SEGREGATION, UNIFICATION and ANNIHILATION

SEGREGATION, UNIFICATION and ANNIHILATION
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 156


Palash Biswas

Partition of India is an Excellent CLASSIC Case study of the combined PHENOMENON of SEGREGATION, UNIFICATION and ANNIHILATION systematically DONE with surgical precision!

Invoking the RAJPOOT Royalty GOD RAMA of Indigenous Aboriginal MASS DESTRUCTION or SHUDRAYAN, the enslavement as HINDUISATION,Raking up the Ayodhya issue ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, BJP chief Rajnath Singh declared on Saturday that nobody could shake the party's faith in Lord Ram, for whom a magnificent temple will be built at Ayodhya. The HINDUTVA forces played HAVOC in KANDHMAL ORissa complaining CONVERSION of KANDH TRIBE most SEGREGATED and called for UNITY and Fraternity expressed in ETHNIC CLEANSING and Lynching. Knadhs werer never Hindu and the conversion was never more than TEN percent. IF ISLAM and Christianity are CAPABLE to CONvert HIndus, If Zionists are Capable to Convert Christians in MIZORAM in JUDAISM to achieve the SECOND PROMISED land of ISRAEL right in India and GOI accomodates MOSSAD as well as CIA undre strategi realliance, WHY THE HINDUTVA FORCES are UNABLE TO PLAY AS MISSIONARY. The SHUDDHI campaign is not quite convincing as NO CASTE in INDIA would allow outsiders to be ACCOMODATED and HINDUTVA itself professes INHERENT, GRADED InEQUALITY and INJUSTICE!

"Jahan tak Ram Janambhoomi ka sawal hai, koi ma ka lal Bhagwan Ram me hamari aastha aur nishta ko diga nahi sakta (No one can shake BJP's faith and reverence to Lord Ram)," he said in his inaugural speech at the two-day National Council meeting that began on Saturday.

Rajnath's statement led to chants of "Jai Shri Ram" from several of the assembled gathering consisting of thousands of party leaders and workers.

The BJP had kept its pet issues like Ayodhya, Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and Uniform Civil Code on a backburner when it came to power in 1998 and tied up a coalition.

He lamented that during the last five years the Congress-led coalition at the Centre had failed to spare "even five minutes" for initiating dialogue to resolve the Ram Janambhoomi issue.

He said if the party comes to power it would work towards an effective solution of the vexed issue and could even set up a fast-track court and could take other measures after taking allies into confidence.

"The day BJP will get a clear majority we will, if necessary, bring a law on the issue," he said.

This is for the first time in the campaign for the forthcoming Lok Sabha election that the BJP has raised the Ayodhya issue. At the national executive meeting yesterday, Rajnath had steered clear of all contentious issues including Ayodhya, Article 370, and Uniform Civil Code.

BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani was present on the dais along with several party leaders and chief ministers when Rajnath made his speech.

Accusing the Congress-led Central government of not making any direct or indirect effort to resolve the issue, Rajnath regretted that on the Ram Sethu issue the government had denied the very existence of Lord Ram.

"During the tenure of this government the kind of contempt that has been displayed towards our cultural symbols, has perhaps never taken place throughout our history," he said.

He wanted the government to come out of the "colonial mindset".

The BJP president also accused the government of minority appeasement and alleged that one Indian minister wanted "grant of citizenship to Bangladeshi infiltrators" while another one had declared a banned SIMI as a "cultural organisation".

GLOBALISATION is the LATEST CASE to be studied. "Untouchability" and Segregation go side by side with UNIFICATION APPEASEMENT of fascist Hindu Blind nationalism to make AVENUES of COMPLETE ANNIHILATION with DEMOGRAPHIC readjustment in Indian KILLING Fields covered with WAR Against Terrorism by NUCLEAR LPG MAFIA, the Ruling Brahaminical hegemony in Asia, specially South Asia. Thus. the SEGREGATION of DRAVID nationality makes us DETACHED with TAMIL sentiments as well as TAMIL nationality and Identity. That is why Indian Media and Intelligentsia stand UNITED ROCK SOLID with the idea of ZERO Tolerance in EX Sceduled areas of Colonial India like NORTH EAST and TRIBAL Populated mainstream India like Jharkhand and DANDAKARANYA where the developed Communities violet the restriction despite Constitutional reseravtion and eject out the ABORIGINAL TRIBES. The Ruling Hegemony also PLAYED a more EFFECTIVE Trick to TAME the Rebel tribes changing the DEMOGRAPHIC pattren pitting the refugeees from Bengal, Punjab, Srilanka and Burma agaist TRIBAL Population. Chandra Pur and Garh Chiroli in Maharashtra and MALKANGIRI in Orissa are the best examples! SEGREGATED tribes are always deprived of CIVIL and human rights and are predestined to live under POVERTY LINE in Intense FOOD INSECURITY as we find in KALAHANDI! Coastline Security act is violated to dispalace the FISHING and Tribal Communities along with India Coast Line converted into Clusters of DEFORESTED, destructed ISLANDS of FUCKING RESORTS for the MNCs, INDIA Incs and Affluent FREEsensex Illegitimate ANGLO SAXON Offsprings ZIONISTS. The History of Industrialisation, Urbanisation and so called Development always meant DESTRUCTION, Displacement and DEATH for the SEGREGATED Aboriginal, Indigenous and Minority Communities in India. LPG MAFIA now use the best weapon of MASS DESTRUCTION with UNITY and INTEGRITY Hype as EYE WASHING! Sacchar Committee report exposed the MUSLIM APPEASNMENT theory professed by RSS as the SEGREGATED MUSLIMS in India forgot to demand!

Colonial segregation of tribes continued in independent India through the permit system. Mind you, the SEGREGATED SCHEDULED TRIBAL areas have become the FREE BASES of MAOIST NAXALITE Violence which may not be CRUSHED with the INFINITE Killing License and STRIKE POWER of the STATE. INSURGENCY in India roots in the very bases of SEGREGATION. Thus, Military solution of Insurgency or the much discussed and hyoped ZERO TOLERANCE may not solve the complex Ethnic identity question without addressing the problems of Nationalities and Identities all over spread in India. The failure of AFPSA in Kashmir and entire NORTHEAST proves my contention. The POTA has failed to dissolve the SEGREGATION COMPLEX. I am afraid that the TWIN TERROR ACTs are bound to fail once again!

During my MAHARASHTRA TOUR, I am happy that I dealt at length the SOCIO POLITICAL ECONOMY of Nationality and Identity CRISIS in India HISTORICALLY, ANTHROPOLOGICALLY, Ethnically and ECONOMICALLY and the INTERACTIONS followed convinced me that we may communicate the EXCOMMUNICATED communities with POLITICAL WILL, never with REPRESSION or Communilisation with ETHNIC CLEANSING and Lynching! I am happy that I could convince the audience of Segregation of Maharashtra and maratha manush as well as the issue of Maratha Manush identified with APPLIED ECONOMICS!

I landed in Bhusawal on 28th afternoon and reached Ponchra on 5PM as the connecting train Kashi Vishwanath was late though Gitanjali Exppress reached bhusawal before ten minutes on scheduled time. I was damned TIRED. I had no time to rest and just used the Hotel bathroom to have a bath. had some TEA and PAAPRI, the MARATHI treat. During the break I had to interact with the workers involved in LOKSAHI UTSAV which has been addressed like the dignataries like KIRAN BEDI and ADMIRAL BHAGWAT. Hari NARKA had been the star SPEAKER. I as a Underdog low profile had the advantage and I used the opportunity. Local organisers spoke in Marathi. Mr Shinde dealt with the BLACK Law Citizenship act and the persecution of Bengali dalit Refugees and AMBEDKAR MANDAL relationship and introducing me , he declared me EK MEV VAKTA! This subjective introduction helped me a lot to relate and identify with the audience and I focused on Bidarbha, Maharashtra and maratha Manush to analyse the GLOBAL ZIONIST BRAHAMINICAL INDIA INC MNC ECONOMY and politics exposing the HEGEMONY and its Policy Making and Persecution and suffering of Common masses. I dealt with Mumbai Carnage, ILLUMINITI and ZIONST WAR Civil Global economy exposing the so called Risilience of stayam Astyam FREEsensex ECONOMY and the FOREIGN Capital Investment Lumpane generating FUCKING Culture with Condom without any role in Production, the Urbanisation and Deindustrialisation with the TOPOGRAPHY of Bidarbha and maharashtra and global warming and the OPen Monopolistic Aggression to CAPTURE natural resources highlighting the Food Insecurity, cotton Crisis and GM SEEDs and Infrastructure hyped destructive Industrialisation, SEZ, Chemical Hubs, nuclear parks and arms deals, Mossad and CIA, retail chain, Job Crunch, Purchasing capacity of the people, Open Market, global village and Palestine in reference to the Nationality tangle. I am happy that I could corelate all these issues and despite my speaking in Hindi, the Mrathi audience involved in Live Interaction. The Interactions continued during DINNER which I opted PURE MARATHI and even in the Hotel Lounge until I left for Bhusawal by Mumbai Howrah mail on 4AM. My train Mahanagari Express was scheduled to leave Bhusawal on 6.30 AM. It was in Khandawa at that time. It reached Bhusawal after all and I entrained. On 9.30 the train left for Mumbai. I fell asleep. The TT awoke me at 10.30 PM. Then, I awoke in NASIK as the MOBILE rang quite violently. Frineds waiting in Mumbai were calling me so often that I could not sleep.

ON CST VT, MR BALA, KANAIDA, JAGADISH and svereal others were waiting. They escorted me to the REST ROOM where I got a BATH. Then I landed in Mumbai Dock to have a tea. I reached Mumbai at 5 PM on 29th FEB. I reached the Mumbai Press Club adjacent to Mratha Patrakar sangh building near CSTon 6.30 PM. Where Major Burve, SHIVANI Madam, Mrs MENA, MRs Patil and scores of people were waiting. I began my address on7.30 PM and finished the speech on 9 PM sharp. I condensed my logic and elaborated the LONELINESS and HELPLESSNESS of DR BR AMBEDKAR as the Aboriginal Tribes as well as OBC had been SEGREGATED at the time . With only SC support and the specific support from East Bengal only for about TWO years or more DR AMbedkar could MODIFY his target for SAFEGUARDS for Majority Enslaved People in India even after the POONA PACT and even after the DESTINY of Inida to be PARTITIONED already decided. I am sorry that the Presidential Adress by Major Burve had to be skiped as the time expired! I am EXTREMELY SORRY.

MR and MRS BALA, MR and MRS Kanai Lal Biswas, MAJOR BURVE FAMILY, Economist SP Yadav, master KAUSHIK, Baby PIYA, and the two sons of BALA couple hoasted me in Mumbai and I enjoyed the TRIP as very very homely. Mr BINSORE and MR BHINDE accompanied me in different parts of the metro during the stay. I am grateful to them and all those persons who accompanied me but I may not recognise them separeately!

I saw the CST VENUE where KASAV opened fire to kill score with Bleeding Heart!

Suppose, we treat the GORKHALAND Insurrection as a SEPARATIST movement or a PLOT to disintegrate and persecute the so called BANGLA Nationality, it would be a HIMALAYAN BLUNDER unless we address the problem of Ethnic SEGREGATION of the GURKHA nationality in India. I am afraid that my Marxist Friends ruling West bengal for more than three decades do commit the HISTORICAL BLUNDER as they happen to be habitual of! The CLASH between GURKHA JANAMUKTI Morcha and ADIVASI VIKASH PARISHAD in the Terai region of North Bengal may be a well planned PLOT to deal with Gorkhaland agitation politically. But for the Initial SUCCESS, I am afraid that this EQUATION is going to be SUICIDAL in the best interst of west Bengal! At the same time, neither in WEST Bengal nor in the rest of the country, no body, even the grand selfstyled Ideologues of dalit movement and ideology seems to be interested enough to address the problem most ORIGINAL!

But the ARYANs tried to solve the problem with UNIFICATION. ARYANS being foreign elements, tried their best to ADOPT Indian Socio Cultural Environment. The destructed HARAPPA, MOHANJODORO AND LOTHAL civic CIVILIZation , it is true. They also delinked the NATURE associated aboriginal and indigenous people of India with FOREST based Society , culture and economy with havoc DEFORESTATION. it is also TRUE. But they did everything to merge the NON ARYAN legacy and heritage into Aryan Culture which, later was IDENTIFIED with Hindutva. The ARYANs introduced the FIRST MONOPOLISTIC Aggression in Asia. Thus, the Caste Hindus and specially the BRAHMINS ruling have no hegitation to accept GLOBALISATION which happens the greatest PHENOMENON of SEGREGATION, Unification and ANNIHILATION. In fact, th e ARYANS dealt with the same method scientifically when they HINDUISED the aboriginal indigenous masses in India and implemented the ENSLAVEMENT Agenda CELESTIAL with HOLY Scripts like VEDAs, Upanishads, Brahamans,Shruties, EPICs like Ramayan and Mahabharat, PURANs along with VARNASHARAM. The VARNASHRAM was converted into modified SEGREGATION and EXCOMMUNICATION with caste System heirarchical and graded to divide Indian society vertically into Ruling and RULED classes! gautam Buddha was the first person who rose to resist the BRAHAMINICAL Aryan UNIFIED MONOPOLISIT Hegemony with his Buddhism. But Hindutva not only crushed Buddhism, but converted the BUDDHISTS into SC, OBC and ST and Minority SEGREGATED HINDUS. Then, with an UNIFICATION attempt of Mind Control and BRAI washing, accepted BUDDHA as the INCARNATION of VISHNU!

This SEGREGATION was covwered with UNIFICATION theme of Hindu religion unifying VAISHNAVs, SHAIVAs and SHAKTAs. At the same time, it led to infinite persecution and repression of Non Aryan rooted indigenous and aboriginal tribes resultant in MASS DESTRUCTION and ANNIHILation!

The SEGREGATION of entire South India and entire North India and kashmir and the Himalayan region reminds the RESEMBLANCE of AGE OLD Tradition!

I belong to a DALIT Bengali Persecuted Refugee family. My people were ejected out of their homeland in EAST Bengal using the systematic SEGREGATION of agitating nationalities specially, SIKHs and Bengalies, just because our ancestors chose to ELECT DR BR AMBEDKAR for the CONSTTUTION Assemblly who was BLOCKED by the Brahaminical hegemony of CONGRESS, SOCIALISTS and MARXISTs in India. The SEGREGATION of bengali Dalit Refugees may be well understood while you visit any of the REFUGEE COLONY in DANDAKARANYA spread over four states Maharashtra, ANDHRA, Chhattisgarh and ORISSA. The Mraxists of West Bengal led by Comrade JYOTI Basu preached UNITY and FRATERNITY in Dandakarany and CALLED them back in WEST Bengal rhetorically that the Ten CORORE hands of FIVE Corore bengalies would welcome them, that the MOTHERLND Bengal is CALLING the lost OFFSPRING back HOME! What was the result of this UNIFICATION of SEGREGATED Communities EXCOMMUNICATED? They had been TRAPPED and ANNIHILATED in Marichjhanpi!

The FASCIST RSS and SANGH PARVAR and the Mainstream Political parties, LEFT or RIGHT, claim HINDUTVA to be the GREATEST ELEMENT of UNIFICATION. But though they preach UNITY and FRATERNITY, in practice they bank on INTENSE HATRED and MISSINFORMATION, Segregation and Excommunication, Mind control and brain washing campaign against the ABORIGINALIndigenous SC, ST, OBC and Minorities since the ENSLAVED Majority is divided into more than SIX thousand CASTES Hereditary without no scope of MOBILISATION and they defend the VARNASHRAM as the division of labour ! And GLORIFY the PURITY of BLOOD as Fascist and NAZIES used to do. Recent History of India, apart from the HAZARDOUS MISLEADING background of so called STRUGGLE for FREEDOM and Partition of India, HINDUTVA happens to be an INFINITE GAME of Mass DESTRUCTION and Ethnic Cleansing and ANNIHILATION of Indigenous and aboriginal communities along with the minorities!

We all know about Ram Janma BHOOMI movement which was projected as a RELIGIOUS UNIFICATION campaign RESULTANT in BABRI MOSQUE Destruction followed by ETHNIC RIOTS allover the GEOPOLTICS divided.

We may not know about the PERSECUTION and DESTRUCTION of BUDDHISM in HINDU India, but we have witnessed the GREAT SIKH GENOCIDE , persecution of SIKHs and OPERATION BLUE STAR in Hindu India led by a SOCIALIST Pro USSR leader called MRS INDIRA GANDHI and later by her son when she was assasinated, Rajiv gandhi, well supported by RSS and ENTIRE HINDU Community UNIFIED with HINDUTVA Ressurection in a HINDU NATION once again!

We also know every details of GUJARAT GENOCIDE!

The greatest AMUSEMENT of the CENTURY is that the ILLUMINITI MAKING in INDIA satyam Asatyam INDIA Incs for whom about SEVEN Lac CORORE of RUPPES from National Revenue have been diverted bypassing and killing Parliament and constitution, dared to PROJECT the CORE HINDUTVA ICON as the NEXT PRIME MINISTER of India! What does it prove at last? is it not that the Post MODERN Manusmriti Oredr of GLOBALISATION treats HINDUTVA as the most favourable ALLY of CORPORATE IMPERIALISM and ZIONIST WAR ECONOMY worldwide!

This PHENOMENON of SEGREGATION, UNIFICATION and ANNIHILATION combined with GLOBALISATION and ECONOMIC Reformes under a HINDU STATE led by WORLD BANK GANGSTERs and ANTI national Planted IMPOSTERs of washington, in the events followed by Mumbai carnage just after the EXPLOSION of MARATHA MANUSH HINDUISATION by Bal as well as RAJ Thakre working in the best interest of REALTY and Construction Industries! The RESULTANT WAR HYOPPE was targeted to open the Avenues of ARMS Deals with AMERICA and the WEST to bail out the ZIONIST WORLD WAR CIVIL WAR ECONOMY in MELT DOWN, GLOBAL RECESSION.

I am lucky to discuss nad interact with various COMMUNITIES represnative in nature Maharashtrawide and tried to understand the distinction in between ZIONISM and JUDAISM. The ANGLO SAXON link with ZIONISM helped me a lot to understand the Brahaminical Marxist Hegemony in Waest Bengal REPLICATING COLONIAL ANGLO SAXON RACE as ditto as the ZIONISTS do!

In Nainital, we were lucky to be CLUBBED with another PERSECUTED Nationality SIKHs, Thus, we could BREAK the sickles of SEGREGATION in TERAI nainital which was RESULTANT in DHIMRI BLOCK peasant Uprising led by may father late PULIN KUMAR Biswas and EVENTUALLY was CRUSHED with MILITARY Power of the STATE. But as unified REFUGEE Communities we the Bnegalies and the SIKHs in TERAI consisted the MAINSTREAM population and nullified the BRAHAMINICAL EXCOMMUNICATION.

Thus, I may well understand the LOGIC and SYSTEM of SEGREGATION of yet another nationality , the MARATHAs this time, which led the ABORIGINASL INDIGENOUS Insurrections and Liberations in PST BUDDHA age of modern times! I addressed this maharashtra which may lead the Ntaion once again after the demise of DR BR AMBEDKAR that is why the RULING HEGEMONY COMMUNIALISES the Economic issue of MARATHA MANUSH and the COTTON CRISIS, and the Global ECONOMY and politics to SEGREGATE the MARATHAS from the rest of the Country.

In Mumbai Press Club, I dealt with the subject dealing with AMBEDKAR Jogendra Nath Mandal realtionship as well as MAHARASHTRA BENGAL Subaltern legacies so Common! Only DR Ambedkar was able to break the SEGREGATION and EXPOSE the UNIFICATION agenda of mass destruction of the Productive forces of INDIA for the ZIONIST BRAHAMINICAL CAPTURE of NATURAL as wel as HUMAN Resources! He was an ECONOMIST. Who wrote `THE PROBLEMS of RUPEE’ and `SMALL HOLDING’ as well as `ANNIHILATION OF CASTE’!

I am clear about the PERSECUTION of bengali refugees as we had been ejected out of HOMELAND and SEGREGATED. We being HINDU had to face the TRAGEDY and as being HINDU we remained ALONE in our PLIGHT while the SIKHS, even equally SEGREGATED and Persecuted could solve the refugee problem because they were not HINDU and never felt ALONE as the SIKH RELIGION and Community stood behind EVERY SIKH ROCK SOLID. Thus, even after the HOLOCAUST, Even after crossinf all the BLEEDING rives, the SIKHs could REORGANISE RECONSTRUCT themselves which we never could.

Not since, 15 August, 1947, but since the moment when MK GANDHI got SIGNED DR BR AMBEDKAR on POONA PACT against Communal Award, THE BRAHAMINICAL RULE began in India. And once again, it was DR BR AMBEDKAR, elected by only our PEOPLE led by JOGENDRA NATH MANDAL, could ensure MAXIMUM SAFE GUARDS in DIVIDED INDIA for Indigenous, Aboriginal and minority Communities!

Meanwhile, reports from Islamabad speaks of the SEGREGATION injected by the Post Modern Manusmriti Order as Seeking resumption of dialogue with India, Pakistan on Saturday said the two countries will have to live as ‘good neighbours’ despite the ‘hiccup’ caused in bilateral ties by the Mumbai terrorist strikes. It also asserted that it wants its probe into the attacks to be ‘transparent’ and ‘open to examination’ because the government is ‘serious’ in prosecuting those responsible.

So called father of the NATION the BAPU who ensured Indian State power to be TRANSFERRED to only the BRAHMINS denying and PREEMPTING COMMUNAL AWARD for Indigenous, aborignal Minority Representation! POONA PACT was the RENEWAL of Age OLD CELESTIAL Enslavement. The BETRAYAL of Gandhi is further CONFIRMED as the Fascist RSS and Sangh parivar DEPLOYS GANDHI on Frontline in the WAR for SUPER POWER NUCLEAR ZIONIST HINDU RASHTRA!In an ironic twist of history, the BJP on Saturday sought to appropriate the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, who was assassinated by a RSS activist months after India gained Independence, by claiming that the Gandhian ethos can be found only in the Sangh Parivar and not in the Congress. While on Friday the party had claimed that the Gandhian model of economy was best for the nation in view of the global meltdown of capitalism and the failure of communism, on Saturday it sought to claim the Mahatma's political legacy as well by questioning the Congress' Gandhian credentials. Incidentally, the Gandhian and Swadeshi tone to the party's pre-poll agenda, which is being seen as an attempt to broaden the saffron outfit's electoral appeal, has emerged recently after former Swadeshi Jagaran Manch leader Murlidhar Rao was appointed as advisor to the party chief.

The LPG mafia SEGREGATED INDIAN PEASANTS compelling them to live undre Poverty line and DEEP Food insecurity! Globalisation of Indian Economy SEGREGATED the FARMING Sector replacing it with IT, service, Realty and construction. The Marxists led by JNU returned ROOTLESS Comrades and the GESTAPO head BUDDHADEB Bhattacharya emphasised more than ENOUGH on AUTO MOBILE to Sharpen the FUEL CRISIS and DEFECIT in balance of Payment and foreign Exchange calling for Foriegn INVESTMENT and even Cent Percent FDI. At the same time IT sector has become the TOPMOST Priority just depending on US OUTSOURCING. The FUNDAMENTAL less, PRODUCTION Devoid CONDOM Policy making by Zionist KAYASTHA Brahamins of Bengal, CHITPAWANS of maharashtra and the Chettiars of Tamilnadu, in fact created a SUICIDAL TRAP for the AFFLUENT CASTE HINDU Gen next as the Indigenous and aboriginals as well as minorities in SEGRETION have almost NO Opportunity in HIRE and FIRE High Profile Private sector IT industry, Computors and Robetics and science and technology. Whatever GOVT jobs and PUBLIC SECTOR Bulk Jobs are still available for the SDEGREGATED communities have to DISINVESTED Sooner or later as POST, RLY, SBI, LIC and ONGC, all ALL have to be PRIVATISED. The OUTSOURCING Economy has been stunned and I donot know the SHOCK wave FEARED as I am never ENGAGED in actual TRADING!here You are! In what could be seen as a setback to Indian IT professionals, the US Senate has voted for imposing strict conditions on hiring of people with H-1B visas by American companies receiving federal bailout money. The amendment to the pending stimulus bill restricting the hiring of foreign workers, passed by the Senate through a voice vote on Friday, was a watered-down version of what was introduced earlier.

They not only BETRAYED the SEGREGATED MAJORITY but they also ensured COMPLETE BLACK HOLE DESTINY for the Previleged CAST HINDU Genration!American firms shed nearly six lakhs jobs last month as the unemployment rate in US surged an all time high in 16 years at 7.6 per cent, taking the figure to a staggering 36 lakh after the global meltdown struck in late 2007, the government said. As many as 598,000 people lost their jobs in January and the unemployment rate in US too rose from 7.2 to 7.6 per cent which is an all time high in 16 years, Department of Labour said in its report. The report puts tremendous pressure on President Barack Obama to revive the economy.

About one-third of the total job loss of 3.6 million since December 2007 has been in the last three months. "In January, job losses were large and widespread across nearly all major industry sectors," Keith Hall, Commissioner of Bureau of Labor Statistics, said in a statement.

The report said that both the number of unemployed persons at 11.6 million and the unemployment rate at 7.6 per cent rose in January.

Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 4.1 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 2.7 percentage points, it said. However, the report said, the government added 6,000 jobs.

Factories slashed 207,000 jobs in January this year, the largest one-month drop since October 1982, reflecting heavy losses at plants making autos and related parts.


The original amendment had called for a blanket ban on H-1B hiring by companies that would have received money under the Troubled Assets Relief Programme (TRAP).

The amendment approved by the Senate was co-sponsored by Republican Senator from Iowa, Chuck Grassley, and independent Senator from Vermont, Bernie sanders.

The modified amendment requires that a company receiving TARP funds and applying for workers under the H-1B process must operate as an "H-1B dependent company."

This means, explained Grassley in a statement, that the companies will still be able to hire H-1B visa holders, but must comply with the H-1B dependent employer rules which include attesting to actively recruiting American workers; not displacing American workers with H-1B visa holders; and not replacing laid off American workers with foreign workers.

"Hiring American workers for limited available jobs should be a top priority for businesses taking taxpayer money through the TARP bailout programme," Grassley said.

With the unemployment rate at 7.6 per cent, there is no need for companies to hire foreign guest workers through the H1-B programme when there are plenty of qualified Americans looking for jobs, he argued.

Even as he supports the H-1B programme, which has mostly benefited Indian techies, Grassley said there is an urgent need for a reform in it.

The programme should be used in the way it was intended as a temporary measure to supplement a company's need for hi-tech or specialised workers when none are available in the US, he said.

In another statement, Sanders said the amendment would require bailed-out banks, where there have been layoffs, to hire only Americans for two years.



"The very least we can do is to make sure that banks receiving a taxpayer bailout are not allowed to import cheaper labour from overseas while they are laying off American workers," Sanders said.

"Wall Street caused the crisis, millions of people lost jobs, including 100,000 in financial institutions. Now they want to bring in foreign workers," Sanders said, adding: "Talk about adding insult to injury."

And the LPG MAFIA is still ENGAGED in HARD Marketing of GANDHIAN Theory! What an UNIFICATION for annihiliation!

"All the works associated with Gandhian ethos, if at all are visible, will not be found in that parivar of the Congress but in our parivar (BJP and RSS)," party chief Rajnath Singh said in Nagpur, the city of the RSS' headquarters.

"The Congress has nothing related to Gandhi except a family name while we are the ones who are carrying forward his crucial work," Singh said in his inaugural address at the saffron party's two-day National Council meeting.

Rajnath said, "I would like to ask my Congress friends, to what extent have they implemented Gandhian thoughts in their policies while ruling this country for around 50 years? Their policies reflect more the elements of British Raj while those of Gandhi's Hind Swaraj are missing."

"In today's Congress thinking there is neither any Hind Swaraj nor Gram Swaraj, no place for villages and no respect for farmers. No swadeshi cottage industries, no section living in simple life of sacrifice is connected to them, neither is there a swadeshi style nor swadeshi language," he added.

Rajnath claimed that in India today, the Gandhian ethos can be found only in the ideology of the BJP and in the simple and dedicated lifestyle of several organizations of the Sangh Parivar.

Seeking to make a blend of the party's Hindutva leanings with the Gandhian vision, he blamed Congress regimes of having tried to label devotional songs favoured by the Mahatma such as Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram or Vaishnav Jan as ‘totally communal’.

Saying that the Congress projected itself to be a party based on the vision of Young India, Rajnath said the BJP's ideology was based on the vision of the new Young India dreamt of by young ascetics like Swami Vivekanand and Sri Aurobindo and for which many youth such as Bhagat Singh and Vasudev Balwant Phadke had laid down their lives.


"The most important thing is that India and Pakistan have to live as good neighbours," Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in an interview in Munich, where he is participating in an international security conference.

"Our democratically elected government started on a policy of normalisation (with India) and we were doing fairly well till the unfortunate Mumbai incident that has caused a hiccup and there is a pause in the composite dialogue," he said in the interview, excerpts of which were aired by Pakistani television channels.

India and Pakistan should resume the composite dialogue process, which began in 2004, to ensure peace in their neighbourhood, he said.

Noting that Pakistan wanted to get over the problems caused by the Mumbai incident ‘as soon as possible’, Qureshi said, "We want to resume dialogue with India because we feel that if we want development in South Asia, if we want regional peace, then normal friendly relations between Pakistan and India will play a significant role."

Qureshi said Pakistan will soon share with India and the world community the report on its investigation into the Mumbai attacks.

"We will share our preliminary report not just with India but with other important players of the world. We will share this report because we want our investigations to be fair, transparent and open to examination because the government of Pakistan is serious in prosecuting people who are responsible for the Mumbai incident," he said.

Talibanisation is happening in Karnataka: Renuka
New Delhi Coming down heavily on the BJP government in Karnataka in the wake of Mangalore incidents, Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury on Saturday said there was a ‘breakdown’ of law and order in the state where ‘Talibanisation’ is happening.
"All instruments of democracy will be used to stop such incidents,” she said commenting on Friday's kidnapping of the daughter of a Kerala MLA and her Muslim male friend from a bus in Mangalore by activists of Sri Ram Sene.

"The state government is not in control of the law and order situation. Talibanisation is happening. There is a clean communal divide where a Hindu girl is prevented from talking to a Muslim boy, it is a very dangerous trend," the Minister said.

"There is a breakdown of law and order in Karnataka and I think we should look at it as a national security problem," she said.

Asked why the Centre was not intervening, Chowdhury said the government is ‘respecting the Centre-state ties’ but nobody should think that it is ‘weak or cannot do anything’.

"We are repeatedly warning the state government that they should take cognizance. When it is necessary we will take a step," the Minister said.

Referring to the recent attack by Sene activists on women in a Mangalore pub, she said the issue should not be diluted by saying that it is only about ‘pub culture’.

"It is a much deeper rot. Today it is a pub, tomorrow if you are sitting in the staircase in front of your house, they will come and slap you. It is fascism, there is an attempt to spread an ideology of hatred in Karnataka, an attempt to bring a communal divide," Chowdhury said.

Slamming the BJP-led regime, she said, "it is fascism supported by a state government that we need to be concerned about."

Chowdhury said she will continue to pressurise the state government along with the civil society.

Voicing apprehension that similar incidents may take place on Valentine's Day, she said, "I have no confidence on the state government. I am watching the situation to see how best to carry this forward. I am still giving a long rope to the state government. I will talk to the Chief Minister and is writing a letter to him".

"We have various instruments of democracy to use when the situation arises," Chowdhury warned.

"We want the state to react, if they don't or cannot or they are helpless then according to situation we will react," Chowdhury said when asked if the Centre can act against Karnataka government based on a report by the WCD Ministry.

"My question is who is Sri Ram Sene. Who has empowered them, what are their funding agencies, why the state government is using no law to curtail this," Chowdhury said.

Asked on reported statement of NCW member Niramala Venkatesh that the Ministry has no power to act against her, she said, "its OK. It is not a battle between Venkatesh and Renuka Chowdhury. Please do not divert from the real issue."

To a question about the BJP taking steps to ‘reward’ Venkatesh, she said, "I cannot comment on a hypothetical situation. If they do they will only expose themselves."

Asked if the Ministry can take action against Venkatesh, she said, "we are entitled to. We will go through the proper procedure and we are not helpless."

She said the WCD Ministry team probing the pub attack have collected all ‘supporting evidence’ and the report will be taken into cognizance.

Denying that she gave a call for a 'pub bharo' movement, she said the issue relates to the individual citizen's constitutional rights.

Asked about BJP leader and TV actress Smriti Irani's comments that she has no knowledge about Indian culture, she said, "poor Smriti must be bothered about her ticket."


Racial segregation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Segregationist" redirects here. For the short story by Isaac Asimov, see Segregationist (short story).

An African-American man climbs stairs to a theater's "colored" entrance, Mississippi, 1939. The door on the ground level is marked "white men only".Part of a series of articles on

Racial Segregation

Racial segregation is the separation of different racial groups in daily life, such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a drinking fountain, using a rest room, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home.[1] Segregation may be mandated by law or exist through social norms. Segregation may be maintained by means ranging from discrimination in hiring and in the rental and sale of housing to certain races to vigilante violence such as lynchings;[citation needed] a situation that arises when members of different races mutually prefer to associate and do business with members of their own race would usually be described as separation or de facto separation of the races rather than segregation. In the USA, legal segregation was required in some states and came with "anti-miscegenation laws" (prohibitions against interracial marriage).[citation needed] There were laws passed against segregation in the USA in the 1960s.

Segregation in hiring practices contributes to economic imbalance between the races[citation needed]. Segregation, however, often allowed close contact in hierarchical situations, such as allowing a person of one race to work as a servant for a member of another race. Segregation can involve spatial separation of the races, and/or mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by people of different races.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_segregation

Religious segregation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Religious segregation is the separation of people according to their religion. The term has been applied to cases of religious-based segregation occurring as a social phenomenon,[1] as well as to segregation arising from laws, whether explicit or implicit.[2] The similar term religious apartheid has also been used for situations where people are separated based on religion,[3] including sociological phenomena.[4]


[edit] Bosnia and Herzegovina
Jonathan Steele of The Guardian has argued that Bosnia and Herzegovina is "a dependent, stifled, apartheid regime". In his view, the U.N. control of Bosnia under the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he described as "UN-sanctioned liberal imperialism", creates "dependency, stifles civil society, and produces a highly visible financial apartheid in which an international salariat lords it over a war-wounded and jobless local population."[5]


[edit] India
Indian society is divided into several thousands of caste and sub-caste. In the Indian caste system, a Dalit, often called an untouchable, or an outcaste, is a person who according to traditional Hindu belief does not have any "varnas". In the context of traditional Hindu society, Dalit status has often been historically associated with occupations regarded as ritually impure, such as any occupation involving killing, handling of animal cadavers or night soil (human feces). As a result, Dalits were commonly banned and segregated from full participation in Hindu social life (they could not enter the premises of a temple), while elaborate precautions were observed to prevent incidental contact between Dalits and other Hindus.[6] Although generally identified with Hinduism, the caste system was also observed among followers of other religions in the Indian subcontinent, including some groups of Muslims and Christians.[7] The Indian Constitution has outlawed caste-based discrimination, in keeping with the socialist, secular, democratic principles that founded the nation.[8] Caste barriers have mostly broken down in large cities,[9] though persist in rural areas of the country. The caste system, in various forms, does continue to play a major role in the Indian society and politics.[10][11] With the prominence of Hindu reform movements in the 19th century, as well as the rising political power of Dalits in Independent India, Constitutional Laws have been passed banning the practice of segregation of Dalits, and affirmative action has been implemented in an attempt to equalize the historical imbalance and underrepresentation of Dalits in society.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_segregation




Times Now.tv
Karnataka attacks due to 'patronage' of BJP government : CPI(M)
Hindu - 4 hours ago
New Delhi (PTI): Condemning the kidnapping of a party legislator's daughter and her friend in Mangalore, the CPI(M) on Saturday said such attacks on minorities and women were taking place in Karnataka due to the "patronage, if not connivance" of the ...
Five held in Mangalore CPI(M) MLA's daughter kidnap case Press Trust of India
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WELT ONLINE
Pak seeks India's cooperation to root out terrorism
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Raju's custody extended; will enjoy special status in jail
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Mortaza determined to prove his worth in IPL
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Times Now.tv
BJP back to Hindutva, allies unhappy
NDTV.com - 56 minutes ago
At the RSS bastion of Nagpur the BJP had to signal that mandir remains on its agenda. "This is a question of our integrity. We will not budge from our stand and the day the BJP government gets majority and heads the government at the Centre, ...
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Sorry but Kalyan's still villian of Babri: Muslims
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Reuters - 48 minutes ago
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Abbas Seeks Greater Gaza Role for His Palestinian Authority
New York Times - 1 hour ago
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Report: Iran behind attempt to funnel millions of dollars into ... Ha'aretz
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Excerpts of Joe Biden speech
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Excerpts of the speech by US Vice-President Joe Biden on the foreign policy priorities of the new administration. It was delivered at a major international security conference in Munich on 7 February 2009.
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Raju's custody extended; will enjoy special status in jail
Press Trust of India - 4 hours ago
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Fraud-hit Satyam's new CEO says firm can do 'the impossible'
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guardian.co.uk
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ABC News
Rallies on Sri Lankan Tamils issue
Hindu - 2 hours ago
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Health Newstrack
India to get two more premier referral medical institutes
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Aiming to ramp up the country's healthcare facilities, the Indian government Thursday sanctioned Rs.16.46 billion ($340 million) for setting up two more premier referral institutes on the lines of the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences ...
Five govt medical colleges to be upgraded to AIIMS level Times of India
Two more AIIMS-like institutions to come up Hindu
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TopNews Five killed in clash at West Bengal village
IBNLive.com, India - 8 hours ago
RIVALRY CLASH: At least five people were killed in a clash in a West Bengal village on Saturday. ibnlive.com is on mobile now. Read news, watch videos be a ...
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Mercury levels high in West Bengal fish samples
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Given that a large population in West Bengal is dependent upon fish consumption, this requires public health action," said Santanau Chacraverti, ...

Deccan Herald West Bengal hopes Nayachara chemical hub will get a clearance
Economic Times, India - 6 Feb 2009
KOLKATA: The West Bengal government hopes that the Nayachara chemical hub will get a clearance from the Union cabinet before the forthcoming Lok Sabha ...
'Petrochemical hub would devastate Sundarbans' Hindu
West Bengal seeks to begin chemical hub work before polls ... SINDH TODAY
Chemical hub: WB expects final nod shortly by Centre Indopia
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Another dose of DA for West Bengal staff
Hindu Business Line, India - 6 Feb 2009
KOLKATA: The West Bengal Government on Friday announced another instalment of dearness allowance at the rate of six per cent for its 10 lakh employees and ...

Calcutta Telegraph Bandh affects normal life in Darjeeling, West Bengal
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Violence breaks out in Siliguri SINDH TODAY
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Fresh News Vote for more responsible government at centre: Jyoti Basu
Hindu, India - 8 hours ago
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Basu criticises opposition parties Indopia
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Health Newstrack Five govt medical colleges to be upgraded to AIIMS level
Times of India, India - 5 Feb 2009
With this, West Bengal and UP will soon have two AIIMS-like medical institutions that will come up at a cost of Rs 823 crore each. ...
Two more AIIMS-like institutions to come up Hindu
India to get two more premier referral medical institutes Hindustan Times
Cabinet approves new medical colleges All India Radio
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Trinamool gives 7 days ultimatum to return Singur land
Times of India, India - 3 hours ago
7 Feb 2009, 2105 hrs IST, PTI SINGUR: The Trinamool Congress on Saturday gave the West Bengal government an ultimatum of seven days to return the land ...
Tatas moved out of Singur on their own: Mamata Indian Express
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Scots to forge educational ties
Times of India, India - 21 hours ago
"I learnt that the West Bengal government has identified biotechnology and information technology as potential growth industries. Scotland has strengths in ...
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Calcutta Telegraph Bandh paralyses life in Dooars in West Bengal
Hindu, India - 6 Feb 2009
Siliguri (PTI): National highway 31, the arterial link between north and south Bengal was blockaded at Ghosepukur, as life was paralysed in Dooars region of ...
Four tribals injured in clash with West Bengal police Thaindian.com
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Persecution of Hindus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Persecution of Hindus refers to the religious persecution inflicted upon Hindus. Hindus have been historically persecuted during Islamic rule of the Indian subcontinent and during the Goa Inquisition. In modern times, Hindus in Kashmir, Pakistan and Bangladesh have also suffered persecution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus

Persecution of Muslims
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Persecution of Muslims refers to the religious persecution inflicted upon Muslims. Persecution may refer to beating, torture, confiscation or destruction of property. Persecution can extend beyond those who perceive themselves as Muslims to include those who are perceived by others as Muslims, or to Muslims which are considered by fellow Muslims as non-Muslims.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Muslims

Persecution of Jews
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Persecution of Jews has occurred on numerous occcasions and at widely different geogrpahical locations. As well as being a major component in Jewish history, it has significantly impacted the general history and social development of the countries and societies in which the persecuted Jews lived.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Jews


India fails UN caste test
By Suhas Chakmas, Director, Asian Centre for Human Rights
(The article was first published in The Asian Age, New Delhi, 22 March 2007)

On 23 and 26 February this year, after examination of India's 16th to 19th periodic reports on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the United Nations Experts Committee on the said Convention (known as CERD Committee) reaffirmed that "discrimination based on 'descent' includes discrimination against members of communities based on forms of social stratification such as caste and analogous systems of inherited status which nullify or impair their equal enjoyment of human rights". The UN CERD Committee therefore held that "discrimination based on the ground of caste" falls within its mandate.

Having ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in December 1968, among others, to combat discrimination at national level, India has held unjustifiable position that the Convention is not applicable to India. So during the examination of the periodic reports in February 2007, the representatives of the government of India tried in vain to keep discrimination against the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes out of the purview of the CERD Committee. They failed to do so but ended up making the CERD Committee issue one of the longest recommendations ever made. Aggression and arrogance are not necessarily the best tools to deal with UN independent experts.

In its report, India stated that it was providing the report "as a matter of courtesy" and not because discrimination against the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes falls under the purview of the UN CERD Committee. When Professor Dipankar Gupta, a member of the Indian delegation, called Mr. José Augusto Lindgren Alves, one of the UN experts, a "rubble rouser" at the concluding session on 26 February 2007, the acrimony could no longer be hidden despite excellent presentation made by Sundeep Khanna, Additional Secretary of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Mr Khanna convincingly explained administrative policies, including the framework for defining Scheduled Tribes, Parliamentary and Legislative Committees and the objectives of new schemes to combat discrimination against the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.

India started its presentation to explain how caste discrimination is not synonymous with racial discrimination. There was no disagreement from the experts that "caste" is not equivalent of "race", but certainly any form of discrimination on the grounds of "race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin" as provided under Article 1 of the Convention falls within the mandate of the Committee. India's explanations on caste and descent were far from convincing. On a specific question to which caste a child belongs in case of an inter-caste marriage, Professor Gupta replied, "a child of "X" caste who married someone of "Y" caste, was a member of no caste". "My child is an example" - he added.

If children of inter-caste marriages belong to "no caste", how does the government of India implement its affirmative action programmes? The Supreme Court has given numerous judgements affirming that in case of inter-caste marriages, children will get benefit of reservations only if the father belongs to the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. Indian delegation was not even willing to accept patriarchy as the determinant factor for identifying caste or tribe!

Caste and untouchability may not be acute in the metropolis. But as the UN CERD Committee noted in its Concluding Observations, "despite the formal abolition of "untouchability" by Article 17 of the Indian Constitution, de facto segregation of Dalits persists, in particular in rural areas, in access to places of worship, housing, hospitals, education, water sources, markets and other public places".

Indian delegation even refused to recognise the Scheduled Tribes as "distinct groups". India's description of "genealogical demonstrable characteris-tics" to define descent is debatable but to suggest that tribals not "distinct groups" goes against common sense. For this one does not need to know the Puranas, the Upanishads or the Bhagawat Gita as quoted by Mario Jorge Yutzis, a CERD Committee expert and renowned Prof of Philosophical Anthropology from Argentina, to dismiss India's rigid exp-lanations, but elementary knowledge on how the colonial British brought the tribes of the North East India under its control will give an indication pf the distinctiveness of the tribal groups. Not surprisingly the UN CERD Committee recommended that India "formally recog-nize its tribal peoples as distinct groups entitled to special protection national and international law, including the Conven-tion and provide information on the criteria used for determining the member-ship of scheduled and other tribes."

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is essentially a legal document. The CERD Committee required explanations as to how any violation of the two cardinal principles of international human rights law i.e. equality and non-discrimination on the grounds of "race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin" are combated, and not a lecture of sociology.

In its report, India highlighted that it tries to eliminate "barriers between races, and to discourage anything which tends to strengthen racial division". Then how does one explain the naming of various regiments of Indian Army such as Rajput Regiment, Jat Regiment, Sikh Regiment, Dogra Regiment, Naga Regiment, Gorkha Rifles etc, which certainly contribute to "race, ethnic, caste and regional consciousness"? In fact, in May 2004 the present Minister of Chemical, Fertilizers and Steel, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan demanded that forming a "Dalit Regiment on the pattern of Sikh Regiment, Jat Regiment or Mahar Regiment" should be included in the Common Minimum Programme of the United Progressive Alliance government.

The UN CERD Committee made a number of recommendations (excerpts on tribals are given in the box). In fact CERD Committee did not make any recommendation which has not already been made by various National Commissions and the Parliamentary Committees on the Welfare of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes or the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment.

As the South African expert, Ms. Patricia Nozipho January-Bardill stated, she "failed to understand why, if India was truly committed to social cohesion and eliminating bigotry and prejudice, it regarded the Convention as a threat rather than an opportunity to challenge the caste system". But the Indian delegation was not ready to consider the Convention as an opportunity to tackle the caste issue.
http://www.aitpn.org/IRQ/vol-II/story04.htm

New Delhi Conference Condemns 'Immense Suffering' in Caste System
National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights plans to appeal to United Nations.
Anto Akkara | posted 3/01/2001 12:00AM

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An international conference on discrimination in India's caste system, held in New Delhi, has called upon the Indian government and the international community "to end this crime against humanity."

The New Delhi conference, organized by the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), also demanded that the issue be put on the agenda of the United Nations conference on racism, to be held in South Africa at the end of August. Some delegates claimed that the Indian government was taking action to ensure that the caste system was kept off the U.N. conference agenda.

The main victims of the caste system are India's 180 million Dalits, whose status is considered so low that they do not even have a caste. Dalits, along with tribal people, are officially referred to as members of "scheduled castes and scheduled tribes."

Caste prejudices against Dalits are widespread in India. In many areas Dalits live in segregation from the upper castes, even though India's rich classes rely on the labor of the scheduled castes. Many menial and degrading tasks are reserved for Dalits.

"The participants of the Global Conference strongly condemn caste (occupation and descent based) discrimination and the practice of untouchability—which is the source of immense human suffering and the cause of gross human rights violations," said the declaration from the conference, held from March 1 to 4.

Sponsored by three dozen Indian and international groups, the conference was held "in preparation" for the U.N. World Conference Against Racism—Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance" (WCAR). Several church groups, including the National Council of Churches in India, sponsored the New Delhi conference.

"Our objective is to create greater visibility globally on the Dalit issue," Martin Macwan, NCDHR coordinator, explained to the 200 delegates, 40 of them from abroad, at the start of the event.

"We are saddened by the fact that the nation and state disown [us]," said Macwan, a Catholic layman and prominent Dalit activist.

After four days of intense debate, the conference declaration "condemned the attempts of the government of India to oppose the inclusion of caste-based discrimination in the agenda of the WCAR." The declaration urged "other governments to support the inclusion of caste-based discrimination in the WCAR agenda."

The declaration also criticized India's refusal to comply with the finding of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) which stated "that the situation of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes falls within the scope of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination" to which India is a signatory.

"Untouchability is a crime against humanity," according to the conference declaration, which added: "Caste—as a basis for the segregation and oppression of peoples in terms of their descent and occupation—is a form of apartheid and a distinct form of racism affecting victims equally irrespective of religion."

The conference declaration was based on a series of testimonies presented by Dalits at the start of the conference. One of the most eloquent was from an 11-year-old boy, Sanjay Dangia from the state of Gujarat in western India, who lost the sight in his left eye two years ago. "In my enthusiasm to watch the TV, I went too close to the dhaba [roadside eatery] and the [upper-caste] shopkeeper put lime paste in my eye," he told the conference delegates. (In villages run on caste lines, Dalits are not permitted to go near members of the upper castes, and many food stalls have separate dishes for upper and lower castes.)
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/marchweb-only/3-5-56.0.html

For United Nations anti-Dalit discrimination akin to racial segregation11Apr07
UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination calls on Indian government to find a solution to segregation. Caste discrimination also has a religious dimension.

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has called on the Indian government to ensure an immediate end to violence against Dalits and repeal the ‘Armed Forces Special Powers Act’. For the UN committee, which held two sittings in Geneva on February 23 and 26, violence against Dalits in India amounts to racial discrimination.The CERD report was issued this month. It found that “de facto segregation of Dalits persists” and highlighted systematic abuse against them, including torture and extra-judicial killings, an “alarming” extent of sexual violence against Dalit women, and caste discrimination in post-tsunami relief.

The report also mentioned “the Indian delegation’s arrogant rejection of well-documented abuses against Dalits before UN experts in Geneva,” adding that it “mirrors India’s systematic denial of Dalit rights at home,” said Smita Narula, faculty director of the Centre for Human Rights and Global Justice and a member of the committee.“India once again squandered an opportunity to enlist the support of experts in its efforts to ensure equality in law and practice for its citizens,” she added.

CERD experts noted that during their meeting on December 27, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh likened the practice of untouchability in India to apartheid in South Africa.“After this statement, I sincerely feel that the official position (of the Indian delegation . . .) is simply untenable,” said Committee Chairman Linos-Alexander Sicilianos. However, the Indian delegation represented by noted lawyer and Solicitor General Goolam Vahanvati refused to acknowledge any analogy between caste and racial discrimination.

CERD gave India a year to respond to four of its recommendations, including one on how it can end widespread impunity for violence against Dalits. The Indian government responded saying that was “deeply conscious and concerned about caste and is fully committed to tackling this at every level,” Mr Vahanvati said.“Our commission welcomes the UN’s report on the situation of the Dalits,” said Fr G. Cosmon Arokiaraj, executive secretary of the Commission for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Castes (SC/ST/BC) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.

“For the UN the government’s inaction is a sign that India lacks the political will to make positive efforts to eliminate the atrocities perpetrated against Dalits. The report also notes discrimination made on grounds of religion. Although the constitution of India guarantees the equality of all citizens, Christian Dalits have experienced religious discrimination,” he told AsiaNews. “Recently, Mr. Fakirbhai Vaghela, the acting chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes said that once an individual adopted Islam or Christianity, he did not face the social stigma of untouchability, and hence should not fall within the purview of reservation. [But] Vaghela’s statements do not reflect realities of Dalit Christians on the ground,” Father Arokiaray said. “Being Dalit does not flow out of a personal religious attitude, but from the surrounding society that ‘crushes’ some members because of their birth and assigned fate.”

“I am glad,” Fr Arokiaray explained, “that the UN report highlights this disparity based on religion. Christians of Scheduled Caste origin suffer the same socio-economic and political disabilities as their counterparts in other religions due to the traditional practice of untouchability and change of religion does not change their socio-economic status. The UN’s report should force the government to accept the fact that Dalits face discrimination in each and every sphere of socio-economic life. Even though India has signed the UN Declaration, the report shows that it pays lip service to human rights. [Hence] the duty of the UN should not be merely to find out short-comings but rather go further and use its clout and influence to make the government act.”

Source: Aseanews
INTRODUCTION
Modern democracies such as the Indian Union and the United States of America* provide citizens with greater social and political rights, a higher standard of living, more leisure and better educational opportunities1. The extension of these benefits to more and more citizens during the past hundred years or so has been described as the process of the growth of the citizen or basic human equality- the fundamental rights due to individuals by virtue of their membership in a State. With the increasing democratization of governments, the fundamental problem has been to pull down the barriers of segregation and to offer equal opportunities to all. The aim of democracy has everywhere been to eliminate "man made, socially fostered, discrimination that has enlarged for some and has restricted for others avenues that lead to education, income and advancement2." However, this doesn’t mean a refusal to recognize the natural differences in character and intellect. Owing to the differences in gifts which nature has bestowed on some and denied to others, natural inequality has been and must continue to be fact in society. Democracy however believes that in a climate of equal opportunities and privileges alone the differences in mental and moral equipment of man can best come out. The chief problems, which every government has to solve, are to reconcile this natural inequality as a fact with principle of Natural Equality Doctrine3. The author attempts to discuss this reconciliation process in India to provide social and legal equality to the citizens.

ANCIENT INDIA
So far as the Ancient Indian Culture and Civilization is concerned, the Vedas and Smritis speak highly of equality and brotherhood-'Vasudhaika Kutumbakam (One World One Family)'. "The entire world is a family" was the motto of Vedic civilization4. All had equal opportunity in all walks of life in ancient India. The Vedic age was more liberal in providing equal status to the people. Buddhism, Jainism, Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Sikhism and other indigenous Indian religions also preach the principles of brotherhood and equality.

In Bhagavadgita, Lord Krishna, the philosopher king and the incarnation of the Supreme God, too has preached the equality of all souls. However, the Supreme Lord himself created the four hypothetical classes in the human society on the basis of Guna, i.e., ability or nature of an individual, and the Karma, i.e., deeds or jobs performed by an individual, and not on the basis of birth5. Whereas the membership in a tribe or caste is determined by birth and is different from the membership in these classes. These hypothetical four classes are intellectuals and priests (Brahmana varna), rulers and warriors (Kshatriya varna), agriculturists and business persons (Vaishya varna), and artisans and other workers (Shudra varna) in a given society. These four classes include the thousands of real castes and tribes in this world. Each caste/tribe falls into one of these four hypothetical Vedic classes.

The so-called casteism or the tribalism is based on the tribal and religious differences. Naturally, certain groups have monopolized certain trades. The tribalism segregated the society into ghettos of isolation and exclusiveness, sealing the society into insulated social divisions. This has been the case in every nation and society.

Added to this were gifts from a millennium of Islamic rule and occupation, such as the Purdah system among women and the child marriages. Then British rulers created a class of loyalists with an emphasis on communal and feudalistic basis and awarded them with titles, patronage and privileges. This created further discriminatory dimensions in the Indian society.


REFORMATION
Since ancient times, there have been efforts by enlightened Indians to bring about equality through social and religious reforms, e.g., Lord Budha (5th century BC), Mahavir (5th century BC), Ashoka (2nd century BC), Shankara (7th century AD) etc. In the beginning of the nineteenth century a new process of social reforms started which received an impetus at the time of independence movement in 20th century. A pioneer among these reformers was Raja Ramamohan Roy. He compiled and edited the Hindu personal law of marriage, inheritance, religious worship, woman's status, woman's property and caste system, by introducing the most liberal principles of justice and equality. He worked out a synthesis of eastern and western social values and postulates against the common background of humanity6. He also started a movement for the emancipation of the oppressed classes and urged a return to the original Vedantas and for a total rejection of all the religious and social impurities that had crept into Indian society7.

Swami Vivekananda strongly condemned the social evil of segregation as a non-Hindu attitude. He said, "It is not in the holy books," and " don't touchism is a mental disease"8. Mahadev Govind Ranade regarded social advancement as the necessary prelude to political emancipation. Under the moral law, all men and women are equal and it is the supreme duty of man to love man and God with devout sincerity and reverent faith9.

Mahatma Gandhi fought against the social evils of racism, imperialism, communalism and segregation (so-called untouchability). He was very much against social injustices, tyrannies and oppressions. According to Mahatma, 'segregation was not a vital art of Hinduism, but was only an excrescence and a plague10. The list of reformers goes on and on. It is impossible to describe all reformers of even modern age in this essay because of time and space limitations.

All socio-political changes in any society result from the thoughts of eminent thinkers. These thoughts influence not only a particular society or country to which a thinker belongs to, but many other parts of the world also. Such has been the case with the ideas and means suggested for attaining the social equality conceived by western thinkers, as well as their Indian counterparts. With the movement of time the notion of equality which was confined merely to social and political thinking became a matter of legal consideration.

As such the awakening in the 19th and 20th centuries are affected by consideration of equality which has been incorporated in the Indian Constitution as well. Thus equality has a history of its own in becoming a legal doctrine.

WOMEN AND RELIGION
Discrimination against women in India was prevalent in every sphere of life and most women experience some form of disadvantage just like in the USA even today. Law is an important institution in most contemporary societies as it regulates, controls and, in a way, pervades almost every aspect of people’s lives. For majority of Indian women, family life continues to be an important aspect of their existence. Family law plays a greater role in the lives of Indian women than the laws related to pay maternity benefits, property, etc.

In India, religious personal laws govern the family relations, even though it claims to be a secular country. Unlike in the US, major religions like Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism have their separate laws in the Indian Union, which regulate matters of marriage, divorce, succession, adoption, guardianship and maintenance. These personal laws discriminate against women, e.g., a Muslim man can have four wives where as a woman is not allowed to have four husbands.

The constitution of India guarantees equality, including sexual, to everyone (articles 14 & 15). All laws which are inconsistent with the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution are void (article 13). Yet religious personal laws that discriminate against women are still valid, not void, even after four decades after the adoption of the Constitution. The State has not adopted a consistent policy with regard to reform of religious personal laws. The British and the successive Congress governments have extensively reformed the supposed Hindu personal law in order to give equal right to Hindu men and women. The personal laws of the so-called minorities are left virtually untouched, ostensibly because the leaders of these communities claim that their religious laws are inviolate. The present situation is that the women of the minority communities like Muslims continue to have unequal legal rights.

The opposition to reforms is based on the constitutional right to freedom of conscience, a Fundamental Right by articles 25-28, which claimed to include right to be governed by religious personal laws. The constitution does not resolve the question that if the secular state can interfere in these religious personal laws. Strangely, though there was opposition from Hindu community, the same State has interfered and reformed the Hindu personal law extensively to the extent that it no more resembles any of the zillion Hindu laws for zillion Hindu religions and castes that existed before Muslims and the British came to India.

The situation in the US is quite different. If American State were to behave like the Indian State, it would be violating establishment clause of the US constitution. Thus, Muslims, Mormons and any other religious minorities will never get special privileges to violate bigamy laws of US, at least not until these groups acquire strength to determine the fate of a candidate in presidential elections.

The Indian State does not want to interfere with the religious personal laws other than the Hindu personal law by imposing a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), because of political reasons. The minority groups tend to vote en-bloc and are very intolerant to reform. Any attempt to reform their personal laws is viewed as interference of the State and Hindus in the affairs of minorities, and made out as a big issue which would destabilize the State and the leadership. For a long time the opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, a right wing nationalistic party supported by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, World Hindu Coalition), like the Republican Party of America that is supported by Christian Coalition) has been advocating for the UCC. But this party is viewed as a fundamentalist Hindu Party for its advocacy for UCC and its conservative, rightist and capitalist views by the so-called secular and irreligious parties like Congress and Communists, and the leftist dominated Indian mass media. Fundamentalist Muslim and Christian groups support these so-called secular parties. Also, Western and Indian media brand this party as a Hindu fundamentalist for it has support from VHP. However, the same media groups do not consider the Republican Party of America as a fundamentalist Christian party even though a very strong Christian Coalition supports it. So, BJP may never come to power without any alliance with the so-called secular parties and without the Muslim and Christian support, as the coalition government phenomenon in India has become a must. Curiously, this phenomenon coincides with the fall of the Gandhi dynasty and the Soviet Union and opening up of the Indian market.

The present ruling party (Congress Party) has a track record of pampering various minority groups and using 'divide and rule' policy, adopted from British for its political gains Yet, at the same time Congress I successfully claims to be secular. The secular credentials in India depend on how good one pampers the minorities. Whenever the so-called political goal of national integration allegedly appears to be in jeopardy, the State abandons its efforts to incorporate sex-equality or any other reform in religious personal laws of minorities, and argues that the religious nature of the personal law prevents any intervention by the State. One wonders what prevents the Indian State after disintegration of the British India into three countries purely based on religion and millions of Hindus were wiped out of the face of the earth in Islamic Republics of Pakistan and Bangladesh!

In America, minorities don’t get any special privileges. In the past 15 years the Republican Party (supported by Christian Coalition) ruled the country for 12 years. Yet, both the State and the Republican Party are considered secular in the eyes of Western and Indian media. This indicates that there are two kinds of secularism: Indian secularism and American secularism. The Indian secularism involves the State active participation and support of the establishment of so-called minority religions against the Hindu religions. American secularism doesn’t allow the State’s active participation in the establishment of majority or minority religions, and the civil and criminal law applies equally to all irrespective of their religion, caste and ethnicity. It allows the majority religion to flourish and flaunt its power.

I am pretty sure that even if the BJP came to power by chance, it would never implement its pet project, the UCC, for the fear of losing its Muslim and leftist allies and, thereby, the power. BJP probably would play the same minority card as Congress does today since Hindu groups are mostly leftist or communist. As a result, the Muslim population has no reason to reform since nobody dares to force reform contrary to as in the case of reform minded Hindu groups dominated by leftist ideology. The Muslim leadership is quite happy with the status quo.

While law may not be very useful in directly changing the peoples' convictions and values, it can function as a persuasive norm. In other words, rather than prohibiting certain behavior in absolute terms, law may permit certain behavior, by providing facilities for a pattern of behavior different from the practices followed until then. The availability of a possibility which was previously not available, unthinkable or not thought about, transforms the psychology of the subjects, as well as the legal possibilities and their expectations and tolerances11.

Thus one measure of effectiveness of a law can be a gradual change in social attitudes, may be a partial change in the actual behavior of some- perhaps the elite of the society- who can in turn serve as role models to be emulated. Such transformation in the behavior of people, if widely achieved, can in turn lead to a structural transformation of institutions as well. For example, Hindu marriage has been transformed in the perception of people, from a polygamous union to a monogamous union in less than 40 years. Although, Lord Rama emphasized on "one wife for life" principle, which is different from Judeo-Christian monogamy which prescribes "one wife at a time" and allows divorce and remarriage, polygamy and polyandry were also acceptable to Indians. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1956 prohibited polygamy. But, the only person entitled to bring charges against a person guilty of polygamy is the affected spouse. It does not need to be mentioned that most Indian women are not in a position to bring a legal action against their husbands. Yet, throughout India, Hindus practice only monogamy12, which is essentially a Judeo-Christian principle that was brought to India. Even extra marital associations such as concubines have disappeared to a large extent.

In India, the legal system is the most corrupt system after bureaucracy. It takes ages to resolve an issue through the court of law. The age-old philosophy of solving the problem outside the court is still valid, even in the USA. If I say that no body ever gets any justice through court in India, it may not be an over exaggeration! For example, Ayodhya temple issue has been in the court for over a century and there seems to be no resolution in the near future (The first case was filed in 1885 by Raghubar Das, mahant of the Ram Janmasthan, seeking permission to build a temple on the site).

But this situation cannot be used to argue that the legal rights are not useful because very few Indians can enforce them. This argument is not a valid reason for not reforming the laws. Thanks to the enlightened elite, leftist or otherwise, the process of reforms that started long before independence still continues. At present the situation for Hindu woman in India is more or less equal to an American woman, at least legally. As pointed out earlier the State can only legislate and change the laws but can not enforce them completely.

The legislation that purports to give individuals personal rights in many matters such as birth control, abortion, marriage or divorce has the potential for yielding more immediate results than the laws that attempt to remove sex discrimination or any discrimination from the overall system. This is because individuals can start the implementation of laws concerning personal matters on their own initiative while laws against discrimination in employment, for example, require institutional enforcement. Even though laws cannot eradicate all the causes of discrimination, they can eliminate its permissive causes - the situation that persists when there is nothing to stop such discrimination.

The movement of middle and upper class women from the home into the labor force began with the safe female -typed jobs such as nursing and teaching and for a few of the more highly skilled women the professions of medicine and law. Although women had been entering these occupations for some time in India it was the fight for independence that is said to have an impetus that showed them that they were able to assume other roles than those of traditional housewife and mother. This movement of women into employment came at a later date in India than in many western countries13. Indian women have also moved successfully into high positions in the political arena also14. This kind of movement brings in a variety of new problems, such as sexual harassment at work places, problems of ego and so on. As I mentioned earlier, these kinds of problems must be dealt with by institutions, i.e., laws against discrimination are to be enforced by the institutions. Existence of such pieces of legislation and laws would help people to evolve and accept new roles and new situations. For example, it should be very difficult for traditional egoistic male in a patriarchal society to accept a female superior and work under her authority, yet now we see many women making it to the top and be successful in the Indian Union.

It is very tempting to cite the examples of Prime Minister of Pakistan Ms. Benazir Bhutto or Prime Minister of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi for the success story of Indian women. However, I would like to view their success as a chance rather than true evolution or revolution. In my view, the late Prime Minister of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Ms. Benazir Bhutto, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Begum Khaleda Zia and the Srilakan President Sirimavo Bandaranaike (the world’s first woman Prime Minister) have attained such high positions not because the society has evolved, but because of the persistence of primitive mentality of the people and medieval tribal tradition of succession of heirs to the throne. They all became leaders mostly because their fathers or their husbands were at the throne and had power.

I cannot visualize this happen in the USA. I do not intend to diminish the power politics in the US. However, in the US, a person from humble origins can become president, e.g., President Clinton. The height of this personality cult and family rule nonsense in India can be exemplified by Rajiv Gandhi’s ascent to power. When his mother was assassinated he was a political novice. He was a pilot officer and was never before in politics. But the Congress Party chose him as a leader democratically for lack of any other able and charismatic leader. He became the caretaker Prime Minister till the elections were held and, he was elected as the Prime Minister with a sweeping majority in the parliament.

Though I don't mean to belittle the achievement of Indian women, I wonder if it is a real achievement. Indian women were lucky that Mr. Nehru didn’t have sons. Nevertheless, this luck of Indira (Nehru) Gandhi that she was the only heir to Nehru's throne has paved the way for masses to follow and hence the liberation of women and the down trodden. I wonder if a woman ever can become a president of the USA, even as an heir to the throne of a husband or a father! Even in India, I don’t see any possibility for a woman to become the Prime Minister of India, unless Sonia Gandhi takes back the relinquished reins, leads the Congress party and resurrects the Gandhi dynasty.

THE DOWN TRODDEN*
The so-called “Downtrodden” group in India is not homogeneous. It constitutes of several groups which can broadly be divided in three major divisions, i.e., Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes. These three broad divisions, each having its own characteristic features, distinctive backgrounds and particular problems, together count for 30% of the total population. All these divisions are found in all religious groups. Almost all religious groups in India are basically converted from various religions/tribes of Hindus, e.g., almost all Christians can trace their origin to a particular Hindu group. Because Muslims and Christians were the ruling class for centuries, they are considered Forward Class and don’t get any quotas as such. However, most of the Christians and Muslims claim to be scheduled castes or backward classes and are counted as Hindus to obtain certain quotas and benefits.

The term Scheduled Castes as defined in article 366 (24) of the Constitution means "such castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within such castes, races or tribes as are deemed under article 341 of to be scheduled castes for the purpose of this Constitution." In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, scheduled castes order was promulgated in August 1950, and was amended in 1956. The second category of the downtrodden is the scheduled tribes. The term Scheduled Tribes is defined under article 366(25) as "Scheduled Tribes means such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under article 342 to be scheduled Tribes for the purpose of this Constitution".

One of the crucial problems faced by all tribal communities in India is the problem of integration into the wider social, economic, and political system and, where as for the scheduled castes, the main task is to uplift socially and economically. According to 1991 census the total population of the scheduled castes and tribes is 23.51% of the total population, about 156 million.

The term “backward classes” appears in articles 15(4), 16(4), and 29(2) of the Indian Constitution. The other backward classes are the least homogenous and the most loosely defined of the 3 divisions. Their problems are also in many ways different from those of the first two. Because of this loose definition we find the number castes included into this group grows at the will of politicians and at the public demand.

Like the affirmative action in the USA for Blacks, in India we find several so-called safeguards- a protective discrimination. The Constitutional safe guards for these three groups are found in articles 15 (4), 16 (4), 29 (2) and part XVI of the Constitution. Article 15(4) authorized the State to make any special provision for the advancement of any of these socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the scheduled castes and tribes. American affirmative action is based on the past discrimination and slavery. In America, Blacks were not allowed equal opportunity in educational institutions. In India, the present educational system is totally based on the British system and was implemented by the British. Most of the Institutions in India were either established during the British Raj or later. For example, the oldest Universities in Andhra Pradesh are Andhra University (established by the British in 1925) and Osmania University (established by Islamic government of Nizam of Hyderabad State in 1918). Even the so-called upper castes such as the Brahmin tribe, shunned the English education until after independence. So, logically speaking, there was never a discrimination against the so called downtrodden by the so-called upper castes, especially in the educational institutions, since all of them were slaves under the British. If there was any discrimination in those British and Islamic institutions, the reverse discrimination should be against the British (who ruled for a couple of centuries) and Muslim ruling classes (who ruled for a millennium) rather than the so-called higher castes of Hindus. However, for political reasons a cancerous reservation/quota system has been adopted in the independent India.

To begin with, these reservations/quotas are baseless and are purely for political gains. In addition, the benefits provided to these downtrodden classes exceed the ratio and any reasonable limits. For instance, reservations for these classes in various educational institutions and in government jobs exceed beyond 70% of the total, which is outrageous. In 1963 the Supreme Court enunciated a rough and ready dictum when it observed that:" Speaking generally and in a broad way a special provision should be less than 50%, but how much less than 50% would depend upon the prevailing circumstances in each case. However, in 1986 the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh increased the quotas in various institutions well beyond 70% in total.

The backward class commission had suggested in 1956 an increase in reservations up to 70% for such classes. But this would result in neglecting the interest of the rest of the society. Would such percentage of reservation in favor of these so-called downtrodden classes be justified? The population of these groups together composed a little more than 30% of the total population of the country. The reservations suggested by the commission would not maintain the balance. But, after 40 years, in which period the country had made tremendous progress in aspects including the social status and economic status of the down trodden, the then Prime Minister Mr. V. P. Singh (in 1990-91), claiming to be champion of the oppressed and downtrodden, brought the backward commission report from cold storage and implemented its recommendations. This was done for pure political gains, which resulted in large-scale agitations and deaths of hundreds of innocent young students and a fresh lease of life and boost to the existing divisions in the society. All of a sudden everybody became more aware of his own caste and religion than ever before. In India, politicians like V. P. Singh, still tend to use the “divide and rule” policy to hang on to power. The reservation and quota policy is a cancer that divides and destroys the harmony of any society. The implementation of the commission's report became a reality as no political party, unfortunately, has the courage to commit itself against this scourge of quota system. The BJP brought down the V. P. Singh government by pulling out their support for other reasons. But it was too late to prevent the damage. This reflects not just the opportunistic and dirty politics in India, but also the backwardness in thinking of masses. Everybody wants a free meal and no body wants to realize the cost. Hopefully with the open market and economic reforms things might change for the better. If the mass media became free from the government control and leftist so-called secularism of peculiar Indian variety, people might see the reality and understand.

Education also plays an important role. India has launched a new grandiose scheme of "education for all by the year 2010." It is basically a project for the dissemination of elementary education in 9 identified states with World Bank aid. The scheme involves a total package that provides for the basic economic needs of the pupils also. For the country with dubious distinction of having the largest number of illiterates in the world (about 281 million), the project underlines a new dynamic approach.

COCLUSION
The progress made in the decades for the upliftment of the downtrodden and women, socially, economically and educationally is impressive. But it has not yet reached the level of satisfaction. New laws are to be promulgated taking into account the progress, the pitfalls and failures. Legislature and judiciary should work in cooperation for the benefit of the entire population rather than for a particular group. Hopefully, the changes that are being brought since the beginning of this decade will continue and will give an impetus to the efforts towards social justice and equal opportunities for all and the realization of the Vedic goal of vasudhaiva kutumbakam (One World One Family).
REFERENCES
1. Thompson, Dennis F: John Stuart Mill and Representative Government, (Princeton, NJ, 1976), P. 164.
2. Lipson, Leslie: The Great Issues of Politics, (Bombay 1973), and p.145.
3. Bryce, James: Modern Democracies, Vol. I, The World Press Pvt. Ltd., Calcutta, 1962.
4. Yajur Veda - XXXVI-2.
5. Prtabhavananda, Swami and Isherwood, Christopher, ' The Song of God: Bhagavadgita, p. 51.
6. Seal, Brajendranath, 'Rammohan Roy: The Universal Man', Raja Rammohan Roy Century Volume, part II, Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, Calcutta (1993), pp.108-9.
7. Bose, S.C.; The Indian Struggle, Asia Publishing House, Bombay (1967), P. 20.
8. Vivekananda, Swami: India and Her Problems, (Advaita Ashram, Calcutta, 1963) P. 81.
9. Roy, M. N. and Mukherji, A; India in Transition (Geneva< Edition Se la Libraire, J. B. Target, 1922) P. 177.
10. Gandhi, M. K.: the Voice of Truth, Vol VI (1968). Gandhi, M. K., The Removal of Untouchability, (1954) P. 20.
11. Allot, A. N. (1980) The Limits of Law, London: Butterworths.
12. Archana Parashar, 'Women and Family Law Reform in India', Sage Publications, New Delhi, P.33.
13. Ross, AD, Family and Social Change in Modern India, Carolina Academy, Durham, P.110.
14. Sen, S, 1972, Participation in National Politics', Social Change 2 (March) 23-32
* In America, the so-called "untouchability," is euphemistically called "seggregation," and the downtrodden are blacks and Latinos. In 1896, untouchability (segregation) became a state policy in America due to Plessy vs. Ferguson decision. On May 17th 2004, America celebrates the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education that struck down government-imposed racial segregation in public schools, which now elicits ambivalence rather than elation especially among African-Americans.
See When separate became unequal, Chicago Tribune, Published May 8, 2004 available at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0405080074may08,1,7474377.story
Fifty years later, the Supreme Court's landmark decision in the Topeka, Kan., case of Brown vs. Board of Education offers a striking example of the power of the law--but also its limitations--in provoking social change.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on May 17, 1954, that racially segregated schools were unconstitutional. Until then, "separate-but-equal" facilities for children of different races had been allowed under an 1896 decision, Plessy vs. Ferguson. The Brown ruling attempted to put an end to that travesty: "We conclude that in the field of public education, the doctrine of separate but equal has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

Yet the court neglected to include in Brown a mechanism for its enforcement. Many states, especially in the South, reacted with foot-dragging and fierce resistance. A year later almost no schools were desegregated and the court took up the case again, issuing a new order for Brown to be enforced "with all deliberate speed." That tentative expression was taken by segregationists to mean "never." Southern mayors, sheriffs and governors stood pat. Prince Edward County, Va., went so far as to close its public schools in 1959 and raise money for a private whites-only academy until the federal government forced its public schools to reopen almost five years later. By the time the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed, 10 years after Brown, fewer than 2 percent of segregated schools had been desegregated.
By the 1980s, legal action ran up against new socioeconomic realities. Desegregation efforts peaked as courts increasingly decided that the goals of Brown had largely been achieved. Segregation persisted, but white flight had left too few white students to spread around the urban public school systems and too few blacks and Latinos in suburban systems. Black and Latino families also began to show less support for integration than for quality education, even if it came without contact with children from other races.
Today, desegregation often has given way to resegregation. Most white students across the country still have little contact with black or Hispanic students--and vice versa. Schools in Illinois and New York are the most segregated for black students, says Harvard researcher Gary Orfield, the primary author of a report on the subject. For Latinos, schools in New York and California are the most segregated. And even schools that appear integrated often turn out to be segregated by classrooms--with more whites and Asian-Americans in classes for the gifted, and more blacks and Latinos in classes for those with special needs.
No one mandates today's resegregation through "Jim Crow" laws or "whites only" signs. The new resegregation results from differences in income more than skin color. Brown helped launch a new era of civil rights demonstrations, confrontations, legislation and reforms that opened doors to new black opportunities. Parents who can afford to move to districts with better schools do so. But too many non-white students are relegated to substandard schools and resources.
America is a better place than it was before Brown. The decision helped Americans open up opportunities and broaden their horizons. Although black and Latino students don't have to sit next to white students in order to learn and perform well, all students benefit from exposure to others who come from backgrounds that are different from their own. In this century of global villages and workplace diversity, "separate" schooling is not only unequal but also unhealthy.
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In Illinois, 68% of black students attend a majority black school, 92% of white attend a majority white school, 37% of black students attend a school on academic watch and 0.9% of white students attend a school on academic watch. Chicago Tribune, May 9, 2004.
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To learn more about the untouchability in America visit: Still Separate, Unequal , also available here; Still Seeking Unity, also available here; Recalls Segregation, also available here; Back Then and Now, also available here;
http://www.vepachedu.org/equality.html
BUILDING A NEW IDENTITY - THE CHARRAS
Submitted by Koumudi Patil

Today,
a tortured face by itself no longer tells a
story…
a petition letter with thousands of signs
no longer has value…
spoken words cannot be
heard…
screaming only grabs
attention….
and in the end it is
violence
that makes
news
in the country of
Satyagraha…

Budhan Sabar and his wife Shyamoli belonged to the Khera Sabar tribe- a de-notified tribe. This is the only crime that they have committed- to be born a Sabar.
On February 10th, 1998, Budhan Sabar and his wife Shyamoli got on their bicycle. "We were going to Barabazar, to my mamasasur's [mother-in-law's brother] house," says Shyamoli. On the way, they stopped for a paan. Ashoke Roy, Officer-in-Charge of the Barabazar Police Station, came up to them at the little shop and took Budhan away on his motorcycle without a charge sheet.
Over the next few days, the police beat him savagely for a crime he was not involved in. On February 17th, he was dead. The police claimed he had hung himself in his jail cell that evening with his "gamchha", or thin towel.
Renowned literary writer, Mahashweta Devi filed a case against the custodial death. In July, Justice Ruma Pal of the Calcutta High Court delivered a judgement that tore the police version of Budhan's death to shreds. Syamoli was offered a compensation of Rs 85,000.
It was a remarkable judgement, a stunning blow to the police of Purulia. They had treated Budhan as scarcely a human being. But the judgement also made clear just how arrogantly the police behave with De-Notified Tribes.
This is one of the very few cases against the De-Notified Tribes that saw the light of the day. Most are never registered and those registered are never given a favorable judgement.
This project is based on the apathy of the state, the law and the mainstream population that assumes the right to treat people as ‘born criminals’.
Can we change this stamp of ‘criminals’?

The De-notified tribes
Former director of the Baroda-based Tribal Literature Project and noted tribal scholar G.N. Devi suggests that the story goes back to the early years of the colonial rule. “In those times, whoever opposed the British colonial expansion was perceived as a potential criminal. Particularly, if any attempts were made to oppose the government by the use of the arms, the charge of criminality was a certainty.” The other plausible theory is that after the 1857 rebellion, the colonial authorities grew nervous about nomadic people who moved around carrying important commodities such as salt and honey, and possibly carrying intelligence the British could not control.
The British labeled these nomadic tribes as “criminals” or “Notified tribes” under India's Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, to solve their law and order problems. This Act gave them powers to declare certain "tribes, gangs, or classes" as ‘born criminals'. The act required all the members of the “Notified tribes” to register with the local magistrate. The notified tribes were forcibly moved to permanent 'reformatory settlements' that acted as virtual prisons for the tribes and sources of cheap labor for the imperialist. The general rule being that, for any offence in the locality, without enquiry or evidence the people of these tribes could be arrested with non-bailable warrants.
In 1952, five years after independence, the Criminal Tribes Act was finally repealed. But instead of accepting these tortured tribes, whole heartedly in the main stream system, Independent India declared these tribes ‘denotified’. This new label is a forced memory of the past in the minds of these Tribes and that of the general public. The Government of independent India simply replaced the ‘criminal act’ by the 'Habitual Offenders Act' which preserved most of the provisions of the former Criminal Tribes Act.
More than 50 years after independence, we still refer to these tribes as De-Notified Tribes (DNTs). They are still living with the tattoo of ‘born criminals’ on their forehead!

The Charras
Chharanagar is an urban settlement in Ahmedabad, dating back to the 19th century. The Chharas are just one of the many tribes that were labeled as “criminals” or “Notified tribes” by the British under India's Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, to solve their law and order problems.
Independent India in 1952, declared these tribes 'denotified. Released from the forced labor camp (nau khol- nine rooms were allotted to the entire tribe in the outskirts of Ahmedabad as a reformatory cell) which had been their prison for the past forty years, the Chhara were resettled on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, in Chharanagar. Roughly three square miles, with a population of over twenty thousand.
But the constitution changed only words and not acts. Members of denotified tribes are still harassed by the police and carry the stigma of their formerly “criminal” designation. They are still treated as Criminals by birth and subjected to harassment and persecution at the hands of the police and the state machinery. In the eyes of the society they are still criminals- the criminal label is enough to close the doors to regular employment and social segregation is common.
Closed to mainstream opportunities, Chharanagar is primarily known today for its home brewed liquor - illegal in the dry state of Gujarat."Criminal antecedents," criminal ethnic groups," "criminal instincts," this is the kind of language that is still routinely used to describe DNTs. Now some of them do indeed commit crimes, and serious ones too. Still, hardly all of them, and hardly on a scale that would justify such a blanket prejudice.
Their children still fall under the needle of suspicion and get thrown out of schools on flimsiest and often unsubstantiated accusations. Private enterprise and the public sector continue to refuse them jobs. They are prosecuted everyday by anyone who has the power to do so.
Three years ago, I visited Charranagar with a senior colleague for a felicitation programme. My colleague is very well aware of the issues of the De-notified tribes and is a champion of their cause. The evening function turned into night, as the crowds cheered the hero of the day- a young singer who had been selected for the final round of Sa Re Ga Ma (a prestigious singing competition at the national level), a rare achievement in this settlement. But what is even more rare is the capability of this person to compete with the rest of the participants who have been trained under masters since their childhood. This young singer is self taught with no mentor.
As the voice of the young man resonated in the air, I strayed across to look around the ‘notorious’ settlement. My colleague sitting on the dias noticed my wanderings. She quietly sent two men for my ‘security’. (a single girl wandering alone in a ‘criminal’ society).
It amazed me to notice how deeply embedded our fears are, that they can defy all rational reasonings. Equipped with all knowledge regarding the tortures inflicted on this DNTs my colleague still feared for my society. Even knowledge could not fight the fears instilled in us since childhood of the ‘others’.
Our fears have overcome our rationality. Can anyone be a ‘born criminal’? Haven’t we lost our rights to be called rational beings when faced against such myths?
And above all fear of whom. Who are these ‘others’? History has made these ‘others’, but then history has certainly not been democratic in its labeling. Some Charras have been involved in thefts. Some of the incidents have been gruesome also. But did you punish the whole white world because their ancestors made the rest of the world a slave colony? Does one brand every bearded man a terrorist because some bearded men are terrorists? What kind of rationality promotes the logic of attributing the character of the part to the whole?
This fear is reflected in our eyes and in our words. And if media is truly as influential as experts say, then it is the fear reflected through the word that reflects in our eyes. The written word says that the ‘others’ are habitual offenders under law and so the eyes say that they have potential of ‘offending’ us.
The written word says that the theft that took place a month back was committed by three Charras. It does not say that the theft was committed by two Indian men or by two unemployed youth, or two hungry youth or simply two men. The written word reiterates our fear into a belief which soon becomes a rational. Charras= Thieves
The ones who hold the power to torture also hold the power to uplift. The ones who hold the power to reiterate a myth also hold the power to shred a myth into pieces.
Hence the need to be heard- to be able to tell your story in your own words and not through the words of others. To determine what is said about you, where it is said and also how it is said, which in turn necessitates the ownership of the medium of communication. But medium of communication today are expensive both as equipments and as spaces to be broadcasted. Today voicing an opinion for your rights and needs requires you to not only be conversant in a foreign language (English/ Hindi in the context of India) but also in that of the media- a media that has no place for the marginalized.
This project attempts to use the media as a tool to break the myth of ‘born criminals’.

Aims and Objectives of the project
The aim of the project is to build a marketing strategy to bring dignity in the life of the de-notified tribes .The rhetoric of the media will be built through the collaboration of the languages of advertisement and theater.
The project will initiate new platforms for information dissemination and building public opinion such as projections in multiplexes during intervals, cable advertisements, entertainment screens in outlets of Barista, CCD, local film clubs, windows of retail outlets etc.
The project is an exploration in the field of participatory art in which the theater artists of Charranagar will collaborate in shaping and designing the syntax of the rhetoric along with the use of their bodies as the medium to be on record.
The project aspires to bring about awareness of the inhuman treatment meted out to the De-notified tribes and at the same time help to build a positive attitude towards their struggle.

Genre-Theater-Advertisements
Lasswell's maxim, "who says what to whom in what channel and with what effect," will determine the future of not only the channel owners but also of those of the ownerless ones. As we steadily move from an industrial age into an information age, it becomes more and more imperative that we learn to structure our own information and be capable enough to decode another, in order to establish the rhetoric.
This project is an effort to reintegrate the Charra community with the mainstream society by breaking the myth of ‘Born criminals'
The project aspires to construct a strategy of marketing human dignity for De-notified tribes in the country. The language of marketing and advertising has been restricted to the fields of tangible commercial products only. The rhetoric of marketing, if applied to social advertising with the same fervour, keeping in mind the psychology of the viewer, may yield the same success as aggressive marketing has done to the consumer market. The strategies of mass communication of appealing to the emotions, rational, and cultural facets of the targeted audience to persuade can structure the given information to exhort change.
The emphasis of today’s advertisements has shifted from the product to the life style of the buyer. Advertisements today no longer tell us what to buy but how to live our lives and so they say ‘think apple’ and not buy apple, ‘just do it’ and not just buy it. This is very much true for social advertising and persuasion. In the social rhetoric one is not involved with the oppressed object but with the ‘upliftment’/ ‘empowerment’ of the attitude of the un-oppressed lot. The change in perception to a loftier attitude automatically changes the code of conduct of a person towards the socially under-privileged without preaching the non-enticing morality of goodness.
Theater advertisement is a pastiche of the languages of theater and advertising. It is said that the Chharas were born on the stage. They are excellent actors and singers with many productions to their credit. This unsung genre of theater has been used repeatedly by these artists to voice their opinion, but the glamour of other medium have always faded the lights in their stage. Considering this, I propose that the entire spot be created in the language of theater with heightened emotions, strong lights, limited space, props and exaggerated make up to highlight the unknown side of the Charras as artists. The recordings of these theater pieces ‘glamorously’ edited could be then used as spots. If ‘the medium is the message’ today the vehicle of the advertising language driven in celluloid can become the message that theater has failed to convey.
These cryptic advertisements of 30 seconds to 1 minute would be a participatory process where the Chharas would not only determine what is said about them but also how it is said- something that has never been in their hands. The actors will decide not only what needs to be said but also how it is said through their acting.

Subject of the advertisements
The content of the theater pieces would broadly range on the dehumanizing mechanisms of the society and the right of the Chharas to be judged (if their has to be any judgement at all) upon their deeds and not on their birth. The perpetual stigma of being a thief and the marginalization from equal opportunities could be focused through the views and questions of the Charras illustrated on the stage. Even though the subject is grim, the campaign is visualized as cheerful and positive unlike the stereotyped philanthropism of the public welfare advertisements of the day.
As I foresee it now, the advertisements would be shocking – something that could shake the complacency of our thoughts. The campaign could also be inclined towards the pop style in an attempt to maximize the reach of the audience. For instance, the Big B or Amitabh Bacchan (Famous Bollywood icon) was made famous with his lines in the 70s phase of the ‘angry young man’ ‘mera baap chor hain’ (my father is a thief.) The shot showed a close up of his wrist on which these words were tattooed. The Big B’s dialogue is an iconic line, known to every Indian. (Deewar, 1975) Appropriations of such scenes could evolve into the new revivalist Bollywood style of block busters like Om shanti Om and Khoya khoya chand.
The campaign is envisaged as 'crisp, innovative, trendy, tongue-in-cheek and attractive', in order to hold the ever-decreasing attention span of the audience. These tongue-in-cheek advertisements are intended to prick the conscience of those perpetrating the myth of the ‘born criminals’.

Display and dissemination
Ahmedabad is the largest city in the state of Gujarat and the seventh-largest urban agglomeration in India, with a population of almost 51 lakhs. There are 9 multiplexes and 35 theaters in the city of Ahmedabad. The city has six local FM stations at Radio Mirchi (98.3 MHZ), Radio City (91.1 MHZ), My fm (94.3 MHZ), Radio One (95.0 MHZ), Gyan Vaani (104.5 MHZ), All India Radio (96.7 MHZ). All India Radio is broadcast on the AM band. Satellite radio was launched in the city by WorldSpace in 2005.
It will not be an exaggeration to say that Ahmedabadis perform two basic sets of activities- Watch films (bollywood) and eat food and eat food and watch films in between they also shop. The media savvyness of these people is apparent by the above mentioned statistics. Therefore the most appropriate display and dissemination structure for our information will be multiplexes. Multiplexes have a dual advantage. They provide maximum viewership and high recall value possible due to the ease of repetition of the information. The Cinema Advertising Council reports that advertising in movie theaters is experiencing double-digit growth each year, partly because research suggests it is one of the best ways to reach young and affluent consumers.
Theater advertising takes on many forms, but generally speaking, it is any paid advertisement that appears on the movie screen or in the theater lobby. The two major methods are theater slides (ads that appear on the screen between movies) and filmed spots that appear directly prior to the movie trailers or during the intermission. While only large national advertisers such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola have the budgets for filmed ads, theater slides are affordable and can be a very effective persuasion device.
These campaigns will be inserted in between the film intervals at various multiplexes, targeting the cultural and social upholders of society that reserve themselves the right to segregate an entire community from the mainstream. The maximum audience at the multiplexes belongs to the younger age group (recently employed). These spots and slides will act as an awareness campaign for many who are not even acquainted with the issue, but are still passive participants in segregating the tribe. The notions of such segregation are embedded deep in the social structure which are imbibed much earlier by the children, through if not explicit learning but at least implicitly through following actions of their elders.
Other possible avenues for projections can be the screens in major food outlets such as Barista, Mc Donalds, Mint, Subway and the likes. These outlets have small Plasma televisions which screen advertisements and songs. As almost 80 percent of Ahmedabadi families have their dinners outside on the weekend, these spaces become lucrative ground for persuasion.
Radio Mirchi has become a big craze in Ahmedabad. Radio theaters can be interspersed between popular programmes while getting the issue endorsed by a RJ (Radio jockey). RJs are becoming a cult figure in such cities with a huge fan following of their programmes.
Retail outlets in Ahmedabad thrive on the shopping sprees of Ahmedabadis which to their benefit happen very often. Retail designing especially window displays have become an important part of wooing customers. These window displays can be utilized for slide presentations which will ensure a good visibility.
As the campaign progresses, more such avenues can be included.

The collaboration with Theater artists
The participatory design process would entail collaboration in
Research – Gaining an insight on the conditions and problems of the Chharas. A selected group of theater artists would go around the basti collecting information and opinions of the Chharas on themes such as - What is it to be a Charra? Ask a question? Who am I? (insights on identity) etc. A similar exercise could be carried out with the mainstream majority –the non-Chharas- to understand their perception towards this community. Discussions within the Budhan theater group would also add to the research. This process of meeting and interacting with the Chharas would give us insights, statements and quotes
to work on in our scripts.
Conceptualization – the concept formation of the theater pieces Based on this research, we would be able to identify the core issues to be addressed and the mode of this address.
Script writing for the advertisements – the group would sit down together to revise and fine tune the dialogues.
Stage props – the stage setting, lighting, costumes and other production detail.
Theater production that is the performance itself – As I am an ‘outsider’, the stage remains the prerogative of the actors with a joint creative pool for direction. At this stage, the theater productions would be recorded / shot to make the advertisements.

Editing – The feed back of the performers and the community would be added during the editing process with regards to the final product.

Display and dissemination – As the mainstream community is not very open to ideas from the Charras, convincing the multiplex owners, retail outlets and food chains will be primarily my responsibility. Though, in future I would like the Charras to take over this work also.


Methodology

The project is divided into 4 phases

Phase 1 - Thirty days of Research which involves studying the Charras and understanding the problem from their perspective, finding appropriate theater actors for the work.
Phase 2 - Two and a half months of pre-production which includes drafting of the script, preparing the stage and rehearsals.
Phase 3 - One and a half months of production which includes the shooting of all the theater pieces.
Phase 4 - One month of post-production for editing of the material.
Phase 5 - Two months of finding relevant spaces for display and making a plan for the schedule, display and sites for the project.
Phase 6 - One month of display at the sites.

Medium Audio-visual (Celluloid format- 16mm)
DSLR
Shooting format Super 16
Editing platform Adobe premiere, Fast Cut, Indesign, Illustrator, Corel Draw, and Photoshop.
Special effect Smoke
Project site Chharanagar


About Budhan Theater

The Budhan Theatre was created in 1998 at Chharanagar, Ahmedabad by Dakxin Bajrange and Roxy Gagdekar.

‘Budhan Theatre was founded on 31st August 1998 in commemoration of the day when India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, lifted the stigma of criminality from the settled tribes in 1952. Since 1998, Budhan Theatre has performed street plays to raise awareness about the condition of such tribes. Their goal is to demonstrate that Chharas are not “born criminals,” they are humans with real emotions, capacities, and aspirations. Each of their productions has dramatized the events surrounding custodial deaths, abductions, beatings and torture of such tribes throughout the country.

Chharas are "born actors" and are inherently talented. Budhan Theater hopes to raise awareness about the plight of India's denotified tribes estimated to be anywhere around 60 million. The Chharas are traditional performers; their families have been acting for hundreds of years.

Additionally, the youth now feel they are acting to change their lives, and in many real ways doing it to keep themselves alive. They are performing with what little they have — their bodies, their voices and their creative talent — to change their society so that they may have a future within it.’
http://budhantheatre.org/

Caste discrimination

SMITA NARULA


THE U.N. World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) held in South Africa in September 2001 will be remembered for many things: controversy over references to Israel and the plight of Palestinians, a growing demand for reparations to modern-day victims of colonialism and slavery, and of course, the U.S. and Israel walkout. The conference will also be heralded, however, as a watershed for the dalit movement and for the rights of so-called low caste or outcaste populations throughout the world.

The dalit caucus at the non-governmental conference that preceded the U.N. meet was over 160 members strong. Led by India’s National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights, it was joined by lower caste activists from Nepal, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Senegal. As one of the largest and best organized caucuses, it enjoyed strong solidarity from other groups at the conference, including the Roma, Africans and African-Americans, anti-apartheid activists, and even South African Indians. They joined the many protests and processions that were lit up by campaign posters and led by a moving cultural drumming and performance team. Some even joined the hunger strike by dalit activists in the conference’s final days.

The campaign to include caste discrimination at world conference documents also drew strong support from international human rights organizations, numerous governments, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, and even India’s own National Human Rights Commission that took a strong and principled stand against the position of its own government in stating that the conference was a singular opportunity to deal with the vexed problem of caste discrimination.

Dalit activists at the conference learned that while oppression can vary in geography, name and degree, the mechanisms to ensure the systematic exclusion of entire populations based on their race, ethnicity and caste are largely the same. The world learned about the endemic abuse meted out at the hands of higher caste populations, often with the complicity of local and state governments, and about the appalling and widespread practices of untouchability, manual scavenging, forced prostitution and other caste-based abuses in India.

The world also learned that despite the Indian government’s insistence that these are internal domestic matters, caste discrimination is both a global phenomenon and of global concern. It affects 240 million people in Asia and close to 260 million people worldwide, a population greater than that of the United States. To this day it continues to suffer under what is often a hidden apartheid of segregation, modern-day slavery, and other extreme forms of discrimination, exploitation and violence. Caste imposes enormous obstacles to their full attainment of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

In the run up to the conference, journalists, anthropologists, political parties, and others in India joined an increasingly mainstream debate on caste discrimination as an issue of international concern. By mid-August, Indian papers were ablaze with articles on caste versus race, and conferences throughout the country debated the merits of the Indian government’s position – a position taken in the absence of consultation with Parliament, or the country’s national commissions on human rights, women, and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.





Indian officials erroneously and simplistically argued that this was a conference about race or racism, and not other forms of discrimination. The very title of the conference undercut this argument, as did conclusions drawn by the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination that ‘the situation of dalits falls within the scope of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,’ and that the term ‘descent’ contained in Article 1 of the convention does not refer solely to race and encompasses the situation of dalits.

Many found it odd, to say the least, that the world’s largest democracy would try to stop discussion of a serious human rights abuse that its own constitution, laws and agencies are designed to address. The government also argued that efforts to raise the caste issue were part of an ‘external agenda’. Their position conveniently ignored the efforts of the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights who, along with hundreds of Indian human rights groups, collectively submitted over 2.5 million signatures to the Indian Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee in December 1999 demanding the abolishment of untouchability and urging U.N. bodies to squarely address the issue of caste based abuse and discrimination.

Intense Indian political lobbying ensured that the situation of dalits stood alone as the only issue to have been systematically cut out of the governmental conference’s documents. The declaration produced by the parallel NGO conference, however, affirmed the conclusions of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the United Nations Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights that untouchability, bonded labour, manual scavenging and other caste based abuses are repugnant and insidious forms of racial discrimination.

The conference was a movement builder and an organizing tool that connected grassroots NGOs with international actors. It also ensured that the governments of countries where caste discrimination continues to be practiced and condoned will no longer be able to escape scrutiny at home or abroad.

The remainder of this article highlights the common features of caste systems worldwide and concludes with an overview of the ways in which United Nations human rights bodies have addressed the issue of caste discrimination thus far – often only as a result of intense advocacy on the part of nongovernmental organizations within and outside of India.





Despite its constitutional abolition in 1950, the practice of ‘untouchability’ – the imposition of social disabilities on persons by reason of birth into a particular caste – remains very much a part of rural India. Representing over one-sixth of India’s population, or some 160 million people, dalits endure near complete social ostracization. ‘Untouchables’ may not cross the line dividing their part of the village from that occupied by higher castes. They may not use the same wells, visit the same temples, or drink from the same cups in tea stalls. Dalit children are frequently made to sit at the back of classrooms. Entire villages in many Indian states remain completely segregated by caste. Dalits are routinely abused, even killed, at the hands of upper castes that enjoy the state’s protection. Laws are openly flouted while state complicity in attacks on dalit communities continues to reflect a well-documented pattern.

But India is not the only country marred by caste abuses. Dalits in other South Asian countries including Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan also suffer similar fates. The Buraku people of Japan, the Osu of Nigeria’s Igbo people, and certain groups in Senegal, Mauritania and Somalia toil under their own caste or caste like systems. Caste is also a prominent social and economic indicator for the widespread South Asian diaspora in the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Malaysia and many other countries around the world.





These communities share many features in common; features that have allowed even the most appalling practices to escape international scrutiny. In many cases, caste systems coexist with otherwise democratic structures. In countries such as India and Nigeria, governments have also enacted progressive legislation to combat abuses against lower caste communities. Despite formal protections in law, however, discriminatory treatment remains endemic and discriminatory societal norms continue to be reinforced by government and private structures and practices, in some cases through violent means.

Under various caste systems throughout the world, caste divisions also dominate in housing, marriage, and general social interaction – divisions that are reinforced through the practice and threat of social ostracism, economic boycotts, and even physical violence. Often, rigid social norms of purity and pollution are socially enforced through strict prohibitions on marriage or other social interaction between castes. While economic and social indicators other than caste have gained in significance, allowing intermarriage among upper castes, in many countries strong social barriers remain in place against marriage between lower and higher castes.





Lower caste communities are almost invariably indistinguishable in physical appearance from higher caste communities. This is not, as some would say, a black and white issue. For most outsiders then, the visual cues that otherwise accompany race or ethnicity are often completely lacking. Stark economic disparities between low and high caste communities also get buried under a seemingly homogenous landscape of poverty. Poverty can be quite deceptive. It makes one conclude that all suffer from it equally.

A closer look reveals the discrimination inherent in the allocation of jobs, land, basic resources and amenities, and even physical security. A closer look at victims of violence, bonded labour, and other severe abuses also reveals disproportionate membership in the lowest ranking in the caste order. A perpetual state of economic dependency also allows for abuses to go unpunished, while a biased state machinery looks the other way, or worse, becomes complicit in the abuse.

The language used to describe low and high caste communities are striking in their similarity, despite the variation in geographic origin, with ideas of pollution and purity, and filth and cleanliness prevalent. In turn, these designations are used to justify the physical and social segregation of low caste communities from the rest of society, their exclusion from certain occupations, and their involuntary monopoly over ‘unclean’ occupations and tasks.

Allocation of labour on the basis of caste is one of the fundamental tenets of many caste systems, with lower castes typically restricted to tasks and occupations that are deemed too ‘filthy’ or ‘polluting’ for higher caste communities. High dropout and lower literacy rates among lower caste populations have rather simplistically been characterized as the natural consequences of poverty and underdevelopment. Though these rates are partly attributable to the need for low caste children to supplement their family wages through labour, more insidious and less well documented is the discriminatory and abusive treatment faced by low caste children who attempt to attend school at the hands of their teachers and fellow students.

Many low caste victims of abuse are landless labourers who form the backbone of nations’ agrarian economies. Land is the prime asset in rural areas that determines an individual’s standard of living and social status. Lack of access to land makes low caste populations economically vulnerable; their dependency is exploited by landlords and allows for many abuses to go unpunished.





The poor remuneration of manual scavenging, agricultural labour, and other forms of low caste employment often force families of lower castes or caste like groups into bondage. A lack of enforcement of relevant legislation prohibiting debt bondage in most of the countries concerned allows for the practice to continue unabated.

Lower caste women are singularly positioned at the bottom of caste, class, and gender hierarchies. Largely uneducated and consistently paid less than their male counterparts worldwide, they invariably bear the brunt of exploitation, discrimination and physical attacks. Sexual abuse and other forms of violence against women are often used by landlords and the police to inflict political ‘lessons’ and crush dissent within the community. Lower caste women also suffer disproportionately in terms of access to health care, education, and subsistence wages as compared to women of higher castes.





Caste discrimination’s place in the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) was confirmed by numerous international bodies created by treaties and by the title of the conference itself. In the concluding observations of its forty-ninth session held in August/September 1996 (as it reviewed India’s tenth to fourteenth periodic reports under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1965 [ICERD]), the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) affirmed that ‘the situation of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes falls within the scope of’ the convention.
The committee has clearly stated that the term ‘descent’ contained in Article 1 of the convention does not refer solely to race, and encompasses the situation of scheduled castes and tribes. In March 2001, CERD’s ‘concluding observations’ on Japan’s report noted that discrimination based on descent constitutes racial discrimination, and that ‘the term "descent" contained in Art. 1 of ICERD has its own meaning and is not to be confused with race or ethnic or national origin.’ In the same month, while reviewing Bangladesh’s report, the committee reaffirmed that ‘the term "descent" does not solely refer to race or ethnic or national origin and [that it] is of the view that the situation of castes falls within the scope of the convention.’

Similar conclusions were drawn by the U.N. special rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in his January 1999 report. In 1997, the Human Rights Committee noted that members of scheduled castes endured ‘severe social discrimination,’ and suffered ‘disproportionately from many violations of their rights under the [ICCPR].’ In reviewing Nepal’s report in August 2000, CERD ‘remain[ed] concerned at the existence of caste based discrimination, and the denial which this system imposes on some segments of the population of the enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the convention.’ In January and February 2000, serious concerns over the treatment of dalit children and dalit women in India were also expressed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in their reviews of India’s periodic reports under the children’s rights and women’s rights conventions.





In August 2000 the U.N. Sub-commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights passed resolution 2000/4 on discrimination based on work and descent. The resolution, aimed at addressing the issue of caste, reaffirmed that discrimination based on work and descent is prohibited under international human rights law. The subcommission also decided to further identify affected communities, examine existing constitutional, legislative, and administrative measures for the abolition of such discrimination, and make concrete recommendations for the effective elimination of such practices.

In August 2001, subcommission expert R.K.W. Goonesekere presented his working paper on work and descent-based discrimination to the subcommission’s fifty-third session. The paper was submitted pursuant to subcommission resolution 2000/4. Because of time and other constraints, Goonesekere limited the paper’s focus to the Asian countries of India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Japan but stated that further study of African countries in particular was warranted. The presentation of the paper, and the ensuing debate among subcommission experts that followed, marked the first time that caste discrimination was discussed as a major source of human rights violations worldwide by a U.N. human rights body. The subcommission also determined by consensus to extend the study to other regions of the world where work and descent based discrimination continues to be experienced.

This important resolution under-scored the notion that caste systems are inherently economic and social in their consequences and that the exclusion of lower caste communities extends to the economic and social realms of wages, jobs, education, and land.

Despite blockage of discussion of the issue of caste in the major intergovernmental fora of the WCAR process, several preparatory meetings for WCAR highlighted the need to address caste based discrimination. These include the Asia-Pacific experts seminar in Bangkok, the European NGO meeting in Strasbourg, the African experts seminar in Addis Ababa, the NGO forum in Tehran, the Asia-Pacific NGO meeting in Kathmandu, the global conference against racism and caste based discrimination in New Delhi, and various satellite conferences, including the Bellagio consultation.





India wasn’t alone in coming to the world conference with an anti-agenda. Many governments, including the United States, used all the economic and political influence at their disposal to ensure that racial injustices in their own nations would not be addressed at the conference, or that they would not be bound by remedies outlined in the conference’s programme of action. The conference’s failures are well documented but its successes are not, successes that are largely a result of the work of NGOs from around the world who came together at numerous preparatory meetings and at the conference itself to speak in a united, singular voice as victims of longstanding oppression.





Ultimately, however, success will be measured by the extent to which governments live up to commitments they make to their own citizens. India actively supported the anti-apartheid struggle, has ratified all major human rights conventions, and has enacted progressive legislation to tackle caste related problems of bonded labour, manual scavenging, untouchability, and other atrocities against dalit community members. What is lacking is enforcement.

Only with the honest implementation of the ICERD and of domestic laws designed to abolish the vestiges of the caste system and to protect the economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights of all, can the process of attaining economic and physical security and human dignity begin.

Concerted international attention and the commitment of resources to assist national governments in this important work are also long overdue. For at least a quarter-billion people worldwide, the end of apartheid in South Africa did not signal the end of segregation and servitude in their own lives. This important conference was the start of a historic process and should bring us closer to this important global goal.



* This article draws on two reports: Broken People: Caste Violence Against India’s ‘Untouchables’, and Caste Discrimination: A Global Concern by Smita Narula. For more information go to www.hrw.org/campaigns/caste.
http://www.india-seminar.com/2001/508/508%20smita%20narula.htm

Dalits and Untouchability


There are 165 million Dalits in India-about 1/6th of the total population.

Who are the Dalits?

Dalit means "broken people."

Dalits were formerly known as "untouchables."

Dalits live at the bottom of India's rigid social order known as the caste system.

What is the caste system?

The caste system originated around 7 A.D.

Caste is determined by birth, not race.

Caste is based upon the Hindu belief that a person's position in life is based upon the good deeds and sins of their past life.

Caste determines Indians' spouses, friends, occupations and residence.
How many castes are there?

There are four major castes, and hundreds of minor castes. Each caste has specific duties and privileges.


Brahmins-originally the priests and intellectuals.

Kshatriyas-soldiers.

Vaishyas-traders.

Sudras-performed menial tasks.
Are Dalits in a caste?

No. A fifth group was created to perform tasks considered too menial or degrading to be performed by caste members.

Dalits are so low in the social hierarchy that they are outside of the caste system and considered "outcastes."
What is Untouchability?

Dalits are the manual scavengers, the removers of human waste and dead animals, leather workers, street sweepers and cobblers.

The mere touch of a Dalit was considered "polluting" to a caste member. Thus, the concept of "untouchability" was born.
Isn't Untouchability illegal?

The preamble to the Indian Constitution proclaims the goals of social justice and equality.

Article 14 sets forth the principal of equality and prohibits discrimination in employment and education.

The Constitution does not set forth a casteless society as a national goal.

No law has been passed abolishing untouchability.

The practice of untouchability is a punishable offense, but the law is rarely enforced.
Are there affirmative action programs for Dalits?

Yes. The Civil Rights Act of 1955, and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes Act of 1989.

The National commission of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was formed to protect Dalit interests and integrate them into society.

All programs have failed to produce substantive change.
Who called untouchability India's "Hidden Apartheid?"

In December, 2006, Indian Prime Minister Mannohan Singh became the first Indian leader to acknowledge the parallel between untouchability and the crime of apartheid.

PM Singh described untouchability as a "blot on humanity" and acknowledged that despite constitutional and legal protections, caste discrimination still exists throughout much of India.

What does it mean
to be a Dalit
in India today?
Dalits endure segregation in housing, schools and access to public services.

Dalits are denied access to land, forced to work in degrading conditions and are routinely abused by the police and upper-caste members.

Dalits suffer discrimination in education, health care, housing, property, freedom of religion, free choice of employment, and equal treatment before the law

Dalits suffer routine violations of their right to life and security of person through state-sponsored or sanctioned acts of violence, including torture.

Dalits suffer caste-motivated killings, rapes and other abuses on a daily basis.

Between 2001-2002 there were 58,000 registered egregious abuses against Dalits and Tribals.

2005 government report stated there is a crime committed against a Dalit every 20 minutes.

Dalits comprise most of the agricultural, bonded and child laborers in the country.

2007 government report found 77% of all Indians live on less than $.50 a day and most of them were Dalits.
Dalit women face additional discrimination and abuse, including sexual abuse by the police and upper caste men, forced prostitution, and discrimination in employment and wages.
Dalit children face continuous hurdles in education. They are made to sit in the back of classrooms and endure verbal and physical harassment from teachers and other students. The effect of such abuses is confirmed by the low literacy and high drop-out rates for Dalits.
What is the international community doing to end caste discrimination and untouchability?
2/1/07, European Union passed a resolution that found India's enforcement of laws to protect Dalits "grossly inadequate. Also found that "atrocities, untouchability, illiteracy and inequality of opportunity, continue to blight the lives of India's Dalits." The resolution called on the Indian government to end caste-based discrimination.
2/13/07, Hidden Apartheid Caste Discrimination Against India's Untouchables-113 page joint report was published Human Rights Watch and The Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at Hew York University School of Law. Report found that India systematically failed to uphold its international legal obligations to ensure the fundamental human rights of Dalits, despite laws and policies against caste discrimination.
3/9/07, United Nations Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) found that "de facto segregation of Dalits persists" and highlighted systematic abuse against Dalits including torture and extrajudicial killings, an "alarming" extent of sexual violence against Dalit women and caste discrimination in post-tsunami relief.
7/24/07, US House of Representatives passed a concurrent resolution condemning the caste system and untouchability in India

http://www.dalitsolidarity.org/untouchability.php
India: UN Finds Pervasive Abuse Against Dalits
After Review by UN Anti-Discrimination Body, Government Should Move From Talk to Action
March 11, 2007
Related Materials: India: ‘Hidden Apartheid’ of Discrimination Against Dalits
The UN Committee’s concluding observations confirm that India has failed to properly protect Dalits and tribal communities.
Brad Adams, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch.The Indian government should take immediate steps to implement the recommendations of a United Nations committee that found persistent violence and discrimination against Dalits, or so-called “untouchables,” a group of international human rights organizations said today.
The organizations include Human Rights Watch, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University School of Law, and the International Dalit Solidarity Network.
On March 9, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) issued its Concluding Observations regarding India’s compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Committee’s report found that “de facto segregation of Dalits persists” and highlighted systematic abuse against Dalits including torture and extrajudicial killings, an “alarming” extent of sexual violence against Dalit women, and caste discrimination in post-tsunami relief.
The Committee called for effective measures to implement laws on discrimination and affirmative action, and sought proper protection for Dalits and tribal communities against acts of “discrimination and violence.” The Committee has given India a year to respond to four of its recommendations, including its recommendations on how India can end widespread impunity for violence against Dalits, and Dalit women in particular.
“The UN Committee’s concluding observations confirm that India has failed to properly protect Dalits and tribal communities,” said Brad Adams, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch. “This is a prime opportunity for India to give its own policies on discrimination some meaning. Laws need to be implemented, and those who violate them must be prosecuted.”
The Concluding Observations were issued following two days of hearings in Geneva on February 23 and 26 between Committee members and the Indian delegation. During the hearing, Committee members uniformly took issue with the Indian government’s refusal to acknowledge that caste-based discrimination is covered by the Convention and is an issue of international human rights concern.
Inparticular, the Committee called on the Indian government to:
Introduce mandatory training on the application of India’s Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for police, judges and prosecutors, and take disciplinary measures against those who fail to implement this law.
Ensure the protection of witnesses and victims to caste-based crimes and ensure their immediate access to effective remedies.
Prosecute and punish perpetrators of sexual violence and sexual exploitation of Dalit women, and sanction anyone found preventing or discouraging victims from reporting such incidents, including public officials.
Eradicate the social acceptance of caste-based discrimination through public education and awareness campaigns.
Ensure equal access to health care, safe drinking water, and other public services.
Investigate all alleged cases of discrimination against Dalits in post-tsunami relief and compensate or retroactively grant benefits to victims of such discrimination.
Take effective measures to reduce dropout rates and increase enrollment rates among Dalits at all levels of schooling by providing scholarships and by ending classroom segregation.
Ensure proper enforcement of reservations or quotas to counter the under-representation of Dalits and tribal communities in government and public services.
Adopt measures to enhance Dalits’ access to the labor market, including by extending the reservation policy to the private sector.
Repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act that, while providing the armed forces with widespread powers to search, arrest and shoot suspects, leading to allegations of human rights abuses, has immunity provisions under which troops cannot be prosecuted unless authorized by the Central Government.
The Concluding Observations reflect the Committee’s disappointment with India’s presentation before the Committee on February 23 and 26. Despite India’s Solicitor General Goolam Vahanvati’s claim to the Committee that the government is “deeply conscious and concerned about caste and is fully committed to tackling this at every level,” the Indian delegation resorted to a semantic debate on the difference between caste and race to support its erroneous assertion that the Convention only covers race-based discrimination.
Citing India’s extensive laws and policies to end caste-based discrimination, none of which have been faithfully implemented, the Indian delegation also questioned the credibility of the Committee’s sources of information. These sources included reports of India’s own governmental agencies and numerous reports by Indian and international nongovernmental organizations, including “Hidden Apartheid,” which the NYU Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) along with Human Rights Watch produced as a “shadow report” ahead of CERD’s review of India’s periodic report.
In its Concluding Observations, “the Committee reaffirm[ed] that discrimination based on the ground of caste is fully covered by article 1 of the Convention.” It cited its position expressed in General Recommendation No. 29, “that discrimination based on ‘descent’ includes discrimination against members of communities based on forms of social stratification such as caste and analogous systems of inherited status which nullify or impair their equal enjoyment of human rights.”
“The Indian delegation’s arrogant rejection of well-documented abuses against Dalits before UN experts in Geneva mirrors India’s systematic denial of Dalit rights at home,” said Professor Smita Narula, faculty director of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice. “India once again squandered an opportunity to enlist the support of experts in its efforts to ensure equality in law and practice for its citizens.”
Comprised of independent experts from around the world, the Committee was led in its review by Mr. Linos-Alexander Sicilianos of Greece. On December 27, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh likened the practice of untouchability in India to apartheid in South Africa. “After this statement,” Siciliano said, “I sincerely feel that the official position [of the Indian delegation…] is simply untenable.” The Committee formally noted its appreciation for the prime minister’s remarks in their Observations.
Committee members characterized India’s position as a “broken record,” a “step backwards,” and cautioned that India should not “confuse growth with development.” Sicilianos reminded the government that “change cannot be achieved by legislation alone.” The Committee also highlighted its concern over “abuses at the local level” for which “radical measures” were necessary. The Indian government’s position left Committee members asking why India did not choose to view the review as “an opportunity rather than a threat.” Committee members also noted that caste-based discrimination was not unique to South Asia, but also existed in many parts of Africa
The Committee’s sharp rebuke to the Indian government has been matched by growing scrutiny both inside and outside the country. On February 1, 2007 the European Parliament passed a resolution voicing strong concern about the plight of Dalits in India and urging the government to engage with relevant UN bodies, including CERD.
“Instead of sidestepping its responsibilities, India should welcome assistance from the international community to eliminate caste-based discrimination,” said Rikke Nöhrlind, coordinator of the International Dalit Solidarity Network. “The fact that European Parliament strongly urged its own institutions to address caste discrimination in all EU-India relations reflects growing worldwide concern about India’s ‘hidden apartheid.’”
More than 165 million people in India continue to be subject to discrimination, exploitation and violence simply because of their caste. In India’s “hidden apartheid,” untouchability relegates Dalits throughout India to a lifetime of segregation and abuse. Caste-based divisions continue to dominate in housing, marriage, employment and general social interaction—divisions that are reinforced through economic boycotts and physical violence.
“Hidden Apartheid,” which was produced as a “shadow report” ahead of CERD’s review of India’s periodic report, documents India’s systematic failure to respect, protect and ensure Dalits’ fundamental human rights. Severe violations persist in education, health, housing, property, freedom of religion, free choice of employment and equal treatment before the law.
The report also documents routine violations of Dalits’ right to life and security of person through state-sponsored or sanctioned acts of violence, including torture. Dalit women face multiple forms of discrimination and are frequent targets of sexual abuse. State and private actors enjoy virtual impunity for these crimes.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2007/03/11/india-un-finds-pervasive-abuse-against-dalits
Persecution of Buddhists
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Many Buddhists have experienced persecution from non-Buddhists during the history of Buddhism. Persecution may refer to unwarranted arrest, imprisonment, beating, torture, or execution. It also may refer to the confiscation or destruction of property, or the incitement of hatred toward Buddhists.
Contents [hide]
1 Pre-modern Persecutions of Buddhism
1.1 Sassanids
1.2 Persecution under the Sunga Pusyamitra
1.3 Hepthalites
1.4 Emperor Wuzong of Tang
1.5 Oirat Mongols
2 Persecution by Militaristic Regimes
2.1 Imperial Japan
2.2 Persecution in Myanmar
3 Persecution by Christians
3.1 South Korea
3.2 Sri Lanka
3.3 Vietnam
4 Persecution by Communists
4.1 Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge
4.2 China
4.3 Chinese occupied Tibet
4.4 Mongolia
4.5 North Korea
4.6 Soviet Union
4.7 Vietnam
5 Persecution by Muslims
5.1 Afghanistan
5.2 Bangladesh
5.3 India
5.4 Pakistan
5.5 Thailand
6 References
7 Further reading


[edit] Pre-modern Persecutions of Buddhism
[edit] Sassanids
In 224 CE Zoroastrianism was made the official religion of the Persia, and other religions were not tolerated, thus halting the spread of Buddhism westwards. [1] In the 3rd century the Sassanids overran the Bactrian region, overthrowing Kushan rule,[2] were persecuted[clarification needed] with many of their stupas fired.[1] Although strong supporters of Zoroastrianism, the Sassanids tolerated Buddhism and allowed the construction of more Buddhist monasteries. It was during their rule that the Lokottaravada followers erected the two colossal Buddha statues at Bamiyan.[2]
During the second half of the third century, when the Zoroastrian high priest Kirder dominated the religious policy of the state.[2] He ordered the destruction of several Buddhist monasteries in Afghanistan, since the amalgam of Buddhism and Zoroastrianism mainfested in the form of a "Buddha-Mazda" deity appeared to him as heresy.[2] Buddhism quickly recovered, however, after his death.[2]

[edit] Persecution under the Sunga Pusyamitra
Pusyamitra Sunga (reigned 185 to 151 BCE) assassinated the last Mauryan emperor Brhadrata in 185 BCE, and subsequently founded the Sunga dynasty. From the mid 3rd century BC, under Ashoka, Buddhist proselytization had begun to spread beyond the subcontinent. Buddhist texts such as the Ashokavadana and Divyavadana, written about four centuries after his reign, they contain accounts of the persecution of Buddhists during his reign. They ascribe to him the razing of stupas and viharas built by Ashoka, the placement of a bounty of 100 dinaras on the heads of Buddhist monks and describe him as one who wanted to undo the work of Ashoka.[3] However, some historians have rejected Pushyamitra' s persecution of Buddhists and the traditional accounts are often described as exaggerated. The Asokavadana legend has been likened to a Buddhist version of Pusyamitra's attack of the Mauryas, reflecting the declining influence of Buddhism in the Sunga Imperial court. Later Sunga kings were seen as amenable to Buddhism and as having contributed to the building of the stupa at Bharhut.[4]. The decline of Buddhism in India did not set in until the Gupta dynasty.

[edit] Hepthalites
Central Asian and North Western Indian Buddhism weakened in the 6th century following the White Hun invasion who followed their own religions such as Tengri, Nestorian Christianity and Manichean.[2] Around 440 CE they conquered Sogdiana then conquered Gandhara and pushed on into the gangetic plains.[1][2] Their King Mihirkula who ruled from 515 CE suppressed Buddhism destroying monasteries as far as modern-day Allahabad before his son reversed the policy.[2]

[edit] Emperor Wuzong of Tang
Main article: Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution
Emperor Wuzong of Tang (814-846) indulged in indiscriminate religious persecution, solving a financial crisis by seizing the property of Buddhist monasteries. Buddhism had flourished into a major religious force in China during the Tang period, and its monasteries enjoyed tax-exempt status. Wuzong closed many Buddhist shrines, confiscated their property, and sent the monks and nuns home to lay life. Apart from economic reasons, Wuzong's motivation was also ideologica. As a zealous Taoist, he considered Buddhism a foreign religion that was harmful to Chinese society. He went after other foreign religions as well, all but eradicating Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism in China, and his persecution of the growing Nestorian Christian churches sent Chinese Christianity into a decline from which it never recovered.
See also: Four Buddhist Persecutions in China
[edit] Oirat Mongols
The Oirats (Western Mongols) converted to Tibetan Buddhism around 1615. The Dzungars were a confederation of several Oirat tribes that emerged suddenly in the early 17th century. The Dzungar Khanate was the last great nomadic empire in Asia. In 18th century, the Dzungars were annihilated by Qianlong Emperor in several campaigns. About 80% of the Dzungar population, or around 500.000 to 800.000 people, were killed during or after the Manchu conquest in 1755-1757.[5]
The Kalmyk Khanate was founded in the 17th century with Tibetan Buddhism as its main religion, following the earlier migration of the Oirats from Dzungaria through Central Asia to the steppe around the mouth of the Volga River. During the course of the 18th century, they were absorbed by the Russian Empire, which was then expanding to the south and east. The Russian Orthodox church pressured many Kalmyks to adopt Orthodoxy. In the winter of 1770-1771, about 300,000 Kalmyks set out to return to China. Their goal was to retake control of Dzungaria from the Qing Dynasty of China.[6] Along the way many were attacked and killed by Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, their historical Muslim enemies, and many more died of starvation and disease. After several grueling months of travel, only one-third of the original group reached Dzungaria and had no choice but to surrender to the Qing upon arrival.[7]

[edit] Persecution by Militaristic Regimes
[edit] Imperial Japan
Buddhist monks were forced to return to the laity, Buddhist property confiscated, Buddhist institutions closed, and Buddhist schools reorganized under state control in the name of modernizing Japan during the early Meiji Period.[8] The state-control of Buddhism was part of Imperial Japanese policy both at home and abroad in Korea and other conquered territories.[9]

[edit] Persecution in Myanmar
The Government of Myanmar has attempted to control Buddhist institutions through coercive means, including the intimidation, torture, and murder of monks [10], After monks played an active role in the protest movements against the military dictatorship in 2007, the state cracked down on Buddhist monks and monasteries[11].

[edit] Persecution by Christians
[edit] South Korea
Some South Korean Buddhists have denounced what they view as discriminatory measures against them and their religion by the administration of President Lee Myung-bak, which they attribute to Lee being a Christian.[12]The Buddhist Jogye Order has accused the Lee government of discriminating against Buddhism and favoring Christianity by ignoring certain Buddhist temples but including Christian churches in certain public documents.[12] In 2006, according to the Asia Times, "Lee also sent a video prayer message to a Christian rally held in the southern city of Busan in which the worship leader prayed feverishly: 'Lord, let the Buddhist temples in this country crumble down!'"[13] Further, according to an article in Buddhist-Christian Studies: "Over the course of the last decade a fairly large number of Buddhist temples in South Korea have been destroyed or damaged by fire by misguided Christian fundamentalists. More recently, Buddhist statues have been identified as idols, and attacked and decapitated in the name of Jesus. Arrests are hard to effect, as the arsonists and vandals work by stealth of night."[14] A 2008 incident in which police investigated protesters who had been given sanctuary in the Jogye temple in Seoul and searched a car driven by Jigwan, executive chief of the Jogye order, led to protests by Buddhists who claimed police had treated Jigwan as a criminal.[12]

[edit] Sri Lanka
Under British rule, Christians were openly favoured for jobs and promotions.[15] Robert Inglis, a prominent 19th Century British Conservative, likened Buddhism to "idolatry" during a parliamentary debate over the relationship of "Buddhist priests" to the British colonial government, in 1852.[16] (Inglis was also an outspoken opponent of Jewish Emancipation).

[edit] Vietnam
Buddhists were discriminated against under the reign of President Ngô Ðình Di?m.
Already in 1953, first rumors of discrimination against Buddhists surfaced in Vietnam. The allegations stated that Catholic Vietnamese armed by the French had been raiding villages. By 1961, the shelling of pagodas in Vietnam was being reported in Australian and American media[17]
After the Catholic Ngo Dinh Diem came to power in South Vietnam, backed by the United States, he favoured his relatives and correligionists over the Buddhists. Though Buddhists made up 80% of Vietnam's population, Catholics were favoured for high positions in the army and civil service. Half of the 123 members National Assembly were Catholic. Buddhists were also forced to procure special government permits to hold large meetings, a tactic used generally for trade unions.[18] In May 1963, the government forbade the flying of Buddhist flags on Vesak. After Buddhist protesters clashed with government troops, nine people were killed.[18] In protest, the Buddhist monk Thích Qu?ng Ð?c burned himself to death in Saigon.[19].

[edit] Persecution by Communists
[edit] Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge actively persecuted Buddhists during their reign from 1975 to 1979[20]. Buddhist institutions and temples were wantonly destroyed and Buddhist monks and teachers were killed in large numbers[21]. A third of the nations monasteries were destroyed along with numerous holy texts and items of high artistic quality. 25,000 Buddhist monks were massacred by the regime.[22] The persecution was undertaken because Pol Pot believed Buddhism to be "a decadent affectation". He sought to eliminate Buddhism's 1,500 year old mark on Cambodia.[22].

[edit] China
Since the Communist takeover, Buddhism has been severely restricted and brought under state-control. During the cultural revolution, Buddhists were actively persecuted and sent for reeducation, and temples, statues, and sutras were vandalized and destroyed. Buddhism is currently only permitted within the confines of state-controlled Buddhist institutions.

[edit] Chinese occupied Tibet
Tibetan Buddhists have been threatened by the Government of the People's Republic of China and by Han settlers, who occupy governing positions in Tibet[23]. Buddhist monks and nuns have been tortured and killed by the Chinese military, according to human rights groups[24].

[edit] Mongolia
Buddhist monks were persecuted in Mongolia during communist rule up until democratization in 1990[25].

[edit] North Korea
There is no religious freedom in North Korea, as every religious denomination is persecuted by the communist regime. The regime has removed traces of Korea's Buddhist past and persecuted practitioners of Buddhism. The only cult that is encouraged is that of 'Dear Leader' Kim Jong-II and his late father Kim Il-Sung.[edit] Soviet Union
Buddhism was persecuted and looked down upon by the Soviet authorities. Adherents were brutally attacked by the authorities[26] to "free" the masses to work in gulags[27]. During Stalin's rule, all the Kalmyk Buddhists were forcibly moved to Siberia and only allowed to return after his death[28].

[edit] Vietnam
Despite the communist regime's hostility, Buddhism is still widely practiced in Vietnam. According to Human Rights News, "Vietnam continues to systematically imprison and persecute independent Buddhists as well as followers of other religions." [29].

[edit] Persecution by Muslims
[edit] Afghanistan
Two ancient Buddha statues, known as the Buddhas of Bamyan, were destroyed on March 21, 2001 by the Islamic Taliban government.[30][31]. Mr. B Raman, Director of the Institute for Topical Studies in Chennai, argued that the Taliban actively campaigned against Buddhist influences in Afghanistan.[32]

[edit] Bangladesh
The Buddhist communities of Bangladesh are under pressure from the military and police not to practice Buddhism, and Buddhists have suffered abuse, arrest, and even rapes. The government encourages Muslim settlement in Buddhist areas, as part of its campaign to promote Islam.[33] According to Jumma exiles, torture and murder of Buddhists is a frequent occurrence.[34]

[edit] India
Various personages involved in the revival of Buddhism in India such as Anagarika Dharmapala and the The Mahabodhi Movement of 1890s as well as Dr. B. R. Ambedkar hold the Muslim Rule in India responsible for the decay of Buddhism in India[35][36][37][38][39]
In 1193, Qutb-ud-Din, a Turkish commander, seized control of Delhi, leaving defenseless the northeastern territories that were the heart of Buddhist India. The Mahabodhi Temple was almost completely destroyed by the invading muslim forces. [40] One of Qutb-ud-Din's generals, Ikhtiar Uddin Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khilji, invaded Magadha and destroyed the great Buddhist shrines at Nalanda. [41] The Buddhism of Magadha suffered a tremendous decline under Khilji. [42]
In 1200 Muhammad Khilji, one of Qutb-ud-Din's generals destroyed monasteries fortified by the Sena armies, such as the one at Vikramshila. Many monuments of ancient Indian civilization were destroyed by the invading armies, including Buddhist sanctuaries[43] near Benares. Buddhist monks who escaped the massacre fled to Nepal, Tibet and South India. [44]
Timur destroyed Buddhist establishments and raided areas in which Buddhism had flourished. [45][46]
Mughal rule also contributed to the decline of Buddhism. They are reported to have destroyed many Hindu temples and Buddhist shrines alike or converted many sacred Hindu places into Muslim shrines and mosques.[47] Mughal rulers like Aurangzeb destroyed Buddhist temples and monasteries and replaced them with Islamic mosques. [48][verification needed]
The Ladakh Buddhist Association has said: "There is a deliberate and organised design to convert Kargil's Buddhists to Islam. In the last four years, about 50 girls and married women with children were taken and converted from village Wakha alone. If this continues unchecked, we fear that Buddhists will be wiped out from Kargil in the next two decades or so. Anyone objecting to such allurement and conversions is harassed."[49][50]

[edit] Pakistan
In September 2007 suspected pro-Taleban militants in north-west Pakistan have tried to blow up an ancient carving of Buddha using dynamite which sustained only minimal damage[31]. In November 2007, suspected Taliban rebels blew up a Buddha statue in the Swat Valley, destroying the head, shoulders, and feet of the statue[51].

[edit] Thailand
Primarily Buddhist Thailand has been involved in a fight with Muslim insurgents in the South. Buddhists have been beheaded[52] and clergy and teachers are frequently threatened with their lives.[53] Shootings of Buddhists are quite frequent in the South,[54][55] as are bombings,[56] and attacking religious establishments.[57]

[edit] References
^ a b c Ehsan Yar-Shater, The Cambridge History of Iran, Cambridge University, 1983, ISBN 0521246938 pg. 860-861
^ a b c d e f g h Alexander Berzin, Historical Sketch of Buddhism and Islam in Afghanistan and Buddhists, November 2001, Online Article from the Berzin Archives. | Last accessed 3 January 2007
^ Ashok Kumar Anand, "Buddhism in India", 1996, Gyan Books, ISBN 8121205069, pg 91-93
^ Akira Hirakawa, Paul Groner, "A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana", Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1996, ISBN 8120809556 pg 223
^ Michael Edmund Clarke, In the Eye of Power (doctoral thesis), Brisbane 2004, p37
^ The Kalmyk People: A Celebration of History and Culture
^ History of Kalmykia
^ James Edward Ketelaar, Of Heretics and Martyrs in Meiji Japan; ISBN 0691024812
^ Brian Victoria, Zen War Stories, ISBN 0700715819
^ Burma: A Land Where Buddhist Monks Are Disrobed and Detained in Dungeons
^ Burma's Buddhist monks take to the streets
^ a b c Rahn, Kim (July 30, 2008). "President Embarrassed Over Angry Buddhists". The Korea Times. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
^ http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/JB01Dg01.html A 'God-given' president-elect
^ Harry L. Wells, Korean Temple Burnings and Vandalism: The Response of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies. Buddhist-Christian Studies, Vol. 20, 2000, pp. 239-240; http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/buddhist-christian_studies/v020/20.1wells.html
^ BuddhaNet.Net: Sacred Island - A Buddhist Pilgrim's Guide to Sri Lanka: Kelaniya
^ Hansard, 3rd Series, cxxiii, 713–714.
^ Errors Escalated Too NY Times Books - May 16, 1965.
^ a b The Religious Crisis (Page 1) TIME - Jun. 14, 1963
^ Vietnam at 25 - CNN
^ Chronology of Cambodian Events Since 1950 Cambodian Genocide Program - Yale University
^ Remembering the deaths of 1.7-million Cambodians St. Petersburg Times - May 3, 2000
^ a b Phnom Penh Journal; Lord Buddha Returns, With Artists His Soldiers New York Times - January 2, 1992
^ Human rights abuses up as Olympics approach Asia News - August 7, 2007
^ Area Tibetans mourn their nation's lost independence Star Tribune - March 10, 2001
^ Mongolia's monks make a comeback TVNZ - July 18, 2006
^ Buddhist revival tangles with politics Asia Times Online - August 26, 1999
^ The Red Mugwump TIME - June 9, 1961
^ Kalmykia dismayed that Dalai Lama is not coming Phayul - June 25, 2004
^ Vietnam: Religious Freedom Denied
^ A former Taliban official who oversaw destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas killed in Kabul International Herald Tribune - January 27, 2007
^ a b "Attack on giant Pakistan Buddha". BBC News. 2007-09-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6991058.stm. Retrieved on 15 September 2007.
^ Cambodia meets Islam head on Asia Times - June 3, 2003
^ Religious persecution in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh
^ http://jummapeoplenet.blogspot.com/
^ A Close View of Encounter between British Burma and British Bengal
^ The Maha-Bodhi By Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 205)
^ The Maha-Bodhi By Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 58)
^ The Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi: And Other Essays, Philosophical and Sociological By Ardeshir Ruttonji Wadia (page 483)
^ (B.R. Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, vol.3, p.229-230.)
^ The Maha-Bodhi By Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 205)
^ The Maha-Bodhi By Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 8)
^ The Maha-Bodhi By Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 205)
^ History > The early Muslim period > North India under Muslim hegemony, c. 1200–1526 > The Delhi sultanate > The Turkish conquest - Brittanica
^ Islam at War: A History By Mark W. Walton, George F. Nafziger, Laurent W. Mbanda (page 226)
^ Sir Aurel Stein: Archaeological Explorer By Jeannette Mirsky
^ Ethnicity & Family Therapy edited by Nydia Garcia-Preto, Joe Giordano, Monica McGoldrick
^ War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Tibet By Eric S. Margolis page 165
^ India By Sarina Singh
^ Tundup Tsering and Tsewang Nurboo, in: "Ladakh visited", Pioneer, 4/12/1995.
^ The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Jammu & Kashmir
^ Another Bamiyan-style vandalism in Pakistan Times of India - November 11, 2007
^ Insurgents Behead Buddhist in Thailand Fox News - January 14, 2007
^ In Muslim Thailand, teachers face rising threat International Herald Tribune - July 4, 2005
^ South Thailand: 'They're getting fiercer' Asia Times - December 7, 2006
^ Boonthanom, Surapan (2007-03-19). "Three Buddhist women dead in south Thailand attack". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSBKK34991. Retrieved on 22 September 2007.
^ Two killed in south Thailand Al-Jazeera - November 20, 2006
^ "Three Buddhist Temples Attacked With Explosives (Thailand)". Reuters (Pluralism Project). 2004-05-16. http://www.pluralism.org/news/article.php?id=7046. Retrieved on 22 September 2007.

[edit] Further reading
Al-Biladhuri: Kitãb Futûh Al-Buldãn, translated into English by F.C. Murgotte, New York, 1924.
Elliot and Dowson: The History of India as told by its own Historians, New Delhi reprint, 1990.
Majumdar, R. C. (ed.), The History and Culture of the Indian People, Volume VI, The Delhi Sultanate, Bombay, 1960; Volume VII, The Mughal Empire, Bombay, 1973.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Buddhists"

Nativism (politics)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nativism is an opposition to immigration or to specific ethnic or cultural groups because the groups are considered hostile or alien to the natural culture, and it is assumed that they cannot be assimilated. Opposition to immigration is common in many countries because of issues of national, cultural or religious identity. The phenomenon has been studied especially in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as Europe in recent years. Thus nativism has become a general term for 'opposition to immigration' based on fears that the immigrants will distort or spoil supposedly national values.
In scholarly studies "nativism" is a standard technical term. However, in public political discourse "nativist" is a term of opprobrium usually used by the opposition, and rarely by nativists themselves (they call themselves "patriots."). Anti-immigration is a more neutral term that may be used to characterize opponents of immigration.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-immigration
Alien and Sedition Acts
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Text of the act.The Alien and Sedition Acts were four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalists in the United States Congress—who were waging an undeclared naval war with France, later known as the Quasi-War—and signed into law by President John Adams. Proponents claimed the acts were designed to protect the United States from alien citizens of enemy powers and to stop seditious attacks from weakening the government. The Democratic-Republicans, like later historians, attacked them as being both unconstitutional and designed to stifle criticism of the administration, and as infringing on the right of the states to act in these areas. They became a major political issue in the elections of 1798 and 1800. One act — the Alien Enemies Act — is still in force in 2009, and has frequently been enforced in wartime. The others expired or were repealed by 1802. Thomas Jefferson held them all to be unconstitutional and void, then pardoned and ordered the release of all who had been convicted of violating them.

Geographical segregation
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Geographical segregation exists whenever the proportions of population rates of two or more populations are not homogenous throughout a defined space. Populations can be considered any plant or animal species, human genders, followers of a certain religion, people of different nationalities, stone types, ethnic groups, etc.
In social geography segregation of ethnic groups, social classes and genders is often measured by the calculation of indices such as the index of dissimilarity . Different dimensions of segregation (or its contrary) are recognised: exposure, evenness, clustering, concentration, centralisation, etc.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_and_Sedition_Acts
Apartheid legislation in South Africa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Apartheid Legislation in South Africa was a series of different laws and acts which were to help the apartheid-government to enforce the segregation of different races and cement the power and the dominance by the Whites, of substantially European descent, over the other race groups. Starting in 1948, the Nationalist Government in South Africa enacted laws to define and enforce segregation. With the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948, racial discrimination was institutionalised.
What makes South Africa's apartheid era different from segregation in other countries is the systematic way in which the National Party, which came into power in 1948, formalized it through the law.
The effect of the legislation was invariably favorable to the whites and detrimental to the other race groups.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid_legislation_in_South_Africa
Ethnic cleansing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ethnic cleansing is a euphemism referring to the persecution through imprisonment, expulsion, or killing of members of an ethnic minority by a majority to achieve ethnic homogeneity in majority-controlled territory.[1] It is sometimes used interchangeably with the more connotatively severe term genocide. The term entered English and international media usage in the early 1990s to describe war events in the former Yugoslavia.
Synonyms include ethnic purification .[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing
Gendercide
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] Femicide
Femicide is defined as the systematic killing of women for various reasons, usually cultural. Femicide is seen as a gender crime. The word is attested from the 1820s.[2]
The most widespread form of femicide is in the form of sex-selective infanticide in cultures with strong preferences for male offspring, notably in the mainland of the People's Republic of China, India, and South Korea. These practices may result in demographic imbalance with an excess of males.[citation needed]
There have been reports of femicide in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico[3]. The murders in Juarez, also known as las muertas de Juárez ("The dead women of Juárez"), and Guatemala were reportedly not investigated by the local authorities. Most of the women were raped before being murdered and some were mutilated, tortured and dismembered. In Guatemala City about 20% of the over 500 women murdered in 2004 and 2005 were killed in pairs, due to an (lesbian) "intimate relationship," according to Claudia Acevedo of Lesbiradas.[citation needed]

[edit] Viricide
Viricide is the systematic killing of men for various reasons, usually cultural. Viricide is seen as a gender crime. Viricide may happen during war to reduce an enemy's potential pool of soldiers.
Perhaps one of the earliest examples of viricide in recorded history occurred some time during the 600s BCE when Ionian pirates massacred the men of Miletus, forced the Milesian women into marriage with them, and settled the city of Miletus in the Milesian men's stead.[4] It has been written that forever afterward the Milesian women would neither eat with their husbands nor address them by name.[5][6]
The most famed example of viricide in Western literature is recounted in the Book of Matthew in the New Testament of the Bible. If modern scholars are correct in establishing the birth of Jesus as around the year 3 BCE, the slaughter would have taken shortly thereafter. Matthew 2:16 states that Herod ordered what is known as the Massacre of the Innocents, which modern scholars note may be apocryphal[7] rather than an actual historical event:


“ Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. ”
—Matthew 2:16, New American Standard Bible

In 627 CE, the men and boys of the Qurayza were beheaded by Muhammad[8] after the tribe surrendered. They condition of the surrender were they would be tried and passed judgement by Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, a chief of their allied tribe of Aws. After asking what the punishment for treason was in Jewish law, all the males were decapitated.
Pakistan targeted male intellectuals for extermination in the erstwhile province of East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) during the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities[9] Male Gendercide was also carried out by Pol pot in Cambodia, thanks to which a large percentage of Cambodia's present population are women.[10] During the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots men were targeted overwhelmingly on account of them being breadwinners of the family.[10] More recents examples include the 1988 Anfal campaign against Kurdish men and boys[11][12][13] in Iraq and the Srebrenica massacre of Bosniak men and boys on July 12, 1995.[14][15]

[edit] Draft dodgers
Men who refused conscription in the military have been the target of forced labor, mutilation, and massacre in the nations of Angola, Ethiopia and Iraq[16].

[edit] In Music and Literature
The promotion of the complete extermination of men is a theme that can be found in literature and music.

Valerie Solanas' 1968 SCUM Manifesto (Society For Cutting Up Men) is the most famous literary example of this type of material. More recently the singer Otep penned the song "Menocide" which suggests that men are infectious human waste that should be killed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gendercide

Mass murder
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Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people, typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time.[1] Mass murder may be committed by individuals or organizations. Mass murder is also defined to be intentional and indiscriminate murder of large number of people by government agents. Examples are shooting of unarmed protestors, carpet bombing of cities, lobbying of grenades into prison cells and random execution of civilians.[2] The term may refer to spree killers, who stage a single assault on their victims. The largest mass killings in history have been attempts to exterminate entire groups or communities of people, often on the basis of ethnicity or religion. Some of these mass murders have been found to be genocides and others to be crimes against humanity, but often such crimes have led to few or no convictions of any type.

[edit] Mass murder by a state
The concept of state-sponsored mass murder covers a range of potential killings. It is defined to be the intentional and indiscriminate murder of a large number of people by government agents. Examples are shooting of unarmed protestors, carpet bombing of cities, lobbing of grenades into prison cells and random execution of civilians. Other examples of state-sponsored mass murder include:

Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic, religious or national group. While precise definition varies among genocide scholars, the legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG). Since the CPPCG went into effect in 1951 there have been two genocides found to be so in international courts these were the Srebrenica genocide and the Rwandan Genocide (see International prosecution of genocide. There have been a number of other convictions for genocide under municipal laws, and a number of genocides in history – such as the Holocaust – are widely seen as genocides, but occurred before the universal acceptance of international laws defining and forbidding genocide was achieved in 1948, so those criminals who were convicted of taking part in these historical genocides were found guilty of crimes against humanity and other more specific crimes like murder.
Political mass murder or the killing of a particular political group within a country, such as Béla Kun's ethnic cleansing against Turkish and Crimean Tatars and other minorities in 1921-22, Lenin's "Red Terror," Stalin's Great Purge, Mao's "suppression of counterrevolutionaries," Pol Pot's Killing Fields, massacres at the partition of India, or the Hama, Jallianwala Bagh, and Tlatelolco massacres,
Deliberate massacres of captives during wartime by a state's military forces, such as these committed by the Empire of Japan, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II: the Nanjing Massacre, the Katyn Forest Massacre of Polish citizens in 1940 and the massacres of political prisoners after the launch of Operation Barbarossa, the Three Alls Policy and the massacre of Soviet Jews at Babi Yar.
Mass killing of civilians during total war, especially via strategic bombing, such as the Bombing of Chongqing, the Blitz, the bombing of Dresden and Hamburg, or the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[2]
Actions in which the state caused the death of large numbers of people, which political scientist R. J. Rummel calls "democide," which, in addition to the cases above, may include man-made disasters caused by the state, such as the Holodomor in the Soviet Union,[3] and the disastrous effects of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China.[4]
For further historical examples of mass murder, both state-committed and in wartime, see here.


[edit] Mass murder by individuals
The term "mass murder" refers to the killing of four or more people during a particular event. Examples would include killing several people in the course of a robbery, or setting a crowded nightclub on fire where four or more deaths occur. Two of the first mass murderers in modern American times were Richard Speck and Charles Whitman.

Mass murderers may fall into any of a number of categories, including killers of family, of coworkers, of students, and of random strangers. Their motives for murder vary. [5] Many other motivations are possible, including the need for attention or fame [6][7][8].

Workers who assault fellow employees are sometimes called "disgruntled workers," but this is often a misnomer, as many perpetrators are ex-workers. They are dismissed from their jobs and subsequently turn up heavily armed and kill their former colleagues. In the 1980s, when two fired postal workers carried out such massacres in separate incidents in the US, the term "going postal" became synonymous with employees snapping and setting out on murderous rampages. One of the 1980s most famous "disgruntled worker" cases involved computer programmer Richard Farley who, after being fired for stalking one of his co-workers, a woman by the name of Laura Black, returned to his former workplace and shot to death seven of his colleagues, although he failed in his attempt to kill Black herself.

In some rare cases mass murders have been committed during prison riots and uprisings. During the February, 1980 New Mexico State Penitentiary riot, 33 inmates were killed. Most of the dead, 23, lived in the Protective Custody Unit, and were killed by other inmates using knives, axes and being burnt alive over a 48-hour period.

Unlike serial killers, there is rarely a sexual motive to individual mass-murderers, with the possible exception of Sylvestre Matuschka, an Austrian man who apparently derived sexual pleasure from blowing up trains with dynamite, ideally with people in them. His lethal sexual fetish claimed 22 lives before he was caught in 1932.

According to Loren Coleman's book Copycat Effect, publicity about multiple deaths tends to provoke more,[9] whether workplace or school shootings or mass suicides.


[edit] Mass murder by terrorists
See also: List of mass car bombings, List of terrorist incidents, and Suicide bombings in Iraq since 2003.
In recent years, terrorists have performed acts of mass murder to intimidate a society and draw attention to their causes. Examples of major terrorist incidents involving mass murder of more than 100 individual include:

June 23, 1985: Air India Flight 182 bombing over the Atlantic Ocean - 329 killed
December 21, 1988: Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Scotland - 270 killed
March 12, 1993: Bombay bombings - 257 killed
April 19, 1995: Oklahoma City bombing in the United States - 168 killed
August 7, 1998: U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania - 224 killed
September 11, 2001: September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States - 2,997 killed
October 12, 2002: Bali bombing in Indonesia - 202 killed
March 2, 2004: Ashura massacre in Iraq - 170 killed
March 11, 2004: Madrid train bombings in Spain - 191 killed
September 4, 2004: Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia - 344 killed
February 28, 2005: Al Hillah bombing in Iraq - 127 killed
July 11, 2006: Mumbai train bombings in India - 207 killed
March 27, 2007: Tal Afar bombings and massacre in Iraq - 152 killed
August 14, 2007: Yazidi communities bombings in Iraq - 796 killed
November 26-28, 2008 - 2008 Mumbai attacks in India - 185 killed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_murder
Homicide and Suicide




Ajax, son of Telamon , preparing suicide. Reproduction from a black-figure amphora depiction by Exekias (550-525 BC).According to the psychiatrist Karl A. Menninger, murder and suicide are interchangeable acts - suicide sometimes forestalling murder, and vice versa.[1] Following Freudian logic, severe repression of natural instincts due to early childhood abuse, may lead the death instinct to emerge in a twisted form. The cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker, whose theories on the human notion of death is strongly influenced by Freud, views the fear of death as a universal phenomenon, a fear repressed in the unconscious and of which people are largely unaware. This fear can move individuals toward heroism, but also to scapegoating. Failed attempts to achieve heroism, according to this view, can lead to mental illness and/or antisocial behavior.[2]

In a research specifically related to murder-suicide, Milton Rosenbaum (1990) discovered the murder-suicide perpetrators to be vastly different from perpetrators of homicide alone. Whereas murderer-suicides were found to be highly depressed and overwhelmingly men, other murderers were not generally depressed and more likely to include women in their ranks.[3] The only non-fiction book on domestic murder-suicide is Death by Domestic Violence: Preventing the Murders and Murder-Suicides by van Wormer and Roberts (2009)[4]In the U.S. the overwhelming number of cases are male-on-female and involve guns. Around one-third of partner homicides end in the suicide of the perpetrator. From national and international data and interviews with family members of murder-suicide perpetrators, the following are the key predictors of murder-suicide:access to a gun, a history of substance abuse, the male partner some years older than the female partner, a break-up or pending break-up, a history of battering, suicidal ideation by the perpetrator. Psychologically perpetrators tend to be emotionally immature and highly possessive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder-suicide

Lynching
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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Lynching is an extrajudicial punishment meted out by a mob. It is an enumerated felony in all states of the United States, defined by some codes of law as "Any act of violence inflicted by a mob upon the body of another person which results in the death of the person," with a 'mob' being defined as "the assemblage of two or more persons, without color or authority of law, for the premeditated purpose and with the premeditated intent of committing an act of violence upon the person of another." Lynching in the second degree is defined as "Any act of violence inflicted by a mob upon the body of another person and from which death does not result."[1] To sustain a conviction for lynching at least some evidence of premeditation must be produced, but "The common intent to do violence" may be formed before or during the assemblage."[2]

The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill was first introduced to United States Congress in 1918 by Congressman Leonidas C. Dyer of Missouri. The bill was passed by the United States House of Representatives in 1922 and in the same year given a favorable report by the United States Senate Committee. Passage was blocked by white Democrat senators from the Solid South, the only representatives elected since southern states disfranchised African Americans at the turn of the century.[3] The Dyer Bill has since influenced other anti-lynching legislation including the Costigan-Wagner Bill.[4]

The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill as it appeared in 1922 stated: "To assure to persons within the jurisdiction of every State the equal protection of the laws, and to punish the crime of lynching.... Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the phrase 'mob or riotous assemblage,' when used in this act, shall mean an assemblage composed of three or more persons acting in concert for the purpose of depriving any person of his life without authority of law as a punishment for or to prevent the commission of some actual or supposed public offense."[5]

Lynching during the late 19th century in the United States, Great Britain and colonies, coincided with a period of high imperialistic violence and religious-inspired protest which denied people participation in white-dominated society on the basis of race or gender after the Emancipation Act of 1833.[6]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching



Mendelian inheritance
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For a non-technical introduction to the topic, see Introduction to genetics.
Mendelian inheritance (or Mendelian genetics or Mendelism) is a set of primary tenets relating to the transmission of hereditary characteristics from parent organisms to their children; it underlies much of genetics. They were initially derived from the work of Gregor Mendel published in 1865 and 1866 which was "re-discovered" in 1900, and were initially very controversial. When they were integrated with the chromosome theory of inheritance by Thomas Hunt Morgan in 1915, they became the core of classical genetics.

Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Mendel's Laws
2.1 Law of Segregation
2.2 Law of Independent Assortment
3 Background
4 Mendelian trait
5 See also
6 References



[edit] History
Main article: History of genetics
The laws of inheritance were derived by Gregor Mendel, a 19th century [1] monk conducting hybridization experiments in garden peas (Pisum sativum). Between 1856 and 1863, he cultivated and tested some 28,000 pea plants. From these experiments he deduced two generalizations which later became known as Mendel's Laws of Heredity or Mendelian inheritance. He described these laws in a two part paper, "Experiments on Plant Hybridization" that he read to the Natural History Society of Brno on February 8 and March 8, 1865, and which was published in 1866.[2]

Mendel's conclusions were largely ignored. Although they were not completely unknown to biologists of the time, they were not seen as generally applicable, even by Mendel himself, who thought they only applied to certain categories of species or traits. A major block to understanding their significance was the importance attached by 19th Century biologists to the apparent blending of inherited traits in the overall apperance of the progeny, now known to be due to multigene interactions, in contrast to the organ-specific binary characters studied by Mendel.[1] In 1900, however, his work was "re-discovered" by three European scientists, Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns, and Erich von Tschermak. The exact nature of the "re-discovery" has been somewhat debated: De Vries published first on the subject, mentioning Mendel in a footnote, while Correns pointed out Mendel's priority after having read De Vries's paper and realizing that he himself did not have priority. De Vries may not have acknowledged truthfully how much of his knowledge of the laws came from his own work, or came only after reading Mendel's paper. Later scholars have accused Von Tschermak of not truly understanding the results at all.[1]

Regardless, the "re-discovery" made Mendelism an important but controversial theory. Its most vigorous promoter in Europe was William Bateson, who coined the term "genetics", "gene", and "allele" to describe many of its tenets. The model of heredity was highly contested by other biologists because it implied that heredity was discontinuous, in opposition to the apparently continuous variation observable for many traits. Many biologists also dismissed the theory because they were not sure it would apply to all species, and there seemed to be very few true Mendelian characters in nature. However later work by biologists and statisticians such as R.A. Fisher showed that if multiple Mendelian factors were involved in the expression of an individual trait, they could produce the diverse results observed. Thomas Hunt Morgan and his assistants later integrated the theoretical model of Mendel with the chromosome theory of inheritance, in which the chromosomes of cells were thought to hold the actual hereditary material, and create what is now known as classical genetics, which was extremely successful and cemented Mendel's place in history.

Mendel's findings allowed other scientists to predict the expression of traits on the basis of mathematical probabilities. A large contribution to Mendel's success can be traced to his decision to start his crosses only with plants he demonstrated were true-breeding. He also only measured absolute (binary) characteristics, such as color, shape, and position of the offspring, rather than quantitative characteristics. He expressed his results numerically and subjected them to statistical analysis. His method of data analysis and his large sample size gave credibility to his data. He also had the foresight to follow several successive generations (f2, f3) of his pea plants and record their variations. Finally, he performed "test crosses" (back-crossing descendants of the initial hybridization to the initial true-breeding lines) to reveal the presence and proportion of recessive characters. Without his careful attention to procedure and detail, Mendel's work could not have had the impact it made on the world of genetics.


[edit] Mendel's Laws
The principles of heredity were written by the Augustinian monk Gregor Mendel in 1865. Mendel discovered that by crossing white flower and purple flower plants, the result was a hybrid offspring. Rather than being a mix of the two, the offspring was purple flowered. He then conceived the idea of heredity units, which he called "factors", one which is a recessive characteristic and the other dominant. Mendel said that factors, later called genes, normally occur in pairs in ordinary body cells, yet segregate during the formation of sex cells. Each member of the pair becomes part of the separate sex cell. The dominant gene, such as the purple flower in Mendel's plants, will hide the recessive gene, the white flower. After Mendel self-fertilized the F1 generation and obtained the 3:1 ratio, he correctly theorized that genes can be paired in three different ways for each trait; AA, aa, and Aa. The capital A represents the dominant factor and lowercase a represent the recessive.

Mendel stated that each individual has two factors for each trait, one from each parent. The two factors may or may not contain the same information. If the two factors are identical the individual is called homozygous for the trait. If the two factors have different information, the individual is called heterozygous. The alternative forms of a factor are called alleles. The genotype of an individual is made up of the many alleles it possesses. An individual's physical appearance, or phenotype, is determined by its alleles as well as by its environment. An individual possesses two alleles for each trait; one allele is given by the female parent and the other by the male parent. They are passed on when an individual matures and produces gametes: egg and sperm. When gametes form, the paired alleles separate randomly so that each gamete receives a copy of one of the two alleles. The presence of an allele doesn't promise that the trait will be expressed in the individual that possesses it. In heterozygous individuals the only allele that in expressed is the dominant. The recessive allele is present but its expression is hidden.

Mendel summarized his findings in two laws; the Law of Segregation and the Law of Independent Assortment.


[edit] Law of Segregation
The Law of Segregation states that when any individual produces gametes, the copies of a gene separate, so that each gamete receives only one copy. A gamete will receive one allele or the other. The direct proof of this was later found when the process of meiosis came to be known. In meiosis the paternal and maternal chromosomes get separated and the alleles with the characters are segregated into two different gametes.


[edit] Law of Independent Assortment
The Law of Independent Assortment, also known as "Inheritance Law", states that alleles of different genes assort independently of one another during gamete formation. While Mendel's experiments with mixing one trait always resulted in a 3:1 ratio (Fig. 1) between dominant and recessive phenotypes, his experiments with mixing two traits (dihybrid cross) showed 9:3:3:1 ratios (Fig. 2). But the 9:3:3:1 table shows that each of the two genes are independently inherited with a 3:1 ratio. Mendel concluded that different traits are inherited independently of each other, so that there is no relation, for example, between a cat's color and tail length. This is actually only true for genes that are not linked to each other.

Independent assortment occurs during meiosis I in eukaryotic organisms, specifically metaphase I of meiosis, to produce a gamete with a mixture of the organism's maternal and paternal chromosomes. Along with chromosomal crossover, this process aids in increasing genetic diversity by producing novel genetic combinations.

Of the 46 chromosomes in a normal diploid human cell, half are maternally-derived (from the mother's egg) and half are paternally-derived (from the father's sperm). This occurs as sexual reproduction involves the fusion of two haploid gametes (the egg and sperm) to produce a new organism having the full complement of chromosomes. During gametogenesis - the production of new gametes by an adult - the normal complement of 46 chromosomes needs to be halved to 23 to ensure that the resulting haploid gamete can join with another gamete to produce a diploid organism. An error in the number of chromosomes, such as those caused by a diploid gamete joining with a haploid gamete, is termed aneuploidy.

In independent assortment the chromosomes that end up in a newly-formed gamete are randomly sorted from all possible combinations of maternal and paternal chromosomes. Because gametes end up with a random mix instead of a pre-defined "set" from either parent, gametes are therefore considered assorted independently. As such, the gamete can end up with any combination of paternal or maternal chromosomes. Any of the possible combinations of gametes formed from maternal and paternal chromosomes will occur with equal frequency. For human gametes, with 23 pairs of chromosomes, the number of possibilities is 2^23 or 8,388,608 possible combinations.[3] The gametes will normally end up with 23 chromosomes, but the origin of any particular one will be randomly selected from paternal or maternal chromosomes. This contributes to the genetic variability of progeny.


Figure 1: Dominant and recessive phenotypes.
(1) Parental generation. (2) F1 generation. (3) F2 generation. Dominant (red) and recessive (white) phenotype look alike in the F1 (first) generation and show a 3:1 ratio in the F2 (second) generation
Figure 2: The genotypes of two independent traits show a 9:3:3:1 ratio in the F2 generation. In this example, coat color is indicated by B (brown, dominant) or b (white) while tail length is indicated by S (short, dominant) or s (long). When parents are homozygous for each trait ('SSbb and ssBB), their children in the F1 generation are heterozygous at both loci and only show the dominant phenotypes. If the children mate with each other, in the F2 generation all combination of coat color and tail length occur: 9 are brown/short (purple boxes), 3 are white/short (pink boxes), 3 are brown/long (blue boxes) and 1 is white/long (green box).
Figure 3: The color alleles of Mirabilis jalapa are not dominant or recessive.
(1) Parental generation. (2) F1 generation. (3) F2 generation. The "red" and "white" allele together make a "pink" phenotype, resulting in a 1:2:1 ratio of red:pink:white in the F2 generation.


[edit] Background
The reason for these laws is found in the nature of the cell nucleus. It is made up of several chromosomes carrying the genetic traits. In a normal cell, each of these chromosomes has two parts, the chromatids. A reproductive cell, which is created in a process called meiosis, usually contains only one of those chromatids of each chromosome. By merging two of these cells (usually one male and one female), the full set is restored and the genes are mixed. The resulting cell becomes a new embryo. The fact that this new life has half the genes of each parent (23 from mother, 23 from father for total of 46) is one reason for the Mendelian laws. The second most important reason is the varying dominance of different genes, causing some traits to appear unevenly instead of averaging out (whereby dominant doesn't mean more likely to reproduce - recessive genes can become the most common, too).

There are several advantages of this method (sexual reproduction) over reproduction without genetic exchange:

Instead of nearly identical copies of an organism, a broad range of offspring develops, allowing more different abilities and evolutionary strategies.
There are usually some errors in every cell nucleus. Copying the genes usually adds more of them. By distributing them randomly over different chromosomes and mixing the genes, such errors will be distributed unevenly over the different children. Some of them will therefore have only very few such problems. This helps reduce problems with copying errors somewhat.
Genes can spread faster from one part of a population to another. This is for instance useful if there's a temporary isolation of two groups. New genes developing in each of the populations don't get reduced to half when one side replaces the other, they mix and form a population with the advantages of both sides.
Sometimes, a mutation (e. g. sickle cell anemia) can have positive side effects (in this case malaria resistance). The mechanism behind the Mendelian laws can make it possible for some offspring to carry the advantages without the disadvantages until further mutations solve the problems.

[edit] Mendelian trait
A Mendelian trait is one that is controlled by a single locus and shows a simple Mendelian inheritance pattern. In such cases, a mutation in a single gene can cause a disease that is inherited according to Mendel's laws. Examples include sickle-cell anemia, Tay-Sachs disease, cystic fibrosis and xeroderma pigmentosa. A disease controlled by a single gene contrasts with a multi-factorial disease, like arthritis, which is affected by several loci (and the environment) as well as those diseases inherited in a non-Mendelian fashion. The Mendelian Inheritance in Man database is a catalog of, among other things, genes in which Mendelian traits causes disease.
Conclusions and recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,
India, U.N. Doc. CERD/C/IND/CO/19 (2007).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


International Convention
On the Elimination
Of all Forms of
Racial Discrimination
Distr.
GENERAL
CERD/C/IND/CO/19
5 May 2007
Original: ENGLISH
COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION
OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
Seventieth session
19 February – 9 March 2007

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE CONVENTION
Concluding observations of the Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination
INDIA
1. The Committee considered the fifteenth to nineteenth periodic reports of India (CERD/C/IND/19) submitted in one document at its 1796th and 1797th meetings (CERD/C/SR.1796 and 1797), held on 23 and 26 February 2007. At its 1809th meeting (CERD/C/SR.1809), held on 6 March 2007, it adopted the following concluding observations.
A. Introduction
2. The Committee welcomes the report submitted by India and the opportunity thus offered to reengage in a dialogue with the State party. It also welcomes the answers the delegation gave in response to some of the Committee’s questions and expresses the hope that the dialogue with the State party will be pursued in a constructive and cooperative spirit.
B. Positive aspects
3. The Committee notes with appreciation the comprehensive constitutional provisions and other legislation of the State party to combat discrimination, including discrimination based on race and caste.
4. The Committee welcomes the special measures adopted by the State party to advance the equal enjoyment of rights by members of scheduled castes and schedules tribes, such as reservation of seats in Union and State legislatures and of posts in the public service.
GE.07-41717

5. The Committee welcomes the establishment of institutions responsible for the implementation of anti-discrimination legislation such as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (1989) and for the monitoring of acts of
discrimination and violence against members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, including the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Union and State Parliamentary Committees on Social Justice, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and the National Commissions on Scheduled Castes and on Scheduled Tribes.
6. The Committee notes with appreciation the declaration of the Indian Prime Minister before the Dalit- Minority International Conference in New Delhi on 27 December 2006 that “the only parallel to the practice of ‘Untouchability’ was Apartheid in South Africa.” Such a declaration underlines the renewed commitment to address the discriminatory practice of “Untouchability”.
7. The Committee welcomes the fact that the State party hosts an important number of refugees of different national and ethnic origins, including Tibetan, Sri Lankan and Chakma, as well as Afghan and Myanmar refugees under UNHCR care.
C. Concerns and recommendations
8. The Committee takes note of the State party’s position that discrimination based on caste falls outside the scope of article 1 of the Convention. However, after an extensive exchange of views with the State party, the Committee maintains its position expressed in general recommendation No. 29 “that discrimination based on ‘descent’ includes discrimination against members of communities based on forms of social stratification such as caste and analogous systems of inherited status which nullify or impair their equal enjoyment of human rights.”[1] Therefore, the Committee reaffirms that discrimination based on the ground of caste is fully covered by article 1 of the Convention.
9. The Committee regrets the lack of information in the State party’s report on concrete measures taken to implement existing anti-discrimination and affirmative action legislation, as well as on the de facto enjoyment by members of scheduled castes and scheduled and other tribes of the rights guaranteed by the Convention. (arts. 2 and 5)
Notwithstanding the above-mentioned legal position of the State party, the Committee invites it to include in its next periodic report detailed information on measures taken to implement anti-discrimination and affirmative action legislation, disaggregated by caste, tribe, gender, State/district and rural/urban population. The State party should also provide disaggregated data on the percentages of the Union, State and district budgets allocated for that purpose and on the effects of such measures on the enjoyment by members of scheduled castes and scheduled and other tribes of the rights guaranteed by the Convention.
10. The Committee notes with concern that the State party does not recognize its tribal peoples as distinct groups entitled to special protection under the Convention. (arts. 1 (1) and 2)
The Committee recommends that the State party formally recognize its tribal peoples as distinct groups entitled to special protection under national and international law, including the Convention, and provide information on the criteria used for determining the membership of scheduled and other tribes, as well as on the National Tribal Policy. In this regard, the Committee refers the State party to its general recommendation No. 23.[2]
11. The Committee is concerned that the so-called denotified and nomadic tribes, which were listed for their alleged “criminal tendencies” under the former Criminal Tribes Act (1871), continue to be stigmatized under the Habitual Offenders Act (1952). (art. 2 (1) (c))
The Committee recommends that the State party repeal the Habitual Offenders Act and effectively rehabilitate the denotified and nomadic tribes concerned.
12. The Committee notes with concern that the State party has not implemented the recommendations of the Committee to Review the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (1958) to repeal the Act, under which members of the armed forces may not be prosecuted unless such prosecution is authorized by the Central Government and have wide powers to search and arrest suspects without a warrant or to use force against persons or property in Manipur and other north-eastern States which are inhabited by tribal peoples. (arts. 2 (1) (c), 5 (b), (d) and 6)
The Committee urges the State party to repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and to replace it “by a more humane Act,” in accordance with the recommendations contained in the 2005 report of the above Review Committee set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs. It also requests the State party to release the report.
13. The Committee notes with concern that, despite the formal abolition of “Untouchability” by article 17 of the Indian Constitution, de facto segregation of Dalits persists, in particular in rural areas, in access to places of worship, housing, hospitals, education, water sources, markets and other public places. (arts. 3 and 5)
The Committee urges the State party to intensify its efforts to enforce the Protection of Civil Rights Act (1955), especially in rural areas, including by effectively punishing acts of “Untouchability”, to take effective measures against segregation in public schools and residential segregation, and to ensure equal access for Dalits places of worship, hospitals, water sources and any other places or services intended for use by the general public.
14. The Committee is concerned about reports of arbitrary arrest, torture and extrajudicial killings of members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes by the police, and about the frequent failure to protect these groups against acts of communal violence. (arts. 5 (b) and 6)

The Committee urges the State party to provide effective protection to members of scheduled castes and scheduled and other tribes against acts of discrimination and violence, introduce mandatory training on the application of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (1989) for police, judges and prosecutors and take disciplinary or criminal law measures against police and other law enforcement officers who violate their duty of protection and/or investigation in relation to crimes against scheduled castes and scheduled and other tribes.
15. The Committee is concerned about the alarming number of allegations of acts of sexual violence against Dalit women primarily by men from dominant castes, in particular rape, and about the sexual exploitation of Dalit and tribal women who are being trafficked and forced into prostitution. (art. 5 (b))
The Committee urges the State party to effectively prosecute and punish perpetrators of acts of sexual violence and exploitation of Dalit and tribal women, sanction anyone preventing or discouraging victims from reporting such incidents, including police and other law enforcement officers, take preventive measures such as police training and public education campaigns on the criminal nature of such acts, and provide legal, medical and psychological assistance, as well as compensation, to victims. The State party should also consider adopting victim-sensitive rules of evidence similar to that of Section 12 of the Protection of Civil Rights Act (1955) and establishing special court chambers and task forces to address these problems.
16. While taking note of the mass influx of refugees in India, the Committee is concerned that the State party has not acceded to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol and that it has not yet adopted any specific refugee legislation. (art. 5 (b))
The Committee recommends that the State party consider acceding to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol and enact a comprehensive legal framework governing the treatment of refugees.
17. The Committee notes with concern reports that Dalit candidates, especially women, are frequently forcibly prevented from standing for election or, if elected, forced to resign from village councils or other elected bodies or not to exercise their mandate, that many Dalits are not included in electoral rolls or otherwise denied the right to vote, and that public service posts reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes are almost exclusively filled in the lowest category (e.g. sweepers). The Committee is also concerned that scheduled castes and scheduled and other tribes are underrepresented in the Union, State and local governments and legislatures, as well as in the public service. (arts. 5 (c) and 2 (2))
The Committee recommends to the State party to effectively enforce the reservation policy; to ensure the rights of members of scheduled castes and scheduled and other tribes to freely and safely vote and stand for election and to fully exercise their mandate if elected to their reserved seats; to apply the reservation policy to all categories of public service posts, including the highest, and to extend it to the judiciary; to ensure adequate representation of scheduled

castes, scheduled and other tribes and ethnic minorities in Union, State and local governments and legislatures; and to provide updated statistical data on such representation in its next periodic report.
18. The Committee is concerned about the persistence of social norms of purity and pollution which de facto preclude marriages between Dalits and non-Dalits; it is also concerned about violence and social sanctions against inter-caste couples and the continuing practices of child marriage and dowry, and devadasi whereby mostly Dalit girls are dedicated to temple deities and forced into ritualised prostitution. (art. 5 (d) (iv) and 5 (b))The Committee urges the State party to effectively enforce the prohibition of child marriage, the Dowry Prohibition Act (1961) and State laws prohibiting the practice of devadasi. The State party should punish such acts and acts of discrimination or violence against inter-caste couples and rehabilitate victims. Furthermore, it should conduct training and awareness-raising campaigns to sensitize police, prosecutors, judges, politicians, teachers and the general public as to the criminal nature of such acts.
19. The Committee notes that the State party does not fully implement the right of ownership, collective or individual, of the members of tribal communities over the lands traditionally occupied by them in its practice concerning tribal peoples. It is also concerned that large scale projects such as the construction of several dams in Manipur and other north-eastern States on territories primarily inhabited by tribal communities, or of the Andaman Trunk Road, are carried out without seeking their prior informed consent. These projects result in the forced resettlement or endanger the traditional lifestyles of the communities concerned. (art. 5 (d) (v) and 5 (e))
The Committee urges the State party to fully respect and implement the right of ownership, collective or individual, of the members of tribal communities over the lands traditionally occupied by them in its practice concerning tribal peoples, in accordance with ILO Convention No. 107 on Indigenous and Tribal Populations (1957). The State party should seek the prior informed consent of communities affected by the construction of dams in the Northeast or similar projects on their traditional lands in any decision-making processes related to such projects, and provide adequate compensation and alternative land and housing to those communities. Furthermore, it should protect tribes such as the Jarawa against encroachments on their lands and resources by settlers, poachers, private companies or other third parties and implement the 2002 order of the Indian Supreme Court to close the sections of the Andaman Trunk Road that run through the Jarawa reserve.
20. The Committee is concerned about reports that Dalits are often denied access to and evicted from land by dominant castes, especially if it borders land belonging to such castes, and that tribal communities have been evicted from their land under the 1980 Forest Act or in order to allow private mining activities (art. 5 (d) (v) and 5 (e) (i) and (iii)).
The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that Dalits, including Dalit women, have access to adequate and affordable land and that acts of violence against Dalits due to land disputes are punished under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (1989). The State

party should also ensure that tribal communities are not evicted from their lands without seeking their prior informed consent and provision of adequate alternative land and compensation, that bans on leasing tribal lands to third persons or companies are effectively enforced, and that adequate safeguards against the acquisition of tribal lands are included in the Recognition of Forest Rights Act (2006) and other relevant legislation.
21. The Committee notes with concern that Dalits who convert to Islam or to Christianity to escape caste discrimination reportedly lose their entitlement under affirmative action programmes, unlike converts who become Buddhists or Sikhs. (arts. 5 (d) (vii) and 2 (2))
The Committee recommends that the State party restore the eligibility for affirmative action benefits of all members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes having converted to another religion.
22. The Committee is concerned about reports that Dalits were denied equal access to emergency assistance during the post-tsunami relief, while noting that, according to the State party, those allegations merely concern isolated cases. (arts. 5 (e) and 2 (1) (a))
The Committee recommends to the State party to investigate all alleged cases in which Dalits were denied assistance or benefits equal to that received by caste fishermen or cases in which they were otherwise discriminated against during the post-tsunami relief and rehabilitation process and to compensate or retroactively grant such benefits to the victims of such discrimination.
23. The Committee notes with concern that very large numbers of Dalits are forced to work as manual scavengers and child workers and are subject to extremely unhealthy working conditions and exploitative labour arrangements, including debt bondage. (art. 5 (e) (i) and (iv))
The Committee recommends that the State party effectively implement the Minimum Wages Act (1948), the Equal Remuneration Act (1976), the Bonded Labour (System) Abolition Act (1976), the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (1986) and the Employment of Manual Scavangers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act (1993). The State party should also adopt measures to enhance Dalits’ access to the labour market, e.g. by extending the reservation policy to the private sector and issuing job cards under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to Dalit applicants, and report on the effects of the measures taken on the employment and working conditions of Dalits in its next periodic report.
24. The Committee is concerned about reports that members of scheduled castes and scheduled and other tribes are disproportionately affected by hunger and malnutrition, infant, child and maternal mortality, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, diarrhoea, malaria and other water borne diseases and that health care facilities are either unavailable in tribal areas or substantially worse than in non-tribal areas. (art. 5 (e) (iv))

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure equal access to ration shops, adequate health care facilities, reproductive health services, and safe drinking water for members of scheduled castes and scheduled and other tribes and to increase the number of doctors and of functioning and properly equipped primary health centres and health sub-centres in tribal and rural areas.
25. While noting the constitutional guarantee of free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14 and the rapid growth of the literacy rate among Dalits, in particular girls, the Committee remains concerned about the high dropout rate among Dalit pupils at the primary and secondary levels, reports of classroom segregation and discrimination against Dalit pupils, teachers and mid-day meal cooks, and the poor infrastructure, equipment, staffing and quality of teaching in public schools attended by Dalit and tribal children. (art. 5 (e) (v))
The Committee recommends that the State party take effective measures to reduce dropout and increase enrolment rates among Dalit children and adolescents at all levels of schooling, e.g. by providing scholarships or other financial subsidies and by sensitizing parents as to the importance of education, combat classroom segregation and discrimination against Dalit pupils and ensure non-discriminatory access to the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, adequate equipment, staffing and quality of teaching in public schools, as well as physical access by Dalit and tribal pupils to schools in dominant caste neighbourhoods and armed conflict areas.
26. The Committee notes with concern allegations that the police frequently fail to properly register and investigate complaints about acts of violence and discrimination against members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, the high percentage of acquittals and the low conviction rate in cases registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (1989), and the alarming backlog of atrocities cases pending in the courts. (art. 6)
The Committee urges the State party to ensure that members of scheduled castes and scheduled and other tribes who are victims of acts of violence and discrimination have access to effective remedies and, to that effect, encourage victims and witnesses to report such acts and protect them from acts of retaliation and discrimination; ensure that complaints under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (1989) and other criminal law provisions are properly registered and investigated, perpetrators prosecuted and sentenced and victims compensated and rehabilitated; and establish and make operational special courts trying atrocity cases as well as committees monitoring the implementation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in all States and districts, as mandated by the Act. In this regard, the State party is invited to include in its next periodic report information on the number and nature of complaints registered, the convictions and sentences imposed on perpetrators, and the remedies and assistance provided to victims of such acts.

27. The Committee notes with concern that caste bias as well as racial and ethnic prejudice and stereotypes are still deeply entrenched in the minds of wide segments of Indian society, particularly in rural areas. (art. 7)
The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to eradicate the social acceptance of caste-based discrimination and racial and ethnic prejudice, e.g. by intensifying public education and awareness-raising campaigns, incorporating educational objectives of inter-caste tolerance and respect for other ethnicities, as well as instruction on the culture of scheduled castes and scheduled and other tribes, in the National Curriculum Framework, and ensuring adequate media representation of issues concerning scheduled castes, tribes and ethnic minorities, with a view to achieving true social cohesion among all ethnic groups, castes and tribes of India.
28. The Committee recommends that the State party consider ratifying ILO Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries.
29. The Committee recommends that the State party take into account the relevant provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action when implementing the Convention in its domestic legal order, particularly as regards articles 2 to 7 of the Convention. The Committee also urges that the State party include in its next periodic report information on action plans and other measures taken to implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action at the national level.
30. The Committee notes that the State party has not made the optional declaration provided for in article 14 of the Convention, and invites it to consider doing so.
31. The Committee strongly recommends that the State party ratify the amendments to article 8, paragraph 6, of the Convention, adopted on 15 January 1992 at the Fourteenth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention and endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 47/111. In this regard, the Committee refers to General Assembly resolution 59/176 of 20 December 2004, in which the Assembly strongly urged States parties to accelerate their domestic ratification procedures with regard to the amendment, and to notify the Secretary-General expeditiously in writing of their agreement to the amendment.
32. The Committee recommends that the reports of the State party be made readily available to the public at the time of their submission, and that the observations of the Committee with respect to these reports be similarly translated into Hindi and, to the extent possible, other official languages of India, and publicized.
33. The Committee invites the State party to submit its core document in accordance with the requirements of the Common Core Document in the Harmonized Guidelines on Reporting, recently approved by the international human rights treaty bodies (HRI/MC/2006/3 and Corr.1).
34. Pursuant to article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention, and article 65 of the Committee’s rules of procedure, as amended, the Committee requests that the State party inform it of its implementation of the recommendations contained in paragraphs 12, 15, 19 and 26 above, within one year of the adoption of the present conclusions.
35. The Committee recommends that the State party submit its twentieth and twenty-first periodic reports, due on 4 January 2010, in a single report.
- - -

[1] CERD, sixty-first session (2002), general recommendation No. 29: Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention (Descent), preamble.
[2] CERD, fifty-first session (1997), general recommendation No. 23: Indigenous Peoples.
http://72.14.235.132/search?q=cache:BC_dGkOJTEkJ:www1.umn.edu/humanrts/country/india2007.html+Segregations+of+Tribes+in+India&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=in
Affirmative Action: Perspectives from the United States, India and Brazil
Journal article by Thomas Boston, Usha Nair-Reichert; The Western Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 27, 2003

Journal Article Excerpt
Affirmative action: perspectives from the United States, India and Brazil.

by Thomas Boston , Usha Nair-Reichert

Introduction
This is a critical time for affirmative action policies. While we are aware of the pending US Supreme Court decision in the cases of Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger involving the University of Michigan, few realize that the governments of India and Brazil are confronted with similar legal issues. Although the application of affirmative action policies differs in the three countries, the challenges and opposition encountered by each country are remarkably similar. Each government conceived their policies originally as a vehicle to rectify the historical injustices encountered as a result of racial or caste status. Now those same countries are experiencing Supreme Court challenges to their legality. For this reason, a comparison of the experiences in the three countries is very enlightening.
The University of Michigan argues that it has a responsibility and obligation to determine the factors that add value to the educational experience, and a racially diverse student body is one such factor. Furthermore, the university maintains that affirmative measures must be taken to achieve racial diversity. While the Michigan case centers on affirmative action policies in higher educational institutions, the decision will likely affect the implementation of affirmative action in education, employment and government contracting.
The Brazilian government is currently grappling with similar issues. To correct its legacy of slavery and racial inequality the new government, which assumed power on January 1, 2003, has begun implementing goals for Afro-Brazilians in government jobs, contracting and university admissions. The Justice Minister, Marcio Thomas Bastos recently stated, "This country has an enormous debt because of the iniquity that was slavery in Brazil" (Rohter 2003). Just as in the United States, the Brazilian Supreme Court has been asked to rule on the constitutionality of racial quotas in university admissions.
India's affirmative action policies have been referred to by many scholars as compensatory discrimination. While the country's constitutional provisions against castes and in favor of reservations for the outcasts of society have not been fully implemented, these policies have recently come under legal assault. Further, their implementation has caused conflicts between the caste hierarchy and the outcasts or untouchables that occupy positions below the caste system. Like Blacks during the era of Jim Crow segregation in the South, the untouchables (known as Dalits) live in highly oppressive and demeaning conditions. India's affirmative action policies are intended to be inclusive and compensate Dalits and indigenous peoples (known as Scheduled Tribes) for centuries of past injustices and repression and offset the disabilities currently suffered by those in the...
http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=JNpH2JStH9wgCh68TMJ2KQcd1sb20CQXp2m1TpNTVmQ8ql2FKFyW!1973401850!-1514669209?docId=5002000717

Mainstream, Vol XLVI, No 49
Obama And The Euphoria: What India May Expect
by A K Biswas, 25 November 2008

Years ago, I had read a four-line verse composed by a Black student of the United States of America, giving vent to his feelings and impressions of life around him. A teacher had asked students in a school to do it. That was in the tumultuous days of civil rights movement of the 1960s that heard Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I-have-a-dream” speech, which took the world by a whirlwind. In this background, Patrick Tamayo, the teenager wrote: Step into my shoes, wear my skin, See what I see, feel what I feel, And then you shall know who I am, what I am and why I am.
The gripping account, it is not far to guess, articulated the emotions of every Black man and woman in the US, which till 1960 did not allow them adult franchise on ground of colour. The struggle for civil rights since 1950 was raging with a renewed vigour. With the advent of the clergyman, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., who took charge of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, the movement gathered unprecedented momentum. The Boycott lasted a record 385 days! By her resolute denial against vacating her seat to make room for a White bus passenger in Cleveland, Montgomery, Alabama State, Rosa McCauley Parks had ignited the spark of an epoch-making agitation. Under Jim Crows Law which authorised segregation, she was arrested and incarcerated. Much later, she was hailed by the American Congress as the “Mother of Modern Day Civil Rights Movement” and conferred with a Congressional Gold medal. Many across the world have watched on television screen scores of Americans, White as well as Black men and women, wiping their tears. Those tears symbolised joy, if not surprise, of the African-Americans over the triumph of human values and universal brotherhood finding recognition through the election of Barak Obama to America’s highest office. But, the Whites, we can assume, atoned for their sins committed against the Blacks for segregation, racism and atrocities since the seventeenth century. To speak candidly, Obama victory, it seems, has turned America colour-blind. And this is the biggest achievement.
Nonetheless we must not fail or forget to stress that the Blacks had well-wishers, sympathisers and friends in their civil right movements among the Whites. They were joined by large number of progressive Americans. The legendary Negro educationist and humanist, Booker T. Washington, in the 19th century was liberated by his White master’s wife, who not only encouraged but supported him for education.
In contrast, I cannot help recalling how Namboodiri Brahmans of Kerala made casteist aspersions on Dr K.R. Narayanan, a fellow native of “God’s own country”. When the President of India was to unfurl, for the first time, the national tricolour, some of the Namboodiris derided that instead of hoisting the national flag, the head of the state might climb up the flagstaff. They were referring to the traditional occupation of the Paravan caste, to which the President belonged. Their ancestral occupation is to climb up coconut trees and pluck its fruits for a living!!! I learnt it from a documentary film on caste discrimination, inequality and atrocities on Dalits shown to the students in the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai [2006-2008].
The enormity of human degradation, discrimination and untouchability in India is beyond imagination as well as comprehension. While America has been able to throw up the breathtaking Obama phenomenon, we must ponder and ask: can India do it? This is a difficult question to offer a direct answer. The answer lies in the nature and character of discrimination and in its origin. The Blacks in the USA were segregated by laws made by men in authority. Therefore, segregation and racism stood well within the reach and ambit of human intervention. Such laws can be dismantled by human efforts backed up by strong will and unflagging determination again by men in authority.
On the other hand, the untouchability, discrimination and inequality in India against a vast section of its populace are ordained by scriptures, which are held and hailed as sacred as well as divine. No human intervention or interference in divine ordinance is, therefore, even theoretically countenanced by its faithful followers, who number in hundreds of thousands. In fact, violation of man-made laws, not excluding even the constitutional provisions, does not grip the violators with mortification. Violation of scriptural ordinance by him is blasphemous and therefore, unimaginable.
There are Indians who believe that apartheid and untouchability have similarities. This is an apologetic view. Untouchability is far worse than apartheid in the attack on human dignity, values, equality and brotherhood. Apartheid stands no comparison to India’s untouchability.
?
UNLIKE many of his predecessors, the President-elect Barak Obama has good deal of knowledge of India’s dreaded social cancer. As a student in Harvard Law School during 1988 to 1991, he showed deep inquisitiveness and appreciation as to how India deal with the bane of untouchability.1 As a Senator of Chicago, he witnessed both Houses of US legislature grapple with India’s untouchability.
The US Congress adopted a historic Concurrent House Resolution [no. 139] in May 2007, urging India to end the ancient practice of untouchability. Through diplomatic channels and international bodies the most powerful nation of the world would exert influence on the Government of India to achieve what Congress has resolved. Highlighting the anatomy of untouchability the Resolution says: “The Untouchables, now known as the Dalits and the forest tribes of India, called Tribals, who together number approximately 250,000,00 to 300,000,00 people, are the primary victims of the caste discrimination in India.” The dimension of the problem, by the sheer size of its sufferers, is difficult to comprehend with equanimity of mind. With such large a population under groaning distress and exploitation, nowhere under the sun peace, stability and unity can be achieved or secured.
The aforesaid Resolution adds further: “Discrimination against the Dalits and the Tribals has existed for more than 2000 years and has included educational discrimination, economic disenfranchisement, physical abuse, discri-mination in medical care, religious discrimination and violence targeting Dalit and Tribal women.” Untouchability and discrimination in India is as old as the Himalayas.
In a press release, the mover of the Resolution in the Congress, Arizona Senator Trent Franks, observed:
The untouchables are poor, their most basic needs are not fulfilled, and they face great difficulty in accessing employment, education, food and healthcare. Most are among the poorest in the world, living on less than $ 1 per day. More Dalit women are often sold into bonded prostitution and there is religious persecution against untouchables who change their faith. In 2005, USAID [United States Agency for International Development] stopped funding an organization after it was revealed that they were preventing many of these women from leaving prostitution. In a recent instance, a whole Dalit village was forced to leave their tribal land because they had converted to Christianity in a state that had laws against conversion. [Emphasis added by this writer]
The US Senators, one and all, we may hope, are too aware, thanks to the Resolution in question, that “many Dalits do not report crimes for fear of reprisals by the dominant castes”, nonetheless “official police statistics averaged over the past five years show that 13 Dalits are murdered every week, five Dalits’ homes or possessions are burnt every week, six Dalit women are raped every day, Dalits are beaten every day and a crime is committed against a Dalit every 18 minutes”. The whole world had laughed at India when the country officially denied discrimination and untouchability in the Durban World Conference against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in 2001.
The American Senators have noted with alarm that the mechanism for discrimination operates at the most critical or crucial level that is, at the level of education which is the basis of human empowerment. According to the Resolution,
the public education afforded Dalits and Tribals, when available at all, is usually inadequate and conducted in regional languages or Hindi, thereby disqualifying them from access to India’s public universities which teach in English, and from most government positions and most advanced jobs in India, which require English.
How do they propose to influence the Indian authorities that untouchability and discrimination are brought to an end? The Senators resolved for “raising the issues of caste discrimination, violence against women and untouchability through diplomatic channels both directly with the Government of India and within the context of international bodies”. The Resolution further aims at “inviting Dalit organisations to participate in planning and implementation of development projects from the United States Agency for international development and other United States development organisations”. The Senate also wants “prioritising funding for projects that positively impact Dalit and Tribal communities, especially women”.
So the objectives of the Resolution include, inter alia, that “qualified Dalits are no way discouraged from working with the United States Government or organisations receiving funding in India from the United States Government and that transparent and fair recruitment, selection and career development processes are implemented with clear objective criteria”. It envisages that “procedures exist to detect and remedy any caste discrimination in employment conditions, wages, benefits or job security for anyone [that is, Dalit] working with the United States Government or organisations receiving funding in India from the United States government”.
The advisory to US captains of trade, commerce and industry working in India asks them to “avoid discrimination toward the Dalit in business interactions” and to discuss “the issue of caste in the context of congressional delegations”.
It would be altogether wrong to believe that Obama is unaware of the Resolution or the grave import of the sufferings of a population as large as, if not larger than, the total population of USA. He will not ignore nor betray an issue that touches his heart. His victory has raise level of aspiration in this front globally. He suffered the pangs of discrimination only four years before his election to the US Presidency at the hands of his immediate predecessor.2
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HOWEVER such resolutions are by and large unknown to the people in general, and most certainly to Dalits and tribals. The Indian media, it is sad to observe, has blacked out this piece of news, which ipso facto is tantamount to discrimination against the underprivileged. The self-imposed censorship, which exposes the mediamen’s roots and class to which they belong, eminently deserves full-throated condemnation from all progressive people.
We recall here the media apathy over the Khairlanji incidents in which an entire family, save and except the head, was eliminated in Bhandara district in Vidarbha, Maharashtra. The media had turned its Nelson’s eye to the horrendous incident for a month during which Dalit activists and their sympathisers from Washington and New York to Tokyo, Sydney to the Hague and Brussels held demonstrations to highlight the innocent dalit massacre in an attempt to create awareness over the plight of the underdogs in India.
Some four-five years ago, President of Pakistan Pervez Musharaff had commented that India, instead of interfering in Pakistan’s internal affairs, should devote attention for the uplift of Dalits. This triggered off strong protest for interfering in India’s internal affairs. Alas! the neglect of the Dalit and tribal communities has now become an issue of international attention. It can no longer kept a guarded secret. Before the advent of Obama as the most powerful man on earth, the Dalit had gatecrashed into the US Congress. In another forum too they have been the subject of a laudable resolution. The European Parliament on February 1, 2007, adopted a resolution that does not enhance India’s reputation in the backdrop of World Conference in Durban where the Indian official delegation simply denied discrimination per se on ground of race. Partly repetitive though, the European Parliament (EP) highlighted atrocities on Dalit and tribal people in India, thus it says: “Despite 27 officially registered atrocities being committed against Dalits every day, police often prevent Dalits from entering police stations, refuse the registration of cases by Dalits and regularly resort to the practice of torture against Dalits with impunity.” It goes on to say further: “Official police statistics averaged over the past 5 years show that 13 Dalits are murdered every week, five Dalits’ homes or possessions are burnt every week, six Dalits are kidnapped or abducted every week, three Dalit women are raped every day, 11 Dalits are beaten every day and a crime is committed against a Dalit every 18 minutes.”
Referring to a recent study on untouchability in rural India covering 565 villages in 11 States, the EP resolution says: “Public health workers refused to visit Dalit homes in 33 per cent of villages, Dalits were prevented from entering police stations in 27.6 per cent of villages, Dalit children had to sit separately while eating in 37.8 per cent of government schools, Dalits did not get mail delivered to their homes in 23.5 per cent of villages, and Dalits were denied access to water sources in 48.4 per cent of villages because of segregation and untouchability practices.”
Like the American Congress Resolution cited above, European Parliament too asserts: “Half of India’s Dalit children are undernourished, 21 per cent are ‘severely underweight’, and 12 per cent die before their 5th birthday.” And untouchability is practiced to “block education of the Dalits”. Untouchability in schools has, it has been noted in the resolution, “contributed to drop-out and illiteracy levels for Dalit children far beyond those of the general population, with the ‘literacy gap’ between Dalits and non-Dalits hardly changing since India’s independence and literacy rates for Dalit women remaining as low as 37.8 per cent in rural India.”
Authorities may deny but the European Parliament did not hesitate to put boldly in black and white that
Dalit women, who alongside ‘Tribal’ women are the poorest of the poor in India, face double discrimination on the basis of caste and gender in all spheres of life; are subjected to gross violations of their physical integrity, including sexual abuse by dominant castes with impunity; are socially excluded and economically exploited.
The US Congress as also European Union resolutions would be strongly disliked by many but those living in India with eyes and ears wide open do not fail to see or hear corroboration of the narration in these resolutions. We are making fools of ourself by lodging protests against truth. Protests over these issues only help demonstrate India’s lack honesty to face truth on untouchability, discrimination and inequality.
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IN England an organisation, called the Hindu Council, UK, has come out with anachronistic claim that the British bureaucracy was responsible for caste discrimination in India. The Scheduled Caste list was prepared by them for “divide and rule”. On February 15, 2008, the Press Trust of India quoted the Hindu Council’s as saying: “It was the British, who single-mindedly formulated the caste system in India…..Today we are putting the record straight. We are also naming and shaming those who spread misinformation about Hinduism and its relationship to caste is an ill-disguised attempt to vilify the Hindus in India and elsewhere.” It should shame all who aired such views blatantly lacking knowledge on the issue. Blaming the British is a ploy to drive attention away to other direction from the real culprits and deny resolution of the problems itself staring in the face of India.
The East India Company, suffice it to say, after capturing Orissa in 1803, enacted a Regulation in 1809, banning entry of seventeen castes in the shrine of Lord Jagannath, Puri. The list, interestingly, included the family of Asia’s first Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, as they were Pirali Brahman, degraded in the Bengali Hindu social order. Others in their illustrious company were Chamar, Pan, Chandal or Namasudra, Hari, Bagdi, Dom, fisherman, Kasbi, Sunri, Gazur, Gooski, etc. The Englishmen were more Hindu than the Hindus themselves. They had led a delegation to the temple of Goddess Kali of Kalighat, Calcutta for ‘thanksgiving’ after winning the battle of Plassey. It is worth noting that the colonial government had native law officers, [both Hindu pandits and Muslim Moulvis], well-versed in their respective theology. They were duly consulted before launching any action having bearing on social norms or practices and/or religious sentiment. Even half a century later in 1853 and in 1854 the Bengal Government sought opinion of Pandit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar whether the Kayasths and the Sonar Benia (goldsmith) caste students respectively could be allowed the privilege of admission in Sanskrit College, Calcutta. While the most venerable Bengali Pandit, educationist and social reformer favoured the idea of admission of Kayasth students, he resolutely opposed the case of the latter on ground that they were low in the ladder of caste!!! These are facts of history, hardly leaving any room for challenge without exposing one’s gross ignorance.
How come the same British colonial administration of the bygone era is being targeted today by Hindu Council sitting in UK? Nevertheless the Hindu Council of U K’s anti-British tirade on caste has earned many enlightened advocates and propagandists. It is no more a secret that many Indians living abroad contribute funds to organizations for promoting activities prejudicial to the interests and uplift of the dalits and tribals here.
The European Union Parliament resolution too has invited scathing attack from overseas Indian business organisations, Europe-India Chamber of Commerce and Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin, Belgium Reports Webindia123.com, February 3, 2007, from Brussels:
The EU’s resolution on the protection of dalits are somewhat ideologically misplaced and strategically misguided. It is not fair on its part to rush and pass a resolution before verifying the facts and the cultural situation.
He further continues:
I do not think dalits are being subjected to any type of human rights violation or discrimination in India. The government has taken many policy initiatives and economic measures to see that dalits have the same rights as all Indians.
A spokesman of Indian Embassy observed: “It is unfortunate that the EP could come out with such a resolution which lacks balance and perspective.” Embassy spokesman, Brussels also added: “It indicates negative mindset of the people who drafted it.” A British Member of European Parliament, Neena Gill, said: “It is riddled with inaccuracies and does a clear disservice to the Human Rights cause.”
Before we conclude, it may be stressed that on an issue of this dimension the Dalit has to tell that discrimination, atrocities and inequality, and hatred does not affect him any longer. Only this can be taken on its face value. Any other claim, irrespective of its author or source, should be treated with tons of salt.
FOOTNOTES
1. Surat Singh, an attorney of the Supreme Court of India, testifies that he was a class fellow of Obama in Harvard Law School (1988-1991). In their first meeting itself he (Obama) showed enormous inquisitiveness about untouchability. [The Times of India, New Delhi, November 7, 2008, p. 22].
2. Barak Obama has mentioned in his personal experience in his autobiography, The Audacity of Hope. After his election as a Senator, he was invited by President George W. Bush to the White House. After shaking hand with the Black Senator, the President used hand sanitisers to clean up his hands. This speaks volumes of what will be lurking in his mind.
The author is a former Vice-Chancellor, B.R. Ambedkar University, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. He can be contacted for comments and observations at: atul.biswas@ gmail.com
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1053.html
PROGRAMME REPORT
The first annual workshop to be convened by BASAS in addition to their annual conference was held in the Department of Politics at the University of Bristol on the 13th November 2004.
Four papers were presented, all focusing on different aspects of Chauvinism in South Asia. Professor Neil DeVotta (Hardwick College, USA) presented his paper on Chauvinism and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka. Professor DeVotta argued that chauvinism has not been confined to either the Sinhalese or the Tamil community in Sri Lanka. He pointed out that the lack of consociational elements in the original constitution of 1948 led to the exclusion of the Tamil community. He placed emphasis on the role of individuals in exacerbating the conflict, notably the decision of Bandaranaike to start mobilising around the issue of Sinhala as the national language. This 'ethnic outbidding' of politicians in the Sinhalese opposition has been a prevalent feature of Sri Lankan politics. He noted that no one could foresee how violent or intolerant the Tamil Tigers would become; many moderate politicians and academics initially supporting their campaign. He discussed the constitutional options available, noting the reluctance of the Buddhists in Sri Lanka to concede any form of devolution or federal government that would 'split' the island. He pointed to a new trend; that of anti Christian violence during 2004. He also stressed that the Tamils involved in the current conflict were more radicalised than their predecessors because of their indoctrination as children. The discussant, Dr James Chriyankandath (London Metropolitan), noted that DeVotta's paper outlined the wider context within which Chauvinism thrives in Sri Lanka and posed the question, under what conditions do certain chauvinisms thrive? He argued that it would be instructive to compare the case of Sri Lanka to that of Nigeria — where federalism in the 1960s did not prevent conflict and a secessionist movement. Dr Chriyankandath pleaded for the term 'chauvinism' to become part of political discourse — arguing that the term 'nationalist' legitimised Hindu chauvinism.
Dr Prasun Sonwalkar presented his paper on Assamese Chauvinism and the Political Dynamics of North East India. He argued that chauvinism should be understood in terms of 'us' and 'them', and that chauvinism in India was not confined to Assam. He sought to understand how the reorganisation of Assam, and the creation of tribal states from its territory, has contributed to chauvinism in the area. He discussed the colonial segregation of tribes, and noted that this continued in independent India through the permit system. He argued that measures to uplift tribes had led to separatist demands. His paper was discussed by Dr Gareth Price (Royal Institute for International Affairs, Chatham House). Dr Price noted that language was the only identity that the Assamese had, given that there were so many migrants into the area. He noted that the targets of Assamese movements such as ULFA had changed according to pragmatic considerations — when supported by Bangladesh in 1996, their targets changed from Bengali to Bihari speakers. He also pointed out that ULFA has worked with both Nagas and Bodos against the centre, even though Naga and Bodo demands potentially split Assam.
The third paper to be presented was by Dr Emma Mawdsley (Birkbeck). Her paper was entitled The Abuse of Religion and Ecology: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Tehri Dam. Dr Mawdsley argued that despite many arguments suggesting a positive relationship between Hinduism and ecology, a more critical assessment is needed. She noted that no religion was designed specifically to deal with ecology, and that all religions are internally diverse. She analysed the failed attempts of the VHP to appropriate the issue of the Tehri Dam — mobilising around the issue of temple destruction and the sacred path of the Ganges. She noted that the 'threat' of the dam was often portrayed as a 'Muslim conspiracy'. She argued that the VHP did not get involved in the clean up the Ganges campaign, because they were not able to frame the campaign in an anti-Muslim way. She also mentioned the attempts by some environmental leaders to utilise the VHP in their campaign against the dam.
The final paper to be presented was by Dr Dibyesh Anand (University of Bath). Dr Anand's paper, entitled Imagining Muslims: Hindutva's politics of representation, concerned the portrayal of the Muslim community during and after the Gujarat riots of 2002. He argued that although the way a community is portrayed or 'represented' does not kill or physically hurt a community, it 'normalises' violent practice among the majority community and shifts blame for the violence onto the victims. He wanted to draw attention to the silent majority who were 'complicit' in the violence in Gujarat. He noted how the discourse of politics had shifted to the right in India. Dr John Zavos (Manchester) discussing the paper argued that it is very difficult to separate why something happens from how it happens. He complemented the approach taken in the paper and pointed to Thomas Blom Hansen's notion of 'politics as permanent performance'. He argued that riots and acts of violence could be fruitfully explored using this approach and that Hansen's approach was consistent with the methodology and concerns expressed in the paper.
The workshop was convened by Dr Andrew Wyatt of the Department of Politics, University of Bristol. Carole Spary and Ben Kisby, both doctoral students in the Department, greatly contributed to the organisation of the workshop.
Dr Katharine Adeney
Secretary of the British Association of South Asian Studies
Chair of the Politics of South Asia Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association
Department of Politics
University of Sheffield
Sheffield S10 2TU
United Kingdom
Email k.adeney@sheffield.ac.uk
http://www.basas.org.uk/workshop04/basasw04.html