From: Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC <pmarc2008@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, May 30, 2010 at 12:23 PM
Subject: [PMARC] Dalits Media Watch- News Updates 30.05.10
To: Dalits Media Watch <PMARC@dgroups.org>
Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 30.05.10
'Eliminating untouchability is first step to ending caste' - The Hindu
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article441647.ece
Business is improving, but can be better - The Times Of India
India Inc no more caste blind; 150 firms profile SC/ST data - The Hindu
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Corporate-Trends/articleshow/5981645.cms
Orissa Govt to provide financial assistance to SC/ST, OBC girls to promote literacy - Orissa Diary
http://orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=18752
A system of discrimination - The Express Tribune
http://tribune.com.pk/story/17228/a-system-of-discrimination/
Last Names And A Slow Reckoning - Out Look India
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265604
The Hindu
'Eliminating untouchability is first step to ending caste'
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article441647.ece
R. Rajaram
Annihilation of the caste system should be the goal and the first step is to eliminate untouchability, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat said on Saturday.
Untouchability was the worst feature of the caste system in the country, Mr. Karat told the first State conference of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front here. "Even after 62 years of Independence what we find in our society is that caste transcended all classes. Though the Constitution proclaimed equality, we still find it did not go with the ground reality," Mr. Karat said.
Struggle against the caste system should go along with struggle against socio-economic and class exploitation. What was needed was a social revolution which could not come without fighting and abolishing the caste system.
The Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front had been engaged in path-breaking activity over the last three years fighting all forms of caste discrimination and untouchability. Even people outside Tamil Nadu were looking up to the Front as an inspiration in their struggle against oppression. The Front should bring under its fold all those who were against caste discrimination and untouchability and it would become a genuine instrument in bringing about social change in Tamil Nadu, he said.
Earlier, Mr. Karat released a collection of short stories authored by Aadhavan Dheetchanya on atrocities committed against Dalits.
Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front convenor P. Sampath called for starting branches of the front at all levels within the State. The front had created confidence among the oppressed communities.
General secretary of the All-India Vivasayigal Sangam K. Varadharajan, CPI (M) State secretary G. Ramakrishnan, party MLA S.K. Mahendran and All-India Democratic Women's Association general secretary U. Vasuki took part in the conference.
CPI(M) to seek ATR on Misra report
Addressing a public meeting organised by the front here, Mr. Karat said the CPI(M) would demand, in the next session of the Parliament, an action taken report on the recommendations of the National Commission on Religious and Linguistic Minorities headed by Justice Ranganath Misra.
Though the Centre had placed the commission's report in Parliament it had not acted on that. The CPI (M) would be in touch with other parties in this regard. The commission had made two major recommendations — to provide reservation up to 15 per cent in education and offer job opportunities for the minorities, who were socially, educationally and economically backward. It had also recommended that those of Scheduled Caste origin, irrespective of religion, be brought under the scheduled caste reservation, Mr. Karat said.
The CPI (M) had been demanding that Dalit Christians and any person of Scheduled Caste origin, irrespective of religion, be provided reservation.
Mr. Karat said the economic policies of the Centre had adversely affected the livelihood of people. The policies limited the opportunities for the Dalits as the government had downsized and banned recruitment to various departments. "So where is the reservation for SC and ST?" Mr.Karat said and pointed out that there was no reservation in the private sector.
Fight privatisation
He called upon the oppressed communities to fight the privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation policies of the government as it was the only way to protect their lives.
The government was promoting privatisation of higher education and allowing business houses to start educational institutions. Foreign educational institutions had also been allowed. This way, education would go out of the reach of SC, ST and other backward communities as there would be no reservation.
Mr. Karat said a powerful struggle had to be launched to protect the rights of the Dalits and other oppressed sections. The goals and aims of social reformers like Dr. Ambedkar and Periyar had not been fulfilled even after 62 years of Independence, he said, calling for a fight against caste oppression. Untouchability in any form could not be witnessed in Communist-ruled States, he observed.
The Times Of India
Business is improving, but can be better
Rema Nagarajan , TOI Crest, May 29, 2010, 11.05am IST
Dalits continue to have a very small presence in ownership of Indian businesses. But data collected by successive economic censuses — the last of which was conducted in 2005 — suggest it is growing.
According to the last economic census, 8.8 per cent of all "establishments" in the country were owned by Dalits, up from 7.7 per cent in 1998. Much of this increase, however, is in what the census describes as "own account establishments" , essentially family-operated outfits with no hired labour.
In 2005, 10.6 per cent of such businesses were Dalit-owned , compared to 9.3 per cent in 1998. But the problem with this data is that it cannot tell you how much of it is an indicator of economic empowerment of Dalits and how much a result of being compelled to seek self-employment in the absence of job opportunities.
Among establishments that use hired labour, Dalits have a much lower share of 5.7 per cent, though even that is a significant improvement from the 1998 figure of 3.7 per cent. With no details on the size of establishments owned by different categories , it is difficult to ascertain just how big these Dalit-owned establishments are.
The overall growth rate of establishments owned by persons belonging to the SC category significantly increased from 0.42 per cent during 1990-98 to 6.77 per cent during 1998-2005 . This was observed both in rural and urban areas, in ownaccount establishments, and in establishments with no hired workers as well as those with hired workers. This is significantly higher than the overall annual growth rate of establishments during the period, which was just 4.7 per cent.
The total number of family-operated non-agricultural establishments owned by SCs was 3.7 million. The overwhelming majority, 2.6 million, is in the rural areas with only 1.1 million in urban areas.
The single largest chunk of Dalit businesses , 1.1 million, was in retail trade. Manufacturing accounted for another 6.3 lakh. This was in keeping with the trend for all social groups.
The Hindu
India Inc no more caste blind; 150 firms profile SC/ST data
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Corporate-Trends/articleshow/5981645.cms
27 May 2010, 1818 hrs IST,PTI
NEW DELHI: At least 150 companies, including some from the Tata Group, have started collecting data about their SC/ST employees, as India Inc is no more "caste blind", according to a CII paper on affirmative action.
"CII's sponsored Code of Conduct for affirmative action, which commits the company to no discrimination in its employment policies, has been signed by 690 companies of which 150 have started collecting data on SC/ST employees," the paper said.
It said that the Tata firms have committed themselves to a policy of positive discrimination whereby they will "actively favour" SC/ST candidates for employment.
"We are convinced that we need to play a pro-active role in inclusive growth which is in the industry's interest itself," CII President Hari S Bhartia said.
In his interaction with top industry leaders yesterday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had asked them to reach out to the rural economy and the underprevileged sections of the society through affirmative action.
Tata Group companies like Tata Teleservices and New Delhi Power Limited favour SC/ST candidates in their recruitment, provided they meet competency threshold and "more importantly show the desire to learn", the CII compendium on affirmative action said.
It said while the private sector was "caste blind" till early 2007, the industry responded to the Prime Minsiter's call for a positive discrimination through the SC/ST communities in their HR policies and business processes.
The chamber which had set up a Council on Affirmative Action under chairmanship of Jamshed J Irani is pursuing the agenda under four major initiatives: Employability, Entrepreneurship, Education and Employment.
It said the initiatives "have made a difference to the lives of over 37,435 SC/ST youth in all regions of country.
"We wanted to show measurable results," Bhartia Said. The companies which are involved the vocational training programmes for underprivileged include Infosys, Thermax, HSBC, Mahindra and Mahindra, Crompton Greaves, Cummins India, Godrej and Boyce, Forbes Marshall and Hero Group.
In terms of job preferences, Bannari Amman Apparel has employed only members of backward class in its weaving unit in Kanchipuram district in Tamil Nadu. Of 1300 socially disadvantaged women employed with the company, 65 per cent belong to SC/ST communities.
Orissa Diary
Orissa Govt to provide financial assistance to
SC/ST, OBC girls to promote literacy
http://orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=18752
Bhubaneswar: In a significant development Orissa Government on Saturday announces special packages for SC, ST, OBC and minority girls. The government has decided to spend Rs 10 crore in the first phase to promote literacy level among girl students from SC/ST and other backward classes. It was decided after a high level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here on Saturday.
It has been decided to provide a financial assistance of Rs 3,000 to the girl students enrolling for class IX. Besides model schools in 163 backward areas 15 girls hostel would also be established in the state. The government has also decided to fill nearly 3,300 posts of teachers which are lying vacant in the state.
The Express Tribune
A system of discrimination
http://tribune.com.pk/story/17228/a-system-of-discrimination/
May 30, 2010
In India, caste is serious matter. If you are a Hindu, you cannot change your religion and you cannot change your caste: you are born a Hindu and you are born into a caste. Caste decides the work you and your parents do. An 'untouchable' (now called Dalit: in Hindi Dalit means 'downtrodden') will usually be engaged in caste-ordained occupations that are 'unclean.' The highest caste, the Brahmin, will be employed in reading and writing-associated ventures. The Kshatriya and the Vaishya (the two intermediate castes) are warrior and business castes respectively.
In the last 60 or so years, the Indian political establishment has tried to create a system of social equity through state-sponsored policies of affirmative action. Like all affirmative action, this too has led to entrenched interests that bridle at the suggestion of any rollback, and are also constantly on the look-out for new ways to protect turf.
The question of whether the exercise to enumerate Indian citizens — the census — currently underway should include a column on caste has proved to be a potentially divisive one, precisely for these reasons. Earlier this month, parliament saw several parties — including the Communist ones — seek a caste column in the census. This would indicate the percentage of the population of a particular caste and the chance that more benefits could be wrested from the system by way of jobs, seats in government-run educational institutions, etc.
However, the principal opposition party, the BJP has strongly resisted this. Although the BJP has a strong presence among some intermediate castes that benefit from job-reservation, its argument is that its core supporter — the upper caste Hindu — will lose out if India's caste configuration is refined and spelt out further.
The net result is that the whole issue has been referred to a group of ministers that will take a view on whether caste should be included in census. If the current indications are correct and this does, indeed, happen, political parties are bound to get active in devising ways to leverage this latest, new device to expand membership and support base. In many parts of India, caste exists even among religions that do not countenance it. There are Dalit Christians and high caste Muslims in many parts of India. Demands have been voiced that benefits for the socially oppressed should apply to them as well. This has always caused the Hindu establishment to retort that no religion but Hinduism recognises caste so how can caste-based affirmative action transcend religion. But the census result could change this. The census exercise is a long one but it will give some indication as to the trends in demography. Once politics enters the process, India could be racked by another round of social unrest by disadvantaged groups seeking a piece of the development pie, and those already enjoying the pie, refusing to share it.
Out Look India
Last Names And A Slow Reckoning
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265604
It's got detractors and fierce partisans,
but a caste-based census can deliver final numbers
What exactly is it about caste that makes the political class and the educated elite both see red? The exclusion of caste from public discourse makes politicians froth and fume while its inclusion makes the educated elite raise the bogey of India marching retrogressively to the medieval age—especially at a time when the country is toasting impressive growth figures.
As the story of India is sought to be told in numbers in the 2011 census, there is a clamour from certain quarters to restore a chapter on caste census. The last detailed caste census was conducted in 1931, and 1951 on, only the SC/ST categories have been enumerated. But the exercise has run into rough weather and has led the Union cabinet to refer the matter to a Group of Ministers, likely to be headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. It is also learnt the Census Commission of India has submitted a note to the home ministry (the nodal ministry) listing the pros and cons of a caste count. A senior official from the census office said they were awaiting a clear directive.
The confusion in the government on counting or not counting caste stems from the dissenting note struck by ministers in Manmohan Singh's cabinet. While the Centre, under pressure from the Yadav lobby, had given its assurance about including caste in the 2011 census on May 7 on the floor of Parliament, it is evident that the cabinet is divided between the ayes and the nays. A notable votary for the inclusion of caste is law minister Veerappa Moily, who had conveyed to the PM way back in November last year his conviction in making caste a part and parcel of the census operation.
Moily, when contacted, refused to speak, saying cabinet deliberations should not be made public, but is said to have lent his voice to the chorus of supporters for a caste-based census. Others in favour were urban development minister Jaipal Reddy, social justice minister Mukul Wasnik, tribal affairs minister Kantilal Bhuria, textiles minister Dayanidhi Maran and parliamentary affairs minister Pavan Kumar Bansal.
Among those who raised concerns about technical difficulties involved in including caste at a time when the enumeration was under way was home minister P. Chidambaram. Apart from pointing out how enumerators were not equipped to ask the relevant questions required for cross-examination, the home minister even talked about the inclusion of caste in the third stage of the exercise. But the move has not cut much ice with the Yadav troika who spearheaded the demand for caste inclusion. Incidentally, the bjp is for a caste census, while the rss is opposed to it.
The latest debate on the issue has led Janata Dal (U) chief Sharad Yadav to conclude that the government is just temporising. "The government has assured us on the floor of the House that caste will be included, so where is the confusion? There is a central list and there are statewise lists. One has to only go by the lists," says Yadav. It is these lists (of castes) that are likely to create confusion, as there are glaring discrepancies. What's described as backward in one state may not be so in another and may not figure on the central list either.
R.S. Khare, professor of anthropology at the University of Virginia, says there are short-term and long-term outcomes of conducting such an exercise. "The long-term view is that it will actually open up society by making it inclusive. The way the younger generation is using caste to further its education is interesting to watch. Freedom of expression and action, when combined with caste, has a more positive outcome for society. The politics of caste would make for greater inclusiveness in society."
Shyam Babu, senior fellow at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, says that by accepting a caste census, "the state is in a way accepting its failure to eradicate caste through economic development, which is not wrong, as it settles the debate on whether caste is a reality or a fictitious term. Besides, politicians know the numbers down to the villages. What is wrong in a scientific view?"
Then there is a school of thought which says that if the caste exercise throws up challenges, it is time for India to accept them. Among the challenges that will have to be confronted are claims and counter-claims made by castes to claim backward status. Jats, Meenas, Gurjars—at war with each other to claim backward and scheduled caste status—are only the tip of the iceberg. But apart from caste, there are the income and education indicators in the census. Based on these enumerations, and after a head count,
Deccan Herald
Do we heed our Constitution?
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/blogs/divya-ramesh/do-we-heed-our-constitution-076
May 30th, 2010
By Divya Ramesh
We are inordinately proud of being Indians — the citizens of the world's largest dit will be possible to put a definite number to the people comprising the creamy layer among Other Backward Classes. This will decide the debate on reservation in jobs and education, where a 26 per cent quota has been fixed.
Major policies on education, jobs and welfare are premised around caste, with the special focus on OBCs. The figures for them as of now are only estimates, ranging from the Mandal number of 52 per cent to the nsso estimate of 41 per cent.
Already, census officials visiting homes are asking, rather politely, whether the family avails of reservation. It's time the question is well-defined, one that would put all speculation to rest and generate a definite number.
emocracy. Our Constitution, laboriously prepared by our leaders, the bulkiest in the world, famously called "a bag of borrowings," forms the basis on which India functions, or so we say.
Our preamble calls our country a democratic republic. Except for a brief spell in 1975, India has consistently embraced democratic rule. Or has it? One of the most contentious issues is that our country is being governed by a handful of families. Dynastic politics has been taken for granted by the largely uneducated public. Inner-party democracy is totally absent. Booth-capturing during elections has become increasingly common. So is India a complete democracy?
M.F.Husain and Salman Rushdie have been living in exile for an inexcusably long period. Shah Rukh Khan and Sachin Tendulkar have been targeted for their harmless remarks. These incidents and numerous others are indelible blotches on India's image as a liberal democracy. The word "secular" occurs in our preamble and our citizens have been given the complete freedom to practice any religion of their choice. However Godhra riots, Babri Masjid demolition, etc., are sad reminders of what the religious fanatics are capable of. Some of our politicians wait with bated breath for an opportunity to accentuate the differences. They have inherited the shameful policy of "divide et impera" from our colonisers. "Unity in diversity"- This is how India is very often described. The highly condemnable attacks on non-Marathians by MNS activists however, go against this very principle. The Right to settle in any territory of India, provided by our Constitution serves only decorous purposes.
Right to equality is a fundamental right. But do we live in an egalitarian society? We hear of unconscionable acts of violence against dalits. Equality before law is a guaranteed right, but it would be chimerical to claim that we have achieved that objective. "Justice delayed is justice denied"- Our judicial system moves at an abysmal pace that very rarely, can a person hope to get justice during his lifetime.
We can only fantasise an India where child labour is absent, for we are nowhere close to attaining that goal. NGOs claim that there are nearly 20 million children working as domestic labourers in India. Article 24 of our constitution prohibits child labour and declares that children have a right to enjoy their childhood. However the deplorable fact is that there are millions of children languishing in squalid conditions engaged in dangerous professions who can only dream of schools.
The high ideals embodied in the directive principles of state policy have been called "a set of pious wishes". On the contrary, they serve as guidelines to the government and the people, reminding the former of their responsibilities and enabling the latter to judge the performance of politicians. But they largely remain a set of hopes, for most of the provisions remain unfulfilled- Employment for all, raising nutrition levels, proper access to public health, just and humane conditions of work, etc.. Out of 930 million hungry people in the world, 250 million live in India. Close to two lakh farmers have committed suicide in the twelve years. Starvation deaths are rising at an alarming pace. We should realise that appreciable progress is impossible until corruption is rooted out. It has become an all-pervading force in our system, as Prime-Minister Manmohan Singh admitted recently.
Now I return to my initial question-Are our Constitutional ideals being upheld? India's problems are certainly not insuperable. They can be overcome if all of us acknowledge our responsibilities. For instance, we can most definitely refuse to hire children as domestic help. Let us begin with small steps which will ultimately lead to the great leap forward when India begins to eulogise every ideal enshrined in our constitution!!!
--
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
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Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre- PMARC has been initiated with the support from group of senior journalists, social activists, academics and intellectuals from Dalit and civil society to advocate and facilitate Dalits issues in the mainstream media. To create proper & adequate space with the Dalit perspective in the mainstream media national/ International on Dalit issues is primary objective of the PMARC.
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