Latest News Update: Mar 19, 2012

Monday, March 19, 2012

[ZESTCaste] US black writing echoes pain of Dalit literature

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_us-black-writing-echoes-pain-of-dalit-literature_1663988

US black writing echoes pain of Dalit literature
Published: Sunday, Mar 18, 2012, 15:36 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA

In Dalit literature, India, like the US, has its own black literature.
The literature of US blacks is similar to Dalit literature in that
both are records of the tragedy of their respective histories.

This was the general view among scholars who participated in a two-day
national seminar on black literature, organised by Gujarat
University's Department of English.

The department had organised the seminar on the topic, 'Celebrating
Blackness Offshore: Reading Black Literature from Indian perspective,'
in the run up to the International Day for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination that falls on March 21. The two-day event ended on
Saturday, March 17.

Participants discussed and presented papers on various aspects of
literature of the black people of the US. Alice Walker's 1982 novel,
The Color Purple, which won the Pulitzer prize for fiction, was among
the books discussed along with the concept of motherhood and
Afro-American identity in paintings by black artists.

On the first day, Dr Sudha Rai, dean, faculty of arts, Jodhpur
University, presented a paper in which she compared African-American
literature with Dalit literature. Calling both literatures similar in
that they were records of 'tragedy of history', Rai explored the
question whether or not the two literatures could throw light on each
other.

A documentary and discussion on writers Toni Morrison and Alice Walker
was held later in the day. The highlight of the second day was a panel
discussion on the contemporary trends of the same literature.

The seminar, the third national seminar organised by the department,
was an attempt not only to celebrate a literature that was born out of
oppression, but also to use that knowledge in the Indian context. As
Rai said, "We fail to see our own weaknesses. The African-American
literature holds up the mirror to us."

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[ZESTCaste] What’s next for Mayawati?

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/whats-next-for-mayawati/925324/

What's next for Mayawati?
Harish S Wankhede Posted online: Mon Mar 19 2012, 02:50 hrs
The BSP's stumble in UP should prompt it to think harder about its
national agenda

Analysing the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, many have belittled
the Bahujan Samaj Party as having "lost force", and suggested the "end
of Dalit/caste politics". The election mandate has been interpreted as
a response to anti-incumbency, alleged corruption, and the burden on
the exchequer from parks and statues. Deep down, though, there is a
subtle acceptance that Mayawati's rule has brought tremendous change
in UP, at the sociopolitical and economic level.

However, the BSP should not limit itself to UP's corridors of power.
Current political conditions permit Mayawati to stretch into newer
regions and communities, and become a formidable force in the upcoming
Lok Sabha election.

The recent elections have shown that she has the power to galvanise
her core constituency, that Dalits remain the permanent voters of the
BSP. However, it has been suggested that her social engineering with
the Brahmins has not worked this time. It has been said that the
Brahmins did not vote for the BSP (though it is unclear who they
actually voted overwhelmingly for). The challenge for Mayawati now is
to work harder at persuading these sections to stay with the BSP.
Sarvajan politics comes with an ethical dilemma as it poses itself
against the dominant majoritarian politics of OBC identity. The BSP
must make sure its ideology and principles are not compromised as it
presents itself to lead non-Dalit groups.

In 2007, it was said that the SP lost the assembly elections due to a
considerable shift of Muslim voters to the BSP. However, Mayawati
failed to sustain this support in the recent elections, despite having
fielded the maximum number of Muslim candidates and having announced
various welfare schemes for Muslims. If she can promise concrete
measures to include Muslims in her social justice agenda (including
the guarantee of separate Muslim reservation) and promise
unconditional protection to their religious and cultural interests
against Hindutva politics, Muslims may yet choose her again. This
makes sense in the larger ethical project of Bahujan politics.

The BSP is also the third biggest national party with a growing vote
share of above 6 per cent. In states like Haryana, Delhi, Uttaranchal
and Punjab, the BSP has good prospects. In the recently concluded
elections, despite no direct intervention and support from the party,
the candidates did remarkably well, emerging as runners-up in many
constituencies.

The party can make an impress on new sections of voters — mobilising
Dalits and other politically marginalised groups (non-Jat groups in
Haryana, Muslims in Delhi and migrant population in Punjab) can pay
heavy dividends in the coming Lok Sabha elections. States like
Maharashtra that have witnessed strong Dalit movements are a promising
new frontier for the BSP — in the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, it
has already launched an impressive entry in the local elections.

UP should, of course, remain the central location of Mayawati's
politics — making two communities crucial, the Brahmins and the
Muslims. A "Dalit-Brahmin-Muslim alliance" is a sure winner in UP, but
almost impossible to achieve. These communities have their own
strategic and separate interests (which often clash) — and it will not
be easy for the BSP to solder them together. In states like Haryana,
Delhi and Maharashtra, it could win some parliamentary seats only if
the Dalit voter accepts the BSP as vanguard party.

BSP politics is based on the idea of fair representation of
historically marginalised communities in the political sphere. It has
mobilised Dalits, given them a dignified political location and made
them vital to mainstream democratic struggles. And yet, being
identified mainly as a "Dalit party" and a "one region party" have
limited its potential as an alternative national force. The BSP should
take the recent UP loss as a learning experience and imagine itself as
an emergent national player.

The writer is assistant professor of political science at Delhi University

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[ZESTCaste] Ranjan to stay in house of Dalit in Besur

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/235507/ranjan-stay-house-dalit-besur.html

Ranjan to stay in house of Dalit in Besur
Shanivarasanthe, Mar 18, 2012, DHNS :

Colony gets ready to welcome MLA

There is festive mood in SC Colony at Chikkabhandara in Besur Gram
Panchayat. Thanks to the novel programme of village stay initiated by
MLA M P Appacchu Ranajn. The MLA will be staying in the house of
Dharmaiah in the colony on Monday.

MLA M P Appacchu Ranjan will stay in the house of Dharmaiah, a dalit,
during his village stay at Chikkabhandara SC colony in Besur GP limits
of Shanivarasanthe on Monday. The colony residents are eager to
welcome the MLA. He will lay foundation for development work in the
colony at 3 pm.

There will be a medical camp for the residents. Work order will be
given to the beneficiaries of housing scheme. Sewing machines will be
distributed to the needy on the occasion. The taluk-level officials
will also be present.

He will take part in pooja at Mariamma temple in the colony. The MLA
will be entertained with dance, folk songs, Sobana haadu, Kolata and
other cultural programmes.

As MLA will be residing in the house of a labourer Dharmaiah, the
family members are eager to serve him with rice, sambar, palya,
happala, payasam, kesaribaath etc. Speaking to Deccan Herald, the
villagers said that the colony has a primary school.

However, there is only one teacher to impart education. There is a
need for additional teachers. Majority of the colony residents do not
have toilet facilities. The colony does not have electricity either.
The villagers are going to keep forth all these demands before the
MLA.

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[ZESTCaste] ‘Shiv Sena’s Dalit hatred behind denial of seat to Athavale’

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/shiv-senas-dalit-hatred-behind-denial-of-seat-to-athavale/925567/

'Shiv Sena's Dalit hatred behind denial of seat to Athavale'

Express news service Posted online: Mon Mar 19 2012, 11:06 hrs
Mumbai : The Congress has said the Shiv Sena's denial of a Rajya Sabha
nomination to Republican Party of India leader Ramdas Athavale is a
reflection of the party's hatred towards the Dalit community.

"The Shiv Sena's denial to Athavale is a final blow to the concept of
Mahayuti," said Sachin Sawant, spokesperson of the Maharashtra Pradesh
Congress Committee.

Though the post-poll analysis of results in Mumbai showed the Dalit
vote had been split in the financial capital, Sawant said it was
evident from the nagar panchayat, panchayat samiti, zilla parishad and
corporation election results that the Mahayuti—or the alliance of the
Shiv Sena, Bharatiya Janata Party and theRPI(A) — had not been
accepted by the people of Maharashtra.

"The performance of the RPI, Shiv Sena and BJP was dismal in rural Maharashtra.

Even in the cities, the RPI could not get any noticeable success," Sawant said.

According to him, while the Sena-BJP had won 112 seats without the RPI
in the 2007 polls to the BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation, the
seat-sharing alliance with the RPI has led to a reduced tally for the
saffron combine. "This means the Dalit votes have not been transferred
to the saffron alliance. Also, out of 29 seats that RPI contested,
they managed to win only one seat. In the remaining 28 seats, the RPI
has won a meagre number of votes," Sawant said. "This means the
traditional saffron votes were also not transferred to Dalit
candidates."

Calling the alliance an opportunist initiative, the Congress leader
said Athavale himself had been more keen to corner an RS nomination
than give meaningful representation to the Dalit community.

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[ZESTCaste] TN: Khaki blind to Dalit plight

http://expressbuzz.com/topnews/tn-khaki-blind-to-dalit-plight/373814.html

TN: Khaki blind to Dalit plight

Sangeetha Neeraja
Express News Service
Last Updated : 19 Mar 2012 12:08:07 PM IST

CHENNAI: Over two years ago, Usha (28) saw her husband Raja being
lynched by a caste Hindu mob in Villupuram in broad daylight. "Over
100 people armed with sickles, iron bars, knives and stones, hit my
husband in front of me and my daughters; broke his skull and gouged
his eyes out before killing him. What did the police do? Nothing. Two
years have passed since the incident occurred. No action has been
taken so far," says Usha.

She was narrating her plight at a recent public hearing on the
'Atrocities and Non-implementation of the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Tamil Nadu Rules'
in the city. Usha's presentation put the glare on caste bias that is
very much alive and kicking in our backyard.

In fact, less than one per cent of the accused get convicted under the
SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act, according to statistics
released by the National Crime Records Bureau in 2009. And almost 95
per cent of complaints filed by members of the SC/ST community are not
even recorded. Of the five per cent of complaints based on which First
Information Reports (FIRs) are filed, hardly any move forward as
counter cases filed by the accused to render them ineffective.

As Bharathan, a Dalit rights activist, who had helped Dalits file 218
FIRs in 2008 under the SC/ST(PoA) Act, points out, "Unless some civil
society groups or NGOs support the victim, their complaints are never
accepted by the cops."

"What is sad to note is, the police often advise the accused on how to
come up with the best counter-case, to nullify the victim's complaint.
Cops prefer to investigate the counter cases, ignoring the original
complaints filed by the victims. Often, FIRs are not filed under the
SC/ST Act but under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code (minor
injury) or under Section 294-B of the IPC (singing, reciting or
uttering any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public
place), so it becomes easy later to force Dalits to settle for a
compromise."

To prove his point, he cites the case of a Arunthaiyar woman, who
registered a complaint at Surandai police station in Tirunelveli on
February 22. A caste Hindu verbally abused her in public. Though the
cops gave the woman a CRS receipt after filing an FIR, they changed
the case to that of causing public nuisance, after allegedly
consulting the town's panchayat chairman. The case was closed after
later.

"When a case gets past the FIR into the investigation level, the
person who wrote the FIR is king. The way he words it is very
important. Most of the time, it is mildly worded with an intention to
water down the intensity of the atrocity. Which is one reason why the
charges rarely stick and the accused gets acquitted easily. The DSP,
who is supposed to investigate the case as per the SC/ST Act is
forever missing in action," says Bharathan.

On rare occasions, the DSP files a fair investigation report. If and
when that happens, he is transferred after the case comes to court, he
argues And the investigation is handed over to the local police, who
try their best to get the case nullified.

Under the SC/ST Act, every district is supposed to have a SC/ST Act
monitoring cell, which is a five-member body, presided by the district
collector. If a DSP dismisses a case, he has to present it to this
cell. Sadly, the district-level monitoring cells are entirely
dysfunctional.

When Dalit or tribal women go to police stations, they end up
interacting with male cops, not policewomen. The policemen hardly
listen to them or take down their grievances, charges Kalpana,
advisor, Tamil Nadu Federation of Women Panchayat Leaders. Besides,
policemen are often not polite to Dalits, she points out.

In fact, 18 per cent of the population in Tamil Nadu comprises Dalits.
Tribals constitute one per cent of the population. Yet, job vacancies
reserved for them are not filled up, citing spurious reasons, such as
lack of "suitable candidates", observes Kalpana.

There are about 450 types of discrimination and atrocities practiced
by caste Hindus against SC/STs, out of which 32 are visible. The rest
fall under various heads of visibility. Some are so well disguised
that you can figure them out only if you happen to be a Dalit.

For example, a Block Development Officer who was previously posted in
the Villathikulam panchayat Union office, would get up every time the
Dalit Panchayat president visited him. He would keep standing till the
conversation was over – often stretching to 25-30 minutes — to avoid
asking the Dalit to take a seat, argue activists.

At the public hearing, cases broadly falling under social exclusion —
infringement of customary rights to public places like water, road,
graveyard, police atrocities resulting in custodial deaths, rape and
sexual assault, abuse of women in power at the panchayat level were
discussed.

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[ZESTCaste] Rail Budget–mismanages finance, eyes dalit vote bank

http://www.nagalandpost.com/blog/BlogArticle.aspx?baid=QkExMDAwMDA0MzI%3D-sbbJmQ0Epls%3D&bid=QzEwMDA3-z9Hu68WczSk%3D

Rail Budget–mismanages finance, eyes dalit vote bank
18 Mar. 2012 11:29 PM IST

The Railway Budget is the last nail on the democratic aspirations. It
is a clever ploy of bureaucratising the process and depriving the
political leadership of any role in decision-making. It is an
inflationary budget with an eye to cater to dalit vote banks in
preparation for the next general elections by employing one lakh
dalits in the next one year.
Every bit of it, including not providing copy of the financial
statements, to the media is an effort at concealing facts. The reason
given was printed copies are not available and it has been loaded on
the internet. It was not easily accessible there also. It raises a
question – is there more to conceal than reveal? This is what the
railways have been doing since Laloo Prasad Yadav was its minister. He
showed a surplus which was not there.
Now to justify steepest increase in fares it is trying to show a loss
of Rs 3000 crore – shown as loan by the minister "to balance my
budget" despite the claim of higher passenger earnings during the last
two years. It is not true to state that the railways have not
increased fares for the last eight years. They have been continuously
increasing on the ploy of readjusting fares through one or other
formula. They increased fares in the name of safety and development
cess as well.
Passenger earnings in 2010-11 were Rs 25,792.62 crore. This was higher
than the earnings of 2009-10 by 2,378.18 calculated at Rs 23,488
crore. The railways claim that in 2009-10 also it earned more than the
previous year. It has been so every year since 2000-01.
If that is so the rationale presented by railway minister Dinesh
Trivedi looks unconvincing. On an average he has increased fares by 12
to 24 per cent. His process of fixing fares at the minimum of Rs 5 on
the plea that small coins are not available also exposes the
inefficiency of the government.
He also tried to substantially increase the fares to the nearest Rs
5, which in many cases is to the farthest Rs 5, would earn the
railways about Rs 7,000 crore extra, says chairman of railway board
Vinai Mittal.
The minister says that his gross traffic receipts – from freight and
passengers – in 2012-13 would be Rs 103,917 crore short by Rs 2322
crore than his budget estimates. But it is more than his earnings of
the two previous years as passenger traffic is continuously
increasing. He also states that passenger traffic is set to grow by
another 5.4 per cent in 2012-13. It means even at the existing fares
the earnings would increase by at least 6 per cent, about Rs 18,00
crore.
Does that justify his steps to increase the fares? It means from fares
alone the railways are set to earn about Rs 8800 crore more. If he is
at a loss, how and why he has decided to pay a dividend of Rs 6,676
core to the government. The ministry is also receiving a grant of Rs
24,000 crore from the government against its demand of Rs 45,000
crore. It is quixotic.
It only means that the railways have messed up their finances to the
tune of about Rs 27,000 crore (Rs 24,000 crore budgetary support and
Rs 3,000 crore loss). If market borrowing of Rs 15,000 core and public
private partnership (PPP) of Rs 1050 crore are included it would go up
to rs 43,000 crore.
The railways would be run on commercial principles, a number of
previous railway ministers had averred. When it comes to levying of
fares and freight, the principle is adhered to in its most
exploitative manner. But its expenses are not managed on those
principles. A loss-making enterprise is supposed to curtail its
hiring. But the railway minister there makes a political statement –
he would employ one lakh more – above 80,000 appointed in 2010-11 -
and would also wipe off the "backlog" of SC/ST and other categories.
Then he also makes a brazen statement, "I have taken the railways out
of ICU".
A patient coming out of ICU is not expected to take any strain – as
this political extravaganza for catering to the supposed vote bank
would cause. Is it a preparation for the next Lok Sabha elections?
All the same he tries to close options of his successors on deciding
on the fare component. The freight component has already been taken
out of their purview by the decision of Laloo Yadav to introduce
dynamic freight structure. Freight revision is a round-the-year
non-budgetary process.
Trivedi has now suggested the same for fare revision as well by
proposing to introduce a dynamic structure for FAC – fuel adjustment
component and set up a fare regulatory authority. The authority would
serve two purposes. Primarily it would reemploy retired bureaucrats,
as wisdom is supposed to lie only with them, and secondarily the fare
management would be decided irrationally as is done by all other
regulatory authorities be it in the area of electricity or insurance.
The political head of the ministry effectively would be subservient to
the bureaucracy. It exemplifies the lack of political wisdom of the
present rulers. Europe and the US are having severe financial problems
as their economies were mismanaged by the bureaucrats and the
politicians, under IMF-World Bank mandate, decided to hand over their
powers to the officials.
The railway budget is a testimony of implanting those follies here. If
the west has failed on this score, it is difficult to fathom how India
could succeed. Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has rightly
decided to sack the railway minister and called for redo of the
railway budget.

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[ZESTCaste] Beef sentiment becomes ‘fleshpoint’ at Osmania

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/235510/beef-sentiment-becomes-fleshpoint-osmania.html

Beef sentiment becomes 'fleshpoint' at Osmania
JBS Umanadh, HYDERABAD, Mar 18, 2012, DHNS:

'Bone' of contention

After the Telangana agitation, it is the "beef sentiment" that is
doing the rounds on the Osmania University campus which has been calm
for over eight months since the dilution of the agitation for a
separate state.

The flashpoint this time is the demand of 2,000-strong Dalit students
of the university for beef to be served in university canteens which
is opposed by the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

In protest against the upper class attitude, Dalit students plan to
hold a "beef festival" on the campus in April to coincide with the
birth anniversary celebrations of Babu Jagjivan Ram on April 5, Dr B R
Ambedkar on April 14 and Jyotiba Phule on April 11.

The Dalit students plan to cook beef in the open and serve it to the
gathering as an expression of their cultural identity and traditional
right.

But the university authorities have refused permission for such a
festival in the face of hostile postures by the ABVP.

University Vice-Chancellor S Satyanarayana said the issue was very
sensitive and, given the history of caste tensions on the campus, the
authorities fear that the issue may become a flashpoint for another
bout of campus mob fury.

Dalit campaigners, however, say by denying permission, the university
is resorting to cultural imposition on Dalits and treating them as
apartheid in their own land.

"Dalit students have a right to practise their food habits as
protected under the Constitution," said Dalit writer and academic
Kancha Ilaiah.

At present, chicken, mutton and eggs are served as part of the
non-vegetarian menu at the university hostels. The politics of food on
the Osmania campus, known as the nerve centre of Telangana movement
and also a hotbed of radicalism, has triggered a totally new vista of
agitation.

Charging the authorities with imposing a culture of "food fascism"
prominent Dalit activist Bojja Tarakam said it was an attempt to
lampooning the Dalits in the name of caste and religion.

"Beef has nothing to do with hurting any sentiments as majority of
meat eating population in the world, including India, are beef
lovers," he said. The Osmania vice-chancellor has asked senior faculty
members to hold talks with the student representatives and sort out
the matters amicably.

In the past, there were some instances of scuffle between the ABVP and
Dalit students on the issue of organising beef festival on the campus
and the event was put off. "In their petition submitted to the
vice-chancellor, the Dalit students alleged that their food habits and
traditions were being ridiculed and insulted by ABVP members," said a
university spokesman.

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[ZESTCaste] 'Radios are useless when we have nothing to eat'

http://twocircles.net/2012mar18/radios_are_useless_when_we_have_nothing_eat.html

'Radios are useless when we have nothing to eat'
Submitted by admin4 on 18 March 2012 - 1:51pm

India News

By Imran Khan, IANS,

Patna : What do we do with a radio when we have nothing to eat? This
is the refrain of many of the poor Mahadalits in Bihar who are selling
off free radios given by the state government to buy meat and country
liquor.

More than 1,500 Mahadalits, the poorest of the poor in Bihar, in
Dhanarua block in Patna district are reported to have sold their
radios for just Rs.150 to Rs.200 in the last few days.

"What will we do with a radio when we have nothing to eat? Where is
the money for its battery? That is why we have sold the radios,"
Brahamdeo Manjhi of Anjani village, a beneficiary of the Mahadalit
radio scheme, told IANS.

He said the money he got was used for a small party with his friends.
"We enjoyed country (locally brewed) liquor," he said.

Radios were distributed to educate the Mahadalits about the importance
of literacy, sanitation and kicking bad habits like consuming alcohol
and tobacco.

Another beneficiary of the Mahadalit radio scheme, Doman Manjhi, said
the radio will not benefit Mahadalits. "We are fighting for survival.
Songs and news sound bad when we have empty stomachs," he said.

Doman admitted that he along with dozens have already sold radios
provided by the government. "After I sold my radio, I purchased
country liquor and chicken for dinner," he said.

Dhanarua Block welfare officer Sadhna Kumari said there was
information that Mahadalits in some villages had sold their radios.
"What can we do? We cannot check it," she said.

According to block officials, till date, 5,552 radios have been
distributed and 663 are yet to be distributed among Mahadalits.

Last month, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched the Mahadalit radio
scheme under the Bihar Mahadalit Vikas mission. The government has
decided to provide radios to about 2.2 million Mahadalit familes.

As per the 2011 Census, Dalits constitute nearly 15 percent of Bihar's
104 million population. A total of 21 of the 22 Dalit sub-castes have
been identified as Mahadalits. They include the Musahar, Bhuiyan, Dom,
Chamar and Nat communities.

In 2009, the state government had decided to directly hand over Rs.400
to each family to purchase radios.

However, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said it was decided not to give
the money as officials of the SC/ST welfare department and the
Mahadalit Vikas Mission apprehended that the money might be misused.

Bihar was the first state in the country to constitute a Mahadalit
Commission. It was decided that the commission would study the status
of the neglected sub-castes among Dalits and suggest ways to uplift
them.

(Imran Khan can be contacted at imran.k@ians.in)

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[ZESTCaste] SC/STs yet to use scheme benefits

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/scsts-yet-to-use-scheme-benefits/240481-60-119.html

Bangalore | Posted on Mar 19, 2012 at 11:15am IST
SC/STs yet to use scheme benefits
indianexpressExpress News Service

BANGALORE:� All Indian Babu Jagjivan Ram Dalit Development Federation
and Adi Jambava Jagruti, a minority wing working for the rights of
SC/ST, held its summit at Mythic Society on Sunday. Former minister
Anjanamurthy participated in the programme.

The summit had around 200 members from various districts. Addressing
the gathering, the founder of Adi Jambava Jagruti Samiti M Gangadhar
said, "Around 1 crore people are from SC/ST who have not utilised
their rights. This is because of lack of education." He congratulated
the Minister for Social Justice A Narayanswamy who was recently
honoured with a Doctorate degree from Gulbarga University.

Former Minister Anjannappa said, "We have plenty of plans for SC/ST
under Bapu Jagjivan Ram scheme and the development of the community is
possible if� these benefits are utilised.

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