Latest News Update: Nov 21, 2010

Sunday, November 21, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Punia rejects UP’s claim of reduction in atrocities on Dalits

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Punia-rejects-UP-s-claim-of-reduction-in-atrocities-on-Dalits/714054

Punia rejects UP's claim of reduction in atrocities on Dalits

Express News Service Posted online: Sun Nov 21 2010, 09:13 hrs

Lucknow : The National Commission for Schedule Castes has rejected the
UP government's claim that the incidents of crime and atrocities on
Dalits has decreased during the Bahujan Samaj Party regime.
The state government had made this claim in response to the assertion
by the Commission's chairman PL Punia that the atrocities on Dalits
have increased in UP.

"My contention that the incidents o f atrocities on Dalits in UP have
increased during the last three years was based on the figures of the
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which are furnished by the state
government itself. To counter my contention, the UP government has
furnished us the figures of atrocities on Dalits pertaining to first
six months of the current financial year 2010-11. We have no mechanism
to verify those figures and so they cannot be accepted," said Punia,
also a Congress MP from Barabanki, who was in the state capital on
Saturday.

Reiterating his contention that the funds of the Special component
Plan (SCP) meant exclusively for the welfare of the SC, are being
diverted by the UP government for other purposes, Punia told The
Sunday Express: "The construction of four medical colleges in Jalaun,
Kannauj, Azamgarh and Saharanpour has been financed from the funds of
the SCP. UP government in support of its unauthorised act says that 70
per cent of the seats in four colleges will be reserved for SC
students, but the Medical Council of India has refused to grant
approval to all the four colleges."

Claiming that the Commission was doing its duty and not indulging in
politics in asking for the details of the physical and financial
progress of each scheme for the welfare of SC from the UP government,
Punia said the Commission has such information from all the state
governments and all the Union ministries. "In many states, the schemes
for the uplift of Dalits exist only on records while the funds are
spent elsewhere," said Punia.

He said so far no date has been fixed for the meeting of the
Commission with the UP government. "The Commission had given 15 days'
time to UP government for furnishing all the information pertaining to
all the schemes for the SC welfare being implemented in the state. The
deadline is ending by the month-end," said Punia adding "the state
office of the Commission is preparing the agenda for the meeting".

Punia had earlier sought preliminary meeting with the state government
before Diwali. UP government citing panchyat elections and law and
order issue had suggested to hold the meeting anytime after December
6.

------------------------------------

PARTICIPATE:-
On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com

TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:-
If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/

Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
ZESTCaste-digest@yahoogroups.com
ZESTCaste-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ZESTCaste-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[ZESTCaste] Why Dalits betray Left

http://www.dailypioneer.com/297912/Why-Dalits-betray-Left.html

Why Dalits betray Left
November 21, 2010 1:57:57 PM

Chandrabhan Prasad

The Left have always been against a Class-based society

When did a top Communist official in India refer to Dr BR Ambedkar in
the same eloquent manner as US President Barack Obama did in his
recent visit to India? Born in 1961, and thousands of miles away from
India, Obama is 41 years younger than the communist movement in India.

I am using this metaphor only to showcase as to why Dalits don't trust
the Left. In the popular imagery of the Left intelligentsia, Dalits
are held as accused for betraying the Communist Revolution. By
tradition, the Left intellectuals have made fun of, and continue
ridiculing Dalit intellectuals.

For record's sake, let me put the hard truth in place — that a much
greater number of non-Dalit Communists may have sacrificed their lives
and careers than Dalits for India's transformation. But, the much
harder truth is also that while Left activists are prepared to die for
Dalits, they refuse to acknowledge Caste as India's main problem.

This great disconnect between the two minds — Dalit and Left — is born
out of the fundamental error the Left made in understanding India.
Between a Caste to a Class-based society, all Dalits would prefer the
latter over the former. Since Class-based society is not based on
birth, all have opportunities to rise in the lives. In a Caste-based
society, the position of an individual is determined in the womb
itself. Dalits pretty well know what their rank would be in a
Caste-based society.

Dalits, therefore, for centuries have been resisting Caste. The Left
movement, after its birth circa 1920, decided to fight Class-based
society when Classes were not even properly formed. Instead of joining
Dalits in their battle against Caste system, the Left started making
fun of all those who fought Caste.

The Leftist forces are still in denial mode. Now, they are making fun
of globalisation — a socio-economic engine which places all societies,
including India, on the World watch list. World over, top universities
are offering research opportunities to study and examine India's
horrible Caste Order. This has made Indians abroad defensive. Some
even feel shamed whenever the issue of Caste is raised. But, the Left
is fighting globalisation — a task fit for the Sangh Parivar.

Thanks to globalisation, the foreign multinational companies brought
into India the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). While
Indian industry is, with few exceptions, still hostile to the idea of
CSR, the debate has begun. While Dalits are asking the Government and
India Inc to integrate the community into their higher paying
workforce and businesses, the Left is fighting the industry
players-both Indians and foreign.

Further, globalisation has brought the idea of market economy — an
idea which confronts the very essence of the Caste Order. In the
market-based economy, worldly goods become markers of social
existence. If you don't have worldly goods such Refrigerators, TV
Sets, Washing Machines, Bikes or Cars, Cell phones, to name a few, you
stand nowhere in society. To access these worldly goods, even Dwijas
or the twice born, are prepared to lower their occupational arrogance
and take up jobs which were despised for ages. Now, being a Brahmin is
a burden if you don't possess material markers.

Right from 1891, when British India launched Census, most Castes
approached the Government claiming for a higher Caste status. A
hundred year later, post 1990, a great number of Castes are
approaching the Government of India claiming a lower Caste status. The
Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is full with
petitions by so many Castes demanding Untouchable status.

Why is this happening now and not before, or ever in the known history
of India where lower Caste or the outcast status looked so charming?
'Unemployment and Mandal' has caused this phenomenon, one can argue.
Was there no unemployment before 1990? Was there no reservation before
1990?

Sure, a Government employment guarantees better wages and secured
income, but why should the son of a landlord apply for a sweeper's job
in Uttar Pradesh? Why should Brahmins from Bihar, Odisha and
Uttarakhand clean toilets in shopping malls? Why should Rajputs from
the Gangetic belt pick up jobs of security guards where they have to
salute people so many times in a day? Rajputs are known for demanding
Salams and not vice versa.

Just one single factor is causing cracks in India's Caste Order — the
great Rupee Chase game. Worldly goods are acquired by money alone.

Since the point of references have changed — from birth-based social
status to market-based material status, the great game of chasing
money has began. But ask any Left intellectual or even a village level
Left activist what they think of the Market Economy? You will find the
answer as to why Dalits continue 'betraying' the Left.

------------------------------------

PARTICIPATE:-
On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com

Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
ZESTCaste-digest@yahoogroups.com
ZESTCaste-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ZESTCaste-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[ZESTCaste] From radicalism to accommodation

http://www.hindustantimes.com/From-radicalism-to-accommodation/Article1-628992.aspx

From radicalism to accommodation
Vaasanthi, Hindustan Times
November 20, 2010First Published: 23:47 IST(20/11/2010)

The 2G controversy highlights many things, including DMK amazing
journey. In its early years, the party lived with the stigma of its
pre-Independence secession demands and virulent anti-Hindi agitation.
In the 1970s and 1980s, it came to power, but constantly feared
dismissal by the Centre. Karunanidhi's government was dismissed twice.

The party was established in 1949, after splitting from the Dravidar
Kazhagam (DK), founded by EV Ramaswamy Naicker as an atheist,
anti-caste movement that feared that Brahmin domination would replace
the English rule.

Under CN Annadurai, three-quarters of DK members joined the new party.
The catalyst in the split was Periyar's decision, at 71 years to marry
a 29-year-old activist and designate her his successor. Annadurai also
wanted to contest elections, while Periyar wanted to work outside
Parliament.

Over time, the DMK softened its approach, except with respect to
language. It abandoned its radical atheism while its goal of social
reform changed from destroying the caste system to uplifting the
backward castes. When India declared secessionist parties illegal in
1963, the DMK publicly gave up its demand for a separate Dravida Nadu.

The DMK contested its first general election in 1956, and three years
later won the mayoral post in Madras. In the 1967 assembly election,
it defeated the Congress, which has never again regained power in the
state.

The DMK's ideological appeal, efficient use of the print media and
cinema, and its deploying of skillful orators all contributed to its
success. People joined its anti-Hindi agitation in such numbers that
the Centre decided not to impose the language on the state.

Karunanidhi is still a great orator. He succeeded Annadurai after his
death, and has been chief minister four times. He still speaks of the
Dravidian ideology, the greatness of Tamil and his commitment to
Periyar's ideals.

But today his words sound hollow and fail to rouse the passion of old.
In 1972, he expelled MG Ramachandran, a matinee idol and senior party
member, when he accused Karunanidhi of corruption. For the next 13
years, MGR dominated the political scene. Only after MGR died, did
Karunanidhi return, determined to stay on.

With his nephew Murasoli Maran to advise him, he quickly realised that
coalition governments at the Centre were becoming inevitable and that
the DMK stood to gain by becoming a dependable ally, even the
Bharatiya Janata Party, with which an alliance would have once been
unthinkable.

As commerce minister, Maran discovered the immense opportunities that
a cabinet post offered the party, which could extend its influence
inside and outside the country. The DMK's entry into national politics
roughly coincided with India's entry into the global economy, a
process that opened new opportunities to the sons and grandsons of the
grand patriarch. It only required business acumen and skill to make
the most of them.

(Vaasanthi is a Tamil novelist and author of 'Cut-outs, Castes and
Cine Stars: The World of Tamil Politics.' She is currently based in
Bangalore.)

------------------------------------

PARTICIPATE:-
On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com

Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
ZESTCaste-digest@yahoogroups.com
ZESTCaste-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ZESTCaste-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[ZESTCaste] Boycotted Dalit woman commits suicide in Orissa

http://sify.com/news/boycotted-dalit-woman-commits-suicide-in-orissa-news-national-klusuldcidd.html

Boycotted Dalit woman commits suicide in Orissa

2010-11-20 18:20:00

New Hyundai Verna OfferAds by GoogleNow Pay Less for Hyundai Verna Pay
Rs. 9999 instead of Rs. 11462! www.Hyundai.com/Verna

Bhubaneswar, Nov 20 (IANS) A Dalit woman leader, who fought on behalf
of two Dalit cooks who were sacked due to upper-caste protests, hanged
herself late Friday, an organisation working for Dalit rights said
Saturday.

Saraswati Sethy, 28, was a resident of Sanamarichapalli village in the
coastal district of Kendrapada, some 150 km from here.

'She was repeatedly harassed by local officials and upper-caste
villagers,' Tapan Samal, general secretary of Ambedkar Lohia Vichar
Manch, told IANS.

Sethy had protested the removal of two Dalit women cooks from a local
school few months ago after some upper-caste students refused to eat
meals cooked by them, Samal said.

'She had approached the police, court and human rights commission, but
did not get justice,' Samal said, adding that she was boycotted by the
villagers due to her protests.

'We have registered a case, and investigations are on,' a police officer said.

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

New Members 2

Visit Your Group

----
INFORMATION OVERLOAD?
Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/

PARTICIPATE:-
On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com

TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:-
If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/

Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/

MARKETPLACE

Find useful articles and helpful tips on living with Fibromyalgia. Visit the Fibromyalgia Zone today!

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

Hobbies & Activities Zone: Find others who share your passions! Explore new interests.

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

__,_._,___