BJP slams PC, asks govt to withdraw permission to Muivah But RSS and Marxism ironically Enough Supports and Partners in Chidambaram CORPORATE War and Pranab`s Economic Ethnic Cleansing!
Sec 144 imposed near Posco site; CPI MP arrested!
Govt betrayed us, sent N-Liability Bill to Cong-led panel: SP
"Maoists will observe bandh on May 18 and May 19 in the five states to protest against the Centre's decision to sell ten per cent government's stake in 10 profit-making Public Sector Undertakings," top Maoist leader Kishenji said.
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams Troubled Galaxy- Chapter 475
Palash Biswas
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Maoists on Friday called for a 48-hour bandh in five states from May 18 to protest against a slew of decisions taken by the Central Government including those concerning some PSUs.
Not long ago, when some of his own party colleagues were questioning Home Minister P Chidambaram's Naxal policy in the wake of the Dantewada massacre, it was the BJP that stood behind him. But now the same party is up in arms against him.
Sec 144 imposed near Posco site; CPI MP arrested!Wholesale price inflation is unlikely to touch double digits from now, the chief economic adviser in the finance ministry said on Friday.
This Bill amends the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972. The existing Act provides for the payment of gratuity to employees engaged in industries including mines, oilfields, plantations, shops, factories, amongst others. This Amendment raises the ceiling of gratuity to be paid from the present level of Rs. 3.5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh.
Courtesy: PRS Legislative Research
"It is very very unlikely that inflation will go back to double digits. In June it might increase slightly due to base effect," Kaushik Basu said on the sidelines of an event in Kolkata.
Maoists on Friday called for a 48-hour bandh in five states from May 18 to protest against a slew of decisions taken by the Central Government including those concerning some PSUs.
Not long ago, when some of his own party colleagues were questioning Home Minister P Chidambaram's Naxal policy in the wake of the Dantewada massacre, it was the BJP that stood behind him. But now the same party is up in arms against him.
Sec 144 imposed near Posco site; CPI MP arrested!Wholesale price inflation is unlikely to touch double digits from now, the chief economic adviser in the finance ministry said on Friday.
This Bill amends the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972. The existing Act provides for the payment of gratuity to employees engaged in industries including mines, oilfields, plantations, shops, factories, amongst others. This Amendment raises the ceiling of gratuity to be paid from the present level of Rs. 3.5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh.
Courtesy: PRS Legislative Research
"It is very very unlikely that inflation will go back to double digits. In June it might increase slightly due to base effect," Kaushik Basu said on the sidelines of an event in Kolkata.
Five militants killed in Manipur encounter
At least five militants were killed in a fierce encounter with Assam Rifles personnel in Manipur's Chandel District early hours on Saturday..The gunfight between the militants suspected to be of the rebel armed outfit, Pakan Army (United Liberation Army) and the paramilitary troopers began at around 2 am near Deru Khunou village in the district.
Reportedly, the troopers of the 21 Assam Rifles launched a search operation at night after observing suspicion movement of heavily armed people in the nearby mountainous region.
The security forces also recovered two AK-56 assault rifles, three M-16 rifles, five magazines, 362 live rounds of M-16 rifles besides wireless sets and ammunition from the dead rebels. (ANI)
Suspected militants kidnap forest service officer in Arunachal Pradesh
Militants have kidnapped Vilas Bardekar, a senior Indian Forest Services (IFS) officer in Arunachal Pradesh's West Kameng District.Bardekar, who hails from Pune, was reportedly kidnapped on Thursday.
He had been to the Daimara Reserved Forest Region in West Kameng District of Arunachal to click pictures of butterflies.
Consequently, his relatives and close associates refused to disclose any details to the media as they said they have been advised not to comment or else it might turn fatal.
Bardekar, an IFS cadre of the 1984 batch, is posted as the Joint Director of Social Forestry in Maharashtra.
Security forces have launched a search operation. (ANI)
The Nalco board that considered the Department of Disinvestment's proposal to offload 10 per cent stake in the company felt there was no need for stake sale now.
"My ministry has concurred with the board's views and we have conveyed the same to the DoD. Nalco does not need funds since it has cash reserves of about Rs 4,300 crore. Hence, we do not favour disinvestment," Handique told The Indian Express.
While it is true that Nalco is cash-rich, official sources said that politically too, it was getting difficult for the UPA government to push through disinvestment with strong opposition by Orissa that is governed by the BJD. Nalco is headquartered in Bhubaneswar and all its plants are located in the state. Most political parties — the BJP, CPM, CPI — have threatened to launch state-wide agitation if the Nalco stake sale is pursued.
Handique is, however, open to considering stake sale in another PSU Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) under his ministry. His ministry has decided to sell 20 per cent equity in HCL, the BSE-listed mini-ratna giant. This will help the government raise Rs 3,000 crore. The follow-on public offer will see the government selling 10 per cent of its own stake and the company issuing fresh shares of another 10 per cent.
The Centre has identified about 60 PSUs for listing or re-listing on the bourses. It has already executed FPOs of National Mineral Development Corporation, NTPC besides clearing the FPO of SAIL. It has targeted raising Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment in 2010-11 for funding its ambitious social agenda.
Maoist leader calls for 48-hour bandh in five states
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Ministerial panel to coax Maoists into consensus
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Maoists are not terrorists: Digvijay Singh
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Arms and the Maoists
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Naxals warn of more Dantewadas
Times of India - Mohua Chatterjee - 11 hours ago
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Phone media brings news to India's Maoist heartland
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Chidambaram rules out using army against Maoists
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Kishanji calls 48-hour bandh
Times of India - 9 hours agoCoinciding with the threat, Maoists killed five CPM supporters in Jangalmahal. ... The Maoist politburo member had gone silent after the Hathilot forests ...Bihar's Kakolat Falls attracts tourists despite Maoist fears
Oneindia - 20 hours agoKakolat (Bihar), May 14 (ANI): Tourists are converging at the Kakolat Hills in Bihar to enjoy the famous waterfall, ignoring the strong Maoist presence. ...
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Govt betrayed us, sent N-Liability Bill to Cong-led panel: SP
BJP team meets Chidambaram over Manipur crisis!
87-year-old Shekhawat breathed his last at 11.10 AM at the Swai Man Singh Hospital, Dr Narpat Singh, Superintendent of the hospital, said.
Shekhawat's condition deteriorated this morning and he was put on ventilator, another doctor at the hospital, Ashok Pangaria, told PTI.
The former Vice President was admitted to the ICU of the SMS hospital on the night of May 13 and doctors had said he was suffering from lung and chest infection.
The BJP on Friday attacked Union Home Minister P Chidambaram over the Manipur crisis, alleging that his "unilateral decision to allow NSCN-IM leader T Muivah to visit the state" had created tension there and demanded that the permission to the Naga leader be withdrawn. Meanwhile,Maoists on Friday called for a 48-hour bandh in five states from May 18 to protest against a slew of decisions taken by the Central Government including those concerning some PSUs.
The bandh call has been given in Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.
"Maoists will observe bandh on May 18 and May 19 in the five states to protest against the Centre's decision to sell ten per cent government's stake in 10 profit-making Public Sector Undertakings," top Maoist leader Kishenji said.
Mallojula Koteswara Rao
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mallojula Koteswara Rao | |
|---|---|
| Born | Karimnagar district, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Other names | Kishenji |
| Organization | Communist Party of India (Maoist) |
| Spouse(s) | Sujata[1] |
Mallojula Koteswara Rao (c. 1956 - ), commonly known by his nom de guerre Kishenji, is a Politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) (CPI-M) and the group's military leader.[2][3][1] He has previously used Prahlad, Murali, Ramji and Sridhar as aliases.[4] He claimed responsibility for the Silda camp attack in 2010.
Born in the Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh, Kishenji helped found the People's War Group (PWG) in 1980 and oversaw the group's merger with the Maoist Communist Centre of India to form the CPI-M.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Flood, Derek Henry (2010). "Kishenji:A Profile of the Leader of the Indian Maoist Insurgency". Militant Leadership Monitor (The Jamestown Foundation) 1 (4): 8-11. http://www.jamestown.org/uploads/media/Militant_Leadership_Monitor_-_Volume_I__Issue_4.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
- ^ Basak, Sanjay (28 February, 2010). "Kishenji calling: Wrong number". Deccan Chronicle. http://www.deccanchronicle.com/360-degree/kishenji-calling-wrong-number-906. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kishenji-claims-responsibility-for-attack/articleshow/5577215.cms
- ^ "List of hardcore naxals prepared". The Hindu. 29 December, 2002. http://www.thehindu.com/2002/12/29/stories/2002122902620500.htm. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
 | This Indian biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- This page was last modified on 13 May 2010 at 00:46.
- Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Next big terrorist attack on US will be postmarked 'Pakistan': CIA analyst
WASHINGTON: A former CIA analyst, who helped President Barack Obama formulate his Pakistan-Afghanistan policy, sees "a very serious possibility that the next mass casualty terrorist attack on the United States will be postmarked Pakistan.""What we're seeing going on in Pakistan now is a very dangerous phenomenon," says Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, in an interview with the Council on Foreign Relations, a Washington think tank.
"The ideology of al Qaida, the ideology of global Islamic jihad that all jihadists should focus on the United States as the ultimate enemy, is gaining ground with groups beyond al Qaida," said Riedel, who chaired a special interagency committee last year to develop Obama's Af-Pak policy.
Obama and previous Bush administrations have been pressuring Pakistan for years to shut down completely the jihadist Frankenstein that was created over three decades in Pakistan, Riedel said. But "no Pakistani government has yet been willing to take on the entire network of terrorist groups."
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also raised questions about some in the Pakistani government still retaining links to al Qaida, the Afghan Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba and a host of other groups.
"We saw this in 2008 in Mumbai, when Lashkar-e-Taiba attacked Mumbai and attacked American and Israeli targets," Riedel said noting "Those are the targets of al Qaida and the global Islamic jihad."
"We've now seen the Pakistani Taliban try to launch an attack on the United States of America for the first time," he said referring to the arrest of Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad in connection to the failed car bombing in New York's Times Square.
"This spreading of the idea of global Islamic jihad is very dangerous and as it gets deeper and deeper into the extremist groups in Pakistan it means we can expect more attacks like the one we saw at Times Square, and we can expect them to become increasingly sophisticated and more capable," Riedel said.
Clinton has warned of "severe consequences" for Pakistan in the event of a successful Pakistan-based terrorist attack in the United States.
But US options to act against Pakistan are "severely limited," Riedel said arguing the best option is "to get Pakistan to do more now" in its fight against extremism, he says, by providing more weapons and technological aid.
CPI leader and MP Bibhu Prasad Tarai was arrested on Saturday while trying to enter the proposed steel plant site of Posco-India ahead of a rally to protest the project, police said.
"Tarai was arrested as a preventive measure to avoid any law and order problem as a large number of anti-Posco activists have gathered in the area," SP Jagatsinghpur Devdutta Singh said.
Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed around Balitutha, the entry point to the proposed plant site where anti-Posco activists have been staging a dharna, he said.
Police personnel have been deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incident, Singh said.
About 1,500 police have been mobilised as part of Orissa government's efforts to begin forest survey and land acquisition in the plant site, police said.
Meanwhile, terming his arrest as "undemocratic", Tarai said he was proceeding to learn about people's problem area which falls under his constituency, Jagatsinghpur.
Breaking his silence after three months since reports of his injuries sustained during operations by security forces in Hatiloth forest near Lalgarh in March, he said he has been "well all along".
Kishenji said the CPI (Maoist) was against handing over 15,000 acre land to steel maker POSCO in Orissa and favoured subsidy to the oil companies to keep the rate of petroleum products stable.
On the other hand, a statement issued by BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said: "The Home Minister's unilateralism had caused a flare up in Andhra Pradesh after the sudden announcement of Telangana state. Manipur is the second such example of his unilateralism. He can talk with NSCN (IM) in his effort to solve a long-standing issue but his enthusiasm should not create problems elsewhere. He has converted peace into crisis and solution into problem with his unilateralism."
A four-member delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) met Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday to demand that Manipur's territorial integrity be protected.
Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar, who led the delegation, said: "There is no question of disturbing the territorial integrity of Manipur. There is no question of anything to do with Manipur as far as the NSCN-IM negotiations are concerned. So boundaries are not negotiable."
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He also mentioned that they had sought vehicular traffic along national highways (NH-39 and NH-53) should not be obstructed.
"We said that as the supplies situation is precarious, there has to be immediate steps to clear (the economic blockade) and bring the supply through NH-53. We also demanded that there are threats issued to non-Manipuris that after May 31 they will not be allowed in Manipur to stay; that should also be taken note of," he said.
"He (Chidambaram) said that he has already made his position clear umpteen times, but we requested him to make it once more." he added Manipur is facing an economic blockade by supporters of NSCN (IM) whose leader T Muivah has been denied permission to visit his village in the state.
Earlier, violent clashes between Muivah's supporters and security forces at the border town of Mao resulted in the death of two women protestors and left over 50 others injured.
The NSCN-IM had agreed to a ceasefire in August 1997 and launched a peace process with the Central Government to bring an end to the longest-running insurgency in India.
The rebel group has participated in several rounds of talks with central officials since the start of the ceasefire.
But talks between the two sides have not made progress over the rebels'' main demand of unification and eventual independence of Naga-dominated areas in northeast India.
The BJP spokesperson asked the government to "withdraw the permission granted to Muivah to diffuse the emotional flare-up; ensure free flow of traffic on NH 39; organise supplies through NH-53 on an urgent basis; distribute essential commodities at subsidised rates through PDS; construct godowns and cold storages for emergencies and start talks with the striking employees to end the stalemate in the state".
BJP team meets Chidambaram over Manipur crisisEconomic Times - 1 hour ago NEW DELHI: A four-member delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) met Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday to demand that Manipur's territorial integrity ... BJP blames Chidambaram for Manipur crisisTimes of India - 8 hours ago NEW DELHI: The BJP on Friday attacked home minister P Chidambaram over the current crisis in Manipur due to the economic blockade, alleging that his ... BJP slams PC, asks govt to withdraw permission to MuivahIndian Express - 9 hours ago The BJP on Friday attacked Union Home Minister P Chidambaram over the Manipur crisis, alleging that his "unilateral decision to allow NSCN-IM leader T ... Muivah issue dominates Cong meetingBusiness Standard - 11 hours ago Following the week-long standoff between the Nagas and the Manipur government over Thuingaleng Muivah's visit to his native village, the Congress core ... BJP slams PC over Muivah visitHindustan Times - 12 hours ago Not long ago, when some of his own party colleagues were questioning Home Minister P Chidambaram's Naxal policy in the wake of the Dantewada massacre, ... Vehicles queue up for fuel rations in ManipurOneindia - 20 hours ago Imphal, May 14 (ANI): Hundreds of vehicles queued up outside filling stations in Imphal on Thursday during an economic blockade called by the tribal Naga ... Manipuri women protest against proposed visit of Naga leaderOneindia - 22 hours ago Imphal, May 14 (ANI): Around 1000 women staged a sit-in protest here on Thursday against the visit of National Socialist Council of Nagalim's (Isak-Muivah) ... Security forces to clear Dimapur-Imphal NH-39Times of India - May 13, 2010 NEW DELHI: In a move which will bring much needed relief to Manipur which has been facing a severe shortage of essential commodities in the wake highway ... The Saga NagaIndian Express - May 13, 2010 Nine years after the Greater Nagalim issue left Nagaland and Manipur on the boil, the planned visit of NSCN (IM) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah has ... Adding insult to injuryHindustan Times - May 13, 2010 Manipur, it would seem, is a state in permanent flux. Therefore, one would have expected New Delhi to be cautious and weigh the pros and cons before ... | Timeline of articles Number of sources covering this story
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Web-based system to trace organic product exports
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- SBI to expand global presence, plans foray into LatAm mkts FE - 02:51 AM
The State Bank of India is planning to foray into Latin America. This will be the first time any Indian bank will establish presence in that continent. This will be in addition to the bank's plans in Africa, where it will convert its licences into banking branches. The bank is also planning to convert its Washington DC office into a running branch.
- 'Slight upward bias in rates' FE - 02:51 AM
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- Federal Bank FY10 net dips 7% on tax provisions FE - 02:51 AM
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- SBI Q4 net plunges 32% on expenses, provisions FE - 02:51 AM
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With the US economy revival yet to take off and Europe remaining a concern as sales in several large markets, such as Germany, are expected to stall this year, auto makers are taking the fast road to China, India and South America.
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Babri case: 'Vinay Katiyar twice sent me away from dais'
An IPS officer, who said L K Advani had made a provocative speech in Ayodhya moments before the Babri Masjid was demolished by Sangh Parivar activists, on Saturday told a CBI court that she was twice sent away from the dais by BJP leader Vinay Katiyar.
Anju Gupta, who was the personal security officer of Advani, was replying to questions by defence counsel during the hearing of the Babri Masjid demolition case.
Gupta said when she reached the Ram Katha Kunj manch (dais), where BJP leaders like Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharati, Sadhvi Ritambhara were also present, she was asked by Katiyar to go to the police control room and change the direction of Advani's convoy.
When she returned to the dias, Katiyar told her to again go to the control room and bring Advani's car.
During the deposition, Gupta said she had no information about any order from the Supreme Court permitting symbolic 'kar seva' at the disputed structure on December 6, 2002.
Govt betrayed us, sent N-Liability Bill to Cong-led panel: SP
Just when it seemed that the SP was moving towards evolving a working relationship with the Congress, the government's decision to refer the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill to the standing committee on science and technology — and not the one on energy headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav — has led to fresh heartburn between the two parties.
The government had sought Mulayam's support in letting the contentious Bill being introduced in Lok Sabha on the last day of the Budget session on the assurance that he would anyhow have the opportunity to suggest changes in the Bill as it would be sent to the committee under him.
But the government seemed to have had a change of mind and, in a rude shock to the SP, decided to refer the proposed legislation to the standing committee on science and technology, headed by Congress MP T Subbarami Reddy. The passage of the Bill by Parliament is essential for operationalisation of the Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation agreement.
Digvijay latest: Why use paramilitary against Naxalites?
A month after he publicly criticised Home Minister P Chidambaram's anti-Naxal policy, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh today fired a fresh salvo at the government, questioning the use of paramilitary forces in the fight against Naxals in a difficult terrain.
But in the same breath he maintained that there was no difference between the government and the party over the Naxal policy since Chidambaram had already stated that a multi-pronged approach was being followed.
"Where is the difference between the party and the government? I had only said at that time that it seemed the government was supporting a military approach," Singh told reporters.
He was referring to his newspaper article last month in which he had slammed the government's anti-Naxal policy and demanded a strategy rethink. He had also accused Chidambaram of "intellectual arrogance". The party had then disapproved of his statement, saying party leaders should express their views only within the party forum. Singh later regretted his statement and called on the Home Minister.
Asked about the use of paramilitary forces in anti-Naxal operations, Singh told reporters today that it was "not advisable as the terrain is so difficult". He said the debris of a helicopter, which had crashed in such a terrain, could be traced only after 45 days while the debris of another helicopter was traced after a gap of 27 days.
On the use of the Army, Singh said: "They are trained to kill. They are not trained to do policing." He said the Salwa Judum was an "excellent movement" to fight Naxals but the present government had "completely ruined" it. Referring to the killing of 75 CRPF personnel by Naxals in Dantewada recently, he said the Chhattisgarh police had failed completely as it was their responsibility to provide intelligence inputs to the CRPF.
Clinton clarifies 'serious consequences' remark by saying Pak must hit 'common enemy'
While doing nothing to 'clarify' her recent 'serious consequences' warning over attacks in the US by Pakistan based militants, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once again stressed that Islamabad has to do more against what she described as a 'common enemy'.Clinton reiterated that militants breeding on Pakistan's soil are a matter of great concern for the Obama Administration.
Speaking at the US Institute of Peace, Clinton told a gathering of experts that though Pakistan has been assisting America in the probe concerning the botched Times Square bombing, there is more that it has to do to tackle the scourge of terrorism in that country.
"There is a lot of effort that is being undertaken on the Pakistani side to provide information to our teams over here. And we just believe strongly that there is more that Pakistan must do to face what is now a common enemy," The Daily Times quoted Clinton, as saying.
"The attacks by the extremists inside Pakistan are no longer aimed across their borders. They are aimed at destroying and killing people in mosques, in markets, in every walk of society. So this is a matter of great concern to the American people and to our government," she added when asked to clarify her earlier comment that Pakistan would have to face "severe consequences" if terrorists from that country succeed in attacking the US in future.
Clinton explained that the relationship between Islamabad and Washington goes far beyond the counter-terrorism programme, so it (Pakistan) it must realise that any terror attack emanating from that country would have far reaching effects.
"I started by talking about the importance of the strategic relationship we are developing with Pakistan, the fact that we have expanded our interactions far beyond the counterterrorism agenda, that we are focused on trying to create a broader and deeper understanding between the two countries," Clinton said, when asked as to what her blunt talk during the CBS interview meant.
It may be noted that following Clinton's diatribe, the top brass of the Obama Administration had went into a damage control mode, saying Washington is 'satisfied' with Islamabad's cooperation in the probe into the botched Times Square bombing plot, and that her remarks were misreported by the media.
Richard Holbrooke, President Obama's Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Holbrooke had clarified that Clinton's remarks were "misconstrued".
-- The government on Thursday appeared set to dissolve the controversy ridden Medical Council of India and replace it with an independent panel of chiefs of seven top medical institutes to run it for the next six months. The Union cabinet is understood to have given its "in-principle" approval for bringing an ordinance to amend the five-decade old law governing the MCI, the regulator for medical education in the country.
The ordinance seeks to make a one-time exception to allow the government to intervene in the MCI functioning, which was so far prohibited according to the provisions of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, HT has learnt. The MCI was thrown into turmoil with the arrest of its chief, Dr Ketan Desai on corruption charges by the CBI on April 22.
Desai finally quit his post on Thursday. The move to bring an ordinance followed a strong opposition attack on the Health ministry during the recently concluded budget session of Parliament.
Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had virtually conceded in the Rajya Sabha on May 5 that the government had no powers under the existing rules to remove Desai. Azad said he had referred the matter to the law Ministry, which has now given its opinion.
The government is authorised to bring an ordinance when Parliament is not in session. It is a temporary law, which has to be ratified by the parliament within six months.
In place of the dissolved council, directors of seven top medical institutes including AIIMS, PGI Chandigarh and JIPMER Pudducherry would be asked to run it for the next six months. "The matter would be taken to the parliament during the monsoon session.
The parliament will decide the permanent future of the MCI. The government is only dealing with the emergency situation," said a senior law ministry official. The government proposes to make a new law for a single regulator for the medical profession.
"A single over-arching body for the MCI, Dental Council, Ayurveda, nursing and paramedical staff is in the offing," a top government official said. "Consultations are on with the state governments on the proposed National Council for Human Resources on Health Bill, which provides for an over-arching body," he said.
A Delhi court on Saturday deferred the pronouncement of its order on a plea by a lawyer objecting to CBI's move to withdraw the two-decade-old Bofors pay-off case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi.
Metropolitan Magistrate Ashu Garg posted the matter for further proceedings on July 5.
"Apart from the fact that there is sufficient material and grounds against Quattrocchi for his prosecution, the conduct of the CBI and its counsels who happens to be top law officers of the country is highly deplorable and depicts an apparent and active collusion with the accused," Ajay Agrawal, the lawyer, said in his affidavit seeking rejection of CBI's plea.
He had claimed that CBI had not filed the appeal against the Delhi High Court judgement discharging some accused in the case.
Quattrocchi, 70, the sole surviving accused in the case after the Delhi High Court quashed the charges on May 31, 2005, against other accused, has never appeared before any court in the country.
CBI had failed on two occasions in its attempt to get Quattrocchi extradited -- first from Malaysia in 2003 and then from Argentina in 2007.
In November last year, the agency had asked the Interpol to take Quattrocchi's name off the Red Corner notice list.
Salwa Judum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Salwa Judum (meaning "Purification Hunt" in Gondi language) is a state sponsored and supported movement in Chhattisgarh, where civilians were armed ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salwa_Judum - Cached - SimilarSalwa Judum - menace or messiah? - India - The Times of India
20 Mar 2010 ... In 2005, when Chhattisgarh decided to arm the tribal population against Maoists, the Salwa Judum - 'peace march' in Gondi dialect - was born ...
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Salwa-Judum.../5704885.cms - CachedWhat is Salwa Judum? « Campaign for Peace and Justice in Chhattisgarh
However the fact is that the Salwa Judum is being actively supported by the Chhattisgarh Government. Far from being a peaceful campaign, Salwa Judum ...
cpjc.wordpress.com/what-is-salwa-judum/ - Cached - SimilarSalwa Judum: When state makes war on its own people
A report onn violations of people's rights during the Salwa Judum campaign in Dantewada, Chhitsgarh, April 2006 Since June 2005, Dantewada District ...
www.pucl.org/Topics/Human-rights/2006/slawajudum.htm - Cached - SimilarSalwa Judum
Sign the below Petition issued by AID Dear Mr. Chidambaram, Hon'ble Home Minister of India cc. Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India ...
www.binayaksen.net/topic/salwa-judum/ - Cached - SimilarWhat is Salwa Judum?
14 May 2009 ... Salwa Judum (literally "purification hunt") is a state sponsored counterinsurgency campaign started in Dantewada district of the Indian ...
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19 Jun 2008 ... What kind of strategy is it where you create 50000.
www.rediff.com › India › News › Columnists - Cached - SimilarThe Hindu : News / National : Fight Naxals politically, don't ...
20 Apr 2010 ... The Hindu Young Adivasis Special Police Officers at a Salwa Judum training camp in Kasoli village of Dantewada district in Chattisgarh. ...
beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article406297.ece - Cachedwww.outlookindia.com | Disband Salwa Judum
At the very outset, we wish to register our outright condemnation of any kind of violence, whether it is committed by the Maoists, Salwa Judum or by ...
www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?231861 - Cached - SimilarMaoist movement in India and "Salwa Judum," - State sponsored ...
19 Jul 2006 ... According with the government of Chhattisgarh, Salwa Judum began as a legitimate people's movement, uprising on the part of the villagers ...
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A Few Myths and Facts About Salwa Judum ...
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Tension mounts in Posco area: CPI MP arrested
Anti-Posco agitation: CPI MP held in Orissa district
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Join The Resistance Week 15th -21st May 2010
Gold too hot for buyers, but some investing
15 May 2010, 1026 hrs IST,REUTERSTraders expect to spot the first sign of this trend at next week's Hindu festival of Askhay Tritiya, when demand usually jumps because it is considered an auspicious time to buy jewellery and coins.
"Forget buying for the festival, on the contrary people are selling," said Suresh Hundia, president of the Bombay Bullion Association in Mumbai.
"There is a queue of sellers."
Gold is up 12.6 percent so far this year to record levels on investors' fears that a $1-trillion rescue package to prevent a Greek debt crisis from spreading to other euro zone states would eventually fail, or stoke inflation.
On Friday the metal was heading for its fourth consecutive weekly rise, matching a run that ended in late November. Gold stood at $1,234.40 an ounce by 0636 GMT, up $2.57 from New York's Thursday notional close, but off Wednesday's record of $1,248.15.
Traders say many Indians are responding by buying smaller quantities to maintain the same expenditure, or recycling old jewellery. Those who can afford to spend more may wait for prices to stabilise before they buy.
"Demand has turned to zero in the last four days," Hundia added. "Last year for the festival about 12 tonnes was sold. If prices stay like this, there will be very little sold."
After Akshay Tritiya, demand may spurt only for the festivals of Ganesh Chaturthi in September and Dhanteras in November.
"If prices stay like this, near all-time highs, physical demand could take a hit and a lot of scrap could start coming in. Imports for the full year could fall by 25-30 percent," said Abhishek Raval, a precious metals manager at IndusInd Bank.
GOLD BECOMING INVESTMENT, NOT JUST JEWELLERY
In India, where gold has long been considered auspicious, the bulk of demand is for jewellery.
But a small and growing number of investors is turning to gold to diversify portfolios and protect themselves against inflation, which has driven prices higher and crowded out jewellery buyers.
"People are allocating 20 to 30 percent to gold in their portfolios," said Haresh Acharya, director of Parker Bullion Pvt Ltd, a large wholesaler in Ahmedabad, noting that wealthy investors were buying the metal.
"The risks involved in the stock market and high inflation are making them allocate more to gold."
Gold as an investment is a relatively new asset class in India, where headline inflation soared to a 17-month high of 9.9 percent in March.
Last year India's demand for gold jewellery was 405.8 tonnes, while that for investment was at 74.2 tonnes, data from the World Gold Council shows.
Rajan Mehta, director of Benchmark Asset Management Co Pvt Ltd in Mumbai, which started India's first gold exchange-traded fund in 2007, said total gold under exchange traded funds could rise as much as 50 percent within a year from 10.063 tonnes now.
"If you look at gold, the returns in the last few years have been very high," he said. "There is more and more realisation that this is an asset class that will give good returns."
On the other hand, a Mumbai-based fund manager said gold was not a compelling buy, because apart from price fluctuations, it was subject to currency risk, as India is a big importer.
Investment in gold still pales in comparison to household demand, which accounts for nearly three quarters of sales in India, and most Indians do not consider it an asset class in its own right, but as a store of wealth.
"The majority of households that buy gold in India don't do that to sell at a higher value necessarily. It becomes a form of savings," said Rajeev Malik, economist at Macquarie Capital, Singapore. "The two are not as substitutable as elsewhere."
Indian jewelers saw brisk sales from January to April, when imports rose 74 percent to 126 tonnes from the same period a year ago as demand bounced back, after a dip last year when prices were high and the monsoon failed, hurting rural incomes.
Food shortages following last year's poor harvest touched off inflation, drawing investors to gold, even though it pays no dividends and can incur storage costs.
"Prices are at unbelievable levels," said Rajesh Mehta, chairman of Rajesh Exports Ltd, one of India's top jewellery makers and exporters.
Trade officials have their fingers crossed for good rains in the monsoon period from June to September, vital to boost incomes in the rural areas home to two-thirds of Indians.
Normal rains are forecast but predictions can often go awry.
"If the monsoon is bad, it will be a crisis. Sales will fall more than they did last year," said Haresh Kewalramani, director of the Bombay Bullion Association.
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Posted: 14 May, 2010, 2227 hrs IST
Mukesh Ambani sees crude heading towards $100
15 May 2010, 0327 hrs IST,ET Bureau"We have to be prepared for a three-digit increase. Crude oil prices are well above the $70-mark," Mr Ambani, Asia's richest man, told a petrochemical conference in Mumbai. "I believe that the petrochemical industry will have to keep reinventing itself in response and prepare itself for a higher energy price than what has been used to in the last two decades," he said.
RIL runs refineries with a capacity of 62 million tonnes per annum, the largest in Asia, at Jamnagar in Gujarat.
Oil prices have fluctuated wildly over the last two years, reaching a peak of $147 on July 11, 2008, before falling to $32 on December 19 the same year in the wake of a savage slump in demand because of the financial crisis in the autumn of 2008.
On Friday, crude oil prices fell to a three-month low, according to Bloomberg, as investors grew more worried that Europe's economic woes would spread to the rest of the world and derail recovery from the steepest recession since Great Depression. Despite the recent downward movement, some analysts have predicted crude prices could exceed $100 per barrel next year because of growing demand from China and India.
Govt subsidies can't bring in competitiveness
In the speech, Mr Ambani also criticised government subsidies, saying they would no longer be a source of competitiveness. "We are coming to the end of a two-decade era where government-controlled subsidies created competitive advantage. I am a firm believer that no subsidy creates any competitiveness. In fact, subsidy is a burden on the next generation."
The Indian government currently subsidises different petrol products, with kerosene—used predominantly by the poor—the most subsidised. The government is mulling the deregulation of prices of fuels such as petrol and diesel, which are used largely for transportation. However, opposition from allies such as the Trinamool Congress has stayed the government's hand.
"Unless the retail prices are revised, the oil industry's under-recoveries could shoot to Rs 1,10,000 crore on an annualised basis if crude oil prices go beyond $100 per barrel," said Deepak Pareek, oil analyst with Angel Broking. At current prices of $74 per barrel, the subsidy bill for the industry is as high as Rs 75,000 crore.
Reducing fuel subsidies would help realise finance minister Pranab Mukherjee achieve his off-stated goal to returning to the path of fiscal consolidation. Fiscal deficit stood at 6.7% of GDP for 2009-10 and Mr Mukherjee wants to reduce it to 5.5% for the next fiscal ending 31, March 2011.
Large projects
Mr Ambani exuded optimism about changes in the oil and gas industry. He emphasised operational efficiencies and creating new frontiers of technology for growth. "High economies of scale and integration with refining will enhance scale of competitive projects. This will have a direct bearing on project costs. In a globalised environment, this would create supersize project sites; we can, therefore, expect projects of $5 billion to $10 billion range to be a routine norm," he said.
From Seattle to Kosi, Bill Gates' discovery of India
15 May 2010, 0313 hrs IST,Khomba Singh,ET Bureau |
That was William Henry "Bill" Gates III — a name that once epitomised brute competition in the dog-eat-dog world of business —speaking to a small group of journalists in New Delhi on Friday, back from a four-day whirlwind tour of villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The steady softening of arguably the world's most famous nerd and Microsoft's founder-chairman, a process that today takes him every other month to sub-Saharan Africa and the poorest regions of South Asia, began with a news article.
About a decade ago, Mr Gates and his wife Melinda came across an article about the tragedy of millions of children who die every year from diseases long eliminated in the US.
"We said to ourselves: 'This can't be true. But if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving.' We sent the article to Bill's father, Bill Gates Sr, with a note attached that said, 'Dad, maybe we can do something about this.' And he helped us get started," goes the Gospel, according to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's richest charity with a corpus of around $33 billion.
India biggest recipient of aid
Today, India is the biggest recipient of the foundation's aid. And Mr Gates, 54, a permanent name in the world's rich list for decades and whose personal wealth is estimated at $53 billion by the Forbes magazine, has committed $13.1 billion in grants for public health, including $1 billion for India.
Back in Delhi, after a high-profile tour of the deprived bowels of the country with Rahul Gandhi, Mr Gates obliged waiting shutterbugs with more pictures with his last travel companion. But, the tour and photo op over, he got down to business.
He has already held discussions with Indian vaccine makers to develop rotavirus vaccines at low prices in high volumes. Used to prevent diarrhoea in children, the vaccine is a monopoly of two drugmakers globally today.
Mr Gates said his foundation would focus on existing disease and healthcare concerns — women and child care, vaccination, eradication of polio, pneumonia, diarrhoea and tuberculosis.
The foundation has committed more than $700 million in funds on polio eradication programmes globally. Although India is among the only four countries, besides Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan, where the disease is endemic, Mr Gates praised India's initiative to eradicate polio.
"The execution is very good. The Prime Minister was himself aware of the status," he said, adding that while 2010 has been a good year so far, the next nine months were going to be key in the fight against polio. The foundation has initiated a new programme in 107 blocks in western Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Bihar where the disease is still prevalent.
Convertible notes may get FDI tag
15 May 2010, 0229 hrs IST,Surabhi & Deepshikha Sikarwar,ET BureauNEW DELHI: The finance ministry wants to tighten the definition of foreign investments to include instruments that carry potential voting rights, such as convertible debentures, but some experts say the rule may be cumbersome.
This could be worrying for companies that have marginally less than 50% foreign investments and have such convertibles on their balance sheet, for they could be labelled a foreign company if the overseas stake in them crosses 50% after including these instruments.
"There is a need to fine-tune the definition of control so that there is more clarity on the issue. The government needs to look at issues of potential voting rights and instruments that give this option to investors," said a government official.
The new FDI policy classifies a company as Indian if it has less than 50% foreign investment and the majority of directors on the company's board are resident Indians.
A number of companies have less than 50% foreign investment but have issued quasi-equity instruments such as convertible debentures with voting rights to foreign investors, allowing investor to effectively exercise control over the entity.
"This should reflect when ownership or control is established in a company," the official said.
PwC associate director Goldie Dhama agrees with the logic of the rule. " The government has issued a policy that downstream investment by an Indian-owned-and-controlled company should not be seen as foreign direct investment. Hence, as a principle, a company should in letter and spirit also qualify as an Indian-owned-and-controlled company."
But others feel it may be difficult to operationalise the rule. "It would be very difficult to compute such a percentage if the conversion ratio is dependent upon any future event or contingency," said Punit Shah, executive director, KPMG.
A company that is classified as a foreign one faces many restrictions under the new FDI policy. All investments by such a company in a subsidiary or joint venture is counted as foreign investment.
This limits ability of foreign companies from investing in sectors that are closed to foreign investments such as multi-brand retail or sectors that have low limits on foreign investments.
The new FDI circular has attempted to clear the ambiguity in this respect including convertible preference shares issued to overseas investors while calculating foreign investment in a company, but the finance ministry is still pushing for more clarity on the issue.
The ministry has also proposed stringent norms for companies having foreign investment of less than 50%. Such companies will be required to take an approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to invest in a sector with cap on FDI, he said. A clarification in this regard may be issued as an amended guideline on FDI in the form of Press Notes.
People's Democracy(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) | Vol. XXXIV No. 19 May 09, 2010 |
Salwa Judum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Salwa Judum (meaning "Purification Hunt" in Gondi language) is a state sponsored and supported movement in Chhattisgarh, where civilians were armed supposedly to fight the Naxalites in India. This movement started in June 2005, a day after the Tata Steel company signed a 10,000 crore Rs Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chhatisgarh state government regarding the opening of a Steel plant in the Bastar region of the state[1].
After the Salwa Judum was created, the Chhattisgarh state trained a number of SPOs or 'Special Police Officers', from amongst the tribals. These were civilians, many of whom were children, who were trained with .303 rifles. The formation of Salwa Judum in the state witnessed a marked rise of Naxalite action in the state[2]. As a result in 2008, Chhattisgarh along with neighboring Jharkhand accounted for over 65% of the total naxal violence in the country [3]. The Chhattisgarh government on February 5, 2009, told the Supreme Court that the Salwa Judum was slowly disappearing in the State.[4]
Contents[hide] |
[edit] History
Bastar and Dantewada districts of Chhattisgarh have traditionally been sparsely populated, rich in natural resources, and yet some of the poorest tribal regions. Here the Maoists (Naxalites) have continued to enlarge their base among the local tribals over the past two decades as they had grassroots support [5]. The first movement against the Naxalites was the 'Jan Jagran Abhiyan', started in 1991 by Mahendra Karma. This was mostly led by local traders and businessmen[6]. This later collapsed, and the leaders had to seek police protection to survive. However, the second time around the state had signed the MoU's with the Tata and Essar groups, and was eager to flush the region of the Naxalites in order let the mining companies smoothly operate there. This was the beginning of the police support and military to the movement. A a local tribal leader, Mahendra Karma, a Congress MLA and the leader of opposition in the State Legislative Assembly, jumped into the fray as a political opportunity becoming the public front he took the Bijapur-based movement to Dantewada, Katreli and other villages in the region [7][8].
The Salwa Judum was responsible for many rapes and murders in the villages. They also herded villagers and tibals in makeshift camps, where human rights abuses were rife. They became increasingly violent and out of control. In a few years, the Judum had burned or emptied out 644 or more villages, making 300,000 people flee their homes[9]. Around 40,000 lived in displacement camps, while the rest were mostly unaccounted for. [10]
As the situation further escalated in the coming years, Human Rights Watch reported atrocities at both ends, and reported large scale displacement of the civilian population caught in the conflict between the Naxalites and Salwa Judum activists with at least 100,000 people moving to various camps in southern Chhattisgarh or fleeing to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh as of early 2008. [11][12] By mid-2008 the figure grew to 150,000 tribals being displaced. [13]. There was also widespread report of rape and other abuses on women by the Judum. [14]
As on March 4, 2006, a total of 45,958 Adivasi villagers from 644 villages in 6 blocks of Dantewada district have come under Salwa Judum programme, most of whom were forced there by coercion.
Since the inception of the movement in 2005, over 800 people, including some 300 security personnel, have been killed by the Naxalites, SPO deaths alone total 98 — one in 2005; 29 in 2006; 66 in 2007; and 20 in 2008 [8][15], when the Maoists rebels continued their attacks, though now considerably more dramatic from the previous years, they were now splitting into smaller groups and specifically targeting Salwa Judum leaders and security personnel who were ambushed in weekly markets in remote areas, and their weapons stolen, also posters threatening Salwa Judum leaders continued to appear in villages across Dantewada and Bijapur [16]. However by mid-2008, movement's frontliner, Mahender Karma announced that it will soon cease to exist [13], and end 2008, saw Salwa Judum which had controlled the lives of tribal people in camps and its influenced villages for nearly three years losing its hold in the region; the number of people living in the camps dropped from earlier 50,000 to 13,000 and public support was dwindled away [17]. An NHRC report published in October 2008, said that Salwa Judum having lost its earlier momentum was only restricted to its 23 camps in the Dantewada and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh [18]
[edit] Development of Special Police Officers (SPOs)
The Chhattisgarh state Police employs tribal youths as SPOs (Special Police Officers), which are essentially 4,000 youth, both ex-Naxalites and those drawn from Salwa Judum camps in the Bastar region, who are paid an honorarium of Rs 1,500 per month by the state governemnt, were trained by with mostly .303 rifles. In Feb 2009, the Supreme Court in India declared such arming of civilians illegal.
In 2008, there were 23 Salwa Judum camps in Bijapur and Dantewara districts of Bastar region where almost 50,000 tribals from over 600 villages had settled [8][15]. The government has now discredited the Salwa Judum movement [19]. Union Minister of Home Affairs, P. Chidambaram has praised the role of special police officers (SPOs) in fighting Naxalism and called for their appointment "wherever required." [20], while the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Raman Singh has stated that "Salwa Judum is the answer to get rid of the naxal menace in the state.." [21].
[edit] Controversy
There have been numerous reports that the Salwa Judum had recruited minors for its armed forces. A primary survey evaluated by the Forum for Fact-finding Documentation and Advocacy (FFDA) determined that over 12,000 minors were being used by the Salwa Judum in the southern district of Dantewada and that the Chhattisgarh Government had "officially recruited 4200 Special Police Officers (SPOs); many of them being easily identifiable as minors".[22] The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) also found that the Salwa Judum had engaged in the recruitment of child soldiers.[23] Similar recruitment findings were also reported in the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers's "Child Soldiers Global Report 2008 – India".[24]
Some human rights organizations such as the People's Union for Civil Liberties has raised allegations that Salwa Judum is a government-backed organisation [25][26][27], supported by the Chhattisgarh government, but a fact finding commission of National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC), appointed by Supreme Court of India found out that Salwa Judum was a "spontaneous reaction by the tribals to defend themselves against the "reign of terror unleashed by the Naxalites." The report also said that, 15 years after Jan Jagran Abhiyan , an earlier attempt to deal with Naxalites, "local tribals once again mustered courage to stand up to the Naxalites, which only goes to show their sense of desperation". [18][28]. It also found out that allegations against Salwa Judum were distortions of truth by some biased human right organisations.[29]
In its report released in 2007, the Committee Against Violence On Women (CAVOW), linked significant increase in incidences of violence against women in Chhattisgarh's Dantewara district to the Salwa Judum, and called for a review of the Government's counter-insurgency strategy [30].
In April 2008, a Supreme Court bench directed the state Government to refrain from allegedly supporting and encouraging the Salwa Judum: "It is a question of law and order. You cannot give arms to somebody (a civilian) and allow him to kill. You will be an abettor of the offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code."; the state government had earlier denied, Salwa Judum being a state-sponsored movement [15][31], later it directed the state government to take up the remedial measures suggested in the NHRC earlier report [32]
In December 2008, replying to a petition filed in the Supreme Court, the state government acknowledged that Salwa Judum and security forces had burnt houses and looted property [33]
[edit] Effects
Encouraged by the highly positive results of the movement in the region, the government is planning to launch a people's movement in insurgency hit state of Manipur on similar lines. In 2006, Karnataka raised a similar force employing tribals youths to fight Naxalism in the state, as did Andhra Pradesh prior to it [34] Jharkhand is another state that has been successfully using SPOs to counter Leftwing terrorists.[20]
[edit] In media
- Channel 4's Unreported World telecasted a programme titled "India's Hidden War" in October 2006, on the Maoist war against the state and people of India[35]
[edit] Further reading
- The Adivasis of Chhattisgarh: Victims of the Naxalite Movement and Salwa Judum Campaign, by Asian Centre for Human Rights. Published by Asian Centre for Human Rights, 2006.
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ More naxal attacks feared.
- ^ .Salwa Judum disappearing: Chhattisgarh The Hindu, Friday, Feb 6, 2009.
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ Inside India's hidden war The Guardian, May 9, 2006.
- ^ a b c 'Salwa Judum can't work in the long run' Chhattisgarh Director General of Police Vishwa Ranjan. Business Standard, January 13, 2008.
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ 'Salwa Judum, forces too violating rights' The Times of India, July 16, 2008."The 182-page report — 'Being Neutral Is Our Biggest Crime: Government, Vigilante and Naxalite Abuses in India's Chhattisgarh State' — documents human rights abuses against civilians, particularly tribals, caught in a tug-of-war between government forces, Salwa Judum and Naxalites. "
- ^ Indian state 'backing vigilantes' BBC News, July 15, 2008.
- ^ a b How the Salwa Judum experiment went wrong The Mint, Jul 10, 2008.
- ^ 'Existence of Salwa Judum necessary'
- ^ a b c Hearing plea against Salwa Judum, SC says State cannot arm civilians to kill Indian Express, Apr 01, 2008.
- ^ at least 18 people associated with Salwa Judum were killed during this period .. Indian Express, Jul 23, 2008.
- ^ Salwa Judum may stay in Bastar after polls NDTV, November 13, 2008.
- ^ a b 'Existence of Salwa Judum necessary' The Economic Times, Oct 6, 2008.
- ^ []
- ^ a b Chidambaram all praise for SPOs The Economic Times, Jan 8, 2009.
- ^ Salwa Judum is answer to naxal menace: Raman Singh Times of India, Jan 10, 2009.
- ^ Zemp, Ueli; Mohapatra, Subash (2007-07-29). "Child Soldiers in Chhattisgarh: Issues, Challenges and FFDA's Response". http://www.otherindia.org/dev/images/stories/feda_child.pdf. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
- ^ The Adivasis of Chhattisgarh: Victims of the Naxalite Movement and Salwa Judum Campaign. New Delhi: Asian Centre for Human Rights. 2006. p. 42. ISBN 81-88987-14-X. http://www.achrweb.org/reports/india/Chattis0106.pdf. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
- ^ "Child Soldiers Global Report 2008 – India". Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. 2008-05-20. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,463af2212,469f2dcf2,486cb108c,0.html. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
- ^ "Findings about the Salwa Judum in Dantewara district". 2005-02-12. http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Human-rights/2005/salwa-judum-report.htm.
- ^ "Salwa Judum report". South Asia Intelligence Review of the South Asia Terrorism Portal. http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/sair/archives/4_33.htm.
- ^ "Salwa Judum report". Asian Council For Human Rights. http://www.achrweb.org/Review/2006/117-06.htm.
- ^ DNAIndia
- ^ dnaIndia
- ^ Report recommends withdrawal of Salwa Judum The Hindu, Jan 19, 2007.
- ^ SC raps Chattisgarh on Salwa Judum Rediff.com, March 31, 2008.
- ^ Implement NHRC recommendations on Salwa Judum, Supreme Court asks Chhattisgarh government The Hindu, Sep 20, 2008.
- ^ Salwa Judum victims assured of relief The Hindu, Dec 16, 2008.
- ^ Tribal youths will now fight Naxals The Times of India, May 11, 2006.
- ^ India's Hidden War Channel 4, Friday 27 October 2006.
[edit] External links
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Editorial Pensions, too, must be sold New Pension Scheme flounders for want of marketing. Well said, Mr ChidambaramHe seals a debate on countering Maoists. Espousing causeshttp://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/opinionshome/897228639.cms What can a man do for a beloved spouse? | |||
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The key benchmark indices continued to shed points in the afternoon session which has made the domestic market to hit fresh intraday low. The market is now trading in bearish mood following the weak o...
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SBI to expand global presence
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The reason behind this is that the government has decided to impose a charge on real estate developers to give road connectivity to new properties.
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- EXCLUSIVE - Waddell is mystery futures trader in market plunge- Reuters - Fri 14 May, 11:10 PM
- Reuters Summit - Microsoft CFO sees tech mergers on rise- Reuters - Fri 14 May, 10:50 PM
- Euro zone crisis to hit emerging Europe - EBRD- Reuters - Fri 14 May, 10:30 PM
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- PSBs' dream for IFRS hits data hurdle
- Indian Express - Thu 13 May, 02:43 AM - Mauritius, UK and US funds pick 8% stake in Kerala NBFC- Indian Express - Thu 13 May, 02:42 AM
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- Flat end for Seoul shares- Indian Express - Fri 14 May, 01:20 PM
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- SAP pays dearly with $5.8 billion Sybase purchase- Reuters - Thu 13 May, 11:42 PM
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Kathmandu, May 15 -- Change of stance by opposition Maoists regarding integration and rehabilitation of former People's Liberation Army rebels continues to affect the fragile peace process in Nepal. Two days after UCPN (Maoist) chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' announced possibility of solving the vexed issue within four months, the party did a flip-flop on Friday.
Maoist members of the special committee on integration and rehabilitation of the nearly 19,000 former PLA rebels abstained from a meeting to resolve the key issue that has brought the peace process to a standstill. The Maoists who orchestrated a six-day strike earlier this month are demanding removal of the government and formation of a national unity government led by them before holding any talks on peace.
Worried at developments, the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has termed the need to arrive at a consensus among the parties as "extremely urgent".
Al-Qaeda's ability to carry out large-scale complex strikes has "diminished" due to recent aggressive campaigns against it, but the terror network is trying to launch smaller attacks which are much more difficult to detect and thwart, the US Defence Department has said.
"...their (al-Qaeda and its extremist allies) ability to launch large-scale, complex attacks has clearly been diminished by the fact that we have taken the war as aggressively as we have to them," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.
"Now, has al-Qaeda and other associated terrorist groups, have they been able to disperse and crop up elsewhere? Yes. Are there problems that we need to deal with around the world? Yes," he told MSNBC.
It is the belief of Pentagon and the Obama Administration that "we have been able to protect the homeland because we have been taking the fight to the terrorists where they operate, where they plan, where they try to hatch these attacks," he said.
"By keeping them on their toes, unable to really launch large-scale, sophisticated, complex attacks which result in mass casualties, like we saw on 9/11, they are far diminished," Morrell said in response to a question.
At the same time, the Pentagon spokesman conceded that these terrorist groups have been trying to carry out small-scale attacks.
"Well, listen, this is a very difficult situation that we are arriving at. Whereas we are having tremendous effect going after large-scale operations; so as a result, the terrorists are adapting, and they're using more individuals to launch smaller attacks," he said.
Such attacks, he observed, are much more difficult to detect and thwart, "because it's not a number of people collaborating, increasing the chances that communications can be intercepted, individuals can make a mistake, the group's activities can be uncovered by our detectives, by our intelligence apparatus".
But a single person wishing to do harm is far more likely to get through the layers of protection, he argued, two weeks after Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad allegedly tried to blow up a Nissan Pathfinder packed with explosives in the crowded Times Square.
"That is a reality we are confronted with; and yet, we are doing all we can to even prevent those. Individuals, as you saw with that vendor (in Times Square who alerted police about the parked vehicle with explosives inside) and others, can make a difference. That's why we all have to be vigilant to protect the homeland against terrorists," Morrell said.
The space shuttle Atlantis and six veteran astronauts blasted off on Friday from the Kennedy Space Center to deliver a Russian module and spare parts to the International Space Station. The launch was the last scheduled for Atlantis, and the third-to-last for the shuttle program. NASA is retiring the shuttle fleet, which began flying in 1981, due to cost and safety issues.
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Business News
Edible oils'' prices dip on sluggish demand, global cues
New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) Select edible oils extended losses for the second straight week at the wholesale oils and oilseeds market during the week under review on sluggish demand from vanaspati millers and retailers amid weakening trend in global markets.
- CPI MP held in Orissa over Posco protest IANS - 12:04 PM
- Kashmir agriculture eyes revival, European buyers IANS - 12:00 PM
- CSE index gains 126 points in weekly trade PTI - 11:52 AM
- NALCO Q4 net jumps five-fold IE - 11:48 AM
- BP scrambles to install device to contain oil spill Reuters - 10:56 AM
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General
- BHP, Rio iron venture plan might be reconsidered - WSJReuters - 10:41 AM
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto might re-evaluate plans to merge their Western Australian iron ore operations if an agreement is not reached by year end, the Wall Street Journal said on Saturday.
- Toyota considered discrediting witnesses - reportReuters - 08:36 AM
Officials of Toyota Motor Corp took preliminary steps to publicly question the integrity of two witnesses testifying before a U.S. Congress panel that is probing the Japanese automaker's safety record, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
- BA says to take legal action to stop strikesReuters - 03:22 AM
British Airways will take legal action to try and prevent cabin crew strikes due to start next week, the company said on Friday, citing an irregularity in the union's strike ballot as the basis of its case.
- REUTERS SUMMIT - IBM unruffled by rivals' M&A, to do more of sameReuters - 03:16 AM
IBM feels no threat from a series of acquisitions by competitors and has no plans for a major strategy change even as it spends more on mergers and acquisitions, a senior company executive said on Friday.
- Web-based system to trace organic product exportsFE - 02:51 AM
A decade after launching the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) to export green products from India, the government is planning to launch a comprehensive web-based traceability software to trace operations from farms to consumers online.
India
- Open to talks, ready to reduce 2G prices: TraiIE - 05:41 AM
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today said it was open to dialogue and even willing to bring down charges for excess 2G spectrum that established telecom majors such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and BSNL hold.
- Stick to current arrangement, govt tells Tata PowerHT - 10:25 AM
As the tussle between Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra), which distributes power in the suburbs, and supplier Tata Power Company (TPC) continued, the government on Friday sent a stern letter to TPC.
- SBI profit falls 32 per cent in Jan-March, shares sink 4 per centHT - 09:25 AM
The country?s largest bank, State Bank of India on Friday reported a 31.9 per cent decline in its net profit for the quarter ended March 2010 at Rs 1,867 crore. The public sector lender had logged a net profit of Rs 2,742 crore in same quarter in the previous year.
- Tata Motors april global sales up 53%HT - 09:25 AM
The country's largest automobile manufacturer Tata Motors reported a 53 per cent jump in its April 2010 group global sales. The group comprises Tata, Tata Daewoo and Hispano Carrocera range of commercial vehicles, Tata passenger vehicles, distributed brands in India, and the luxury Jaguar and Land Rover.
- Sara Lee CEO Barnes to take medical leaveReuters - 07:08 AM
Sara Lee Corp said on Friday its chairman and chief executive, Brenda Barnes, will take a medical leave of absence, effective immediately.
International
- What's the last thing Americans use cellphones for? To make a call!HT - 09:25 AM
Liza Colburn uses her cellphone constantly. She taps out her grocery lists, records voice memos, listens to music at the gym, tracks her caloric intake and posts frequent updates to her Twitter and Facebook accounts.
- U.S. judge selects lead attorneys in Toyota casesReuters - 07:18 AM
A U.S. federal judge on Friday picked two class-action veterans to lead the consolidated lawsuit against Toyota Motor Corp over cars that plaintiffs say raced out of control.
- Google hangs up on Nexus One storeIANS - 02:59 AM
San Francisco, May 15 (DPA) Google is shutting down the online store it launched with much fanfare in January to sell the Nexus One smartphone, the technology giant said Friday.
- Russia seeks trade shift from crisis-hit EuropeReuters - Fri, May 14
Russia needs to urgently re-route exports from low-growth Europe to other, faster-expanding markets, Economy Minister Elvira Nabiullina said on Friday as Moscow sought to distance itself from the crisis-hit region.
- Reuters Summit - Microsoft CFO sees tech mergers on riseReuters - Fri, May 14
More technology deals are on the way as the industry recovers from the recession, but Microsoft Corp is not poised to make a big deal soon, its chief financial officer told Reuters on Friday.
Personal-Finance
- Sensex slips below 17,000, closes 271 points downIANS - Fri, May 14
Mumbai, May 14 (IANS) A benchmark Indian equities index Friday slipped 271 points to close below the 17,000-mark on selling by investors amid growing concerns about the European financial crisis.
- - Fri, May 14
Mumbai, May 14 (IANS) A benchmark Indian equities index Friday slipped further as selling pressure mounted towards the closing bell, ending trade 335 points lower than its previous close.
- Sensex ends 74 points upIANS - Thu, May 13
Mumbai, May 13 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities Thursday tapered in the last hour of trade and ended 74 points higher than its previous close.
- Sensex 54 points up in volatile, range-bound tradeIANS - Wed, May 12
Mumbai, May 12 (IANS) A benchmark index for Indian equities Wednesday closed a tad higher in volatile but range-bound trade.
- Sensex closes 1.17 percent lower on eventful dayIANS - Fri, May 7
Mumbai, May 7 (IANS) A benchmark index for Indian equities closed 1.17 percent lower Friday.On what was a volatile and eventful trading day, the 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,939.58 points, shut shop at 16,788.43 points (provisional) -- 199.1 points or 1.17 percent lower than its previous close.
Markets
- Inflation slips, but worries lingerHT - 09:45 AM
Inflation based on wholesale prices dropped marginally in April to 9.6 per cent from 9.9 per cent in the previous month, but worries remain as food inflation stays firm at 16.9 per cent.
- Gold at highs: auspicious time, but inauspicious price hurtsHT - 09:45 AM
Gold imports by India, the world?s biggest importer, could drop for a third straight year in 2010 as record high prices scare off traditional buyers.
- Mumbai, Delhi realty rates on way downHT - 09:25 AM
Real estate prices for new bookings in Mumbai and NCR Delhi are expected to be 10 to 20 per cent lower than prevailing market rates feel analysts as developers are still bogged down by unsold inventory in projects in these areas.
- Crude Oil could touch $100 a barrel soon: MukeshHT - 09:25 AM
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Friday said crude prices could rise to $100 a barrel (Rs 4,520) soon.
- JPMorgan's Dimon stirs ire of upstate NY studentsReuters - 08:02 AM
On Wall Street, Jamie Dimon is considered a leader, but some students at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York are not impressed.
Business News
BP scrambles to install device to contain oil spill
Reuters - 10:56 AMEnergy giant BP scrambled on Saturday to make good on its latest attempt to contain oil from a gushing well in the Gulf of Mexico as the region's suffering workers braced for environmental disaster.
- BHP, Rio iron venture plan might be reconsidered - WSJ Reuters - 10:41 AM
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto might re-evaluate plans to merge their Western Australian iron ore operations if an agreement is not reached by year end, the Wall Street Journal said on Saturday.
- Toyota considered discrediting witnesses - report Reuters - 08:36 AM
Officials of Toyota Motor Corp took preliminary steps to publicly question the integrity of two witnesses testifying before a U.S. Congress panel that is probing the Japanese automaker's safety record, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
- JPMorgan's Dimon stirs ire of upstate NY students Reuters - 08:02 AM
On Wall Street, Jamie Dimon is considered a leader, but some students at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York are not impressed.
- Wall St falls as retailers, financials weigh Reuters - 07:59 AM
U.S. stocks fell on Friday on a combination of weak earnings from retailers, Senate backing for limits on credit card fees and concerns over the sustainability of European public debt.
- U.S. oil ends at 3-month low on euro zone woes Reuters - 07:56 AM
U.S. crude oil futures fell more than 3 percent to a three-month low on Friday, dropping for a fourth straight session as concerns the European debt crisis will curb energy demand growth weighed on prices already under pressure from swollen U.S. oil inventories.
- 07:50 AM
A big mystery seller of futures contracts during the market meltdown last week was not a hedge fund or a high-frequency trader as many have suspected, but money manager Waddell & Reed Financial Inc, according to a document obtained by Reuters.
- GLOBAL MARKETS - Euro at 18-month low on debt woes; stocks sink Reuters - 07:49 AM
The euro slid to an 18-month low versus the dollar and global shares fell sharply on Friday over fears that Europe's fiscal austerity plans may derail economic recovery.
- Wall St Week Ahead: Euro-zone troubles may keep stocks on edge Reuters - 07:37 AM
U.S. stocks could face more volatility next week as growing doubts about whether Europe can solve its deepening debt crisis are likely to take center stage again.
- IMF board okays $1.13 billion in aid for Pakistan Reuters - 07:32 AM
The International Monetary Fund said on Friday its board agreed to release $1.13 billion in aid for Pakistan and waive some of its requirements.
- Goldman committee to review firm's conflicts Reuters - 07:29 AM
Goldman Sachs Group Inc said it is setting up an internal committee to look at how the company deals with potential conflicts of interest and how it can better disclose what it does.
- U.S. judge selects lead attorneys in Toyota cases Reuters - 07:18 AM
A U.S. federal judge on Friday picked two class-action veterans to lead the consolidated lawsuit against Toyota Motor Corp over cars that plaintiffs say raced out of control.
- Obama slams oil companies for spill blame game Reuters - 07:14 AM
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Problems of Dalits
RESOLUTION ADOPTED AT THE
ALL INDIA CONVENTION ON PROBLEMS OF DALITS,
NEW DELHI – FEBRUARY 22, 2006
1. A MARXIST PERSPECTIVE ON CASTE OPPRESSION
The thoroughly reactionary varna and caste system has hounded Indian society for thousands of years. India is the only country in the world where such a system came into being and still exists. The varna and caste system was sanctified by Hindu religion and by Vedic scriptures. This was the main reason for its consolidation. The notorious text, Manusmriti, codified the then prevailing social norms and consigned the shudras, atishudras and women to a thoroughly unequal and miserable existence. The distinctiveness of the caste system was that it was hereditary, compulsory and endogamous. The worst affected by the caste system and its social oppression have been the dalits, or atishudras, or scheduled castes. Albeit in a different way, the adivasis or scheduled tribes in India have also faced social oppression over the ages. The stories of Shambuka in the Ramayana and of Ekalavya in the Mahabharata are classic testimonies of the non-egalitarian nature of Hindu society in ancient India.
Along with the curse of untouchability, the dalits had no right to have any property. They had to eat the foulest food, including leftovers thrown away by the higher varnas; they were not allowed to draw water from the common well; they were prohibited from entering temples; they were barred from the right to education and knowledge; they had to perform menial jobs for the higher castes; they were not allowed to use the common burial ground; they were not allowed to live in the main village inhabited by the upper varnas; and they were deprived of ownership rights to land and property, leading to the lack of access to all sources of economic mobility. Thus, dalits were subjected to both social exclusion and economic discrimination over the centuries. In one form or the other, this continues even today in most parts of the country.
As Comrade B.T. Ranadive pointed out "the three powerful class interests, the imperialists, the landlords and bourgeois leadership were acting as the defenders of the caste system, by protecting the landlord and pre-capitalist land system." It will be seen from here that the interests of the bourgeois class rested in maintaining the status quo. There has been no basic change in caste system after nearly 60 years of independence after independence as the bourgeoisie compromised with landlordism fostered caste prejudices. After independence also, the basic structure of land relations, overhauling of which would have given a blow to untouchability and the caste system has not been changed.
The 19th and 20th centuries saw great social reformers like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Sri Narayan Guru, Jyothiba Phule, Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy Naickar and others. These social reform movements conducted many struggles against the caste system, caste oppression and untouchability in many ways. But, despite the struggles against caste oppression, the social reform movement did not address the crucial issue of radical land reforms. It got delinked from the anti-imperialist struggle. The Congress-led national movement on its part, failed to take up radical social reform measures as part of the freedom movement.
Diametrically opposed to the progressive role of the reform movement was the thoroughly reactionary role on social issues that was played by the RSS and the Sangh Parivar ever since its inception. Apart from its rabid communal ideology, the RSS adopted a Brahmanical stance right from the beginning. With this understanding, the RSS opposed the amendments to the Hindu Code Bill after independence. The BJP's opposition to the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations was also on this basis.
Wherever the BJP is in power in the states, atrocities on Muslims, dalits and adivasis have increased markedly. At the same time in some areas, they sought to pit the poor people belonging to dalits and tribal community against Muslims and Christians. So, the fight against caste oppression and communalism are interlinked.
The experience clearly shows the need to link the fight against caste oppression with the struggle against class exploitation. At the same time, the class struggle must include the struggle for the abolition of the caste system and all forms of social oppression. This is an important part of the democratic revolution.
2. THE CPI (M) ON THE CASTE QUESTION
The CPI(M) Programme updated in 2000 succinctly summarises the caste question as follows: "The bourgeois-landlord system has also failed to put an end to caste oppression. The worst sufferers are the scheduled castes. The dalits are subject to untouchability and other forms of discrimination despite these being declared unlawful. The growing consciousness among the dalits for emancipation is sought to be met with brutal oppression and atrocities. The assertion by the dalits has a democratic content reflecting the aspirations of the most oppressed sections of society. The backward castes have also asserted their rights in a caste-ridden society.
"At the same time a purely caste appeal which seeks to perpetuate caste divisions for the narrow aim of consolidating vote banks and detaching these downtrodden sections from the common democratic movement has also been at work. Many caste leaders and certain leaders of bourgeois political parties seek to utilise the polarisation on caste lines for narrow electoral gains and are hostile to building up the common movement of the oppressed sections of all castes. They ignore the basic class issues of land, wages and fight against landlordism, which is the basis for overthrowing the old order.
"The problem of caste oppression and discrimination has a long history and is deeply rooted in the pre-capitalist social system. The society under capitalist development has compromised with the existing caste system. The Indian bourgeoisie itself fosters caste prejudices. Working class unity presupposes unity against the caste system and the oppression of dalits, since the vast majority of dalits are part of the labouring classes. To fight for the abolition of the caste system and all forms of social oppression through a social reform movement is an important part of the democratic revolution. The fight against caste oppression is interlinked with the struggle against class exploitation."
The Political Resolution of the 18th Congress of the CPI(M) held in 2005 gives concrete guidance to the Party to take up caste and social issues. In the section titled "Caste Oppression and Dalits", it says, "The caste system contains both social oppression and class exploitation. The dalits suffer from both types of exploitation in the worst form. 86.25 per cent of the scheduled caste households are landless and 49 per cent of the scheduled castes in the rural areas are agricultural workers. Communists who champion abolition of the caste system, eradication of untouchability and caste oppression have to be in the forefront in launching struggles against the denial of basic human rights. This struggle has to be combined with the struggle to end the landlord-dominated order which consigns the dalit rural masses to bondage. The issues of land, wages and employment must be taken up to unite different sections of the working people and the non-dalit rural poor must be made conscious of the evils of caste oppression and discrimination by a powerful democratic campaign. There are some dalit organisations and NGOs who seek to foster anti-communist feelings amongst the dalit masses and to detach them from the Left movement. Such sectarian and, in certain cases, foreign-funded activities must be countered and exposed by positively putting forth the Party's stand on caste oppression and making special efforts to draw the dalit masses into common struggles."
In the section titled "Fight Caste Appeal", the Political Resolution says, "The intensification of the caste appeal and fragmentation of the working people on caste lines is a serious challenge to the Left and democratic movement. Taking up caste oppression, forging the common movement of the oppressed of all castes and taking up class issues of common concern must be combined with a bold campaign to highlight the pernicious effects of caste-based politics. The Party should work out concrete tactics in different areas taking into account the caste and class configurations. Electoral exigencies should not come in the way of the Party's independent campaign against caste-based politics. Reservation is no panacea for the problems of caste and class exploitation. But they provide some limited and necessary relief within the existing order. Reservation should be extended to dalit Christians. In the context of the privatisation drive and the shrinkage of jobs in the government and public sector, reservations in the private sector for scheduled castes and tribes should be worked out after wide consultations."
FIXED CAPITAL ASSETS: In 2000, about 28 % of SC households in rural areas had acquired some access to fixed capital assets (agricultural land and non-land assets). This was only half compared to 56 % for other non-SC/ST households who had some access to fixed capital assets. In the urban areas, the proportion was 27 % for SCs and 35.5 % for others.
AGRICULTURAL LABOUR: In 2000, 49.06 % of the working SC population were agricultural labourers, as compared to 32.69 % for the STs and only 19.66 % for the others. This shows the preponderance of dalits in agricultural labour. Between 1991 and 2001, the number of agricultural labourers in India increased from 7.46 crore to 10.74 crore, and a large proportion of them were dalits. On the other hand, the average number of workdays available to an agricultural labourer slumped from 123 in 1981 to 70 in 2005.
ATROCITIES, UNTOUCHABILITY AND DISCRIMINATION: During 16 years between 1981 to 2000 for which records are available, a total of 3,57,945 cases of crime and atrocities were committed against the SCs. This comes to an annual average of about 22,371 crimes and atrocities per year. The break-up of the atrocities and violence for the year 2000 is as follows: 486 cases of murder, 3298 grievous hurt, 260 of arson, 1034 cases of rape and 18,664 cases of other offences. The practice of untouchability and social discrimination in the matter of use of public water bodies, water taps, temples, tea stalls, restaurants, community bath, roads and other social services continues to be of high magnitude.
With the onset of the imperialist-dictated policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation by the ruling classes of our country during the last decade and a half, the problems of dalits, adivasis, other backward castes and the working people as a whole have greatly aggravated. The drive to privatise the public sector has directly hit reservations for the SC/STs. The closure of thousands of mills and factories have rendered lakhs jobless and this has also hit dalits and other backward castes. The ban on recruitment to government and semi-government jobs that has been imposed in several states has also had an adverse effect. The growing commercialisation of education and health has kept innumerable people from both socially and economically backward sections out of these vital sectors. In this background, reservation in private sector has become very important because the joblessness among the SC and STs has witnessed a steady increase in the recent period.
The most disastrous effects of these policies can be seen in the deep agrarian crisis that has afflicted the rural sector. Rural employment has sharply fallen and this has hit dalits, adivasis and women the most. Mechanisation of agriculture has further compounded the problem. The real wages of agricultural workers, of whom a large proportion are dalits, have fallen in many states. No efforts are made to implement minimum wage legislation even where it exists, and periodic revision of minimum wage is also conspicuous by its absence. The dismantling of the public distribution system has increased hunger to alarming proportions. An overwhelming proportion of the malnutrition-related deaths of thousands of children in several states is from dalit and adivasi families. Thus, the neo-liberal policies have accentuated both the economic as well as the social divide in the country.
5. COMMUNIST STRUGGLES AGAINST CASTE & FEUDAL OPPRESSION
It was in the great anti-feudal peasant struggles led by the Communists in the 1940s that India for the first time got a glimpse of the possibility of the annihilation of caste and communalism once and for all. Historic struggles like Telangana, Tebhaga, Punnapara Vayalar and others squarely targeted landlordism and imperialism and in this process, they succeeded in forging the unprecedented unity of all toilers, cutting across caste and religious lines. The struggle reached its highest point in Telangana. Thousands of villages were liberated from landlord rule and actual land redistribution to the landless was carried out. A large number of the beneficiaries of this land reform were dalits and adivasis, who got possession of land for the first time. The remarkable class unity of the peasantry that was forged in this struggle struck the first blows at caste and communal ideology and practice.
In more recent times, the CPI(M) and the mass organisations in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere have been leading a concerted statewide campaign and struggle for the last few years on the issues of untouchability and caste oppression. This is meeting with encouraging public response, with dalits being attracted to the Left.
Besides this, the rights of nearly 15 lakh sharecroppers have been recorded, covering 11.08 lakh acres of land, and 5.44 lakh poor families have been given homestead land. Over 42 per cent of the recorded sharecroppers belonged to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Now nearly 72 per cent of the land in West Bengal is managed by poor and marginal farmers. As a result of land reforms and other measures taken by the Left Front government, agricultural production has increased by 250 per cent and more. Landless agricultural labour has been guaranteed a minimum wage and is provided with work during lean months. A large proportion of the beneficiaries of these measures naturally belong to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. In the three-tier panchayat system, the representation of SCs, STs and women is considerably higher than the reserved quotas in both West Bengal and Tripura. Panchayat Raj institutions in these states are largely controlled by poor peasants and agricultural labourers, unlike in most other parts of the country, where they are in the grip of landlords and rich peasants.
The West Bengal LF government has also initiated a large number of schemes to specifically support dalits and adivasis. Scholarships are provided to 1.1 lakh dalit students and 80,000 adivasi students. 240 hostels for primary and secondary students from the dalit and adivasi communities have been constructed. 32,000 dalit students and 28,000 adivasi students are provided with expenses for living in hostels at the pre-secondary level. An SC/ST Development and Finance Corporation has been established to support poor dalit and adivasi families by providing finance for household-based self-employment schemes. As against the poor national average that we saw above, 26 % of primary teachers and 29 % of secondary teachers in West Bengal come from the scheduled castes. For scheduled tribes, the percentage is 9 and 11 respectively.
The Tripura Left Front government also has a creditable record in the upliftment of the SCs and STs. In 1991, while the overall literacy was 60.44 %, the SC literacy was 56.66 %. The 2001 census figures of literacy are not yet available, but they are expected to show a considerable increase. Female SC literacy doubled from 23.24 % in 1981 to 45.45 % in 1991. A striking feature in the state is that SCs are not confined exclusively to 'Paras' or 'Bastis' like in some other parts of the country. They by and large live and intermingle with each other. There are no bonded labourers among SCs in the state. Provision of minimum wage to agricultural labourers, many of whom are SCs, is stringently implemented. SC families are legally protected against exploitation by money-lenders. Reservations in services, posts and educational institutions are strictly monitored and implemented. All scavengers engaged in carrying night soil by head load were liberated in 1991 itself and special schemes were undertaken for their rehabilitation. In the small state of Tripura, 40,000 SC students are being given pre-matric scholarships by the government. 2000 meritorious SC students are being given the Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Memorial Award each year. The sum of the award ranges from Rs. 400 to Rs. 1500 per annum. 30 hostels for SC boys and girls have been set up. Special schemes have been started for providing housing and medical assistance to SCs. Special development programmes for welfare of SCs are taken up and implemented every three years.
It is as a result of a long process of struggle combined with the above governmental measures, and an intensive ideological campaign by the Party and the Left that untouchability and caste oppression against dalits and adivasis have been reduced to a large extent in West Bengal and Tripura under Left Front rule. Atrocities against dalits and adivasis, which abound in many other parts of the country, are almost unheard of in these two states. Thus, in 2001, at the All India level, there were 33,503 cases of crimes committed against scheduled castes, of which 716 were murders, 1316 were rapes and 400 were abductions. In West Bengal that year, there were only 10 such crimes and in Tripura there were only 2 such crimes. In the same year, at the All India level, there were 6,217 cases of crimes committed against scheduled tribes, of which 167 were murders, 573 were rapes, and 67 were abductions. In West Bengal that year, there were only 2 such crimes and in Tripura there was not a single such crime. All this conclusively shows that it is only a Left alternative that can show the way to ending the age-old scourge of untouchability, caste oppression and social discrimination.
Taking into account the severity of the caste problem, Com. E. M. S Namboodiripad wrote in 1979, "One has to realize that the building of India on modern democratic and secular lines requires an uncompromising struggle against the caste-based Hindu society and its culture. There is no question of secular democracy, not to speak of socialism, unless the very citadel of India's 'age-old' civilization and culture, the division of society into a hierarchy of castes – is broken. In other words, the struggle for radical democracy and socialism cannot be separated from the struggle against caste society."
LAND REFORMS: The central and state governments must immediately set in motion a process of land reforms whereby land will be redistributed to the landless agricultural labourers and poor peasants gratis. All loopholes in the present laws must be plugged. All schemes to reverse land reform legislation and give away land to multinational corporations and big business houses should be scrapped forthwith.
RESERVATIONS: All the backlogs in reserved seats and posts and in promotions for SCs, STs and OBCs must be filled forthwith with special recruitment drives. The three Constitutional amendments made to correct the three OMs issued in 1997 diluting reservations for SCs and STs should be implemented. The pre-1997 vacancies based roster should be restored. A comprehensive legislation covering all aspects of reservation for SCs/STs in employment and education both public and private institutions should be enacted.
SPECIAL COMPONENT PLAN: Special Component Plan should be properly implemented in all the states with proper allotment of funds according to the population of dalits. A National Commission should be set up to assess the real position of dalits including reservation. The state level commissions should be set up to oversee the implementation of all schemes connected with the SCs including reservation.
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT: Infrastructure development in the scheduled caste areas like road, water, health, culture and other needs has to be given proper importance. When allotting fund for infrastructure development, a separate allotment for scheduled caste areas should be provided.
A comprehensive National Programme of Minor Irrigation for all irrigable but unirrigated lands of SCs and STs through wells, community wells, bore-wells, community bore-wells and tube-wells, bandheras, check-dams, lift, etc., should be immediately undertaken and implemented.
ROOTING OUT UNTOUCHABILITY: All forms of untouchability must be rooted out of the country by strengthening the relevant laws, ensuring their strict implementation and most importantly, by launching a mass movement of the people.
PROTECTION FROM ATROCITIES: The Central Government should amend and strengthen the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, providing for special courts with judges, investigating officers and public prosecutors unburdened by any other work. Social and economic boycott and blackmail should be included as substantive crimes. Full economic rehabilitation of victims and their survivors must be ensured.
EMPLOYMENT: The privatisation drive should be stopped as it leads to loot of national assets, greater unemployment, a curtailment of reservations and also a spurt in corruption. The Central Government should enact a bill to provide reservations in the private sector, which has been a long-standing demand of SCs and STs. Special schemes to provide self-employment to SC youth should be started. The Right to Work should be incorporated as a fundamental right in the Constitution.
EDUCATION: The commercialisation of education should be stopped since the massive fee and donation structure of private educational managements is something that socially and economically backward students cannot afford. For this, the central government must increase its own outlay on education to 6 % of the GDP. SC/ST students should be given special scholarships to pursue their studies. The stipends in Social Welfare hostels should be raised and the quality of these hostels improved. Steps should be taken to universalise primary education and expand secondary education. Special measures to curb the drop-out rate among SCs should be undertaken.
AGRICULTURAL WORKERS: The Minimum Wages Act for agricultural workers must be stringently implemented throughout the country. A comprehensive bill for agricultural workers is another long-standing demand and it must be enacted without delay. Homestead land must be provided for SCs, STs and agricultural workers.
RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME: The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act must be strictly implemented all over the country by involving the people, their mass organisations and the panchayati raj institutions. It should be extended to all districts and also to urban areas of the country.
PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM: The public distribution system must be universalised to ensure food to all. Until this is done, BPL ration cards must be issued to all poor families, many of whom are from SCs and STs. The grain under the BPL scheme should be made available at Antyodaya prices.
CREDIT: Agricultural credit to peasants and agricultural workers must be made available at 4 % rate of interest. For SCs and STs in both rural and urban areas, credit facilities should be expanded and the credit given at concessional interest rates.
BONDED LABOUR AND CHILD LABOUR: The total liberation and full rehabilitation of bonded labourers must be ensured. The pernicious practice of child labour must be abolished and children properly rehabilitated and educated. Similarly, total liberation and full rehabilitation must be ensured for Safaqi Karmacharis who are engaged in scavenging.
SCAVENGERS: Ensure total liberation and full rehabilitation for scavengers (safai karamcharis), ban engagement of contract labour in safai services and other services where SC and ST numerically predominate and instead introduce necessary improvements by involving such Karamcharis; and reactivate the Central Monitoring Committee for Liberation and Rehabilitation of Safai Karamcharis and State, Municipal and District Level communities.
INTERCASTE MARRIAGES: Intercaste marriages should be encouraged by giving special subsidized housing and other facilities to married couples immediately after their marriage. We should consciously try to uphold such inter-caste marriages and make them an event of big social participation and sanction.
Justice Sachar Committee Report Findings
CPI(M)'s Charter for Advancement of Muslim Communiy
PREAMBLE
opportunities and fundamental rights for all irrespective of race, religion or creed as citizens of the country. A democratic system is evaluated by how it treats its minorities – whether religious, ethnic or linguistic. For fostering national unity, for strengthening democracy and secularism, it is essential that the Muslim minority, who constitute 13.4 per cent of the population, are provided equal opportunities to access the benefits of development and the fundamental rights given in the Constitution.
209 Martyred Till May 13, 2010 Booklet on Maoist Violence
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