Indian Holocaust My father`s life and Time- Two hundred One
Palash Biswas Refugees? Why Should We SWIM in Oceans of Crocodile tears and Allow
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BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Australia refuses Tamil refugees
28 Oct 2009 ... Australian authorities say 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers in Indonesia will not be brought to Australia.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8329420.stm - Cached - Similar -Silobreaker: Australia refuses Tamil refugees
Australia refuses Tamil refugees [BBC - 10/28/2009]. Related Stories. First Reported 14 hours ago - Updated 1 hour ago - 13 Documents (in Politics) ...
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23 Jul 2009 ... More and more news about Sri Lankan IDP camps,where Tamil refugees are ... both in the thick of tamil politics they might allow Govt hospital ofTN to help ...
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28 Sep 2009 ... "We hope that citizenship will be granted soon to the Tamil refugees," he said, adding that the foundation was now terminating its signature ...
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6 Nov 2009 ... Focus/Co-ordinate the Rights of World Tamil Refugees/IDPs, Exchange News/Views to get Normalcy with Freedom/Self Rule without Sinhala ...
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1 post - 1 author - Last post: 5 OctChennai, Oct 6 (IANS) Tamil Nadu opposition leader J. Jayalalitha Tuesday denounced the ruling DMK's demand that Sri Lankan refugees in ...
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Indian citizenship for Tamil refugees? Jayalalitha says `no`
6 Oct 2009 ... Chennai: Tamil Nadu opposition leader J Jayalalitha Tuesday denounced the ruling DMK's demand that Sri Lankan refugees in India should be ...
www.zeenews.com/news568676.html - Cached - Similar -UN warns over inhuman treatment of Tamil refugees | Trends Updates
8 Oct 2009 ... UN warns over inhuman treatment of Tamil refugees. Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 9:20 By GSerrano. This news item was posted in News + Politics ...
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Tamil refugees to be deported to death? - Green Left Weekly, 3 March 2007 "Serious fears are held for the safety of 83 Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka who are ...
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Filed In: Politics. Rudd's denial of Tamil refugees seeking asylum in Australia is a disgusting attempt to scapegoat a harmless people which harks back to ...
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East Bengali Refugees - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
5 Jun 2009 ... East Bengali Refugees are people that left East Bengal following the ... Comrade Muzaffar Ahmed (Noakhali; politics, founder of Communist ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Bengali_Refugees - Cached - Similar - Stranded Pakistanis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to Refugee crisis: Pakistani government officials have threatened to deport the more than 1.5 million illegal Bengali refugees living in its ...
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In the refugee camp at Patrapole on the West Bengal-East Pakistan border, a 16-year-old Bengali girl recalled how she and her parents were in bed "when we ...
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The majority of East Bengali refugees settled in the new state of West ... Comrade Muzaffar Ahmed (Noakhali; politics, founder of Communist Party of India) ...
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Dilemmas of diaspora: partition, refugees, and the politics of "home". ... legacies of the Partition and East Bengali refugees and the ongoing contestation ...
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The hungry tide Bengali Hindu refugees in the Subcontinent
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East Bengali Refugees and the Politics of Rehabilitation. Brown. University. 11. For a discussion of this aspect of the novel, see Mondal,. Anshuman. 2007. ...
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Chatterjee, Nilanjana. 1992. Midnight's Unwanted Children: East Bengali Refugees and the. Politics of Rehabilitation. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. ...
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Refugees and Human Rights | Palash Speaks
June 4th, 2007 | by Palash Biswa. Refugees and Human Rights : Social and Political ... Tibetan Muslim refugees in India: the problem and prospect/Sekh Rehim Mondal. ... hill tracts and the plight of Chakma refugees/Mrinal Kanti Chakma. ...
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August 22nd, 2007 | by Palash Biswa. Brinda Leads Bengali Dalit Refugees in New Delhi ..... The literature on the Partition of India is driven by those who had to .... Whether it's the plight of Hindus demanding citizenship in their own ...
blogs.ibibo.com/.../brinda-leads-bengali-dalit-refugees-in-new-de - Cached - Similar -Arya-Brahmin Vengeance on Bengali-Tamil Dalits & Chakma Adivasi ...
- 2 visits - 15 OctThe plight of these refugees especially those in the Special Camps has been a ...... [ZESTCaste] would they divide india again.htm (From Palash Biswas Gosto ...
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Palash biswas द्वारा 5 अक्टूबर, 2009 12:02:00 AM IST पर पोस्टेड # ... PLIGHT OF CHAKMA REFUGEES IN N.E. STATES OF INDIA. ...
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15 Oct 2009 ... Palash biswas द्वारा 15 अक्टूबर, 2009 8:45:00 PM IST पर पोस्टेड # ... Some days back , I have written abut the Plight of chakma ..... Arya-Brahmin Vengeance on Dalit-Buddhist Refugees in India ...
palashkatha.mywebdunia.com/.../bengali_politicians_did_everything_to_destroy_us_in_accordance_with_arya_brahmin_vengeance_... - Cached - Similar -Rants & Raves - www.outlookindia.com
More over the Plight of Tamil Refugees is worst. Bengali Refugees toing their ... Palash Biswas Kolkata, India. 9:27:40 PM (IST). MORE MAIL | YOUR TAKE ...
www.outlookindia.com/letters.aspx?0-1-Web - Similar --
Palash Speaks
I talked on this from the Dias of India International Centre in presence of ..... Palash Biswas. ENTRAPPED in KANSHIRAM Branded Casteology Endorsed by VTR, ... Bengali brahmins did EVERYTHING to destroy us and the Plight of Refugees has ...
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Articles - Dalit Voice - The Voice of the Persecuted Nationalities ...
21 Apr 2009 ... He said: Being a Dalit and a non-Muslim — that too from India ..... Brahminical bid to kill 2 crore Bengali Dalit refugees .... We in Maharashtra are not even aware of the plight of our Bengali brethren leave aside fighting for them. ... I have been firmly supported by my colleagues — Palash Biswas, ...
www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/may_a2009/articles.htm - Cached - Similar - Re: [ =>> Jharkhand <<= ] Humiliation of a simple tribal girl ...
3 Dec 2007 ... the Government of India and state governments to field refugees and ... Though the government of India berates that these practices are ... Palash Biswas Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, ..... In the following chapters we shall see that indifference to the plight of the aboriginals, ...
www.mail-archive.com/...co.in/msg00125.html - Cached - Similar -Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time: Refugee Survey in India
19 Sep 2009 ... Pl contribute. Palash Biswas ... India treated refugees differently depending on their nationality. It generally granted Tibetans and Sri ...
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Message before Tawang tripCalcutta Telegraph - 19 hours ago ... refugees and the festival, which will go on till November 10, is the community's way of thanking the Government of India and the Sikkim government for ... China attacks Dalai Lama for hurting Sino-India ties Indian Express No strain in ties with China over Dalai Lama trip: India Times of India Uighurs seek a passage to IndiaTimes of India - 11 hours ago "We can do more from India. We thought of Pakistan, but they have returned Uighur refugees to China. India has welcomed Tibetans and we are similar," he ... Centre considering giving residential status to Lankan TamilsPress Trust of India - Nov 6, 2009 Coimbatore, Nov 6 (PTI) Centre is actively considering granting residential status to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M ... Top Lankan Tamil human smuggler has Indian linkExpress Buzz - 14 hours ago The Sri Lankan embassy in Jakarta had also discovered that Alex had been conducting his human smuggling operations from an office in India, a foreign office ... Tamil accused fights back I'm no people smuggler: Alex Brisbane Times India's struggle to get seat in UNSCPakistan Observer - 19 hours ago The plight of Kashmiris living on both sides of LoC often makes me weep. The average life span in India and Pakistan is 63 years, which means that complete ... Ashok B Sharma pays tribute to former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, on the ...The Westender - Nov 4, 2009 The military repression in erstwhile East Pakistan and the flight of refugees brought India into a war with Pakistan. The US mooted a resolution in the ... PM tells off Wen, says Dalai free to travel in IndiaTimes of India - Oct 25, 2009 India sent a couple of important messages to China. First, that India's hosting of Dalai Lama and Tibetan refugees did not amount to supporting any ... India, China must maintain peace: PM Economic Times India to China: Dalai Lama an 'honored guest' The Associated Press Mind The DrillOutlook - - 10 hours ago Once upon a time "the temples of modern India reduced millions of tribal people to ecological refugees"; now "the minerals seen as the building blocks of ... Ahead of pm's visit, India, US discuss global issuesThaindian.com - Nov 5, 2009 The two sides discussed ways of expanding cooperation on global issues, including democracy, human rights, environment, science, population, refugees and ... India Happy With Sri Lanka on ResettlementIndia Journal - Nov 5, 2009 NEW YORK - India is satisfied with the steps taken by Sri Lanka to rehabilitate more than 250000 refugees displaced by the three-decade long conflict in the ... Sri Lanka steps up mine clearance India Business Blog (blog) | |
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Why Should the Bengalies not share destiny with our Dravid Negroid Kith and KIN as we shared it with SIKH and Chakma Refugees?
Why Should We SWIM in Oceans of Crocodile tears and Allow Manusmriti follower Brahmins to DIVIDE Us? Kill us?
The US Corporate Post Modern Tri iblis Zionist War Monger Galaxy Order has CHOSEN us for Ethnic Cleansing in the FREE Market Democracy US Promoted in the War zone Indian Ocean under US Israel Led Strategic realliance, Nuclear deal and weapon Market. We may not fight the Mass Destruction Regime Zionist assisted by CIA and Mossad!
We may be Branded as Extremist or Terrorist any time as we happen to be seized within as Refugees resettled in Dandakarany are not allowed to gather after DUSK in any Emergency , even in death, as Maoists have captured all available Infrastructure available and the security Forces unable to Flush out the Maoists seek soft Targets in us! As Maosits arouse ETHNO NATIONALISM and Provoke Tribals against our People as the Shiv sena does in Maharashtra against so called Outsiders. As Nationwide deportation drive against the resettled refugees continue by the Ruling Hegemony Brahaminical alliance of UPA, NDA and the Left supported by DRAVID parties. As Prevention of terror Act is similar to AFPSA as weapon of ethnic cleansing aleady ACTIVE in the Entire Himalayan zone, Aboriginal Untouchable Land scpae excluding Brahaminical Himachal and Uttarakhand Hills! As Citizenship Amendment act targets us as Illegal Migrants! As Unique identity Project targets Real Property and we have to be Evacuated! As Forest act goes against all the SC, ST, OBC and converted Minorities and deprive us of Natural resources displacing us from land, Livelihood, home and Life! As Coastal Security Act is implemented only against aboriginal and Indigenous Communities! As SLUM demolition Act would empower the Promoters and builders to KILL us! As Mines Act and disinvestment Drive, FII Rule and foreign capital Inflow, India Incs, Extra constitutional elements engaged in policy making, legislation, governance treat us Illegal Migrants only and the ADMINISTRATION and Polity , Hegemony Strip us snatching all Human and civil rights! Media and Intelligentsia, Maoist Menace and Projected Mass movements, Insurrections, insurgency and NGOs target us for Infinite Persecution and repression!
Why should we not IDENTIFY ourselves, all refugees as Relatives, kith and Kin? Why Not?
Nov 07, 2009 09:27 PM
3
Ananda Bazaar group recently published an Edit justifying the Govt. Decision to deny Citizenship to Tamil refugees.
Since my Childhood, I debated with my father why he emphasised on the Bengali refugee movement only and leading the Peasant across Caste, language and religion! He always answered that the bengali Refugees had been the follower of Harichand Guruchand Thakur and were responsible to launch all the Peasant Insurrections during East India company Rule branded as communal which Resulted in dalit renaissance. It Enabled DR BR Ambedkar to ensure maximum safe Guards for SC, ST and OBC communities, the Black Untouchables even after the Poona Pact and Transfer of Power to Brahmin Bania Raj. Thus, the empowerment of Black Untouchable in United Bengal and the Aboriginal Indigenous Bengali legacy formed Dalit Muslim Power equation in reaction to Brahaminical system and Zamindar Permanent Settlement under colonial rule.Thus, the Partition was manipulated which held Muslims responsible so much so diluting the Hindutva Rule of RSS and Congress led by so called leaders of Freedom struggle to PENALISE and ANNIHILATE the national dalit and Mulnivasi movement with segregation of Subaltern Landscape as Human scape.
He argued that since we are the Victims of Brahamin Arya Vengeance, we have to empower and organise ourselves first just to survive as our Existence is Endangered. Sikhs are persecuted but they are not Hindus and never subordinate to Manusmriti apartheid rule. As community and Religion, SIKHS stand together. Why should they come with us? On the other hand, we have no support from Bengal, our Home state while the Sikhs are backed by Punjab. Tibet and Bhutanese refugees are protected and they would never join us!
At the time , i had known very little about South India and the History and legacy that Connects us to Dravid Movement and Tamil Refugees.
I never do understand, why South India despite the strongest Possible Presence of Dravid Movement is as much as BRAHAMINICAL as Bengal is known from the beginning.
Only in karnataka, while I had gone to TUMKUR Dalit Reds headquarter and visited dalit panchayata led by Women , I came to know about Untouchability sustain itself in hardcore form right in the Dravid Land which is known to be different from the Aryavart and personality like Karunanidhi dares to break the Myth of Mryada Purushottam!Bonded labour is also Prevalent in south India.
More over the Plight of Tamil Refugees is worst. Bengali Refugees toeing their Insurgency Heritage and National Dalit Aboriginal Insurrections and resistance, continued to fight against Persecution infinite and they also resist the Nationwide Deportation Drve enhanced by Citizenship amendment act and Nilekani led Unique Identity Number. But we never hear about any Tamil refugee movement as they depend on the Dravid political Parties and these parties betray them in the same manner as the Bengali Brahmin hegemony, civil society, media and intelligentsia tried their best to finish us!
Jailalita is an Ayer Brahmin and her Apathy may be traced in Brahaminical roots of Dravid Politics right in Tamilnadu!
What about karunanidhi?
I have been writing that all over FIVE Dandakaranya states THREE Million Refugees resettled are stranded in CROSS Fire under Operation green Hunt, Operation Godavari and Operation Venus. Lalgarh and Jharkhand , Bihar and UP refugees are not counted. Mamata Banerjee turned Matua to get suitable Dalit SC Vote Bank and supported Gorkhaland and Lalgarh agitation to get ST Votes. She did never support the cause of Refugees and never condemned the Marichjhanpi Genocide, the first in Marxist Regime even after thirty years!
Mamata has never opposed the Deportation Drive against the Refugees. never opposed Citizenship Amendment act to brand all refugees from east bengal as Bangladeshi Illegal Migrants.
But she sheds an OCEAN of CROCODILE tears!
The Ocean is physically Closer to Tamilnadu and the Tamil and south Indian Non Brahamin dravid Negroid leaders do seem to have inherited the Elite Bengali Brahaminical vengeance and Hatred against the Tamil refugees deep in their heart as they never Oppose them being branded as LITTE people!
In dandakaranya the Tamil refugees are also resettled and they face the Stand off quite helplessly. Tamil and Bengali refugees are seized within dandakaranya. I know that the maoist Movement has no sympathy for the Refugees, Tamil or Bengali . On the other hand they arouse ETHNONATIONALIST Hate against Tamil as well as Bengali refugees. I have faced Ideological debate right in Karanataka when the Maoists declared that the Tamil and Bengali refugees have Captured the land of aboriginal indigenous tribes. Maoists and their Sympathisers like ARUNDHATI ray and Mahashweta Debiu and Medha Patkar do not recognise us,the refugees the Black untouchables as indigenous aboriginal black Untouchables and negroids. The Criticise Corporate Imperialism, LPG Mafia and Monopolistic Aggression, but they Never strike against Corporate interest anywhere. NGOs Follow suit. Politicians just Betray, destroy and shed CROCODILE tears. Worse is the fact that the Brahaminical Elements pit us , the Refugees against the TRIBAL People. It was preplanned that all the refugees Bengali, Chakma, Sikh, Tamil have been resettled systematically in dense FOREST areas inhibited by the aboriginal Tribes so that we continue to indulge in INFIGHTS infinite excluding the Brahamin kashmiri Pandits and Caste Hindu SINDHI and Brahamin Bengalies and kayasthas are adjusted in Urban and semi urban areas. Whereas Indian aboriginal History, legacy , culture, folk, gene, everything belongs to Dravid and nag roots. But the DRAVID leaders from South India ally with North Indian Brahamins to Kill Tamil as well as Bengali refugees. It is strange that the DRAVID Movement and Ambedkarite movement is nowhere Connected.
While the Dandakaranya Bengali refugees in ORISSA had been SEIZED within by Tribals aroused by the Maoists and Tamil refugees kept silent.
I respect ARUNDHATI, Mahashweta,Medha and so on, but the question remains unanswered that they seem to be most CONCERNED and Committed to the Causes of Tribal people but have no sympathy for Tamil, Bengali, Chakam, Raisikh refugees, SC and Obc communities. It means they strengthen the Manusmriti Rule escalating the Caste and Community Divide.
Not only Mayawati and north Indian Politicians, it is fact, Brahamin politicians led by Mamata Banerjee,Dravid leaders like Jailalita and Karunanidhi also evokes Casteology and arouse ETHNONATIONALISM to Push for Ethnic Cleansing and Free market, market Sovereign democracy! We are fools who easily tend under Mind control system and Media and CROCODILE tears of Hypocrite Destructive Politicians and Ideologies!
Palash Biswas
Kolkata, India
http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?262761
Southern Spice
Chennai Corner
Mention Tamil refugees and CM Karunanidhi gets tearful: "I don't see those staying in camps here as refugees, I see them as Tamils…"
Pushpa Iyengar
Crocodile tears
Mention Tamil refugees and CM Karunanidhi goes into drama mode. Some weeks after he sent a 10 MP team including daughter Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi to Sri Lanka to visit the IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) in their camps he was apparently unaware of the plight of the 73,241 refugees (31,802 Sri Lankan Tamils live outside camps) under his very nose in 115 camps in 26 districts of Tamil Nadu till a local magazine blew the lid off the scandalous conditions including poor amenities (no toilets, poor electricity), lack of bore- well, no access to higher education, no jobs. While sanctioning Rs 12 crore immediately after an emergency meeting with ministers – who are in a tizzy currently visiting camps all over the state to submit a report by November 10 – and officials, he got tearful: "I don't see those staying in camps here as refugees, I see them as Tamils…the amenities available to Tamils living in the state should be made available to those living in the camps too." Please note that he said Tamils, not citizens, so clearly he's got an eye on the assembly elections.
Also note that camp denizens had conducted agitations over a period of time, but politicians in TN were looking only at Tamils in Sri Lanka hoping to reap an electoral harvest. There was even a hunger fast at Chenglepattu camp recently by inmates protesting they were languishing without a trial. But no one listened.
Strangely, although some of the refugees have been here for over 25 years, none of the reports about their plight reached Karunanidhi although he's into his fifth term as CM. Does that mean he's a prisoner of the bureaucrats and police who did not do their duty by the refugees? Or are DMK party leaders callous like the Karnataka MLAs who lived in luxury at five star resorts in Goa and Hyderabad when they should have rolled up their sleeves to work and pay back the rain-affected people who voted for them? AIADMK's Jayalalitha has mercifully restrained herself from criticizing Karunanidhi – her preoccupation is with the politics of Mullaiperiyar dam and targeting Union Minister for IT and Communications Raja on the Spectrum scam – because she is culpable too having had two terms as CM since 1991.
PMK's Ramadoss, who is freelance having left the AIADMK front recently, has also joined in the refugee politics: "Compared to Tamil refugees, Tibetan refugees live with more freedom and in a much healthier environment." The Dalai Lama might not agree, considering China's objection to him visiting Arunachal Pradesh...
A cop-out
About eight months after the free-for-all at the Madras high court complex between agitating lawyers and police, the court has ordered disciplinary action and contempt of court proceedings against four IPS officers including the then Chennai police commissioner K Radhakrishnan, the then additional commissioner A K Viswanathan, the then JCP (north) M Ramasubramani and the then DCP (Flower Bazaar) Prem Anand Sinha. "To ensure fair and unbiased proceedings, it is for the government to place these officers under suspension," said the bench comprising Justices FM Ibrahim Kalifulla and R Banumathi. The four cops are planning to appeal in the Supreme Court.
But the CM apparently chose not to take the court's suggestion and AIADMK's Jayalalitha is asking why. In a case like this where the government has to take sides between cops and lawyers, there is no contest on whose side a politician, who gets "his" cops in place to carry out his agenda, will take. But Karunanidhi chose to let the cops, who are down in the dumps, know where his sympathies lie not too subtly. In his avatar as DMK chief he wrote a letter to the party cadre, a couple of days after the high court ruling, saying, "During the last three years (since his current government came to power), crime detection has gone up and so has the recovery (in theft cases) rate in the state. The police have been ceaselessly fighting against criminals and anti-social elements to guarantee protection to the public."
Karunanidhi, who holds the home portfolio, went so far as to say that the police should not be judged by "isolated incidents" that would put a "black mark" on their career. "This would not only make them hesitant to perform but also turn into a societal issue," he said.
He claimed that his views would be the same if he was in the opposition. "The police face several challenges. They risk their lives to maintain law and order and maintain peace. We should commend them for this," he said.
All true really. But politicians should take the blame for the state of the police. And in fact, politicians should also be blamed for lawyers holding the courts to ransom and indulging in protests. The free-for-all on February 19 was the culmination of weeks of agitation by a section of militant lawyers airing their pro-Tamil (read LTTE) views that finally led to excesses by the police including a lathicharge and vandalism of court property. It should also be said that the same lawyers refused to come back to work for over a month demanding action against the cops despite pleas by judges that litigants were suffering.
And for those who think only cops are feared, lawyers are even more feared. A rookie lawyer says even running a stop sign has no consequences because once the lawyer card is played, cops back off.
A Love Letter...
And if Karunanidhi was hoping for supportive cops with the assembly elections 18 months away, he's got it dude. His letter to the party cadre was like manna from heaven for the police force who were feeling kicked in the solar plexus by the courts. Word went around police stations that Karunanidhi's letter should be displayed prominently. "We see his statement as a morale booster. He indirectly told us that he was aware that we are doing a good job. And we wanted all police personnel to know what the CM feels."
Karunanidhi has flirted with the courts before – on the Sethusamudram project and recently on the Mullaiperiyar project. In the first case he converted the state-wide bandh he had called into a public meeting – after hurrying to the secretariat to clear files – when word came in that the Supreme Court did not take kindly to his defiance. On the Mullaiperiyar issue, he shelved the public meeting (although he claimed he was postponing it) altogether. He did not want to make an enemy of the UPA - his initial idea was to condemn Jairam Ramesh for clearing a survey for a new Mullaperiyar dam – at a time when union minister for telecomunications A Raja is this close to falling into the CBI net for his alleged involvement in the Spectrum scam. Besides, after Sethusamudram he did not want to be seen defying the court which is hearing Kerala's and TN's case on the Mullaiperiyar issue.
The real McCoy?
Autorickshaw drivers in any city fear to fall foul of the police. But in Chennai, cops must be auto drivers' best friend because many actually own them and also because for at least 15 years, meters in autorickshaws are showpieces, if they exist at all. It's all about bargaining (a ten kilometer distance could be between Rs 110-150) and hapless citizens have no choice but to opt for the cheaper "share" autos, which, incidentally, have hit auto drivers where it hurts the most – in their wallets. Not that share autos are angels and follow rules, they drive in non-designated areas. But since "mamools" are effective communicators, cops are over the moon , autorickshaw drivers are happy and only citizens get penalised.
So, it was little wonder that Palani Kumar, an autorickshaw driver from Annanagar spent Rs 1400 of his own money to print 150 posters in support of the police after the high court judgement. The poster claims, "Politicians, actors, media and advocates get preferential treatment; while the public and police, who protect everyone round the clock, face injustice." A tad incorrect, because I've yet to see a cop paying a bill in a restaurant.
But Palani may have printed posters to get his 15 minutes of fame (as proved by this column), to get on the police' right side or a concerned citizen who speaks out when he sees injustice. He says he had got the posters printed when exercised over another issue while in Madurai, but no one noticed. "I follow news regularly by reading at least three Tamil dailies. I was saddened by the court's verdict and wanted to express my anguish."
So he was never wronged by a cop? He had a string of bitter encounters but claimed he was looking at the bigger picture which was that politicians, actors and the media thumb their nose at rules and get away.
So, he's a rare auto driver who uses his meter, right? Wrong! "Nobody asks me to, they (customers) just prefer flat rates and I oblige." Is he for real?
Walk, don't play on the beach
Cops have turned out to be villains for youngsters wanting to play cricket at the Marina.. Although the decision to ban cricket- playing on the beach was taken by the corporation, cops – the enforcers – became the bad guys. Even the 228 playgrounds offered by the authorities have not mollified the youngsters mostly because the parks do not lend themselves to playing cricket. If more than one team comes, then it's out of the question. Some parks have trucks parked in them, some are garbage dumps, some have anti-social activity happening there. Besides, the Marina was preferred because many of the parks they played cricket at got taken over for building construction. Chennai Corporation commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni says, "If there is construction debris on any ground it will removed once work is over." But this is yet another example of a generation gap. It's the walkers (mostly middle/old aged with a wide reach to the powers) who first complained to the Chennai Police Commissioner provoking the ban. At an Annanagar ground where yoga happens, the senior citizens often have words with youngsters playing tennis. The older ones want peace and quiet and the young ones are loud and boisterous and that's where the problem arises.
http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?262720
- Flashpoint 1 Appalling infrastructure makes Arunachalis wonder how New Delhi can ignore such a sensitive border state
- Flashpoint 2 It's particularly shameful when you look at all the development just across the border, on the Chinese side
- Flashpoint 3 There is resentment over dilution of tribal identity, especially on account of the imposition of Hindi
- Flashpoint 4 A corrupt electoral system is helping elect people who have the money but don't necessarily represent people
- Flashpoint 5 Hydel projects will lead to influx of migrants and hasty environmental
clearances will wreak havoc
***
Travelling through the plains of upper Assam one late October afternoon, wending our way from picturesque Tawang to Arunachal's capital Itanagar, an irony keeps hitting us at every turn. To access one part of Arunachal from another, we must suffer this tedious journey through Assam. It's here that we run into Ritesh (name changed), an indigenous Arunachali who's a journalist with a government media agency based in Itanagar. He recalls the day he went across the McMahon Line, which divides India from China, for the first time in his life—and saw what China was all about. Actually, Ritesh didn't really see mainstream China but the region euphemistically called the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).
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"A Naga tribal's as alien to me as he is to you. Then why should we be clubbed together as the Northeast?"— Moji Riba, FilmmakerThe visit was a mind-bending experience for Ritesh, prompting him to take a relook at his assumptions, at the idea of India he had inherited. He, after all, belongs to what can be called the post-'62 generation, those born in the years following the Indo-China conflict. They know of China as the aggressor, an image recurring in the narration of their grandfathers. Now, however, Ritesh has seen the other China—a superpower in the making, hurtling down the road to development at breakneck speed.
Whose goose is being cooked: Arunachali tribals resent the loss of their way of life and dilution of their tribal identity
Quite understandably, China dominates the thoughts and memories of most Arunachalis. The tribes here still lingered in their pre-industrial ways of life when in October 1962, as the winter chill set in, the Chinese stormed into India through Bum La on the west and the Dibang valley in the east, sweeping past Indian defences to advance to the gates of Tezpur in Assam. The '62 war sent shock waves countrywide. But for Arunachalis—indigenous people aeons away from the mainstream in material culture—a modern war machine playing out its drama on their territory marked the end of innocence. Indeed, 1962 isn't just a year for them. For many, it is the beginning of the end.
Says Moji Riba, an erudite and articulate filmmaker whose father was briefly the chief minister years ago, "Our society developed at such a speed that we couldn't catch up post-'62. Most people like my grandfather never saw a wheel when they emerged from the jungles. And yet, they saw jets flying in the air. From pre-wheel to jet age in 40-odd years, can any society evolve in this manner without consequences?"
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Riba belongs to a new generation of Arunachalis in search of their ethnic identities, frustrated as the youth is with New Delhi's insensitive policies. "They club us as the Northeast. But a Naga tribal is as alien to me as he is to you. Then why should we be clubbed together and why should our paradigm for development be the same?" Riba now spends his time travelling through the state documenting the oral histories of the various tribes of Arunachal. It is, in a way, his protest against the post-'62 onslaught of Hindi.
What are we defending?: An Indian army soldier patrols the snow-clad mountains of Tawang
Riba explains, "People of our age now speak to each other in Hindi, our second language, because it was taught for years in our schools, while our ancient tribal languages were forgotten. New Delhi never bothered to understand or value our culture. Now, we seem to be getting lost in the deluge." For many like Riba, Delhi is a colonial power, imposing its will on a people and deciding their fate. And what a fate New Delhi has decreed for them.
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"The PM comes in a special plane, makes lofty announcements, and leaves. How will he ever understand us?"—Mamang Dai, Fiction writerAn accomplished fiction writer, Dai makes her disappointment with Delhi quite evident through her writings in the local papers. Citing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's October visit to the state as an example, she notes sardonically, "He comes in on a special plane, makes lofty announcements, waves and then leaves. How does he expect to understand us? Look at the special Rs 24,000-crore package he announced for Arunachal in January last year. Has any of those proposals moved beyond the files? Nothing." In fact, Dai's anger was articulated in a letter current chief minister Dorjee Khandu submitted recently to the PM in Delhi (see box).
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Perhaps this also explains the lack of development in the state, its decrepit roads and poor communication facilities. Ironically, in Arunachal's border districts, the Airtel signal pops up on cellphones from towers located across the McMahon Line. These districts are yet to get similar mobile towers on the Indian side. Likewise, a strategically important road such as the Tezpur-Tawang-Bum La highway resembles a dirt track. "How can a state that India claims is so important have such pathetic roads?" asks Dai. Lost on New Delhi is the fact that these are the very roads that 2,420 Indian army officers and soldiers died defending, fighting the Chinese with their bare hands after exhausting their ammunition. Says taxi driver Tsering Dondup, who takes 18 hours to cover the 465-km distance between Tawang and Tezpur, "A few trips on these roads are enough to condemn any vehicle. How do you expect people here to survive? We hear the Chinese have trains running to Tibet. Here, we can't even build roads."
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A trans-Arunachal highway was slated but bids for it "were rejected by the surface transport ministry".—Dorjee Khandu, Arunachal CMNew Delhi's chattering classes often cite India's democratic credentials as one reason why Arunachalis would never want to live under the Chinese. Ironically, it's this very democracy which is playing havoc with the Arunachalis. Alleges Bamang Tago, who has been fighting the planned power projects in the Dibang valley, "Just look at the statistics. Over 30 MoUs of the 103 power projects were signed in the five months preceding the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. That means the funds for the elections came from the MoUs."
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All this has alienated Arunachalis from India. They believe they have been exploited and neglected, their tribal identity deliberately diluted. Lack of development has begun to agitate them because they have woken to the possibilities, illustrated by what China's achieved across the McMahon Line. Democracy and freedom are India's advantage over China. But as Dai points out, "With democracy playing havoc with Arunachal Pradesh, there's a murmur in our society asking: wouldn't we be better off under Chinese rule?"
runachal pradesh The Centre may put up a show of good intention, but it seldom comes to any sort of fruition |
| tawang China's stand on Tawang lies inextricably close to its suspicions of India's intentions on Tibet. Therein lies the rub.... |
 opinion Let there be no war. Let bhai-bhai one-upmanship last forever. |
| the india complex Is it paranoia or just plain old envy because China has surged far ahead of us in every field? |
 china eye view The Indian media reserves its vitriol for China. It's horribly unfair. |
| bilateral trade Trade is growing. But a closer look finds India chafing at inequalities. |
 Column A stronger India must counter China with open-minded caution |
| Tawang |
- A government report critical of the land acquisition policies in rural India
- Says cycle of growing lawlessness, poverty, violence is a natural outcome of state's neo-liberal economic agenda
- Amendments altering protective laws to attract private investment has further marginalised the poor
- Report slams state patronage of Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh
***
Once upon a time "the temples of modern India reduced millions of tribal people to ecological refugees"; now "the minerals seen as the building blocks of modern India" are putting them "at risk of losing their land through acquisition and further disruption of their societies and economies". No, that's no dire warning from some rights activist but, significantly, a part of a government report, 'State Agrarian Relations and Unfinished Task of Land Reforms', by a 15-member committee of the Union rural development ministry in January 2008. Headed by minister C.P. Joshi himself, it includes the secretary, land resources, four other civil servants (two of whom are retired), three economists and six representatives from the NGO sector. Curiously, the chief author of the report is B.K. Sinha, a retired IAS officer who now heads the National Institute of Rural Development in Hyderabad.
The report promises to stir up a hornet's nest, suggesting as it does radical changes in land management, stressing that the cycle of growing landlessness, poverty and violence is a natural outcome of the government's neo-liberal economic agenda. It also warns that if immediate steps are not taken, it could be a downward spiral. The report admits that even within the government there is a view "that distributive justice programmes have been overtaken by the development paradigm", and that many states had amended protective laws to attract private investment but these have ended up further marginalising the poor. It also makes a connection between the alienation of tribals from their land in central India and the rapidity with which Maoist influence in this area is growing—and also slams the government's patronage of the Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh.
That said, the report is a "modified" version of the original document. When the original draft was shown to the RJD's redoubtable Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, the current minister's predecessor and under whom the committee was formed (and in whose tenure most of the report was formulated), he told Outlook he had "pointed out that it had taken an extremist line; so it was toned down".
But the more than 250-page tome is apparently not toned down enough for UPA-II, with its recommendations on reducing the land ceiling, a homestead policy, tenancy registration, giving tribals the right to decide how their land would be used, and so on. Sources in government say the report is "impractical, too utopian" and simply "does not take into account ground realities". The report now awaits the approval of the National Council on Land Reforms headed by Dr Manmohan Singh. Council members include the deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission, central ministers from the ministries concerned —agriculture, social welfare, tribal welfare, environment and forests—chief ministers and a group of experts.
If the report is "too utopian" for the government, even committee members admit that some of the report's key recommendations may be difficult to implement. Dr A.K. Singh, economist and director of the Giri Institute of Development Studies in Lucknow, told Outlook, "The report suggests that tenancy registration should be strictly enforced. In UP, it has never happened as land has always been leased to tenants in an informal way. It is doubtful that it can be implemented in UP, especially as land is a state subject."
Yet other committee members point out more contradictions. Neelima Khetan, CEO of Sewa Mandir, Rajasthan's largest NGO, says, "The report recommends that homestead rights be given to all poor people, by distributing surplus land. At another place, it talks of using Common Property Resources effectively. How will the two be reconciled?"
But P.V. Rajagopal, who heads Ekta Parishad and was the moving spirit behind the Janadesh Yatra in '07 (when 30,000 tribals from 18 states arrived in the capital to press their demands), which compelled the government to set up the committee on land reforms, is more sanguine. As a member of the PM's Council on Land Reforms, which will put in place a policy framework and take a final view on how the recommendations will be implemented, he's already gearing up for battle. "The government is torn between a World Bank-led reforms agenda and the one that people like me are espousing. Of course, there will be tensions between the two groups when the council meets. The government, I am sure, will realise that if it goes the corporate way, it will only increase migration, poverty and violence," says Rajagopal.
Indeed, while the report focuses on the entire country (including a section on the Northeast), the part relating to the tribals and Dalits has special resonance today, as government forces engage in a bloody war with the Maoists in central India. The report is devastatingly frank about the collusion between government and big business, even accusing the two of funding and fuelling the Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh. "This open, declared war will go down as the biggest land grab ever.... Tata Steel and Essar Steel...wanted seven villages or thereabouts...to mine the richest lode of iron ore available in India. (After) initial resistance from the tribals...the state withdrew its plans. A new approach was necessary.... (It) came about with the Salwa Judum...headed by the Murias, some of them erstwhile (Maoist) cadres. Behind them are traders, contractors and miners.... The first financiers of the Salwa Judum were Tata and Essar...640 villages...were laid bare, burnt to the ground and emptied with the force of the gun and the blessings of the state. (Some) 3,50,000 tribals, half the total population of Dantewada district, are displaced, their womenfolk raped, their daughters killed and their youth maimed. Those who could not escape into the jungle were herded together into refugee camps run and managed by the Salwa Judum...640 villages are empty. Villages sitting on tons of iron ore are effectively de-peopled and available for the highest bidder. The latest information being circulated is that both Essar Steel and Tata Steel are willing to take over the empty landscape and manage the mines."
Clearly, the government has little time to lose, as Rajagopal points out, "There is pressure from the Maoists and growing violence on the one hand, and there is the pressure from non-violent mass movements to take a fresh look at the land issue." Indeed, the report may have some virtually undoable suggestions—and certainly some contradictions (inevitable, given it has sought to be fair to the competing perspectives of equity, ecology, growth-efficiency, and community and gender). The government can ignore this report only at the cost of not just its own future but, more importantly, that of the country.
