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[email protected] Today's topics: * 5. Court ends Brahmin priests' monopoly in Tripura temple (News) - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups.google.com/group/BM_discussion/browse_thread/thread/9115e87e6834573b?hl=en * Fwd: Parliamentary nostrils were offended, while poor people died......[ United Nations Human Development Report 2006] - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups.google.com/group/BM_discussion/browse_thread/thread/bbba4d808bb049e8?hl=en * 'Untouchables' left behind in booming nation - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups.google.com/group/BM_discussion/browse_thread/thread/41afaf983062879e?hl=en * 84 crore indians: <20 rs a day - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups.google.com/group/BM_discussion/browse_thread/thread/1e855d820a1f8592?hl=en ============================================================================== TOPIC: 5. Court ends Brahmin priests' monopoly in Tripura temple (News) http://groups.google.com/group/BM_discussion/browse_thread/thread/9115e87e6834573b?hl=en ============================================================================== == 1 of 1 == Date: Tues, Aug 28 2007 3:52 am From: BhanuPrakash Singh GOOD RIDDANCE FROM A IRRATIONAL PRACTICE PERPETUATED BY SELF SEEKING PEOPLE. BHANU --- Abhijit K <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 5. Court ends Brahmin priests' monopoly in Tripura > temple (News) > Posted by: "Tarun Udwala" [EMAIL PROTECTED] > tarunudgir > Date: Sun Aug 26, 2007 10:17 am ((PDT)) > > http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=51192 > > Court ends Brahmin priests' monopoly in Tripura > temple > > Agartala, Aug 24 (IANS) In a landmark judgement, a > Tripura court has > overruled the decades old practice of only Brahmin > priests performing > rituals at the famed Tripureswari temple, officials > said Friday. > > The 500-year-old Tripureswari temple, 55 km south of > here, is regarded > as one of the 51 'Piths' (holy sites) of Hindu > pilgrimage in India. > > "Civil Judge Arindam Pal, referring to a judgement > of the Supreme > Court, observed that any Hindu who has sound > knowledge about the > rituals could perform rituals at any Hindu temple," > a government > official said. > > The court ruling also said non-Brahmins could pray > at the temple. The > temple was established in 1501 by the then Tripura > king Maharaja > Dhanyamanikya. It is popularly known as 'Matabari'. > > The verdict was delivered after head priest Binoy > Kumar Bhattacharjee > moved the court on behalf of other Brahmin priests > and assistants > staking claim on offerings, including cash, made by > devotees at the > temple. > > "The civil court not only turned down the plea but > also curtailed the > absolute by only Brahmin priests to perform > rituals," the official > said. > > The Tripura government bears the expenditure for the > temple's upkeep. > > The court, however, bestowed the authority on the > temple advisory > committee to decide whether they would allow the > existing priests to > continue with their duties or have a new set. > > "The court has given three months to take a decision > on the matter," > the official said. > > IANS > > > > Bhanuprakash Singh, B.E.(Hons.),FIE(India) Chief Mechanical Engineer(Retd.) Indian Railways, H 243,Bagmugalia Extension,Laharpur Bhopal M.P. Phone 0091755 2480886 mob 0091 9425600275 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ============================================================================== TOPIC: Fwd: Parliamentary nostrils were offended, while poor people died......[ United Nations Human Development Report 2006] http://groups.google.com/group/BM_discussion/browse_thread/thread/bbba4d808bb049e8?hl=en ============================================================================== == 1 of 1 == Date: Thurs, Aug 30 2007 10:28 am From: BhanuPrakash Singh Dear all, We are in a position to provide safe and adequate drinking water and ensure desired level of sanittion but the corrupt politicians and official will not let it happen easily lest their source of income dry up. And there is no piecemeal solution. Replace the corrupt. bhanu --- Sundeep Jalan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Social reformers, Physicians, Municipal leaders and > industrialists formed > powerful coalitions that elevated Water and > Sanitation to the top of the > political agenda. > > "Parliament was all but compelled to legislate upon > the great London > nuisance by the force of sheer stench." Thus > commented the London Times on > an episode known as the "Great Stink", in the long > hot summer of 1858. > > Today, people in the cities of Europe and the United > States live free from > fear of water borne infectious diseases. At the turn > of the 20th Century the > picture was very different. The vast expansion of > wealth that followed > industrialization increased incomes, but > improvements in more fundamental > indicators such as life expectancy, child survival > and public health lagged > far behind. The reason: cities exposed people to > greater opportunities to > amass wealth, but also exposed them to contaminated > water. > > Children in developed countries do not die for want > of a glass of clean > water. Young girls are not kept home from school to > make long journeys to > collect water from streams and rivers, and water > borne infectious disease is > a subject for history books, not for hospital wards > and morgues. > > "The sewer is the conscience of the city",wrote > Victor Hugo in Les > Miserables. He was describing 19th Century Paris, > but the state of > Sanitation remains a powerful indicator of the state > of human development in > any community. > > Throughout history human progress has depended on > access to clean water and > on the abilities of societies to harness the > potential of water as a > productive resource. > > "By means of water", says the Koran, "we give life > to everything". That > simple teaching captures a deeper wisdom. People > need water as surely as > they need oxygen. People need clean water and > sanitation to sustain their > health and maintain their dignity. > > The deprivation in access to clean water and > adequate sanitation can be > measured by statistics, but behind the numbers are > the human faces of > millions of people denied an opportunity to realize > their potential. > The crisis in Water and Sanitation is, above all, a > crisis for the poor. > The perverse principle that applies across much of > the developing world is > that the poorest people not only get access to less > water, and to less clean > water, but they also pay the highest prices. > > Water, the stuff of life and the basic human right, > is at the heart of the > daily crisis faced by the countless millions of the > world's most > vulnerables, a crisis that threatens life and > destroys livelihoods on a > devastating scale. > > Clean water and sanitation can make or break human > development. They are > fundamental to what people can do and what they can > become, to their > capabilities. > > Far more than to the wealthy, water rights matter to > the poor for an obvious > reason: they lack the financial resources and > political voice protect their > interest. > > With demand on water resources increasing, some > reallocation among users and > sectors is inevitable. In any process of competition > for scarce resource, > rival claims are mediated through economic and > political structures and > through systems of rights and entitlements. Outcomes > for the poorest, most > vulnerables in the society will be determined by the > way institutions > mediate and manage rival claims, and whether > governments put equity concerns > at the centre of national policies. > > Underpricing has sustained overuse: if markets > delivered Porsche cars at a > give away price, they too would in short supply. > Water pricing policies need > to better reflect the scarcity value of water. > > Water and Sanitation are among the most powerful > preventive medicine > available to governments to reduce infectious > disease. > > There is more than enough water in the world for > domestic purposes, for > agriculture and for industries. The problem is that > some people, notably the > poor, are systematically excluded from access by > their poverty, by their > limited legal rights or by public policies that > limit access to the > infrastructures that provide water for life and for > livelihoods. > > In the world of early 21st Century national security > concerns loom large on > the National and International agenda. Violent > conflicts, terrorist threats, > the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the growth > of illicit trade in arms > and drugs all pose acute challenges. Against this > backdrop it is easy to > lose sight of some basic security imperatives, > including those linked to > water. > > In sanitation the taboo remains resolutely intact. > This helps to explain why > the subject does not receive high level political > leadership and it seldom > figures in election campaigns or public debate. > > No act of terrorism generates economic devastation > on the scale of the > crisis in water and sanitation. > > Clean water and Sanitation would save the lives of > countless childrens, > support progress in education and liberate people > from the illness that keep > them in poverty. The urgency in addressing the issue > cannot be overstated. > > The absence of toilets poses particularly severe > public health and security > problems for women and young girls. > > The irony of humanity, spending billions of dollars > in exploring the > potential for life on other planets would be > powerful and tragic, if at the > same time we allow the destruction of life and human > capabilities on planet > earth for want of far less demanding technologies, > the infrastructure to > deliver clean water and sanitation to all. Providing > a glass of clean water > and a toilet may be challenging but it is not so > with rocket science > > Crisis in Water and Sanitation could be consigned to > history. The World has > the technology, the finance and the human capacity > to remove the blight of > water insecurity from millions of lives. Lacking are > the political "Will and > Vision" needed to apply these resources for the > public good. National policy > is the starting point, because without strong > national policies progress > cannot be sustained. > > The vision is rooted in simple idea that extreme > poverty and gross > disparities of opportunities are not inescapable > feature of the human > condition but a curable affliction whose > continuation diminishes us all and > threatens our collective security and prosparity. > > Whether viewed from the perspective of human rights, > social justice or > economic common sense, the damage inflicted by > deprivation in water and > sanitation is indefensible. > > === message truncated === Bhanuprakash Singh, B.E.(Hons.),FIE(India) Chief Mechanical Engineer(Retd.) Indian Railways, H 243,Bagmugalia Extension,Laharpur Bhopal M.P. Phone 0091755 2480886 mob 0091 9425600275 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ============================================================================== TOPIC: 'Untouchables' left behind in booming nation http://groups.google.com/group/BM_discussion/browse_thread/thread/41afaf983062879e?hl=en ============================================================================== == 1 of 1 == Date: Sat, Sep 1 2007 2:11 am From: "Abhijit K" Read from a foreigner ... The state of so-called upper-vs=lower castes in our country.. *By Emily Wax, Washington Post | July 5, 2007 * DALLIPUR, India -- The hip young Indians working inside this country's multinational call centers have one thing in common: Almost all hail from India's upper and middle castes, elites in this highly stratified society. India may be booming, but not for those who occupy the lowest rung of society. The Dalits, once known as untouchables, continue to live in grinding poverty and suffer discrimination in education, jobs, and healthcare. For them, status and often occupation are still predetermined in the womb. While some Indians had hoped urbanization and growth would crumble ideas about caste, observers say tradition and prejudice have ultimately prevailed. "There's talk of a modern India. But the truth is India can't truly move ahead with caste in place," said Chandra Bhan Prasad, a Dalit writer and specialist on India's caste system. "In all ways, it's worse than the Jim Crow laws were in the American South because it's completely sanctioned by religion. Despite so many reforms, the idea of untouchability is still very much a part of Indian life." As India's economy surges, one of the country's most serious and stubborn challenges is how to combat entrenched caste prejudice. Dalits, along with other "backward" castes, make up the majority of India's 1.1 billion people, and social scientists worry that these groups are being left behind. The contrast between the gleaming call centers of rising India and the abject poverty that is the reality for many Dalits is all too obvious in Dallipur, an impoverished village on the outskirts of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh state. Without electricity, paved roads or running water, the hamlet is home to landless Mushars, the lowest social stratum of Dalits, who work as shoe shiners, trash pickers, toilet cleaners, and street sweepers. Amid the straw and mud villages, two children died of starvation last year -- not for lack of food in the area, but as a result of prejudice. Amid the straw and mud villages, two children died of starvation last year -- not for lack of food in the area, but as a result of prejudice. Chandrika, a 24-year-old Dalit mother, recalled carrying her crying 2-year-old son and her weak 20-month-old daughter to a nearby health center. There, she pleaded for a card that would allow her malnourished children to receive free milk. But before the nurses could examine her children, she was mocked and shooed away by doctors, who told the young mother to go beg in the market. "They said again and again, 'We don't want to see you Dalits here bothering us,' " said Chandrika, a thin, dark-skinned woman who wept as she recounted how her children died. "My milk had dried up from stress. There was no work for me. There was no one to hear my plight." Local government leaders who came to investigate her children's deaths insisted that the shy mother and her fellow villagers build a raised concrete stage -- Dalits could be addressed by upper castes only from a higher platform, Chandrika and other villagers were told. The 3-foot-tall dais remains in Dallipur today, the only outcome of the investigation. By virtue of birth, some castes inherit wealth; the Dalits inherit debt. Caste often determines Indians' spouses, friends, residence and, most important, occupation -- part of a Hindu belief that people inherit their stations in life based on the sins and good deeds of past lives. Some Indians believe that the spread of capitalism in urban areas has in some ways dissolved caste by creating new occupations and eliminating obsolete ones. For instance, with the growing use of flush toilets in Indian cities, the disposal of human waste, once a job for Dalits, is now done with a simple pull of a lever. In booming evening bazaars in Mumbai and New Delhi, lower castes sell cellphones, leather tennis shoes, and grooming kits from small shops and curbside pushcarts alongside higher castes, with everyone "in a capitalist rush to make money," said Prasad, the writer. "A lower-caste businessman may even enjoy an evening cigarette with a higher caste, completely taboo even 50 years ago." Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently compared India's caste system to apartheid in South Africa, calling it not just prejudice but "a blot on humanity." Critics say that such statements are simply meant to garner votes from lower castes and that any gains made by Dalits have been marginal. "India is not a true democracy," said Anup Srivastava, a researcher with the People's Vigilance Commission on Human Rights in Varanasi who is investigating complaints filed by Dalits about discrimination among neighbors, in schools, at hospitals and at work. "The country is independent. But the people aren't. How can there be a democracy when there are still people known as untouchables who face daily discrimination?" Emily Wax -- Abhijit Meenakshi About my name: www.geocities.com/abhijit1303/aboutname.txt www.bharatudaymission.org ============================================================================== TOPIC: 84 crore indians: <20 rs a day http://groups.google.com/group/BM_discussion/browse_thread/thread/1e855d820a1f8592?hl=en ============================================================================== == 1 of 1 == Date: Sat, Sep 1 2007 6:51 am From: "Abhijit K" Some official figures here! - A. http://www.ibnlive.com/news/836-million-indians-live-on-less-than-rs-20-a-day/47645-3.html 836 million Indians live on less than Rs 20 a day *New Delhi:* An overwhelming 836 million people in India live on a per capita consumption of less than Rs 20 a day, according to the findings of the Arjun Sengupta report on the Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihood in the Unorganised Sector. The report is based on government data for the period between 1993-94 and 2004-05. While the numbers rose by a staggering 100 million, the numbers of the new rich has also grown by 93 million. "Our survey is very scientific. The other poverty estimates looked at the absolute poor only but we look at different categories of poor," Chairman, National Commission for Enterprises in Unorganised Sector, Arjun Sengupta said. So, who are the ones who have actually benefitted from the boom in the economic growth of the country? The middle class and the rich grew from 162 million to 253 million while the neo rich of 91 million. <http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/47719/the-new-face-of-terror-a-cnnibn-investigation.html> The middle class grew from 15.5 per cent to 19.3 per cent but the extreme poor have also benefited (274 to 237 million) - 43 million of them to be precise. Their per capita consumption has gone up from Rs 9 to Rs 12. "The rich tend to hide their consumption. So if you account for that, they are actually richer than the report reflects. This again reflects the fact that the gap between the rich and poor is even wider," Sengupta explained. One is classified as absolutely poor if the per capita consumption is less than Rs 9 a day. However, if the per capita consumption is Rs 13 a day, then the individual is above the poverty line. So, the definitions of poverty are sometimes difficult to understand. The justification for economic reforms was supposed to be the trickle down effect but for those who live in trying conditions 10 years of economic reforms seems to have made little difference. Is it any wonder that those leaders who are seen to be reformers can never win the popular vote? ============================================================================== You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "BM_discussion" group. 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