Dear friends:
While different people- from Yoga gurus to Anna Hazare go on fast to protest
against corruption in India- one needs to ask whether such approaches are good
or do they land up suppressing large scale dissent from oppressed groups, with
75% of India living under $2 per day per capita
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_percentage_of_population_living_in_poverty).
Other reasons for absence of large scale dissent in India include i) Populist
schemes of government like free/subsidized distribution of rice, television,
grinders, gold etc which do not question the unequal distribution of
assets/income, returns to labor, usurpation of natural resources, ii) The
inadequate emphasis on labor intensive growth by government and on dry land
agriculture growth (MNREGS is palliative and poorly implemented, rarely in
manifesto of state specific parties), iii) Initiation of schemes like SGSY
without linking them to land redistribution or rights to ponds, forests,
tanks, markets. iv) The anti-Dalit sentiment by upper and middle castes, the
blindness of society towards poverty, the upholding of patriarchal values,
phobia towards people of diverse sexual/gender identities, Muslims*, etc. v)
Belief of people in institutionalized religion and that one’s religion is
superior to that of the others. vi) Emergence of
NGOs under corporate control as well as NGOs which engage in service delivery
(which should be done by government). NGOs’ role should ideally be restricted
to making state and inter-state organizations accountable or showing replicable
models of making oppressed groups take control over livelihoods and assets
along value chain and making households, community and markets accountable.
vii) The internationalization of good social movements by INGOs by funding
them, with leaders being pulled to different countries to speak. Cannot
technology be used to speak from here? Viii) Inadequate back up support
mechanisms for few non party political formations that have survived this
onslaught.
It is time to challenge the yoga guru and middle/elite class led development
and protest models and ask the oppressed (50% of whom are Dalits and Adivasis
in India (bahujannews.blogspot.com/.../zestcaste-my-response-to-ashok.html),
majority are unorganized workers- with women amongst them being more
marginalized) what they see as Just model (s) of development, governance,
spirituality and sustainable living. It is obvious that neither unfettered
capitalism nor communism has worked. Instiutionalised religion is divisive.
If necessary, one could expose oppressed to different interpretations of
Ambedkar, Lohia, Paulo Friere, Andre Gunder Frank, Marx, Che Guevera,
Trusteeship of Gandhi, etc, pose a few questions and leave it to them to
evolve a model which is non violent. Listening to the songs of 70 year old
Naynamma, a dalit from Thervoy Kandigai, Tamil Nadu I feel she could teach us a
lot. Dalits, Adivasis and Sufis also
follow a lot of non-institutionalized spiritual and sustainable living
practices and follow their own governance systems (though not equitable in all
aspects of diversity).
FURTHER IT IS TIME TO GIVE FELLOWSHIPS TO OPPRESSED GROUPS WHO HAVE LED
STRUGGLES OR RESOLVED CONFLICTS TO FORM PREVENTIVE STRUGGLE and CONFLICT
RESOLUTION COMMITTEES (WITH LEADERSHIP BY THEM) AND NOT CURATIVE ONES AFTER
(INTER) NATIONAL CORPORATE CONTROL, STATE CONTROL AND CONFLICT STARTS.
OTHERWISE THERE IS A DANGER THAT SOONER OR LATER SPORADIC PATHS OF VIOLENCE MAY
SPREAD FURTHER. AFTER ALL OPPRESSED ARE NOT FOOLS. FURTHER, WITH TECHNOLOGY
AND FREE DISTRIBUTION OF TELEVISIONS PEOPLE KNOW PATHS OF PROTEST HAPPENING IN
OTHER COUNTRIES.
* 31% of Muslims are below poverty line, higher than national average
(articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com › Collections › Dalits - Cached).
ranjani
* Regret that I am in sri lanka for few days, name changed in gazette but not
in passport, had to come for a talk on "justice" and learn some home truths
from friends about situation here.
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