Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Minority panel recommends status of SC/ST to Dalit Muslims, Christians
New Delhi: The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has more than once recommended that Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians should also be included in the list of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) and they should also enjoy benefits as SCs/STs like Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists of these categories.
The Congress-led UPA Government told Parliament today that the National Commission for Minorities has recommended that Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes(SC/ST) converts to Christianity or Islam should continue to enjoy all privileges and benefits as SCs/STs.
Giving this information in the Rajya Sabha today in a written reply Salman Khurshid, Minister for Minority Affairs, said that in 1995, National Commission for Minorities, under Section 9(1) of the National Commission for Minorities Act 1992, recommended that Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes(SC/ST) converts to Christianity or Islam should continue to enjoy all privileges and benefits as SCs/STs on par with the SC/ST converts to Buddhism. Further, in 1997, NCM, under Section 9(1) of the NCM Act 1992, recommended for the outright removal of the Proviso in Constitution(Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950 which confines the SC status strictly to three specified religions. Further, the National Commission for Minorities, in their Annual Report for 2006-07, have recommended that Christian and Muslim dalits, must be given the benefit of affirmative action through reservation.
Muslims and Christians have long been demanding amendment in the Constitutional Order of 1950 so that Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians could also be included in the list of SC/ST. National Commission for Scheduled Castes has also recommended their inclusion in the SC list.
Courtesy:
TwoCircles.net
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Labels: Dalit Christians, Dalit Movement, Dalit Muslims, National Commission for Minorities, NCM
Sunday, August 2, 2009
SUPREME COURT SEEKS COUNTER AFFIDAVIT FROM UNION OF INDIA IN DALIT MUSLIMS’ CASE
By Mohammad Shahanshah Ansari, IDMV, 2nd August 2009
In a great development for PIL lodged in Supreme Court by Akhil Maharastra Khatik Samaj(AMKS) for inclusion of Dalit Muslims in scheduled caste category, counsel court comprising Hon’ble the chief justice, Hon’ble Mr. Justice P. Sathasivam has ordered union of India to file counter affidavit to the writ petition 13 of 2008 within the granted period of 4 weeks. Respondent(s) Additional Solicitor General Mr Mohan Parasaran from Union of India appeared before the Supreme Court to reply to the PIL on 31st July 2009, while Adv. Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed was present from the petitioner’s side. The petition was filed by AMKS on 25th January 2008 seeking inclusion of Dalit Muslims in the Scheduled Caste category. It is happening for the first time in last full one year that someone from union of India has responded to this petition. It is a positive path breaking achievement for this case.
While speaking to IDMV Mr. Shamsuddin Shaikh, Chariman of Akhil Maharastra Khatik Samaj told that they are fighting for Dalit Muslim rights for more than a decade and have now filed this petition in hope of seeking justice from the Hon’ble Supreme Court. It is note worthy that from 1935 to 1950 all Dalits belong to any religion were provided with reservations. However, In January 26, 1950 when constitution of India came into force an order was passed by then president of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad limiting the reservation to only Hindu Dalits, clearly prohibiting the provision of article 341 which states that all scheduled case should be provided with reservation. The Presidential Order 1950 denies inclusion of Dalits of any community other than Hindu in the Scheduled Castes category. The third paragraph of the order says, “notwithstanding anything contained in para 2, no person who professes a religion different from Hinduism shall be deemed to be a member of the Scheduled Castes.” This part of the order runs contrary to the provisions of Articles 14 (equality before the law), 15 (prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion) and 25 (freedom to profess and practice any religion) of the same Constitution.
The situation clearly calls for the amendment of the constitution of India, only then the Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians can be included among the scheduled castes. If it happens so, it would not be the first time. The relevant part of the Constitution containing the order has been already been amended twice: first in 1956 and second in 1990. Through these amendments, Sikhs and Buddhists respectively were included in the Scheduled Caste category and thus they were allowed to avail the benefits of reservation. Hence Dalit muslims should also be provided with the benefit of reservations and other privileges as scheduled castes as the presidential order of 1950 is unconstitutional. The only reason why Dalit belonging to other communities are progressing is due to reservation where as the condition of Dalit Muslims is turning worse day by day in the lack of same. Atrocities against Dalit Muslim is continuing even today.
Dalit Muslims deserve scheduled caste reservation as they are not only engaged in the same profession as Dalit Hindus but also undergo the same social discrimination as their counterpart Dalit Hindus. The status of Dalit Muslims which include Nutt, Bakkho, Khatik, Bhatiyara, Kunjra, Dhunia, Kalal, Dafali, Halakhor, Dhobi, Gorkan, Meershikar, Rangrz, Darji, Mochis, Mukris and Garudis etc. is turning worse day by day.
Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed, advocate in Supreme Court in the above case while speaking to IDMV pointed towards Ranganath Mishra Commission Report which has also recommended SC status for Dalit Muslims. Keeping this recommendation in consideration Central Govt. should amend the self contrasting constitution and implement this recommendation without any further delay in interest of lakhs of discriminated and deprived people.
We at IDMV hope that Union of India will take the objective of this case seriously and understand the suffering of all those 35 dalit muslim castes among Muslims who are in no better condition than other Dalits and grant schedule caste status to this marginalised section of society.
Same report could also be read on:
TwoCircles.net
United News Network
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Labels: Dalit Movement, Dalit Muslims, Dalit Muslims Case in SC, PIL
Atrocity in Kurnool : Fact Finding Report
ON ILLEGAL DETENTION.TORTURE, DISPOSSESSION FROM LANDS, DESTRUCTON OF CROPS, FORCINGTO DRINK URINE, PULLING MOUSTACHES, INSULTING, INTIMIDATI0N, ABUSING IN THE NAME OF CASTE, FOISTING FALLSE CASES, VIOLENCE COMMITTED BY STATE , PUBLIC SERVANTS COMMITTING OFFENCES UNDER SC/ST(POA)ACT,1989.
District: KURNOOL - Mandal: Rudravaram - Village: Ellavathula - Date of occurrence: 16.7.09
Dates of visit: 20-7-2009 & 21-7-2009 – Places visited: Yellavathula Village, Rudravaram, Allagadda, Nandyal etc,
Members of the Fact Finding Team:
1) Mr.Munirathnam, State Convenor, National Dalit Forum, Chittoor
2) Mr, Sreeramulu, Disct.Convenor, National Dalit Forum, Chittoor
3) Mr.VA.Vinod Kumar, MA (Litt), BL, AIII, Advocate, AP High Court, Kurnool
4) Mr.Venkata Subbaiah, Chaitanya YuvAndhra Jyothiana Sangham, Chagalamarri (M), Kurnool Dist
5) Mr. Obulesu, Mani Rural Development Society, Rudravaram(V & M)
INCIDENCE IN BRIEF:
On 10.7.2009 Friday. Nearly at about 11 am., the Forest Range Officer Manthru Naik, Forest Guard Jakir Hussain, and 3 others came to Yellavathula when the daliths are working in their lands and abused and threatened the dalits that the lands belongs to Forest Department and they should leave the lands immediately otherwise they will face dare consequences. The dalits replied that the Government gave Pattas to their parents in the year 1974 and as such they are the owners and will not leave the lands. The Forest officials angrily scolded the dalits in the name of caste and forcibly lifted them into the Jeep and took them to DFO Office, Nandyal. There they put them in a dark room and locked up. In the evening at 4 pm., they came to the room and asked them to sign on white papers. When they refused to sign on empty papers they become angry and subjected them to force and torture. They left them in the dark locking it. At about 11 pm in the night the Forest officials came again and took away each separately and beat severely. Again they keep three of them in the room and put before us the white papers and forced us to sign. When they refused again they started beating them and pour urine in the glasses and pulled the moustaches and poured urine in their mouths and beat them severely. Unable to bear the torture they signed on the papers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INCIDENT:
In the year 1974 the Government gave pattas of assigned lands to 11 families of Dalits of Yellavathula village, Rudravaram (M) Kurnool Dist, were working in their lands and removing kalupu in their lands, given with 22 acres of land in the 1974. These lands were cultivated by these families from the period of their fathers. In the year 2007 Govt also provided Rs.2,44,000/- to these 11 families to develop the lands under Comprehensive Land Development Scheme (Indira Prabha). During March month 2009 the Forest officials lead by Mr. Manthru Naik, along with guards planted Jathropa plants in these lands. Then the dalits met the Tahasildar of Rudravaram and gave a complaint. The Tahsildar deputed Shri Ramanaiah, the Official Surveyor who surveyed the lands and planted stones showing the boundaries. The Dalit farmers having confirmed their ownership from the Revenue Department cut the Jathropa Plants to cultivate the lands. Then Forest Officials filed cases against the Dalit farmers during March, 2009 under Sections 20(i) (vi)(vii) These farmers were regularly attending the court for every adjournment. The Dalits were threatened with dire consequences if they refuse to leave the lands and they will put Preventive Detention cases when the 3rd case is booked against them.
They brought this event to the notice of the MRO and requested to survey the lands. The MRO certified that the lands which they had occupied were government land – Against this background the forest officials were not able to tolerate the poor Dalits cultivating the land and conspired to evict them from the land. As part of the conspiracy they went to the fields on 10-7-09l. Again they went to on 10-7-09 and filed cases against Dalits who were attending to weeding work in their fields. The Forest officials were intolerant and attacked and destroyed the red gram crops in 13 acres belonging to these Dalits in retaliation for not hearing to their instructions to vacate the land and removed the stones planted by the Official Surveyor showing the boundaries questioning the authority of Revenue Department to show the boundaries.
While going in the Jeep the RO Manthru Naik forcibly took the Cell Phone from Smt.Shanthamma, w/o.Sudarshan putting his hands into the jacket of her as she was keeping the cell phone in the jacket and refused to give it. She filed a case in Rudravaram PS under Section 354 IPC & Sec.3 (1)(xi), 3(2)(vii)of SC/ST)POA)Act,1989
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS:
1. In 1974 pattas for assigned lands of 22 acres were issued to 11 families of dalits
2. In the year 2007 Govt sanctioned amount to develop the lands under CLDP (Indira Prabhas) The farmers developed the lands with the assistance provided under the Govt.Programme.
3. Due to scanty rain fall the farmers couldn’t take up any crop and in the mean time the forest officials planted the Jathropa plants in the developed lads.
4. The dalits opposed the plantation and gave complaint to the MRO of Rudravaram (M)
5. The MRO sent the Official Surveyor Mr.Ramanaiah who surveyed the lands and planted the stones showing the boundaries very clearly and told the dalit farmers that they can cultivate the lands as they were holding the pattas. This process took nearly 2 years.
6. After the survey of lands by the Revenue authorities dalit farmers cut the Jathropa, ploughed the lands and planted Red Gram crop in the lands.
7.On 4.3.2009 The Forest Beat Officer Hussain sahib put cases against the farmers in Crime No. 16/2009 in Rudravaram PS Under Section 429, 447 IPC against 6 dalits 1.Mala Jangala Sudarshanam, 2.Mala Dasari Pedda Obulesu,3. Mala Chitte Maddileti,4.Mala Jogi Chennaiah, 5.Mala Barigela Chenchanna, 6.Mala Dasari Chinna Obulesu. They were sent to judicial remand got bail and attending before the First Class Judicial Magistrate,Alllagadda.
8. On 10-7-2009 The Forest Officials lead by the Range Officer, Manthru Naik,and Guards Jakir Hussain, and one more person came to the lands and abused the famers as they were removing kalup in their lands. They left the lands and went to Rudravaram and came back with 2 armed Police Constables and forcibly took the dalits to firstly to Rudravaram Police Station and then to DFO Office, Nandyal.
9. 11.On 10.11.2009 the Forest Staff tortured the dalits
10. On 16-10-2009 The news daily Andhra Jyothi, reported the matter on 16.10.2009 in the main news.
11. On 16-7-2009The dalits filed a case against the Forest Officials in Crime No.115/2009 Before Nandyal III Town PS. The police registered the case under Sections 323, 342,355 r/w.34 of Indian Penal Code & Section 3(1) (x), of SC/ST (POA) Act, 1989
12. Smt.Shanthammma, w/o.Jangam Sudarshanam filed a case before Rudravaram PS against the Range Officer Mr.Manthru Naik, under Section 354 IPC & Section 3(x) of SC/ST (POA) Act, 1989
THE RESPONSE OF THE OFFICIALS/AUTHORITIES:
The dalits approached the Police of Nandyal III town and gave a complaint. The Police registered the case under Cr.No.115/2009 – The dalit woman Smt.Shanthamma, approached the Police. Rudravram Police registered the case in Crime No.
The District Collector ordered an enquiry by the RDO, Madhavi Latha into the incident. He released Rs.20000/- to each dalit family towards compensation for the loss of red gram crop.
The Dist.Collector recommended for the suspension of the accused forest officers
OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS :
Responding to the incident the National Dalit Forum, Hyderabad formed a committee of members to record the facts of the incident with above cited Members. The members visited the Place of occurrence, Yellavathula village and met the victims, and recorded their statements in detail. They also visited Nandyal III town Police station and collected the FIR & other documents to confirm the legal status of the case. The members organised a press meet in the Govt. Guest House for which the media gave wide coverage.
On conducting discreet enquiries the fact finding team noted the following:
1. The Dalits of Yellavathula and issued with pattas in the year 1974 and are in possession of the lands since then and cultivating.
2. In the year 2007, the DRDA released Rs.2.40 lacs to the 11 dalit farmers to develop these lands under Indira Prabha Scheme (Comprehensive Land Development Programme). These lands were treated and developed by these farmers.
3.The attack on dalits is due to assertion of their land right as they were living on these lands since 1973
4. When dalits shown the pattas and pass books the Forest Officials not taken the initiative to check with Revenue department on the issuance of pass books/pattas.
5. The forest officials : The Forest Officials foisted cases on dalits on 4.3.2009 & 10.7.2009 in Rudravarm PS threatening the dalits they are preparing the ground to file cases under Preventive Detention Act so that they can send the dalits out of the village. The details of the cases are as follows:
6. On 4-3-2009 – The Forest Beat Officer Mr.Hussain Saheb, filed cases against 6 dalits of Yellvathula under Section 429,447 of Indian Penal Code in Rudravaram PS
7. On 10-7-2009 the Forest Officials lead by Manthi Naik, Jakir Hussain and another person took 2 armed Constables from Rudravaram PS and took the dalits into custody,tortured them and again foisted cases under Section 20(1)(i)VI of Forest Act.
LEGAL STANDARDS BREACHED:
Dalits were denied of access to Land-breach of Section 3(1)(iv)(v) of SC/ST(POA)Act,1989
They are subjected to savage violence and unspeakable brutality – Section 3(1)(i) of SC/ST(POA)Act,1989
A public servant who commits and offence under Section 3 (2)(vii)of SC/ST(POA)Act shall be liable for imprisonment for no less than one year and may extend to the punishment provided for that offence(Sec.3(2)(vii) of SC/ST(POA)Act,1989-
State violence – No one shall be deprived of his/her right to life or personal liberty except accordingly to procedure established by law. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary detention or imprisonment –Art 21 of Indian constitution and fundamental right –
Right to protection from the State against violence – Custodial torture and brutality – right to life, liberty & security of person , right to freedom from arbitrary arrest torture and human treatment when deprived of liberty - Art 9 UDHR& Art 7 of ICCPR
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person (Art 3, UDHR Art 6(1) ICCPR & Art 5(b) CERD-
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment –Art 5 UDHR & Art 7 ICCPR –
Voluntarily causing hurt to and assault or another person is an offence Sec.323 of IPC
342,355. 34 of IPC
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his/her privacy of family, home or correspondence as per Art 17(1) ICCPR
Intentional destruction of another’s property causing wrongful loss or damage is an offence under Sec.426, 434(Mischief by destroying or moving etc., a land mark fixed by public authority (IPC)
The RDO report submitted to the Dist.Collector immediately after the incident clearly indicate that the lands belongs to revenue department and the pattass/pass books issued to the dalits are genuine and their possession of land since 1974 is legitimate. This report is prima-facie evidence that the Forest Officials encroached in to the lands of dalits and illegally destroyed the crops though it is brought to their notice the ownership by showing pass books. This act of the forest officials tantamount to violation of Sec.426, 434 of IPC and Section 3(1)(iv)(v) of the SC/ST(POA)Act,1989
CONCLUSION:
The victims revealed to the Fact Finding Team that the Forest Officials threatened that they will book them under PD Act and send them out of the village once they complete filing of 3 cases against them. This shows the conspiracy hatched by them to force the dalits to vacate the lands under the threat of criminal cases. If occupation of government land by dalits/poorer sections for which they were issued with pattas/pass books is illegal how could it be right for the forest officials to trespass and destroy the red gram crop in 13 acres after detaining and torturing the dalits illegally.
As per the revenue records and the RDO report, authorities took meticulous care while considering the claims of dalits for pattas in 1973 and avoided granting pattas erroneously. Hence, even it is presumed that the lands belongs to Forest Dept, the issuance of pattas is legitimate since there is no erroneous transaction as such and the lands are in the possession of dalits since 1973 without any transfer, sale or interruption. Thus the dalits who are non-tribal’s entitled for the grant of pattas in respect of these lands which are explicitly in their occupation for more than 8 years as their occupation is neither void nor illegal. They were in possession of the lands since then and acquired the adverse possession and legal ownership.
Consequently, the cases filed by the officials tantamount to false cases and the Dalits are entitled to register legal cases against the Forest Officials under Section 211 of Indian Penal Code and Sec.3(1)(viii),3(2)(vii) of SC/ST(POA) Act 1989.
Demands/Recommendations:
1. Declaring Rudravaram and adjoining Allagadda Mandals as atrocity prone Intense areas –
2. Special attention is to be given and steps to be initiated for the prevention of atrocities as per the provisions of SC/ST(POA)Act,1989 and Rules 1995(Rule,3,6,7,10,11 etc)
3. Development measures targeting the Dalit communities should be initiated with effective monitoring mechanism
4. Implement the guidelines given in the Punnaiah Commission Report and other orders existing as on date in letter and spirit in these Mandals
5. The section of laws applied in case Nos.115/2009 dt.16.10.2009 filed by the Dalits should be altered before the filing of charge sheet with proper section of law i.e, including Section 426(Punishment for Mischief), 434(Mischief by destroying, moving etc, a land mark fixed by public authority & Criminal Intimidation Sec.503 of IPC & Sec. 3(1)(iv)(v)3(2)(vii) so that it will not vitiate the trial resulting in injustice to the victims.
6. The relief, Compensation and rehabilitation should be released to the victims as per the provisions of the SC/ST (POA) Act at the earliest.
PRESS CLIPPINGS:
The media played a key role in exposing this case of torture, violence and harassment by the Forest Officials which is an act of State violence. The press and electronic media reported the matter on the following dates extensively:
On 16-7-2009 the ANDHRA JYOTHI Telugu News daily publicised the matter in its main page as state news.
On 17-7-2009 It also covered the news of Dist.Collector’s immediate response and ordering an enquiry by the Revenue Divisional Officer who visited the scene of occurrence and recorded the events and submitted her report confirming the atrocities. It also covered the statement of the Tahasildar, Rudravaram(m) who declared that the lands belongs to the Revenue Department. It also covered the news of payment of compensation of Rs.20000/- to each Dalit family whose crops were destroyed by the forest officials. He also assured stringent action against the accused after thorough enquiry into the incident.
On 18-7-2009 the Sakshi Telugu news daily reported that a criminal case is registered against the accused Range Officer Sri Manthru Naik in Rudravaram Police Station under Cr.No. U/section.No.354 IPC. It also reported that SC/ST case is registered in III Town PS against the forrest officials Mr. Manthru Naik & Jakir Hussain basing on the complaint given by the victim Mr.J.Sudarshan The paper also reported that the Dist.Collector personally called the victims individually and separate groups and enquired into the incident personally. He also called the accused the Beat Officer ,Range Officers and others and enquired them. He expressed anguish at the violence committed by the Officials. He expressed to recommend for the suspension of the accused officials. The news daily Enadu covered that the lands in dispute belongs to Revenue department as per the report of the Tahasildar/MRO of the concerned Mandal i.e., Rudravaram. It also covered the news that atrocity is registered against the Forest Officials as per the statement of CI of Police of III Town PS,Nandyal. The ANDHRA JYOTHI published the statement of Kula Vivaksha Porata Samithi General Secretary Mr.M.D. Anand Babu requesting to stop attacks on dalits. The Sakshi published a vital news that the Joint survey conducted by both Revenue/Forest departments revealed that the lands belongs to Revenue department. The Tahsildar of the concerned Mandal openly said that the Forest Dept should show proofs if they have anything to claim the lands.
19-7-2009 ANDHRA JYOTHI covered the visit of General Secretary, State Human Rights Forum,Sri Balagopal in the main issue as state news.It also covered the news that atrocity is case registered against the forest officials basing on the order issued by the Dist.Collector.
20-7-2009 Vaartha News daily covered the news that the disputed lands belongs to revenue department basing on the statement of the Tahsildar.
21.-7-2007 Sakshi news daily covered the news that the Dist.Collector recommended for the suspension of the Forest Officials. It also covered that the dispute still continues in between the 2 departments. Eenadu covered that the, lands belongs to Forest Dept as per the survey of the Forest Officers Association. ANDHRA JYOTHI covered the news of the visit of Forest Officers Association members to the disputed lands. Vaartha news daily carried a statement of the Fact Finding Team conducted by the OPDR team demanding to lift the cases foisted against the dalits of Yellavathula village. It also covered the Statement of Forest Officers Association President that the lands belonging to Forest Dept.
The Press covered the press meet at the Guest House, Allagadda in which the Fact Finding Team comprising members from National Dalit Forum, National Dalit Rights Federation,Local NGOs,lead by Mr.VA.Vinod Kumar, Advocate, AP High Court.
Eenadu covered the news as “There is necessity of comprehensive survey on assigned lands in the district’ – Vartha covered the message that stringent action should be taken against the accused Forest Officials – Andhra Bhoomi covered that the attacks on dalits is inhuman –Vaartha reiterated tour demand that all the assigned lands in the district should be surveyed aas many atrocities are mainly connected to dalit land rights. ANDHRA JYOTHI covered the message that the accused unleashed violence on dalits thinking that they are officials.
Photographs:
Taken along with the victims during the interaction with the members of the Fact Finding Team.
Sources: 1.Press & Electronic Media Reports 2.FIRs, Charges sheets, 3.Pass Books etc.,4.Individual statements recorded from the victims, Officials etc.,
Signatures
Sri Munirathna, Convenor,
VA.Vinod Kumar,Advocate
National Dalith Forum,
Chittoor AP Hogh Court,Hyderabad
Sri Sreeramulu, Dist Convenor,
Sri Venkata Subbaiah,President,
National Dalit Forum ,
Chittoor Chaitanya YuvAndhra Jyothiana
Sangham,Chagalamarri.
Sri Obulesu, President,
Mani Rural Development
Society,Rudravaram
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Labels: Dalit - Muslim News, Dalit - Muslim Unity, Dalit / Trivals, Dalit and World, Dalit Empowerment, Dalit Movement, Dalit Muslims
Saturday, August 1, 2009
HUMAN RIGHTS AND MUSLIMS
By Abdul Hannan, 1st August 2009
From past few weeks, some taking place incidents and comments passed by the respected forum not only reveal the real picture of society, where seems that justice or saying something about human rights is eyewash but also show that the birth of disunited nations and minority communities are only to live in trauma where governing body in every country has no any interest to return their rights.
Just take a look on some incidents still alive in people minds. Few months before, an application filed by Mohammed Salim, a student of Nirmala Convent Higher Secondary school in Madhya Pradesh in apex court seeking to allow him to continue his education in that school with sporting the bear rejected by the Indian apex court.
Addressing to the joint session of France's two parliamentary houses, Mr. Sarkozy, president of France says burqas "a sign of debasement" that should not be tolerated in French society.
Marwa El-Sherbini, a 32 year old pregnant woman killed in a German court for being veiled.
After interference of Muslim leaders and after holding talk with Mr. A. K. Antony, Defense Minister, Muslims are assured that IAF will not ban on bears
In a latest development, Bollywood star Emran Hashmy claimed that he is denied to purchasing a home in Mumbai for being Muslim.
These are just examples show that which types of discrimination, racism is being faced by the Muslims and how the world powerful leaders are attempting to push them away from all deserving fundamental rights as other communities are enjoying with their basic rights.
A boy can’t be allowed to comes school with sporting the beard, woman can be killed for being veiled, prisoners can be put in jail years without any trail and beaten up for asking the transfer paper or court order just only that they are Muslims, a very concerned matter for all of us. Why such happens with only Muslims.
Post–Godhra pogrom in Gujarat in 2002, where Muslims forcefully separated and displaced from their paternal lands and homes and until now they are fearing to return their homes is becoming a role model for anti-Muslim movements and activists to deny them to purchase home or land or any thing else which strength their economical conditions.
UPA which is near to complete its five years in center never shows any willingness in these years that it is going to take any step to reduce or curb the separatisms is growing fast between two communities in India.
Despite it, that courts are issuing the judgment against Muslims, governments are interfering in Muslims personal laws, Muslim women who believe that covering her body are their human rights, is on target by high profile leaders and entire community is being discouraging by a section of media, are just instance to know that which types of society is being developed against Muslims.
A woman, who was present in court for her rights, is getting killed by the accused in a full court in front of police, lawyers, and Judge. Not a single word said by Human rights and by the western media that what happened with that woman is the criminality and blindly racism against veiled women and government should have to show its activeness for the justice of said woman.
Across the world and in India also, we can find hundreds of thousands people from various religions and creeds, their languages, lifestyle, their social and religious strata are totally different from each others. Take an example of Sikh community, who is in minority not only in India but also across the world. Can any Sikh claimed that he discriminated or kicked out from school, from office or from military for his turban or for his beard, so why only Muslims faces discriminations in every place?
In fact, a section of media and a particular group in every country is wasting its energy in targeting to Muslims to present them as a dangerous and violent loved community.
Burqa, sporting bear or any thing else if any Muslim seek to implement it in their life and want to move as per the direction of their religion, these all things come under the human rights and nobody can be allowed to stop them from their human rights.
It to be noted that Muslim’s demand and their necessary needs always being ignored. The situations of the areas where they live are very bad. Lack of basic facilities can be seen easily everywhere. Poverty, lack of education and none attention by the government run-offices pushed Muslim’s areas into a big disastrous.
Through United Nations, G8 forum or from Sharam El Sheikh, world leaders always ask the people and the factions to respect Human rights and not harm the civilians, women and those who run to take shelter. Billions question is that are these leaders themselves respect the rights of Muslims and are they ready to give them their lands, religious freedom, education, safety and whatever they need to go ahead.
Abdul Hannan, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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Labels: ABDUL HANNAN, Human Rights, Indian Muslims - Current Affairs
In the Name of SIMI
By Ram Puniyani, 1st August 2009
In third week of July (2009) Maharashtra police arrested several Muslims in Pusad, Akola and neighboring regions on the charge that they are reviving SIMI under a new name. It is after a fairly long time that one has heard of arrests in the name of SIMI. The earlier cycle of arrest of Muslim youth which was a matter of routine after every blast, Malegaon, Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, Jaipur and other places was broken with the impeccable proof of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur’s motor cycle being found in Malegaon. The trace of motorcycle link led to Swami Dayanand Pandey, Lt Col Shrikant Purohit and many others associated with Hindu right wing organizations, offshoots of or inspired by RSS ideology.
Society witnessed that after most of the blasts so far, Muslim youth were arrested on the charge of being behind the blasts, were harassed for months and then released for the lack of evidence. This was more or less a routine pattern and it frightened the whole Muslim community to no end. Many a Muslim youths’ careers were crushed due to these reckless and baseless arrests. Many a minority families under went severe problems, were ostracized from their own community once they were dragged into the net on the charges which were guided more by the prevalent biases or stereotypes than any substance. SIMI came to be regarded as the core organization responsible for fomenting trouble through youth. Despite the ban on SIMI in 2001, the Muslim youth kept on being labeled as SIMI activists and were put behind the bar.
It’s not to say that SIMI was holding ideology which was talking of democracy and secularism. One knows that SIMI, which began as a student front of Jamat-e-Islami Hind gradually, came out of its control and became radical in the decade of 1990s in particular. Yoginder Sikand, an Islamic scholar of repute gives a very crisp history of this organization (www.countercurrents.org/comm-sikand150706.htm). SIMI was founded on the ideology propounded by Maulana Maududi, according to whom all non Muslims are kafirs and man made systems like democracy are false and Shariah is the only way. It kept the goal of spreading Islamic consciousness amongst Muslim students and peaceful missionary work amongst non Muslims. Some events in the decade of 1990 were to shape its ideology in a radical and militant direction. These events were Soviet Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan and Islamization of Pakistan in particular.
Meanwhile Jamat- e- Islami came to accept democracy and Secularism as its guiding ideology. SIMI came out from the control of its parent organization to talk in a different language. The demolition of Babri Mosque and the post demolition violence gave it a fillip in the negative direction. It said that Democracy has failed to protect Muslims so there is a need for some one like Mohammed Gazni, the destroyer of Somanth. This was also the theme of the poster released by them in the aftermath of Babri demolition. It was alleged that SIMI has links with Sikh and Kashmiri militants. It was alleged that they have links with Osama and ISI. At the same time SIMI claimed that it wants to work through peaceful methods, while the worsening communal situation made it to say that Muslims are a belabored community. Under these circumstances SIMI was banned in 2001.
The ban on SIMI was challenged, so a tribunal had to be appointed to review the ban. Ajit Sahi of Tehelka in his painstaking investigation, followed the tribunal’s sitting all through (Tehelka, SIMI Fictions, 12th August 2008), the tribunal did not find any evidence of the charges put against the organization for banning it. The ban could not be upheld. About this investigation Ajit Sahi said, “… his investigation is no dry story rising from lifeless court documents. It has been an emotional rollercoaster to sit across young boys barely into manhood, their foreheads creased by sleepless nights worried stiff over the jailing of a father, a brother, wondering endlessly, “Will this end? Is this for real? What do I do now? Where do I go now? Will I survive this?” He further says “as I interviewed countless Muslims, so weathered, I couldn’t but ask myself, What if this was me? What if it was my brother, my father in jail?”
With the World scenario tilting against the Islam and Muslims, courtesy the radical Islamists trained in the Madrassas set up in Pakistan with US aid, the popular psyche perceived an average Muslim as a terrorist and police machinery operated on this understanding. Even when scores of lives were shattered and the community came under the intimidation of highest order, the Government did not put any corrective to this pattern of investigation with which police was pursuing its work.
Disturbed by this situation two people’s tribunal were set up by the Human Rights groups. The report and recommendations of both the tribunal are similar and overlapping. The first one was headed by Justices (Retd) Bhargava and Sardar Ali Khan, with prominent social activists like Asghar Ali Engineer and Prashant Bhushan as the jury. The testimonies showed that a large number of innocent young Muslims have been and are being victimized by the police on the charge of being involved in various terrorist acts across the country. This is particularly so in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, though not limited to these States. This victimization and demonisation of Muslims in the guise of investigation of terror offences, is having a very serious psychological impact on the minds of not only the families of the victims but also other members of the community. It is leading to a very strong sense of insecurity and alienation which may lead to frightful consequences for the nation.
The second tribunal set up by different set of organization s of Rajasthan worked under the leadership of Justice (Retd) Bhargava. One of it pertinent observation was that the police authorities investigating the terror offences appear to be violating all the laws of the land and directions of the Supreme Court during the conduct of the investigations. In particular, many persons have been detained for days or weeks, without showing them to be arrested and without producing them before any Magistrate. They have been sometimes tortured and humiliated by the police officers. They have not been allowed to meet their relatives and lawyers, who have often not even been informed of their detention. The investigation of the blasts by the police also appears to be communally motivated and only persons belonging to the Muslim community have been the target of the investigations.
The names of HUJI and SIMI have been bandied about by the police as the perpetrators of the blasts without any evidence. A number of former members of SIMI have been arrested and detained without any basis or evidence against them. The media has also been uncritically repeating and amplifying the baseless allegations and innuendoes of the police mentioning persons and organizations belonging to the Muslim community, thus resulting in ethnic profiling and feeding into the Islamophobia being sought to be created and reinforced in the minds of the Hindu community by the Hindutva organizations. In Jaipur this has resulted in the vilification of the entire Bengali Muslim community who has been victimized by the Hindutva organizations in complicity with the police.
Thousands of them have been picked up after the blasts and forcibly transported to New Jalpaiguri and then Bangladesh without any due process of law and without giving them an opportunity to show their Indian Citizenship. This has resulted in the ethnic cleansing of Jaipur.
One does not know with what seriousness the administration looks at these people’s tribunal, the fact is they have put forward profound realities of the society. It is imperative that the Government takes a serious look at these reports and instructs the investigation authorities to be more professional in their approach and sheds its biases while dealing with minority community.
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Labels: Indian Muslims - Current Affairs, Ram Puniyani, SIMI
Ration SC quota, suggests Prakash Ambedkar
By Rakshit Sonawane
Mumbai To ensure that the benefits of reservation reach all the deprived communities who have to compete with the “better off” within themselves, the grandson of Dr BR Ambedkar and former MP Prakash Ambedkar has decided to launch a unique campaign to advocate rationing of quota.
“Let those families who have not received the benefits of reservation get preference over those who have already improved their lives because of reservation,” Prakash Ambedkar told The Indian Express. “Even if one member of a family has claimed reservation benefit, his claim should be kept aside till the first-timers get it,” he said.
Ambedkar has organised a meeting of academicians, bureaucrats, litterateurs and social activists at Dadar on Saturday to launch the campaign.
“There is a need to do this because we have noticed that while there are families in which several members have got education and employment using the quota system, there are many where even a single member is yet to get the benefits,” he said. “Those entitled but living in the rural areas and slums find it difficult to compete with their brethren who have hogged the benefits all these years,” he said.
His party, Bharatiya Republican Paksha Bahujan Mahasangh (BRPBM), would take up the issue in the interest of the extremely deprived sections, he said, adding, “We’ll begin by asking for one reservation benefit per family norm... once it is claimed by any member of the family, the family should lose its ‘first preference’ status and another family who has never claimed the benefit gets preference.”
He said that the BRPBM was already collecting data on how quota benefits were getting concentrated. “Let us start with SC reservation and then take up ST, nomadic tribes and OBCs,” he said, claiming that it would ultimately lead to equitable distribution of benefits among the oppressed communities.
When it was pointed out that it would vitiate the atmosphere as those enjoying the benefits would not like it, he said, “Let them get angry. They have become selfish and most of them don’t even feel that they owe something to the community Some even try to conceal their origins as they are ashamed of it.”
Ambedkar’s gesture comes at a time when his own community (the Mahars-turned-Buddhists) is being accused of grabbing the maximum benefits, thereby depriving the less privileged ones. The community, which considers Babasaheb Ambedkar its hero, is the most militant among the Dalits and is the most educated among the oppressed classes.
Sources said that Ambedkar is trying to forge a statewide front of Dalits, Muslims and OBCs on the eve of the assembly elections.
http://www.expressindia.com
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Labels: Dalit - Muslim News, Dalit Education, Dalit Muslims, OBC/Dalit Reservation
Of Polarization And Profiling
By Mustafa Khan, 31 July, 2009
Former president of India Abdul Kalam is the antithesis of much that goes in conventional sense of religious or racial profiling. His faith, if at all, matters minimally so far he is concerned as a public figure. Neither does his appearance. Notwithstanding this, it was he who interacted with chief minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi and did not even evince any attempt to inhibit any feeling when he hobnobbed with the desi Milosevic. That was when he took over his august office after the pogroms against Muslims in 2002. Kalam was also the antidote of polarization. He along with his ancestral family lived and thrived in the environs of the sanctum sanctorum of a revered Hindu temple. How come then that his background comes in the way of his being profiled as he was frisked by the American airline company!
Much like him was Ehsan Jafri who lived in a middle class enclave of Gulberg society ensconced from the humdrum life of the otherwise dingy and competing and tension ridden life of the Indian streets. Secular in outlook and gregarious in nature, he could hardly be an example of polarization. Even police commissioner PC Pande came to save him but with a caveat, only he and his family members could board the ark of survival. Since the morning of February 28, 2002 the marauding crowd had been yelling for his blood. He made nearly 200 phone calls to those who mattered to save the life of the people who had sought refuge in his house. One such call was to Sonia Gandhi and the last was to Modi. Who torpedoed that ark which Pande had offered?
How could polarization stop by the killing of the MP and scores of those including children and women who were counting their every breath as the last in the Gulberg society housing complex! What subsequently happened there laid foundation of more polarization and deeper and even unbridgeable gulf!
The notification (No. GK/8/2009/COI/102009/33/A) dated June 5, 2009 of the Gujarat government of Chief Minister Narendra Modi establishing a commission to probe communal polarization is fraught with grave dangers. Nothing has been as dangerous to the country as anything that is communal because it divides the people vertically; the division of the land is consequent to this. Instead of learning the lesson right in the beginning of independence of India and avoiding it we have not only continued with it but also developed it as a mechanism for electoral gains (election in Gujarat December 2002). There are some whose survival hinges on this.
It would be wrong to trace every evil of today to 1947. The communal tendencies and mindsets were formed by then. The eighties were the opportunistic resurgence of the same. However, the anti-cow slaughter agitation of the late sixties and the anti-reservation agitation turning anti Muslim riots in Gujarat cross fertilized the Gujarat culture. Neither common language nor the so much vaunted Gujarati entrepreneurship could withhold the onslaught of communalism particularly that of the Hindutva brand.
Polarization on communal lines was planted and nurtured during this turbulence. The experiment in the laboratory of Hindutva was not of ideology but of means of removing physical barriers which were transformed as “the other”. Narendra Modi will go down in history as the most damnable architect of this. Now it is he who is asking for inquiry into the polarization which he himself so eminently brought about. Even praying for rain was used as an occasion of polarizing the society. Once he organized a huge pooja on the Sabarmati River to thank Hindu gods for the rains. He did not stop there. He threw a gauntlet to the Muslims to call upon their almighty to produce rain as the Hindus had done! He pooh-poohed them.
Why this fuss over polarization, then? It is not that he is perturbed by the pathological disturbance of his society there, but it is rather to play another Machiavellian role. For, the sangh parivar knows well that it gives rich dividends.
The dual aspects of the proposed inquiry which are highly charged in meaning are: “polarization of population on the basis of religion taking place in the State of Gujarat” and “the migration of the people following different religions taking place every 10 years after 15th August 1947”. As far as polarization is concerned the government is not disturbed by polarization that really exists because it has done nothing but to maintain that for its own hold on power. Ostracisation and boycott of Muslims is still enforced. What positive step let alone any “affirmative action” has Modi taken to remove it?
The basic premise of communalism in India has been a recourse to past which is quite too hazy at times to prove conclusively any issue that is occasionally raked up. Public memory is short and the communal leaders take this for granted and take the government and their opponents for a ride. This happened as recently as July 9, 2009 when LK Advani dug out a letter of the mayor of the French city of Marseilles written eleven years ago to Swatantra Veer savarkar seva Mandal of Vile Parle. The mayor wanted to know if the government would associate itself with the project. PM Vajpayee did not even bother to reply. However his deputy PM now wants to know if the government has any objection. The right wing deputy and his party are schizophrenic in this regard much like Amitav Ghosh’s vakil babu in the Shadow Lines.
The Gujarat government notification also speaks of allegations made against it that it is responsible for the current division “such allegations and unscientific conclusions create heart burning and distance among the citizens”.
Heartburning is envious discontented feelings usually caused by disappointment. Going by this definition of the word, is the Gujarat government capable and fit morally to ascertain whose discontented feeling or disappointment it is and what has caused it for which he has migrated to that state and, more pertinently, what role his faith has played in this?
There is much deeper polarization of which Modi is most directly responsible. He is as the accounts in the news go subverted the administration of justice. His most notorious speech of how the relief camps of Muslims were baby producing factories was widely reported verbatim and yet his police failed to supply the cassette when the courts and the election commission demanded it. Many were arrested or outright killed in fake encounters by his encounter specialists like DG Vanzara and Narendra Amin. It is now open secret that the pogroms of 2002 against Muslims were state sponsored. Quintessentially he is largely to blame for polarization of the administration. He has not learnt any lessons from history of even recent past that the Great Divide of India was precipitated by the polarization of the administration. It was not for nothing that south Indian police were deployed in the north and west during the partition period.
If the 9/11 supplied the pretext to wreak havoc on Muslims so did the ignominious extraordinary renditions or outsourcing torture. People far from Gujarat were arrested and taken to Ahmedabad and tortured. Among them were the innocents of Hyderabad and Delhi. On July 24, 2009 a judge acquitted Shahid Ahmad Bakshi from Juhapura in Ahemdabad, Farhan Ahmed Shaikh and Hafix Mohammad Tahir from Moradabad, UP whom DIG DG Vanzara had framed for plotting to kill Modi. Don’t forget that he even killed many on the same pretext. The “kidnapping” of and rape and torture and murder of Kauser bibi wife Sohrabbudin is nothing less than the extraordinary rendition. Both were incarcerated in private farm houses before being brutally killed.
There were bomb blasts in Malegaon of Maharashtra and Modasa of Gujart at the same time on September 29, 2008 on the eve of Id. People were killed and injured but the kind of professional and dedicated investigation that Hemant Karkare made was not matched by KK Mysorewalla. This notorious police officer of Gujarat has earned the distinction of having his sentence denying help to hapless Muslim women victims at Naroda Patia making the headlines of Human Rights reports. He is still there, and so is Babu Bajrangi, thanks to Modi. If this is not polarization what is it then?
The cure to this malaise of polarization is to ensure that justice prevails and is also not delayed. The former cannot be assured by the kind of bills that Gujarat government passes cocking a snook at the central government or in defiance of civilized norms. The latter is impossible unless we wash our Augean stables. The kind of public prosecutors that Modi appointed and the judges that he changed frequently to get Bajrangi out of jail and the police officers to turn blind eye to his evil deeds are playing havoc with the unity and integrity of the country. For the larger good of the country what we need is to refurbish “the idea of justice”: “justice has much to do with everyone being treated fairly.” (Amartya Sen) Paying victims of pogroms half of what you pay for others because they are Muslims is not justice. Justice also has “to pay attention to the kind of lives people are actually able to lead.” What kind of lives people in refugee camps were leading in 2002 that made the prime minister of India feel shame and Modi feel no shame?
The great grandson of Babur was the last Mughal Bahadurshah Zafar. He pined for two feet wide land for his grave in the homeland which he and his ancestors adopted. That wish of Zafar the British did not allow to take shape as they executed him in Rangoon. The fate of Wali Gujrati was worse. The hordes of Hindutva under Modi dispensation dug out his mortal remains and paved the shrine with hot mixture in minutes and left no trace that such a poet ever lived there! Which land in square meters will Judge BJ Sethna of the proposed commission measure to find out the polarization?
http://commonalty.blogspot.com/
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Labels: Indian Muslims - Current Affairs, Mustafa Khan
The Root Of Violence: Politics Without Principles
By William Gomes, 31 July, 2009
Mohandas K. Gandhi claimed that politics without principles was one of the roots of violence. The present political regime in Bangladesh has fully characterized their dictatorship as such, by enforcing politics without principles and leading the nation toward violence.
Bangladesh has experienced mass violence across the country. Recently, when innocent garment workers were killed by law enforcement agencies in Ashulia, violence erupted. Also recently, police arrested Mahmudul Haque Bhuiyan, the local president of a Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), in Brahmanbaria, a district in east-central Bangladesh, on specific charges of tender manipulation and abduction filed with the police. As the news of Mahmud's arrest spread, angry activists of the Chhatra League damaged public property and carried out arson attacks in the town of Brahmanbaria. The whole town turned into a veritable battleground.
Between January and March 2009, six serious acts of violence against women were instigated by fatwas, or religious edicts. The government was silent about the need to introduce a new and specific law to ban fatwa.
The government is ignoring the issue of removing Islam as the state religion and taking out the discriminatory parts of the constitution, in the preamble.
A dictatorship was created by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, known simply as Sheikh Mujib, when the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League was formed as a national party by decree on Feb. 24, 1975. Any political parties other than the political amalgamation of the Awami League were outlawed at the time. In the three decades since, the rulers added various aspects to the dictatorship that Sheikh Mujib had started.
Sheikh Mujib himself encouraged the root of Islamic discrimination to be planted in the state’s machinery, by moving closer to political Islam, both through state policies and in his personal conduct. Bearing the consequences, we now have a defective and discriminatory constitution in Bangladesh with the preamble “BISMILLAH- AR-RAHMAN-AR-RAHIM” and with Islam as the state religion.
Torture and political killings were instituted in Bangladesh by a militia, Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini, supportive of the government and by the government during the rule of Sheikh Mujib. Some people have also accused Gono Bahini, or the People’s Army, an underground gang loyal to the ultra-left political party Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, for political killings, looting of police stations, armed robberies, and other acts of sabotage with the purpose of undermining law and order and tarnishing the image of Sheikh Mujib by spreading rumors about him.
The growth of the BAKSAL was the single most important cause contributing to the death of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Some scholars argued that the BAKSAL was a government of national unity, when in reality it represented an immense national failure of secular democratic forces.
Recently, the cabinet has approved a law to provide lifelong security for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's family, effective immediately on July 6, 2009. The law is in line with previous legislation enacted in 2001, when the Awami League was in power, which was repealed by the BNP government that replaced them.
The law is itself a violation and a source of discrimination. While the government shows concern for the security of Mujib’s family members, the common people, and especially the minorities, are facing an inhuman level of life in Bangladesh. Yet the government has not taken any initiative to ensure the rights of the majority of people in Bangladesh.
The law clearly contradicts the fundamental state policy of Bangladesh of “equality of opportunity.”
The present political regime is leading the nation toward another Islamic revolt. The underground Islamic movement is gaining more power than ever and human rights violations are increasing each and every day.
National challenges, dissatisfaction within the army, and the government's inability to deal with the needs of the time has caused Mujib's political regime to lead the country toward national failure. Hasina’s political regime is again leading the nation toward another national failure.
William Nicholas Gomes is a renowned Human Rights worker, film director and freelance Journalist of Bangladesh. He can be reached by emai at cda.exe@gmail.com
Countercurrents.org
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Labels: Indian Politics, William Gomes
The Zen Tiger: India 's Elections And The Magic Of Fareed Zakaria
By Pubali Ray Chaudhuri, 31 July, 2009
Writing a defense of unfettered capitalism after the economic meltdown that left millions of people in the U.S. and all over the world jobless may seem a daunting task, rather like convincing people mauled by a tiger that the beast is actually a vegetarian and a practicing Buddhist, and its latest manifestation of bloodthirstiness is merely an aberration in a life steeped in good works. In short, we need a virtuoso display of smoke and mirrors by skilled wordsmiths, able to perform the linguistic legerdemain to avert the danger that people may begin to question the system or seek to curb its excesses. Fortunately for the system, such commentators are not in short supply. Pay them well, and they will spin your yarns for you. They will lull and soothe. They will numb and dumb. In their hands, words anesthetize us into compliance; they keep us cheering for our oppressors even as we are devoured to the last crumb.
Consider Fareed Zakaria's recent cover essay “ The Capitalist Manifesto ,” ( Newsweek , June 22, 2009 ). Like other articles of the “everything's OK, relax” school, it unspools line after line of lucid, well-considered prose, all in a bid to convince us, the public, that the system that left so many of us jobless, homeless, uninsured, that gutted our life savings and splintered our dreams, is still the best option we have. If we could only overlook the tiger's unfortunate propensity occasionally to run amok spreading death and destruction in its wake, we would realize that it's really our best friend and how silly we would be to ever think of shackling such an adorable creature. The crisis now upon us, says Mr. Zakaria, is not one of capitalism, but of ethics. A few ethics management classes, and voila! The magician will have produced his miracle. The tiger will fetter and muzzle itself – it's a Buddhist, remember? A cuddly Zen tiger. A tiger you can trust.
For a moment Mr. Zakaria almost had me believing in miracles.
Until, that is, I confronted the following lines:
The simple truth is that with all its flaws, capitalism remains the most productive economic engine we have yet invented. Like Churchill's line about democracy, it is the worst of all economic systems, except for the others. Its chief vindication today has come halfway across the world, in countries like China and India , which have been able to grow and pull hundreds of millions of people out of poverty by supporting markets and free trade. Last month India held elections during the worst of this crisis. Its powerful left-wing parties campaigned against liberalization and got their worst drubbing at the polls in 40 years.
The Indian elections, in Mr. Zakaria's view, constituted a popular mandate for “free trade” and “liberalization.”
Suddenly I am alert again, skeptical, sullenly refusing to accept Mr. Zakaria's avuncular assurances that uncontrolled capitalism is my ticket to the best of all possible economic worlds. I have breached the cardinal rule of successful magic: do not look too close; do not examine too deeply; allow yourself to be swept up in the moment; accept the illusion and feel its soporific joys stealing over your faculties of reason and logic. Alas, that some of us are born to cavil and to quibble, to peer into hats and to twitch aside curtains, to ask the questions that break the spell and spoil the fun! We are a tribe of heretics and party poopers, and if you decide to stay enchanted, stop reading here. What lies ahead is not pretty, and not prettified.
Others have preceded me in responding to the broader aspects of Mr. Zakaria's essay, notably Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone and Nick Beams of WSWS . What interests me most, however, is not so much Mr. Zakaria's defense of capitalism, for in this he is by no means alone. There exists a whole constellation of media luminaries, from Thomas Friedman to George F. Will, who constantly remind us of the virtues of the free market. I address Mr. Zakaria's work in particular here not for the claims he makes, which are not new, but for the context – India 's elections – in which he makes them. As Newsweek 's International Editor, Mr. Zakaria's words reach a vast audience, some of whom may not be familiar with the real issues that underlay this year election results in India . In fact, it might not be too much to say that many readers will form their opinions of the contemporary political climate in India based on what Mr. Zakaria and other widely known mainstream commentators tell their readers. It is necessary, therefore, to examine more carefully Mr. Zakaria's implied claim of widespread popular support for “free trade,” “capitalism,” “free markets,” liberalization,” call it what you will – a tiger by any other name - in the world's largest democracy – India.
Mr. Zakaria manages a fairly impressive series of rhetorical feats here, which are worth analyzing at some length. Without saying so directly, he succeeds in implying that the “hundreds of millions of people” supposedly pulled out of poverty, arising like so many Lazarii out of their grave-clothes, have recognized and feted the messiah of free trade responsible for their revivification. Such a mandate, if given at all, would apply only to India, for China's newly enriched millions, if they exist at all, never had the pleasure of endorsing their free trade bonanza. All the same, reading Mr. Zakaria's paean, one is left with the distinct impression that had the Chinese been able to vote, they would have supplied such endorsement. Lost in all the rejoicing, however, is one small detail – China is not a democracy in any sense of the word. Its people do not get a chance to say what they think – electorally or otherwise, and the Chinese government has built up something of a reputation for the swift and brutal crushing of most forms of dissent. These finer points, however, find no mention in Mr. Zakaria's ringing exaltation of the capitalist system. As long as a nation's government embraces capitalism, he seems to be saying, whether or not its citizens live in a participatory democracy is a secondary consideration.
Passing lightly, then, over Mr. Zakaria's personal miracle – that of conflating two such different political systems as those of China and India under the unifying banner of “free trade,” I approach the second part of his statement: India 's “powerful left-wing parties campaigned against liberalization and got their worst drubbing at the polls in 40 years.” By this point in the argument, one is beginning to appreciate the more subtle nuances of Mr. Zakaria's style. The above statement is not, strictly speaking, a lie – at least the latter part is not, the former being very partially true. Yet the gap between Mr. Zakaria's analysis and the realities on the ground yawns so wide that readers are likely to come away with a staggeringly distorted picture of what really happened.
One must give credit where it is due – Mr. Zakaria is a very fine writer, even if he chooses not to employ his considerable gifts in the service of the truth. Language can be used to clarify as well as to obfuscate; to serve the interests of the rich and powerful or to lend eloquence to the sufferings of the poor and voiceless. It can be used to buttress the status quo or to stoke the fires of revolutionary social change. Mr. Zakaria, it is clear, has chosen the former course. For instance, he makes no mention of the fact that the only “anti-liberalization” plank of the Left was its opposition to the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal. The Left's position in this regard may have displeased those members of the upper and middle class of English-speaking Indians who are enamored of the idea of India as a “global power,” as Ms. Clinton has recently dubbed a country whose infant mortality rate is worse than that of some countries in sub-Saharan Africa 1 . Mr. Zakaria, born in Mumbai, is himself a member of this elite class, and it is perhaps natural that he should share with them the kind of blinkered reality that sees no implausibility in this fabulous monster, no contradiction between some of the worst development indices in the world and a budding superpower identifying one and the same country. But it is hardly to be expected that the people whose misery such indices quantify are going to be very impressed by the mendacious logic of a Zakaria or a Clinton.
In fact, even the Left, and its leading party the CPI(M), did not make much of an effort, beyond a poorly executed public march, to use the nuclear deal as a political hobby-horse. In any case, the Indian Left had a strong presence in only two of the country's 28 states: Kerala and West Bengal . Of the two, Kerala is a swing state, alternating between electing a Congress and a Marxist government. In West Bengal , on the other hand, the CPI(M)-led Left coalition defeated the Congress in 1977 and has since then been returned to power every time for the past 32 years. West Bengal 's electoral results thus provide a crucial part of the evidence for Mr. Zakaria's assertion of the Left parties receiving “their worst drubbing in 40 years.”
Responsible for the electoral outcome that humbled the once mighty left were Bengal's humblest themselves, the peasants and sharecroppers whose unwavering support had sustained the coalition for over three decades. Aligned with the Left were big business houses, and the electoral result therefore constituted not only a clear mandate against liberalization, but also a vote for “Ma,” “Mati,” and “Manush,” (Mother, Land and People), the campaign slogan of the TMC, the party that stepped adroitly into the breach that the Left's rightward tilt had providentially opened up in the public goodwill. Even mainstream media outlets attributed the Left's poor showing at the polls to its anti-populist and pro-business policies 2 . Indeed, some news reports went so far as to express anxiety for the party's prospects before the elections had actually taken place, noting that the Party had already been defeated in the local Assembly elections in those places that had been most affected by its unpopular policies: Singur and Nandigram. To talk of the Left receiving a drubbing without mentioning these two names, as Mr. Zakaria has done, is rather like narrating the tale of Napoleon's defeat without once alluding to Waterloo.
The Defeat of the Left: Singur
Singur was the first place to feel the winds of political change ushered in by a “reformist” Left. The government's tactics were rich in Orwellian irony: it used an ancient 1894 British colonial era land acquisition law to tell the farmers of Singur that they were shortly to be dispossessed of their land, where plans were afoot to set up a car manufacturing factory for the “people's car,” the low-cost Nano, by the Indian multinational, Tata, one of the country's richest and most influential business conglomerates. The farmers and sharecroppers at Singur learned, to their shock, that the fertile, multi-crop land where they grew greens and potatoes and which had sustained them for generations was somehow set down in the government's records as “mono-crop.” The government further insulted the farmers by offering them a one-time compensation for the land many regarded not as a mere possession, but as the source of their common identity.
When the tiger is close upon you, and you can feel its hot breath in your face and see the jaws open and the teeth gleam, reality has a way of breaking through the wordspell. Not all Mr. Zakaria's eloquence could have convinced Singur's residents of the benefits of “liberalization” when their lands and livelihoods were the sacrifices demanded. They rose in revolt against the expropriation of their land. The government fought back, using state police and thugs who had long formed the muscle power of the party cadres. A teenage girl, Tapasi Malik, who had been in the forefront of her people's struggle for land preservation, paid a horrific price. She was raped, apparently by a gang, murdered, and her body burnt and thrown in the fields. Others who lost their land committed suicide, acts that the government refused to acknowledge as having anything to do with the forcible dispossession of land – when it acknowledged them at all.
The CPI(M)'s political rivals, the Congress included, were not slow to take advantage of the situation. Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamul Congress, who had long languished in the political wilderness, being the only member of her party to win a parliamentary seat from West Bengal , swiftly cast herself and her party as the new champions of the toiling masses – the very people who had been the Left's staunchest supporters. Banerjee also formed a politically convenient alliance with the Congress. The high-handed attempts of the CPI(M) to suppress the popular resistance created a gap into which the TMC quickly and gleefully stepped. The resistance continued for so long that the Tatas were finally compelled to announce that they were withdrawing from Singur, but by then the seeds of distrust in the Left had already been sown in the popular psyche – and they would bear swifter and bloodier fruit in the next town to be mauled by the Left's new found capitalist sympathies – Nandigram.
The Defeat of the Left: Nandigram
With Singur, it had been a car factory; in Nandigram, the Left Front wished to set up a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) * for the Salim group of Indonesia , which had first risen to prominence during the murderous U.S.-supported dictatorship of Suharto, and which maintains close ties with the Suharto family. Here again the government attempted to dispossess the farmers to make way for the “free trade” savior, but the residents of Nandigram, like those in Singur, proved curiously disinclined to assist in their own salvation – perhaps because they did not see it as such. Moreover, they had been alerted by what had happened in Singur and were better prepared to resist. They dug up roads, formed a committee, the Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee (Land Expropriation Resistance Committee) or BUPC and blockaded their village, refusing access to outsiders.
This time the government, finding that persuasion was vain, unleashed a series of brutal state terror campaigns 4 . Throughout 2008, on several occasions, government-sponsored death squads, including police, descended on Nandigram and went on a spree of vicious beatings, rapes, lootings, arson and murders. Police refused to register the victims' complaints and the government hospitals refused to provide needed medical care for the injured. Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch documented the abuses and subsequent government indifference 5 . More than a hundred people had died and Nandigram had become a national flashpoint for workers' rights when the government finally decided to move its SEZ elsewhere. It left behind a people bereaved, traumatized – and a general distrust and seething anger in large sections of the poorest citizens, who had thought of the Left as at least having some concern, however inadequate, for their well-being. Now that faith lay irrevocably shattered.
The Defeat of the Left: The Muslim Angle
Other reasons also contributed to popular disaffection with the Left, though none of them had to do with some newfound enthusiasm for “free trade.” One such incident was the Rizwan Noor case, where Noor, a young Muslim man, was allegedly murdered while in police custody for having a relationship with the daughter of a wealthy Hindu family. Many strongly suspected that government collusion in the cover-up of any investigation into Noor's death, causing widespread resentment among Muslims, who had earlier been largely supportive of the Left because of the latter's secular credentials. The second such blow to the image of the Left fell when the Sachar Committee released its report. The committee found that even though one in four of West Bengal 's population was Muslim, they made up only 4.7% of the nation's workforce. Not unnaturally, many Muslims began to rethink their support for the Left.
Left, Right, Left: The Struggle Continues
At the time of writing, the resistance of West Bengal 's poor against the unholy alliance of big business and a government that calls itself communist still continues apace. The tribal populations of Lalgarh 6 (the name, tellingly, means “Red Fortress”) now face similar dispossession from their land in order to make way for a steel plant, to be built on another such “liberalized” SEZ. The tribals, understandably unwilling to buy into this definition of “liberalization' that threatens to deprive them of their livelihoods and reduce them to a sort of economic slavery, have put up a spirited fight to retain possession of their land. This response has resulted in the usual repression by a government determined not to tolerate stubborn citizens who refuse to participate in their own destitution, who see through the spin and will not be deluded. Zen the tiger, if you can; if you can't, send in the militia.
Beyond West Bengal
Although this article has focused mostly on West Bengal , for reasons that I have already explained, the defeat of the Left Front and the victory of the Congress at the Center do not constitute, by any means, a popular mandate for “free trade.” As the respected economist Venkatesh Athreya has pointed out, a host of factors, both local and national, have brought about the Congress victory 7 . What has been conspicuously absent is the very thing Mr. Zakaria claims to be largely responsible for the Left's defeat: a public expression of support for big business and its concomitant policies of forced expropriation of land, suppression of dissent by violence, and intended suspension of human rights and environmental protections. On the contrary, the people have rejected strongly the hypocrisy of a Janus-faced party that calls itself “Left,” and “Communist,” yet aligns itself with powerful capitalists against its own constituents.
Mr. Zakaria's analysis Zens the tiger. It perpetuates the lie that the economic hardships we now face are temporary, that though slumps may come, they are merely interruptions in a larger narrative of shared prosperity, that capitalism is inherently a sound system needing no outside control. Myths like this are very comforting, especially in a time of crisis, when people cling all the harder to the ideological absolutes in which they have been taught to put their trust. But tigers are not vegetarian; they are not Buddhists; they are not naturally inclined to pacifism. Not very comforting. Not very reassuring.
But the truth.
* SEZs are a sweetheart deal meant to attract corporate investment; they are zones free of effective labor laws or environmental protections, a perfect ground for the exploitation of the local people and resources.
1 Prasad Nichenametla, “ India's Health Worse than Neighbours ,” ( Business Standard , 21 October 2006 ).
2 See, for instance, Praful Bidwai, “ Back to Basics ” ( Frontline , 30 June 2009), Dola Mitra, “ The Empire Rides into a Red Sunset ” ( Outlook , 25 May 2009), Pranay Sharma, “ Advisory: Amputate ” ( Outlook , 1 June 2009) and “ What a Great Fall ” ( The Statesman , 19 May 2009).
3 See “ Our Land, Their Development ” A Report of the International Fact-Finding Mission on the Forced Eviction of the Farming Communities in the State of West Bengal in India and the documentary “ Abad Bhumi ” by Sumit Chowdhury.
4 Kranti Kumara, “ West Bengal Stalinist Regime Perpetrates Peasant Massacre ” ( WSWS , 16 March 2007 ), Nilanju Datta, “ Nandigram: State Sponsored Mayhem ” ( Countercurrents , 17 October 2007 ), Aditya Sarkar, “ Nandigram: Neoliberal Policies Hit a Rock in India ” ( Socialist Worker , 1 December 2007 ).
5 Meenakshi Ganguly, “ India: Urgent Inquiry Needed into Nandigram Violence ” ( Human Rights Watch , 14 January 2008), “ Concern Over Human Rights Violations During “Recapture” of Nandigram by Ruling CPI(M) Supporters in West Bengal ” ( Amnesty International , 15 January 2008).
6 Amit Bhattacharyya, “ Singur to Lalgarh via Nandigram: Rising Flames of People's Anger Against Displacement, Destitution and State Terror ” ( International Campaign Against Forced Displacement and SEZ , 4 July 2009), Sumit Sarkar and Tanika Sarkar, “ Notes on a Dying People ” ( Economic and Political Weekly , 27 June 2009).
7 See also Prabhat Patnaik, “ Reflections on the Left ” ( MRZine , 7 July 2009 ).
Pubali Ray Chaudhuri lives and writes in Newark , California . Her articles have appeared in India Currents , Axis of Logic and Online Journal .
Countercurrents.org
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Friday, July 31, 2009
DALIT versus CASTE
By Anoop Kumar
I belong to dhobi (washerman community) caste from Uttar Pradesh which is listed as Scheduled Caste in this state. Nobody in my family or even relatives earns their livelihood by washing clothes but still I am dhobi. Most of my relatives are related to agricultural practices. Either they have very small land holding or they earn their livelihood by working on others fields. Few of us have come up in life through receiving formal education and being benefited by reservation policy.
My parental house is situated in a lower middle class locality which is inhabited mostly by the dikus. We don’t have much social interaction with them. With most of them our relations are limited to saying Namaskar (greetings) and have no other relations. Some of them (mostly male) visit our house during festivals or some ceremonies like marriage.
My parents also never encouraged us to mingle much with their children. It is an unwritten rule in my family that we will not visit or eat in those families which don’t eat in our home. It looked very normal to me then. But when I look back now I understand the caste dynamics in my locality. Now I understand why my parents showed coldness to neighbours, why they were not enthusiastic in developing relations with others. Their behaviour was a response to those who still treated them as untouchables. ‘Though we cannot make you eat in our home but we will also not eat in yours’.
Talk of being dhobi never arises in my family except during marriage of any family member. The consciousness is more of a being an untouchable or lower caste. Now with the reservation the public identity is of SC. The word Dalit is not used much. When asked by some stranger about caste my family members’ stock reply has been “SC”. I have not witnessed any incident where they replied by saying that they are dhobi. It is mostly dikus only who enquire about others caste. For them the reply SC is enough to compartmentalize people. No diku probes further. We also feel comfortable by not giving the name of our particular caste. After this question usually there is no more conversation between us and diku, so no more questions.
Within dhobi caste I have heard of two groups: campua and dehati. Campuas are mainly found in the urban areas and most of them still earn their living by washing cloths and ironing them where as dehatis are mostly engaged in agricultural practices. The irony is that many among the dehatis have come up because of education and government jobs whereas campuas are still stuck up with their caste occupation. The campuas are looked down by dehatis because of their sticking to their caste occupation. No educated dehati will marry to a campua whose family members earn their living by washing clothes even if they own a big dry cleaning shop. I have seen my caste people enquiring about whether any members of the family in which they are going to marry their son and daughter are still engaged in washing clothes. So many time campuas claim to be dehatis so that they can marry their son or daughter in well-educated families. There is a very popular myth among dehatis that campuas are all drunkards including their women who are also of very loose character. So they try their level best not to enter matrimonial relations with campuas. The funniest part is that among campuas if some one takes any other job other than caste occupation it becomes very difficult to differentiate between the two groups. I think campuas were those people who were employed in british military campuas as washer men.
In UP dhobis are not very active in the Ambedkarite movement. Most of them may be voting for BSP but there are very few dalit activists from my caste. I have found very few Ambedkarite among dhobis. This is very sad given the level of untouchability and discrimination faced by them like other dalit castes. The reason may be that they feel the Dalit movement to be a Jatava movement because of predominant presence of Jatavas in the BSP. Dhobis should understand that it is quite natural as the movement was started and led by jatavas with great pain and suffering. No other dalit castes came forward. It is the jatavas who took to Babasaheb’s teaching to their heart and left practicing Hinduism which helped them to mobilize politically.
Ambedkarite consciousness made them invest more on education. I feel that the dalit castes who accept Ambedkar’s thought sooner or later become educationally and economically powerful as his thoughts help them to gain confidence and free them from mental slavery of the hindu social order. The upliftment of jatavas in UP should be role model for other dalit castes like dhobis to follow if they are really interested in their upliftment. For dalits there is no other way to come up except treading on the path shown by Babasaheb.
When I joined JNU to do my masters I involved myself with dalit student group United Dalit Students’ Forum (UDSF). It was a great experience for me as nowhere else a dalit student group was so active and had such an independent existence. Otherwise in most of universities dalit students are not able to organize themselves and are unable to raise their voices. Since the first day I joined UDSF I became very active. Few months later one student approached me. He came to meet me after hearing about me from one of his friends. After some formal talk he told me that he also belong to my caste. Then he started asking about my activities in UDSF. He felt that I was wasting my time and instead I should concentrate on my studies. I tried to reason him by telling how important it is for dalit students to take part in the Ambedkarite movement and it is through this they can gain their self confidence and learn lot of social skills which they generally lack because of their background. He had nothing to say regarding this aspect but I could see that he was not willing to buy this argument.
Later the talk drifted to other topics like Civil services etc. But when he was leaving he said that Dhobis were higher in social status than other dalit castes like jatavas and Balmikis. They were never treated as badly by dikus as jatavas and balmikis. So there was no need for dhobis to participate in the dalit movement. This talk of his shocked me very much. I asked him whether he took reservation. He replied in positive. Then I asked him why he did so? If dhobis were socially higher than other dalit castes and treated well by dikus then why he, being dhobi, was taking benefit of reservation for dalits. Then I told him to leave my room. After that I never had a chance to interact with him as he always avoided me in the campus since then.
[Anoop Kumar is pursuing his MPhil in Russian Studies, SIS, JNU]
Courtesy:
Insight Blog
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Drink your own water, dead dog or no
By Prashanth G N, TNN 31 July 2009
BANGALORE: The village well is where castelines cut deep between the `we' and `they' notion in Waganagere village of Gulbarga. While the upper castes have their own wells, the pariahs living on the outskirts have one well. Take it or leave it.
Located in a dry region where drought is common, there are no natural lakes or even a river close by. The usual sources of water are tubewells and wells. But these sources of drinking water are not accessible to the dalits and the only well for almost 120 dalit households usually has very little water, according to the National Law School of India University's Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy.
Citing one instance, the study says a dog had fallen into this well and died. The dalits were left with no option, but to consume the toxic water after removing the carcass. "Even in such inhuman conditions, dalits are not allowed to enter the main part of the village and fetch water from the tubewells situated inside the village, where the upper castes live," the study says.
While detailing how the village has clearly segregated sources of drinking water for different castes, the NLSU study also talks of how in extreme cases of drought, the upper castes do allow dalits some water. Except that the water is poured into the dalits' pots from a distance, to prevent them from using the well!
Village Waganagere is just one among such extreme cases of caste prejudice in a state known for its royal Mysore and Vijayanagar kingdoms. At 126, Gulbarga district has the highest number of cases registered under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989 in Karnataka.
In Bommanahalli village of Gulbarga district, the dalit population of 20 households experiences untouchability in many forms. Non-dalit castes here are mainly Brahmins, Kurubas, Ayyanars and Muslims. The Dalits mainly consist of the jatis Madaru and Holeyaru, both Scheduled Castes, and reside on the fringe of the village in a separate colony.
There are segregated water sources for dalits and non-dalits in this village too. "All sources of drinking water are not accessible to dalits. They have separate tubewells. When there is scarcity of water, the dalits are not allowed to directly draw water from the well or tubewells. One of the upper caste members would pour water into their pots," the study says.
Life and later
The great divide is not confined to the living: even graveyards are segregated for dalits and non-dalits. In the event of a death in any dalit household, the body is paraded. The procession is strictly prohibited from entering the residential areas of the upper castes. There has been no violence on this issue, as the geography of the village and location of dalit households and their graveyard allows for dalit processions to parade the body out of the way of the other castes. Hence, there are no conflicts over access to burial grounds.
Harvest and forget
Dalits are not allowed to enter the houses of non-dalits, except when it is convenient, such as harvest season, when manual labour is required to transport the crops. Even then, the employed dalits have restricted access: while delivering the harvested crops, they are allowed entry only till the verandahs of upper caste homes.
Wedding feasts
During marriages and other celebrations, non-dalits are served food inside the house. Later, the lower castes are served, but at a distant place. The food is not offered in the plates and tumblers served to the rest of the guests; they have to bring along their own tableware.
The upper castes also demand that a separate cook be hired to prepare food exclusively for the lower castes. And the clincher: the ingredients for the feast, and the cost, are to be borne by the dalits themselves!
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Press Release : All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaj
All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaj
National Council of Dalit Christians
National Seminar
Muslims and Christians of Scheduled Caste Origin (Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians) are struggling for their equal rights more than half century. They are denied equal status in their own communities; the society perceives them as untouchables and they do not get benefits of Scheduled Caste status because they profess a religion of their choice.
The third paragraph of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950, popularly known as the Presidential Order, stipulates that "no person who professes a religion different from Hinduism shall be deemed to be a member of Scheduled Caste." Even a cursory reading of the Order reveals its discriminatory nature. By restricting the benefits to a particular religion, the Order has divided the entire Dalit community on the basis of religion. Instead of socio-economic and educational backwardness arising out of the traditional practice of untouchability being the criterion, religion becomes criterion for Scheduled Caste reservation.
The paragraph three of the Order violates the letter and spirit of many articles of our Constitution. Article 15 says: "The State shall not discriminate against any citizen only on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them." But here the state itself discriminates against Christians and Muslims of Scheduled Caste Origin on the basis of religion.
Article 25 reads: "... all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion." But the Order denies the freedom of religion to Christians and Muslims of Scheduled Caste Origin. In fact, it amounts to forced inducement or allurement by the state by offering constitutional protection and privileges to Scheduled Castes in order to stay in a religion and by punishing them by withdrawing the same benefits if they dared to profess a religion of their choice.
The issue of Christians and Muslims of Scheduled Caste Origin was referred to the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM) or the Ranganath Misra Commission by the Union Government of India. It was done in the context of the Writ Petition 180/2004 and other petitions in the Supreme Court and the Counsel informed the Supreme Court about this on the 28th November 2005.
The NCRLM report was submitted to the Prime Minister in May 2007. Till today the report has not been tabled in the Parliament. Meanwhile, opinions on extending Scheduled Caste privileges to Christians and Muslims of Scheduled Caste Origin were sought from the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and it has supported the extension of Scheduled Caste privileges to Christians and Muslims of Scheduled Caste Origin.
On the 23rd January 2008, the Additional Solicitor General sought eight weeks to take a decision in the above said matter. From 23rd January 2008 onwards, the Case has been posted number of times in such a way that it could not come for hearing. Now more than one and half years have passed. Justice is delayed due to the postponement of Union Government’s decision to give a reply to the Supreme Court.
We place before the Union Government the following demands:
• To table the NCRLM report in the Parliament along with Action Taken Report (ATR)
• To give a suitable reply to the Supreme Court and to extend Scheduled Caste Privileges to Christians and Muslims of Scheduled Caste Origin.
• To delete paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 that discriminates against the Christians and Muslims of Scheduled Caste Origin on the basis of religion. It is a blot on the secular Indian democracy.
New Delhi 30-07-2009
(Shri Ali Anwar, MP, Rajya Sabha)
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Men also face violence but...
Men against violence-5
By Nasiruddin Haider Khan, Dhaka
Do the men also face violence within domestic sphere? I come across this question from my friends. They alleged, activists do not want to see violence faced by men in the home. Sometimes, they cite examples of men in abusive relationships. I also wanted to share this question with activists. I was afraid that I will be blamed politically incorrect if I ask this question to anyone from the women’s movement. I thought I will be branded with certain ideological terminology. But during Dhaka Consultation, I gathered courage and raised this question.
When this issue was presented to Gary Barker of International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), he paused for a few minutes. Pressed his lips and started to speak very cautiously. His every word was well thought out, "we do not equate violence against men to violence against women. Because, men have greater socio-economic power. All over world men have economic power. This power is used to subjugate women. So, there status is incomparable."
But, he also says, "Some women have limited power in their house. Few of them use this power to resort to violence. Sometimes against their children...sometimes against their husband and sometime against their in-laws." After Saying this simultaneously he puts a big BUT...
The next question was, what type of violence women engages in, Gary says, "generally men face psychological and mental violence. Due to process of socialization, some women also have ability of emotional expression. They also use their voice as a tool of domination by modulating it."
However Dr. Abhijit Das of Centre for Health and Social justice, Delhi said, whosoever, resorts to violence, is wrong. However, we have to see, the roots of violence very carefully otherwise, we will reach a wrong conclusion. We should see, whether this is the result of social structure i.e. structural violence and outcome of gender discrimination or reaction of oppression? If it is happening due to social structure which means to create power, obviously it is grave issue..." He says, "Generally men do not face violence by women due to social structure." Subhash Mendhapurkar of SUTRA, who is working with commmunity in Himachal pradesh, voices the same opinion. He says, "sometime women do violence but it has many psychological reasons like feeling of insecurity etc."
When these three wise men, Gary, Abhijit and Subhash say all these words, they also put a strong word of caution. Subhash said, "if you take the sample of 1000 cases, 999 will be the violence against women and only one against men. We have to be careful when we talk about violence against men by women otherwise men will use it as an excuse to minimize the impact of violence against women."
Bimala Chandrashekha, Director of Madurai based organization Ekta, also accepts violence against men by women. Though, she is very emphatic, "Vulnerability of women and men to violence is not comparable. Women are more vulnerable. Violence against women is incomparable. They live under the shadow of violence. Their mobility has greater risk. Men do not have to think before taking each step."
(A slightly different version of this series had been published in Hindi daily Hindustan. Nasiruddin Haider Khan is a Hindi journalist based in Lucknow and a researcher in gender issues. His website is www.genderjihad.in and he can be reached at nasiruddinhk@gmail.com)
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Men engagement is the need of women's movement
This will add to women's movement
By Nasiruddin Haider Khan, Dhaka
Dhaka: Dhaka consultation on engaging men and boys for gender equality and violence prevention was on its last leg. I was going through lots of questions and dilemmas - ideological, political, and strategic. I am actively associated with many organizations working for women. Therefore, I think myself as a part of women's movement. The most important question for me was, is the women's movement ready for this engagement? Will the men, 'the culprit', hijack movement against violence? Will the movement derail from its goal for gender just society? I thought it prudent to ask women, who are part of the movement and not to the men who are trying to engage themselves with movement.
Madhubala Nath, associated with United Nations Fund for women (UNIFEM) based in Delhi, answered some of these apprehensions. And she starts with straight words, "only those will feel threatened to such important engagements whose understanding of gender is problematic. If the movement feels threatened then we have to reclaim the real meaning of gender relation that involves both men and women." She continues, "and this whole issue of men involvement has been settled many years ago. In Nairobi World Women Conference it was decided that work with men is very important and necessary."
Maria Rashid, co-director of Islamabad, Pakistan based organization ‘Rozan” said, "We are a women organization and we are working with men for the last ten years. And this need was felt by the women's movement itself."
She has a different perspective and says, "Women organisations saw men only as a problem. Now they have to see them as a solution too." Not only that, she said, men also have to see the violence against them in outside world to understand violence against women.
Dr. Rakshanda Parveen of SACHET from Islamabad, has different opinion, "I think there was not much done on this issue with women's movement. There is a need to create linkages. It should be." She said, "Yes, there will be little discomfort or opposition but we have to face it. Because engagement of both the streams is necessary for gender justice."
Whereas, an activist of Indian women's movement and Director of Madurai based organization Ekta, Bimla Chandrashekhar is more straightforward, "involvement of men is our need." What is the need, she explains, "When we go to the community, women say we do not have power to do anything. Why don't you talk to our men? Therefore, women have pushed us on this path." She elaborates a little, "With our experience and growth we (women's movement) only focused on violence against women. Now we say all issues are women issues. Women issues should be everyone's issues."
However Dr. Rakshanda points out, "we are not competing with women's movement and rights. No, not at all. I believe in gender harmony." She also cautions, yes there might be certain discomfort on the issue of allocation of resources.
Maria also has important point. She said, we have to be cautious. Otherwise, overemphasis on the male engagement will lead to disconnect with women's movement. We should watch carefully, there should be no competition. We have to keep both connected to the movement.
Madhubala talks about initiative, "We will certainly talk to women's movement to be part of this initiative. This will add to their work and enhance their work." She ensure women groups that they do not have reason to feel threatened at all.
Vimala underlines an important disclaimer, "Not all men are the same. Not all are violent. They have burden of masculinity. Society also expects them to behave in certain masculine way. Society expects a man to be violent and legitimize it. Society also puts burden on men to be a bread earner. This creates lot of pressure on them. This also has to be understood."
But will there be any positive outcome of all this initiatives... engagements...? Madhubala is quick to respond, UNIFEM has firm conviction that engagement with men and boys will give positive result in the direction of gender equality and violence prevention." She gives an example that in prevention of HIV infection it is very necessary to involve men to help women. Engagement with men will prevent them from risky behaviour.
Maria has worked with men. She shares her experience, "we work with police personnel and we observed remarkable change in their attitude and behaviour towards women. So engagement is effective."
(Nasiruddin Haider Khan is a Hindi journalist based in Lucknow and a researcher in gender issues. His website is www.genderjihad.in and he can be reached at nasiruddinhk@gmail.com)
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