Syed Saiful Alam Shovan shovan1209@yahoo.com |
__._,_.___
We all know about this woman Khaleda Zia has a legacy of despicable mindset when it comes to the question of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Since her rise in politics, she made it no secrete that she is fearful with the name of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu and can not put up with the name.
Yesterday December 2, Khaleda Zia has unveiled the new official website of BNP national council 2009 where the venue Bangabandhu International Conference Center has been disgracefully shown as China Bangladesh Friendship Convention Center. Falsification and distortion of facts has become part of her life, birth (so far she has been born five times only, many to come) to present……….
Link : http://www.bnpcouncil2009..com/council2009.php
She has come up with fabricated story of her birth in five different days finally to choose August 15 to celebrate her birthday, the most somber day the day when the nation lost Bangabandhu and almost all members of his family except two daughters. BNP supporters perish few thousands of pounds of cake on August 15 to satisfy the loathsome blacken heart of Khaleda Zia widow of Gen. Zia clandestine accomplice of spiteful killer gang of August 15 fateful night. However, her hateful crocked mind likes no one except herself glory, she made it no secret about her extreme disliking of her husband Gen. Zia. Khaleda Zia conferred to head of the government thrice but did not made slimmest attempt to try Gen. Zia killers
Her husband Gen. Zia and she her self made every effort to protect, empower, satisfy and accolade the killers of Bangabandhu home and abroad. Her husband Gen. Zia ratified the indemnity ordinance to protect the Bangabandhu killers and to stop the due processes of law to bring justice home.
I condemn Khaleda Zia and her party BNPs inferior crocked mentality and hope they will discard their long practice of distortion of our history.
Thank you
Shamim Chowdhury
Maryland, USA
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Bangladesh must not allow Indian Commandos in Dhaka - Walking on a knife-edge By Dr K M A Malik, UK Introduction:The recent news that India is preparing to send a Commando-style force in Dhaka allegedly to guard its diplomatic mission and to protect VIPs is of great concern to many Bangladeshis. None of the pro-government print and electronic media in Bangladesh has yet published this news, for reason unknown to us. These media outlets appear to be interested more in the daily political bickering, squabbles, gossips and scandals inside Bangladesh than in the ever-increasing foreign control of different state organs. Attempts by foreign powers, especially the US and Indian imperialists, to reduce the country as a vassal state by all possible means, legal or illegal, covert or overt, seem to be of marginal interest to them. I have seen the news covered in only two Bangla dailies, Amar Desh [1] and Shangram [2]. Both these newspapers have been the targets of severe criticisms by Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) (the current ruling party) for not following their dictates and carrying news stories uncomfortable to them. These papers as well as the daily Naya Diganta and weekly Holiday are often accused of being 'anti-national' or anti-liberation' and 'anti-India' but 'pro-Pakistan' by a large number of BAL leaders and their camp followers in the media world. It is to be noted that the docile media in Dhaka, in general, do not wish to 'hurt' the feelings of New Delhi rulers and their followers in Dhaka, for fear of reprisals and/or the loss revenue earnings from advertisements, etc. Media reports on the issue In case some people suggest that the news on sending Indian troops to Dhaka is another piece anti-India propaganda concocted by Amar Desh and/or Sangram, it has to be mentioned that these papers did not 'invent' the story; they cited the Indian media outlet, New Delhi based Press Trust of India (PTI) as well as Kolkata based Ananda Bazar Potrika as the sources of the report. So any suggestion to discredit the report in Amar Desh and/or Sangram would be unacceptable. For the sake of convenience of discussion, let us quote the PTI news (New Delhi, Dec 17, 2009). Captioned "Indian mission in Dhaka to be guarded by SSB troops", it reads, "Facing threat from terror group Laskhar-e-Taiba, India will soon deploy its para-military troops to guard its mission in Dhaka. At least 50 specially-trained troops of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), a force that guards Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders, will soon be sent to guard the High Commission after getting a clearance from External Affairs Ministry. The personnel have been trained in VIP, mobile and static security duties and would also render technical support responsibilities, official sources said. The troops will be sent soon and an assessment report is being prepared for their deployment, they said, adding SSB personnel will be in addition to the security men provided by Bangladesh government." Analysis and comments It is clear from the above PTI report that Indian government has already decided to send at least 50 specially trained troops of an elite force SSB to Dhaka and this would be done after getting a clearance from India's External Affairs Ministry. And the purpose of this deployment is said to be providing security to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka and other dignitaries from possible attacks by the terror group Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT). Indian government would probably justify this deployment on the excuse that Laskhar-e-Taiba is a serious threat to its security because this group is allegedly using Bangladesh soil to carry out terrorist activities in India. Three alleged members of this group were arrested last month by Bangladesh security forces, who then also said that they got the intelligence and information about these persons from the US FBI. It was also claimed that this group were taking preparations for attacks on the Indian, British and US embassies in Dhaka. We do not know how far the story about these alleged terrorists' plan to attack the three most important embassies in Dhaka is true. But even if this were true, it is the duty of Bangladesh security forces to protect all the foreign embassies including the Indian embassy from any potential terrorist attacks, and not of the Indian SSB commando force. The arrest of the three alleged LeT members in Bangladesh could also be another piece of R&AW-instigated disinformation campaign against Bangladesh and its security forces to portray the country as a 'failed state' and its security forces as totally ineffective to deal with 'terrorism'. Such type of R&AW-inspired propaganda against Bangladesh and Muslims is nothing new. Indian ruling class and their various establishments suffer from 'big power' chauvinism and they have never treated the less powerful neighbours with due respect and dignity. They have always treated Bangladesh with disdain and extracted only one-sided benefits without giving anything in return. Of course, they have very successfully cultivated some important elements within Bangladesh political establishment and planted agents in different sectors to advance their cause. The position of the Bangladesh government on the issue is unclear and to a large extent it remains very mysterious. We do not know for sure if the government has already agreed to India's proposal for stationing the 'especially trained' and armed SSB elite forces in Dhaka. If such proposal has not yet been accepted, how is that the Indian government is preparing for sending its forces in Dhaka? On the contrary, if Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already agreed to the proposal (no body else in the government would have the authority or guts to do so), does she really want to hand over the security of the Bangladesh state to the 'big brother'? Does she accept that Bangladesh security forces are incapable of providing security to foreign diplomatic missions and other VIPs? Does she understand the consequences of Indian forces moving with arms in Dhaka streets? Besides, there are dozens of other related questions that must be answered by the BAL government before it becomes a pawn in the hands of their so-called friends. If the friendship is not a one way but two-way traffic, would India allow armed Bangladeshi elite forces such as SSF to be deployed in New Delhi or Kolkata to provide security to Bangladeshi Missions there? In times of a serious crisis, it is not inconceivable that these Missions would become natural targets for attacks by various anti-Bangladeshi outfits such as R&AW-inspired Banga Sena or any terrorist (Muslim or Hindu) groups based in India. If the Indian mission or any of India's numerous business houses, cultural centre, etc., or any of its thousands of citizens living in Dhaka or elsewhere in Bangladesh come under any kind of attacks by a terrorist group like Laskhar-e-Taiba, JMB or HuJI-B [4] (the chances of such acts would only increase after the Indian forces are deployed in Dhaka), what would the government do? Would it allow more Indian troops inside Bangladesh to protect 'India's vital national and strategic interests' and/or 'help' the BAL government in its 'fight against terrorism'? What happens if India itself or any other external actor 'stages' some dramatic incidents of sabotage, kidnapping and hostage taking or carries out some high profile murders, and Bangladesh security forces are not able to make a quick response? Would it be difficult for India's various agencies to create or take advantage of any serious 'terrorist' incidents to 'volunteer' more troops inside Bangladesh? Those who want to know do know that imperialist and hegemonic powers do not bother for friendship with a particular group or one political party in economically and militarily weaker states; they only want to advance their own economic and strategic interests by any means ?? sweet talk, a little crumbs, coercive diplomacy, blackmail, threats, covert actions, creation of internal dissension and strife, and, finally, if the above less visible methods fail, by armed aggression and brutal occupation. The excuse for such drastic action by the imperial powers is often: 'restoring civil order', 'maintaining peace', 'creating stability', 'prevention of serious abuses of human rights', protecting minority rights, 'advancing the cause of freedom and democracy', etc. There are numerous examples in old as well as recent history where the imperial powers did not hesitate to dispense with their one-time 'friends' by conspiratorial and/or violent methods. After the recent double game played by BAL government against the ULFA leaders who are fighting for their own independence from Indian control, this and other freedom seeking ethnic armed groups in Assam and other regions north-east of Bangladesh would become hostile to Bangladesh and Muslims. If the government proceeds further along the Indian trap of becoming an active partner (or collaborator) in their counter-insurgency campaigns in the north east, the anti-Indian freedom fighters there may extend their battlefield within Bangladesh territories. India's war against ULFA and other freedom fighters in the north east is not 'our war' and we must not get involved in that. In the past, we have observed all governments to remain more or less silent on any difficult issue related to foreign countries especially the US and India. But the silence of the present government on security threats posed by the two imperialist powers is alarming, to say the least. While many ministers miss no opportunity to argue for public acceptance or compliance of India's multi-faceted demands and actions that many consider contrary to Bangladesh's national interests, they seem to be totally indifferent or oblivious to their foremost duties and obligations, that is, to stand firm against all external and internal adversaries to safeguard the country's hard won independence, sovereignty and vital national interests. Conclusion The government and people of Bangladesh must not allow the deployment of Indian SSB commando forces on their soil, whatever may be the initial excuse. Such an arrangement would invariably generate more suspicion, hostility and animosity against both the BAL and Indian governments. It would open the country to further Indian and US imperialist intervention on this or that excuse. The people of Bangladesh wish to live in peace with their Indian neighbours, but they will never accept the presence of Indian troops on their soil. Bangladesh security forces have suffered some serious setbacks during the last three years due first to the misguided 'Gang of Four Generals' and then to the mishandling of the armed and security forces by the BAL government, especially after the tragic Peelkhana massacre. But we are confident that the armed and security forces would soon recover from the setbacks forced upon them by the nation's local and foreign enemies and they would definitely stand side by side with the patriotic people to safeguard the nation's sovereignty and security. Notes and References: [1] http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2009/12/19/10140 [2] http://www.dailysangram.net/news_details.php?news_id=21926 [3] http://www.ptinews.com/news/428467_Indian-mission-in-Dhaka-to-be-guarded-by-SSB-troops [4] JMB has carried out many terrorist operations in Bangladesh but with the bulk of the explosives and bomb-making equipment received from India, which arouses suspicion if the outfit is a covert arm of R&AW. The terrorist group HuJI-B is believed to be connected with the Israeli MOSSAD. (Cardiff, 21 December 2009) ---------------------------------------- [Dr. K. M. A. Malik is a former Professor of Chemistry, Dhaka University, and a Lecturer in Chemistry, Cardiff University (UK). He has a distinguished academic career and published about 370 research papers in international chemistry journals. As a free-thinker and freelance columnist, he also writes regularly on contemporary political and social issues. His published books include: Challenges in Bangladesh Politics - a Londoner's view (2005); War on Terror - A pretext for new colonisation (2005), and Bangladesher Rajniti - Mookh O Mookhosh (2003). His e-mail contact: kmamalik@aol.com]. |
Aslam son,your brain maybe sucked with Nizami or jamat, not mine. I have no illusion about 71 liberation war. Neither I forgot about Nazi Mujib's from 72-75. Mujib has done nothing right since 72, zilch!Take your fancy logical fallacy somewhere, you are a disgrace.
From: Syed Aslam <Syed.Aslam3@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [khabor.com] 1974 FAMINE? Muijib's corruption! [a Mo Ass-ghar slander]
To: khabor@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, December 20, 2009, 4:39 PM
Mo AssgharYour use of obscene language proves that you have no logic in your post andyou have no points based on facts. Your slanders are based on your Jamaati lies.Even Iblish will feel ashmed .......Please read the following comment about Jamaati lies:
Thuh!!! Rajakar Thuh!!! [YouTube Video] See what happened last time:
On 12/19/09, Mo Assghar <moassghar@yahoo. com> wrote:
Aslam son, you need to stop your chauvinistic lie. Enough is enough! This is pure bullshit!
Mujib is responsible for Femine in 1974, hunger suffered by millions of Bangladeshi. It was Mujib's wish to join communist block, as he followed Indira Gandhi and licked her pu$$y. Under PL-480, Mujib got food aid from US and other contries, but his dearest cousin, kombolchora Gazi Golum Mostafa steal the food distribution, only Mujibkhors were given food ration, everyone else need to die out of hunger. There was enough time and resource to take the country out of famine 74. Stop lying!
Since Mujib licked Indira Gandhi, and India was in the grand alliance with Soviet Union, why Russia and Inidira did not help Mujib in those days? BAKSALIs are blaming Kissinger for calling Mujib's Bangladesh an 'bottomless Basket'. But, it was Mujib and his relatives who killed millions by hunger in 1974. Indira spent millions of $$ to free Bangladesh from Pakis, why khanki Indira Gandhi did not help Bangladesh in famine '74 with some food?
Bangladesh will never forget tyrant Mujib, a corrupt Mujib. From 72-75, Muijib ruled the country as Nero. Mujib was not a hero, he is a our bangla Nero. When Rome was burning, Nero was singing. When hunger was killing people, Mujib was licking Indira Gandhi.
--- On Fri, 12/18/09, Syed Aslam <Syed.Aslam3@ gmail.com> wrote:
From: Syed Aslam <Syed.Aslam3@ gmail.com>
Date: Friday, December 18, 2009, 7:43 PM
WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THE 1974 FAMINE?
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A motor of change for Saudi Arabia A new university in Saudi Arabia, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, represents a small step in the direction of religious and racial diversity for the conservative kingdom. By Asma T. Uddin, December 21, 2009
While many of the pilgrims return to their home countries with a heightened sense of love for humanity, another sort of social experiment is working to increase respect for diversity in Saudi itself. The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), located on the Red Sea in Thuwal, which opened in September 2009 with a $10bn endowment, is one of the first concrete signs of movement down the path of modernisation through liberal education. The university had long been a dream of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who wants to transform the country into a knowledge-based society. What the establishment of the school shows, though, is that progress cannot happen merely through building a school or other outward signs of modernisation – it also requires constructive conversation and scruntiny of serious human rights violations, including a total lack of religious freedom and free speech. King Abdullah began the school as part of the Tatweer project, when the spiral of violence after 9/11 forced Saudi's leaders to reexamine their society. A close study of the country's school system by Saudi professor Mohammad Zayed Youssef revealed that dialogue and respect for religious difference – whether directed towards non-Muslims or Muslims with different interpretations of Islam – was missing. With these results in mind, King Abdullah launched the Tatweer programme as an educational reform body independent from the country's ministry of education in 2006. The programme's goal is not only to see more students graduate prepared for jobs but also to create a citizenry that is open and able to deal with religious differences – and less likely to harbour extremism. Tatweer reform involves changing school curricula throughout the country to include more open debate and discussion as opposed to rote memorisation. Yet, as Kelly McEvers' Slate.com article "Changing the Way Saudis Learn" reveals, little has changed in Saudi Tatweer schools. Even while students are encouraged to look at varying perspectives on any given issue, the understanding is always that the final – and in other words, correct – point of view can be found with the kingdom's senior clerics. Moreover, Nina Shea's 2008 study of Saudi curricula shows that hatred of the non-Wahhabi continues to permeate public school textbooks from first-grade on, teaching students that "It is forbidden for a Muslim to be a loyal friend to someone who does not believe in God and His Prophet," and "True belief means … that you hate the polytheists and infidels but do not treat them unjustly." This type of top-down control of discourse not only espouses hatred but also limits the free-flowing marketplace of ideas, where viewpoints are distinguished on the basis of their substance, persuasive power and/or utility. Until ideas can flourish in Saudi without the authoritative power of the government, modernisation will never be possible. KAUST raises precisely these types of free speech issues. With KAUST less than two months old, Saudi authorities have already had to deal with severe criticism from the country's religious conservatives. In October, Sheikh Saad bin Nasser al-Shithri, a member of Saudi's council of senior clerics, aired his concerns on television about the university's co-ed makeup and its teaching of "alien ideologies", such as the theory of evolution. In response, several of Saudi's liberal newspapers accused the cleric of holding back progress by focusing on minor issues that would spread controversy. Following the news debacle, King Abdullah issued a royal decree relieving al-Shithri of his duties as a member of the council. While al-Shithri's termination might be a welcome sign to those hoping for reform, the manner in which his peaceful religious dissent was handled reflects confusion about the preconditions for true progress. By clamping down on al-Shithri, the government was actually failing to foster open discourse, not promoting modernisation. The type of censorship exercised in al-Shithri's case is just a small part of a much broader culture where religious freedom is nearly nonexistent. Religions other than Wahhabi-Salafi Islam have no legal recognition and conversion from Islam to another religion is punishable by death. While KAUST cannot by itself change these ingrained practices, developing a model there for productive interaction among a group of people diverse in ethnicity, religion, and gender is an essential first step. KAUST is an enclave within Saudi society, but its officials hope that the boundaries will be porous and that the modernisation happening on campus will result in greater progress for Saudi society. Fifteen percent of KAUST's current student body is Saudi. As that percentage grows, KAUST's Saudi graduates will reenter society equipped not just with superior academic credentials, but also familiarity with critical thinking, religious freedom, and free speech. Graduates of KAUST can thus spur a process of change from within Saudi society by not only becoming part of its social fabric, but most likely its professional leadership as well. http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/3473 |
Ameerah Haq appointed UN Under-secretary-General Bangladesh national Ameerah Haq has been appointed Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Timor-Leste and Head of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT). She will take office in Dili, Timor-Leste on January 5, said a press release Monday. Ameerah Haq is the highest ranking UN staff from Bangladesh and the first woman from Bangladesh to reach this level.She will hold a press briefing on December 26 in Dhaka before joining her new office.Most recently she served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan, and prior to that, as Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan. In both cases, she also held the position of UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of UNDP. http://www.thebangladeshtoday.com/national.htm |
Dear Mr. Mo AssGhar
You should tell Dalim to go and face his accusers instead of shamelessly hiding behind the skirts of his Pakistani employers!
Robin Khundkar
-----Original Message-----
From: Mo Assghar
Sent: Dec 5, 2009 9:06 PM
To: Badrul Islam
Cc: khabor@yahoogroups.com, alochona@yahoogroups.com, chottala@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ALOCHONA] majordalim.com
http://majordalim.com/
--- On Sat, 12/5/09, Badrul Islam <badrul_islam2001@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Badrul Islam <badrul_islam2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [khabor.com] Know the unknown facts about the History of Bangladesh
To: "Mo Assghar" <moassghar@yahoo.com>
Date: Saturday, December 5, 2009, 6:33 PM
Thank you for the two vital information posted: This one and the previous one abut Mujib being responsible for his own death.
I wonder if you have more information like this from old Newspapers- it would then be authenticated for reference; though most of what you write was somewhat heard by all of us who mpassed the 1972-1975 period. Also please give the weblink of Dalim it a bit more prominently so that we can access
Can you also publish chapters from the Legacy of Blood-- that would be more interesting and public would get opportunity to learn more --please think about this.
If you are residing in Bangladesh then I would like to get more old materials of the period as am doing some research on this and publish articles.
Since you have so much information I would ask can you collect some information on the exile period of Hasina in Germany and India for about 6 years before she came to Bangladesh when Zia announced amnesty and idea for Multiparty participation.
Please do inform me and hopefully you would get all these vital informations that are being lost.
Most important however is the present status wherby all agreements will be sugned-- do you have any information further-- it is worrying TipaimUkh to be built ,War trial and BDR trials and signing with India to give Ashuganj port and transit etc will be gradually signed and given-- how can we get BNP to wake up to make open Debate and challenge these agreements and go for Referendum.
I have written two articles on Dam and Bangladesh-Idia relation published in Financial Express -- can you help for its publicity and help me arrange a talk show in Channel i or any other???
Waiting eagerly for your reply.
Badrul islam
--- On Fri, 12/4/09, Mo Assghar <moassghar@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Mo Assghar <moassghar@yahoo.com>
Subject: [khabor.com] Know the unknown facts about the History of Bangladesh
To: khabor@yahoogroups.com, alochona@yahoogroup s.com, dahuk@yahoogroups. com, chottola@yahoogroup s.com
Date: Friday, December 4, 2009, 1:34 PM
Lets get the facts ... lets praise the brave sons of Bangla to end the tyranny & fiasco of Mujib.
US should also help to find the killers of Siraj Sikdar. Maybe someone need to dig in the grave to find the killers those who killed innocent victims from 1972-1975. Hasina is right, all killers should be punished, she should start from the begining, lets start with Mujib.. Mujib is the first one to start state-psoondserd killing. Siraj Sikdar's blood can nto go amiss. If Hasina do not take action for the killing of Siraj, then she is a hypocrite, liar!
In December 1974 Siraj Sikder was captured in Hali Shahr, Chittagong by the state intelligence service. He was killed on January 2, 1975 en route from the Dhaka airport to a paramilitary camp at Savar. While Mujib bravely announced, "Aaj kothay sei Siraj Sikdar?".
Seven accused including Razzak, Tofayel and Nasim. Case filed for the murder of Shiraj Shikdar
Comrade Shiraj Shikdar, a freedom fighter and the leader of Sarbahara party was cold bloodelly murdered after inhuman torture in custody at the order of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The article regarding his death that was published in Dainik Shangram on 5th June 1992 is reproduced here. This will not only reveal the account of his murder but lot of informations regarding the activities of the party and about the overall situation that prevailed in the country under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman can also be known.
Staff reporter reported,
"Yesterday that is Thursday at the Chief Metropolitan (C.M.M.) Magistrate's court a case has been filed against 7 persons as accused including Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Abdur Razzak, Tofayel Ahmed and Mohammed Nasim for the murder of Mr. Shiraj Shikdar, the leader of Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party. Mr. Sheikh Mohiuddin Ahmed, the President of Shiraj Shikdar Parishad has lodged the case. The accused were
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
1. Mr. Mahabubuddin Ahmed ex superintendent of police.
2. Abdur Razzak MP
3. Tofayel Ahmed MP
4. Mr. E.A. Choudhury ex IG police and currently the Chairman of Pubali Bank
5. Brig. (Retd) Kazi Nuruzzaman (Ex DG Jatiyo Rakkhi and Bahini and
Ex Ambassador for Bangladesh in Sweden).6. Mohammed Nasim MP & Co.
The accuseds have been charged under section 302 and 109. A noted engineer late Shiraj Shikdar was a freedom loving, conscious brave freedom fighter. For the emancipation of the oppressed class he at first, created a labour organization then fought the liberation war and finally formed the Purba Bangla Sharbahara party to carry on with his struggle. As his popularity and support was increasing with every passing day due to his dedication and activities for the cause of the people late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the then head of the government became jealous and alarmead, and being worried and terrified to loose his power in face of growing un popularity he unleased a reign of terror on the workers of the Sarbhara Party. Even he hatched up many conspiracies in different ways to kill Mr. Shiraj Shikdar, the party chief. In the report it was stated that the accused maintained close contacts with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his associates and trusted officials and used to hold secret meetings. And accused No. 1 to 6 were then placed in high offices thus they along with other associates participated and helped Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to draw up 'the blue print to kill Shiraj Shikdar'. They carried out secret killing, kidnapping, arrest, torture and harassment of the workers of the party to implement their blue print. Describing the arrest and murder of Shiraj Shikdar in the rapport it was said that at one stage late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the accused took a decision to infiltrate government agents in the party to kill Shiraj Shikdar and destroy the party.. One of E.A. Choudhury's close relations was also inducted as a government agent.
In this way on 1st January 1975 Shiraj Shikdar along with another party member were arrested from New market area of Chittagong and the same day they were flown to Dhaka. They were brought to the old airport and from there they were taken to the headquarters of the special branch at Malibag under heavy escort and special security arrangements. There both of the captives were separated from each other and Shiraj Shikdar was subjected to inhuman torture. On 2nd January evening he was taken to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Banga Bhaban by the police and the special squad of JRB in a hand cuffed position. At that time late Capt. (Retd) Mansoor Ali the then home Minister, all the accused, Sheikh Kamal Son of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Sheikh Fazlul Haq Moni his nephew were also present at the Banga Bhaban along with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. At the very first sight Sheikh Mujib started abusing Shiraj Shikdar. As he protested all those who were present including Sheikh Mujibur Rahman pounced on him. Even at that point Shiraj Shikdar demanded from Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to take necessary steps to stop the bank robbery by Sheikh Kamal and various other misdeeds. He also criticized his policy of slavery of India. At this Sheikh Mujib's anger heightened and he became extremely agitated when Shiraj asked him to take action against endemic corruption. At that point no 1 accused Mr.. Mahbubuddin struck him on his head with his revolver. Shiraj Shikdar fell down. Sheikh Kamal lost his temper and shot at him in front of his father.. The bullet hit his arm. Simultaneously all other accused started beating him, slapping him, kicking him right and left in front of their supreme leader as Shiraj Shikdar lay on the ground wounded.. At one time he lost his conscience. After that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Capt. (Retd) Mansoor Ali and the other accused took the decision to kill Shiraj Shikdar and ordered No 1. accused to do the needful to execute the order. No 1 accused then took Shiraj Shakdar and brought him at the JRB headquarters at Shere Banglanagar. There he was tortured more. Later at about 11 p.m. on 2nd January he was shot and murdered in the JRB headquarters in presence of all the accused. The report further stated that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the head of the government in his statement at the national Parliament boastfully claimed,
"Where is Shiraj Shikdar now?"
This was the clear manifestation of his revengeful attitude. Then No. 1 accused took his dead body and the members of the Special Squad to Savar police station Via Talbagh as planned. Next day his body was transferred to the Morgue. In the explanation why the case is being filed so late, it was started that immediately after Shiraj Shikdar was killed his father late Abdur Razzak went to the police station to file the case. But as it was an autocratic dictatorship and JRB's reign of terror prevailant, the police refused to accept the case. Because of the fear of state terror and subsequent political instability and authoritarian rules and due to pressures from various quarters for last 17 years it was not possible to register the case. The complainer, a follower of the late Shiraj Shikdar presently took the risk of his life and came forward to register the case to seek justice under relatively more democratic conditions.. After hearing the petition the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate issued an order to the Tejgaon police station in charge to take necessary legal action subject to necessary investigation. Advocate Farmanullah Khan moved the petition. He was assisted by advocate Afzal Hossain."
বঙ্গবন্ধুর খুনীদের ফিরিয়ে আনতে সহায়তা দেবে যুক্তরাষ্ট্র http://www.rtnn. net/details. php?p=1&s=16&id=20094
Wedne
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Discrimination in Reservation!Twenty Five Lacs of Adivasi People Belonging to Ghtawar Tribe Tribe in JHARKHAND are DEPRIVED of RESERVATION! Twenty Million Partition Victim Bengali Resettled Refugees also DEPRIVED and Persecuted!
Indian Holocaust My Father`s life and Time- Two Hundred Fifty Three
Palash Biswas
Let me Clarify that, though as a communist believing in Classless Society I Never believe in Resrvation and My People the Black Untouchable Bengali refugees out of Bengal specially in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattishgarh are deprived of Reservation, I am not OPPOSED to RESERVATION in principle. My father was a Communist Ambedkarite and pressed on the demand for all Refugees belonging to any Community should have RESERVATION as they fall backward from the very moment while they are ejected out of their Home! I NEVER believed that RESERVATION would EMPOWER the Enslaved bonded Communities in the zionst Brahaminical System and in fact, it helps the HEGEMONY to CO Opt a few to DEPRIVE the Rest. I support th basuic idea of reservation as REPRESENTATION and Awakening to make possible equal opportunity and Social Justice.
But I am Concerned with the fact that RESERVATION is killing the Ambedkarite Ideology as well as National Liberation struggle for the indigenous and aboriginal Communities as RESRVATION has DIVIDED us most after MANUSMRITI. We faight amongst us and are not Ready to share the OPPORTUNITY with orthers who even lag behind us. It has become the best ploy for Vote bank Politics and demographic Readjustment as a Pure Brahamin like Mamata Banerjee takes oath to worship only Harichand Thakur to get the legacy of chandal Movement and dalit Renaissance in her favour keeping INTACT herBrahaminical Identity. Reseravtion has become a means of EXPLOITATION most heinious. It has created more violence, more Hatred than Manusmriti as the Ruling Calss manipulated our Mind and heart to pit us against one another. It has become a JOKE as Powerful Communities DEVELOPED and affluent are also demanding Reservation. Even the Brahamins. Jats in Uttar Pradesh, Marathas in Maharashtra and Mahishwas in Bengal had always enjoyed caste Hindu status and deprived the Dalits powerfully. Now, they want reservation.
Contrarily Twenty Five Lac Ghtwar Tribe people in Jharkhand fail to achieve Reservation in Jharkhand. Santhals in Assam and Bheels in RESERVATION are not considered for Reservations. More than Two Milion bengali SC People resettled as Partition Victims countrywide could not achieve reseravation for last SIX decades!
Despite Reseravation, Community Empowerment is Hundreds of years behind just because the educated People RESERVATION and Quota do not Identify with their Mother communities and even DISOWN their Parents. They would not REPRESENT noPay back either to the family or society to which they root.
Hence, I am sorry to opine , BETTER, ABOLISH Reservation.
Those Tribes who got Resrevation as well as Separate States in different part of this country, have not rose above the level they belonged to. The Persecution and Ethnic Cleansing Conitinue. Rather, they have been ALIENATED and Branded being DEMONISED as Extremists and Maoists. NO AVTAR is going to figh for them and they are predestined to be killed sooner or later!
As Tharus and Bukshas in Uttarakhand, many Tribes speilly the Nomadic and denotified Tribes have no right to Property or Land. Their villages are not Revenue Villages. Though entitled as Scheduled tribes they have got Nothing out of Reseravation and Quota!
Reservation was basically meant for the untouchables, deprived, slaves and outcasted communities of the society. People of this community have sufferred hatred and beastly atrocities for more than thousands of years. They were/are the weekest sections of the socity. Muslims were the Rulers of this nation. Today also there are several business houses/individuals who are ranked as richest at international level. When the community is placed at high dignity, it is not understood why they need reservation. By seeking reservation are the muslims not depriving the deprived ones. If they have to be considered for reservation on what ground as ex-rulers. Today every community is seeking reservation. It shows that caste factor has not washed away as yet from the minds of the people, as by this every one is trying to take away the little opportunity of servival/existance in the society got to these unfortunate people through reservation and see them as deprived so that they can be behaved at beastly again.
After Punjabis, Jats, Brahmins demand quota
Rajendra Khatry
Posted: Jul 15, 2008 at 2346 hrs IST
Chandigarh, July 14 Perked up by the Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan, which forced the government to bow down to the demand of reservation, many communities in the state have now begun raising demand for reservation in government jobs. Surprisingly, those making such demands are from well off communities such as Jats, Punjabis, Brahmins.
Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti has threatened to campaign against the Congress party in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls if they did not ensure reservation for the community. While the Jats have been demanding their inclusion in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, Punjabis have demanded reservation on the basis of their large population in Haryana. The Brahmins on the other hand are demanding reservation on the economic criteria.They have called a Mahapanchayat at Rohtak on July 25 to decide the future course of action on the issue.
Jats are demanding reservation on the basis of the Justice Gurnam Singh Commission report which had recommended inclusion of Jats in backward community, according to the sources. D.S.Tewatia, president of Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti said if their demand of 27 pc reservation was not met soon, the community will be forced to launch agitation in the state. Incidentally, Jats have been given reservation in six neighbouring states of Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh,UP and MP.
The Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti has also announced a Mahapanchayat of Jats on September 21 at Rohtak to discuss the issue. The Samiti has threatened to organise a state bandh on Haryana Day on November 1.
The Punjabis too have raised the demand for reservation. Haryana Urban Local Bodies Minister, A.C.Choudhary demanded that freedom fighter status should be given to migrated Punjabis for their sacrifices during the independence struggle. The Akhil Bhartiya Brahmin Mahasabha has raised the reservation demand on behalf of the community.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/After-Punjabis-Jats-Brahmins-demand-quota/335440/
Muslim leaders from across the country and heads of some political parties shared the dais of the newly formed Muttahida Milli Mahaz group in Patna on November 11 to reiterate the demand of reservation for the Muslim community and full implementation of the Rajendra Sachar Committee recommendations.
Thousands of Muslims had thronged the Krishna Memorial Hall in the capital city of Patna to attend the Insaf Rally organized by the Mahaz.
Reservation in India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reservation in Indian law provides for a quota system whereby a percentage of posts are reserved in employment in Government and in the public sector units, and in all public and private educational institutions, except in the religious/ linguistic minority educational institutions,in order to mitigate backwardness of the socially and educationally backward communities and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes who do not have adequate representation in these services and institutions. The reservation policy is also extended to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for representation in the Parliament of India. The central government of India reserves 27% of higher education[1], and individual states may legislate further reservations. Reservation cannot be exceeded 50%, as per the rulings given by the supreme court[2], but certain Indian states like Rajasthan have proposed a 68 % reservation which includes a 14% reservation for forward castes.[3] A number of cases challenging the validity of such reservations provided by the states pending before the apex court.
Caste and community profile of people below the poverty line in India, as outlined in the Sachar Report
Reservations are intended to increase the social diversity in campuses and workplaces by lowering the entry criteria for certain identifiable groups that are grossly under-represented in proportion to their numbers in the general population. Caste is the most used criteria to identify under-represented groups. However there are other identifiable criteria for under-representation—gender (women are under represented), state of domicile (North Eastern States, as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are under-represented), rural people, etc. -- as revealed by the Government of India sponsored National Family Health and National Sample surveys.
The underlying theory is that the under-representation of the identifiable groups is a legacy of the Indian caste system. After India gained independence, the Constitution of India listed some erstwhile groups as Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). The framers of the Constitution believed that, due to the caste system, SCs and the STs were historically oppressed and denied respect and equal opportunity in Indian society and were thus under-represented in nation-building activities. The Constitution laid down 15% and 7.5% of vacancies to government aided educational institutes and for jobs in the government/public sector, as reserved quota for the SC and ST candidates respectively for a period of five years, after which the situation was to be reviewed. This period was routinely extended by the succeeding governments.
Later, reservations were introduced for other sections as well. The Supreme Court ruling that reservations cannot exceed 50% (which it judged would violate equal access guaranteed by the Constitution) has put a cap on reservations. However, there are state laws that exceed this 50% limit and these are under litigation in the Supreme Court. For example, the caste-based reservation fraction stands at 69% and is applicable to about 87% of the population in the state of Tamil Nadu (see section on Tamil Nadu below).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservation_in_India
Justice A.J. Sadashiva, who heads the commission reviewing the reservation system as well as the various welfare schemes announced by the Government for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, has said in Bellary, Karnatak in february, 2007 that a caste-wise survey will be conducted to determine the extent to which these classes were actually being benefited.
Mr. Sadashiva told presspersons such a survey had become inevitable, and a report would also be submitted to the Government. The survey was expected to begin by
March-end. He said a questionnaire had been prepared to elicit information in different categories, including caste and sub-caste, living conditions, education and economic conditions.
In Uttarkhand, Under the leadership of Bajpur MLA Arvind Pandey, a delegation of the Sikh community from Udham Singh Nagar district in July this year, met Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and demanded that Jat Sikhs should be given backward class reservation in Uttarakhand.In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister, the Sikhs demanded that even in Uttar Pradesh backward class reservation was being given to Jat Sikhs.
"Some people in Uttarakhand are opposing this but we request you to look into the matter and ensure that such reservation is given to Jat Sikhs," the memorandum read.
In Maharashtra,the Maratha community recently upped the ante on the reservation issue, demanding 25% quota in all walks of life. At a rally held at Shivaji Park on second February this year , over 25,000 people from the community gathered to vociferously demand reservation, and warned, if not adhered to, will lead to an agitation across the state.Though Marathas have traditionally played lead roles in Maharashtra politics -- much to the chagrin of all other communities, the community have in recent times kept at it aggressively to get a share in the reservation pie. NCP leader and deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal, self-styled as the OBC leader in the state, has time and again warned against dilution of any reservation to the Marathas at the cost of the "oppressed communities like OBCs and SC/STs". In fact, the demand comes a day after OBC leaders from the state warned of a fiery agitation if Marathas were awarded reservation.
Former NCP MLA Vinayak Mete, who was suspended from the party after an attack allegedly led by him on an editor of a Marathi daily, presided over the Maratha rally. He set a deadline of a month to fulfil the demand. "Reservation is our right. Do not test our patience. We should get the reservation before the Lok Sabha elections at any cost," he said.
"The government has so far appointed nine commissions to decide the social status of Marathas. All these commissions have meted out injustice to the Marathas," he said.
The OBC leaders have opposed reservation to Marathas in politics as they already possess key positions in the politics. "We are not against the reservation in education and jobs, but we will not bear reservation in politics," BJP leader Gopinath Munde said.
RPI leader Prakash Ambedkaradvised the government not to take any decision on the issue in a hurry.
In Kerala, Demanding reservation for the whole nadar community, Malankara Arch Bishop Baselios Mar Cleemis.met Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan today at his official residence in Cliff house.
He also submitted a memorandum signed by one lakh people requesting the reservation to be extended to the whole community to Chief Minister.
After the 20 minute brief talks, the Arch Bishop said, he expects Chief Minister to take a favourable decision regarding the issue, since, the matter lies in the purview of central government some other aspects of the issue also needed close study.
Last Sunday, the church had asked its devotees to observe a protest day and pastoral letters were read at churches against the government's move to issue reservation to two communities.
Dozens of lawyers in Patna in january this year demonstrated outside the Patna High Court to press for their two-point demand including reservation in the judiciary and a ban on the age limit for applying for the post of magistrate.
Organized under the banner of 'Judiciary Reservation Movement' the lawyers took out a rally from the western gate of the Patna High Court and marched towards the Chief Minister's residence. They were, however, stopped by the security officials at the Hartali Chowk where the rally took the shape of a public meeting.
The movement's national president Arun Kushwaha said that until reservations were made in the judiciary, justice could not be served to people of the backward sections of the society.
He also demanded a ban on the current age limit of 35 to become a magistrate saying it was a deterrent to many deserving candidates belonging to backward and dalit communities.
Justice M. L. Das who supports reservation in judiciary also took party in Tuesday's rally.
Gujjars demand reservations in Central jobs
Updated on Friday, December 15, 2006, 00:00 IST
New Delhi, Dec 15: Reservation in Central jobs and commissioning of a regiment in the Army are some of the demands that the Gujjar community will make in a show of strength rally which is being organised here on December 17.
The rally is being organised keeping an eye on the upcoming UP elections. Gujjar strongman and Congress MP from Faridabad Avtar Singh Bhadana said Gujjars despire being more backward than many other communities were being overlooked by state and Central governments.
"To uplift the community from its backwardness we demand OBC quota in Central jobs and educational institutions and a Gujjar regiment in the Army to better reflect the sacrifices made by the community over the years" Bhadana told reporters here.
Other demands of the community include better representation in the Parliament and OBC quota for the community in Rajasthan and MP.
"Gujjars play a decisive role in as many as 45 Lok Sabha seats and many assembly seats as well but we have only two MPs in the Lok Sabha and this number needs to increase," he said.
The community which is considered as the vote bank of the Congress will give a referendum to the Congress president Sonia Gandhi after the rally, which is being organised at the Commonwealth Games grounds here.
http://www.zeenews.com/Nation/2006-12-15/342192news.html
Demand for internal reservation
Staff Correspondent
BELLARY: Representatives of the Madiga and Cheluvadi communities of the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) who appeared before the A.J. Sadashiva Commission here on Wednesday urged the Government to provide internal reservation as this, they said, would ensure that the benefits of welfare schemes reached the needy.
Representatives of the Madiga community told the chairman of the commission that the benefits of reservation and of welfare schemes were reaching only a few groups among the SCs and STs, and their community was the worst affected as a result.
"The Madigas constitute a large section of the district's population and about 70 per cent of the Scheduled Castes," Chairman of the Bellary Milk Producers' Union H. Hanumanthappa said. "Yet, they remain suppressed as the benefits of reservation do not reach them. As a result, they have remained socially, economically and educationally backward. Therefore, the Government should provide for internal reservation."
http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/08/stories/2007020816210300.htm
Jats demand reservation; to hold massive rally in Meerut
New Delhi, Feb 6 Asking for uniform reservation norms, Jats have demanded that their community be granted Other Backward Class (OBC) status in all states across the country.
"Jat Community fits well in the criteria fixed by' Mandal Commission', so it should be included in the OBC category of the Union List as well as in the State List of those states where they have not been included," Chaudhary Dara Singh, president of Akhil Bharatiya Jat Mahasabha said here today.
Jats, from 13 states will gather at Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, for a massive rally in support of their demands on Sunday, Singh said.
At Central level, Jats have been given reservation in Rajasthan while at state level in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, but they are deprived of reservation in Haryana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir and others, he added.
" Every caste or tribe is enjoying reservations uniformly across the nation but the Jats have been intentionally deprived of this status," Singh said.
The Jats demanded reservation on economic ground, claiming 95 per cent of the community members were dependent on agriculture and not doing well enough to provide education to their children.
http://www.indiareport.com/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/496263/National/1/20/1
`Samajwadi Party favours reservation for women from deprived communities'
Staff Correspondent
The party is prepared for mid-term polls, says Bangarappa
BIDAR: "We are not opposed to reservation for women in Parliament. We are only demanding reservation for women from deprived communities and backward classes within the quota to be fixed for women," former Chief Minister, MP and Samajwadi Party State president S. Bangarappa said here on Thursday. He was reacting to All-India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi's allegation that men MPs were opposing the move to provide reservation to women. He said Ms. Gandhi's statement was not true. "We want more focused social justice than the proposed bill offers," he told presspersons.
Mr. Bangarappa said the Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition Government would not last.
"If the bypoll to the Chamundeshwari Assembly seat is postponed, then it may be held along with the mid-term election," he said.
The Samajwadi Party was preparing for the mid-term poll, Mr. Bangarappa said. "I am touring the State and organising processions and public meetings. We have had a very good response in all districts.
This was a reflection of how the Congress, Janata Dal (S) and BJP have lost the confidence of the people, he said. "The coalition Government has failed on all counts. The people are fed up with the Government," he said.
http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/03/stories/2006110304970300.htm
Demand for reservation, political blackmailing?
P B Chandra, TNN 4 April 2003, 04:36am IST
The scene: A man dressed as Lord Parshuram appears on the dais displaying his angry
resentment.
The venue: The reservation rally organised by Brahmins at Jaipur.
The Brahmins call themselves the sons of Lord Parshuram, who could shake the universe with his anger. The person impersonating as Lord Parshuram was symbolic of the Brahmin unity.
The Brahmins, like Jats, have started thinking that might is right and are of the belief that unless the community compels the political parties, they would never get the coveted reservation.
The demands of not only the Brahmins, but other communities as well for reservation are nothing less than political blackmailing.
The rally which was funded by industrialist R.D.Sharma, itself was lacklustre with a meagre presence of less than 10,000 persons. But the earlier rally organised at Sikar and Bikaner was very well attended.
The Brahmins who alongwith the Baniya community have been principal backers of the BJP are now demanding their pound of flesh. They have pressed home the point that poor Brahmins should also get reservation.
The Gujjar community which enjoys the status of the "Other Backward Classes" has gone a step further and have demanded the status of Scheduled Tribe. They feel that because of the presence of one particular community in the OBC list, they would never be able to reap the benefits of reservation if they remain a part of OBC.
Social Justice Front which has been launched by BJP MLA Devi Singh Bhati, firebrand leader Lokendra Singh Kalvi and former bureaucrat Satyanarayan Singh have identified Rajputs, Vaishyas, Sindhis, Kayasthas, Jatsikhs and Rajpurohits for providing them redressals. It is a demand for reservation for all those communities which have been ignored until now.
The Social Justice Front has started a movement to counter the impact of reservation given to the Other Backward Classes by the Gehlot government. The movement is basically targetting the Jats, the new beneficiaries who are called new OBCs.
"We are demanding reservations on the basis of poor economic conditions for all those castes which were left out when new castes were included under the OBC, " says Satyanarayan Singh.
Kalvi lamented that under the garb of poor peasants, rich farmers managed to get reservations while those who were really poor were left out.
Kalvi's grouse is against the rising influence of the Jat community and he has enough evidence to prove that the Jat community cornered most of the posts which were reserved for the OBCs in the Panchayat Raj elections.
"All other castes which could have been benefitted under the reservations are now forced to become backbenchers because of the domination of one caste in the OBC category. It's a very dangerous situation and may result in class conflict," says Kalvi.
He said under the name of poor farmers, while Jats were given the benefits, poor farmers belonging to Rajput, Brahmin, Kayastha, Rajpurohit were left behind.
He said the Rajputs were in the forefront during the freedom movement and fought not only the Moghuls, but also the British, yet the poor community was left behind.
He said states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka have identified OBCs under two categories. One category is of the backward people and the other economically very backward castes.
He demanded the same formula to be adopted in the state and very backward castes be covered under the new provisions.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/42320305.cms
What prompted Mayawati to play the Dalit card and support justice Dinakaran?
Sunday, December 20, 2009 19:08 IST
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati wrote a letter to prime minister Manmohan Singh on December 20, seeking his intervention to ensure Karnataka high court chief justice PD Dinakaran gets an opportunity to present his point of view before impeachment proceedings begin against him. Many Congress Dalit leaders have also expressed support for him, as has the BJP.Justice Dinakaran, who faces charges of amassing disproportionate assets and land grabbing, faces an impeachment motion admitted against him in the Rajya Sabha.
Usually, when a person in high office is charged with corruption, public figures, particularly politicians, distance themselves in a bid to escape the negative fallout.
However, Dinakaran's case is made unique by the fact that he is a judge -- in India the judiciary is considered the most sacrosanct of institutions -- and a Dalit.
Is Mayawati interested in Dinakaran only as a fellow Dalit? Is there more to this than meets the eye?
http://www.dnaindia.com/speakup/message-board_what-prompted-mayawati-to-play-the-dalit-card-and-support-justice-dinakaran_1325703
Do smaller states help in the all-round progress of backward regions?
Wednesday, December 16, 2009 0:55 IST
The announcement of a separate Telangana state has set off a political storm, what with demands for states such as Gorkhaland, Poorvanchal, Bundelkhand, Vidarbha and Harit Pradesh, among others, being raised in different parts of the country.
Though states such as Maharashtra, Kerala, Orissa, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal were created on the basis of language, the demands for newer states such as Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand have been based on the basis of neglect of the regions concerned.
Some experts say smaller states are easier to govern, but smaller size by itself is no surefire formula for good governance, economic performance, and welfare of the people. For example, despite being a small state, Jharkhand has not conducted panchayat elections in the past 10 years. As a result, it has been deprived of several central benefits. At the same time, states such as Goa, Kerala, and Himachal Pradesh have been successes.
http://www.dnaindia.com/speakup/message-board_do-smaller-states-help-in-the-all-round-progress-of-backward-regions_1324166
Reservation in the private sector
By Gail Omvedt
WITH QUOTAS declared for Jats in Rajasthan and with controversy about some recent Supreme Court decisions, the issue of reservation has again come to the forefront. Probably, though, nothing is as controversial as the whole question of private sector reservation. Here, on the one hand many Dalit leaders have been led to oppose ``liberalisation and privatisation'' in the belief that the public sector is their main road to economic and political empowerment. And, on the other, those who recognise change as inevitable are now demanding, as Maharashtra's RPI leader and MP, Mr. Ramdas Athavale, recently did at a large rally, ``reservation in the private sector''. The issue, however, is not a simple one.
There are, in fact, four rather different ways that oppressed communities - such as blacks (African-Americans) in the U.S. and Dalits in India - have organised against the exploitation they have endured for centuries. One is as political communities demanding ``compensatory discrimination'' programmes from the State which in this respect is taken as representing the ``whole people''. (Reservation in India, ``affirmative action'' programmes in the U.S. and special subsidies and grants in both countries are the important examples). The second is as political communities, mobilising to achieve political power directly through the force of their votes and the alliances they are able to make. (The BSP in India and the large number of black large city mayors in the U.S. provide noteworthy examples). The third is as cultural communities seeking to confront and change the internalised ``cultural'' characteristics that result from their centuries of oppression but hamper their movement forward in the present. (The best example here was the ``million man march'' organised some years ago in Washington D.C. by the black Muslim leader, Mr. Louis Farakhan, which was aimed at restoring the dignity and the family and community position of black men). And the fourth is as economic communities exerting pressure on companies or institutions, both to employ more of their community and to produce the kind of products suitable to their needs.
The question of ``reservation in the private sector'' has to do not only with the first method - pressure on Central Governments - but also with the fourth method - direct economic pressure on corporations and institutions. This has to be understood in order for the whole issue to be seriously debated. While some believe that ``reservation in the private sector is impossible'', this is simply wrong. Most ``affirmative action'' programmes in the U.S. in fact work in the private sector. One basic reason is that there is no simplified division between public and private. Any sector that is regulated and/ or funded by the Government is open to Government directives. In the U.S., to take a specific example, colleges and universities are all by Indian standards ``private'' since they are not directly controlled by the Government; they raise their own budgets, charge student fees, make their own decisions, appoint their own teachers, and so on. Yet, because they get some Government aid and are subject to Government regulation, ``affirmative action'' programmes can operate: if they do not fulfil the criteria, the Government aid will be withdrawn.
This, however, takes place in a much more flexible and less rigid situation than in India. There would be no question, for example, of automatic promotion for holders of reserved posts in the U.S. - there are no specific posts earmarked for minorities, and there is no such thing as automatic promotion.
Instead, ``affirmative action'' means that a certain proportion of black (or other minority) people are supposed to be there. Since people who have grown up with the Indian system find it hard to believe that such a system can work, it might be suggested here that the American Government fund some specific studies by a combined Indian-American team of largely Dalits and blacks, to genuinely compare reservation systems. What comparative work has been done so far has been either by American scholars or upper-caste Indian scholars.
The second factor is that the growth of minority (in this case Dalit or black) representation in private sector institutions can be compelled not simply by Government action but by direct economic or political pressure. Some examples easily come to mind. Why does the U.S. Supreme Court now have black judges? Not because it has ``reserved posts'' of any kind, but simply because the President has found it politically necessary or expedient to appoint at least some minorities. This is political pressure similar to that which produces Ministries in India through an informal ``quota system'' that has to accommodate not only representatives of all political parties and of all regions or States, but also of different castes and communities!
Why is it that media in the U.S. has, in contrast to India today, so many black faces? The difference at this point seems, at least to me, to be dramatic. Today it is a black woman, Oprah Winfrey, who is the highest earning TV personality, with $1 million a hour being her most recently reported rate. It is not simply a matter of a new ``stars'' either. There are many prime-time serials in the U.S. which focus on blacks or other minorities, or even working class families (Indians may find this hard to believe because those serials shown here are normally the upper-class ones such as Dynasty and Santa Barbara; but neither has been as long-lasting in the U.S. itself as the Bill Cosby show). In contrast, serials especially on Hindi channels almost invariably focus on upper class families living in double-storey houses which hardly one per cent of the Indian population can afford, not to mention the light-skinned stars. In the U.S. newscasters (formerly called ``anchormen'') now include women and minorities in a way dramatically different from 10 to 20 years earlier; in India while women are quite decently represented, both women and men are obviously overwhelming upper-caste.
What is the reason for the difference? How has the black media presence increased in the U.S.? Not through demands for ``reserved posts'' for stars of talk shows or newscasters, but largely through community-based economic pressure. Blacks and other minorities now constitute not only a large proportion of the U.S. population, but minorities that have become conscious of their economic needs. It is not only ``Buy American'' that has been a slogan in the U.S.; there have also been decades of promotion of what is sometimes called ``black capitalism.'' Blacks, Chinese-Americans, Indian-Americans, Hispanic Americans and others are by now quite conscious of their own rights, needs, and specific culture. They will watch television shows to which they can relate, and they will buy the products advertised on those shows. They will also tend to buy from companies which they know employ their own people, and produce products that they see as relevant to them.
So far little of this has happened in India. Dalits are not an insignificant minority, and while poor, with an increasing employed section that has some economic clout - which would be even more if they were united and conscious. With Bahujans they constitute a majority. Yet this majority still seems willing to accept upper caste standards, including light skins, and upper caste dominance on the media. Or have the Indian companies and media producers as yet simply not found a way to tap this market?
In any case, Dalit leaders such as Mr. Ramdas Athavale would do well to consider how community pressures can be built up to act upon the private sector, and not simply make rhetorical and politically ineffective demands for reservation. And conversely, those who feel that the whole reservation system is ``lumpenising government'' or fear that it may ``tear India's polity apart'' should direct their energies towards reforming the system, rather than simply denying just demands. Because, whatever way it comes, the demand for empowerment of previously suppressed majorities will not be halted.
http://www.ambedkar.org/gail/Reservationin.htm
The Demand of Dalit Christian Reservation needs People Movement
URGENTLY
Madhu Chandra
New Delhi, November 16, 2006
The space between Indian haves and have-nots is becoming very fast widening year after year. This makes rich richer and poor poorer. How can India ever become developed country when millions of Indians live under poverty line?
Reservation provided in Indian constitution, although hated by general and upper caste community, does help narrowing down the space between Indian haves and have-nots. However after the episode of OBC 27% Quota in Professional Educational Institutions introduced by Union Human Resource Development Minister, Mr. Arjun Singh some time early of this year, a campaign to snatch away the reservation provision of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) began even by Supreme Court of Indian by introducing Creamy Layer propaganda. In Creamy layer proposed by Supreme Court of India, under different categorical heading, sons and daughters of whose parents' annually income exceed Rs One Lakh (one hundred thousand rupees) with possession of wealth limit prescribed by Indian Wealth Act for consecutive three years, will be listed in creamy layer, who although being low caste and socially look down, will not eligible to enjoy job and educational reservation.
Dalit Sikh and Buddhist Reservation after years of Discrimination In Presidential Order list of SC/ST 1950, only the Dalit Hindu members were listed in SC/ST categories while leaving all other religions different from Hinduism. Dalit Sikh is one of the most organized SC communities in India who with political power fought back to be listed in Presidential Order. After 6 years denial of their birth and constitutional rights, Dalit Sikh got their statutory and beneficiaries of SC when Article 341 Para 3 amended in 1956 by including Dalit Sikh in the Presidential Order.
Dalit Buddhist got their birth and constitutional rights after 40 years of struggle in amendment of Article 341 Para 3 in 1990. Forty years of denial was more than enough to keep Dalit Buddhism socially economically and educationally backward. They will struggle to over come the forty years of damage done to them.
Dalit Christian Need to Learn People Power Dalit origins converted to Christianity are denied from the SC/ST list from colonial period but their struggle to be listed under Presidential Order 1950 has been from the time India got Independent. Commissions after Commissions were setup and almost approved to include all the members of Dalits without any religions and faith.
At last the ball has been thrown at vineyard of Supreme Court of India, which has been postponing, seems like done desperately. Supreme Court's direction to study the socio-economic and educational condition of Dalit Christians to National Commission for Religious and Minority (NCRL) headed by Ranganathan Misra â€" former Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India, seems only to get feed back from Saffron brigade's rejection of Dalit Christian demand.
Religious discrimination in the country like India is very true and visible in its history. The demand for birth and constitutional rights of Dalit origins who once were entitled and enjoyed SC/ST Provision has been denied from the movement he/she changed his/her faith other than Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist.
Dr. John Dayal, Member of National Integration Council, President of All India Catholic Union and General Secretary of All India Christian Council reminded the people movement in Dalit Buddhist reservation struggle. He writes, Lest we forget - when neo-Buddhists wanted the right of reservation in government jobs after their Conversion to Buddhism, the late P.N.
Rajhbhoj, Member of Parliament from Pune went to eminent jurist Nani Palkhiwala, in his time one of the most sought after lawyers in the Supreme Court, to take up their case. He famously told the Dalit leaders "Bring 10 Lakh Dalit outside the Supreme Court when the case comes up, and I will get you your reservation back" Today Dalit Buddhist has SC/ST status and benefits after forty years of struggle. Christian churches and leaders need to learn from them.
2006 Winter Parliament Session will be important as per as reservation either be it of Dalit Christians or SC/ST in Private sector. A Mass Protest during Parliament session on and before Supreme Court hearing of Dalit Christian reservation scheduled in April 2007 is a must needed.
Dalit Christian Reservation is much more than just Job and Educational Reservation Being and born as a Dalit does not change his/her caste discrimination even after converting to any religion. Dalits in all religions suffer caste discrimination inside and outside of Hinduism. Demanding inclusion of Dalit Christians in SC status is much
more than just job and educational reservation. It is demand of SC status and beneficiaries, which includes all constitutional provisions of SC communities.
Dalits other than the members of Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism do not have title to enjoy SC/ST Atrocity Prevention Act 1989 (Amendment 1995). Once Dalit Christians are listed in Presidential Order List 1950 by amendment of Article 341 Para 3, SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act will be applicable to the members of Dalit origins even converted to Christianity.
Dalits suffer caste discrimination and their denial to be listed in Presidential Order SC/ST List 1950 after converting to Christianity is double discrimination. Their demand to entitle SC/ST statutory and Beneficiary is their birth and constitutional rights.
Madhu Chandra
www.madhuchandra. org
Why Mayawati is so keen to divide UP
Lucknow What looks like Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's wild card might turn out be her trump card. The Telangana heat has enabled her to grab a chance to score political points against her main political adversaries in UP. In one stroke she has countered AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and RLD president Ajit Singh by supporting the demands of separate states in UP.
The situation that emerged out of her vocal demands for the separate states has left rival parties in a quandary — while the Congress has few options than reiterating its stand in favour of the creation of smaller states, SP chief Mulayam Singh cannot go beyond a certain limit to oppose Mayawati's demands despite his party's clear stand against the division of UP. The BJP is apparently in a state of confusion over her demands for the separate states in UP because of the party's stand against further division of Madhya Pradesh to pave the way for Bundelkhand.
What is important is that Mayawati's name never prominently figured with the demands for the creation of smaller states before her victory in the 2007 Assembly elections. "But she never opposed such demands and remained a silent supporter of smaller states," recalled RLD MLA Kokab Hamid who had moved a resolution in the Assembly seeking the creation of Harit Pradesh about six years ago.
After the formation of her current government, Mayawati spoke in favour of the division of UP into smaller states. In October 2007, she had publicly supported the demand for the creation of Purvanchal and even tried to make it an election plank during her campaign in the last Lok Sabha elections.
BSP leaders have several justifications for Mayawati's support for the creation of smaller states. "She is known for creating small districts and tehsils. So one can understand her sentiment for the creation of smaller states," felt one BSP MLA.
As things stand today, Mayawati has nothing to lose in this political game. "Her actual stand over the division of the state would be known in the coming Assembly session," said an MLA representing an Assembly constituency in eastern UP. According to him, if Mayawati allows debate over the creation of new states in the House, it means she is serious about the issue.
Incidentally, it's not the BSP that took the initiative in raising the issue of separate states in the Assembly. "I, along with Union minister Pradeep Aditya Jain who was then MLA from Jhansi had requested the Speaker to take up the matter of the creation of Bundelkhand under Rule 109. The debate over this issue is still pending. If the CM really wants to see a separate Bundelkhand, she should get the resolution passed in both Houses of the state," said Congress MLA Vivek Singh, who represents Banda Assembly seat.
Similarly, it was Congress MLA from Naugarh, Ishwar Chandra Shukla, who moved a resolution seeking creation of a separate Purvanchal. "Her support for Purvanchal is nothing but a political stunt. I had moved the resolution in the last session of the Assembly in 2007. I had included 27 districts of eastern UP for creating Purvanchal," said Shukla.
UPCC spokesperson Subodh Srivastava also rejected Mayawati's demands for carving out smaller states in UP. "Had she seriously taken up the issue in 2007, the resolution for the division of the state would have been passed in the House," he said.
Sources in the BSP said Mayawati stands a good chance to woo the traditional SP voters of eastern UP in the name of a separate Purvanchal. "If the Samajwadi Party's base shrinks in eastern UP, it would be a benefit of the BSP. The Congress is gradually restoring its base in this area. In the last Lok Sabha election, major success came for the Congress from eastern UP," reasoned one BSP source. As per the BSP's assessment, the SP has no base in Jat-dominated western UP. "So she would love to see polarisation of votes between her and Ajit Singh's RLD in western UP by supporting the demands for the Harit Pradesh," the BSP source further explained.
PURVANCHAL
Although the demand for the creation of a separate Purvanchal state is more than four decade old, it has never been a people's campaign. Reason: different organisations that raised the voice for Purvanchal could not join a single platform to polarise people in support of the separate state.
Leaders & organisations
UP's former planning minister Shatrudra Prasad, former Union minister Kalpnath Roy, Shyamdhra Mishra, Satya Prakash Malviya and Shyam Lal Yadav demanded the separate state under the banner of Purvanchal Banao Manch (PBM), which was formed on November 3, 1996 and is active in Varanasi region. Another organisation, Purvanchal Rajya Sthapana Samitee (PRSS), has been active in Gorakhpur region. P K Lahiri, PRSS convener, said the organisation had approached Gandhian leader Subba Rao to support the demand. A political party, Purvanchal Banao Dal, was launched in 1994. "It fields candidates during elections," said Lahiri.
BUNDELKHAND
The struggle for a separate Bundelkhand is more than two decade old. Although there are smaller organisations in favour of the demand, it is the Bundelkhand Mukti Morcha (BMM), headed by the actor Raja Bundela, that has been raising the voice of the separate state for 20 years.
Leaders & organisations
"Shankar Lal Mehrotra of Jhansi founded the BMM in 1989," recalled a source in Jhansi. After Mehrotra's death, it was politician Viral Bhai Patel who took the command of the BMM. Raja Bundela is associated with the BMM for more than one decade. After the Telanagana heat, Bundela revived the movement by taking out a 300-km padyatra from Kamnath temple in Chitrakoot district, UP, to Khajuraho in MP. At a recent press conference, he claimed that in 1948, princely states had signed a treaty with the Government of India which had agreed that they would constitute a single state, governed by the common legislature, executive and judiciary, and that he had obtained a copy of the treaty.
Besides BMM, Bundelkhand Ekikrit Party, Bundeli Party, Bundelkhand Gana Parishad and Bundelkhand Rajya Sangharsh Samitee have been demanding a separate state.
HARIT PRADESH OR PASCHIMANCHAL
The demand for Harit Pradesh is more than a decade old. Sources in the BSP said Mayawati had supported the demand 12 years back at a public meeting in Mathura.
Leaders & organisations
Rashtriya Lok Dal, headed by Ajit Singh, has been raising the demand for the state both among the people and inside the Assembly. According to RLD MLA Kokab Hamid: "It was former PM Charan Singh who had demanded the creation of separate Harit Pradesh before the State Reorganisation Committee in 1953. He was accompanied by nine MLAs. In 1955, the State Reorganisation Committee had nodded for the division of UP into two parts. So, we won't take rest before getting our demand fulfilled."
SONANCHAL
There is also a demand for the creation of Sonanchal comprising Mirzapur, Sonbhadra and Chandauli.
Leaders & organisations:
In 2005, Sonanchal Sangharsh Samiti had organized meetings in support of the demand. This organisation is headed by Hariram Chero.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Why-Mayawati-is-so-keen-to-divide-UP/556977/
OBC list changes threaten to stir caste cauldron
SUKHMANI SINGH JAIPUR, JULY 27: LEAKED highlights of a proposal by the state OBC Commission trifurcating Rajasthan's Other Backward Classes has left the dominant Jat community fuming.
The 60 lakh-strong Jats - a sizeable part of Rajasthan's 5.64-crore population - have been clubbed with the Gujjars, Bishnois, Ahirs and Mahlis in the newly classified A category and given 6 per cent reservation. The community earlier enjoyed a blanket 21 per cent reservation.
Those considered more backward, such as the Darjis, Lohars, Tarkhans and Telis, have been put in the B category with seven per cent reservation.
The most backward castes such as the Banjaras, Jogis and Nats form the C category with eight per cent reservation.
Those calling for blanket reservation as well as groups demanding two separate categories of OBCs are unhappy, and if implemented, the proposals of the commission headed by retired chief justice R.S. Verma could spell political harakiri for Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
While a senior BJP leader cautions that clearing the proposal ''could lead to violence'', Gyan Prakash Pilania, former Rajasthan DGP and a patron of the Jat Mahasabha, says: ''No mature chief minister will implement it''.
Satya Narain Singh Saini, patron of the fast growing Samajik Nyay Manch which has been demanding two OBC lists and reservation for economically backward upper castes such as the Rajputs and Brahmins, says: ''The proposal is just a strategy to avoid making the two lists demanded, and strengthen the privileges enjoyed by the powerful Jats. The proposed measures have been deliberately leaked to taste public reaction.''
''Chief Minister Gehlot will refrain from implementing it on the grounds that it will lead to violence. He knows that the proposal follows no principle of classification and will lead to caste tension in villages,'' says Saini.
Gehlot, a Malhi (gardener), is hardly seen as a Jat sympathiser. He is believed to have reluctantly agreed to include the Jats in the OBC list in November 1999 because of pressure from the Centre and political compulsions. Rajasthan has 39 Jat MLAs and nine MPs. Five ministers in the state cabinet belong to the community.
Verma has denied that he framed the proposal in accordance with the wishes of Gehlot. ''The government had no say,'' he says.
Over a year ago, the five-member commission had released a report recommending ''bifurcation of Backward Castes'' with a seven and 14 per cent break-up, which was eventually rejected. It was asked to re-work the proposal.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/OBClistchanges.htm
Posted by samathain on February 11, 2009
Samatha : This article discusses how the conservative machinery worked to mislead workers to vote against their own interests in the name of cultural and family values, not recognizing the gradual economic exploitation. Rich became extremely rich and the poor got only poorer. When this situation acquires a critical mass, you will have less people who can afford the goods produced by the very efficient manufacturers. Economy crumbles as it has happened in the last few months all over the world. Theory that everybody is just buyer or seller in terms of market ignores the fact that society is about people earning decent living standards. Even though below article is about conservatism by american republican party, it sheds lots of insight in to what's happening in India too. Right wing political parties in india have also been using similar strategies. Recommended for everyone interested in dalit welfare, as dalits form a major chunk of the poor.
Also read below article:
Little Modi's Corporate Safari
Source: Community Knowledge Net
Easily the most impressive of the three, at least in terms of research
and visual presentation, is The Great Divide authored by John Sperling
et al. Sperling is probably best known as the founder of the University
of Phoenix, which provides college degrees via internet-based courses.
Sperling has his hand in a number of other businesses as well, and was
named one of the top twenty-five entrepreneurs of the past twenty-five
years by Inc. magazine.
Robert Reich's Reason is a more subdued and readable book that does
not overwhelm the reader. Reich has held numerous positions in the
federal government including secretary of labor under President Clinton.
He has authored ten books including the well-known I'll Be Short: Essentials
for a Decent Working Society (2002).
Thomas Frank, the author of What's the Matter with Kansas? is not a businessman
or a former high-ranking government official. He is a journalist,
the founding editor of The Baffler (a magazine of cultural criticism established
in 1988), the author of One Market Under God, a frequent contributor to
The Nation, Harper's, and Le Monde diplomatique, and a native of Kansas.
The books reflect their author's biographies. The Great Divide is an oversized,
glossy, well-financed publication, by a team of writers and researchers.
In style and substance it reflects its progressive-minded business roots.
Reich's book, Reason, is much more modest. It is written in the friendly,
engaging style of an experienced politician who has a knack for making
you feel that he is talking directly to you, not down at you. Frank's book
makes you appreciate journalists – something that is hard to do these
days. He brings the reader's attention to Kansas's progressive roots, while
asking: what happened to Kansas that moved it from those progressive
roots to a place where the majority consistently votes against its class
interests? His analysis is witty, deep, and clearly focused on the class
divisions that exist in the United States, divisions that Sperling et al.,
and Reich, to some extent, gloss over.
The authors all have concerns about the direction that the United
States is headed and, for most of them, those concerns include questions
about the future of the Democratic Party. Not since Nixon's defeat of
McGovern have the Democrats been forced to reflect so much on who
they are and where they want to go.
The Great Divide argues that American politics can best be analyzed by
seeing the United States as a divided nation. One is traditional, rooted
in the past – Retro. The other is modern and focused on the future –
Metro. Retro America's chief characteristics include: religiosity, social
conservatism, an economic base of extraction industries, agriculture, nondurable
goods manufacturing, military installations, and a commitment
to the Republican Party. Its 25 states encompass 66 percent of the land
mass and 35 percent of the population.The term is from Ken Cook, director of the Environmental Working Group. See
Egan (2004).
Metro America, on the other hand, is loosely held together by a common
interest in promoting economic modernity and by shared cultural
values marked by religious moderation, vibrant popular cultures, a tolerance
of differences of class, ethnicity, tastes, and sexual orientation,
and a tendency to vote Democratic. Metro America has 34 percent of
the land mass and 65 percent of the population – 70 percent of the
metropolitan population.
Sperling and his colleagues claim that "culture and economics are the
major elements that determine voting behavior and, in turn, shape the
ideology and organization of the Republican and Democratic Parties"
(p. xvii). However, to a large extent they view the geographic distribution
of political power as a determining factor in shaping the electorate and
the two major parties.
Retro America is the America favored by the Republican Party and,
according to Sperling et al., Retro America is on the dole. What the
authors term "retronomics" is supported by two pillars: 1) the extraction
industries (oil, gas, mining and forestry) and agriculture, and 2) national
political power based on the alliance between the Southern, Prairie, and
Rocky Mountain states. The political alliance ensures a flow of subsidies
for the extraction industries and the siting of federal facilities – military
bases, shipyards, atomic energy, and military testing grounds. As a result
of this alliance, Retro America received US$ 800 billion more in federal
payments than it paid in taxes for the years 1991 to 2000. Conversely,
the 23 Metro states paid US$ 1.4 trillion more in taxes than they received
back from the federal government. In other words, Retro America enjoyed
an advantage of US$ 2.2 trillion over Metro America. More to the point,
perhaps, is that the excess in spending compared to tax receipts is not
due to higher federal assistance to the poor (with the exception of New
Mexico), but to the greater subsidies paid to the extraction industries
(oil, mining, lumber) and agriculture.
Many metro states pay much more in federal taxes than they receive
back from the federal government. For example, from 1991 to 2001,
New Jersey paid an excess of US$ 265.4 billion, California paid US$
253.5 billion over what it received in subsidies, Illinois paid US$ 252.7
billion more, and New York paid US$ 242.2 billion. Per family, the
biggest losers are Connecticut (US$ 116,179), New Jersey (US$ 97,559)
and Nevada (US$ 67,125). Ironically, the blue states are subsidizing Retro
America, leading some to refer to the Retro states as the "red ink"
states.
Overall, only 13 percent of those in Congress are minorities, compared to 31 percent
of the population at large.
The Great Divide is a very useful resource for documenting some telling
differences between the Republican and Democratic Parties in terms of
their representativeness. For instance, of the 278 Republicans in the 108th
Congress, 252 were male and just 26 female. In other words, only 9.4
percent of the Republicans in Congress are female, compared to18.4
percent of Democrats. In addition, 98.6 percent of Republicans are white,
compared to 79.1 percent of Democrats.2
Sperling et al., find much of the conservatism of Retro America rooted
in its Christian fundamentalist base – a base that has a significant hold
on the country at large. They cite an ABC News poll that found 60
percent of American adults believe the Bible is literally true, including
its story of the world being created in six days, and a Pew poll finding
that 36 percent believe God gave Israel to the Jews and "the state of
Israel is a fulfillment of the biblical prophecy about the second coming
of Jesus." The fundamentalists' faith in their beliefs leads to inflexibility.
In the words of the authors: ". . . there is arrogance and a false sense
of superiority because the Bible tells humans that they are to have dominion
over all the plants and the animals and are empowered to do with
them what they will" (pp. 74–74 [??AU: check page range]).
Reading The Great Divide, one can't help but wonder why the Democrats
did not take advantage of Bush's poor performance record in his home
state. For example, Texas has the dirtiest air in the country, it ranks
forty-seventh in water quality, and has the seventh highest rate of release
of toxic industrial byproducts. Texas also has the greatest proportion,
nearly 25 percent, of residents without health insurance coverage (US
Census Bureau 2004:25).
The State's Republican Party platform itself might have been enough
to deter many voters from pulling the lever for George W. Among the
planks in the state platform are:
• Nullify the separation of Church and State.
• The Census Bureau should only determine [sic] the number of people
in a dwelling.
• Repeal the 16th amendment authorizing the income tax.
• Oppose the theory of global warming.
• Oppose the Endangered Species Act.
• Repeal the minimum-wage law.
• Replace Social Security with a system of private pensions.
• Oppose women's right to abortion.
• Abolish the US Department of Education.
• Teachers should be encouraged to teach Creationism, not Darwinian
evolutionary theory or a scientific world view (p. 69).
In terms of political strategy, The Great Divide calls for the Democrats to
present a clear identity. The authors claim that the Republicans have
established themselves as the party of Retro America and the Democrats
must respond by becoming the party of Metro America. In contrast to
the Republican values often expressed as "God, Family, and Flag," the
Great Divide suggests the Democratic "brand" express the values of
"Inclusion, Science, and Security." The identity can be promoted by
adopting a strategy that is "future-oriented, fair, and revives our belief
in government as the upholder of the public interests" (p. 236). Such a
strategy, they claim, will solidify the base of the party – union families,
people of color, women, and people of all ethnicities who live in cosmopolitan
areas.
How does one begin the process of establishing national policies based
on the values of Metro America? In answering this The Great Divide is
like one of those instruction manuals that leaves you scratching your
head wondering if you're missing a few pages. Step one is to elect a
Democrat Congress and step two is to elect a Democratic President.
"Once in control of the House of Representatives, the Presidency, and
we hope, the Senate . . ."
• We must appoint judges who will respect the separation of church
and state and the right of women's choice.
• Create a fair tax system.
• End corporate welfare, especially in agriculture.
• Preserve and improve Social Security.
• Create a system of universal health care.
• Adopt trade policies that benefit US families and workers worldwide.
• Rationalize defense spending.
• Invest in a sustainable energy future.
• Invest in the future through education and research and development
(pp. 238–242).
And so on. The Great Divide is strong in documenting a major division
in American society on cultural and economic issues and in arguing that
there is a strong geographic connection. However, the authors fail to
provide a clear and detailed strategy for electing progressive Democrats
to Congress and to the presidency. The book needs a discussion of who
will exert the necessary pressure on the Democratic Party to ensure that
it moves in a positive direction rather than continue its endless chase to
an imagined middle ground. The Great Divide does not raise the question
of how such pressure could be generated.
Thomas Frank's book, What's the Matter with Kansas? lacks the color
and glitz of The Great Divide but it covers much of the same territory.
Frank focuses on his home state of Kansas in order to explore one of
the central questions of American politics: How do so many people keep
getting their fundamental interests wrong? They keep voting for politicians
who are dismantling the welfare state, cutting taxes on corporations
and the wealthy, eliminating regulations that hold corporations
accountable to the public interest, and accelerating the pace of deindustrialization
and capital flight. Meanwhile, conservatives never deliver
on the issues that won the support of these middle-American voters.
"Abortion is never halted. Affirmative action is never abolished. The culture
industry never cleans up its act" (p. 6).
Frank argues that since the "protests and partying" of the 1960s, conservatives
have been whipping up a backlash that mobilizes voters by
exploiting explosive social issues. The cultural anger is then wedded to
pro-business economic policies. And it is the economic achievements that
are the conservative movement's "greatest monuments."
Kansas, like the rest of the Great Plains, has a progressive past. It
gave the country Eugene Debs and Walter Reuther, and helped spawn
the IWW, the UAW, and the Farmer-Labor Party. Social Security,
according to Frank, was "largely a product of the Midwestern mind"
(p. 15). And Kansas was strongly abolitionist in the time leading up to
the Civil War.
The "Great Backlash," however, took hold in Kansas by the 1990s.
Frank says the push that started Kansas "hurtling down the crevasse of
reaction was provided by Operation Rescue . . ." (p. 91). During the
"Summer of Mercy" in July, 1991, Operation Rescue (a national antiabortion
organization founded in 1986 by Randall Terry) planned civil
disobedience all across Wichita. The city's abortion clinics reacted to
these plans by closing down for a week when the protests began. In
response, Operation Rescue claimed to have stopped the abortion "industry"
in its tracks. Thousands of anti-abortion activists descended on
Wichita participating in various acts of civil disobedience and a massive
rally in the football stadium at Wichita State University.
The anti-choice activity distracted attention from the nefarious forces
undermining working families and small farmers in Kansas and elsewhere.
In 1996, the misleadingly titled "Freedom to Farm Act" was
adopted. The act effectively terminated certain price supports, opened
all acreage to cultivation, and generally brought a close to the New Deal
system of agriculture regulation (non-recourse loans were ended with
major ramifications for the food industry and the waistlines of Americans)
(Pollin 2003). It also pushed the nation's remaining farmers into an overproduction
spiral causing prices for corn, wheat, and other crops to fall.
The principal author of the bill was Kansas Senator Pat Roberts.
The drop in prices led to federal government subsidies based on production,
which, in turn, resulted in large farms receiving the biggest
handouts. "In Kansas in 2000 and 2001, such federal handouts were
actually greater than what farmers earned from farming itself " (p. 65).
The Freedom to Farm Act and lower crop prices were a boon for big
food processing companies such as Archer Daniels Midland, ConAgra,
and Cargill.
Convincing people that it is in their interest to support politicians who
promote economic insecurity for American workers is no easy task. This
difficult undertaking can only be accomplished by a powerful media
apparatus. One of the strong points of What's the Matter with Kansas? is
Franks' discussion of the right's ideological infrastructure.
The conservative propaganda mills (a.k.a. think tanks) are intricately
tied to big business, including some of Kansas's home-grown corporate
giants. Koch industries, for example, is based in Wichita. It was founded
by Fred Koch, a charter member of the John Birch Society. His billionaire
son Charles founded the Cato Institute in 1977. Another son,
David, ran for vice president as a Libertarian. Koch money props up
the Manhattan Institute, the Heartland Institute, and Citizens for a Sound
Economy. Koch money also supported George W. Bush's campaigns, as
well as those of conservative Kansas Senator Sam Brownback. In addition,
Koch gives money to the Democratic Leadership council.
Conservatives pretend to be working class, or part of "middle America,"
but they consistently put forth economic policies that erode the wellbeing
of workers. They want Americans to believe that liberalism is all
powerful because it gets conservative lawmakers off the hook. (At the
time of this writing, the approval rating of a very conservative Congress
is an abysmal 33 percent.) (Real Clear Politics 2005). According to Frank,
the Great Backlash is a combination of traditional Republican politicians
and working class Janes and Joes, who signed on to preserve family values.
Although the cultural backlash has been building since the 1960s,
Frank says it has "pretty much been a complete bust . . . traditional gender
roles continue to crumble. Homosexuality is more visible and more
accepted than ever" (p. 121). The conservatives harp on cultural issues
but almost never achieve results on these issues. What they are really after
is cultural turmoil. It helps solidify their base by creating an enemy that
can be targeted – the latte-sipping, Volvo-driving, liberal elite – and
takes attention away from the right's economic initiatives, which are
undermining working families. The conservatives deny the economic basis
of social class while nurturing a cultural class war. The culture war
generates a fog that disguises the class-based nature of conservative policy
making.
Frank doesn't seem to have much hope for the Democratic Party. He
is well aware of their corporate ties, and he notes that the Democratic
Leadership Council has been pushing the party to forget blue-collar voters.
They are more interested in courting corporate interests that can
contribute significantly more cash than unions. As mentioned, even the
right-wing Koch Industries give to the DLC.
Frank puts more effort at getting class into the center of the debate,
and he is quite critical of the approach offered by The Great Divide. In
his New York Times review, Frank argues that The Great Divide substitutes
region for class and in doing so the authors neglect the important question
of why low-wage workers in "Retroland" would vote for a system
that only benefits their masters (Frank 2004). Most disheartening, according
to Frank, is Sperling's recommendation to the Democratic Party that
it present itself as the true party of business and to denounce conservatism
as a superstition that undermines our international competitiveness.
And what does a progressive Democratic Party insider think of all
this? Robert Reich tells us in a friendly, lucid style that has made him
a widely-read author and a popular voice among those hoping to influence
Democratic strategy making. Reich's ties to the party and to the political
establishment are deep. He served as secretary of labor under President
Clinton and he worked for the Federal Trade Commission under President
Carter. He also worked for Robert Bork in the Justice Department when
Gerald Ford was president.
Reason is a defense of the liberal political philosophy and it serves the
important function of reminding readers of the goals of liberalism and
its claimed accomplishments. The classical liberal ideas that emerged in
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were to improve the well-being
of all people, not just the rich and the privileged. And Reich is a good
spokesperson for these ideals.
Reich is well aware of problems with the economic and political systems
and he takes a number of progressive positions. He points out that
the United States is the only advanced nation that doesn't have paid
family leave and that more than a third of working parents don't even
get holidays or sick leave from their employers. He notes that almost
every major bank in New York helped Enron commit fraud and that
corporate malfeasance is harmful to small businesses and investors. He
denounces runaway executive pay as a real scandal. Reich chides the
"Radcons" for concerning themselves with private morality but not the
public morality that leads to corporate wrongdoing or the corrosive
influence of money in politics. Reich says most campaign contributions
amount to legalized bribery and he favors a blind trust system that would
bar candidates from discovering who contributed what.
For Reich, society's progress has come as a result of the ideas developed
by liberal intellectuals, and not from the labor movement or class
struggle. According to Reich, liberalism "led New Dealers to regulate
banking and clean up Wall Street [and] prompted them to create Social
Security, unemployment insurance and a minimum wage, rather than
resort to European-style socialism" (p. 6). Twice over the last century,
Reich claims, liberals have saved capitalism from its own excesses.
There is much that is appealing in Reich's book but Reason is clearly
anti-socialist, it makes the labor movement historically invisible, and it
is unequivocally pro-globalization.
Reason is best when it attacks its chief target, radical conservatism.
Reich believes that Radcons hold their beliefs sincerely. They define the
world in terms of good and evil, and there is no compromising with
evil, no negotiating. It must be destroyed. Regardless of whether Radcons
are cynical or sincere, Reich does a good job of poking holes in their
arguments and bringing attention to the right's ideological infrastructure.
He states: "Radcons have risen by means of a highly efficient, selfreinforcing
system designed to shape public opinion and politics. The
system consists of a steady stream of money from corporate executives,
wealthy ideologues, conservative family foundations, and Radcon media
tycoons . . ." (p. 9). On the other hand, "there are almost no liberal radio
or television personalities . . ." (p. 9).
Indeed, it is the right's sustained efforts at building ideological propaganda
mills and developing their capacity to influence the established
media and lawmakers that provides one of the most direct answers to
Thomas Frank's question of why so many people vote against their basic
interests.
Understanding the influence of the right in the mainstream media, as
well as their capacity to develop their own media outlets, is crucial to
understanding the broader ideological questions. Conservatives have built
counter-institutions and alternative professional associations. They have
set up propaganda mills that cultivate and support conservative writers,
that do pseudoscientific research and send out executive summaries, press
releases, and talking points to government officials, conservative talk show
hosts, the media, educational institutions, and on and on. They set up
pseudo-scholarly magazines. They buy radio stations. They get their distorted
word out. The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
reported in 1997 that twelve conservative foundations gave US$ 120 million
to organizations promoting right-wing causes. The comparable figure
for liberal groups was significantly less at just US$ 18.6 million.
Another element of the right's upsurge is the growth of pundits and
talk-show hosts who promote the Radcon agenda. Rush Limbaugh's radio
show went national in 1988. Rupert Murdoch owns Fox News, a national
cable TV station commanded by Republican political strategist Roger
Ailes. There is little on the left that is comparable.
Of the nationally syndicated talk shows on 691 stations in the top 120
markets, 86 percent are conservative. The top five radio station owners
broadcast 310 hours of nationally syndicated right-wing talk each week
and just 5 hours of non-conservative talk. The major right-wing propaganda
mills and Republican political committees send their talking points
by e-mail or fax to about 400 right-wing radio hosts. All of the books
reviewed here make note of the forceful presence of right-wing ideological
institutions, but unfortunately none of them offer clear ideas about
how to counter it.
Reich points out that Radcons have been remarkably effective at scapegoating
and their media infrastructure facilitates this finger pointing. But
where Reason is most problematic is when Reich perfunctorily, and without
equivocation, defends globalization in its current corporate-led form.
In fact, Reich suggests that labor's critique of free trade is another form
of scapegoating ("meanwhile," Reich says, "some on the left, including
organized labor, want to blame free trade") (p. 123). He claims that
manufacturing jobs have decreased not just in the USA but in Brazil,
Japan, and China, as though the shift away from manufacturing is the
totality of the problem. And he argues against promoting international
labor and environmental standards because "it makes no sense for the
left to demand that our trade treaties with poor nations include "labor
and environmental standards," unless such standards are pegged to what
poorer nations can afford. As poorer nations become wealthier, their
workers' wages and their environmental standards should be expected to
improve" (p. 125).
Reich says if we want to blame anything for the loss of manufacturing
jobs then blame knowledge (talk about shifting attention away from
class!). "Everything is coming from everywhere. And any job that's even
slightly routine is disappearing from America" (p. 126). Tell that to all
the American workers serving coffee, mopping floors, and taking care of
the elderly. The hypermobility of finance capital is not a problem, from
Reich's point of view, "it makes perfect economic sense for Americans
to invest all over the world" (p. 138).
Anti-globalists be warned, Reich cries, "you're on the wrong side of
history . . .you're not seeing all the new jobs" (p. 128). If this is what
progressive Democrats have to offer, why would the working class throw
its support behind the Democratic Party?
And, although Reich believes the Democrats are too dependent on
corporate contributions and that such contributions amount to legal form
of bribery, he does not hesitate to declare "I always believed it possible
to reform the nation by working within the political system – and still
do" (p. 12). As long at that system doesn't restrict capital mobility or
redistribute the wealth, "we can't bridge the widening gap just by transferring
wealth from the have-mores to the have-lesses. Direct redistributions
are politically treacherous" (p. 132). On the other hand, Reich
goes on to talk about how unfair the recent tax cuts are.
Reason has much in common with The Great Divide. They both offer a
liberal perspective that presents liberalism as a forward-looking set of
ideas that are detached from social class. What Reich and Sperling et
al., offer is an enlightened corporate viewpoint that recognizes that lowering
the cost of labor to third-world levels is not the only way to attract
investment and revive economically vulnerable regions of the United
States. The authors recognize the economic and social importance of an
educated public and an efficient infrastructure. And they recognize that
government has the capacity to play a constructive role in developing
both the social and the physical infrastructure. The authors are also
aware that high levels of inequality represent a threat to democracy.
They believe in democracy and they understand the threat that the
extremes of capitalism can present. "A society is different from an economy,"
Reich says, "people aren't just buyers and sellers in a market.
They're also citizens engaged in a joint project of improving the wellbeing
of current and future generations" (p. 144).
But Reich and Sperling et al., downplay the power of the corporate
class. They do not call for strong democratic control of the nation's productive
resources, only improved corporate accountability to stockholders.
They marginalize the role of labor and, although they point out the
strength of the right wing's ideological infrastructure, they do not offer
a prescription for developing a competing one. Frank's book suffers some
of the same shortcomings but he, at least, is injecting class much more
forcefully into the discussion.
The arguments presented in all three books are best understood in
the context of two myths that present substantial stumbling blocks to the
development of a broad-based progressive movement. One is the myth
that the conflict of haves and have-nots has been supplanted by a new
cultural divide. This is a myth propagated by right-wing pundits who
rant about America's culture wars and it is perpetuated by pollsters who
found that most voters in November 2004 were motivated by moral values.
But the term "values" is a very nebulous and subjective term. These
poll results were often interpreted as meaning that voters were motivated
by "family values" (i.e., the kind expressed by conservative Republicans),
but many people value social justice, world peace, corporate responsibility,
and honesty in government. Commentators could just as well say
that these people are also motivated by moral values. When analysis does
not look deeply at the real issues underlying general notions of a new
social divide then it does do more to obscure than to clarify.
The second myth is the need for austerity. It is the belief that the
United States can no longer afford to provide substantial benefits to its
working people. The need for austerity is usually justified by references
to the competitive nature of the global economy.
Neither of these beliefs hold true. For decades worker pay in the
United States has been increasing much more slowly than productivity.
The benefits of this productivity are conveyed upward to the investor
class. Consider the fact that the mean net worth of the richest 1 percent
of Americans grew by nearly US$ 5 million over the past two decades –
from US$ 7.8 million in 1983 to US$ 12.7 million in 2001 (in 2001 dollars).
By contrast, the mean net worth of middle class Americans increased
by less than US$ 15,000, and the net worth of the lowest 40 percent of
Americans decreased by more than US$ 2,000 (Wolff 2004). Consider also,
that in 1989 the richest 1 percent of Americans owned financial assets
(i.e., investment capital) that totaled US$ 2.4 trillion. By 2001 their
financial assets had grown to US$ 6.4 trillion (Kennickell 2003).
Globally, it's the same story. The richest one percent own more assets
than the lowest 90 percent combined. The 1990s, in spite of economic
growth that added approximately US$ 10 trillion per year to the global
economy, left the number of people living in dire poverty basically
unchanged at more than one billion (Flavin 2002).
Any existing austerity is a surplus austerity. That is to say, it is a product
of social domination not economic underproduction. The policies of
the both the Bush Administration and Congress are clearly promoting
class interests. Federal tax "reforms" enacted since 2001 have resulted
in an average tax cut of US$ 123,592 for the nation's seven-figure income
earners. There are approximately 250,000 households in the USA with
incomes of over a million dollars, their tax cuts cost the rest of the country
more than US$ 30 billion in 2005 alone. Middle-income households,
on the other hand, received an average tax cut of just US$ 647 (Shapiro
and Friedman 2004).
Likewise, six million workers lost eligibility for overtime pay thanks to
the Bush Administration. New rules regarding overtime pay went into
effect on August 23, 2004. These rules reclassified certain administrative
workers, learned professionals, financial service workers, and even cooks
so that they will no longer be eligible for overtime pay. The reclassification
affects workers who make as little as US$ 24,000 a year (Eisenbrey 2004).
The right wing's ideological machinery has propagated the belief that
liberalism undermines America's values. But both conservatives and many
liberal thinkers propagate the myth of austerity. Conservatives have gained
the upper hand by building an extensive ideological infrastructure.
Conservative media outlets blame liberals for a wide variety of social ills
and they have sufficiently confused enough voters to get a critical mass
of them believing that the policies of George W. Bush and his radical
Republican supporters are not made in the interests of a privileged capitalist
class but are made to counter the corrosive effect of liberal dominance
and to restore the collective strength of the US economy in the
context of the new global economy.
Polling data gives us an inkling to how confused many voters are.
During the 2004 election, pollsters found that a majority of the people
who voted for George W. Bush thought he favored the inclusion of labor
and environmental standards in trade agreements, that he was for US
participation in a treaty to ban land mines, that he favored US participation
in a treaty that bans the testing of nuclear weapons, that he was
for US participation in the International Criminal Court, and that he
was for US participation in the Kyoto accords on reducing global warming.
Of course, the president was (when all the qualifiers and exceptions
for the United States are considered) opposed to all of these international
efforts (Program on International Policy Attitudes 2004).
Did the Democrats differ on these issues? Yes, they did. Did they
make it clear? Well apparently they did to their supporters. Kerry voters
were much more likely to have an accurate assessment of his position.
But why were Bush supporters so wrong about their candidate?
Here we once again must return to the failure of the Democrats to wage
ideological warfare. Would it have been so hard to make people aware
of the Texas Republican Party platform described earlier in this essay?
Or to expose the deceptions practiced by the Republican right? The
problem is only partially that the Democrats don't have the ideological
machinery. The bigger problem may be that they are too similar to the
Republicans when it comes to some core beliefs, especially their deference
to the rule of capital.
This also explains why the Reich and Sperling books almost totally
neglect labor as a force for progressive change. While leftists often harshly
3 See Critical Sociology, vol. 31 no. 3, 2005, for a further discussion of Clawson's work.
criticize the part played by organized labor in shoring up the power of
capitalism in the United States, they usually hold out some hope that labor
can be a progressive force, as it was in the past. Gapasin and Yates
(2005), in their recent discussion of the state of labor, say unequivocally
that "governments and global lending agencies such as the World Bank
and International Monetary Fund" implemented "policies that made
workers increasingly insecure," but they see numerous signs that sectors
of organized labor are making common cause with the antiglobalization
movement and that there are some trends toward "social justice unionism"
(Gaspin and Yates 2005:3). Likewise, Dan Clawson's The Next Upsurge
provides evidence that the labor movement may be on the verge of a
major upsurge.3
Yes, Democrats can do a better job of framing the issues (Lakoff 2004)
and, more generally, progressives are hindered by the lack of an ideological
infrastructure (a point made well by Robert Parry in a June, 2005,
article titled "The Left's Media Miscalculation"). But perhaps the biggest
obstacle to a truly progressive response to the surging strength of radical
conservatism is the Democratic Party's unwillingness to take the lead
on class issues. To even expect them to do so without pressure from
progressive forces is naive. The Democratic Party will only attempt to
lead the counteroffensive if it is forced, as has been the case in the past.
The impetus for such a movement may include progressive elements of
the Democratic Party but it is more likely to come from labor, progressive
think tanks, and grassroots social-justice organizations. The development
of such a progressive counterattack will involve building multiple
counter-hegemonic frameworks, including a new ideological infrastructure
and a progressive labor movement that connects to other movements
for equity and social justice.
Clawson, Dan
2003 The Next Upsurge: Labor and the New Social Movements. Ithaca, NY: Cornell
University Press.
Egan, Timothy
2004 "Big Farms Reap 2 Harvests with Aid as Bumper Crop." New York
Times, December 26.
Eisenbrey, Ross
2004 Longer Hours, Less Pay. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute, July.
Flavin, Christopher
2002 State of The World, 2002. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
Frank, Thomas
2004 "American Psyche." New York Times, November 28.
Gapasin, Fernando E. and Michael D. Yates
2005 "Labor Movements: Is There Hope?" Monthly Review, June.
Kennickell, Arthur B.
2003 A Rolling Tide: Changes in the Distribution of Wealth in the United States,
1989–2001. The Levy Economics Institute, Working Paper No. 393.
Lakoff, George
2004 Don't Think of an Elephant! White Rive Junction, VT: Chelsea Green
Publishing.
Parry, Robert
2005 "The Left's Media Miscalculation." Consortiumnews.com http://www.consortiumnews.
com/2005/042805.html, accessed April 29.
Pollin, Michael
2003 "The (Agri)Cultural Contradictions of Obesity." New York Times, October
12.
Program on International Policy Attitudes
2004 The Separate Realities of Bush and Kerry Supporters. University of Maryland:
Center on International and Security Studies, October 21.
Real Clear Politics
2005 http://realclearpolitics.com/polls.html.
Reich, Robert
2003 I'll Be Short. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Shapiro, Isaac and Joel Friedman
2004 "A Comprehensive Assessment of the Bush Administration's Record
on Cutting Taxes." Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, http://www.
cbpp.org/4–14–04tax-sum.htm#Distribution.
US Census Bureau
2004 Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2003.
Current Population Reports, 60–226.
Wolff, Edward N.
2004 Changes in Household Wealth in the 1980s and 1990s in the United States. The
Levy Economics Institute, Working Paper No. 407.
Posted in Adivasi Issues, Caste Issues, Current Affairs, Dalit Issues, Dalit Media, General, economy | Tagged: cultural issues, Dalit, Dalit Issues, Dalit Media, economy, india, indian economy, indian media, politics | Leave a Comment »
Posted by samathain on October 23, 2008
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Bharathi Sreedharan could not resist taking risk on her life through dense forest as her children suffered in hunger and starvation in the Chengara village which has been unconstitutionally and unethically blocked by the trade union gangs of all the political parties including the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala. Her agonizing face reflected the happenings inside the village as for more than two months; it is completely cut off from rest of the country. No outsider is allowed to venture into the village and no villager is allowed to come out of it. CPM's goons attack people from the buses once they recognize that they have sympathies with Chengara people. Many families are on the verge of hunger death if in the next few days no arrangement of food supply is done. 'They want us to get out of the place but we are determined, says Bharathi, we won't allow them to take over the place. We are ready to face any eventuality'. We are ready to die for the cause of our children'.
Bharathi came hiding to get some ration from her brother. When the road is blocked from all the way, it is possible only through walking around 10 kilometers in the forest to come and reach the office and wait for him to be there at Laha Gopalan's office who is the leader of ' Sadhu Jan Vimochana Samyukta Vedi', the organization fighting for the land and livelihood rights of the Dalits and Adivasis in Chengara. It is remarkable that people have united in this struggle and are determined to sacrifice their lives for the land. Interestingly, it is for the first time, that Kerala is witnessing an assertive emerging Dalit Adivasi struggle independent of the influence of dominating communities irrespective of religion.
Gopalan hails from a trade union back ground as he worked in Electricity department and now swears by the legacy of both Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Ayyankali, another Dalit revolutionary from Kerala. The semi constructed office in Pattthanamthittha is a place where all the Dalit-Advasis in the Chengara struggle come and stay. According to Laha Gopalan, they ventured into the area some fourteen months back, as it was legally a government land which should have gone to the landless Dalit-Adivasis of Kerala. The government of Kerala was never interested in the land reform and whatever happened in the name of land reform was eyewash. The tragedy is that there are villages where the Dalits do not have land for even cremating their people. The issue of Dalits and tribal has been neglected by the national and state level parties and hence we decided to make our own destiny.
About 10 kilometer away towards Tiruwala lives the big family of Sabu who are five brothers. Each brother has a big family of his own to support. They have no land. Sabu and his wife have small tea shop. The number of children in the family and the small kitchen that they have for their survival tell the story as how the successive Kerala governments failed to give land to the Dalits. ' Sabu was happy that Chengara's vast track could have provided him a source of independent living and some land for agriculture work. He went there with other families. The real assault came from the trade unions this year when people refused to leave their land. ' The union felt that they can coerce us to accept their issues but at the moment people are ready to die. They will commit mass suicide if police and other forces are sending to evict them. We are not ready to accept anything less than a decent land package for our children', say Sabu. He adds that situation is worsening as there is no food, no water and no sanitation in the entire area. Particularly, it is becoming difficult for children and elderly people to stay. Because of the blockade, we can not provide emergency treatment to any of the villagers as vehicles are not allowed and there is every chance of a bloody fight if we come in touch with the trade union people. Children are facing the malnutrition as there is nothing to eat and drink. We can not go to market to buy milk and rice. Moreover, because of no work in the past two months, there is no money to buy anything'.
How come he is here in the village. ' Sir, the union people allowed us 5 days leaves during the Onam festivities. We were allowed to move in and out and hence I came here. I have overstayed here and hence it is difficult to go there because of blockade'. I can not speak to my relatives and friends there, I am really worried as if food is not provided to people soon, they will start dying soon. I am concerned about children and elderly people. They are completely cut off from the rest of the world. It is shameful.'
The seize of Chengara went off well until one day the government which was keen to revive its lease to Harrison Plantation decided that the Dalit and Adivasis could only be evicted if they push it through other routs which is 'right to live' issue of the 70 odd plantation workers who were working there. The issue is the Chengara's tea plantation was already defunct years ago and hence to blame the current situation for the crisis is absolutely wrong. Harrison Plantation cannot use these 70 workers as a shield to deny land rights of the people. The tactics they adopted are fascistic in nature as from the August this year, the situation worsened after the plantation trade union and CPM in particular started blockade. Now the parties have not only used the local tea plantation trade unions but people have been invited from other parts of the state also against the landless people. All the ways going to Chengara were blocked by the party men and no material including medical aid was allowed to go into the village. Only allowance given to people was during ONAM festivities when the blockade was lifted for 5 days to let the people celebrate the festival. But after that the blockade has become functional and harsher and it might turn into a bloody war. Now the situation has gone out of hand. People inside the Chengara area have no source of livelihood; there is no supply of food and water. Some Muslim youth organizations of the area wanted to send rice for the families but but never allowed to do so. It is violation of their rights to food and free from hunger. The state government has shamelessly allowed the situation to go out of hand which has given strength to the trade unions.
It is unfortunate that in this war against their Dalits and tribal the organized gang of the trade union is taking action irrespective of ideology. It is a rare combination of how the upper caste communists and the Hindutva people can come together to wipe out the legitimate demands of the Dalits and tribals. The duplicity of the CPM's idea comes that the same party launch movement for restoration of land in Andhra Pradesh but want to say that all the Dalits and tribals who have now settled in Chengara are encroachers. Perhaps they have forgotten their own slogan of ' Jo jameen sarkari hai, woh jameen hamari hai ( the government land is our land. Land struggles historically invoked this slogan. Harrison Plantation Company did not have legal rights to the acquired land. The lease expired long back. The dalits and tribal who did not get benefited under any programme of the government rightfully acquired the land and asked the government to redistribute it to them. How come the communist government of Kerala kept quiet and turned hostile to Dalits who have just extended the slogan what the communist parties have been raising every where else except in the states they have been ruling. Is it because this land struggle is first of its kind being led by the Dalits and have organized both the Dalits and tribal together in the state.
Dalits have been asking the government to allot them land. In 2006 in the Patthanamthitta district after five days struggle in the government land of rubber plantation area, the land was given to the Dalits on the papers only. Many people are still trying to find where there land is which was given to them on papers by the state government. Says, Raghu, one of the members of the Solidarity Committee, 'we do not want papers, we want land'.
Patthanamthitta is a district about 60 kilometers from Kottayam, the heart of the Syrian Christian, the original brahmanical convert to Christianity. About 40 kilometer from the town is the heart of Ayappa, the Hindu God. The land relations here are different as the dominant community here is the upper caste Christians. What their role is in the entire struggle of the Dalits, I ask Raghu. ' Oh, like any other feudal, the Syrian Christians also are not interested in the battle of Dalits. Dalits here have separate churches for them.' The Solidarity Committee members like Simon John, who is also Chairman of Backward People Development Corporation, Kerala concede that the original Brahmin converts to Christianity have not left their old prejudices in the Church and therefore are not very keen in supporting the movement of the Dalits and tribal in Chengara. Like the CPM cadre, many of them too feel that the Dalits and tribal have 'encroached' the government land, though it is another matter that they all forgot that Harrison Plantation has been the biggest encroacher and was overstaying at the place. It is also shocking that Kerala did not have substantial land reform and all talks of a Kerala module in the developmental text books are big farce if one visit the rural areas of Kerala and speak to Dalits and tribals. A lot is written about Kerala model as a state. Recently a friend wrote to me from London about casteless, dowerless society in Kerala. Yes, I said, Kerala's caste prejudices are hidden underneath like West Bengal since the first thing the communist regime does is to stop the export of information to outside world. More importantly since a large number of writers and authors actually have been sympathetic to the CPM's policies with upper caste mindset, they do not really expose the Kerala myth. It was not just Bengal, Tatas have huge track of land in Kerala in the name of tea gardens and plantation. One should not forget that great Dalit revolutionary Ayyankali emerged in Kerala to fight for the rights of Dalits. It is not for nothing that both Patthanmthitta and Trivendram represent two different kind of dominations that Kerala has : the Christian domination and the Hindu domination. Both these upper elites interest are against the rights of the Dalits and other marginalized communities. They remain caged to their old prejudiced worldview.
Laha Gopalan is a determined man. He has seen the traumas of the Dalit communities in the villages where they do not even have land for funeral leave alone for education and houses. ' The political parties, both at the national and state level have betrayed the cause of the Dalits and tribal,' he says. ' We started our struggle when people failed to get land by any request. We found that there is no land to them and the government wanted to further the lease at the area which was being used by the Dalits and tribal. Our historic struggle started last year as 7000 people captured the area and started living there. One should have expected that the communist parties which have raised the slogans of ' jo jameen sarkari hai, wo jameen hamari hai, ( Government land is our land) today are strangely at the other end. There is no hope in the sight as the trade unions are determined to take law in their own hand and kill people with chief minister virtually becoming a 'Dhritrastra'.
Says Laha Gopalan, ' when we started our first struggle the government termed that they were genuine demands. In June 2006 about 5000 families were living in another plantation area when the revenue minister interfered and promised them land. Chief Minister Achutanandan promised about 1 acre land to each family of the landless but nothing happened. Since August 4, 2007, there are over 7000 families and the government has so far neglected their demand. The unions have surrounded the area and are beating people who are showing solidarity. The lives of the solidarity committee members are in deep threat in the area. They are being identified in the buses, taxis and even in the press conferences and targeted.'
' Even in the war zones people allow doctors and medical teams to visit the victims but here the goons of CPM and other trade unions have denied that too to the people,' says Simon John. They are not allowing the food supply in the village. There is a hunger and starvation situation prevailing in the 'samarbhoomi' and one person is already dead due to hunger. It is violation of people's right to life', add John. ' We are deeply disturbed at the turn of events as government and political parties led by the upper castes are not at all bothered about the growing marginalization of the communities says another activist in Patthanamthittha.
Is it not strange and ironical that CPM and other communist parties who have been in the forefront of agitation against any kind of exploitation in the organized sector do not find that the landless people in Chengara are struggling for a genuine cause? The party leaders termed the entire struggle as unwanted and felt that the local goons and land mafias have taken over the Chengara land struggle. Ofcourse, Party's anti Dalit stand is visible anywhere. One does not blame the top leadership of the party for being anti Dalit as it would be too much to blame but definitely party's local leaders are not really that radical Dalit supporters as they should have been. CPM for that matter is like any other political party ( we wanted it remained a different political party) whose cadres hail from dominant communities and serve their local interest as we have seen in West Bengal and how the party remained mute to the displacement of about 700 Valmiki families in Belilius Park in Howarah several years back. Today, party's proud MPs have made use of the entire space for private properties and shops. Ofcourse, the poor Balmikis never got support from any other Bhadralok parties in Bengal and living in Bengal in highly uncivilized and unacceptable conditions near the waste-mountains, on sewerage lines and on the railway tracks. Similar thing happen in Kerala where the Dalits and Adivasis of Chengara have not got support from any other political outfits. That gives strength to fascistic tendencies of the ruling party and their leaders. But the fact is this nationalism of the communist parties is more dangerous. Our problems with the Hindutva fascist is that we know that they are against the people but when the so called leaders of the proliterariat start behaving neo Hindutvavadis then situation need special remedial measures otherwise people's frustration would explode soon.
Chengara's land struggle is historical. It shows that people can not really depend on government dole out for land. Political parties in connivance with the defunct industrial houses are keeping people landless. New landlessness is on the rise. Courts are being used as an excuse to evict people. The marginalized have understood this and are ready to fight till end. If the government of Kerala think it is wrong, let it come out in open and say that they oppose people's movement for land right. The government cannot use trade unions and other goons to threaten people and evict them. Life in Chengara has become miserable and any further delay will turn Chengara into another Nandigram. The situation in Chengara would become more dangerous and bloody if the government does not behave responsibly. All national and international rights bodies should take care of this note that denying people free movement is denying them right to choice and livelihood. Kerala government has failed to protect Chengara's Dalits and Adivasis right to move free from one place and other. The inhuman blockade has created unprecedented situation where children and elderly people in Chengara are suffering. Any further delay would escalate the crisis and only government of Kerala would be held responsible for this. The government must act fast and negotiate with the struggling masses of Chengara. The trade union blockade is unconstitutional and illegal and must be removed immediately as it violate the fundamental rights of the people living there who are victim of the criminal silence of the government and civil society.
–
Vidya Bhushan Rawat
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Posted in Adivasi Issues, Caste Issues, Dalit Issues, Recent News | Tagged: Caste Issues, Dalit, Dalit Issues, Dalit News, india, news | 2 Comments »
Posted by samathain on August 27, 2008
(Siddhartha Kumar)
Source: www.hindustantimes.com
Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, August 24, 2008
Govt panel wants SC-ST Act to be extended to tribes
A high-level government panel has recommended extension of provisions
of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act to the denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes.
The National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and semi-Nomadic
Tribes (NCDNST), entrusted to study the socio- economic conditions of
the tribal community and recommend measures for their all-round
uplift, presented a copy of its final report to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh on August 20.
The report asked to process the recommendations urgently for a final
decision and its early implementation.
While presenting the copy of the report, chairman of the Commission
Balkrishna Sriram Renke briefly apprised the prime minister about the
recommendations, which included suggestions for initiation of special
housing scheme, education and skill development programmes for the
tribes.
It was also recommended to create a permanent Commission for
denotified nomadic tribes on the lines of the National Commission for
Scheduled Castes, besides providing reservations to them, sources in
NCDNST said.
"Although the Criminal Tribes Act 1871, consolidated by Britishers to
notify certain tribes as 'born criminals' during the colonial rule was
repealed after Independence, the tribes continue to be victims of the
stigma," a senior official of the NCDNST said.
Posted in Adivasi Issues, Caste Issues, Dalit Issues, Recent News | Tagged: Adivasi, Adivasi Issues, Dalit, Dalit News, india, news, SC/ST, Scheduled Caste, SCheduled Tribe | Leave a Comment »
Posted by samathain on August 25, 2008
BERHAMPUR: Tribals and peasants from districts of South Orissa have started arriving in the city to get
united to start their journey to attend the rally at Kalinganagar on January 2 to commemorate the first
anniversary of the death of tribals opposed to displacement in police firing there last year..The All India
Kisan Mazdoor Sabha (AIKMS) andLok Sangram Manch are organising these rural activists in Berhampur
so that they can reach Kalinganagar in an organised manner. According to B.C.Sadangi, the national
commitee member of the AIKMS, around 1500 activists from districts of south Orissa would gather in
Berhampur by Sunday night to start for Kalinganagar on Monday. (The Hindu 1/1/07)
Tribals participate in Thakurani jatra (6)
BERHAMPUR: Around 600 tribals, including women and children from R.Udaygiri area of Gajapati district,
took part in the ongoing Thakurani Jatra festival in the city on their way to Puri on Thursday night. This
group is part of an organisation `Parsuram Vahini' with tribals living at Mahendragiri hill range area as
members. They are involved in the protection of environment and heritage of Mahendragiri, which they
believe was the dwelling area of Lord Parsuram, the seventh avatar of Vishnu. According to Ajay Das and
Bibhuti Nayak, who led the tribals, they had taken up a travel to the Puri to have darshan of Lord
Jagannath on Akshaya Tritiya, which is observed as the birthday of Parsuram. As Thakurani Jatra
happens to be a major festival of South Orissa they decided to break their journey in Berhampur to
become part of it. The tribals took out a rally with their traditional drums, cymbals and tribal musical
instruments. They moved around the city and went to Desibehera Street to offer their obeisance at the
makeshift temple of goddess Budhi Thakurani during the festival. (The Hindu 21/4/07)
The tribes of Jharkhand consist of 32 tribes inhabiting the Jharkhand state in India. The tribes in Jharkhand were originally classified on the basis of their cultural types by the world-renowned Indian anthropologist late Professor L. P. Vidyarthi. His classification was as follows:
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Jharkhand has a population of around 26.90 million, the sex ratio in Jharkhand is 941 females to 1000 males. The tribal population is around 28% of the Jharkhand state, which has been a home to a variety of tribal communities. Jharkhand has 32 tribal groups:
Sarhul is celebrated during spring season and the Saal trees get new flowers on their branches. It is a worship of the village deity who is considered to be the protector of the tribes. People sing and dance a lot when the new flowers appear. The deities are worshiped with saal flowers. The village priest or Pahan keeps fasting for a couple of days. Early morning he takes bath and puts on new dhoti made of virgin cotton (kachha dhaga}. At previous evening 'Pahan' takes three new earthen pots and fills them with fresh water, next morning he observes these earthen pots and water level inside. If the water level decreases he predicts that there would be famine or less rain,but if the water level is normal,that is the signal of a good rain. Before pooja starts wife of Pahan washes Pahan's feet and gets blessings from him. At Sarna the pooja-place Pahan offers three chickens (young cocks) of different colors to one for the almighty god - the Singbonga or Dharmesh, as the Mundas, Ho and Oraons respectively address Him, another for the village deities and the third for the ancestors. During this pooja villagers surround the Sarna place. Traditional drums -Dhol,Nagara and Turhi players keep drumming and playing along with Pahan chanting prayers to deities. When pooja is finished,boys carry Pahan on their shoulders and girls dancing ahead take him to his house where his wife welcomes him by washing his feet. Then Pahan offers Saal flowers to her wife and villagers. These saal flowers represent the brotherhood and friendship among villagers and Pahan the priest, distributes saal flowers to every villager. He also puts sasl flowers on every house's roof of the village which is called "phool khonsi". At the same time Prasad, a rice made wine called Handia, is distributed among the villagers. And the whole village celebrates with singing and dancing this festival of Sarhul. It goes on for weeks in this region of Chhotanagpur. In Kolhan region it is called "Baa Porob"-flower festival.
This festival is a worship of Karam devta, the god of power, youth and youthfulness. Karam festivals is held on the 11th day of the phases of moon in Bhadra month. The groups of young villagers go to jungle and collect wood, fruits and flowers. These are required during the Puja of Karam God. During this entire period people sing and dance in groups. The entire valley seems to be dancing with the drumbeats. This is one of the rare example of such a vital and vibrant youth festival in Jharkhand's Tribal area. At the same time, the unmarried young tribal girls celebrate the Jawa festival, which has its own kind of songs and dance. This is held mainly for the expectation of good fertility and better household. The unmarried girls decorate a small basket with germinating seeds. It is believed that the worship for good germination of the grains would increase the fertility. The girls offer green melons to the Karam deity as a symbol of 'son' which reveals the primitive expectation of human being (i.e grains and children). The entire tribal area of Jaharkhand becomes tipsy during this time.
This festival is mostly seen in the area between Bundu, Tamar[disambiguation needed] and Raidih area of Jaharkhand. This belt has a great history during India's independence movement. TUSU is a harvest festival held during the winter in the last day of Poush month. It is also for the unmarried girls. Girls decorate a wooden/ bamboo frame with coloured paper and then gift it to the nearby hilly river. Although there is no documented history available on this festival but it has huge collection of scintillating songs full of life and taste. These songs reflect the simplicity and innocence of tribal people.
Hal punhya is a festival which begins with the fall of winter. The first day of Magh month, known as "Akhain Jatra" or "Hal Punhya", considered as the beginning of ploughing. The farmers, to symbolize this auspicious morning plough two and half circles of their agricultural land this day is also considered as the symbol of good fortune.
This festival comes between the period of spring and summer. Among the tribal people of Jharkhand this festival is best known as the worship of Budha Baba. People fast during the day and carry the bathing Pahan the priest, to the tribal mandir called Sarana Mandir. The Pahan sometimes called Laya, gets out of the pond, the devotees make a chain, locking their thighs with each other and come forward to offer their bare chest to Laya for walk over. After worship in the evening, devotees take part in dynamic and vigorous Chhau dance with lots of gymnastic actions and masks. The next day is full of primitive sports of bravery. The devotees pierce hooks on skin and get tied at one end of a long horizontal wooden pole, which is hanging on the top of a vertical Shal wood pole. The height goes up to 40 feet. The other end of the pole which is connected with a rope, pulled around the pole by the people and the tied devotee display the breath-taking dance in the sky. This festivals is more popular in the Tamar region of Jharkhand.
This festival is perhaps the first festival of Jharkhand. It is a festival of sowing seeds in the field. Farmers starts sowing seeds from this day but there is no dance or song like other tribal festivals but just a few rituals. There are some other festivals like Rajsawala Ambavati and Chitgomha are also celebrated with Rohini.
Bandana is one of the most famous festivals celebrated during the black moon of month of Kartik (Kartik Aamavashya). This festival is mainly for the animals. Tribals are very close with animals and pets. In this festival, people wash, clean, paint, decorate feed well and put ornaments to their cows and bulls. The song dedicated for this festival is called Ohira which is an acknowledgement for animal's contribution in their day-to-day life. The belief behind this festival is animals are integral part of life and have souls as human being do. The most exciting day of the bandanna week is the last day. Closured Bulls and buffaloes are chained to a strong pole and they are attacked with a dry animal Hyde. The angry animals hit the dry skin with its horns and the crowd enjoys. Generally the colour used for decorating animals are natural colours and the is artwork is of folk type.
This is held once every 12 years. The womenfolk wear menswear and go for hunting in forest. This is performs in remember of driving away the mohameddens by the kurukh womenfolk in Roh-tas-garh, who wanted to capture the fort on the Sharhul festival new year day for tribal community, when men used to be in drunken condition. They had tried to capture twelve times in twelve years and every time they were driven by the kurukh women, who wore the men's wear while in the field of war.
The tribals have their own way of conscience, faith and belief. Basically, they believe in the super natural spirit called the Singbonga. According to the belief of the Santhal community, the world is inhabited by numerous spiritual beings of different kind; and the Santhals consider themselves as living and doing everything in close association with these supernatural beings.' They perform rituals under the Sal trees at a place called "Jaher" (sacred grove). Often the Jaher can be found in the forests. They believe in Bonga's appearance in Sal trees and have named their religion as "Sarna."
The genesis of the Sarna religion is interesting. According to the mythology of the Santhal community, the Santhal tribals had gone to the forest for hunting and they started the discussion about their 'Creator and Savior' while they were taking rest under a tree. They questioned themselves that who is their God? Whether the Sun, the Wind or the Cloud? Finally, they came to a conclusion that they would leave an arrow in the sky and wherever the arrow would target that will be the God's house. They left an arrow in the sky; it fell down under a Sal tree. Then, they started worshiping the Sal tree and named their religion as "Sarna" because it is derived from a Sal tree.4 Thus, Sarna religion came into existence. There are priests and an assistant priests called "Naikey" and "Kudam Naike" in every Santhal village.
Most of the metal works are done for agricultural purpose, hunting and weapons. There are specific communities like Lohar, Malhar and Thentri have expertise in metal work.
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To: The President of India, The Supreme Court of IndiaAbolish reservations
The founding fathers of our nation wanted to uplift the downtrodden and bring them into the national mainstream. In nascent India, the downtrodden were generally those communities which were considered "untouchables", and also other communities which were tribal and nomadic in nature. Therefore, they provided reservations in jobs for persons belonging to such communities, so that their disadvantage may be compensated. While it is true that 50 years ago, almost all the families in these communities were backward or downtrodden, it is also true that presently, backwardness and poverty are not restricted to only these communities. On hindsight, it does appear that our founding fathers made a colossal mistake in basing the reservations on a person's birth. While it is true that many persons belonging to the backward communities have progressed, it is questionable whether their progress can be attributed solely to the advantage obtained through reservations. It is more likely that such affluent families belonging to backward communities have progressed owing to hard work and disciplined lifestyles.
While it is debatable whether reservations have helped in uplifting the backward communities, it is true that this measure has given rise to two unnecessary consequences. Firstly, there are several persons belonging to the backward communities who do not wish to work hard and compete with the best, as they are sure of getting jobs owing to reservations. This has caused a lackadaisical approach amongst many persons belonging to the backward communities. Secondly, there are persons among the forward communities who have been denied jobs or promotions inspite of performing better than those favoured by reservations. This has caused anger, jealousy and hatred amongst the affected families belonging to the forward communities. Persons who belong to forward communities, but who have been deprived of fruits in spite of outperforming the one favoured by reservations, therefore opt to work outside India. The current policy of reservations has not eliminated the caste differences. On the contrary, it has strengthened the same and lead to hatred within society. It has merely inverted the caste hierarchy of ancient times.
In order to move towards an egalitarian society, we need to abolish caste system. Instead, reservations are strengthening the same and causing hatred amongst people. This suits the politician and hence reservations which were originally intended for a few years have been extended till today.
Nowadays, reservations are being justified by some persons by the argument that some communities were oppressed since centuries. However, it is patently unfair to set right a bad practice by indulging in another malafide practice. If the same logic were to be applied, one community can complain of harassment by another foreign invading community and will demand the right to harass the other community to set right an old mistake. Two wrongs do not make a right. Such logic is sadistic and will definitely cause immense harm to all people.
If reservations on the basis of birth is against merit, so is reservation for the rich in the form of management quotas and capitation fees. Reservation in any form needs to be abolished if we wish to prosper as a nation. We need to devise a system wherein a bright yet economically poor person, can compete with his wealthy counterparts. Lack of finance and resources should not deter intelligent and hardworking persons from working their way up the ladder. Instead of reserving seats, jobs and discouraging competition, we need to provide the poor with free knowledge and resources. We can provide free education, free books, scholarships and even free food to candidates who are bright and deserving, so that they are not hindered in competing with those who are economically well-off. It should be left to the individual to make good of the knowledge and resources made available to him and thus grab the opportunity when it comes his way. Reserving seats and jobs for persons who have obtained all resources freely, but who still lag behind in competition will definitely affect merit.
Merit needs to be the prime yardstick in any selection. This can be surely done only if we discourage caste system by becoming truly secular: by abolishing all references to caste & religion in public life and in gubernatorial affairs. If this is not done, the people who are adversely affected by reservations will breed contempt for India as a State, although they will love India as their country. Frustrated at being constantly deprived, in spite of performing better than those benefited by reservations, such groups may demand a land of their own. It may well be impossible for all judicial, legislative, and even military attempts to thwart such a demand and another partition will not be far if the present policy is continued. Such a policy of favouring persons on the basis of their birth will surely pave the way for balkanization of India, which we need to avoid.
Sincerely,
View Current Signatures
JAYATI GHOSH
A policy of reservation in the private sector would definitely not affect its "efficiency", but would help in a small way in correcting historically entrenched and still pervasive social discrimination. |
IT is commonplace to say about debates that they "generate more heat than light" or that "the opposing sides have missed the essential point". But here is one debate where it is difficult to say either. The Indian debate has definitely generated both a lot of heat and light, and there are clearly valid points made at both ends of the spectrum. So the discussion on reservation policy is rich indeed, full of insight and careful reflection, even if the statistical basis on which various arguments are based is not ideal and large gaps remain in our knowledge of the full extent of existing social discrimination and the actual effects of past reservation policies.
Reservation in public sector education and employment is a particularly (but not uniquely) Indian practice enshrined in the Constitution, a legal form of affirmative action designed to provide greater opportunities to communities and social groups that have been traditionally deprived and excluded.
The emotions generated by reservations are well known (witness the public agitations at the time of the partial implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations). But the more recent interest in the subject was awakened by the promise made by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in its National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) in 2004, to provide for reservations in the private sector.
Subsequently, the controversial Supreme Court ruling on reservation in private higher education institutions and the consequent moves towards enabling legislation in this regard have further stoked the fire. The resulting spate of articles on the subject has been of such fecundity that ordinary citizens can be forgiven for feeling quite bewildered and being unable to wade through the differing positions.
How useful, then, to have a book which brings together almost all the important recent writing on the subject, from all the different (and often violently differing) perspectives. (Reservations and Private Sector: Quest for Equal Opportunity and Growth, edited by Sukhdeo Thorat, Aryama and Prashant Negi, New Delhi: Indian Institute of Dalit Studies and Rawat Publications, 2005.)
The book covers a wide range of approaches to the issue, from reviews of the theoretical literature on discrimination and market behaviour, to debates on the issue of reservation versus merit, to the relationship with globalisation and to caste and identity politics, to a broader consideration of other remedies and other forms of affirmative action.
The book is especially useful because it includes all kinds of contributions, from thoughtful scholarly articles to more polemical and passionate journalistic writings, and from all sides of the debate, so that it provides a comprehensive sense of the issues and positions that are currently under discussion. It also covers various aspects and possible mechanisms of affirmative action, in both education and employment.
A reading of this volume clarifies some points that are of central importance in approaching the entire issue of social discrimination and its remedies, including affirmative action and reservation in the current context.
Several articles effectively debunk the supposed contradiction between reservations on the one hand and merit and efficiency on the other. There is substantial theoretical literature on the co-existence of markets and discrimination (whether in terms of caste, community or gender), and on how such discrimination reduces the efficiency of the economy - in which case affirmative action to reduce such discrimination can only increase efficiency. In any case, it is well known that the Indian private sector also employs wide ranging discriminatory practices that are inherently inefficient such as inheritance determining managerial control and preferential employment based on social networks.
It is now widely accepted across the world that diversity makes economies (and indeed, firms) more, rather than less, competitive. The example of countries such as Malaysia, which combined a very severe and restrictive form of reservation and other affirmative action with remarkable economic growth for several decades, points to this. So the debate on merit versus affirmative action is exposed as fundamentally false.
The empirical evidence also points squarely to the strong and still pervasive persistence of social discrimination (which can be related to, but is not the same as, economic disparity) in India. So extensive is this that few would deny the reality of continued discrimination and exclusion. And certainly even the opponents of reservation in this volume accept this reality. Rather, the debate appears to hinge more on the precise form that affirmative action should take.
Those who oppose the policy of reservation operate primarily with the following arguments: perceptions of "victimhood" and the creation of democratically undesirable identity politics; inequalities within the specified communities, which allow a "creamy layer" to take advantage of the reservations and benefit unduly while depriving the rest of the community; the rigid and inflexible nature of the instrument of reservation, which does not allow for more creative modes of affirmative action; the privileging of some caste-based discrimination while ignoring other and possibly more undesirable forms of exclusion; the compression of the notion of social justice into just reservation, instead of encompassing broader socio-economic policies such as land reform and other asset redistribution and strategies of income generation.
There is certainly some relevance to each of these points, and no one would deny that the system that has operated in India thus far has been inadequate not only in addressing these issues, but also in achieving the goals set in terms of filling the allocated quotas even in public education and employment. Yet, even these failures are indicators of the continued prevalence of widespread social discrimination, which operates in addition to other forms of inequality of access.
Thus, one of the problems of the system of reservation in the public sector is that there has been no institutional mechanism of incentives and disincentives to ensure effective affirmative action. At the moment, there are "legal" requirements for filling certain quotas, but there are no penalties for public institutions that do not fill them, or rewards for those that more than fulfil them. That is, at least, part of the reason why so many quotas remain unfulfilled.
However, while reservations have been inadequate and relatively rigid instruments of affirmative action, they do have certain advantages that explain why they have been preferred. They are transparent, inexpensive to implement and monitor and therefore easily enforceable. Any other system of affirmative action must have these attributes in order to be practical. The problem with systems based on periodic audit of institutions to check on their "diversity" is that they do not have equal transparency and enforceability.
This is not to discredit the possibility of other instruments of affirmative action being developed - indeed, the very complexity of the discrimination and exclusion in Indian society suggests the need for a multiplicity of instruments that would work together to create more democratic and equitable outcomes.
The basic issue, of course, is that the roots of discrimination go much deeper, in that social and economic disparities are deeply intertwined, although in increasingly complex ways. Certainly, the lack of asset ownership among Dalit and other deprived communities is critical in determining other forms of discrimination. And deprivation in terms of early access to quality education is increasingly becoming the most crucial determinant of subsequent life achievement for many socially and economically marginalised groups.
So the debate on reservation in the private sector must be seen within a broader perspective, as being a policy that would definitely not affect "efficiency" of private sector functioning, but still would go a small part of the way in correcting historically entrenched and still pervasive social discrimination.
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2222/stories/20051104004110800.htm
Reservation Is A Means For Empowerment
By Fr. G. Cosmon Arokiaraj
New Delhi, Nov. 01, 2006 (CBCI News):
Amidst the row on increasing reservation in educational institutions, in the context of Ranganath Misra commission finalizing its report and Dalit Christians campaigning for their equal rights, the Supreme Court has attempted to balance equality of opportunity with the quest for social justice by the excluded groups in the Indian society.
Allowing reservation in promotion for SC/ST communities, the court said that the state has to justify that the SC/STs are not adequately represented and that the administrative efficiency is not adversely affected.
The Court said – the creamy layer of well-off people among SC/ST/OBCs should not benefit from quotas in jobs and education. It further emphasized that reservations should not exceed 50 per cent.
Reflecting on these recent developments, let me outline the following points for further discussion and action:
v Reservations have done much good and provided employment to SC/ST communities in India. If they are abolished in the present context of intense competition, the condition of SC/ST communities would be worse.
v Education is the means of social empowerment and reservation in the educational institutions has helped those in the deprived sections of society to have vertical mobility in the social strata.
v Justifying the policy to provide reservation, the Centre has said, "The Centre and various State Governments have found caste, apart from other categories such as disability, to be a reasonable basis for determining who must benefit from reservation. The socially and educational backward castes are therefore universally recognized as being in dire need of reservation to undo centuries of prejudice and inequality." Hence, one cannot hide the fact that Indian society, including the Indian Church, is a caste-ridden society and there is an urgency to address and eradicate caste prejudices that are operating and re-enacting in various forms in the society.
v First of all, there is a need to find out whether there is a "creamy layer" among SC/ST communities by evaluating the implementation of the Reservation Policy. The opinion that the real needy will benefit only when there is the removal of creamy layer compels the government to make a thorough study on "creamy layer" taking into consideration the various factors that affect the SC/ST population. Can we compare a SC or ST officer in the creamy layer who hails from a landless uneducated family with another non-SC or ST officer in the creamy layer who is from a highly educated land owning family? How can we respond to the caste prejudices that are prevailing in the higher institutions of learning? One cannot forget the fact that almost everyday, the news papers carry the incidents of atrocities perpetrated on SCs and STs, from higher centers of learning to remote villages.
v Likewise, a proper study has to be done as to how promotion rules were really operating and whether efficiency had in any manner suffered. Efficiency is not reserved for upper castes alone.
v The Christians of Scheduled Caste origin (Dalit Christians) have been struggling for more than fifty years to get equal rights. Various studies have proved that conversion to Christianity has not altered the social economical status of the converted Christians. Because they are Christians, they are not spared in communal violence and abuses of upper and dominant caste communities. Nor are they treated equally by the upper caste Christians.
v The Dalit Christians, though they are Dalits, are deprived of civil and legal safeguards and protection that is provided for Hindu Dalits under the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1976, Untouchability (Offenses) Act 1955 and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989. Thus they stand vulnerable to the abuses and attacks of the dominant castes, without any possibility of legal redressal.
v Besides, the Government has already amended the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order) 1950 twice: first, in 1956 to include Dalit Sikhs and next in 1990 to include Dalit Buddhists in the Scheduled Castes. The Government did already think over the demand of the Dalit Christians and prepared the draft amendment bill in 1996. The Statement of Objects and Reasons of Bill NO.17 of 1996 says:
"Converts to the Christian religion who are of the Scheduled Castes origin are precluded from the statutory benefits and safeguards accruing to members of the Scheduled Castes. Demands have been made from time to time for extending these benefits and safeguards to the Christians of the Scheduled Castes origin by granting them recognition as the Scheduled Castes on the ground that the change of religion has not altered their social and economic conditions. Upon due consideration of these demands, it is proposed to amend the relevant Constitution (Scheduled Cates) Orders to include the Christian converts from the Scheduled Castes as the Scheduled Castes therein. Hence the Bill."
It is clear from the above statement that the government is asserting that the 'change of religion has not altered social and economic conditions' and that it has 'duly considered the demand and proposed to amend the Order' and the statement holds good even now when the caste violence is so open and the number is on the increase.
It is good to recall the promise made in the Election manifesto 2004 by the Congress Party: "The Congress believes in affirmative action for all religious and linguistic minorities…The Congress is committed to adopting this policy for socially and educationally backward sections among Muslims and other religious minorities on a national scale. The Congress also pledges to extend reservations for the economically deprived persons belonging to communities that are at present not entitled to such reservations." As the winter session of the Parliament is fast approaching, the Christians of the Scheduled Caste origin hope that the UPA government headed by Congress would reintroduce the amendment bill in the parliament.
Reservation policy is one of the essential means to include the excluded groups in the democratic process and to pave the way for their empowerment. It is a way to realize social justice in Indian society marred with historical exclusion of groups and social inequalities. Any attempt to dismantle the Reservation policy would result in social disharmony and social instability.
END
[Fr. G. Cosmon Arokiaraj, Executive Secretary, CBCI Commission for SC/ST/BC, CBCI Centre, 1 Ashok Place, New Delhi-110 001. E-mail: cbciscst@gmail.com]Reservation for Muslims, Why? | |||
By Syed Ubaidur Rahman, Thursday, 26 February 2009 - 20:12:57 IST | |||
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