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Monday, March 15, 2010

[ZESTCaste] OUTRAGEOUS! CONDEMN THE SHAMEFUL ATTACK ON KANCHA ILIAIAH!

OUTRAGEOUS! CONDEMN THE SHAMEFUL ATTACK ON KANCHA ILIAIAH!

On 15 March 2010 18:02, Siddhartha Kumar <mailsiddhartha.k@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=OU+students+force+prof+to+eat+his+words&artid=pstADAF7WSo=&SectionID=e7uPP4%7CpSiw=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EH8HilNJ2uYAot5nzqumeA==&SEO=
>
> By Express News Service
> 15 Mar 2010 06:29:00 AM IST
>
> OU students force prof to eat his words
>
> HYDERABAD: A new demand for creation of `Manya Seema,' a separate
> State comprising areas predominantly dominated by tribal population
> and extending from Adilabad to Srikakulam district, and its advocacy
> by Prof Kancha Ilaiah has not gone down well with the students of
> Osmania University...

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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati comes under fire for holding grand rally while Bareilly burns

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_mayawati-comes-under-fire-for-holding-grand-rally-while-bareilly-burns_1359408

Mayawati comes under fire for holding grand rally while Bareilly burns
PTI
Monday, March 15, 2010 21:25 IST

New Delhi, Lucknow: Even as she came under attack in Parliament over
the communal violence in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh chief minister
Mayawati today held a rally in Lucknow in a big show of strength and
slammed the Congress for pushing the Women's Reservation Bill.

Calling the Congress anti-Dalit, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader
announced that demonstrations will be staged against the bill across
the country on April 14, birth anniversary of Dalit icon Dr BR
Ambedkar.

The rally held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the BSP and
attended by tens of thousands of people came under intense
attack from Mayawati's arch rival, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

"While Bareilly is on fire, the Mayawati government is spending Rs200
crore of public money on a rally," Yadav said in the Lok Sabha.

Yadav was joined by Congress and BJP members in demanding
the Centre's intervention to bring back normalcy in the riot-hit town.
They attacked the chief minister for her government's handling of the
situation. The Union home ministry has sought a report from the Uttar
Pradesh government on the circumstances that led to the situation in
Bareilly.

Blue, the colour of the BSP, dominated Lucknow's cityscape ahead of
the rally, touted as the biggest ever in the state.

Hitting back at the opposition parties criticising her for installing
her own statues throughout the state, Mayawati said the law does not
prevent one from erecting statues of living persons.

In her address, the chief minister said, "The Congress and other
political parties have always been against Dalits and this is evident
from the fact that no separate quota has been carved out for SC/ST
women in the 33% reservation proposed in the Women's Reservation
Bill."

"From all those people criticising installation of my statues, I would
like to ask them in which book of law has it been written that statues
of living persons cannot be erected," Mayawati said.

She said her statues were being installed as per the written will of
BSP founder Kanshi Ram.

"Kanshi Ramji in his will has directed me to install my statues along
with those of him," she claimed.

"The Congress people claim themselves to be the biggest sympathisers
of women and are praising Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia
Gandhi. In reality, whatever rights women have got in the field of
education, employment and politics, it is due to Ambedkar," she said.

During zero hour In the Lok Sabha, Yadav raised the issue of the
violence in Bareilly, which has been under curfew for a fortnight.
"What did the state government do to prevent it and bring it under
control?" he asked.

His party colleague, Shailendra Kumar, sought the Centre's
intervention and demanded a statement on the situation.

Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav, who criticised the state
government for preventing political leaders from visiting the town and
nearby areas, said the Centre should make a statement on the situation
today itself.

"In the last 10 years, Bareilly was never under curfew for 14
continuous days," he said.

Joining the attack on the Mayawati government, Jagdambika Pal,
Congress MP from Uttar Pradesh, said, "The state government has failed
on the law and order front and it appears to be helpless. The Centre
should intervene."

BJP members were agitated that Maneka Gandhi, who
represents nearby Aonla, was not allowed to have her say despite repeated pleas.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalit group wins Korean award

http://www.cathnewsindia.com/2010/03/15/dalit-group-wins-korean-award/

Dalit group wins Korean award
Published Date: March 15, 2010

Indian human rights group Janodayam has asked for international
support to help dalit (former lower caste) people, after receiving
this year's Bishop Tji Hak-soon Justice and Peace Award in Korea.

"Every day, three dalit people are killed, three dalit women are raped
and 15 dalit houses are burnt. Simply because we are dalit who are
supposed to be 'impure and polluted' by birth, according to Hindu
scripture," said Jesuit Father Lourdunathan Yesumarian, who is also a
dalit.

"People talk about human rights but we, dalit, fight for the right to
be human," said the secretary of the Janodayam Social Education Center
in Chennai, India.

"But we really need help and solidarity from the international
community to overcome such cruel discrimination," he said.

He was speaking to 170 people from various human rights and Church
groups at the Tji Hak-soon Justice and Peace Foundation's annual award
ceremony in Seoul.

The award honors the late Bishop Daniel Tji of Wonju, who campaigned
against Korea's former military rulers and was introduced in 1997. It
includes a US$10,000 cash prize.

Janodayam means "those who rise up for revolution".

The organization was founded in Chennai in 1984 by dalit to support
others in the former lower caste.

"Despite the fact I am a Catholic priest and lawyer, I have been
arrested four times and imprisoned three times," Father Yesumarian
said. "Once I was stripped naked and tortured by police for 14 hours.
Can you imagine what has happened to ordinary dalit people?"

The foundation recognized the group's efforts in helping organizing
and promoting awareness among the dalit and in providing leadership in
efforts to protect their rights.

It also noted that Janodayam has greatly contributed to promoting
dalit issues in society and bringing the plight of the dalit people to
the attention of the international community.

Monsignor Phillip Kim Byeong-sang, chairman of the foundation, praised
Janodayam for bringing hope to the world amid power struggles,
untruths and hypocrisy.

He offered encouragement by saying the election of Meira Kumar, a
dalit, as the first woman speaker of the Indian House of the People
last year, was a symbolic event for dalit and women's rights.

Father Yesumarian told UCA News that "once you are born a dalit you
remain one forever. Of India's some 1.2 billion population, 270
million are dalit who are segregated and discriminated against, even
in the Catholic Church."

He called for the "Korean government and the bishops' conference to
put pressure on their Indian counterparts because it is a human rights
issue, not merely a domestic or national issue."

Source: Dalit group Janodayam wins Tji Hak-soon award (UCAN)

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[ZESTCaste] India remembers Kanshi Ram on his birthday

http://www.mynews.in/News/India_remembers_Kanshi_Ram_on_his_birthday_N40718.html

India remembers Kanshi Ram on his birthday

Posted On: 15-Mar-2010 07:16:18
By: Neha

Born in Punjab in 1934, Kanshi Ram was the eldest of eight siblings.
His upbringing was modest: he studied up to graduation, and there was
nothing in his early years to suggest that there was a silent
political and social revolutionary lurking within.

It was only after he took up a government job in the western Indian
state of Maharashtra that he began to be influenced by the writings
and political philosophy of BR Ambedkar, a social reformer and
architect of free India's constitution.

Mr Ambedkar voiced the concerns of India's low caste community -
particularly Dalits - in the run up to the country's independence. In
the mid-1960s, Kanshi Ram began to organise Dalit government employees
to fight against what he saw as the deeply entrenched prejudice of
higher caste people.

It was around this time that he decided that he would not marry but
dedicate his life to the cause of Dalit improvement. By the mid-1980s,
he decided to take the plunge into active politics.

The result was the formation of the BSP (the Common Man's Party) in
1984. As a politician, he soon began to attract national attention
even though he was not renowned for his oratorical skills or for his
personal charisma.

He excelled however as a master strategist and organiser, and used
these strengths to carve out a niche for Dalits. This was done using
an often combative and aggressive strategy, with virulent attacks on
other political parties which he claimed only represented the
interests of higher caste Hindus.

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[ZESTCaste] Powerful low-caste Indian leader holds huge rally

http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1203725&lang=eng_news

Powerful low-caste Indian leader holds huge rally

By BISWAJEET BANERJEE
Associated Press
2010-03-15 07:58 PM Fonts Size:

Hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters marked the 25th
anniversary Monday of a political party representing India's lowest
castes and feted its flamboyant and bejeweled leader as a "goddess"
who leads the country's largest state.
The rally reflected the spectacular rise of Mayawati, a 54-year-old
former school teacher, as much as the political clout of her Bahujan
Samaj Party. Since 2007 elections, the party has governed Uttar
Pradesh, home to 180 million people. Mayawati managed that by forging
an unlikely electoral alliance with the state's upper castes.

Although accused of amassing huge wealth through corruption and
building lavish memorials for her party, Mayawati, who goes by just
one name, commands an enormous vote base among the Dalits, who are at
the bottom of Hinduism's caste hierarchy.

Dressed in peach silk and adorned with diamonds, Mayawati, a Dalit,
addressed hundreds of thousands who had crowded Monday into an
enormous tented area in the state capital Lucknow. Most were Dalits,
who make up about 25 percent of the state's population.

"I am proud of the Dalit people. Whenever I have needed them, they
have supported me. I will not let their heads hang in shame until my
death," Mayawati said to loud cheers.

The rally brought the city to a virtual standstill. Blue decorations _
the party's color _ were everywhere: flags, fountains gushing dyed
water, lights and elephants _ the party's symbol. Graffiti splashed on
walls warned "anti-Dalits" not to mess with Mayawati.

"This rally is a show of strength for Mayawati to send a message
across India that she is no pushover," said S.P. Pandey, a local
political analyst.

But her party, which was founded by Mayawati's political mentor Kanshi
Ram, has yet to replicate its success in Uttar Pradesh on the national
stage. It is part of the opposition bloc and has just 20 members in
the 545-member lower house of Parliament.

While she champions the poor, Mayawati's political opponents and
critics have accused her of accruing collections of diamond jewelry
and homes. Government officials line up to pay respects on her
birthday, which she named "Dalit Self-Respect Day." She has also spent
more than 23 billion rupees ($500 million) _ four times her state's
health budget _ building pink sandstone statues to honor herself and
other party leaders.

But to her followers, her conspicuous consumption is often seen as
sign that one of their own has breached India's formidable caste
system to reach high political office.

"For us, she is a Goddess. She has empowered us. Given us voice which
now people are listening to," said Jawitri Devi, a poor women in a
dirty sari, who took her grandson to the rally.

Baburam Kushwaha, a senior party official, denied claims from the
opposition Bharatiya Janata Party that over 2 billion rupees ($43
million) of state money had been spent on the day's festivities in
Lucknow. He said the party footed the bill.