholar in Physics in the University of Hyderabad committed suicide on 23-2-08 in his hostel room no.205 in the University�s new Research Scholar�s Hostel. This young hopeful scholar was a scheduled caste person from the village of Jalagandapuram in Selam district of Thamilanadu State. He completed his M. Phil. In Pondicherry Central University and thereafter he got admission into School of Physics as a PhD student during the academic year 2007-2008. He had never been allotted a guide to pursue his research programme until he committed suicide. He has to suffer lot of frustration and humiliation requesting the faculty members to accept him as a PhD student. Poor Senthil was the first generation in his family to get education. He came to this position with a lot of hardship. But he is a tragic victim of caste discrimination.

Our committee while interacting it is said that there exists a lot of discrimination among the faculty members in allotting the guides to the dalit scholars. There are many Scholars who do not have allotted any guide to them even after they got admission into the PhD Programme. The dalit students claim that they are the victims of the recently introduced semester system for the PhD Scholars. By this system the faculty can award less marks in the semester end examinations and thereby he would be retained in the same position again. Those persons who fail the examinations will not get scholarship. If the scholar ships are stopped the students, especially the dalit students who depends upon the scholarships for their studies, the consequences will force them to leave the studies. The same thing happened in the matter of Senthil Kumar as well. He failed in the recently held semester examinations and thereby he was struck with fear of stopping the scholarship and also non �allotment of guide doubled his agony.

On the day before he committing suicide he had spent time with his friends Arun Babu, and Armuga Nathan. They were together till late night and Senthil Kumar went to his room. The next day he was not seen by his friends. When they went to his room only the victim was lying on the floor, necked and with blood stains on the floor, immediately he was shifted to the campus where he was declared brought dead. Then the dead body of the victim was sent to Gandhi Hospital for the post mortem. Later the dead body was handed over to the parents of the deceased, who were called to Hyderabad. In a very causal manner the police of Chanda Nagar filed a case, till now the reasons for the suicide were not ascertained.

4) Balaswamy a PhD student (Department of Telugu) of University of Hyderabad belongs to Backward Class (Kuruma - shepherd community) of Chinthulla village of Yacharam Mandal, Rangareddy district, committed suicide at home (In the agricultural fields) due to caste based comment made by his professor (will you put this PhD degree in the neck of your Sheep, why do you want to do PhD) and denial of Scholarship in 2009 due to non promotion to the next semester. Since it happened at home of the diseased no case was registered and no enquiry was commissioned.

5) Rajitha, German studies student in EFL University attempted to suicide in the seethaphalmandi railway station, as Prof, Meenakshi Reddy, the dean of the German studies in EFL University has not permitted any Dalit student to sit in the class, However she has permitted some OBC students though they have failed in some semester exams. The SC ST students repeatedly requested her to allow sitting in the class and approached vice chancellor also, but she told that she will not permit even if the home minister of India intervenes in the matter. She even threatened to resign from job but don�t want to permit dalit students to sit in the class. Due to this humiliation Rajitha attempted suicide but saved by the other students. Though all this was in public no action was initiated against Prof. Meenakshi Reddy by the university.

These are few examples of the type of incidents taking place in the educational institutions. It is a clearly evident that some of the faculty including and professors, other administration staff and fellow students are not able to accept the dalit students in higher education and educational institutions. Hence the dalit students have been humiliated so much and some of them are even resorting to suicides.

Several of such cases are reported in the country. This is a very unfortunate situation; it�s a shame on the constitution of India and violation of basic human rights to fellow students. Hence we request you to intervene at once and take preventive measures and restore respect to the constitution of our country and ensure rightful human dignity to the Dalit students thereby they can pursue their education he the discrimination on the dalit students in the universities and other educational institutions

We the undersigned campaigners against the caste discrimination in educational institutions praying you to intervene in the matter and protect the right to life, right education and human dignity of dalit students

We request the below mentioned actions may be initiated immediately:
1) Establish a grievance cell for SC/ST students in All Universities and Collages of both private and Government with SC ST Faculty members to protect the SC/ST students from above mentioned discriminations insist
2) All private educations institutions to give an assurance to the government saying that they will not practice any caste discrimination against dalit students in their collage
1.
3) Conduct judicial enquiry into the deaths of all the dalit students who have committed suicides in all the above mentioned cases and initiate legal proceedings against the guilty as per the provisions of the SC/ST (prevention of) atrocities Act 1989 and rules 1995 pay compensation to the families of all victim�s
4) The education ministry and Social welfare ministry should regularly monitor the situation of dalit students in the universities and collages

Specific Actions against institutions:

1) University of Hyderabad: Allot guides to all selected students within a particular period of time since their admission in to courses. If any faculty member denies guiding a SC/ST student and giving admission to a non-dalit student who is less meritorious shall be punished under the provisions of the SC/ST (prevention) of atrocities Act 1989 and rules 1995, withdraw the system of nonpayment of scholarships to the SC/ST students if they fail in the Semester examinations. As this rule is being miss-used (by several faculty members) to eliminate SC/ST students from the courses that they are pursuing.

2) English and Foreign Languages University:
Prof. Meenakshi Reddy shall be suspended immediately and a judicial enquiry shall be commissioned to dismiss her from duties for not allowing the SC/ST students to sit in her class The vice chancellor of EFLU shall be booked under section 4 of the SC/ST (prevention) of atrocities of Act 1989 and rules 1995 for not taking action against Prof. Meenakshi for openly discriminating SC/ST students

3) Villa Mary College: Punish the principal of Villa Mary College for calling the media persons before informing the parents about their daughter�s suicide and for giving falls reasons to the media about the incident. Punish the management of Villa Mary College for threatening the non teaching staff (who are the eye witness to the incident) if they reveal any information regarding the incident to others.

4) Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh: Take action against the director of Sports Authority of AP for not initiating any enquiry in to the suicide of the Bronze medal winner in boxing Ms. Amaravathi Arrest Mr. Omkar Yadav (the coach of Ms. Amaravathi), under the provisions of SC/ST (prevention) of atrocities Act 1989 and rules 1995 and other relevant sections of the PCR



Thanking you madam
Yours Faithfully
SD/-
B.Karthik Navayan
(Coordinator-Campaign for the Elimination of Caste Discrimination in Education Institutions)

Member organizations of the Campaign : 1) National Dalit Forum, 2) Sakshi Human rights watch, 3) Aman Vedika, 4) MV Foundation, 5)Chathri, 6)Concerned Citizens committee, 7)Lambadi Hakkula Vedika, 8)Dalit Sthree Shakthi,9) Human Rights Law Network, 10)COVA, 11)Kula Nirmolana porata samithi, 12)Dalit desk CWS, 13)Bodhi
Member Individuals 1) Gogu Shyamala 2) Prem Kumar 3) G.Shankar, 4) Avula Balanadam 5) Korrapati Suresh Kumar 6) Gundimeda Sambaiah 7) Gurram Seetharamulu 8) P.Murali Kumar
9) M.Mandakini, Advocate, 10) Kancharla Mohan Rao, 11) E.Sudarshan Advocate, 12) TV Ramesh Advocate, 13) Rajesh, Advocate, 14) Bhoomaiah Lecturer 15) Domala Mallaiah

1) Address of the Applicant:
I) Campaign for the Elimination of Caste Discrimination in Educational Institutions, Representing by its Coordinator B.Karthik Navayan, Programme officer National Dalit Forum # 12-13-441, IInd floor, street1, Tarnaka, Secunderabad -500017, Andhra Pradesh, India.

2) Address of the Respondents:

I. The Correspondent, Villa Marie College for Women, #6-3-1089, Somajiguda Hyderabad - 500 082

II. The Chairman, Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, Lal Bahadur Stadium, Hyderabad-500 001. AP. INDIA

III. The Registrar, English and Foreign Languages University Hyderabad � 500007, AP, India

IV. The Registrar, Central University, Serilingampally, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh 500 046, India



Copies to:

1) Prime minister of India
2) Ministry of human resource development
3) University Grants Commission
4) National Human Rights commission
5) National Commission for scheduled castes
6) National commission for scheduled tribes
7) Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh
8) Governor, Andhra Pradesh
9) Minister of Home Andhra Pradesh
10) Minister of higher education Andhra Pradesh
11) Minister of Social welfare Andhra Pradesh

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

View Current Signatures
 


--
B.Karthik Navayan,
Advocate,
H.No. 21-7-761,
Opp.High Court Post Office,
Gansi Bazar, Hyderabad,
PIN-500002, AP.
Cell:09346677007,Email:navayan@gmail.com
http://sites.google.com/site/karthiknavayan/home
http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile.aspx?uid=10379805095932756525

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[ZESTCaste] Upper caste girl, Dalit man killed in Andhra Pradesh village

 

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_upper-caste-girl-dalit-man-killed-in-andhra-pradesh-village_1388388

Upper caste girl, Dalit man killed in Andhra Pradesh village
PTI

Thursday, May 27, 2010 15:00 IST
Hyderabad: In a suspected case of 'honour killing', a couple was
stoned to death by the relatives of an upper caste girl who had eloped
with a married man from another caste at a village in Andhra Pradesh's
Nizamabad district, police said today.

"The girl's relatives attacked the couple, S Srinivas and Swapna, when
they were sleeping outside their house in Krishna Jiwadi village at
around 10.30 last night. The couple was dragged on to the road and hit
with boulders resulting in their instantaneous death," Nizamabad
Superintendent of Police K Venkateshwara Rao told PTI over phone.

Giving details, the SP said, the girl Swapna (aged around 22 years),
went missing from the village last year, after which her father lodged
a missing complaint. The girl, however, returned home after
one-and-half-month and the complaint was withdrawn.

But, Swapna once again went missing after staying in the village for
about a month and returned only a week ago along with one Srinivas,
with whom she had stayed for the past nine months, the senior police
officer said.

Srinivas, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste, is a married man with
two children. Swapna's family members and relatives suspected that the
girl was in love with Srinivas and that she had eloped with him.

"They (relatives) were reportedly angered over the girl having a
relationship with a married man that too belonging to another caste,"
Rao said.

"It is still not clear whether Swapna and Srinivas had married and
where they were staying for the past nine months and since how long
their love affair was," the SP said.

"But since their return to the village a week ago, the duo was staying
together in the village along with the wife and children of Srinivas,"
Rao said.

"We are still investigating as the incident (killing) was reported
late last night. We have taken into custody one person and more
arrests will be made soon," the SP said.

A case of double murder has been registered and an autopsy was
conducted on the bodies of Srinivas and Swapna at a hospital in
Kamareddy town, the police officer added.

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[ZESTCaste] Brahmins have become the Dalits (Opinion)

http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/op-ed/brahmins-have-become-the-dalits/176601.html

Brahmins have become the Dalits

François Gautier

First Published : 27 May 2010 11:27:00 PM ISTLast Updated : 27 May
2010 12:24:53 AM IST

The caste system has been the most vilified aspect of Hindu society at
the hands of Western scholars. And this has greatly contributed to
India's lack of national pride, as you hardly find any Indian who is
not ashamed of caste, especially if he talks to a Westerner. Much of
this shame originated with the idea that it was the Aryans who devised
the caste system. And thus English missionaries and later, American
preachers, were able to convert tribes and low caste Hindus by telling
them : " you, the aborigines, the tribals, the Harijans, are the
original inhabitants of India, and you should discard Hinduism, the
religion of the Aryans and embrace, Christianity, the true religion".


Thus was born the great Aryan invasion theory, of two civilisations,
that of the low caste Dravidians and the high caste Aryans, always
pitted against each other — which has endured, as it is still today
being used by some Indian politicians. It has also been enshrined in
all history books — Western, and unfortunately also Indian, although
all the latest linguistic, archaeological and satellite mapping, show
that there never was an Aryan invasion. This theory has also made
Indians look westwards, instead of taking pride in their past and
present achievements.

Yet, once upon a time, caste was an arrangement for the distribution
of functions in society, just as much as class in Europe, but the
principle on which this distribution was based was unique and adapted
to India's social needs. It is true that the caste system degenerated
and that it bred exploitation and abuses, which were often
unforgivable. But look at today: it is the Brahmins who have become
the Dalits of India. Brahmins are in minority in most of the UP
villages, where Dalits constitute 60 to 65 per cent ; most of the
intellectual Brahmin Tamil class has emigrated outside Tamil Nadu; the
average income of Brahmins is less than that of non-Brahmins; a high
percentage of Brahmin students drop out at the intermediate level ; 75
per cent of domestic help and cooks in Andhra Pradesh are Brahmins;
and most of Delhi's public toilets are cleaned by Brahmins (Brahmins
of India by J. Radhakrishna, published by Chugh Publications, 2007).

It is also true that India has been trying to get away from the caste
system in the last 60 years. And with some success: it is difficult
today to distinguish the upper caste from the Dalit, in a plane, an
hotel or shopping mall. The government has also implemented many
schemes that did successfully empower the lower castes both at the
educational and social level, even if this system has sometime been
perverted. But the people who demand today a caste census, do not want
it to alleviate caste and poverty. They want it because in today's
India, it is enough to have the voices of the Muslims and the Dalits
to be elected. It is at best a cynical ploy, and at worst one that
will hurt India and divide it more and more as the British had wished.

What is sure is that if there is a caste census, the greatest
sufferers will be the 'other' non-Dalit Hindus, who constitute nearly
40 per cent of the Hindu community (unfortunately they are hopelessly
divided). Indeed, we live today in an India where Hindus, the
overwhelming majority of this country, are treated like an
inconsequential minority. An India, where it's okay to free the two
Muslims convicted by the Mumbai police for helping in the 26/11 Mumbai
attacks, but where Swami Nityananda, a grown-up adult, who had
consensual sex with a grown-up woman, is thrown in jail. An India,
where the so called-Hindu terrorists of Malegaon, or Ajmer, languish
in prison without ever having been convicted, but where those guilty
of having killed so many people in the German Bakery of Pune, have
never been caught, as there is no political will to do so. An India,
where many institutions have been subverted by the Government to the
point that in exchange for Mayawati's support in the recent cut
motion, the CBI lifted all cases against her. An India which is
supposed to be the largest democracy in the world, but where phones
are tapped, where politicians who take thousands of crores as bribes,
get away with it, and where people are scared to speak aloud. An India
where Sir Mark Tully (who most definitely wrote Hindutva, Sex &
Adventures), is considered an icon of 'fair' journalism, whereas, when
he was BBC's correspondent, he set standards in reporting on South
Asia, which still stand today and harm India's image. Even though
since the mid-Eighties, Pakistan encouraged, financed, trained and
armed Kashmiri separatism, Tully always made it a point to say: "India
accuses Pakistan to foster separatism in Kashmir"; or : "elections are
being held in Indian- held Kashmir"; or "Kashmir militants " have
attacked an army post, instead of "terrorists". All the other foreign
journalists, yesterday and today have followed the BBC's benchmarks.

This hostile attitude, pioneered by the BBC, may have also partially
influenced President Obama's South Asia policy, whereas he thinks he
can fight terror by making a frontline state of the very country which
fosters three-fourths of the terror attacks in the world. He is also
tightening the screws on India so that it negotiates with Pakistan,
even at the cost of compromising on its sovereignty in Kashmir. Obama
is finally pressuring Manmohan Singh to give up India's military
nuclear programme, leaving it at the mercy of not only Pakistan's, but
also China's formidable nuclear arsenal. The government may have come
to a secret agreement with US on all these points. The caste census is
just another ploy to subvert democracy in the name of democracy.

fgautier26@gmail.com


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[ZESTCaste] Counting backwards (Opinion)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Counting-backwards/Article1-548936.aspx

Counting backwards

Indrajit Hazra

May 26, 2010


Caste, we are constantly told, is a reality in India. Whether we
approve of caste-based identities or not, the very fact that a vast
number of Indians still identify themselves and others along caste
lines, makes it an issue that can't be dismissed. But acknowledging
its existence is hardly the same thing as approving it. There may be a
fair number of people who believe in little green men. But to
categorise them in an official exercise such as the census — as
opposed to in a study on delusionals — is to willy-nilly give credence
to the existence of little green men.

The origin of a caste-based census lies in the British colonialists'
fetish to categorise a motley group of people they wished to govern
smoothly. It was according to the same principles that they divvied up
Indians according to their martial prowess (a hodgepodge of ethnic
groups like Rajputs and religious groups like Sikhs). The invention of
the category of 'criminal tribes' in 1871 followed the same line of
Victorian parlour games. (Incidentally, independent India 'denotified'
these communities in 1952, but in 1959, they were reclassified as
'habitual offenders'.)

Caste, the British failed or refused to understand, was not cast in
stone. Originally, small social groups, overwhelmingly in rural
communities, behaved according to fluid 'caste' lines based on
professions rather than on birth (akin to the European concept of
'guilds'). A more robust artificial caste 'solidified' down the years.
After the 1857 'mutiny', for instance, Indian soldiers were given
caste tags by the British once they joined the army. This saw Hindus,
who never really identified beyond 'profession-caste' terms, return to
their villages while on leave and continue their army 'caste' tag
among puzzled locals. So, from being a class category with its avenues
of social mobility, caste became an unmoving 'endogamic' (of marriage
within a class or tribe as required by custom or law) ID tag.

This history lesson is important because our current understanding of
caste is a colonial hand-me-down. The only caste-based census
conducted was in 1931. The census commissioner, J.H. Hutton, later
acknowledged criticism about "the mere act of labelling persons as
belonging to caste tends to perpetuate the system". But he responded
by stating that it was "difficult to see why the record of a fact that
actually exists should lend to stabilise that existence". As he
pointed out, "It is just as easy to argue... that it is impossible to
get rid of any institution by ignoring its existence like a proverbial
ostrich." True. Just by ignoring the existence of bigots, for
instance, bigotry doesn't go away. But the whole debate over 'caste in
a census' today stems from one singular, practical and political
reason: to stand up and be counted in order to be eligible for
goodies. To put it in one easy word: quotas.

Here again, we have to go back to the 1931 census. When the Mandal
Commission started its task of evolving criteria for ascertaining the
population of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the 1980s, it arrived
at the figure of about 52 per cent of India's population on the basis
of the 1931 census. (In 2007, the Supreme Court rejected this figure.)
And here, Hutton highlighted a problem. He quoted a Madras
superintendent: "An extremely dark individual pursuing the occupation
of waterman on the Coorg border described his caste as Suryavamsa, the
family of the Sun." In other words, many had lied for the express
purpose of moving up the social ladder.

By the 1990s, when the Mandal Commission recommendations kicked in,
lying about caste took the opposite direction. Instead of
'Sanskritising' oneself, people started lying to 'de-Sanskritise'
themselves to avail of quotas earmarked for 'backward' castes. In an
article in last week's Business Standard, economist Surjit Bhalla
nails the lie using National Sample Survey (NSS) data. Bhalla points
out that if the NSS figures of 1999-2000 show the OBC population of
about 36 per cent jumping to 41 per cent in 2000-2004, that would
amount to the national average fertility rate of OBC women jumping
from 2.5 to 6.9. Effectively, two out of every 10 non-OBC Hindu in the
NSS survey lied to be branded an OBC and get in line for a slice of
the quota pie.

Unlike sex, ethnicity or religion, 'caste' is a malleable marker. So
even as countless matrimonial ads, khap panchayats and political
parties show that caste is taken very seriously, one is really talking
about self-styling. And even here, large groups like Lingayats or
Kolis have less in common within their 'caste' cousins than with
others from similar socio-economic groups.

So apart from encouraging reverse-engineering IDs ("I'm a Gujjar if it
gets me a government job; I'm a Brahmin if it gets me a good bride"),
a caste-based census, at best, serves no purpose. At worst, it'll
institutionalise wedges in a society that can do with less artificial
pecking orders.


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[ZESTCaste] Opening of a Pandora’s box?

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Opening-of-a-Pandora-s-box/Article1-548987.aspx

Opening of a Pandora's box?

Vikas Pathak, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, May 26, 2010


A caste census, if it happens, will sharpen identity politics, but
may, ironically, end up harming other backward classes (OBC) politics.

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata
Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad see the caste census demand as a
reactivation of the dwindling OBC agenda, which brought them to power
in UP and Bihar around 1990. The result may, however, be precisely the
opposite.

For, a caste count may politically divide the OBC category into
smaller groups — meaning, individual castes — that may begin to
question dominant OBC castes.

There are 1,963 castes centrally listed as OBCs in India.

Bihar has 131 such castes and UP 75, but the leadership of OBC
politics has been with the Yadavs.

The intermediary peasant castes — OBCs now — became prosperous in
these states from the 1960s onwards. The Yadavs (an estimated 8.7 per
cent in UP and 11 per cent in Bihar) were the most prominent, followed
by the Kurmis (estimated to be 3-3.5 per cent in both UP and Bihar),
if we leave the powerful Jats of western UP (estimated at 1.5 per cent
of UP's population).

The backward castes shunned the Congress — which nurtured an upper
caste-Muslim-Dalit support base — and went with socialist politics and
farmer politics associated with Charan Singh, who later became prime
minister.

The Congress lost power in 1989 and V.P. Singh became PM, with Mulayam
and Lalu emerging as key players.

Singh announced that the Mandal report would be implemented, leading
to agitations against and for it.

OBC politics had been consolidated.

But it soon began to unravel. In the 1990s, Nitish Kumar broke with
Lalu Prasad, signifying a rift in the Yadav-Kurmi, or intra-OBC,
relations.

The Bahujan Samaj Party's handsome victory in UP in 2007 was partly a
result of non-Yadav OBC consolidation behind UP Chief Minister
Mayawati to throw Mulayam Singh Yadav out of power.

A caste census may speed up this splitting up of OBC politics.

"People start identifying with their own caste rather than category
when the numbers are known. They then organise on these lines and
press their demands," said O.P. Shukla, president of the National
Coordination Committee for Revision of Reservation Policy, an
Ati-Dalit platform that wants scheduled caste sub-quotas.

Shukla speaks from his experience of Dalit politics. For Dalits (SCs),
the census collects detailed caste data. This has made Valmikis of
Haryana, Punjab and Madigas of Andhra question the dominance of the
cobbler caste and the Malas, respectively.

The BJP — which officially supported the demand — and the Congress are
now internally divided on the issue.

The opponents of the caste census within each fear that this would
further divide society on caste lines. Those supporting it say that
the state must have data on OBCs, as it gives benefits to castes
included in this category.


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[ZESTCaste] Headcount of castes could be countdown to chaos

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Headcount-of-castes-could-be-countdown-to-chaos/Article1-549039.aspx

Headcount of castes could be countdown to chaos

Vinod Sharma
May 27, 2010

"It'll be like casting a stone at a beehive," said well-known
demographer Ashish Bose of OBC-oriented parties' demand for caste
enumeration in Census-2010. The cons

* Caste census can further fragment society
* Defining caste is the single biggest challenge
* Could lead to large-scale chaos if govt gives in to pressure to count castes
* Castes and caste-based parties could multiply
* Experts say '31 caste census valid for extrapolation
* 10-yearly exercise not enough to collect such
sensitive data


His worry: the exercise won't generate authentic data while leaving
society and the polity even more divided than in the aftermath of 1990
when V.P. Singh implemented the Mandal Commission's report on quotas
for other backward classes (OBCs).

In these times of security challenges, the paramount need is to forge
homogenization, not the kind of socio-political fragmentation a caste
census would trigger. Sharpened identities will help regional,
sectarian outfits such as the BSP, SP and RJD, damaging the BJP's
Hindutva plank and the Congress's long-term objective of negating
Mandal by building an aspirational India.

Known for his work on "social mobility and caste conflicts" in the
20th century, sociologist Imtiaz Ahmad considered defining caste as
the single biggest challenge in any such enumeration.

Boundaries of caste have never been known. There were protests when
the British tried to fix them," he said.

For instance, the Chandaals claimed to be Naamshudhras in 1910 and
Naamshudhra Brahmins in 1921. The resultant confusion and chaos will
be way bigger in scale if the government gives in to caste-based
groupings in 21st century India. But it's caught in a bind on the
complex issue.

On one hand is the pressure for greater share (in special concessions
for backward classes), on the other the judiciary's push for
enumeration to evaluate continuation of the quota system.

"The inevitable byproduct of it will be social fission. Castes will
multiply and so would caste-based political parties," remarked Ahmed.
He felt data generated by the last caste census in 1931 was valid for
extrapolation to determine the count of communities other than Muslims
who faced major dislocation during Partition.

Dr Bose agreed with Ahmad that a caste census wouldn't go beyond
what's already known. "A ten-yearly exercise isn't a good way of
collecting such sensitive data," remarked the Professor Emeritus of
the Institute of Economic Growth. He relied more on the national
sample survey, the national family health survey and the agriculture
census for their shorter periodicity.

The limitations of once-in-a-decade enumeration were best illustrated
in 2001 when the census recorded over 6000 mother tongues. The
Language Division of Registrar General of India took 7-8 years to make
sense of the raw information, reducing eventually the number of mother
tongues to 120-odd. "As a result, the published version of the 2001
census came out in 2009 when it was time already for fresh
enumeration," said Bose.

The government obviously has bought time by referring to a Group of
Ministers the issue on which consensus eluded the Union Cabinet.

Can a question that so deeply divided the ministers be expected to
strengthen the Union that's India?


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[ZESTCaste] But OBC seats won't meet target

http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_but-obc-seats-won-t-meet-target_1388295

But OBC seats won't meet target
Mihika Basu / DNA

Thursday, May 27, 2010 2:17 IST

Mumbai: Venkata Kolli, the OBC category topper with an all India rank
of 24, may be spoilt for choice, but it's not true for all.

Even as the IITs were preparing to complete the 27% reservation for
the other backward classes (OBCs), not enough have qualified from this
category as compared to the seats available.

Of the 1,27,760 OBC candidates who appeared, 2,357 could qualify.
However, the number of OBC seats available is about 2,567, in other
words, around 27% of the total 9,509 seats. This means there is a
shortfall of 210 OBC candidates and these seats will be converted to
general category.

Of the 2,357 who qualified, sores of 868 OBCs had to be relaxed by
10%, while the remaining 1,489 made it to the list on merit.
"From IIT Bombay zone, 568 qualified, of which scores of 202 had to be
relaxed. But despite all relaxations, it seems we haven't got enough
numbers," said an IIT professor.

In 2009, around 1,949 OBCs had qualified for admission to 1,594 seats.
But 51 OBC seats were converted to general category as enough
candidates couldn't make the cut.


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[ZESTCaste] 120 from Gujarat make it to the IITs

 

http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_120-from-gujarat-make-it-to-the-iits_1388391

120 from Gujarat make it to the IITs
DNA Correspondent / DNA

Thursday, May 27, 2010 15:08 IST
Ahmedabad: Around 120 students from the state are estimated to have
made it to the IITs as per the results of the IIT-JEE examination
which was declared on Wednesday. As many students have been travelling
and coaching classes could not confirm the number of students who have
made it to the IITs, an exact figure could not be derived on the day
of the result.

At the national level a total of 13,104 candidates today cleared the
prestigious entrance to the IITs this year. Anumula Jithendar Reddy
from Madras zone has topped the test at the national level.
These students will be eligible for admission to the 15 IITs, ISM
Dhanbad and IT-BHU. There are 9,509 seats in these institutions. Over
4.5 lakh candidates had appeared in JEE-2010 which was conducted by
seven of the IITs on April 11.

This year the number of candidates who had taken the examination was
up by 18.3 per cent as compared to last year. While the test was
conducted in seven zones, IIT Bombay zone produced the maximum number
of successful candidates with 3,145 of them figuring in the merit list
followed by IIT Madras (2619), IIT Delhi (2264), IIT Kharagpur (1481),
IIT Kanpur (1341), IIT Roorkee (1305) and IIT Guwahati (521).

While 1.13 lakh girls appeared in the test, 1476 managed to qualify.
Aakanksha Tushar Sarda emerged as the topper among girls with an all
India rank of 18. About 554 candidates in Hindi medium have qualified
for the entrance test which is a three fold rise from last year.

This year there will be no Scheduled Caste preparatory list as the
number of successful SC candidates is more than the available seats
for them. This year, 2357 OBC candidates cleared the test, while 1773
SCs, 517 STs and 174 physically challenged got through the same.

This time the IITs are conducting counselling online. The counselling
website will be open from Thursday till June 12.
Candidates are expected to fill their choice of courses in all the
participating institutes online from May 30. While the candidates
belonging to the General category do not need to report in person to
any of the institutes for counselling, other candidates belonging to
OBC, SC, ST and Physically Disabled categories will have to report in
person.

The web-release of the first seat allotment will be made on June 28
while the second one will be released on July 14.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit boy cracks IIT entrance test

 

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_dalit-boy-cracks-iit-entrance-test_1388086

Dalit boy cracks IIT entrance test

Wednesday, May 26, 2010 17:53 IST

Patna: The socio-economic deprivation did not come in the way of
realising his cherished dream as a bright youth from the Mahadalit
communities Anand Kishore, a native of Nawada district, did himself
and his family proud by cracking the prestigious joint entrance test
of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

The son of a father engaged in tapping palm juice for livelihood, the
18 year-old boy lived up to the expectation of his guru Anand Kumar,
the mathematics wizard and founder of the prestigious coaching
institute, 'Super 30' to secure 1190th position in the joint entrance
test for IIT this year.

Basking in the glory of his newly found achievement, Kishore, who
studied upto Class XII from a non-descript school in Nawada district,
passed on the credit of his success to the Super 30 and its co-founder
Kumar.

"I studies in a dedicated and disciplined manner on the advice of
Kumar Sir," he said.

My family members too stood like a rock by my side and prayed for my
success, Kishore, who belongs to the Pasi caste of the larger social
conglomerate called Mahadalit, said.

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[ZESTCaste] IIT-JEE: Dalit students come out with flying colours

http://www.thehindu.com/2010/05/27/stories/2010052762430700.htm

Andhra Pradesh

IIT-JEE: Dalit students come out with flying colours

Staff Reporter

Naresh from Government Junior College at New Nagole secures 210th rank
in SC category


Five other students from the Government Junior College secure ranks in
the IIT-JEE entrance

The Government Junior College offers two-year long-term integrated
coaching for Dalit students

HYDERABAD: If getting admission into the Indian Institute of
Technology is a dream for many, it is a dream forbidden for many more
due to social and economic exclusion.

A. Naresh, a student from the Government Junior College at New Nagole
designated by the Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential
Educational Institutions Society for IIT long term coaching, had all
the debilitating circumstances that would have consigned him to those
millions.

He did not succumb, and he is in news.

Owes it to parents

Naresh, who secured the rank 210 in the SC category of IIT-JEE, is the
first such candidate from his village Kasimpalli of Warangal district.

He owes it as much to his parents-- Sulochana, a municipal sweeper and
Ilaiah, an agricultural labourer-- as to his own dogged effort to
scale the impossible heights.

"My parents are keen on our education. They did not want us to end up
in menial jobs like them," said Naresh who stayed and studied in the
social welfare hostels all through.

He was one among the six students from the college who smashed through
the air of despondency pervading their Dalit identity to secure ranks
in the entrance.

The others

The other students are B. Ranjit Kumar, M. Maruthi, M. Gangadhar, V.
Murahari, and K. Jagan. "This college was set up in 1998 on special
request from IIT trainer Chukka Ramaiah who felt the need for offering
IIT coaching to Dalit students. It is the only one of its kind in the
whole country. Last year too, we could send four students to the IIT,"
said the Government Junior College Principal E. Lakshmaiah.

Rigorous training

The college offers two years' long term integrated residential
coaching for Dalit students chosen through an entrance exam.

Rigorous training from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and model tests prepare them
to compete with the students from the elite corporate colleges across
the country, the Principal said.

"Sixteen students got selected for the NIT last year. 98 per cent of
our students leave the institute with engineering college admission
letters," says Seetharama Sastry, a proud mathematics lecturer from
the college.


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