Friday, January 1, 2010

[ZESTCaste] India's women go to war against alcohol abuse

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091231/FOREIGN/712309877/1002/foreign

India's women go to war against alcohol abuse

Shaikh Azizur Rahman, Foreign Correspondent

* Last Updated: December 31. 2009 2:11PM UAE / December 31. 2009 10:11AM GMT

Roshni Devi and her alcohol resistance group with Brijesh Kumar, a
former drinker and wife beater. Shaikh Azizur Rahman

KOTHAL KHURD // Brijesh Kumar used to spend half of his daily wage
each night on alcohol. When his wife asked for money for food and
household expenses, he beat her.

Unable to bear the abuse, Munni Devi would stay away from her house
for hours in the evening until her husband fell asleep. This routine
continued for more than two decades.

"But four years ago, when Roshni Devi organised the women in action
against our village's drunkards, my husband was forced to stop taking
alcohol," said Ms Devi, a 40-year-old resident of Kothal Khurd village
in Haryana's Mahendragarh district.

"I had never dreamt that any power could correct my husband and peace
could ever return to my family."

She was referring to Roshni Devi, the village chief who led a
successful anti-alcohol campaign. In July, India's president, Pratibha
Patil, invited Roshni Devi, a Dalit, or low caste, Hindu woman to her
residence in Delhi and said that her movement's achievement proved
that the "most difficult of challenges in society can be overcome with
courage, dedication and confidence".

In most of Haryana's villages many day labourers are alcoholics who
squander most of their earnings on drink, leaving their wives,
children and families to fend for themselves, according to the
anti-alcohol campaigners.

In Kothal Khurd, about 20 per cent of the village's 415 Hindu families
are headed by Dalit men who work as day labourers on farms, and almost
one quarter of them were alcoholics just a few years ago, according to
Mr Kumar, who has turned to helping campaign against drink. "At least
one third of the men in our [Dalit] community took alcohol every day,
in the evening. As it happened in my case, the families suffered badly
in all terms and many incurred bad debts. With men spending more than
half of their wage on alcohol bottles, little money would be left for
their families and the situation forced the women to go to work and
children to drop out of the schools," Mr Kumar said. "Alcohol was
sending all of us on the path to ruin."

But the situation began changing in Kothal Khurd in 2005 when Roshni
Devi took a vow to eradicate alcoholism from her village and organised
the women to fight off the menace.

Ms Devi, the only Dalit university graduate from the village and a
mother of two sons, listened to the women speak of their sufferings
and told them that they could help their husbands shun alcohol if they
collectively stood up to them.

Hoping to add more political muscle to her movement, in 2005 Ms Devi
contested the local Panchayat, or village administration, elections
for the seat of sarpanch, or head of the administration, newly
reserved for a Dalit candidate. Because of her fight against
alcoholism, she was so popular among women and non-drinking men that
she polled more votes than all nine of her Dalit male opponents
combined.

However, Ms Devi's election did not go down well with everyone in the
Hindu-majority village. "On the first day as I held my office as the
sarpanch, some upper-caste men said they could not accept the
authority of a woman in the village. When I said that I would do my
best to empower the women and strengthen the movement against
alcoholism, a drunken man pulled me out of my office in the presence
of other men," Ms Devi said.

"But by trying to humiliate me that way, in fact they emboldened me
further on my key mission against alcohol."

Ms Devi was soon able to help enact a resolution seeking the closure
of the liquor shops within 1km of the village. This led to three such
stores being shut down.

But because some Kothal Khurd men still managed to obtain liquor at
far-off shops and return home drunk, Ms Devi's group formed teams made
up of Dalit as well as upper-caste women to confront the drunkards in
the village.

"We caught many drunken men and abused them publicly for taking
alcohol despite our repeated appeals to stay away from drinking. In
some cases we even assaulted some men who tried to abuse us," said Ram
Kali Devi, wife of a day wage labourer who was forced to quit his
10-year drinking habit in 2005 after Roshni Devi launched her
movement.

"Soon, as a number of alcohol users began dwindling in our village, we
knew that our action was working," she said. "All families in Kothal
Khurd are in peace because alcohol is not a hurdle on its development
any more."

In other Indian states alcoholism is also often blamed for domestic
violence and poverty. Sometimes women, mostly wives of alcoholics,
have formed groups that have forced alcohol shops to close.

However, according to Shivtaj Singh, a local social activist and
professor at the government college in the nearby town of Narnaul, "In
nearly all cases the women-led prohibition movements finally failed
because they did not get the necessary support from local police.

"Police get bribes from such illegal liquor shops on a regular basis.
If these shops are stopped they will lose their cuts. So police never
take action against such mushrooming bars," he said.

"Roshni Devi has succeeded in her movement against alcohol addicts in
her village because she spearheaded the movement while being the
sarpanch of the village. Administrative officials supported her and so
police were forced to shut down the liquor shops around Kothal Khurd."

The success of the Kothal Khurd movement has spurred women in about 20
of Haryana's villages to set up alcohol resistance groups.

"Only the collective resistance by women can put a halt to their men's
drinking habits," Roshni Devi said. "On our successful mission we have
also discovered that women too can wield power and can enforce
positive changes in a society."

foreign.desk@thenational.ae

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[ZESTCaste] Fwd: Doctrine of Universal Emptiness

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Shiva Shankar <sshankar@cmi.ac.in>
Date: Fri, Jan 1, 2010 at 1:21 PM
Subject: Doctrine of Universal Emptiness
To:

'... Nagarjuna utterly rejects the idea that his arguments, or any
other philosophical affirmation, are valid because of a foundation
that exists outside of, or beyond, language. ...'

From: Mircea Eliade - A History of Religious Ideas, volume 2: From
Gautama Buddha to the Triumph of Christianity.

Section 189. Nagarjuna and the doctrine of universal emptiness.

... As we have observed, the goal of these doctrinal elaborations and
mythological constructions that are characteristic of the Mahayana is
to make salvation easier for laymen. By accepting and integrating a
certain number of Hindu elements, whether 'popular' (cults, bhakti,
etc.) or learned, the Mahayana renewed and enriched the Buddhist
heritage, though without thereby betraying it. Indeed, the doctrine of
universal emptiness (shunyatavada), elaborated by the genius of
Nagarjuna (second century A.D.) was also known by the name 'the
doctrine of the middle', corresponding to the 'middle way' preached by
the Buddha. Certainly, as if to balance the tendency toward
'easiness', evident in Mahayanist devotion, the doctrine of emptiness
(shunyatavada) stands out by its philosophical depth and difficulty.

Nagarjuna's Indian adversaries, and some Western scholars, have
declared that the shunyatavada is a nihilistic philosophy, since it
appears to deny the fundamental doctrines of Buddhism. In reality, it
is an ontology, paralleled by a soteriology, that seeks to free itself
from the illusory structures that are dependent on language; so the
shunyatavada employs a paradoxical dialectic that ends in the
coincidentia oppositorum, which in a way suggests Nicholas of Cusa, an
aspect of Hegel, and Wittgenstein. Nagarjuna criticizes and rejects
any philosophical system by demonstrating the impossibility of
expressing ultimate truth (paramarthata) by language. First of all, he
points out that there are two kinds of 'truths': truths that are
conventional or 'hidden in the world', which have their practical use,
and ultimate truth, which alone can lead to deliverance. The
Abhidharma, which claims to convey 'high learning', really works with
conventional knowledge. What is worse, the Abhidharma obscures the way
to deliverance with its countless definitions and categories of
existences (as, for example, skandhas, dhatus, etc.), which are
basically only products of the imagination. Nagarjuna sets out to
liberate, and rightly direct, the mental energies trapped in the net
of discourse.

From a demonstration of the emptiness, that is, the nonreality, of
everything that seems to exist or can be felt, thought, or imagined,
several conclusions follow. The first is that all the famous formulas
of the old Buddhism, as well as their systematic redefinitions by
Abhidharma authors, prove to be false. Thus, for example, the three
stages of the production of things - 'origin', 'duration', 'cessation'
- do not exist; and equally nonexistent are the skandhas, the
irreducible elements (dhatus), and desire, the subject of desire, and
the situation of the person who desires. They do not exist because
they possess no nature of their own. Karman itself is a mental
construction, for there is neither 'act' nor 'actor', properly
speaking. Nagarjuna likewise denies the difference between the 'world
of composites' (samskrta) and the 'unconditioned' (asamskrta). 'From
the point of view of ultimate truth, the notion on impermanence
(anitya) cannot be considered more true than the notion of permanence'
(Mulamadhyamaka Karika 23. 13, 14). As for the famous law of
'conditioned coproduction' (pratitya-samutpada), it is useful only
from the practical point of view. In reality, 'conditioned
coproduction - we call it shunya, empty' (ibid., 24. 18). So too, the
Four Holy Truths proclaimed by the Buddha have no nature of their own;
they are merely conventional truths, which can serve only on the plane
of language.

The second consequence is even more radical: Nagarjuna denies the
distinction between 'him who is bound' and 'the delivered one' and,
consequently, the distinction between samsara and nirvana. 'There is
nothing that differentiates samsara from nirvana' (ibid., 25. 19).
This does not mean that the world (samsara) and deliverance (nirvana)
are 'the same thing'; it means only that they are undifferentiated.
Nirvana is a 'fabrication of the mind'. In other words, from the point
of view of ultimate truth, the Buddha himself does not enjoy an
autonomous and valid ontological condition.

Finally, the third consequence of universal emptiness is the basis for
one of the most original ontological creations known to the history of
thought. Everything is 'empty', without any 'nature of its own'; yet
it must not be inferred from this that there is an 'absolute essence'
to which shunyata (or nirvana) refers. When it is said that
'emptiness', shunyata, is inexpressible, inconceivable, and
indescribable, there is no implication that there is in existence a
'transcendent reality' characterized by these attributes. Ultimate
truth does not unveil an 'absolute' of the Vedanta type; it is the
mode of existence discovered by the adept when he obtains complete
indifference towards 'things' and their cessation. The 'realization',
by thought, of universal emptiness is, in fact, equivalent to
deliverance. But he who attains nirvana cannot 'know' it, for
emptiness transcends both being and nonbeing. Wisdom (prajna) reveals
ultimate truth by making use of the 'truth hidden in the world': the
latter is not rejected but is transformed into 'truth that does not
itself exist'.

Nagarjuna refuses to consider the shunyatavada a 'philosophy'; it is a
practice, at one dialectical and contemplative, which, by ridding the
adept of every theoretical construction not only of the world but of
slavation, enables him to obtain imperturbable serenity and freedom.
Nagarjuna utterly rejects the idea that his arguments, or any other
philosophical affirmation, are valid because of a foundation that
exists outside of or beyond language. One cannot say of shunyata that
it exists or that it does not exist or that it exists and at the same
time does not exist etc. To the critics who observe, 'If all is empty,
then Nagarjuna's negation is likewise an empty proposition', he
replies that his adversaries' affirmations as well as his negations
have no autonomous existence: they exist only on the plane of
conventional truth (Mulamadh. 24. 29).

Buddhism, as well as Indian philosophical thought in general, was
changed profoundly after Nagarjuna, though the change was not
immediately evident. Nagarjuna carried to the extreme limit the innate
tendency of the Indian spirit toward coincdentia oppositorum.
Nevertheless, he succeeded in showing that the career of the
boddhisattva retains all its greatness despite the fact that 'all is
empty'. And the ideal of the boddhisattva continued to inspire charity
and altruism ...

References:

1. Frederick J. Streng - Emptiness: A Study in Religious Meaning,
(Nashville, 1967).

2. F.I.Stcherbatsky - The Conception of Buddhist Nirvana, (Leningrad, 1927).

3. T.R.V.Murti - The Central Philosophy of Buddhism, (London, 1955).

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Thursday, December 31, 2009

[ZESTCaste] Happy New Year 2010

To all FFEI donors, friends, and well-wishers

Happy,

Prosperous,

Meaningful,

and

Purposeful

New Year

2010

FFEI is grateful for the help it receives from each of you. We exist because of you. Thank You.

Benjamin Paul Kaila

(on behalf of everyone at FFEI)

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

An educated man without character and humility was more dangerous than a beast. If his education was detrimental to the welfare of poor, he was a curse to society.

-Babasaheb Dr B R Ambedkar

Please visit www.friendsforeducation.org or www.ambedkarscholarship.org

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[ZESTCaste] The Day We Defeated Brahminism - The Battle of Bhima Koregaon: 1st January, 1818

The Day We Defeated Brahminism

The Battle of Bhima Koregaon: 1st January, 1818

By Pardeep Singh Attri

"If we wish to be free, we must fight. Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? I know not what course others may take; but asY for me, give me liberty or give me death." – Patrick Henry (March, 1775)

Bhima Koregaon Pillar: Honouring the Bravery of Untouchable Soldiers

History of India is nothing but the struggle between untouchables and so called upper castes. However the Indian historians have always misled us by not showing the true face of Indian History.

The glorious victory of few hundred untouchable soldiers over numerically superior Peshwa's army in the battle of Koregaon, fought on 1st January, 1818, is one such chapter in Indian history whose significance has been carefully hidden.

On that day, when many were busy celebrating the new year, a small force of 500 mahar (an untouchable caste in Maharashtra) soldiers in the British army were preparing for a war against the most brutal Indian state of that times – Brahmin Peshwa rulers of Pune, Maharashtra.

In the history books, this battle is considered an important one and is known as second Anglo-Maratha war that resulted in the total destruction of Peshwa kingdom and sealed the victory of British Empire in India. However, there is a different historical dimension to this war that all of us need to be aware of. Read more… »

read the complete post at www.blog.insightyv.com

Posted by Pardeep De

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[ZESTCaste] 60 years of constitution of india

60 years of the Constitution of India
By 26th November 2009, the Constitution of India has completed 60 years of its functioning. The Constitution of India as drafted and presented by the Chief Architect of the Constitution                      Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949 and certain articles came into force on the day and whole of the Constitution came into force with effect from 26th January 1950, on which date, India became a republic.
On the eve of completion of sixty years of its functioning, it is imperative to have an appraisal of the Constitution, since it is not only an administrative index or compilation of instructions relating to the governance of the country, but, primarily, it holds out certain promises to the citizens, assured certain guarantees, conferred certain fundamental rights to them, with a protection of the various High Courts and the Supreme Court. it is now, the time to assess how far the Constitution fulfilled its promises and protected the rights guaranteed.
The important feature of the Constitution is its promise of Justice- Social, Economic and Political; Equality of Status and of Opportunity; Liberty and Fraternity. The Constitution is more essential for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other poorer sections of the society, because, it promised equality and equal opportunity, to which these communities were denied for centuries. In addition to this the constitution through Directive Principles issued instructions to the government to establish a Welfare State, where there is no social, economic exploitation and oppression.
It has directed the government to take care of health and education of the children and particularly of women and aged. It has also cautioned that the natural recourses and wealth of the nation is not concentrated in the hands of a few people, but should be made available to all, to better their conditions of life. Therefore, it is necessary to assess, what happened to its promises and its guarantees.
In this context, it is trite to remind ourselves, the question posed by the then president of India Sri K R Narayanan, on the eve of the Golden Jubilee of the Constitution of India, "whether the Constitution failed? Or We failed the Constitution?"
On this occasion let us also remind ourselves the caution held out by Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, on the day of adoption of the Constitution that: "On the 26 th January 1950 we are going to enter into a life of contradictions … we must remove this contradictions at the earliest possible moment or else, those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of the political democracy which this assembly has so laboriously built-up".
Facts after sixty years reveal that the contradictions are widening. Then, why, those who suffer from inequality do not blow up the structures of the political democracy? This question is also to be addressed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Drafted by- Bojja Tharakam, Senior Advocate, High court AP, state president Republican Party of India, and Chairmen of   Celebrations committee on 60 Years of Indian constitution
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Celebrations committee on 60 Years of Indian constitution was formed with the collaboration of 20 Dalit organizations in the state of Andhra Pradesh to launch a state wide campaign on 60 years of constitution of constitution of India to analyse its functioning, to have an appraisal of the Constitution
The committee held its first meeting on 26/11/2009 in Hyderabad Press Club, Chief Guest, Justice K.Ramaswamy (former judge supreme court of India), Honorable Guests V.S Ramadevi (former Governor Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh states) and S.R Shankaran (former secretary of Tripura state) and the meeting presided over by Bojja Tharakam, Senior Advocate, High court AP, state president Republican Party of India, and Chairmen of   Celebrations committee on 60 Years of Indian constitution
The member organizations are 1) National Dalit Forum 2)AP SC welfare society 3) Confederation of Sc ST Organizations 4)Dalitha Sthree Shakthi 5) AP ST Employees union, 6) APSEB SS ST Employees union 7) AP SC rights protection society 8) Dalitha Bahujana Front 9) Sakshi Human Rights Watch 10) Peoples Monitoring Committee 11) WAASSAN (Bhoomi Kendram) 12) APVVU 13) HRLN 14) All India Samatha sainik dal 15)AP Dalitha Bahujana workers union 16) All Indian SC ST Bank Employees Union 17) All India Defense SC ST Employees union 18) AP Grameena Bank SC ST Employees union 19) AP Buddhist Trust 20) Republican Party of India
The Member organizations are organizing meetings all over the state starting from 26/11/2009, and the state level final meeting will be held on constitution day on 26/01/2010 in Hyderabad

With Jaibheem
- Karthik Navayan
Programme Officer
National Dalit Forum
www.nationaldalitforum.org

--
B.Karthik Navayan,
Advocate,
H.No. 21-7-761,
Opp.High Court Post Office,
Gansi Bazar, Hyderabad,
PIN-500002, AP.
Cell:09346677007,Email:navayan@gmail.com
http://sites.google.com/site/karthiknavayan/home
http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile.aspx?uid=10379805095932756525