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Sunday, March 28, 2010

No more reservations (Opinion)

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/No-more-reservations/596576
No more reservations
Tavleen Singh
Posted online: Sunday , Mar 28, 2010 at 0230 hrs
Whichever way I say this, it is going to sound wrong in these
politically correct times, so I am going to say it straight out. We
must stop all reservations. They have failed as a form of affirmative
action and have served mostly to create ugly little aristocracies of
supposedly deprived Indians and a false sense of entitlement among
those who believe that the state owes them a living.
Last week, no sooner did the Supreme Court declare that it was fine
for the Government of Andhra Pradesh to make a 4 per cent quota for
'backward' Muslims than demands rose from Muslim clerics and
politicians for a quota for all Muslims and a quota within the women's
quota for Muslim women. This sounds like madness but there is logic in
it. If there can be reservations for women, Dalits, Adivasis and other
backward castes, then why not for everyone who considers themselves
disadvantaged?
In this column two weeks ago, I pointed out that reserving 190 seats
for women in the Lok Sabha would weaken Parliament. I am happy to see
from your letters that most of you agree with me but, unfortunately,
we can do nothing because there are not enough people who are willing
to stand up and be counted. Then, there is the problem of appearing to
be on the same side as Mulayam in his new avatar as aged Roadside
Romeo and Lalu whose only contribution to women's empowerment has been
to impose Rabri Devi on the people of Bihar. Sonia Gandhi has done
serious harm to India's polity by lending her substantial might to
this foolish Bill, but she looks better than her ex-best friends.
Messrs Yadav.
Is there nobody around Madame who has the courage to tell her that
reservations as a form of affirmative action have not worked? If they
had, then in 60 years of reservations for Scheduled Castes and Tribes,
we should have at the very least seen a critical mass in these
communities who were educated enough to bring real change. Dalits
continue to be mostly poor and illiterate and they continue to live in
ghettoes on the edge of villages across India in a form of unspoken
apartheid. The situation of the Adivasis has not improved through
reservations either. It is so bad that the Government of India felt
the need to pass a law not long ago giving them ownership of land in
what is left of our forests.
If instead of reservations we had given these traditionally deprived
communities schools, hospitals, roads and job opportunities, I have
not the slightest doubt that they would today be competing with the
most exalted of Brahmins. As someone who is an outcaste by the rules
of the Indian caste system (and proudly so), I often wonder if
reservations are not a high form of casteism. Why else would we deny
deprived and underprivileged Indians what they really need, which is
an equal chance? If there are to be special measures, then they should
come in the form of urgent investment in districts where there are
high levels of deprivation.
Not only do reservations not work, they make people believe that they
are entitled to special privileges just because they are poor and
illiterate. It is a terrible legacy from our socialist era and if our
political leaders bothered to travel in their constituencies instead
of whizzing in and out at election time, they would find just how bad
a legacy it has been. On my travels in rural parts I have met people
who think a school three kilometres outside their village is too far
for their children to go. I have been in villages where people admit
that they stopped repairing the village pond and ended the ancient
practice of harvesting rainwater because they believed that the
'sarkar' owed them free piped water in their homes. Not long ago in a
court house in Haryana, when I complained about litter scattered
everywhere, a court employee said, 'The government should clean it up.
It's their job.'
This distorted mindset, I believe, comes from the idea born of
Nehruvian socialism that the Government would take care of everyone's
needs even if nobody lifted a finger to pick up a piece of waste
paper. Unless this mindset changes, we can reserve till the word merit
disappears completely and it will only make things worse and worse
still. Reservations do not work. Period.
If Muslims believe that the community has fallen behind, then its
leaders should demand schools, hospitals and jobs. These are the real
tools of empowerment, not reserved seats in Parliament and educational
institutions, because in those reserved seats will sit only those who
already have access to powerful people. That is how it has always
worked, that is how it always will.
Follow Tavleen Singh on Twitter @ tavleens

[ZESTCaste] Double tragedy for dalit family of Bicholim

http://digitalgoa.com/ca_disp.php?id=958

Double tragedy for dalit family of Bicholim

Digital Goa News Service
Bicholim, March 28 - Tragedy struck twice this dalit family comprising
of a 70-yr-old blind mother and two unemployed sons.

In the latest tragedy, the hut in which this Parwar family of three
was living at Harijanwada, Bicholim was completely gutted in fire last
night. The family lost each and every belonging in the fire.
Fortunately, the blind mother who was inside the house when fire broke
out was rescued by alert neighbours.

What is disheartening is the fact that the mud house of the family had
collapsed in the heavy rains and subsequent flooding on Sept 5, 2009.
No government agency came forward to provide them any financial
assistance to help rebuild this house till day and hence they were
living this hut since than.

With the latest tragedy, this family is completely devastated with no
roof on their head, no food to eat and even no clothes to wear.

Playing good Samaritans, Rotary Club of Bicholim has provided the
family with some clothes and food to meet their immediate needs. Our
reporter from Bicholim Vishant Vaze has taken initiative on behalf of
Bicholim Journalist Association to raise funds towards constructing a
small house for this unfortunate family. Those who wish to donate cash
or kind towards helping this family may contact Vishant Vaze on
9822582667

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[ZESTCaste] Chetan Bhagat preaches on Mayawati

http://getupdated.in/?p=718

Chetan Bhagat preaches on Mayawati

Mar 27

A confession first. Like all writers , amateurs or paid , pros or cons
, bloggers or editors ; we are insanely jealous of Chetan Bhagat. It
is disgusting that such a mediocrity who is so full of crap sells so
much. So he will continue to be our favorite bashing boy for some
time.

In his latest "editorial" Chetan Bhagat expressed his disgust at
obnoxious display of wealth by Mayawati. He was going on and on about
how ostentatious display of wealth is well ummm – ostentatious. He
cited Warren Buffett as a model of frugality for all the youth of the
country to imitate. But why exactly is Mayawati flaunting her
"wealth", if that is what one think it is.

We city bred , English speaking , coffee drinking , internet surfing ,
brand conscious , west imitating people love to scoff at the likes of
Lalu , Rabri , Mayawati and other buffoonish polticians. They do silly
things , we read editorials written on them on how silly they are. And
we think that we are above all the sillyness going around in the
country.

But of course the politicians know better. What is an obnoxious
display of wealth for Bhagat is a carefully crafted Machiavellian ploy
for Mayawati and a sign of arrival of Dalit prosperity for the
uneducated Dalit. It doesn't matter how silly it is. It only matter
how her voters perceive it. And her voters are not reading any
editorials, not even the primitively simple ones written by Bhagat.
And as long as they have the votes of those voters they control the
strings of lives of those scoffing at them and reading profound and
insightful editorials written by Chetan Bhagat.

It may sound too simple and obvious but think about it a little.
Politicians do things and all the journalists , thinkers ,
intellectuals gather round and say how disgusting it is. What has our
democracy come to that such politicians are doing such things in such
a great democracy ????. Well I would once again quote what a dead poet
said about democracy –

Is Raaz ka ek mard-e-firangi ne kiya hai faash,
Harchand ki dana (intellectuals) ise khola(disclose) nahin karate,
Zamhooriyat(Democracy) ek tarz-e-hukumat (way of ruling) hai jisme,
Bandon ko gina(counted) karate hain, taula(weighed) nahin karate.

- Amaresh

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[ZESTCaste] UP govt siphoning off funds: Rahul Gandhi

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/UP-govt-siphoning-off-funds-Rahul-Gandhi/articleshow/5733523.cms

UP govt siphoning off funds: Rahul Gandhi
TNN, Mar 28, 2010, 01.37am IST

LUCKNOW: The acrimony between Congress and ruling BSP escalated with
Amethi MP and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi hitting out at
Mayawati government for promoting corruption and lagging behind in
performance.

''We send you crores, but somewhere along the way the money simply
varnishes,'' Rahul remarked taking a dig at what he called ''UP
government's known penchant for diverting and siphoning off funds.''
He cautioned partymen to be alert and keep an eye on fund utilisation.

The Gandhi scion singled out the BSP regime for favouring the corrupt.
''Blacklisted NGOs out to make money are being given priority in the
state,'' Rahul said, quoting his experience of Amethi.

''All Centrally sponsored schemes such as NREGS, Indira Awas Yojana,
Prime Minister's Gram Sadak Yojana and education for all show a poor
rating. Evidently at the farthest end of the development index, UP
figured much worse than other states I have travelled so far,'' Rahul
said, adding ''you all have a lot of catching up to do to make a
mark.''

Cong gen secy savours samosas
Ram Bharose, a 'samosa' vendor at Jais bazar in Amethi, on Saturday
had a surprise guest — Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who could not stop
himself from savoring the hot snack. On his way from a workers'
meeting, Rahul's convoy was passing through Jais bazar when his
attention was drawn by 'samosas' being fried at a roadside kiosk and
he immediately stopped his car. Rahul bought about half a dozen
'samosas' and 'bread pakoras' and insisted on paying for the eatables
to Bharose. Bharose said he was taking the Rs 100 note as "Rahul's
blessings".

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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati set to rename Gandhi bastion of Amethi

http://www.littleabout.com/news/85335,mayawati-set-rename-gandhi-bastion-amethi.html

Mayawati set to rename Gandhi bastion of Amethi
Published on : Sunday 28 Mar 2010 12:29 - by ANI

Following a Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court order to the
Uttar Pradesh Government to reconsider its earlier decision to carve
out a brand new district of Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Nagar out of
Rae Bareli and Sultanpur, Chief Minister Mayawati is likely to take
her fight against Congress AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to a
new level by renaming his parliamentary bastion Amethi.

Mayawati reportedly has to merely issue a notification to fulfill her
seven-year-old ambition.

The Uttar Pradesh Government's standing counsel Devendra Upadhyay has
made it clear that Mayawati's plans may well become reality through a
notification under Section 11 of the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Act.

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Sunday, March 28, 2010

No more reservations (Opinion)

[ZESTCaste] Double tragedy for dalit family of Bicholim

[ZESTCaste] Chetan Bhagat preaches on Mayawati

[ZESTCaste] UP govt siphoning off funds: Rahul Gandhi

[ZESTCaste] Mayawati set to rename Gandhi bastion of Amethi

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