Latest News Update: Mar 6, 2012

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

[ZESTCaste] Represent Dalits responsibly

http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=1&subCategory=5&ContentId=42513

Represent Dalits responsibly
Tuesday, March 6th, 2012
Lakhs of Dalits are migrating to towns and cities in search of work
from districts like Mahboobnagar
The Assembly session is in progress and almost 17 days have been
wasted. The Governor has addressed both the Houses and the State
budget has also been introduced. Some serious issues are to be
discussed.

There was a serious debate on liquor syndicates, but, well before the
start of the Assembly session, the Centre for Dalit Studies (CDS)
conducted a round table conference with political parties to discuss
implementation of Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub Plan
(TSP) in the Assembly at least for two days.

The CDS team requested all party floor leaders to take up the issue in
the Business Advisory Council (BAC) for an exclusive discussion on the
sub plans at least for two days. All floor leaders readily agreed to
move the issue in the BAC. It is learnt that the issue was raised by
some floor leaders but they did not get any assurance from the
Speaker.

There are about 47 legislators from SC communities; a majority of them
are not in a position to respond properly to the issue. Recently, the
HMTV and The Hans India jointly organized a special live discussion on
the sub plans; only eight legislators attended, though many had been
invited.

Many of them are perhaps not well aware of dalit issues and SC/ST sub
plans though they are well educated. They are not greatly interested
in the issue.

Reservations in education, employment and political system have been
achieved due to Dr B R Ambedkar's philosophy and consistent efforts
for eradication of untouchability.

Thus the foundation was laid by Dr Ambedkar for political reservations
which our people are enjoying. But Dr Ambedkar wanted to see
representatives of untouchables elected through their votes alone.
That was accepted by the then British government, but Mahatma Gandhi
opposed it. Ambedkar disagreed with Mahatma Gandhi.

Then Mahatma Gandhi sat on fast unto death against this proposal and
Ambedkar was forced to accept Gandhi's view. Thus, political
reservation came into existence in place of separate electorates. Due
to this system, people under the direct control of dominant castes are
being elected.

They may not win elections if they work only for the Scheduled Castes,
some MPs and MLAs argue. But, this would be shirking their social
responsibility. Dr Ambedkar's struggle for political representation to
SCs meant that they should make the legislature as a platform for
finding solutions to problems of those sections. Unfortunately it is
not happening.

There is no benefit from this system other than a few SCs getting
elected and enjoying positions. The lethargic attitude of the elected
representatives is one of the reasons for persistence of dalit issues.

Atrocities on dalits are increasing day by day. They don't have food,
shelter or clothes. Earlier, though the wages were low, at least they
used to get work. Now, even that work is not available. Lakhs of
dalits are migrating to towns and cities in search of work from
districts like Mahboobnagar. The welfare schemes introduced for dalits
some 30 years back are now missing.

Today, we can see many doctors and engineers belonging to dalit
communities. They are from very poor families. After they get a seat
in medicine, the government should help them complete the course. But,
today dalit students of medical colleges face numerous problems.
Recently, a student from Nalgonda, who had got admission in medicine
in Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal, met me and narrated his story.

The scholarship released by the government was enough only to pay the
college fee; he has to pay additionally from his pocket towards mess
charges, room rent, etc, which is beyond his family's financial
capacity; he expressed his inability to continue the studies.

He also revealed that his father was an agricultural labourer and his
brother worked in a private company with a petty salary; efforts to
get a bank loan to meet the hostel expenditure had failed due to the
negligent attitude of the banks towards poor people.

This is the story not only of that particular student; this is the
story of students from poor dalit families in the State. Besides, many
university students have been deprived of education in the name of
various fees which is beyond their capacities.

Earlier, these hostels produced many bright students. But, today they
are in a pathetic condition; there have been instances of students not
getting their meal due to non-release of allotted funds to the hostels
on time. And after they have crossed all these hurdles and completed
their studies, they do not get employment.

About six lakh dalit youth registered with employment exchanges and
waiting for jobs.
A recent disturbing development is that a majority of the raids
conducted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on employees are found
to be against dalits. Does corruption prevail in the entire society or
only among dalits?

Millions of dalits living in villages are in utter poverty even
without a square meal a day. Even half of the atrocities on dalit
women are not coming to light. There does not seem to be life or
security for dalits in villages. There is no education in schools. If
at all educated, there is no employment. If employment is there, there
is no security for them. This is the condition of one crore twenty
lakh dalits in the State.

Therefore, all the 47 dalit MLAs should unite and raise their voice
for the voiceless dalits. The elected representatives may not bring
any revolution in dalit life, but even a few changes would be most
welcome.

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[ZESTCaste] A story that has not been told

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/books/article2953476.ece

March 3, 2012
A story that has not been told
K. SRILATA

My Father Baliah by Y.B. Satyanarayana.
Special Arrangement My Father Baliah by Y.B. Satyanarayana.

A powerful and poignant book on what it means to be a dalit in pre and
post-Independence India.

A tall man, walking away from his village with a heavy heart, his
wife's body tied to his back, and almost dragging a little boy, his
son, in a chilly evening drizzle, towards a distant stream….It was a
small village that he was walking helplessly away from; his three-year
old son weeping aloud as he, half naked, followed his father in the
gloomy evening. The village was Vangapalli, in the Karimnagar district
of Telengana, the native village of the man. The man with the dead
body on his back came from the Harijanwada, the untouchable dwellings
in the village. He walked fast so that he could reach the banks of the
stream before dark. He was powered by the thought that he had to dig a
grave to bury his wife and that he had to do it all by himself.

Thus begins Y.B Satyanarayana's absorbing "family biography" My Father
Baliah. The book, rooted in the Telengana dalit madiga experience, may
be written in English. Yet, the world that is presented to us is far
removed from the urban, upper-class English-speaking world. In style
as well as in substance. For not only does Satyanarayana dwell
powerfully and poignantly on what it means to be a dalit in pre and
post-independence India, he does so by altogether eschewing a
narrative of individual success. By choosing to embed individual
stories in three generations of family history, Satyanarayana deftly
and gracefully gives credit where it is due, resisting the temptation
of turning this into a narrative about any one individual or the self.
His own journey has been a long and difficult one and yet this is not
the story he focuses on.

Spotlight on family

At the emotional heart of this narrative, is that simple and yet
increasingly rare sentiment of gratitude. It is interesting too that
while Ambedkar is mentioned, the author chooses to highlight the
familial sphere as central to his growth and formation. The spotlight
is not on the broader dalit political movement but on the struggles
and sacrifices of the narrator's family – his father Ramaswamy alias
Baliah, his mother Narasamma, his brothers Balraj and Abbasayalu and
his sister Bachamma (who, despite having had to drop out of school
herself, monitors the education of her brothers). It is the history of
a people told by other means, told charmingly and with great honesty
and reads like a tribute to them.

As Satyanarayana presents it, the struggles of his family – the
Yelukatis - are not entirely joyless. The family is one of many dalit
beneficiaries of the British railway system. The railways represent a
relatively caste-free space, a space which holds out the possibility
of growth. In the railway colony, caste is markedly less-pronounced
even though it does not entirely disappear. For one thing, the
employees live side by side – the sudras beside the untouchables –
something that would be unthinkable in the village. The colony also
has schools for the children of the employees.

As with many other dalit autobiographies, the raw material is
compelling, the depth of experience is unbeatable. The narrative makes
visible what would otherwise remain unnoticed, unremarked upon. The
work undertaken by railway gangmen and pointers, mostly untouchables,
is one example. Every now and then, Satyanarayana gives us a quick
glimpse into their world. Once when a train hits a cow, it is a madiga
pointsman who skins the dead animal. The meat is then distributed
amongst all the untouchables.

Caste follows the Yelukati family wherever they go, though its
intensity varies somewhat. It follows Satyanarayana through school,
through college and later through his career. He fights back with
grace. While Baliah accepts caste-based practices as sociological
fact, he is aware that the most important thing in the world is the
preservation of self-respect. This despite the fact that he has never
read Ambedkar. Baliah's dogged belief in the value of education and
the lengths to which he is willing to go so his sons are able to get a
post-graduate degree is simply yet movingly narrated.

In a growing line of dalit narratives, My Father Baliah is significant
also because of its specificity – its documentation of caste and the
dalit Madiga experience in the Telengana region.

My Father Baliah; Y.B. Satyanarayana, HarperCollins, Rs. 299.

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[ZESTCaste] India Mayawati statues uncovered after election

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-17254658

5 March 2012 Last updated at 03:59 GMT

India Mayawati statues uncovered after election

Authorities in India's Uttar Pradesh state are uncovering statues of
Chief Minister Mayawati and her party symbols two months after they
were shrouded on orders from election chiefs.

The election commission ordered the huge statues to be covered up
until the end of state assembly polls on 3 March.

It said the statues and symbols could influence voters.

Truckloads of plastic sheets were used to cover the monuments to
shield them from voters' eyes.

Voting for the crucial state assembly elections ended on 3 March and
counting is scheduled for 6 March.

Ms Mayawati is famous for building statues of herself and other icons
from her low-caste Dalit community.

In two parks in the state capital, Lucknow, and Noida, a suburb of
Delhi, there are nearly a dozen statues of Ms Mayawati and more than
75 stone elephants - the symbol of her Bahujan Samaj Party.

Under election rules, portraits and calendars bearing photographs of
the chief minister must be removed from government offices ahead of
elections.

The election commission had ordered the statues and symbols to be
draped by 11 January.
Uncovering

The commission ordered their unveiling on Saturday and officials said
work began on Sunday.
Continue reading the main story
Statue of elephant covered up in Ambedkar Park in Noida (10/01/12)

In pictures: Covering Mayawati's statues

Reports said scores of workers were uncovering the statues of Mayawati
and other Dalit icons at the Dalit Prerna Sthal park in the Delhi
suburb of Noida.

In nearby Badalpur park, elephant statues were also being uncovered.

Work was also going on at various memorials and parks in the state
capital, Lucknow.

Huge numbers of statues commissioned by Ms Mayawati can be seen in
Lucknow and other towns and cities of Uttar Pradesh.

Statues of political leaders are generally put up posthumously, but Ms
Mayawati says that belief is outdated.

Her Dalit supporters take pride in the parks and monuments dedicated
to their community heroes. They say Ms Mayawati has transformed
"Lucknow into London".

Critics, however, accuse her of self-glorification and wasting public money.

In September, leaked US diplomatic cables said Ms Mayawati had sent an
empty private jet to fetch a pair of sandals from Mumbai - a charge
she strongly denied.

Uttar Pradesh is one of India's most deprived states with a high crime
rate and poor health indicators.

The chief minister's spending on statues and memorials has been
described as "shameful" by critics.

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[ZESTCaste] Finally, veils to go off Mayawati statues

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-04/lucknow/31121297_1_elephant-statues-lucknow-and-noida-mayawati-and-elephants

Finally, veils to go off Mayawati statues
IANS Mar 4, 2012, 12.22PM IST

LUCKNOW: Draped in pink sheets since Jan 11 following an Election
Commission (EC) order, the veils will at long last go off scores of
statues of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati and elephants - the
poll symbol of her party - in public spaces across Lucknow and Noida.

These include nine statues of Mayawati and 156 statues of elephants in
Lucknow, and two statues of the chief minister and 52 of the Bahujan
Samaj Party (BSP) symbol in Noida, neighbouring New Delhi.
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In a late night decision Saturday, the EC ordered that the statues be
uncovered, following the completion of the voting process in Uttar
Pradesh.

The statues were covered on the orders of Chief Election Commissioner
(CEC) S.Y. Quraishi, after opposition parties complained that the
elephants, made at the cost of public exchequer, gave an "unfair
advantage" to the ruling BSP.

On Jan 11, the statues were covered, and over 2 km of pink polythene
was used to cover the 200 plus statues of elephants -- the BSP's party
symbol.

The statues of the chief minister at Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik
Parivartan Sthal in Gomti Nagar in Lucknow and the Rashtriya Dalit
Prerna Sthal in Noida, were fixed by cardboards on iron scaffoldings.

The Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida built at a whopping cost of Rs.685
crore has 30 elephant statues made of stone and 22 elephant statues
made of bronze. It also houses two life size statues of Mayawati.

State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Umesh Sinha confirmed the
development and told IANS that the commission has issued orders to
this effect late Saturday night.