Thursday, September 15, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Accrued Social Capital over Individual Merit - By R. Ravi Kumar

 

http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3685:accrued-social-capital-and-merit&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132

Accrued Social Capital over Individual

by *R. Ravi Kumar*

The debate on merit has once again come to the forefront with the movie
'Aarakshan'. From various press clippings and debates on the movie one can
come to the conclusion that the 'Aarakshan' team is much worried about the
victimization of merit due to reservations for the disadvantaged groups.
Though there was no scene in the movie derogating the rule of reservations,
in summary the movie explicitly conveys the message that whatever may be the
historic and social reasons to defend the rule of reservations, all that is
null and void as the positioning of the candidates from the stream of
reservations is fragile and hence questionable. That this is the stance of
the Aarakshan team was clear from their arguments in various debates on TV.
In one such debate that featured Shri Punia, the Chairman, National
Commission for Scheduled Castes, telecast live on 11th Aug, Mr. Amitabh
Bachchan and Mr. Prakash Jha had defended their movie by saying that, let's
provide equal opportunities to every one and then judge them on merit
considering various implementation flaws in reservations. Before judging the
'Aarakshan' team's wisdom on their choice of story line, I would like to
depict some live examples which have sabotaged the merit among socially
comparable groups in India. Also how individual merit becomes insignificant
practically in a competition.[image: a_social_capital] http://roundtableindia.co.in/images/stories/a_social_capital.jpg

What's the proven merit of Mr. Rahul Gandhi that made him the Lok Sabha
M.P., from Amethi? What's the proven merit of Mr. Sachin Pilot that has made
him the member of the decision making coterie of Rahul Gandhi or 'High
Command' of the Congress Party? And what's the proven merit of Mr
Jyotiraditya Scindia, Madhavrao Scindia's son?

Are there no meritorious candidates than this trio within their
constituencies? Have the late fathers of these three heroes left no second
line leadership and made way only for their children to reach their present
positions? One can raise several similar questions about their own success.
However the answer is very simple: the Accrued Social Capital of their
fathers have made them big, rather biggest in their constituencies.

This scenario is not only limited to politics, it can be seen even in
academics, for example, four sons of two well-known professors (I don't want
to name them) belonging to Hyderabad could become faculty members by
demonstrating their Accrued Social Capital by over-riding the individual
merit of all other competitors. Two sons of one of these professors are in
the same university, with one son in the same discipline as the father, and
both of them are in the same school. In the second case (he is more popular
as a human rights activist than an expert in his own discipline), here
again, one of the two sons got in to the same school in the same university,
and the second one has secured a position in a much more reputed university
in Delhi. Summing up, in all these cases one son of each of these Professors
is in the same discipline as their fathers, and the second one is in the
same school. Every other competitor vying for any of those four positions
has to remain satisfied with, or rather accept the accrued social capital of
these young academicians and keep silent. If anybody talks about it in
public they may never be able to get in to academics in the country, which
is yet another example of the strength of Accrued Social Capital over
individual merit.

In the same way, what's the proven merit of the two sons of Dhirubhai
Ambani, one of whom was made one of the highest paid executives in the
world? By virtue of the law of inheritance of property they have the right
to become the owners of the wealth of their father, but how could one of
them become one among the highest paid executives? What about their
individual proven merit? In this case, it is not only Accrued Social Capital
of their family but also financial capital which made them the most
meritorious!

One can go on illustrating such cases. This is a common phenomenon whenever
two persons compete in the country where merit matters and what ever may be
the social group they belong to.

If this is the fate of merit among equals what will happen to the
individual merit of millions of disadvantaged groups who could not accrue
any social capital? What ever little social capital is accrued by
disadvantaged groups in the past sixty years due to reservations has gained
more negative value rather than helping them in demonstrating their merit.

Hence I feel that the film maker of Aarakshan and the team has projected
(again in the backdrop of enormous Accrued Social Capital of Big 'B' in one
generation in the film industry) the most insignificant aspect of the merit
debate rather then dealing with the gigantic and more powerful Accrued
Social Capital.

Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, being a former parliamentarian and a highly respected
film actor, should reflect on how and why film makers are investing big
amounts in movies acted by his son, who has only recently entered the
industry. Has his son ever faced the need to prove himself as an actor to
establish himself? He should recollect how much he himself had to struggle
to become such a Big B in the industry though his father is a well known
writer.

One may dismiss the argument of Accrued Social Capital with nepotism. If
one does it, he/she will fail to understand the dynamics of the Accrued
Social Capital. It is very dynamic, several things have to fall in place for
it to be successful. It is also influenced by time and space. Also the
person should have some entry in to the field to make better use of the
Accrued Social Capital of the family. Hence Accrued Social Capital may also
be considered as the merit of meritorious. So dear Mr. Prakash Jha and Mr.
Amitabh Bachchan, given your Accrued Social Capital, it will be heroic if
you can make a movie which depicts this merit of the meritorious. *It is a
shame to your heroism if you also choose to victimize the victimized.*

Let's examine merit from a practical point of view. In principle, merit is
nothing but a demonstrated ability of a person in a competition. Rather a
process and means to eliminate undesired persons from a competition to
retain the desired. A competition is nothing but an event organized by a
group of individuals representing an institution or an agency. It is a
specific time bound event. The organizers of the event have got the
opportunity to define the desirability and have the power to manipulate what
they want to be the output of the competition. If merit is the demonstrated
ability of an individual in a competition which has so many limitations and
conditions, how will the product of it, merit, have any objectivity? Merit
becomes notional if we compare performance. For eg., if we compare the
performance of the toppers of UPSC with their fellow batch mates, it gets
further nullified, there is no correlation between the performance of the
toppers and the rest of the same batch.

Hence the debate on merit and calling someone as meritorious doesn't mean
anything, especially in a society where Accrued Social Capital supersedes
the individual's abilities totally.

*R.Ravi Kumar** is Secretary of the National Dalit Forum.*

Cartoon by *Unnamati Syama Sundar. * http://roundtableindia.co.in/images/stories/a_social_capital.jpg
*
*

--
B.Karthik Navayan,
http://karthiknavayan.wordpress.com/
https://sites.google.com/site/karthiknavayan/

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[ZESTCaste] A survey recorded an astonishing 80-odd practices of untouchability

 

Untouchability Declassified

Discrimination is a dynamic industry in India. A survey recorded an astonishing 80-odd practices of untouchability—new, bizarre, vintage.
Two thousand years and counting. We must hold the record for perpetuating one of the worst crimes on humanity for the longest time running. The practice of untouchability has an unbroken history. A record the Indian state, in violation of its own Constitution, has become a collaborator to. Not hesitating to lie, even denying it at times, the state machinery stands guilty of turning a blind eye to this inhuman practice.
A grave failure, seen most recently in Haryana, where the Supreme Court had to warn the government with "serious consequences" if it further delayed justice to the Dalit community in Mirchpur, where two citizens were burned to death and houses of 150 others reduced to ashes by the upper caste Jat community.
To call the bluff on sanitised official reports that feign ignorance about an ugly social truth, the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front, an umbrella group comprising nearly 150 labour, Dalit and human rights movements, set off on a comprehensive survey three years ago. They started documenting all manifestations of untouchability, circa 2010. They visited 1,845 villages in 22 (of 32) districts in the state. 
A new village, a new can of worms. Exposing the rot of oppression and its myriad crippling ways. Discrimination is a dynamic industry in India. The survey recorded an astonishing 80-odd practices of untouchability—new, bizarre, vintage. It further recorded 22 atrocities committed against Dalits. 
The list, titled 'Cruel Manifestations' was released at the Front's first state conference held in Pudukottai district on 28 May. Here's an abridged version of that list
THE LIST
»Not allowed to speak on the cell phone in the presence of caste Hindus. (A practice reported in the Nilgiri constituency, a reserved Lok Sabha seat, the current incumbent of which is, ironically, Union Telecom Minister A Raja.) 
»Not allowed to keep male dogs. (Why? They might breed with female dogs from upper caste neighbourhoods.) 
»Separate work timings under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
»Refusal to rent houses to Dalits in certain neighbourhoods in urban areas. (Reported in Madurai, Tamil Nadu's second largest city.)
»No door delivery by postmen; postal department prevented from hiring Dalit postmen.
»No access to the common crematorium, burial grounds. 
»Prevented from having their clothes washed or ironed, or assigned separate cupboards at the laundry for clothes of Dalits.
»Refusal by barbers to cut their hair, or separate chairs for Dalits.
»Separate ration shops, or queues, or timings for Dalits.
»Offered tea in coconut shells which they can drink only by squatting on the ground. 
»Prevented from renting private marriage halls, public address systems.
»Forced to cut out portion of the name that suggests respect (Madaswamy will be called Mada, Muniyaswamy Muniya).
»Attacked if they call any caste Hindu as annan (brother).
»Erecting walls (as was seen in Uthappuram) to deny Dalits access to common places.
»Elderly members of the Dalit community addressed by children of the dominant caste as podavada (denoting lack of respect).
»No access to temples, public streets, public taps (separate timings to collect water), public tanks, temples.
»Sapparam (temple car) not driven through areas where Dalits reside.
»Not allowed to participate in pookkuzhi (a ritual of walking on fire) during festivals.
»Two, in some cases four, tumbler system in tea-shops, one set for Dalits and categories within them, another for caste Hindus.
»Separate neighbourhoods for Dalits in villages. 
»Preventing the opening of milk dairy near Dalit neighbourhoods. 
»Dalit (Arunthathiyar) students compelled to clean bathrooms in schools.
»Opposition to hiring Dalit cooks in mid-day meal school kitchens.
»Engaging Dalits, Arunthathiyars especially, in conservancy work. 
»Dalit workers to bring their own food-plates while others need not.
»Boycotting meetings held by Dalit Panchayat presidents.
»Preventing the opening of panchayat office buildings in Dalit areas.
NOT ALLOWED TO...
»Wear shoes or chappals
»Wear polyester dhotis
»Ride bicycles or travel in bullock carts
»Sit under bus shelters at village bus stops
»Wear a cloth headgear or carry a towel over the shoulder (as is the local practice)
»Sport a thin moustache 
»Sit on benches in hotels and tea stalls 
»Burst crackers during festivals
»Rear cattle
»Sing or speak at village functions or participate in auctions
»Dine with caste Hindus
OBLIGATED TO
»Offer goats gratis to descendants of past andais (landlords in the feudal age) during festivals
»Carry dead bodies
»Work in crematoriums and at burial grounds 
»Sound the parai ( drums) 
»Carry message of death to people of the dominant caste (to be paid only bus fare, food only if offered) 
ATROCITIES ON DALITS
»Forced to eat faeces. 
»Urinating into the mouth.
»Murdered if elected as Panchayat President against the wishes of the dominant caste.
»Sexual assault on Dalit women.
»Burning alive if a Dalit fights for rights.
»Setting fire to Dalit huts.
»Tied to a tree and beaten up.
»Killing all dogs in a Dalit area if a dog of the Dalit area bites a dog that belongs to an upper caste community.
»Obstructing the common passage (if won through struggle) with mortar, grindstone and washing utensils there. 
»Killing by poisoning one who inter-marries. 
»Ostracising those Dalits who raise their voice for human rights.
»Attacking Dalits if they insist on using community halls.
»Making Dalits prostrate before members of the dominant caste and imposing fines on them. 
»Refusal by the state administration to enforce access to burial grounds.
»Harassment and brutal attacks on Dalits by the police for fighting for their rights.
»Dalits driven away by the police for trying to enter temples
 

Know Buddha, Know Life

No Buddha, No Life..!



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[ZESTCaste] UP Ranks 1st, MP 3rd in Atrocities Against Dalits: Punia

 

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?734738

UP Ranks 1st, MP 3rd in Atrocities Against Dalits: Punia
PTI | Bhopal | Sep 14, 2011

Chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes, P L Punia, today
said here that Madhya Pradesh had witnessed a rise in the atrocities
against Dalits, of late, and it ranked third in the country in this
regard.

"The atrocities against Dalits in the state is on the higher side and
the unfortunate part is that in many cases even reports are not
registered," Punia told reporters.

He said Uttar Pradesh ranked first when it came to number of cases of
atrocity against Dalits, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh
and Rajasthan.

Referring to a case in Bhind district, Punia said that despite
directives from the National Commission, FIR was not registered. When
he asked the state Director General of Police about it, latter said
the case was suspicious.

Punia said that investigation started with FIR, and police could not
have drawn this conclusion before that.

In another case, he said, when a Dalit woman reached a police station
to file a case of dowry harassment against her in-laws, the policemen
detained her in the police station and raped her.

Punia said the government took action against the six guilty policemen
only when the Commission took up the matter.

Referring to the absence of adequate infrastructure to deal with the
cases against dalits, he said that only eight out of fifty districts
in the state had dedicated SC Police stations.

He said the state government should appoint sensitive police officials
in such police stations, and a woman police official should also be
there.

Punia said that Commission had received reports of diversion of funds
meant for social welfare schemes to infrastructure development, and
had asked the state government to ensure this did not happen again.

However, he praised the state government for facilitating education of
SC students in leading public schools.

To a question about the controversial remark made by a Madhya Pradesh
minister against scheduled tribe persons, he said the commission had
taken cognisance of it and would take necessary action.
Filed On: Sep 14, 2011 21:12 IST

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[ZESTCaste] Scheduled Castes panel in Paramakudi today

 

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article2455342.ece

MADURAI, September 15, 2011
Scheduled Castes panel in Paramakudi today
D. Karthikeyan

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes on Thursday will visit
Paramakudi in Ramanathapuram district and Madurai to enquire into the
police firing in which six Dalits were killed and many others injured.

Latha Priyakumar, Member, National Commission for Scheduled Castes,
along with E. Dasarathan, Director, NCSC, Tamil Nadu State Unit, and
Investigating Officer A. Iniyan will visit Five-Point Junction where
firing took place.

Talking to The Hindu on Wednesday, Mr. Dasarathan said that the team
would also visit family members of the dead and injured in government
hospitals at Paramakudi and Ramanathapuram. Later, they would have a
meeting with the Ramanathapuram Collector and the Superintendent of
Police.

On Friday, the team would visit Chinthamani on the outskirts of
Madurai, where two Dalits were seriously injured in police firing.
Besides visiting Government Rajaji Hospital, the team will have a
meeting with the Madurai Collector and the Superintendent of Police.

A detailed report would be submitted to B.L. Punia, Chairman, NCSC, in
New Delhi.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit killings in TN: BJP sends fact finding team

 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Dalit-killings-in-TN-BJP-sends-fact-finding-team/Article1-745765.aspx

Dalit killings in TN: BJP sends fact finding team
Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, September 14, 2011

BJP President Nitin Gadkari has formed a fact finding team to inquire
into the killings of Dalits in Paramakudi in Ramanathapuram district
of Tamil Nadu. The team will be led by Arjun Meghwal, Lok Sabha MP and
former bureaucrat. The other members of the team are Kirit Solanki,
Lok Sabha MP, Pon Radhakrishnan, state BJP President and former Union
minister for youth affairs and sports, Ramnath Kovind, party
spokesperson and former MP, Nirmala Sitharaman, party spokesperson and
former member of National Commission for Women.

The team will visit Tamil Nadu from September 15 to September 17 and
will submit a report to the party president at the earliest.

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[ZESTCaste] Study reveals plight of marginalised sections

 

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/study-reveals-plight-of-marginalised-sections/184404-60-116.html

Kerala
Study reveals plight of marginalised sections
indianexpress Express News Service , The New Indian Express
Posted on Sep 15, 2011 at 01:23pm IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Forget government statistics, large sections of
the state's marginalised people belonging to tribal, fisherfolk and
dalit communities lack adequate schooling, housing or medical
facilities, says a study.

�'Lessons in Discrimination in Development,' a study conducted by
RIGHTS which was released here on Wednesday says only 46 per cent
dalits, 34.47 percent of tribals and 69 percent of fisherfolk have
schools within a kilometre of their home. And not just that, 60
percent of people belong to the marginalised communities surveyed say
they are unable to admit their children in schools they prefer.
Reasons being exorbitant fee/donation demanded by the schools, poor
educational status of the parents and the fact that many of the good
schools offer English as medium.

�The study covered 2,714 tribal, fisherfolk and dalit families and
4,289 children from these families in 30 panchayats across all 14
districts. The study looked at availability of schools, attrition of
students, uneconomic schools, pre-schooling, and services offered by
PHCs and ICDS centres.

�Sixty per cent of the dalits in Kerala are confined to 25,906
colonies while 92 per cent of tribals live in 4,645 colonies. Majority
of the fisherfolk also live in colony-like environments, says the
study.

ATTRITION: Attrition among dalit and tribal students is two and four
per cent respectively. 21.23 percent of dalit children, 21.36 percent
of tribal children and 20.29 percent of children from fishing
communities are outside the state's school system, according to the
study.

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