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Thursday, November 25, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Bastion falls, Paswan now has nowhere to go

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Bastion-falls-Paswan-now-has-nowhere-to-go/Article1-630684.aspx

Bastion falls, Paswan now has nowhere to go
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times

Patna, November 25, 2010First Published: 01:42 IST(25/11/2010)

Ram Vilas Paswan, who created a world record by winning his Vaishali
seat by a margin of more than 6 lakh votes in 1977 has been finished
with the same impact as the record he created. The man who wished to
be the country's first Dalit prime minister and who had crafted the
art of political related stories
Lalu's bag of tricks fails
survival without ever having the numbers into a fine art, may not make
a comeback this time. For, his guru, Lalu Prasad, who got him a seat
in the Rajya Sabha after his defeat in the parliamentary elections in
2009, is himself incapable of coming back and Paswan may not find
another backer for a very long time.

Paswan has been a family man - in power and out of it. While Lalu
Prasad had his brothers-in-law to support him, Paswan had his
brothers. But like Prasad, he went down like a rock in a pond in the
electoral debate over development versus caste.

Paswan's political ground had always been one-dimensional, sticking to
his own caste with the support of a smattering of upper caste toughs
as opposed to Lalu Prasad's multi-dimensional appeal in his heyday.

With even Paswans rejecting him this time -as is apparent in the
results from the Vaishali-Samastipur arc, the fort of extremely
backward castes he led, Paswan had to fall by the wayside.

Paswan has no role now, except being a Rajya Sabha MP for the next
five years. Beyond that, he is not equipped to take centrestage
whether

in alliance or alone - for he is neither a Dalit leader of standing
like Mayawati whom he opposes nor does he have the clout to rise above
single-caste politics.

Paswan must be credited for pursuing development politics -- the most
famous of his efforts being establishing the East Central Railways
headquarters in Hajipur. But if this very constituency, which
benefited heavily because of him, decided to reject him this time,
where does he go?

Apparently nowhere. Number game

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[ZESTCaste] Locking of temple leads to tension

http://expressbuzz.com/states/tamilnadu/locking-of-temple-leads-to-tension/225745.html

Locking of temple leads to tension

M Rafi Ahmed & S Kaththasami

Express News Service

First Published : 25 Nov 2010 11:22:00 PM ISTLast Updated : 25 Nov
2010 11:15:03 AM IST

COIMBATORE/TIRUPUR: Deadlock continues in Dalits temple entry issue at
Uthamapalayam village in Tirupur district as the caste Hindus, who are
in a sizable number in the village, continued to avoid several round
of talks chaired by Dharapuram RDO as they felt it as a disgrace to
allow Dalits to sit equally with them.

Hence, tension prevails in the village. M Thangavel, state organiser
for Avinashi-based Vizhuthugal, an NGO working for the rights of
Arunthathiyars, told Express that a similar situation arose five years
ago when they were denied entry into the 600-year-old Mariamman temple
(under the control of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments
department) during a temple festival. However, the gates were opened
for them after the intervention of HR&CE department officials on
January 15, 2005.

And the caste Hindus, who felt that the temple lost its sanctity
following the entry of Dalits resolved to construct a new Mariamman
temple adjacent to the old temple.

Dalits were on their feet again seeking right to enter the new temple also.

In this connection, 12 Dalits outfits formed the Uthamapalayam Temple
Entry Protest Committee with S Karuppiah as the coordinator.

According to Karuppiah, they raised the issue when peace talks were
held in the presence of Dharapuram RDO Akbar Ali.

An accord was reached on August 19 and again on September 29 that all
people irrespective of their caste could worship at the new temple.

Trouble started during the consecration held on October 21 when Dalits
prevented from entering the temple.

In a step further, the Dalits were assaulted by the caste Hindus.

He said during the peace talks convened by the RDO on two occasions,
none of the representatives from caste Hindus were present to give
their views along with Dalit outfits.

Sensing problem, the RDO ordered for closing the temple and sealing it
until the issue was sorted out.

As the officials failed to close the temple, the caste Hindus were
conducting routine poojas at the new temple.

Meanwhile, Karuppiah announced a temple entry protest against the
poojas being performed.

Following which, the officials sealed the temple amidst stiff protest
from caste Hindus. Opposing this, the caste Hindus of surrounding
villages hoisted block flags at their houses and observed a token fast
on November 21.

Collector C Samayamoorthy told Express that the issue was being
handled by Dharapuram RDO and the next round of talks has been
scheduled for December 2.

Meanwhile Section 145 of CrPc has clapmed to maintain peace in the village.

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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Mayawati’s next: Grand entrances to Gr Noida inspired by Buddha

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Mayawati-s-next--Grand-entrances-to-Gr-Noida-inspired-by-Buddha/715769/

Mayawati's next: Grand entrances to Gr Noida inspired by Buddha
Pragya Kaushika Posted online: Thu Nov 25 2010, 03:35 hrs

Greater Noida : The Uttar Pradesh government is planning a series of
special entrances to the high-profile Greater Noida city. The city,
located in UP Chief Minister Mayawati's hometurf and which is being
showcased as the upcoming township in the NCR region, will greet
people with grand entrances inspired by the life of Gautma Buddha and
his teachings.
Officials at Greater Noida Authority said: "The entrances planned by
the Greater Noida Authority will be located at Partahal-Khanjarpur,
Kulesara-Surajpur and Pari Chowk. Partahal-Khanjarpur entrance will
have a façade of Buddhist pagodas."

According to Deputy Chief Executive Officer Greater Noida Authority P
C Gupta, "The area will be developed as a green belt with water bodies
and fountains. The attempt will be to recreate the atmosphere of a
Buddhist temple. The pagodas, as architectural structures, hold a
special significance in Buddhism."

The architecture will also showcase the state's connection with
Buddhism. At Kulesara-Surajpur entrance, the plan is to create a scene
out of Gautam Buddha's life. "We will recreate the scene when a
violent, wild elephant turned tame when it approached Gautam Buddha. A
statue recreating this scene will be erected here in which the
elephant will be seated in front of Buddha with its trunk on Buddha's
feet. Noida has an entrance with a huge Gautam Budhha idol, Greater
Noida, too, will boast of four idols soon," Gupta added.

The area will also have a peepul leaf structure, considered
significant in Buddhist beliefs, which will be topped off with a
Buddhist ringing bell. The bell will signify attainment of peace and
prosperity in the region, Gupta said.

Meanwhile, the Pari Chowk entrance renovation plan is also likely to
be finalised soon. The redevelopment plan includes putting up four
Buddha statues in the vicinity of the roundabout along with
development of the green belt. Sources said the Authority is likely to
spend approximately Rs 5 core on the project. The latest construction
spree has been ordered despite the fact that the UP government is
already facing severe criticism and ongoing litigation in the Supreme
Court over its development of parks in the adjoining city of Noida.

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[ZESTCaste] Indian pol wins election on his record, not caste

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9JMDQGG1.htm

The Associated Press November 24, 2010, 4:39AM ET

Indian pol wins election on his record, not caste

PATNA, India

The top elected official of one of India's poorest states has won a
landslide re-election victory after a campaign that emphasized his
efforts to bring development to Bihar and broke away from traditional
caste-based politics.

By Wednesday afternoon, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's National
Democratic Alliance had won nearly 130 seats and was leading in 70
more races for the Bihar assembly. Former chief minister Lalu Prasad's
coalition had captured 10 seats and was leading in 17 others. The
assembly has 243 seats.

Kumar has been credited with restoring law and order to Bihar and
building roads during his five-year term. Analysts said Prasad let the
state nearly collapse during his reign from 1990 to 2005 as he focused
only on shoring up his caste alliances.

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[ZESTCaste] Not caste in stone (Opinion)

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/fe-editorial-not-caste-in-stone/715639/

FE Editorial : Not caste in stone
The Financial Express
Posted online: 2010-11-25 01:35:42+05:30

Analysts will debate the Nitish Kumar landslide till the cows come
home. Was it the development card he played (tells you just how much
the traditional politician cares about development) and is caste dead?
Or did the canny Nitish do development in certain pockets only (how do
you build roads only to certain villages?)? Does the fact that Muslims
have voted for Nitish suggest the BJP's brand of communal politics has
been rejected? When one TV journalist posed this to BJP spokesperson
Nirmala Sitharaman, she was quick to say the BJP had done even better
in Muslim localities—at the overall level, while Nitish won 82% of the
seats contested, the BJP won 89%.

Since the Election Commission doesn't put out voting patterns on caste
or religious lines, we'll never know for certain. For what it's worth,
former chief economic advisor Arvind Virmani has recirculated a 2004
paper suggesting it's economic growth that determines victory—for
those readying to scoff, Virmani says GDP growth actually reduced in
the Vajpayee years and that's why the NDA lost. Others, like columnist
Surjit Bhalla, suggest it is the work on getting the girl-child to
school, some say it is reservation of panchayats for women, others
talk of law and order, roads … Each is true, and each is inadequate.
With women comprising 47% of the strength of gram panchayats, Nitish
has done a great job, but with just 33% women in Gujarat panchayats,
Narendra Modi has also managed quite well; infant mortality in Bihar
is down from around 62 per 1,000 to 57 now, but that in West Bengal
where the communists are in trouble is just 35. If it's roads, no one
can beat Atal Bihari Vajpayee … Perhaps the safest comment is that
caste matters at a certain level of development and economic growth—so
a Lalu promising empowerment to Yadavs works for a while, but it's
jobs and growth that matters eventually. Hopefully, the threshold
below which caste matters is getting raised all the time. Another
thing that looks clear is the Rahul brand of trashing everyone except
the Congress doesn't work.

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Thursday, November 25, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Bastion falls, Paswan now has nowhere to go

[ZESTCaste] Locking of temple leads to tension

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Mayawati’s next: Grand entrances to Gr Noida inspired by Buddha

[ZESTCaste] Indian pol wins election on his record, not caste

[ZESTCaste] Not caste in stone (Opinion)

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