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Thursday, December 15, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Abolish made snana, Dalits urge DC

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Mangalore/article2716857.ece

MANGALORE, December 15, 2011
Abolish made snana, Dalits urge DC
Staff Correspondent

Channappa Gowda to take up the issue of land encroachment with the Government

Participants at the meeting organised on Wednesday to address
development-related issues faced by the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes people unanimously demanded a ban on made snana
across the State.

During a meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner N.S. Channappa Gowda,
members of various Dalit groups said the practice should be abolished
by the district administration.

Members of the Dalit Rights Committee of the Communist Party of India
(Marxist) Shekar L. said that serving food only to people of a
particular caste in a government-run temple amounted to the government
supporting discrimination on the basis of caste. He said the district
administration should abolish the "inhuman" practice across the State.

Mr. Gowda said that he would convey the views expressed to the State
Government. Dalit groups would be consulted on the course of action to
be taken, he added.
Withdraw order

During the previous SC/ST meeting held a year ago, Nagarika Seva Trust
had demanded that the order allotting land reserved for the depressed
classes to an educational institution in Dharmasthala in Ujire be
scrapped.

As District Social Welfare Officer Arun Furtado read out the minutes
that the Government had allotted 43.90 acres of land, loud
exclamations arose from a number of people.

District convenor of the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (B. Krishnappa
faction) Krishnananda said that allotting land to an educational
institution "which already had hundreds of acres of land was wrong
when Dalits have been struggling for years to obtain DC manna land".
This prompted scattered applause from participants of the meeting.

Mr. Gowda told the meeting that the land had in fact been granted in
1949 and that he would write to the State Government about the
objections raised.
Land issues

The overwhelming concern of nearly all the people who participated in
the meeting was the allotment of land kept reserved for people of
depressed classes (commonly called D.C. manna land) to Dalits.

A number of activists spoke about instances of DC manna land being
encroached upon by others. In several cases, where Dalits were living
on DC manna land, title deeds were not given to them, they said.

Activist Bhanuchandra requested Mr. Gowda to file cases under Section
3 (4) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act 1989 against those who encroached upon land notified
to be allotted to SCs or STs.

Mr. Gowda said that he could take action under other revenue laws but
not the Atrocity Act.

Section 3 (4) of the Act classified wrongful occupation of land meant
for SC/ST people as an atrocity.

Zilla Panchayat member from Naravi C.K. Chandrakala said that although
she was allegedly abused over her caste by Mada Gowda and Lalita, no
arrests had been made.

Additional Superintendent of Police Prabhakara said that he would look into it.

Mr. Gowda said that a special meeting would be convened to address the
issue of land. He directed that similar meetings be held once a month
by the tahsildars and once every two months by Assistant
Commissioners.

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[ZESTCaste] Karnataka banks on education to end bizarre ritual

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/karnataka-banks-on-education-to-end-bizarre-ritual/212179-62-129.html

IBN Karnataka | Posted on Dec 15, 2011 at 12:09pm IST
Karnataka banks on education to end bizarre ritual
IANS

Bangalore: Karnataka's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has
struck a fine balance of preferring education to legislation to end a
temple's bizarre ritual denounced as "obnoxious" and "anti-Dalit" by
its opponents. It has also bought time and made peace with the
believers of the practice called "made snana" or "urulu seve" which
involves rolling over plantain leaves with leftovers of meals eaten by
Brahmins, either as fulfillment of a vow or in the belief that it
cures of skin ailments.

The ritual takes place once a year during the three-day Champa Sashti
festival in late November or early December at a temple devoted to
Hindu god Subramanya at Kukke, a small town in western Ghats, about
350 km from here. Declining to ban the practice on the ground that it
will hurt the sentiments of the believers, the government has
announced it will launch a campaign against the practice in the hope
that this will eventually lead to its end.

Higher education and Muzrai (religious affairs) Minister V.S. Acharya
told the state legislature early this week that his government will
not support any ritual or practice that exploits Dalits or backward
communities.
Karnataka banks on education to end bizarre ritual

However, banning the "made snana" will "hurt the sentiments of
believers" and hence the government prefers awareness campaign against
it rather than use legislation to ban it, he said. Acharya has not
spelt out when the campaign will start and who all will participate,
though he said religious leaders will also be involved.

The government may be forced to announce details of its plans before
the end of this month as a group opposed to the practice is organising
a 'padayatra' (march) from Bangalore to Udupi, about 400 km away,
through the temple town of Kukke in the first week of January.

The Mysore-based group, Karnataka State Backward Classes Awareness
Forum, is insisting that the government ban the ritual before the end
of the year.

Otherwise it will go ahead with the 'padayatra', for which support of
various religious leaders is also being sought, Forum president K.S.
Shivaramu told reporters in Mysore reacting to the government
preferring awareness campaign to legislation to end the practice.

The 'padayatra', if taken out, can lead to trouble, particularly in
Kukke, as Shivaramu was bashed up in that temple town on Nov 29 when
he went there to protest the ritual. On Dec 5, the town observed a
shutdown to protest "outside interference in its affairs".

The attack on Shivaramu led to widespread condemnation and demand for
immediate government intervention to end the ritual, which the
government and the temple authorities say has been in practice for
around 400 years.

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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Nepal: Lower caste man killed for touching stove

http://www.news24.com/World/News/Lower-caste-man-killed-for-touching-stove-20111213

Lower caste man killed for touching stove
2011-12-13 11:29

Kathmandu - A man reportedly belonging to a low-caste group was beaten
to death in Nepal by high caste men for touching their stove, media
reports said on Monday.

Manbir Sunar, 30, a Dalit, or low caste member, from Jibutha village
in the far-western region, was killed by two men on Saturday after he
touched their restaurant's stove while lighting a cigarette, according
to Avenues Television.

Officers said they had arrested two men and were investigating.

Nepali society, which is 80% Hindu, still practises a caste-based
social system, although laws ban caste discrimination.

"We're living in the 21st century where we're very politically
conscious about even the terms we use to denote things," Prakash
Chandra Pariyar, a Dalits' rights activist and himself a member of the
group, told dpa.

"Nothing can be more barbaric than killing a man for simply touching a stove."

The caste system came to Nepal around 500 BC as Indian Hindus
migrated. It divides Hindu Nepali society into four sections, placing
the Dalits, or untouchables, at the bottom and the Brahmins, or
priests, at the top.

In April, the parliament endorsed a bill against caste discrimination,
which laid out punishments for any infringements.

"But incidents like these are an example of oppression and show that
the state is still weak in implementing the laws," Pariyar said.
- SAPA

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[ZESTCaste] New policy assures Rs 7,000-cr business for Dalit, ST entrepreneurs

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/new-policy-assures-rs-7000-cr-business-for-dalit-st-entrepreneurs/458286/

New policy assures Rs 7,000-cr business for Dalit, ST entrepreneurs
Monday, 12 December 2011 21:51

T E Narasimhan

Some Dalit businessmen plan to launch a Rs 500 crore venture capital
fund — India's first community-focused fund.

The Central government's new procurement policy will open business
opportunities worth Rs 7,000 crore for Dalit and s (ST) entrepreneurs.
These entrepreneurs are now gearing up to tap this opportunity by
launching their own venture capital fund and increasing their
production capacities.

The proposed Rs 500 crore venture capital fund will be the country's
first community-focused fund, according to industry representatives.
It will help entrepreneurs from the community, from whom financial
institutions are shying away, said a senior official.

Milind Kamble, chairman, Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(DICCI), said that the association has approached the market
regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), with the
proposal. The fund will be launched through a special purpose vehicle.

"The first round of funding will be from domestic investors and
businessmen from the community and during the second round we will
look at international investors," said Kamble.

Under the recently announced Public Procur-ement Policy for Micro and
Small Enterprises (MSE), a minimum of 20 per cent of total annual
purchases of Central ministries, departments and public sector
undertakings (PSUs) has been reserved for procurement from MSEs.

Of the 20 per cent share of annual procurement from MSEs, a share of
four per cent (or 20 per cent of 20 per cent) has been reserved for
procurement from MSEs owned by Dalit and ST entrepreneurs.

To enhance the participation of Dalits and ST in government
procurement, all Central ministries, departments and PSUs will have to
organise special vendor development programmes and buyer-seller meets.
They will have also to report their targets and achievements with
respect to procurement from MSEs in their annual reports.

Ministries, departments and PSUs which do not meet the mandatory goal
of the public procurement policy will be required to provide reasons
to a review committee headed by the secretary to the MSME ministry.

However, the ministry of defence, on account of its unique nature, had
reservations about implementation of the procurement policy for MSEs.
Keeping this in view, defence armaments and weapons systems have been
kept out of the purview of the policy.

Kamble of DICCI said that every year the government procures products
and services worth Rs 1.75 lakh crore. Four per cent of this,
amounting to some Rs 7,000 crore, will be reserved for the Dalit and
ST entrepreneurs.

"We are happy, since we now know there is an assured market. With this
we can now go in for expansion and other new initiatives," said
Kamble. Entrepreneurs from the community are already suppliers to big
brands such as Tata, Bajaj, Hero Honda and Kirloskar, among others.

Besides, there are also successful businessmen from this community,
who include Ashok Khade, chairman of Das Offshore Pvt Ltd, who
presides over a Rs 550 crore business empire; Natha Ram, who runs
Steelmont Pvt Ltd, a Rs 600 crore company that makes steel converter
machines; Devjibhai Makwana, whose Rs 300 crore company, Suraj
Filament, makes flat and twisted high-tenacity polypropylene
multi-filament yarns.

The Dalit population in the country is estimated at 200 million, or
one-sixth of India's population, of which 15 per cent are
entrepreneurs, said Kamble. However, according to him, they control
only one per cent of the country's wealth.

"Our community members want to grow, but cannot find anyone to lend
them money to start a unit," he said. Being a Dalit means virtually no
assets, so people from the community end up going to private lenders.
Credit facilities to start a business are hard to come by for the
community, he added.

"Trade and enterprise have never been part of our tradition. The only
trade traditionally linked with Dalits is leather work," he noted.
Dalits need support in terms of training, identifying the market and
financial help, which DICCI provides, he added.

There are no problems that are peculiar to the Dalits once they get to
the market. "But reaching there is a problem, given that they are
educationally and economically backward." To address this lacuna,
DICCI counsels entrepreneurs, provides them with support, and
identifies markets for them.

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Re: [ZESTCaste] Digest Number 2594

Friends,

Those role over the leftovers are doing it voluntarily, why blame others. Dr. Ambedkar had asked you to behave with dignity, give up traditional vocations, move out of villages, educate your children.

Quoting Greek philosopher he had said, "It may be your interest to be our masters, how can it be ours to be your slaves?"

Why should the Dalits go to any Brahminic temple, to start with. They must be Harijans, not Dalits. Why bother your and our heads for Harijans? Let them rot in their ignorance. If you do not follow Ambedkar, you are going to be humiliated.Why blame Tendulkar and his ilk, it is their duty to humiliate you. You must yourself behave honorably.

Thanks!
Dr. K. Jamanadas

On Tue, Dec 13, 2011 at 6:09 PM, <ZESTCaste@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

There are 4 messages in this issue.

Topics in this digest:

1. The Leftover God
From: Siddhartha Kumar

Messages
________________________________________________________________________
1. The Leftover God
Posted by: "Siddhartha Kumar" mailsiddhartha.k@gmail.com tellsiddhartha
Date: Tue Dec 13, 2011 4:35 am ((PST))

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?279267

karnataka: rituals
The Leftover God

A temple's demeaning 'leftovers' ritual has all sides frothing
Sugata Srinivasaraju

Eat, Pray, Roll Over...

During the three-day Champa Shasti festival, Shivalli Brahmins are
served meals at the Kukke Subramanya temple of Karnataka
Once the meal is over, Dalits, backwards and people from the local
tribes are allowed to roll on the leftovers
The belief is the ritual will cure the 'devotees' of ailments
The ritual has got a lot of flak from progressive groups
The state department that administers temples allowed the ritual,
adding to the controversy

***

The annual Champa Shasti festival held over November and December at
the Kukke Subramanya temple in Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka
has an unusual tradition. On all three days, the Shivalli Brahmins are
served a multi-course meal in seclusion in the temple precincts. And
after they are through, instead of clearing the spread plantain leaves
on which the food's served, Dalits, backwards and local tribespeople
are allowed to roll on the leftovers.

The belief is this ritual will cure the 'devotee' of ailments,
especially skin-related ones, and will gift a child to those praying
for a baby. It's also considered an ideal form of thanksgiving to the
local deity after "wish fulfilment". The ritual, called 'maade snana'
in Tulu and Kannada, is said to be over four hundred years old but
there are no written records to prove such a claim.

As the tradition reinforces and 'enacts' caste hierarchies, where even
a Brahmin's 'jhoota' is bestowed with powers to cure people from
subaltern communities, it had been catching a lot of flak since last
year from progressive groups in the state. Especially as this was
being allowed in a temple that belongs to the muzrai department, a
state-run body which administers Hindu temples.

Last week, though, saw protests heating up more because after the huge
outcry last year, the local administration had promised to end this
ritual which violates basic human dignity. Apparently, under "pressure
from devotees", the administration allowed the practice from November
28 onwards. Nearly 4,000 people joined up to roll over the leftovers.

What took the row beyond the usual temple affairs level was muzrai and
higher education minister Dr V.S. Acharya's statement that it was a
"faith-based ritual and banning it was tantamount to hurting the
sentiments of the people". People immediately started questioning not
only his credentials as a trained medical doctor, but also his RSS
roots. They began asking if he would similarly allow dowry, child
marriage and other social evils as they are also faith-based?

The fact that the Kukke Subramanya temple is in Dakshina Kannada
district has also added political colour to the controversy. The
district has been a hot-bed of Hindutva politics of late (in 2008, it
even saw a number of attacks on churches). Also, many VIP members of
the state cabinet like Acharya, Shobha Karandlaje and CM Sadananda
Gowda hail from the region. A statement by Vishwesha Theertha Swamiji
of the Udupi Pejawar math, a VHP leader himself, has not helped
matters. In a nonchalant manner, he announced that he neither
"vehemently opposed nor strongly supported" the ritual.

The complexity of the issue unravels itself when we take into
consideration the largely illiterate Malekudiya tribe's support for
the ritual. When the local administration hinted at a ban, members of
the ST community went on a rampage, even declaring that they would
stay away from building the deity's chariot, a traditional activity
they have performed for years during the festival season. (If the
chariot is not built, the festival will remain incomplete without the
final procession of the deity.)

K.S. Shivaramu of the Karnataka Backward Class Awareness Forum
believes "the backwards, Dalits and the Malekudiyas are being pushed
by the Brahmins of the region to perform this ritual. They are
exploiting their ignorance. They want to keep the caste divide alive."
Incidentally, Shivaramu, who went on a fact-finding mission to Kukke
on November 30, was thrashed by the temple workers. "Those who
attacked me were all innocent backward class people. After they
attacked me, they were felicitated by the temple's chief priest who is
a Brahmin. One temple worker from the Malekudiya tribe, Nagesh, was
suspended for leading the attack. The irony of the situation is those
who do the ritual are backwards, those who thrash me are backwards,
those who are penalised for it are backwards and those who seek a ban
are also backwards," he says wryly.

Advocate and ex-chairman of the state Backward Classes Commission, Dr
C.S. Dwarakanath, sees clever commercial interests at play here. He
also alleges that the ritual is part of the revivalist agenda of the
Sangh parivar. "The Kukke temple, tucked away in the forests and
controlled by Brahmins, was never as popular as the nearby Dharmastala
temple controlled by the Jains. This controversy has helped them
generate some further popularity for the temple and its powers. In
recent years, the temple has seen VIP visitors like Sachin Tendulkar,
Ravi Shastri and some very big politicians. It's sad that these people
visited a temple which perpetuates such human indignities."

Interestingly, except for the Left parties, no other political party
in the state has so far spoken out against the ritual. "In this case,
the secular parties like the Congress and JD(S) look more dangerous
than the BJP. They are only worried about their votebanks," says a
frustrated Dwarakanath. Writer and activist G.K. Govinda Rao, however,
feels it isn't enough that political parties and the government push
for a ban. The caste maths and pontiffs, who are otherwise so
powerful, should unilaterally demand it. Some years ago, another
heinous ritual called 'Ajalu', practised against the Koraga tribe, was
banned by the government. 'Ajalu' had Brahmins giving leftover food as
alms to them with an added bonus—a strand of their hair and a finger
nail mixed in.

Last Wednesday, after a week-long debate, the state government voiced
an opinion—in a rather feeble voice. Social justice minister A.
Narayanaswamy, incidentally a Dalit, said that they may consider
banning the ritual. Till that happens, it will be a whole social ethic
mucking about in the leftovers.

Messages in this topic (1)
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