Friday, November 26, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Commonwealth Games scam: SC/ST fund diversion not isolated case

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_commonwealth-games-scam-sc-st-fund-diversion-not-isolated-case_1472200

Commonwealth Games scam: SC/ST fund diversion not isolated case
Published: Friday, Nov 26, 2010, 0:26 IST
By Anil Sharma | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA

The Delhi government came in for severe criticism earlier this year
for diverting Rs744.35 crore meant for a scheduled caste sub-plan to
the Commonwealth Games (CWG). But now it turns out that such
violations are routine.

"The Centre's planned allocation for 2010-11 was Rs2,80,000 crore. If
the norm of earmarking 16.2% for scheduled castes and 8.2% for
scheduled tribes is to be strictly adhered to, at least Rs68,000 crore
[45,000 + 23,000] has to be seen separately in budgetary figures. But
there is no way to find out the precise amount spent under these
heads," planning commission member Narendra Jadhav said on Thursday.

Jadhav, who headed a task force that studied the matter, submitted a
report to planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia
suggesting revised guidelines to ensure transparency and
accountability in allocation and use of SC/ST sub-plan funds.

"This is a problem arising out of a complex mindset. The diversion for
CWG was not a one-off case. This happens routinely in all states, and
we shall come up with a detailed report on this issue," he said.

"This presents a very dismal picture, and reflects the continuation of
injustice to a section of society," he said.


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[ZESTCaste] In next budget: SC-ST funds to be used for projects directly benefiting them

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/In-next-budget--SC-ST-funds-to-be-used-for-projects-directly-benefiting-them/716296

In next budget: SC-ST funds to be used for projects directly benefiting them

ENS Economic Bureau Posted online: Fri Nov 26 2010, 04:30 hrs
New Delhi : The spectre of Commonwealth Games would enter next year's
Budget with central ministries and state governments being told to
earmark and utilize special funds for scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes only on projects that directly benefit them.
"Central ministries and state governments would not only be required
to allocate Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan funds in
proportion to the SC and ST population, but would also access funds
from the identified heads and indicate the expenditure incurred under
those heads," says the guideline from the Planning Commission.

"In any case, the funds should be non-transferable to any other
scheme," it adds.

The new norms follow Delhi government's admission that it used Rs
678.91 crores from the SCSP to build games infrastructure. The state
had reasoned that since SC or ST population did not reside in any
particular locality, they had 'also benefited' from these
infrastructure projects.

But that reasoning did not cut ice with the Opposition which alleged
Delhi of 'misuse' and 'diversion' forcing Home Minister P Chidambaram
to admit to parliament last August that the diversion was wrong and
the Centre needed to "find some way to get this money back into SCSP".

A month later, the Commission ruled that since these schemes have not
been implemented effectively, it would be compulsory for all
governments to earmark funds in the Budget document as well as in the
Demand for Grants.

They have also been instructed to indicate the expenditure incurred
from these funds with the specification that the "ultimate outcome in
measurable terms also be correlated with the financial achievements
and physical coverage".

Previous budgets have only quantified the allocations for SC and ST
schemes under a broad head in the Expenditure Budget (Volume I).

The objective behind these special plan funds is to create productive
assets for SCs and STs to reduce poverty and unemployment among them.
These assets have to provide direct benefit to individuals or families
with priority to projects that provide basic minimum services like
primary education, health, drinking water, rural housing,
electrification or roads.


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[ZESTCaste] Understanding Bihar verdict

http://www.khabrein.info/news/Understanding_Bihar_verdict_1290683656/

Understanding Bihar verdict

25 November, 2010Share
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Bihar polls have brought 'smile' to many faces on our TV channels. As
Nitish Kumar romp through a landslide victory along with his ally in
the NDA, the media started writing obituary of Lalu Yadav as well as
Ram Vilas Paswan. I still remember a statement from George Fernandez
not to make mistake of writing obituary of political leaders unless
they are buried or cremated as they can always bounce back. There is
no scientific methodology for people to vote. A middle class hero Man
Mohan Singh could be defeated easily from a constituency like South
Delhi which is considered to be 'educated and well off'. Hence it is
too much if we think that caste has been eliminated from the minds of
people in Bihar in particular and India in general since our TV
'experts' wants us to believe so without changing their own caste
mind.

Yes, Bihar's results need more analysis and in-depth reading. Did Lalu
and Ram Vilas's arrogance hurt the voters? Did they take their voters
for granted? Is corruption not an issue with the Dalit Bahujan
communities? I think one will have to analyse the whole issue. Has
Mandal failed or the forces of social justice let down the Mandal
revolution in India with their continuously opportunistic and unholy
alliances with the caste forces?

Coincidently, when Bihar's Nitish Kumar government assumes office for
second term, a new scenario has emerged for the forces of Social
Justice which need to be understood. And it is post modern Mandalism
now with most backward communities challenging the status quo and
asking for the accountability. That you can not rule over them in the
name of Dalit and backward without providing a space for them in the
governance structure. If the political class in the name of social
justice does not come out of the family business, they will be wiped
out as happened in Bihar. The forces of social justice can not have
Gandhi family as their idol.

However, these polls also show the inadequacy of political system
where a party just getting 39% of the popular votes has got nearly 89%
seats in the assembly. Most of the media termed that Bihar has now got
rid of caste identities but the fact is that the Maha Dalits and most
backward castes are seeking their space and Nitish Kumar should not
feel that he can put the upper caste agenda on Bihar to term it as a
'casteless' state. How many of them are ready to leave their caste
interest aside and speak for a casteless society. Will the forces of
Hindutva work for a casteless society? If yes then the annihilation of
caste is annihilation of Brahmanism in India which is not really the
agenda of Nitish Kumar and his allies.

Nitish Kumar failed in implementing the Bandhopadhyay Commission
report on land redistribution. Just a few days before the election
results we saw violence against Dalits by powerful Bhumihar community
which seemed to enjoy Nitish Kumar's rule in Bihar. The violence by
Bhumihars on the Dalits was because of the land issue in Pathua
village of district Lakhisarai in which about 900 bighas of land
declared surplus under Ceiling Act was being encroached by the goons
of a particular Bhumihar leader as they wanted to uproot the Dalits
and most backward communities living on the said land. Land will
remain one of the most contentious issue and if Nitish Kumar in the
din of the euphoria created by corporate media ignore this issue then
he will meet the same fate as Lalu and Ram Vilas Paswan have met with.
That the most backward communities and Dalits have signaled to Bihar
politicians which largely revolved around powerful OBCs, Bhumihars,
Brahmin, Kayasthas and Rajputs that they too are an important segment
of state. The Pasmanda Muslims also joined hand with these forces and
hence the expectations are high. However, an attempt is being made to
convert the entire verdict into so-called developmental frame work.
While it is true that people want accountability from their leaders
and they want participation in power. They will not be satisfied with
the rhetoric of development. We all know Bihar remain peaceful during
the past few years as no displacement took place because of so-called
industrialization as it did not happen. The first phase of Nitish's
rule was basically roads, electricity and water but big companies are
eyeing Bihar now. Nitish Kumar should be careful enough to understand
that he can not take away people's land in the name of development. An
image is being created for Nitish Kumar as if he is the replica of
Naveen Patnayak of Orissa. Nitish should be careful enough in dealing
people's issues s Bihar is definitely not Orissa and any such
displacement of people will come to haunt him and decimate him for
ever. We know the media is very happy with 'merit' winning in Bihar
because they want to push their own agenda and get land for a few
corporate houses.

As Nitish takes over the reins of tomorrow, he would probably remember
his colleague and senior leader V P Singh's effort for probity in
public life. It is important to understand the importance of VP Singh
today and how Nitish could further that agenda of Mandal. The result
in Bihar are not end of Mandal politics but as VP Singh often remarked
that the Mandal forces have to capture the opposition space also. It
is important for the forces of social justice to be free from
corruption and family business. Nitish Kumar could do it. Bihar's
voter was very clear this time when they defeated all the major
Bahubalis and those who thought politics as family domain. In the
realm of social justice politics there are very few who did not leave
behind any family legacy for the others.

We know it very well that the corporate run media is hell bent to undo
the historical change of the post Mandal era. They do it with all
their might. Using every thing under their belt to scuttle all the
voices of social justice. It is not for the unknown reasons that
V.P.Singh still remains one of the most hated politicians of the
country. Lalu and Ramvilas must understand. Nitish and Sharad may
understand it even when they are being glorified by the same upper
caste media which villainised them in 1990. Is not it a fact that
Sharad Yadav and

Ram Vilas Paswan were two most hated face along with V P Singh during
those tumultuous years that India faced just because a government
dutifully promised to implement the Mandal Commission Report.

It is time to revisit that. It is time for introspection. The
political forces of social justice actually betrayed themselves. The
issue of corruption may not look important to all those ideologues who
are in a comparative mode but it affects the common people. It does
not matter whether the corruption involve Karunanidhi, Lalu Yadav or
Rajiv Gandhi. It simply means loss of generation for poor in India. It
means denial of their right and basic facilities. And people today are
judging their political leaders. They understand that the political
class is corrupted by the power politics and that is why Lalu and
Rabri might not have thought that she will face such humiliating
defeat in her own den where Yadavas called the shot. The verdict is
clear that you can not take your own community for granted. May be
they could have learnt a few lesson from Kanshi Ram who had no family
to place over the people. He created a Mayawati and a committed cadre
in BAMSEF and among various Dalit communities and people accepted her
wholeheartedly. Ofcourse, Mayawati too, should take a few lessons from
Bihar verdict even when Bihar and Uttar-Pradesh are quite contrast yet
none should take their own community as for granted. Mayawati will
have to work for Sarvjan but not at the cost of the Dalits in
Uttar-Pradesh otherwise the most loyal voter will ditch her. There is
a limit to the people's patience. That is one big lesson we get from
the defeat of close relatives of both Ram Vilas Paswan as well as Lalu
Yadav. One can not term mere representation of one's family as the
'voice' of people. You will have to go beyond slogans and create a
movement. People are not going to believe in your hollow secularism
unless you launch an anti caste struggle. Unfortunately, anti caste
movement was never on the agenda of those who claimed the legacy of
social justice movement in India. Yes, we need people with clean image
and clear ideology to fight against the brahmanical forces who are
basking over the glory of Bihar's rejection to 'caste'. One hope
Nitish Kumar understand that caste is the real cause of poverty in
Bihar as well as in India. Mushahars, Dushadhs, Nishads, Chamars, Doms
are not poor because of their class only but because they were born in
these particular communities. So, he will have to reach them. He
formed Maha Dalit to break the greater Dalit alliance and
unfortunately none noticed it but the fact is these are the time of
alliance building. Nitish's alliance is still artificial as there can
not be any alliance between the exploiters and exploited. Nitish
Kumar's upper caste vote bank will still not want that land reform be
implemented and land be redistributed to poor. That Lalu too does not
want.

It is important to break the myth of Bihar's revolution. Bihar
actually has little to offer to Dalits as the politics here is very
much a domain game of powerful upper castes verses neo powerful OBCs.
Dalits and Muslims are just an annexure to their broader agenda. It's
similar to what is happening in Tamilnadu in the name of social
justice. It is actually the biggest failure of Ramvilas Paswan and
Lalu Yadav as they failed to reach the poorest Dalit and economically
backward communities who were feeling marginalized and left out.
Nitish Kumar carefully cultivated them along with Muslims and
succeeded. Those pretending to lead anti caste forces must unite all
such forces victim of caste forces in Bihar in complete harmony and
not mere followers of a few individuals and their families.


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[ZESTCaste] Plan panel for revamping norms for funding SC/ST schemes

http://www.livemint.com/2010/11/25184440/Plan-panel-for-revamping-norms.html?h=B

Posted: Thu, Nov 25 2010. 6:44 PM IST
Economy and Politics

Plan panel for revamping norms for funding SC/ST schemes

The task force has also suggested the classification of ministries
into four categories for earmarking funds for improving the living
standard of SC/STPTI

New Delhi: A plan panel task force on Thursday recommended overhauling
the guidelines for ensuring fool proof allocation of funds by central
ministries for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe welfare schemes.

The task force headed by Planning Commission member Narendra Jadhav
has also suggested classification of ministries into four categories
for earmarking funds for improving the living standard of SC/ST.

At present, all ministries are mandated to earmark 16.2 and 8.2% of
their plan expenditure for SC and ST sub plans, respectively.

Presenting the recommendations of the task force to planning
commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia in New Delhi, Jadhav
said, "Only one ministry out of 68 central ministries has clearly
earmarked funds for SC/ST sub plans and we are not clear as to where
the money is going."

Jadhav said, "In the current year (2010-11) around Rs68,000 crore was
to be spent exclusively for SC/ST by the central ministries but the
committee found that earmarking by various ministries was not clear
enough to ensure that the intended benefit goes to the section."

Receiving the report Ahluwalia said the recommendation of the task
force would reflect in the budgetary allocations for the next fiscal.
The second set of recommendation for states would be submitted by the
task force so that it could be implemented in next fiscal, he added.

The committee has classified 43 ministries under Category-I where they
don't have any obligation to earmark money under SC/ST sub plans.
These central ministries and departments are engaged in regulatory
functions, basic scientific research, addressing target groups other
than SC/ST, implementing large infrastructure projects whose benefit
to SC/ST may be difficult to quantify.

Category-I includes ministries of home affairs, external affairs, law
and justice, civil aviation, economic affairs, coal and
pharmaceuticals.

Under Category-II, there would be ministries which mainly belong to
Category-I but also implement some beneficiary oriented schemes. The
committee recommended that the Category-II ministries should earmark
up to 15% of funds under ST sub-plan and up to 7.5% funds under ST sub
plan.

Category-II ministries include power, textiles, new and renewable
energy, development of Northeast regions, environment and forests.


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[ZESTCaste] Armaanon Ka Balidaan Arakshan-New TV serial shows both sides of Mandal divide

 

http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_story.aspx?Section=Movies&ID=ENTEN20100161268&subcatg=MOVIESINDIA&keyword=television&nid=68667

New TV serial shows both sides of Mandal divide
Indo Asian News Service
Friday, November 26, 2010 (New Delhi)

What happens when a girl who lost her brother in the Mandal Commission
protests of 1990 - against reservation for the backward classes -
falls in love with a Dalit boy? That's the backdrop of the new series
Armaanon Ka Balidaan Arakshan.

"The anti-reservation issue is the backdrop of the story. But the
narrative is in the form of a love story," explained Saurabh Tewari,
head of fiction, Imagine TV.

"We are trying to show two sides of the coin - how some lives got
spoilt by the decision of reservations, and how some lives were
enriched. It is still a roaring debate and an issue like reservation
needs to be discussed. We hope the show opens the debate," Tewari told
IANS.

The show goes on the air Monday on Imagine TV.

In 1989, the one-man Mandal Commission submitted its report,
recommending quotas for backward classes in government jobs and
educational institutions. Then prime minister V.P. Singh tried to
implement it, leading to protests across the nation in 1990. Many from
the upper castes felt the quotas would sideline merit. Several
instances of self-immolation by students followed.

Armaanon Ka Balidaan Arakshan traces the life of Kamlapati Misra and
his family, who belong to the higher social strata and how their lives
are changed by Mandal.

Their son commits self-immolation to protest the Mandal Commission
recommendations and years later their daughter falls in love with a
Dalit boy, who benefits from the quotas and grows up to be a district
magistrate.

"Some political parties tried to gain mileage through the issue at
that time, but for many youngsters it is still a matter of career and
life, and for us, it is a privilege to highlight a cause of national
concern," he added.

Armaanon Ka Balidaan Arakshan will have 60 percent entertainment, and
the rest of the content will be devoted to the reservation issue.

"The reservation issue is the backdrop. But we have tried to weave it
into an interesting narrative. Otherwise it would only be fit as a
documentary. We are in the business of entertainment, but we do
realise that entertainment is not our only purpose. So we are trying
to hit the right balance with meaningful content that makes the
audience think," said Tewari.

The uproar over reservations was heard loudly in the northern belt of India.

"I have spent 22 years of my life in Uttar Pradesh. I have seen in
real life how upper class people criticised the government's decision
and how it helped the lower caste people in carving a niche.

"I was 16 or 17 years old when the agitation against the
recommendations of the Mandal Commission began. I have lived in that
atmosphere...so my experiences were the point of research for the
show," said Tewari.

The outdoor shoot took place in Hoshangabad near Bhopal and the rest
will be filmed on the sets in Powai, Mumbai.

The show has also been in the midst of a legal battle with filmmaker
Prakash Jha over the title as his next film is titled "Arakshan",
which too deals with student politics and reservations.

"We are still discussing and debating the issue. So we would not like
to comment on it for the time being. For now, we are going ahead and
will include 'Arakshan' in our title," Tewari said.

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[ZESTCaste] Now, MCC accused of misusing Dalit funds

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysore/Now-MCC-accused-of-misusing-Dalit-funds/articleshow/6990669.cms

Now, MCC accused of misusing Dalit funds
TNN, Nov 25, 2010, 10.27pm IST

MYSORE: Dalit organizations, led by two Congress corporators
Mahadevamma and Shivannathe, staged a protest in front of the civic
body, accusing the Mysore City Corporation of mismanaging funds meant
for the welfare of Dalits, on Thursday. The issue has come up a day
ahead of the council meeting and could now enter the House during
Friday's meeting.

This is the second time in recent days that the MCC is accused of
mismanaging funds set aside for the SC/STs. Some time ago, the issue
led to a heated discussion at the council meet.

Accusing corporation commissioner K S Raykar of neglecting the welfare
of the Dalits, the corporators asked the officials to give them
details of the money spent. According to Mahadevamma, the corporator
of Gandhi Nagar, where predominantly Dalits reside, the MCC is not
attending to the needs of the residents. This, when the government has
mandated that 40% of the reserved money should be spent for education
and another 40% for economic empowerment. While the majority of Dalits
are in Gandhi Nagar and Ashokpuram, the MCC is contending that it has
spent the money elsewhere. This exposes that the money is mismanaged,
she stated.

The corporators also sought to know as to why only a handful of houses
were sanctioned to residents in the two areas under Gruha Baghya
scheme and why the slum in Gandhi Nagar was not included in the
housing scheme under the JNNURM projects. They also asked for a market
at Gandhi Nagar area and compensation for 25 houses which were damaged
in recent rain.

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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati was my role model: Neha

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Mayawati-was-my-role-model-Neha/articleshow/6988667.cms

Mayawati was my role model: Neha
Sarah Salvadore, TNN, Nov 26, 2010, 12.00am IST

The Obama fever in the country has surely died down. But for actor
Neha Dhupia, all things Obama still matter. Dressed in a yellow and
grey draped outfit, the actor seemed to be in a cheery mood as she sat
down for a tête-à-tête.

Tell her she looks gorgeous and she immediately talks about her latest
rustic avatar in her forthcoming film, "Phas Gaya Obama". "It was very
challenging to portray a complete tomboy on screen. People associate
me with high fashion but when they see me in this film, they'll be in
for a pleasant shock," says Neha.

Known to flit effortlessly between big budget bonanzas and small
productions, this will be the first time the audiences will see Neha
in a completely different role. "The film has characters based out of
Meerut and when I was approached for this role, I didn't know if I
could do justice to it. But my director, Subhash Kapoor, convinced me
and helped me a lot on the sets," she says. But of course, the best
part about this role for the actor was the get-up. "For the first time
I didn't have to diet and watch my weight. I ate everything that came
my way because I knew my outfit would take care of the bulges," laughs
the actor.

For someone who spent her early years in Sydney, how difficult was it
for her to get the dialect right? "Though I speak fluent Hindi, the
dialect from Meerut was new. I watched tapes of UP chief minister,
Mayawati and observed the way she speaks, the body — language, etc. I
watched a her videos and took inspiration from them," she says.

After a big screen outing in "Action Replayy" recently, Neha says that
as, "an actor I want to push the envelope. There are actors who don't
get out of their Barbie Doll avatars, but that's not who I am," she
says. So is she hinting at someone particular? "No. If you see my
career graph you'll notice that I've also played glam roles from time
to time. Like "Action Replayy" for instance. But I dare to do
something different. Yes, this is a shot in the dark, but I will take
the chance. I don't want to be one of those actors who sits and
regrets her career choices later in life."

What's also exciting for the actor is the fact that she is also doing
a Telugu flick, "Parama Veera Chakra", with Balakrishna and Ameesha
Patel. At a time when she has exciting B-Town projects, what made her
say yes to the film? "As an actor I have no hang-ups whatsoever about
cinema. It can be mainstream, art, regional or national. The project's
great and I had plenty to do there. Plus, I've performed kick-ass
action sequences — something that I've never done before. I've even
dubbed for the film."

With time ticking, she gets ready to leave, but not before herparting
shot, "The time is perfect for me to cement my reputation in the
industry as an actor known for her performances."


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