Wednesday, January 25, 2012

[ZESTCaste] Insight: India's "Dalit queen" faces polls

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/26/us-india-election-idUSTRE80P08620120126

Insight: India's "Dalit queen" faces polls

By Frank Jack Daniel and John Chalmers

LUCKNOW, India | Thu Jan 26, 2012 1:45am EST

(Reuters) - By her own standards, Kumari Mayawati's birthday
celebrations were low-key this year.

After driving through a red-carpeted tunnel of plaster elephant tusks
in an Ambassador, India's retro-looking national car, the chief
minister of India's largest state swept past a coterie of her party's
workers, who bowed and touched her feet.

Diamonds adorned the diminutive figure of "the Dalit Queen,"
encrusting her necklace, a bracelet, her earrings, a nose-ring and her
watch, as she accepted a few bouquets of flowers and marched about
briskly in the marigold-draped party headquarters.

But the huge crowds of gaping admirers were missing this year; there
was no garland of banknotes, no upper-caste Brahmin on hand to
symbolically pop a morsel of birthday cake into the mouth of an
"untouchable" who has risen from the bottom of India's social pile to
become one of the most powerful women in the world.

That's because election campaign rules are now in effect for staggered
polls to be held in February and March in Uttar Pradesh.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Graphic: Uttar Pradesh growth link.reuters.com/jef36s

SPECIAL REPORT: Gandhi dynasty r.reuters.com/rur93s

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Mayawati is far from a sure bet to win another term as chief minister
of the northern state whose population of 200 million would rank as
the fifth-most populous in the world if it were a country.

If she doesn't, it would be a blow to her undisguised ambition to one
day become prime minister of India, a goal that looked reasonable back
in 2007 when she won a huge mandate from the state's voters by
appealing to a rainbow of castes, which still define the
socio-economic status for many of India's 1.2 billion people.

Launching the seventh, gilt-edged volume of an autobiography that runs
to thousands of pages and is printed in Hindi and English, Mayawati
bemoaned Election Commission rules that obliged her to row back on her
usual birthday beneficence.

"Normally, my birthday is an occasion to give away thousands of crores
in welfare schemes for Dalits and other backward castes, but because
of the election code of conduct we could not do that this year," she
said. A crore is 10 million rupees, or $188,000.

Mayawati's nemesis in the election is Rahul Gandhi, scion of the
Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that has ruled the country for most of its six
decades of independence. A relative greenhorn in the hurly-burly of
Indian politics, Gandhi has staked his future on the performance of
the venerable but troubled Congress party in Uttar Pradesh.

A TRADITION OF EXTRAVAGANCE

Although she presides over one of the most poverty-plagued states of
India -- its per-capita income is just above 50 percent of the
national average -- Mayawati's extraordinary personal extravagance
preserves a tradition set over the centuries by a succession of rulers
in the plains of the river Ganges.

In the five years since she took office, she has blanketed hundreds of
acres of prime real estate in the state capital Lucknow and elsewhere
in pink marble and sandstone monuments.

Statues of marble elephants and icons of the lower castes, including a
dozen of herself, occupy memorial parks created on a scale not seen in
India since the British built New Delhi in the fading days of their
empire.

A federal government report found that Uttar Pradesh lavished more
than $400 million on such projects between 2007 and 2009 alone -- and
the building continues.

"She's taken it straight out of the pages of the Mughals and the first
British Viceroys who built huge statues. These are abiding icons that
the Dalits always hankered after but never had themselves," said Ajoy
Bose, author of a biography of Mayawati.

Like the Nawabs, descendents of Persian courtiers who governed the
region in the 18th century, Mayawati likes to flaunt her wealth. On
paper, she is India's richest chief minister, with declared assets of
$16 million that include a shopping mall in New Delhi and $169,000 in
jewelry. But unlike many of her peers in other states, she is open
about her income and pays taxes on it.

A U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks last year recounted how
she once sent a private jet to fetch a pair of sandals from Mumbai,
1,000 km (620 miles) away. According to the

cable, one minister was forced to do sit-ups in front of Mayawati as a
punishment for a minor offence; those wanting to become election
candidates for her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had to pay tens of
thousands of dollars for the privilege.

But, unlike her aristocratic Mughal, Nawab and British predecessors,
she hails from India's "Dalit" castes, who were marginalized for
centuries on the bottom rungs of Hinduism's social ladder. Still
today, the idea that a Dalit could become prime minister is as
outlandish for many Indians as the thought of a black president once
was in the United States.

"FIRST-RATE EGOMANIAC"

One of nine children of a poor government clerk, Mayawati grew up in a
Delhi slum and became a school teacher before launching into politics.
Aides say she's a news junkie, who obsessively watches the many
all-news channels now available in India.

She is often ridiculed by urban middle classes for her monumental
personality cult -- the U.S. cable described her as a "first-rate
egomaniac" -- and yet Mayawati still has many supporters in Uttar
Pradesh, where economic growth has picked up and law and order have
improved on her watch.

Mayawati's aides point out that she has spent far more on building
roads and joining villages to the electrical grid than she has on the
icons to herself and the Dalit people.

"Once you get the infrastructure on the ground, Uttar Pradesh will
grow on its own," said a senior official in her inner circle, who
asked not to be identified.

Sympathetic analysts even liken her park-building spree to that of the
Nawab of Lucknow, Asaf-Ud-Dowlah, who employed 20,000 people to build
a shrine during a harsh 1784 famine, a project some historians call an
example of pre-Keynesian economics.

That might be a stretch, but electrification and rural welfare
projects have undoubtedly contributed to economic growth, which at
seven percent annually in her first four years of office, was the
state's fastest-ever rate.

A report by the central government's economic Planning Commission last
year said Mayawati's pro-Dalit policies had begun to improve the dire
nutrition situation in the state, where 42 percent of children under
five are underweight.

Even critics admit crime has fallen noticeably since she took over as
chief minister in 2007 from Mulayam Singh Yadav, a former wrestler
many remember for presiding over a surge in gang violence, with
gun-wielding goons threatening shopkeepers.

POLICE ON THEIR SIDE

In the mainly Dalit village of Bhaddi Kheda, an hour's drive from
Lucknow, families have been given grants to build modest new houses to
replace mud-walled hovels. New toilets improve sanitation, and muddy
lanes have been paved.

Most importantly, said villager Saptruhan Das, Dalits who for
generations were terrorized by higher castes now feel protected
because the police are on their side.

"Yadav people would come and misbehave with the women," Das said,
referring to former Chief Minister Yadav's caste. "In some places,
they'd give us work but beat us. Now with Mayawati in power, nobody
dares."

According to an opinion poll conducted in Uttar Pradesh for India
Today magazine last November, 69 percent said that Mayawati had
fulfilled the expectations of Dalits.

But nearly 9 out of 10 voters said competence mattered more than the
chief minister's caste, two-thirds wanted a change of guard, and the
poll showed that Yadav was more favored than Mayawati as the best
person to lead the state.

Indeed, Yadav's Samajwadi Party could well emerge from the election
with more seats in the 403-member state assembly than Mayawati, though
probably not enough for a majority, forcing him to ally with Gandhi's
Congress for a return to power.

ELEPHANTINE AMBITIONS

It is too soon to write off the wily Mayawati. She has outwitted every
opponent who has crossed her path since the 1990s, first forming
several short-lived coalition governments and then storming home with
a single-party majority in 2007.

She still pulls in crowds of easily 100,000 at election rallies, far
more than her opponents, including Gandhi. And she has a knack for
turning adversity into advantage.

Take the flap over the life-sized elephant statues Mayawati had
erected in a sprawling Lucknow park, which she opened in 2008 and
named after the untouchable leader who wrote India's constitution, Dr.
B.R Ambedkar.

The Election Commission this month ordered all statues of Mayawati and
of elephants -- her party's electoral symbol -- to be covered during
the campaign. So now, dozens of hulking elephant statues are clad in
yellow plastic sheeting, and plyboard boxes have been built around
bronze Mayawati statues.

"I thank the Election Commission for this order," she said. "It is
going to benefit the party and has given us free publicity."

Despite her bravado, Mayawati is likely to lose the votes of millions
who believe that corruption has gone from bad to worse and the fruits
of economic growth have been unevenly spread both across the sprawling
state and its castes.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one businessman in the state
described a well-organized system of bribe-paying to bureaucrats and
constant harassment of companies for pay-offs.

"You have to be really desperate to do business in Uttar Pradesh. You
have to pay for virtually everything," he said. "Since you have to pay
out even if you follow the law -- why follow the law?"

NO INDUSTRY, NO JOBS

Apart from a couple of companies seen as close to her administration
including Jaypee Group, which built the track used for India's first
Formula One race last year, Uttar Pradesh has missed out on India's
industrial growth of the past decade.

Construction, particularly state-funded building of roads, has been
the main driver of the state's economy, along with agriculture.
Manufacturing has stagnated, hobbled by regular power cuts, high taxes
and corruption.

Dalit villager Chote Lal, 28, says life has improved for his caste
under Mayawati, but he still does not have enough food to feed his
seven children properly. "There are no jobs, no factories -- she
should have brought in industry," he said.

This may be Mayawati's undoing: not the statues and the personal
extravagance, but the sense she has not done enough to lift living
standards evenly across so vast a population.

"Overall, her performance is a mixed bag," said Bose, her biographer.
"She has clearly been disappointing. She had a great chance to do
more."

This is especially felt among higher castes and Muslims, whose votes
helped propel Mayawati to power with a majority in 2007 but who now
feel her pro-Dalit policies have not taken them into account.

"We want a government that works for development, not one that works
for one particular caste or religion," said Mohammed Ahmed Khan, a
Muslim farmer in the village of Dharai Mafi.

(Additional reporting by Alka Pande and Sharat Pradhan; John Chalmers
reported from New Delhi; Editing by Bill Tarrant)

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[ZESTCaste] Civic polls: RPI out with "balanced" list

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_civic-polls-rpi-out-with-balanced-list_1642227

Civic polls: RPI out with "balanced" list
Published: Thursday, Jan 26, 2012, 10:15 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

Taking a leaf out of India's foremost Dalit party, the Bahujan Samaj
Party, the Republican Party of India (Athawale) listed three Muslims,
one OBC, and one Maratha in its first list, which named 12 candidates
for the BMC polls.

Of the remaining seven, five are Buddhists, one a Madiga, a scheduled
caste from Andhra Pradesh and the other, a Charmakar. The RPI(A) is
contesting 29 seats out of BMC's 227 in alliance with the BJP and the
Shiv Sena. From its quota, it will be giving two seats to the Dalit
Panthers, led by poet Namdeo Dhasal.

RPI(A) chief Ramdas Athawale said he might include more people from
other castes as his party had got requests for nomination from all
sections of people. "Our basis for nomination is not caste but the
work the person has done in his ward and for our party, and his
ability to win in that ward," Athawale said.

He said Marathas who are unhappy with the NCP were flocking to his
party and seeking nominations. Asked if he would include Brahmins as
well, he said while his party had Brahmin supporters, as of now no
Brahmin had sought a ticket. "But if a Brahmin does ask, he will be
considered on merit like any other," Athawale added.

He said his party nominees would not withdraw from the race at the
last minute, referring to the past when candidates stopped
campaigning, allegedly at the behest of other political parties.


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[ZESTCaste] Statue row to escalate Mala drift from Congress?

 

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/statue-row-to-escalate-mala-drift-from-congress/224368-60-114.html

Andhra Pradesh | Posted on Jan 26, 2012 at 09:01am IST
Statue row to escalate Mala drift from Congress?
indianexpress Express News Service , The New Indian Express

HYDERABAD: The Congress might find it difficult to insulate itself
from the political fallout of the destruction of BR Ambedkar's statues
in East Godavari district which happened at a time when it was trying
to prevent Malas from coming under the influence of Jagan Reddy.
Regardless of whoever is responsible for the disfigurement and
sacrilege of the statues, the incident may not make Malas comfortable
under the Congress dispensation even though the Kiran Kumar Reddy
government had reacted very fast and sent an additional DGP rank
officer to Amalapuram to investigate the incident.

"In fact, the chief minister, on knowing about the disfigurement of
the statues, called a meeting with the state police chief and home
minister and reviewed the situation.

Anything like this had not happened before," a Mala leader said.

The seeds for the dissatisfaction of Malas under the present
dispensation were sown the day when Damodar Rajanarasimha, a Madiga,
was made the deputy chief minister of the state.

Though Geetha Reddy, a Mala, was angling for the post the Congress
ignored her, dashing the hopes of the community of bagging the coveted
post.

It is believed that appointment of Damodar Rajanarasimha as the deputy
chief minister took place as a result of Madiga leaders, including MP
Manda Jagannadham, prevailing on the party high command.

Their stand was that though the party had favoured Malas in the past,
they had subsequently moved towards YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and,
therefore, Madigas should be preferred for the post.

In order to substantiate their argument, they referred to Mala leaders
Jupudi Prabakhar Rao and Pulla Padmavathi, who were sent to the
legislative council, finally ending up in Jagan Mohan Reddy camp.

The party had listened to them because one of them, Jagannadham, had
helped the UPA-I by voting in its favour on Indo-US nuclear deal
though he was in the TDP at that time.

The Malas, who were deeply hurt over the elevation of Damodar
Rajanarasimha felt that the party had rubbed salt into injury by
making him as one of the members of the Congress Coordination
Committee without bothering to nominate anyone from their community to
the panel.

This apart, Kiran Kumar Reddy had dismissed a Mala cabinet member, P
Shankar Rao, without even giving him an opportunity to resign.

According to Mala leaders, the party appears to have resigned to the
fact that a majority of Malas, who happened to be the traditional vote
bank of the Congress, would move towards Jagan.

This was the main reason why the Madigas began getting patronage in
the Congress dispensation which would also help weaken the Telugu
Desam of which they happen to be loyal supporters till now.

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[ZESTCaste] Come back, Naidu tells Kapus

http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=1&subCategory=2&ContentId=34930

Come back, Naidu tells Kapus
Thursday, January 26th, 2012

Bhimavaram: Telugu Desam supremo Chandrababu Naidu invited Kapus to
rejoin the party. It would be a home-coming for them, he said.
While admitting that a section of Kapus had migrated to other parties,
he appealed to them to rejoin the party.

Naidu, during his 'Poru Baata' in West Godavari district on Tuesday,
made a direct reference to caste-based loyalties. He addressed
meetings at Narasimhapuram near Bhimavaram, Matsapuri, Tundurru and
Bethapudi villages.

He could draw impressive crowds throughout his yatra. He interacted
with fishermen community and the farmers where crop holiday was
observed.

He criticised Chiranjeevi and his erstwhile Praja Rajyam at various
meetings. Chiranjeevi merged his party for just two ministerial
berths. He was sure that Congress would use him and throw away like a
curry leaf.

Making a direct attack on Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, he said that he would
land in jail some day or the other. Some youth joined him initially
but were coming out of the party after realising the facts, he
observed. "I am not saying this out of political animosity, but I can
say whoever indulges in corrupt practices, it is sure they will land
in jail," he said.

He termed Ghulam Nabi Azad as 'super CM' and Chief Minister Kiran
Kumar Reddy and PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana were following his
directives like students. Botcha, who owns 31 liquor outlets, had
stooped to the level of saying that there was nothing wrong in running
liquor business, he said.

Naidu lashed out at the Congress government, terming it "lethargic and
thick-skinned." It surrendered the interests of Andhra Pradesh before
the Central government, he alleged. Naidu received a warm welcome at
Narasimhapuram on the outskirts of the town. The Telugu Desam Party
activists could show their strength with an impressive car and auto
rally right from Bhimavaram to Narsapuram.

Telugu Desam MLAs Siva Rama Raju (Undi), Taneti Vanitha (Gopalapuram),
Rama Rao (Kovvuru), Burugupalli Sheesha Rao (Nidadavolu) Prabhakar
(Denduluru) along with district Telugu Desam chief Thota Sita Rama
Lakshmi, State party organising secretary Mente Pardhasaradhi,
Assembly segment convener Gadiraju Satyanarayana Raju, town party
chief Mamidisetti Prasad were among others who received Naidu.He
garlanded NTR statue at Bhimavaram.

En route Narsapur road, he interacted with farmers at Taderu village
where crop holiday was observed. Farmers appealed to him for a minimum
support price for farm produce. At Matsapuru village, he had a brief
chat with fishermen and enquired about the status of aqua culture.

At Bethapudi womenfolk welcomed him with 'harathi.' Naidu offered Rs
200 to a woman agriculture labour, who was transplanting paddy
saplings. It is a convention to offer something to women, who
transplant saplings in these parts when they approach. While
proceeding towards Bhimavaram, Naidu made a brief halt at Nidamarru
village where he received Rs 1,200 from Anil, a student of III
standard.

Anil offered this amount out of his kiddy bank as a donation to Telugu
Desam Party. Naidu patted him and gave his blessings. He also paid
floral tributes to NTR statute at Nidamarru.


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[ZESTCaste] What Dr. B. R. Ambedkar said about Republic Day (26th January)

 

What Dr. B. R. Ambedkar said about Republic Day (26th January)

"On 26th January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics, we will have equality and in social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of democracy which this Constituent Assembly has so laboriously built up."
"I feel that the constitution is workable, it is flexible and it is strong enough to hold the country together both in peacetime and in wartime. Indeed, if I may say so, if things go wrong under the new Constitution, the reason will not be that we had a bad Constitution. What we will have to say is that Man was vile."
"There is no nation of Indians in the real sense of the world, it is yet to be created. In believing we are a nation, we are cherishing a great delusion. How can people divided into thousand of castes be a nation? The sooner we realise that we are not yet a nation, in a social and psychological sense of the world, the better for us."
"Independence is no doubt a matter of joy. But let us not forget that this independence has thrown on us greater responsibilities. By independence, we have lost the excuse of blaming the British for anything going wrong. If hereafter things go wrong, we will have nobody to blame except ourselves. There is a greater danger of things going wrong. Times are fast changing."
"Our object in framing the Constitution is rally two-fold:
(1) To lay down the form of political democracy, and
(2) To lay down that our ideal is economic democracy and also to prescribe that every Government whatever is in power shall strive to bring about economic democracy. The directive principles have a great value, for they lay down that our ideal is economic democracy."



 

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[ZESTCaste] Khap Panchayats: A Socio-Historical Overview

http://beta.epw.in/newsItem/comment/190948/

Specials / REVIEW OF RURAL AFFAIRS
Khap Panchayats: A Socio-Historical Overview
By: Ajay Kumar
PDF Print http://beta.epw.in/static_media/PDF/archives_pdf/2012/01/SA_XLVII_04_280112_RRA_Ajay_Kumar.pdf

Vol XLVII No.4 January 28, 2012

Khap panchayats have had a long innings in the Jat-dominated areas of
north-western India and some of their decisions that go against
individual rights have led to heated controversy. This paper gives a
brief account of how these informal social institutions for conflict
resolution took root and the reasons for their continuing influence.
It also looks into how big landlords have come to use khaps for their
own interests and the causes that prompt these bodies to interfere in
marriages that do not conform to traditional norms. Interrogating the
modern state's failure to check the unwritten powers of khap
panchayats, it suggests some remedial measures that could be taken.


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[ZESTCaste] The tragedy and farce of JLF, the greatest literary show

http://www.firstpost.com/living/the-tragedy-and-farce-of-jlf-the-greatest-literary-show-190696.html

The tragedy and farce of JLF, the greatest literary show

Jan 23, 2012

By S Anand

On the morning of 22 January at the ongoing Jaipur Literature
Festival, away from the Oprah Circus, I moderated a session called 'A
Second Sunrise: Literature of Protest'. It featured Gogu Shyamala,
dalit writer from Telangana; Cheran, Sri Lanka-born Tamil poet who
lives in exile in Canada; Charu Nivedita, Tamil writer; and K
Satchidanandan, Malayalam poet, editor and translator. I began with
the session with this: "What kind of idea are you? Are you the kind
that compromises, does deals, accommodates itself to society, aims to
find a niche, to survive; or are you the cussed, bloody-minded,
ramrod-backed type of damnfool notion that would rather break than
sway with the breeze? — The kind that will almost certainly,
ninety-nine times out of hundred, be smashed to bits; but, the
hundredth time, will change the world."

I had decided to read this passage from the book that cannot be
imported and owned in India. I did this especially because one of the
festival organisers had sent an email to participating writers and
speakers that the "festival continues to uphold the right to free
speech and expression and the right to dissent within a constitutional
framework". And added, lest one did not get the 'idea': "This is to
advise you that the Satanic Verses is banned in India and reading from
it may make you liable to prosecution and arrest." I had noticed that
in the first few days some activists were distributing copies of the
Quran at the gates of the festival venue, for free. They did it as
quietly as I read the passage. The real challenge is whether we stand
up to freedom of expression when it is under crisis; and the
organisers of JLF—in suggesting that Hari Kunzru, Amitava Kimar,
Ruchir Joshi and Jeet Thayil leave the venue and city for their own
good and to let the festival continue—did not stand up to this
challenge.

Can free speech and free thought collude with the corporate sector?
Should we just be happy saying what we want from tainted podiums?
Reuters

Cheran, in an earlier session has said that it was impossible for a
writer to function within a prescribed framework and expect him or her
to be 'free'. Writers and artists have to transgress. That is what
they do. And many times, this involves a brush with legality. Cheran
spoke passionately about the May 2009 'genocide' inSri Lanka, a word
he cannot use inSri Lanka and how it would be impossible for someone
like him to function within Sri Lanka's constitutional framework. To a
question, he said the Indian government was totally complicit in the
mass murder of over 70,000 Tamils in Sri Lanka's war. He said he was
well aware that saying this may not help him get a visa to India next
year, but writers have to say what had to be said.

The battle of, and for, words need not be with the state alone; so I
asked my panelists to reflect on the cooption of writers by corporate
sponsors against whom many of the artists/writers would be, or ought
to be, battling. Are we using their platforms or are they using us
writers/activists and publishers to legitimise their corporate crimes?
One of the organisers said the festival was like a Kumbh Mela; sure,
many come to wash their sins here. Each venue was prefixed with the
sponsor's name—Rio Tinto Samvad, Tata Steel Front Lawns—and this did
not seem to 'offend' most writers. In the last year's edition, Pauline
Melville, Guyana-born British writer-actor did say, "This festival is
for writers, people who are genuinely interested in the human
condition, but behind us are the logos—staring at everybody—of the
most pernicious organisations in contemporary finance… Even as I
speak, I'm half expecting to get a bullet in the back." Chimamanda
Adicie too had addressed this issue.

Perhaps Melville was referring to Rio Tinto—a mining corporation that
has colluded with dictators and fascists, and has infamously applauded
Franco's forces for assassinating strikers and a group of radical
miners who occupied their mines, and is today mining for diamonds in
Madhya Pradesh. They have of course won CSR awards, like Tata Steel,
another major sponsor whose banners with quotes from famous dead,
unbanned writers adorned Diggi Palace, the venue. But that's the way
it has been.

At the inaugural of the festival, Sanjoy Roy, one of the organisers,
openly praised the DSC group for the superb Delhi-Gurgaon-Jaipur road
they had built. 'Unlike all other roads in the country, this DSC road
does not crack.' Appearing to be embarrassed, even the chairman of
Darshan Singh Corp, HS Narula, responded: 'I don't know why you said
all this about the road.' A courtier was praising a king. So the
poet-as-fool had to have his word.

I was sitting next to poet Hoshang Merchant who, bored, had been
reading 'literature' others perhaps had not bothered to read. He drew
my attention to it—the fine print on the rear side of the bar-coded
speaker's pass that dangled around all participants' necks. One of dos
and don'ts said, 'The holder of the card shall not indulge in ambush
marketing.' Sanjoy Roy was wearing the same tag. What next? Rio Tinto
are such good miners? Tata's values are indeed stronger than steel?
How about Dow Jones/ Union Carbide next year?

The same set of issues cropped up during the recent Tehelka gig in
Goa, Think Fest. Can free speech and free thought collude with the
corporate sector? Should we just be happy saying what we want from
tainted podiums? Should we compromise, do deals, or be ramrod-backed
type of damnfools? A threat to freedom of expression for one person is
a threat to such freedom everywhere. Organiser Namita Gokhale's
defence that five writers cannot be allowed to derail the platform for
260 others at JLF does not wash.

The greatest literary show on earth is quite like the world's biggest
democracy—both a tragedy and a farce.

S Anand is the publisher of Navayana.


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[ZESTCaste] BSP attacks Rahul Gandhi for 'begging' votes in Uttar Pradesh

 

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bsp-rahul-gandhi-begging-votes-up-assembly-polls-satish-chandra/1/170501.html

Headlines Today Bureau Sant Kabir Nagar (UP), January 25, 2012 |
UPDATED 13:10 IST
BSP attacks Rahul Gandhi for 'begging' votes in Uttar Pradesh

The ruling BSP on Wednesday targeted Congress's star campaigner in
Uttar Pradesh -- Rahul Gandhi -- ahead of the assembly polls in the
state.

Addressing a rally in Sant Kabir Nagar, the BSP's Brahmin face, Satish
Chandra Mishra, attacked the Congress general secretary calling him a
beggar.

Mishra slammed Gandhi for being an outsider "who only came to UP to
beg for votes". The BSP leader's attack comes in the backdrop of
Gandhi scion's beggar remarks in November last year.

"Rahul Gandhi has studied abroad. He has spent most of his life
abroad. His lifestyle is western. Then, why does he come to UP? If he
is coming here to ask for you votes, then it means he is begging for
votes," Mishra said.

Lashing out at the Congress, Mishra alleged that the party was
responsible for covering the BSP symbol across the state.

The Congress's most vocal general secretary, Digvijaya Singh, was
quick to return fire. He lost no time in hitting back at the BSP
leader over his below the belt attack.

"This is the power of democracy, no matter how big a leader is, he has
to go to the people and ask for their votes. If we are begging for
votes, then what is Satish Chandra Mishra doing," Singh asked.

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[ZESTCaste] Lucknow play stopped because lead character resembles Mayawati

 

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/lucknow-play-stopped-because-lead-character-resembles-mayawati-170263

Lucknow play stopped because lead character resembles Mayawati

Anant Zanane, Updated: January 25, 2012 12:54 IST

Lucknow: A woman named Maya , who loves her solid- gold sandals and
has a pet elephant, is the lead character of a play being staged in
Lucknow. Not for long. Local officials say the drama has to take a
break because of similarities to the Chief Minister, Mayawati, whose
party symbol is the elephant.

Uttar Pradesh votes soon; the model code of conduct is in place. That
means parties cannot announce any policy that could influence voters,
and the party in power cannot use public platforms for promotion.

Anil Sagar, the District Magistrate of Lucknow, said that allowing
performances of the play, directed by Mukesh Verma, would violate that
code. Mr Verma says his heroine is in no way based on the Chief
Minister. The elephant in the play eats people on occasion; "what goes
in at one end sometimes comes out the other as gold bricks," a
character says of the jumbo.

A WikiLeaks cable had US officials claiming that they were told by
journalists that Mayawati sent a plane to Mumbai to bring her a pair
of her favourite brand of sandals. In recent weeks, the outsized
elephants that are herded into public parks that serve as memorials to
her have been covered up with plastic sheets upon the orders of the
Election Commission. The elephants, according to the Commission, are
an unfair advertisement for Mayawati. Many parties including her own
have disagreed, describing the move as excessive and illogical.

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[ZESTCaste] High court moved over self-styled panchayat

http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/MAH-PUN-high-court-moved-over-self-styled-panchayat-2785609.html

High court moved over self-styled panchayat

Source: DNA | Last Updated 04:45(24/01/12)

Pune: Seeking action against a self-appointed panchayat that boycotts
families involved in inter-caste marriages in Pune, the Shri Goud
Brahmin Samaj Anayaya Nivaran Samiti has filed a petition in the
Bombay high court.

The samiti, formed by members of the Shri Goud Brahmin Samaj in Pune,
has alleged that six members of the community have formed a panchayat
which has been passing judgments against families that allow marriages
out of their caste. The 'panchas' refuse to let an ostracised family
member attend the funeral of any relative, unless the family agrees to
pay up to just get a glimpse of the kin, claims the petition.

The petition, filed through advocate Asim Sarode, alleged that the
'fine' runs into lakhs of rupees and "no receipt is issued for the
same". The samiti now wants action against this parallel justice
system started by the community.

Some boycotted members approached the Bibvewadi police on November 14
last year, but the police refused to lodge a complaint.

The petition stated that one of the members approached the State Human
Rights Commission (SHRC) against the boycott. The SHRC transferred the
complaint to Kothrud police station, but there has been no progress.
Adding the law and judiciary department, education ministry and social
welfare and social justice department as respondents, it asked that
the 'panchas' be arrested. It has sought framing of an effective law
against discrimination. The petition will come up for hearing next
week.


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