Mr. Warrier Please do not be presumptous that no one has written on the Gujjar crisis - may be you do not read newspapers. Almost every english language newspaper and visual media have given the Gujjar crisis devoted space on their front page or prime time as the case might be. There have also been sufficient number of editorial opinions. I would advice you to read newspapers for a change.
Second and third, questions that you should ask yourself and the blogger, whether you have any idea of the constitutional history that got rexervation in its place. And pray be nice enough to tell Ms. Scindhia the magic formula that could get her out of this imbroglio. The violence thats being unleashed by the state against Gujjars is deplorable. Nonetheless, I do not want to engage in an argument on this since you have betrayed with this post your absolute lack of awareness (which forms part of the privileged caste zeitgeist) on caste hegemony and the history of the same in various parts of India Yes there are some of us in this group who sincerely gasp and are terror stricken when we hear of the BJP, but that has more to do with our politics and our identities. Its the same gasp that escapes me when I see naive neo-liberal posts like this Best 2008/5/28 Murali K Warier <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > The blogger is right: the chatterati is maintaining a disturbing silence > over this. Even in this forum, which should have bee abuzz, there is not a > single discussion. Not even the usual charge of 'state terrorism' is being > thrown, in spite of the fact that dozens died in police firing in a BJP > ruled (gasp!) state. > > To me it looks more like the dog that didn't bark in the Sherlock Holmes > story :) > > http://retributions.nationalinterest.in/blood-on-their-hands/ > > Blood on Their > Hands<http://retributions.nationalinterest.in/blood-on-their-hands/> > > Filed Under Current > Affairs<http://retributions.nationalinterest.in/category/current-affairs/>, > Public > Policy<http://retributions.nationalinterest.in/category/public-policy/>, > Reservations<http://retributions.nationalinterest.in/category/public-policy/reservations/> > > > > *The false prophets of social justice are responsible for the mayhem in > Rajasthan* > > In his latest column in the Indian Express, Pratap Bhanu Mehta opines that > solving the Gurjjar crisis in Rajasthan would require a lot of "political > imagination. <http://www.indianexpress.com/story/314823.html>" But where > is the space for political maneuvering? The Vasundhara Raje government is > caught in a bind of its own > making<http://retributions.nationalinterest.in/the-rajasthan-caste-cauldron/>: > If it recommends ST status for the Gurjjars, then the powerful Meena > community, which has benefited disproportionately from reservations would > rise in revolt; if it doesn't then Gurjjars, after upping the ante and > suffering tremendously, are hardly likely to sue for peace. > > While lives continue to be lost in Rajasthan, the proponents of social > justice are now where to be seen. No op-eds are being written; no angry > denouncements of "Brahminical conspiracy' are forthcoming; and even the > normally voluble politicians have gone silent. It is almost as the mayhem > and violence in Rajasthan is not their business when in fact they are > directly responsible for the civil war currently underway in Rajasthan and > which, if immediate corrective measures are not taken, may be replicated > across the length and breadth of the country. > > First, pro-reservationists have reduced social justice to a binary of > reservations. Point out that reservations would benefit a minuscule number, > and one immediately faces charges of being anti-backward. Talk about > strengthening the primary education system which by government's own > admission is in doldrums and grossly under-funded, and immediately one is > accused of upholding the hegemony of privileged classes. Reservations have > been projected as a magic pill, which would, by it self, solve the problem > of social inequities. No wonder, Gurjjars are so adamant in demanding their > share of the reservation pie. Their desperate is a direct result of the > strident rhetoric of the pro-reservationists. > > Second, pro-reservationists have worked systematically to undermine > accountability in the reservation system. As the government it self conceded > in the Supreme Court, it had no data on OBCs-in fact, it wasn't even sure > about the exact % of OBC's in the Indian population. Castes have been added > to the OBC list based merely on political expediency (inclusion of the > powerful Jats in Rajasthan-the real pivot behind Gurjjar agitation is a > classical example) naturally edging out the really deprived. A system of > accountability based on sociological surveys and real data, on the other > hand, could have potentially excluded Meenas from the purview of > reservations. > > Third, the incessant focus on reservations has undermined the role of good > governance. The Gurjjars are not demanding better schools or improved > infrastructure; all they want is guaranteed government jobs. No wonder, the > Rajasthan government's gesture of a special package for Gurjjars with a > substantial monetary outlay has been rejected out of hand. Why demand > governance when reservations are supposed to solve every problem? > > It is still not too late. The political class should realize that > reservations not only yield no electoral benefits but may be potentially > counter-productive. It is hard to imagine how the Vasundhara Raje government > would wriggle out of the current crisis in Rajasthan without alienating one > or other of the major communities. Reservations can fray the delicate social > fabric of India; if that is not a reason enough for the politicians and > their intellectual backers then at least the instinct for self-preservation > should guide them against perpetuating the culture of > entitlement<http://offstumped.nationalinterest.in/>. > > > > > -- > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Liberty, if it means anything, is the right to tell people what they don't > want to hear. > > > -- Bobby Kunhu --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
