Saturday, January 8, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Moradabad Dalit girls’ death: Suicide, not mob attack, say cops

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/moradabad-dalit-girls-death-suicide-not-mob-attack-say-cops/734986/

Moradabad Dalit girls' death: Suicide, not mob attack, say cops
Bhupendra Pandey Posted online: Sat Jan 08 2011, 03:16 hrs
Lucknow : Three arrested for abetment, SHO shifted for 'inaction'

The investigation into the death of two Dalit sisters burnt alive in a
room of their Moradabad home on December 18 has shown no evidence of a
mob attack, as alleged by their mother.

The police has concluded that the girls committed suicide, unable to
bear the harassment and taunts of neighbours over the arrest for their
brothers for murder.

The Moradabad DIG, Ashok Kumar Singh, said the SHO of City Kotwali
police station, Brahmapal Singh, had been shifted. The Assistant
Superintendent of Police, Vinod Kumar Singh, who investigated the
case, had recommended action against the SHO and the beat-in charge of
Kothiwal Nagar locality for not initiating action over the harassment
of the family.

The police also arrested three persons, one of them a woman. Senior
sub-inspector of City Kotwali police station, Om Prakash Singh, said
Satish Madan, Vinay Badula and Saniya Kohli had been arrested under
Section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide) and Prevention of Atrocities on
SC/ST Act.

He said they are held responsible for harassing the Dalit girls and
her mother, driving the sisters to suicide. A case of murder was
registered after Rajjo Devi, the mother of Geeta and Neetu alias Monu,
had alleged that a mob had attacked her house, locked her up in a room
and burnt alive her daughters.

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has summoned
senior district officers in connection with the incident on January
10.

A senior police officer said they have found evidence which shows that
the girls had committed suicide. The postmortem did not show any
ante-mortem injury, which were likely in case of a mob attack.
Forensic tests showed that no one but the girls was present in the
room at the time.

The findings are part of a preliminary report which will be submitted
before the NCSC. The report also contains the statements of two
constables and the four locals who first reached the spot and saw the
bodies after breaking into the room, the official said.

Rajjo Devi, however, still maintains that a mob had stormed into her
house and set her daughters on fire, said the officer. Besides the
NCSC, the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) had sent
teams to conduct inquiries into the incident. Both had blamed the
district administration for its failure to save Rajjo Devi and her
daughters from harassment after the arrest of her sons. In particular,
they blamed the DIG, SP (City), CO (City) and the SHO.

The NCSC Chairman, PL Punia, had also visited the spot on December 29
after the visit of NCSC members Raju Parmar and NCSK member Swaraj
Jeevan. Punia said the girls had been killed.

Rajjo Devi's sons, Rakesh and Rajesh, had been framed in a case of
robbery and murder. The case against Rakesh and Rajesh was registered
after a local, Pankaj Gagneja, lodged a complaint alleging that they
had robbed valuables from his house after killing his wife Pooja and
daughter Sania on December 9.


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[ZESTCaste] Indian Press Spotlights Midnight Radio's 'Dalit Diva'

 

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2011/01/indian_press_spotlights_midnig.php

Indian Press Spotlights Midnight Radio's 'Dalit Diva'
By Gabriel San Roman, Fri., Jan. 7 2011 @ 6:36AM

http://www.myspace.com/mymidnightradio
Raised in Westminster, Thenmozhi Soundararajan has grown to become a
multifaceted creative force. After completing high school in OC, she
traveled north to the Bay Area to become executive director of Third
World Majority. Soundararajan later returned to Southern California
and enrolled in film school at USC. Her latest creative outlet,
Midnight Radio, is a neo-noir rock band formed in the sound department
of that university. Soundararajan's onstage persona, "Dalit Diva," has
attracted international press, including a profile in India's The
Sunday Guardian earlier this week.

The article (written by Bhaskar Pant) focuses on the music of Midnight
Radio--Soundararajan, lead guitarist Cesar Arvizo, drummer Chevy Chen,
bassist David Huber and guitarist Hans--but not before delving into
how their lead singer is positively reclaiming an ancestral Indian
caste identity. Dalits have historically been discriminated against as
"untouchables," exploited for their labor and shunned by large
segments of society. In Soundararajan's view, however, her being a
second-generation Indian Dalit raised in OC conveys much more than
that, and it informs her musical pursuits.

As she explains in The Sunday Guardian's write-up:

"My first name, Thenmozhi, is a conventional Tamil name that means
'a voice like honey'. While Dalit has a negative connotation for many
people, I connect it with the history and tradition of resistance and
musicianship that is over 2,000 years old. My ancestors played drums
in funeral processions, and I have a rich musical and political legacy
to follow."

Returning to Orange County with her musical vision in tow,
Soundararajan enlisted Midnight Radio in a Battle of the Bands hosted
at Bernie's Bar in Fullerton in October 2009. Despite being a very
early performance of the group, they displayed a disciplined
multigenre approach, mixing rock, funk and ska sensibilities. The
Dalit Diva's stage persona, meanwhile, communicated a penchant for the
pure fun of playing music, including an interactive cover of TLC's
'90s anthem "Waterfalls."

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[ZESTCaste] Retired Judge to probe panchami lands

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Retired-Judge-to-probe-panchami-lands/articleshow/7238574.cms

Retired Judge to probe panchami lands
TNN, Jan 8, 2011, 06.54am IST

CHENNAI: The illegal transfers of lands assigned to dalits will be
probed by a panel headed by a retired high court judge, the Tamil Nadu
government declared today. The committee will examine various problems
regarding panchami lands in accordance with law and submit a report to
the government suggesting measures for restoring ownership.

The announcement was made in the Governor's customary address to the
state assembly. "Government frequently receives representations that
panchami lands assigned to scheduled caste poor in Tamil Nadu years
ago are being taken over by non-scheduled caste people. With the
passage of time, these lands have been illegally transferred to others
and industries have been set up on many such lands by changing title
and violating conditions.There are also newspaper reports on this,"
the Governor said in his speech.

The Panchami Lands Retrieval Movement has drawn attention to the
illegal transfers of lands. Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi leader Ravi
Kumar quoted a survey conducted by the movement that revealed that one
lakh acres of such lands are with non-dalits. There are many such
lands in urban centres like Chennai which are worth thousands of
crores of rupees, he said. In Chennai there were 24 dalit colonies
known as Chery'.

Delving into the historical background of panchami lands, he said it
was on record that Chengelpet district collector Tremen Here had in
1891 sent a recommendation to the Queen of England that cultivable
land should be distributed to depressed classes. Thereafter, a
Depressed Classes Land Act was passed the next year. Since then 12
lakh acres were assigned to dalits across Tamil Nadu. Ravi Kumar also
cited the 1901 census which revealed that 67 percent of dalits were
landless in the Tamil speaking region and this had not changed when
the census was taken in 2001. This showed that there had been no
improvement in the condition of dalits over more than one century, he
added.

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[ZESTCaste] 'Govt considering giving minorities quota within OBC quota'

 

http://www.rediff.com/news/report/govt-considering-minority-quota-within-obc-quota/20110107.htm

'Govt considering giving minorities quota within OBC quota'
January 07, 2011 22:37 IST

The government is considering allocation of quota to minorities within
the existing 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Castes in
central services, Minority Affairs minister Salman Khurshid said on
Friday.

Granting separate quota to the minorities within the 27 per cent being
given to OBCs is under serious consideration of the Union government
on the lines of a number of states, Khurshid told reporters in Lucknow
[ Images ].

States like Kerala [ Images ], Karnataka [ Images ], Andhra Pradesh,
Bihar and West Bengal [ Images ] already have such provision. Khurshid
said both the ministries for minority welfare and social justice were
working together in this direction and the provisions made in these
states besides various rulings of the Supreme Court and the Karnataka
High Court were being studied.

The minister said his department was committed to maintaining the
minority status to Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University.
He said that Rs 2,500 crore had been provided for the development of
Muslim-dominated districts, including those in Uttar Pradesh [ Images
], and another Rs 1,000 crore would be provided soon.

To a question on rising prices, the Congress leader said the central
government was making serious efforts to control it and the issue was
also discussed in the party's plenary session recently. Although it is
an international phenomenon, efforts are on to keep it under check, he
said.

On corruption, Khurshid said the government was serious about the
issue, and action would be taken against all those found involved in
it. Asked about the 2G spectrum scam, the minister said BJP should
have welcomed the prime minister's offer to appear before the PAC
rather than continuing with the stalemate.

Khurshid, also Corporate Affairs minister, said that the proposal for
a new company bill was under the consideration of the Law ministry and
would be presented in the next session of Parliament. Besides there is
also a move to bring companies under the International Finance
Reporting System in a phased manner, he said.

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[ZESTCaste] Conspiracy against KGB: SC/ST Confederation

 

http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20110107/1662757.html

Conspiracy against KGB: SC/ST Confederation
Thiruvananthapuram | Friday, Jan 7 2011 IST

Jaitley takes on Sibal on 2G scam

The SC/ST All India Confederation today came in support of former
Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan and alleged a conspiracy
behind maligning him and his family.

Alleging a section of people was annoyed following the rise of Mr
Balakrishnan to a high post in the judiciary, Confederation President
K Ramankutty told newspersons here everything related to the
allegations was part of a conspiracy. Mr Ramankutty said they would
submit a memorandum to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking an inquiry against Supreme Court
Judges who were involved in corruption cases in the last 15 years.

''The attempt is to malign Balakrishnan who came up from a very low
background. This is very unfortunate,'' he added.

To a question, he said he would not demand the resignation of Mr
Balakrishnan from the post of NHRC Chairman .

-- (UNI) -- 07MS46.xml

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[ZESTCaste] HC quashes UP govt order related to SC,ST quota in promotions

 

http://www.zeenews.com/news678540.html

HC quashes UP govt order related to SC,ST quota in promotions
Updated on Tuesday, January 04, 2011, 22:16

Lucknow: In a setback to Uttar Pradesh government, the Lucknow bench
of Allahabad High Court on Tuesday quashed its order providing
reservation in promotions to state employees belonging to scheduled
castes and scheduled tribes.

A bench comprising justices Pradip Kant and Rituraj Awasthi pronounced
the judgement while disposing of 50 writ petitions challenging the 'UP
government servants seniority rules (3rd) amendment 2007' whereby the
state government had inserted Rule 8A.

The court quashed all seniority lists prepared by the various
departments under the provision which provided for consequential
seniority along with promotion for the SC/ST employees.

The court has also directed the government and various departments to
make fresh seniority lists in accordance with law.

"We further clarify that in case the state government decided to
provide reservation in promotion to any class or classes of posts in
the services under the state, it is free to do so after undertaking
the exercise as required under the constitutional provisions, keeping
in mind the law laid down in the M Nagaraj case," the bench said.

Petitioners counsel Vivek Raj Singh told PTI that the court has held
that reservation cannot be provided in promotions to government
employees and the "original seniority should be taken into account for
it".

All the petitioners in the case belonged to the general category, Singh added.

In M Nagaraj case, the Supreme Court has held, "...the State is not
bound to make reservation for SCs/STs in matters of promotions.
However, if they wish to exercise their discretion and make such
provision, the State has to collect quantifiable data showing
backwardness of the class and inadequacy of representation of that
class in public employment in addition to compliance with Article 335.

"It is made clear that even if the State has compelling reasons, as
stated above, the State will have to see that its reservation
provision does not lead to excessiveness so as to breach the ceiling
limit of 50 per cent or obliterate the creamy layer or extend the
reservation indefinitely," it had said.

PTI

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[ZESTCaste] Bhaskaran, brother of KGB quits as government pleader

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Bhaskaran-brother-of-KGB-quits-as-government-pleader/articleshow/7238581.cms

Bhaskaran, brother of KGB quits as government pleader
T Ramavarman, TNN, Jan 8, 2011, 06.59am IST

KOCHI: K G Bhaskaran, brother of the beleaguered former Chief Justice
of India Justice K G Balakrishnan has resigned as Special Government
Pleader in the Kerala High Court amid charges of amassing wealth
disproportionate to his known source of income.

Mr. Bhaskaran has however cited health problems for putting in his
papers. He is the second member in the family of the former Chief
Justice who is resigning their posts in the backdrop of financial
allegations. Earlier P V Sreenijan, Balakrishnan's son-in-law, quit
Youth Congress on similar charges.

Advocate General of Kerala CP Sudhakara Prasad had earlier asked Mr.
Bhaskaran either to quit as special government pleader or to go on
leave, when the charges surfaced.

"Initially Mr. Bhaskaran had applied for one month leave and that was
forwarded to the government. Now he has submitted his resignation, and
that has also been faxed to the Government, for acceptance,'' Mr.
Sudhakara Prasad told TOI.

Mr. Bhaskaran was not available immediately for comments, and he was
not returning calls.

However, there are reports saying that Mr. Bhaskaran had told a news
agency that he was being treated by doctors of the All India Institute
of Medical Sciences for respiratory problems and would be leaving for
Delhi for further treatment.

He denied that he had consulted Justice Balakrishnan before putting in
his papers. However, he said Justice Balakrishnan had two months ago
advised him to resign as he was not keeping good health.

Interestingly, Mr. Bhaskaran who was looking after various cases of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, was appointed as government
pleader by the previous Congress-led UDF government, and continued in
the post even under the CPI(M)-led LDF regime.

Meanwhile the Bar Associations of Thrissur and Kozhikode have passed
resolutions demanding resignation of Justice Balakrishnan from the
post of National Human Rights Commission Chairman.

The SC/ST all India Confederation, on the other side, came out in
support of Justice Balakrishnan, saying there was a conspiracy behind
the concerted attack on him. "The campaign against Balakrishnan is
part of a conspiracy by forces that seek to resist the ascension of
persons belonging to SC/ST sections to high posts in the country," K
Ramankutty, president, SC/ST all India Confederation said at a press
conference in Thiruvananthapuram.

In another development, senior advocate of Kochi Bar K Ramakumar has
sent in a legal notice of defamation against former Supreme Court
Judge Justice V R Krishna Iyer in connection with the ongoing
controversies centered around Justice Balakrishnan. While Justice Iyer
had launched a scanting attack on Justice Balakrishnan, Mr. Ramakumar
said he was `upholding the right of the former Chief Justice of India
not to be a soft target of scurrilous attack on mere rumours,
suspicion, speculation and private conversations'. Justice Krishna
Iyer had also "made an unfounded and reckless allegation that Mr.
Ramakumar's support to former Chief Justice of India is another story
of corruption,'' says the legal notice.

Mr. Ramakumar had demanded an unconditional apology from Justice Iyer
and a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the damage caused by the
allegations.

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[ZESTCaste] SLP in SC claims disputed site in Ayodhya belongs to Buddhists

 

http://www.sify.com/news/slp-in-sc-claims-disputed-site-in-ayodhya-belongs-to-buddhists-news-national-lbhqEceagch.html

SLP in SC claims disputed site in Ayodhya belongs to Buddhists
2011-01-07 16:40:00
Last Updated: 2011-01-07 17:00:04

An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard, ahead of a potentially explosi...

New Delhi: A Special Leave Petition has been filed in the Supreme
Court claiming that a Buddhist monastery (Baudh Vihar) existed at the
site of Babri mosque and hence the disputed land at Ayodhya should be
handed over to followers of the faith.

The SLP was filed by Udit Raj, the Chairman of Buddha Education
Foundation and All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations on
Thursday against the judgement of Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench
in the Ayodhya title suits.

Giving the information at a press conference on Friday, Raj told
reporters, "The Budhists in India challenge the legality and
constitutionality of the judgement. Not only the disputed land but
even the construction before the existence of Babri mosque belong to
Baudh Vihar."

'VHP doesn't accept Allahabad HC verdict on Ayodhya'

Former Union Minister and Bhartiya Janshakti Party leader Sanghpriya
Gautam, who accompanied Raj, quoted from the Allahabad High Court
judgement to support the argument.

"Justice Sudhir Agrawal held that Kasauti pillars of disputed
structures, strongly resemble Buddhist pillars of those seen at
Varanasi. Justice S U Khan held that Carnegy (British Archeologist)
has mentioned that the Kasauti pillars, were used in the construction
of mosque, strongly resembled Buddhist pillars which he had seen in
Varanasi," Gautam said.

"Accordingly, it is also possible that there were also ruins of some
Buddhist religious place on and around the land on which the mosque
was constructed and some material was thereof used in the construction
of the mosque," he said.

Witness submits photos related to Babri Masjid demolition

Raj said that the ASI in its report submitted in 2003 had found that
there was a circular shrine beneath the disputed structure after which
the Allahahad High Court ordered further collection of evidences.

"So far it has not been done. It is most likely that this shrine is of
Buddhists. The mosque is made on the ruins of Baudh Vihar and hence
should be given to Buddhists," Raj said.

He said that the ASI had maintained that pillar bases in association
of huge structure are indicative of remains which are distinctive
features found assoicated with temples of Northern India.

"This itself supports that it could be a Buddhist place because
temples of North India connote to Hindus, Jains and Buddhists
all...Temples of North India are not necessarily Hindu temples. To
conclude them as Hindu temples is not correct," he said.

Sunni Waqf Board to move Supreme Court against Ayodhya verdict

Both Gautam and Raj at the same time maintained that they could
consider withdrawing their demand if both Hindus and Muslims accepted
the Allahad High Court verdict and refrained from further appeals into
the matter.

"Had Hindus and Muslims brought an end to the dispute and accepted the
judgement, we would have not made this move. We are the real claimants
but in the larger interest of nation, we would have foregone our
claim. But now since both parties have appealed in the Supreme Court,
why should we, who are real claimants, remain silent," Gautam said.

Udit Raj agreed with the contention saying this can still be
considered if both parties come to an agreement and stop further
litigations.

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[ZESTCaste] Court postpones hearing in Sanjay Dutt's 'jhappi' case

 

http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_court-postpones-hearing-in-sanjay-dutt-s-jhappi-case_1491581

Court postpones hearing in Sanjay Dutt's 'jhappi' case
Published: Friday, Jan 7, 2011, 18:46 IST
Place: Pratapgarh | Agency: PTI

A local court has postponed the hearing of a case against Bollywood
star Sanjay Dutt for making alleged derogatory remarks against Uttar
Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, to January 22.

Chief judicial magistrate Manjula Sarkar gave Dutt the extended period
to appear in court after his counsel, JN Singh said that the actor
could not make it due to the fog and requested for adjourning the case
today, prosecution sources said.

Sarkar said that if the star failed to appear on the next date, a
warrant would be issued against him, sources said.

During an election rally for the Lok Sabha polls last year, Dutt, then
the general secretary of Samajwadi Party, had allegedly made
derogatory remarks against Mayawati.

He had offered to give the Bahujan Samajwadi Party chief, a jadoo ki
jhappi (a magical hug) and a pappi (kiss) on two different occasions.

After the 2009 incident, the then district magistrate had lodged an
FIR against Dutt and a charge sheet was filed by police after
investigation.

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[ZESTCaste] Fwd: Prominent members of SC/STs

 


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: chunnu prasad <chunnuprasad@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jan 7, 2011 at 12:34 PM
Subject: [sakya] Prominent members of SC/STs
To: humanhorizons@yahoogroups.co.uk, sakyagroup@yahoogroups.com


 


Sakya Means Humanity.

May all beings be happy!

"I have never claimed to be a universal leader of suffering humanity. The problem of the untouchables is quite enough for my slender strength. I do not say that other causes are not equally noble. But knowing that life is short, one can only serve one cause and I have never aspired to do more than serve the Untouchables."  Bodhisatta Babasaheb B.R.Ambedkar

"The basis of my politics lies in the proposition that the Untouchables are not a sub-division or sub-section of Hindus, and that they are a separate and distinct element in the national life of India." Bodhisatta Babasaheb B.R.Ambedkar

"My social philosophy may be said to be enshrined in three words: liberty, equality and fraternity. My philosophy has roots in religion and not in political science. I have derived them from the teachings of my master, the Buddha." Bodhisatta Babasaheb B.R.Ambedkar

Sakya Sangha
8/A, Thiyagarayapuram,
Thangal, Thiruvottiyur,
Chennai - 600 019.
Tamil Nadu, India
http://www.sakyasangha.org


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[ZESTCaste] Fwd: Press Release : Neither Hindus nor Muslims are entitled to the disputed land at Ayodhya. SLP filed in Supreme Court claming the title for the Buddhists.

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations
<scstconfederation@gmail.com>
Date: 7 January 2011 16:30
Subject: Press Release : Neither Hindus nor Muslims are entitled to
the disputed land at Ayodhya. SLP filed in Supreme Court claming the
title for the Buddhists.
To: Press Note <pressnotes@googlegroups.com>

All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations
T-22, Atul Grove Road, New Delhi-110001, Tel: 23354841-42, Telefax: 23354843
Email: dr.uditraj@gmail.com

Dr. Udit Raj
Chairman, All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations
National President, Indian Justice Party
Member, National Integration Council (Govt. of India)

Press Release

Neither Hindus nor Muslims are entitled to the disputed land at
Ayodhya. SLP filed in Supreme Court claming the title for the
Buddhists.

New Delhi, 7th January, 2011.

Dr. Udit Raj, Chairman of Buddha Education Foundation and the All
India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations, told the press that
Special Leave Petition (SLP) no. DC 466/2011 has been filed in the
Supreme Court against the judgment of Allahabad High Court, Lucknow
Bench in the much disputed matter of Ayodhya. Prof. Ravi Verma Kumar -
Senior Advocate, Nitin Meshram - Junior Advocate and E.C. Vidyasagar -
Advocate on Record are the team which is defending the matter in
Supreme Court. Shri Sangh Priya Gautam, Advocate - Former Union
Minister is extending full cooperation in this matter. The High Court
had dismissed our petition in 2003 saying that relief was not sought
against any of the parties in the suit. The Buddhists in India now
challenge the legality and constitutionality of impugned judgment
delivered on 30.9.2010. Not only disputed land but construction before
the existence of Babri Mosque belong to Bauddh Vihar. Justice Sudhir
Aggarwal held that  Kasauti Pillars of disputed structure, strongly
resemble Buddhists pillars of those seen at Varanasi (page no. 4690 of
Volume 19).  Justice S. U. Khan held that Carnegy has mentioned that
the Kasauti Pillars, which were used in the construction of mosque,
strongly resembled Buddhist Pillars which he had seen at Banaras.
Accordingly, it is also possible that they were also ruins of some
Buddhist religious place on and around the land on which the mosque
was constructed and some material thereof was used in the construction
of mosque   (page no. 246). It is worthwhile to mention that P.
Carnegy, was an officiating commissioner and Settlement Officer of
Faizabad District as well as a British archaeologist. He found that
the Kasauti pillars of disputed structure had a strong resemblance
with the Bauddh Vihar of Sarnath, Varanasi.  He submitted this report
in 1870.

Dr. Udit Raj said that Buddhists are the necessary parties wherever
history and culture are concerned. Prof. Wilson observed that the
Chinese traveler Hwen Thsang found no less than 20 Buddhist
monasteries with 3000 monks at Ajudhia in the 7th century. Fa-hein,
another great Chinese traveler, recorded in Chinese language which was
later translated into English, found that king Prasenjeet, the ruler
of Kosal (also known as Ayodhya) was an ardent follower of Buddha.
The Archeological Survey of India submitted its report in 2003 and
found that there is circular shrine beneath the disputed structure.
After this, the Allahabad High Court ordered for further collection of
evidences but, so far, it has not been done. It is most likely that
this shrine is of Buddhists. It says that 50 pillar bases in
association of huge structure are indicative of remains which are
distinctive features found associated with temples of North India.
This itself supports that it could be a Buddhist place because temples
of North India connotes to Hindus, Jain and Buddhists as well.
Objecting to the finding of ASI, the Sunni Central Board of Waqfs -
plaintiff number 1 O.O.S. No. 4 of 1989 said that the short report on
inscription one of which is in Nagari, and are in Arabic, show how
casual and preconceived in its notion was the ASI. The first is not to
be dated with any certitude to the 11th century : its time range could
be 7th-12th centuries, and it could be a Pali record of Buddhist
provenance ---- a piece of evidence negativing the presence of Hindu
temple.

In the whole litigation, Hindus have not been in a position to prove
that Lord Rama was born here. At the most, they have evidence that the
idol was placed stealthily on 22nd and 23rd December, 1949. Thus,
there is no historical and archeological evidence in their support.
Similarly, Muslims have also failed to name the organisation and
person who built the Babri Mosque. On the basis of mere prayer offered
there, they are claiming the title of the land. The Babri Mosque
structure does not resemble the mosques spread over the country
including the mosques built by Babar. This Babri Mosque lacks in vazoo
and minarettes.
The Allahabad High Court has wrongly given land to Hindus, Muslims and
Nirmohi Akhara. On the basis of above facts, Buddhists and
Ambedkarites are the real claimants of this land. The Supreme Court
has been urged to decide the matter on the basis of Constitution and
the rule of law. And if it happens, this communal dispute will be
settled forever.

(B. Mandal)
Media Incharge

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[ZESTCaste] How D.R. Nagaraj reconciled Gandhi with Ambedkar

http://telegraphindia.com/1110101/jsp/opinion/story_13360497.jsp

CONTENDING VISIONS
- How D.R. Nagaraj reconciled Gandhi with Ambedkar
Politics and Play - Ramachandra Guha

Books do not change lives, but books can change the way we look at the
world. As a student of economics, I was a high modernist who believed
in transforming rural communities through industrialization. Concern
for the poor came with a heavy dose of condescension. Those who lived
outside cities had to be improved and uplifted through an infusion of
modern technology and what used to be known as the 'scientific
temper'. Then I read Verrier Elwin's Leaves from the Jungle, a
charming evocation of the life of the Gond tribals of central India.
This, and his other works, showed me that despite their apparent
illiteracy and lack of material wealth, the tribals had a rich
tradition of poetry, folklore and art, a deep identification with
nature, and a strong sense of community solidarity. In the latter
respects they had, in fact, something to teach a modern world that
dismissed them as primitive and uncivilized.

A little later, I became a Marxist, persuaded into the faith by the
scholars who taught me in Calcutta. I was young and impatient; the
incremental idealism of my parents' hero, Jawaharlal Nehru, did not
seem sufficient to make a dent in the poverty and inequality that was
so manifest a feature of social life in India. Then, on a visit to
Dehradun, I picked up from the pavement of the town's main street a
copy of George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia. I took the book home and
read it through the night. Orwell had seen, at first-hand, how the
democratic aspirations of the Spanish people had been undermined by
the takeover of their movement by a band of cynical and amoral
communists, acting under the instructions of Josef Stalin. He
communicated his experiences in prose of an uncommon clarity. By the
morning, I had abandoned Marxism, and was a social democrat once more.

Another book that changed the way I looked at the world was Truth
Called Them Differently, published by the Navajivan Trust in
Ahmedabad. This reproduced the debates between Rabindranath Tagore and
Mahatma Gandhi. They argued about many things — India's place in the
world, the role of the English language, whether an hour a day at the
spinning wheel was mandatory for the patriot. The exchanges reveal the
intellectual and moral qualities of the two men, each of whom had the
ability (and courage) to change his views when circumstance or reason
so demanded.

Elwin was once a well-known writer in India. Tagore, Gandhi and Orwell
enjoy global reputations. All had a considerable and varied oeuvre in
English. Their books were published by the most prestigious publishing
houses. A fourth book whose reading radically altered my understanding
of the world was, in contrast, written by an author unknown outside
his native Karnataka. And it was published by a totally obscure press.
Browsing through Bangalore's Premier Book Shop in the early 1990s, I
came across a slim book called The Flaming Feet. The title was
intriguing, as were its contents — a series of essays on and around
the figure of B.R. Ambedkar.

Published by a local NGO called the Institute of Cultural Research and
Action, The Flaming Feet was the first work in English by D.R.
Nagaraj, a professor of Kannada in Bangalore University. The politics
of the 1930s and 1940s had placed Gandhi and Ambedkar as antagonists —
as, more recently, had the politics of the 1980s and 1990s. The
Bahujan Samaj Party had launched a series of stinging attacks on the
Mahatma, accusing him of patronizing the Dalits and impeding rather
than aiding their emancipation. From the other side, the Hindutva
ideologue, Arun Shourie, had written a 600-page screed depicting
Ambedkar as a toady of the British.

D.R. Nagaraj was unusual and — at that time, at least — unique in
admiring both Gandhi and Ambedkar. To be sure, in their lifetime their
respective social locations made it hard for these men not to be
political adversaries. By the time Ambedkar returned from his studies
in the US, Gandhi was the acknowledged leader of the national
movement. For a brilliant and ambitious young man from a Dalit
background, to join the Congress was to relegate oneself to a
secondary role in politics. Thus, as Nagaraj pointed out, "there was
very little scope for a Congress Harijan leader to develop interesting
and useful models of praxis from within". So, Ambedkar chose to form
his own political party and fight for his people under a banner
separate from, and opposed to, Gandhi's Indian National Congress.

In The Flaming Feet, Nagaraj demonstrated how, through their debates
and arguments, Gandhi and Ambedkar transformed each other. The Mahatma
became more sensitive to the structural roots of caste discrimination,
while Ambedkar came to recognize that moral renewal was as critical to
Dalit emancipation as economic opportunity. In seeking to honour both
men, Nagaraj was, as he put it, fighting both "deep-rooted prejudices"
(which urged Indians to follow only one or the other) as well as
"wishful thinking" (which made one believe that one or other thinker
provided all the answers to the Dalit predicament). Nagaraj insisted
that "from the viewpoint of the present, there is a compelling
necessity to achieve a synthesis of the two". "The greatest paradox of
modern Indian history," wrote Nagaraj, was that "both Gandhian and
Ambedkarite perceptions of the issue are partially true, and the
contending visions are yet to comprehend each other fully".

Reading Nagaraj, like reading Tagore, Gandhi, Orwell and Elwin, was an
epiphanic experience. He taught me to recognize that while Gandhi and
Ambedkar were rivals in their lifetime, from the point of view of
India today the two men should rather be viewed as partners and
collaborators. The legacy of both was required to complete the
unfinished task of Dalit emancipation. After the publication of The
Flaming Feet, Nagaraj began writing more often in English. These later
essays, like the book, were marked by an unusual ability to bring
disparate worlds into conversation: the past and the present, the
elite and the subaltern, the vernacular and the cosmopolitan.

In 1998, just as he was maturing as a scholar and political analyst,
Nagaraj died of a heart attack. Now, 12 years later, his published and
unpublished essays on Dalit questions have been brought together in an
expanded edition of The Flaming Feet, edited and sensitively
introduced by his former student, Prithvi Datta Chandra Sobhi, and
appearing this time under the imprint of a more mainstream publisher.
Here Nagaraj writes with elegance and insight about a wide range of
subjects — on the "lack of a living tradition of militant
Gandhianism"; on the self-invention of a Dalit identity (as he points
out, in searching for a history outside Hinduism, "the modern Dalit
has to seek his rebirth in a state of fearful loneliness. S/he has
nothing to rely upon in his/her immediate Hindu surroundings"); on the
need to build a united front of ecological, Dalit and tribal
movements.

Nagaraj was a social scientist as well as littérateur whose mode of
writing was sometimes empirical, at other times metaphorical. Here is
a representative excerpt: "Babasaheb [Ambedkar] had no option but to
reject the Gandhian model. He had realized that this model had
successfully transformed Harijans as objects in a ritual of
self-purification, with the ritual being performed by those who had
larger heroic notions of their individual selves. In the theatre of
history, in a play with such a script, the untouchables would never
become heroes in their own right, they were just mirrors for a hero to
look at his own existentialist anger and despair, or maybe even
glory."

This new edition of The Flaming Feet may be the most important work of
non-fiction published in this country in 2010. At any rate, it is
indispensable for anyone with any serious interest in society and
politics in modern India.

ramachandraguha@yahoo.in


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