Monday, June 28, 2010

[ZESTCaste] 12-Month Journalism course in Mumbai

 


    Journalism Mentor

Course Details

Admission Process
>> Application Packet
>> Application Form
>> Autobiography
>> Statement
>> Certificates
>> Application Fees
>> Interview
>> Fees


Mentors/Faculty

Over a Cup of Tea

Student Activities

In the News

FAQ


Contact Us
      _______________

"The newspaper is
of necessity
something of a
monopoly, and
its first duty is to
shun the
temptations of
monopoly. Its
primary office is
the gathering of
news. At the peril
of its soul it must
see that the
supply is not
tainted. Neither in
what it gives, nor
in what it does not
give, nor in the
mode of
presentation,
must the
unclouded
face of truth
suffer wrong.
Comment
is free but facts
are sacred."
     C P Scott 

_______________
 

 

 

Admission to Journalism Mentor is a three-step process.

Step 1
Completing and sending all elements of the Application Packet.

Step 2
Appearing for an interview after pre-selection.

Step 3
On intimation of your admission, sending the fee for the programme and reporting for the programme on the designated day.

Application Packet
The application packet consists of five elements. Only when all the five are received will your application packet be considered complete and eligible for consideration.

1. A completed Application Form.
2. You need to submit a 500-word autobiography.
3. You need to submit a 500-word statement telling us why you want to be a journalist.
4. You need to submit self-attested copies of Certificates and Mark Sheets.
5. Application fee of Rs. 500. Draft has to be drawn in favour of "JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism".

Please see details below about the five elements of the application packet.

Application Form
1. Download application form from the web site HERE.
2. Print the application form
3. Complete the application form
4. Send the application form along with the other four components of the application packet to the address below:

Journalism Mentor
302 Shubham Centre "A" CHSL
Cardinal Gracias Road
Chakala, Andheri East
Mumbai 400 099

Autobiography
A 500-word autobiography written by the candidate (only then does it become an autobiography) has to be submitted. For those students who want to pursue a career in Indian language media, the autobiography may be submitted in the Indian language of their choice.

Statement
A 500-word statement telling us why you want to become a journalist should be sent. You need to tell us what are the reasons that have led you to contemplate journalism as a career or calling. For those students who want to pursue a career in Indian language media, the statement may be submitted in the Indian language of their choice.

Certificates / Mark Sheets
All certificates and mark sheets till the last examination passed will have to be sent. They have to be self-attested, which means that the candidate will have to sign the same attesting that it is a true copy. Since all applications are based on an honour code, the discovery of any certificate or mark sheet as being false at the time of admission will imply an act of deceit and shall be reported to the necessary authorities under the laws of the country.

Application Processing Fee
Rs. 500/- bank draft or pay order drawn in favour of "Journalism Mentor" will have to be sent along with attested copies of certificates, mark sheets and the filled application form.

Interview
Candidates will be interviewed on basic knowledge of the world, general knowledge, basic mathematical and verbal skills and, most importantly, to ensure that their statements and autobiographies are indeed a reflection of their personalities.

Fees
The Mentorship Fee is Rs. 200,000 (Rs. Two lakh) excluding the cost of books, stationery including CDs, DVDs, pen drive, and any photocopies. The fee has to be paid in two installments by bank draft or pay order drawn in favour of "JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism". The first installment of Rs. One Lakh has to be paid at the time of accepting the admission offer, and the second installment of Rs. One Lakh has to be paid by September 16. Any student who has been accepted but is not able to pay the fees because of lack of funds will be provided education free of cost. The discretion of Journalism Mentor is final in determining the need of the student and the ability to pay. Details of parents' or guardians' financial data will be required in such cases.In such cases the amount of Rs. 200,000 will be treated as an interest-free loan to the student who will be required to repay the same over 36 months.

 


2010 BATCH
ADMISSION OPEN


DOWNLOAD
APPLICATION FORM
WHO CAN APPLY 
Graduate from any stream


LOCATION
Mumbai


COURSE COMMENCES
August 16, 2010


LANGUAGE NO BAR
AGE NO BAR

NO ENTRANCE EXAM

________

   

 

 

 

 

302 Shubham Centre "A" CHSL, Cardinal Gracias Road, Chakala, Andheri (E) Mumbai 400099. 28268929, 28261785, 9820985853
© JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism (A not-for-profit, Section 25, Company under Indian Companies Act. 1956.)

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[ZESTCaste] A two month course in (Citizen)Journalism in Mumbai (deadline July 15)

 


home   citizen journalism   about us   contact

 

CERTIFICATE COURSE IN CITIZEN JOURNALISM
The two-month ten-sessions course is designed as a weekend programme. It will be conducted at the Journalism Mentor Centre at Andheri East every Saturday morning. We are also exploring the possibility of having the sessions at other locations across Mumbai, and across the country.

Citizen Journalism with its variants in Public Journalism or Civic Journalism acquired the accoutrements of a movement in the early 2000s, particularly in the United States. But the origins of Citizen Journalism are as old as journalism, when pamphlets and reports were issued by citizens. Some of the most powerful pieces of journalistic writing can be traced back to individual initiatives of citizens as reporters not reporters as professionals.

The need for citizens as journalists and for citizen journalists has been increasingly felt as media companies with their business and professional news gathering models do not necessarily commit enough resources to covering issues that beset a democracy such as ours or do not have any incentive to cover problems from a wide swathe of society. But not covering these problems and issues does not wish away the reality. And that is precisely where citizen journalists can reclaim the conversation. It needs to be remembered that the freedom of the press in India is an extension of the freedom of expression given to each citizen.

JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism believes that India needs vigorous citizen journalism since it is well nigh impossible, for various reasons, for the news media organizations to cover all issues that need to be brought into the public eye. Hence, we have launched a Citizen Journalism initiative, which will both train citizen journalists and also provide them with a forum where they report.

Course Contents: Some of the key areas covered in the course include Citizen Journalism backgrounder and how it is practiced globally, basics of reporting, news gathering, presenting the story through words and pictures, ethics including accuracy and fairness, laws including slander and privacy, introduction to IPC and Criminal Procedure Code, civic laws and use of technology in Citizen Journalism.

Every student will be provided an email id and their work will be put on a portal dedicated to citizen journalism called CitizensReport.in

Eligibility: Anyone interested in doing citizen journalism. Basic language skills needed.

Fee: Rs. 3000/- (Includes reading material, year-long access to email firstname.lastname@citizenjournalists.in and posting privileges to www.CitizensReport.in, the Citizens Reporting portal being launched by JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism.)

Class Size: 15 per batch.

Classes Begin: August 1, 2010. Every Saturday 12 to 3pm

To register:
1. Email Name, Contact Details and CV to "citizenjournalism@journalism.org.in"
2. Send a draft or cheque of Rs. 3000 favouring "JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism" AND a hard copy of the CV to 302 Shubham Centre "A" CHSL, Cardinal Gracias Road, Chakala, Andheri (East), Mumbai 400 099.

Registration Deadline: July 15, 2010

Queries: Call 022-28261785/8929 or email Shishir Joshi/Aloke Thakore at shishirj@journalism.org.in and aloket@journalism.org.in.


 

 

A Section 25 not-for-profit incorporated under the Companies Act. 1956.

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[ZESTCaste] Dear capitalists, call the Telangana bluff (Kancha Ilaiah)

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/dc-comment/dear-capitalists-call-telangana-bluff-940

Dear capitalists, call the Telangana bluff

June 25th, 2010
Kancha Ilaiah

Dear Hyderabad capitalists,

The city is as much your home as it is mine. I have been living here
ever since I came to write my MA entrance examination in 1974 with a
broken suitcase, bought from a local Sunday market of Narsampet by my
late mother. Now I am a professor with status and salary.

Some of you came to this city much earlier than me and some later than
me, but by all means you are far richer than me or any average
employee, doctor or engineer.

You have made your money on the labour power of your employees and
also from the profits you accrued in the market. You have accumulated
your wealth by combining labour and capital. Yet that wealth is yours,
no doubt.

Now the movement for separate Telangana state is threatening your very
survival in Hyderabad. Your response has been to pump money to the
leaders of the Telangana agitation since they have been issuing
threats to your economic interests.

"We will not allow your business in Hyderabad", they say. "We will not
allow your cinema industry to run; we will not allow even your cricket
match to take place".

You have pacified them by bribing them. Of course, you have also aided
and abetted a united Andhra movement alongside.

What worries me most is the way the leaders growing around such
movements have become richer day by day.

Thanks to this, your economic activity has been going on without
hurdles. After each such threat, it is the threat giver's wealth and
health that is increasing. But the general health of Telangana — the
economic health of its aam aadmi — has been deteriorating.

In the late 60s and early 70s the Telangana movement was conducted
mostly on legs and bicycles. The bigger leaders of the movement were
moving in jeeps, and even the biggest ones could only boast Ambassador
cars.

Yet they conducted agitations that shook the Centre, inspired the
youth to brave bullets and also won elections — 11 out of 14
parliamentary seats were in the pocket of Praja Samithi.

Of course, that movement also caused loss of lives and disrupted
education. Lot of public property that Telangana people would have
used for their advancement was damaged. The agitations also pushed the
region backwards in the field of education. And no great moral leader
or intellectual emerged from the movement. And most importantly,
Telangana did not become a separate state.

But the fact remains that no leader made money out of that movement.
Only Mr Chenna Reddy made political capital.

Now look at the present Telangana movement and its drivers. All you
see is money, money and more money. Where is it coming from? Obviously
much of it is coming from you. You see this movement as an inevitable
evil and want to handle it as carefully as possible.
There is a saying that Capitalists like corrupt Communists. Not only
can the corrupt Communist be bribed, his presence also gives a bigger
moral licence to the capitalist to exploit workers more and more.

Similarly you capitalists do not like the Telangana movement. But
since it is a reality, you would rather deal with a corrupt leader,
who asks money for everything.
Whatever money you pay him you get from the sweat of the aam aadmi of
the region. And as the wealth of the leader grows the resources of the
aam aadmi dwindles in the same proportion. This is bad capitalist
morality, to say the least.

Now you have a Telangana tiger that needs red blood every day and a
group of paper tigers who need some "white water" every day. The
relationship is perfect.

But where does that leave the ordinary people of Telangana? They are
not given drought relief and their children do not get English
education. For all the demands there is one answer — wait till
Telangana comes.
Meanwhile, Telangana's brand ambassadors are moving around in brand
new Innovas and Maruti Swifts. Should this be the quality of the
movement? We are scratching our heads for an answer.

Assume that you had spent the same kind of money to give English
education to the children of the poor people of Telangana after the
1969 movement, perhaps by forming charity trusts or by establishing at
least 10 schools in the villages.

Do you know what would have happened? You would have produced a world
class intellectual from this region. The whole region would have
appreciated your culture of charity. Many of you praise Mahatma Gandhi
but hate his trusteeship theory. Where did we get this capitalist
culture from?
That is the difference between Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and you. So
long as you do not change your culture, any number of leaders and
professional agitators will be squeezing money out of you. India
cannot survive with this culture of capitalism and politics. It is
time to start thinking.


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[ZESTCaste] Four BSP ministers face blasphemy charges

http://expressbuzz.com/nation/four-bsp-ministers-face-blasphemy-charges/185087.html

Four BSP ministers face blasphemy charges

Anand Raj Singh

First Published : 28 Jun 2010 01:48:03 AM IST
Last Updated : 28 Jun 2010 08:49:42 AM IST

LUCKNOW: Four senior members in the Mayawati Cabinet, along with five
others, face criminal charges in connection with an article published
in a magazine last month, allegedly denigrating Hindu gods, goddesses
and epics.


T he order of Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohd Ashraf Ansari of Jaunpur
district on Saturday came on a petition filed by Radhey Shyam Verma in
connection with an article published in 'Ambedkar Today', brought out
by the kin of a ruling party leader.

The accused are ministers Swami Prasad Maurya, Babu Singh Kushwaha,
Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Daddu Prasad, along with Backward Commission
Chairman Parasnath Maurya, Sushma Rana, editor of the magazine Rajiv
Ratan Maurya, bureau chief Ashok Anand and writer of the article
Ashwini Kumar Shakya.

The CJM directed the police to lodge the case under various sections
of the IPC, including 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to
wound religious beliefs), 298 (uttering words with deliberate intent
to wound religious feelings), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 505
(commencement and continuance of the right of private defence of
property), and submit the investigation report. The state government
denied that the CJM's order contains names of the ministers.

The government had earlier ordered a CB-CID probe into the incident.

The editor of the magazine had apologised and the matter seemed to have ended.

Swami Prasad Maurya, who is also the state president of the ruling
BSP, said, he was yet to see the order of the CJM and would move
superior court if necessary.


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[ZESTCaste] Dalit groom hurt in clash

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Dalit-groom-hurt-in-clash/articleshow/6100134.cms

Dalit groom hurt in clash

TNN, Jun 28, 2010, 05.52am IST

JAIPUR: A Dalit groom and his relatives were allegedly manhandled by
youths of Rajput community when the groom tried to enter a Shiva
temple in Basna village under Bansur police station of Alwar district.
At least, 12 persons were injured in the clash.

Later, the marriage procession was escorted by police. Bansur Police
have registered a case and have started investigation.

According to reports, Mohan Lal, accompanied by freinds and relatives,
was on his way Badagaon village for his marriage. Trouble started when
Mohan Lal wanted to visit a Shiva temple. When the procession reached
Shiva temple, a group of people from Rajput community tried to stop
them. This infuriated the Dalits and they clashed.

SP Alok Vashisht told TOI that the situation was controlled and the
injured were taken to hospital. The marriage procession was escorted
to the venue and a case was registered later. Police said that four
persons, including two women were hurt.

District collector KL Meena said additional police force has been
deployed in the area and senior administrative officials and policemen
are camping in the village.

Gopalji of Dalit Adhikar Samiti said eight persons, including the
groom were injured. "The samiti would agitate if no action is taken
against the guilty. Even after decades of Independence, Dalits are not
allowed to enter temples," he added.

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[ZESTCaste] Stripped Dalit girl says caste-hatred behind attack

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/stripped-dalit-girl-says-castehatred-behind-attack/639275/

Stripped Dalit girl says caste-hatred behind attack
Sukanya Shetty Posted: Jun 28, 2010 at 0334 hrs

Mumbai Even with round-the-clock police security, the 22-year old
Dalit girl has not stepped out of her house for more than a week after
she was stripped and paraded semi-naked in the bylanes of Mira Dargah
Street in Reay Road area, a hub of warehouses in South Mumbai.
"A mob of 23-30 women and a few men entered my house, beat me with
bamboo sticks, kicked me, tore my gown, stripped me and dragged me to
the street. I pleaded, but they hurled abuses at me," Rajini Rajini
Kamble (name changed) recalls.

The mob attack on June 17 was ostensibly to "teach a lesson to the
family" after her brother Vijay Kamble was picked up allegedly for
raping a minor in a nearby warehouse where he worked as a guard, but
the girl says caste-based hatred for the family runs a long way back.

"The upper class women in the neighbourhood would always abuse us...
They would not allow us to draw water from the community water pump.
They waited for an opportunity to attack our family," she says.

In 2008, the girl's mother had written to the local police station
about death threats her family had received. "Neighbours would force
us to cough up money to use a public water pump. When I didn't give in
to the demand, they threatened us. The only person they feared was my
son and now he is in jail," says her mother.

On June 17, over 30 women and a few men assembled in the area on
knowing she was alone at home, according to the girl who has
registered a case with Sewree police station. "They stripped me and
kept telling me my family is a disgrace to the area... A few men
joined them. One recorded the drama on his cellphone," she said. The
drama went on for over 30 minutes before police reached the spot, she
says.

"The mob had planned it well in advance. The incident occurred 10 days
after her brother's arrest on June 7. It's a clear case of atrocity,"
said ACP Dilip Waghmare, Wadala Division.

Waghmare said Rajini's friend and next-door neighbour Sayeeda Qazi
came to her assistance and wrapped a duppatta around her. "We have
recorded statements of witnesses, especially Sayeeda's," says
Waghmare.

Twelve people identified by the victim were arrested and sent to
police custody till July 1. "We are still looking for a few more women
who fled from the spot. Security would be provided to the family until
things calm down," says Waghmare.

All accused, including 10 women and two men are booked under several
sections of the Indian Penal Code for unlawful assembly, rioting,
outraging the modesty of a woman along with section 3 (1), 3(10) and 3
(11) of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act.


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[ZESTCaste] Locals fear losing homes to Annabhau Sathe memorial

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_locals-fear-losing-homes-to-annabhau-sathe-memorial_1402156

Locals fear losing homes to Annabhau Sathe memorial
Akshay Deshmane / DNAMonday, June 28, 2010 1:26 IST

Mumbai: Even as social justice minister Sachin Ahir declared that the
government has cleared all issues related to its plan of building a
memorial for Marathi Dalit littérateur Annabhau Sathe at Chiragnagar
in Ghatkopar, residents of the area are not in favour of the memorial.


The locals complain that there was no public consultation by the
government, and they fear that the memorial could leave them homeless.

The memorial, if built, will force about 100 families from 3 chawls to
look for accommodation elsewhere. "How can you expect families
residing in the locality for so many decades to just leave? I have
been staying here for the past 25 years," said Juliana Brags, a
resident of Chawl No. 5. The residents insist that Ahir once visit the
area and clarify the government's plans.

"We thought the matter had been closed. But after Ahir's announcement,
we are worried. We were informed about the project in December 2009
when officials from the collector's office and the surveyor's office
came to survey the area. They told us that a memorial was being
planned," added Brags.

According to locals, in February 2010, officials forcefully conducted
another survey. "On March 4, we wrote a letter to the chief minister
and other officials, but didn't get any response," said Brags.

Another local, Sheikh Aarif Hussain, who resides close to Sathe's
house in Abdul Pathan Chawl, said, "In April, officials from the
collector's office arrived with police bandobast. They took signatures
and thumb impressions of those who objected to the construction of a
memorial. And now they announce that they are going ahead with the
memorial."

Caretaker of Annabhau Sathe's home, Namdeo Sathe, who also organises
events in memory of the writer throughout the year, said he does not
know if the state will allot him a home or a job, if they do build a
memorial. Namdeo is hoping that he gets a government job once the
memorial is built.

Even the daughters of Annabhau Sathe — Shantabai Dodke and
Shakuntalabai Saptal — are in the dark about the memorial. "We have
not been consulted by the government for the memorial. We came to know
about the plans through newspapers," said Dodke.


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[ZESTCaste] A contrasting story of Brahmin migration

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/77862/a-contrasting-story-brahmin-migration.html

Palakkad Iyers and Mysore Iyengars had fluctuating fortunes, says study
A contrasting story of Brahmin migration
M R Venkatesh, Coimbatore, June 27, DHNS:

''Palakkad Iyers'' are as well known as ''Mysore Iyengars'' as two
prominent Tamil Brahmin groups migrated under similar circumstances.
But the two communities had to encounter contrasting situations, a
research into the communities presented at the World Classical Tamil
Conference here on Sunday revealed.


While "Palakkad Iyers" had to face the vicissitudes of history until
their absorption in modern times into mainstream Kerala society,
adaptation of the "Tamil Iyengar" families from Srirangam—"invited" to
the erstwhile princely State of Mysore when the Wodeyars consolidated
their kingdom — with the local community was smoother, said Dr
Lakshman Singh, Bharathiyar University's former head of sociology
department, who presented his findings on the communities at the
sociological session of the WCTC.

In his paper on "Plight of the Palakkad Iyers" in the migration's
aftermath, Singh said they were originally a group of Brahmins mainly
from Kumbakonam in the heart of Cauvery delta.

They (the "Iyers") in good numbers migrated possibly from the early
part of the 18th century to Palakkad in Kerala and set up "agraharams"
there under encouragement by the local "Nair chieftains," Dr Singh
said.

The Nair chieftains had a reason to welcome them to Palakkad, as the
dominant land-owning "Namboodhri Brahmins" there refused to "cooperate
in the coronation of Nair chieftains on the ascendant then," Dr Singh
said.

The immigrant Brahmins from Thanjavur district set up over 75
"agraharams" (traditional residential area) in and around Palakkad
though the "Namboodris" resented their entry and their mode of temple
worship.

Shedding their age-old Brahmin self-image, the "Palakkad Iyers" took
to all kinds of works; such as domestic servants, cooks in "Namboodri
illams" and even entering into marital relations with Nair women "to
sustain their prolonged stay," he said.

"These migrant Brahmins thus readjusted to the new situation and yet
took care of their kith and kin in the agraharams of Palakkad," Dr
Singh who studied the sociological history of 120 families of
"Palakkad Iyers" over three generations, highlighted.

Of those families surveyed in his field research, Dr Singh found that
36 of them had produced an IAS officer each. One of them was the
inimitable former chief election commissioner TN Seshan's family, he
noted.

The Wodeyar Kings of Mysore ,too, facing "resistance to their
coronation" from the local Brahmins at one time, encouraged a group of
"Tamil Brahmins" from the Vaishnavite bastion of Srirangam, to migrate
to Mysore.

AIADMK leader and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa
traces her ancestry to one such migrant "Iyengar" family, he said.
Nonetheless, the "Mysore Iyengars" did not face the same level of
hostility as the "Palakkad Iyers," as the political transition of the
erstwhile princely state of Mysore to British control and then into
independent India was relatively smooth, Dr Singh added.


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[ZESTCaste] Whither Reservations?

http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article2166.html

Mainstream, Vol XLVIII No 27, June 26, 2010

Whither Reservations?
Sheetal Sharma

As the final phase of the intake of OBCs quota in educational
institutions—such as central universities, IIMs, IITs, AIIMS,
institutions funded or managed under the aegis of the Central
Government—is going to be accomplished in the coming session, there is
a sense of satisfaction that another step has been taken for the
upliftment of the socially backward sections of society. Hitherto, the
backward castes and communities have been denied any attempt to rise
socially; thus it is our obligation to ensure social justice and
equality. It is purported that through means of affirmative action,
such as reservation in educational and occupational opportunities, the
backward castes and downtrodden communities (including Scheduled
Castes and Tribes) can free themselves from the shackles of age-old
discrimination. Although it would take some years before we can
actually realise the consequences of these policy initiatives, it is
appropriate time to reflect upon the process through which we are
expecting to achieve a 'desired' product—a society free of caste-based
discrimination.

CASTE defines the structural reality of the Indian society and
constitutes the very fabric of the Indian social system. In Ambedkar's
words, "The Caste System is not merely a division of labour. It is
also a division of labourers. Civilised society undoubtedly needs
division of labour. But in no civilised society is division of labour
accompanied by this unnatural division of labourers into watertight
compartments. The Caste System is not merely a division of labourers
which is quite different from division of labour—it is a hierarchy in
which the divisions of labourers are graded one above the other. In no
other country is the division of labour accompanied by this gradation
of labourers." (Section IV, Annihilation of Caste. Vol-I, Dr Babasaheb
Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches) Access to opportunities and status is
intrinsically rooted in one's caste status. Conventionally, the birth
in a particular caste predetermines and defines the status and
profession of an individual. The caste identity precedes any other
form of identity and in extremes of cases even the fact that an
individual is a 'human being'. In practice this reality creates caste
consciousness among the practitioners of the caste system and governs
his/her social interaction with other such identities. More often than
not interaction between asymmetrically ranked caste identities results
in social exclusion, lack of self-esteem, stigma, discrimination, and
denial of equality in various spheres of life. The social and cultural
sources of exclusion and inhuman discrimination are deeply entrenched
in our institutions and social structure, and are established as
reified reality. Poverty and penury are just economic manifestation of
this subterranean structural rootedness.

With few exceptions, for centuries the philosophers, leaders,
enlightened intellectuals, and godmen could not, or chose not to, see
any irregularity in the established order; perhaps their vision and
perception was being myopic and blighted by their own position in the
entire social arrangement. The task to change the character and
characteristics of such an order was daunting, nevertheless,
achievable. The much needed empathetic understanding from the
perspective of the 'oppressed' could not take place until Ambedkar
began to see caste-based discrimination as some kind of challenge to
the extent that he placed social freedom precedent to political
freedom. He saw restoration of dignity to fellow citizens as
important, if not more, as freedom from foreign yoke. Ambedkar, the
architect of the Constitution of India and one of the leading
advocates of civil rights, tried to turn the Wheel of Law towards
social justice for 'all'.

After independence, it was realised that historical deprivation,
continuing discrimination and persistent disparity call for state
initiative or affirmative action. The state, through pronunciation of
its normative prescription of secularism and democracy, took up to
guarantee all its citizens equality, liberty, and freedom from
exploitation. State sponsored mobility for backward castes and
communities was perceived as a means of compensation for injustices,
deprivation, and discrimination which these communities have suffered
historically and in fact continue to suffer. For safeguarding their
interests and accelerating socio-economic development it was realised
that these communities need special provisions. A policy of
reservations was instituted in order to combat social disability,
economic backwardness, and other handicaps confronted by them in
getting reasonable representation in elected offices, government jobs,
and educational institutions. Article 46 of the Constitution of India
states that "the State shall promote, with special care, the education
and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in
particular of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall
protect them from social injustice and all forms of social
exploitation". Articles 330, 332, 335, 338 to 342 and the entire Fifth
and Sixth Schedules of the Constitution deal with special provisions
for implementation of the objectives set forth in Article 46. There is
no denying the fact that the reservation policy, as enunciated through
Articles referred to above of the Constitution of India, has paid rich
dividends in terms of welfare of the deprived sections of the society.
However, the overall picture remains one of immense inequity. The
antidote to exploitation and discrimination in the form of reservation
was expected to throw up some promising results and heal the system,
if not overhaul, in ten years time from its inception. Ten years were
envisaged as the optimum period by the framers of the legislative
initiative. Attempts were made so that the wrongs of inaccessibility,
denial, and subjugation can be evened out by state sponsored
intervention by guaranteeing access and control through entitlements
and reservations. But even after more than sixty years of symptomatic
treatment of the malaise and administration of the same dosage, the
system is nowhere close to being healthy.

RESERVATIONS in general have failed despite developing certain pockets
of excellence in caste groups and defined areas and blinding with
occasional sparks of brilliance in terms of the K.R. Narayanans,
G.M.C. Balayogis occupying highest constitutional posts of the
President and Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The reservation system has not
delivered for even a substantial proportion of backward castes and
communities, not to mention the entire chunk. It is even argued that
it has created a further class among the hitherto homogenous backward
castes and communities who have turned out to be perpetrators of the
same discrimination, accentuating the differences among various castes
and within the same caste. What actually went wrong? Whither
reservations? Whither affirmative action? The issue needs
dispassionate examination, more so in the dynamic context of
globalisation and liberalisation. Here are some points for
consideration.

First, the decade after independence was the age of state sponsored
mixed economy with the private sector having no or minimal role. The
discourse in the pre-liberalisation era was the discourse of
government institutions, govern-ment schools, and government jobs;
whereas in the 21st century it is the discourse of the euphemistically
called public but exclusively private schools, private companies, and
private jobs. The response to global competition and free market
should logically necessitate equipping the population in general, and
marginalised groups in particular, with an uptodate set of skills and
education. The government sector is not expanding or at least not
growing as fast; therefore its capacity to provide jobs is becoming
limited. Notwith-standing the economic and human development
indicators showing general upward mobility since donning the garb of
liberalisation, there are discernible signs of the yawning gaps
between the rich and poor sections of the society getting still deeper
with the passage of time. Moreover, development has remained primarily
concentrated in urban and metro areas where the social divide is less
visible than the economic divide, but here too the higher rungs of the
economic hierarchy are disproportionately occupied by the socially
privileged classes. In this scenario it becomes imperative to think of
a new and effective planning strategy for the development of the
weaker sections of the population. Perhaps the time has come, as an
old saying goes, 'to teach them how to fish rather than giving them a
fish'. Only that path would create a far-reaching and sustainable
generation of capacity and wealth among the downtrodden sections of
society. The country is passing through a phase of transformation.
These transformations in the social scenario as well as the economic,
cultural, and political landscape have not been reflected and/or
accounted for in alteration, addition, or reformulation of the
reservation policy since the 1950s when it was originally
conceptualised and crystallised. The policy of affirmative action has
almost remained static in a highly dynamic and rapidly changing
external environment.

Second, the duality in the education system perpetuates and
crystallises the pre-existing fault-lines. Whatever cement is provided
by the reservation policy is eaten up by the increasingly polarising
duality in the education system. There are public schools of the genre
of DPS, Doon, Springdales, Sanskriti, Goenkas, and now private
universities like Amity have higher advertise-ment and publicity
budget than scholarships for the disadvantaged or socially backward
groups. Driven by the economic logic the DPS-Goenka-Doon-Amity cannot
afford to have a socially just and equitable agenda. In the US
schooling for almost everyone is the same. In India, we have developed
a system of schooling exhibiting a stark contrast between public and
private schools; and unlike the US, the government-run schools in
India lack both quality and commitment. This has complicated the
problem rather than resolved it. Through this duality in standards of
education, and availability of facilities for co-curricular
activities, the system is perpetuating inequality and widening the
chasm between the sections rather than addressing it. The education
system in India is thus sealing the fate of the underprivileged rather
than liberating them.

Third, the greatest vindication of the reservation system is the
beginning of a struggle among castes to get in, and equally vehement
opposition from those in there, into the Schedule of Castes and
Tribes. The castes that figure in the list of Scheduled Castes,
Schedule Tribes, and OBCs have become a closed group representing a
one-way traffic, where there is a way into it but no way out of it for
the caste as a whole or even for an individual. The list has become a
static reality rather than a dynamic group having both entry and exit
designed on rigorous, objective and impartial parameters. The caste
has been accepted, by the hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Indira
Sawhney vs Union of India, as an entity that can be and in fact is the
most visible entity for discrimination and subjugation in the Indian
social milieu. Based on the selected parameters the need for
continuous inclusion and exclusion for the caste groups and the
beneficiaries, or otherwise socially forward/ elites, cannot be over
emphasised. Without this process, reservation would continue to serve
a microcosm of politicians eating out of the system. For obvious
reasons these people have vested interest in perpetuation of this
format and interestingly they are also the competent authority to
bring a change in it. Seeing the non-trickling down of benefits
envisaged under the quota regime as failure of the reservation policy
as an effective and practical tool of state sponsored mobility, the
question is: what is to be done? The provision to put in a bar in
terms of a creamy layer too contains inherent opposition. The
definition and criterion to determine the creamy layer for the OBCs
and SCs need not necessarily mean the same. In the case of the SCs
peculiarities and realities of deprivation, discrimination and
oppression suffered have to be factored in, and the economic criterion
may completely be kept out. However, this inheres another danger that
then there may also be a premium in being below the creamy layer. An
individual who might be due for promotion into, say, a class I service
at the maturity of his career thus getting into the fold of the creamy
layer, might just sacrifice it to keep the benefit going for his
progeny. It is true that centuries of subjugation and generations of
oppression cannot be washed or done away by availing benefit over a
single generation. In fact, there is no standard measure to judge
exactly in how many generations these benefits would be able to wash
up this discrimination.

THE growth of urbanisation is having a far-reaching effect on caste
practices not only in cities but in rural areas as well. Among
anonymous crowds in urban public spaces caste affiliations are unknown
and observance of purity and pollution rules is negligible. The
distinctive social features of caste have become weak, and names have
been modified. Restrictions on interactions with other castes are
becoming more relaxed, and, at the same time, observance of other
caste defined rules is declining. As new occupations open up in urban
areas, the correlation of caste with occupation is declining. But
despite these changes caste still remains a dominant source of
identity, and much of socio-economic, political, and cultural
interaction occurs through caste connections. Any effort reinforcing
fragmented caste identities and caste-based reservation entails a
deeper look at the phenomenon of globalisation, urbanisation and the
emerging professional avenues for 'caste-beings' nee human beings. Why
and how can we gravitate towards the very system from which we are
attempting to disassociate? Sociologically speaking, the intent and
content of the reservation policy is to bring the asymmetrically
located communities in the social hierarchy at par with each other and
let the benefit be spread across families, communities and
geographies. The objective of the policy of affirmative action is to
broadbase the benefitting groups so as to fade prejudiced perceptions
from public memory now, and forever. The rationale and purpose is not
to promote and/or uplift certain families or people but to spread the
reach and effect of benefit across spectrum, as wide as possible. Does
that call for relooking at the intent and content of the reservation
policy?

Dr Sheetal Sharma is an Assistant Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi.


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[ZESTCaste] MMRPS to agitate for SC classification

 

http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/28/stories/2010062857460300.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Kadapa

MMRPS to agitate for SC classification

Special Correspondent

We will stage protests in front of the houses of Ministers, MPs, MLAs:
Devaiah Madiga

KADAPA: Maha Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MMRPS)
founder-president S. Devaiah Madiga asserted on Sunday that the
samithi would not only agitate for achieving micro-classification of
Scheduled Castes in the State, but would strive to ensure that the
fruits of developmental programmes and welfare schemes implemented by
the Central and State government reached Madigas and its sub-castes.

MMRPS committees would exert pressure on the Central and State
governments in a peaceful manner and stage protests in front of the
houses of Ministers, MPs and MLAs in pursuance of their demand, he
said. The problems confronting the Madiga community would remain
unresolved until micro-classification was achieved, he asserted at a
news conference here.

There was no rift between the Mala and Madiga Communities and they
developed on education, employment and political lines when the
previous government enacted a legislation classifying the SCs, he
stated. Development of Madiga community was hampered ever since the
micro-classification was disapproved by Supreme Court, he added. The
Central and State governments were apathetic in getting the
micro-classification restored since two years, despite concerted
agitations, Mr. Devaiah said.

Mr.. Devaiah Madiga oversaw the election of office-bearers for MMRPS'
Kadapa district unit and the district student wing. Chitti Sriramulu
Madiga was elected honorary president of Kadapa District MMRPS,
Ponnolu Subbarayudu as district president and G. Nagamuni as general
secretary. Others elected were G. Brahmaiah and B. Palakondaiah as
vice-presidents, S. Narasimhulu as joint secretary and G. Munaiah as
State vice-president.

S. Balu Madiga was elected president of Kadapa Maha Madiga Vidyarthi
Samakhya, M. Venkataramana as district general secretary, S. Gangadhar
as vice-president, S. Sriramulu as district secretary.

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