Friday, April 8, 2011

Fwd: [bangla-vision] Anna Hazaare continues Hunger Strike while Kapil Sibal, the Liberalisation and F



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Date: Fri, Apr 8, 2011 at 12:41 AM
Subject: [bangla-vision] Anna Hazaare continues Hunger Strike while Kapil Sibal, the Liberalisation and F
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Anna Hazaare continues Hunger Strike while Kapil Sibal, the Liberalisation and Free Market face of the LPG Mafia Government tried his best to strike a deal. The Hype about the Gandhian Hunger Strike seems to cross the Border. If Judiciary and Democratic institutions are biased an inflicted with Corruption, Governance is Corporate Management and Politics is all about Lobbying, I do not see anything Good to happen provided the Lokpal Bill is enacted with Fifty Percent Civil Society Representation. Civil society is in itself Free Market stimulus reducing the role of Government and Constitution. Moreover, the Civil Society is Monoplised by the market Dominating Ruling Brahaminical Class! It rather seems to be a Tsunami for US sponsered Pro Democracy Movement, now enveloping the Arab World.It is Oil War there. In India, political and economic power as a whole is on stake for strategic marketing of Exclusion and ethnic cleansing! It is dangerous. Let us see the Market forces and Economy, Legislation, Planning and Resource management as well as Revenue Management to decide Future Course. Otherwise it is going Blind like the PARIBARTAN, change so hyped in Bengal!

Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - SIX HUNDRED Forteen

Palash Biswas

http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/

http://basantipurtimes.blogspot.com/

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Anna Hazaare continues Hunger Strike while Kapil Sibal, the Liberalisation and Free Market face of the LPG Government tried his best to strike a deal. The Hype about the Gandhian Hunger Strike seems to cross the Border. If Judiciary and Democratic institutions are biased an inflicted with Corruption, Governance is Corporate Management and Politics is all about Lobbying, I do not see anything Good to happen provided the Lokpal Bill is enacted with Fifty Percent Civil Society Representation. Civil society is in itself Free Market stimulus reducing the role of Government and Constitution. Moreover, the Civil Society is monoplised by the market Dominating Ruling Brahaminical Class! It rather seems to be a Tsunami for US sponsered Pro Democracy Movement, now enveloping the Arab World.It is Oil War there. In India, political and economic power as a whole is on stake for strategic marketing of Exclusion and ethnic cleansing! It is dangerous. Let us see the Market forces and Economy, Legislation, Planning and Resource management as well as Revenue Management to decide Future Course. Otherwise it is going Blind like the PARIBARTAN, change so hyped in Bengal!

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Mind you!BJP on Thursday said it agreed with the "essence" of Anna Hazare's demand for a Jan Lokpal Bill and his Gandhian way of protest but asked him to give up his indefinite fast as "his life is precious". We all know, it is the war for power, otherwise all political Parties and ideologies are meant to sustain the mother of Corruption, Injustice, inequality, Exclusion, Ethnic Cleansing and Hegemony- MANUSMRITI Rule! NDA, UPA and the Left do represent the Corrupt free market interests!

During the parleys today, the government agreed to form a joint committee to draft a stronger Lokpal Bill but there was no consensus on who will head it and as to whether it should be notified.

Hazare rejected the government's offer of an informal committee and said he would not end his protest till the demands were met.

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Now jsut see! Declaring that there were no two views on the need for combating corruption, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today appealed to Anna Hazare to give up his fast, assuring the Gandhian that his views would receive government's "full attention".

"I am pained by Anna Hazareji's fast-unto-death. The issues he has raised are of grave public concern. There can be no two views on the urgent necessity of combating graft and corruption in public life," she said in a statement.

In the backdrop of Hazare resorting to the protest action since Tuesday to demand an effective Lokpal Bill, Gandhi said that she believed that the laws in these matters must be effective and "must deliver the desired results".

"I am sure that Hazareji's views will receive the government's full attention as we move forward to fight this menace. I appeal to Anna to give up his fast", Gandhi, who is also UPA Chairperson, said.

The appeal by Gandhi came when the hunger strike by the 71-year-old social activist entered the third day and the government began talks with anti-corruption campaigners led by him.

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"Anna Hazare is a very well respected leader. We are with him in his crusade against corruption. We want that a Bill to fight corruption should be very stringent and effective. His life is very precious. We request him to give up his fast. BJP has already lent its support to this cause," Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said on Twitter .

She suggested that the government should call an all-party meet to discuss the bill.

Though BJP agrees that there is a need to bring the Lokpal Bill, it is not in agreement with Hazare's draft of the Bill, sources said.

"We have already said we agree with the essence of the demand made by Hazare and also his Gandhian way of protest," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

Party sources said BJP agrees on four basic issues highlighted in the Jan Lokpal Bill espoused by Hazare.

"We want that the bureaucracy and politicians should come under the Lokpal's ambit, property of the guilty corrupt should be confiscated, such cases should be tried in fast track courts and there is should be more stringent punishment," Javadekar said.

He took a dig at the Congress-led government for resisting the demands made by Hazare.

"The government is now acting exactly like it did on the JPC issue. It had shown adamance and arrogance due to which the whole winter session of Parliament was lost. They will have to finally accept Hazare's demands," Javadekar said.

Asked if BJP agreed to all provisions envisaged by Hazare in the Jan Lokpal Bill, the spokesperson said, "In a democracy everybody is privy to have his views. We support the basic essence of his demand but we do not agree with every opinion of Anna."

BJP also defended Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who is facing charges of corruption yet the party has not taken any action against him.

"The case against Yeddyurappa is being investigated by the Lokayukta and an inquiry committee. We will act when the report comes out. We can assure that we will not do with the report what the Central government did with the V K Shunglu Committee report on Commonwealth Games ."

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Jan Lokpal Bill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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ed law)|bill]] that would pave the way for a Jan Lokpal, an independent body like the Election Commission, which would have the power to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission.[1]
The bill has been drafted by Shanti Bhushan, former IPS Kiran Bedi, Justice N. Santosh Hegde, renowned advocate Prashant Bhushan, former chief election commissioner J. M. Lyngdoh in consultation with the leaders of the India Against Corruption movement and the civil society. The bill proposes institution of the office of Lokpal (Ombudsman) at center and Lok Ayukta at state level. Jan Lokpal Bill is designed to create an effective anti-corruption and grievance redressal systems at centre and to assure that effective deterrent is created against corruption and to provide effective protection to whistleblowers.[2][3]
The Lokpal Bill drafted by the government has languished in the Rajya Sabha for 42 years.[4] The first Lokpal Bill was passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969 but could not get through in Rajya Sabha. Subsequently, Lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008. Yet none of these bills were ever passed.[5]
Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 Need
3 The Lokpal
4 Protests
5 Color of protests
6 Prominent Non Political Supporters
7 Political support
8 Government response
9 Status of bill
10 Drafting Committee
11 Jan lokpal bill draft
12 Differences between Draft Lokpal Bill 2010 and Jan Lokpal Bill
13 Criticism of U.P.A's Lokpal bill
14 See also
15 External links
16 References
[edit]Background

The movement for Jan Lokpal Bill started due to the resentment because of the serious differences between the draft Lokpal Bill 2010 prepared by the government and the Jan Lokpal Bill prepared by the members of this movement,[6] which has received significant public support. The current lack of any laws to curb endemic corruption has made the need for the Jan Lokpal Bill.
[edit]Need

India is one of the top three economies in the world, but looking at corruption, India sinks to number 87; refer to the Corruption Perceptions Index. In other words it means 86 other nations have less corruption than India. Corruption plays a significant role in keeping poverty, illiteracy and other social ills in place.
[edit]The Lokpal

The Jan Lokpal Bill proposes the Lokpal to be instituted as a ten member body along with its officers and other employees. The bill provides for the appointment of the Chairperson and members of the Lokpal within six months of enacting the bill. Predictable vacancies in Lokpal are to be filled in advance at least before three months of such vacancy. Unpredictable vacancies are to be filled within one month of such vacancy. A PIL had been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking directions to the Haryana Government to appoint a Lokayukta. The government initiated the process of appointment of Lokayukta only after a Division Bench of the High Court, headed by Mr Justice H.S. Bedi, on February 25, 2004, directed it to appoint a Lokayukta within six months. On a contempt plea preferred by the petitioner in the PIL, Mr Naresh Kadyan of Rohtak, seeking action against the Chief Secretary, Haryana, for not implementing the February 25 order of the High Court, the High Court has issued a contempt notice to the Chief Secretary.
[edit]Protests

Main article: Protests for Jan Lokpal Bill
A group of Delhi residents dressed in white shirts and t-shirts took a four-hour drive around the city to drum up campaign against corruption and support the Jan Lokpal Bill.[7] On April 4, 2011Anna Hazare, the anti corruption activist leader announces fast unto death till Jan Lokpal Bill enacted[8]
On April 5, 2011 Anna Hazare went on a fast-unto-death.Around 6,000 Mumbai residents also started a one-day fast to support the demand for implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill.[9] Hazare has announced to start the Jail Bharo Andolan on 12th April, 2011 if the Jan Lokpal bill is not passed by the government.
Anna Hazare states that they have received six crore (60 million) SMSes in its support. [10] He is further supported by a large number of Internet activists[11] Their are many youngsters intereted in this protest and also schools have been discussing this issue for a long period of time and thereby school children are interestedto be a part of the protest as they are the future generation of our country.
[edit]Color of protests

Protesters have chosen yellow as the color of protests. They were seen yellow dress, T shirts and were having yellow banners. Protesters in different cities are co-ordinating to observe Yellow Sunday.
[edit]Prominent Non Political Supporters

Main article: Prominent personalties Supporting Jan Lokpal Bill
Prominent persons with mass appeal are also favoring the movement.
Spiritual
Sri Sri RaviShankar - Spritual leader & Founder of The Art Of Living movment
Swami Ramdev - Popular yoga guru and social activist
Activist
Anna Hazare - Eminent social activist
Naresh Kadyan, Gandhian Ideologist, Philosopher, social reformer and animal rights activist.
Arvind Kejriwal - Magsaysay award winner
Kiran Bedi - Magsaysay award winner, social activist and a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer
Swami Agnivesh - social activist, and known Maoist sympathiser
[edit]Political support

The protests are non political in nature. The political parties are being discouraged to take advantage of the issue.[12]
The response of prominent political parties and leaders is:
Bhartya Janta Party have extended support to the bill.[13] The principal opposition demanded that the Centre convene an all-party meeting to discuss the 'Jan Lokpal Bill' issue. [14]
Uma Bharti and Chautala tried to visit the Jantar Mantar. But both of them were booed by the people. They had to leave the agitation area immediately as people did not want them to be there. Also, Anna Hazare did not allow them to sit on the dais as it was feared that these politicians will misuse the platform for their own benefit.
RLD chief Ajit Singh today expressed support to the anti-corruption campaign.[15]
Jayaprakash Narayan (Lok Satta) - Ex-IAS officer, Social Reformer and Politician
People's party of Punjab - Former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal[16]
[edit]Government response

The government have stated that it has not received the proposed bill copy and it doesn't seem in a hurry to acknowledge the issue. After the 'fast unto death' was announced by Anna Hazare, he was invited for talks by the PM, but the response was bad as the PM said the government has no time for corruption till May 13. [17] To dissuade the veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare from going on an indefinite fast, the Prime Minister's Office have directed the ministries of personnel and law to examine how the views of civil society activists can be included in the lokpal bill.[18]
The National advisory Council is against the government on the Lokpal bill. On the 5th April 2011, the National Advisory Council rejected the Lokpal bill draft of the government.[19] Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday met social activists Swami Agnivesh and Arvind Kejriwal to find ways to bridge differences on the anti-graft Lokpal Bill.[20]
[edit]Status of bill

The government is again thinking of introducing a Lokpal Bill in parliament this year, and the National Advisory Council (NAC) chaired bySonia Gandhi is considering it. But as it stands today, the bill is riddled with loopholes, defeating its very purpose.
[edit]Drafting Committee

Main article: 2011 Lokpal bill drafting committee
Anna Hazare wants 50% of the committee of lokpal bill drafting committee from the public.
[edit]Jan lokpal bill draft

Main article: Jan lokpal bill draft (Anna Hazare supporters)
Main article: Lokpal bill draft (tabled by UPA government)
[edit]Differences between Draft Lokpal Bill 2010 and Jan Lokpal Bill

Key Differences
Draft Lokpal Bill 2010 Jan Lokpal Bill
Lokpal will have no power to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe complaints forwarded by LS Speaker or RS Chairman. Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body. Its part is only limited to forwarding its report to the "Competent Authority" Lokpal will be much more than an Advisory Body. It should be granted powers to initiate Prosecution against anyone found guilty.
Lokpal will not have any police powers. It can not register FIRs or proceed with criminal investigations. Lokpal will have police powers. To say that it will be able to register FIRs.
CBI and Lokpal will have no connection with each other. Lokpal and anti corruption wing of CBI will be one Independent body.
Punishment for corruption will be minimum 6 months and maximum up-to 7 years. The punishment should be minimum 5 years and maximum up-to life imprisonment.
Lokpal will not be a monopoly for particular area
[edit]Criticism of U.P.A's Lokpal bill

1. Lokpal will not have any power to either initiate action suo motu in any case or even receive complaints of corruption from general public. The general public will make complaints to the speaker of Lok Sabha or chairperson of Rajya Sabha. Only those complaints forwarded by Speaker of Lok Sabha/ Chairperson of Rajya Sabha to Lokpal would be investigated by Lokpal. This not only severely restricts the functioning of Lokpal, it also provides a tool in the hands of the ruling party to have only those cases referred to Lokpal which pertain to political opponents (since speaker is always from the ruling party). It will also provide a tool in the hands of the ruling party to protect its own politicians.
2. Lokpal has been proposed to be an advisory body. Lokpal, after enquiry in any case, will forward its report to the competent authority. The competent authority will have final powers to decide whether to take action on Lokpal's report or not. In the case of cabinet ministers, the competent authority is Prime Minister. In the case of PM and MPs the competent authority is Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, as the case may be. In the coalition era when the government of the day depends upon the support of its political partners, it will be impossible for the PM to act against any of his cabinet ministers on the basis of Lokpal's report.
3. The bill is legally unsound. Lokpal has not been given police powers. Therefore Lokpal cannot register an FIR. Therefore all the enquiries conducted by Lokpal will tantamount to "preliminary enquiries". Even if the report of Lokpal is accepted, who will file the chargesheet in the court? Who will initiate prosecution? Who will appoint the prosecution lawyer? The entire bill is silent on that.
4. The bill does not say what will be the role of CBI after this bill. Can CBI and Lokpal investigate the same case or CBI will lose its powers to investigate politicians? If the latter is true, then this bill is meant to completely insulate politicians from any investigations whatsoever which are possible today through CBI.
5. There is a strong punishment for "frivolous" complaints. If any complaint is found to be false and frivolous, Lokpal will have the power to send the complainant to jail through summary trial but if the complaint were found to be true, the Lokpal will not have the power to send the corrupt politicians to jail! So the bill appears to be meant to browbeat, threaten and discourage those fighting against corruption.
6. Lokpal will have jurisdiction only on MPs, ministers and PM. It will not have jurisdiction over officers. The officers and politicians do not indulge in corruption separately. In any case of corruption, there is always an involvement of both of them. So according to government's proposal, every case would need to be investigated by both CVC and Lokpal. So now, in each case, CVC will look into the role of bureaucrats while Lokpal will look into the role of politicians. Obviously the case records will be with one agency and the way government functions it will not share its records with the other agency. It is also possible that in the same case the two agencies arrive at completely opposite conclusions. Therefore it appears to be a sure way of killing any case.
7. Lokpal will consist of three members, all of them being retired judges. There is no reason why the choice should be restricted to judiciary. By creating so many post retirement posts for judges, the government will make the retiring judges vulnerable to government influences just before retirement as is already happening in the case of retiring bureaucrats. The retiring judges, in the hope of getting post retirement employment would do the bidding of the government in their last few years.
8. The selection committee consists of Vice President, PM, Leaders of both houses, Leaders of opposition in both houses, Law Minister and Home minister. Barring Vice President, all of them are politicians whose corruption Lokpal is supposed to investigate. So there is a direct conflict of interest. Also selection committee is heavily loaded in favor of the ruling party. Effectively ruling party will make the final selections. And obviously ruling party will never appoint strong and effective Lokpal.
9. Lokpal will not have powers to investigate any case against PM, which deals with foreign affairs, security and defence. This means that corruption in defence deals will be out of any scrutiny whatsoever. It will become impossible to investigate into any Bofors in future.
[edit]See also

Protests for Jan Lokpal Bill
List of Indian politicians convicted of crimes
List of state wise scams in India
Corruption Perceptions Index
Observe - Yellow Sunday
Corruption in India
Lawmaking procedure in India
[edit]External links

India Against Corruption, Official website
Jan Lokpal Bill version 1.8
Yellow Sunday in Support of Jan Lokpal Bill
Salient Features of Jan Lokpal Bill
[edit]References

^ Dandi March 2 for Jan Lokpal Bill - Hindustan Times
^ "Activists Take Out March to Demand Jan Lokpal Bill". Outlook (magazine). Jan 30, 2011.
^ "Hazare fears govt may block Lokpal Bill". The Times of India. Mar 17, 2011.
^ City activists garner support for Jan Lokpal bill - Hindustan Times
^ "Lokpal bill to cover PM". CNN-IBN. Nov 21, 2010.
^ "Lokpal Bill: Govt version vs civil society version". The Times of India. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
^ "Drive around Delhi to demand strong Lokpal Bill". Sify News. 13 March 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
^ "Anna Hazare announces fast unto death till Jan Lokpal Bill enacted". The Economic Times. 4 April 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
^ "Mumbai to join Hazare's fast today for Jan Lokpal". The Indian Express. 5 April 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
^ Anna Hazare: I asked PM whether his team shares his values - Forbes India
^ Niet compatibele browser | Facebook
^ Hazare fast: people heckle, chase out politicos - Politics - Politics News - ibnlive
^ BJP extends support to Hazare's fast on anti-graft bill
^ The Hindu : News / National : BJP seeks all-party meet on Lokpal Bill
^ http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/india-against-corruption-ajit-singh-supports-anna-hazares-campaign/articleshow/7899211.cms
^ http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/pass-jan-lokpal-bill-in-next-parliament-session-manpreet/641041.html
^ What is Jan Lokpal Bill? | Sumit Gupta (aka sumit4all)
^ Find ways to include activists' opinion: PMO - Hindustan Times
^ YouTube - NAC rejects Lokpal bill draft
^ Hazare fast: Sibal meets Agnivesh, Kejriwal to pursue constructive dialogue | TruthDive
This India-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Categories: India stubs | Proposed laws of India | Corruption in India

What is the Jan Lokpal Bill, why it's important
5 Apr 2011 ... The Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's ombudsman Bill) is a draft anti-corruption bill drawn up by prominent civil society activists seeking the ...
www.ndtv.com › India - Cached
Videos for jan lokpal bill - Report videos

Anna Hazare begins fast overLokpal Bill
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Anna Hazare's fast forLokpal Bill
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The Hindu : Karnataka / Hassan News : 'Enact Jan Lokpal Bill'
6 Apr 2011 ... 'Enact Jan Lokpal Bill'. Staff Correspondent. Hassan: Members of the Sadhana Mahila Okkoota and Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement staged a ...
www.hindu.com/2011/04/06/stories/2011040653140700.htm - Cached
Jan Lokpal Bill - News, photos, topics, and quotes
The latest news on Jan Lokpal Bill, from thousands of sources worldwide. High-quality photos, articles, blog posts, quotes, and more.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com › Topic - Cached
Lokpal Bill unacceptable - Economic Times
The long-awaited Lokpal Bill is finally in the works. But unfortunately the ...
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Volunteers drum up support for Jan Lokpal Bill - Mumbai - DNA
4 Apr 2011 ... Various Pune-based NGOs started a signature campaign on Sunday.
www.dnaindia.com › MUMBAI - Cached
What is Jan Lokpal Bill? | Sumit Gupta (aka sumit4all)
12 Mar 2011 ... As Indians from across the world start their march against corruption from today, one of the major demands of this march (Dandi March 2) is ...
www.sumit4all.com/politics/what-is-jan-lokpal-bill - Cached
The Jan Lokpal Bill will lay the ground to check corruption
10 Mar 2011 ... The Lokpal Bill is like a kettle of water always on simmer but never really boiling. But the civil society in India wants the government to ...
www.merinews.com › India - Cached
[DOC] Jan Lokpal Bill version 1
File Format: Microsoft Word - Quick View
Jan Lokpal Bill version 1.8. An act to create effective anti-corruption and grievance redressal systems at centre so that effective deterrent is created ...
indiaagainstcorruption.org/docs/Jan%20Lokpal%20bill
Cops, industrialists join Hazare's anti-corruption campaign
TNN | Apr 7, 2011, 10.37pm IST

KANPUR: Anna Hazare's movement against corruption is gaining momentum. This could be gauged from the fact that scores of people from different castes, creed, religion and ages came forward to support him.

The Indian Industries Association (IIA) had also supported Hazare, who has been demanding a strong anti-corruption bill to be tabled in the Parliament. The members of association sat on a hunger strike at IIA Bhawan on Thursday. They also took out a candle march in the evening to Dada Nagar and raised anti-corruption slogans, stating that time has come to save the country from the clutches of corrupt politicians.

Extending support to Hazare's crusade against corruption, India Against Corruption, a NGO floated by the youth took out a candle march from Khalsi Line in Gwaltoli. People of all ages, including schoolchildren participated in it. Students of Indian Institute of Technology, Hartcourt Butler Technological Institute, CSMU and various other mangement and engineering institutes took part in the candle light march. They pledged that they will fight for the good cause.

"We will not let the movement die down because for the first time the masses have united for a such a noble cause. We all have been left high and dry by the corrupt politicians and now its right time to pay them back," said a student who was participating in the candle march.

IITian Amit Kumar Byahut said: "In order to get more support for Anna, we have opened a campaign on Facebook, where people are joining for the cause."

The method adopted by Hazare has given people a chance to spill their anger on the roads. Another candlelight march was taken out an NGO from LIC building on Mall Road to Phoolbagh. People from all walks of life like university teachers, doctors, engineers, social activists and commoners participated in the march.

"We have come here to support Anna who is fighting for a noble cause," said SP Singh, head of history department, Christ Church College.

Members of another NGO formed a human chain from Motijheel to Coca Cola crossing. RTI activist Mahesh Pandey said: "Initially we were just 20 people to form a human chain later the number kept on growing. Some 200 people were present at Motijheel and formed a chain. An old woman from a rural background joined us. Corruption could be fought with the support of masses."

A signature campaign which was organised near district court. Cops too arrived at the scene and joined the fight against corruption. A large number of lawyers wrote slogans. Around 1,200 people had signed and written slogans on the 60 metres long banner.

Around 300 people wrote a message on a postcard in support of Hazare. It was adressed to the President.
Hazare's campaign against corruption gets overwhelming response
Youth take out motorcycle rally against corruption
Joint entrance exam of IITs on April 10
Cop's daughter-in-law gang-raped

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Cops-industrialists-join-Hazares-anti-corruption-campaign/articleshow/7904080.cms

Hazare steps up campaign, brushes aside Sonia''s appeal
PTI | 10:04 PM,Apr 07,2011
New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI) Stepping up his anti-corruption campaign, Anna Hazare tonight brushed aside Sonia Gandhi's appeal to him to withdraw his hunger strike as Government initiated talks on formation of a joint committee to draft an effective Lokpal Bill but there was no consensus on two crucial aspects. Government today agreed to the formation of a committee with equal representation for civil society members and government representatives. But it is said to be having reservations over how to formally notify constituting it and give its chairmanship to a private individual, which could be setting a precedent. "I thank Sonia Gandhi for her statement (appealing to him to end the fast). Soniaji, tell the government to get the Lokpal bill enacted at the earliest," Hazare said in a terse reaction to Gandhi's appeal. His address to the gathering at Jantar Mantar was received with wide approbation by his followers as his campaign received further momentum across the country. Under pressure from a surging anti-corruption campaign, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met with his Cabinet colleague Kapil Sibal late in the night and discussed ways to find a means to resolve the situation. Sibal, who had earlier in the day held two rounds of discussions with Hazare's emissaries--Swami Agnivesh and Arvind Kejriwal--is understood to have discussed with Singh the ticklish issue of the demand for notifying the joint committee of civil society members and government representatives and who would head it. Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar was also present in the meeting. In the morning talks, the government agreed to the activists' demand for constituting the committee with five members each from both the sides but there was no no agreement on a formal notification to constitute it and on the demand that Hazare should head it. Another meeting between Sibal and the two emissaries are scheduled tomorrow morning. As his hunger strike entered the third day, Congress President Sonia Gandhi appealed to the 71-year-old Gandhian to give up his fast, assuring him that his views would receive the governemnt's full attention. She said there could be no no two views on the urgent necessity of combating graft and corruption in public life. "I am sure that Hazareji's views will receive the government's full attention as we move forward to fight this meance. I appeal to Anna to give up his fast," Gandhi said in her appeal. Hazare rejected government's offer of an informal committee and vowed not to end his protest till the demands are met. (More) PTI SJY SDG
IBNLive Top News
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Anna Hazare

ABC News
Thank you Sonia, but please do more, says Anna Hazare
NDTV.com - &#8206;1 hour ago&#8206;
New Delhi: "The government is drunk with power and corruption...it is for the people to make it sober" said Anna Hazare this evening, on the third day of his hunger strike. Thousands clapped at Jantar Mantar where they had gathered for his latest ...
Video: Hazare's army Mint
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Economic Times - IBNLive.com -Indian Express - Daily News & Analysis -Wikipedia: Anna Hazare
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Badal favours all party meeting over Anna Hazare's demand
Hindustan Times - &#8206;2 hours ago&#8206;
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday favoured an all party meeting to discuss the demand raised by Anna Hazare, who is spearheading agitation over Lokpal Bill. "We should all come together to discuss and take collective decisions on ...
Sonia pleads but Hazare not to give up as talks fail
Sify - &#8206;8 minutes ago&#8206;
New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) His crusade against corruption triggering a virtual tsunami in India, social reformer Anna Hazare Thursday vowed to fast until death even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi urged him to end the agitation saying his demands ...
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Economic Times - Manjiri Damle - &#8206;8 hours ago&#8206;
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Indian Express
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Support for Hazare grows in Mumbai, more youths join
IBNLive.com - &#8206;1 hour ago&#8206;
PTI | 09:04 PM,Apr 07,2011 Mumbai, Apr 7 (PTI) The third day of veteran social activist Anna Hazare''s indefinite hunger strike demanding a comprehensive anti-corruption bill, saw youngsters joining the campaign here in large numbers.
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Times of India - &#8206;1 hour ago&#8206;
DHARWAD: The fast-unto-death launched by social activistAnna Hazare has received tremendous support in Dharwad district. Members of Dharwad District Patanjali Yoga Samithi and Bharat Swabhiman Trust observed a daylong hunger Satyagraha in front of the ...
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Outlook - &#8206;4 hours ago&#8206;
Terming BJP's support to Anna Hazare's fast-unto-death for a stronger anti-corruption law as "hypocritical", Union minister Virbhadra Singh today alleged that states like Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh ruled by the party were immersed ...
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Sify - &#8206;10 minutes ago&#8206;
Hyderabad, April 7 (IANS) Various organisations in Andhra Pradesh held candlelight marches in support of social activistAnna Hazare, whose indefinite fast in New Delhi for a stronger anti-corruption Lokpal bill continued for the third day Thursday.
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Mumbai Mirror
'Anna Hazare out to malign Sharad Pawar'
Daily News & Analysis -Shubhangi Khapre - &#8206;Apr 6, 2011&#8206;
The Maharashtra state Congress finds itself on the back foot as it is unable to join Nationalist Congress Party's chorus against social reformer Anna Hazare. The NCP went into a huddle worried that its ...
Anna Hazare's anti-Pawar stance, a 20-yr campaign Hindustan Times
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Hazare likened to JP in poll-bound Assam
Hindustan Times - &#8206;2 hours ago&#8206;
Veteran social activist, Anna Hazare sits during his 'fast unto death' against corruption in New...... appears to have given poll-bound Assam a weapon to beat the Congress with.
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iNewsOne - &#8206;10 hours ago&#8206;
Mumbai, April 7 (IANS) Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray Thursday said that the central government is 'not scared' of the ongoing protest by veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare, but is definitely scared of the 'public anger' that has been aroused.
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IBNLive.com - &#8206;48 minutes ago&#8206;
PTI | 10:04 PM,Apr 07,2011 Bundi (Raj), Apr 7 (PTI) A state minister today here called upon the representatives of Panchayatiraj institutions to emulate the example of social activist Anna Hazare, to win the trust of public.
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Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare today (April 7) received strong backing from the Art of Living Founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who described him as "the voice of millions of Indians".

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Anti-politician mood at fast, even as govt indicates compromise
Business Standard (blog) - &#8206;14 hours ago&#8206;
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State support to Hazare gains in strength
Times of India - &#8206;12 minutes ago&#8206;
BHUBANESWAR: Orissa continues to stand by social activist Anna Hazare, who is fasting in New Delhi, demanding enactment of an anti-corruption bill in the country.

The Hindu
Sushma urges Hazare to end fast
The Hindu - &#8206;4 hours ago&#8206;
Photo: M. Moorthy The Leader of Opposition, Sushma Swaraj, has appealed to social activist Anna Hazare to end his fast-unto-death and the Centre to convene an all-party meeting to work on the Lok Pal Bill.
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Mahatma Gandhi (1928) "Anna Hazare (Dr.Kisan BaburaoHazare) sitting for an indefinite hunger strike for the approval of JAN LOKPAL BILL.
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Friends,

Pls sign up to fast for a day in Solidarity with Anna Hazareji. You can sign up here to fast a day or more from your home/work: http://aidindia.org/main/component/option,com_facileforms/Itemid,466/ or participate in your city: http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/

Please read below for more information. All news articles regarding Anna Hazareji's fast.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: From Kiran Bedi and Anna Hazare <indiaagainstcorruption.2010@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Apr 6, 2011 at 1:24 AM

Anna Hazare fasts unto death started yesterday, April 5th April.
He is demanding enactment of a strong anti-corruption law - Jan Lokpal Bill - to ensure swiftness and certainty of punishment to the corrupt.
Will his fast have any impact on the deaf Government of India?

Yes, it certainly would. Because, last time when Anna sat on fast -
• 6 corrupt ministers in Maharashtra had to resign
• 400 corrupt officers were dismissed from job
• 2002 - Maharashtra RTI Act was passed
• 2006 - Central Government withdrew its proposal to amend Central RTI Act

Now Anna is fasting to demand Jan Lokpal Bill.
JAN LOKPAL BILL will act as deterrent and instill fear in the minds of corrupt people.
"At 78, Anna is not fasting for himself, he is fasting for the future of my kid. I will myself fast on 5th April for a day and ask my 5 year daughter also to skip a meal on 5th April," Rakesh, a software engineer.

What can you do?

"Let the whole nation fast for a day, any day from 5th April and pray for a corruption free India. Collective prayers are very powerful. Let the whole nation pray against corruption," appeals Anna Hazare.

"Lets reach Jantar Mantar in thousands, in lakhs from 5th April. I will be there - day and night - with Anna. We will all sleep on the roads of Jantar Mantar. Anna's fast can change India's history. Can't you take a few days off from your work and be a part of it?" Arvind Kejriwal

"Send us a missed call at 02261550789 to stay updated about this movement. Forward this mail to everyone," Kiran Bedi

Do watch this film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eJnyPRWHzc

Across India, join Sri Sri Ravishankar, Swami Agnivesh, Arch Bishop of Delhi Vincent Concessao, Mahmood A Madani, Kiran Bedi, J M Lyngdoh, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal, Mufti Shamoom Qasmi, Mallika Sarabhai, Arun Bhatia, Sunita Godara, Swami Ramdev, All India Bank Employees Federation, PAN IIT Alumni Association, Common Cause, Foundation for Restoration of National Values and many other prominent organizations and leaders, as India comes out on the streets!
200+ CITIES WILL RALLY BEHIND ANNA!

Salient features of Jan Lokpal Bill
Drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde, Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal, this Bill has been refined on the basis of feedback received from public on website and after series of public consultations. It has also been vetted by and is supported by Shanti Bhushan, J M Lyngdoh, Kiran Bedi, Anna Hazare etc. It was sent to the PM and all CMs on 1st December.

An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up
Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.
Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.
The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.
How will it help a common citizen: If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.
So, you could approach Lokpal if your ration card or passport or voter card is not being made or if police is not registering your case or any other work is not being done in prescribed time. Lokpal will have to get it done in a month's time. You could also report any case of corruption to Lokpal like ration being siphoned off, poor quality roads been constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off. Lokpal will have to complete its investigations in a year, trial will be over in next one year and the guilty will go to jail within two years.
But won't the government appoint corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members? That won't be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.
What if some officer in Lokpal becomes corrupt? The entire functioning of Lokpal/ Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.
What will happen to existing anti-corruption agencies? CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.

PLS CIRCULATE THIS MAIL WIDELY

(This movement is neither affiliated nor aligned to any political party)

India Against Corruption: A-119, Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, UP | 09718500606

www.indiaagainstcorruption.org | indiaagainstcorruption.2010@gmail.com | facebook.com/indiacor

Thank you Sonia, but please do more, says Anna Hazare
NDTV Correspondent, Updated: April 07, 2011 22:32 IST
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New Delhi: "The government is drunk with power and corruption...it is for the people to make it sober" said Anna Hazare this evening, on the third day of his hunger strike. Thousands clapped at Jantar Mantar where they had gathered for his latest address. In cities across India, demonstrations drew larger numbers than ever before. In Mumbai, students wore caps that said, "I Am Anna Hazare."

Mr Hazare and a group of social activists have two points on their agenda: they want the government to introduce a new law to serve as "an antibiotic against corruption." And they want representatives of civil society to be part of the committee that drafts the law. Today, the government agreed to that. But who will head the committee, and its legal status remain points of difference. (Read: Govt says yes to joint panel, no to Anna Hazare as chairman)

This evening, Congress President Sonia Gandhi urged Mr Hazare to end his fast with this statement: "There can be no two views on the urgent necessity of combating graft and corruption in public life. I believe that the laws in these matters must be effective and must deliver the desired results. I am sure that Anna Hazare Ji's views will receive the government's full attention as we move forward to fight this menace." (Read: Who is Anna Hazare?)

Reacting to Sonia Gandhi's demand to end his fast, Anna Hazare urged the UPA chairperson to tell the government to bring the Lokpal Bill urgently. (Watch) Union Minister Kapil Sibal, who is on the Group of Ministers drafting the anti-corruption law, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh late this evening to discuss ways out of this impasse.Rediff.comTwitterNDTV SocialLive MessengerGmail BuzzPrint

Meanwhile, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj wants the government to convene an all-party meeting on the issue.

Since he began his hunger strike on Tuesday, Mr Hazare has become the icon of a nation tired of discovering how it has been had by the people it elected to power. The 72-year-old Gandhian said he had no choice but to begin his die-unto-death fast -repeated discussions with the government for a Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombusman Bill) were leading only to more discussion. So Mr Hazare ignored an appeal from the Prime Minister, and began his strike on Tuesday morning, unleashing a people's revolution. (Watch: Govt drunk on corruption, says Anna)

The government seems to have been surprised that Mr Hazare's call to action has resonated so loudly with middle class India. Young school children, waving the tricolour, attend his rallies with parents or teachers. Housewives say they are needed more to campaign for the war against corruption than in their homes. On the internet and on the ground, the support for Mr Hazare is surpassed only by anger and mistrust of politicians. (Read: What is Jan Lokpal Bill? | Why Anna Hazare opposes it)

Last night, the Prime Minister told his senior ministers to engage with Mr Hazare and of social activists who have joined forces with him, largely through an umbrella organization called India Against Corruption.

Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal met with two of Mr Hazare's closest associates this morning- Swami Agnivesh and Arvind Kejriwal, known for his initiative in delivering the Right to Information Act to India.

No agreement was reached. But both sides made major concessions. The activists are now negotiating with one of the ministers they had attacked openly in recent days for ignoring corruption. And the government has agreed that the committee that drafts the bill will include representatives of civil society. Mr Sibal explained the differences that for now remain irreconcilable. "There is no agreement on two issues - that is issuing an official notification to form the committee and making Mr Hazare the chairman of the committee. So we need more time and we will meet again tomorrow and see we can evolve a procedure with which we can move ahead." (Watch:Jaan, dil both belong to India says Hazare)

Activists want the government to issue a formal notification about the committee, conferring legal status. Mr Sibal and others point out that this would set a dangerous precedent - legislation being opened up to non-elected representatives. The government has offered instead to announce the committee. Mr Hazare and others say that's not enough.

The government also says that to have Mr Hazare chairing a committee that includes ministers would be politically incorrect.

Mr Hazare announced today that while he will not head the committee, he will be a member.

For the millions across India who have now placed their faith in him, that may not be enough.

Enter your comment on India Against Corruption here or upload your video comment here.

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Story first published:
April 07, 2011 18:47 IST

Tags: Anna Hazare, appeals, corruption, movement, Sonia Gandhi

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/thank-you-sonia-but-please-do-more-says-anna-hazare-97037?cp
Full Coverage: Anna Hazare Lokpal Bill
Social activist Anna Hazare's fast unto death for an anti corruption law has stirred people's imaginations, igniting one of the India's biggest mass protests in recent times. Watch this space to catch up with the latest on the Lokpal Bill - this page will feature a selection of stories on Anna Hazare, protests all over the country and the government's response to the public movement.
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Acclaimed director Vishal Bharadwaj is overawed by social activist Anna Hazare's fast-unto-death to make India a corruption-free country and says everyone should support his initiative.Anna Hazare says he can carry on fast for at least 7 more days
Anna Hazare, said that he could carry on for at least seven more days and he was fine except for "slight weakness".Anna Hazare insists on joint committee to draft anti-graft bill
Anna Hazare stuck to the demand for a joint committee of civil society members and government representatives to draft a strong anti-graft bill.Anna Hazare's fast enters third day
72-year-old Hazare's protest has led to the resignation of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar from the Group of Ministers on corruption.Anna Hazare apologises to Uma Bharti
Reformer Anna Hazare apologised to former BJP leader Uma Bharati who was asked to leave the protest site a day earlier.Lokpal Bill: United in opposition, civil society a divided lot
The confabulations in the run-up to Anna Hazare's hunger strike have brought out differences within activists on the alternative Jan Lokpal Bill.India against corruption: 'This is our 2nd freedom struggle'
If Anna Hazare's fast against corruption needs any oxygen of support, he is getting it by the tonne from netizens.Anna Hazare: The man who can't be ignored
He calls himself a fakir - a man who has no family, no property and no bank balance. He lives in a 10ft x 10ft spartan room attached to the Yadavbaba temple in Ahmednagar's Ralegan Siddhi village, 110km from Pune and wears only khadi.Anna Hazare: Satyagraha has the power to shame the powerful
Judging by the wide-ranging response to Gandhian Anna Hazare's ongoing fast unto death, the power of satyagraha endures even today.

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Thank you Sonia, but please do more, says Anna Hazare
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We Support the Libyan Democratic Revolution and
Oppose Western Military Intervention and Domination
By Thomas Harrison and Joanne Landy
Co-Directors, Campaign for Peace and Democracy
April 6, 2011
The Campaign for Peace and Democracy stands in solidarity with the Libyan revolution. Even the brutal Qaddafi regime, bloated with oil wealth, defended by thousands of mercenaries, and ruling over a hollowed-out civil society, could not prevent a challenge from below. As is the case with all the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, the Libyan revolt holds the promise not only of democracy but also, along with political freedom, the emergence of a new left and labor movement that can offer an alternative to today's violent, exploitative and unequal world order.
At first, Libyans protested peacefully against Qaddafi's regime. Then, in the face of a vicious attack, they defended themselves with their own arms, helped by numerous defectors from the Libyan army. As the Qaddafi forces reached the outskirts of Benghazi, the U.S. decided to support the calls from the rebels – and the British and French – for a no-fly zone. At that point, the Libyan Transitional National Council's request was for a strictly limited intervention, explicitly excluding ground forces and aimed only at neutralizing Qaddafi's air force. Since the Libyans believed they faced the threat of an imminent massacre, their appeal was totally understandable. Likewise, it was understandable that many progressive, normally anti-interventionist, supporters of the Libyan revolution throughout the world called for a no-fly zone as well, especially because the Libyans themselves had asked for it.
While respecting the impulse behind this position, however, we do not support U.S. and European air and naval operations in Libya. UN Security Council resolution 1973 provided for a no-fly zone, but military intervention by the U.S. and Europe was much more than that right from the beginning, as was predictable given their history, relationship to North Africa and the Middle East, and imperial appetites. The operation, which is now under NATO command, immediately became a campaign to oust Qaddafi on behalf of western interests.
NATO bombing is now forecast to continue for at least three more months, and an eventual invasion and occupation are possible if the situation isn't resolved to the satisfaction of the western powers. U.S. and British secret service agents have been in eastern Libya for weeks, and appear to be assuming a growing role in military training, directing NATO air strikes, and perhaps political guidance for the National Council. Intervention may have prevented a massacre in Benghazi, but at the same time it has inserted NATO's power into Libya, at the heart of a region in democratic turmoil, and dangerously compromised the political independence of the Libyan revolution.
A "surgical" strike, limited to protecting civilians in Benghazi, was never a real possibility; the U.S. and Europe are not available for one-shot genuinely humanitarian intervention in a major oil-producing region. Libya's revolution needs to remain in Libyan hands; western military intervention directly contravenes that goal and paves the way for western domination of all or part of Libya.
In fact, NATO's attack on Libya may well end up strengthening the hand of Qaddafi and other regional dictators by allowing them to pose as defenders of national self-determination, especially if air strikes end up maiming and killing large numbers of civilians, as they have in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In his relations with the west, Qaddafi went from pariah to partner, but Libya under his rule was never a dependable partner, like Saudi Arabia or Mubarak's Egypt. There is no evidence that the United States or the European powers planned Qaddafi's overthrow or even expected it before February 2011. But when the Libyan revolution broke out, after hesitating for a couple of weeks, they decided to intervene, reportedly working furiously behind the scenes to obtain Arab League support to legitimize their intervention – support which, incidentally, almost instantly evaporated once Operation Odyssey Dawn had begun. The western powers might well have been willing to deal with Qaddafi in power indefinitely, since he had granted plenty of access to Libya's oil, collaborated in the sordid "rendition" program, and helped prevent African refugees from getting to Europe. However, once the situation became unstable they sought to assert more reliable control over Libya and its resources. With France and Britain pressing strongly for a no-fly zone, the United States may have felt that it was politically impossible to remain on the sidelines, both because Washington did not want to have its leadership position in NATO compromised by sitting this one out and because it wanted to assure that the U.S. would be in a position to reap the greatest gains in the aftermath of the conflict.
The United States and Europe both want to prevent the coming to power of a government that uses Libya's oil revenues to satisfy domestic popular needs, not to enrich itself and western corporations. The intervention was an opportunity to try to gain enough influence over the revolution to steer it in a direction favorable to western interests. This is all the more important because western powers have suffered a major setback with the ouster of friendly dictators in Tunisia and Egypt, as a result of which their power in North Africa and the Middle East is shakier than ever. It is especially true for the United States, which has also bungled its attempt to establish stable, cooperative client states in Iraq and Afghanistan, and whose credibility will likely suffer further as newly democratized Tunisia and Egypt, under the pressure of public opinion, reassess their relations with Washington's foremost regional client, Israel.
U.S. and European intervention is part of an emerging counterrevolution that threatens to blunt, or even reverse, the democratic promise of the Arab Spring. Despots in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman and Syria have been increasingly cracking down on popular insurgencies, and in Egypt the military is moving to safeguard its power and curb radical reform, possibly in alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood. The Egyptian military has so far refused to end the state of emergency and has tried, fortunately without much success, to ban strikes and demonstrations. Except in the case of Syria, all of this has almost certainly taken place with the tacit approval, and perhaps the direct connivance, of Washington – and even the repression in Syria has evoked only feeble protests from U.S. officials. In Yemen, Washington is reported to be moving away from support to President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the eleventh hour, as his rule becomes totally unviable, and favoring the transfer of power to a provisional government led by Saleh's vice president, who the U.S. hopes will follow in the compliant footsteps of the present Yemeni government. Political leaders in the United States, and the corporate, military and political elites they serve, have a deep and vested interest in containing the revolutions now sweeping the Arab world. Lending support to their armed incursions would simply facilitate their success in this reactionary endeavor.
The Libyan National Council originally called not only for a no-fly zone, but also for western nations to hand over Qaddafi's frozen assets so they could purchase arms. It is revealing that the U.S. and Europe have so far neither supplied arms directly nor provided an opening for the rebels to acquire the weapons they desperately need. Of course, channeling weaponry to the Libyan National Council would also be a means of acquiring political leverage for the west, but that could be mitigated by the rebels acquiring weapons from diverse sources. In any event, the Council is not definitively under the control of the west at this point; it still seems to rest on a measure of popular support and to be at least somewhat accountable to Libyans -- NATO, obviously is not.
As long as the Libyan revolution expresses the striving of the mass of Libyan people for democracy and social justice, it must command the support of progressives everywhere. But that support cannot extend automatically to every political decision the Libyan rebels make, especially when we have good reason to believe that certain decisions undermine their ability to replace the cruel Qaddafi regime with a system of people's power and enhance the retrograde influence of the western powers throughout the region; this is the great danger of the rebels' willingness to accept NATO as a full partner. There can be little doubt that NATO's increasing role in the struggle against Qaddafi helps promote the most pro-western elements in the National Council – former Qaddafi officials, emigrés with CIA connections, etc. – and strengthens them in relation to more progressive, anti-imperialist forces.
It should be remembered that other oppressed peoples have desperately called for great power intervention on their behalf – with fatal results. In 1994, in the face of ferocious repression, Haitians appealed to the United States to reinstall Bertrand Aristide; the result was an occupation (as in Libya, under the imprimatur of the UN) that persists to this day, a U.S.-sponsored coup that forced Aristide out of the country, a corrupt and undemocratic government, and ongoing desperate poverty arising out of U.S.-imposed economic policies. [Joanne Landy's Op-Ed opposing U.S. intervention in Haiti was published in the August 7, 1994 issue of The New York Times.] Besieged Muslim Bosnians and Kosovar Albanians called for help from NATO; the results were permanent ethnic partition in Bosnia and the creation of a gangster state in Kosovo. Many Iraqis initially greeted U.S. troops as liberators from the hated rule of Saddam Hussein; but Iraq's "liberation" immediately turned into a nightmare of bloody U.S. repression and sectarian strife.
Since the end of the Cold War, military interventions by the United States and its allies have become more and more frequent, with disastrous consequences not only for the populations involved, but also for the left and the antiwar movement globally. To the extent that progressives and antiwar activists defend these interventions, they provide unintentional political cover for what are in fact exercises in imperial aggression – and help justify future bloody interventions.
If our goal is a democratic world of self-determining peoples, free from imperialist domination, then the strategies we support should point with consistency toward the achievement of that goal. As long as the wealthy and powerful have the means to impose their will by force, they will prevent such a world from coming into being. NATO is one of their strongest weapons. We cannot support its incursions, even when they are disguised as efforts to protect civilian lives. This is especially important in North Africa and the Middle East, where western powers have a vital interest in preventing a real seizure of power by the Arab masses. The challenge that faces radical democratic movements around the world today is to find ways of offering meaningful solidarity and support to one another, rather than lending added legitimacy to the very forces that stand in our way. As future crises develop, this challenge will become more and more urgent.
The insurgency in Libya, and democratic movements throughout North Africa and the Middle East will undoubtedly face painful setbacks as well as heartening victories as the revolutionary process unfolds. In Libya, we hope that it's not too late for the popular insurgency to retrieve its independence. Its true friends in the region and around the globe are grassroots movements, unions, peace and human rights activists, with similar democratic goals.
More than any event in decades, the Arab Spring has opened up the prospect of a better world, a world in which the fate of billions is no longer at the mercy of power-hungry, self-aggrandizing elites. At home, the wave of democratic revolutions offers an opportunity for those of us who have long opposed U.S. foreign policy and its reliance on authoritarian governments, military intervention, and reactionary economic policies to convince ordinary Americans that another road is possible and in their best interests.

http://www.cpdweb.org/stmts/1018/stmt.shtml

HINDU AND HINDUISM

INTRODUCTION ..
MAIN FEATURES
LACK OF A COMMON SENSE
SUPERIORITY OF THE BRAHMAN
POLYTHEISM
SEX & SEX-WORSHIP
AUTHORITY OF THE VEDAS
COW SLAUGHTER IN HINDU SCRIPTURES
WHO ARE THE BRAHMINS?
CASTE SYSTEM IN HINDUISM
More on Caste System.
ORIGIN OF THE CASTE SYSTEM
CASTE DETERMINES DUTY
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC & OTHER ASPECTS
Inferiority of The Dalit
WOMEN'S IN HINDUISM
Sati (Widow-Burning)
Status of The Sudras
Untouchability in Practice
DALITS AND HINDUISM

INTRODUCTION
The term 'Hinduism' has been derived from 'Hindu'. 'Hindu' is a Persian word which means dark [Firuz al-Lughat (Lahore: n.d.), p. 615. Also see Lugat Sa'idi: (Kanpur: 1936), p. 633.]. The word was first used by Muslims [H.G. Rawlinson, Intercourse Between India and the Western World, (Cambridge: 1926), p. 20.] for the inhabitants of the 'land beyond the Indus (Sindhu) river' and later, for the ancient Indians in general. The word was never used in Indian literature or scriptures before the advent of Muslims to India [Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (ERE), (New York: l 967), 6:699. Also see Swami Dharma Theertha, History of Hindu Imperialism, (Madras: 1992), p. vii.].

According to Jawaharlal Nehru, the earliest reference to the word 'Hindu' can be traced to a Tantrik book of the eighth century C.E., where the word means a people, and not the followers of a particular religion. The use of the word 'Hindu' in connection with a particular religion is of very late occurrence [Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of India, (New Delhi: 1983), pp.74-75]. The Muslim rulers used the term 'Hindu' to mean Indian non-Muslims only. The Brahmans gladly welcomed it as it brought all the non-Muslim Indians under a single umbrella and thus provided them with a rare opportunity to expand their social, religious and political influence over them in the name of religion. The British rulers maintained it with one modification. They excluded the converted Christians from those covered by the term 'Hindu'.

The non-Muslim people of the South Asian subcontinent called Hindu had no precise word for their religions [Benson Y. Landis, World Religions, (New York: n.d.), p. 49.]. They were, as they are, divided into thousands of communities and tribes, each having its own religious beliefs, rituals, modes of worship, etc. Finding it difficult to get the names of the religions of these communities, the British writers gave them the word "Hinduism" to be used as a common name for all of their religions in about 1830 [The New Encyclopedia Britannica (NEB), 20:581.]. Thus the people called Hindus got a common element, at least in word, to be identified as a distinct, single community.

The people called Hindu have nothing common in their religious affairs. 'Hinduism', therefore, cannot give any precise idea as to what it means. Attempts were made to define the term but could not succeed. Faced with this dilemma, Hindu scholars sometime use the word Sanatan Dharma (eternal religion) and sometime Vedic Dharma (religion of the Veda), etc. for their religion. But as names of their religion, these words are also untenable as they do not imply anything precise for all the people called Hindu. [TOP]

MAIN FEATURES
Hinduism is a bundle of many things, often mutually contradictory. It is, therefore, not easy to identify its main features. However, some elements which are generally regarded as its main features are given below. [TOP]

LACK OF A COMMON SENSE
Hinduism is not a revealed religion and, therefore, has neither a founder nor definite teachings or common system of doctrines [Richard F. Nyrof, Area Handbook for India, (Washington: 1975), p. 163.] It has no organization, no dogma or accepted creeds. There is no authority with recognized jurisdiction. A man, therefore, could neglect any one of the prescribed duties of his group and still be regarded as a good Hindu. "Hinduism has never prepared a body of canonical scriptures or a common prayer book; it has never held a general council or convocation; never defined the relation between deity and clergy; never regulated the canonization of saints or their worship; never established a single centre of religious life; never prescribed a course of training for its priests."[ ERE. 6:7 12.] In the words of S.V. Kelkar, "There is in fact no system of doctrines, no teacher, or school of teaching, no single god that is accepted by all the Hindus." [Theertha, p. 177.] In Hinduism, none is, therefore, regarded to have forsaken his or her religion, even if he or she deviates to any extent from the usually accepted doctrines or practices. [TOP]

SUPERIORITY OF THE BRAHMAN
The Brahmans occupy the highest position in the hierarchy of the caste system. They are said to have sprung from the mouth of Brahma (god), they are the rightful possessors of the Veda. They possess spiritual superiority by birth. They have the monopoly right to act as priests, conduct religious ceremonies and festivals, and accept alms. The Brahman is the deity on earth by his divine status [Wilkins: Modern Hinduism, (London: 1975), p.239.]," born to fulfill dharma. Whatever exists in the world is his property. On account of the excellence of his origin, he is entitled to all. "Let a Brahman be ignorant or learned, still he is a great deity. To Brahman, the three worlds and the gods owe's their existence." [Theertha, p. 37.] (emphasis added). More on Brahman from Hindu Scriptures.[TOP]

POLYTHEISM
Hindus believe in Many gods and goddesses. Some of them are human (e.g. Krishna, Rama) some are animals (e.g. fish, monkey, rat, snake), some half animal half humans (e.g. Ganesh), and some others are natural phenomena (e.g. dawn, fire, sun). Their number is generally believed to be 330 million. According to Hindu belief, god incarnates, i.e., takes the form of human being and other animals and appears in this earth in that form. Gods and goddesses were born like human beings and had wives and children. No god possesses absolute power; some of the gods are weaker than the sages and some others even weaker than the animals. Another aspect about Hindu gods is that the status of their godhood is not fixed. One finds that some gods were worshipped for a time and then abandoned and new gods and goddesses were adopted instead. The gods and goddesses worshipped now-a-days in Hindu homes and temples are not Vedic. The Vedic gods like Agni (fire), Surya (sun) Usha (dawn) are completely rejected and the gods and goddesses mentioned in the Puranas are worshipped by modern Hindus. Similarly, Rama who is currently receiving increasing acceptance among Hindus in India because of the wide propagation of the official and other media was never worshipped as a deity until the Eleventh century. [TOP]

SEX & SEX-WORSHIP
Hindu scriptures are essentially pornographic in nature, full of sexual allusion, sexual symbolism, passages of frank eroticism and stories relating to venal love. Some religious sects even introduced ritual intercourse as part of their cult and a potent aid to salvation [A.L Basham, The Wonders That Was India (Calcutta: 1967), p. 172.].

The rituals, festivals and ceremonies are characterized by the display of obscene portraits, sex and sex-worship. The temples, places of pilgrimage and other holy shrines are full of sculptures with all sorts of sexual postures. The sexual life of Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu, is well-known for its indecency. He had illicit relations with Radha, wife of his maternal uncle, in addition to a number of milk-maids, although he had a large number of wives [The number of his wives was sixteen thousand one hundred and eight (16,108) and his children numbered one hundred and eighty thousand (180,000). See Ambedkar, Riddle of Rama and Krishna, (Bangalore: 1988), p.25.]. Among Hindu gods, the most prominent ones are: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the sustainer) and Siva (the destroyer). Brahma is found guilty of cohabiting with his own daughter, Saraswati. It is for that reason that he is deprived of being worshipped. Vishnu is guilty of deceitfully ruining the chastity of a married woman, called Tulasi. Siva is not worshipped but the image of his linga (sex-organ) is widely worshipped. This is because of the curse of some sage [See Chapter 4.]. In the sculpture, Siva and his consort Parvati are depicted in various explicit poses of the sexual act. Prostitution is encouraged in the form of religious custom of devdasi (slave-girls dedicated to temple-idols). Hindu gods and rishis (sages) are found engaged in sexual act with beautiful women and breeding illegitimate children. As for instance, in order that Rama could have strong soldiers in his army, the gods engaged themselves in begetting powerful sons. This they did by engaging themselves, in the words of Dr. Ambedkar [Dr. Ambedkar was the first law minister of independent India and was the author of India's constitution],
"in wholesale acts of fornication, not only against apsaras, who were prostitutes, not only against the unmarried daughters of Yashas [Yaksha, naga, ruksha, vidyadhar, gandharva, kinna, each of these words means demigod] and nagas, but also against the lawfully wedded wives of Ruksha, Vidhyadhar, Ghandharvas, Kinnars, and Vanaras (monkeys) and produced the vanaras who became the associates of Rama" [ Ambedkar, p.7.] [TOP]

AUTHORITY OF THE VEDAS
It is generally believed that the Veda is recognized as an absolute authority in Hinduism but the so-called low- caste (non-Aryan) Hindus have no access to the scripture because they are considered impure by birth. So the Veda is far from being an authority for these people. The only people who are allowed to read and listen to the scripture are the Aryan Hindus. The Brahmans, the sole custodians of the Veda, too hardly benefit from it because it is written in Sanskrit, a dead language, 'its content has long been practically unknown to most Hindus, and it is seldom drawn upon for literal advice' [NEB,20: 581] [TOP]

COW SLAUGHTER IN HINDU SCRIPTURES
It is interesting to note that the cow used to be slaughtered by the ancient Hindus to enjoy its beef, entertain the guests and offer it as sacrifice to their deities.
[Mahatma] Gandhi himself says, "I know there are scholars who tell us that cow-sacrifice is mentioned in the Vedas. I... read a sentence in our Sanskrit text-book to the effect that Brahmins of old [period] used to eat beef" [M.K. Gandhi, Hindu Dharma, New Delhi, 1991, p. 120]. He, however, refrained from showing enough courage in clearly speaking the truth, may be because he did not like to hurt the sentiments of the people who were the main source of his political strength.
There are clear evidences in the Rig Veda, the most sacred Hindu scripture, that the cow used to be sacrificed by Hindus for religious purposes. For instance, Hymn CLXIX of the Rig Veda says: "May the wind blow upon our cows with healing; may they eat herbage ... Like-coloured various-hued or single- coloured whose names through sacrifice are known to Agni, Whom the Angirases produced by Ferbvour - vouschsafe to these, Parjanya, great.protection. Those who have offered to the gods their bodies whose varied forms are all well known to Soma" [The Rig Veda (RV), translated by Ralph H. Griffith, New York, 1992, p. 647]. In the Rig Veda (RV: VIII.43.11) Agni is described as "fed on ox and cow" suggesting that cattle were sacrificed and roasted in fire. Another hymn (RV: X.16.7) mentions the ritual enveloping of the corpse with cow flesh before applying the fire on it.[TOP]

In the Brahmanas at 1.15 in the Aiteriya Brahmana, the kindling of Agni on the arrival of King Some is compared to the slaughter of a bull or a barren cow on the arrival of a human king or other dignitary. Similarly, at II.1.11.1 in the Taiteriya Brahmana and XXXI.14.5 in the Panchavinsha Brahmana, the rishi Agastya is credited with the slaughter of a hundred bulls.[TOP]

In verse III.1.2.21 in the Satapatha Brahmana, sage Yajnavalkaya asserts that even though the cow is the supporter of everyone, he would eat beef "if it is luscious." At IV.5-2.1 in the same Brahmana, it is said that a barren cow can be slaughtered in the Some sacrifice. Not only for religious purposes, but also for other purposes one could kill a cow and eat beef. Thus at II.4.2 of the same Brahmana, it is suggested that a fat bull or fat goat should be sacrificed in honour of an important guest. [TOP]

Similarly, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishada (VI.4.18) advises a couple to take an evening meal of beef or veal pulao, if they desire to beget a son who is learned in the Vedas [Robert Trumbull, As I see India, London, 1957, p.241].[TOP]

WHO ARE THE BRAHMINS?
The word Brahmin incorporates all the upper-caste Hindus of India. They claim that, because they were made God Brahma's head, they are the chosen people of God. Worshipping a Brahmin is akin to worshipping God incarnate. Serving a Brahmin and offering him alms is like serving God himself. These are in the beliefs that are included in the minds of all other people, especially in the low caste Hindus. As a result 5% of the Indian population have psychologically enslaved the other 95%.
The Brahmins are the "ARYANS" invaders of India who entered the country thousands of years ago via the Khyber Pass. Over the centuries they have established themselves firmly on Indian soil by ruling over, and enslaving, the country's original inhabitants. [TOP]

Brahmins always criticise, condemn and mock other Religions. Their criticisms and mocking is unreasonable and unacceptable.
In his autobiography, Dr. Charles an American scholar says that it is very simple to define a Hindu. He says a Hindu means "one who believes anything and everything if said in the name of God and shall never question its authenticity.
The Brahmins claim that Lord Rama is incarnated (came in human form) to study and understand the difficulties of mankind. Is it really necessary for a god to incarnate Himself? Can he not understand his creation? Why should God become a Human or an Animal to understand its problem in order or to understand the sufferings of these creatures? he is so powerful that he doesn't require [TOP]

CASTE SYSTEM IN HINDUISM
Hindu society is divided into several thousands of caste and sub-caste. Caste is a highly organized social grouping. A Hindu is born in a caste and dies as a member of that caste. As caste is determined by birth, one can never move from one caste to another. Castes are not equal in status but arranged in a vertical order in which one caste is at the top and is the highest (the Brahman), another at the bottom and is the lowest (the Dalit) and in between them there are the Kshatriya, the Vashya and the Sudra in a descending order. This inequality in status is said to be an outcome of a person's deeds (good or bad) accomplished in his previous life. Caste differences find their expression largely in connection with marriages and eating together. In the words of S.D. Theertha, "... the Hindu social order is simply a menace to freedom, unity and peace. The three thousands and odd castes and the larger number of sub-castes, into which the Hindus are irretrievably divided, keep nearly ninety-five per cent of the Hindus in perpetual disgrace and permanently condemned to an inferior social status [Ibid., p.209.]. [TOP]

MORE ON CASTE SYSTEM.
The most significant feature of the Hindu social system is what is called 'caste' under which the people are divided into various groups. The status of an individual in the society is determined by the caste in which he is born. A Hindu is born in a caste and he dies as a member of that caste. There is no Hindu without a caste and being bound by caste from birth to death, he becomes subject to social regulation and tradition of the caste over which he has no control. [TOP]

A person born in a caste carries the name of that caste as a part of his surname [Swami Dharma Theertha, History of Hindu Imperialism, Madras, 1992, p. 187.]. The division of the people into various castes is said to be eternal so that no act of virtue or vice in this earthly life is enough to make any change in the caste or social status of a man or woman. The caste system of India has generally been regarded as an absurd, unhealthy social phenomenon, without parallel elsewhere in the world.
On the top of the caste hierarchy is the Brahman and at the bottom is the Untouchable (Dalit) and in between are the Kshatriya, the Vashya, and the Sudra in a descending order. According to the Hindu scriptures, the Brahmans have been sprung from the mouth of Brahma (Hindu god), the Kshatriyas from his arms, the Vashyas from his thigh and the Sudras from his feet. [TOP]

Broadly, Hindus are divided into two groups: caste Hindus (also varna Hindus) and low-caste Hindus. The former includes the Brahman, the Kshatriya and the Vashya who are the descendants of the fair-skinned Aryan invaders and the latter includes the Sudras, who are dark in skin and are the offspring of the original inhabitants of India. In this group is also included the most unfortunate Dalit who is outcaste because he falls outside the original fourfold groupings. He is untouchable because his touch is bound to pollute the other castes and that is why he must always remain at a sufficient distance from them.
The fourfold division is not the end of the caste system; the community is subdivided into thousands of sub-castes (gotras). According to a survey undertaken by the Anthropological Survey of India during 1985-92, those who are called Hindu are divided among 2,800 unique communities. The so-called low-caste Hindus are officially divided into three broad groups, namely Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. According to this survey, these groups are subdivided into [Scheduled Castes-450,] , [Scheduled Tribes-461], and [Other Backward Classes-766] distinct communities respectively [Dalit Voice, 15:4, p. 20.]. [TOP]

The great distinctions of caste are to be maintained not only in the earthly life, but also after death. According to Markandaya Purana, after death, the virtuous Brahman goes to the abode of Brahma, the good Kshatriya to that of Indra, the worthy Vashya to that of the Maruts, and the dutiful Sudra to that of the Gandharvas [John C. Oman, The Brahmans, Theists, and Muslims of India, Delhi, 1973, p. 50]. Apparently, the Untouchable (Dalit) does not deserve any place in any heaven, may be because of his untouchability. [TOP]

ORIGIN OF THE CASTE SYSTEM
'Caste' is a Portuguese word, used by the Portuguese as equivalent of 'varna' (a Sanskrit word, which means 'colour'). They used this word to designate the peculiar system of religious and social distinction which they observed among those who are called Hindu. Caste originally was a colour-bar, and in India, as later in America, served at first to separate free men from slaves. Gradually, the Brahmans made it a religiously ordained social fabric for the Hindu society. Manu, a Brahman, gave in his book, Dharma shastra, details about the caste system.
When the fair-skinned Aryans invaded India, about two thousand years before Jesus Christ (pbuh), they defeated the dark-skinned indigenous people, Dravidians, who were the founder of the Indian Civilization. The Aryans subjugated them, learnt many things from them and built up another civilization which came to be known as the Ganges Valley or Hindu Civilization. To perpetuate the enslavement of the original inhabitants of India, the Aryans created the caste system, and thereby excluded them from their own society with the name of Sudra (which means slave). [TOP]

In the words of S.V. Theertha, "When the ancient priests set themselves up as an exclusive caste of Brahmans in order to establish their self-assumed superiority, they had to inflict degradation on all other Hindus (i.e., original Indians) and press them down to various layers of subordination. They had to keep the people divided, disunited, weak and degraded, to deny them learning, refinement and opportunities of advancement, and permanently and unalterably to tie them down to a low status in society. The Hindu social organization based on hereditary castes was evolved by the Brahmans with the above object and was enforced on the people with the help of foreign conquerors." [Theertha, p.1 64.] [TOP]

CASTE DETERMINES DUTY
In Hindu community, the basic duty of every individual is determined by his caste. The Brahman is the rightful possessor of the Veda and is the chief of the whole creation. He has the exclusive right to become a priest. It is through his benevolence that other mortals enjoy life. [TOP]

The Kshatriya is described as the dispenser of justice, particularly as the one whose duty it is to punish law-breakers; he exercises the civil power and to his tender mercies the Brahmans could hand over law- breakers. He has to see that the various castes attend to their prescribed duties; but in doing this work he must abide by the decisions of the Brahmans. [TOP]

The Vashya comprises the merchant, the agriculturist, and the keeper of cattle. His chief work is keeping cattle.

The Sudra has been created to serve the other three castes (i.e., the fair-skinned Aryans). "He is spoken of as a slave, his property, as well as his person, being at the disposal of his master." [Wilkins, Modern Hinduism, London, 1975, p. 247.][TOP]

The Untouchable (Dalit) is to perform the most unpleasant tasks: cleaning lavatories, carrying night soil, skinning carcasses and making footwear. [TOP]

SOCIAL, ECONOMIC & OTHER ASPECTS
The social, economic and other aspects of life are controlled by the caste regulation. Caste differences are largely invoked while arranging marriages and eating together. For rural Indians, castes shape almost every aspect of their lives: the food they eat and who can cook it; how they bathe; the colour of their clothes; the length of a sari (cloth worn by a woman); how the dhoti (cloth worn by a Hindu man) is tied; which way a man's moustaches are trimmed and whether he can carry an umbrella. Everything is determined by caste and nothing is left to chance.
Caste regulations formulated by Manu are discriminatory in nature; they favour the Aryan Hindus and discriminate against the so-called low-caste Hindus. In teaching the duties of the 1ow-caste people concerning marriage, Manu declares that a man aged thirty may marry a girl of twelve, and a man of twenty-four years may marry a girl of eight. He, however, is very particular about the marriage regulations of Brahmans. A Brahman must avoid marrying a girl whose family has produced no sons, that which has thick hair on the body, or is afflicted with hereditary disease. Let him choose for his wife a girl whose form has no defect, who has an agreeable manner, who walks gracefully like a young elephant, and whose body has exquisite softness [ Ibid., p. 196.]. [TOP]

Punishment for offence is also determined by discriminatory caste regulations. A crime against a man of his own caste by a Sudra is venial offence; but a similar offence committed against a man belonging to so- called higher caste is proportionately greater. If a Sudra through pride dares to give instructions to priests concerning their duty, hot oil will be dropped into his mouth and ears. A high-caste man having intercourse with a Sudra woman is to be banished; a Sudra having intercourse with a woman of the superior castes is to be put to death. Whatever a Brahman's offence, the king must on no account put him to death; he may, at the most, banish him, allowing him to take his property with him. Further, in case of wrongdoing against him, a Brahman need not approach the civil court, he is free to take vengeance upon the offender [See Wilkins, 1975, pp. 239-40; Oman, p. 52.] [TOP]

INFERIORITY OF THE DALIT
The so-called Dalits (Untouchables) are the most pitiable victims of the obnoxious and pernicious caste system. Manu has little to say about them. He affirms that the members of three castes, the Brahman, the Kshatriya, and the Vashya, are twice-born; the fourth, the Sudra, once-born; there is no fifth.' All others are outcastes. The common name Dasyas (slaves) is applied to them all. [Wilkins: Modern Hinduism, London: 1975, p. 263]

The treatment accorded to the Dalit is simply inhuman. According to Manu Smriti, 'Outcasted persons have no share in inheritance.'[ John C. Oman, The Brahmans, Theists, and Muslims of India, Delhi, 1973, p. 47.] The orthodox Brahmans still believe, if the shadow of a Dalit falls on them, they are polluted and will have to purify them by sprinkling over themse1ves water from the holy river, the Ganges [F.M. Sandeela, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism, Delhi, 1990, pp. 69-70]. 'You may breed cows and dogs in your house,' wrote Mr. M.C. Raja. 'You may drink the urine of cows and swallow cowdung to expiate your sins, but you shall not approach an Adi Dravida [i.e., original Indians: Dalits, Sudras, tribal people]. [TOP]

These people are still denied the use of public wells and tanks and at the same time stigmatized as unclean. They are still kept out of schools and colleges maintained by public funds and at the same time despised as ignorant and illiterate. They are still Shut out from temples, and yet branded as ungodly and unfit to associate with. For access to public roads and even for spaces to bury the dead, they have to depend much on the capricious benevolence of their caste-Hindu neighbours. [Swami Dharma Theertha, History of Hindu Imperialism, (Madras: 1992), pp. 184-85, quoted from P. Chidambaram Pillai's Right of Temple Entry, p. 150.] [TOP]

WOMEN'S IN HINDUISM
The Brahmin media made a big campaign recently out of the Shah Banu case and they blew it out all proportion. They implied that lslam restricted the freedom of women. Let us compare the positions of the Hindu women and the Muslim women. See the following facts for comparison and then try to bring these Brahmins to their senses. Inequity and degradation of women are sanctified in the Hindu religion. Manu Smriti says
"Never trust a woman.
Never sit alone with a woman even if it may be Your mother, she may tempt you Do not sit alone with your daughter, she may tempt you.
Do not sit alone with your sister, she may tempt you

Again the same Manu Smriti continues:
"Na stree swadantriya marhathi"
"No liberty for women in society". [TOP]

The Brahmins make a big campaign that Islam restricts the freedom of women. Let us compare the positions of the Hindu woman and the Muslim woman. See the following facts for comparison


Hindu Women

Muslim Women

1.
The Hindu Woman has no right to divorce her husband.

The Muslim woman has the same right as the Muslim man in all matters including divorce.

2.
She has no property or inheritance rights.

She enjoys property and inheritance rights.(Which other religion grants women these rights?). She can also conduct her own separate business.

3.
Choice of partner is limited because she can only marry within her own caste; moreover her horoscope must match that of the intending bridegroom/family.

She can marry any Muslim of her choice. If her parents choose a partner for her, her consent must be taken. She has the right to reject also

4.
The family of the girl has to offer an enormous dowry to the bride groom and family.

The dowry in Islam is a gift from a husband to his wife (not the other way around as is practiced by some ignorant people).

5.
If her husband dies she should commit Sati (being cremated with her dead husband). Since today's law forbids Sati, society mainly punishes her in other "holy" ways (see below).

A Muslim widow is encouraged to remarry, and her remarriage is the responsibility of the Muslim society.

6.
She cannot remarry.

Mixed marriage is encouraged and is a means to prevent racism creeping in society.

7.
The widow is considered to be a curse and must not be seen in public. She cannot wear jewelry or colourful clothes. (She should not even take part in her children's marriage!)

A Muslim mother is given the highest form of respect.

8.
Child and infant marriage is encouraged.

What right do the Hindus have to criticize the Muslims? Have you ever heard of a Muslim burning his wife? In India women die daily of dowry deaths, Hindu women being burnt by the husband or in-laws. It is a fact that upper caste Hindus ill-treat their women. The Brahmins are trying to claim that Muslims do not give freedom to their women. I ask you again. "Do the Hindus respect their women?" You be the judge! [TOP]

The concept of modesty and hijab in Islam is holistic, and encompasses both men and women. The ultimate goal is to maintain social stability and to please God. Since Muslim women are more conspicuous because of their appearance, it is easier for people to associate them with the warped images they see in the print and broadcast media. Hence, stereotypes are perpetuated and often sisters seem "mysterious" to those not acquainted with Muslim women who dress according to Divine instructions. This aura of "mystery" cannot be removed until their lifestyles, beliefs and thought-systems are genuinely explored. And, frankly, this cannot be achieved until one is not afraid to respectfully approach Muslim women - or any Muslim for that matter. So, the next time you see a Muslim, stop and talk to him or her - you'll feel, God-Willing, as if you're entering a different world, the world of Islam: full of humility, piety, and of course, modesty! [TOP]

SATI (WIDOW-BURNING)
According to Hindu scriptures, a widow is required to mount the funeral of her dead husband and be cremated along with his corpse. If the husband dies at a distant place, the widow is nonetheless to be burned alive on a pyre by herself. A widow who burns herself to death this way is called sati. The guiding force to motivate Hindus to practice sati is the instructions given in their scriptures. Some of these are as given below [Wilkins: Modern Hinduism, London, 1975, pages 186 and 223.]:
"It is proper for a woman, after her husband's death to burn herself in the fire with his corpse; every woman who thus burns herself shall remain in paradise with her husband 35,000,000 years by destiny." "The wife who commits herself to flames with her husband's corpse shall equal Arundathi and reside in Swarga (heaven)." [TOP]

"Accompanying her husband, she shall reside so long in Swarga as the 35,000,000 of hairs on the human body.
"As the snake-catcher forcibly drags the serpent from his earth, so bearing her husband [from hell] with him she enjoys heavenly bliss."
"Dying with her husband, she sanctifies her maternal and paternal ancestors and the ancestors of him to whom she gave her virginity."
"Such a wife adorning her husband, in celestial felicity with him, greatest and most admired, shall enjoy the delights of heaven while fourteen Indras reign."
"Though a husband had killed a Brahman, broken the ties of gratitude, or murdered a friend she expiates the crime." [TOP]

The rite of sati was prevalent in India until it was prohibited by the British Government in 1829. Regulation XVII of 1829 declared sati illegal and punishable by the criminal courts as 'culpable homicide' amounting to manslaughter,' for which a death sentence could be awarded. [S.R. Sharma, The Making of Modern India, Bombay, 1951, p. 478.]. [TOP]

The orthodox Hindus protested that measure and made an appeal to the Privy Council in England, but, fortunately for the would-be Hindu widows of India, the council dismissed the appeal. Thus after having been practiced in India for over two thousand years, the institution of widow-burning became illegal by the law enacted by a foreign power. Until the practice of widow-burning was made a punishable offence, the number of widows sacrificed every year was appalling. Early in the nineteenth century, in Bengal alone, the annual number of such cases was about twelve hundred. In 1818, no fewer than 839 cases of sati occurred in Bengal. Of these cases, as many as 544 were accounted for by Calcutta division alone [S.R. Sharma, The Making of Modern India, Bombay, 1951, p. 478.]. [TOP]

It appears that Hindu society was not ready to honour the ordinance which banned sati except under duress. Long after the date of enactment of the ordinance, the rite was freely practiced in Hindu States outside the jurisdiction of the British power. The sati which accompanied the cremation of the body of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Punjab in 1839 is a case in point. Four of his wives and seven female slaves were burnt to death on the funeral pyre with his corpse when it was cremated [John C. Oman, The Brahmans, Theists, and Muslims of India, Delhi, 1973, p. 192]. Sati continued to be practiced in some parts of India even after independence (i.e, 1947).

Apparently, the institution of sati highlights the chastity of women. However, when one considers the institution of devdasi (i.e., the system of keeping temple prostitutes) to satisfy the lust of the priests and enable them to earn handsome income through engaging these girls in immoral activities with rich pilgrims, one fails to understand what is the real purpose of sati, upholding the chastity of women or torturing them to death.
The alternative to the rite of sati is enforced widowhood, with all its degrading accompaniments. It seems as if the Hindu law-givers made harsh regulations to be strictly followed by a widow to make her life as miserable as possible. The widow had from the moment her husband died not only to deplore the loss of a companion, but she had also to take a position of utter degradation in the household where formerly she had an honourable place. In the words of J.C. Oman, "In many parts of India, it is customary a few days after the cremation of the husband, to perform what may be called the ceremony of formally degrading the widow, when she has her head shaved by the barber and is deprived of the use of all her personal ornaments..." [TOP]

STATUS OF THE SUDRAS
The Sudra has a precarious position in Hindu community. According to Manu Smrithi, a Brahman is forbidden to give advice or even food to a Sudra, for the ghi (clarified butter) having been offered to the gods, must not be eaten by him(sudra) Further, the Brahman must not give 'spiritual counsel to him,' nor inform him of the legal expiation of his sin. He who declares the law to a servile man, and he who instructs him in the mode of expiating sin, sinks with that very man into hell. [TOP]

A Brahman should never be the guru of a Sudra. 'While the first part of a Brahman's name should indicate holiness that of a Kshatriya's power and that of a Vashya's wealth, that of a Sudra 's should indicate contempt. The Veda is never to be read in the presence of a Sudra, and for him no sacrifice is to be performed. He has no business with solemn rites [Wilkins, Modern Hinduism, London, 1975, pp. 247-48.]. [TOP]

A Sudra has no right even to listen to the Veda. Recitation of or listening to this sacred book is exclusively a privilege of the Aryan Hindus. There is provision of severe punishment for a Sudra, in case he dares to enjoy this privilege. If he "overheard a recitation of the Vedas, molten lac or tin was to be poured into his mouth; if he repeated recitation of the Vedas, his tongue should be cut; and if he remembered Vedic hymns, his body was to be torn into pieces." [Swami Dharma Theertha, History of Hindu Imperialism, Madras, 1992, p. 42.] [TOP]

A Sudra is debarred from marrying a woman of the higher castes; if he does, their offspring will sink into a class even lower than his own. He must not participate in carrying the corpse of a Brahman. He is allowed to carry his dead only through the southern gate of the city where he may live. The murder of a Sudra by a Brahman is equal only to killing a cat or a frog or a cow [Wilkins, 1975, p.248.]. [TOP]

In fact, the Sudras who have only deprivations and sufferings in their lots, are not Hindus. As Wilkins suggests, "the Sudras were not originally part of the Hindu system, but were engrafted into it..."[Ibid., p. 255.] Still worse than the Sudras are the Dalits (also called Untouchables) who fall outside the caste system and are therefore the worst in the social hierarchy. [TOP]

UNTOUCHABILITY IN PRACTICE
Untouchability has been banned in the constitution of India, which was drafted by a committee headed by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, himself an untouchable. It was his great ingenuity that he could tactfully make such a provision in the constitution of a country dominated by the Brahmans. However, there are plenty of evidences that the constitutional provision is honoured more by violation than by observance by millions of so-called high caste Hindus. Here are some:
"An attempt by a group of Harijans (untouchables) to enter an historic Hindu temple at the holy town of Nathdwara in Rajasthan state failed on Monday evening when high caste priests and others beat them back with sticks, injuring at least six. The attempt was organized by social reformers to coincide with the 120th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, the spiritual founder of independent India, who named the Untouchables (Dalits) 'Harijans.' Reports from Nathdwara say, a large contingent of police, deployed by the state government to maintain peace, took no action to prevent the attack despite
the high court ruling." (Financial Times, 6 October 1988)
"In a village 100 miles from Delhi, villagers hanged and then threw on to a fire a girl and two boys; the boys had first been tortured, while their fathers made to watch, and one of them and the girl had still been alive when put in fire. They had managed to crawl out, but were thrown back. The girl, from the
powerful Jat caste, had tried to elope with one of the boys, assisted by his friend; both were untouchables, a group so low they are not even on the bottom rung of the caste ladder. Not long before, in three villages in the state of Bihar, the huts of 400-odd families of untouchables were burnt down by gangs working for the local landowning caste, because they were demanding the legal minimum wage, 16 rupees (78 cents) a day." (The Economist, June 8th 1991). [TOP]

"At school Harijans are often made to sit on the floor; in some villages they have to take off their shoes while walking past upper-caste houses, and are usually banned from drawing water from the village well for fear they will pollute it...
A Brahmin on a packed bus cannot hop off and bathe six times each time he fears the shadow of an untouchable has fallen on him." (The Economist June 8th 1991). [TOP]

"Twenty Harijans (untouchables) have been hacked to death in a village in southern India by high caste Hindus and their bodies thrown into a nearby canal, news papers reports said. The Statesman said the incident occurred on Tuesday at Tsundur village near Guntur town in Andhra Pradesh state. Other reports said a group of Harijans were attacked by deadly weapons while trying to flee across marshes. A police picked in the village remained passive to the gruesome murders, The Hindu newspaper said. The incident had its origins in an incident that occurred about a month back in a local cinema hall. A Harijan boy watching a movie stretched himself and his leg accidentally touched a high-caste boy sitting in the next seat. Soon there was an altercation between them. The Hindus took this as an affront on their authority. They summoned the teacher-father of the Harijan boy and held him hostage until they caught hold of the boy and beat him. After this, other minor incidents between the two groups snowballed and finally led to arson and mayhem. The southern Indian incident comes three weeks after two lower caste youths and a 15-year old upper caste girl were publicly hanged by their own fathers goaded by a vigilante mob in a
north Indian village. They were punished for defying the Hindu social code barring inter-caste marriage." (Arab News, August l0, 1991).[TOP]

"In 1989, the national government (of India) recorded 14,269 cases of atrocities committed against outcastes, including 479 murders and 759 rapes." (Arab News, March 31 1991).
"Jagjivan Ram (former Union Minister of India) with all power and wealth at his command was made to know that his social status was not even equal to the poorest and uneducated Brahmin of India. When he visited Varanasi on invitation and garlanded the statue of Sampurnanand (a Kayasth), the statue was washed with Gangajal (sacred water of the Ganges) and mantras were recited to make it 'pure' as the touch of a SC (untouchable) had desecrated the stone Statue." (Dalit Voice, Vol. 12, No. 21, p.17). [TOP]

"In Kerala, Namboodiri Brahmins till very recently were compelling 'low caste' women not to wear blouses lest they should appear as high caste. The result was that these women had to go bare-breasted which was condemned by all civilized nations." (Dalit Voice, Vol. 12, No. 21, p. 17). [TOP]

DALITS AND HINDUISM
A recent example of caste-based atrocities was published by the Indian Express (June 24, 1995). A Scheduled Tribe woman, Prakash Kaur, was most painfully murdered in a village in Maharashtra province in May, 1995. Brutes from the Aryan Hindus
(l) dragged her to the village temple;
(2) shaved her head;
(3) beat her with sticks,
(4) inserted a stick into her private parts;
(5) blackened her face;
(6) put her on a donkey and paraded her in the market; and
(7) continued to beat her till she died. When the dying woman asked for water, the killers poured hot water and kerosene in her mouth. Her only offence (?) was that her 12-year old son had entered the local Hindu temple. The place where the incident took place is very close to the local police station. The more painful aspect of the incident is that when the Home Minister of the state was contacted by the All India Democratic Women's Association, he refused to take any action in the matter saying that it was not a murder but a "reflection of mob anger."
Another recent example of caste-based atrocities was published by The Times of India in its issue of 18 January 1997. A 41-year old low-caste women was stripped and paraded naked through a village near Muradabad town (U.P.). Her only offence (?) was that her son had, allegedly, teased a girl who was a caste Hindu. The woman cried for help but none dared to come to her aid. [TOP]

The racial atrocities meted out by the arrogant caste or Aryan Hindus to the under- privileged people of India have no parallel in modern world. The above instances are only few of such incidents presented to indicate how things are going on in a country claimed to be The largest democracy in the world. I dedicate this page in the memory of the women who was most brutally murdered by religious fanatics as described in the June 24, 1995, issue of the Indian Express. No one cared to save her from such inhumanity [TOP]

LISTEN WHAT THE WORLD SAYS ABOUT THE FASTEST GROWING RELIGION

ISLAM AND WOMEN

ISLAM -THE FASTEST GROWING RELIGION IN THE WORLD...... DISCOVER WHY?

IS NON-VEGETARIAN FOOD PERMITTED OR PROHIBITED FOR A HUMAN BEING

HIJAAB-THE UNVEILED MYSTERY

PROOFS OF GOD'S EXISTENCE FROM THE QUR'ÂN

[TOP]

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Jayaprakash Narayan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Indian independence activist and politician. For the other Indian politician, see Jayaprakash Narayan (Lok Satta).
Loknayak
Jayaprakash Narayan
Born October 11, 1902
Sitabdiara, Ballia District, Uttar Pradesh, India[1][2]
Died October 8, 1979
Patna[1]
Organization Indian National Congress,Janata Party
Political movement Indian Independence movement, Sarvodaya movement, Emergency movement
Jayaprakash Narayan (Devan&#257;gar&#299;: &#2332;&#2351;&#2346;&#2381;&#2352;&#2325;&#2366;&#2358; &#2344;&#2366;&#2352;&#2366;&#2351;&#2339;; October 11, 1902 - October 8, 1979), widely known as JP or loknayak (leader of the masses), was an Indian independence activist and political leader, remembered especially for leading the opposition to Indira Gandhi in the 1970s and for giving a call for peaceful Total Revolution. His biography, Jayaprakash, was written by his nationalist friend and an eminent writer of Hindi literature, Ramavriksha Benipuri. In 1998, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in recognition of his social work. Other awards include the Magsaysay award for Public Service in 1965. The airport of Patna is also named after him.
Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Sarvodaya
4 Bihar Movement and Total Revolution
5 Emergency
6 Trivia
7 Awards
8 References
9 Bibliography
10 External links
[edit]Early life

Jayprakash Narayan was born in Sitabdiara village of Ballia District of Uttar Pradesh.,[1][2] When he was a child, he had many pets. One day, his pigeon died and he did not eat food for two days afterward. His father Harsudayal was a junior official in the canal department of the State government and was often touring the region. Jayaprakash, called Baul affectionately, was left with his grandmother to study in Sitabdiara. There was no high school in the village, so Jayaprakash was sent to Patna to study in the Collegiate School. He excelled in school. His essay, "The present state of Hindi in Bihar", won a best essay award. He entered the Patna College on a Government scholarship.
[edit]Career

Jayaprakash Narayan joined Bihar Vidyapeeth [3] founded by Dr. Rajendra Prasad for motivating young meritorious youths and was among[4] the first students of eminent Gandhian Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha,[5] a close colleague of M. K. Gandhi who later became[6] first Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance Minister of Bihar. In October, 1920 Jayaprakash married Prabhavati Devi, a independence activist in her own right and a staunch disciple of Kasturba Gandhi. Prabhavati was the daughter of lawyer and nationalist Brij Kishore Prasad, one of the first Gandhians in Bihar and one who played a major role in Gandhi's campaign in Champaran. She often held opinions which were not in agreement with JP's views, but Narayan respected her independence. On Gandhiji's invitation, she stayed at his Sabarmati Ashramwhile Jayaprakash continued his studies.[7]
In 1922, Narayan went to the United States, where he worked to support his studies in political science,sociology and economics at the University of California, Berkeley, University of Iowa, University of Wisconsin–Madison and Ohio State University.[8][9] He adopted Marxism while studying at the University of Wisconsin–Madison under sociologist Edward A. Ross; he was also deeply influenced by the writings of M. N. Roy. Financial constraints and his mother's health forced him to abandon his wish of earning a PhD. He became acquainted with Rajani Palme Dutt and other revolutionaries in London on his way back to India.
After returning to India, Narayan joined the Indian National Congress on the invitation of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1929; M. K. Gandhi became his mentor in the Congress. He shared the same house at kadam kuan in Patna with his close friend and nationalist Ganga Sharan Singh (Sinha).[10] with whom he shared the most cordial and lasting friendship.[10] During the Indian independence movement he was arrested, jailed, and tortured several times by the British. He won particular fame during the Quit India movement.
After being jailed in 1932 for civil disobedience against British rule, Narayan was imprisoned in Nasik Jail, where he met Ram Manohar Lohia,Minoo Masani, Achyut Patwardhan, Ashok Mehta, Yusuf Desai and other national leaders. After his release, the Congress Socialist Party, or (CSP), a left-wing group within the Congress, was formed with Acharya Narendra Deva as President and Narayan as General secretary.
During the Quit India Movement of 1942, when senior Congress leaders were arrested in the early stages, JP, Lohia and Basawon Singh (Sinha) were at the forefront of the agitations. Leaders such as Jayaprakash Narayan and Aruna Asaf Ali were described as "the political children of Gandhi but recent students of Karl Marx." He was also a great advocate of co.relation "SAHJEEVAN"
Initially a defender of physical force, Narayan was won over to Gandhi's position on nonviolence and advocated the use of satyagrahas to achieve the ideals of democratic socialism. Furthermore, he became deeply disillusioned with the practical experience of socialism in Nehru's India.
After independence and the death of Mahatma Gandhi, Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev and Basawon Singh (Sinha) led the CSP out of Congress to become the opposition Socialist Party, which later took the name Praja Socialist Party. Basawon Singh (Sinha) became the first leader of the opposition in the state and assembly of Bihar and Acharya Narendra Deva became the first leader of opposition in the state and assembly of U.P. His party is the first national party who distributed tickets on caste line. This was the point where Jayaprakash Narayan disagreed with the party principles and pursued Sarvodey and Lokniti.
[edit]Sarvodaya

Narayan with Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in Tel Aviv, 1958
On April 19, 1954, Narayan announced in Gaya that he was dedicating his life (Jeevandan) toVinoba Bhave's Sarvodaya movement and its Bhoodan campaign, which promoted distributing land to Harijans (untouchables). He gave up his land, set up an ashram inHazaribagh, and worked towards uplifting the village.
In 1957, Narayan formally broke with the Praja Socialist Party in order to pursue lokniti[Polity of the people], as opposed to rajniti [Polity of the state]. By this time, Narayan had become convinced that lokniti should be non-partisan in order to build a consensus-based, classless, participatory democracy which he termed Sarvodaya. Narayan became an important figure in the India-wide network of Gandhian Sarvodaya workers.
In 1964, Narayan was vilified across the political spectrum for arguing in an article in theHindustan Times that India had a responsibility to keep its promise to allow self-determination to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. He hit back at critics in a second article, dismissing the Indian version of the "domino theory" which held that the rest of India's states would disintegrate if Kashmir were allowed its promised freedom. In his graceful if old-fashioned style, Narayan ridiculed the premise that "the states of India are held together by force and not by the sentiment of a common nationality. It is an assumption that makes a mockery of the Indian Nation and a tyrant of the Indian State".
[edit]Bihar Movement and Total Revolution

Narayan returned to prominence in State politics in the late 1960s. In 1974, he led the student's movement in the state of Bihar which gradually developed into a popular people's movement known as the Bihar movement. It was during this movement that JP gave a call for peaceful Total Revolution Together with V. M. Tarkunde, he founded the Citizens for Democracy in 1974 and the People's Union for Civil Liberties in 1976, both NGOs, to uphold and defend civil liberties.
[edit]Emergency

When Indira Gandhi was found guilty of violating electoral laws by the Allahabad High Court, Narayan called for Indira to resign, and advocated a program of social transformation which he termed Sampoorna kraanti [Total Revolution]. Instead she proclaimed a nationalEmergency on the midnight of June 25, 1975, immediately after Narayan had called for the PM's resignation and had asked the military and the police to disregard unconstitutional and immoral orders; JP, opposition leaders, and dissenting members of her own party (the 'Young Turks') were arrested on that day.
Jayaprakash Narayan attracted a gathering of 100,000 people at the Ramlila Grounds and thunderously recited Rashtrakavi Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar''s wonderfully evocative poetry: Singhasan Khaali Karo Ke Janata Aaati Hai.[11]
Narayan was kept as detenu at Chandigarh even after he had asked for a month's parole for mobilising relief in areas of Bihar gravely affected by flood. His health suddenly deteriorated on October 24, and he was released on November 12; diagnosis at Jaslok Hospital, Bombay, revealed kidney failure; he would be on dialysis for the rest of his life.
After Indira revoked the emergency on January 18, 1977 and announced elections, it was under JP's guidance that the Janata Party (a vehicle for the broad spectrum of the anti-Indira Gandhi opposition) was formed. The Janata Party was voted into power, and became the first non-Congress party to form a government at the Centre. On the call of Narayan many youngesters joined the J P movement.
[edit]Trivia

He died in October 1979; but a few months before that, in March 1979, his death was erroneously announced by the Indian prime minister to the parliament as he lay fighting for his life in Jaslok Hospital, causing a brief wave of national mourning, including the suspension of parliament and regular radio broadcasting, and closure of schools and shops. When he was told about the gaffe a few weeks later, he smiled.
[edit]Awards

Bharat Ratna, 1999
Rashtrabhushan Award of FIE Foundation , Ichalkaranji [12]
[edit]References

^ a b c Inconvenient Prophet
^ a b Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan - Early Life
^ Dr. Rajendra Prasad's Letters. First Finance cum Labour Minister. Rajendra Prasad's archive. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
^ Kamat. "Biography: Anugrah Narayan Sinha". Kamat's archive. Retrieved 2006-06-25.
^ aicc. "SATYAGRAHA LABORATORIES OF MAHATMA GANDHI". aicc. Archived from the original on 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2006-12-08.
^ Indian Post. "First Bihar Deputy CM cum Finance Minister;Dr. A N Sinha". official Website. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
^ "Jay Prakash Narayan", liveindia.com
^ Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan
^ Biography of Jayaprakash Narayan
^ a b Ralhan, O.P. (2002). Encyclopaedia of Political Parties. Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd.. pp. 17998 (at pages 73–74). ISBN 9788174888655.
^ Harish Khare (2001-05-16). "Obligations of a lameduck". The Hindu. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
^ On April 30, 1977, Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan was conferred the title "Rashtra Bhushan" with a cash award of Rs. One lakh. The presentation was made by Mr. M. C. Chagla.
Jayaprakash Narayan died on 8 October 1979.
[edit]Bibliography

Why Socialism? CSP Varansi 1936.War Cirulars,1-4 CSP,Lucknow.Inside Lahore Fort, Sahityalaya Patna 1947.Nation Building in India-JP Narayan.Three Basic Problems of India. From Socialism to Sarvodaya, Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan, Varansi 1957.A Plea for Reconstruction of Indian Polity, Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan, Varansi 1959.Swaraj for the People, Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan, Varansi 1961.Sarvodaya Answer to Chinese Aggression, Sarvodaya Prachuralaya Tanjore 1963.Face to Face, Navchetna Prakashan, Varansi 1970.Prison Diary, Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha Calcutta 1976 and Popular Prakashan, Bombay 1977.
Edited works of JP: Towards Struggle, edited by Yusuf Meherally Padma Publications, Bombay 1946.Socialism,Sarvodaya and Democracy, edited by Bimal Prasad Asia Publishing House Bombay 1964.Communitarian Society and Panchayti Raj, edited by Brahmanand Navchetna Prakashan Varansi 1970.Nation-Building in India, edited by Brahmanand Navchetna Prakashan Varansi 1974.Towards Revolution, edited by Bhargava and Phadnis, Arnold-Heinemann New Delhi 1975. J.P's Jail Life (A Collection of Personal Letters) translated by G S Bhargava, Arnold-Heinemann New Delhi 1977. Towards Total Revolution, edited by Brahmanand Popular Prakashan Bombay 1978. J P:Profile of a non-conformist, Interviews by Bhola Chatterji, Minerva Associates, Calcutta, 1979.To All Fighters of Freedom II, A Revolutionary's Quest-selected writings of Jayprakash Narayan, edited by Bimal Prasad Oxford University Press New Delhi 1980.Concept of Total Revolution: An Introductory Essay(JP and social change) by Bimal Prasad
Biographies and Books on JP : Red Fugitive:Jayaprakash Narayan by H L Singh Dewans Publications Lahore 1946.Life and Time of Jayaprakash Narayan by J S Bright Dewans Publications Lahore 1946. Jayaprakash Narayan: A Political Biography by Ajit Bhattacharyajea Vikas Publications New Delhi 1975.J.P :His Biography, Allan and Wendy Scarfe, Orient Longmans New Delhi 1975.Jayaprakash:Rebel Extraordinary, by Lakshmi Narayan Lal, Indian Book Company New Delhi 1975.Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, by Suresh Ram Macmillan Co. Delhi 1974. Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan by Farooq Argali Janata Pocket Books Delhi 1977.
Jayaprakash Narayan, Essential Writings, 1929-1979.J.P.-India's Revolutionary Number One.Editor,B.N. Ahuja.Is J.P. the Answar?Minoo Masani. J.P.'s Mission Partly Accomlished-Minoo Masani.Who was this Man-Minoo Masani.J.P.'s crusade for Revolution-Vasant Nargolkar.J.P Vindicated-Vasant Nargolkar. Unacknowledged Aeronaut (An analysis of J P Movement) by Achyutanand Prasad.Jaypeocracy :Theory and Practice by Achyutanand Prasad.J.P-From Marxism to Total Revolution by Ramchndra Gupta. Jayaprakash Narayan and the Future of Indian Democracy-Editor, T K Mahadevan. Protest Movements in Two Indian States (A study of Gujarat and Bihar Movements)by Ghanshyam Shah. Jayaprakash Narayan:His life and Thought, Commemorative Volume, J.P's 61st Birthday Celebration Committee,Madras,1963. Jayaprakash Narayan: Abhinandan Granth(English and Hindi) Editor,K.L Sharma,1978.The Quest and the Goal, Commemorative Volume, J.P's 76th Birthday Celebration Committee,Madras,1979.Bihar Shows the way(With 96 Illustrations) by Raghu Rai and Sunanda K. Dutta Ray. Politics of the JP Movement-Radhakant Barik. Real Face of JP's Total Revolution-Indradeep Sinha. Jayaprakash Narayan analysed through Gandhian Prism-Hari Kishore Thakur.Total Revolution for All-Rammurti.Jayprakash Narayan:His Socialist Ideology-S R Bakhshi.Glipmpses of The JP Movement-R N Dweadi.
Bimal Prasad (editor). 1980. A Revolutionary's Quest: Selected Writings of Jayaprakash Narayan. Oxford University Press, Delhi ISBN 0195612043
Jai Prakash Narain, Jayaprakash Narayan, Essential Writings, 1929-1979: A Centenary Volume, 1902–2002, Konark Publishers (2002)ISBN 8122006345
Dr. Kawaljeet, J.P.'s Total Revolution and Humanism (Patna: Buddhiwadi Foundation, 2002). ISBN 81-86935-02-9
Dr. Ramendra (editor), Jayaprakash Vichar Sankalan [Hindi] (Patna: Rajendra Prakashan, 1986).
Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri, Leftism in India: 1917-1947 (London and New Delhi: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008).
[edit]External links

A plea for the reconstruction of Indian polity
Total revolution
On Hindu revivalism
Magsaysay award acceptance speech; Citation
Biography
Small story showing his greatness
JP's visit to an RSS camp, as told by Sita Ram Goel in "Perversion of India's Political Parlance"
JP's Total Revolution and Humanism by Dr. Kawaljeet
JP information from Gandhi museum
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Govt changes norms to shield independent directors
Reducing unnecessary burden, the government has changed the norms to help independent directors, bank nominees and government nominees avoid prosecution unless they are directly or indirectly involved.

Urging the Registrar of Companies to take extra care in examining the cases of independent and nominee directors , the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) said these directors should not be held liable for an act by the company or its executives which occurred without their knowledge. So, a director cannot be prosecuted if the issue was not discussed by the board or its committee.

While putting together a checklist of sorts to see if an independent director or a nominee can be held liable, the notification was issued by the ministry late last month.

The circular has said in case of maintenance of accounts and balance sheet, specific instructions have been issued by the government to specify that the mantle of complying with the provisions of the Companies Act , the managing director, the manager and the company secretary are liable for prosecution.

The revised guidelines would apply not just to new cases. MCA has asked the Registrar of Companies to relook at all pending cases against directors and send specific recommendation in case the proceedings are proposed to be discontinued.

There is an additional safeguard that has been provided in case of government companies, with the ministry stipulating that in case prosecution is required regarding its directors, officers, parliamentarians and legislators, prior government sanction is mandatory.

MCA Secretary D K Mittal said the changes in the provisions related to independent and nominee directors would help them avoid undue hardship for offences that take place without their knowledge.

The simplifications come at a time when the government is planning to tighten the norms related to independent directors and also make the appointment of these directors mandatory even for unlisted companies. The revised norms for independent directors, which include qualifications, fixed tenure and enhanced penalty has come under severe criticism from the corporate sector which wants the government to relook at the proposal.

The government is, however, keen to tighten the norms in the wake of the Satyam scandal where prominent independent directors could not spot wrongdoing by the company management.

[voiceofindiagroup] Unprecedented Violence in Bengal is the Logical result of Brahaminical Monopoly
Unprecedented Violence in Bengal is the Logical result of Brahaminical Monopoly resultant in WHATCONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE
TO
THE UNTOUCHABLES!

Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time -FIVE HUNDRED FIFTY NINE

Palash Biswas

http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/

http://basantipurtimes.blogspot.com/
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Unprecedented Violence in Bengal is the Logical result of Brahaminical Monopoly resultant in WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES!

Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time -FIVE HUNDRED FIFTY NINE

Palash Biswas

http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/

http://basantipurtimes.blogspot.com/

Unprecedented Violence in Bengal is the Logical result of Brahaminical Monopoly resultant in WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES!

Our friend Sheetal Markam has graphically detailed the story of Aryan Brahaminical Venegeance in his TRI IBLIS Book series, E Books and Blog!

Arya-Brahmin Vengeance on Bengali-Tamil Dalits & Chakma Adivasi Indigenous Refugees
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Arya-Brahmin Vengeance on
Bengali-Tamil Dalits & Chakma Adivasi Indigenous Refugees
(Copyright-free E-Book)
[Earlier Printed in half yearly journal "Scientists for Social Change", edited by Sheetal Markam, Commander in Chief Gondwana Mukti Sena, India ]
Dedication
TERMS USED IN THIS E-BOOK

Parts of the E-Book
Ancient Foreign Refugees Who Have Became Oppressive Exploiter Rulers
Ancient Foreign Refugees Who Settled Happily In India
Tibetan Political Refugees
Post Independence Arya-Brahmin Refugees
Vengeance of Converted Arya-Brahmins Upon Indigenous Dalit-Bahujans
Arya-Brahmin Vengeance on Dalit-Buddhist Refugees in India
The Tamil Refugees of Shri Lanka
Where is Solution of These Arya-Brahmin Brutalities ?

http://sheetalmarkam.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/arya-brahmin-vengeance-on-bengali-tamil-dalits-chakma-adivasi-indigenous-refugees/

Respected VTR is exposing the TRUTH in Dalit Voice.
http://www.dalitvoice.org/

But our people, the Black Untouchables, the Aboriginal Indigenous Majority masses BONDED, ENSLAVED,PERSCUTED, DEGENERATED, DISLODGED, DEHUMANISED or Co Opted have been Uprooted form not only the Aboriginal Geopolitical Home land but also from History.

All History showcases are full of details of Aryan, Muslim or British Rule with Brahaminical Manipulated versions.

Pre Aryan, Non Aryan, Buddhist Period in Bengal and Aboriginal Indigenous Rule in Bengal NEVER Mentioned.

Full four Hundred years have been declared Drak AGE as Peasant and Tribal Insurrections, Chandal Movement, Chuar revolt and the Real Renaissance led by Untouchable Born Chandal Harichand Thakur and the Empowerment Movement led by Guruchand Thakur have been deleted.

NON Aryan NON Brahmin Folk Heritage is Academically Manipulated as Folklore, by product of Aryan Brahaminical bastarised religion.

Thus, our People have been habitual to feel glorified to identify themselves with false Brahaminial Biological roots and the Matua Movement also buys the theme of Harichand Thakur being the son of a Maithili Brahamin.

They have tried their best to defame JIJAU Mata and eventaually projected a Brahamin Kondidadu Ramdas as the biological father of Chhatrapati Shivaji.

They have already Brahaminised Lingyayat,DRAVID Movement. They have Brahaminised Sikhhism, Jainism, Buddhism, baul and sugfi sant clan and tradition.

In consequence, the Black Untouchables all over the South Asian Geopolitics and beyond have bought the idea that all of us are the offsprings of great Aryans and all communities were bred by some or other Saint or Brahamin.

Until Transfer of Power, in Bengal Brahmins NEVER did recognise the Black Untouchables as HINDU. But we have forgot the recentmost History and the reality of EXCLUSION is NEVER to be realised.

Since we falsely consider ourselves Aryan, the Micro Minority THREE Percent Brahamins have the majority support to MONOPOLISE every sphere of life in Bengal as well as India.

Jewish Zionist Brahmin Aryans have Global UNIFIED Nationality but we have only Brahaminised fragmentedidentity as well as Nationality thanks to CONGRESS and GANDHI which is further strengthened by Srategic Nuclear Realliance in US ISRAEL lead, War against Terror, AFPSA in the Himalayan region and OPERATIONGreen Hunt under POST MODERN CORPORATE ZIONIST LPG MAFIA MANUSMRITI Rule.

Lalgargh is not an EXCLUSIVE phenomenon.

It is the the theme replicated since the Vedic literture was written and the epics like Ramayan and Mahabharat were compsed. GEETA to GEETANJALI, all Brahaminical literature insist on Sprititual SALVATION different from the Salvation sought by Gautam Buddha and Justify the KARMA Theory and the Caste System!

Gandhi was the Main CRUSADER to Justify Caste System and Manusmriti Rule as no one else but babasahib DR Bhimrao Ambedkar has proved very well.Bengalies do NOT read AMBEDKAR, Jyotiba Phule, Narayan Guru, AYYANKALI or Periyar. Brahamincally Brainwashed Bengalies across the Political border, yes, even in Bangladesh, REPLICATE ANGLO SAXON ZIONIST COLONIAL prespective.

They may connect themselves very easily with Vietnam or Cuba or nay part of the GLOBE, but they hate to interact with the Rest of the Geopolitics, say Bihar, Orissa, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra or Uttar Pradesh! Thus, the Anti Brahaminical Movement which began with Chandal Movement, the legacy of Buddhism and the History of Aboriginal Indigenous Rule, everything Anti Brahaminical Anti Aryan is DESPISED by the Brahaminised Bengal.

Hence, the SC, ST,OBC and Minorities LOVE to die to sustain the Brahaminical system. The story is repeated again and again.

They Indulge in Suicidal Violenc which KILLS themselves, Destroys themselves and accomplishes the Agenda of Mass Destruction and ETHNIC Cleansing so glorified! It has been the case in SINGUR and NANIGRAM!

Now, our people are VICTIMISED in LALGARGH to sustain the Rotten Brahaminical Rule!

They use us as HUMAN Shield as the TMC and MAOIST Activists have done in SINGUR, Nandigram and Lalgarh and we BLEED!

We sacrifice ourselves in the War which is not our War!

But we are little interested in the heritage of National Liberation Movement led by our ancestors even during BRITISH Period known as Peasant and Tribal INSURRECTIONS.

This is the CHARSHMA of CONGRESS and Gandhi, the GREATEST EVER ZIONIST!
Muslim - Hindu Riots In India: speech by Waman Meshram: Bamcef
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BAMCEF: Poona Pact: Part 1
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07. Dr Ambedkar- Poona Pact
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06. Dr Ambedkar- Round Table Conference
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BAMCEF: OBC Reservation Speech by Mr. Waman Meshram. Part 1
bamcefvideo 15 videos Subscribe
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Bamcef: Why Gandhi Was killed?
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BAMCEF:DNA Report show how high caste people from india are foreigners
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BAMCEF: Poona Pact: Part 2
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BAMCEF - Jemini Kadu - Mulnivasi - Part 3
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8 villagers shot dead in Lalgarh

The villagers alleged that the goons had asked them to either pay or take up arms training to counter Trinamool Congress supporters. The villagers were fired at from a house in the camp when they took out a procession in the morning in protest against the order.
State Home Secretary G D Gautama said Maoists were not involved in the incident. He said the incident occurred during a clash between the Trinamool Congress and CPM supporters.
Sudip Bandopadhyay, Trinamool Congress chief whip in Parliament, described the incident as "genocide". He said on one hand CPM MPs were complaining to Chidambaram about the Trinamool Congress-Maoist nexus and on the other, the party supporters were killing innocent villagers in Lalgarh without any reason. The Trinamool Congress leadership has faxed a message to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on the incident.
The Congress and the SUCI, a Left political party which has alliance with the Trinamool Congress, have called a 12-hour bandh in West and East Midnapore districts on Monday.
Centre worried over violence
The Centre had already expressed concern over the political clashes in West Bengal when the Assembly election is round the corner. Despite the Home Ministry warning, the state police administration seems to have completely failed to tackle the situation.
http://expressbuzz.com/nation/8-villagers-shot-dead-in-Lalgarh/237840.html

Poona Pact:
By now Ambedkar had become one of the most prominent untouchable political figures of the time. He had grown increasingly critical of mainstream Indian political parties for their perceived lack of emphasis for the elimination of the caste system. Ambedkar criticized the Indian National Congress and its leader Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi, whom he accused of reducing the untouchable community to a figure of pathos. Ambedkar was also dissatisfied with the failures of British rule, and advocated a political identity for untouchables separate from both the Congress and the British. At a Depressed Classes Conference on August 8, 1930 Ambedkar outlined his political vision, insisting that the safety of the Depressed Classes hinged on their being independent of the Government and the Congress both:

We must shape our course ourselves and by ourselves... Political power cannot be a panacea for the ills of the Depressed Classes. Their salvation lies in their social elevation. They must cleanse their evil habits. They must improve their bad ways of living.... They must be educated.... There is a great necessity to disturb their pathetic contentment and to instill into them that divine discontent which is the spring of all elevation.

In this speech, Ambedkar criticized the Salt Satyagraha launched by Gandhi and the Congress. Ambedkar's criticisms and political work had made him very unpopular with orthodox Hindus, as well as with many Congress politicians who had earlier condemned untouchability and worked against discrimination across India. This was largely because these "liberal" politicians usually stopped short of advocating full equality for untouchables. Ambedkar's prominence and popular support amongst the untouchable community had increased, and he was invited to attend the Second Round Table Conference in London in 1931. Here he sparred verbally with Gandhi on the question of awarding separate electorates to untouchables. A fierce opponent of separate electorates on religious and sectarian lines, Gandhi feared that separate electorates for untouchables would divide Hindu society for future generations.

When the British agreed with Ambedkar and announced the awarding of separate electorates, Gandhi began a fast-unto-death while imprisoned in the Yeravada Central Jail of Pune in 1932. Exhorting orthodox Hindu society to eliminate discrimination and untouchability, Gandhi asked for the political and social unity of Hindus. Gandhi's fast provoked great public support across India, and orthodox Hindu leaders, Congress politicians and activists such as Madan Mohan Malaviya and Palwankar Baloo organized joint meetings with Ambedkar and his supporters at Yeravada. Fearing a communal reprisal and killings of untouchables in the event of Gandhi's death, Ambedkar agreed under massive coercion from the supporters of Gandhi to drop the demand for separate electorates, and settled for a reservation of seats, which although in the end achieved more representation for the untouchables, resulted in the loss of separate electorates that was promised through the British Communal Award prior to Ambedkars meeting with Gandhi which would end his fast. Ambedkar was later to criticise this fast of Gandhi's as a gimmick to deny political rights to the untouchables and increase the coercion he had faced to give up the demand for separate electorates. Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.
http://drambedkarji.blogspot.com/p/dr-ambedkar-ji.html

Lalgarh violence should not have happened: Buddhadeb
Press Trust of India, Updated: January 08, 2011 18:41 IST
Canning, WB: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today strongly disapproved of the firing in Lalgarh, allegedly by CPI (M) cadres, saying it should not have happened and asked all political parties to exercise restraint.

"What happened in West Midnapore yesterday was not good. If should not have happened. Killings and bloodshed must stop otherwise all development work will come to a halt. All political parties should observe restraint," the chief minister said while inaugurating a bridge over a river.

"We don't want violence. We don't want people to be killed. We will not allow killings. Killings must stop," he said.

Bhattacharjee said the state government wanted jobs for the poor and peace. Rediff.comTwitterNDTV SocialLive MessengerGmail BuzzPrint

"We want development work for those still living in darkness and in tears. Violence will destroy everything."

The Chief Minister's remarks came a day after West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan denounced the Lalgarh incident saying it was a "day of shame and sorrow" for the state and asked the state government to act before it reaches the "point of no return".

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Story first published:
January 08, 2011 18:34 IST

Tags: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Buddhadeb Lalgarh, Lalgarh violence
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Comments: Read|Post
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Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/lalgarh-violence-should-not-have-happened-buddhadeb-78001?cp

WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE
TO
THE UNTOUCHABLES
__________________________________________________________
"lt may be your interest to be our masters, but how can it be ours to be your slaves ? "
—THUCYDIDES.
__________________________________________________________
Contents

PREFACE
Chapter I : A strange event
Chapter II : A shabby show congress abandons its plan
Chapter III : A mean deal congress refuses to part with power
Chapter IV : An abject surrender congress bets an inglorious retreat
Chapter V : A political charity congress plan to kill by kindness
Chapter VI : A false claim does congress represent all ?
Chapter VII : A false charge are untouchables tools of the British ?
Chapter VIII : The real issue what the untouchables want
Chapter IX : A plea to the foreigners let not tyranny have freedom to enslave
Chapter X : What do the untouchables say? Beware of Mr. Gandhi!
Chapter XI : Gandhism the doom of the untouchables

APPENDICES
1
WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI
HAVE DONE TO
THE UNTOUCHABLES

Dedication
(11) And Naomi said, Turn again, my Daughters; why will ye go with me ? (12) go your way. . . (14) And they lifted up their voice, and weft again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth clave unto her, (15) And she said. Behold thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods ; return thou after thy sister-in-law. (16) And Ruth said. Intreat me not to leave them; or to return from following after thee ; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge ; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. (17) Where thou diest, will I die, and there will be buried; the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me"
I know how, when we used to read the Bible together, you would be affected by the sweetness and pathos of this passage. While you will be glad to read it again you will, I am sure, ask me what made me recall it in this connection. I wonder if you remember the occasion when we fell into discussion about the value of Ruth's statement "Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." I have a clear memory of it and can well recall our difference of opinion, You maintained that its value lay in giving expression to the true sentiments appropriate to a perfect wife. I put forth the view that the passage had a sociological value and its true interpretation was the one given by Prof. Smith, namely, that it helped to distinguish modern society from ancient society. Ruth's statement " Thy people shall be my people and thy God my God" defined ancient society by its most dominant characteristic namely that it was a society of man plus God while modern society is a society of men only (pray remember that in men I include women also). My view was not then acceptable to you. But you were interested enough to urge me to write a book on this theme. I promised to do so. For as an oriental I belong to a society which is still ancient and in which God is a much more important member than man is. The part of the conversation which is important to me at this stage is the promise I then made to dedicate the book to you if I succeeded in writing one. Prof. Smith's interpretation had opened a new vista before me and I had every hope of carrying out my intention. The chances of developing the theme in a book form are now very remote. As you know, I am drawn in the vortex of politics which leaves no time for literary pursuits. I do not know when I shall be out of it. The feeling of failure to fulfil my promise has haunted me ever since the war started. Equally distressing was the fear that you might pass away as a war casualty and not be there to receive if I were to have time to complete it. But the unexpected has happened. There you are, out of the throes of Death. Here is a book ready awaiting dedication. This happy conjunction of two such events has suggested to me the idea that rather than postpone it indefinitely I might redeem my word, by dedicating this book which I have succeeded in bringing to completion. Though different in theme it is not an unworthy substitute. Will you accept it ?
B. R. A.
To,

F.
In Thy Presence is the Fullness of Joy.

PREFACE
"In 1892, there took place in England a new election to Parliament, in which the Conservatives headed by Lord Salisbury lost and the Liberals headed by Mr. Gladstone won. The remarkable thing about this election was that notwithstanding the defeat of his party at the polls. Lord Salisbury—contrary to Parliamentary convention—refused to surrender his office to the leader of the Liberal Party. When Parliament assembled, the Queen delivered the usual gracious speech from the throne containing the legislative programme of Lord Salisbury's Government and the usual address to Her Majesty was moved from the Government side. Lord Salisbury's Government was an illegitimate Government. It was a challenge to the fundamental principle of the British Constitution, which recognised parliamentary Majority as the only title deed for a Party's right to form a Government. The Liberals took up the challenge and tabled an amendment to the address. The amendment sought to condemn Lord Salisbury's Government for its insistence on continuing in office, notwithstanding the fact that it had no majority behind it. The task of moving the amendment was entrusted to the late Lord (then Mr.) Asquith. In his speech in support of the amendment, Mr. Asquith used the now famous phrase—" Causa finita est: Roma locuta est." (Rome has spoken and the dispute must end). The phrase was originally used by St. Augustine but in a different context. It Was used in the course of a religious controversy and had come to be used as a foundation for Papal Sovereignty. Mr. Asquith used it as a political maxim embodying the basic principle of Parliamentary Democracy. Today it is accepted as the fundamental principle on which Popular Government rests, namely, the Right of a Political Majority to Rule. It told instantaneously against Salisbury's Government and must tell against all parties who fail at the polls wherever Parliamentary Democracy is in operation.
I was reminded of this maxim when the results of the Elections to the Provincial Legislatures in India, which took place in February 1987 under the Government of India Act, 1985, were announced. Congressmen did not actually say "Causa finita eat : India locuta est." But so far as the parties, which had opposed the Congress in the Electiohs, were concerned, that is what the results of the Elections seemed, to proclaim. Having led the Untouchables against the Congress for. full five years in the Round Table Conference and in the Joint Parliamentary Committee, I could not pretend to be unaffected by the results of the Elections. To me the question was: Had the Untouchables gone over to the Congress ? Such a thing was to me unimaginable. For, I could not believe that the Untouchables—apart from a few agents of the Congress who are always tempted by the Congress gold to play the part of the traitor—could think of going over to the Congress en masse forgetting how Mr. Gandhi and the Congress opposed, inch by inch up to the very last moment, every one of their demands for political safeguards. I had therefore decided to study the Returns of the election that took place in 1937. .
While I was convinced that such a study was of great necessity from the point of view of the Untouchables, the work proceeded at a snail's pace. This was due to three causes. The work had to be kept aside for some time to give precedence to other literary projects, the urgency of which demanded a degree of priority which it was not possible to refuse. Secondly, the Blue Book on the Election Results of 1987, which was submitted to Parliament soon after the elections had taken place and which is the primary source for figures regarding the elections, proved inadequate and insufficient for my purpose. It does not give separately figures showing how the Scheduled Castes electors voted and how many votes the Scheduled Caste candidates got. It gives figures showing how electors in different constituencies voted, without making any distinction between Hindu voters and the Scheduled Castes voters. Circular letters had therefore to be issued to the various Provincial Governments requesting them to send me the figures showing distribution of voting by Scheduled Caste electors and the number of votes secured by each Scheduled Caste candidate. This inevitably delayed the work.. Thirdly, the examination of these election returns proved a very laborious task as the statistical tables given In the Appendices to this book will show.
The work thus lingered on. I regret very much this delay. For I know how much mischief has been done by the Congress during the interval. The Congress has advertised the election results to bolster up its claim to represent the Untouchables. The main point in the advertisement is that out of 151 seats assigned to the Scheduled Castes the Independent Labour Party which was organised by me got only 12 seats and the rest of the seats were captured by the Congress. This mess is served out from the Congress kitchen as conclusive proof to show that the Congress represents the Untouchables. This false propaganda seems to have gone home in some quarters. Even a man like Mr. H. N. Brailsford has reproduced in his 'Subject India' this absurd Congress version, without any attempt at verification and with apparent acceptance of its truth. I am sure that the results of the elections as set out in this book will hit the nail squarely on the head of this false propaganda. For, the Congress version of the results of the election is an utter perversion. As a matter of fact the results of 1937 Election conclusively disprove the Congress claim to represent the Untouchables. Far from supporting the Congress version the results of the Election show : (1) that out of 151 the Congress got only 78 seats; (2) that the Untouchables in almost every constituency fought against the Congress by putting up their own candidates; (8) that the majority of 78 seats won by the Congress were won with the help of Hindu votes and they do not therefore in any way represent the Scheduled Castes ; and (4.) that of 151 seats those won by the Congress in the real sense i.e., with the majority of votes of the Scheduled Castes, were only 88. As to the Independent Labour Party it was started in 1987 just a few months before the elections. It functioned only in the Province of Bombay. There was no time to organise branches in other Provinces. Elections on the ticket of the Independent Labour Party were fought only in the Province of Bombay and there the Independent Labour Party for from being a failure obtained an astonishing degree of success. Out of the 15 seats assigned to the Scheduled Castes in Bombay Presidency it captured 18 and in addition it won 2 general seats. I am therefore glad that at long last I have succeeded in completing the work which proves beyond the shadow of doubt that the story that the Congress captured all the seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and that the Independent Labour Party was a failure, is a wicked lie. I trust that the book will prove interesting and instructive for all those who are interested in the subject and who desire to know the truth.
Before closing this preface, I wish to express my gratitude to those from whom I have received assistance in one form or another. I am grateful to the Provincial Governments for the troubles they have taken in responding to my circular and sending me additional facts and figures which I had called for. My thanks are also due to Mr. Karan Singh Kane, b.a., m.l.a., at one time, Parliamentary Secretary in the U. P. Congress Government, for the help he has rendered in the most laborious task of preparing the tables."
The reader who reads the above preface and compares it with the table of contents will at once find that the book deals with topics which lie far outside its boundary. The curious may like to know how the foregoing part of the preface is related to the table of contents. The explanation lies in the fact that the book in its present final form is quite different from what it was in its original form. In its original form it covered in very brief compass matter now dealt with on a vastly bigger scale in Chapters IV, V, VI, VII and IX and the statistical appendices. The foregoing part of the preface belonged to the book in its original form. That is why I have put it in inverted commas. The curious may also like to know why the final form of the book came to be so different from the original. The explanation is quite simple. The proofs of the book in its original form were seen by a friend and co-worker. He was dissatisfied with the scope of the book and insisted that it is not enough to deal with election results to expose the Congress claim to represent the Untouchables, I must do more. I must expose the efforts of the Congress and Mr. Gandhi to improve the lot of the Untouchables for the information of the Untouchables and also of the foreigners whom the Congress had deluded into accepting its side by misrepresentation of facts. Besides the difficulties arising out of the fact that the book was already in proof form, this wan a tall order and appeared to be beyond me having regard to other claims on my time. He would not, however, give way and I had therefore to accept his plan. The original work which would have been about 75 pages in print had to be completely recast and enlarged. The book in the present form is a complete transformation. It records the deeds. of the Congress and Mr. Gandhi from 1917 to date in so far as they touch the problem of the Untouchables. Much is written about the Congress, far more about Mr. Gandhi. But no one has so far told the story of what they have done about the Untouchables. Everyone knows that Mr. Gandhi values more his reputation as the saviour of the Untouchables than his reputation as the champion of Swaraj or as the protagonist of Akimsa At the Round Table Conference he claimed to be the sole champion of the Untouchables and was not even prepared to share the honour with anyone else, I remember what a scene he created when his claim was contested. Mr. Gandhi does not merely claim for himself the championship of the Untouchables. He claims similar championship for the Congress. The Congress, he says, is fully pledged to redress the wrongs done to the Untouchables and argues that any attempt to give political safeguards to the Untouchables is unnecessary and harmful. It is therefore a great pity that no detailed study of these claims by Mr. Gandhi and the Congress has been undertaken so far.
With the Hindus who have been blind devotees of Mr. Gandhi this study, although it is the first of its kind, will not find favour: indeed it is sure to provoke their wrath. How can it be otherwise when the conclusion arrived at is " Beware of Mr. Gandhi" ? Looking at it from a wider point of view, there is no reason for the Hindus to be enraged about it. The Untouchables are not the only community in India which thinks of Mr. Gandhi in these terms. The same view of Mr. Gandhi is entertained by the Muslims, the Sikhs and the Indian Christians. As a matter of fact, the Hindus should cogitate over the question and ask: why no community trusts Mr. Gandhi although he has been saying that he is the friend of the Muslims, Sikhs and the Scheduled Castes and what is the reason for this distrust ? In my judgment, there cannot be a greater tragedy for a leader to be distrusted by everybody as Mr. Gandhi is today. I am however certain that this is not how the Hindus will react. As usual, they will denounce the book and call me names. But as the proverb says: "The caravan must pass on, though the dogs bark." In the same way, I must do my duty, no matter what my adversaries may have to say. For as Voltaire observed: Who writes the history of his own time must expect to be attacked for everything he has said, and for everything he has not said : but these little drawbacks should not discourage a man who loves truth and liberty, expects nothing, fears nothing, asks nothing and limits his ambition to the cultivation of letters."
The book has become bulky. It may be said that it suffers by reason of over-elaboration and even by repetition. I am aware of this. But I have written the book especially for the Untouchables and for the foreigners. On behalf of neither could I presume knowledge of the relevant facts. For the particular audience I have in view, it is necessary for me to state both facts as well as arguments and pay no regard to the artistic sense or the fastidious taste of a cultivated and informed class of readers.
As it is my intention to make the book a complete compendium of information regarding the movement of the Untouchables for political safeguards, I have added several appendices other than those of statistical character. They contain relevant documents both official and non-official which have a bearing upon the movement. Those who are interested in the problem of the Untouchables will, I believe, be glad to have this information ready at hand. The general reader may complain that the material in the Appendices is much too much. Here again, I must state that the Untouchables are not likely to get the information which to the general reader may be easily accessible. The test adopted is the need of the Untouchables and not of the general reader.
One last word. The reader will find that I have used quite promiscuously in the course of this book a variety of nomenclature such as Depressed Classes, Scheduled Castes, Harijans and Servile Classes to designate the Untouchables. I am aware that this is likely to cause confusion especially for those who are not familiar with conditions in India. Nothing could have pleased me better than to have used one uniform nomenclature. The fault is not altogether mine. All these names have been used officially and unofficially at one time or other for the Untouchables. The term under the Government of India Act is 'Scheduled Castes.' But that came into use after 1985. Before that they were called 'Harijans" by Mr. Gandhi and 'Depressed Classes' by Government. In a flowing situation like that it is not possible to fix upon one name, which may be correct designation at one stage and incorrect at another. The reader will overcome all difficulties if he will remember that these terms are synonyms and represent the same class.
I am grateful to Professor Manohar Chitnis for the preparation of the Index and to Mr. S. C. Joshi for help in correcting the proofs.

B. R. AMBEDKAR.

24th June 1945.
22, Prithviraj Road,
New Delhi.

Chapter I
http://www.ambedkar.org/ambcd/41A.What%20Congress%20and%20Gandhi%20Preface.htm
SECRET DOCUMENT ON ZIONIST CONSPIRACY
Did Jews force British grant independence to make "Jews of India" rulers ?
Arnold Spencer Leese (1878-1956), one of the most respected British citizens, a determined fighter against British rulers being manipulated by Jews to join the war against a fellow Christian Germany, has written an article, "Destruction of India - its cause and prevention".
In this we get the shocking information that the so-called independence given to India (1947) was a conspiracy of the Jews then controlling Britain to weaken the British Christian rulers on the eve of the World War-II and also to favour their Brahminical cousins by making them rulers of independent India.
The article is included in The Leese Collection (2007) published by the Historical Review Press, Uckfield, Sussex, England.
Jews controlled Britain: Our Editor was given a copy of the book when he met the owners of the Historical Review Press at Uckfield, Sussex.
Leese says Britain then was fully under the control of the Jews. Nay. London was the very capital of the entire Jewish world. The British Foreign Secretary, A.J. Balfour, a Jew, handed over the Muslim (Arab) Palestine to Jews (photocopy of the Leese book available with DV, pp.220).
Leese in his chapter on India displays very intimate knowledge of the country. With a "number of conflicting religions" Hinduism is nothing but caste system. He is right.
Muslims, Sikhs praised: There was absolutely no democratic spirit. The largest minority was the Muslims, which has no caste system, forming 20% of the population. He pays tributes to Sikhs for being a great "fighting nation" famous for its military discipline. Muslims outclass the Hindus in fighting qualities.
"But the vast majority of Hindu are of servile type", incapable for self-defence.
There is no change in the situation of this servile class even after 64 years of "independence".
Did Jews favour Brahmin: Leese is very clear that the Jews were behind forcing Britain to grant independence to India "to weaken Britain". However, he is not clear if the Jewish pressure on Britain was intended to make Brahmins, the "Jews of India", the rulers of the country.
The Jews being a brilliant community might have been aware of their cousins controlling India but Leese does not say it.
He said the British brought to India civilisation, honesty, security. They stopped widow-burning (sati), eradicated famine, provided efficient railway system, postal services, a system of Justice. He is right. He warns "all this will be destroyed by dragging India into a Jew-engineered war of our own".
Humbug of Indian nationalism: The article of Leese was written with particular reference to the White Paper which proposed democracy leading to self-rule. "The rule of India is to be handed over to Indians", meaning the "Jews of India".
The author has rightly said the so-called "Indian nationalism is sheer humbug, there is no Indian nation, but only a number of factions, each anxious to plunder and control others..".
Prophetic words: How true is this statement. We in this "independent" India know the truth of this statement after suffering under the Brahminical rule of 64 years.
The author then writes some prophetic words: "The only ones who want to get rid of the British are those who hope to step into their jobs which they will not be able to keep for two months".
Yes. The British left. And we witnessed a big bloodbath after partition. "Hindu India" then passed into the hands of Brahminic blood hounds. Ever-lasting exploitation has been the order of the day ever since the British left, making many thinking people to conclude that British imperialism was much, much better than the brutal Brahminical terrorism.
Dr. Ambedkar has dealt with this subject in his fantastic book, What Congress & Gandhi Have Done to Untouchables (photocopy available with DV).
Anarchy grips India: The author has predicted anarchy throughout India. Yes, that is what we are witnessing today.
The author says the White Paper for India was a Jewish product. The motive behind this paper was to scuttle the power of British White Christians.
The easiest way to smash the British empire was to strike at it in India by reducing the power of the British.
Annie Besant sent to India: The architect of this conspiracy was E.S. Montagu, Secretary of State for India from 1917. He "released Mrs. Annie Besant, a prominent mischief-maker and in November went to India in person".
Annie Besant, a pretty British young women, later became the president of the Congress Party, India's original Brahminical party, and the Brahmins cultivated her as their best friend.
She established her secretive Theosophical Society, which is part and parcel of the Zionist empire and packed all Brahmins into the Congress Party. Every big city in India had its Theosophical Society which is part of the Jewish secret societies. She groomed Brahmin leaders to take control of India as soon as the British left.
Brahmin domination: Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy, who was a top leader of the Congress Party in the then Madras Presidency, resigned from the party unable to tolerate the Brahmin domination. Leese says the White Paper and "Indianisation" of the Army are both the product of Jewish rule in India (meaning Brahminical rule).
Top Jews were sent to India: D. Mayers, Strakosch and Schuster.
Jewish master plan: Leese then puts an important question: "Why does the Jew want democracy in India while opposing it in Palestine? Because democracy would lose India for Britain and would lose Palestine for Jew, where he is small minority".
Leese finally argues that the British rule must be continued in India in the interest of the overwhelming slave races — meaning SC/ST/BCs (65%).
This is the first time we are hearing that the pressure to grant "independence" to India came from the Jews who were then controlling Britain. The Jewish hold on Britain, however, continues even to this day.
Annie Besant mischief: It is not clear from the book if Leese had visited India. Most probably not. Had he visited India he would have found out the mischief played by Annie Besant and her Brahmin coterie.
In the book he clearly says Annie Besant was the Jewish nominee. We have evidence about her involvement in handing over the country to the "Jews of India". She was the darling of the Brahmins. Though a White Christian she was not liked by the British Christian rulers then in India. She collected money, organised Brahmins to launch all sorts of attacks against the British.
It is from the Leese book that we learnt for the first time that the move to grant "independence" to India was a Jewish conspiracy. Why will the Jews insist upon it unless they had definite proof that the India would be in the hands of their blood brothers?
Role of Gandhi: Lot of things are kept secret. The role of Gandhi in South Africa which was then fully under Jews. Why did Gandhi shift from S. Africa to India? Did the Debeers, the world famous Jewish diamond merchants who controlled S. Africa and handled Nelson Mandela, the Jewish stooge, had any role?
Gandhi, though a Bania, was a great follower of Brahminism. His close connections with G.D. Birla and the Bajajs, both Banias who later became multi-millionaires with the blessings of Gandhi, will give us lot of clue about the role of Jews and the "Jews of India".
Lot more research has to be done to throw light on the role of Jews and "Jews of India" in enslaving India and bringing it under the sway of Zionist Israel.
http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/jan2011/editorial.htm
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Gandhi, the Untouchable
Artist J Nandakumar had his show cancelled because he dared to show Gandhi trampling on Dalit rights. He fights on
1
BY Subhra Mazumdar EMAIL AUTHOR(S)
TAGGED UNDER | Dalit | Mahatma Gandhi
ICON
A group exhibition of contemporary Indian artists, this is modern India's tribute to the 'ahimsa man'. "To most artists, Gandhi's thoughts have travelled through how he informed their lives,'' says curator Rahul Bhattacharya. Debanjan Roy, for instance, says he painted his Gandhi Walking Dog (left) in red as Gandhi was the first victim of terrorism. "Nowadays, such killings in West Bengal and elsewhere have become daily affairs," he says Gallery Kynkyny Art, Bangalore, till October 15
The image of the Father of the Nation has acquired an iconic significance with sacrosanct connotations. And any artist who chooses to move away from this iconic formula ventures into perilous territory. This was revealed in the recently banned exhibition of the works of artist J Nandakumar at the Nehru Centre Gallery, Mumbai. "For the first three days, the exhibition carried on without any disturbance, when all of a sudden, things took a different turn," says this Aurangabad-based artist.
Known for depicting exploitative tendencies in society, Nandakumar's works examine societal mores with a discerning brush. Thus it is that in the show, he had included his work Blind Faith, taking as his theme a practice of worship prevalent in parts of Karnataka, wherein a nude male prostrates himself before the goddess as part of a ritual observance. "Someone viewed my exhibition and warned the organisers that unless they removed the objectionable painting, he would organise a protest morcha. The Nehru Centre, giving in to the pressure, requested me to remove the painting. When I tried explaining my point of view, that my art is a reflection of my personal idea about things in society, they became even more insistent."
Things got further vexed when the organisers came back with yet another corollary, saying that a painting on Gandhi, Gandhi (After Pune Karar), should also be removed. In this particular painting, says YS Alone of the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, "Gandhiji's stick is converted into a trident at the upper end, whereas the lower end is a lance piercing the body of a Dalit, signifying how he killed the political rights of Dalits in the country." He asserts that Nandakumar is striking at the core of Brahminical cultural nationalism.
In the catalogue to the exhibition, Alone states that Nandakumar 'prefers to challenge the conventional notion of [the] image of Gandhi not only as the Father of the Nation, but also makes a daring attempt to deconstruct the image of Gandhi through his personal understanding that has a legacy of Dr Ambedkar.'
For the artist, the inspiration for this painting came about after reading details of the Poona Pact, a 1932 agreement between Ambedkar and leaders of upper caste Hindus over the former's demand for a separate electorate for 'untouchables'. Ambedkar is said to have agreed to this compromise solution only because of the tremendous pressure exerted by Gandhi's vehement opposition to the separate electorate. Believing it would disintegrate Hindu society, he had gone on an indefinite hunger strike in protest.
Says the artist, "On reading the Pune Karar, I felt that Gandhiji was no longer an embodiment of peace, as I had earlier thought him to be. This led me to express my ideas in the form of a painting. So when the organisers asked me to withdraw the painting from the show, I gave them two options—cancel my exhibition altogether, or let it continue in its present way. The outcome was inevitable."
But the incident has been no dampener for this free-thinking and expressive artist. As he points out, the fallout of this image has laid the ground for a rearing form of protest. "In my home town of Aurangabad, I have found several supporters of my point of view, and they have joined hands with me to condemn the withdrawal of an exhibition on a single telephone call received by the authorities. In my own capacity, I will continue to do a series of paintings on the manner in which I conceive
the Gandhian image that has taken root in my mind, where Gandhiji has ceased to be the apostle of peace that I had earlier nurtured."
http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/arts/gandhi-the-untouchable
Gandhi & Dalits
Dr Murugu Dorai

HATRED IS A NEGATIVE FEELING FINDING NO PLACE IN A GOOD HEART.
SO WE WOULD RATHER ASK

COULD DALITS EVER LOVE GANDHI OR REGARD HIM AS A FRIEND OF OR A PERSON OF GOODWILL TOWARDS DALITS?

Our feelings of love or dislike must be based upon historical facts. Every one knows that Gandhi was up against racial discrimination in South Africa before coming to India.

1. Gandhi entered Indian politics in 1919 and soon captured the congress. He made congress a mass organization and launched a Constructive Programme of social amelioration known as Bardoli Programme, in 1922 ; to finance this programme he started a fund of one crore and 30 lakhs of rupees, known as "Tilak Swaraj Fund" out of which a sum of 49 1/2 lakhs was allotted to Bardoli Programme which included uplift of the untouchables also. The congress proposed to start a separate fund of 5 lakhs and then reduced it to 2 lakhs for the amelioration of the untouchables. Only two lakhs for 60 million Untouchables! Yet, only 43,381 rupees were actually spent! Seeing that the congress was not really sincerely interested in this programme Swami Shradhanand sanyasi resigned from the subcommittee which, not convened even once, was dissolved and then this task was handed over to Hindu Mahasabha which had the least interest in this programme of uplifting the untouchables. Thus the congress washed away their hands from this program.

Ref:
DR BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Vol 9. What Congress and Gandhi have done to the Untouchables. ps 17- 39
Dr MURUGU DORAI, "Ambethkar kaappiyam", Epic (Tamil) of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's Biography, Part 2, ps 221-222.

SEEING THIS, COULD THE DALITS EVER PROFESS LOVE FOR GANDHI OR REGARD HIM AS A MAN OF SINCERE GOODWILL TOWARDS DALITS?

2. "WAR WITH GANDHI" of Dhananjay Keer's Biography of Dr Babasaheb describes their first meeting at Mani Bhavan on 14.8.1931 and how Gandhi developed the animosity towards Dr Babasaheb. Later he opposed Dr. Babasaheb's stand at the 2nd RTC.
At the 2nd RTC Gandhi claimed that he was the only person qualified to represent and speak on behalf the untouchables, claiming that he had lived with them, & shared their joys and sorrows with them. He refused to acknowledge Dr Babasaheb as the true representative of the untouchables.
He said that the welfare of the untouchables was dearer to him than his own life! He said "I will not bargain away their rights for the kingdom of the whole world.". But he agreed to give the Muslims, Sikhs and Christians separate electorates but other than ordinary right to adult franchise he vehemently refused to give any other special privileges such as separate electorate to the Depressed Classes. He secretly agreed to give the Muslims all their 14 demands; in return he wanted them to oppose Dr Babasaheb's demands at the 2nd RTC. When finally they could not arrive at a decision as regards the minority problem, they submitted a memorandum to accept the British Prime Minister's decision and Gandhi also signed it. But later when the PM gave his decision, Gandhi refused to accept it and went on fast unto death!

Ref:
Dr BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Vol. 2 Ps 600 -672.
Dr MURUGU DORAI, "Ambethkar kaappiyam", Epic (Tamil) of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's Biography, Part 2, pages 236-237.

COULD THE DALITS LOVE OR REGARD SUCH A GANDHI AS THEIR FRIEND OR WELL WISHER?
3 When Gandhi returned to Bombay on 28.12 1931,eight thousand untouchables, males and females at 2.30 in the shivering cold of early morning demonstrated with black flags against Gandhi at the Mole Station!

Ref. Dhananjay Keer, DR AMBEDKAR Life And Mission. Ps 191-192
Ref. Ref. Dr MURUGU DORAI, "Ambethkar kaappiyam", Epic (in Tamil) of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's Biography, Part 2, pages 244-246.
COULD ANY DALIT TODAY PROFESS LOVE FOR THAT GANDHI?

4. After returning to Bombay, the only thought that fully occupied Gandhi's mind was how to prevent the Untouchables from getting from the British what Dr Babasaheb had demanded. He voluntarily wrote to the then India Minister Sir Samuel Hoare on 11.3.1932,. He wrote "I respectfully inform His Majesty's Government that in the event of their decision creating separate electorate for the Depressed Classes, I must fast unto death" Sir Samuel Hoare replied that "we intend to give any decision that may be necessary solely and only upon the merits of the case."
The Communal award was announced on 17.8.1932 Gandhi wrote to the PM saying "I have to resist your decision with my life. The only way I can do so is by declaring a perpetual fast unto death from food of any kind save water with or without salt and soda..."
The PM replied on 8.9.1932 explaining the Govt's duty to "safeguard what we believed to be the right of the Depressed Classes to a fair proportion of representation in the legislatures.. the Govt's decision stands and that only agreement of the communities themselves can substitute other electoral arrangements..."; Finally PM urged, "ask yourself seriously the question whether it really justifies you in taking the action you contemplate"
Yet Gandhi ignored the fact that as a signatory to the memorandum, he should accept whatever decision the PM had taken , and went on fast unto death!

Ref.
Dr BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Vol 9.What Congress and Gandhi have done to the Untouchables. ps 77 -87.
Dr MURUGU DORAI, "Ambethkar kaappiyam", Epic (Tamil) of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's Biography, Part 2, pages 270-284.

COULD ANY DALIT FEEL THAT GANDHI WAS A FRIEND OR A WELL WISHER OF DALITS?

5. Gandhi started his fast on 20.9.1932. Dr Babasaheb issued a statement on the 19th instant. Every Dalit must read those 6 pages of statement issued to the press. What would have happened to the then 60 million Dalits, if anything had happened to Gandhi's life? Dr Babasaheb said "whether he knows it or not, the Mahatmas' act will result in nothing but terrorism by his followers against the Depressed Classes all over the country.... If Mr Gandhi coolly reflects on the consequences of his act, I very much doubt whether he will find this victory worth having....the Mahatma is releasing reactionary and uncontrollable forces, and is fostering the spirit of hatred between the Hindu community and the Depressed Classes.." Dr Babasaheb ended his statement thus: "I am prepared to consider the proposals of the Mahatma. I however trust the Mahatma will not drive me to the necessity of making a choice between his life and the rights of my people. For I can never consent to deliver my people bound hand and foot to the Caste Hindus for generations to come."
To save Gandhi from sure death, a conference of Hindu leaders was held at the hall of the Indian Merchants in Bombay on 19.9.1932 under the president ship of Pandid Madan Mohan Malaviya. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar said there, "..secure Gandhi's alternative proposal... But one thing is decided. To save Gandhi's life I would not be a party to any proposals that would be against the interests of my people"

The next day, when Dr Babasaheb was told that Gandhi had no personal objection to the reservation of seats for the Depressed Classes, he told the conference "It has fallen to my lot to be the villain of the piece. But I tell you I shall not deter from my pious duty, and betray the just and legitimate interest of my people even if you hang me on the nearest lamp-post in the street.."
63 years old Gandhi was without food for three days, lying on the white color painted iron cot under the mango tree, at the Yeravda Prison, his body very weak, and his voice sinking low to muttering. The question of duration of primary election and referendum to decide the duration of reserved seats was hanging undecided. Dr Babasaheb insisted that the question of reserved seats should be settled by referendum of the Depressed Classes at end of 25 years. But Gandhi said with a tone of finality "Five years or my life!"

Later it was decided to make the agreement without the condition of referendum. Thus the Poona pact was signed. What Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar felt at that moment?

Dr Babasaheb says " No man was placed in a greater and graver dilemma than I was then. It was a baffling situation. I had to make a choice between two different alternatives. There was before me the duty, which I owed as a part of common humanity, to save Gandhi from sure death. There was before me the problem of saving for the Untouchables the political rights which the Prime Minister had given them. I responded to the call of humanity and saved the life of Mr Gandhi by agreeing to alter the Communal Award in a manner satisfactory to Mr Gandhi"

Gandhi wanted only 5 years to decide whether to extend or not to extend the period of reserved seats! Could un-touchability or social slavery of untouchables be eradicated in five years? Now after 75 years the reservation needs still to be continued.
But Gandhi threatened "Five years or my life!" Are these the words of a Mahatma? a friend of the Dalits?

Ref.
DHANANJAY KEER, AMBEDKAR LIFE AND MISSION ps 204- 216.
DR BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Vol 9.What Congress and Gandhi have done to the Untouchables. ps 311-317, 88.
Vol 5. 'GANDHI AND HIS FAST' p 341 MS GORE ' THE Social Contextb of an Ideology' AMBEDKAR'S POLITICAL
AND SOCIAL THOUGHT, p 136 W.N. KUBER. 'BUILDERS OF MODERN INDIA' B.R. AMBEDKAR ps 41-42
Dr MURUGU DORAI, "Ambethkar Kaappiyam", Epic (Tamil) of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's Biography, Part 2, ps 292-335.
COULD ANY DALIT EVER REGARD GANDHI AS A FRIEND OF THE DALITS?

To Be Continued......

http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Gandhi_And_Dalits.htm

(2) The seeds of swaraj are to be found in the caste system. Different castes are like different sections of
military division. Each division is working for the good of the whole….
(3) A community which can create the caste system must be said to possess unique power of organization.
(4) Caste has a ready made means for spreading primary education. Each caste can take the responsibility for
the education of the children of the caste. Caste has a political basis. It can work as an electorate for a
representative body. Caste can perform judicial functions by electing persons to act as judges to decide
disputes among members of the same caste. With castes it is easy to raise a defense force by requiring each
caste to raise a brigade.
(5) I believe that interdining or intermarriage are not necessary for promoting national unity. That dining
together creates friendship is contrary to experience. If this was true there would have been no war in
Europe…. Taking food is as dirty an act as answering the call of nature. The only difference is that after
answering call of nature we get peace while after eating food we get discomfort. Just as we perform the act of
answering the call of nature in seclusion so also the act of taking food must also be done in seclusion.
(6) In India children of brothers do not intermarry. Do they cease to love because they do not intermarry?
Among the Vaishnavas many women are so orthodox that they will not eat with members of the family nor
will they drink water from a common water pot. Have they no love? The caste system cannot be said to be bad
because it does not allow interdining or intermarriage between different castes.
(7) Caste is another name for control. Caste puts a limit on enjoyment. Caste does not allow a person to
transgress caste limits in pursuit of his enjoyment. That is the meaning of such caste restrictions as interdining
and intermarriage.
(8) To destroy caste system and adopt Western European social system means that Hindus must give up the
principle of hereditary occupation which is the soul of the caste system. Hereditary principle is an eternal
principle. To change it is to create disorder. I have no use for a Brahmin if I cannot call him a Brahmin for my
life. It will be a chaos if every day a Brahmin is to be changed into a Shudra and a Shudra is to be changed
into a Brahmin.
(9) The caste system is a natural order of society. In India it has been given a religious coating. Other
countries not having understood the utility of the caste system, it existed only in a loose condition and
consequently those countries have not derived from caste system the same degree of advantage which India
has derived. These being my views I am opposed to all those who are out to destroy the caste system.
In 1922, Mr. Gandhi was a defender of the caste system. Pursuing the inquiry, one comes across a somewhat
critical view of the caste system by Mr. Gandhi in the year 1925. This is what Mr. Gandhi said on 3rd
February 1925:
I gave support to caste because it stands for restraint. But at present caste does not mean restraint, it means
limitations. Restraint is glorious and helps to achieve freedom. But limitation is like chain. It binds. There is
nothing commendable in castes as they exist to-day. They are contrary to the tenets of the Shastras. The
number of castes is infinite and there is a bar against intermarriage. This is not a condition of elevation. It is a
state of fall.
In reply to the question: What is the way out? Mr. Gandhi said:
The best remedy is that small castes should fuse themselves into one big caste. There should be four big castes
so that we may reproduce the old system of four Varnas.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35853949/Dr-B-R-Ambedkar-on-Gandhi-and-Gandhism

With all due respect to hindu folks here.

"Wise" Gandhi jee on caste system:

M.K Gandhi is widely portrayed in and outside India as the main champion of the cause of the Untouchables (Dalits). It is, however, far from the truth. There is no doubt that he wanted the untouchability to be abolished but he, at the same time, was a strong supporter of the caste system. Supporting the caste system he said: "I believe that caste has saved Hinduism from disintegration." He also said, "To destroy the caste system and adopt the Western European social system means that Hindus must give up the principle of hereditary occupation, which is the soul of the caste system. The hereditary principle is an eternal principle. To change it is to create disorder." [1]

Obviously, the stance of Gandhi with respect to the caste system was contradictory. Since untouchability is a by-product of the caste system, it does not make any sense to advocate the abolition of the untouchability while trying at the same time to perpetuate the caste system. In fact, Gandhi was neither a friend of the Untouchables, nor was he sincere in advocating the abolition of untouchability. His actions clearly belied his precepts.

In 1933, he established Harijan (Dalit) Sevak Sangh for the welfare of the Untouchables (Dalits). But when there was a demand for the representation of the Untouchables on the Governing Board of the institution, he flatly refused it. He disapproved appointment of Mr. Agnibhaj, a distinguished personality, as a minister in the Congress cabinet in the Madhya Pradesh because he was from the Scheduled Caste.

In the Round Table Conference held in 1932, the then British Government accepted the demand of the Dalits for separate electorate. The basis of that demand was the fact that the Dalit are not Hindu but a separate nation. Gandhi started his 'fast unto death' against that plan and sabotaged it. It was a thunderous blow to the cause of the emancipation of the Dalit. Gandhi, however, showed great respect to the Dalits when he made them comparable to the cows who have divine position in Hinduism. He said: "Majority of Harijans (Dalits) can no more understand the presentation of Christianity than my cows." [2]

An examination of the role played by Gandhi apparently to serve the cause of the Dalits will clearly indicate that he was not sincere at all in showing sympathy towards them. The attitude which he really had towards the Dalits has superbly been portrayed by Dr. Ambedkar in the following words: "Hinduism is a veritable chamber of horrors. The sanctity and infallibility of the Vedas, Smritis and Shastras, the iron law of caste, the heartless law of karma and the senseless law of status by birth are to the Untouchables veritable instruments of torture which Hinduism has forged against untouchables. These very instruments which have mutilated; blasted and blighted the lives of the Untouchables are to be found intact and untarnished in the bosom of Gandhism." [3]

--------

References
[1] Fazlul Huq, Gandhi: Saint or Sinner (Bangalore; 1992), p. 68.
[2] M.K. Gandhi, Christian Missions: Their Place in India, (Ahmedabad: n.d.), p. 58.
[3] Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, What Congress and Gandhi have done to Untouchables?

Mamata leads procession with bodies of Lalgarh victims
Indo-Asian News Service
Lalgarh, January 08, 2011
First Published: 20:54 IST(8/1/2011)
Last Updated: 21:01 IST(8/1/2011)
Black flags hung from trees, walls and lamp posts, people covered their faces with black cloth, and the air was heavy with the wailing of relatives of victims of Friday's Lalgarh firing as railway minister Mamataa Banerjee marched in Midnapore town with the bodies of those killed. Thousands
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of people wearing black badges, thronged the college ground in the town to pay their last respects to the villagers who died in a clash triggered by assailants allegedly backed by West Bengal's ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and locals in Netai village, about three km from this Maoist hub of West Midnapore district.
At least seven people were shot dead and 17 wounded in the clashes amid allegations that the assailants were sheltered in armed camps set up by the CPI-M.
Early Saturday, Banerjee visited Netai and spoke to the relatives of the dead and wounded, who narrated harrowing tales of Friday's gruesome incident that has sent shockwaves throughout the state.
With fear stalking Netai, Banerjee called up state Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh and requested him to beef up security to instil confidence in the minds of the villagers and ensure their safety in case of any further attacks.
Banerjee had Friday said she would address people at the Ramakrishna Vidyalaya ground in Lalgarh, but cancelled the programme. Trinamool sources claimed the decision was taken for security reasons.
Later, Banerjee went to the district headquarters, Midnapore town to pay her respects to the dead and head the rally that started from Midnapore College ground and passed through several thoroughfares of the town to terminate at Battala Chawk. Banerjee, however, was present at the rally for a short while and left for Howrah to address a meeting.
She was earlier slated to address a meeting at Midnapore college ground, but Trinamool Youth Congress chief Subhendu Adhikari said that had to be cancelled due to time constraints. "It took time to bring the bodies to Midnapore. And our leader was getting late for her scheduled rally in the evening in neighbouring Howrah district," he said.
A large posse of policemen, most of them wearing helmets and riot gear, arrived at the meeting spot Saturday morning to ensure fool-proof security.
However, the state's ruling Marxists took a dig at Banerjee saying she could not arrange enough people to hold the meeting at Midnapore town.
"Trinamool Congress couldn't arrange enough people to conduct a rally. That's why they have cancelled the program," said Shyamal Chakroborty, CPI-M central committee member.
The CPI-M also brought out two processions - one at Lalgarh and the other at Midnapore town.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Mamata-leads-procession-with-bodies-of-Lalgarh-victims/Article1-647958.aspx
Firing in Lalgarh shouldn't have happened, says Buddhadeb
Press Trust Of India
Canning, January 08, 2011
First Published: 19:53 IST(8/1/2011)
Last Updated: 19:55 IST(8/1/2011)
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Saturday strongly disapproved of the firing in Lalgarh, allegedly by CPI(M) cadres, saying it should not have happened and asked all political parties to exercise restraint. "What happened in West Midnapore yesterday (Friday) was not good. It
should not have happened. Killings and bloodshed must stop otherwise all development work will come to a halt. All political parties should observe restraint," the chief minister said while inaugurating a bridge over a river.
"We don't want violence. We don't want people to be killed. We will not allow killings. Killings must stop," he said.
Bhattacharjee said the state government wanted jobs for the poor and peace. "We want to development work for those still living in darkness and in tears. Violence will destroy everything."
The Chief Minister's remarks came a day after West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan denounced the Lalgarh incident saying it was a "day of shame and sorrow" for the state and asked the state government to act before it reaches the "point of no return".
Break Trinamool Congress-Maoist tie-up, CPI(M) tells Chidambaram
Published: Saturday, Jan 8, 2011, 22:38 IST
Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI
The CPI(M) today said the "link" between Trinamool Congress and the Maoists was the "single biggest factor" responsible for the volatile situation in West Bengal and asked home minister P Chidambaram to ensure that this tie-up is broken.
"It is essential for home minister Chidambaram, instead of issuing partisan statements, to ensure that his cabinet colleague Mamata Banerjee breaks her party's links with the Maoists which is the single biggest factor responsible for the present situation", the party politburo said in a statement here.
It said the "tragic loss of lives and injuries to several" in the West Midnapur district yesterday was "a result of the violent politics indulged in by the Maoist-Trinamool combine."
The party said quoting reports that in a "pre-planned move (yesterday), efforts were made to violently attack those families of CPI(M) who had returned to the village and those waiting in the displaced peoples camp to return" which led to the violence in which precious lives were lost.
"It should be recalled that earlier on December 16, when seven workers including a woman gram pradhan of Forward Bloc were brutally murdered in Jhalda in the Purulia district by Maoists, the TMC did not even issue a statement to condemn the killings, showing their complicity in the crime", the CPI(M) said.
It said the Maoist-Trinamool combine had driven out Left cadre from the Jangalmahal area using brutal methods in which over 122 tribal activists of the CPI(M) were killed, hundreds of homes burnt and thousands driven out of the area.
"Peoples' resistance in many areas has led to improvement in the situation which is not to the liking of this combine", the CPI(M) added.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has no immediate plan to visit Delhi
Published: Saturday, Jan 8, 2011, 15:02 IST
Place: Kolkata | Agency: PTI
West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has no immediate plan to visit Delhi following Union home minister P Chidambaram's letter to him after the violence in Lalgarh.
Confirming receipt of Chidambaram's letter which urged Bhattacharjee to visit Delhi immediately rescheduling all programmes, the chief minister's office said "he has no immediate plan to go to Delhi at least in a day or two."
It said the chief minister had gone to Canning in South 24 Parganas district today to inaugurate a bridge over the Matla river.
"We have no idea if the chief minister has replied to Chidambaram's letter," CPI(M) sources said.
Firing at Lalgarh proves existence of 'harmad' camp: Trinamool Congress
Published: Friday, Jan 7, 2011, 23:20 IST
Place: Kolkata | Agency: PTI
Trinamool Congress parliamentary party chief whip Sudip Bandyopadhyay tonight said he had apprised Union home minister P Chidambaram about the firing in Lalgarh, which proved the existence of the camps of "armed CPI(M) cadres".
"The firing with sophisticated weapons at Lalgarh was planned and has proved that camps of harmads of CPI(M) exist in jungle mahal, which we have been stating for long," Bandyopadhyay said.
Bandhyopadhyay said that Chidambaram informed him that he had written another letter to the West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee asking him to "reschedule all appointments and visit Delhi immediately."
The letter sent by him had also been acknowledged by the chief minister's office, Chidambaram had informed him he said.
The state secretariat, however, did not confirm receipt of the letter.
Describing the killing as 'genocide', he said that his party had for long been stating that the central forces for anti-Maoist operations were being misused.
"This has again proved that the central forces are being used to shieldharmad camps than to fight Maoists," he alleged.
"The time is ripe now for the Centre to act," he said.
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Sify - &#8206;4 hours ago&#8206;
... shutdown starting Monday in the three Maoist-affected western districts of West Bengal to protest against the killing of seven villagers near Lalgarh.
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Rebel camp-capture bid with locals as foils
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LF chief whip admits CPI(M) men had arms
MSN India - &#8206;5 hours ago&#8206;
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In crowd, 'outsiders' in mufflers & shawls
Calcutta Telegraph - Naresh Jana - &#8206;21 hours ago&#8206;
Lalgarh, Jan. 7: Nitai resident Ratan Adak (name changed) was returning home from the river bank this morning when he heard "loud voices".
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CPM show of strength in Lalgarh
Times of India - &#8206;Dec 31, 2010&#8206;
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Hand in hand, behind letters
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Deaths deflect Maoist nexus focus
Calcutta Telegraph - &#8206;21 hours ago&#8206;
7: Ten deaths in three days - three in Burdwan in the past two days and seven in West Midnapore today - has given Mamata Banerjee the chance to deflect ...
City spared the rally worst Calcutta Telegraph
Mamata accuses CPI(M) of killing her workers Hindustan Times
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Mamata to lead TMC body parade
Times of India - &#8206;Jan 6, 2011&#8206;
KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress chairpersonMamata Banerjee will lead a rally in Kolkata on Friday with the bodies of three Trinamool workers killed since ...
Trinamool gets ready to rally with bodies again Indian Express
Trinamool Congress Politicking Over Deaths: CPI(M) Outlook
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Delhi Cong to talk seats with Didi
Calcutta Telegraph - Barun Ghosh -&#8206;Jan 6, 2011&#8206;
6: The central Congress leadership has decided to take over the responsibility of striking the alliance with Mamata Banerjeefor the Assembly polls this ...
Railway gangmen, families can avail free AC travel Times of India
Makeover in the making: Didi is now 'Mamataa' Hindustan Times
Press Information Bureau (press release) -The Hindu
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Mamata Banerjee meets Manmohan Singh over rail budget
Daily News & Analysis - &#8206;Jan 4, 2011&#8206;
Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI Railway minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and is understood to have discussed issues ...
Maoists announce terms "to maintain alliance" with Mamata The Hindu
Seat sharing in Bengal: Mamata meets PM, Pranab Hindustan Times
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Mamata flight makes emergency landing
Indian Express - &#8206;Jan 5, 2011&#8206;
NEW DELHI: With Railway Minister and Trinamool chiefMamata Banerjee and party MP Mukul Roy on board, a Kolkata-bound Air India flight -- AI-680 -- had to ...
Plane carrying Mamata makes emergency landing The Hindu
Didi scare Calcutta Telegraph
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Mamata's air-conditioned gift for Grade-D employees of railways
Khabrein - Soroor Ahmed - &#8206;7 hours ago&#8206;
But now the railway minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a New Year's Gift to the lowest grade employees of the Indian Railways.
Mumbai's suburban railway to be an autonomous body?
Daily News & Analysis - &#8206;Jan 6, 2011&#8206;
Last week, many officials were taken by surprise after railway minister Mamata Banerjee made Kolkatta Metro into a separate body, making it the 17th railway ...
Calcutta Telegraph
Suman music for CPM ears
Calcutta Telegraph - &#8206;Jan 5, 2011&#8206;
5: Kabir Suman has let down his "great friend"Mamata Banerjee but not the CPM. The singer-turned-politician's book, Nishaner Naam Tapasi Malik, ...
PC signals May elections Calcutta Telegraph
Parent indulges state CPM Calcutta Telegraph
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Kolkata: Cong blocks road, rail traffic; TC holds condemnation day
Indian Express - &#8206;6 hours ago&#8206;
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee led a procession in Midnapore town to observe 'Condemnation Day' in protest against the Lalgarh killings.
The Hindu
Mamata Banerjee accuses Buddhadeb of being Maoist
Economic Times - &#8206;Dec 29, 2010&#8206;
... Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee's letter to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram ,Mamata Banerjee said, "the Chief Minister himself is a Maoist leader.
Video: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is a Maoist leader: Mamata Asian News International (ANI)
Buddhadeb reply a show of arrogance:Mamata The Hindu
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Banerjee condoles death of noted signer Suchitra Mitra
Sify - &#8206;Jan 3, 2011&#8206;
Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjeehas expressed her deep and heartfelt condolences at the sad demise of noted signer Suchitra Mitra, who passed away in ...
Voice of an era is no more Calcutta Telegraph
President condoles Suchitra Mitra''s deathMSN India
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My film has no connection with TMC: Bidyut
Times of India - Zinia Sen - &#8206;Jan 5, 2011&#8206;
So what if the shooting of Bidyut Sarkar's political film onMamata Banerjee got delayed by a month, the director is still eyeing a pre-election release.
The Hindu
Left meets PC over TMC Maoist link'
Times of India - &#8206;Jan 6, 2011&#8206;
... support and joint resistance along withMamata Banerjee and her party", Kabir Suman's book, Nishaner Naam Tapasi Malik', mentions that the Red rebels ...
Video: Maoists have links with Trinamool Congress: Yechury Asian News International (ANI)
CPI-M submits memo on Maoist-TMC nexusindiablooms
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Mamata Banerjee talks of resignation, then backtracks
Hindustan Times - &#8206;Dec 22, 2010&#8206;
Railway minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asserted that she will "resign from any post" if she failed to prove that the Communist Party of India-Marxist ...
Video: Tackle rising prices, Mamata Banerjee tells UPA NDTV.com
Tackle rising prices, Mamata Banerjee tells UPA NDTV.com
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Mamata Banerjee Receives Cheques of Dividend from Seven PSUs of Railways
TTKN News - &#8206;Jan 5, 2011&#8206;
The Minister of Railways, Mamata Banerjee received cheques of dividend amounting to Rs. 311.88 crore for the year 2009-10 from the seven Public Sector ...
Oneindia
Buddha should quit, saysMamata
Indian Express - &#8206;Dec 29, 2010&#8206;
kolkata: Breaking her silence on P Chidambaram's letter to the West Bengal CM, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday demanded Buddhadeb ...
Video: Buddhadeb replies to CentreNewsX
CM evasive, says Mamata Calcutta Telegraph
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Pranab to head GoM for tackling corruption and improving transparency
Oneindia - &#8206;4 hours ago&#8206;
Other members of the group are P Chidambaram, Sharad Pawar, AK Antony, M Veerappa Moily, Kapil Sibal, Mamata Banerjee and MK Alagiri.
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West Bengal
Almost half of polling stations in Bengalsensitive
Sify - &#8206;17 minutes ago&#8206;
Kolkata, Jan 8 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) SY Quraishi Saturday expressed concern over the violence inWest Bengal and declared almost half of ...
EC concerned over law and order situation in West BengalTimes of India
EC concerned over West Bengal violence indiablooms
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Lalgarh Incident Shouldn't Have Happened: Buddhadeb
Outlook - &#8206;22 minutes ago&#8206;
A day after firing in Lalgarh by suspected CPI(M) cadres left eight dead and over a dozen injured, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today ...
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What happened at Lalgarh is not good: Buddhadeb Times of India
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Maoist-spotting
Hindustan Times - Manas Chakravarty - &#8206;1 hour ago&#8206;
Then Mamata said there were no Maoists in West Bengal. Now Mamata says Buddhadeb Bhattacha-rjee is a Maoist. Are they both Maoists?
Orissadiary.com
Cops glare on injured rebels
Times of India - Sandeep Mishra -&#8206;25 minutes ago&#8206;
"We have informed the West Bengal police and the Jhargram SP has already dispatched a team to help us investigate further into the case," twin city police ...
Orissa Police arrest two suspected Maoists from SCB Medical Orissadiary.com
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Left Front alleges Trinamool-Maoist nexus in West Bengal
Hindustan Times - &#8206;Jan 5, 2011&#8206;
... submitted a memorandum to home minister P Chidamabram, alleging existence of a nexus between the Maoists and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.
Video: Maoists have links with Trinamool Congress: Yechury Asian News International (ANI)
Trinamool-Maoist nexus in West Bengal: Left parties NetIndian
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Delicacies of five states on offer at tourism & food fest
Times of India - &#8206;17 hours ago&#8206;
KOLKATA: If you are an ardent foodie, head straight for Nalban where the eighth edition of the West Bengal Tourism and Food Festival has been on since ...
One killed in explosion at railway station inWest Bengal
Sify - &#8206;Jan 6, 2011&#8206;
Kolkata, Jan 6 (IANS) A 70-year-old man was killed and two women were injured Thursday when a bomb, kept in a box, exploded at a railway station in West ...
20 injured in Bengal clash Sify
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Indian Express
Bengal farmers to get 3 cottahs for every acre acquired
Indian Express - &#8206;Jan 6, 2011&#8206;
Farmers in West Bengal whose land will be acquired will now get three cottahs of developed land for commercial purpose for every acre of land.
WB govt. allots land to 13 firms indiablooms
Nirupam talks tough on land use Calcutta Telegraph
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Peaceful polls will be held in West Bengal: Chidambaram
Times of India - &#8206;Jan 4, 2011&#8206;
NEW DELHI: Amidst reports of unabated killing of political workers in West Bengal, the Centre said it was confident that peaceful elections will be held in ...
Hoarding pushes up prices
Times of India - &#8206;17 hours ago&#8206;
The roles of Benfed (West Bengal market Federation) and Confed (West Bengal Consumers' Federation) are murkier here.
Government to unveil memorial on indentured labour in Kolkata
Economic Times - &#8206;Jan 7, 2011&#8206;
NEW DELHI: The ministry of overseas Indian affairs (MOIA), with support from the West Bengal government and the ministry of shipping, is all set to unveil a ...
Energy Awareness Yatra, East starts Jan 12
Sify - &#8206;Jan 6, 2011&#8206;
Kolkata, Jan 7 (IANS) In a bid to raise awareness for an orange revolution, Vivekananda Vijnana Mission and West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation ...
Rediff
Bengal hands over possession letters for 1250 acres
Business Standard - &#8206;Jan 6, 2011&#8206;
The West Bengal government today handed over letters of allotment and permissive possession certificates to 13 investors. The land—which adds up to just ...
WB govt hands over nearly 1200 acres lands to 13 companies Times of India
3 cottah per acre for landlosers Times of India
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Maoist activities adversely affect West Bengal tourism
Sify - &#8206;Jan 5, 2011&#8206;
Rising Maoist activities in West Bengal's Bankura district have badly affected the tourism industry in the region. The recent incidents of violence have ...
The Hindu
West Bengal bids farewell to Suchitra Mitra
Daily News & Analysis - &#8206;Jan 4, 2011&#8206;
Place: Kolkata | Agency: PTI Thousands of mourners joined the funeral procession of Rabindra Sangeet icon Suchitra Mitra singing her favourite numbers ...
Indian singer Suchitra Mitra dies BBC News
Suchitra Mitra: Rabindra Sangeet Legend Passes Away At 86 Real Bollywood (blog)
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Maoist terror in West Bengal
Daily Pioneer - Fakir Mohan Pradhan -&#8206;Jan 2, 2011&#8206;
Replying to a question in the State Assembly on December 23, 2010, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee claimed, "Because of sustained joint ...
Bengal CM Buddhadeb favours child labourOneindia
WB: Buddha says child labour cannot be banned IBNLive.com
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Big Bazaar opens 18th outlet in WB
indiablooms - &#8206;8 hours ago&#8206;
This store marks the 18th store in West Bengal and takes the total count of Big Bazaar stores to 145 nationally. The Big Bazaar at Diamond Harbour Road will ...
Married girls equally have the right to education – Calcutta HC
Law et al. News - Abhijit Pandey - &#8206;18 hours ago&#8206;
Expressing concern over attitude of school authorities in rural areas of West Bengal, the Calcutta High Court asked the authorities to consider allowing a ...
Dalmiya urges West Bengal to reconsider tax on World Cup matches
NetIndian - &#8206;Jan 5, 2011&#8206;
Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Jagmohan Dalmiya today urged state Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta to reconsider the entertainment tax levied ...
Tax waiver sought for World Cup games in Bengal Sify
Dalmiya meets bengal finance minister over entertainment tax Business Standard
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Assembly polls: 10 lakh new voters in final list
Indian Express - &#8206;Jan 5, 2011&#8206;
Significantly, for the first time the Elector-People ratio (EP ratio) in Bengal has touched the national average. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal ...
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Bengal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Bengal (disambiguation).
Bengal

Map of the Bengal region: West Bengal and Bangladesh
Largest Cities Dhaka
23.42°N 90.22°E
Kolkata[1] (Calcutta)
23.34°N 88.22°E
Chittagong
22.22°N 91.48°E
Main language Bangla (Bengali)
Area 232,752 km²
Population (2001) 245,598,679[2][3]
Density 951.3/km²[2][3]
Infant mortality rate 55.91 per 1000 live births[4][5]
Websites bangladesh.gov.bd andwbgov.com
Bengal (Bengali: &#2476;&#2457;&#2509;&#2455; Bôngo, &#2476;&#2494;&#2434;&#2482;&#2494; Bangla, &#2476;&#2457;&#2509;&#2455;&#2470;&#2503;&#2486; Bôngodesh or &#2476;&#2494;&#2434;&#2482;&#2494;&#2470;&#2503;&#2486; Bangladesh) is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent,South Asia. Today it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh (previously East Bengal / East Pakistan) and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal (during local monarchical regimes and British rule) are now part of the neighboring Indian states ofBihar, Assam and Orissa. The majority of Bengal is inhabited by Bengali people (&#2476;&#2494;&#2457;&#2494;&#2482;&#2495;Bangali) who speak the Bengali language (&#2476;&#2494;&#2434;&#2482;&#2494; Bangla).
The region of Bengal is one of the most densely populated regions on earth, with a population density exceeding 900/km². Most of the Bengal region lies in the low-lyingGanges–Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta, the world's largest delta. In the southern part of the delta lies the Sundarbans—the world's largest mangrove forest and home of the Bengal tiger. Though the population of the region is mostly rural and agrarian, two megacities, Kolkata (previously Calcutta) and Dhaka (previously Dacca), are located in Bengal. The Bengal region is renowned for its rich literary and cultural heritage as well as its immense contribution to the socio-cultural uplift of Indian society in the form of the Bengal Renaissance, and revolutionary activities during the Indian independence movement.
Contents [hide]
1 Etymology and ethnology
2 Major cities
3 History
4 Geography
5 Demographics
6 Economy
6.1 West Bengal
6.2 Bangladesh
7 Culture
8 Intra-Bengal relations today
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 External links
Etymology and ethnology

Main article: Bengali people
The exact origin of the word Bangla or Bengal is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe Bang that settled in the area around the year 1000 BC.[6]
Other accounts speculate that the name is derived from Vanga(&#2476;&#2457;&#2509;&#2455; bôngo), which came from the Austric word "Bonga" meaning the Sun-god. The word Vanga and other words speculated to refer to Bengal (such as Anga) can be found in ancient Indian texts including the Vedas,Jaina texts, the Mahabharata and Puranas. The earliest reference to "Vangala" (&#2476;&#2457;&#2509;&#2455;&#2494;&#2482; bôngal) has been traced in the Nesari plates (805 AD) ofRashtrakuta Govinda III which speak of Dharmapala as the king of Vangala.[7]
Some accounts claim that the word may derive from bhang, a preparation of cannabis which is used in some religious ceremonies in Bengal.[8][9] Dravidians migrated to Bengal from the south, while Tibeto-Burman peoples migrated from the Himalayas,[10] followed by theIndo-Aryans from north-western India. The modern Bengali people are a blend of these people. Smaller numbers of Pathans, Persians, Arabsand Turks also migrated to the region in the late Middle Ages while spreading Islam.
Major cities

The following are the largest cities in Bengal (in terms of population):
Dhaka
Kolkata
Chittagong
Howrah
Khulna
Rajshahi
Siliguri
Durgapur
Asansol
Sylhet
Barisal
Chandannagar
History

Main article: History of Bengal

Mahasthangarh is the oldest archaeological site in Bangladesh. It dates back to 700 BCE and was the ancient capital of the Pundra Kingdom.

Pala Empire under Dharmapala.

Somapura Mahavihara in Paharpur, Bangladesh is the greatest BuddhistVihara in the Indian Subcontinent built byDharmapala of Bengal.

Pala Empire under Devapala.

Robert Clive, of British East India Company, after winning the
Battle of Plassey in 1757.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy is regarded as the "Father of theBengal Renaissance".

Subhash Chandra Bose is one of the most prominent leaders and freedom fighters from Bengal in the Indian independence movement against the British Raj.
Remnants of Copper Age settlements in the Bengal region date back 4,300 years,.[11][12] After the arrival of Indo-Aryans, the kingdoms of Anga, Vanga and Magadha were formed by the 10th century BC, located in the Bihar and Bengal regions. Magadha was one of the four main kingdoms of India at the time of Buddha and consisted of several Janapadas.[10] One of the earliest foreign references to Bengal is the mention of a land named Gangaridai by the Greeks around 100 BC, located in an area in Bengal.[13] From the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE, the kingdom of Magadha served as the seat of the Gupta Empire.
The first recorded independent king of Bengal was Shashanka, reigning around early 7th century.[14] After a period of anarchy, the native Buddhist-Hindu Pala Empire ruled the region for four hundred years, and expanded across much of the Indian subcontinent into Afghanistan during the reigns of Dharmapalaand Devapala. The Pala dynasty was followed by a shorter reign of the Hindu Saiva Sena dynasty. Islam was introduced to Bengal by Arab Muslim traders. A large number of people became Muslims in the twelfth century through Sufimissionaries. Subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout the region.[15] Bakhtiar Khilji, a Turkicgeneral of the Slave dynasty of Delhi Sultanate, defeatedLakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered large parts of Bengal. Consequently, the region was ruled by dynasties ofsultans and feudal lords under the Delhi Sultanate for the next few hundred years. In the sixteenth century, Mughal general Islam Khan conquered Bengal. Susequently, Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri and Hindu king Hemu had ruled for shorter periods. However, administration by governors appointed by the court of the Mughal Empire gave way to semi-independence of the area under the Nawabs of Murshidabad, who nominally respected the sovereignty of the Mughals in Delhi. The most notable among them is Murshid Quli Khan, who was succeeded byAlivardi Khan.
Portuguese traders arrived late in the fifteenth century, once Vasco da Gama reached India by sea in 1498. European influence grew until theBritish East India Company gained taxation rights in Bengal subah, or province, following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, when Siraj ud-Daulah, the last independent Nawab, was defeated by the British.[16] TheBengal Presidency was established by 1766, eventually including all British territories north of the Central Provinces (now Madhya Pradesh), from the mouths of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra to the Himalayasand the Punjab. The Bengal famine of 1770 claimed millions of lives.[17]Calcutta was named the capital of British India in 1772. The Bengal Renaissance and Brahmo Samaj socio-cultural reform movements had great impact on the cultural and economic life of Bengal. The failedIndian rebellion of 1857 started near Calcutta and resulted in transfer of authority to the British Crown, administered by theViceroy of India.[18] Between 1905 and 1911, an abortive attemptwas made to divide the province of Bengal into two zones.[19]
Bengal has played a major role in the Indian independence movement, in which revolutionary groups were dominant. Armed attempts to overthrow the British Raj reached a climax whenSubhash Chandra Bose led the Indian National Army against the British. Bengal was also central in the rising political awareness of the Muslim population—the Muslim League was established in Dhaka in 1906. In spite of a last ditch effort to form a United Bengal,[20] when India gained independence in 1947, Bengal was partitioned along religious lines.[21] The western part went to India (and was named West Bengal) while the eastern part joined Pakistan as a province calledEast Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan, giving rise to Bangladesh in 1971). The circumstances of partition was bloody, with widespread religious riots in Bengal.[21][22]
The post-partition political history of East and West Bengal diverged for the most part. Starting from the Bengali Language Movement of 1952.[23] political dissent against West Pakistanidomination grew steadily. Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, emerged as the political voice of the Bengali-speaking population of East Pakistan by 1960s.[24] In 1971, the crisis deepened when Rahman was arrested and a sustained military assault was launched on East Pakistan.[25] Most of the Awami League leaders fled and set up a government-in-exile in West Bengal. The guerrilla Mukti Bahini and Bengali regulars eventually received support from the Indian Armed Forces in December 1971, resulting in a decisive victory over Pakistan on 16 December in the Bangladesh Liberation War or Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.[26] The post independence history of Bangladesh was strife with conflict, with a long history of political assassinations and coups before parliamentary democracy was established in 1991. Since then, the political environment has been relatively stable.
West Bengal, the western part of Bengal, became a state in India. In the 1960s and 1970s, severe power shortages, strikes and a violentMarxist-Naxalite movement damaged much of the state's infrastructure, leading to a period of economic stagnation. The Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 resulted in the influx of millions of refugees to West Bengal, causing significant strains on its infrastructure.[27] West Bengal politics underwent a major change when the Left Front won the 1977 assembly election, defeating the incumbent Indian National Congress. The Left Front, led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) has governed for the last three decades.[28] The state's economic recovery gathered momentum after economic reforms in India were introduced in the mid-1990s by the central government, aided by election of a new reformist Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya in 2000.
Geography

See also: Geography of West Bengal and Geography of Bangladesh

The Royal Bengal Tiger
Most of the Bengal region is in the low-lying Ganges–Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta. The Ganges Delta arises from the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghnarivers and their respective tributaries. The total area of Bengal is 232752 km²—West Bengal is 88,752 km² and Bangladesh 144,000 km².
Most parts of Bangladesh are within 10 meters (33 ft) above the sea level, and it is believed that about 10% of the land would be flooded if the sea level were to rise by 1 metre (3 ft).[29] Because of this low elevation, much of this region is exceptionally vulnerable to seasonal flooding due to monsoons. The highest point in Bangladesh is in Mowdok range at 1,052 metres (3,451 ft) in theChittagong Hill Tracts to the southeast of the country.[30] A major part of the coastline comprises a marshy jungle, the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and home to diverse flora and fauna, including the Royal Bengal Tiger. In 1997, this region was declared endangered.[31]
West Bengal is on the eastern bottleneck of India, stretching from the Himalayas in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south. The state has a total area of 88,752 km² (34,267 sq mi).[32] TheDarjeeling Himalayan hill region in the northern extreme of the state belongs to the easternHimalaya. This region contains Sandakfu (3,636 m (11,929 ft))—the highest peak of the state.[33]The narrow Terai region separates this region from the plains, which in turn transitions into theGanges delta towards the south. The Rarh region intervenes between the Ganges delta in the east and the western plateau and high lands. A small coastal region is on the extreme south, while theSundarbans mangrove forests form a remarkable geographical landmark at the Ganges delta. At least nine districts in West Bengal and 42 districts in Bangladesh have arsenic levels in groundwater above the World Health Organization maximum permissible limit of 50 µg/L.[34]
Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Bangladesh and Demographics of West Bengal

Shaheed Minar, or the Martyr's monument, in Dhaka, commemorates the struggle for the Bengali language.

Baitul Mukarram in Dhaka is theNational Mosque of Bangladesh.

Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Kolkata,West Bengal.
About 250 million people live in Bengal, around 68% of them in Bangladesh and the remainder in West Bengal.[2][35] The population density in the area is more than 900/km²; making it among the most densely populated areas in the world.[2][3]
Bengali is the main language spoken in Bengal. English is often used for official work. There are small minorities who speak Hindi, Urdu, Chakma. There are several tribal languages including Santhali. Nepali is spoken primarily by the Gorkhas of Darjeeling district of West Bengal.
66% of the total Bengali population is Muslim, and 33% isHindu. In Bangladesh 89.7% of the population is Muslim and 9.2% are Hindus (Bangladesh Census 2001). In West Bengal, Hindus are the majority with 72.5% of the population while Muslims comprise 25%, and other religions make up the remainder.[36] Other religious groups include Buddhists, Christians, andAnimists. About 2% of the population is tribal.[37]
Life expectancy is around 63 years, and are almost same for the men and women.[38][39] In terms of literacy, West Bengal leads with 69.22% literacy rate,[2] in Bangladesh the rate is approximately 41%.[40] The level of poverty is high, the proportion of people living below the poverty line is more than 30%.[37][41]
About 20,000 people live on chars. Chars are temporary islands formed by the deposition of sediments eroded off the banks of the Ganges in West Bengal which often disappear in the monsoon season. They are made of very fertile soil. The inhabitants of chars are not recognised by the Government of West Bengal on the grounds that it is not known whether they are Bengalis or Bangladeshi refugees. Consequently, no identification documents are issued to char-dwellers who cannot benefit from health care, barely survive due to very poor sanitation and are prevented from emigrating to the mainland to find jobs when they have turned 14. On a particular char it was reported that 13% of women died at childbirth.[42]
Economy

Worker in a paddy, a common scene all over Bengal
Agriculture is the leading occupation in the region. Rice is the staple food crop. Other food crops are pulses, potato, maize, and oil seeds. Jute is the principal cash crop. Tea is also produced commercially; the region is well known for Darjeeling and other high-quality teas.
Historically, Europe once regarded Bengal as "the richest country to trade with".[43]
West Bengal
Main article: Economy of West Bengal
The service sector is the largest contributor to the gross domestic product of West Bengal, contributing 51% of the state domestic product compared to 27% from agriculture and 22% from industry.[44] State industries are localized in the Kolkata region and the mineral-rich western highlands. Durgapur–Asansol colliery belt is home to a number of major steel plants.[45] As of | 2004 | alt = As of 2003–2004}} West Bengal had the third-largest economy in India, with a net state domestic product of US$ 21.5 billion.[44] During 2001–2002, the state's average SDP was more than 7.8%—outperforming the National GDP Growth.[46] The state has promoted foreign direct investment, which has mostly occurred in the software and electronics fields;[47] Kolkata is becoming a major hub for the information technology (IT) industry. Owing to the boom in Kolkata's and the overall state's economy, West Bengal as of 2005 had the third-fastest-growing economy in India.[48]
Bangladesh
Main article: Economy of Bangladesh
Since 1990, Bangladesh has achieved an average annual growth rate of 5% according to the World Bank, despite the hurdles. The middle class and the consumer industry have seen some growth. Bangladesh has seen a sharp increase in foreign direct investment. A number ofmultinational corporations, including Unocal Corporation and Tata, have made major investments, the natural gas sector being a priority. In December 2005, the Central Bank of Bangladesh projected GDP growth around 6.5%.[49] Although two-thirds of Bangladeshis are farmers, more than three quarters of Bangladesh's export earnings come from the garment industry,[50] which began attracting foreign investors in the 1980s due to cheap labour and low conversion cost. In 2002, the industry exported US$5 billion worth of products.[51] The industry now employs more than 3 million workers, 90% of whom are women.[52] A large part of foreign currency earnings also comes from the remittances sent by expatriates living in other countries.
The provision of microcredit by Grameen Bank (founded by Muhammad Yunus) and by other similar organizations has contributed to the development of the economy of Bangladesh. Together, such organizations had about 5 million members by late 1990s.[53] [54]
Culture

Main articles: Culture of West Bengal and Culture of Bangladesh

Bengali artists performing a traditional dance.

Baul singers at Basanta-Utsab, Shantiniketan.

Pohela Baishakhcelebration in Dhaka.

Durga Puja at theDhakeshwari Temple
The common Bengali language and culture anchors the shared tradition of two parts of politically divided Bengal. Bengal has a long tradition in folk literature, evidenced by the Charyapada, Mangalkavya, Shreekrishna Kirtana, Maimansingha Gitika or Thakurmar Jhuli. Bengali literature in the medieval age was often either religious (e.g. Chandidas), or adaptations from other languages (e.g. Alaol). During the Bengal Renaissance of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Bengali literature was modernized through the works of authors such as Michael Madhusudan Dutta, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam.

Rabindranath Tagorereshaped Bengali literatureand music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He isAsia's first Nobel laureate and composer of Jana Gana Manathe national anthem of India as well as Amar Shonar Banglathe national anthem ofBangladesh.

Satyajit Ray is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema.

Kazi Nazrul Islam was a revolutionary Bengali poet who led the Bengal Renaissance in Muslim majority areas of Bengal. He is the national poet of Bangladesh.
The Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bangla folk music.[55] The scholar saint Sri Anirvan loved Baul music, and in fact described himself as a simple Baul.[56] Other folk music forms include Gombhira, Bhatiali and Bhawaiya. Folk music in Bengal is often accompanied by the ektara, a one-stringed instrument. Other instruments include the dotara, dhol, flute, and tabla. The region also has an active heritage in North Indian classical music.
Bengal had also been the harbinger of modernism in Indian arts. Abanindranath Tagore, one of the important 18th century artist from Bengal is often referred to as the father of Indian modern art. He had established the first non-British art academy in India known as the Kalabhavan within the premises of Santiniketan. Santiniketan in course of time had produced many important Indian artists likeGaganendranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Benode Bihari Mukherjeeand Ramkinkar Baij. In the post-independence era, Bengal had produced important artists like Somenath Hore, Meera Mukherjee and Ganesh Pyne.
Rice and fish are traditional favorite foods, leading to a saying that in Bengali,mach ar bhaath bangali baanaay, that translates as "fish and rice make a Bengali".[57] Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes Hilsapreparations, a favorite among Bengalis. Bengalis make distinctive sweetmeatsfrom milk products, including Rôshogolla, Chômchôm, and several kinds ofPithe.
Bengali women commonly wear the sha&#343;i and the salwar kameez, often distinctly designed according to local cultural customs. In urban areas, many women and men wear Western-style attire. Among men, European dressing has greater acceptance. Men also wear traditional costumes such as the panjabi with dhuti orpyjama, often on religious occasions. The lungi, a kind of long skirt, is widely worn by Bangladeshi men.
The greatest religious festivals are the two Eids (Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha) for the Muslims, and the autumnalDurga Puja for Hindus.[58] Christmas (called Bô&#343;odin (Great day) in Bangla), Buddha Purnima are other major religious festivals. Other festivities include Pohela Baishakh (the Bengali New Year), Basanta-Utsab, Nobanno, and Poush parbon (festival of Poush).
Bengali cinema are made both in Kolkata and Dhaka. The Kolkata film industry is older and particularly well known for its art films. Its long tradition of film making has produced world famous directors like Satyajit Ray, while contemporary directors include Buddhadev Dasgupta and Aparna Sen. Dhaka also has a vibrant commercial industry and more recently has been home to critically acclaimed directors like Tareque Masud. Mainstream Hindi films ofBollywood are also quite popular in both West Bengal and Bangladesh. Around 200 dailies are published in Bangladesh, along with more than 1800 periodicals. West Bengal had 559 published newspapers in 2005,[59] of which 430 were in Bangla.[59] Cricket and football are popular sports in the Bengal region. Local games include sports such as Kho Kho and Kabaddi, the later being the national sport of Bangladesh. An Indo-Bangladesh Bangla Games has been organized among the athletes of the Bengali speaking areas of the two countries.[60]
Intra-Bengal relations today

Geographic, cultural, historic, and commercial ties are growing, and both countries recognize the importance of good relations. During and immediately after Bangladesh's struggle for independence from Pakistan in 1971, India assisted refugees from East Pakistan, and intervened militarily to help bring about the independence of Bangladesh. The Indo-Bangladesh border length of 4,095 km (2,545 mi), West Bengal has a border length of 2,216 km (1,377 mi).[61] Despite overlapping historic, geographic and cultural ties, the relation between West Bengal andBangladesh is still well below the potential.[62] The pan-Bengali sentiment among the people of the two parts of Bengal was at its height during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.[63] While the government radio and national press in India might have backed the struggle out of strategic considerations, the Bengali broadcast and print media went out of its way to lend overwhelming support.[63]
Frequent air services link Kolkata with Dhaka and Chittagong. A bus service between Kolkata and Dhaka is operational. The primary road link is the Jessore Road which crosses the border at Petrapole-Benapole about 175 km north-west of Kolkata. The Train service between Kolkata and Dhaka, which was stopped after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, was resumed in 2008.[64]
Visa services are provided by Bangladesh's consulate at Kolkata's Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Road and India's high commissions in Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi. India has a liberal visa policy and nearly 500,000 visas[62] are issued every year to Bangladeshi students,tourists, health-tourists and others who visit West Bengal and often transit to other parts of India. West Bengalis visit Bangladesh for limited numbers of tourism, pilgrimage, trade, expatriate assignments; there is significant potential for growth as Bangladesh's stability, economy, moderation in religion and tourist infrastructure improves. In addition West Bengal hosts the celebrated and controversial Bangladeshi authorTaslima Nasreen.
Undocumented immigration of Bangladeshi workers is a controversial issue[62] championed by right-wing nationalist parties in India but finds little sympathy in West Bengal. India has fenced the border to control this flow but immigration is still continuing.[65] A rallying cry for the right-wing Hindu parties in India is that the demographics changed such as in West Bengal's border district of Malda from Hindu-majority to Muslim-majority.
The official land border crossing at Petrapole-Benapole is the primary conduit for the over $1 billion trade between the two halves of Bengal. The volume of unofficial exports to Bangladesh from India is reportedly in the range of $350–500 million each year.[66] Bangladesh argues thatIndia needs to open up its border more to Bangladeshi exports. Other landports between the two Bengals are Changrabandha-Burimari and Balurghat-Hili.
Cultural exchanges between the two parts of Bengal have been somewhat (but not fully) impacted by ups and downs in India-Bangladesh relations and in the influence of extremist Islamist groups in Bangladesh. West Bengal singers and actors complained about being rejected visas in previous years. Bangladesh television channels are widely watched in West Bengal. West Bengal media have an audience in Bangladesh. In foreign countries such as the U.S., Canada, UK, and UAE, it is common for Bengalis from both sides to form joint cultural associations and friendships, although inter-marriage is not significant, especially across religious barriers.
See also

Bengal portal
History of Bengal
History of India
Bangladesh
Bengali people
Bangals and Ghotis
List of Bengalis
Bengali language
Bengali cuisine
Music of Bangladesh
Music of Bengal
Bengali cinema
East Bengal
West Bengal
Bengal architecture
Notes

^ The Kolkata metropolitan area has a population of over 14 million, making it the largest urban agglomeration in Bengal.
^ a b c d e "Provisional Population Totals: West Bengal". Census of India, 2001. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 2006-08-26.
^ a b c World Bank Development Indicators Database, 2006.
^ "West Bengal - Human development fact sheet". United Nations Development Programme. 2001. Retrieved 2007-03-01.[dead link]
^ "The World Factbook - Bangladesh".CIA World Factbook. 2001. Retrieved 2007-03-01.
^ James Heitzman and Robert L. Worden, ed (1989). "Early History, 1000 B. C.-A. D. 1202". Bangladesh: A country study. Library of Congress.
^ M.A. Amitabha Bhattacharyya, Historical Geography of Ancient and Early Mediaeval Bengal, Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, 1977, pp. 61–62.
^ Robinson, Rowan (1995). The great book of hemp. Inner Traditions. p. 107.ISBN 9780892815418.
^http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/inhemp/4chapt9.htm
^ a b Sultana, Sabiha. "Settlement in Bengal (Early Period)". Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 2007-10-07. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
^ "History of Bangladesh". Bangladesh Student Association. Archived from the original on 2006-12-19. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
^ "4000-year old settlement unearthed in Bangladesh". Xinhua. 2006-March.
^ Chowdhury, AM. "Gangaridai".Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Retrieved 2006-09-08.
^ "Shashank". Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
^ "Islam (in Bengal)". Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
^ Chaudhury, S; Mohsin, KM."Sirajuddaula". Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
^ Fiske, John. "The Famine of 1770 in Bengal". The Unseen World, and other essays. University of Adelaide Library Electronic Texts Collection. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
^ (Baxter 1997, pp. 30–32)
^ (Baxter 1997, pp. 39–40)
^ Chitta Ranjan Misra. "United Bengal Movement". Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
^ a b Harun-or-Rashid. "Partition of Bengal, 1947". Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
^ Suranjan Das. "Calcutta Riots (1946)". Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Archived from the originalon 2007-03-07. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
^ (Baxter 1997, pp. 62–63)
^ (Baxter 1997, pp. 78–79)
^ Salik, Siddiq (1978). Witness to Surrender. Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-577264-4.
^ Burke, S (1973). "The Postwar Diplomacy of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971". Asian Survey 13 (11): 1036–1049.doi:10.1525/as.1973.13.11.01p0385c.
^ (Bennett & Hindle 1996, pp. 63–70)
^ Biswas, Soutik (2006-04-16)."Calcutta's colourless campaign".BBC. Retrieved 2006-08-26.
^ Ali, A (1996). "Vulnerability of Bangladesh to climate change and sea level rise through tropical cyclones and storm surges". Water, Air, & Soil Pollution92 (1-2): 171–179.doi:10.1007/BF00175563 (inactive 2009-11-14).
^ Summit Elevations: Frequent Internet Errors. Retrieved 2006-04-13.
^ IUCN (1997). "Sundarban wildlife sanctuaries Bangladesh". World Heritage Nomination-IUCN Technical Evaluation.
^ "Statistical Facts about India". www.indianmirror.com. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
^ "National Himalayan Sandakphu-Gurdum Trekking Expedition: 2006". Youth Hostels Association of India: West Bengal State Branch. Archived from the original on 2006-10-24. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
^ Chowdhury U. K., Biswas B. K., Chowdhury T. R. (2000). "Groundwater arsenic contamination in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India".Environmental Health Perspectives 108(4): 393–397. doi:10.2307/3454378.
^ Adjusted population, p.4, "Population Census 2001, Preliminary Report"(PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. 2001-08.
^ "Data on Religion". Census of India (2001). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 2006-08-26.
^ a b "Introduction and Human Development Indices for West Bengal" (PDF). West Bengal Human Development Report 2004. Development and Planning Department, Government of West Bengal. May 2004. pp. pp4–6. ISBN 81-7955-030-3. Retrieved 2006-08-26.
^ "An Indian life: Life expectancy in our nation". India Together. Civil Society Information Exchange Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved 2006-08-26.
^ "World Health Report 2005". World Health Organization.
^ "2005 Human Development Report".UNDP.
^ Bangladesh Country Statistics,Unicef
^ "Wandering Gaia". "The Give and Take of the Ganges" WordPress.com. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
^ Nanda, J. N (2005). Bengal: the unique state. Concept Publishing Company. p. 10. ISBN 9788180691492. Retrieved 2010-11-22. "Bengal [...] was rich in the production and export of grain, salt, fruit, liquors and wines, precious metals and ornaments besides the output of its handlooms in silk and cotton. Europe referred to Bengal as the richest country to trade with."
^ a b "The State Economy" (PDF).Indian States Economy and Business: West Bengal. India Brand Equity Foundation, Confederation of Indian Industry. p. 9. Retrieved 2006-09-07.
^ "Economy". West Bengal. Suni System (P) Ltd. Retrieved 2006-09-07.
^ "Basic Information". About West Bengal. West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation. Archived fromthe original on 2006-03-29. Retrieved 2006-09-07.
^ "Dasgupta, 2002". Retrieved 2006-04-11.[dead link]
^ "Consul General Henry V. Jardine to The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, October 20, 2005". Retrieved 2006-04-11.
^ Annual Report 2004-2005, Bangladesh Bank
^ Roland, B (2005-01-06). "Bangladesh Garments Aim to Compete". BBC. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
^ Rahman, S (2004). "Global Shift: Bangladesh Garment Industry in Perspective". Asian Affairs 26 (1): 75–91.
^ Begum, N (2001). "Enforcement of Safety Regulations in Garment sector in Bangladesh". Proc. Growth of Garment Industry in Bangladesh: Economic and Social dimension. pp. 208–226.
^ Schreiner, Mark (2003). "A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh,". Development Policy Review 21 (3): 357–382.doi:10.1111/1467-7679.00215.
^ "Yunus sees big Answers in Micro-credit" Globe and Mail article |http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080611.RYUNUS11/TPStory/Business
^ "The Bauls of Bengal". Folk Music. BengalOnline. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
^http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/A_0246.htm
^ Gertjan de Graaf, Abdul Latif."Development of freshwater fish farming and poverty alleviation: A case study from Bangladesh" (PDF). Aqua KE Government. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
^ "Durga Puja". Festivals of Bengal. West Bengal Tourism, Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
^ a b "General Review". Registrar of Newspapers for India. Retrieved 2006-09-01.
^ "Bangladesh dominate Indo-Bangla Games, clinch 45 gold medals". Yahoo Web Services India Pvt Ltd. 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-02-27.[dead link]
^ "Union Home Secretary Chairs a High Level Empowered Committee".Embassy of India: Foreign Relations. Government of India. December 10, 1998. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
^ a b c "Address by External Affairs Minister Shri Natwar Singh at India-Bangladesh Dialogue Organised by Centre for Policy Dialogue and India International Centre". Speeches. Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi. 2005-08-07. Retrieved 2008-02-26.[dead link]
^ a b Sinha, Dipankar (July–August 2005)."E par Bangla, O par Bangla, no thank you". Himal South Asian (Kathmandu, Nepal: The Southasia Trust) 17 (1). Archived from the original on 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
^ "India-Bangladesh train to resume in April - official". Reuters. 2008-02-25. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
^ Chattopadhyay, S.S (June 2007)."Constant traffic". Frontline (The Hindu)24 (11). Retrieved 2008-02-26.
^ Mishra, Richa (November 11, 2004)."Indo-Bangla informal trade cause for concern: FICCI". The Hindu Business Line (The Hindu). Retrieved 2008-03-27.
References

Baxter, C (1997). Bangladesh, From a Nation to a State. Westview Press. pp. 0813336325. ISBN 185984121X
Bennett, A; Hindle, J (1996). London Review of Books: An Anthology. Verso. pp. 63–70. ISBN 185984121X
External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bengal
Geo Links for Bengal
Banglapedia-specialised site
www.hostkingdom.net- List of rulers of Bengal
WorldStatesmen- here India
Maps
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at University of Texas at Austin Libraries
India from The Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, 1923
India 1760 from The Public Schools Historical Atlas edited by C. Colbeck. Longmans, Green, and Co. 1905
India 1882 from A Dictionary Practical, Theoretical, and Historical of Commerce and Commercial Navigation by J.R. M'Culloch. Longmans, Green and Co. London, 1882
Art and artists of Bengal
[show]v&#8201;·&#8201;d&#8201;·&#8201;eBengali culture
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24°00&#8242;N 88°00&#8242;ECoordinates: 24°00&#8242;N 88°00&#8242;E
Categories: Bengal | Geography of Bangladesh | Geography of India | History of Bangladesh | Regions of India | Divided regions | Historical Indian regions

Adivasi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An Adivasi woman from the Kutia Kondhtribal group in Orissa

Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be theaboriginal population of India.[1][2][3] They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India.
Adivasi societies are particularly present in the Indian states of Kerala, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh,Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal,Mizoram and other northeastern states, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Many smaller tribal groups are quite sensitive to ecological degradation caused by modernization. Both commercial forestry and intensive agriculture have proved destructive to the forests that had endured swidden agriculture for many centuries.[4] Officially recognized by the Indian government as "Scheduled Tribes" in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India, they are often grouped together with scheduled castes in the category "Scheduled Castes and Tribes", which is eligible for certain affirmative action measures.
Contents [hide]
1 Connotations of the word 'Adivasi'
2 Scheduled tribes
3 Primitive tribes
4 Geographical overview
5 The peopling of India
6 Disruptions during Mughal and colonial periods
7 Tribal classification criteria and demands
7.1 Demands for tribal classification
7.2 Endogamy, exogamy and ethnogenesis
7.3 Other criteria
8 Religion
8.1 Hinduism
8.1.1 Adivasi roots of modern Hinduism
8.1.2 Adivasi Saints
8.1.3 Sages
8.1.4 Maharishis
8.1.5 Avatars
8.1.6 Other Tribals and Hinduism
8.2 Sarna
8.3 Demands for a separate religion code
9 Tribal system
10 Education
11 Economy
12 Participation in Indian independence movement
12.1 List of rebellions against British rule
13 Some notable Scheduled Tribes
14 Gallery
15 See also
16 References
17 Further reading
18 External links
[edit]Connotations of the word 'Adivasi'

Although terms such as atavika (Sanskrit for forest dwellers), vanvasi or girijan (hill people)[5] are also used for the tribes of India, adivasicarries the specific meaning of being the original and autochthonous inhabitants of a given region, and was specifically coined for that purpose in the 1930s.[6] Over a period of time, unlike the terms "aborigines" or "tribes", the word "adivasi" has also developed a connotation of past autonomy which was disrupted during the British colonial period in India and has not been restored.[7] Opposition to usage of the term is varied, and it has been argued that the "original inhabitant" contention is based on dubious claims and that the adivasi - non adivasi divide that is created is artificial.[8] It should also be noted that in Northeast India, the term Adivasi applies only to the Tea-tribes imported from Central India during colonial times, while all tribal groups refer collectively to themselves by using the English word "tribes".
[edit]Scheduled tribes

The Constitution of India, Article 366 (25) defines Scheduled Tribes as "such tribes or tribal communities or part of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to the scheduled Tribes (STs) for the purposes of this Constitution". In Article 342, the procedure to be followed for specification of a scheduled tribe is prescribed. However, it does not contain the criterion for the specification of any community as scheduled tribe. An often used criterion is based on attributes such as:
Geographical isolation - they live in cloistered, exclusive, remote and inhospitable areas such as hills and forests.
Backwardness - their livelihood is based on primitive agriculture, a low-value closed economy with a low level of technology that leads to their poverty. They have low levels of literacy and health.
Distinctive culture, language and religion - communities have developed their own distinctive culture, language and religion.
Shyness of contact – they have a marginal degree of contact with other cultures and people.[9]
[edit]Primitive tribes

The Scheduled Tribe groups who were identified as more backward communities among the tribal population groups have been categorised as 'Primitive Tribal Groups' (PTGs) by the Government at the Centre in 1975. So far seventy-five tribal communities have been identified as 'primitive tribal groups' in different States of India. These hunting, food-gathering, and some agricultural communities, who have been identified as more backward communities among the tribal population groups need special programmes for their sustainable development. The primitive tribes are awakening and demanding their rights for special reservation quota for them.[10]
[edit]Geographical overview

A girl of the Chenchu tribe in theNallamala forest, Andhra Pradesh
There is a substantial list of Scheduled Tribes in India recognised as tribal under the Constitution of India. Tribal peoples constitute 8.2% of the nation's total population, over 84 million people according to the 2001 census. One concentration lives in a belt along the Himalayas stretching through Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand in the west, to Assam,Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland in the northeast. In the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland, more than 90% of the population is tribal. However, in the remaining northeast states of Assam, Manipur, Sikkim, and Tripura, tribal peoples form between 20 and 30% of the population.
Another concentration lives in the hilly areas of central India (Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,Orissa and, to a lesser extent, Andhra Pradesh); in this belt, which is bounded by the Narmada River to the north and the Godavari River to the southeast, tribal peoples occupy the slopes of the region's mountains. Other tribals, including the Santals, live in Jharkhand and West Bengal. Central Indian states have the country's largest tribes, and, taken as a whole, roughly 75% of the total tribal population live there, although the tribal population there accounts for only around 10% of the region's total population.
There are smaller numbers of tribal people in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala in south India; in western India in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and in the union territories of Lakshadweep and theAndaman Islands and Nicobar Islands. About one percent of the populations of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are tribal, whereas about six percent in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are members of tribes.
[edit]The peopling of India

The concept of 'original inhabitant' is directly related to the initial peopling of India, which, due to the debate on topics such as the Indo-Aryan migration hypothesis, has been a contentious area of research and discourse.[11] Some anthropologists hypothesize that the region was settled by multiple human migrations over tens of millennia, which makes it even harder to select certain groups as being truly aboriginal.[12]One narrative, largely based on genetic research, describes Negritos, similar to the Andamanese adivasis of today, as the first humans to colonize India, likely 30-65 thousand years before present (kybp).[13][14] 60% of all Indians share the mtDNA haplogroup M, which is universal among Andamanese islander adivasis and might be a genetic legacy of the postulated first Indians.[15] Some anthropologists theorize that these settlers were displaced by invading Austro-Asiatic-speaking Australoid people (who largely shared skin pigmentation and physiognomy with the Negritos, but had straight rather than kinky hair), and adivasi tribes such as the Irulas trace their origins to that displacement.[16][17]The Oraon adivasi tribe of eastern India and the Korku tribe of western India are considered to be examples of groups of Australoid origin.[18][19] Subsequent to the Australoids, some anthropologists and geneticists theorize that Caucasoids (including both Dravidians andIndo-Aryans) and Mongoloids (Sino-Tibetans) immigrated into India: the Dravidians possibly from Iran,[20][21][22] the Indo-Aryans possibly from the Central Asian steppes[21][23][24] and the Tibeto-Burmans possibly from the Himalayan and north-eastern borders of the subcontinent.[25]None of these hypotheses is free from debate and disagreement.
Ethnic origins and linguistic affiliations in India match only inexactly, however: while the Oraon adivasis are classified as an Australoid group, their language, called Kurukh, is Dravidian.[26] Khasis and Nicobarese are considered to be Mongoloid groups[27][28] and the Munda andSantals are Australoid groups,[29][30][31] but all four speak Austro-Asiatic languages.[27][28][29] The Bhils and Gonds are frequently classified as Australoid groups,[32] yet Bhil languages are Indo-European and the Gondi language is Dravidian.[26] Also, in post-colonial India, tribal languages suffered huge setbacks with the formation of linguistic states after 1956 under the States Reorganisation Act. For example, under state-sponsored educational pressure, Irula children are being taught Tamil and a sense of shame has begun to be associated with speaking the Irula language among some children and educated adults.[16] Similarly, the Santals are "gradually adopting languages of the areas inhabited, like Oriya in Orissa, Hindi in Bihar and Bengali in West Bengal."[30]
[edit]Disruptions during Mughal and colonial periods

Although considered uncivilized and primitive,[33] adivasis were usually not held to be intrinsically impure by surrounding (usually, caucasoid - Dravidian or Aryan) caste Hindu populations, unlike Dalits, who were.[6][34] Thus, the adivasi origins of Maharishi (Sanksrit: Great Sage)Valmiki, who composed the Ramayana Hindu religious epic, were acknowledged,[35] as were the origins of adivasi tribes such as the Grasiaand Bhilala, which descended from mixed Rajput and Bhil marriages.[36][37] Unlike the subjugation of the dalits, the adivasis often enjoyed autonomy and, depending on region, evolved mixed hunter-gatherer and farming economies, controlling their lands as a joint patrimony of the tribe.[33][38][39] In some areas, securing adivasi approval and support was considered crucial by local rulers,[6][40] and larger adivasi groups were able to sustain their own kingdoms in central India.[6] The Gond Rajas of Garha-Mandla and Chanda are examples of an adivasi aristocracy that ruled in this region, and were "not only the hereditary leaders of their Gond subjects, but also held sway over substantial communities of non-tribals who recognized them as their feudal lords."[38][41]
This relative autonomy and collective ownership of adivasi land by adivasis was severely disrupted by the advent of the Mughals in the early 16th century. Similarly, the British beginning in the 18th century added to the consolidation of feudalism in India, first under the jagirdari system and then under the zamindari system.[42] Beginning with the Permanent Settlement imposed by the British in Bengal and Bihar, which later became the template for a deepening of feudalism throughout India, the older social and economic system in the country began to alter radically.[43][44] Land, both forest areas belonging to adivasis and settled farmland belonging to non-adivasi peasants, was rapidly made the legal property of British-designated zamindars (landlords), who in turn moved to extract the maximum economic benefit possible from their newfound property and subjects without regard to historical tenure or ownership.[45] Adivasi lands sometimes experienced an influx of non-local settlers, often brought from far away (as in the case of Muslims and Sikhs brought to Kol territory)[46] by the zamindars to better exploit local land, forest and labor.[42][43] Deprived of the forests and resources they traditionally depended on and sometimes coerced to pay taxes, many adivasis were forced to borrow at usurious rates from moneylenders, often the zamindars themselves.[47][48] When they were unable to pay, that forced them to become bonded laborers for the zamindars.[49] Often, far from paying off the principal of their debt, they were unable even to offset the compounding interest, and this was made the justification for their children working for the zamindar after the death of the initial borrower.[49] In the case of the Andamanese adivasis, long isolated from the outside world in autonomous societies, mere contact with outsiders was often sufficient to set off deadly epidemics in tribal populations,[50] and it is alleged that some sections of the British government directly attempted to destroy some tribes.[51]
Land dispossession and subjugation by British and zamindar interests resulted in a number of adivasi revolts in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, such as the Santal hul (or Santal revolt) of 1855-56.[52] Although these were suppressed ruthlessly by the governing British authority (the East India Company prior to 1858, and the British government after 1858), partial restoration of privileges to adivasi elites (e.g. to Mankis, the leaders of Munda tribes) and some leniency in tax burdens resulted in relative calm, despite continuing and widespread dispossession, from the late nineteenth century onwards.[46][53] The economic deprivation, in some cases, triggered internal adivasi migrations within India that would continue for another century, including as labor for the emerging tea plantations in Assam.[54] n gujrat
[edit]Tribal classification criteria and demands

Scarification, a traditional symbol of Great Andamanese tribal identity (1901 photo)
Population complexities, and the controversies surrounding ethnicity and language in India, sometimes make the official recognition of groups as adivasis (by way of inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes list) political and contentious. However, regardless of their language family affiliations, Australoid and Negrito groups that have survived as distinct forest, mountain or island dwelling tribes in India and are often classified as adivasi.[55] The relatively autonomous Mongoloid tribal groups of Northeastern India (including Khasis, Apatani and Nagas), who are mostly Austro-Asiatic or Tibeto-Burman speakers, are also considered to be adivasis: this area comprises 7.5% of India's land area but 20% of its adivasi population.[56] However, not all autonomous northeastern groups are considered adivasis; for instance, the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Meitei of Manipur were once tribal but, having been settled for many centuries, are caste Hindus.[57]
It is also difficult, for a given social grouping, to definitively decide whether it is a 'caste' or a 'tribe'. A combination of internal social organization, relationship with other groups, self-classification and perception by other groups has to be taken into account to make a categorization, which is at best inexact and open to doubt.[58] These categorizations have been diffused for thousands of years, and even ancient formulators of caste-discriminatory legal codes (which usually only applied to settled populations, and not adivasis) were unable to come up with clean distinctions.[59]
[edit]Demands for tribal classification
An additional difficulty in deciding whether a group meets the criteria to be adivasi or not are the aspirational movements created by the federal and state benefits, including job and educational reservations, enjoyed by groups listed as scheduled tribes (STs).[60] In Manipur, Meitei commentators have pointed to the lack of scheduled tribe status as a key economic disadvantage for Meiteis competing for jobs against groups that are classified as scheduled tribes.[57] In Assam, Rajbongshi representatives have demanded scheduled tribe status as well.[61] In Rajasthan, Haryana and other northern states, the Gujjar community has demanded ST status, even blockading the national capital of Delhi to press their demand.[62] In several cases, these claims to tribalhood are disputed by tribes who are already listed in the schedule and fear economic losses if more powerful groups are recognized as scheduled tribes; for instance, the Rajbongshi demand faces resistance from the Bodo tribe,[61] and the Meena tribe has vigorously opposed Gujjar aspirations to be recognized as a scheduled tribe.[63]
[edit]Endogamy, exogamy and ethnogenesis
Part of the challenge is that the endogamous nature of tribes is also conformed to by the vast majority of Hindu castes. Indeed, many historians and anthropologists believe that caste endogamy reflects the once-tribal origins of the various groups who now constitute the settled Hindu castes.[64] Another defining feature of caste Hindu society, which is often used to contrast them with Muslim and other social groupings, is lineage/clan (or gotra) and village exogamy.[65][66] However, these in-marriage taboos are also held ubiquitously among tribal groups, and do not serve as reliable differentiating markers between caste and tribe.[67][68][69] Again, this could be an ancient import from tribal society into settled Hindu castes.[70] Interestingly, tribes such as the Muslim Gujjars of Kashmir and the Kalash of Pakistan observe these exogamous traditions in common with caste Hindus and non-Kashmiri adivasis, though their surrounding Muslim populations do not.[65][71]
Some anthropologists, however, draw a distinction between tribes who have continued to be tribal and tribes that have been absorbed into caste society in terms of the breakdown of tribal (and therefore caste) boundaries, and the proliferation of new mixed caste groups. In other words, ethnogenesis (the construction of new ethnic identities) in tribes occurs through a fission process (where groups splinter-off as new tribes, which preserves endogamy), whereas with settled castes it usually occurs through intermixture (in violation of strict endogamy).[72]
[edit]Other criteria
Unlike castes, which form part of a complex and interrelated local economic exchange system, tribes tend to form self-sufficient economic units. For most tribal people, land-use rights traditionally derive simply from tribal membership. Tribal society tends to the egalitarian, with itsleadership based on ties of kinship and personality rather than on hereditary status. Tribes typically consist of segmentary lineages whose extended families provide the basis for social organization and control. Tribal religion recognizes no authority outside the tribe.
Any of these criteria may not apply in specific instances. Language does not always give an accurate indicator of tribal or caste status. Especially in regions of mixed population, many tribal groups have lost their mother tongues and simply speak local or regional languages. In parts of Assam - an area historically divided between warring tribes and villages - increased contact among villagers began during the colonial period, and has accelerated since independence in 1947. A pidgin Assamese developed while educated tribal members learned Hindi and, in the late twentieth century, English.
Self-identification and group loyalty do not provide unfailing markers of tribal identity either. In the case of stratified tribes, the loyalties of clan, kin, and family may well predominate over those of tribe. In addition, tribes cannot always be viewed as people living apart; the degree of isolation of various tribes has varied tremendously. The Gonds, Santals, and Bhils traditionally have dominated the regions in which they have lived. Moreover, tribal society is not always more egalitarian than the rest of the rural populace; some of the larger tribes, such as the Gonds, are highly stratified.
The apparently wide fluctuation in estimates of South Asia's tribal population through the twentieth century gives a sense of how unclear the distinction between tribal and nontribal can be. India's 1931 census enumerated 22 million tribal people, in 1941 only 10 million were counted, but by 1961 some 30 million and in 1991 nearly 68 million tribal members were included. The differences among the figures reflect changing census criteria and the economic incentives individuals have to maintain or reject classification as a tribal member.
These gyrations of census data serve to underline the complex relationship between caste and tribe. Although, in theory, these terms represent different ways of life and ideal types, in reality they stand for a continuum of social groups. In areas of substantial contact between tribes and castes, social and cultural pressures have often tended to move tribes in the direction of becoming castes over a period of years. Tribal peoples with ambitions for social advancement in Indian society at large have tried to gain the classification of caste for their tribes. On occasion, an entire tribe or part of a tribe joined a Hindu sect and thus entered the caste system en masse. If a specific tribe engaged in practices that Hindus deemed polluting, the tribe's status when it was assimilated into the caste hierarchy would be affected.
[edit]Religion

Main article: Tribal religions in India
The majority of Adivasi practice Hinduism and Christianity. During the last two decades Adivasi from Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand have converted to Protestant groups. Adivasi beliefs vary by tribe, and are usually different from the historical Vedic religion, with its monisticunderpinnings, Indo-European deities (who are often cognates of ancient Iranian, Greek and Roman deities, e.g. Mitra/Mithra/Mithras), lack of idol worship and lack of a concept of reincarnation.[73] The "centre of Rig Vedic religion was the Yajna, the sacrificial fire" and there was "no Atma, no Brahma, no Moksha, no idol worship in the Rig Veda."[74] Two specific rituals held great importance and it is known that, "when the Indo-Aryans and the Persians formed a single people, they performed sacrifices (Vedic yajna: Avestan yasna), and that they already had a sacred drink (Vedic soma: Avestan haoma)."[75]
[edit]Hinduism
[edit]Adivasi roots of modern Hinduism
Some historians and anthropologists assert that much of what constitutes popular Hinduism today is actually descended from an amalgamation of adivasi faiths, idol worship practices and deities, rather than the original Indo-Aryan faith.[74][76][77] This also includes the sacred status of certain animals and plants, such as monkeys, cows, peacocks, cobras (nagas), elephants, peepul, tulsi (holy basil) andneem, which may once have held totemic importance for certain adivasi tribes.[76]
[edit]Adivasi Saints
Saint Buddhu Bhagat, led the Kol Insurrection (1831-1832) aimed against tax imposed on Mundas by Muslim rulers.
Saint Dhira or Kannappa Nayanar[4], one of 63 Nayanar Shaivite saints, a hunter from whom Lord Shiva gladly accepted food offerings. It is said that he poured water from his mouth on the Shivlingam and offered the Lord swine flesh.[5]
Saint Dhudhalinath, Koli, Gujarati, a 17th or 18th century devotee (P. 4, The Story of Historic People of India-The Kolis)
Saint Ganga Narain, led the Bhumij Revolt (1832-1833) aimed against missionaries and British colonialists.
Saint Girnari Velnathji, Koli, Gujarati of Junagadh, a 17th or 18th century devotee [78]
Saint Gurudev Kalicharan Brahma or Guru Brahma, a Bodo whose founded the Brahma Dharma aimed against missionaries and colonialists. The Brahma Dharma movement sought to unite peoples of all religions to worship God together and survives even today.
Saint Jatra Oraon, Oraon, led the Tana Bhagat Movement (1914–1919) aimed against the missionaries and British colonialists
Saint Sri Koya Bhagat, Koli, Gujarati, a 17th or 18th century devotee [78]
Saint Tantya Mama (Bhil), a Bhil after whom a movement is named after - the "Jananayak Tantya Bhil"
Saint Tirumangai Alvar, Kallar, composed the six Vedangas in beautiful Tamil verse [6]
[edit]Sages
Bhaktaraj Bhadurdas, Koli, Gujarati, a 17th or 18th century devotee [78]
Bhakta Shabari, a Bhil woman that offered Shri Rama and Shri Laxmana her half-eaten ber fruit, which they gratefully accepted when they were searching for Shri Sita Devi in the forest.
Madan Bhagat, Koli, Gujarati, a 17th or 18th century devotee [78]
Sany Kanji Swami, Koli, Gujarati, a 17th or 18th century devotee [78]
Bhaktaraj Valram, Koli, Gujarati, a 17th or 18th century devotee [78]
[edit]Maharishis
Maharshi Matanga,[79] Matanga Bhil, Guru of Bhakta Shabari. In fact, Chandalas are often addressed as 'Matanga 'in passages like Varaha Purana 1.139.91
Maharshi Valmiki, Kirata Bhil, composed the Ramayana.[35] He is considered to be an avatar in the Balmiki community.
[edit]Avatars
Birsa Bhagwan or Birsa Munda, considered an avatar of Khasra Kora. People approached him as Singbonga, the supreme spirit. He converted even Christians to his own sect.[7] He was against conversions by missionaries. He wanted not only political, but religious freedom as well![8] He and his clan, the Mundas, were connected with Vaishnavite traditions as they were influenced by Sri Chaitanya.[9] Birsa was very close to the Panre brothers Vaishnavites.
Kirata - the form of Lord Shiva as a hunter. It is mentioned in the Mahabharata. The Karppillikkavu Sree Mahadeva Temple, Kerala adores Lord Shiva in this avatar and is known to be one of the oldest surviving temples in Bharat.
Vettakkorumakan, the son of Lord Kirata.
Kaladutaka or 'Vaikunthanatha', Kallar (robber), avatar of Lord Vishnu.[10]
[edit]Other Tribals and Hinduism
Some Hindus believe that Indian tribals are close to the romantic ideal of the ancient silvan culture[80] of the Vedic people. Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar said:
"The tribals "can be given yajñopavîta (…) They should be given equal rights and footings in the matter of religious rights, in temple worship, in the study of Vedas, and in general, in all our social and religious affairs. This is the only right solution for all the problems of casteism found nowadays in our Hindu society."[81]

At the Lingaraja temple in Bhubaneswar (11th century), there are Brahmin and Badu (tribal) priests. The Badus have the most intimate contact with the deity of the temple, and only they can bathe and adorn it.[82]
The Bhil tribe is mentioned in the Mahabharata. The Bhil boy Eklavya's teacher was Drona, and he had the honour to be invited toYudhisthira's Rajasuya Yajna at Indraprastha.[83] Indian tribals were also part of royal armies in the Ramayana and in the Arthasastra.[84]
Bhakta Shabari was a Bhil woman that offered Shri Rama and Shri Laxmana 'ber' when they were searching for Shri Sita in the forest.Maharishi Matanga, a Bhil became a Brahmana.
[edit]Sarna
Some western authors and Indian sociologists refer to adivasi beliefs as animism and spirit worship, and hold them to be distinct fromHinduism, Christianity or Islam. In Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Orissa states, their religion is sometimes called Sarna. The Jharkhand movement gave the Santals an opportunity to create a 'great tradition' of their own.[85] As Orans reported, "The movement is spoken of in the following terms 'we should not leave our religion; we should continue to use rice-beer; we should have our worship at the sacred grove; also we should not stop eating beef. We will call our religion Sarna Dhorom.' [86] Sarna is the Munda word for 'Sacred Grove' while Dhorom is the Oriya word meaning 'religion'.[87]
Sarna involves belief in a great spirit called the Sing Bonga. Santhal belief holds the world to be inhabited by numerous spiritual beings of different kinds. Santhals consider themselves as living and doing everything in close association with these spirits. Rituals are performed under groves of Sal trees called Jaher (or sacred grove), where Bonga is believed to appear or express himself. Often, Jaher are found in the forests.
According to the mythology of the Santhal community, the genesis of the 'Sarna' religion occurred when 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.[citation needed]4 Thus, Sarna religion came into existence. There are priests and an assistant priests called "Naikey" and "Kudam Naike" in every Santhal village.
[edit]Demands for a separate religion code
Some adivasi organizations have demanded that a distinct religious code be listed for adivasis in the 2011. All India Adivasi Conference held on 01.01.2011 and 02.01.2011 at Burnpur, Asansol, West Bengal. 750 delegates were present from all part of india and casted their vote for Religion code as Sari Dhorom - 632, Sarna - 51, Kherwalism - 14 and others religion - 03 Census of India.[88]
[edit]Tribal system

Tribals are not part of the caste system,[89] and usually constitute egalitarian societies. Christian tribals do not automatically lose their traditional tribal rules.
When in 1891 a missionary asked 150 Munda Christians to "inter-dine" with people of different rank, only 20 Christians did so, and many converts lost their new faith. Father Haghenbeek concluded on this episode that these rules are not "pagan", but a sign of "national sentiment and pride", and wrote:
"On the contrary, while proclaiming the equality of all men before God, we now tell them: preserve your race pure, keep your customs, refrain from eating with Lohars (blacksmiths), Turis (bamboo workers) and other people of lower rank. To become good Christians, it (inter-dining) is not required."[90]

However, many scholars argue that the claim that tribals are an egalitarian society in contrast to a caste-based society is a part of a larger political agenda by some to maximize any differences from tribal and urban societies. According to scholar Koenraad Elst, caste practices and social taboos among Indian tribals date back to antiquity:
"The Munda tribals not only practise tribal endogamy and commensality, but also observe a jâti division within the tribe, buttressed by notions of social pollution, a mythological explanation and harsh punishments. A Munda Catholic theologian testifies: The tribals of Chhotanagpur are an endogamous tribe. They usually do not marry outside the tribal community, because to them the tribe is sacred. The way to salvation is the tribe. Among the Santals, it is tabooed to marry outside the tribe or inside ones clan, just as Hindus marry inside their caste and outside their gotra. More precisely: To protect their tribal solidarity, theSantals have very stringent marriage laws. A Santal cannot marry a non-Santal or a member of his own clan. The former is considered as a threat to the tribe's integrity, while the latter is considered incestuous. Among the Ho of Chhotanagpur, the trespasses which occasion the exclusion from the tribe without chance of appeal, are essentially those concerning endogamy and exogamy."

Inter-dining has also been prohibited by many Indian tribal peoples.
[edit]Education

Extending the system of primary education into tribal areas and reserving places for tribal children in middle and high schools and higher education institutions are central to government policy, but efforts to improve a tribe's educational status have had mixed results. Recruitment of qualified teachers and determination of the appropriate language of instruction also remain troublesome. Commission after commission on the "language question" has called for instruction, at least at the primary level, in the students' native tongue. In some regions, tribal children entering school must begin by learning the official regional language, often one completely unrelated to their tribal tongue.
Many tribal schools are plagued by high dropout rates. Children attend for the first three to four years of primary school and gain a smattering of knowledge, only to lapse into illiteracy later. Few who enter continue up to the tenth grade; of those who do, few manage to finish high school. Therefore, very few are eligible to attend institutions of higher education, where the high rate of attrition continues. Members of agrarian tribes like the Gonds often are reluctant to send their children to school, needing them, they say, to work in the fields. On the other hand, in those parts of the northeast where tribes have generally been spared the wholesale onslaught of outsiders, schooling has helped tribal people to secure political and economic benefits. The education system there has provided a corps of highly trained tribal members in the professions and high-ranking administrative posts.
An academy for teaching and preserving Adivasi languages and culture was established in 1999 by the Bhasha Research and Publication Centre. The Adivasi Academy is located at Tejgadh in Gujarat.
[edit]Economy

Most tribes are concentrated in heavily forested areas that combine inaccessibility with limited political or economic significance. Historically, the economy of most tribes was subsistence agriculture or hunting and gathering. Tribal members traded with outsiders for the few necessities they lacked, such as salt and iron. A few local Hindu craftsmen might provide such items as cooking utensils.
In the early 20th century, however, large areas fell into the hands of non-tribals, on account of improved transportation and communications. Around 1900, many regions were opened by the government to settlement through a scheme by which inward migrants received ownership of land free in return for cultivating it. For tribal people, however, land was often viewed as a common resource, free to whoever needed it. By the time tribals accepted the necessity of obtaining formal land titles, they had lost the opportunity to lay claim to lands that might rightfully have been considered theirs. The colonial and post-independence regimes belatedly realized the necessity of protecting tribals from the predations of outsiders and prohibited the sale of tribal lands. Although an important loophole in the form of land leases was left open, tribes made some gains in the mid-twentieth century, and some land was returned to tribal peoples despite obstruction by local police and land officials.
In the 1970s, tribal peoples came again under intense land pressure, especially in central India. Migration into tribal lands increased dramatically, as tribal people lost title to their lands in many ways – lease, forfeiture from debts, or bribery of land registry officials. Other non-tribals simply squatted, or even lobbied governments to classify them as tribal to allow them to compete with the formerly established tribes. In any case, many tribal members became landless labourers in the 1960s and 1970s, and regions that a few years earlier had been the exclusive domain of tribes had an increasingly mixed population of tribals and non-tribals. Government efforts to evict nontribal members from illegal occupation have proceeded slowly; when evictions occur at all, those ejected are usually members of poor, lower castes.
Improved communications, roads with motorized traffic, and more frequent government intervention figured in the increased contact that tribal peoples had with outsiders. Commercial highways and cash crops frequently drew non-tribal people into remote areas. By the 1960s and 1970s, the resident nontribal shopkeeper was a permanent feature of many tribal villages. Since shopkeepers often sell goods on credit (demanding high interest), many tribal members have been drawn deeply into debt or mortgaged their land. Merchants also encourage tribals to grow cash crops (such as cotton or castor-oil plants), which increases tribal dependence on the market for basic necessities. Indebtedness is so extensive that although such transactions are illegal, traders sometimes 'sell' their debtors to other merchants, much likeindentured peons.
The final blow for some tribes has come when nontribals, through political jockeying, have managed to gain legal tribal status, that is, to be listed as a Scheduled Tribe.
Tribes in the Himalayan foothills have not been as hard-pressed by the intrusions of non-tribal. Historically, their political status was always distinct from the rest of India. Until the British colonial period, there was little effective control by any of the empires centered in peninsular India; the region was populated by autonomous feuding tribes. The British, in efforts to protect the sensitive northeast frontier, followed a policy dubbed the "Inner Line"; non tribal people were allowed into the areas only with special permission. Postindependence governments have continued the policy, protecting the Himalayan tribes as part of the strategy to secure the border with China.
Government policies on forest reserves have affected tribal peoples profoundly. Government efforts to reserve forests have precipitated armed (if futile) resistance on the part of the tribal peoples involved. Intensive exploitation of forests has often meant allowing outsiders to cut large areas of trees (while the original tribal inhabitants were restricted from cutting), and ultimately replacing mixed forests capable of sustaining tribal life with single-product plantations. Nontribals have frequently bribed local officials to secure effective use of reserved forest lands.
The northern tribes have thus been sheltered from the kind of exploitation that those elsewhere in South Asia have suffered. In Arunachal Pradesh (formerly part of the North-East Frontier Agency), for example, tribal members control commerce and most lower-level administrative posts. Government construction projects in the region have provided tribes with a significant source of cash. Some tribes have made rapid progress through the education system (the role of early missionaries was significant in this regard). Instruction was begun in Assamese but was eventually changed to Hindi; by the early 1980s, English was taught at most levels. Northeastern tribal people have thus enjoyed a certain measure of social mobility.
The continuing economic alienation and exploitation of many adivasis was highlighted as a "systematic failure" by the Indian Prime MinisterManmohan Singh in a 2009 conference of chief ministers of all 29 Indian states, where he also cited this as a major cause of the Naxaliteunrest that has affected areas such as the Red Corridor.[91][92][93][94][95]
[edit]Participation in Indian independence movement

There were tribal reform and rebellion movements during the period of the British Empire, some of which also participated in the Indian freedom struggle or attacked mission posts.[96] There were several Adivasis in the Indian independence movement including Khajya Naik,Bhima Naik, Jantya Bhil and Rehma Vasave.
[edit]List of rebellions against British rule
During the period of British rule, India saw the rebellions of several backward-castes, mainly tribals that revolted against British rule. These were:.[97]
Halba rebellion (1774–79)
Chamka rebellion (1776–1787)[98]
Chuar rebellion in Bengal (1795–1800)[99]
Bhopalpatnam Struggle (1795)
Khurda Rebellion in Orissa (1817)[100]
Bhil rebellion (1822–1857)[101]
Paralkot rebellion (1825)
Tarapur rebellion (1842–54)
Maria rebellion (1842–63)
First Freedom Struggle (1856–57)
Bhil rebellion, begun by Tantya Tope in Banswara (1858)[102]
Koi revolt (1859)
Gond rebellion, begun by Ramji Gond in Adilabad (1860)[103]
Muria rebellion (1876)
Rani rebellion (1878–82)
Bhumkal (1910)
The Kuki Uprising (1917–1919)in Manipur
[edit]Some notable Scheduled Tribes

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