….. says the DNA - not in so many words, but that is more or less the take away. Some excerpts:

Come December 6, residents of Shivaji Park in Central Dadar press the panic button. Many alter their work and daily schedules, beef up security in buildings, inform schools that their children will remain absent, and literally barricade themselves inside their homes with heavy-duty locks.

Why. are the Dalits going to break in to the homes and do to the people in homes what is being done to them in their homes?

Post-Khairlanji and the subsequent riots throughout Maharashtra, this year’s gathering is expected to attract over 20 lakh Dalits from all over the country.

As the numbers swell, heart beats of Shivaji Park residents will also quicken in anticipation of the “gross” inconvenience caused during the following days.

what is gross? And why is it in quotes - is it gross because you think that the people have no right to gather or celebrate. or is it something else?

Unlike previous years, this time too a huge shamiana has been erected at the Shivaji Park grounds to house the teeming lakhs. Colleges and other places have been rented to accommodate the devotees, says Bhadant Sanghpal, in-charge of Chaityabhoomi.

Was the Shamiana erected in earlier years or is it just this year. Unlike other years what is different?

A majority of hotels and restaurants have decided to down shutters on December 6. According to a hotel manager, “The crowd is unruly. We expect more trouble this year as the situation is explosive. We will shut down the hotel that day.”

That also makes for complete business sense -20 lakh visitors land up in your neighbourhood - and you shut down operations. HOw many hotels is this - every single one in the Shivaji Park neighbourhood or only one.

Neeta Godbole, who lives close to the venue, is one of the “worst affected”. As proprietor of Neeta Godbole Classes, she decries the noise and air pollution. “There is loud music at night, people barge into buildings and dirty them, bathe in the open on the footpaths, throw food around and make life miserable for us. We cannot go out or take our cars out for fear of hitting someone. We are under house arrest all day.” According to Godbole, parents of her pupils hound her to suspend classes during this time. “We are really tired of the whole thing,” she says. “Why can’t they do something about it?”

You know the funny thing is that Mumbai is a city of celebrations & gatherings. Come December last week - the roads will be jammed with cars and people trying to get to parties. Come January it is wedding season - the roads will be jammed with people and cars trying to get to weddings. Then there is the Urs in Mahim, Ganpati, Navratri, Chatt Pooja and the big baap of all cluttered events - Holi. And, I am not even including political rallies, bandhs and other forms of spontaneous expression. I haven't really seen articles that are this patronising or one sided when it comes to their reportage. Yet, when it comes to Dalits congregating once a year to mark the anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar - they become the teeming masses that 'gross' out the neighbourhood.

I read the DNA regularly. I quite like it. But, this is a bad and biased piece of journalism - possibly influenced by the writer's own prejudices. Having said that, in this case it is not just an issue with one sided writing. I think that the editor or the sub have not really done their job in making sure that the piece is not so prejudicial.

Or does this kind of reportage reflect the values of the paper?

Technorati Tags: Dalits, Babasaheb Ambedkar

Tags: Caste, Dalit, Discrimination, India, Media, Media Bias, Media Ethics, Society

(warning: this post contains pictures that may offend the 'dignity', 'decency', and sensibility of some readers). Not Priyanka Vadera Gandhi, Not even Priyanka Chopra. But, Priyanka Bhotmange. Just a simple, ordinary girl called Priyanka who lived in a small little village called Khairlanji in the back of beyond in the state of Maharashtra. She studied in the 12th and hoped to make something of her life that would allow her to escape from the restrictions of caste, class and gender. Two months ago - on Sepetmber 29th - she was murdered. Now, she wasn't just murdered - she was gang raped by a drunken mob before that. As Shivam's harrowing post describes

four victims …..dragged away to the village chaupal, Priyanka strapped to a bullock cart. By now, men allegedly from the entire village of about 150 Powar and Kalar families had collected. Some shouted to the sarpanch to allow them to sexually assault the women.

Surekha and Priyanka were stripped, paraded naked, beaten black and blue with bicycle chains, axes and bullock cart pokers. They were publicly gang raped until they died. Some raped them even after that, and finally, sticks and rods were shoved into their genitals.

In the meanwhile

Meanwhile, Priyanka’s brothers, 21-year-old Sudhir and 19-year-old Roshan, were murdered. After Priyanka and her mother were raped, they too were murdered.

This from Shivam

They raped the women and killed all four, even as their womenfolk looked on, mute spectators to a form of justice reserved for castes lower than theirs. One woman, Sudha Dhenge, reportedly did protest but was slapped into silence. She now says she was never there.

And finally

The first photographs of Priyanka's body, that were taken by a social organisation, showed rods sticking out from her genitals. But when her body was taken to the Mohadi hospital for the post-mortem, the sticks and rods had disappeared.

Priyanka's crime - her family was Dalit and worse than that - it was a family that dared to stand up for its rights. Yet at a certain level Priyanka and her mother Surekha were also punished for being women. And how dare a woman, and a DAlit woman at that have delusions of equality? Don't we all know that historically and culturally while being a Dalit is bad enough, being a woman is worse. And God help you if you are both. Last week - my students and I were carrying out an little exercise that we conduct fairly regularly. We look at the top of mind recall stories from all the media. The students identified around 17 stories. 12 of those were entertainment or celeb oriented- Ash, Abhishek, Cricket, Rahul Mahajan. 2 of them were business - tata corus. Two of them were national/international political. And one student said Solapur. I asked what solapur and she said that some Dalits are protesting. About what, i asked. Something, she said. And my students are bright, aware and at an age where they do care about the world and get outraged about injustices. Yet they had not read anything beyond Dalits protesting. And then i did something i have never done in class. I turned brutal. I just read out part of Shivam's piece from memory - the bit where the villagers were petitioning the sarpanch to be allowed to rape the women. And the manner of the murders. There was a shocked, stunned silence. This is the first time that i have really used graphic descriptions in a class. I used to resist graphic descriptions - and given the fact that i teach media and how media impacts society - i used to be careful about explaining stuff like decency and dignity and all those wonderful terms. But, somehow this time around i realised that trying to pussyfoot around the topic is not going to help. That my students, future journalists and media people have to know what is going on and how. and so does everyone else. Family of four killed in Nagpur or Solapur does not really describe the story or its implications. And it is with this in mind i have decided to link to the pictures of the victim. A girl called Priyanka is dead. She was murdered by men who demanded the right to rape her and then kill her. The permission was granted. And we want to be polite about it? A woman called Surekha is dead. She is also gang raped and murdered. Two young men called Sudhir & Roshan and beaten to death. And we use flowery terms like 'dignity in death'. What dignity? The dead are dead, and what we are trying to do is protect the dignity of the living. Our dignity. We don't want to see a raped and murdered woman's photograph because it offends us. Not the act but the picture. I have been following the Indian blogospheres' reactions on the incident. And, almost like in a black farce, beyond a lipservice to outrage at the act - it has focused mainly on whether a blogger should have published the picture or not. As someone pointed out on beaupeep's blog

Common man wants to learn and wants to learn the essence. He can very well picturise : a dead body or what a rape or mutilation can leave behind on a human body. Are you achieving any purpose beyond disturbing his mind one bright morning.

As I said - dignitiy and decency and all the polical correctness is for us. not the dead. i hate to use the analogy of Fox News - but the fact remains that those who have been screaming about the 'dignity of death' (pray tell me what is dignified about being gangraped, having rods and objects shoved into you, and necrophilia) have really taken a leaf out of the best propagandists in the world. When the issue is important scream out a different question. A few months ago when Priyadarshini Mattoo's family was finally given justice - i asked my students a question - if the woman was poor, dalit and from the back of beyond, would there have been so much outrage and outcry. I guess i have got my answer. Other reads Shivam Vij The Great Bong Atrocity News images courtsey: The life, thoughts and teachings of Beau Peep

Technorati Tags: Priyanka Bhotmange, Khairlanji, Maharashtra, Dalit

Tags: Caste, Dalit, Gender Issues, India, Media Bias, Media Ethics, Priyanka Bhotmange, Violence

About 15 months ago -has it only been that long? - i was in Marathwada making a documentary on Self Help Groups set up by destitute women that form the basis of bare foot capitalism. Starting with nothing these women have built up amazing capital - in the form of goats.The women combat the triple whammy of gender, caste and poverty. Yet, their strength is quite something else. Their perserverence and dedication to change their lot without bitterness is admirable.

With a certain amount of succes under their belt, the women are now turning their attention to something very important to them. Their Children's education. They are funding neighbourhood schools where their children can study without discrimination.

But, this little boy, like all little boys is fairly ambivalent about going into school. He would rather be playing outside:)

Tags: Caste, Cogito TV, Dalit, Development, Gender Issues, Poverty, Society

I am getting repetitive on this blog. Every 10 days or so I come across a flurry of articles - bloglines that way is very good - on violence against women. I come across articles almost on a daily basis - but on some days, it is almost as though the floodgates have opened up and you are reading about violence against women everywhere. I am not sure whether the amount of violence has increased, or is it the fact that more of it is getting reported. Either case is scary.

Today’s lot included rape, stripping, molesting, violence.
a) Man held for raping sister-in-law

Jewel (31) had criminally assaulted the 21-year-old woman, his wife’s sister, on Thursday night in a park near Dhaula Kuan.The victim had recently come to Delhi in search of a job as a maid and Jewel had taken her to the park on the pretext of meeting a prospective employer.

b) Woman gangraped in East Delhi:

In yet another incident of gangrape in the capital, a woman was allegedly criminally assaulted by two of her husband’s friends in an East Delhi area, police sources said today.

c) Man shoots mother and daughter-in-law for resisting rape

A man allegedly attempted to rape his daughter-in-law and shot at her and his own mother when they resisted at Mojal village (UP) in the district, police said here today.

d) Woman gang raped in Chandigarh

A woman was allegedly gang raped by three men who first forced her into a car and then took her to a house here where the crime was committed last night, police said today.

e) Dalit women paraded naked in Orissa

A group of Dalit women belonging to the barber community have allegedly been paraded naked by upper-caste people in a coastal village on Monday last.The women’s fault: their husbands refused to wash the feet of bridegroom and members of barati during an upper-caste marriage a couple of months ago.

I had a blogged a couple of days ago about a Muslim Panchayat fining a rapist Rs.15,000/- and asking the victim to lick her ex-husband’s (he gave her triple talaq) spit as punishment.

The more I read about cases like this, the more the future depicted in a Handmaid’s Tale become’s a reality.
As I had written in June:

If it was a minority community facing the abuse that women do, then it would become a human rights issue. Now it is simply a ‘cultural’ issue or a ‘they will sort it out amongst themselves’ issue. Maybe, women ought to apply for minority status in India. Afterall, with the number of female foetus terminations we will soon become even more a minority than we already are

Update: This is Secular Right’s take on the issue of women being paraded naked in Orissa. Terrorism it is. About time we all made a hue and cry about it.

Tags: Caste, Gender Issues, Religion

A few months ago AP began the trend of reserving jobs for Muslims on the grounds that the community was ‘backward’.
Now the RJD and the Congress in Bihar have made a similar promise.

There is something fundamentally wrong, if in a secular nation, we introduce reservations on the basis of religion.

If a community is backward - there are other ways of bringing them on par with the rest of society. Compulsory education is a start- especially for the girl child. Business loans at favourable rates is another. Additional Tax breaks for companies that are equal opportunities employers is yet another. Ensuring that ministries concerned with rural development deliver. Penalise corruption that prevetns allocated funds from reaching targets. Ensure that the rule of law is followed. In fact the Government should be moving towards equal opportunites, and away from reservation. Equal opportunities is economics led. Quotas, on the other hand, are hand outs. The first empowers, the second allows for stagnation.

Incentivise companies to hire people. Incentivise banks to give loans to certain communities. Incentivise mentors to mentor these businesses. Incentivise schools and colleges to follow equal opportunites. incentivise self help groups that set in villages. facilitate the buying of land on easy installments.

Quotas are a bad idea. It leads to complecency - and the Government and industry and the rest of us get into this comfort zone that because reservation exists, the problem has gone away. It hasn’t. Which is why 58 years after independence political parties are still tripping over each other screaming reservation. Reservation has worked in a very, very limited manner - and the problem still remains. The communities in question have attained political weight, which has not translated into economic weight. (and in India - like elsewhere - economic weight is social weight).

If you travel around India - especially rural India - and talk to Dalit Activists - most of them tell you that the benefits of reservation are cornered by a few who don’t let the rest take advantage of it. Their argument is that if your parents are middle class, then you aren’t a Dalit. A dalit is someone who doesn’t know where the next meal is going to come from. Who doesn’t have money to buy books or pencils.

If You (as in the politicians) want to do something for economically backward groups in India - go right ahead. You need to . But, reservations may not be the solution. You need to start wtih providing security. Start with physical security, move on to economic security. The rest will automatically follow. Ensuring that the rule of law is followed when crimes are committed against weaker sections - and it economic deprivation that makes them weak - is a start. These crimes can be discrimination, rape, violence, . It could be companies that don’t hire people from a particular caste or community - or don’t promote them. Ensure that the full force of law is brought against the people who discriminate. But, no. Those who commit these crimes probably support some major Party or the other. The problems of the poor and the dispossessed remain unanswered until election time, when vague - and possibly unconstitutional - promises are made to them in return for votes.

Finally, if we are to continue with the reservation policy, and the parameter for reservation is “backwardness” surely then - reservation should be on the basis of economic status - not caste or religion. But under the income of x thousand per annum does not a vote bank form !

Tags: Caste, Education, Gender Issues, Poverty, Religion, Society

One of the purchases that I made at the Strand Book Sale was Dr. Narendra Jadhav's book The Untouchable.
From the author's note, the book grabs your attention and keeps it rivetted.

"Every sixth human being in the world today is an Indian, and every sixth Indian is an erstwhile untouchable, a Dalit"

The book is an incredible read. In the main it is a romance - the love story between Dr.Jadhav's father - Damu - and his mother - Sonu. Caste forms the backdrop of this incredible partnership. The affection, love and mutual respect that Damu and Sonu have for each other comes through in every page. Sonu's voice and perspective and her vision of happiness completemented by Damu's vision of a society where he and his children are treated just the same as anyone else. Not much to ask for, but a lot even in today's day and age.

The story begins with Damu running away from his village to Mumbai to escape caste oppression. He does the unthinkable. Stands up for his rights as a human being. And that in a caste ridden village society is a definite no no, and he gets whipped for his troubles. In the middle of the night - he and his wife take off for Mumbai.

The book is divided into alternate Damu and Sonu chapters. So we see the unfolding of this incredible story from both points of view. Different perspectives of the same event. Parallel events in each others lives that build the narrative. Sonu's incredible story of how she as a new wife learns to 'love' her husband. Damu's own feelings of tenderness and affection towards his wife contrasted with his sense of outrage at an unfair system. And this outrage is directed as much towards the upper castes that seek to dominate and oppress Damu and his family, as it is directed towards his own community for accepting the discrimination.

Damu describes the aftermath of the Mahad water agitation - where Ambedkar had led a satyagraha to ensure that Dalits were allowed equal rights to portable water. He says (pg 24):

We returned to Mumbai only to learn that the orthodox high-born of Mahad had the Brahmin priests 'purify' the 'desecrated' water reservoir by pouring into it 108 pots of curd, milk, cow-dung and cow urine amidst loud religious chants?
Didn't these educated people realise that the notion of purification with animal urine was more ridiculous and despicable than the idea of defilement by human touch?

Obviously not. In conservative Tam Bram families even today - it is recommended that a woman who has delivered a baby has the panchamrut that is made up of milk, ghee, cow's urine, a bit of dung and something else equally yuk. It is no wonder that most of my female cousins remain unmarried and unhindered by kids!

Advice that Sonu is given on making her husband happy:

"Accept your husband. Taht is the reason why we have been given our long flowing padar for the sari. It is big enough to accomodate all the shortcomings of our men, and long enough to cover them with the shade of our understanding"

Caste oppression and discrimination are part and parcel of the book. But nowhere does the author let go of the narrative and stand on a soapbox. And, that is possibly the reason why the book makes more of an impact than anything else that I have read on caste. It is chilling in its normalcy. You care so much about Damu and Sonu that anyone who wants to harm them is the villian.

Unfortunately, I cannot find an on-line reference for the book. But, buy the book. gift the book. It is a must read for our generation. Especially because many of us believe that caste does not matter any more.

And for all of us who think that caste is history, think again. This morning while reading the newspaper this article. A Dalit woman (therefore doubly discriminated) sarpanch was not allowed to raise the flag on independence day:

In a letter to the Bundelkhand police superintendent, Anita Bai Ahirwar has alleged that government officials did not permit her to hoist the national flag on August 15 because she belongs to the Dalit community.

“I was told by the officials that chamar-chamariya (Dalits) cannot hoist the national flag at the centre of a market place,” Anita Bai wrote, giving an account of how she was prevented from raising the flag in a chowk that fell under the jurisdiction of her panchayat.

Words fail me on this one. They truly do.

Tags: Caste, Dalit, Development, Discrimination, Review, Society

Today i went into viewing the rushes from the shoot. All you can see is dry heat and warm tones. And viewing the footage made me realise that no matter what the fuckups the story that is going to be told is one of hope. Not one of despair. It is not the story of city slickers or educated people, or people who can talk and walk English. Its a story of the poorest of the poor, the most abused of the lot - the Dalit Women. These women have decided to take charge of their own destiny. Every where we went - it was the women who were at the forefront of change. Irregular daily wage workers who barely earn minimum wage - are undertaking their own silent, small yet significant revolution. The catalyst behind this revolution is self help groups. The funda is very simple. Each woman in a group of around 20 women - saves upto 1 day's wage a month as part of a common Self Help group. This varies between Rs.20 per month and Rs.50 per month. The Group gets its self a bank account with 3 authorised signatories - the President, vice president and secretary. The group then begins internal lending for a variety of activities from buying seeds to goats to medical expenses or marriage. The rate of interest at which they lend is lower than either that of the bank or the local money lender. Essentially they build up a fund. At the end of two years if the group has kept records well, then natioalised banks lend them upto Rs.25,000 for starting up a small business. Of this Rs.10,000 is a subisdy and Rs.15,000 has to be paid back. Till date the SHG's have a 100% record in repaying bank loans. If the banking system had corporates that were so ernest about repayment, they would be in perpetual profits. Today women have started their own business that takes them slightly near the poverty line - from being way below it. It is a movement that has given them back hope, aspiration and above all a sense of achievement. When the women proudly tell you that their group has raised Rs.5000/- as capital it is truly an achievement. It is the equivalent of me - and my friends - raising a crore (Rs.10 million)by squirriling away our daily wages. Today most SHG's are taking active interest in schools, education and the running of the village. They also address other issues such as wife beating, alcohol abuse by the men and discrimination due to caste or gender. I guess it is people like this, the un named millions, who by their individual and collective acts of determination - who brings hope that tommorrow is truly a better day

Tags: Caste, Cogito TV, Dalit, Development, Docu Diaries, Gender Issues, Poverty, Society

“It costs Rs.3 lakhs - Rs.300,000 - to get into the army. About Rs.1 lakh to become a teacher and something inbetween to get a job as a pune in a college. where do we get that kind of money from?” is a constant refrain that you hear.

The levels of educated unemployed amongst Dalits is exceedingly high. Arjun - one of TDSS’s Rs.500 per month scholarship holders - is a MA in English literature, and is currently in the 2nd (of 4) year of a law programme. He supplements his scholarship through manual labour in the fields. When he asked why he doesn’t take up a teaching post, he says that it is because of the money needed to bribe someone to get a job. When asked why he doesn’t take tutions the answer is that no one who can afford to pay will send his kids toa Dalit to learn. Udgir is still a small town with small town mentality.

Ranjita, a memeber of the Lahmani tribe, and a TDSS scholarship holder - vascillates between wanting to be a policewoman or a teacher. She fears at the bribes that will be demanded no matter what her choice.

Jyaneshwar Suryavanshi points me out to a case of theirs’ where a Dalit pune in the local college died in an accident, during duty. By law the college was obliged to offer the job to next of kin - in addition to some compensation. However, college officials wanted a “donation” of Rs.2 lakhs to give the job to the son, who also was handicapped. “Humne Sangharsh Kiya” - we launched a struggle -said Suryavanshi. A struggle means that upwards of 500 protestors turn up at your doorstep and stay there until you are heard. The day we landed in Udgir, the boy was employed by the college as a pune, without bribing anyone a single nai paisa.

Balaji Shinde explains the government sponosred Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) to me. He tells me that the state is obliged to find work for atleast 100 days in a year for labourers. For those employed under the EGS scheme the Goverment states a payment of 2/3rds the minimum wage plus wheat at Rs.2 per KG per day. The contractors and the officials deal internally and hand out just the wheat. They keep the wage and split it between themselves.

All the activists are equally agreed that the worst thing that has happened for Dalits is caste based reservation. As Suryavanshi sums it up

A Dalit is someone who doesnt’ have bhakri (bread) to eat. A Dalit is someone who finds a Rs.5 pen expensive and cannot afford to buy books to study or pay their exam fees. A Dalit is someone whose house gets swept away in the rains.It doesn’t matter if they are mahar, gujjar, brahmin, muslim, christian, buddhist’.

Today reservation only benefits the rich who conviniently call themselves “Dalit” for political and power reasons. How can Gopinath Munde’s family be Dalit. How can someone whose father is a Doctor and a mother a teacher be called a Dalit?

The benefits don’t come to us. it is kept by the rich and powerful amongst themselves.

All the activists i spoke to agreed that corruption at all levels has ensured that they remain poor. They see Dalit as being poverty stricken. They see education as the key to getting out of poverty. And they see financial success as the key to caste barriers crumbling. The rich and the powerful have no caste - they say.

Corruption is the worst thing that we face. It impacts the amount of development and aid that reaches the receipient. It ensures that the weakest of the weak, the poorest of the poor, the most disadvantaged of the disadvantaged - remain there generation after generation, perpetuating the worst form of discrimination.

Tags: Caste, Cogito TV, Development, Docu Diaries, Gender Issues, Poverty, Society

“we need books” is the answer. The question is ‘what can be done to improve the situation of Dalits in rural Maharashtra.’

Gyaneshwar Suryavanshi tells me that students from Dalit backgrounds who have graduated high school (12th) or even graduation with high marks find it next to impossible to go on to higher education. They cannot afford to purchase Rs.150 to Rs.250 (US$ 3.5 to US$4.5) books that are required to pursue higher education.

I met Arjun - a law student - who had stalled his education at the university. He earns around Rs.500 to Rs.750 per month (US$ 11 to US$ 16) and the cost of books are too exhorbitent to be conisdered.

In Ahmedpur, where 10th standard students have been topping the board every year for the last few years, there is an ironical quandry. Local kids - especially for those of Dalit backgrounds - cannot get admission to local schools, because paying parents have arrived from across Maharashtra, to admit their kids in Ahmedpur Schoos - for a shot at the no.1 position.

We met a couple of girls who could not finish their 10th standard. The reason the school wanted Rs.2000/- (US$55) as her admission fee. The name of the school Mahatma Gandhi Vidhyalaya.

Where wages are low and employment not regular, where survival is the priority and books a luxary - the sheer poverty ensures that one more generation of Dalit children do not escape the cycle of oppression.

At the end of the first day, Amit wanted a Gun - prefrebly one that did not run out of bullets. At the end of the first day i began understanding what the Naxalites are talking about. And even if i don’t agree with their tactics, i can see the desperation that led them to such a step.

We have decided to start a pool and collect money for books- 6 of us - our own private cess on education for a few months - and maybe we will have the start of a library.

Tags: Caste, Cogito TV, Development, Docu Diaries, Gender Issues, Poverty, Society