Monday, October 31, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Mirchpur dalit killings: three get lifer

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article2585465.ece

New Delhi, October 31, 2011
Mirchpur dalit killings: three get lifer
PTI


Three persons were sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court on
Monday for their involvements in the April 2010 killings of a
70-year-old Dalit and his physically-challenged daughter at Haryana's
Mirchpur village.

While sentencing Kulwinder, Ramphal and Rajender to life term,
Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau sentenced five others to varying
jail terms up to five years while letting off seven others on
probation for one year.

A total of 15 people were convicted in the case on September 24.

The five, who were sentenced to lesser jail terms up to five years are
Baljeet, Karamveer, Karampal, Dharambir and Bobal.

Mr. Lau also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on each of eight convicts who
were sentenced to varying jail terms, while a fine of Rs 10,000 each
was imposed on probationer convicts.

The court had earlier acquitted 82 out of 97 accused in the case
saying the allegations levelled against them were not proved beyond
reasonable doubt.

The 15 convicts, belonging to Jat community, were held guilty for
setting ablaze victim Tara Chand's house, which caused the deaths on
April 21, last year in Mirchpur village in Hissar district. The
incident took place after a dispute between Jats and Dalits of the
village.


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[ZESTCaste] ‘Gandhi has always been little short of God to me’

http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/81/201110292011102919523174cb0804e2/%E2%80%98Gandhi-has-always-been-little-short-of-God-to-me%E2%80%99.html

Special
'Gandhi has always been little short of God to me'

Veteran Journalist Mark Tully once again draws on 30 years of
reporting on India to pen Non Stop India. He crisscrosses the country
in search of answers where he encounters interesting human stories;
tales that might jolt contemporary, urban India. Excerpts from the
book...

Freakin' Awesome! Freakin' Awesome! Freakin' Awesome! Freakin'
Awesome! Freakin' Awesome!

Posted On Saturday, October 29, 2011 at 07:43:15 PM

The third village we visited was Isanpur. It was shared by Dalits and
upper caste Thakurs or Rajputs, traditionally landlords. We found the
Dalits as usual living in a separate part of the village. They were
less upbeat and more angry than the Dalits living in their own
villages. One of the older villagers, Harkesh, did say that there had
been changes, "We now sit on the same level. They respect me," he
explained and went on, "Before, if they were sitting down to eat they
would tell us to eat separately. If we went to meet them we had to sit
on the earth, not on the carpet."

But Battan, an angry, elderly villager with a long, lugubrious face,
contested this view hotly, "These are small matters.
There's been no change in their hearts. We still cannot offer water in
their Shiva temple. I am sixty-two years old, and what I saw in my
father's day I see today."

Some of the villagers tried to interrupt but Battan wasn't going to be
stopped: "They still hate everything I touch. I cannot sit with them
on a charpoy. When everyone has eaten then they feed us. I haven't
been to any function for twenty-five years but my family tells me what
happens. Yes, some things have changed. Before, we lived in huts, now
we have a house but that has made them angry. They are jealous that we
wear decent clothes but they can't say it out loud."

Battan paused for a moment and then added, "Before, if we were talking
to a Thakur we had to stand downwind of him. They can't insist on that
now."

This group of Dalits didn't think their economic circumstances had
improved. There was less work on the land because there were no
bullocks, and so no ploughing. They did get work at harvest times and
got paid in grain. None of them had land of their own.

As there was no ploughing and there were no bullocks I assumed that
the halwaha system had died out. But when I asked whether that was so,
the villagers shouted, "Bhura – he is a halwaha." However, Bhura, an
elderly man wearing a vest, which seemed to be the standard dress for
the Dalits of this village, said, "That's not exactly so. Yes, I work
every day for a farmer but I am not bonded. I have worked for the same
farm from the beginning to now and, see, I'm in my old age, but that
doesn't mean I am bonded. He pays me one hundred rupees every day."
"What do you mean beginning?" someone asked.

Bhura pointed to a young teenager and said, "A little smaller than
him. About twelve, I suppose."

When I asked what change he'd seen in his long working life he
replied: "There have been improvements in the last twenty years. They
don't swear at us and curse us any longer. My employers' family is not
rude to me. But I can't sit on a charpoy with them, or eat from their
dishes. I keep my own dishes there because they give me one meal a
day."

…….When I asked about education I was told there were no graduates in
the Dalit community of Isanpur. But then someone pointed to a young
woman and said, "She's a graduate." The woman muttered, "I'm
high-school failed."
As we drove back to Khurja I thought of that statue of Ambedkar with
his thick glasses and the villager who said to me, "He
is god." Gandhi has always been little short of God to me, although he
would be appalled to hear that as he always resisted any attempt to
sanctify him, let alone treat him as divine. I have seen countless
similar statues of Ambedkar in different parts of India but for the
first time a statue made me wonder whether in my admiration for Gandhi
I had paid insufficient attention to Ambedkar. I had often written of
Gandhi's movement to eradicate untouchability and ensure the Dalits
were honoured, of his calling them Harijans, or Children of God. But
that was perhaps romantic or at least unrealistic, whereas Ambedkar
had been thoroughly realistic in calling those who belonged to his and
other untouchable castes Dalits, or the oppressed.

In the late thirties the Mahatma devoted himself to dealing with the
problems of villages and villagers. The problems he addressed were
lack of sanitation, deficient diet, and inertia. Ambedkar on the other
hand saw the problem as cultural. He once asked, "What is a village
but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow mindedness and
communalism?"
Although Ambedkar's words are very harsh I can now understand why he
passed that judgement on village India.

.......If he were alive now how would he judge village India after
nearly sixty-five years of Independence?


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[ZESTCaste] Mammooty in Dr.Ambedkar, splendid Dialogue

 
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[ZESTCaste] Kakatiya University to host seminar on Ambedkar

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/article2581573.ece

WARANGAL, October 30, 2011
KU to host seminar on Ambedkar
Staff Reporter

Kakatiya University Ambedkar Studies Centre is organising a two-day
national seminar on "Socio-Political Philosophy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar:
Contemporary Social/Literary Perspectives" on November 4 and 5.

The ICSSR Chairman and former chairman of UGC, Sukhadeo Thorat, would
inaugurate the seminar as chief guest while university Vice-Chancellor
B. Venkat Rathnam will preside over. English & Foreign Languages
University (EFLU) honorary professor G. Aloysius would deliver keynote
address while APPSC member T.V. Narayana, Dalit Sena State president
J.B.Raju, Tamil Nadu, Dalit activist-theoretician Ravi Kumar,
University of Hyderabad professor V. Krishna, Prof. Kancha Ilaiah,
would participate as guests of honour. According to seminar director
B. Krishnaiah about 400 delegates including Ambedkarites,
academicians, Dalit activists across the country would attend the
seminar and present papers in six sessions. Besides screening of the
movie on Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, Dalit writer and Ballad Singer Goreti
Venkanna would present a cultural programme. Former Vice-Chancellor of
S.V. University K. Enoch would be chief guest at the valedictory.


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[ZESTCaste] Dalit woman alleges bonded labour system

 

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article2578766.ece

MADURAI, October 29, 2011
Dalit woman alleges bonded labour system
Staff Reporter

A Dalit woman from Thiruthangal in Sivakasi Taluk of Virudhunagar
district has filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court
Benchalleging that many children from Tamil Nadu were being employed
as bonded labourers in an edible chips company at Kannur district in
Kerala.

According to the petitioner, G. Muniyammal (40), her husband died in
2002. She brought up her two sons and a daughter by working as a daily
wage labourer in a fireworks factory. In April this year, a
co-villager lured her to send her son for employment in Kerala. She
accepted the offer and sent her son to the chips company after
receiving Rs. 3,000 in advance.

At that time, her son was assured of decent employment, good food and
a reasonable salary. But suddenly, he came back home on July 13 with
burn injuries all over his body. On enquiry, he told her that he was
beaten up brutally and treated inhumanly in the chips company.

Immediately, he was admitted to the N.R.K. Rajarathinam Government
Hospital at Sivakasi and a complaint was lodged with the Thiruthangal
police on July 12.

Subsequently, a representation was also sent to the Special Officer,
Bonded Labour System Abolition-cum-Director, Adi Dravidar Welfare
Department, to take steps to rescue the other children who were
employed as bonded labourers in the chips company.

The complaint disclosed cognisable offences under Section 326 (causing
grievous hurt with dangerous weapons), 307 (attempt to murder), 506
part II (criminal intimidation) and 294b (uttering obscene words) of
the Indian Penal Code besides the provisions of the Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Nevertheless,
neither the police registered any case against the chips company nor
the Special Officer took steps to rescue the child labourers, the
petitioner alleged and sought for a direction to register a case
forthwith on the basis of her complaint.

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[ZESTCaste] Mirchpur Dalit killings: Verdict on Monday

 

http://english.samaylive.com/regional-news/haryana-news/676495443/mirchpur-dalit-killings-verdict-on-monday.html

31 Oct 2011 08:50:01 AM IST
Mirchpur Dalit killings: Verdict on Monday

The Rohini court will deliver its verdict on Monday on the quantum of
sentence against 15 people,convicted for burning alive a 70-year-old
Dalit man and his physically-challenged daughter at Mirchpur village
in Haryana's Hissar district last year.

Eighty-two accused were acquitted in the past hearing of Mirchpur
arson case, and 15 convicted.

The court had, in its order on framing of charges, termed the "Jat
community" as "aggressor" (accused belonged to the Jat community) and
Dalits as "sufferers" in the incident.

The accused have been tried under provisions of the IPC, dealing with
murder, rioting, making unlawful assembly, promoting enmity between
different communities, physical assault, creating mischief and
damaging public property.

They have also been charged under the Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

A 70 year old man Tara Chand and his physically-challenged daughter
had died in the raging fire after upper caste villagers torched the
houses of dalits in Mirchpur in April last year.

The 15 convicts, belonging to Jat community, were held guilty for
setting ablaze victim Tara Chand's house that caused the deaths on
April 21.

The judge also made serious observations for negligence of duty by the
Haryana police.

"The manner in which the whole thing was handled was improper," the
court had said.

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[ZESTCaste] Malagati prominent dalit writer in Kannada : CPK

 

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/201232/malagati-prominent-dalit-writer-kannada.html

Malagati prominent dalit writer in Kannada : CPK
Mysor,Oct 29, DHNS:

Litterateur C P Krishnakumar on Saturday lauded Aravind Malagati for
having created a niche of his own as one of the prominent dalit
writers in Kannada.

Writers CPK, Dejagow, Aravind Malagati, Dharanidevi Malagati and C
Naganna in Mysore on Saturday. Dh Photo He was speaking at an
interaction programme on the works of Aravind Malagathi organised
jointly by Kuvempu Vidyavardhaka Trust and Kuvempu Vidya Parishat at
Vivekananda PU College in Jayalakshmipuram here.

Continuing C P Krishna Kumar who is popular as CPK said- there is no
need to favour Malagati just because he is a dalit. However, what
endears him to all is his influential personality where simplicity
reign above all. Also known for his honesty, Malagathi still remains
the same humble man though he has to his credit over 70 works. "I
really wonder, what makes Malagathi remain a man he is, when the
fledglings who will be having one or two works to their credit never
forget to hog limelight", said CPK.

Malagati's feat is a source of inspiration and 'Gourment brahmana' a
book by Malagathi again is being adapted into a film by the same name.
He jocularly said- Malagati couple should have played the lead role in
the movie.

Aravind Malagati recalled that another noted litterateur M M Kalburgi
was lauding him was 'adopted son of Mysore'. Dejagow has developed the
habit of encouraging others and so came the today's occasion (about
the programme). My wife Dharanidevi Malagati (Dy SP) is writing a book
in Bhaminishatpadi. She has already completed 1600 poems and the book
will be hitting stands soon.

Former University of Mysore vice chancellor Dejagow said the programme
was organised only because Aravind Malagati was a good writer, not
because he was a dalit. He said that literature should spread across
all the nook and corners of the State as it will also help fight
corruption. All the litterateurs and jnanpit awardees should raise
their voice for Kannada language and its status.

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[ZESTCaste] Themes of freedom, justice and identity explored at fest

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article2580617.ece


CHENNAI, October 30, 2011
Themes of freedom, justice and identity explored at fest
Ramya Kannan

Chennai leg of 'Lit for Life 2011' kicks off

Does the struggle to affirm one's humanity through literature
facilitate healing? Is the travel writer bothered by having to edit
out the dull portions? And, do writers hold back what they want to say
for fear of persecution? These and a lot more questions livened up the
proceedings of the morning session of the Chennai leg of 'Lit for Life
2011'. The Hindu's first literary festival began on Saturday and will
conclude with a grand award ceremony on Sunday evening when The Hindu
Best Fiction Prize 2011 will be awarded.

An animated audience was quite unwilling to bring the session on 'Is
writing a healing?' to a close, and it might have well eaten into
lunch but for moderator Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor, The Hindu,
putting his foot down. A lively discussion, peppered with questions -
controversial, provocative, and introspective - had Dalit writers Bama
and P.Sivakami, and academic Susie Tharu in conversation.

In India, caste follows you wherever you go, even after death, Ms.
Bama said. "When we segregate people as 'high' and 'low', we inflict
pain on one section of society… There is the humiliation of being in
someone's power. When you write does it ease that pain?" It is a
step-by-step process, she went on to explain. The first stage is to
accept the pain, then examine the causes for the pain, and finally,
when one writes, one realises the need to come out of the victim's
role and turn militant against the oppressors, she added. Clearly, for
her, when one writes, there is a possibility of healing to a certain
extent – for the writer, and to some extent, for even the victim.

Words are double-edged, Ms. Sivakami, Tamil Nadu's first Dalit woman
IAS officer who later took up voluntary retirement, said. They can
heal the victim, and punish the guilty. Dalit authors write as
witnesses of atrocious cruelties constantly perpetrated on members of
their community. "That is why it is impossible [for writers] to leave
Dalit society behind. The atrocities are like seasonal rains, they
keep happening," she added.

Ms. Tharu provided a perspective that sought to examine both Dalit and
feminist writing from the perspective of how writers respond to their
conditions through a state of non-resolution. Anger at one's own
position or condition is absolutely essential for the writer, whether
feminist or Dalit, she added. The writer tackles issues that are most
personal and most important to her or him, she said in response to a
question on whether Dalit writers would move on to writing about
'other issues'.

The morning sessions began with Ziya Us Salam who heads The Hindu's
features section in Delhi, engaging Mohammed Hanif, Pakistani writer,
and author of Our Lady of Alice Bhatti, in a conversation on topics
ranging from diasporic writing, identity, censorship and influences
and inspiration. Geeta Doctor, journalist, introduced the writers.

"The writer is a citizen first, he lives somewhere," Mr. Hanif said,
answering a question on his association with his home. Having lived
abroad, he made the choice to come back home and make a life there. As
rooted as the book is in a nation, Alice Bhatti, for instance, is
about the life of a woman from a particular city and community.
"However, people tend to pick up the novel and expect it to tell them
every thing about Pakistan." But yes, the reader has the freedom to
interpret the novel after it has been written, he added. Just as a
writer must have the freedom to write without censorship. Mr. Hanif
claimed he never held back anything he wanted to say in a book.
Humorously, he added, to thunderous applause, that as "most people in
Pakistan cannot read; those who can, do not read, and the type of
people who do read my books can laugh at themselves."

'Destination Detectives' had Rahul Bhattacharya, author of The Sly
Company of People who Care, in conversation with Latha Anantharaman, a
travel writer, and translator, as Ranvir Shah, cultural activist,
stayed on to moderate. Once one has left home, he or she becomes an
outsider, and the state of not being at home produces a sense of
irritation that every writer needs, Ms. Anantharaman explained.

Travelling also changes the writer's perception of the place, Mr.
Bhattacharya said, elaborating on how his stay in Guyana took him on a
journey into indentured labour, slavery and the anxiety of
dislocation. After a period of time, however, he added, you start to
feel like an insider. He also read a passage from his book, complete
with the Guyanian creole accent.

Most writers do not have the time to write about their experience
while living it, and therefore when one writes, there is automatic
editing. The writer tends to leave out the dull bits, and tries to
make it interesting for the reader, Ms. Anantharaman said. While every
writer wants to keep it honest, there are constant acts of omission.
On the other hand, Mr. Bhattacharya said the thing with writing a
first-person account gets "people thinking that all those things in
the book happened to you."


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[ZESTCaste] LDF walkout over suicide of Dalit youth

 

http://kaumudiglobal.com/innerpage1.php?newsid=11658

KERALA
LDF walkout over suicide of Dalit youth

Posted on :10:11:37 Oct 27, 2011



THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPI (M)-led LDF opposition in the state on
Thursday staged a walkout in the Assembly, accusing the UDF government
of taking lightly the alleged suicide of a Dalit youth who is
suspected to have killed himself after being detained by the police.

Leading his colleagues out of the House after the Speaker's rejection
of the adjournment notice on the issue, deputy opposition leader
Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said marginalised communities in the state are
living "with a sense of insecurity as they failed to receive justice
from law enforcers".

Responding to the opposition's adjournment notice, Chief Minister
Oommen Chandy said the body of the 23-year-old youth Sinu was found
hanging in his house on Wednesday. The previous night, he was taken
into custody by police from the roadside for allegedly creating scenes
after consuming alcohol, he said.

He was let off the same night after medical examination, which
confirmed the charge against him, Chandy said.
Following the alleged suicide, the sub-inspector and Assistant
Sub-Inspector of Vithura police station were placed under suspension
last night and a case for unnatural death had been registered, Chandy
said.

Pressing for adjournment over the issue, Koliyakkode Krishnan Nair
(CPI-M) sought to know as to why the Government was reluctant to
register a case against the police officers allegedly responsible for
the death of the youth.

Speaker G Karthikeyan turned down the opposition plea for an
adjournment over the issue in the light of the Chief Minister's reply.

Following the incident, Vithura, about 30 km from here, and the
adjoining areas remained tense yesterday with local people blocking
the road traffic and enforcing a hartal in protest over the incident.

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[ZESTCaste] Away from the glamour of Formula One, poverty stalks India's villages

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/30/india-formula-one-poverty-villages?newsfeed=true

Away from the glamour of Formula One, poverty stalks India's villages

The world's eyes are on the new Buddh circuit, but elsewhere the race
to propel India into the 21st century is causing conflict

Jason Burke

The Observer, Sunday 30 October 2011

A single pitted track leads to the village of Bhatta-Parsaul. A line
of women carry firewood on their heads, bending under its weight. In a
nearby rice field, a labourer stands ankle-deep in mud, talking on a
mobile phone. A man whose wife and three children are perched on his
motorbike weaves between potholes as an expensive-looking SUV
accelerates, forcing boys on bicycles off the road.

Five miles away is another strip of tarmac, in better condition, which
is the focus of considerable attention this weekend. India's first
Formula One grand prix is being held on a new £130m track. Last week,
the chairman of the construction group behind the project said that it
was now possible to "safely say that India has arrived in the 21st
century as a force to reckon with".

The disparity between headline-grabbing projects such as the Buddh
circuit and the poverty that surrounds them has been well documented.
But the myriad conflicts generated by the transformation of India are
heard about less often.

Bhatta-Parsaul made headlines in the summer when police attacked
farmers who had been protesting about the compulsory purchase of their
lands by the government of Uttar Pradesh.

"We were out in the fields as we had been every morning for nearly
three months to demonstrate, when the state police arrived and started
shooting," said Manoj Kumar, a farmer. "Then they went through the
village, smashing things up, beating people and assaulting women."

Allegations of police brutality and violence provoked by land disputes
are commonplace. This is particularly true on the outskirts of cities
where exploding populations, growing wealth and rampant property
speculation combine with repressive colonial-era laws and corrupt
officials.

The Buddh circuit has been built as a flagship development for a
bigger project: a new town with a population of several hundred
thousand, which will have malls, sports and education facilities, and
will sit astride a new motorway linking it to Delhi, 32km away, and
Agra, 190km away. The government wanted to sell the land, belonging to
Kumar and other farmers, to the developers behind the motorway and the
town. Greater Noida will be a satellite of a satellite town of Delhi,
a city with a population of about 20 million. The result is that, only
a few miles from the Indian capital, lies a vast swath of land
undergoing extraordinary change at an extraordinary pace.

Tourists rarely come here – although they will pass through this
weekend on the way to the circuit. If they did, they would find a no
man's-land stuck between the new India, with its wealth and
information technology and fashion industries, and the old India,
rural and grotesquely underdeveloped.

The six-lane road that leads to Greater Noida is flanked by scores of
half-built tower blocks. The frames of hoardings bereft of adverts
loom above the traffic. Modern hotels back on to rivers black with
human waste. On the fringes of this zone are villages such as
Bhatta-Parsaul, just a few minutes' drive from the "Grand Venezia"
development that, says the blurb, will provide shoppers with an
authentically Venetian experience, right down to gondolas on
artificial canals.

Although it might be tempting to portray the farmers resisting this
development as rural heroes fighting to preserve a bucolic existence,
the situation is more complex. First, life in rural villages is far
from bucolic, and almost all Bhatta-Parsaul's inhabitants would prefer
to live in a city. Second, their main grievance is that the state
government does not pay sufficient compensation not that the viability
of their community is threatened.

Third, the farmers of Bhatta-Parsaul are not exactly horny-handed sons
of toil. Instead, they employ landless day labourers for a pittance.
Illiterate, effectively homeless and unprotected, these are almost all
migrants from the poorest parts of Uttar Pradesh or nearby states.
They are from the lowest ranks of India's entrenched social hierarchy
of "castes". Some are "tribal people" who are at the very bottom of
the scale."We are higher caste than them and have held land for
generations," said Kumar, "so, it's normal that they work for us."

Inevitably, the lines of conflict are being exploited by politicians.
Uttar Pradesh has a population of 200 million, and the outcome of next
year's elections will have a significant impact at national level. One
visitor to Bhatta-Parsaul after the summer violence was Rahul Gandhi,
41, who is being groomed as the next prime minister by the ruling
Congress party.The son of Sonia Gandhi, the party's current president,
he evaded a police cordon to sit with farmers and discuss their
problems. Gandhi's main opponent in Uttar Pradesh is the outspoken
chief minister, Mayawati Kumari, who has mobilised the state's Dalits,
or untouchables, as a power base.

One of the biggest developments in Noida is a huge park with giant
bronze statues of Mayawati, as she is known, who is herself a Dalit,
and other low-caste heroes. The park has yet to formally open but is
already drawing visitors."We will vote for Mayawati, and when we are
dead our children will vote for her. We are Dalit and this makes us
feel proud," said Vinod, 38, who had come to the park from Agra to see
the monuments.

Naturally, all parties are seeking to exploit the grand prix. Last
week it was reported that Mayawati's government had given the
developers a giant tax break to build the circuit. Posters featuring
the chief minister that have gone up in Greater Noida might explain
why. "Speed is progress," they say.


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[ZESTCaste] ‘Finally, a place that’s our own’

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-10-30/special-report/30338821_1_symbols-of-dalit-assertion-parks-mayawati

'Finally, a place that's our own'
Parakram Rautela, TNN Oct 30, 2011, 07.44AM IST

With Rs 685 crore, a government can do a lot. It can build primary
schools for thousands of children , much-needed hospitals for the
sick, roads for those still unconnected. Instead, Mayawati chose to
use the money to build a park in Noida in memory of dalit leaders and
herself. An earlier park in Lucknow was built at a whopping Rs 1,200
crore. So how does a park, which seems largely decorative, serve the
dalit community? Isn't it a colossal waste of money?

The dalit community, however, stands solidly behind Mayawati's
creations, be it parks or monuments. For them, the money could not
have been spent better. Vinod Arya, 29, an assistant professor at the
Central University of B i h a r i n Patna, says, " N o b o dy seems to
complain when a Nehru or a Gandhi park is bu i l t . N o r when crores
are spent on t h e Kumbh Mela or the Haj. But when dalits build
something, everybody has a problem."

Vivek Kumar, associate professor of sociology at JNU, says dalits were
excluded from every walk of life. They were not allowed to enter
temples and were isolated in villages where they did menial jobs which
no one else would deign to do. And because of their backwardness ,
they were not found in large numbers in the government or the private
sector. The parks have changed the way they perceive themselves .
"Finally," says Kumar , "we have a place that is our own." He says he
spoke to 5,000 dalits - rich, poor and Muslim - for a research project
he was doing on UP and nowhere did he come across anyone who was
"embarrassed by the monuments" .

But could the money have been better used? Commentator Gurcharan Das
says that economically speaking, yes. The money could have been used
on schools, hospitals and infrastructure . At the same time, it would
be foolish to underestimate these symbols of dalit assertion, he adds.

And that's exactly how Surendra Singh felt on October 14, the day
Prerna Sthal was inaugurated by Mayawati in Noida. Singh, 30, is
president of Youth for Social Justice, an organization that works for
dalits. "I was there that day," he says. "And just like your belief is
strengthened when you go to a temple, my belief was strengthened as I
stood in the middle of the Sthal."

The parks, then, asserts Kumar, will foster confidence among dalits.
"In fact, the parks announce that the cultural hegemony of nondalits
and the exclusion of dalits are finally over. They are more than mere
ornamental entities."

As Arya says, when Kanshi Ram first began campaigning, he often had
trouble finding space to hold a rally. With these parks, that will
never be a problem again. In that sense, they serve a very tangible
purpose.

Kumar adds another qualification. It's not as if infrastructure
suffered during Mayawati's regime, he says, rattling off a list of
statistics: 1,47,500 homes built for dalits under the Kanshi Ram
Shahri Garibi Awas Yojana and 22,000 Ambedkar villages with roads,
electricity, schools and polling booths. In 2007, UP's GDP stood at
5.2%; today , it's 7.2%. UP has become a revenue surplus state and in
2009 was the highest producer of jobs. But there's still a long way to
go. Perhaps, as Arya says, Mayawati should now focus on education and
health.


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[ZESTCaste] F1 race: Mayawati, Jaypee show Delhi, Gurgaon how to get it right

 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/mayawati-jaypee-show-delhi-gurgaon-how-to-get-it-right/articleshow/10550170.cms

31 Oct, 2011, 08.31AM IST, Vandana Keelor,TNN
F1 race: Mayawati, Jaypee show Delhi, Gurgaon how to get it right

GREATER NOIDA: Finally, an international event flawlessly executed and
delivered by India . After failing to successfully organize even a
concert last week and the stuttering buildup and rather embarrassing
wind-down of the Commonwealth Games last year, the stunning success of
India's first F1 race brought out not just wide smiles on Sunday but
an unmistakable sense of pride in the 95,000-strong crowd. It was also
a shining moment for the country's private sector, showcasing what it
is capable of achieving.

The infrastructure was amazing - the new Yamuna Expressway to Agra
when fully built will vie to be India's best highway. Add to that the
great management of the huge crowd and thousands of vehicles , precise
road signage and 2,500 helpful cops, and it all seconded what champion
Sebastian Vettel said: India has a way of doing things right.

In many ways, the much maligned Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati,
who lent her quiet support to the event, the F1 circuit builder Jaypee
Group and the Greater Noida administration not only salvaged some of
India's prestige , but also held out a lesson to the babus of Delhi
and Gurgaon where multiple authorities and myriad permissions often
throttle attempts to hold international events.

Noida resident Tanay Sharma said: "Though I didn't know much about
Formula 1, the excitement all around and the flow of information
provided by the organizers got me interested. Except for battling a
few traffic congestion pockets in Noida, I am amazed at Greater
Noida's infrastructure."

There were nearly 3,000 foreign tourists, special invitees and team
personnel. Most of them will be going back with happy memories, as a
great advertisement for India.

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[ZESTCaste] Sadashiva Commission's Appeal on Status of SC/STs in State

 

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=120521

Saturday, October 29, 2011 6:58:21 PM (IST)
1
Bangalore: Sadashiva Commission's Appeal on Status of SC/STs in State

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Oct 29: Karnataka has taken upon itself the task to
ascertain whether the people belonging to Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes are uniformly benefitted by the facilities of
reservation for education and employment provided under Articles 15
and 16 of the Constitution.

A judicial inquiry commission headed by retired High Court judge, Mr
Justice A J Sadashiva, has been entrusted with the responsibility of
finding out whether all the people belonging to SC/ST communities are
uniformly benefitted and whether some sections are denied of the
benefits and also to suggest ways and means for redressing the
situation.

As many as 101 sub-castes or tribes have been included in the
Scheduled Tribes category in the State under Article 341 of the
Constitution.

In view of the fact that reliable and authentic data pertaining to
social, economical, educational, political and cultural status of all
families belonging to different sub-castes or tribes among the
Scheduled Tribes was not readily available, the A J Sadashiva
Commission is conducting two specific surveys.

Under the surveys, data pertaining to persons employed in the Central
and State Governments as well as Central and State Government
undertakings and also to ascertain the economic, social, political and
cultural status of all ST communities.

The Sadashiva Commission has already completed the data entry process
pertaining to 24 lakh ST families, which has been entrusted to the
State-owned KEONICS Ltd. The State undertaking has also prepared the
necessary software for compiling and analyzing the data. The final
report will be prepared after studying the data with facts and
figures, the Commission has said in a press release.

As part of the study, the Commission has appealed to social
scientists, prominent leaders and organisations and those involved in
the work of upliftment of the SC/ST people to give their views and
suggestions to the Commission at its office on 21st Floor,
Visveshwaraya Podium Block, Dr B R Ambedkar Veedhi, Bangalore, by
November 15.

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