Saturday, March 20, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Mayawati starts her caste politics, again

 

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/mayawati-starts-her-caste-politics-again/111770-37.html?from=tn?from=rssfeed

Mayawati starts her caste politics, again

Bhupendra Chaubey
CNN-IBN

ON A NEW PATH: Uttar Pradesh CM has decided to sack over a 100 Brahmin lawyers.
New Delhi: After the controversy over garlands made of currency notes
Mayawati has returned to her core Dalit votebank. In the line of fire
are nearly 150 government lawyers and the Brahmin face of the Bahujan
Samaj Party - Satish Chandra Mishra.

The 25th foundation day rally of the BSP was meant to be the biggest
show of strength from Mayawati, but it will now be remembered for her
oldest flaws - her love for Dalits and disdain for the upper castes.

First Vijay Shankar Pandey was booted out of the Chief Minister's
office along with his brother Ajay Shankar Pandey.

Now the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister has decided to sack over a 100
Brahmin lawyers, most of whom are considered to be close to Mishra,
who is one time confidante and the upper caste face of Mayawati.

All the changes are being affected in a week when the media has gone
to town with Mayawat's notes garland controversy, which has not gone
down well with many Congress leaders.

So what has changed?

A poor performance in the Lok Sabaha elections along with a below par
performance in the recent Assembly by-elections, coupled with the
Congress breathing down the BSP's neck has got Mayawati worried.

Rahul Gandhi is slated to visit Muslim-dominated Azamgarh along with
Dalit colonies next month in the state.

So she seems to be making moves only to endear herself to her core
Dalit voters, whether it is by sacking upper caste officers or by
appeasing Dalits more.

Within the CM's secretariat with the arrival of Netram the Dalit
balance has been worked out well.

Mishra, Mayawati's one time upper caste face, has now been relegated
as being head of the legal cell.

Overall out of nine police ranges in UP, seven are headed by Dalit
police officers.

Many see this as an act of desperation from Mayawati to hold on to her
Dalit votes, which is not the ideal proposition for a modern state.

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[ZESTCaste] BSP workers stone media office over cartoon on Maya

 

http://www.ptinews.com/news/573428_BSP-workers-stone-media-office-over-cartoon-on-Maya

BSP workers stone media office over cartoon on Maya

STAFF WRITER 22:42 HRS IST
Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 19 (PTI) A group of BSP workers allegedly
stoned the office of a Malayalam daily here today protesting a cartoon
carried by it on the currency note garland controversy involving Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister and party supremo Mayawati.

According to a spokesman of the newspaper, "Tejas", the
slogan-shouting group, holding the BSP flag, smashed the office sign
board and damaged a vehicle parked before it.

The protesters alleged that their leader was depicted in a "unsavoury
manner" in the cartoon "unbecoming of the journalistic ethics and
values".

Police said a case had been registered in connection with the incident.

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[ZESTCaste] Fwd: Journalism College Chief's request concerning the SC/ST scholarships at the ACJ

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: CHITTIBABU PADAVALA <afchittibabu@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Mar 20, 2010 at 12:14 AM
Subject: Journalism College Chief's request concerning the SC/ST
scholarships at the ACJ
To: "humanhorizons@yahoogroups.co.uk cc Vidyadhar Landge"
<vidyadhar.landge@gmail.com>, bahujanstudentnetwork@googlegroups.com,
sakyagroup@yahoogroups.com, buddhistcircle Group
<BuddhistCircle@yahoogroups.com>, mulnivasibahujans
<MulnivasiBahujans@googlegroups.com>

Please do kindly go through this mail and tell me what you think we
should collectively do about increasing the presence of Dalits in
media and media studies. Suggestions, criticisms, and offers of help
are welcome.
This is from Mr. Sashikumar, one of the most important figures in
modern Indian Media and also journalism education and the founder of
Asian College of Journalism. He expressed his disappointment that not
many applications are coming from Dalits to study at ACJ and thinks it
was not due to any dearth of talent but  ........
Chittibabu.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sashikumar <sakumar@vsnl.com>
Date: 19 March 2010 09:21
Subject: Reg: SC/ST scholarships at the ACJ
To: CHITTIBABU PADAVALA <afchittibabu@gmail.com>
Cc: Malini <malini.acj@gmail.com>

Dear Chittibabu,

I write to you to seek your assistance in meaningfully enabling and
enlarging the scholarships we have instituted for candidates from
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for study at the ACJ.

As you know, the intent and purpose of these scholarships are threefold:
(a) to make the composition of our student intake for our postgraduate
diploma programme each year more diverse and inclusive,
 (b) to bring the impinging inequality, injustice and deprivation in
our society - which tends to be marginalised in the mainstream news
media - in sharp focus into our radar; and thereby
(c) make for a demographic change in the class and caste character of
practising professional journalists.

I have no doubt that to realise these aims we must be able to draw the
attention of talented candidates from the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes,  who see in journalism  the potential to make a
difference.
Unfortunately our experience over the last years has been that there
are not enough applications to select candidates from for the four
scholarships we already have. These are, as you know, full
scholarships covering the tuition fees and, wherever required, also
the board and lodging for the duration of the course.

In fact ,the paradox has been that while we have offers of more
scholarships (beyond the 4 already  available) we find we do not have
enough takers for them. This may partly have to do with the
requirement that candidates must have a comfortable functional grasp
of English to cope with the programme., which is tested in ACJ's
entrance exam for admissions. But I suspect the real reason for the
inadequate response to our scholarship scheme is that we have not
really been able to connect with, and interest, the target group which
can beneficially avail it.

As a scholar-alumnus of ACJ, I hope your own experience will bear out
the value of the course in equipping students with the skill sets and
the analytical and reflective capabilities for professional
journalistic practice.

I rely on you to try and initiate interest in these scholarships so
that we have a talented pool of applicants to draw from, and can
really make the difference we hope to.

Admissions for the academic year 2010-2011 have been announced and the
details are available on the ACJ websites: www.asianmedia.org or
www.asianmedia.org.in

Please do spread the word to your ACJ mates and other collegaues and
enlist their support in this cause. If there is anything you think we
should do to facilitate the process, please don't hesitate to let me
know.
The ACJ Registrar, Ms. Malini ( malini.acj@gmail.com) can also be
contacted for any clarifications in this regard.

I hope we will be able to make a break through this year.

With warm wishes,

Sashi

Sashi Kumar
Chairman
Media Development Foundation
&
Asian College of Journalism
Second Main Road
Taramani
Chennai-600113
India
(T) +91-44-22542840 / 42-47
(F) +91-44-22542839
www.asianmedia.org

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[ZESTCaste] Will torch myself if not given a home, says poor Dalit

 

http://www.bombaynews.net/story/614142

Will torch myself if not given a home, says poor Dalit
Bombay News.Net
Saturday 20th March, 2010 (IANS)

Many rural poor are upset over alleged corruption in getting houses
under a central government scheme and a 30-year-old Dalit woman has
threatened to set herself on fire if she does not get a home due to
her.

Ramvati Devi, a resident of Begusarai district, has threatened to set
herself on fire April 1 if she is not provided a house under the
Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) before that. She says her name was in the
2008 waiting list of the scheme.

'I will set myself on fire to protest injustice. I am a victim of
injustice and corruption in the scheme.

'I have informed the block official that my name was in the waiting
list of 2008 but I have been deprived of a house till date. I have
petitioned the block development officer that I will immolate if not
provided a house before April 1,' Ramvati told IANS.

Bihar Rural Development Minister Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha admitted to
corruption in IAY scheme and said the state government had taken steps
to weed out corruption.

'There is no doubt that there is corruption in the scheme. We are
taking the necessary preventive steps,' Kushwaha told IANS.

He said as against the target of construction of houses under IAY at
an estimated cost of Rs.2,120.50 crore during 2008-09, a total of 4.68
lakh houses were constructed for the below poverty line (BPL) families
which was 77.31 percent of the target.

Ramvati also accused village body head Runa Devi of demanding bribes
for a house under the scheme.

'I gave Rs.3,000 to Renu Devi in 2008. But she and her husband Hira
Sahni demanded Rs.3,000 more. I refused to pay as I did not have
money. After I refused to give more bribe to Renu Devi, my dream of a
house remains a dream,' she said.

Ramvati Devi's fight has exposed the rampant corruption in the
execution of IAY in the state. 'Corruption rules the roots in IAY
scheme in Bihar. Poor people are badly hit by it,' Rashtriya Janata
Dal (RJD) state president Abdul bari Siddiqui said.

Siddiqui, a senior legislator, said local officials and village body
heads demand money from poor for a house under IAY. 'Despite knowing
it, the state government has not initiated any step to check
corruption and punish officials and village body heads for it.'

Three days ago, Bihar Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes with the
opposition alleged corruption in the execution of IAY and staged a
walkout.

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[ZESTCaste] Rahul on road to crack UP Dalit base

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100320/jsp/nation/story_12240328.jsp

Rahul on road to crack UP Dalit base
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi, March 19: Having shattered Mayavati's exceptional axis with
Brahmins, the Congress has now drawn up an ambitious plan to make
inroads into her Dalit vote bank. The plan will be unveiled on April
14, the birth anniversary of Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar.

That day, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will flag off 10
yatras which will cover the entire Uttar Pradesh and carry the message
of the state's abysmal decline under different regimes that the party
believes didn't focus on development.

The yatras will also dwell on the welfare programmes of the UPA and
stress that the Centre's ruling coalition is primarily driven by
inclusive politics.

Rahul will reach Ambedkarnagar, near Faizabad, on April 14 to flag off
the yatras, each of which will cover 40 Assembly constituencies and
culminate on November 10 in Allahabad, where Congress president Sonia
Gandhi will be present. The Congress is also keen to rekindle the
glory of the freedom movement through the yatras. A programme has been
lined up at Allahabad's Anand Bhavan, the Gandhis' ancestral home.

AICC general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, Digvijay Singh, and
secretary Avinash Pandey will coordinate the yatras, to be in two
phases — first from April 14 to May 31 and the second from September
15 to November 10.

Each yatra will have a chief co-ordinator who, in turn, will appoint
co-ordinators for each Assembly constituency. Senior leaders, central
ministers and even chief ministers of Congress-ruled states will be
invited to address the meetings.

The 10 chief co-ordinators are Jagdambika Pal, P.L. Puniya, Zafar Ali
Naqvi, Shekhar Bahuguna, Rajeshpati Tripathi, Rajendra Sharma, Pradeep
Mathur, Ranjit Singh Judeo, Bhola Pandey and Praveen Aaron.


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[ZESTCaste] Identity politics alone won’t do

http://www.dailypioneer.com/243363/Identity-politics-alone-won%E2%80%99t-do.html

Saturday, March 20, 2010 New Delhi Today's Issue

Identity politics alone won't do

Ashok Malik

In the past few days, Ms Mayawati's "garland of currency notes" and
police inquiry into an alleged bee attack on a BSP public meeting in
Lucknow have brought the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister into the centre
of a fascinating debate on attitudes.

Her adherents and sections of 'progressive' intellectuals have
contended Ms Mayawati's ostentation has to be seen in the context of
the oppression of Dalits for thousands of years. When the ordinary
Dalit observes Ms Mayawati's grand statues, lavish birthday parties
and currency-note indulgences, he apparently experiences a sense of
pride. He feels, so the argument goes, the equal of upper caste folk
whose political leaders have been behaving thus for years.

Such analysis is not new. It has been with us for over a decade and is
wheeled out each time Ms Mayawati's public persona is discussed. A
degree of political correctness and squeamishness takes over and many
observers tend to be lenient with the BSP's garishness and display of
wealth in a manner they simply wouldn't be if it came to another
party.

It is true aesthetic subjectivities cannot and should not come in the
way of cold political assessment. Ms Mayawati's shiny salwar kameez
may not appeal to somebody who prefers south Delhi chic but it still
may represent aspirational taste in a more humble, hinterland setting.

Likewise, the massive BSP construction projects in Uttar Pradesh —
Lucknow probably matches Pyongyang in the number of statues of an
incumbent head of Government — can be reckoned to be only a more
visible, in-your-face perpetuation of cultism. An alternative,
subliminal system, perfected by the Congress, would be to name every
programme, organisation, building, memorial and institution after
members of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Having said that, the defence of Ms Mayawati's excesses only on the
basis of past precedents (of other parties) or past injustice done to
Dalits is beginning to look a little tired and ragged. It was fine in
her earlier terms and when she became Chief Minister in 1995 or again
in 1997. Yet, after her decisive victory in the 2007 Assembly
election, surely the frame of reference has changed?

All effective politics is a combination of bread and circus. Ms
Mayawati's continued emphasis on the circus aspect even after winning
a majority in the 2007 election does indicate an inability to make a
critical evolution in her politics. She has been the unquestioned boss
of Uttar Pradesh for three years now, unencumbered by difficult
alliance partners and free from political blackmail by independent
MLAs. Yet, she has not made good governance or an alternative
development paradigm her calling card.

This is certainly a failing and it would be dishonest to not recognise
it — or to confuse criticism of it with upper caste/urban hostility to
the BSP. Indeed Ms Mayawati won so handsomely in 2007 precisely
because a game-changing mass of upper caste (primarily Brahmin) voters
across Uttar Pradesh turned to her. She won not just because of her
strong Dalit constituency but thanks to the formidable rainbow
coalition she put together.

Identity politics makes for great theatre. It absorbs political
observers and journalists and becomes a self-contained universe of its
own. Yet, in the broader community, beyond merely the politically
obsessive, identity politics can only occasionally be an end in
itself.

There are essentially two templates for Ms Mayawati to choose from.
She can turn to Gujarat and Bihar. In their own ways, both Mr Narendra
Modi and Mr Nitish Kumar have made the transformation from identity
politics to good governance.

This doesn't mean they have completely given up on identity. Mr Kumar
is still very much a Kurmi leader and sees himself as part of the
OBC/social justice movement. Mr Modi self-identifies as a confident
Hindu and a pillar of Gujarati pride. Yet, with good governance, they
have added value to their individual brand. The mix has given their
politics a greater robustness, one that stressing on identity alone
would not have achieved.

The other model is that of Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav. He premised his
entire politics on identity. When it ran its course, when those
energies were expended, he had no back-up plan, nothing else to offer
the voter. As such, the RJD's collapse in Bihar has been precipitous.

Today, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav is a desperate man, working fervently to
reignite the Muslim-Yadav alliance using the women's reservation
issue, trying to stay in the running in the Bihar Assembly election
later this year. He realises if he loses this round as well his career
is more or less over. In one decade, he has gone from being
invulnerable to completely vulnerable. That is the huge gamble of an
identity-only political platform.

What message does this hold for Ms Mayawati? If she wins the Assembly
election of 2012 — or even if the BSP finishes as the single largest
party, well ahead of others in a hung House — would it mean her statue
symbolism, the corruption allegations against her, the sudden and
dramatic acquisition of property, doesn't matter to the voter? Would
it imply the (Dalit) voter is happy enough with circus to not bother
about bread?

That would be a cynical and extremely superficial assumption. If Ms
Mayawati is still a force to reckon with in Uttar Pradesh, it is for
two reasons. First, the social coalition she shaped before the 2007
election is still largely intact. There is a movement of Muslims
towards the Congress. Brahmins and the urban middle classes have also
turned in that direction. Even so, the shift hasn't been complete and
absolute. Rather, it has created a situation where State politics has
devolved into a two-horse race.

Second, the Mayawati Government's biggest plus point is simply that it
is not the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government. Memories of Mulayam raj are
still strong across towns of Uttar Pradesh and they are not pleasant
ones. Large parts of the State remain lawless; corruption, with
accusations right to the top, remains a concern. Yet, the perception
that the Government itself is hand-in-glove with criminal syndicates
and mafia dons, and the ruling party is a mechanism for crony
capitalism — charges that dogged the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government —
are not quite as strong today. As Chief Minister, Ms Mayawati is not
so much good as simply less bad.

As can be imagined, this is very different from an endorsement of her
identity politics, much less of her astonishing income tax returns.

-- malikashok@gmail.com


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[ZESTCaste] Outfit seeks separate state for dalits

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Outfit+seeks+separate+state+for+dalits&artid=gBGfWgtmCpk=&SectionID=mvKkT3vj5ZA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=nUFeEOBkuKw=&SEO=


By Express News Service
20 Mar 2010 08:39:21 AM IST

Outfit seeks separate state for dalits

BHUBANESWAR: The State Ambedkar Chinta- Chetana Parishad, an
organisation of tribals and dalits, has demanded a separate state for
the two backward sections of the society.
The working president of the organisation Debaraj Naik has said in a
statement that the separate state should be created with 40 percent of
the land of Orissa.
He has threatened that if the State Government failed to fulfil the
demand, the Parishad will launched a statewide agitation to press for
it.
The demand for the separate state has been made before the State
Government and the Centre.
Naik said that a meeting of tribals and dalits have been convened here
on March 28 to discuss the issue and take necessary steps.
Criticising the State Government for shedding crocodile's tears over
the plight of the people of these backward sections, the Parishad
alleged that in name of education, the tribal girls have been pushed
to sexual exploitation.
He alleged that the constitutional provision for equality has not been
implemented properly as a result of which Dalits and tribals are still
at the lower strata of society.
Demanding that the authorities should amend the land settlement acts
so that land can be transferred to the dalits and tribals, Naik
alleged that 99 percent people of these two sections do not have land.
Besides, a majority of dalit and tribal people are yet to get any
homestead or agricultural land even so many years after independence
because of there is no sincerity in implementation of the decisions
made for their welfare, he said.
He warned that if corrective action was not taken, things will go out
of hand soon.


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[ZESTCaste] Dalits seek facilities

 

http://www.thehindu.com/2010/03/20/stories/2010032053690300.htm

Karnataka - Hassan

Dalits seek facilities

Staff Correspondent

HASSAN: Dalits leaders complained about harassment and appealed for
better facilities, at the Hassan taluk SC, ST Hitharakshana Committee
meeting, chaired by Tahsildar Rudrappaji Rao, here on Friday.

The leaders appealed for road connectivity to Dalit areas under the
Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

In Karle village, the approach road to the Dalit colony had been
encroached upon, while in Nittur village, there was no road to
Ambedkar Bhavan, they said.

They also complained that the Dalit families were prevented from
taking water from borewells in Ballekere village in Shettyhalli Gram
Panchayat.

Mr. Rao assured them that action would be taken.

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[ZESTCaste] Letter From India: 'Queen' Of Poor Flaunts Riches

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124807758

Letter From India: 'Queen' Of Poor Flaunts Riches
by Philip Reeves

March 18, 2010

Listen to the Story
Morning Edition
[3 min 33 sec]

Enlarge Ajay Kumar Singh/APBahujan Samaj Party leader and Uttar
Pradesh state Chief Minister Mayawati waves to supporters after being
presented a garland made of currency notes, allegedly amounting to the
equivalent of $36,735, Wednesday at the party office in Lucknow,
India. Mayawati has come under criticism in the past few days for
accepting a similar garland, allegedly of a higher value, at a rally
Monday.

Ajay Kumar Singh/APBahujan Samaj Party leader and Uttar Pradesh state
Chief Minister Mayawati waves to supporters after being presented a
garland made of currency notes, allegedly amounting to the equivalent
of $36,735, Wednesday at the party office in Lucknow, India. Mayawati
has come under criticism in the past few days for accepting a similar
garland, allegedly of a higher value, at a rally Monday.

March 18, 2010
Indians have long been used to seeing their politicians flaunt their
riches. Yet the extravagant behavior of one of the nation's top female
leaders has caused gasps of disbelief.

Mayawati — she is usually known by one name alone — is chief minister
of India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, whose estimated 190
million population includes many of the poorest people on the planet.

Her multitude of followers see her as an icon, not least because she
is a Dalit — the term used for society's bottom rung, formerly called
"untouchables" — who rose from humble beginnings to become extremely
rich and powerful.

Accounts of Mayawati's ostentatious and profligate conduct have been
making headlines for years.

Newspapers in India and beyond have lapped up accounts of her diamonds
and pink saris, her fleet of aircraft, her extraordinarily lavish
birthday parties, and her habit of populating the landscape of Uttar
Pradesh with memorial parks and big statues of herself.

A Garland Of Cash For 'Queen Of The Dalits'

Her latest exploit goes further still, and is — in the view of one
leading Indian newspaper — a "new low" for the woman widely known as
the "Queen of the Dalits."

It happened several days ago, at a massive rally organized to mark the
25th anniversary of her political party. As Mayawati — a round-faced
woman in her 50s — stood before the assembled throng, her minions
presented her with a gigantic garland.

In South Asia, it is customary to honor people by draping a garland of
flowers around the neck. The garland given to Mayawati was far too
large to wear: It was at least 30 feet long, and as thick as a tree
trunk. And it contained no flowers.

It was made entirely of money — pink bank notes for 1,000 Indian
rupees ($22). The overall worth of the garland is not clear, but it is
at least $1 million, according to most estimates.

Mayawati's aides say the jumbo cash garland was a gift from her
adoring party workers. The Queen of the Dalits happily accepted it,
apparently unmoved by the fact that many of the people in the
multitude at the rally would take several weeks to earn just one of
those notes.

When pictures of her garland reached India's TV screens, there was an
immediate outcry.

Mayawati's political rivals created such commotion in parliament's
lower house that the session had to be adjourned several times.

In a country where hundreds of millions still live in abject poverty,
the sight of someone brandishing so much money was seen as vulgar and
distasteful.

'Conduct Totally Unbecoming'

The Asian Age newspaper condemned Mayawati's behavior as "conduct
totally unbecoming." It stated that the entire nation was shocked "in
seeing Ms. Mayawati in all her finery and [with her]
self-congratulatory smile ... weighed down by the burden of monies
that did not go to the people." The Times of India accused her of
"mocking the poverty of thousands of dedicated cadres."

Mayawati does not seem perturbed by the criticism. She is a shrewd
politician who is widely suspected of harboring ambitions of one day
becoming prime minister.

She may even gain from the incident: Some political analysts in India
believe her impoverished supporters actually relish her displays of
wealth, as they see it as a celebration of their collective political
power — and proof that anyone, even an oppressed Dalit, can acquire
power and riches.

Mayawati's response to her critics has been typically defiant. On
Wednesday, she appeared on stage in public again — and once again
accepted a giant garland made entirely of cash (this time it was worth
less, as the notes were of a variety of values).

However, she and her supporters may yet have some explaining to do:
The tax authorities say they intend to find out where all this money
is coming from.


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[ZESTCaste] Symbol freezing: BSP for combined hearing

http://mayawatistatues.wordpress.com/2010/03/20/symbol-freezing-bsp-for-combined-hearing/

MAYAWATI STATUE CASE
Symbol freezing: BSP for combined hearing
Posted in BAHUJAN SAMAJ PARTY, MAYAWATI by lawreports on March 20, 2010
TIMES OF INDIA

NEW DELHI: BSP wants to rope in Congress and other parties to face the
music in the Election Commission regarding freezing of election
symbols on allegations that they had spent money from public funds to
build distinct brands by installing statues, naming roads and
institutions. What bothers BSP is the EC's decision to hear the spate
of complaints separately and on Friday it pointed out to the Supreme
Court that clubbing them together would be prudent as they involved
the same issue — misuse of public money to further the party and its
election symbol. Mentioning an application by BSP, UP additional
advocate general Shail Kumar Dwivedi told a Bench comprising Chief
Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices Deepak Verma and C K Prasad that
the EC was treating each complaint separately and asking the party to
file response. The Bench posted the application for hearing on Monday.
Allegations in a complaint filed by advocate Ravi Kant against BSP
pertained to installation of scores of elephant statues in Lucknow and
other parts of the state accusing the Mayawati government of
furthering the election symbol of the party. A similar complaint filed
by one Manoj Agnihotri listed out how almost all political parties,
including Congress and BJP, had misused public funds to name welfare
schemes, roads and institutions after their leaders to create a brand
for themselves among the electorate. BSP wants these complaints to be
heard together by the EC, which the latter has declined.


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[ZESTCaste] Inclusion not elitism, please (Opinion)

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/rama-bijapurkar-inclusion-not-elitism-please/389143/

Rama Bijapurkar: Inclusion not elitism, please

Rama Bijapurkar / March 20, 2010, 0:53 IST

The Foreign Universities Bill is puzzling for two reasons: One, it
proposes that a business operating in India can be exempt from the
letter and spirit of the prevailing laws of the land on the grounds
that the owner is foreign (pharmaceutical companies would love for
that to be applicable to their industry too!); and two, this proposed
exemption from reservations comes from a government that is otherwise
very, very clear about its position — and walks its talk — on the
inclusion of backward classes and economically-weaker sections into
educational institutions. The same government, not too long ago,
demonstrated, in words and deeds, its passionate belief that everyone
should have a reasonable shot at getting the best possible education —
it made haste to enable, and with an iron hand, even supervised
implementation of a speedy inclusion of other backward classes (OBCs),
in addition to that of scheduled castes/scheduled tribes (SCs/STs),
into all institutions of higher learning. With this Bill, it seems to
be saying to the backward classes that, "Well, the best from the West
is not for you, the home-grown is good enough for you." Need-blind
admissions and financial aid do not automatically solve the inclusion
problem — the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has
explained this to us at length several times.

Here is a sad scenario that is very likely to be played out if this
Bill in this form goes through: With no price controls and
reservations, and with shackled Indian competition that has not just
these but other controls, like the one on teachers' salaries, foreign
entrants will be able to build a viable business, offering superior
quality to consumers. Before we burst into applause about the magic of
competition, let's think of all constituencies. Better quality will
happen for the better classes of consumers, and the rest will have to
suffer the collateral damage — an even more depleted, poorer quality,
government-shackled institutions, as the better-quality students and
faculty gravitate to the new entrants. Thus we go back to rich
kid/forward-class preserves and poor kid/backward-class ghettos. As
several ministers in the MHRD have repeatedly reminded us in the
context of IITs and IIMs, young India deserves better than an elitist
education policy that excludes most of them.

Competition certainly increases the quality and reduces prices as we
have seen since 1991. But, that only happens with a free market with
an intense free competition. A government-meddled and -muddled "free
market" that is free only in parts, and governed by different laws for
different players, causes the kind of swampy mess that takes a long
time and several lost generations to emerge from. Young India deserves
better.

Some people say that this Bill is not a big social-fabric-changing
phenomenon that we should worry about, but just a small signalling
favour done to a few favourite universities — so why protest? Either
way, the principle of a government-sponsored, warped and elitist
ecosystem is unacceptable. That was the spirit in which all the
political parties got together and passed the OBC reservation Bill —
in fact, with far more unity and enthusiasm than seen in the case of
the Women's Reservation Bill.

The perspective that this article seeks to provide will not be
complete without tabling three issues: The government's relentless
operational control of existing institutions of higher learning has
left them in a severely weakened condition; the recent spate of
several policy initiatives by the MHRD is moving in the direction of
even more government control in education; improving an existing
system means widespread capacity and capability improvement for the
benefit of all, not the creation of a high-quality island for some.

Existing institutions of higher learning are in a very bad shape. To
say to such institutions "you too can go abroad and compete if you
wish" is foolish. They are at the end of their tether, and struggle to
produce the quality they do, with incredible jugaad and a few good men
and women who have chosen to stay on and keep the ship afloat. Their
newest struggle is to cope with the sudden increase in scale and the
pedagogical challenges as a result of the implementation of the OBC
reservation. Over time, just as there is a flight of good capital from
controlled markets, there has been a flight of talent from such
institutions' teaching staff, whose salaries have been severely
controlled. The honourable minister for HRD has been quoted in the
press as saying that teachers don't care about more money, they just
want decent housing and good schools for their kids. The fact is that
like other members of their social class in India, they too aspire for
one hell of a lot more. Many of these institutions need to be
unshackled, need to be mended for the damage done to them so far, and
then be told to compete or die. Simpler still, if the government gets
out of micro-managing them now, the rest will follow. Perhaps some of
them will even offer a "stake" to one of the foreign entrants that
wants to come in.

The Bill must be amended to make businesses that seek to profit from
the highest potential youth market in the world fulfil legislated
social obligations. The MHRD must see its role as one of giving
direction and not directions on all manner of operational issues; and
do some serious work and frame a well-thought-through policy for a
sensibly and responsibly regulated free-market education with one set
of rules for all.

The author is an independent market strategy consultant


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[ZESTCaste] The Flawed Logic Of Quotas (Madhu Kishwar)

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/The-Flawed-Logic-Of-Quotas/articleshow/5703265.cms

The Flawed Logic Of Quotas
MADHU PURNIMA KISHWAR, Mar 20, 2010, 12.21am IST

The champions of the highly flawed women's reservation Bill are facing
a tough challenge from leaders of the Muslim community and castes
designated as backward. They argue that only upper caste women from
elite families will benefit from this reservation and demand a quota
within quota for backward caste women and Muslims.

In characteristic style, the pro-reservation lobby has reacted with
pious outrage, declaring: ''Please do not try dividing us. Women are
all one; their interests are common.'' By polarising the issue on
gender lines, the pro-reservationists have actually exposed the
weakness in their own ranks. They claim to speak on behalf of all of
India's women. But the quota within quota demand clearly indicates
that on most issues women's loyalty to their caste and community is
far stronger than their commitment to gender-based solidarity. This is
understandable since women do not constitute a homogeneous group. The
disabilities they suffer are largely dependent on the overall status
of the caste, class, religious and regional community within which
they are situated.

In a multi-ethnic, multilingual, multi-religious, multi-caste society
with wide disparities, there are bound to be ever newer claimants for
reservations, especially considering the poor state of governance in
India, the lack of basic security, especially for women, and
widespread nepotism. The government machinery remains colonial in its
functioning because it is not constituted to be accountable and
responsive to the rights of citizens as citizens. Acquiring a foothold
in the government machinery brings with it enormous clout and
opportunities for upward mobility through means fair and foul. People
perforce have to mobilise themselves as communities in order to gain a
measure of protection and privilege. Those who cannot pull strings
through their caste and family ties feel vulnerable and thwarted.

The resultant vicious tussles over gaining a foothold in offices of
power have made virtually every group feel aggrieved and insecure.
Therefore, it does not take much effort to mobilise new groups to
demand their share of the pie.

For example, while one section of Muslims demands a quota for Muslim
women in general, another section argues that within women's quota
there should be a fair proportion reserved for lower castes among
Muslims. They claim that caste is as deep-rooted and entrenched among
the subcontinent's Muslims as among the Hindus and hold the upper
caste Muslim leaders responsible for keeping the lower caste Muslim
community trapped in backwardness and illiteracy by their obsessive
focus on identity-based demands ignoring class and caste deprivations.
Therefore, they are demanding that the benefit of a Muslim women's
quota should go to lower caste Muslim women so that the most oppressed
among them get to be heard and represented. Similarly, there is a
demand that there be a sub-quota for women of the most backward castes
(MBCs) since thus far the advantages of reservations have been mainly
cornered by the creamy and well-organised layers among backward
castes.

The logic of quotas can be extended indefinitely in a malfunctioning
democracy to transform it into what Bhanu Pratap Mehta terms a
''Quotacracy''. Why not a quota for physically handicapped women, as
well as for women afflicted by leprosy - for they are treated worse
than pariahs? Why not a quota for women beggars, for prostitutes, for
those defamed as ''criminal tribes''? The list of marginalised groups
is indeed endless and they are indeed very vulnerable.

The faults of our representative institutions and colonial-minded
governance cannot really be corrected through the quota mechanism.
Other, more radical, remedies are required involving far-reaching
electoral and administrative reforms. The alternative scheme of
affirmative action offered by Manushi, Loksatta and Lokniti avoids the
pitfalls of the lottery-based rotation system by mandating parties to
give due share of tickets to women within which special provisions
could be made for Muslim and OBC women as well without pushing them
further into the ghetto mindset. In addition, we also propose
electoral reform measures that will make our political parties more
accountable, transparent and democratic in their inner functioning.

However, if all that the pro-reservation lobby wishes for is an
enhancement in the number of women in legislatures, why not require
that women from elite families - upper caste women as well as those
whose husbands, fathers, brothers or close family members are already
MPs and MLAs - will not avail of the quota? It can be reserved for
first-time entrants into politics - women who are contesting on their
own rather than using the political clout their family enjoys. It
would also be sensible to add that a woman will be allowed to avail of
a reserved seat only one time. Thereafter she will contest from a
general seat.

The advocates of the Bill say such a safeguard is not necessary
because the women's reservation Bill is supposed to have a lifespan of
just 15 years. However, we know from past experience that reservations
have a way of extending indefinitely. The Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe reservations were to last just 10 years. Sixty years
later no political party dare ease out even the ''creamy layer'' among
them, leave alone dismantle reservations altogether. We are likely to
be stuck with this brainless scheme of reservations which functions
like a game of musical chairs. It will further wreck our already
fragile democracy.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Centre for the Study of
Developing Societies, Delhi.

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