Latest News Update

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Extravaganza in Stone and Bronze

http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/extravaganza-in-stone-and-bronze1/

Extravaganza in Stone and Bronze
Share
Author: Pooja Wanpal — Published: Oct 17, 2011 at 6:18 am 2 comments
BC Politics Premium

We find throughout the course of history, various cities, parks,
monuments, and of course, statues of people (or named for them) who
are well alive and active. For political, social or scientific
personalities in the last stage of their lives, this can be an
honourable way to show respect and commemorate their lives' work, but
what about a person who goes about erecting huge memorials and
statues, which are often of herself? That can simply be termed as the
megalomania of a demagogue.
Precisely this megalomania in brass and sandstone spans Uttar Pradesh,
masquerading in the form of Dalit (Depressed classes) memorials. Built
by Mayawati, who is paraded as the 'Queen of Dalits', which she is
arguably not, and as the messiah who would work for their upliftment,
these memorials can find no place in Indian history, except as a
terrible waste of the exchequer's funds.

Located in the Hindi heartland, Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous
state, with a per capita income of Rs 23,132 as compared to India's Rs
44,345. 1000 to 2000 crore rupees have been spent by the Uttar Pradesh
Government in erecting these monuments and statues, and an upwards of
80 crore rupees will be spent every year, in their upkeep.

Dissenting voices against these actions are often suppressed by
claimants, that this was the desire of Kanshi Ram, the founder of
Mayawati's political party, and the money for this expenditure was
from the budget of ministries not related to education or healthcare,
where possibly, the money could have been better spent. If we start to
abide by the wishes of dead sectarian political leaders by
transforming the landscape of a state and misusing power, India would
be a chaotic place indeed, considering that there are hundreds of
regional parties like that of Mayawati which periodically come into
power. And since the memorials utilize the funds allocated to others,
we need a serious consideration of the budget, its ramifications and
subsequent reforms that are so essentially needed, as illustrated by
these justifications.

What these huge monuments that dot Uttar Pradesh's landscape will do,
is provide a constant reminder of the 'leaders', who 'shaped' the
state's past, present and will do so in future, and hence will
subliminally affect the public mind.
The shapes of colossal elephants, the symbol of Mayawati's party
(Bahujan Samaj Party) look down upon the people sedately in Lucknow,
Noida and the rest of the state, while secretly trumpeting the mark
the Mayawati has made on the state. The raised per capita income and
the growth rate of the state finds a secondary place, in comparison to
these gleaming bronze statues and gigantic sandstone figures, which
have attracted ire throughout the country. It is a mark of her true
ascent of power but it may mean a hazy future for her PM-dreams, as a
display of her indelicate attitude and the popular opinion about her
immoderation. It's a victory for now, but a pyrrhic one.

------------------------------------

PARTICIPATE:-
On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com

TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:-
If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/

Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
ZESTCaste-digest@yahoogroups.com
ZESTCaste-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ZESTCaste-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[ZESTCaste] Dalits face boycott for refusal to beat drums

http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3897:dalits-face-boycott-for-refusal-to-beat-drums&catid=1:current-news&Itemid=103

Dalits face boycott for refusal to beat drums
Wednesday, 12 October 2011 17:37

MYSORE: Dalit families in Kasuvanahalli village of Nagamangala taluk
who demanded money to beat drums during the Ganesha idol immersion
have been socially boycotted. Upper caste members had approached two
Dalits, Shivaraj and Seetharam, to play drums during the Ganesha idol
immersion procession.

When they demanded Rs150 per person as wages, they were summoned near
Mayamma temple by the village headmen and abused. When they further
refused to play the drums, village headman Mudde Gowda, Parigowda and
others abused their caste. They were forced to fetch water from a
borewell were cattle are fed.

The Dalit families were denied entry into the village. In fact, Dalit
women have been removed from the self-help groups and humiliated
constantly.

As there was no electricity, the Dalit women had to collect water from
a tank only to be threatened by upper caste youths that they would be
paraded in nude.

Meanwhile, MLA Suresh Gowda, who hails from Kasuvanahalli, held a
meeting with the two groups and appealed to them to bury their
differences. Shivaraj and Mayanna lodged a complaint with Nagamanagala
town police station, charging that they fear for their lives and
property. Shivaraj told Express that they worked as labourers in
Nagamanagala town and were not employed by the upper castes.

He added that the panchayat has not given job cards to Dalit families.

Mandya SP Kawshalendra Kumar visited the village and deputed DSP
Channabathanna to look into the allegations.

[Courtesy: IBN Live, October 12, 2011]

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (2)

Recent Activity:

Visit Your Group

----
INFORMATION OVERLOAD?
Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/

PARTICIPATE:-
On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com

TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:-
If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/

Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/

MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

__,_._,___

[ZESTCaste] Dalit engineers suspend agitation against PCL mgmt

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-10-12/lucknow/30270697_1_power-engineers-uppcl-management-kb-ram

Dalit engineers suspend agitation against PCL mgmt
TNN Oct 12, 2011, 02.02AM IST

LUCKNOW: Power engineers of the reserved category on Tuesday decided
to suspend their agitation against UP Power Corporation Limited
(UPPCL) management. The engineers had threatened of staging protest
from Wednesday against the UPPCL management alleging the corporation
management of being anti-dalit.

The engineers changed their decision after they had a last minute talk
with chairman-cum-managing director of UPPCL, Navneet Sehgal, late on
Tuesday evening. Later, the UP Power Association, the umbrella
association of engineers from the reserved category, in a statement
announced suspension of the agitation.

Of late, the UPPCL has been in a thick of controversies. While on one
hand the corporation has been accused of buying power at higher cost,
on the other dalit engineers have been accusing the corporation
management of harassing them. The crisis on the second issue stood
diffused but for only for six days. Association's president, KB Ram
said that the talks with the CMD have been positive. But that will be
considered only till October 17.

The association had earlier met power minister Ram Veer Upadhyay who
after considering the demands directed the CMD to take necessary steps
to ease the crisis.

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (2)

Recent Activity:

Visit Your Group

MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

__,_._,___

[ZESTCaste] 'My voice is my greatest weapon to fight injustice'

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/My-voice-is-my-greatest-weapon-to-fight-injustice/articleshow/10395630.cms

'My voice is my greatest weapon to fight injustice'
TNN | Oct 18, 2011, 03.59AM IST

PUNE: The benefits of globalisation are yet to reach the common people
in villages and the inequality in distribution of wealth is growing by
the year, said well-known Dalit activist Bant Singh who is from the
village of Jabbar in Punjab's Mansa district.

In the city to release a book on crime against women by activist Mukta
Manohar, Singh was speaking with reporters during an interaction
organised by the Pune Union of Working Journalists on Monday.

Singh used to be a farm labourer, who was left to die in 2006 after
being beaten up by the village sarpanch and his cronies. His crime
being that he had protested against the rape committed on his daughter
in 2002. Things, though, have changed much since then. Today, the man
is the voice of courage and determination for 50,000 other farm
labourers through his organisation Majdoor Mukti Morcha. He even uses
his singing talent to spread revolutionary messages of social justice,
cast equality and human rights.

"The upper caste villagers in Punjab are known to snatch land from
poor farmers. We are fighting 32 different cases for such farmers and
against their wrong-doers. It's a fight for respect and rights of farm
labourers that we are engaged in. My organisation is ready to fight
for the cause of individuals in other parts of the country who have
faced similar problems," Singh said.

Having grown up in an environment imbued with revolutionary ideals and
the quest for farmers' rights, Singh has been an activist for his
farmer brethren right from his adolescence. His very zeal ruffled the
feathers of his village heads and, in 2002, Singh's eldest daughter
was raped by some village goons. It took him the next four years to
get justice with the culprits being sentenced to seven years
imprisonment. "But today they are out on bail. The sarpanch was never
convicted due to lack of evidence."

Father of four daughters and four sons, Singh said, "My both hands and
legs were amputated due to spread of gangrene, but my voice is still
intact and that is my greatest weapon to fight against injustice."

In 2006, he was awarded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh. But people woke
up to his rich and soulful voice when he began singing two days after
his surgery in the hospital itself. That drew doctors, nurses, the
media and high-profile people from different fields to Singh's life.
"Since then, there have been international musicians from Canada,
France and the US visiting Singh's village to record his voice and
collaborate on music with him, one of them being The Bant Singh
Project," says fellow activist and Singh's close colleague Sudarshan
Singh.

A self-taught folk singer, Singh has been heavily influenced by the
revolutionary Punjabi folk singer Santrak Udasi. Singh is often
invited to farmers' gatherings and delivers fiery performances and
speeches on their rights and freedom. He even lyricises his own songs
that are rendered in Punjabi.

Today, Singh's activism has reached residents of six different
districts in southern Punjab. "Now people are wary of committing
heinous crimes against women because they are very well aware of our
movement that will get the better of them. The caste and class clashes
are apparent, but Singh's struggles have led to poor farmers and farm
labourers uniting with determination and confidence to fight for a
common cause," Sudarshan said.

Actor Aamir Khan, too, is collaborating with him on a television
episode on his life story, claimed Singh. The project is in the
pre-production stage with Khan's team having visited his village this
July.

Meanwhile, Singh said, "Globalisation did not elevate people's
standard of living at the grass-root level. Government benefits don't
reach us. Due to poverty, people like me can't afford to educate our
women and children despite wanting to, and even now the groundwater in
our village is salty and unfit for consumption. Poor farmers are
compelled to buy water for drinking and irrigation."

But his fight for justice has empowered the women in and around his
village. "Hordes of women, including my wife Harbans Kaur, who were
home-bound till a few years ago, are now coming out confidently and
agitating against injustice in rallies through our movement," Singh
added.

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

Visit Your Group

MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

__,_._,___

[ZESTCaste] Danam booked under SC, ST Act

http://www.siasat.com/english/news/danam-booked-under-sc-st-act

Danam booked under SC, ST Act
Monday, 17 October 2011

Hyderabad, October 17: The City Police registered a case under SC, ST
Attrocities Act against Labour Minister Danam Nagender and his
supporters for allegedly attacking a dalit youth near Tukkaramgate
here on Sunday morning.

The youth was allegedly beaten up by minister's men after a group of
Telangana activists threw eggs on Nagender's vehicle. The youth,
identified as Sharavan, had a bleeding injury on his face and multiple
injuries on the body. Basing on a complaint, a case under SC, ST
Atrocities Act has been booked against the minister and his men at the
Tukkaramgate Police Station.

Meanwhile, the attack has drawn widespread condemnation with the
pro-Telangana parties demanding his arrest and removal from the
cabinet. Handlooms and Textiles Minister Dr P Shankar Rao too
condemned the attack and demanded impartial probe into the matter. He
exhorted the dalit organisations to organise protest across the State
against the minister. He informed that he spoke to the police
officials concerned asking them to take severe action against those
involved in the attack.

Demanding stern action against the Labour Minister, the Osmania
University Students JAC said that the state government arrested the
MPs and MLAs who were peacefully participating in the Rail Roko
agitation, but spared a minister who openly attacked a dalit youth.

------Agencies

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

Visit Your Group

MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

__,_._,___

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Extravaganza in Stone and Bronze

[ZESTCaste] Dalits face boycott for refusal to beat drums

[ZESTCaste] Dalit engineers suspend agitation against PCL mgmt

[ZESTCaste] 'My voice is my greatest weapon to fight injustice'

[ZESTCaste] Danam booked under SC, ST Act

Blog Archive