[ZESTCaste] The mall culture (Chandrabhan Prasad)
http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnistfile_name=prasad%2Fprasad227.txtwriter=prasad The mall culture By Chandrabhan Prasad Catch any member of the CPI(M), or a Bajrang Dal activist, and say one good thing about the mall-culture, and see the look that comes with it. It feels as if a predator is going to pounce on you. Why are the two traditionalists - the former carrying the baggage of caste-Hindu spirituality, and the latter, the baggage of the caste-Hindu rituals, feel so threatened by the mall culture? For the past one month I have been visiting a shopping mall in east Delhi. It's a part of my ongoing research on globalisation and its impact on the caste order. What I have observed so far is that the mall on an average employ 40 sweepers. Of these only 12 were Dalits, the other 28 were Brahmins and Kshatriyas. Needless to say, all the sweepers irrespective of their caste, gender, colour, and age, work together on the same wage and employment conditions. One could see them laughing, smoking, and drinking tea together. There is also an American restaurant serving fast food in the mall. During the course of my research, of the 60 workers the food chain employs, 42 workers have studies in English medium school. I was a bit stunned one day when I saw the duty manager sweeping the floor. All the people in the restaurant are trained to do all the work. We all can cook and we do, we all can serve at the counter and we do, we all can sweep floor and we do, he said. At first he was reluctant to speak with me because he was not allowed to speak with the Press. However, after much coaxing he opened up. He said that he was a Bharadwas Brahmin - superior to other Brahmins. What if you have a Dalit guest in your restaurant - may be your garbage collector who accidentally came to your restaurant? I asked. I am paid more than an IAS officer. I have a job to perform and that is to serve each and every customer who comes to the restaurant even if he was my garbage collector. What times are you living in sir? I let lose the caste-society bomb. Will you serve food to the garbage collector who comes to your house in your locality? I asked him. For this he had no answer. So what we have is two set of people living in the society - those who live the mall culture and then there are those who live outside it. With my limited exposure to Europe and the US, I find cultures and societies inside the malls as the same as outside malls. If given a choice what kind of a society would India choose - the traditional society or the society as that is slowly evolving inside the malls. Can Brahmins, Kshatriyas/Bhumihars, Reddys/ Kanmmas, Jats/Yadavs, Gaudas/Lingayats, Thewars/Vanniyars, Marathas/Kunbs, Patels, Patnaiks, Jat- Sikhs, Nairs, and Basus sweep streets outside malls? Can any member of CPM, CPI, CPI(M), Bajrang Dal, RSS, VHP show us one instance where Dalits and non-Dalits clean toilets together for the same pay scale and working arrangements outside the mall society? Well, Sulabh is an exception, and Sulabh is part of the new culture. Here is what a mall culture does to a society: It provides a Europe like climate - centrally air-conditioned environment. There is a rare combination where the mall workers and the customers are treated alike. A mall deploys machines to redefine occupations. The cleaning staff are given uniform, shoes and socks, a cap, and modern tools to sweep. With such changes, the mall culture liberates traditional occupation from their caste identities. Additionally, they are paid well. The English speaking workers in the American food chain are trained to receive each visitor as their guest. Workers in the American food company are also consumers and must earn enough to shine individually. To them, caste arrogance becomes a liability. Despite the caste pressures, the mall culture is creating a tradition-neutral society. In other words, howsoever, unintended that may be, malls are creating a new society, an anti-thesis to the caste society. Forget what the traditionalists - the CPM the RSS aspire for, Dalits will have to make a choice - between the caste society and that of a mall society.
[ZESTCaste] Fwd: Silver Jubilee National Conference of IAWS- Call for Papers
-- Forwarded message -- From: sandali thakur [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Oct 1, 2007 10:27 PM Subject: Silver Jubilee National Conference of IAWS- Call for Papers To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] It is my pleasure to inform you that the Indian Association for Women's Studies (IAWS) is organizing its Silver Jubilee National Conference in February, 2008, at Lucknow. The theme for the Conference is 'Feminism, Education and the Transformation of Knowledges: Processes and Institutions'. Kindly find attached the Conference Brochure for detailed write-ups on the sub-themes, guidelines for paper presentation and information on registration, membership, etc. For further queries, you can also mail me at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Regards Sandali Conference Secretariat, IAWS @ Centre for Women's Development Studies, New Delhi -- Gajarpunni ki Jad Badayun Lalla Naam Layanso
[ZESTCaste] Ambedkar golden jubilee fails to reunite RPI factions (News)
http://www.indiaenews.com/politics/20071002/73199.htm Ambedkar golden jubilee fails to reunite RPI factions By Shyam Pandharipande. Maharashtra, India, 02:01 PM IST Even as the constitution drafted by Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar continues to guide India's destiny and helps keep the republic intact, his followers remain splintered. They will hold separate golden jubilee functions of the party of his dream here Wednesday. While the Republican Party of India (RPI) led by Bihar Governor R.S. Gavai's son Rajendra and claiming to be the 'original' RPI will celebrate the function at an obscure place in the city, the RPI-Athavale faction led by Member of Parliament Ramdas Athavale has organised a grand show at the Kasturchand Park here. Ironically, Ambedkar's grandson Prakash -- who leads the third major faction of the party styled Bharatiya Republican Party-Bahujan Maha Sangh (BRP-BMS) -- has said that he will stay away from both celebrations, declaring that the real Republican Party has long ceased to exist. The RPI was founded by Ambedkar's chosen lieutenants on Oct 3, 1957, -- 10 months after his death and a year after he embraced Buddhism along with thousands of his scheduled caste followers. An estimated 700,000 people had attended the foundation ceremony at Nagpur's Deeksha Bhoomi. The party was formed as per the blueprint that the Dalit icon had handed down to his political heirs, days before his death on Dec 6, 1956. Ambedkar's mandate was to set up a broad-based version of two parties he had earlier launched -- the Labour Party in 1936 and the Scheduled Caste Federation in 1942. Billed to be a big draw on Wednesday, the RPI-Athawale function is expected to be graced by a galaxy of national and state level leaders of Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), both the communist parties and those of some smaller secular parties. Athavale claims that 300,000 workers drawn from 30 states will attend the celebrations. In contrast, Rajendra Gavai's 'original' RPI has decided to keep its golden jubilee celebrations limited to the party loyalists. The young son of the Bihar governor talked deferentially about the senior leaders. 'I will gladly take a small seat in any corner of the dais offering bigger chairs to Athavale and Ambedkar should they deign to grace the 'original RPI' function,' Rajendra told IANS. But pointing to the Gavai-led party's alignment with the Congress, Prakash Ambedkar has dubbed it the 'Congress-RPI' while describing the RPI led by Athavale as 'NCP-RPI'. An embittered Ambedkar told IANS that the offer coming from an 'NCP serf' is not worth looking at. He also refused to have anything to do with the 'Congress satrap' -- meaning R.S. Gavai. Ramdas Athavale, recalling that he was unanimously elected president of the unified Republican Party in 1995, told IANS that he would initiate fresh unification moves immediately after Wednesday's function. 'I am willing to offer the pride of position of 'party leader' to Prakash Ambedkar, the post of secretary to Rajendra Gavai and make the People's Republican Party chief Jogendra Kawade the organising secretary,' Athavale said. 'I will, of course, be the president.' Referring to some RPI puritans who disapprove of the idea of opening up the party to communities other than Scheduled Castes, Athavale said a party restricted to Dalits could not have a political future. 'Dr. Ambekar had himself realised this when he lost the Lok Sabha election from Dadar in 1952 and a by-election from Bhandara,' Athavale said, adding that a combination of 40 percent Dalits and 60 percent non-Dalits would be right for the new party. 'We will take up major economic and developmental issues concerning the masses like increased irrigation facilities, a people-oriented Special Economic Zones policy and redrafting of forest related acts to safeguard forest dwellers' rights,' Athavale said. Referring to the growing clout of the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Athavale said he was going to move the Supreme Court to claim back the 'Elephant' symbol for the RPI that the BSP uses now. The RPI, which in 1967 won 12 percent votes in Maharashtra and had nine Members of Parliament and 29 members in different state legislatures declined in strength after forging an alliance with the Congress following the elections. Split in several factions, it lost the status of a recognised party. Following unification in 1995, the party won four Lok Sabha seats and regained recognition only to lose it again after the second split in 1999. The point of difference that caused the second split -- which persists even now -- was whether to be aligned with Congress or NCP. With the party remaining splintered, the division in the Scheduled Caste votes has helped other parties. The ego clashes and battle of supremacy among top RPI leaders are coming in the way of Ambedkar's party, and the party workers and followers, whose pressure brought about the short-lived unification
[ZESTCaste] Gujjars to court arrest (News)
http://www.deccan.com/City/CityNews.asp#Gujjars%20to%20court%20arrest Gujjars to court arrest Jaipur, Oct. 1: Security has been beefed up in Rajasthan following the Gujjar community's call for a mass arrest campaign on Gandhi Jayanti. The government has made over 200 makeshift jails and executive magistrates have been posted in sensitive areas. We have made all necessary arrangements to maintain peace during the agitation, said Rajasthan home minister Gulabchand Kataria. We are ready to accept them if they offer themselves for mass arrest, but we will ensure law and order, said Mr Kataria. The Gujjar leaders claimed that over 500,000 Gujjars will present themselves at seven divisional headquarters on Tuesday to court arrest. Meanwhile, tribal leaders from all over India assembled in Jaipur and said they would not accept any division in the Scheduled Tribe list. The tribal leaders, including Central ministers, were busy on Monday drafting a Jaipur declaration on the tribal issue. The administration has acquired government buildings, like schools and offices, for use as makeshift jails. The administration also hired vehicles to transport the Gujjars. The Gujjar leaders assured us that they would maintain the peace. We hope the agitation will pass off peacefully, Mr Kataria said. It is on the government. If the government uses force to victimise us, it will be their responsibility, said rebel BJP MLA Prahlad Gunjal.
[ZESTCaste] Fwd: Job openings at The Centre for Alternative Dalit Media, New Delhi
The Centre for Alternative Dalit Media, New Delhi, is looking for a Documentation Officer and a documentation assistant. The latter may be part-time and may be pursuing higher education. The only qualification is good comprehension, reading and writing skills in English and a working knowledge of Hindi. The candidates should be based in Delhi. Please send your CV to Ashok Bharti - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[ZESTCaste] Inclusion in ST category a constitutional matter: Minister
http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=508114 MINISTER Inclusion in ST category a constitutional matter: Minister JAIPUR, OCT 1 (PTI) Ahead of Gurjars' stir in Rajasthan tomorrow in support of their demand for a Scheduled Tribe tag, Union Minister P R Kyndiah today said inclusion of any caste or community in SC or ST category for reservation benefit was a constitutional matter. States should know proper rules and procedures before recommending any caste or community to the Centre for quota benefit, Kyndiah, Minister for Tribal Affairs, said. Any inclusion in the SC or ST category for reservation needs to go through the SC/ST Commission and the concerned Ministry, he said. Thereafter, an amendment in the Constitution was required, Kyndiah told the 14th National Conference of the All India Tribal Development Council here. He said the UPA government at the Centre had approved a bill on tribal land and forest rights and it would be notified shortly. A draft of the National Tribal Policy had also been placed before the Union Cabinet for consideration, he said.
[ZESTCaste] Dr Ambedkar and the Jaibhim Community in Hungary
http://www.fwbo-news.org/2007/10/dr-ambedkar-and-jaibhim-community-in.html Tuesday, October 02, 2007 Dr Ambedkar and the Jaibhim Community in Hungary For some two years now there have been growing links between the FWBO and the Romany gypsies in Hungary. This began when they discovered Dr. Ambedkar and became inspired by him and his followers in India. Roma gypsies in Eastern Europe live lives of extreme poverty and discrimination similar to the conditions experienced by Indian Dalits about 75 years ago, indeed, they describe themselves as the 'untouchables' of Europe. They realised Dr Ambedkar's 'Dhamma Revolution'(in which in 1956 millions of his followers renounced the Hindu social order based on caste discrimination and inequality and became Buddhist) was relevant to them too. By the time they contacted the FWBO they had already opened the Little Tiger Grammar School in Alsoszentmarton in south Hungary. The name comes indirectly from Dr. Ambedkar, who referred to education as 'tiger's milk'. More than that, they realised Buddhist ethical practice helped to develop confidence and self-respect, and that Buddhist conversion opened the door to social, economic, and personal development - thus, that Buddhism could be directly relevant to their problems. In addition to their feeling for Dr. Ambedkar, East European Roma/Gypsies are deeply conscious of their roots in India and many identify strongly with what happens there. Since the initial contact there have been several exchange visits to Hungary, mostly by students of the Dharmapala College, Birmingham. Mostly recently Manidhamma, an Indian Order Member, visited, together with Ashwin Gunaratna, an Indian mitra from Nagpur. Reports of some of thier previous visits can be found on the Dharmadhuta blog. One of the important events during this visit was the formation of the Jaibhim Community. This is an initiative by Janos Orsos and Derdak Tibor, two mitras from the gypsy community (there are now four in total). It will provide the organisational framework for Buddhist activities and the communication of Dr Ambedkar's vision in Hungary. The Jaibhim Community is linked to the FWBO/TBMSG and has adopted a modified version of Ambedkar's 22 Vows in its constitution. These are, in essence, a set of vows to practice Buddhism, to spread Dr Ambedkar's message and to reconstruct society to one based on Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Manidhamma and Janos together collected the registration document from the Charity Commissions' office in Pecs. The website contains several videos of their activities and Dalit programs in India – even a 'Jai Bhim' ringtone! Manidhamma and Ashwin were able to visit the Little Tiger School and meet students and staff. Manidhamma gave a talk on Dr Ambedkar's emphasis on self-help and his threefold injunction to his followers to 'Educate, Agitate, and Organise'. The school is very successful and has been taken as a model by the Hungarian government. A new similar school is being set up in northern Hungary at Tomor in association with the 'Bhim Rao Association'. Manidhamma also led a 3-day retreat at Uszo, a beautiful place in North Hungary, which 30 young men and women attended from different parts of Hungary. There were talks about Dr Ambedkar, Buddhism in India, meditation and discussion about the five precepts and vegetarianism. Ashwin and Manidhamma cooked delicious Indian vegetarian food and distributed gifts - Dr Ambedkar's photos, books, CDs, Indian saris, dhotis and cloths, Buddhist images, 'Jai Bhim' head-bands (as seen in the photo), necklaces, lockets, rosaries and vegetarian food-spices and sweets. They travelled visiting Romas/Gypsies in Budapest, Pecs, Komlo, Baksa, Manfa, Hidas, Harkany, Sayokaza and Ozd. The response was warm and welcoming and our connection with them seems set to grow. We are currently looking for English teachers able to go to Hungary and teach English to the gypsy community for four or five months at a time, if anyone is interested please contact email:[EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a BLANK email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
