anti-caste

Links to outside sources below are offered for information’s sake. We don’t necessarily agree with the slant of any story included here or share the aims of its author.

Our own aims are described on our about page.

Want to get in touch? You can email us.

INDIAN GOVERNMENT, EXPLOITING REACTIONARY HYSTERIA WHIPPED UP BY MUSLIM CLERICS, WOULD NOT PROTECT RUSHDIE AT JAIPUR FESTIVAL

Rushdie Non Grata by David Remnick (New Yorker)

“The Jaipur Literary Festival, a giddily chaotic celebration of the written word set on the grounds of a Rajasthan palace, ended in misery and embarrassment today, with the organizers bowing to pressure from local security forces and scotching plans for Salman Rushdie to ‘appear’ at the festival, finally, by video link. Rushdie had already been forced to cancel plans to come to Jaipur after he had received intelligence reports—bogus intelligence, as it turned out—that everyone from ‘paid assassins from the Mumbai underworld’ to radical Muslim clerics were sitting in malevolent wait.

“Rushdie’s video image was not allowed at the Festival, but he was on television tonight in India, being interviewed on NDTV, and he spoke out angrily about the “unscrupulous” Muslim groups that threatened him, and an Indian government that failed to act. Speaking from London, Rushdie called the whole affair ‘fantastically fishy’ and blamed the ruling Congress Party and other officials for bowing to electoral priorities and ignoring the priorities of freedom of expression.

“Rushdie pointed out that his work is freely distributed in many Muslim countries, including Egypt, Turkey, and, now, Libya. [...]

“[I]n October, 1988, India, the world’s largest democracy, ordered The Satanic Verses banned. It’s worth remembering that it did so four months before the Ayatollah Khomeini issued his fatwa calling for the execution of Salman Rushdie. The Iranian fatwa was lifted (though no one should have any illusions about the lingering danger) after a decade of wretched hiding, slanders, and violence directed against his translators; the ban on The Satanic Verses in India remains in place.

“The same fear of clerical protest animates the current Indian government, which is far more interested in retaining power than in freedom of expression, much less making life pleasant for Salman Rushdie and his readers. The Congress Party is trying to win Muslim votes in elections in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh next month, and so ‘even minor fulminations’ by regional imams ‘make the local leaders squirm,’ according to an article this week in the liberal magazine Outlook. The Rushdie affair in Jaipur is a pawn in this larger political game. Railing against a banned book that few here have managed to obtain and read is an easy way to stir up populist fervor. Various preachers and extremist politicians latched onto the Jaipur festival as an issue and directed full-throated attacks at Rushdie; old stuff, but it was enough. [...]

“Censorship has been a constant theme since the banning of the The Satanic Verses nearly a quarter century ago. The government, spurred by Hindu and Muslim groups and clerics, rushes in to preserve ‘order’ by decreeing, or tolerating, the suppression of free expression. M. F. Husain, a Muslim painter known as ‘the Picasso of India,’ who died last year in exile, faced a constant onslaught of death threats and lawsuits in India because he dared to paint Hindu goddesses in the nude and in suggestive poses. The Bangladeshi-born novelist and feminist Taslima Nasreen has been attacked and threatened repeatedly by Islamists for her book Lajja, or Shame, about a Hindu family threatened by Muslims. (Nasreen has had to live in Sweden and the United States for years at a time.) Only months ago, Joseph Lelyveld, the former Times executive editor, watched from afar as his new book on Gandhi, Great Soul, was banned in the state of Gujarat as ‘perverse in nature.’ The local authorities got the idea from tabloid reports in England that Lelyveld claimed that Gandhi was gay or bisexual; he makes no such claim. The book remains banned.”

CENTENARY OF URDU-LANGUAGE SHORT-STORY WRITER NOT CELEBRATED IN PAKISTAN

Remembering Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955) by Tariq Ali (Counterpunch)

“Saadat Hasan Manto’s centenary is being observed quietly by friends and admirers in Lahore. No official recognition or mention. He’s almost become a non-person. Manto died in Lahore in 1955. He was forty-three years old. The life of one of our greatest short-story writers had been prematurely truncated. [...]

“It was the Partition of India in 1947 along religious lines that formed his own attitudes and those of his numerous detractors. The episodes associated with the senseless carnage that accompanied the withdrawal of the British from India loom large in Manto’s short stories. [...]

“Manto was amongst the few who observed the bloodbaths of Partition with a detached eye. He had remained in Bombay in 1947, where he worked for the film industry, but was accused of favoring Muslims and was subjected to endless communal taunts, even from those who had hitherto imagined to be like him, but the secular core in many people did not survive the fire. Manto came to Lahore in 1948, but was never happy. He turned the tragedies he had witnessed or heard into great literature. He wrote of the common people, regardless of ethnic, religious or caste identities and he discovered contradictions and passions and irrationality in each of them. [...]

“Years later he was still trying to come to grips with what had happened:

Still, what my mind could not resolve was the question: what country did we belong to now, India or Pakistan? And whose blood was it that was being so mercilessly shed every day? And the bones of the dead, stripped of the flesh of religion, were they being burned or buried? Now that we were free who was to be our subject? When we were not free, we used to dream about freedom. Now that freedom had come, how would we perceive our past state?

The question was: were we really free? Both Hindus and Muslims were being massacred. Why were they being massacred? There were different answers to the question; the Indian answer, the Pakistani answer, the British answer. Every question had an answer, but when you tried to unravel the truth, you were left groping.

Everyone seemed to be regressing. Only death and carnage seemed to be proceeding ahead. A terrible chapter of blood and tears was being added to history, a chapter without precedent.

India was free. Pakistan was free from the moment of its birth, but in both states, man’s enslavement continued: by prejudice, by religious fanaticism, by savagery.

“In a series of Open Letters to Uncle Sam he marked his displeasure at the state of world politics and Pakistan’s Security Pact with the US. He displayed a remarkable prescience as expressed in this extract from his ‘Third Letter to uncle Sam’, written shortly before his death:

Another thing I would want from you would be a tiny, teeny weeny atom bomb because for long I have wished to perform a certain good deed. You will naturally want to know what.

You have done many good deeds yourself and continue to do them. You decimated Hiroshima, you turned Nagasaki into smoke and dust and you caused several thousand children to be born in Japan. Each to his own. All I want you to do is to dispatch me some dry cleaners. It is like this. Out there, many Mullah types after urinating pick up a stone and with one hand inside their untied shalwar, use the stone to absorb the after-drops of urine as they resume their walk. This they do in full public view. All I want is that the moment such a person appears, I should be able to pull out that atom bomb you will send me and lob it at the Mullah so that he turns into smoke along with the stone he was holding.

As for your military pact with us, it is remarkable and should be maintained. You should sign something similar with India. Sell all your old condemned arms to the two of us, the ones you used in the last war. This junk will thus be off your hands and your armament factories will no longer remain idle.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is a Kashmiri, so you should send him a gun which should go off when it is placed in the sun. I am a Kashmiri too, but a Muslim which is why I have asked for a tiny atom bomb for myself.

One more thing. We can’t seem able to draft a constitution. Do kindly ship us some experts because while a nation can manage without a national anthem, it cannot do without a constitution, unless such is your wish.

One more thing. As soon as you get this letter, send me a shipload of American matchsticks. The matchsticks manufactured here have to be lit with the help of Iranian-made matchsticks. And after you have used half the box, the rest are unusable unless you take help from matches made in Russia which behave more like firecrackers than matches.

“Given the circumstances it is hardly surprising that he sought solace in alcohol and drank himself to death. He had written over 200 short stories and had no doubt of his place in literary history and left behind the following epitaph for himself:

Here lies Saadat Hasan Manto. With him lie buried the arts of short-story telling. Here he lies underneath tons of mud still wondering if he was a better short-story writer than God.”

Read Saadat Hasan Manto’s “Toba Tek Singh”

NEW COW SLAUGHTER LAWS IN TWO STATES WITH HINDU-RIGHT GOVERNMENTS TARGET MUSLIMS, CHRISTIANS, TRIBALS, AND UNTOUCHABLES

Of Laws, Cows and People’s Mutinies: Will the beef ban in BJP-ruled states fuel a new Mutiny? by Cynthia Stephen (Round Table India)

“The Gau-Vansh Vadh Pratishedh (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak (Prohibition of slaughter of cow-progeny Bill) just passed in Madhya Pradesh empowers the government to prosecute any person found slaughtering a cow or even transporting the calf for the purpose of slaughter. [...]

“In March 2010, the Karnataka assembly passed the The Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill 2010 by voice vote after uproarious scenes, and a four-hour acrimonious debate. [...] According to the Deccan Herald, the bill prohibits slaughter of cattle, sale, usage and possession of beef, puts restriction on transport of cattle and also prohibits sale, purchase or disposal of cattle for slaughter.

“The BJP governments in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh may have brought these laws with the intention of putting pressure on the lifestyle and livelihoods of the minorities. But are these bills acts of political bravado on the part of the BJP? According to the Economic Times, 6th Jan 2012, beef is the most popularly consumed meat in India – 26 lakh tons annually. In comparison, only 6 lakh tons of mutton and 14 lakh tons of pork were consumed in India. The article quotes the US Food and Drug Administration, saying India is in fact the third largest exporter of beef in the world, exporting as much as 1.28 million tons of it!

“In Madhya Pradesh, in particular, there is a large population of tribals - 13 million - for whom beef constitutes a staple. In Karnataka as well, large sections of the state's population will be affected directly once the bill passes into law, including farmers, milk producers, leather workers, most of whom are Dalits and Muslims, and of course the common man. [...]

“James, a young Dalit Activist, is more graphic. ‘You (upper castes) take the best of the cow - its labour, its milk, its offspring, and sell it after you have no use for it. When we find ways to use this resource, you attack us and even kill us (referring to the killing of 5 Dalits in Jhajjar, Haryana, in 2008, who were skinning the carcass of a cow after purchasing it). You are taking our livelihoods from us, even though we make it out of the waste you discard. Is this justice?’

“‘This law will take away food from the poor who cannot afford to buy chicken or mutton’, says another Dalit activist. ‘The cost of mutton, already high, will go up to one thousand rupees’, said Siddaramaiah, leader of the Opposition, during the Assembly debate. ‘Thus you will be thrusting vegetarianism on the people. This is only possible in Hitler's regime. Is yours a Hitler's regime?’”

See also:

Cow Dung Blocks Nuclear Radiation (and Why We Don’t Eat Horses) by Eric Randolph (Kikobor, January 12, 2012):

“An article in The Hindu newspaper yesterday made a pointed comparison to the condition of people in Madhya Pradesh, which has the country’s highest rate of infant mortality and lowest rate of literacy. [...]

“The law has come into force a decade after riots in the state that erupted when Hindu nationalists took to the streets over reports Muslims were secretly killing cows. The riots helped bring the BJP to power in Madhya Pradesh a year later, in 2003.

“The BJP’s campaign against cow slaughter is seen by some analysts as part of its ongoing attempt to create a pan-Indian nationalism out of the myriad identities that exist in India.

“‘Outside a small section of modernised Indians, many still think of themselves not as Hindus, but in terms of caste, language and sect,’ said Ashis Nandy, a leading social theorist with the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi.

“Promoting a ban on cow slaughter, he said, ‘is an attempt to steamroll these other forms of identity and have people think of themselves purely as “Hindus”. It is a cynical attempt to consolidate political support.’”

And see:

Bajrang vigilantes cry cow-slaughter, beat, humiliate Muslim trader (Indian Express, January 7, 2012):

“A Muslim cattle trader’s son was beaten and part of his head, one eyebrow and half his moustache shaved off by alleged Bajrang Dal workers in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh after he refused to give them money to allow him to ferry cattle which the attackers alleged were meant for slaughter.

“Police rescued the 25-year-old victim, Anish Aslam Kureshi, but charged him with unlawfully transporting cattle for slaughter under a state law for preserving cattle, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. A sessions court in Chhindwara ordered his release on bail today.

“His attackers, whom the police identified as Bajrang Dal workers, were also arrested, but were charged with minor offences. They were released almost immediately by the Bichhua police station.

“On December 22, a tough new Madhya Pradesh anti-cow slaughter law providing for seven years in jail for eating beef, empowering police to carry out raids on mere suspicion, and putting the burden of proving innocence on the accused received presidential assent.”

ICL ARTICLE ON CPI(M) DEFEAT IN WEST BENGAL

West Bengal After the Elections:
The Political Bankruptcy of Indian Stalinism
Forge a Leninist-Trotskyist Party!

(Workers Vanguard)

“The humiliating rout of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI[M]) in the West Bengal elections last May puts a harsh spotlight on the political bankruptcy of Indian Stalinism and its Maoist variants. The dominant force in the Left Front, the CPI(M) had ruled continuously since 1977, wielding the repressive powers of the capitalist state against the deeply impoverished and oppressed masses of West Bengal. The CPI(M) has committed many crimes against the toilers, but its bloody repression in Singur and Nandigram virtually assured its defeat at the hands of the right-wing Trinamool Congress (TMC).[...]

For a Workers India in a
Socialist Federation of South Asia!

“For the CPI(M), the workers are voting cattle, buttered up with promises and fake Marxist phrases while their struggles are contained and betrayed. To the CPI (Maoist), the workers are—at best—just another urban support group for their rural struggles. In practice, the Maoists end up supporting a section of the bourgeoisie, as with Trinamool in West Bengal.

“Yet it is the proletariat—in the car factories, mines, steel mills and railways—whose labour produces the massive profits that enrich the Indian ruling class. This vibrant working class holds the key to the future. The Indian capitalists and the imperialists to whom they answer are sharply aware of the potential power of this sleeping giant, and continually work to obstruct or prevent the growth of unions, especially in new enterprises. A new labour bill would exempt operations with fewer than 40 workers from almost all basic laws governing minimum wages, payment of wages, working hours and contract work. This would give legal sanction to virtual slave conditions for millions of workers.

“Indian workers have been on the defensive in the face of unremitting capitalist attacks, and strike levels are at record lows. Nevertheless, labour battles in some vital and highly profitable industries have rattled the Indian bourgeoisie. In Gurgaon, a massive industrial area near Delhi, workers have repeatedly struck against the giant car producer Maruti Suzuki. Hundreds of thousands of auto and other industrial workers in the area suffer brutal superexploitation, as their labour creates fabulous profits for Indian, Japanese, American and other capitalist magnates.

“In some of the very areas where the Maoists are leading peasant insurgencies, large numbers of workers in coal and other mines have been waging hard-fought battles from protests to strikes and blockades. In October, a one-day general strike of some 300,000 workers against Kolkata-based Coal India Ltd. (CIL), the world’s largest coal producer, swept the country. With record commodity prices, mining conglomerates worldwide are raking in the profits, and workers from Chile to South Africa have struck for higher wages. Just how massive these profits are may be gauged by the fact that the one-day strike against CIL cost the company 1.2 billion rupees ($25 million).

“A small spark could light this enormous social tinder, but a revolutionary Marxist leadership that fights for proletarian unity and class independence is essential. The fighting power of the proletariat is greatly undercut by the fact that the unions are divided politically. Congress, the Hindu-communalist BJP and various of the Stalinist-derived parties, among others, each run their own unions and there are some 13 separate labour centrals. A working class divided by caste, religion and ethnicity is further fractured by these competing party-linked unions. An authentic proletarian leadership would fight for industrial unions which include all workers in an industry as an elementary defense of the working class.”

[Read the full article]

BANGLADESH: STATE ENFORCES SECTARIAN, ANTI-WOMAN BAN ON BOOK BY COURAGEOUS EXILED NOVELIST

Teacher arrested for having a copy of a book by Taslima Nasrin (AsiaNews)

“The principal of a technical school in the district of Pirojpur (southern Bangladesh) was arrested for possession of a copy of Lajja (Shame), the famous novel by writer Taslima Nasrin. The book has been banned in Bangladesh since 1993 because it is considered blasphemous against Islam the state religion. The teacher, Yunus Ali, faces up to three years in prison.

“The police took him out of the KC Technical and Business Management College after finding a copy of the book in the school library. Ali defended himself against accusations claiming to be the victim of a conspiracy. The inspector Abdul Malek said: ‘Lajja is a banned book. Nevertheless, the principal kept it in the library. He must answer for this crime.’

“In Lajja, Taslima Nasrin, 49, tells the life of a Hindu family persecuted by Muslims. The author had to flee the country in 1994 after receiving death threats from Islamic fundamentalists. Since then, she has lived between India and Europe, without being able to return to Bangladesh. Her family is Muslim, but today she proclaims herself to be atheist.

“Contacted by AsiaNews, Nasrin said: ‘The arrest of this teacher is a sign that Bangladesh is not in reality a democracy but a totalitarian regime. Since 1990, Islamic fundamentalists have silenced my freedom of expression and tried to kill me, forced me to flee my country and leave my family.’

“Now, she concluded, ‘someone is in danger because of my book, and risks his freedom. But Lajja is not a novel of blasphemy: it is just the defense of a persecuted religious [Hindu] minority, one that is constantly harassed by the Muslim majority. I wish the best for this man and for those who are every day deprived of their freedom of expression.’”

See previous anti-caste posts on Taslima Nasrin

HINDU-RIGHT MORAL POLICE MOBILIZE AGAINST WOMEN DRINKING

Hindutva activists try to barge into star hotel (The Times of India)

“Activists of a local Hindutva brigade attempted to barge into a leading star hotel in the city on Wednesday demanding to stop its plan to hold New Year party in ‘western style’. What provoked the Hindutva outfit was the announcement of the hotel that alcoholic beverages would be served free to women who accompany men to the New Year party. Police have arrested and removed 27 activists of the little-known Hindu Makkal Katchi (Tamizhagam).

“They told the management of the hotel not to engage in attempts to infuse Western values into Indian minds.

“‘The Le Meridian hotel has announced ballroom dance party on the occasion of New Year. By inviting couples to the party, the hotel is trying to popularise drinking culture among women. While the younger generation is already addicted to alcohol, the star hotel is now trying to spoil our culture and such parties are encouraging alcoholism among the youths,’ said Arjun Sampath, founder-president of Hindu Makkal Katchi (Tamizhagam).”

PRIESTS, GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL WALLOW IN THE FILTH OF CASTE-RIDDEN TRADITION

The Leftover God (Outlook India)

“The annual Champa Shasti festival held over November and December at the Kukke Subramanya temple in Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka has an unusual tradition. On all three days, the Shivalli Brahmins are served a multi-course meal in seclusion in the temple precincts. And after they are through, instead of clearing the spread plantain leaves on which the food’s served, Dalits, backwards and local tribespeople are allowed to roll on the leftovers.

“The belief is this ritual will cure the ‘devotee’ of ailments, especially skin-related ones, and will gift a child to those praying for a baby. It’s also considered an ideal form of thanksgiving to the local deity after ‘wish fulfillment’. The ritual, called ‘maade snana’ in Tulu and Kannada, is said to be over four hundred years old but there are no written records to prove such a claim.

“As the tradition reinforces and ‘enacts’ caste hierarchies, where even a Brahmin’s ‘jhoota’ [food ritually contaminated by contact with another’s mouth] is bestowed with powers to cure people from subaltern communities, it had been catching a lot of flak since last year from progressive groups in the state. Especially as this was being allowed in a temple that belongs to the muzrai department, a state-run body which administers Hindu temples.

“Last week, though, saw protests heating up more because after the huge outcry last year, the local administration had promised to end this ritual which violates basic human dignity. Apparently, under ‘pressure from devotees’, the administration allowed the practice from November 28 onwards. Nearly 4,000 people joined up to roll over the leftovers.

“What took the row beyond the usual temple affairs level was muzrai and higher education minister Dr V.S. Acharya’s statement that it was a ‘faith-based ritual and banning it was tantamount to hurting the sentiments of the people’. People immediately started questioning not only his credentials as a trained medical doctor, but also his RSS roots. They began asking if he would similarly allow dowry, child marriage and other social evils as they are also faith-based? [...]

“The complexity of the issue unravels itself when we take into consideration the largely illiterate Malekudiya tribe’s support for the ritual. When the local administration hinted at a ban, members of the ST community went on a rampage, even declaring that they would stay away from building the deity’s chariot, a traditional activity they have performed for years during the festival season. (If the chariot is not built, the festival will remain incomplete without the final procession of the deity.)”

FOUR YEARS AFTER MASS ATROCITY LED BY HINDU RIGHT AGAINST CHRISTIAN UNTOUCHABLES

Remembering Kandhamal by Harsh Mander (The Hindu)

“It was a terrifying Christmas in 2007 for tribal and dalit Christians who live in the second poorest, deeply forested district of Odisha, Kandhamal. Long-smouldering violence targeting them exploded, and was to continue to rage for another full year. During this time, 600 villages were ransacked, 5,600 houses were looted and burnt, 54,000 persons rendered homeless, 295 churches and places of worship destroyed, and 13 schools, colleges and orphanages were damaged. The official death toll was 39, although unofficially the figure is claimed to be closer to 100. 30,000 people were forced to live in relief camps, and it is estimated that nearly half are still unable to return home. [...]

“Although the states of Odisha and Gujarat are located at the furthest eastern and western corners of India, separated by several thousand kilometres, the mass-targeted hate violence in both states, in 2007-08 and 2002 respectively have many striking — and deeply troubling — similarities. Each was characterised by a long build-up of hatred against religious minority residents, there is evidence of systematic advance preparation, state authorities were openly complicit in enabling the violence to persist for weeks and months, the attacks were unusually brutal and targeted women, thousands were displaced and discouraged from returning to their homes, facing organised social and economic boycott. And in both, compensation was tight-fisted and justice systematically subverted. [...]

“In Odisha, once again like in Gujarat five years earlier, the attacks were marked by exceptional cruelty. Kanaka Nayak recalls the horrific mob slaughter of her husband when he refused to reconvert to Hinduism. ‘They spat on him and started to sing and dance around him; they paraded him, and dragged him. They told him “you sing your songs and let Jesus come and save you”.’ [...]

“Women who suffered sexual violence in both massacres continue to live with the agony of memory and silences of shame. One said in confidence to the Tribunal, ‘The attackers removed their mask before they raped me. Earlier, they would respect me. I was shocked that they took revenge on me for my uncle's refusal to convert to Hinduism... Lots of things have changed in my life after that incident. I have been in hiding. I am traumatised, sad, depressed and struggling. I feel ashamed. I am unable to forget about the incident and carry on with life. But I feel I should be strong to get justice.’”

See previous anti-caste posts on Kandhamal

LOW-CASTE NAMES, HIGH-CASTE NAMES

‘Dalit’ kids getting normal names (Republica (Nepal))

“In recent times, the Dalit community has started giving children normal names as opposed to past practice of giving kids odd names so that the names did not match with those of people belonging to higher castes.

“The recent political changes and the ensuing social changes have emboldened the community to give kids normal names.

“‘In the past, priests themselves did not give good names to our children,’ said Chokat Majhi, son of Aghan Majhi of Chorni-7, Parsa. ‘But I named my daughter Pooja,’ he added. Pooja, who is a nursery student, is very happy with her name, he further said.

“Many children who were given odd names are too ashamed to tell their names to people, said Matar Majhi. ‘My father´s name was Tula. But I names my son Raju,’ he added.

Dasai Chaudhary of Bakuliya, Bara, said the Dalit children, in the past, were named according to their color, build, month of birth, day of birth, or behavior.

India Dalit boy ‘killed over high-caste man's name’ (BBC News, December 2, 2011)

“A low-caste Dalit boy has been killed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh for sharing a name with a man of a higher caste, police say. [...]

“Mr Chaudhary, who belongs to a higher caste, had given several warnings to Mr Sumer to change the names of his boys.

“On 22 November, Neeraj left home after dinner to watch television at a friend's house. His body was found the next day.

“Police said he was strangled.”

CASTE BIGOTRY KEEPS UNTOUCHABLE CHILDREN OUT OF SCHOOL

‘Untouchable’ in the classroom by Sukhadeo Thorat and Nidhi Sadana Sabharwal (The Globe and Mail)

“The pain is perceptible in nine-year-old Shankar’s voice as he recounts how he’s made to sit at the back of the class with other children from a ‘low caste’ group. He says his teacher doesn’t wish to accidentally touch them, keeping them as far away as possible from the rest of the children. His peers from the ‘upper caste’ call him an ‘untouchable’; when he complains to the teachers, they see no issue. ‘You are untouchable – what else should they call you?’

“His sister, who is 8, is asked to clean the classroom – that’s her task because she’s a girl and an ‘untouchable.’ At lunch, Shankar says the children from the other castes are served food provided by the government, while his fellow caste children are asked to wait outside the classroom; should any food remain after the teachers and ‘upper caste’ children have eaten, it may then be offered to Shankar and other children from ‘lower castes.’

“The children’s parents point out that a child who’s gone hungry for several meals is unlikely to be able to pay proper attention to classroom instruction. Shankar’s eyes well up with tears as he responds to questions about life as a Dalit child attending the local school. Other Dalit children tell of similar discrimination, complaining that the teachers don’t pay attention to them, call them outcasts and run down their abilities and enthusiasm for education. That’s why the Dalit children rarely go to school; their visits reinforce the feelings of persecution and discrimination.”

See also anti-caste: CHILDREN BOYCOTT SCHOOL WHERE TEACHERS TREAT THEM AS UNTOUCHABLE (April 25, 2011)

BARRIERS TO CIVIL MARRIAGE IN INDIA TARGET INTER-CASTE AND INTER-RELIGIOUS COUPLES

Thwarting a union (Communalism Combat)

“It is important to mention that any unmarried, sane, consenting adults (where the bridegroom is over 21 years of age and the bride is over 18 and who are unrelated within the degrees of prohibited relationship), irrespective of faith or caste, can get married under the Special Marriage Act. The couple from Rajasthan, who come from an inter-caste background, could have done so too. So why did they decide to have a religious marriage ceremony? It was almost certainly because they wanted to make sure their parents did not receive any intimation about their marriage through the official notice – as would any couple who anticipated threats to their life and liberty. [...]

“Barring Delhi, all other states follow the dangerous practice of sending a copy of the notice of intended marriage to the permanent addresses of the marrying couples [in non-religious ceremonies under the Special Marriages Act]. Thanks to the initiatives of the Delhi government and a landmark judgement by Justice S. Ravindra Bhat of the Delhi high court in April 2009, the practice of sending notices to the homes of couples desirous of solemnising their marriage under the Special Marriage Act was curbed. However, it has not been completely discontinued, as the officials fear the wrath of the parents of marrying couples.

“The administrations in Ghaziabad, Noida and Gurgaon in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are not even willing to bear the expenses of dispatching notices and they insist that couples provide pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelopes beforehand. Couples also have to publish an advertisement of their proposed marriage in a leading newspaper and submit a copy of the published advertisement to the marriage officer’s office. In Gurgaon, the concerned deputy commissioner’s office has taken the pains to add a column for specifying the applicants’ religion in the ‘Intent to Marry’ form and an additional point about the citizenship of the applicants in the declaration form. I wonder why religion should be mentioned at all in the one legally recognised marriage procedure intended to be outside the realms of faith or caste.

“The Gurgaon office also requires that couples provide envelopes bearing the names and designations of the marriage officers in districts where the applicants permanently reside. I can only speculate on the amount of homework a couple has to do before they file their application. A marriage cannot be solemnised under the Special Marriage Act without receipt of a verification report from the concerned tehsildar; and the report will not, of course, be issued as a matter of routine. The couple has to take great pains to ensure that the report is in fact released by the tehsildar’s office.

“Looking at just a few of the requirements essential for marriage under the Special Marriage Act, one can safely say that no couple would choose to go through the traumatic experience on its own. So those couples who are still determined to get married under the Special Marriage Act are forced to engage an advocate and shell out a large sum of money for his/her fees. Unfortunately, the majority of couples cannot afford the services of an advocate and thus, confronted by various hostile and complex sociopolitical pressures, they are forced to opt for a religious form of marriage.”

UNTOUCHABLE, BACKWARD-CASTE, AND MUSLIM HOUSE-SEEKERS ROUTINELY TURNED AWAY

Hyderabad: Caste and religion of the tenant come into play
(The Hindu)

“What usually begins as the rider ‘Vegetarians Only' scribbled on the rental sign, progresses further into the name, surname, home-town and antecedents of the home seekers till the caste is narrowed upon.

“‘Restrictions in terms of diet are often a ruse. If the prospective tenant has an upper caste tag to his name, he will be given the house despite his diet. The sign is put up only to keep Dalits off,’ says Mallepally Lakshmaiah, a noted Dalit journalist, who found himself in many such situations.[...]

“‘I was spurned by at least 12 landlords in Gachibowli-Madhapur vicinity apparently due to my caste. Majority among them directly enquired about my caste, while a few others said they would prefer vegetarians. It proved to be a Herculean task for me to obtain a house,’ says P. Sudhakar (name changed), a scholar from University of Hyderabad.[...]

“‘I had harrowing experiences during my search for house. An upper-caste landlord in Alkapuri invited us inside the house, and offered coffee before accepting the rent in advance. But once he came to know of our caste, he began to sound evasive. He first said his wife had to be consulted, and asked us to wait. Next day, we went only to receive the money back, that too from outside the main-gate,’ says N. Srihari Madiga, preparing for his Civils exam.[...]

“Faith begets a blunter refusal. Muslims are more often than not ghettoised to specific localities, whereas for Christians it gets more difficult if they are also Dalits.

“‘I encountered many refusals during house-hunting due to discrimination based on my faith. People seemingly willing to rent out hearing my fluent Telugu, would come up with all kinds of excuses after knowing my name. Some bluntly said they didn't want Muslims,’ recalled Syed Mohiuddin, a media professional.

See also:

Urban rules of untouchability (Media Voice, November 3, 2010)

HORRIFIC KILLING IN THE NAME OF CASTE PURITY AND PATRIARCHAL HONOR

Village watched as woman was set on fire by husband, in-laws (NDTV)

A married woman who tried to elope with her Dalit lover met a gruesome death when her husband and in-laws tried to hang her, then set her on fire in Madhya Pradesh.[...]

Guddi, who was married to Dhaniram, was trying to escape from their village with her lover. Her husband and his parents tried to hang her from a tree. When she survived, they allegedly beat her up, poured kerosene over her, and then tried to set her on fire. When that attempt to kill her also proved unsuccessful, they placed her on a wooden pyre and then lit a match.

She was finally killed near a temple while the whole village watched, police said.

See also:

Married woman killed for eloping with dalit (Times of India, October 25, 2011):

Guddi's younger sister Brijesh is married into the same family. She remained a mute spectator while Guddi was tortured to death. Police were surprised that Brijesh, an eyewitness to her elder sister's murder, refused to give a statement or talk about the incident. [...]

Guddi was married into the influential family of farmers more than a decade ago. She was about 15 years younger than her husband. She fell in love with a dalit youth Kamal Valmiki, who visited their village often. On October 2, Guddi eloped with Kamal to Delhi so that her husband and in-laws could not find her.

PREMIER INDIAN UNIVERSITY ALTERS CURRICULUM UNDER PRESSURE FROM HINDU-RIGHT BIGOTS

Historians protest as Delhi University purges Ramayana essay from syllabus (The Hindu)

“Most academicians at Delhi University are feeling betrayed by their own fraternity, the reason — the Academic Council's recent decision to drop from the history syllabus a celebrated essay by the late scholar and linguist A. K. Ramanujan on the Ramayana, despite intense opposition from the history department.

“The essay, ‘Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five examples and three thoughts on translations,’ which forms part of the B.A. History (Honours) course, had attracted the ire of Hindutva activists because it talks about 300 different versions of the Ramayana that abound in our country and beyond. And when the decision to scrap the course was put to vote at the Academic Council meeting this past Sunday, only nine of the 120 members present dissented.

“‘This is definitely not an academic decision but a glaring example of an academic institution succumbing to pressure from the Right wing. The council has severely compromised on its standards and has conveyed to our students the message that only the ideology that is supported by the majority will be accepted,’ said AC member Rakesh Kumar, who was one among the nine to express a dissenting opinion against scrapping of the essay.”

See also:

On the Ramayanas Affair by Mukul Dube (Mainstream, November 5, 2011):

“It is a fact that there are hundreds of versions of the Rama-Sita-Ravana story. In some, Rama and Sita are not a married couple but are siblings. In others, Ravana is not an evil demon but a pious scholar-king. Folklorists know that stories are often modified in the course of geographical dispersion. For example, a folk tale of Delhi featuring a frog and a crocodile, might in Agra or Aligarh be the very same but with a rabbit and a wolf as its chief characters.”

“Are the Rama-Sita-Ravana chronicles stories spun and re-spun by human beings or do they represent historical fact?”

And see:

Silencing Ramanujan (Akhond of Swat blog, October 12, 2011)

“The real problem lies in the way Ramanujan began his essay: ‘How many Ramayanas? Three hundred? Three thousand? At the end of some Ramayanas, a question is sometimes asked: How many Ramayanas have there been?’

“It took me some time to understand why this idea might be so threatening, because the way we were taught to deal with books or essays or ideas we didn’t like was the way put forward in the great epics: the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are filled with debate, with digressions into discussions of what exactly dharma might be. Most of us are intrigued by the multiple versions of the Ramayana—the feminist version, the rough, bawdy village versions, Nina Paley’s elegant cartoon version, they all have their place.

“But if you live in a climate of intolerance, a book that questions the tenets of faith and offers a provocative re-imagining of a religious text might be considered so blasphemous that its author will be persecuted for years (The Satanic Verses). A novel that highlights an inconvenient part of the history of contemporary India, speaking openly of corruption in the Prime Minister’s office and the slow stirrings of narrow-mindedness in a once-great city will be erased from the college syllabus [Rohinton Mistry’s] (Such a Long Journey). Ramanujan’s great essay on the tradition of many Ramayanas threatens those who would prefer one version, their version, and so it is removed, and his voice is silenced.”

And see this interview with historian Romila Thapar:

The richness of the Ramayana, the poverty of a University (The Hindu, October 28, 2011)

Read Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation by A. K. Ramanujan

COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT FOR DEMANDING PAYMENT TO PERFORM TRADITIONAL CASTE-BASED ROLE IN FESTIVAL

Dalits face boycott for refusal to beat drums (Express News Service)

“Dalit families in Kasuvanahalli village of Nagamangala taluk who demanded money to beat drums during the Ganesha idol immersion have been socially boycotted. Upper caste members had approached two Dalits, Shivaraj and Seetharam, to play drums during the Ganesha idol immersion procession.

“When they demanded Rs150 per person as wages, they were summoned near Mayamma temple by the village headmen and abused. When they further refused to play the drums, village headman Mudde Gowda, Parigowda and others abused their caste. They were forced to fetch water from a borewell were cattle are fed.

“The Dalit families were denied entry into the village. In fact, Dalit women have been removed from the self-help groups and humiliated constantly.

“As there was no electricity, the Dalit women had to collect water from a tank only to be threatened by upper caste youths that they would be paraded in nude.

“Meanwhile, MLA Suresh Gowda, who hails from Kasuvanahalli, held a meeting with the two groups and appealed to them to bury their differences. Shivaraj and Mayanna lodged a complaint with Nagamanagala town police station, charging that they fear for their lives and property.”

See also:

‘Rebel’ Dalits ostracised in Mandya (Deccan Herald, October 11, 2011)

DISGUSTING ATTACK TO ENFORCE SYSTEMATIC REFUSAL OF SERVICE ON THE BASIS OF CASTE

Barber cuts dalit’s nose in Mandya (Times of India)

“A barber and his father allegedly severed the nose of a dalit when he went to them for a shave in Kirugavalu of Malavalli taluk on Sunday.

“Police said Chikkamanchaiah, 51, requested Mahadev and his father Mariyayya to shave his beard. The duo not only refused to do it, but also asked him to leave the shop. A quarrel ensued, and Mariyayya grabbed Chikkamanchaiah's hands and Mahadev chopped off his nose. He was rushed to the district hospital where doctors reattached the nose.

“Chikkamanchaiah said poor dalits in the village are not allowed to enter shops. According to him, only rich and powerful dalits have access to barber shops. He requested police and the district administration to act against the culprits and put an end to untouchability.”

IMPORTANT CLASS BATTLE AT MARUTI SUZUKI: WORKERS SHOW THEIR POWER USING SIT-DOWN TACTICS, STRUGGLING FOR THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE

Maruti workers seize control of Manesar plant wracked by unrest (The Economic Times)

“Striking employees of Maruti Suzuki, India's biggest carmaker, have seized control of a factory hit by weeks of labour unrest, the company said on Monday, as a stand-off that has cost the firm over $150 million descended into violence.[...]

"‘The plant is effectively captive in the hands of striking workers who are bent upon violence,’ the company said in a statement, describing the situation at the factory as ‘grave.’

“Maruti, 54.2-percent owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor, said 1,500 workers were inside the factory on Monday. The plant produces about 1,000 vehicles a day and the unrest has caused a production loss of 2,600 cars since Friday afternoon.

“Supporting strikes by workers at other Suzuki-owned plants in India that supply parts to Maruti's second car factory have resulted in a total loss of production of about $22 million.

“Maruti announced an agreement with striking workers last week to end a month-long strike that has already cost the automaker 6.6 billion rupees ($134 million) in lost output and contributed to a 21-percent slump in September sales.

“The carmaker's total losses due to labour unrest this year stand at close to $250 million, following a 13-day strike by 800 workers in June at Manesar that crippled production and caused more than $90 million in lost output.[...]

“‘The company cannot throw out mobs of people,’a Maruti spokesman said. ‘The action has to come from the police and the authorities.’"

See also:

Speed and Control at Manesar: Why is the Maruti-Suzuki Management Keeping Workers Out of Its Factory (Kafila, September 6, 2011)

“Since June this year, perhaps even earlier, discontent at the Maruti-Suzuki plant has peaked. June saw the eruption of a wildcat strike and a momentary occupation of the factory. Eleven ‘ring leaders’ were suspended. The issue that led to the strike was the appalling intensity of work conditions. The media and the management were content to report it as a dispute over union formation. Yes, the workers at Manesar had wanted to form an independent union. And yes, the management wanted them to remain under the umbrella of MUKU (Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union – the ‘Company’ union – which has remained an effective tool of management control over workers). But the reason that led the workers to express a desire to form their own union – The Maruti-Suzuki Employees Union (which is their constitutional right, by the way) was the ineffectiveness of the company union in addressing their complaints about the increasing intensification of control and speed at the factory. Working at the Manesar plant was becoming torturous and attrition was at an all time high.

“The twelve-day long strike in June did not end in attention being paid to the workers demands about working conditions. The eleven suspended workers were re-instated, pending enquiries. This was translated as a ‘victory’ for the workers by their newly formed (and still unrecognized independent union), even though all the workers had to agree to a penalty of a cut in two days wages for the transgression of their strike. The work conditions stayed exactly as before. According to some, things got worse.”

And see:

Why they strike. Why you should care. (Tehelka, September 24, 2011)

“Here is what a Maruti Suzuki worker says his average day at the Manesar plant is like. You catch a bus at 5 am for the factory. Arriving a second late to punch in your card means a pay cut, but you can’t leave the premises once you’ve entered. At 6.30 am, you exercise and supervisors give you feedback on your previous output. Start work at 7 sharp. Everyone does his one task — assembling, welding, fixing — for a minimum of 8 continuous hours. A car rolls off the line every 38 seconds, which means you can’t budge from your position, ever. You get two breathless breaks during the day. At 9 am, a 7-minute break to drink tea or go to the loo, or both. After a while you might, like many of your friends here, end up taking your hot tea and kachori to the bathroom with you. Then a lunch break of 30 minutes, in which you walk about a half kilometre to the canteen, wait in line with everyone, eat and walk back. Returning even a minute late from any break, or leaving the assembly line for any reason even for a minute, means half a day’s pay cut. Older systems used to include an overseer for every small group of workers who could step in if someone needed to take a breather. But, the cost logic of production is perennially at odds with workers’ rights.

“If we don’t blink at seeing a man climbing down to unblock a sewer for a few hundred a month, it’s likely we think of a Rs 16,000 factory job with a uniform as clean and comfortable. But even the salary is an illusion, as the workers’ salary slips show. A baseline of Rs 8,000 is all most are guaranteed. Take a day from your legally granted casual leave or sick leave, for any reason, and lose Rs 1,500. Take two and lose Rs 3,000, and so on up till half your salary disappears.”[...]

“On 3 June, the Manesar workers formally applied to form a separate union called Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU). They say the company responded by suspending 11 workers and sending bouncers to force them to sign blank pieces of paper. The workers struck work on 4 June and held a sit-in inside the plant for 13 days till their 11 colleagues were reinstated, though the main issue of unionisation remained unresolved. [...]

“Meanwhile, the file to register MSEU in the labour office was cancelled. Reasons: the employees resorted to an illegal strike; among those who’d signed for a new union, many still retained MUKU membership; some signatures didn’t match with the registered ones. The revolting workers say they’d all resigned from the old union and these technical reasons merely indicate how hand-in-glove the Haryana government is with Maruti Suzuki.”

And see also:

Maruti’s Modern Times clash (The Telegraph (Calcutta), October 19, 2011):

“The Maruti Suzuki workers were recruited when they were about 18 years of age in 2006. The Manesar plant opened in February 2007 and the first batch of trainees became permanent workers only last year. Almost immediately, the workers were urged to become members of the Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union (Muku) that is the only workers’ outfit in the company’s Gurgaon plant. (Manesar is about 18km south of Gurgaon).

“The workers were hesitant. As more batches of trainees became permanent workers, the demand to form a union — basically the right to collective bargaining — was raised towards the end of 2010.

“Maruti Suzuki now has 970 permanent workers in a total workforce of around 3,000 — a majority being contractual, casual or trainees and apprentices, who are worse off than the permanent workers.

“‘We knew that Muku was a pliant union with workers in Gurgaon who are much older and have families and, since their strike was broken in the year 2000, they do not have the stomach for a fight,’ says Naresh.

“His friend, the French-bearded Jitender Barot, who at 28 years is among the oldest permanent workers, raises his palms: ‘These hands have worked so hard that had I put them to use in my family farm in Hisar, my folks would have been very happy. We have delivered 2 lakh cars when the management wanted it, working overtime and breathlessly and we have been taken for granted.’

“Asked why he does not go back home to work on his farm, Barot shoots back: ‘I wanted to be something else.’ [...]

“The rent for the one-room tenements in Gurganva where many of the workers live is between Rs 3,000 and Rs 3,500. A permanent worker technically earns about Rs 18,000 per month. Of this less than half is the fixed component of the salary and the rest are added incentives.

“Maruti Suzuki’s punitive measures often mean that workers have to make do with cuts. In the case of Naresh and some 30 others who are suspended, this means that their salary slips show a negative pay of Rs 3,800, meaning that the amount would be deducted from their next salary. [...]

“For now, the workers are not even demanding a hike in salaries. But what they are asking for — the right to form a union of their choice — is a political demand that may actually spell more trouble.

And see further:

Workers' struggle in Maruti Suzuki by Prasenjit Bose and Sourindra Ghosh (The Hindu, September 28, 2011):

“The stand adopted by the MSIL management in the ongoing dispute was endorsed by the Chairman and CEO of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Osamu Suzuki, during his recent visit to India. He said: ‘Indiscipline is not tolerated . . . not in Japan, not in India.’ Mr. Suzuki seems to have completely missed the larger picture.

“Over the past three years, MSIL has emerged as the most productive and profitable subsidiary of the Suzuki Motor Corporation. Its Annual Reports show that while Suzuki's car production and sales in Japan registered absolute declines in 2008 and 2009 following the recession, MSIL's production and sales in India have registered steady growth during this period. Could this be achieved by an ‘indisciplined' workforce?”

And:

Debate over trade unions rages in India (BBC, October 19, 2011):

“This is the Maruti workers' third strike this year for the same demand. And Maruti is not the only case. Strikes demanding the right to form workers' unions have hit the automobile sector in northern India at frequent intervals.

“Spare parts production company Rico faced a strike in 2009 which affected production in Ford and General Motors plants in Canada and the US.

“Suzuki plants in different parts of India are seeing protests by workers Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India saw a strike in 2005 which was ended by violent police action.

“While the Hero Honda agitation was successful and the company now has a robust workers' union, Rico workers had to bow down to their management.

“Despite a chequered history, workers here seem to have faith in the organised trade union.”

And:

Material for the Debate on Maruti Suzuki Workers’ Struggle in Maneswar, India (GurgaonWorkersNews, October 28, 2011)

Maruti Suzuki Workers Strike: A Report from Gurgaon (GurgaonWorkersNews via Sanhati, July 16, 2011)

And also see anti-caste: A PERSPECTIVE FOR INDIAN LABOR

COMMENT ON A REFERENCE TO CASTE in William Dalrymple’s “Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India”

“One of Dalrymple's strengths is his refusal to render judgment, but when it comes to the question of caste, he throws in the towel. In a section about a sacred dance form called theyyam, he tells us that the performers who take on the aspect of the gods are ‘the shunned and insulted Dalits.’ When the performers remove their costumes, he tells us, they're no longer treated like gods but, once again, like untouchables:‘In the presence of persons of the upper castes,’ he writes, ‘Dalits are still expected to bow their heads and stand at a respectful distance.’”

–Miranda Kennedy (NPR)

IMPORTANT NEW ARTICLES IN THE THEORETICAL JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIST LEAGUE (4TH INTERNATIONALIST)

Edmund Samarakkody and the Legacy of the Ceylonese LSSP:
The Fight for Trotskyism in South Asia
(Spartacist English edition No. 62):

“Our relations with the Revolutionary Workers Party (RWP) of Edmund Samarakkody in the 1970s constitute a significant chapter in that difficult, long and uneven struggle. By the time of his death in January 1992, Samarakkody’s revolutionary days were well behind him. But at one time, this founding member of the Ceylonese Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) represented a rare breed: a militant won to Trotskyism in the late 1930s who had not been utterly compromised and corrupted by homegrown popular-frontism or by the revisionist current of Michel Pablo, which had destroyed the Fourth International in 1951-53. In outlining the prospects for revolutionary regroupment, the 1974 declaration of the international Spartacist tendency, now the International Communist League, took particular note of Samarakkody’s RWP as having ‘emerged with integrity from the welter of betrayals perpetrated by the old LSSP’ and abetted by the Pabloite United Secretariat (USec) of Ernest Mandel and the craven ‘International Committee’ (IC) of Gerry Healy (ibid.).”

1960 Letter by James Robertson to SWP Political Committee:
No to Public Silence on LSSP Betrayal (August 8, 1960):

“Dear Comrades, I am addressing you on the matter of our party’s public silence concerning the recent and continuing betrayal of the Ceylonese working class and of the world Trotskyist movement by the Lanka Sama Samaja Party. I refer, of course, to that party’s entry into a ‘Popular Front’ electoral pact with the Stalinist party and with the left bourgeois nationalist party represented by the widow Bandaranaike.”

M.N. Roy: Nationalist Menshevik
Spartacist English edition No. 62:

“Ervin’s treatment of this pseudo-Marxist adventurer, who figured prominently in the Bukharinite Right Opposition from its inception in 1928, is a piece of philistine idolatry fully in line with bourgeois academic studies of Indian Communism, in which Roy is far from neglected. What distinguishes Roy, and makes him attractive to such types, is that he embodied the revisionist endeavour of trying to blend Communism and nationalism. In pursuit of this effort, Roy became a vulgar democrat who pushed the bourgeois ideology of nationalism, albeit with some Communist colouration, making him an opponent of the fight for a Leninist vanguard party based on proletarian internationalism.”

AGRARIAN CRISIS: MASS MIGRATION OUT OF THE COUNTRYSIDE AS PEASANT AGRICULTURE COLLAPSES

Distress Migrations: Indians’ Flight From Agriculture by P. Sainath (Counterpunch)

The Census data, however, do not convey the harshness and pain of the millions trapped in “footloose” migrations. That is, the desperate search for work driving poorer people in many directions without a clear final destination. Like Oriya migrants who work some weeks in Raipur. Then a couple of months at brick kilns in Andhra Pradesh. Then at construction sites in diverse towns in Maharashtra. Their hunger, and contractors, drive them to any place where there is work, however brief. There are rural migrations to both metros and non-metro urban areas. To towns and smaller cities. There are also rural to rural migrations. There are urban-urban migrations. And even, in smaller measure, urban to rural migrations.[...]

Between 1991 and 2001, over seven million people for whom cultivation was the main livelihood, quit farming. That is a mind-boggling figure. It suggests that, on average, close to 2,000 people a day abandon farming in the country. Where do they go? Nothing in employment data suggests they get absorbed in decent work in bustling cities.

NEPAL: UNTOUCHABILITY MAKES ORDINARY LIFE A MINEFIELD

Dalit family thrashed for touching non-dalit's feet (The Himalayan Times)

“Members of a dalit family at Kalyanpur VDC-7 have been mercilessly roughed up after a daughter of the family happened to touch the feet of an upper caste woman. [...]

“Roji complained that Narayan Khadka, Yasoda Khadka, Bikas Khadka, Deepak Khadka and Bishnu Maya Khadka Rimal barged into her home and thrashed the family members. [...]

“The unruly group attacked Roji's family after Sujana Pariyar inadvertently touched the feet of Bishnu Maya while boarding on a bus. Sujana is a tenth grader at Ajingare higher secondary school, Kalyanpur.”

ICL ARTICLE ON ATTEMPTED HONOR KILLING OF RUMANA MONZUR

Barbaric Mutilation of Bangladeshi Woman
(Workers Vanguard (reprinted from Spartacist Canada)

“On June 5, in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, 33-year-old Rumana Monzur was permanently blinded and disfigured by her husband.[...]

“[S]ome feminists insisted that the attack had nothing to do with religion and was purely a ‘domestic violence’ issue, claiming that to say otherwise would be racist. It is true that violence against women occurs in all societies, crossing class, religious and national bounds, but what happened to Rumana had all the markings of an attempted ‘honour killing.’ There have been countless such murders in the Near East, in South and Central Asia as well as in many imperialist countries. These brutal crimes grow out of the clash between a woman’s desire for independence from ‘traditional’ culture and the legacy of pre-capitalist social and economic norms that persist in large swathes of the world.[...]

“We sharply oppose this racist ruling-class drive against Muslims and other minorities. At the same time we strongly solidarize with women who seek to throw off the strictures of religious traditionalism. Bangladesh, like the rest of the Indian subcontinent, bears the imprint of pre-capitalist social and economic norms. This neocolonial country is dominated by the dictates of the imperialist order while also subject to the tyranny of religious obscurantism; capitalist exploitation manipulates and deepens the ancient traditions and taboos.

“The concept of ‘family honour’—control of a woman’s sexuality by her family—is not the exclusive purview of Islam but occurs in a number of religions, including Christianity. It is the reflection of the treatment of women as the property of their husbands or fathers. This was powerfully captured by Friedrich Engels in his classic work The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State (1884): “In order to make certain of the wife’s fidelity and therefore of the paternity of the children, she is delivered over unconditionally into the power of the husband; if he kills her, he is only exercising his rights.” [...]

“Christianity and Judaism, in their many variants, also preach stifling moral codes to uphold the patriarchal family, the main social institution oppressing women. But these religions, though they had roots in pre-capitalist society, adapted to conform with rising industrial capitalism and the bourgeois democratic nation-states where they existed. The radical democratic principles of the Enlightenment were the ideological reflection of historical material advances over a backward, feudal society. As a religion Islam has not had to adapt, largely because it is rooted in those parts of the world where the imperialists have reinforced social backwardness as a prop to their domination.

“The emancipation of women as part of the liberation of all the downtrodden of Bangladesh and the entire subcontinent requires a struggle for permanent revolution—the working class seizing power at the head of the peasantry and oppressed masses through socialist revolution, reorganizing society on the basis of collectivized property and fighting to extend the revolution internationally, especially to the imperialist centres.”

OPEN OR COVERT, UNTOUCHABILITY IS A FACT OF LIFE IN HISTORIC TEMPLE DISTRICT

2-tumbler system in a new avatar in Pollachi (Express News Service)

“The scenic environs of Pollachi-Coimbatore’s most well-known tourist destination may welcome outsiders with open arms, but when it comes to treating their own Dalit villagers, tea stall owners here follow the socially abhorrent practice of the two-tumbler system.[...]

“In many stalls, tea is served in disposable plastic cups to Dalit villagers, whereas for customers belonging to the so-called upper castes, it is served in a glass. Worse, tea shops in villages such as Guruvekoundenpalayam, Kappilipalayam and Mettuvavi, have come up with an innovative two-tumbler system to deceive authorities in case of a surprise inspection.

“‘At the tea stalls in these villages, separate tumblers for Dalits are identified by dots marked in green or yellow at the bottom. In some cases, there is a cut mark on the top edge of the tumbler for Dalits,’ alleged K Marimuthu, president, Makkal Viduthalai Munnani, a local outfit which fights for the rights of Dalits.

“Tea shop owners, however, are hesitant to admit that Dalit customers were discriminated against and claim that they do not have separate tumblers for the caste Hindus. But a visit to most tea stalls proved otherwise.

<blockquote>
“While elders belonging to the oppressed sections have accepted the practice, presumably out of fear for caste Hindus, Dalit youth have begun to assert themselves against the practice.”

ANNA HAZARE: SINISTER “ANTI-CORRUPTION” CAMPAIGNER PUSHES PRO-IMPERIALIST NEO-LIBERAL AGENDA WHILE SALUTING COMMUNALIST BIGOTRY AND AGE-OLD CASTE OPPRESSION

I’d rather not be Anna by Arundhati Roy (The Hindu)

“Who is he really, this new saint, this Voice of the People? Oddly enough we've heard him say nothing about things of urgent concern. Nothing about the farmer's suicides in his neighbourhood, or about Operation Green Hunt further away. Nothing about Singur, Nandigram, Lalgarh, nothing about Posco, about farmer's agitations or the blight of SEZs. He doesn't seem to have a view about the Government's plans to deploy the Indian Army in the forests of Central India.

“He does however support Raj Thackeray's Marathi Manoos xenophobia and has praised the ‘development model’ of Gujarat's Chief Minister who oversaw the 2002 pogrom against Muslims. (Anna withdrew that statement after a public outcry, but presumably not his admiration.)

“Despite the din, sober journalists have gone about doing what journalists do. We now have the back-story about Anna’s old relationship with the RSS. We have heard from Mukul Sharma who has studied Anna’s village community in Ralegan Siddhi, where there have been no Gram Panchayat or Co-operative society elections in the last 25 years. We know about Anna's attitude to ‘harijans’ [Gandhian term for untouchables]: ‘It was Mahatma Gandhi’s vision that every village should have one chamar, one sunar, one kumhar and so on. They should all do their work according to their role and occupation, and in this way, a village will be self-dependent. This is what we are practicing in Ralegan Siddhi.’ Is it surprising that members of Team Anna have also been associated with Youth for Equality, the anti-reservation (pro-‘merit’) movement [that opposes affirmative action on the basis of caste]? The campaign is being handled by people who run a clutch of generously funded NGOs whose donors include Coca-Cola and Lehman Brothers. Kabir, run by Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, key figures in Team Anna, has received $400,000 from the Ford Foundation in the last three years. Among contributors to the India Against Corruption campaign there are Indian companies and foundations that own aluminum plants, build ports and SEZs, and run Real Estate businesses and are closely connected to politicians who run financial empires that run into thousands of crores of rupees. Some of them are currently being investigated for corruption and other crimes. Why are they all so enthusiastic? [...]

“At a time when the State is withdrawing from its traditional duties and Corporations and NGOs are taking over government functions (water supply, electricity, transport, telecommunication, mining, health, education); at a time when the terrifying power and reach of the corporate owned media is trying to control the public imagination, one would think that these institutions — the corporations, the media, and NGOs — would be included in the jurisdiction of a Lokpal bill. Instead, the proposed bill leaves them out completely.

“Now, by shouting louder than everyone else, by pushing a campaign that is hammering away at the theme of evil politicians and government corruption, they have very cleverly let themselves off the hook. Worse, by demonising only the Government they have built themselves a pulpit from which to call for the further withdrawal of the State from the public sphere and for a second round of reforms — more privatisation, more access to public infrastructure and India's natural resources. It may not be long before Corporate Corruption is made legal and renamed a Lobbying Fee.”

See also:

Converging agendas: Team Anna and the Indian Right by Rohini Hensman (Infochange, September 2011):

“Questions were raised about the dangerously authoritarian character of the bill they were backing, with its creation of an unaccountable, unelected body that would have the power to tap phones, intercept emails, and remove every government functionary from the Prime Minister and Chief Justice to the lowest peon. Access to judicial review for those targeted by this all-powerful body would be meaningless, given its power to remove judges it did not like. By defining corruption as the disease rather than seeing it as merely a symptom of a deeper disease–power without accountability, power to commit crimes with impunity–the JLB was a formula to introduce a new source of corruption rather than eliminating it. It was also, potentially, an assault on India’s democratic institutions, one heightened by the demand that either the law should be passed by parliament by August 30, or the government should quit. [...]

“The enthusiastic participation of the RSS and other members of the Sangh Parivar also disturbed many.”

And see:

What is the real goal of the Anna movement? by Rohini Hensman (InfoChange India, November 2011)

DEADLY ECONOMIC ISOLATION OF DEPENDENT UNTOUCHABLE LABOR IN VILLAGE SHOWS MATERIAL ROOTS OF CASTE OPPRESSION

Socially boycotted dalits file case (Express News Service)

“Upper-caste people have allegedly socially boycotted these [thirty-two] families [in Nayakanur village] under the pretext that they refused to sweep cow dung at the house of an upper-caste family. Though the controversy has been there it came to light now since one of the dalit families lodged a complaint at Navalgund police station alleging their social boycott.

“According to police sources Basappa Madar, 64, was working as servant with Andanigouda Patil. Basappa and his wife recently refused to continue working for Patil family. Then, Patil allegedly asked the other families in the village not to give Basappa and his wife any employment. When dalit families questioned this, Patil asked his fellow villagers not to give work to any of the dalit families and even to boycott them socially.”

See also:

Dalits ostracised in Navalgund (Deccan Chronicle, August 18, 2011):

“The landlord instructed shop owners in the village, not to provide any foodgrains and tea to the dalits. They were prevented from fetching water from the tank, and threatened with hefty fine and other punishment for disobeying him. This prompted all dalits to desert the village, and evoked strong criticism from religious heads and the public.

“‘We don’t have any agricultural land, and earn our livelihood by working under the landlords, as bonded labourers. All dalit men are working as farm labourers, in the lands of landlords, and women are employed as maids in their houses. Our children are also employed in the houses of landlords. They get food grains instead of wages in return. We have been living under fear, and the harassment has been going on for many years,’ said forty-two year old Dalit Basappa Madar.”

AT INDIA’S ELITE UNIVERSITIES, SYSTEMATIC HARASSMENT OF UNTOUCHABLE STUDENTS

Protect-shun (Times of India)

“Anti-dalit sentiment erupted in 1991, when the V P Singh government decided to implement 27% reservation for OBCs. In the capital’s “left-leaning” university, JNU, caste clashes took place between students; in the dining-halls of IIT-Delhi, dalits were forced to sit on separate tables, and the walls of urinals in Delhi University were covered with puerile graffiti. And the authorities just watched. ‘The atmosphere in our institutions is very brahminical as the upper castes dominate the faculty. In such an environment, the lower caste students automatically become outcastes,’ says Dilip Mandal, who teaches at Delhi's Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). [...]

“Many, however, have fought back. Dr Ajay Singh, who joined AIIMS in 2002 with the same marks as the cut-off for "general" students, was the only dalit in his hostel wing. He was barred from entering the carrom-board room and one day someone scrawled ‘Nobody likes you here. F**k off’ on his door. But Dr Singh fought back and that led to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointing a three-member committee, headed by University Grants Commission chairman Sukhdeo Thorat, to look into caste harassment in the country's top medical institutes. The report was shocking: dalit students were bullied into vacating their hostel rooms, leading to a ghetto being formed on two floors of a hostel; they were specifically targeted during ragging; they were not allowed to play cricket and basketball; they were not allowed to eat in the ‘upper-caste mess’; and the teachers ignored them in class, sometimes deliberately failing them in exams. Shamed by the damning report, AIIMS took some remedial steps. ‘Now the hostels are allotted through a lottery system and general harassment has come down a bit, but all the recommendations of the panel are yet to be implemented,‘ says Dr Singh, who now works with a government hospital in Delhi.”

See also anti-caste: VICIOUS CASTE BIGOTRY IN HIGHER EDUCATION (May 8, 2011)

AGRICULTURAL LABORERS IN FLOOD-RAVAGED PAKISTAN: BETWEEN A NATURAL DISASTER AND A SOCIAL ONE

Pakistan One Year After the Floods by Christian Parenti (The Nation)

“Why would desperately poor flood victims fight to stay in a dust-choked tent camp on the outskirts of a violent mega-city rather than go back to their homes? [...]

“‘We don’t want to go back because the landlord will double our debt,’ says Hassan Khoso. ‘We want the government to give us land.’ He says that landlords have been coming to the camp urging the haris to return. Khoso and others say that is part of what keeps them close to the city. Along with work, there is access to hospitals and the promise—at least the promise—of education for their children.

“As at the camp on the western edge of Karachi, these people have formed a camp committee. To make their demands heard they marched to the local press club and held a sit-in. And how are such calls for reform and development being met by officials? Dead silence. [...]

“At the camp on the outskirts of Karachi one landlord from Baluchistan came with five armed guards, threatening to take away several brothers from a family named Bux. All the brothers were in debt to the landlord; he threatened to lock them in his private jail if they did not return and start working. But the camp rallied and faced him down.

“All through the Indus flood zone I heard similar stories—landless haris in urban camps preferring to become day laborers rather than return to debt peonage in the districts and landlords complaining that relief aid was keeping the haris away from their obligations. Standing on an earthen levee along a canal in the village of Arazi in the Dadu district of northern Sindh, a stout landlord named Kahari Bhutto exclaimed, ‘The farmworkers—their homes were wiped out, and they are gone. I don’t know where they are. Landowners themselves are having to do the work!’”

See also anti-caste on the 2010 floods in Pakistan and their aftermath

B.R. AMBEDKAR’S “ANNIHILATION OF CASTE” 75 YEARS LATER

Annihilating caste by Bhalchandra Mungekar (Frontline)

“The Jat Pat Todak Mandal, a social reformist organisation of Lahore, had, in 1936, invited Dr B.R. Ambedkar to deliver the presidential address of its annual conference on the topic of the caste system in India. Ambedkar sent the manuscript of his speech titled ‘The Annihilation of Caste.’ However, the organising committee found some of his views, particularly his critique of the Vedas and his inclination to leave the Hindu fold, unacceptable.

“It, therefore, suggested to Ambedkar that he delete these views, to which he replied that ‘he would not change a comma.’ The speech thus remained undelivered. Ambedkar subsequently published it in May 1936. [...]

“In The Annihilation of Caste, Ambedkar, probably for the first time, raised many profound questions with respect to caste. First, he rejected the defence of caste on the basis of division of labour and argued that it was not merely a division of labour but a division of labourers. The former was voluntary and depended upon one's choice and aptitude and, therefore, rewarded efficiency. The latter was involuntary, forced, killed initiative and resulted in job aversion and inefficiency. He argued that caste could not be defended on the basis of purity of blood, though pollution is a hallmark of the caste system. [...]

“But most importantly, according to Ambedkar, caste destroyed the concept of ethics and morality. To quote him: ‘The effect of caste on the ethics of the Hindus is simply deplorable. Caste has killed public spirit. Caste has destroyed the sense of public charity. Caste has made public opinion impossible. A Hindu's public is his caste. His responsibility is to his caste. His loyalty is restricted only to his caste. Virtue has become caste-ridden, and morality has become caste-bound.’ [...]

“Ambedkar did not spare the socialists or the communists either. He vehemently attacked the communists for their doctrinaire approach to caste in treating it as the superstructure and argued that unless they dealt with caste as a basic structural problem, no worthwhile social change, let alone a socialist revolution, was possible.”

Read The Annihilation of Caste in this excellent online edition by
Prof. Frances W. Pritchett of Columbia University

CASTE-BASED SLAVERY IS COMMONPLACE, NOT TREATED AS A CRIME

Cops ignore dalits in bondage (Express News Service)

“Police have failed to book perpetrators under the SC/ST atrocities law in the case of a Dalit family that was allegedly harassed and publicly beaten by caste Hindus in K Thattumal Village, Kumbakonam. In fact police helped the main accused get an anticipatory bail.

“K Rajamanikkam (39) and his wife Radha had worked as bonded labourers at a brick kiln owned by Thalaiparamasivam of Devanachery. Thalaiparamasivam had promised the couple Rs 15,000 for one year’s work. But, after a year, he refused to let them leave. Instead he claimed they owed him money [...], Rajamanikkam’s sister 44-year-old Vijaya said. [...He] demanded Rs 10,000 rupees to free them from his control.

“‘We borrowed Rs 10,000 and paid him. But in five days, he and his associates Murugan and Loganathan, came and beat us with logs. My brother sustained a head injury and my hand was broken,’ she said.

“‘When they approached the Swamimalai police station, the police recorded Vijaya’s statement, but obtained her signature without even reading out the statement to her,’ said A Kathir, Executive Director of Evidence, an NGO that works for Dalit rights. When the Evidence team examined the case, they found the police had invoked neither the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the aggressors nor booked them under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act.

“According to Kathir, most Dalits and other people from the subaltern community worked as bonded labourers in the brick kilns owned by caste Hindus in Kumbakonam, but action had not been initiated by the police or district administration.

“Worse, Rajamanikkam moved from Thalaiparamasivam’s brick kiln only to end up a bonded labourer in another brick kiln.”

UNTOUCHABLES OPPRESSED BY DOMINANT CASTE IN VILLAGE–THEMSELVES LOW-CASTE

TN dalit boy thrashed for fetching water from public tap
(Times of India)

“Caste Hindus of a nondescript village on the outskirts of Coimbatore allegedly assaulted a 16-year-old dalit boy on Sunday for attempting to fetch drinking water from a public tap in the area.

“The boy, A Vasanthakumar, is now recovering at a government hospital in Annur, about 25 km away from Coimbatore. A Class X student, Vasanthakumar belongs to the dalit Chakkiliya community. He resides at Nallichetty Palayam, a dalit hamlet outside Annur town. The area is reeling under extreme water scarcity.

“As per the complaint lodged with the police, Vasanthakumar on late Sunday evening went on his bicycle with empty pots to Karikkilipalayam, about 4km away from his home, to fetch water. Dominated by Kongu Chettiyars, classified as a most backward caste, Karikkilipalayam is blessed with round the clock water supply as a pipeline of the Pillur water scheme passes through it. He reached a public tap located at around 9 pm and started collecting water. Three women of the Chettiyar community, who had come to the tap, started abusing him using caste names. When he protested, they beat him up. The women told him that they would not allow any untouchable to fetch water. A local butcher named P Damodaran Chettiyar also roughed him up.

“Vasanthakumar, who sustained injuries in the attack, was admitted to Annur hospital. His father Anandan, a coolie, said dalits were prevented from cutting hair at saloons in the locality and prevented from using mobile phones outside their huts.”

WORLD-FAMOUS ARTIST M.F. HUSAIN DIES IN EXILE

A Portrait of India's Intolerance: The country's speech restrictions didn't allow M.F. Husain to paint in peace by Salil Tripathi (The Wall Street Journal)

“Maqbool Fida Husain was India’s most celebrated painter, and his death in London last week was front-page news across the subcontinent. However, toward the end of his life, Husain had trouble finding galleries willing to show his work. He lived in Dubai, Doha or London for most of the last two decades because he couldn’t paint in peace in his own country, even becoming a Qatari national last year.

“Husain’s story says much about modern India. The troubles started in 1996, when the magazine Vichar Mimansa (‘Discussion of Thoughts’) published a decades-old sketch that showed a nude Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning. That discovery electrified Hindu activists, who began filing lawsuits against the painter for hurting their sentiments.

“These activists were able to persecute Husain by taking advantage of laws intended to prevent the incitement of religious hatred. Though the Indian constitution guarantees freedom of expression, it allows ‘reasonable restrictions’ to safeguard ‘the interests of the sovereignty and integrity’ of the country and ‘public order, decency or morality.’ The penal code makes it a crime ‘to outrage religious feelings’ and also outlaws ‘promoting enmity’ between different groups on the basis of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language—and the all-inclusive ‘etc.’

“Fringe Hindu groups claimed to have been offended by the artist's work, and pressured the authorities to initiate proceedings. Indian courts often throw such cases out, but there were multiple cases against him. When a few of them reached the Delhi High Court on appeal, it ruled in Husain’s favor. So did the Supreme Court in a similar case.

“But the court judgments did not stem the tide of vitriol. Vigilantes continued to file cases against him, attacked his works and damaged the studio of a television network that polled its readers on whether Husain should be given India’s highest civilian honor.

“An artist with weaker convictions would have stopped painting altogether, but Husain continued to portray the many colors of this pluralist democracy. Born around 1915, he got his artistic start painting cinema posters. Formally trained at the prestigious Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy School of Art in Bombay, he was an integral member of the Progressive Artists’ Group, which brought together leading modernists soon after India’s independence in 1947. He painted horses all his life; his other recurring themes included celebration of Indian music, Sufi art and the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. Since 1996, he continued to paint Hindu deities as well as paintings inspired by Bollywood star Madhuri Dixit, whom he called his muse.

“But he couldn’t go on very long. At one count last decade, there were hundreds of cases pending against him across India, and some death threats too. Instead of defending Husain’s right to express his imagination, the authorities did nothing, actually adding to pressure from activists. In 2006, several state governments decided to prosecute him for outraging feelings after he painted ‘Bharat Mata’ (Mother India) in the nude. The controversy scared those who otherwise would have been happy to exhibit his work, including the organizers of the 2008 Indian Art Fair in Delhi, which had the works of 300 artists but not Husain’s.

“Exasperated by the lack of support from the Indian state and the continued harassment—both physical and legal—Husain gave up. He was living outside India anyway, and last year he publicly renounced his Indian citizenship.

“Hindu nationalists justified their attacks on Husain’s art by noting that the Indian state has allowed other faiths to block literature that has offended them. India was the first country in the world to ban Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. Muslim activists last year chopped off the hand of T.J. Joseph, a university professor in Kerala, because he gave an exam question that was deemed insulting to Muhammad. Christian groups have protested films like The Da Vinci Code and The Last Temptation of Christ.

“To be sure, a large number of books get published in India, hundreds of films get made and galleries hold many exhibitions without incident. But artists like Husain inhabit speech at the edge of acceptability, speech that challenges conventional thought. The controversial sketch of Saraswati, for example, is an elegant white-on-black line drawing, which makes the viewer reflect on the old Indian tradition of nirakara, or formlessness. Yet instead of questioning themselves when provoked, extremist Hindus, like extremists from other faiths, have reacted with anger.”

Saraswati, M.F. Husain (1970)

See also:

‘Attack on artistic freedom is our shame’ by Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar (India Times, June 12, 2011):

“[T]he very multiculturalism of his paintings was unacceptable to Hindu communalists, especially Shiv Sainiks. They objected to his depiction of goddesses in the nude, claiming this was an insult to Hinduism. They threatened to rip his paintings apart, making it difficult to exhibit his paintings without fear of damage.

“Now, anybody visiting ancient Hindu temples at Khajuraho or Konark can seen dozens of nude sculptures of goddesses and apsaras, which are intrinsic to Indian art. Husain's style was one of skilful distortion and smudging, so his nudes had no erotic detail or prurience. Why then did his paintings create such an uproar and not Khajuraho?

“Because he was a Muslim. Had he been a Hindu, there would have been no protest. The anti-Husain campaign was always an anti-Muslim campaign, and not about art or justice.”

Sarasawati, Meenakshi Temple, Madurai (1569)

And see also:

From Artist to Victim (front-page editorial, The Telegraph (Calcutta), June 11, 2011):

“Husain’s death has left India face-to-face with one of its greatest shames — its cowardly surrender to violence that cites religion as its pretext. When politicians mouth banalities about the ‘national loss,’ they conveniently gloss over the disgraceful fact that the nation did nothing for Husain except hound him out. The persecution of the artist was a direct attack on his right to freedom of expression. His nude paintings of Saraswati and Bharat Mata were the source of Hindutva-soaked nationalist anger, and gave rise to a series of criminal cases against him. But organized thugs have never waited for the law, and they attacked his home, his exhibitions here and abroad, vandalized his paintings and threatened his person. The cases against Husain remain; the thugs go free.

“By not coming down heavily and unforgettably on the hordes of criminals who organized the attacks on Husain and his work time after time, two successive Indian governments, one of which claims a ‘secular’ tradition, have demonstrated a compliance with deep-seated religious intolerance and divisiveness that makes nonsense of India’s ‘inclusive,’ ‘tolerant’ culture. Even a hint of religious ire can tear rights and values to shreds, be it the freedom of thought or expression, the value of an artist’s work and contribution, or even the fundamental right to live. What happened to Husain can happen again; there has not been a peep from the government — it made no effort to bring him back and let him live and work in safety — to suggest that things will be different. Social pressure may have changed that, but Indian society revels in its own prejudices. In complete irrationality, it would rather see a ‘Muslim’ artist penalized for painting a nude Hindu deity than feel shame at the violent suppression of guaranteed rights. It is no wonder that intolerance and persecution have become institutionalized in India. No one is allowed the courage to express himself in ways or speak truths that cause discomfort to those in power, whether socially or politically. So Binayak Sen had to languish in jail for months at the behest of a government that wished to silence him, and M.F. Husain must die abroad because pseudo-religion and false patriotism must be appeased. What is ominous is that such an ethos perverts all institutions: law and religion become handmaidens to the agents of oppression.”

And see anti-caste: WITH CONGRESS GOVT REFUSING TO PROTECT HIS RIGHTS, M.F. HUSAIN TAKES CITIZENSHIP ABROAD TO ESCAPE HINDU-RIGHT HARRASSMENT (March 10, 2010)

CASTE HINDUS AND THE STATE REINFORCE AGE-OLD SEGREGATION

Untouchability wall sparks tension in TN village (Express News Service)

“An Uthapuram-like situation is developing in a small village at Srivilliputhur in Virudhunagar district following the construction of an ‘untouchability wall’ by a dominant community there in the aftermath of violent caste clashes that rocked the hamlet on May 15.

“Strongly segregated in terms of caste, W Pudupatti, near Sivakasi, has seen conflict and tension between the Naidus, Saliyars, Pallars and Paraiyars since the 1960s. The series of clashes, the latest between the Pallars (backward Hindus), numbering about 500 families, and Paraiyars, comprising 300 Dalit Christian families, was the result of a ‘hidden apartheid’ prevailing in the village, rights activists have alleged.

“Signs of the confrontation were visible in the Dalit settlement, which bore the brunt of the attacks, even after a fortnight. The clash reportedly broke out when a Dalit youth Jayaram Anthony (24) went to buy a mirror from a shop near a Pallar street and was threatened and beaten up by two Pallar youth. [...]

“Claiming that the State machinery was siding with the higher-caste groups, the villagers said after the incident, a wall, segregating the higher caste Saliyars and the Dalit quarters, was constructed under the supervision of the district SP and tahsildar. Official line: The new wall marked the boundary of a Saliyar-run school.

“Describing the structure as an ‘untouchability wall,’ the Dalits, however, said they had been using the path for several years without causing inconvenience or obstruction to anybody. They alleged that the real purpose behind the sudden construction of the structure was to cut off the main escape route for the Dalit men in the event of caste clashes, which have become an annual feature.

“A life lived in perpetual fear, the status of Dalits in W Pudupatti reflects the general pattern—discrimination and abuse at the hands of higher-caste groups. Denied access to land, they roll cracker sticks for their livelihood. [...]

“Nevertheless, academic forte appears to be the silver lining as well as the sore point. A Jayakumar (28), a B Ed graduate, said the higher-caste groups could not digest the development of the community through education.

“It has also inculcated in them a deep awareness of their rights and intolerance to oppression.”

See also: anti-caste: SEGREGATION OF UNTOUCHABLES STILL REINFORCED WITH BRICKS IN TAMIL NADU VILLAGE (May 13, 2009)

NEW REPORT ON PEASANT SUICIDES AND THE AGRARIAN CRISIS IN INDIA

“Every 30 Minutes”: Crushed by Debt and Neoliberal Reforms, Indian Farmers Commit Suicide at Staggering Rate (Democracy Now!)

Guest: Smita Narula, faculty director of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University Law School, co-author of the report, Every Thirty Minutes: Farmer Suicides, Human Rights and the Agrarian Crisis in India

“[U]ltimately, the proximate cause for a number of these suicides is farmer indebtedness. What lies behind that indebtedness is two decades of market liberalization in India, which have resulted in two simultaneous processes. First, the government has withdrawn significantly from the agricultural sector. It has reduced subsidies. It has decreased access to rural credit. Irrigation is insufficient and doesn’t reach most farmers who need it. And at the same time, it has encouraged a switch over to cash crop cultivation, of which cotton is one example.

“Simultaneously, the market has been opened up to global competitors, which makes Indian farmers extremely vulnerable. And at the same time, foreign multinationals now dominate industries, such as the cotton industry, including dominating the key inputs that are needed for cotton. In the case of cotton, in particular, the genetically modified Bt cottonseed has been promoted so effectively in India that it now dominates the entire sector, and between its cost, quality and availability, has an enormous impact on farmer costs and profits and yields to the point that it’s landing them in enormous debt. And many of them, ironically, are actually consuming the very pesticide that they went into debt to purchase, to kill themselves when they can’t escape that cycle of debt.”

See also previous posts on the agrarian crisis

VICIOUS CASTE BIGOTRY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

In Dalit student suicides, the death of merit (The Hindu)

“He killed himself in his college library, unable to bear the insults and taunts. The suicide note recovered from his coat pocket charged his Head of the Department (HOD) with deliberately failing him and threatening to fail him over and over. Seven months later, a three-member group of senior professors re-evaluated his answer sheet and found that he had in fact passed the test.

“Medical student Jaspreet Singh, a Dalit by birth, wanted nothing more than to become a doctor. Tragically, he fulfilled his ambition posthumously. A year later, his young sister, a student of Bachelor of Computer Application, also committed suicide, heartbroken at the injustice done to her brother.

“Shocking details about the January 2008 suicide of the Chandigarh-based student have emerged following recent investigations by Insight Foundation, a Dalit-Adivasi student group that has compiled a list of 18 suicides by Dalit students studying in reputed institutions of higher education across India in the past four years. [...]

“The evidence is clinching in this case. Jaspreet's suicide note; a certificate affirming Jaspreet's handwriting from the Directorate of Forensic Science, Ministry of Home Affairs, Shimla; testimonies from Jaspreet's friends; and finally, the re-evaluation of the answer sheet by a three member body of doctors from PGI, Chandigarh.

“All three doctors, Rajesh Kumar, Amarjeet Singh and Arun Kumar Aggrawal, specialised in Community Medicine – the subject in which Jaspreet was failed. Yet till date, no action has been taken against the guilty HOD or the college.”

See also:

“The Death of Merit”: A Documentary

UNTOUCHABILITY IN A TAMIL NADU VILLAGE

A village where dalits can’t wear footwear or ride bikes (Times of India)

“When G Thangapandian (27), a dalit youth, decided to challenge the caste diktat that dalits should not ride motorcycles on Kaliamman Street, it ended in a brutal attack on his house by a mob of over 500 persons, including women armed with broomsticks.

“‘If I am alive now it is because of this grill gate,’ pointed out G Murugan, Thangapandian’s brother. The gate was damaged in several places. ‘The mob tried to break open the gate with boulders, but left later on Saturday night,’ said Murugan, fear still evident on his face.

“The dalits, overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and economic status of the more influential Thevars, obeyed the diktats: they did not wear footwear and they did not ride bicycles or motorcycles on Kaliamman Street. ‘We are served tea in different tumblers and we are not entertained in the barber shops in the village,’ said Murugan’s father Guru.

“The village has been a witness to the worst forms of caste discrimination, as even schools have become a platform for such practices. ‘My non-dalit classmates would demand that I address them as Ayya [sir]. If I call them by their names they would abuse me with filthy words and threaten me,’ said M Palani, who just completed his Plus-Two in the higher secondary school in the village.”

See also:

Dalit thrashed for riding bike in ‘upper caste’ lane (Mumbai Mirror, May 4, 2011)

And see:

Untouchability taking new forms, says study (Deccan Chronicle, May 5, 2011):

“A survey conducted by Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) in 22 districts has revealed the prevalence of 86 forms of untouchability in the state’s villages.

“Dalits are not even allowed to use ringtones of movie songs. ‘A dalit in Coimbatore was beaten by caste Hindus for using MGR movie song Naan Aanaittal Adhu Nadanthu Vittaal as his ringtone,’ TNUEF convenor P. Sampath said.

“The discrimination against dalits even exists in matrimonial websites. ‘We have come across entries made by upper caste persons stating that dalits need not apply,’ he said.

“In the survey, Mr Sampath said they come across the practice of dalits being prevented from walking on the public road wearing slippers, riding bicycles, wearing dhotis folded or polyester dhotis, wearing towels on their shoulder, wearing cloth headgear, sporting thin line moustaches and getting clothes washed or ironed.”

And see further anti-caste: OVER 80 FORMS OF UNTOUCHABILITY FOUND IN PRACTICE IN TAMIL NADU (June 12, 2010)

CASTE-BASED FORCED LABOR: REFUSAL IS PUNISHABLE BY DEATH

Caste killing exposes India’s secret shame (The Australian)

“A mere 100km from the shiny malls and housing estates of New Delhi, three upper-caste men murdered a Dalit labourer this week for refusing to obey an ancient feudal law demanding he toil their land for free.

“The body of 42-year-old Karam Chand was then paraded on a bicycle through the village of Nirgajani, in Uttar Pradesh, as a macabre warning to other ‘untouchables’ that the writ of a modern state did not extend into the heart of rural India.

“The system of begari–in which low-caste Indians were obliged to provide unpaid labour to landed classes–was officially outlawed by the Indian government in 1976.

“According to reports this week, Chand was attacked after refusing the demands of three brothers–former employers–to help harvest a wheat crop.

“Chand’s son Monu, who was working alongside his father on their own land when the attack occurred, said: ‘My father refused them because they didn't pay him anything for earlier work. They had declared that we would have to follow their order or leave the village.’

“When he refused, the trio attacked, chasing Chand into a temple, where he was shot. ‘They hauled his dead body on to a bicycle and took out a procession. They were shouting that anyone who defied their order would be killed,’ said Monu.

“While local police spokesman Jawahar Singh confirmed the son's account, he insisted ‘such incidents are far and few between.’

“But he conceded the village was predominantly a stronghold of the Jat caste, a group which continues to defend the caste Panchayat system of local governance, which doles out summary justice, such as honour killings, for alleged caste crimes.”

UNTOUCHABLES UNMENTIONABLE IN JAPAN

letter to the London Review of Books:

“Peter McGill mentions those Japanese outcasts, the burakumin (LRB, 31 March). One of the ‘unclean’ occupations they were assigned was undertaking, a point delicately made in the Oscar-winning Japanese movie Departures. A newly married young man finds himself unemployed and applies for a job without knowing it involves ritually preparing the dead for burial. Although he soon overcomes over his disgust at coming into such close contact with corpses, it takes his young wife considerably longer. To avoid offending its Japanese audience no mention is made of burakumin, and so subtle was the film’s handling of the theme, it eluded most Western viewers. I no longer raise the subject with Japanese friends as I have found that, when I do, they pretend not to hear me.”

Garth Clarke
Sydney

CHILDREN BOYCOTT SCHOOL WHERE TEACHERS TREAT THEM AS UNTOUCHABLE

Dalit kids: “Untouchables” and uneducated too (Times of India)

“Dalit children at a school in Jagatsinghpur district do not know where they went wrong with their studies because teachers refused to check their notebooks. ‘Ame achuta (We are considered untouchables). The teachers refuse to touch our books and our homework is never corrected,’ said Bijaya Mallick, a student of Class IV at the school at Keutapala in Balikuda block. ‘If we even touch our teachers by mistake, they scold us for polluting them,’ he added.

“The 40 odd Dalit students in the school were allegedly singled out and made to clean classrooms and toilets. ‘I clean toilets at school,’ said Samir Mallick, a Class V student. He looked puzzled when asked why he agreed to do so. ‘The teachers tell me to do it,’ the 11-year-old boy said. ‘We are not even allowed to take water from the drinking pot at school,’ he added.

“Several students and their parents complained that they were victims of caste discrimination by the school staff since long. The final straw, however, was when teachers refused to serve mid-day meals to the children. This prompted incensed parents not to send their wards to school for the past one week.”

See also:

Dalit school children prevented to take mid-day meal with upper-caste students (OrissaDiary, May 2, 2011)

And see anti-caste: SEGREGATED AND HUMILIATED IN THE CLASSROOM (November 28, 2009), REPORT ON CASTE-BASED DISCRIMINATION IN SCHOOLS (June 25, 2009), and CASTE BIGOTRY IN INDIAN SCHOOLS GOES UNPUNISHED (September 27, 2008)

COW SHIT PURIFIES WHAT A HUMAN BEING MADE UNCLEAN

Retired dalit officer’s room “cleansed” using cowdung water (PTI)

“In a shocking incident, the office room and furniture used by a senior government official belonging to a scheduled caste community here were ‘cleansed’ by sprinkling cowdung water, allegedly by some employees shortly after his retirement from service. A K Ramakrishnan, who retired as Inspector General of Registration on March 31, has moved the State Human Rights Commission seeking an inquiry into the incident. He said in the complaint that he had reliable information that some employees in the office sprinkled ‘cowdung water’ over the tables, chairs and even inside the office car used by him while in service. He said he believed that the ‘cleansing’ was performed as he belonged to an SC community and it amounted to violation of his human rights and civil liberties. [...]

“Asked about the incident, Ramakrishnan said he would vigorously pursue the case as he considered it as an insult to the socially depressed class. ‘I take this not just as a personal insult. This is a humiliation heaped on the socially depressed classes as a whole. If this is the experience of a person who had held the topmost post in a government department, what would be the situation of ordinary people belonging to the lower rungs of social strata?’ Ramakrishnan told PTI. ‘All these five years when I worked as IG of Registration I had bitter experiences. But I have suffered them without getting worked up. But what has happened even after my retirement is really painful,’ he said.”

POLICE RAMPAGE IN DANTEWADA: FIVE DAYS OF KILLING, RAPING, AND ARSON THAT LEFT HUNDREDS OF POOR TRIBALS HOMELESS AS PART OF INDIA’S OPERATION GREEN HUNT

Chhattisgarh villages torched in police rampage (The Hindu)

“The operation began in the early hours of March 11 when about 350 heavily armed troopers marched into the forests of Dantewada. They returned to their barracks five days later, with three villages aflame, about 300 homes and granaries incinerated, three villagers and three security personnel dead, and three women sexually assaulted, the victims and several eyewitnesses told The Hindu.

“Last week, the Chhattisgarh police said three Koya commandos were killed in a Maoist ambush during a routine search, yet journalists attempting to reach the site were turned away by gun-toting special police officers. On visiting the area through a forest route, this correspondent was confronted by the aftermath of what appeared to be an attack by security forces on three tribal settlements in a 15-km radius of the police camp at Chintalnar, which has left hundreds homeless and brutalised. [...]

“Villagers say the force left by noon, having torched 37 houses. They also picked up Madavi Ganga, 45, his son Bima and his daughter Hurre, 20. ‘They took us to the Chintalnar police station and put me in a separate cell and stripped me,’ said Hurre.

“Hurre said she was kept all night in the station and sexually assaulted. Ganga and Bima said the police repeatedly asked them whether Maoists visited their village, and beat them through the night. The Madavi family was released when the women of Morpalli demanded their release at the Chintalnar station.

“Police sources say they found neither arms factories nor Maoists at Morpalli that day, though they did find a 15-foot memorial commemorating the death of eight Maoists in the April 2010 encounter, in which 76 CRPF troopers were killed near Tarmetla village.”

See also:

Scorched-Earth Tactics Return to Chhattisgarh by Eric Randolph (Current Intelligence, March 23, 2011):

“I saw the effect of these operations for myself when I travelled to the area recently. Trauma and fear pervades everyday life for these tribal communities. Whenever an outsider appears on the outskirts of a village, everyone prepares to flee. Only when they recognised our guide did they calm down. [...]

“An ongoing case in the Supreme Court has collected testimonies implicating the state’s security forces in the deaths of 537 people, including 33 children, as well as 99 rapes and the destruction of at least 2,825 houses. These testimonies relate only to the period between 2005 and 2007, when the violence was at its peak. The difficulty of reporting in this remote region means the figures cannot be exactly accurate – and the real numbers could be far higher. A large number of attacks have occurred since then as well and, it would appear, are continuing.

“In its early phase, the violence was fuelled by the formation of an anti-Maoist movement called the Salwa Judum, set up in 2005 by local elites keen to regain control of the region and its resources. The Judum quickly gained the backing and support of the police and the government, but by arming local tribals and seeking to divide communities, it triggered a spiral of brutal violence.

“The Judum held processions through the forests, forcibly relocating people to camps under police control. Evidence in the Supreme Court case states that 47,238 people were moved to the camps. The numbers have been steadily reduced to around 25,000 according to the Chhattisgarh government, spread across 23 camps. The majority of those remaining had joined the Salwa Judum and now fear reprisals from the Maoists and their fellow villagers if they return to their homes.”

And see:

In Dantewada, poor fight poor in a dehumanising war (Times of India, March 24, 2011):

“Newspaper images from the villages showed men and women staring at the charred ashes of their homes, food grains, belongings and lives. ‘What will we eat this year? All our grain is lost,’ former sarpanch Nupo Muta was quoted in Patrika, a Hindi daily. The paper reported 300 homes had been torched, five men killed and three women sexually assaulted.

“Between 2005-2007, villages here witnessed intense and savage clashes between Salwa Judum and the Maoists.

“Salwa Judum is translated as 'peace march' by some and as 'purification hunt' by others. This dichotomy of definition extends to accounts of how it began and what followed.

“Judum supporters claim it was a spontaneous upsurge by adivasis – fed up of Maoist diktats, they declared rebellion, moving out of their villages, to escape the wrath of rebels.

“But critics allege it was a government backed militia that launched brutal attacks on villages, forcing thousands to abandon their homes, in a ‘scorched earth' strategy, aimed at exposing rebel hideouts and cutting their supplies.

“Whatever be the truth, either way, the clashes of those years left the area brutally ruptured.

“Thousands moved to refugee camps along NH 221. Others stayed back – but found themselves abandoned by the government, as schools, health centres, anganwadis, every wing of the civil administration folded up in the villages.

“Last October, the state government informed the Supreme Court that Salwa Judum no longer exists. But this week, the rampage came as a reminder of its enduring legacy.”

And see also anti-caste: Operation Green Hunt–India’s Dirty War on Tribals and Leftists

NEPAL: IMPOVERISHED LOW-CASTE WOMEN THROWN INTO TRADITIONAL CASTE-BASED SERVITUDE

Dalit women into Balighare profession (The Himalayan)

“An increasing number of Dalit women in Banke district are attracted towardsan annual labour contract called Balighare Partha locally under which so-called high caste people give food in return to their hard work and service.

“Until recently the age-old Balighare occupation was dominated by Dalit men. Prem Kala BK of Chisapani-9 is an example of increasing number of women taking up this profession mainly by women from Bishwokarma community among other Dalit castes.

“Lately she has started working in her forge, where only her husband used to work till some time ago. She melts metal in the forage and crafts kitchen utensils and sickles, knives, hoes and other traditional weapons of neighbours. In return, she gets rice, maize or millets (as per her choice) for her whole year’s works from them.

“Sewing clothes as well making hand drums and other musical instruments are also part of Balighare system in existence in the district from ages taken up by Dalit people as their one of the major sources of livelihood.”

anti-caste: In the balighare partha system, one of several traditional forms of caste-based labor extraction in Nepal, members of (low-ranking) artisan castes provide services to upper-caste landholders in exchange for one meager allotment (perhaps ten, fifteen, or twenty-five kilograms) of inferior food grain annually at harvest time.

See also:

Dalits continue to be exploited in Nepal (Frontlines of Revolutionary Struggle, October 24, 2010):

“Dal Man Bishwokarma, a resident of Rautaha village in Udayapur, not only manufactures domestic weapons and equipments used in farming but also repairs them. He provides his service to 21 Bishta families. However, he gets only 10 pathis [about 50 kilograms] of maize once a year from each of them.

“During festivals like Dashain and Tihar, Bishta families provide Dal Man with a mana (one mana is roughly equal to half a kilogram) of rice and Rs 20 each. His family has to survive on this meager income for the whole year. ‘With this income, I find it difficult to make ends meet even for six months,’ he said. ‘For the rest of the year, I have to go somewhere else to work as a laborer.’

“The tradition, which exploits Dalits’ labor, is still in fashion mainly in Bhutar, Nametar, Bhalayodada, Panchawoti, Dumre, Barre, Iname, Jante, Thanagau and Laphagau villages. Harka Bahadur Pariyar, a resident of Jaate village where 24 Dalit families are stuck in this tradition, said, ‘We have been surviving like this for generations.’”

UNTOUCHABLE COMMUNITY DENIED LIVELIHOOD AND BASIC SUPPLIES OUT OF BIGOTED CONCERN OVER RITUAL PURITY OF VILLAGE’S DRINKING WATER

‘Caste’ Hindus boycott Dalits in Hosapura (The Hindu)

“The scourge of untouchability has raised its ugly head in Hosapura village of Malavalli taluk, Mandya district, where a group of ‘caste' Hindus allegedly created ruckus over the appointment of a Dalit as a valve-man.

“The incident took place early last week and threatened to split the community on caste lines. Police have arrested three persons in this connection but this served only to escalate the tension as ‘caste' Hindus questioned the ‘temerity’ of the Dalits to lodge a police complaint against them.

“Sources said the genesis of the tension could be traced to the decision of the Gram Panchayat Secretary Siddaraju, who appointed Venkatesh, a Dalit, as the valve-man to release water to the village. When a group of persons saw Venkatesh releasing water, they raised a hue and cry on the ‘propriety’ of using the water released by a ‘Dalit valve-man,’ said sources.

“As a result, tension built up in the village and a section of the aggrieved community lodged a police complaint, following which three persons, identified as Shivu, Basavaraj and Prakash were arrested and later released on bail. Irked by the ‘audacity’ of the Dalit community, they have been allegedly boycotted by people from other communities, sources said.

“However, Shivaramu, Social Welfare Officer of Mandya told The Hindu that he had visited the village and inquired into the incident which presented a different picture.

“He said the village community had strong political affiliations and was split along party lines. ‘It transpired that the appointment of a Dalit was not the issue. The warring groups wanted one of their confidantes to be given the job of the valve-man. However, a few outside elements gave a caste twist to the appointment of Mr. Venkatesh, which led to tension following which three persons were arrested and later released on bail,’ Mr. Shivaramu said.

“‘I visited the village twice after the incident was reported and the allegations of Dalits being denied work in agricultural farms was false. Landlords and landless labourers are mutually dependent and one could not do without the other,’ he added. Mr. Shivaramu said the situation was now under control and the district administration has ensured supply of groceries and other essential commodities to the Dalit colony.”

CHILDREN AND CASTE-BASED BONDED LABOR IN NEPAL

Most of Jajarkot Dalit children deprived of education (The Himalayan Times (Kathmandu))

“Based on the findings of a three-month study that it conducted in the district from December-end, the NGO Dalit Women Empowerment Forum states that roughly 60 per cent of the district’s Dalit children — 8,000 of 13,300 — are deprived of education.

“Children from poor Dalit families make the most of the illiterate children.

“According to Gita Sunar, the forum chairperson, most of these children are from landless families. They have been working as khaliya and haliya (farm labourers) to make a living. The report states that 468 Dalit families of the district have been working as haliya and 126 families have been working as khaliya.”

See also:

NEPAL: The Haliya bonded labour slavery system must be abolished without further delay (Asian Legal Resource Centre, August 26, 2010):

“The Haliyas (literally, ‘one who tills land’) are enslaved within a system of bonded labour, and are forced by a landlord or ‘master’ to execute various hard labour duties (usually agricultural) for many years, often for an entire lifetime. Other than the agricultural work, Haliyas fulfil a range of duties, including making tools (such as spades, knives, and sickles) out of iron, grazing animals, sewing clothes, making utensils and pots, and so forth. The labourers are not paid a wage for their extensive work; often they are only provided with a small amount of food. Extreme poverty and debt in the western and far western regions of Nepal has relegated many members of the lower castes, known as Dalits, to Haliya status.

“Haliyas are forced to till a small patch of land in order to repay a debt, and are often held captive with their entire families. The enslaved Haliyas typically have no direct association with any debts; in the overwhelming majority of cases, the laborers are held because of debts accumulated by their ancestors over many generations. Such debts are often so excessive that a Haliya’s work over an entire lifetime will not generate sufficient revenue to even marginally reduce the interest incurred on the debts. [...]

“Despite being malnourished, Haliyas are expected to perform extraordinarily demanding labor duties. According to a custom known as Doli, they must carry exorbitantly heavy wooden carriages on their shoulders for hours at a time. Another custom (Khali) dictates that Haliyas are entitled to no fresh food at all–only leftover goods from the harvest. Despite working excessively long hours to fulfill grueling tasks, Haliyas typically receive only a bowl of white rice per day for their labor. [...]

“The overwhelming majority of Haliyas are Dalits. In fact, Nepal’s system of caste discrimination remains a direct factor leading to both the origins and continuation of the Haliya system.”

And see:

Policy spoke in Haliya rehab wheel: Ad hoc approach exacerbating their woes by Kamal Raj Sigdel (Kathmandu Post, April 25, 2010):

“Although the government outlawed Haliya practice on September 6, 2008, unsurprisingly most of them are still working for their landlords.

“‘When the Kamaiya system [of bonded labor in the Tarai region] was outlawed in 2000, it actually liberated the landlords, not the bonded labourers,’ says Laxman Kumar Hamal, member secretary of the Freed Kamaiya Rehabilitation Execution Committee at the Ministry of Land Reform (MoLR). ‘The same mistake has been repeated in the case of Haliyas.’

“For instance, the form that is being used to collect data on Haliyas does not require landlords to express commitment to help rehabilitate the tillers, which officials say is a serious oversight that will create problems in rehabilitation.”

QUESTIONING THE HINDU-RIGHT CAMPAIGN TO “TAKE BACK YOGA”

Not as Old as You Think (…nor very Hindu either. There is telling evidence to debunk this nationalistic myth) by Meera Nanda (Open Magazine)

“Lately, Hindus in America have started flying the saffron flag over American-style yoga, which consists largely of yogic asanas and stretches. The leading Indo-American lobby, Hindu American Foundation (HAF), has recently started a vocal campaign to remind Americans that yoga was made in India by Hindus. Not just any ordinary Hindus, but Sanskrit-speaking, forest-dwelling Brahmin sages who learned to discipline their bodies in order to purify their atman. The purist Hindu position, articulated by the HAF, is that all yoga, including its physical or hatha yoga component, is rooted in the Hindu religion/way of life that goes all the way back to the Vedic sages and yogis.

“There is only one problem with this purist history of yoga: it is false. Yogic asanas were never ‘Vedic’ to begin with. Far from being considered the crown jewel of Hinduism, yogic asanas were in fact looked down upon by Hindu intellectuals and reformers—including the great Swami Vivekananda—as fit only for sorcerers, fakirs and jogis. Moreover, what HAF calls the “rape of yoga”, referring to the separation of asanas from their spiritual underpinning, did not start in the supposedly decadent West; it began, in fact, in the akharas and gymnasiums of 19th and 20th century India run by Indian nationalists seeking to counter Western images of effete Indians. It is in this nationalistic phase that hatha yoga took on many elements of Western gymnastics and body-building, which show up in the world-renowned Iyengar and Ashtanga Vinyasa schools of yoga. Far from honestly acknowledging the Western contributions to modern yoga, we Indians simply brand all yoga as ‘Vedic,’ a smug claim that has no intellectual integrity.”

A WOMAN MARRYING AGAIN AFTER SEPARATING FROM HER HUSBAND SEEN AS THREAT TO FAMILY HONOR

30-year-old woman killed for deciding to re-marry (DNA)

“In a case bearing resemblance to honour killings elsewhere in the country, a 30-year-old woman was killed by relatives for deciding to re-marry. Shabana Khan, a resident of Shivaji Nagar, Govandi, was strangulated in the wee hours of Monday. The police arrested the suspects on Tuesday.

“According to the police, Shabana, a mother of two, had reportedly separated from her husband a few years ago. She had planned to get married to a person named Ali. ‘Her cousins were not happy about her decision,’ B Pardeshi, inspector of the Shivaji Nagar police station said. [...]

“Her ten-year-old daughter woke up on hearing the commotion and saw the suspects fleeing. ‘She immediately raised an alarm and alerted the neighbours, who rushed Khan to a nearby hospital,’ the officer said. Khan was declared dead before admission.”

UNTOUCHABLES RESIST TRADITIONAL SEGREGATION

Dalit woman attacked over burial ground dispute dies (The Hindu)

“The dispute over access to burial ground was on for quite sometime in the village and on December 22, 2010, the caste Hindus of the village had organised a meeting which was presided over by the panchayat president, in which, Revenue Inspector Kodangipatty, Inspector of Police Palani Chetti Patty and Sub-Inspector of Police Veerapandi participated. In the meeting, it was decided that the Dalits should not use the common burial ground and even if there was a dispute they should refer it only to the revenue authorities and police and decide on the place of burial.

“Meanwhile, on January 2, when an elderly Dalit person died, the Dalits of the village decided to bury him in the common burial ground meant for Hindus, but the dominant castes objected to this and attacked them. The Dalits staged a protest, following which the government authorities organised a peace meeting. However, the dominant caste members did not allow the Dalits to bury the deceased in the common burial ground. The body had to be buried in Dalits'own land.

“Tension between the Dalits and caste Hindus had been brewing for sometime and on January 27 a group of caste Hindus attacked Chinnayi [a 55-year-old-Dalit woman] by hurling petrol bombs, in which she suffered injuries [and died]. Raja (35), son of Chinnayi, lodged a complaint with the Veerapandi police who registered cases against Rasu Thevar, Damodaran, Markandan Singam and Dhanasekaran under Sections 147, 148, 436, 307 of IPC and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 3(1)(10), 3(2)(5) and [they] were arrested.”

CASTE-BASED HONOR KILLING IN TAMIL NADU

For marrying a Dalit, man slits daughter’s throat in police station (Times of India)

“Following a complaint by Joshua and Kalaivani that they feared for their lives as her family was against their marriage, Red Hills police inspector K Kumaran called Ezhumalai for talks. ‘Ezhumalai, a real estate businessman, came to the station dressed in a pair of trousers and shirt. As soon as he entered, he walked towards Kalaivani, pulled out a knife from his pocket and slit her throat,’ Kumaran said.

“Kalaivani, an undergraduate student, fled home on January 21 to get married to Joshua in a city church. She had met Joshua, an employee of a private firm in Ambattur, some 18 months ago through a common friend. Fearing opposition, she did not disclose her relationship to her family and registered her marriage at the sub-registrar's office in Egmore last week.”

A COMMENT ON AMBEDKAR’S LEGACY

Caste of millions by Pankaj Mishra (Financial Times)

“Other noble dreams of collective emancipation and glory, too, were compromised by the many exigencies of postcolonial nation-building. The colonial state, with its aloof bureaucracy and repressive apparatus, was retained, and radical new institutions of universal adult franchise and social welfare uneasily grafted on to it. Not surprisingly, torture and extrajudicial execution remain as commonplace a feature of contemporary India as free and largely fair elections, and the red-taped state still struggles to provide effective education and healthcare.

“The hierarchies underpinning India’s older cruelties of caste and gender have also survived the egalitarian proclamations of the constitution; universal franchise has yet to lead to a civil rights revolution. Dalits are still being lynched and raped by upper-caste feudal lords, and thousands of women burnt to death for bringing insufficient dowries, even as Dalit and female politicians move into the highest offices in the land. Indeed, Ambedkar’s battle against the inequities of the caste system has had the strangest afterlife.

“Beneficiaries of en bloc voting by previously subordinate groups, a generation of low-caste leaders has now enjoyed political power in India’s most populous provinces. Accused of corruption and incompetence, they have ended up advancing group claims and identities rather than individual rights for all. The most conspicuous of the new profiteers of caste is Mayawati, the Dalit chief minister of Uttar Pradesh’s 180m citizens. She has amassed a great personal fortune; her penchant for solitaire diamonds and huge statues of herself has further undermined the state’s investment-starved economy.”

UNTOUCHABLES AND TRIBALS: LAST HIRED, FIRST FIRED

SC/STs missing in private sector jobs: India Inc’s first caste census (Indian Express)

“The first-ever caste census of India Inc’s human resources has revealed that the proportion of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees in the private sector in some of the most industrialised states of the country hardly reflects their strength in the general population of those states.

“The only exception is Tamil Nadu, which ranks number one in industrialisation and employment (by number of factories and persons, according to the Annual Survey of Industries 2008-09). SCs/STs account for almost 18 per cent of the industrial workforce and 20 per cent of the state’s population.

“In sharp contrast are some of the other most industrialised states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal, which show a sharp mismatch between SCs/STs as a percentage of the total workforce in the private sector and as a percentage of the states’ total population.”

THE DIRECTOR OF THIS VIDEO IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER HIS VILLAGE TEMPLE

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

Director: Amit Kumar | Producer: Video Volunteers Produced In: 2010 Synopsis: In the state of Haryana, Dalit communities (including the correspondent filming this video) are forbidden to enter temples. In Barot village, the temple allows only the villagers who belong to upper castes to worship, though most of the villagers belong to the Dalit community. The Constitution of India ensures equal rights for all citizens. This includes the right to “opt, embrace and practice any religion.” However, in Barot the Dalits have always been denied this right. They have been treated as “dirty” and asked by both the upper caste and the temple priest to keep away from the temple. Amit says that though the older generation have accepted this denial of rights as fate, youth in his community are angry about being treated as untouchables. Amit shot this video to share with viewers the humiliation he is made to feel every day for being a “Dalit youth.”