[ZESTCaste] Comrade, whither goest thou? (Kancha Ilaiah)
http://www.asianage.com/columnists/comrade-whither-goest-thou-027 Comrade, whither goest thou? Aug 27th, 2010 - Kancha Ilaiah The extended central committee meeting of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, has not thrown up any radical formula to revitalise the party. This is disappointing since the battered and bruised Communists of India are in the worst shape possible in their entire history. The Communists occupy a political space that is totally opposite to the one occupied by the Right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party and its mother organisations, such as the Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The CPI(M) apparently works on the scientific theory of Marxism. In accordance with this, it should have played a sterling role in modernising the country. But in the last 80 years of its existence, it has not done anything of the sort. In fact, the Communist leadership now looks as if they are a feudal lot. The fragmentation within its ranks, and the irrational and unnecessary breaking up of the movement into three streams — CPI(M), Communist Party of India, and the Maoists — could be because of its leadership’s feudal and casteist mindset. Caste as an institution is basically divisive and the Communists too seem to be victims of such a divisive mindset. That they neither programmatically nor practically recognise caste does not mean that they have not become victims of the caste system itself. Right-wing forces in India are united while the Left-wing is divided. The Right-wing forces at least respond to criticism, while the Left-wing does not even bother to respond. For instance, Left leaders are not able to explain properly the “big differences” between the CPI(M), the CPI and the Forward Bloc that prevents them from merging. They got divided in the context of Soviet power and the Indo-China war. These issues are now passé but they still do not bother to review their decision. In fact, one CPI(M) leader of Kerala said two years ago that a merger with the CPI was impossible since there was no agreement on the attitude towards other parties after the revolution! Speak about people living in ivory towers. The cultural conditioning of the Left leaders is such that they do not want to criticise their own understanding and actions. Ideally, the Left should have worked as one party in a parliamentary democracy to demonstrate their strength and influence politics. But the Left leaders do not want to do so for no valid reason that the people of India can understand. The lack of corruption in their leadership does not make the Left democratic or responsive to the day to day sufferings of masses that need solutions. The Communist leaders have proved that they can be Marxist, feudal and casteist simultaneously. They also impose a discourse that the social masses of India do not understand. Their Oxford-educated leaders such as the late Jyoti Basu came back to live in the “dhoti culture” with one agenda of agrarian reform. But this agenda has reached its saturation in West Bengal and to some extent in Kerala also. For the last 80 years, Communist leaders have been saying that India is a class society. But there are now enough studies to prove that in India caste is more important than class. Neither the Communist leaders nor the intellectuals around them want to face this question squarely. Recently, there was a fierce debate in Kerala on whether the CPI(M) should accept caste/religious identities as legitimate. Though some fellow travellers felt that the party should do so, the leadership did not agree. According to them, though such identities do have their place, they are divisive in the long run and the need is to transcend them and evolve a humanist ethic. But the Left has consistently refused to explain why they have no existence in big states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh where there are toiling masses. The Communists should have repositioned their agenda and mobilised the masses around caste and other cultural questions in these places. So far they have no clue how to do that. Likewise, industrialisation did not take root in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura which the Left has been ruling for years. Their single-point programme of land reform did not take the West Bengal society out of semi-feudal living modes. While Left leaders lived wearing dhoti and kurta, they kept the peasants semi-naked. While the world has surged to a post-capitalist globalisation phase, Left leaders have remained stuck in their feudalism-capitalism discourses. And to add to their troubles, their present JNU-educated leadership has no idea of the rural masses and their changing aspirations. They messed up their programmatic agenda during their UPA-I days and now the masses seem to think that they are incapable of creative renewal. The truth is that nowadays classical socialism does not inspire even the working class masses who are enchained in their own caste-cultural
[ZESTCaste] Rape, torture by landlords forces Karnataka villagers to flee
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rape-torture-by-landlords-forces-Karnataka-villagers-to-flee-/articleshow/6436053.cms Rape, torture by landlords forces Karnataka villagers to flee Senthalir S, TNN, Aug 26, 2010, 03.42am IST BUDIHALLI (KARNATAKA): It's the untold tale of a village in the grip of the feudal system, and a quiet revolt brewing. Budihalli village of Karnataka's Chitradurga district is a glaring example of caste discrimination and bondage, with a yawning gap between communities. Here, landlords hold sway. They allegedly rape and torture women of lower castes while the men work as bonded labourers, paying off debts accumulated over generations. Breaking the stranglehold, 25 families of Madiga (scheduled caste) community left the village to look for self-respect and a new life. They reached Venkateshwaranagar in Chellakere taluk, 30 km from Budihalli, and set up tent. The exodus took place a fortnight ago. Women, men, children and the elderly took their possessions and began walking until they reached a settlement abandoned by nomads. For now, they are living in thatched huts. For them, this migration is symbolic: a breaking away from sexual harassment, rape and torture by the Gollas and Nayaks. The penniless families had no money to even buy bus tickets to their destination. Sitting cramped in the huts — two families in each — they recounted the horrors of their life in Budihalli. We didn't know where to go. We left our village without taking our belongings. We don't have jobs or money to send our children to school. We are struggling for two meals a day. The government has not helped us in any way. We have lost hope, and have no place to go, cries Kollamma T, a Madiga woman. Savithramma (name changed), fighting back her tears, said, Every day, drunk landlords would barge into our houses. They harassed and raped us. All these years, we were scared to talk because of social stigma. They abused us. Our men went to work in the fields of the landlords as bonded labourers to repay the loans taken by our grandparents. We were unable to bear the harassment, and wanted to work independently. So we began to sell firewood and cultivate government land, she said. When the Madigas began earning independently, the Golla and Nayak landlords socially boycotted them. H N Shivamurthy, state organizing convener of the Human Rights Forum for Dalit Liberation in Karnataka, said, The families of the dalit community had protested several times. One woman, Palakka Durgappa, lost her life while protesting. She sat in the rain for three days, protesting. But it hasn't helped them. 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: zestcaste-dig...@yahoogroups.com 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] New investment promotion scheme announced
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/New-investment-promotion-scheme-announced-/articleshow/6435639.cms New investment promotion scheme announced TNN, Aug 26, 2010, 01.21am IST JAIPUR: The state government has announced a new Rajasthan Investment Promotion scheme (RIPS) 2010 in the form of a package of financial incentives and subsidies. For the first time investment and employment generation subsidy has been introduced in the new scheme. The new RIPS 2010 provides better benefits to investors compared to the existing one. The new scheme gives concession for setting up of new enterprise, enterprise going for expansion, modernisation and diversification, and projects set up for social good. According to finance department officials, the new scheme gives more emphasis on employment generation, uplift of women, SC/ST and people with disability. The government has offered a subsidy of Rs 10,000 per annum for each employee, while this subsidy would be Rs 12,000 for employees belonging to women, SC/ST and people with disability. Similarly, for women, SC/ST and entrepreneurs with disability an additional 10% subsidy will be given on taxes as against 50% to the general category. Again 50% excemption from land tax has been given for the first time in the state. Subsidy and excemption for micro, small and medium enterprise in the notified area has been extended to 10 years compared to seven years for other categories under the new scheme. The policy states all kinds of investment are eligible for subsidy, including self-finance, to motivate investors. The cheme also simplifies the procedure for grant and disbursement of subsidy and provides transparency in the system by introducing on-line disbursement of subsidy.
[ZESTCaste] Haryana told to arrest all Dalit attack accused by Monday
http://sify.com/news/haryana-told-to-arrest-all-dalit-attack-accused-by-monday-news-national-ki0ukojiecg.html Haryana told to arrest all Dalit attack accused by Monday 2010-08-26 20:10:00 The Supreme Court Thursday slammed the Haryana government for its failure to arrest all those who looted and burnt Dalit houses in Mirchpur village in Hisar district April 21 and told it to arrest by Monday all accused who are on the run. If those responsible for committing atrocities could not be arrested then what right does the director general of police have to continue in office, asked an apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice A.K. Ganguly. If Haryana police is incapable of arresting those wanted in the Mirchpur case, 'then we will ask some paramilitary force to arrest them', the court said. The court also wanted to know what the chief secretary of the state was doing. The court said that all those wanted in Mirchpur attack on Dalits should be arrested by Monday. The court said that all those who have committed the crime should be brought before the law and be made to account for their sins. It may be recalled that April 21 this year people from the dominant caste attacked and burnt the houses of Valmiki community in Mirchpur in which 70-year-old Tara Chand and his disabled daughter Suman were burnt alive. This led to an exodus of Dalits from the village. Taking note of the failure of the government to rehabilitate the Dalit victims, Justice Singhvi told the Advocate General of Haryana H.S. Hooda: 'You do not allow them to live then should we direct the neighbouring state to accommodate them.' The court also took note of the fact that things have come to such a pass that Dalit children of Mirchpur were not going to school. Senior counsel Colin Gonsalves told the court that a 14-year-old Dalit girl died of shock after she was scolded and humiliated in the school. Directing the government to provide two quintal wheat to each of the Dalit family in the village within seven days, the court asked the state to furnish all the records in support of its claim that it had given 65 people hundred days' employment under a central government scheme. Justice Singhvi told Haryana's advocate general that 'apart from legal issues we are concerned with the humanitarian aspect of the plight of the victims'. Justice Singhvi further said that 'all the people who are uprooted should be settled and protected. They should not live under threat'. The court was told that 52 people involved in the Mirchpur incident have been arrested and remaining would be arrested soon. This prompted Justice Singhvi to ask if the remaining accused have gone to Dubai or fled to other states in the country. The court was also given a report by the advocates from the office of the advocate general on Mirchpur incident. The court said that the copies of the same should be given to all the parties in the case.
[ZESTCaste] SC slams Haryana for not arresting Hissar culprits
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sc-slams-haryana-for-not-arresting-hissar-culprits/672567/ SC slams Haryana for not arresting Hissar culprits Agencies Posted online: Thu Aug 26 2010, 19:09 hrs New Delhi : The Supreme Court today directed the Haryana government to make all possible efforts to arrest by September 10 those involved in the murder of two Dalits and the destruction of 150 houses in Mirchpur village, Hissar on April 21. The violence was allegedly orchestrated by people belonging to the upper castes. The Court also slammed the Haryana government for its failure to provide relief and rehabilitation measures to the affected families and directed authorities to provide two quintal of wheat to each affected family. Some people are not being arrested. They should be arrested before the next date of hearing, a Bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly said while posting the next date of hearing for September 10. The apex court perused the over 100-page report submitted by the state government in a sealed cover along with the fact-finding report prepared by a team of lawyers representing the victims. We have seen the report (of state government) which is contrary to the report of the other side, the Bench said while expressing dissatisfaction over the steps taken by the state government and directed it to file a fresh affidavit. The fact-finding report submitted by senior advocte Colin Gonsalves, who is representing the victims, said the state government failed to keep its promise of providing adequate relief and rehabilitation. He said in the report it is clearly mentioned that the authorities have not properly implemented the MNREGA. Further, the dwelling houses for Dalits in the village are made of mud and not cement, the report said adding even the district collector did not visit the village, and instead, only met the victims at the Valmiki Temple in the capital where they were given shelter. The apex court had on June 2 warned that it would take a very serious view if such incidents recurred. Such incidents of killings are taking place for the last five years, the Bench said during the hearing while expressing anguish that the administration was not doing enough. During the previous hearing, the court had pulled up the state for its failure to prevent the incident -- reportedly a fallout of a dog of the (Valmiki) Dalit community barking at upper caste Jat boys. A paraplegic girl was burnt to death, trapped inside her burning home. Her father, who tired to save her, later succumbed to injuries. The apex court had recorded an undertaking from the Haryana government that it would rebuild some of the houses damaged in the arson and provide employment to at least one member of each affected family under the MNREGA or other government-sponsored schemes by the next hearing.
[ZESTCaste] Dalits take out procession, stage dharna in Bijapur
http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/14/stories/2010081452250300.htm Karnataka - Bijapur Dalits take out procession, stage dharna in Bijapur Staff Correspondent IN PROTEST:Members of Karnataka Rajya Dalit Sangharsh Samiti staging a dharna in Bijapur on Friday. Bijapur: Members of the Bijapur district unit of the Karnataka Rajya Dalit Sangharsh Samiti staged a dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office here on Friday urging the authorities to fulfil their various demands, including a hostel for all eligible Dalit students in the district. The agitators took out a procession from Gandhi Chowk through the main streets of the city to the Deputy Commissioner's office. They raised slogans against the State Government and Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa for not fulfilling their demands even after their repeated pleas. The agitators demanded that the authorities concerned should take steps to construct new hostel buildings in the district depending on the increasing strength of Dalit students and provide them with necessary facilities. The loans taken by Dalits from the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Development Corporation should be waived and all backlog posts be filled in the State, they said. The other demands of the agitators include providing permanent below poverty line cards to all Dalits in the district, construction of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Bhavans in all Assembly constituencies, municipality limits, city municipal council areas, town panchayats and gram panchayats and handing over the illegal mining issue to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The agitators submitted a memorandum to Governor H.R. Bhardwaj through Deputy Commissioner S.S. Pattanshetty. The agitation was led by district convener Suresh Mannur, Harish Natikar, Ravut Talakeri and Kamesh Bhajantri.
[ZESTCaste] It's mostly Dalits
http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/22/stories/2010082253240400.htm Karnataka - Bangalore It's mostly Dalits Special Correspondent Bangalore: Karnataka State Human Rights Commission chairperson S.R. Nayak was shocked by how strongly the factor of caste is linked to destitution on Friday. He asked the warden of a section at Beggars' Relief Centre, which had 108 people, what the caste composition was. he was told 94 of them belonged to Scheduled Castes while 14 to Scheduled Tribes. He had sought a report on caste-wise break up of the number of inmates at the centre.
[ZESTCaste] Fwd: film on Narayan Surve on youtube
-- Forwarded message -- From: Shiva Shankar sshan...@cmi.ac.in Date: Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 7:31 PM Subject: film on Narayan Surve on youtube To: rediff NEWS Well-known Marathi poet Narayan Surve, who passed away on Monday at the age of 83, was a social activist who put the voice of Mumbai's working class in Marathi literature. Aisa Ga Mee Brahma (1962), is his first collection of poems followed by Majhe Vidyapeeth, another collection that hit stands in 1966. His poems described the world of urban population that lived in a metro like Mumbai, who did whatsoever work they could lay their hands on to eke out a living. He brought before the world the bitter truth of those whose life was a mess in search of a mere morsel and also the lives of toiling workers whose life was filled with the struggle to make a living. In his words, Bhakricha chandra shodhnyaatach jindagi barbaad (Wasted a lifetime in search of the moon of a Bhaakri (flat bread). He is mostly known for his poetry collection Majhe Vidyapeeth (My University). Born on October 15, 1926, Surve grew up in the streets of Mumbai and raised by a mill worker. He had slept on the pavement and earned a meagre livelihood by doing odd jobs. He taught himself to read and write. Surve actively took part in the workers' union movement in Mumbai and supported himself as a schoolteacher. In 1998, Surve was honoured with Padma Shri for excellence in Literature and Education. He received the prestigious Golden Lotus Award for his poetry and Kabir Samman in 1999 from Madhya Pradesh government. He was Convener of the Marathi Advisory Board of Sahitya Akademi and had presided over Marathi Sahitya Sammelan at Parbhani in 1995. Apart from Majhe Vidyapeeth, compilations of Surve's poems and essays include Jahirnama, Aisa Ga Mi Brahma, Sanad, Manush Kalawant and Ani Samaj. Surve would describe his struggle in his early years as Kalu laagle tevhaa paasun dabba gheun saachyaavar gelo, ghadavto lohaar haatodyaalaa, tasaach ghadavlaa gelo (I went to the mill with my lunch box since my childhood, just as a hammer is moulded by an ironsmith, my life was shaped there among the mill workers). Influenced by Marxism and comrades Dange and Mirajkar, Surve proclaimed social revolution through his poems. He narrated the life of a worker through his poems, using the colloquial language of workers. His poems brought Marathi poetry out of the circle of the middle class. He experimented with reading out his poems before an audience in Maharashtra as well in the entire country. His poems reached the pinnacle of popularity with all classes of the society. He describes his own emotional world as, Kaamgaar Mee Aahe, Mee Talpati Talwar (I am the worker, the flashing sword) Maazhe hi ek swapna hote re, je malaa pure kartaa ale naahi, Rojchyaa damgirine tevdhi usantach dili nahi, pan pudhche jag tuzhe aahe (I too had a dream, my dear, which I could not fulfil, the everyday routine did not leave me any leisure, but the world ahead is yours) Without being backed by great wealth, high education or family heritage, his intellect and high level of thinking as revealed through his poems, is a miracle of his genius. Surve was awarded the Janasthan Award by Kusumagraj Foundation in 2004. His Jahirnama, Sanad and Navyaa Maansaache Aagman (The coming of the new man) were some of his more popular works. - For those who did not know Narayan Surve, there is not much that one can find on the web. I think the best publicly available documentation of the poet's life is Narayan Gangaram Surve, a Marathi film by Arun Khopkar. It had noted theatre/film actor Kishore Kadam playing the poet, and had touching visualizations of his poetry. Apparently, this was also the first Marathi film to win the national award for the best film in Short film category. Narayan Gangaram Surve : Part 1 (25 min) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92Y6-xmNm3s Narayan Gangaram Surve : Part 2 (20 min). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKkqURDOAD4 Surve grew up in the streets of Mumbai and was raised by a mill worker. He did not have the privilege of going to school. Yet he learnt to read and write, and wrote poetry on the life around him. He passed away this Monday. Just like the mills and mill workers, just like Bombay, the poet of Bombay has also faded away into the world of memories. K.S.Sudeep.
[ZESTCaste] Vedanta issue: A few disturbing questions
http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/aug/25/slide-show-1-a-few-disturbing-questions-in-the-vedanta-issue.htm Vedanta issue: A few disturbing questions Last updated on: August 25, 2010 20:24 IST Nilmadhab Mohanty The decision of Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh not to grant Stage II forest clearance to the proposal of the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) for bauxite mining in Niyamgiri in Orissa has been welcomed in many circles, in particular by the environmental activists, for the protection it will provide to an ecologically sensitive area of the country and to the Kondh tribes (and Dalits) living in the area. There are, however a few disturbing questions that need to be answered by the ministry in order to buttress the minister's claim that the decision was an objective one with no prejudice or politics influencing it. First, the manner and time-line followed in the decision-making. The Orissa state government seems to have applied for final clearance in August 2009. The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has been deliberating the proposal at least since November 2009. In addition to the information submitted by the State and the central government's own agencies, it had the benefit of the recommendations made by a three-member expert group which submitted its report in February 2010. FAC then asks for yet another committee under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which is the nodal agency in the central government for tribal rights. The environment minister, however, appoints his own committee (the Saxena Committee) in the last week of June 2010. Then the pace quickens: The environment minister writes to the law ministry on July 19 to obtain the Attorney General's opinion if the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) apply its mind and decide in the light of the Supreme Court's earlier decision giving forest clearance.
[ZESTCaste] Alleged casteist remarks by minister spark row in Orissa
http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/alleged-casteist-remarks-by-minister-spark-row-in-orissa/261172.html Alleged casteist remarks by minister spark row in Orissa PTI | 09:08 PM,Aug 25,2010 Bhubaneswar, Aug 25 (PTI) Alleged objectionable and casteist remark made by Orissa Agriculture Minister Damodar Rout triggered a row today with Congress as well as Scheduled Caste and Dalit leaders demanding his immediate resignation.Chairman of State Congress Scheduled Caste (SC) cell, Ripunath Seth told reporters here that Rout should resign forthwith for making derogatory remarks about Jagatsinghpur MP Bibhu Prasad Tarai, local MLA Bishnu Das and Additional District Magistrate Upendranath Mallick.Rout, a senior leader of the ruling BJD, was accused of making objectionable remarks at a public meeting in Kujang in Jagatsinghpur district last week about these three and referring to them as Harijans. If Rout fails to step down, he should be dismissed as he has used derogatory remarks about leaders and a government official by making casteist remarks despite holding a constitutional post as Minister, Seth said.When contacted, Rout said he has already expressed regrets for his remarks. What else can I do now. I am sorry for the remarks made by me inadvertently, he said.A case has also been registered against the minister in Kujang police station under provisions of SC and ST (Prevention of atrocities) Act and investigation launched into the matter, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) G D Pradhani said adding three separate complaints had been lodged against Rout in this regard.Orissa State Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Youth and Students' Council has also demanded dismissal of Rout for his remarks, while Dalits staged a dharna in Jagatsinghpur seeking his resignation.
