[ZESTCaste] Certificates of Achievement available on website
Dear donors and friends, I uploaded CsofA and some photos on our website. Please check them here CsofA: http://www.friends4education.org/scholarship/2008/08selectionlist.htm Photos: http://www.friends4education.org/scholarship/2008/08photos.htm Some of the CsofA do not have photos as they are not provided. I will update them as and when they are avialable. Please let me know if any questions. Thanks Ben -- 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
[ZESTCaste] Donors wise Certificates now available
Dear donors and friends, Please check this link for donor wise Certificates of Achievement http://www.friends4education.org/scholarship/2008/08csofa.htm Thanks Ben -- 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
[ZESTCaste] Obama: Affirmative Action Not So Potent A Force For Racial Progress
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/02/obama-affirmative-action-_n_225014.html Obama: Affirmative Action Not So Potent A Force For Racial Progress MARK SHERMAN | July 2, 2009 07:39 PM EST | WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Thursday the Supreme Court is moving the ball to limit affirmative action, but he stressed that its ruling in favor of white firefighters still allows employers and educators to take race into account in hiring, promotions and admissions. The president, a former constitutional law professor, avoided criticizing this week's 5-4 ruling even though it reversed a decision his own high court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, had endorsed as an appeals court judge. This was a very narrow case, so it's hard to gauge where they will take it, Obama said in an interview with The Associated Press. The justices sidestepped a broad constitutional ruling on remedies for racial disparities and instead merely told public and private employers they could not easily discard promotion exams just because the results left no African-Americans likely to be promoted. As a senator, Obama voted against confirming two justices in the majority in the firefighters case: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, the two nominees of President George W. Bush. Obama was critical of the process that New Haven, Conn., used to administer promotion exams and then toss them aside because of the racially skewed results. The president said the city might have prevailed if it had thought through how it was going to approach the issue ahead of time and said, 'We think merit and highly qualified firefighters are absolutely important. That doesn't contradict our desire to make sure that there is diversity in a city that's 60 percent black and Hispanic. Let's design promotion approaches that reconcile those two things.' Instead, Obama said, I think what people instinctively, probably, reacted to on that particular case had more to do with the fact that the people that studied for those tests already had a set of expectations that were thwarted. Critics of racial preferences have argued that Obama's election demonstrates that affirmative action is no longer necessary. But the president noted that the Supreme Court didn't close the door to affirmative action, if properly structured. He said such programs have not been nearly as helpful to minorities or damaging to whites as they have been portrayed. Crude quotas are unnecessary and constitutionally impermissible, he said. But, I do think that there are still circumstances in which on a college admissions or on a hiring decision, taking into account issues of past discrimination or taking into account issues of diversity of a workforce or a student body can still be appropriate, the president said. INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to zestmedia-dig...@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to zestcaste-subscr...@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: mailto:zestcaste-dig...@yahoogroups.com mailto:zestcaste-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: zestcaste-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[ZESTCaste] SC/ST case against Mayor triggers protest in Varanasi
http://news.chennaionline.com/newsitem.aspx?NEWSID=4e03ed73-55f5-45a9-a30f-b25db95cd4d5CATEGORYNAME=NATL Fri, Jul 03 Search SC/ST case against Mayor triggers protest in Varanasi Varanasi, July 2 People staged protests in the city today after police registered a case under SC/ST Act against the mayor following an employee's complaint that the former called him by his caste name and tried to assault him. Hundreds of people came out on the roads and burnt the effigy of Chief Minister Mayawati, alleging that the government was misusing the provisions of the Act against the first citizen of the city. This has become the latest episode in a long-drawn battle of supremacy between Mayor Kaushlendra Singh and Municipal Commissioner Nand Kishore. The Sigra Police registered an FIR against him on the complaint of Nigam employee (clerk), Bhonu Ram under various sections of the Act. As per his complaint, the mayor called him by his caste name and tried to assault him a few days back. However, IG Gurdarshan Singh pleaded ignorance about case registration. - (Agencies) Jul 02, 2009
[ZESTCaste] Now, pay no more for Maya statues
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Now-pay-no-more-for-Maya-statues/articleshow/4727092.cms Now, pay no more for Maya statues 2 Jul 2009, 0609 hrs IST, ET Bureau LUCKNOW: After getting her own statues installed at memorials for Dalit leaders and icons, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has decided to throw open the memorials free of charge to the public. The BSP chief said that the memorials and statues, which were inaugurated on June 25, are like pilgrimage centres to majority of the population and the government has decided not to charge any entry fees from visitors to these places for the next six months. She said that earlier regimes had deliberately ignored setting up memorials of Dalit icons and instead built massive memorials for leaders of their own parties and communities. Ms Mayawati said that had the earlier governments given Dalit leaders their due and set up impressive memorials and statues befitting their stature, her government would not have gone ahead with their construction. She said that the land alone at the Rajghat memorial in New Delhi would be worth much more than the cost of memorials built during her regime. She said that the state government would undertake massive publicity of the memorials and they would also be included in the Tourism departments’ list of places to see. She said that crores of people are expected to visit these memorials and statues and the state government has decided not to charge any entry fee for the next six months. She, however, said that the income from these memorials at a later stage would be used to construct concrete roads in villages and urban slums. Meanwhile, the controveries surrounding the construction of these memorials refuse to go. Ms Mayawati’s “places of pilgrimage’ have another PIL this time on the issue of disrupting the traffic flow. While a PIL questioning the huge expenditure on memorials is already being heard in the Supreme Court, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, taking up the PIL filed by advocate Satyveer Singh Yadav questioning the installation of statues on highways and crossings, has directed the state government to file its reply before July 10. The petitioner said that the installation of tall statues on roads, crossings and highways was detrimental to the safety of commuters and against legal provisions which govern construction along roads and highways. In another PIL questioning the appointment of the new Chief Information Commissioner Ranjeet Singh Pankaj the court has again asked the state government to submit its reply before July 10. The PIL filed by lawyer Himanshu Shekhar Awasthi contends that legal provisions were violated in the appointment of Mr Pankaj as they new CIC. Mr Pankaj is an IAS promotee and was the secretary in the mining department before being administered the oath of office as the new CIC on Tuesday. INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to zestmedia-dig...@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to zestcaste-subscr...@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: mailto:zestcaste-dig...@yahoogroups.com mailto:zestcaste-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: zestcaste-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[ZESTCaste] Memorials are beacon of inspiration for Dalits: Mayawati
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Memorials-are-beacon-of-inspiration-for-Dalits-Mayawati/articleshow/4727004.cms Memorials are beacon of inspiration for Dalits: Mayawati 2 Jul 2009, 0548 hrs IST, TNN LUCKNOW: “Those who live in glass houses must not cast stones at others’ homes,” chief minister Mayawati, taking pot-shots at her detractors on Wednesday, sounded her acerbic best. Miffed at the wide criticism incurred over construction of parks and museums, and installation of statues during her regime, the BSP president said that the vilification campaign was nothing but manifestation of a strongly biased and casteist mentality. Her attempts to immortalise Dalit icons, she said, “would serve as a beacon of inspiration (prakash stambh) for all Dalits and downtrodden”...even though her opponents fought shy of acknowledging the fact due to their deep-seated prejudices. Museums and parks constructed in Lucknow were means of empowerment of the oppressed class, the CM declared. Disrespect shown by the opposition parties to saints and icons and their resistance to her efforts in the direction only go to prove their die-hard anti-Dalit mindset, she added. Rubbishing charges of wastage of government funds, the CM said that money spent on setting up statues and parks is negligible as compared to the amount spent in Delhi on ‘samadhis’. INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to zestmedia-dig...@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to zestcaste-subscr...@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: mailto:zestcaste-dig...@yahoogroups.com mailto:zestcaste-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: zestcaste-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[ZESTCaste] Obama says court still allows for racial diversity
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/02/AR2009070201864.html Obama says court still allows for racial diversity By MARK SHERMAN The Associated Press Thursday, July 2, 2009; 3:25 PM WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama cast this week's Supreme Court decision in favor of white firefighters as a narrow case that nevertheless allows employers and educators to take race into account in hiring, promotions and admissions. Obama, a former constitutional law professor, said the court was moving the ball on affirmative action by telling public and private employers they could not easily discard promotion exams just because the results left no African-Americans likely to be promoted. This was a very narrow case, so it's hard to gauge where they will take it, Obama said in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press. He did not criticize the court's ruling, even though the justices voted 5-4 to reverse a decision that his own high court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, endorsed as an appeals court judge. As a senator, Obama voted against confirming two justices in the majority in the firefighters case: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, the two nominees of President George W. Bush. The president was critical of the clumsy process that New Haven, Conn., used to administer promotion exams, then tossed them aside because of the racially skewed results. He said the city might have prevailed if it had thought through how it was going to approach the issue ahead of time and said, 'We think merit and highly qualified firefighters are absolutely important. That doesn't contradict our desire to make sure that there is diversity in a city that's 60 percent black and Hispanic. Let's design promotion approaches that reconcile those two things.' Instead, Obama said, I think what people instinctively, probably, reacted to on that particular case had more to do with the fact that the people that studied for those tests already had a set of expectations that were thwarted. Critics of racial preferences have argued that Obama's election demonstrates that affirmative action is no longer necessary. But the president noted that the Supreme Court didn't close the door to affirmative action, if properly structured. He said such programs have not been nearly as helpful to minorities or damaging to whites as they have been portrayed. Crude quotas are unnecessary and constitutionally impermissible, he said. But, I do think that there are still circumstances in which on a college admissions or on a hiring decision, taking into account issues of past discrimination or taking into account issues of diversity of a workforce or a student body can still be appropriate, the president said.
[ZESTCaste] QA | 'Mayawati seems to be forgetting her roots'
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Editorial/QA-Mayawati-seems-to-be-forgetting-her-roots/articleshow/4730509.cms QA | 'Mayawati seems to be forgetting her roots' 3 Jul 2009, hrs IST Sheoraj Singh 'Bechain' , 49, is a leading Dalit writer and commentator. Currently a fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla, he is working on a history of Dalit literature in Hindi. He speaks to Avijit Ghosh : After its stunning victory in the 2007 UP assembly election, people expected BSP to perform much better in the Lok Sabha polls. What went wrong? Mayawati seems to be forgetting her roots. BSP's Brahmin leaders do not listen to the problems of Dalits without Brahmin intermediaries. Any tree that forgets its roots will eventually collapse, even though it may look green on the surface. In her efforts to win over other castes, Mayawati has started ignoring her own. She has few, if any, Dalit advisers. So she is not aware of what is happening at the ground level. Recently many principals of colleges and vice-chancellors of universities were appointed in Uttar Pradesh but there were no Dalits. The primary education system is going in the hands of the private education mafia. Mayawati is not setting up government schools. This is why Dalits in Uttar Pradesh seem to be coming around to the view that it is better to go with the Congress because they stand a better chance to gain from it. It is sad that she has got trapped in all this because she had the potential to change so many lives for the better. Your autobiography, Mera Bachpan Mere Kandhon Par, has just been published. You had a very traumatic childhood. Was it difficult putting it down in words and reliving the experience again? I wrote it because i knew that if i didn't, the memories would keep hurting me. But having written them down, i find it difficult to read it. My father died when i was only five years old, my family had been landless and illiterate from generations. My stepfather burnt my books. My sister and i were mortgaged to work in a brick kiln unit for less than Rs 100. I worked as a shoeshine boy, a waiter, an agricultural labourer. I cleared dead carcass in the village, sold newspapers and lemons - all before i finished my teenage years. To sell those lemons, i coined a couplet through which i tried to attract customers. In retrospect, i consider that couplet as my first poem. Now a collection of my poems is on the syllabus for post-graduate studies at Lucknow University. How did you start writing? As a child, i had a natural inclination for rhyme. I used to work as a mason boy when a teacher heard me reciting a poem about a man in the village who had sold off his wife's ornament. This teacher, Prem Pal Singh Yadav, asked me where i had learnt the poem. I said, i just made it up. He said, do you know this is a rhyme. I said, no. From that day everyone in the village knew i could write poems. The gentleman then offered to employ me at his home. In return, he would give me food and shelter. He also allowed me to join school. That incident changed my life.
[ZESTCaste] Maya expels partyman for questioning her move on statues
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePageid=e3461a36-05e1-4e62-b52b-5fc9fb19865fHeadline=Maya+expells+partyman+over+statue+issues Press Trust Of India Dehra Dun, July 03, 2009 First Published: 12:25 IST(3/7/2009) Last Updated: 15:07 IST(3/7/2009) Maya expels partyman for questioning her move on statues Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati has expelled a party leader in Uttarakhand within three months of his joining the outfit, for challenging her move to erect a series of statues in Uttar Pradesh, party sources said on Friday. According to party sources, BSP leader and party candidate from the Tehri Lok Sabha seat in 2009 Lok Sabha polls Munna Singh Chauhan was expelled from the party within three months of joining the party. Speaking to PTI, state BSP president Meghraj Singh said, Chauhan was expelled after he wrote a letter to Mayawati suggesting that she should desist from erecting statutes and focus more on the welfare of dalits. Singh also claimed that Chauhan had not been attending meetings of the party during the past one month and added, The party late last night expelled Chauhan. The expulsion of Chauhan came close on the heels of the by-elections in Vikasnagar, which are due shortly as the seat fell vacant after his resignation from BJP. Chauhan, who was not available for comments, had joined BSP only three months ago after resigning from the assembly seat of Vikasnagar, from where he was elected on a BJP ticket 2007 assembly elections. Later, he unsuccessfully contested from Tehri Lok Sabha seat on BSP ticket and was defeated by the Congress candidate.
[ZESTCaste] Dalit forum wants quota in Bill
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mangalore/Dalit-forum-wants-quota-in-Bill/articleshow/4730390.cms Dalit forum wants quota in Bill 2 Jul 2009, 2254 hrs IST, TNN MANGALORE: The Dakshina Kannada district unit of the Karnataka Rajya Dalit Sangharsh Samiti has urged for the introduction of internal reservation system in the Bill pertaining to providing 33% reservation for women in the legislatures. In a submission to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made through the deputy commissioner V Ponnuraj, the Samiti district organizing convener Ananda Bellare said it was a welcome development that the Congress-led UPA government has included getting Parliament's approval for the women's reservation Bill in its 100 day programme. However, social justice would not be done to dalit women if arrangements for internal reservation for SC/ST women in the Bill is not made, he said. SC/ST women cannot contest elections as long as the caste system exists in the country. The caste system is so pervasive that the political parties allow eminent dalit politicians and leaders to contest only from the reserved seats. Hence, it is unthinkabale that a dalit woman could get a ticket and contest from the seat reserved for women unless there was provision for internal reservation in the Act, he said and urged the Prime Minister to provide for internal reservation while implementing the womenbs reservation bill.
[ZESTCaste] ATSUM warns on SC/ST reservation
http://www.morungexpress.com/regional/27598.html ATSUM warns on SC/ST reservation Newmai News Network Imphal | July 2 : All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM) will be compelled to fight for their rights and the government will be responsible for any consequences that follows if the rules for the Manipur Reservation of Vacancies in Post and Service (for SC and ST) Act 2007 are not framed and passed during the assembly session starting from July 3, stated a press communiqué issued on July 2 by president, ATSUM, Thomas Taishya. The students' organization stated that the issue of reservation for SC/ST has been hotly debated and a contentious issue since the birth of the state in 1972. ATSUM believes that tribals are not adequately represented in all government and semi-government establishments, and pointing out that a mere 25% of the total state government employees are tribals, demanded for immediate address of the issue. The ATSUM maintained that reservation for STs in central institutions located in Manipur, such as Manipur University, Central Agricultural University, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, etc is very pathetic and meager as the concern authorities have the excuse of following the central reservation norm of giving a mere 7.5% to tribals. It further stated that 'a community' that constitutes 56% of the total population has grabbed all the jobs in the state before and will be doing so in the future. INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to zestmedia-dig...@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to zestcaste-subscr...@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: mailto:zestcaste-dig...@yahoogroups.com mailto:zestcaste-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: zestcaste-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[ZESTCaste] Dalan:52 windows on Nepal's dalits
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_detailsnews_id=7015 TELEVISION Dalan:52 windows on Nepal's dalits AVASH KARMACHARYA KATHMANDU, July 3: “They (Maoists) thought that they were the only ones who were concerned about the issues of Dalits. They thought it was only them to raise voices to fight for their rights,” began Nabin Subba, director of the widely acclaimed tele-serial “Dalan” that has now concluded after screening all of its 52 episodes. To do a tele-serial on those very people who are tagged as exploited and marginalized minorities by the state, director Nabin Subba and producer Purna Singh Baraili fought hard to bring it onscreen. “I still don’t think that a film can bring any major revolution in the society and reform its practices. If it could, then there are so many films on Che Guevara which could’ve caused big revolutions around the world,” Subba explained and added, “However, after Dalan, I’ve realized that if not for any major outcomes, movies can at least become a strong medium to create a platform for discussions on those issues that look otherwise minor but are deeply rooted in our society.” The example of the ever growing popularity of Dalan is its 400 fan clubs in Nepal, and some in Dubai, Hong Kong, America, and India. While dealing with the Dalits of Nepal, “Dalan” went back to the Nepali year 2007, or 1950 AD, and retraced what Nepal’s Dalits faced till 2051 B.S. It was broadcast by Nepal Television (NTV) every Sunday at 8:30 p.m. The journey The Jagaran Media Center had an idea to come up with a documentary on Dalits. As they started working on the scripts by Ahuti (a member of Jana Morcha Party), it clicked to them that they could rather make it a fiction program and broadcast it on television. They then approached filmmaker Nabin Subba to direct the serials. Subba was least interested at the beginning because he thought no matter how strong the scripts were, it was not going to make any big difference to the society. But after repeated requests from the production team, he agreed to direct the teleserial. “Dalan” means oppressed. “It was important to push for a separate law in the Constitution for Dalits to enforce their rights to freedom of living. We turned the chapters of history that began from 2007 B.S., and then we started the shooting. This was the only way we could make things happen,” unveiled Subba. In 2004 A.D. the group started shooting from the Khaula VDC (Village Development Committee) in Parbat district, where the inhabitants of minority groups are reportedly huge. However, to get permission for screening on NTV was another difficult job during the royal regime. The country was going through a heavy political turmoil with the rise in conflicts between the state and the Maoists. To get running time on NTV, the director and the producer had to coax international donors to pressurize the television authorities. And once it was done, the Maoists said they would allow the shooting only if there were no foreign investments made in the project, especially from America and India. “Your government doesn’t own this land where you wish to shoot the film. You should’ve taken our permission because we’re the emperors here.” This was what the Maoists said when the team was about to begin the shooting in Parbat and Baglung districts, Subba revealed. After repeated appeals for two months, the Maoists finally allowed shooting at the chosen locales provided they presented the prevailing reality of the Dalits and not spice up their lifestyle for cheap publicity. Then journey of Dalan thus began. It was officially screened after the Maoists came to power, and Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Minister of Information and Communication, supported its screening through NTV. However, the producer’s plea to have the runtime costs for the social serial waived was not considered. Selecting cast and crew Having players to enact realistically and get closer to the characters to justify their way of living was equally difficult. Because it was not a commercial teleserial, the crew decided to keep away the big names of the Nepali silver screen. They wanted real characters, and therefore, contacted the locals to play in the episodes. However, notable theater artistes like Diya Maskey, Anup Baral, and Sudarshan Thapa joined in for the social cause. As it was not any spicy movie, the cast of the serial had to live simply for months in remote villages of Nepal. Both Diya Maskey and Anup Baral lived in Parbat for three months and lived just like the locals. Impacts of Dalan on society As the teleserial went on air, many Nepali youths came together to discuss the discriminating orthodoxy attached to the Dalits, and how the practice of “untouchability” could be removed from the society. Soon, they started launching their own respective “Dalan Fan Club” in the country. By now, 53 districts have such clubs to raise issues of Dalits and to spread awareness in the
[ZESTCaste] Ganga Expressway project remains a non-starter
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lucknow/Ganga-Expressway-project-remains-a-non-starter/articleshow/4730957.cms Ganga Expressway project remains a non-starter 3 Jul 2009, 0453 hrs IST, Arvind Singh Bisht, TNN LUCKNOW: Launched with great fanfare, the ambitious Rs 50,000 crore Ganga Expressway project has put the Mayawati government in a no-win situation. While the project has so far remained a non-starter, the ruling BSP has had a bitter taste of its fiasco. The party has virtually faced a near rout in 17 districts proposed to be connected by this mega project. Notably, the social-engineering plank of the BSP has failed to work in these districts. And this was mainly because of the fear in the mind of people about being uprooted from their land in the wake of this project. So, the individual interest, coupled with a sense of economic insecurity, has virtually come as a percussor for people to vote against the BSP trying to capitalise on social regrouping of Brahmins and dalits. As on date, the fate of the project hangs in balance. All its works have been stalled under the court order passed on a writ petition filed by the Ganga Mahasabha. The most severe objection has been raised on the ground of the environment clearance to the project. In its order, the court has categorically said that nothing should be done unless the developer/government gets the project cleared by the environment ministry. When asked to comment, a senior official admitted to some flaws and said that fresh application would be moved for clearing the environment objections in the next few days. The enterprise, however, raised high expectations when Mayawati announced it soon after assuming her office more than two years ago. This was showcased as a leap forward and described as a feather on the cap of the state. Undoubtedly, there was a reason to believe in that. Modelled on a private/public participation (PPP) concept with no financial burden on the state exchequer, the project envisaging eight-lane route, was supposed to be first of its kind in Asia. This was about 1,047 km-long stretch meant to connect 17 districts without any hindrance from Gautam Buddh Nagar on the outskirts of New Delhi to Ballia, bordering Bihar. The travel time was supposed to be reduced drastically. For all practical purpose, the Mayawati government has tried to sell the project like a dream to capture the fancy of people. But the government has so far failed to translate it into action. This cost dearly to the BSP. This was evident by the stunning defeat suffered by it in the project area. In the just concluded LS poll, the BSP could win just two of the total 17 seats falling along the proposed expressway. Two seats secured by the BSP are from Gautam Buddha Nagar and Sant Ravidas Nagar (Bhadoi). The major gainer has been the Samajwadi Party (SP) by winning the maximum nine seats from Bulandshahar, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Allahabad, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Ghazipur and Ballia. Riding on the crest of popularity, the Congress has hit on success from Farukhabad, Unnao, Rae Bareli and Pratapgarh constituencies. The BJP had to be content with just two seats from Lucknow and Varanasi. This is beside the fact that the BJP has been able to secure Ghaziabad seat, which was a stronghold of the Congress and adjacent to the Gautam Buddha Nagar. However, the result analysis showed that the SP was able to create a hype against the project. For this the SP even launched agitation and projected itself as if it was championing the cause of the people likely to be uprooted from their land in the wake of the project. This fetched the SP the support of people. Notably, the Congress, too got the advantage of its proactive role, in opposing the project in some measure.
