Rservation in premier institutions

By Prabhudev Konana

While reservation is a political hot button, it is about societal endurance, ethics, and value issues. If it is a pure political solution then, unfortunately, premier institutions will probably lose the battle.

THERE IS an intense emotional debate over reservation in premier institutions of higher education. Those against reservation fear quality degradation and brand dilution. Others object that these government-supported institutions are inherently designed for the fortunate ones. Is the government's action purely political and populist? Do the institutions of higher learning have an obligation to address social inequities? And can we learn from institutions of higher learning in the U.S. that have addressed similar issues?

The key word in this debate is "government." Successful government-funded institutions often attract scrutiny. It is an oxymoron to scrutinise success. But this is not surprising when beneficiaries appear to be predominantly from a privileged caste, majority religion/race, or powerful social/economic strata or region. Any social inequities and injustices become politicised. Consider the attention institutions such as IITs and IIMs have attracted in recent times — successful entrepreneurs and jaw-dropping salaries — and frequent bragging of intellect; yet little is discussed showing broader societal access, benefits, and representation. Ironically, success perceived by some stakeholders amplifies the negative aspects (for example, social inequities) for other stakeholders. The government is a major stakeholder of these institutions and its concerns cannot be ignored. This is no different from the strategic choices the private sector faces, given the conflicting stakeholder values in an uncertain business environment (for example, the recent Pepsi and Coca-Cola run-ins with various entities).

The problems run deeper than a simple political debate. First, the reality is lack of a level playing field. The very highly selective system is inherently biased towards those with access to better schools and resources, or with superior mental capabilities. I suppose there are no issues with the latter, but the former raises questions. Families spend more than the per capita GDP of India to prepare their children for entrance examinations . Those who get selected appear to be predominantly from urban and well-educated families. A majority of students from socially and economically backward environments have little chance to compete. The exceptions are few and far between.

Second, there is a significant lack of information that draws inequities to the forefront. Currently, premier institutions reserve 22.5 per cent of the seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. How have these students fared academically and in the corporate world relative to other students? What impact have these students had on the larger society? It is not important to know if students admitted under quota can compete effectively over time. Maybe, every government-funded educational institution should consider declaring the aggregate profiles of its entering and graduating students (like caste, religion, region, and social and economic background). It is a common practice for private and public U.S. universities to <243>provide such information (for example, see<243> Harvard University details at<243> http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/prospective/applying/stats/index.html). <243>Many questions can be asked based on the published data. What are the reasons for over-representation or under-representation of any segment of the population? Have these premier institutions made any attempt to encourage under-represented groups to become competitive? In the absence of such information, institutions are opening the door for scrutiny and political interference and will lose opportunities to monitor and strive for improvement. Without such data, it makes little sense to argue about quality or brand dilution.

This conflict and debate of social equity and representation in higher education are not unique to the Indian context. The U.S. universities provide great cases to analyse, but with a major difference. In the U.S., it is minority under-representation, while in India it is probably majority under-representation. The 1964 Civil Rights Act enacted after the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King explicitly allowed the use of race in the admission and hiring process in universities (referred to as affirmative action). Affirmative action has been a driving force to create diversity and opportunities for minorities. But affirmative action has faced numerous hurdles in many great institutions, including the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the University of California, Berkeley. Several lawsuits alleging strict use of number quota or reverse discrimination have been fought in the State and federal courts, reaching even the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2003, the Supreme Court ruled in a case involving the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a 5-4 majority verdict that race can be one of the factors in admission decision because it furthers "a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body." Further, the court opined that race itself cannot be the dominating factor since it is unconstitutional. These are indeed interesting observations that Indian policy-makers and institutions should note.

To avoid constitutional challenges related to preference based on gender and race, many States have enacted fascinating policies. Texas has mandated guaranteed admission to any state-supported university to students who graduate in the top 10 per cent of their high school class. The top 10 per cent rule circumvents affirmative action while recognising the fact that many schools in poor neighbourhoods, border towns, and farming communities have minorities in large numbers. Hence, the top 10 per cent rule provides an excellent opportunity for the minority and economically disadvantaged to join prestigious universities. Many States have enacted similar laws. California has the top four per cent rule and the State ofFlorida the top 20 per cent rule. There are other actions as well. In Texas, higher education institutions have earmarked funds for first generation college students. Further, there is an explicit awareness among universities that understanding different cultures and backgrounds is not just a social equity issue, but also an important core value of education to all members of society.

Most private and public universities in the U.S. have special head-start programmes for promising minority high school students. They visit laboratories, meet star faculty, and attend classes to get a glimpse of the opportunities. The McCombs Business School (MSB), where I teach, has numerous initiatives to increase awareness and to promote diversity. We are part of many consortia to identify talented minority students and to attract them to our programmes Since minority representation is low among MBA students, MSB has partnered with eight major global businesses (for example, Deloitte Consulting, FedEx, AT&T) to provide 3 years of work experience to bright minority undergraduate students with deferred admission to the MBA programme. These efforts are being replicated in other private and public universities.
We need to recognise that diversity provides "core educational value" for students. A great example of diversity needs is in management education. If management programmes are about creating future leaders, why not admit a tiny fraction of students who come from rural India and have demonstrated unmatched leadership, but cannot get through the entrance examination ? They may provide better insights into challenges in rural India that are helpful in designing and marketing products, or will inspire others on social responsibility. But in our emotional debate, we ignore this core value.

The reservation debate is now extending to the private sector. While government interference in the private sector is troubling, it doesn't absolve this sector of the responsibility to promote diversity and social equity. In fact, firms can use these as strength. Some of the best firms to work for in the U.S. are also known for diversity (for example, Texas Instruments, Hewlett-Packard). Numerous U.S. companies have officers for diversity-related issues (My university has a vice-president for diversity). Recently, reputed advertising agencies signed an agreement to increase minority representation with the New York City after realising that hiring of minorities barely increased in the last 40 years. This agreement requires these private firms to submit hiring and promotion details to the city! Should the private sector wait for such public embarrassment and government interference, or take proactive action? Collectively it can support, identify, and nurture bright under-represented students to succeed in the corporate world rather than subject themselves to government or political interference.

In India, the sheer magnitude of the problem to reach out to the masses is daunting. But that does not preclude reaching out to any. Each institute will not have the resources to tackle this nation-wide problem. But joining with other educational institutions like NITs, industry associations like NASSCOM and CII, NGOs, and businesses, they can form entities (like associations in the U.S. to encourage minority enrolment) to identify and train promising students from economically and socially backward communities to succeed. Since the government cannot do everything, it is left to the institutions and all their stakeholders (including alumni, students and faculty) to bring about some, or even incremental, positive change. Without these actions, it is hypocritical to expect government funding but show no social responsibility.

The system of affirmative action or reservation is not perfect, but the spirit must be acknowledged. While reservation is a political hot button, it is about societal endurance, ethics, and value issues. If it is a pure political solution then, unfortunately, premier institutions will probably lose the battle. Of course, there are significant problems with explicit quota. The real beneficiaries of reservation may be the economically well-off "backward community" members who generation after generation reap the benefits at the expense of the real needy. The government needs to put a stop to such abuses.

One can endlessly debate reservation, but it is a good debate! It raises awareness of the social inequities, and hopefully will inspire individuals to rise to the occasion for a better India. Hopefully, self-governance will minimise government interference. "Strength in diversity" need not be political or feel-good rhetoric; institutions and their stakeholders must bring this to fruition with passion, new ideas, and a positive mindset.

(The author is a Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and can be contacted at pkonana@mail.utexas.edu.)

From : The Hindu, online edition, September 30th,2006

Church, Secularism and the Issue of Dalits

Dr John Dayal in conversation with Vidya Bhushan Rawat



John Dayal has been a Journalist 37 years, writes books and makes the occasional documentary film. He has been actively involved in the civil liberty movement, fought against police atrocities, imposition of the State of Emergency [1975-77], communalism and issues relating to Dalits, Christians and other minorities. A visiting Professor of journalism at various institutions, Dayal has been Chairman of YMCA Media center, Chairman of the governing Boards of various colleges of Delhi University, and was Chairman of the critic jury of International Children Festival of India. He deposed before the US Congressional Committee and European Commission on religious freedom, National Human Rights Commission. Currently, National President of 0 year old All India Catholic Union and Secretary general of the All India Christian Council, John Dayal was co founder with the late Archbishop Alan De Lastic of the United Christian Forum for Human Rights, Mr. Dayal was there in Durban to raise the issue of Dalits and related intolerance of Hindu right wingers on the marginalised sections of society including minorities in general and Christian in particular. In a conversation with Vidya Bhushan Rawat, he spoke at length the problems faced by the Christian Church in India and challenges ahead.



VB: Let us start with the latest [September 2006] incident at Loreto Convent School in Lucknow, which is a Catholic school. What is the difference between a Christian School and a Sangh Parivar-run school if miracles are being forced on children? Do you think the school was right in inviting a person from Bengal and project his miracles in front of the children?

JD: This is an issue which is quite alive in the Church because many different facets of dogma, doctrine and civil rights are involved; theology is being questioned, and the jurisdiction of the appellate authority in this matter is being clearly identified. I think this is a matter more for the Catholic Bishop of Lucknow than for the civic administration of that city. Under Catholic Canon Law, he is the supreme religious authority in his Diocese and all religious groups such as the Loreto run their schools, colleges and hospitals with his permission. It is his job to ensure that the Dogmas and Doctrine of the Catholic Church and its social teachings are not perverted or interpreted in a manner that is insidious and violative of the codes and traditions of the Church. Of course, on the sidelines of the mayhem is also the larger question of Catholic education, and the difference between Faith and blind faith or superstition, the difference between what Christians call the Healing Ministry and the magical mumbo jumbo of ojhas and charlatans, the difference between Evangelistic, Pentecost or Charismatic forms of worship on the one hand and the sort of spirits, apparitions, Ouija Boards and ghostly mantras that should be more at home in some tantric’s laboratory than in a Church compound.

Let me begin by saying that the issue of Catholic Education is being reviewed by the Church in all its dimensions -- its social implications, its target groups, the pedagogy, fees structures, obligation towards Dalits and OBCs and the commitment to the Poor. This will perhaps take another year before it is codified and implemented in the more than 150 Dioceses of the Catholic Church which perhaps run over 22,000 academic institutions in the country, from Barmer to Nagaland and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, through forests, deserts, hills and marshlands where others do not want to go.

What happened in Lucknow was neither religious teaching, even if were to be taken at its worst, nor miracles being forced down the throats of children. A Sangh Parivar school is not recognized as a Minority institution under Article 25 and Article 30. Hinduism is NOT the default religion of the Republic of India for it to be taught in the absence of Christianity, Islam or Sikhism. Sangh Schools have no right at all to teach a specific religion unless they are to teach every religion. It is of course another matter that not only Sangh Parivar schools, but most government run primacy and secondary schools in most villages of Northern India, and even colleges for that matter, are run as if they were orthodox Hindu seminaries in the matter of religious cultural content in the academic environment.

This is not the case with Article 30 Minority institutions such as Loreto convent which have the Constitutional right to be part of their religious community’s obligation to practice, profess and propagate their faith. But in a self imposed code, all Christian schools, Catholic or Protestant, have made it a point that religious teaching will be given only to Christian children, and others will have the option to study moral science or some such subject in the same time. This is something that is now sacrosanct in Christian schools of all denominations even though this may not be the case in madrasas and Sanskrit or Anglo Vedic schools and colleges.

What happened in the Loreto convent was not a religious teaching. It was an assembly session for a section of the girls and what was on `show’ of I may call it that, was a special form of prayer practice. Time was given to some rickshaw driver turned prayer man to show his style. It turned out to be some hotch potch of Charismatic, tantra, siddhi and pure magic.

I make a difference in this and what happened next. Fainting by tiredness is not uncommon among school children, and even among police personnel, who have to wait long hours for some VVIP politician to come and unfurl the Flag on Independence Day, or during the visit to town of a Prime minister. Hysteria is also not common among girl schools.

But the preacher’s claims that he was possessed by the spirit of Jesus Christ, is bunkum. It is part of our faith that Healing is done in the name of Jesus. We believe he was born of a human mother, died and was buried, that he rose again and after some days, was raised to the heaven. Please remember that Jesus appeared many times to his disciples after this death and resurrection – always as he was when he was alive, complete with wounds that we call Stigmata. He did not the, and does not now, take possession of human bodies. That may be the work of the devil or some spirits, but not of God. The prayers that heal in the name of Christ and the Holy Spirit do not involve possessions, Omens and such like.

Because this is against our doctrines and articles of faith, therefore it is a matter for probe by the Bishop as to why such a thing happened in one of our Catholic schools.

The nuns meant no harm and for that matter, even this ojha really meant no harm. He was just showing off.

VB: Now, an issue of superstition has been totally communalized by the goons of Sangh Parivar as they came in large number, targeted the school staff and broke windows and furniture of the school. What is your response? The Parivar says that they would continue to protest against the alleged proselytisation of the children.

JD: Who can argue with Fascists? No one. They communalise and turn violent. For his own political reasons, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav, for days does nothing to get the criminals arrested. Mr Yadav is no friend of the Church, and even less so of English-medium Convents and boys schools run by the church. If he wanted to , he could have shown to the Sangh thugs that the rule of law still ran in the State of Uttar Pradesh.

Mr Yadav’s silence did much to generate the hype against the Christians. The Hindi language television, and newspapers such as the Times of India and particularly its Lucknow edition, did much to add oil to the fan. This is quite the norm now, unfortunately, with the media conniving at such violence—which by the way turns public attention away from crucial issues such as why the guilty of various anti Muslim riots still run free in the country..

I hope sometimes in the future, the governments at the centre and in the states will find the moral courage to stand up to the Sangh Parivar in similar and other matters.

VB: What suggestions would you make to missionary schools in India when they deal such sensitive issues so that the Hindutva goons do not get benefit of their apolitical activities?

JD: In popular parlance, the term missionary school has come to mean schools run by the Church or by private Christian citizens. If they were really missionary schools [which perhaps they were when they bean a century or more ago], they should leave the urban elite and the rich of the metropolitan areas, and go open their schools in rural and tribal areas, or in the slums of the Dalits sand the villages of the landless.

But if they decide to also serve the urban middle class and rich, such schools have to make up their mind if they want t remain teaching shops selling elite labels with fluency in English as their USP, or their unique Selling Proposition. The rich buy their education, taunt the Nuns and fathers [other than at Admission time, when the same rich man can be seen groveling at the Principal’s door], and then stand watching in silence as some other Sangh thugs go about smashing school furniture, beating Priests and once in a frequent while, aping the odd Nun or two.


VB: Christians by and large remain highly apolitical community except for the north eastern region where the real politics is played by the tribal leaders. Has this indifference to politics damaged socio-political condition further? Is there any plan to get the community involved in some political understanding?

JD: This is of concern to the community and the Church leadership, at last. We in the All India Catholic Union, patently Catholic lay group, the ecumenical non-denominational all India Christian Council and similar Civil society organisations are deeply worried at the implications of a people who remain illiterate in the realities of life, or who think politics, political realities and activism is not for people who profess the Christina faith.

Christians cannot remain aloof from the world. To that extent, Christianity is a deeply political faith as it seeks change, it professes love for the poor and the marginalised, not for the rich. It worships no gods of wealth and war, nor does it have in it place for might and grandeur.

Christ himself was a catalyst of change – social, ethical, spiritual and of course political. Christianity has been at the root of civilisational growth.

The Indian Christian community is only now waking up to its role as the political conscience keeper of its age and of its nation. The gathering support to the Dalit movement is a visible example of this.

VB: While Christian community and its leadership have now initiated dialogue with the Dalits, it is still the biggest challenge for the common man to link them with the Dalits. The upper caste priests are not really favorable to the idea of Dalits sitting with them. How will this influence of Varna system be eradicated from the minds of the Christian religious people.

JD: This is quite true. The scourge of caste, as Mahatma Phule, Bhimrao Ambedkar and Nehru noted, exists in the DNA of Indian society. It crosses the mebranes of the Hindu relgion to permesate all other resident faiths, Islam, Chritianity, Sikhism and Jainism incouded. You may ban the practice of untouchability by enacting some legidlation, but the anhilation of caste, as Ambedkar wanted, seems an impossible dream. Those in power, and the power brokers realise that they would have lost their base and their existence if they were to outlaw caste. We have to deal with this.

VB: You have been raising the issue of Dalit Christians. There has been resentment among the Dalits for they fear that if the Christian Dalits a quota, they would lose their own quota. Secondly, the current government has not taken any specific step to do the same. You have met the prime minister and Sonia Gandhi? What promises have they made to you and have any of them been activated so far?

JD: Dalits professing the Hindu faith despite their situation in society, need have no fear from Dalit Christians getting the same Scheduled cast status with its accompanying protection of law, more important to us than the mere access to a few government jobs. As it is, barring those in the scavenging departments of municipal corporations., most other jobs still remain far from the reach of Dalits. Christian Dalits are perhaps only hairs-breadth better off than their brothers in the Hindu faith in terms of education..

VB: Some of the Christian groups are still flirting with Hindutva. They are not isolated one. The common linking theme seems to be anti-Islamic tendencies. What do you think on this and what are you doing to make a better understanding of Islam among the Christian community.


JD: This is among the minor successes of the Sangh propaganda for sixty years. Many victims of Hindutva still look at Islam through RSS goggles. The same unfortunately is true for Muslims who can target Christians little understanding that it is the Sangh or some other vested interest which is twisting news and facts to provoke communities against each other.

VB: What steps have the Catholic institutions have taken to bring Dalits to mainstream? I mean institutions like St Stephens have open opposed the idea of affirmative action in their recruitment. YMCAs and other such institutions are churning out more Arun Shouries and Chandan Mitras. How do you face this paradox of Christian Institutions? What should be done so that at least Dalit Christians get their due in their own institutions?

JD: There is a conscious effort now that we cannot just pay lip service to the Dalit cause without putting our money where our mouth is. Elite institutions are becoming more sensitive to this. But mathematical parity, I agree, is still far away. Unfortunately this is so also in government run education centres of higher and professional learning, including medicine, law, military colleges etc.

VB:: How does the AICC see the global war on terror? What step would you take so that the image built of the Muslims by the Indians and International channels do not get deep into the mind of your community? Don’t you think that such stereotyped image of the Muslim community is fed in the mind of the new young which would ultimately be dangerous for the youngsters of the community and may bring them to the Hindutva’s propagandists in the ‘secular media?

The Church in India has defended and supported the Palestinians while also recognising the Jews’ right to a homeland, and now that Israel is a nation, it right to secure borders.

The matter is geo political, not religious. The Indian church is among the first to speak against the nuclear bomb, the bombings of innocent Iraqi children by the US and the Israel war on civilians in the guise of seeking out terrorists.

We do make distinction that in India there is no clash of civilizations. Islam and Christianity are both minority religions, both equal victim of the Sangh ideology.

The Indian Church needs to, and indeed does make, common cause with secular Hindus and marginalised communities.


VB: Some years ago a delegation of Christian clergy initiated a dialogue with the RSS chief Mr. K.S.Sudarshan. What will be the implications of these dialogues? Will it not give the Hindutva right-wingers a certificate that they represent the entire Hindu society including various non-Brahmins upper caste groups and backward communities?

JD: Without casting an aspersion on the Church leadership, by accepting a dialogue under the coercion of National Minorities Commission, the Church has made itself vulnerable on many counts, chief among them is the charge that they have entered into a bilateral barter with the RSS with its vested interests in Institutional and properties at the top of mind and not with the interest of the communities and people. So far both the Catholic as well as the Protestant leadership have not been able to come up with any better explanation except that a dialogue is good by itself and that it was good to remove misgivings that RSS might have about the Christians. For whatever details are available from the press reports it is quiet obvious that on its part RSS has continued its barrage against Christians on the issues of conversion. Under pressure of RSS, the Church groups, have also turned against what they call, fringe groups or evangelists groups who they pinned the blame for aggressive evangelization, harsh language or antagonizing Hindus. Under the same pressure of the senior Church leaders have thought it fit to ‘disown’ popular lay activists saying that only Bishops are authorised to speak for the Church. This of course open up an entirely new debate on role and empowerment of leity and role of Bishops in secular and political issues. To come back to main issue, the dangers that emanates from such dialogues are the following:

1. Betrayal of the secular Hindus: The vast Hindu community has never accepted the RSS to be either its representative or spokesperson. In fact, contemporary political history prove that majority of Hindus reject the Sangh theology and its political doctrine that is why the BJP even at its peak was not able to gain more than 180 seats.
And it has to depend on regional chauvinistic parties to cobble a coalition to come into power. By talking to the Sangh Parivar before we have explored the dialogue with religious counterpart in Hindu society, we may have contributed to the marginalisation of secular religious voices in the society.
2. The Church inability to separate Hindutva from Hinduism: This is a direct result of Church’s failure to have dialogue with non-Brahmins Hindus. The same is the issue of inculturation, we happily adopt the culture of Brahmins but are reluctant to assimilate the worship forms of OBCs and Dalits. Perhaps it comes naturally for a Brahmanical hierarchy to see an ally with another brahmanical political ruling group. Naturally, the Church leadership fails to understand that Hindutva like Nazism, Zionism or even Talibanism, is an ideology and not a religion but has to be challenged by the ideological strength of progressive secular civil society. In fact the Church leadership is confronting ideologically with the socially presentable language of Christian Priests who is reluctant to challenge the Sangh Parivar on its role towards women, OBCs, Dalits, Muslims, Sikhs and neo Buddhists.

VB: Why have the Christians always been defensive on the issue of conversion and foreign funding? Don’t you feel that rather than having a dialogue with RSS, the Church should have engaged in a dialogue with dalits, OBCs and other secular people?

JD: The Church is not defensive. I would have liked the Church to challenge the right of Sangh to ask this question at all. In this day and age and with the police controlled by the upper caste police, it would be impossible to use either coercion or inducing other than the Sangh Parivar. It is also important to remember that conversion as after are attraction towards a better spiritual and physical expression as it is a desire to escape from a state of oppression which has lasted for 3000 years. Institutaionalised and organised Church have also evolved highly structured religious processes, which inhibit their activities in the area. The Catholic Church is still active in tribal and dalit areas but not among the OBCs. Many of the so-called mainline Church are crippled with corruption, lack of vocation and dynamic leadership. Further, there is no evangelistic activity in their calendar apart from their Church service every Sunday.

I think the Church should assert its supremacy and talk about the constitutional provisions for religious freedom. It must also have a dialogue with all Church groups including the evangelist on evolving a new language for evangelisation which is utterly sensitive, politically correct and clearly carries the liberty message of Jesus Christ. Any compromise on right to evangelise is a violation of an individual to covert him/ her.

VB: What are the main things for the Christian community to ponder over in the last fifty years of our Independence? The backward communities who are now the political stronger group says that Christians were in the forefront to oppose reservation meant for them in 1990. How can there be a dialogue with Dalits and backwards.

JD: According to 10th five years plan, Christian community is the poorest of the poor in India. Apart from a few well off people in the coastal belt of Bombay, Goa and Kerala, the rest are extremely poor. We don’t have an artisan class which can earn its own living. We don’t have an entrepreneur class to exports commercial opportunities. Because there has been no work among OBCs barring part of Kerala, Karnataka there are no Christian with any land holding. Other than the tribal, while the urban Christian is basically a salaries employee in government or private sector, in the rural areas they are landless peasantry or agricultural labor. This by the way gives the final lie to the propaganda that Christians have been converted out of inducement. Prime task for all the Christian social scientists is to uplift the marginalised and OBCs. Despite the Church running various educational institutions, it is not true that Church rejected Mandal but elitist sections of the Church never understood the social engineering aspect of Mandal. Secondly main Mandal engineering has its most potent impact in the non-tribal Bihar and indogangetic parts where Christianity is lowest both in evangelical fervor and numerical strength. In the south barring the classical hostility with Marxist in Kerala over the issue of private colleges, Christian Activists have been a part of the aspiration of socially and politically mobile groups in Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Kerala.

VB: Several Christian groups said that caste system exists in every religion and every region and hence it needs to be addressed globally. By saying so they have given a big support to Hindutva. If it exists in every religion then why condemns BJP or for that matter the Hindutva. What was the reason that the Dalit activists themselves rarely raised the religious basis of their discrimination during the Durban conference against Racism?

JD: I disagree with the formulation of the question that casteism or Manuwad, a brahmanical hierarchy of the sort that we are talking about is endemic to religion. In India while all other religions have their own class structure or even function based discrimination because of ruling and priestly classes. On the other hand, Dalit scholars have conclusively proved that Manuwad is intrinsic to classical Hinduism would have to undergo various internal restructuring if the concept of caste were to be knocked at. It is because of this that Gandhi also attacked the concept of untouchability as evil but supported the concept of Caste System as Dr Bhagwan Das has proved from his meticulous writings of Gandhi. Caste and its social fall out or social infirmity has erased out the barriers of religion, region and even race. I have myself questioned the reluctance of some Dalit camps in attacking Manuwad frontly. Perhaps there is some anxiety that by attacking Hindutva & Manuwad, we may alienate middle class friends and society in India particularly OBCs. My own position in Durban was a frontal attack on Hindutva as ideological framework against Dalits and other communities. I personally feel it does not dilute the focus on Dalits as victim of Hindutva, which believes in hierarchical system with Dalits at the bottom of their social order.

VB: What is the role of Church towards the marginalised communities? Will they give them a fair representation in their institutions or Churches?

JD: The struggle of Dalit rights within Church became an integral part of over all Dalit struggles. Social institution of caste has crossed the religious membrane, so you see the caste-based Churches in South India. Despite all the tall claims, it is just 10% of total clergy belong to Dalit community and out of total 180 Catholic Bishops there are only 5 Dalit Catholic Bishops. It is an untenable situation and distracts for more visible solidarity for Dalit cause. Many of our schools in metropolitan cities have become elitists and barring a few exception like St Josephine evening College in Banglore, most of our schools cater more to social and political upper caste elite than to Dalits. This situation is crying out for an early corrective solution.

VB: Christian missionaries in the entire South Asia are facing victimization. In Pakistan they face the notorious blasphemy law; in Sri Lanka and Nepal they faced violence. How far the Indian Churches and Christian community reacted to all this?

JD: Both the Catholic Church and Catholic laity movement have been in the forefront of highlighting the tragedy of Christian in Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and even Srilanka where they are victims of violence on both sides. We have protested vehemently and carried out the international campaign to save the victims of draconian Blasphemy law of Pakistan. We also campaigned for the release of missionaries in Nepal. But as a small missionary in India, our own strength is limited and therefore we have been working for secular society. We are very active in general human rights groups and form a vocal part of emerging Christian community of India and South Asia.

Farmer's Crisis

Will Dadri be a symbol of a new land right movement in India

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat


Dadari, a sleepy town in Ghaziabad district of Uttar-Pradesh has caught the imagination of the farmers of the nation when on July 8th, 2006, a team of political leaders including former prime minister Mr V.P.Singh and his political friends wanted to make an the spot visit to the area and organize farmers against the acquisition of land meant for the Gas Power plant being built by Mr Anil Ambani. Over two years have gone but there is no sight of a power plant. Just after V.P.Singh made a surprise visit to the village Bajhera Khurd that UP government decided to launch a full throated publicity drive including the
‘bhoomi-pujan’ ceremony of the ‘so-called’ power plant. It need not be recalled here that for a 3500 megawatt power plant to be constructed at Dadari, the acquired land was more than 2,500 acres from different villages in the periphery of Dadari including Bajhera Khurd, which is the epicenter of the struggle against land acquisition.

Three years back when Mulayam Singh Yadav became chief minister of Uttar-Pradesh by way of a political manipulation, his right hand man Amar Singh was made Chairman of the newly formed Uttar-Pradesh Development Council, which declared that they would make Uttar-Pradesh as ‘Uttam-Pradesh’, a wonderful state. The UPDC consisted of Industrialists like Anil Ambani, Adi Godrej, Subroto Roy and Amitabh Bachchan, all of who are well known as personal friends of Mr Amar Singh.

The UP Development Council was supposed to guide the industrial policy of the government. Instead, it became a council, which divided various zones for its own purposes. Therefore, Amitabh Bachchan became a farmer in Barabanki, while Subroto Roy decided that he should provide housing to state people while Anil Ambani, the prized catch of Amar Singh, was given to build power plant at Dadari.

A report published by People’s Union for Civil Liberties and National Alliance of People’s Movement jointly together after visiting the areas. It was said that this power plant would overcome the shortfall of electricity in Uttar-Pradesh and the farmers whose land has been acquired would get electricity at the cheaper rates of Rs 2/- per unit. Over 2,500 acres of land has been acquired in the entire vicinity and the rates given to the farmers was Rs 150 per square yard while the market price is over Rs 5,500/- per square yard.

The farmers of Dadari had been raising their issue with a number of political parties but unfortunately the issue did not get any attention from them. Former Prime Minister V P Singh who had been actively supporting the grassroots movements including the question of slum dwellers, issue of Narmada and displaced farmers was approached by the farmers group of Uttar-Pradesh to support their struggle. V P Singh had earlier launched movement for small and marginal farmers in Eastern Uttar-Pradesh who are dying of hunger and starvation.

V P Singh and his colleagues in Janmorcha decided that they would till the land at Dadari on July 8th, 2006. Uttar-Pradesh government after knowing the incident decided to take the escapist route of the judiciary. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High court was approached in the evening. The acting chief Justice of the Lucknow bench justice Jagdish Bhalla appointed a two member committee to look into the petition filed by the Reliance Industries of Anil Ambani. In the midnight of 7th July at around 11 pm, the two judges appointed by Justice Bhalla, heard the petition filed by the son of justice Bhalla on behalf of Reliance Group. The judges without giving notices to the aggrieved party passed an order that the government must ‘protect’ the acquired site and should not allow any public meeting with in the vicinity of the Bajhera Khurd.

According to noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan, the Lucknow bench overstepped its jurisdiction by accepting this case, which does not fall under its category. Secondly, he openly called for a committee to be appointed by the Chief Justice of Supreme Court to inquire into the mater whether Justice Bhalla has not violated the code of judicial ethics. Justice Bhalla should be asked to resign or failing which an impeachment process should start by the Parliament, said Prashant Bhushan. In an interview to Outlook news magazine, former Chief Justice of India, Justice J.S.Verma was critical of the conduct of Justice Bhalla and raised the question of judicial ethics. Justice Verma said that justice should be seen as being delivered and the judges need to be very careful about the same. Just as I write this comes the disclosure made by the NDTV ( its reporter Ajmer Singh reporting from Noida) that Justice Bhalla’s wife Renu Bhalla was given special favour by the Uttar-Pradesh government. She was given a plot of 7000 square yard in posh Noida area worth 7 crore market value while she paid just Rs 500000 for the same. The authorities are tightlipped over it but definitely the conduct of Justice Bhalla is turning into a scandal for judiciary similarly like that of Justice Ramaswamy who was impeached in the Parliament thought the impeachment motion did not get through.

The issue of Dadari power plant thus has immense national value. One, after raising it, V.P.Singh has really highlighted the issue of Special Economic Zone and issue of land acquisition in the name of ‘national interest’. Now the government has to think it over properly before taking any decision. It seems the government now has realized the potential threat to Indian farmers if this process of creating ‘Special Economic Zones’ goes uncontrolled and there are talks of ceiling limit for these areas. Nodoubt, in the past 10 years, the corporatisation and urbanization process has caused immense harm to the rural economy of many developing countries. The promises made by the world government in 1996 World Food Summit were easily forgotten. Agrarian Reform has gone out of the agenda of the government. Perhaps the new meaning being provided to
Agrarian Reform is the corporatisation of agrarian system.
It is ironic that when farmers are dying of starvation and committing suicide, when small weavers are on the verge of death, when handloom, handicraft items are dying slowly, this insensitive government goes on to open the huge rural sector to big industrial houses. There is a virtual competition among the state government to invite the ‘industrial’ tycoons to ‘invest’ in the state. There is a clear nexus between the political leaders, bureaucrats and all of them are working with their own future prospectus in mind. This is clearly a national betrayal by the political business elite of the country and need to be challenged openly. While UP government provided 2,500 acres of most fertile land of India to build a power plant which there is no surety about the gas as well as its future. The concern of the people are not entirely unfounded as we have seen the powerful Enron backtracking and destroying livelihood of thousands of farmers and our political class getting unscathed. The decision of the Haryana government to give 25000 acre land to Mukesh Ambani lead Reliance group for retail items in India is an open challenge to India’s rural economy. It will create more unemployment and difficult conditions for farmers and weavers to survive.

The question is why the issues like acquisition of land have not become major political
issue in this country. The answer could be found easily in some of the contradictions
which have developed in our society and have reflected more in recent future. The fact of
the matter is that farmers themselves are of different castes and when the election time
arrive they go back to their clans. The identity politics has led to further marginalisation
of the real issues of the farmers. When the politician gets vote in the name of their caste
and clan, where is the need for any one to work for them. Ajit Singh remain the choice
number one in western Uttar-Pradesh despite the most troublesome record of political
opportunism.

How to tackle this monster which has rendered the farmers, agricultural workers and
Others as workless and jobless. Brazil, Venujuela, Cuba and now Bolivia have shown the
way. The firstindigenous president of Bolivia is on the path of Land Reform in the
country which were denied by the puppet governments. In South Asia, barring India, a
majority of countrieswere autocratic, military dictators or monarchies? Most of the
people’s movement in these countries looked towards India for inspiration.
Unfortunately, the political class in India has failed them despite wider people’s
movement all over the country. Wherever,the political system failed, the people have
picked up guns. The police personnel killed inthe naxal violence is much higher than
those killed in the ‘terrorist’ violence. The government is now planning Special Security
Zones where it can send more army personnel to tackle the violent situation. Naxal
violence is increasingly challenging our nation state. Chhatishgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa,
Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra are in the grip of the ultra left radical groups. It is these
states where the big corporate houses are playing their dirty games at the cost of the
people. Uprooting the tribals, Dalits and other marginalized from their mainland would
result in further chaos. The continuous deaths of farmers in Vidharbha, Punjab,
Bundelkhand will further complicate the situation unabated. The political leaders of the
farmers remain irrelevant today.


The political leadership of Uttar-Pradesh has made it a point to go ahead with Dadari
project without taking the farmer’s interest into account. The way it went out of its way
to hit out at the villagers in the vicinity of Dadari is a case point how the politicians have
been blinded by their monitory interests. On 17th of August, Mr V.P.Singh again tried to
visit the area and his entry was prohibited in the state though he made it a point to visit
Bajhera Khurd village clandestinely next day but the highhanded attitude of the police
need to be investigated.

If the farmers are able to make their presence felt in the coming Uttar-Pradesh elections,
India is going for a massive change. If the government of India does not understand the
current agrarian crisis in totality, India may be going for a ‘revolutionary’ change in
future when people will throw away corporate sponsored right wing political class which
has forgotten people’s issues for their crony interests.

From Narmada to Polvaram in Andhra Pradesh. From Kalinga-Nagar to Sheonath river in
the Durg district of Chhatishgarh, the fisher folks of Trinelivelly in Kanyakumari to
Chandanipur, firing range in Orissa or tea plantation workers in West Bengal and now the
farmers of Dadari, or the tribals in Sri-Harikota, every one is the victim of unsustainable
Development. The stock exchange and its sensex or the promised 8% growth rate mean
nothing to those who have been thrown away from the mainstream. Can there really be a
peace in the country by snatching the livelihood of those who feed the country and made
it self-sufficient in food production ? India must find the right answer or be prepared for
another phase of uncontrollable chaos?

Farm Crisis in India

Will Dadri be a symbol of a new land right movement in India

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat


Dadari, a sleepy town in Ghaziabad district of Uttar-Pradesh has caught the imagination of the farmers of the nation when on July 8th, 2006, a team of political leaders including former prime minister Mr V.P.Singh and his political friends wanted to make an the spot visit to the area and organize farmers against the acquisition of land meant for the Gas Power plant being built by Mr Anil Ambani. Over two years have gone but there is no sight of a power plant. Just after V.P.Singh made a surprise visit to the village Bajhera Khurd that UP government decided to
launch a full throated publicity drive including the ‘bhoomi-pujan’ ceremony of the ‘so-called’
power plant. It need not be recalled here that for a 3500 megawatt power plant to be constructed at Dadari, the acquired land was more than 2,500 acres from different villages in the periphery of Dadari including Bajhera Khurd, which is the epicenter of the struggle against land acquisition.

Three years back when Mulayam Singh Yadav became chief minister of Uttar-Pradesh by way of a political manipulation, his right hand man Amar Singh was made Chairman of the newly formed Uttar-Pradesh Development Council, which declared that they would make Uttar-Pradesh as ‘Uttam-Pradesh’, a wonderful state. The UPDC consisted of Industrialists like Anil Ambani, Adi Godrej, Subroto Roy and Amitabh Bachchan, all of who are well known as personal friends of Mr Amar Singh.

The UP Development Council was supposed to guide the industrial policy of the government. Instead, it became a council, which divided various zones for its own purposes. Therefore, Amitabh Bachchan became a farmer in Barabanki, while Subroto Roy decided that he should provide housing to state people while Anil Ambani, the prized catch of Amar Singh, was given to build power plant at Dadari.

A report published by People’s Union for Civil Liberties and National Alliance of People’s Movement jointly together after visiting the areas. It was said that this power plant would overcome the shortfall of electricity in Uttar-Pradesh and the farmers whose land has been acquired would get electricity at the cheaper rates of Rs 2/- per unit. Over 2,500 acres of land has been acquired in the entire vicinity and the rates given to the farmers was Rs 150 per square yard while the market price is over Rs 5,500/- per square yard.

The farmers of Dadari had been raising their issue with a number of political parties but unfortunately the issue did not get any attention from them. Former Prime Minister V P Singh who had been actively supporting the grassroots movements including the question of slum dwellers, issue of Narmada and displaced farmers was approached by the farmers group of Uttar-Pradesh to support their struggle. V P Singh had earlier launched movement for small and marginal farmers in Eastern Uttar-Pradesh who are dying of hunger and starvation.

V P Singh and his colleagues in Janmorcha decided that they would till the land at Dadari on July 8th, 2006. Uttar-Pradesh government after knowing the incident decided to take the escapist route of the judiciary. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High court was approached in the evening. The acting chief Justice of the Lucknow bench justice Jagdish Bhalla appointed a two member committee to look into the petition filed by the Reliance Industries of Anil Ambani. In the midnight of 7th July at around 11 pm, the two judges appointed by Justice Bhalla, heard the petition filed by the son of justice Bhalla on behalf of Reliance Group. The judges without giving notices to the aggrieved party passed an order that the government must ‘protect’ the acquired site and should not allow any public meeting with in the vicinity of the Bajhera Khurd.

According to noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan, the Lucknow bench overstepped its jurisdiction by accepting this case, which does not fall under its category. Secondly, he openly called for a committee to be appointed by the Chief Justice of Supreme Court to inquire into the mater whether Justice Bhalla has not violated the code of judicial ethics. Justice Bhalla should be asked to resign or failing which an impeachment process should start by the Parliament, said Prashant Bhushan. In an interview to Outlook news magazine, former Chief Justice of India, Justice J.S.Verma was critical of the conduct of Justice Bhalla and raised the question of judicial ethics. Justice Verma said that justice should be seen as being delivered and the judges need to be very careful about the same. Just as I write this comes the disclosure made by the NDTV ( its reporter Ajmer Singh reporting from Noida) that Justice Bhalla’s wife Renu Bhalla was given special favour by the Uttar-Pradesh government. She was given a plot of 7000 square yard in posh Noida area worth 7 crore market value while she paid just Rs 500000 for the same. The authorities are tightlipped over it but definitely the conduct of Justice Bhalla is turning into a scandal for judiciary similarly like that of Justice Ramaswamy who was impeached in the Parliament thought the impeachment motion did not get through.

The issue of Dadari power plant thus has immense national value. One, after raising it, V.P.Singh has really highlighted the issue of Special Economic Zone and issue of land acquisition in the name of ‘national interest’. Now the government has to think it over properly before taking any decision. It seems the government now has realized the potential threat to Indian farmers if this process of creating ‘Special Economic Zones’ goes uncontrolled and there are talks of ceiling limit for these areas. Nodoubt, in the past 10 years, the corporatisation and urbanization process has caused immense harm to the rural economy of many developing countries. The promises made by the world government in 1996 World Food Summit were easily forgotten. Agrarian Reform has gone out of the agenda of the government. Perhaps the new meaning being provided to
Agrarian Reform is the corporatisation of agrarian system.
It is ironic that when farmers are dying of starvation and committing suicide, when small weavers are on the verge of death, when handloom, handicraft items are dying slowly, this insensitive government goes on to open the huge rural sector to big industrial houses. There is a virtual competition among the state government to invite the ‘industrial’ tycoons to ‘invest’ in the state. There is a clear nexus between the political leaders, bureaucrats and all of them are working with their own future prospectus in mind. This is clearly a national betrayal by the political business elite of the country and need to be challenged openly. While UP government provided 2,500 acres of most fertile land of India to build a power plant which there is no surety about the gas as well as its future. The concern of the people are not entirely unfounded as we have seen the powerful Enron backtracking and destroying livelihood of thousands of farmers and our political class getting unscathed. The decision of the Haryana government to give 25000 acre land to Mukesh Ambani lead Reliance group for retail items in India is an open challenge to India’s rural economy. It will create more unemployment and difficult conditions for farmers and weavers to survive.

The question is why the issues like acquisition of land have not become major political
issue in this country. The answer could be found easily in some of the contradictions
which have developed in our society and have reflected more in recent future. The fact of
the matter is that farmers themselves are of different castes and when the election time
arrive they go back to their clans. The identity politics has led to further marginalisation
of the real issues of the farmers. When the politician gets vote in the name of their caste
and clan, where is the need for any one to work for them. Ajit Singh remain the choice
number one in western Uttar-Pradesh despite the most troublesome record of political
opportunism.

How to tackle this monster which has rendered the farmers, agricultural workers and
Others as workless and jobless. Brazil, Venujuela, Cuba and now Bolivia have shown the
way. The firstindigenous president of Bolivia is on the path of Land Reform in the
country which were denied by the puppet governments. In South Asia, barring India, a
majority of countrieswere autocratic, military dictators or monarchies? Most of the
people’s movement in these countries looked towards India for inspiration.
Unfortunately, the political class in India has failed them despite wider people’s
movement all over the country. Wherever,the political system failed, the people have
picked up guns. The police personnel killed inthe naxal violence is much higher than
those killed in the ‘terrorist’ violence. The government is now planning Special Security
Zones where it can send more army personnel to tackle the violent situation. Naxal
violence is increasingly challenging our nation state. Chhatishgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa,
Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra are in the grip of the ultra left radical groups. It is these
states where the big corporate houses are playing their dirty games at the cost of the
people. Uprooting the tribals, Dalits and other marginalized from their mainland would
result in further chaos. The continuous deaths of farmers in Vidharbha, Punjab,
Bundelkhand will further complicate the situation unabated. The political leaders of the
farmers remain irrelevant today.


The political leadership of Uttar-Pradesh has made it a point to go ahead with Dadari
project without taking the farmer’s interest into account. The way it went out of its way
to hit out at the villagers in the vicinity of Dadari is a case point how the politicians have
been blinded by their monitory interests. On 17th of August, Mr V.P.Singh again tried to
visit the area and his entry was prohibited in the state though he made it a point to visit
Bajhera Khurd village clandestinely next day but the highhanded attitude of the police
need to be investigated.

If the farmers are able to make their presence felt in the coming Uttar-Pradesh elections,
India is going for a massive change. If the government of India does not understand the
current agrarian crisis in totality, India may be going for a ‘revolutionary’ change in
future when people will throw away corporate sponsored right wing political class which
has forgotten people’s issues for their crony interests.

From Narmada to Polvaram in Andhra Pradesh. From Kalinga-Nagar to Sheonath river in
the Durg district of Chhatishgarh, the fisher folks of Trinelivelly in Kanyakumari to
Chandanipur, firing range in Orissa or tea plantation workers in West Bengal and now the
farmers of Dadari, or the tribals in Sri-Harikota, every one is the victim of unsustainable
Development. The stock exchange and its sensex or the promised 8% growth rate mean
nothing to those who have been thrown away from the mainstream. Can there really be a
peace in the country by snatching the livelihood of those who feed the country and made
it self-sufficient in food production ? India must find the right answer or be prepared for
another phase of uncontrollable chaos?

Price of Alienating a Community

Lesson from the Malegaon carnage

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat



Malegoan, infamous for communal disturbances came back to haunt the entire nation when several bomb exploded on last Friday killing around 38 people and injuring more than 200 people. After the Mumbai blasts, this was the first major incident in the country and since it happened in Maharastra raises many uncomfortable questions.

While last time, the blast occurred in the local trains of Mumbai killing over 200 people, the Malegoan explosions were clearly aimed at targeting the Muslim community. It was the occasion of not only the usual Friday prayers but also Sabe-barat, an occasion to remember their dead ones. And therefore the blasts not only occurred inside the mosques but also the burial grounds killing the innocents particularly the children who died in the stampede that happened in the aftermath of the blasts.

It is not strange in these hours of crisis that the role of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence was willfully highlighted by the media and ‘security experts some of them are now the members of the think tank of the Sangh Parivar. These ‘security experts’ have not ever attempted to ask the Parivar and its goons to have an introspection on their own role in masterminding a large number of communal riots in the country. It is therefore more than unfortunate that the security agencies are working with single minded pursuit of a Pakistani hand in these blasts. While no body deny these facts for which ISI is notorious yet would it be wise to ignore our own communal organizations. Is it because that in these terror times, it has become fashionable to dub only Muslims as terrorists. The police and other organisations got a sigh of relief in Mumbai when the Ganesh Chaturthi festivals passed off peacefully. Yet no body of them could think that the Muslims or Christians could also become target of another willful group, which might take revenge from them.

It is more unfortunate that in the past few months after the British police ‘exposed’ the biggest terror attack to explode 10 US aero planes, the Muslims became the softest target of willful campaign to deny them not only basic human rights but also dignity. Keeping beard or Purdah and speaking in Arabic or reading Urdu has become somewhat a crime. Societies, which considered themselves the most civilized ones, soon became the most fanatic and idiotically fearing a dissenting voice and face, which was not necessarily European or American.

Any news about Muslims and their involvement in terror activities is big news in India. Therefore news coming out of London is picked up with more vigor here than in Britain itself. Even London Police was more careful in declaring the entire community as terrorists but here in India our ‘security’ experts start discussing the issue in totally communal terms. No questions are ever raised about those who communalized India and created communal disturbances. A former DG of Uttar-Pradesh police Prakash Singh openly said in a TV interview as what could he do all the terrorists happen to be Muslims? Yes, Prakash Singh either does not know history or pretend not to know it. Hopefully, he will read text of Israel’s terror regime in Gaza and other parts of the Palestine.

After the Malegaon, the political leaders started making visit to the town and news channels started campaign for ‘united India’. One does not know how India could be united with out participation of a community, which is being singled out for such an atrocious treatment. Just by lighting a candle in your house for India’s unity would not bring unity of mind between the Hindus and Muslims or for that matter other communities in India. It is essential that any plural society can only function when there is a fare representation of it in every sector of governance and public life. Had there been more Muslims in our newspapers and TV channels, the stories like terming them terrorists would have never been there because you realize the other side of the story.

In Britain when things went out of hand the government tried to found out whether the Asian community is feeling alienated and tried their best to bring them to the mainstream. In India any positive effort made by any government in the direction of bringing the marginalized to the mainstream is opposed to death. We have seen the protest against the Mandal Commission recommendations. The Hindutva’s political outfits do not oppose Mandal openly though their love for an Indian state based on the ‘high’ ideals of Manu is an ‘open secret’. Yet, in the matter of Muslims, any effort, even if it is half hearted, is fiercely opposed as ‘appeasement’ by the Hindu fundamentalists.

Not only Mumbai but Malegoan had also become notorious for its malfunctioning for the past few years. Power looms are closed like other parts of the country when Muslims happened to work on. Studies show how the criminal activities increases when one lose its livelihood. It is nobody’s guess that Muslims in India survived because of their own hard work and entrepreneurship whether it was small industries or hard work. Had they been depended on the mercy of the government, they would have not survived more than a few years. It is the great spirit of the community that starvation, hunger and female feticide are least found in the community. And see the irony, those preach us the ‘merit’, ‘tehjeeb’, liberlism and morality, are worst offender of violating all these norms of a civil society. The Hindutva and its theorists should ponder over their misdeeds and try to learn from the Muslims a few good things to take care of their children and families.

However, I am not amused by the response of the Muslim leadership either. While rightfully, they expressed doubt over the involvement of the ‘communal outfits’, they simply have not accepted that the Kashmiri militants or terrorists organisations outside the country cannot do it. Why? One must realize that people are just pawns in the larger game of politics. International politics is as dirty as the domestic one. When one read document related to Palestine, it is no doubt that Israel did its best to finish the spirit of that great country which has perhaps the best bankers as well as economy in the middle east but very few now realize that Yasser Arafat was equally responsible for the current crisis in that country. The chaos as well as corruption in that region is the result of the crisis of Palestine leadership. What I mean to say here is that in the game between India and Pakistan, Muslims simply are being used to justify stated positions. Muslim leadership has to be careful. The Kashimiri Muslims leadership want to go to Pakistan and perhaps has no linkages the Muslim groups in other parts of the country while the mainstream Muslim leadership has little time to persuade their Kashimri brothers to condemn the ethnic cleansing in that state. The Pakistanis are interested in the conditions of Muslims here in India while refuses to provide democratic set up to their own Kashmiris and Baloochis. At least India did not toe the American line that easily and this country has still have the resilience to teach lessons to those government which have crawled in front of the alien government at the cost of national interests but what about the governments in middle east, Pakistan and elsewhere. Despite, Muslims being branded as terrorists and extremists, the government of the Middle Eastern countries remain thoroughly impotent. The only exceptions were Iraq and now Iran. The democracy of Iran is the real ‘threat’ for the western world. The puppet government which export Mullahism elsewhere are the best friends of the American Administration. What could be bigger irony than this that a progressive state of Iran is considered as fundamentalist and the biggest exporter of Mullahism to the world, the Sauds are the best friends of the biggest democracies of the world.

In his wonderful book ‘ Secrets of the Kingdom’, American writer Gerald Posner, has
exposed the linkages between the American administration and the Saudi royal family.
In his remarkable investigations into various oil and arms deal, Posner reveal how
American companies started acquiring the assets in Saudi Arabia during the period of
Richard Nixon and how the Sauds always played the Jew card to blackmail the
Americans.

India has to learn its lesson from the past. Its Muslim population here is living here over
400 years. In fact, much before George Bush’s country became Christian, India had
Christianity at the sore of Kerala. These communities have distinct culture habits and
they are completely submerged to Indian nationalism. Ofcourse, their religious practices
prohibit them to follow certain things, which they consider against the basic ethos of
their values. Except for those, all these communities have contributed tremendously to
India’s growth. How can one forget that India’s best architecture comes from Muslims?
Not only this, the contribution of Muslims to India’s culture, music, political life and
religious values is unparallel. They fought against the British for Indian freedom. It is
therefore more important for the government and political parties to consider certain
things carefully with out politicizing the issue. How much has India given to the
Muslims? Do they have a right to demand a job reservation or fare representation for
them in the services or not?

There need to be more inter community exchanges. How would it be possible ? Not just
for the photo-oop of the TV cameras or newspapers. Not with the usual business of the
NGOs for Holi, Diwali and Eids. Not even by the gimmickery of the new ‘sharva
dharma’ businessman who bring all the ‘faltu’ ‘conservative’ ‘orthodox’ religious heads
over our head to preach. We all know that it is only possible by more participation in our
daily lives. The Muslims-Hindu and others are depended on each other. Their economies
thrive together. More such initiatives privately are available but no participation of the
community in the governance. This is a dire need of the hour to bring the faith of the
Muslim community to the national law makers by providing space in the governance.

Communal disturbances, threatening calls of political gangs ghettoize communities and
pitch them against each other. The rule of the law must prevail and the administration
must remain secular. Can we say these things are adhered to very well in this country.
Will the government of Maharastra, West Bengal, Uttar-Pradesh, Madha Pradesh,
Chhattishgarh, ask their police officials to remain secular and cannot have a ‘Hanuman
temple or a Kali temple’ in the police station.

Ofcourse, the Muslims should also reject government’s dole out on the Haj. Rather,
they have the capacity to organize these trips at their own. Government’s dole out
gives opportunity to the Hindu fundamentalist organisations to term it as an appeasement.
There is no appeasement when the police force guards your temples, and take you to the
Amarnath Yatra or provide you facilities for Kailash Man Sarovar Yatra.

Those who did not care for the promise to the Supreme Court on the Babari Masjid issue
and got a heroic welcome after one-day jail level these charges of appeasements. More
paradox when you see that media would be broadcasting live from Mumbai the judgment
in 1993 Mumbai blast. Since a majority of the names would Muslims therefore media
does its work well in projecting a community as a terrorist without saying so. The same
media has no time to focus and repeatedly as why the same aggression is not shown in
filing cases who were responsible for killing of Muslims during the post Babari riots in
Mumbai. What happened to those who were responsible for Bhagalpur, Meerut or
Kanpur riots, not to speak of Gujarat riots. Where is our Judiciary and governance and
fair play. Let some of those also go to jail and face life and death sentences who were
responsible for some of these biggest carnage in post independent India. Let us not make
the murders from the upper caste Hindus as the champion of Indian nationalism and those
from minorities as villain. A murder is a murder irrespective of his religion and caste. If
we are a true democracy and believe in fair play, let us send to gallows to all those
who work against this secular fabric, who are against the idea of an idea of Bhagat Singh
and Ashfaq Ullah, where all of us could live with liberty and freedom, without fear and
caste and religious discrimination. Criticism based on communal and caste interest will
take India nowhere. Let us not give a license of patriotism and anti nationalism to people
on the basis of their castes and religion. An Indian has to defend the secular values of the
country and believe in fair play. A country denying dignity and right to its minorities
cannot remain peaceful and would rarely progress if it alienates its second majority, the
Muslims.


September 10, 2006