CBI Calls for control on Cyber Network, New delhi Mute on Myanmar
Pranab Advocates East policy by strengthening bilateral and regional relations with Southeast Asian countries.
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashchandrabiswas@gmail.com">palashchandrabiswas@gmail.com
If India were to adopt a ‘bold’ approach on Myanmar the least that would be expected of New Delhi is to snap diplomatic and all other ties with its neighbour and then participate in covert or even overt operations against the junta. Anything short of that would remain classified as ‘muted’ response.On the other hand on the Myanmar line, in view of terrorists' growing usage of the cyber network for communication, security agencies, including CBI, has asked the government to amend Information Technology Act to enable investigating and intelligence agencies to monitor the Internet network and gateways. This was opined at the just-concluded Directors and Inspectors Generals Conference being organised in the capital by Intelligence Bureau. According to sources, monitoring of network was essential as this would help the probe and intelligence agencies in gathering real-time information and take necessary preventive measures. Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP), used to transmit voice signals as data packets through the Internet, was being misused by some people, posing a serious threat to national security, CBI said in its presentation at the Conference. The CBI’s stand was supported by representatives attending the conference.
Twice in the past India had plunged headlong into the affairs of the beleaguered people in the neighbourhood. First in what is now Bangladesh where the Indian participation did prove to be very important in liberating the country from Pakistan. But where are we today? Relations with Bangladesh are anything but tension-free. To blame that state of affairs wholly on the faulty Indian policy would be somewhat misleading because it is Bangladesh that has in recent years chosen to jettison its secular character and encourage the rise of fundamentalism—acts that appeared to be part of a deliberate policy to distance Dhaka from New Delhi.The other unhappy experience was in Sri Lanka where the Indian army was sent with the intention of curbing militancy that appeared to be a serious threat to the island nation. The policy of sending Indian troops, which at the time had only received some muted criticism at home, ended in turning both the majority Sinhala (Buddhist) and the minority Tamil population against India. The after effects of that ‘disaster’ over two decades ago have still not been erased.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Sunday said India could emerge as one of the world`s fastest growing economies if it was able to boost its Look East policy by strengthening bilateral and regional relations with Southeast Asian countries.
`The Look East policy is a strategic shift in India`s vision of the world and we genuinely believe the country could emerge as one of the fastest growing economies in the world if we can reach out to our civiliasational Asian neighbours,` the Minister said.
It may well sound politically correct but the tendency in the country to magnify the negative impact of foreign policy issues that concern India sits ill with aspirations for great power status. There is some obsession about outside powers—almost always used as euphemism for the US—ever eager to ‘interfere’ in India’s domestic affairs much as they do when dealing with client states or potentates gone out of favour. Even with its potential still not fully realised, does anybody seriously think that India will become a vassal state?
It is astonishing that the idea of today’s India being sill in ‘imminent danger of being swamped by the East India Company has so many takers in the country—among the class of politicians. Actually, the reason may be something very different. Raising slogans like someone ‘selling’ the country or ignoring national ‘interests’ are believed to be rewarding at the hustings. The baser the appeal the more politically profitable it is likely to be.
Take the crisis in Myanmar. In comparison to the West, India’s response has been dubbed ‘muted’, mainly, it is said, because New Delhi cannot afford to annoy the Generals who are already in tight embrace of China. Besides, India needs Myanmar army’s help to fight insurgency in its troubled Northeast region. The rich energy sources of Myanmar are also responsible for bringing India closer to whoever rules the country.
Mukherjee was speaking at a meet, titled `India`s Look East Policy - Challenges for Sub-Regional Cooperation`, in Assam`s main city of Guwahati. Organised by the Public Diplomacy division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the meeting was aimed at highlighting the Look East policy for developing closer relations with the economic tigers of Southeast Asia.
`We need to cement connectivity with the Asian neighbours in the region who, by emerging as regional economic powerhouses, also presented us with a model worthy of emulation,` he said.
Considering the proximity India`s Northeast has with Southeast Asia, the Minister said the region could become the gateway to the neighbouring countries.
`India is aware of the geo-economic potential of the Northeastern region as a gateway to East and Southeast Asia. By gradually integrating this region through cross-border market access, the Northeastern region could become the bridge between the Indian economy and what is beyond doubt the fastest growing region in the world,` Mukherjee said.
He said there were plans for direct air links between Southeast Asian cities with India`s Northeast, besides having telecommunication networking through optical fibre links.
`Information and communication technology revolutions have virtually shrunk the globe, and geography is no longer a buffer,` he said.
The meet was part of a exercise by the Public Diplomacy division to educate people across the country about foreign policy issues and seek their opinions on critical issues.
Enunciated in the 1990s by then prime minister PV Narasimha Rao, the much-hyped Look East policy had its genesis in the end of the Cold War following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
India made a shift in its foreign policy when it embarked on a programme of free market restructuring at home and sought new markets and economic partners abroad - primarily Southeast Asia - because of the geographical contiguity of the Northeast with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.
Ancient India tribe marches against power project
06 Oct 2007 11:47:18 GMT
Background
Northeast India clashes
More (Corrects location in paragraph 1 from northwest to northeast)
By Bappa Majumdar
KOLKATA, India, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Thousands of Indian tribespeople protested on Saturday against the construction of hydro power projects on what they say is sacred land in the remote northeast, officials said.
The ancient Buddhist Lepchas, who say they are already marginalised by the growing population of ethnic Hindu Nepalis in the region, strongly oppose the project in Dzongu mountain, which they regard as the abode of their guardian god of the mountains.
"Dzongu is a reserved territory of the Lepchas and we will protect the land of our forefathers with the last drop of blood," said Tseten Lepcha of the Affected Citizens of Teesta.
There are plans to construct at least six hydro power projects along the Teesta river in the tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim to generate more than 3,000 MW of power.
The protest was seen spreading on Saturday after thousands of Lepchas were seen holding placards and shouting "Stop the project" and "Protect Dzongu", on the streets of Kalimpong, a tourist town in neighbouring West Bengal state, witnesses said.
The ancient Lepchas traditionally revere the Teesta river, and fear its disappearance into a series of proposal tunnels will be accompanied by their own marginalisation.
It will also cause widespread destruction of vegetation and kill thousands of rare fish, they say.
Several rounds of talks with the government have failed to resolve the dispute.
"The parleys have all failed and they want nothing less than scrapping of the Teesta project, which is impossible," B.B. Gooroong, chief adviser to the government, said on Saturday.
The 100,000 Lepchas living in the two states are now coming together on the issue.
"Dzongu is all that is left to us, how can we let them destroy it," added Dawa Lepcha.
CBI favours monitoring of Internet gateways and networks
"The calling person in a foreign country makes a call through calling cards. Once he or she calls any number to India using calling cards, the call is routed through VOIP gateway in the foreign country where the voice signals are converted into data packets.
"The same are transmitted over Internet and are converted into voice signals by VOIP gateway in India. The calls are further routed through a local telephone network to the destination numbers as local calls," the CBI said in the presentation.
The investigating agency said such illegal set-ups caused losses to the government in form of Access Deficit Charges (ADC), licence fees and other charges like income, service taxes.
"Also, as the calls cannot be monitored by law enforcement agencies, they present a serious threat to the security of the nation," the CBI, which has registered many cases including that against Reliance InfoComm (before demerger), said in its presentation.
The agency, while calling for strengthening of the IT Act, also favoured legal sanctions for pre-registration of evidence collection tools as e-surveillance and undercover operations besides providing testimonial immunity to undercover agents.
In view of the paucity of staff, the CBI favoured delegating the powers of investigation to an Inspector as not many Deputy Superintendents of Police were available for investigating.
CBI favours monitoring of Internet gateways and networks
New Delhi, Oct 07: In view of terrorists' growing usage of the cyber network for communication, security agencies, including CBI, has asked the government to amend Information Technology Act to enable investigating and intelligence agencies to monitor the Internet network and gateways.
This was opined at the just-concluded Directors and Inspectors Generals Conference being organised in the capital by Intelligence Bureau.
According to sources, monitoring of network was essential as this would help the probe and intelligence agencies in gathering real-time information and take necessary preventive measures.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP), used to transmit voice signals as data packets through the Internet, was being misused by some people, posing a serious threat to national security, CBI said in its presentation at the Conference.
The CBI’s stand was supported by representatives attending the conference.
"The calling person in a foreign country makes a call through calling cards. Once he or she calls any number to India using calling cards, the call is routed through VOIP gateway in the foreign country where the voice signals are converted into data packets.
"The same are transmitted over Internet and are converted into voice signals by VOIP gateway in India. The calls are further routed through a local telephone network to the destination numbers as local calls," the CBI said in the presentation.
The investigating agency said such illegal set-ups caused losses to the government in form of Access Deficit Charges (ADC), licence fees and other charges like income, service taxes.
"Also, as the calls cannot be monitored by law enforcement agencies, they present a serious threat to the security of the nation," the CBI, which has registered many cases including that against Reliance InfoComm (before demerger), said in its presentation.
The agency, while calling for strengthening of the IT Act, also favoured legal sanctions for pre-registration of evidence collection tools as e-surveillance and undercover operations besides providing testimonial immunity to undercover agents.
In view of the paucity of staff, the CBI favoured delegating the powers of investigation to an Inspector as not many Deputy Superintendents of Police were available for investigating.
Thai companies looking to invest in the subcontinent are being encouraged to look to India's Northeast.
Attractive government incentives and nearly $50 billion in planned road and highway upgrades make this one of the region's most lucrative areas, says an Indian delegation.
''What we have done is try to give subsidies in various forms to companies that invest in the region, and they are part of the overall incentives to promote the region,'' Ashwani Kumar, minister of state for industries for the government of India told Thai investors in Bangkok during a seminar.
Mr Kumar was accompanied this week by Mani Shankar Aiyar, the minister for the development of the northeast region of India and close to 400 delegates from the region. He said the salient points of the incentives on offer are:
FA 10-year income tax holiday from the date of investment.
FExemption from all forms of excise duty on products manufactured in the region.
FA capital investment subsidy of 30% of capital expenditure on machinery and equipment to companies that set up plants in the region.
FA 3% interest-rate subsidy for investors.
FComprehensive insurance, whereby the government subsidises 100% of the insurance premium that the investors undertake.
FA transport subsidy for 90% of total costs for transport of raw material from any part of India to the region's manufacturing base and for the shipment of finished goods from the region manufacturing plant to any part of India.
Mr Kumar, who drafted the incentives, said that they made the region an investment haven for Thai entrepreneurs looking to capitalise on India's robust economic growth.
These subsidies, he explained, were available to investors for the next 10 years and could be renewed if the requirements existed during that period.
''There is no set rule that these subsidies will not be renewed, but rest assured they are there until March 31, 2017 and if there was a need to renew it, we will renew it,'' he said.
Besides the manufacturing sector, the benefits would also be available for service industries such as tourism, hospitality, health care, vocational training and IT.
Among the biggest challenges Mr Kumar highlights are the vast distances from the Northeast to the now booming areas of India. Chiang Mai is closer to northeastern India than Kolkotta, New Delhi or Mumbai.
''Through the transport subsidy, we have taken that burden off the manufacturers, which opens the region to a whole lot of opportunities apart from the infrastructure investments that are needed,'' Mr Kumar said.
Thailand Deputy Industry Minister Piyabutr Cholvijarn and Satit Chanjavanakul, the secretary-general of the Board of Investment, agreed that the region offers great potential for Thais to capitalise on the growing Indian market.
''The region is one that we all have to look at as it can open the avenue for us to enter the booming Indian market and beyond to the Middle East and the European markets,'' Mr Piyabutr said in his remarks during the four-day event in Bangkok to promote trade and investment with less developed region of Northeast India.
India, whose economy is on track for 9%-plus annual growth, is looking to develop the Northeast region to propel the country's overall growth. .
Mr Kumar said that the delegation was the largest of its kind to visit Thailand.
Northeastern India comprises Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. The resource-rich provinces have large deposits of oil, coal and metals. Literacy among the region's population of 400 million is among the country's highest and labour is inexpensive.
The area is also rich in oil, natural gas, coal and limestone, while the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries could be tapped for energy, irrigation and transport. It has more than two-thirds of India's hydropower potential (84,000 megawatts). Fertile soil in the Brahmaputra valley makes it a storehouse of plantation crops, vegetables, spices and rare woods.
''This is the gateway to Southeast Asia and we can complement each other as India's 'look east' policy and Thailand's 'look west' policy can help form a partnership that will be there for ages to come,'' Mr Kumar said.
Film on Mahasweta Devi's Nandigram activism
Kajari Bhattacharya
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=23&theme=&usrsess=1&id=162395
KOLKATA, July 10: After making two controversial films ~ One Day From a Hangman’s Life ~ a film based on Nata Mullick, who was given the responsibility of putting the noose around murderer Dhananjoy Chatterjee’s head (a film that was banned in the state by chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee) ~ and Walking Dead, a film about people living in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh district who have been declared dead in land records ~ filmmaker and a director with Films Division, Joshy Joseph is now making a film on Jnanpith Award winner Mahasweta Devi.
The film, The Journey of an Indian Author is being produced by Drik India, and is not a documentation of the 82-year-old writer’s life. Instead it focuses on Devi and her activism in Nandigram and other parts of rural West Bengal.
“The film stems from my obsession with journeys and Mahasweta Devi’s journey to from Kolkata to Purulia and from there to Nandigram. Within this frame I want to reflect her past and her commitment to causes as an activist,” said Joseph, sitting in his Films Division office on the sixth floor of Doordarshan Bhavan. The filmmaker has already shot about 52 hours for the film, and plans to shoot another 30 to 40 hours within another four months, although the film’s duration will only be about an hour. Joseph is also making a biographical docu-feature from Films Division on Mahasweta Devi, which would take another five or six months to script.
The writer-activist, who has been vocal in her criticism of the state government’s attempts to grab the land and homes of villagers in various parts of the state, is now engaged in pooling together all possible resources to set up health centres in Nandigram.
The author has been a harsh critic of the government’s use of force for acquisition of land in Nandigram, East Midnapore and has stood by activists such as Medha Patkar to oppose the state’s land grab move. “I’ve been to Haripur, Baruipur, Nandigram, Singur; wherever they (the state government) are taking away land,” said Mahasweta Devi. “I’ve put all my efforts now into setting up health centres in Nandigram. Even after all the violence that has happened in Nandigram, the West Bengal government has done nothing to help the villagers. In the 37 to 38 villages that make up what is called Nandigram, people need doctors and medical help.”
The author alleged that from across a canal that borders Nandigram, bombs and bullets are being hurled towards the villagers on a regular basis. “Martyrs’ Hospital that is being proposed to be built in Nandigram will be about 17 to 18 kilometre away from villages such as Shonachura. So, we have set up a health centre on the terrace of a United Bank of India building in the village,” she added. Both men and women from the village are actively involved in helping the health centre to run. High school pass outs are being trained by doctors to become health workers in villages such as Maheshpur and Shonachura. The author said efforts were on to open another health centre in Gokulnagar village. About 75 to 80 patients are treated in the Shonachura health centre on a daily basis. Most of the patients suffer from dog and snake bites.
Britain on Wednesday justified the award of a knighthood to controversial author Salman Rushdie and asserted that it would not allow terrorist groups to undermine the British way of life.
Lebanon's army appeared Wednesday to be gearing up to launch a major assault on a Palestinian refugee camp where troops have been battling Islamic militants for weeks.
Witnesses said the army was bringing in heavy reinforcements to the Nahr el-Bared camp area near the northern port of Tripoli, suggesting a fresh assault was imminent.Sniper from inside the camp killed a Lebanese soldier late Tuesday after the Fatah Islam fighters rejected repeated calls to surrender.
.S. tempts Japan with new F-22 jets By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jul 12, 4:26 AM ET
Nationhood redefined
I am sending you a review article of Mr V.T.Rajshekar's , (Editor, Dalit Voice ) book Caste : a Nation with in nation : recipe for a bloodless revolution.
regards,
Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Strong caste identities pose serious challenge to brahmanical supermacy
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Hindu Society is a myth but caste is a reality. And this reality has been widely accepted in Uttar-Pradesh and Bihar where caste assertion is growing and those without any political representations are living on the margins. It would look absolutely fanatical if you talk of caste as a nation but reading V.T.Rajshekar's book 'Caste, a Nation with in the Nation', recipe for a bloodless revolution, reveals the importance of the subject. He is not the only one who speaks on the issue but definitely perhaps among very few who are unapologetic about speaking it and quotes reasonably well from Anthropological survey of India report ' People of India' which was headed by an IAS officer Mr K.S.Singh. Singh maintained that there are 2800 castes in which 450 are scheduled castes, 461 scheduled tribes and 766 backward classes. The report, which says that ' Indian society continues to be a collection of castes and communities,' has been hidden in the dusty files of the ministry.
It is a fact that people closely connect on the basis of their caste more than any other identity. A person lives in various identities including the individual one. There are identities, which are linguistic, regional, and ethnic yet the Indian sub continental reality is that it would be entirely baseless to say that the caste identity does not exist. If caste were not a reality, Bangladesh would not have come into being. The fact of the matter is the Punjabi Muslims had always treated the Bangla Muslims with utter contempt. A former general in Pakistan justified in his book for non-inclusion of the Bengalis in elite services of Pakistan for they 'lack' merit.
Caste Identities will ultimately eliminate the brahmanical supremacy
What Rajsekhar has tried to put in bravely is that caste system has to be opposed but castes are different identities. That is a fact because Dalit is not a one word or one world as it includes a variety of castes and each one has its own world. Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar, when drafted the constitution, mentioned it as Scheduled Castes. So he was aware of the fact of the diversity with in the Dalit Bahujan societies. Caste is a reality and not rhetoric and has been wonderfully explained by Mr V.T.Rajshekar. In fact, he was among the very few whom out rightly supported quota on the basis of the percentage of the community. The issue of Mala Madiga, Mahar-Mang, Chamars-Valmikis and others would get resolved easily if there were broader feeling of sharing the space with even the nondescript communities. It is also interesting that the author says the abolition of sub castes would not help the Dalit Bahujan but to the brahmanical Hinduism. If Hindus are so interested in caste elimination why the elite want to confine their marriage in their communities. If caste is a rural phenomena and not an urban one, why the hell it is not eliminated from our English newspapers and their matrimonial columns? The caste consciousness of the Dalit Bahujan would make the struggle stronger which the upper caste Hindus fear too much and therefore the 'saintly' advise of 'elimination' of castes without touching the caste system.
Rajshekar is unique in theorizing and people like me have always taken those theories further. Like, the demand for elimination or annihilation of castes normally comes from the powerful groups. It is no secret that why this issue has rarely been raised by the poor. Why are Brahmins so interested in demolition of caste they so wonderfully created? The answer is provided by the author himself. Today, using caste identity is not beneficial for the Brahmins. It is beneficial for the Dalits and the bahujans for democracy is a number game and therefore assertion is important. Secondly, it is important whether denouncing caste has in fact resulted in demolition of the brahmanical structure. It is easier to say ' I do not believe in caste', but how many of them have excluded from their social rituals and practices based on caste system. The answer would be in negative.
On December 16th, 1993 Rajshekar wrote a historic editorial in Dalit Voice: Strengthen every caste to annihilate Brahmanism'. This was an important departure from the so-called academic theories, which talks of 'elimination' of caste system without really intending to do so. In December 1992 Babari Masjid was demolished and Dalit Voice was the only journal, which wrote that myth of the Hindu tolerance was exposed. Some of us who developed our understanding though reading Dalit Voice and the material referred by its editor, realized that the aim of the Babri demolition was not really against the Muslims but subjugate the Dalit Bahujan masses further which were aggressively asserting their caste identities in the aftermath of the anti Mandal protests in north India. An analysis of the post Mandal situation in India reflect explains unambiguously that had it not been the assertion of Dalit-Bahujan, India would have turned into a fascist state. Is not it a reality that after the Babari mosque was demolished the Dalit Bahujan of Uttar-Pradesh joined hand and threw away the fascist government of the Bhartiya Janata Party which thought that they would come with thumping majority. Is not it true that both Uttar-Pradesh and Bihar, many of our educated elite might make us believe are the worst Indian states, have virtually decimated the Sangh parivar. And what are the reasons for the same? It is the growing assertion of the Dalit backward communities in these states, which has kept the Hindutva family thoroughly marginalized. In the latest round of bout, again the people of Uttar-Pradesh have brought back a government led by a Dalit woman and both the upper caste parties are at the margin. It is another factor that the fall of Mulayam Singh Yadav must be attributed to upper castes and hence Maywati has to be extra vigilant when she makes Brahmins her ally, as they have not come to Maywati leaving their feudal caste mindset but because of compulsions. And marriage of convenience breaks ones compulsions are over. It is important to understand that while the caste identities have challenged brahmanical supremacy, further degeneration of it would bring back the brahmanical elite. Uttar-Pradesh is a case example. While the main political struggle here is between the Dalits and backwards, it is the brahmanical elite, which has become the most sought after in the state. But if the Dalit Bahujan are understandable this question would also get resolved soon.
Connect to History
The best practice of the brahmanical manipulation was that they were non violently violent as Rajshekar has pointed out many times. They institutionalized violence and made everything that benefited them as sacrosanct. So, for the poor Dalit Bahujan, the Brahmins made them hate them, so most of these communities hated themselves and their communities. Abroad, people used to write their surname with the work they do like the Shoe maker put their sir name as Shoemaker, similarly other sir names originated as Smith, Goldsmith, Blacksmith, Butler, etc. But here the Brahmins asked to hate us. How can the people or a community progress if they do not know their own history and hate them. Every now and them the ruling elite talks of the contradictions among the Dalit and Bahujan classes but the fact is that contradictions are there in our lives as Mao Tse Tung said in his famous work ' On Contradictions'. Human history progressed with these contradictions. Is not there a contradiction between Brahmin and a Thakur or a Kayastha or a Bania. Differences are bound to happen in a diverse society and they will be there in the Dalit Bahujan also as they are among the upper castes also. However, contradictions would always be used to divide the Dalit Bahujan masses to fulfill the grand agenda of the brahmanical elites in India and therefore Baba Saheb Ambedkar said, ' As long as oppressed classes do not turn to ruling classes, internal contradictions would remain.
Hinduism is a Political Theory
Again, an important point expressed in the book is that Hinduism is not a religion but a political theory. Some people differentiate between Hindutva and Hinduism for they believe the idea of Hindutva was propagated by Vir Savarkar while Hinduism, they feel, is essentially a very tolerant religion. This is historically inaccurate and incorrect for various reasons. One, Hinduism as such is not a religion but essentially meant to address the people living in India, a name was given by the Mughal invaders. Originally, it was Varnashram dharma, a religion based on caste and colour. But in real terms it is a political theory as mentioned by V.R.Rajshekar quoting profusely to Baba Saheb's writings, as define our civil laws and is aimed at controlling our freedom, our social and cultural life. This institutionalization has made every working masses totally depended on Brahmins to get social legitimacy.
How do you abolish caste system? Academics over simplify them in terms of education, urbanisation or industrialisation and inter-caste marriages. The author brilliantly exposes all the three. Education as he rightly points out is 'an instrument of oppression in the hands of ruling classes to retain its dominations over its subjects. Secondly, caste is not just confined to rural India but also to urban India and therefore caste clashes would only strengthen the Dalit-Bahujan's determination to understand and strengthen their caste identities. Inter caste marriages have not taken place yet. Most of the marriages are one like the Brahmins girl marrying elite Dalit mens who are either government servants or politicians. They is not really inter caste marriages as marriages at local levels and village levels have not been possible. So these cases may be termed as rarest of rare despite various interest factors involved in it.
Urbanisation and industrialization has not really helped the Dalit Bahujans as it might have helped in other countries. The caste struggle would ultimately lead to revolution and rightfully the author suggests that Marxian dialectics of class has to be modified in Indian terms replacing it with caste. Another important point that the author mention is that urbanization in India has pushed the Dalit Bahujan to further brink unlike other countries where urbanization is considered to be a better option for replacing the old feudal system but in India urbanization is creating new slums. It is hitting the Dalit Bahujan rock hard.
Qualities of a True Ambedkarite
While speaking strongly for caste identities the author feel that an enlightened Ambedkarite must rise above the narrow caste interests. Dr Ambedkar always felt proud to be born in a Mahar community but his struggles and fight was for all the downtrodden communities. Can any one say that he fought for Mahars? The point that the author wanted to make is that every community is today seeking its space under the sun. The communities have to do that because otherwise they will be thoroughly marginalized. They go the other way because their aspirations are not fulfilled. Aim of strengthening caste identities is not to divide the Dalit Bahujan's movement but to strengthen it. Basically with in ourself, there has to be a proportionate representation. Every caste has a history and they are tracing that history and it is good they are doing it. As Baba Saheb, no community can move forward which remains isolated and unknown to its history. So author want caste identities to eliminate the brahm