I had forwarded this article to an e-group and this was the response I hope some of us acclaimed to be cause junkies and causeless journalists will notice and find time to read and respond. This also remains interesting to the thread that has been going on in FEC on disaster management. For me, having been arguing without being heard that disaster response works on hegemonic terms these are relevant questions Kerala remains interestingly so because there have been no "disasters" that has touched the Malayalee bourgeouise beyond the political party imagination that groups like KMSTF and their response is totally forgotten. I have not lived in Kerala... I do not believe that a number of this group has not
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jyothi TM <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 3 Sep 2008 21:02 Subject: Re: Even In Flood, India's `Untouchables' Last Rescued To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dear Bobby chetta and canopeners, A lot of Indians/ canopeners would like to know why we should *believe *this piece of information from Associated Press. None of the mainstream Indian media reported this discrimination. Well none of the indian media portrayed the plight of Dalits in India. When air time and column spaces in Indian media were gobbled up by the "Great Indian Debate" over reservation issue, a foreign media source (BBC) used the occasion to air its documentary on tragedy of Indian caste system. Who is this BBC? Should we trust this foreign media? Why should we trust reports from WHO or UN or Amnesty International? When thousand villages are flodded, as it is now, rescue operations will not reach all places evenly. This irregular pattern could leave some villages at the mercy of nature for a longer time. If one of these villages are dalit inhabited, it is very easy to extrapolate it to refer to casteism. If it is not the case, then its a proud moment for six decades of self-governance. This has been accompanied by a very biased 4th estate has been feeding us on a rich diet of false nationalistic pride. We, Indians, oblivious to the history and realities in our country, have finally come to believe that it is time to shun the discrimination enforced upon us by our own constitution. Rising to the clarion call of modern India's role models, namely the bajajs, ambanis and birlas, we have risen up against dalits, who have been for the past 6 decades empowered like some wild life act protecting some endangered species of wild animal in a national park. Like some animal populations that outgrow its endangered status, the Indian media began to portray an India vying for superpower status wherein the OBCs/ dalits have become empowered and now no longer require special status. Some argue that despite providing access to everything India has to offer, the dalits did not develop themselves. In my opinion, it is high time that dalits and lower classes shun the refugee status showered on them by the protection offered by the Constitution of India, the euphemisms and accompanying condescensions. Better accept the world we live in which says, either fall in line and live or dissolve away into oblivion. Personally, I would prefer dissolving away into oblivion with dignity rather than live like a ......... Jyothi On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 3:53 PM, Bobby Kunhu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Ajay <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: 3 Sep 2008 18:23 > Subject: Even In Flood, India's `Untouchables' Last Rescued > To: > > *Even In Flood, India's `Untouchables' Last Rescued * > > *By Gavin Rabinowitz* > > 02 September, 2008 > *Associated Press* > > *TRIVENIGANJ, India *- In the two weeks since a monsoon-swollen river > burst its banks, ancient prejudices have run just as deep as the > floodwaters. India's "untouchables" are the last to be rescued — if at all — > from a deluge that has killed dozens and made 1.2 million homeless. > > Dalits, the social outcasts at the bottom of the Hindu caste ladder, have > borne the brunt of the devastation as the rampaging Kosi River swamped > hundreds of square miles in northern India after it overflowed and shifted > its course dozens of miles to the east. > > On Sunday, one Dalit, Mohan Parwan ran up and down a half destroyed bridge > that has become the headquarters for rescue operations in this town near the > border with Nepal, desperately scanning arriving boats for signs of his > family. > Dozens came in but each time he was disappointed. > > Parwan, 43, is from a Dalit village just 2 miles away but completely cut > off by a deep lake created by the swirling waters. As the village headman, > he was put on the first rescue boat that came and was promised his wife, > four children and the rest of the community would follow. > > "It's been six days and since then no boat has come from the village," he > said, tears welling in is eyes. > > Dalits have long been shunned, holding a status so low they are considered > outside the complex caste system that is all pervasive in India, dividing > people into hundreds of groups defined by livelihood, class and ethnicity. > Even India's emergence as a global force — fueled by it's economic growth > and high-tech hubs — has failed to break down the barriers and stigmas that > hold them down. > > When it comes to rescue operations, it appears Dalits are at the bottom, > too. > > > In Triveniganj, Dalits huddled together in a small group at the end of the > bridge away from everyone else. They said rescuers were saving the upper > castes and the rich first, leaving their people to suffer without food and > clean water. > > > "We are 200 people on a roof for days. Two children fell in and drowned. No > one is coming to help us," said Kishore Ram, 22, who got out on one of the > few boats to visit his village. > > "The officials don't listen to us little people. We can't offer bribes and > influence, I'm just a poor student," Ram said. > > Hearing about the flood, Prithvi Chand Baswan, a 38-year-old Dalit, rushed > home from the neighboring state of Punjab where he works as a farm laborer, > searching for his wife and six children, ages 3 to 12. Four miles from home, > he was stopped by flooding. > > "People from the village say they are sheltering in the temple, but I can't > get to them and they won't send a boat for a Dalit village," he said, > holding his head in despair. > > Ravindra Prasad Singh, a state government official coordinating rescue work > in Triveniganj, about 875 miles east of New Delhi, the capital, denied that > Dalits were being ignored. > > "It's ridiculous. They are lying," he said, but he could not explain why > only a single boat of Dalits had come in during all of Sunday afternoon even > though they make up more than half the region's people. > > On Monday, other government officials acknowledged there was a serious > problem with Dalits being ignored, but said they were working to fix it. > > "We are aware of these complaints," said Prataya Amrit, a top disaster > management official in Bihar state, the scene of the flooding. > > Amrit said greater resources were being sent to Dalit majority areas like > Triveniganj and army and navy officers were now handling rescues to ensure > less abuses. > > The military "presence will instill a lot of confidence," he said. "In an > operation of this magnitude you can't distinguish between rich and poor." > > > Officials also commandeered private boats in an effort to prevent richer > and higher castes from monopolizing the vessels. > > India's treatment of Dalits is a long and bitter history of good intentions > and little progress. > > Caste discrimination has been outlawed for more than a half century, and a > quota system was established with the aim of giving Dalits a fair share of > government jobs and places in schools. But their plight remains dire. > > Most Dalits, like Parwan, live in destitute villages of rickety mud and > thatch huts with no electricity or running water, kept down by ancient > prejudice and caste-based politics. > > In much of rural India, people from lower castes are barred from using > upper-caste drinking wells, kept out of temples and denied spots in village. > Ignoring the prohibitions is often met with violence. > > In times of calamity, their situation is no better. > > "Caste hierarchy is a source of deep emotions in India. In the face of > these emotions it is difficult for the law or the army to do anything," said > Chandrabhan Prasad, a New Delhi-based caste expert. "The rescuers have their > caste loyalty and will try rescue their own first." > > Faced with indifference and even hostility from many officials, one group > of Dalits gave up waiting for help and waded into the neck-deep water in > search of their kin. > "What can we do?" Parwan said, after being angrily shooed away by Singh for > again asking to be given a boat to help his village. > > "I'm just a Harijan," Parwan added, using a euphemism for Dalits coined by > Indian pacifist icon Mohandas K. Gandhi. It means "child of God." > > *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > "Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. > It is a battle for freedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of human > personality." > - Dr BR Ambedkar > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* > > > > -- > Bobby Kunhu http://community.eldis.org/myshkin/Blog/ > > -- Bobby Kunhu http://community.eldis.org/myshkin/Blog/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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