Latest News Update: Jan 23, 2012

Monday, January 23, 2012

[ZESTCaste] Defiled Ambedkar statues spark clash

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Defiled-Ambedkar-statues-spark-clash/articleshow/11608982.cms

Defiled Ambedkar statues spark clash
TNN | Jan 24, 2012, 02.11AM IST

AMALAPURAM: Tension prevailed in Amalapuram town and surrounding areas
following the desecration on Monday of Ambedkar's statues by
unidentified persons. Clashing groups pelted stones at each other when
a large number of dalit youths tried to close shops run by Kapus
leading to a war-like situation in the town. Police intervened,
clamped section 144 and rushed additional forces to bring the
situation under control.

Trouble began when, in the morning, locals found Ambedkar statues at
Bandaveedhi in Peruru, Nalla Vantena, Chindada Garuvu, Chitti Garuvu
and Rallapalem areas defaced and desecrated. All statues of Ambedekar
within 2 km radius of the town had either been defaced, damaged or
thrown to the ground. The statue at Bandaveedhi was found in a drain
but the one at Rallapalem went missing altogether.

The news spread like wildfire and, soon, leaders and activists of
various dalit organisations had assembled in large numbers to stage a
roadblock, leaving scores of vehicles stranded on either side of the
main road for over two hours.

They tried to enforce a 'bandh' by forcibly shutting down shops, but
were opposed by the Kapus who appealed for calm. A few dalit youth,
however, hurled lathis at the shops which incensed the shopkeepers who
then replied by hurling stones. It was a free for all soon as both
groups rained stones at each other. This went on for close to an hour
as cops stood aside as mute spectators.

"A large number of shops are those belonging to members of the Kapu
community; they could not digest the fact that their shops were
targeted," A Sekhar of Nalla Vantena area, said. With the situation
spiralling out of control, additional forces had to be brought in from
nearby areas and from Kakinada. Sniffer dogs, too, were pressed into
service. District SP Trivikram Varma said stern action would be taken
against the culprits following an inquiry into the matter.

It was learnt that additional DG Krishna Raju has been appointed to
head the investigation into the desecration of the statues.

The development came 24 hours after Amalapuram MP Harsha Kumar's
broadside against Ghulam Nabi Azad for not recognizing the 'services'
of the dalit community who, he said, formed a major vote bank for the
Congress.

Dalit activists had damaged several houses belonging to the Kapu
community when an Ambedkar statue was damaged in Rallapalem before the
2009 assembly elections.

Dalit groups tried to enforce a 'bandh' by forcibly shutting down
shops, but were opposed by the Kapus. A few dalit youth, however,
hurled lathis at the shops which incensed the shopkeepers who then
replied by hurling stones. This went on for close to an hour as cops
stood aside as mute spectators.

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[ZESTCaste] Cops blamed for statue row

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/hyderabad/cops-blamed-statue-row-346

Cops blamed for statue row

January 24, 2012
DC
Hyderabad

Desecration of four statues of the Dalit icon Dr B.R. Ambedkar in the
coastal town of Amalapuram and its surroundings in East Godavari
district led to severe tension between two groups on Monday. Police
resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the agitating crowds and Section
144 was clamped for one week in the town. Though the situation was
under control by evening, an uneasy calm prevailed in the sensitive
Konaseema area, which is notorious for caste rivalries.

District collector M. Ravinchandra told this newspaper that efforts
were on to install new statues on a war footing and special police
forces from the district headquarters were sent to Amalapuram to step
up vigil. Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who reviewed the
incident with Home Minister P. Sabita Reddy and director general of
police V. Dinesh Reddy, told the police to act tough against the
miscreants and restore normalcy in the area.

The state government has ordered a special enquiry by additional
director general B. Krishna Raju besides the probe ordered by district
SP Trivikram Varma, who has been camping in the town since the trouble
broke out. Several ruling party leaders including ministers N.
Raghuveera Reddy and J. Geeta Reddy and Amalapuram MP G.V. Harsha
Kumar met the Chief Minister and demanded that a CBI probe into the
desecration of the statues. An interesting twist in Monday's incident
is that the people who led the respective groups to the flash point
-G. Suresh Babu and K. Tataji (president of the local chamber of
commerce) - are staunch followers of Congress MP Mr Harsha Kumar.

The MP has been in the news since the past few days for opposing Kapu
leaders like PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana and former Praja Rajyam
chief K. Chiranjeevi being given prominence in the party. He had also
attacked AICC in-charge and Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad for
ignoring the Mala community in the cabinet expansion. The local police
also came under fire for not taking the previous cases of desecration
of Ambedkar statues seriously. Though the dog squads had earlier led
police to the homes of the miscreants, the police did not arrest the
guilty.

The protest over desecration of statues reached the state Secretariat
with about a dozen persons posing as parents of students of the
Hyderabad Public School gaining entry and raising slogans against the
incident. Dalit organisations have given a call to consecrate Ambedkar
statues across the state with milk.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalits groups protest against Ambedkar statue shifting

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Dalits-groups-protest-against-Ambedkar-statue-shifting/articleshow/11609786.cms

Dalits groups protest against Ambedkar statue shifting
TNN | Jan 24, 2012, 03.54AM IST

BANGALORE: The Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samithi (DSS) threatened to
launch a statewide protest condemning the government for shifting the
Ambedkar statue for Metro construction work.

The DSS and other backward class groups marched from the Mahatma
Gandhi statue on MG road to Raj Bhavan on Monday and submitted a
memorandum to the governor.

Last week, the state cabinet gave the green signal for temporary
shifting of the statue inside the Vidhana Soudha premises as has been
done to two other statues by the Public Works Department. The BMRC
promised to install the three statues at the same positions after
construction work is completed and road is laid atop the underground
station.

The BMRC has prrojected a cost escalation of Rs 100 crore if the
project is delayed. Rock blasting has not been conducted in a radius
of 25 metres around the statue to prevent any damage to the
foundation. The twin tunnels being bored from Majestic have already
reached Central College and the distance between Central College and
Vidhana Soudha is less than 1km.

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[ZESTCaste] Republic of contradictions (Opinion)

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/editorial/op-ed/republic-contradictions-296

Republic of contradictions

January 24, 2012
By Jagmohan

Sixty three years ago, Dr B.R. Ambedkar spoke of the "life of
contradictions" into which the Indian Republic would enter on January
26, 1950.

He underlined the need for eliminating, at the earliest, the
contradictions in the social and economic sphere lest they should
imperil our political freedom and democracy. Were he to come alive
today, he would be appalled to see the extent to which the
contradictions have deepened and, that too during the period when the
Republic saw one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

A report by the Naadi Foundation on Hunger and Malnutrition, which was
released by the Prime Minister on January 11, 2012, has brought out
that "59 per cent of the Indian children, between the age group of 0-5
years, have stunted growth, 42 per cent are underweight and 11 per
cent suffer from wasting disease". Every year, 13 lakh children die
before reaching their first birthday, and about 55,000 women lose
their life consequent upon birth-related complications.

Even now, as noted by the Unicef, in its report of 2009, 40 per cent
of the world's child marriages occur in India" and "about 47 per cent
of Indian women in the age group of 20 to 24 years, covered by the
survey, were found to have been married off before attaining the legal
age of 18".

It is the socially and culturally sanctioned practices and not the
provision of law that generally matter.

Many other recent reports prepared by reputed agencies, both national
and international, have reminded us of the agonising reality that has
continued to curl around the body politic of our Republic, and with
which we have been dealing without much zeal or inner commitment. The
"human development index" value assigned to India in the 2011 report
of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is substantially
low.

It is merely 0.547, and goes down further to 0.392 if the element of
inequality is factored in. India's overall rank is 134 amongst 187
countries covered by the report. Her position on "gender inequality
index" is no less dismal; India is 129th in the list of 146 countries
surveyed. When measured on the UNDP's "multi-dimensional poverty
index", about 53 per cent of the total population of India would have
to be reckoned as poor and living under distress.

It is primarily on account of this distress that in 2010 alone as many
as 15,968 farmers and 28,152 self-employed persons in industry, trade
and other professions committed suicide. The ever-increasing migrants
to the major Indian cities are finding shelter only in the hell-hole
of slums.

About 38 million of them are afflicted with serious water-borne
diseases. Over half of the world's most polluted cities are in India.
Because of the poor quality of air, 18,000 premature deaths and 1.7
crore cases of illness occur each year in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and
Chennai.

What makes the above conditions all the more tragic is that they have
persisted even when India is virtually witnessing a "Gilded Age" of
nouveau billionaires and when luxury houses, posh malls and sprawling
golf courses are sprouting like mushroom in its metropolises. India's
capital, Delhi, alone has been, on an average, adding about 1,000
motor vehicles on roads every day. The contradictions that the
Republic is rearing are, indeed, unprecedented.

It is the poor governance capacity of our system as a whole that has
badly let the Republic down. In this regard, bureaucracy has to share
a major part of the blame. The Indian Civil Services, which
constituted the steel frame of the administrative setup at the time of
Independence, had justifiably earned the reputation of being the best
in the world; otherwise how could a mere 1,000 members of the service
effectively maintain law and order throughout the length and breadth
of British India and also carry out such remarkable development
projects as setting up of an extensive network of canal irrigation in
Punjab and Uttar Pradesh?

The remnants of this service and its successor, IAS, served the
Republic well for the first few years of its life and played a
prominent role in the integration of 562 princely states,
rehabilitation of displaced persons and ushering in of the Green
Revolution. But, due to the emergence of narrow politics of power and
uncongenial social and cultural environment, the services started
losing their verve, vitality and moral pie. They were soon
overburdened with junk, and their interior spaces were infested with
all types of pests.

Now, the Indian bureaucracy as a class is being labelled as
obstructionist and venal. A Hongkong-based research group, named
Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, in its report of January
2012, has rated this bureaucracy as "the worst in Asia". That this
appellation is not uncalled for can be seen from the fact that the
2011 report of the ministry of programme implementation itself shows
that the delay in executing the plan projects would cost the public
exchequer an additional amount of Rs 1.20 lakh crore.

The system of education in the Republic, too, has been marred by its
unwholesome development. The recent data shows that 38 per cent of the
doctors, 36 per cent of the Nasa technicians and 34 per cent of
Microsoft employees working in the US are Indians and that they have
mostly Indian educational background. But the other side of the
system's reality is that at present about two-thirds of universities
and about 90 per cent of colleges are performing below average.

In respect of school education, January 2012 report of the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development regarding its
International Student Assessment Programme has ranked Indian higher
secondary students only better than those from Kyrgyzstan among 74
participating countries.

On its birthday, all the well-wishers of the Republic should ponder
over what the future holds for her. Would her freedom, in view of
social and economic contradictions that her system is engendering, be
blown up, as apprehended by Ambedkar, or would she turn a new page in
her life?

W.E. Channing, a famous unitarian preacher of the 19th century, had
made a highly insightful observation about the manner in which a setup
undergoes a fundamental transformation: "There are seasons, in human
affairs, of inward and outward revolution, when new depths seem to be
broken up in the soul, when new wants are unfolded in multitudes, and
a new and undefined good is thirsted for. There are periods when the
principles of experience need to be modified, when hope and trust and
instincts claim a share with prudence in the guidance of affairs,
when, in truth, to dare is the highest wisdom."

I am not sure whether a season for inward and outward revolution has
come for India, whether new depths would break up in her soul, whether
a new and undefined good would be thirsted for by her, whether hope
and trust and instinct would claim a share with her prudence and
whether she would attain her highest wisdom by daring.

But I have no doubt that unless the Indian Republic is soon visited by
such a season of inward and outward revolution and she attains her
highest wisdom by daring, she faces a bleak future and her
contradictions and crudities would multiply and assume a more sinister
form.

The writer is a former governor of J&K and a former Union minister

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[ZESTCaste] Allergic to elephants

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/item/50926-allergic-to-elephants.html

23 Jan 2012

Allergic to elephants

Author: A Surya Prakash

The Election Commission's firman to cover the statues of elephants has
generated much mirth. It also smacks of partisan politics.

While the Election Commission of India has done exemplary work over
the last two decades to clean up the election process and to curtail
the influence of money power and muscle power in the electoral arena,
some of its recent decisions make it vulnerable to the charge that it
is not always even-handed while dealing with political parties.

The poll panel's directive to cover the statues of Chief Minister
Mayawati and her party's election symbol — the elephant — in Uttar
Pradesh has drawn a lot of flak and ridicule.

If the elephant is to be banished from public view, what about the
bicycle (symbol of the Samajwadi Party) and the hand pump (symbol of
the Rashtriya Lok Dal) and the ubiquitous hand of the Congress? The
Commission's logic appears to be as follows: The statues of Chief
Minister Mayawati and the elephants have been built at State cost by
the BSP Government, which is in power.

Therefore, these statues need to be out of public view, lest they
influence the electorate. Hand pumps and bicycles are not on the same
footing. While there can be some justification for covering the
statues of the Chief Minister of the State, the Commission was
obviously stretching it a bit too far by putting all elephant statues
under a shroud. The Commission's firman has generated much mirth and a
genre of election jokes. For example, it is asked if the Mayawati
Government will be taken to task if a herd of elephants from the Jim
Corbett Park were to stray into constituencies in Uttar Pradesh?

Let us for a moment accept this logic and go along with the
Commission's argument. Since Ms Mayawati has spent public money to
promote herself and her party, the statues need to be tucked away
until the election is over. Should the statues be visible to the
people, it would give the BSP undue advantage in the election.

In other words, anything built or created by a political party out of
public funds and which has the effect of placing that party at an
advantage must be erased from the public consciousness, else it give
that party an undue electoral advantage. If that be so, how is it that
the Election Commission sees nothing wrong in the Congress naming
every conceivable Union Government scheme after its icons?

In a petition to the Election Commission in March, 2009, this writer
had drawn the attention of the commission to the fact that over 450
Government schemes, programmes and institutions were named after icons
of just one party — the Congress.

For example, among programmes of the Union Government which involve
huge expenditure annually are the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran
Yojana with an outlay of Rs 28,000 crore during the Eleventh Plan
period; Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Mission (Rs 7,000 crore annually);
the Indira Awas Yojana, a housing programme for the poor with outlays
of around Rs 8,000 crore per annum; the Indira Gandhi National Old Age
Pension Scheme with allocations of around Rs 3,500 crores per annum;
and the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission in which the Union
Government invests over Rs 10,000 crore per annum.

The main contention in the petition was that the way these schemes are
named, citizens are made to feel as if they get a roof over their
head, electricity and drinking water in their homes, crèche facilities
for their children and pensions in their old age because of the
munificence of one family and one political party.

In such a situation, would it be possible to ensure a level playing
field for all political parties? The Election Commission rejected the
petition and said that in the performance of its constitutional duty,
it "is not called upon to interfere in the normal functioning of Union
and State Governments, like, drawing up of welfare schemes and
projects, giving names to such schemes/projects, etc, during the
non-election period". It said, "During the election period, when the
model code of conduct becomes operative, the commission ensures
compliance with the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct".

If, according to the Commission, the launching of welfare schemes and
naming them in the non-election period is the "normal functioning of
Union and State Governments", then it goes without saying that the
construction of monuments and statues to commemorate the work and
sacrifices of Dalit icons by the Mayawati Government in Uttar Pradesh
is also part of the "normal functioning" of the State Government.

Further, the Commission says that during the election period, it
"ensures compliance" with the Model Code of Conduct. Therefore, the
Commission directed the Uttar Pradesh Government to cover the statues
of Mayawati and the elephants. In which case, logically speaking, it
should also direct the Union Government to remove the names of icons
of the Congress from central schemes and programmes.

It is difficult to understand how the statues of elephants disturb the
'level playing field' in election, but the Rs 1.50 lakh crore invested
in central schemes in the name of Rajiv Gandhi and Mrs Indira Gandhi,
who are icons of one particular party, do not! Given the Commission's
logic, it would only be proper to permanently ensure politically
neutral names for Union Government schemes, because one cannot hide
the names of schemes temporarily during the election period like
hiding statues.

The Mayawati Government deserves to be complimented for erecting
monuments in honour of BR Ambedkar, whose contribution has never been
properly acknowledged by the Congress. However, there can be no doubt
that the Mayawati Government's decision to erect her statues and that
of her party's symbol in different parts of the State is in poor
taste. But the Election Commission's directive smacks of partisanship
when it fails to deal with greater infringements by the Congress.

Apart from the statues issue in Uttar Pradesh, there are other
decisions of the Commission that are contentious. For example,
choosing January 30 as the date of polling in Uttarakhand, when most
of the hilly regions of the State will be under snow-cover, is
inexplicable. The Commission could have chosen a later date for the
poll, especially when it changed the date of the first phase of
polling in Uttar Pradesh because of a religious festival. Surely,
adverse weather conditions ought to warrant a change of polling date
in secular India.

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[ZESTCaste] Chief Minister condemns vandalism of Ambedkar statues

http://www.ndtv.com/article/hyderabad/chief-minister-condemns-vandalism-of-ambedkar-statues-169923

Chief Minister condemns vandalism of Ambedkar statues

Press Trust of India, Updated: January 24, 2012 11:42 IST

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today
strongly condemned the desecration of Ambedkar statues in East
Godavari district that resulted in
violence.

He reviewed the situation arising out of the incident with Home
Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, Chief Secretary Pankaj Dwivedi, DGP V
Dinesh Reddy and other senior officials at a high-level meeting at the
Secretariat.

The Chief Minister directed the officials to take stringent action
against the culprits. Special teams should be constituted to nab the
culprits, according to a release from the Chief Minister's Office
(CMO).

Asking the officials to re-install the statues at the earliest, Reddy
said the Government would bear the cost of this, the release stated.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/hyderabad/chief-minister-condemns-vandalism-of-ambedkar-statues-169923&cp

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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati switches to Mulayam as prime target

http://www.asianage.com/india/mayawati-switches-mulayam-prime-target-665

Mayawati switches to Mulayam as prime target
Jan 24, 2012 - MANISH ANAND |

DC
Email this page

In an attempt to ensure a multi-cornered electoral battle in UP, BSP
supremo Mayawati is set to launch a spirited campaign against Mr
Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party.

The BSP, which is said to benefit from multi-cornered contests, feels
that after having attacked the Congress so far, it is time to take on
the SP, which appears to have emerged as a big threat to it.

Sources said Ms Maya-wati, who is soon to tour UP, is set to reel out
the achievements of her government in contrast with Mr Mulayam Singh's
three stints as chief minister.

The apparent change regarding its main rival comes based on an
internal assessment that suggests the SP has emerged as its top rival.
This is in contrast to Congress being singled out so far as BSP's
number one foe, with Rahul Gandhi still launching spirited attack
against Ms Mayawati.
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Maya has her guns ready for Mulayam

The BSP's decision to take on the Samajwadi Party, based on an
internal assessment that Mulayam Singh's party has emerged its top
rival, is in contrast to Ms Mayawati having singled out the Congress
so far as her number one foe. This, while Congress general secretary
Rahul Gandhi continues to launch spirited attacks against her.

While the BSP is hopeful that its dalit constituency remains largely
intact, the party is wary that it could be losing the minority space
with the Congress and SP making attempts to outbid each other on
quotas for Muslims.

While the SP is said to have created a space for itself due to
campaigns by its UP unit chief, Mr Akhilesh Yadav, the BSP hopes to
revive the pre-2007 scare about Mr Mulayam Singh's reign.

"From the law and order situation to power generation to all round
development of villages, Ms Mayawati will remind the people what Mr
Yadav did as chief minister and what she did in the last
four-and-a-half years," said a senior BSP functionary.

The BSP is also gearing up to take on the SP for claiming to have
shunned candidates with criminal backgrounds while actually having
fielded a large number of such people in the elections, the BSP
functionary said.

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[ZESTCaste] Upper caste people torch Dalit houses

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Upper-caste-people-torch-Dalit-houses/articleshow/11606330.cms

Upper caste people torch Dalit houses
TNN | Jan 23, 2012, 11.09PM IST

SAMBALPUR: At least 30 houses of Dalits were torched by the upper
caste community at Lathor village in Balangir district on Sunday
night, following a clash between the two groups over a petty issue.

The situation had escalated beyond control, with people so incensed
that they even torched the fire-fighting vehicle that was brought in
to extinguish the fire. No media persons were allowed to enter the
village. The situation was brought under control only after the
deployment of armed police late in the night.

The victims were given shelter in a local high school after they were
rescued by police. A shop owner, who was injured seriously in the
incident, was shifted to VSS Medical college hospital of Burla on
Monday. Police arrested 42 villagers.Four platoons of police were
deployed in the village apprehending further untoward incident.

Police sources said four youths from Dalit basti in the village, under
Khaprakhol police station, had gone to one Laxmi cloth store on Sunday
evening to purchase some cloth. The shop owner Jaydev Meher, along
with his two sons Daya and Bharat, reportedly had an altercation with
the boys over the purchase, in which one of the Dalit boys was
assaulted. The Dalit community took it seriously and decided to teach
a lesson to the shop owner for assaulting a boy of their community.
"The situation went out of control when the Dalits came in a group and
attacked Bharat Meher, who was seriously injured and admitted to
Khaprakhol hospital," said a senior resident of the village.

According to him, the upper caste people then convened a meeting and
marched towards Dalit basti at night. They torched the houses of the
basti and within a short span the entire basti was ablaze. "We did not
get time to save our belongings. We started running towards jungles to
save our lives," said a resident of the basti.

"We have deployed armed policemen and arrested 42 villagers. Now the
situation is under control," said SDPO (Patnagarh) Laxmi Narayan
Panda. According to him, about 193 victims were rescued by police,
which includes 33 boys and 85 women, all of whom were given shelter in
a local high school.

Markets and business establishments remained closed in the village on Monday.

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[ZESTCaste] Thirty dalit houses torched in Odisha

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/thirty-dalit-houses-torched-in-odisha/954507.html

Thirty dalit houses torched in Odisha
PTI | 07:01 PM,Jan 23,2012

Bolangir (Odisha), Jan 23 (PTI) Over thirty thatched houses belonging
to dalits were set afire allegedly by upper caste people at Lathore in
Bolangir district, police said today. The arson followed a clash
between two dalit youths and as many youths of an upper caste family
over an incident of theft of a shirt from a cloth store allegedly by a
poor dalit boy yesterday, Director General of Police Manomohan
Praharaj said. About 50 people set fire to the houses after driving
out women and children. They even blocked roads to prevent entry of
fire tenders to the area. "They attacked the fire tenders and damaged
machinery and water pipes while preventing fire brigade personnel to
douse the fire. Even the police personnel were not allowed to go
inside when the houses were burning," Additional Superintendent of
Police, Srikant Mishra said. Terming the incident as "tragic", Chief
Minister Naveen Patnaik said more than forty people were arrested and
the victims were provided relief at temporary camps. "Appropriate
action will be taken against the culprits involved in setting fire to
dalit houses," he said. About 120 policemen were deployed at Lathore
village. Police were also deployed at the relief camps housing dalits,
Praharaj said. MORE

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[ZESTCaste] Awaiting Rahul’s magic wand

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=/data/opinion/2012/January/opinion_January90.xml&section=opinion

Awaiting Rahul's magic wand
Nilofar Suhrawardy (India)

24 January 2012
Rahul Gandhi, campaigning hard for Congress party's victory in Uttar
Pradesh (UP) assembly elections, is not new to politics.

He has succeeded in capturing substantial attention of media with his
now being projected as a 'kingmaker' in UP politics. If Rahul's
political strategies fail to ensure a major victory for Congress,
according to political speculations, it would not be possible for any
party to form the next state government without support of the
Congress.

Rahul is optimistic that his strategies will succeed in turning the
Dalit (lower Hindu caste) vote-bank, Mayawati's main political plank,
in favour of Congress. Mayawati, a leader of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
is the sitting UP Chief Minister. Rahul has earned substantial media
coverage by eating at Dalits' residence and interacting with them. But
the real question is, to what degree can this media-hype be expected
to turn into votes in support of Congress? The Dalit-card of Congress
is weakened by the fact that Congress has not projected any Dalit as
its nominee for the position of the next UP chief minister. Prospects
of Mayawati (herself a Dalit) of being ousted from power in UP remain
dim till a substantial dent is created in this vote-bank.

With Muslims viewed as the decisive-vote in at least 100 seats of
403-member UP assembly, Rahul has not wasted efforts in reaching out
to them. If Rahul succeeds in turning UP votes in favour of Congress,
this will facilitate his stepping onto the central stage as Congress
nominee for the prime ministerial position.

Considering that Congress won only 22 seats in 2007 and 25 in 2003 UP
assembly polls, only a magic-wand can help Rahul turn the political
tide in his party's favour. In the 2007 elections, Mayawati's party
bagged 206 seats.

Rahul's political fate in UP is dependent on whether he succeeds in
defying prospects of Mayawati returning to power. Though some hype has
been created about other rivals, particularly Samajwadi Party and
Bharatiya Janata Party faring better than earlier, this may not prove
to be of much help to Congress. Both the parties are suffering from
internal dissent and conflict because of which, chances of their
winning more seats than they did in 2007 are bleak. Ever since former
prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has retired from politics, BJP has
suffered setbacks in UP. The Congress may gain marginally if
supporters of these two parties choose to vote in its favour.

Though Rahul has campaigned actively in UP, sparing no chance in
targeting Mayawati on grounds of corruption and ill-governance, he has
yet to cover the entire state. Secondly, the Congress has taken a lot
of time in finalising its list of candidates for UP polls. There is a
view that perhaps Congress has deliberately indulged in this strategy.
If Congress fares well, Rahul can easily take the credit for his being
command in UP. If Congress fails, the blame may be given to the
weakness of the candidates. Now, it is to be watched whether Rahul's
strategy will work or not.
Nilofar Suhrawardy is a India-based writer

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[ZESTCaste] Legislation for SC/ST sub-plans urged

http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=1&subCategory=2&ContentId=34693

Legislation for SC/ST sub-plans urged
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

MLC Chukka Ramaiah speaking at the round table conference on SC/ST
sub-plan at Sundarayya Vigyana Kendram on Monday. (Hans Photo)

Hyderabad: Leaders of various political parties urged the State
government to enact a strong legislation to implement the SC/ST sub
plan.

Speaking at a round table conference organised by Centre for Dalit
Studies on Monday, the participants felt that the government was
violating its own order issued in 1980 creating an SC/ST sub-plan
component fund exclusively for the economic emancipation of the
socially backward sections and that the funds were getting diverted
for other purposes.

They also felt that the nodal agencies should have financial powers
and power to monitor the implementation of the sub plan. "Lack of
nodal agency and proper supervision was resulting in lacunae in the
implementation of schemes," said CPI (M) State Secretary BV Raghavulu.

BJP National Secretary K Laxman said that the government should come
up with non-lapsable and non-divertible legislation to avoid the
diversion of funds earmarked for the SC and ST welfare.

The current 2011-12 budget of Rs 470 crore had been diverted from the
allotted funds of Rs 7,704 crore. Similarly, under the ST sub-plan, Rs
326 crore had been diverted to outer ring road and other projects,
said the BJP leader.

MLC and educationist Chukka Ramiaha highlighted the pathetic situation
in SC/ST residential schools where minimum facilities were lacking.

The participants decided that they would present a memorandum of
proposed demands to the Governer ESL Narashimhan and Chief Minister N
Kiran Kumar Reddy soon.

Senior journalists Mallepally Laxmaiah, TRS leader Harish Rao, CPI
leader Chada Venkat Reddy were among those who spoke.

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[ZESTCaste] Casteism bane of Hinduism

http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=1&subCategory=2&ContentId=33558

Casteism bane of Hinduism
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

In the wake of much ruckus over 'Hindu Mathananthara Bharata Desam,'
the Telugu translation of Kancha Iliah's book 'Post Hindu India,' the
HMTV and The Hans India organised a 'Dasa Disa' programme to elicit
the views of eminent persons from a cross-section of society.

The speakers, while opposing or supporting the views of the author,
nevertheless agreed on the immediate need to address the evil of
casteism. While some argued Hinduism is not a religion but a way of
life, others denounced it as a religion and that caste system would
sound its deathknell.

My book dwells on anti-democratic and anti-secular nature of Hinduism
and the institution of multi-racial caste system. By perpetuating
their domination and denying the lower castes education and knowledge
– which would have developed their skills and technology in their
professions – the upper castes hurt India.

Hinduism is not inclusive and with its inhuman caste system it is
shorn of spiritual democracy. Unless, it corrects its maladies and
imperfections, the growing dissent among the lower castes will result
in its end.

- Kancha Iliah, author, Post Hindu India

Hinduism is not democratic and is based on caste divide. Dalits are
even termed 'Kula heenulu' (not belonging to four-class caste system).
In that sense, they are not Hindus. As for other lower castes, Sudras,
Hinduism, especially Brahmanism, denies them equality.

Unless Hinduism is ridden of the caste system, it would see a civil
war of sorts. It's a layered system wherein each layer or caste only
looks at the other beneath it and derives satisfaction. Unless changes
take place, Hinduism has no right to continue.

- Bojja Tarakam, Dalit leader

I respect the views of Ilaiah. Everyone should read 'Post Hindu
India.' Iliah calls for spiritual democracy which is lacking in the
Hindu religion. If caste system derived from the practice of various
professions, why doesn't it end as professions are changing.

It is only Brahmanism which perpetuated the caste divide to serve its
selfish ends. It should first end and Hinduism can flourish in the
absence of Brahmanism. Otherwise, civil war will end the Hinduism. I
am not targeting individuals, but a way of thinking.

- Dr Gopinath, cardiologist

I am proud of being a Hindu. Which religion isn't free of
imperfections and injustices? No religion is without crimes against
the humanity. Hinduism advocates tolerance towards all, faithful and
atheists alike.

While it preaches oneness and universality for the faithful, it also
stipulates that service to man is service to god, which would appeal
to the non-believers in it as well as atheists. The book prods us to
study the evils in the system and learn lessons from others on how to
eliminate them. We have to reform it and not reject it outright.

- Surynanarayana Sastry, social activist

I agree with Ilaiah that caste divide is the bane of Hinduism. The
root cause of casteism is mainly the state forces. Hinduism should be
looked upon as a way of life. Caste system essentially revolves around
political interests, while casteism is to be sneered upon.

I published the book as it stresses need to reform Hinduism and
explains the pains caused by the caste system. It provokes one to
think in that direction and there should be a widespread debate on the
points raised by it.

- Vijay Kumar, Emesco Publications

I congratulate Ilaiah for raising very pertinent points and pointing
out the ills in Hinduism, going by its present course. Religious heads
should introspect and pave way for equality.

Muslims and Christians and others in this country have not come from
other countries. They are all converts and why they converted should
be seriously thought of. Power and vote bank politics are the driving
forces of caste system. Hinduism is a way of life based on highest
ideals and we should examine if we are following them.

- Soundarya Rajan, Chilkur temple trustee

At the outset, we should all realise that any debates or discussions
like this could merely lead to inciting feelings. Hinduism is a
confluence of an innumerable ways of life and faiths.

Over the centuries, it, nevertheless changed, but only after adopting
ideals from other religions or adapting to demands of the time. I
think all religions should end and only humanism should top one's
thinking and living. This land belongs to none, but Indians, all equal
in rights and respect.

- Vadrevu China Veerabhadrudu, author & critic

An interesting fact explained by Iliah is how India poorly fared in
the field of science and technology, by denying rightful respect,
education, dignity and equality to the oppressed classes.

Otherwise, they would have perfected their skills and each profession
would have seen several milestones. It is said of other religions that
they are imperialistic. And Hinduism is not an exception. However, its
feudalistic thinking prevented it from being expansive. Hinduism can
be reformed.

- Sudarshan, research scholar

I fully agree with Iliah's views. 'Either mend or end' is his main
message to Hinduism. I think classification of people through caste
system negates spiritual democracy in the religion. A ruler could
expel a lower caste person if he strays away from the imposed
profession.

They were denied knowledge and oppressed and kept poor to serve the
needs of upper castes. Hinduism's core strength is Manu dharma which
should be disowned by the Hindus and declared unconstitutional, too.

- K Madhava Rao, IAS (Retd)

Hinduism is sanathana dharma and can't be ended by any force.
Untouchability or oppression of certain classes is not unique to
Hinduism. It's undeniable with injustice has been meted out in the
name of religion. Imperfections exist in all religions. Mere outlawing
them would not suffice.

And it is the political class which is its major sustenance. Looking
at it from the sins and virtues viewpoint and humanistic thinking
alone would lead to their removal. Mere wishing away a certain
religion is not proper.

- T H Choudhury, former IT Secretary

Iliah has a right concern about Hinduism. He doesn't condemn it. He
listed the injustices done to oppressed classes in other religions
also.

The heinous caste system is the inherent speciality of Hinduism and he
rightly warned that the oppressed classes were engaged in brewing a
civil war unless the casteist thinking of the upper castes ended.
However, change appears very remote in Hinduism. Its forward castes
are not only oppressing lower castes, but harming the nation as a
whole.

- Ramulu, Kula Vivaksha Vyathireka Porata Samiti

Ilaiah has alerted the Hindu society either to reform or perish. I
think it has got a capacity to reform it. Caste system should go.
There is no doubt about it. If Hinduism can reform itself and treat
all people as equals, then it can very well survive.

The book beckons one and all to deliberate on the evils of caste
sysems gnawing away at the vitals of the Hindu society. Mere nodding
would not suffice. We need to pay attention to the anguish of the
oppressed classes.

- K Ramachandra Murthy, Editor in Chief, The Hans India

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[ZESTCaste] Ambedkar not on list of leaders allotted land for national memorial, reveals RTI

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Ambedkar-not-on-list-of-leaders-allotted-land-for-national-memorial-reveals-RTI/Article1-800866.aspx

Ambedkar not on list of leaders allotted land for national memorial, reveals RTI
Sayli Udas Mankikar, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, January 23, 2012

It will be 62 years since the Indian Constitution came into force, but
the man who drafted it, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, does not feature in the
list of 14 national leaders who have a memorial in their name in
Delhi. This was revealed in a reply to a Right to Information (RTI)
query put
forth by Dadar resident Chandrakant Bhandare over the past year.
What is worse is that in their replies to Bhandare, neither the
central home affairs ministry nor the urban development ministry in
charge of land allotment know the policy for allotting land for
memorials of national leaders in Delhi. In their reply, these
departments said that 'information is not available' on whether
Ambedkar is a national leader.

The Central Public Works department, in its reply, sent a list of
'location of memorial land of national leaders' which included 14
names including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Lal
Bahadur Shastri, Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Charan Singh, Gyani Zail
Singh but do not mention Ambedkar.
"A group of Ambedkar sympathisers like me, who have been fighting for
the Indu mill land issue, wanted to know why land was not put aside
for a
national memorial for him. Why have Congress leaders been given this
status and not the father of the Indian Constitution? Is he not
considered a national leader?

They do not seem to have answers," said Bhandare. For the last decade,
Dalits have been fighting to get a memorial for Ambedkar at the now
defunct Indu mill land in Mumbai. The state government finally took
this issue up seriously and agreed build a memorial on the land
'in-principle' early this month in lieu of the upcoming civic polls.

Anandraj Ambedkar, who led the agitation at Indu mills in December
2011 that forced the Congress to give in to their demands said, "The
Congress does not want to recognise him and give him the respect he
deserves."

Republican Party of India leader Ramdas Athawale who recently joined
hands with Shiv Sena for not having got their 'due' from the Congress
said, "We will protest against this and make sure that Congress keeps
up to its promise on the memorial." Ambedkar was given the Bharat
Ratna, the highest civilian award, in 1990, 34 years after his demise.

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