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[1] From: "All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations" <delhiprf@gmail.com> UP dalits get empowered Swati Maheshwari Friday, April 6, 2007 (Agra) Two dalit men from Uttar Pradesh have made success stories of themselves as they showcase the power of education and determination Shiv Charan Kashyap owns a 20-room hotel in the heart of Agra. But when he started out in life he was a worker in a shoe factory. He educated himself, realising it was the only way he could break the dalit stereotype, a route adopted by many in his community. Education though lower amongst dalits than other communities has grown much faster than the others. In 2001, the literacy rate among SC/STs in Uttar Pradesh was barely 50 per cent as against nearly 69 per cent for others. But literacy rates have grown four and a half times among dalits in the last 40 years as against just over two times in others. "After inter, the situation at home was not good financially so I started working in a shoe factory part time. I was either at college or at work. I somehow kept my studies going till I got a bank job," said Shiv Charan Kashyap, Entrepreneur. With elections in Uttar Pradesh round the corner, Kashyap has tried to stay away from the caste-based politics around him. He feels that aligning himself politically will only limit his business. "I am not affiliated to any one party or support anyone right now," he said. Political clout On the other hand, Hari Krishan Pippal, another prominent businessman of Agra, is actively campaigning for the BSP in a colony inhabited by people who work in Agra's shoe factories. "It is important for dalits to have political clout and power. Otherwise they face trouble trying to get ahead," said H K Pippal, entrepreneur. He has several businesses and a flat in one of Agra's most expensive apartment blocks. He is the only dalit to own a flat in the area. He too started out in a shoe factory and did not get an education. But with a loan from his father-in-law, he started a banquet hall and a restaurant. The restaurant was an instant success and a quick step to other businesses. Today his five sons look after his many companies and he runs a hospital as his most ambitious venture so far. "The dalit community cannot work in isolation from upper caste communities. We shouldn't give them that feeling," said H K Pippal. Entrepreneur. While caste politics has helped dalits realise their political strength, education and economic mobilisation within this community may also eventually realign these political affiliations. ---------- [2] From: Regi P George <george_regi@yahoo.com> Date: Sat Apr 7, 2007 Subject: SEZ policy changes inadequate : CPI (M) SEZ policy changes inadequate : CPI (M) Special Correspondent --------------------------------- Allowing corporates to buy large tracts will render farmers vulnerable State Governments must be involved in land acquisition --------------------------------- NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday said the changes in the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) policy were "totally inadequate" and fell far short of what was required. In a statement here, the Polit Bureau said if the Government went ahead with SEZs in the present form, the matter would have to be taken up in Parliament for amendments to the SEZ Act and Rules. The empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM) left the "exorbitant and unjustified" tax concessions intact. Consequently, the Government would lose thousands of crores in revenue. The "iniquitous tax bonanza" was one of the basic problems with the SEZ Act and Rules. Without revising these concessions, the SEZ concept would not find acceptance. Proliferation Also, the eGoM had not looked at proliferation of SEZs. Pointing out that there was an urgent need to review the type of industries to be set up and apply sector-wise caps, the Polit Bureau said even allowing a maximum of 5,000 hectares (1,25,000 acres) for multiproduct SEZs was "uncalled for." The minimum size of 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) for multiproduct SEZs was not lowered; it should be only 400 hectares (1,000 acres) with a ceiling of 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres). The party disagreed with non-involvement of the State Governments in land acquisition, particularly for larger SEZs. Allowing the corporates to buy large tracts would put small farmers, tenants and agricultural workers at the mercy of land sharks. Private entities would be able to own, rather than lease, thousands of acres, subverting land ceiling as well as town planning laws. State intervention was necessary to ensure that farmers got a fair price if their land was bought. In the absence of any change in the Land Acquisition Act and a legally enforceable rehabilitation policy, licence to corporates to buy land on a large scale would be harmful. Await panel report Accusing the eGoM of ignoring the comprehensive suggestions made by the Left parties, the CPI (M) said the United Progressive Alliance Government should realise that political parties across the board had come out against the present SEZ Act and Rules. As the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce was studying the issue, the Government should await its recommendations and re-examine the matter rather than taking piecemeal decisions. "Advantage land mafia" The Revolutionary Socialist Party, which has been demanding that the SEZ Act be scrapped, said the changes would encourage the land mafia. Its MP Abani Roy said private entities would have to depend on the mafia to acquire land, which in turn would lead to law and order problems. ------------ [3] From: R Singh <progressindia2007@yahoo.com> Date: Sat Apr 7, 2007 Subject: MCD Results Big Blow To Goonda Rule Of Shiela Dixit MCD Results Big Blow To Goonda Rule Of Shiela Dixit People of Delhi has given first big blow to Manmohan Singh loot policies of promoting select corporate, mainly Ambani taking out the most valuable of all SEZs about 30% in area but over 60% in value. Results of Delhi assembly next year and Parliament elections in 2009 shall be even more severe when people are likely to react more severely to anti farmer policies and neglect of Indian Industries. Imports last fiscal were $185b which are likely to exceed $250b. MCD elections are severe blow to goonda rule of Congress Rule In Delhi and reflections of things to come in coming two years. Congress tally has come down to under to 69 out of 272 from 108 out of 134 in 2002, which is basically a rout for a ruling party. Seat percentage of BJP jumped five times and Congress declined by over three times. Y2007 272 Seats Y2002 134 Seats BJP 164 (60%) 16 (12%) Congress 69 (25%) 108 (80%) http://sec.delhigovt.nic.in/home/rprtge2002-02.asp#result2002 Shiela Dixit let loose worlds most notorious Corporate Reliance along with Dubious Tata group to loot and plunder people of Delhi. First thing these discoms did was to hire all the criminals and bad elements that specialized in forcible taking away motor vehicles of consumers to harass & extort legal consumers. Aarti Mehra was first to win the elections is like to be promoted as Mayor of Delhi. Shiela Dixit did everything dubious to discredit her. Biggest dogs, cattle and even a monkey was released in her constituency just before elections but was not enough deny her land slide victory. Ravinder Singh April07, 2007 Progressindia2007@yahoo.com -------------- [4] From: WebXpurt <webxpurt@yahoo.com> Date: Sat Apr 7, 2007 Subject: Sachar Committee's gigantic political fraud -- Part 2 http://www.newstodaynet.com/2007sud/apr07/050407.htm Sachar Committee's gigantic political fraud-II V SUNDARAM ----------- [5] From: Sukla Sen <suklasen@yahoo.com> Date: Sun Apr 8, 2007 Subject: Nanndigram in Nagpur On March 6 in th evening, a discussion on Nanndigram, in particular, and the politics of SEZ, in general was held at the Institute of Social Work, in Nagpur. The discussion was opened with the screening of a 35 minute film on Nanndigram, 'For the Sake of Development' vividly describing the event of March 14 and its aftermath. Those who intoduced the topic included Gautam Sen, Sukla Sen and Asis Das. Others who took part included Bharat Patankar, Anant Phadke, Abhay Sukla, Arvind Ghosh, Dharmendra Kumar, Ishwar Sigh Dost, Prakash Meghe, Suresh Khairnar and many others. Many of these participants came from outside to take part in another programme - third in the series of brainstorming sessions - Samuhik Khoj (Collective Exploration, to explore the various dimensions of the Indian, and global, reality. The locals joined in significant number to participate in this evening programme. All the participants expressed horror at the way a "Left Front" government has waged a virtual war by making brutal use of the State machinery, reinforced with the armed cadre brigade, against its own people (of Nandigram) to expropriate them of their means of livelihood and thereby lives as well to subserve the interests of corporate capital in the name of "development" . Sukla ------------- [6] From: Sukla Sen <suklasen@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: New Rules on SEZ: Nandigram Effects A graphic illustration of Stalinist tradition of falsification of facts! Where did Mr. George discover the "support" for the new SEZ policy? So far various organised groups are concerned, to my knowledge, amongst the Left Front constituents two, viz. the Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party, had asked for wholesale scrapping of the SEZ Act, no amendment. Amongst the other opposition groups, so did NAPM and Medha Patkar. This is one of the demands of the Action 2007. Among other Left Parties the SUCI is on record having so demanded. I'd guess similar is the position of the CPIML (Liberation). As far as I'm personally concerned, in the context of Nandigram I had voiced five demands, out of which the first four are Nandigram specific and the last one is that no land must be acquired without an open and transparent consultation with all the stakeholders including non-landowners. This actually calls for overhauling of the Land Acquisition Act itself. The CPIM, the government led by whom is coercively acquiring land from the peasants as the agent and on behalf of the corporate houses, is lamenting the loss of such an opportunity and talking of (other) land sharks! And that's precisely the Nandigram effect! Even if it falls far short of what is required. No longer an SEZ can be declared as a "public purpose" and the State cannot acquire lands at the gun point by resorting to the Land Acquisition Act on the patently false pretext of "public purpose", while the purpose, as is all too apparent, is to promote "private (corporate) profit"! The SEZ has of course other dimensions as well. These include creation of virtual States - with its own set of rules etc., within the (Indian) State; undue and irrational tax concessions; withdrawal of normal protections for the labour in industrial relations etc. etc. Nothing short of scrapping the SEZ Act itself would adequately address these issues. But that must not detract us from the importance of amending the Land Acquisition Act making open and transparent consultation with all the stakeholders, including those who have no ownership rights over the lands to be acquired but whose lives are dependent on these. There must be a clear provision for just not compensation but adequate and proper "rehabilitation" for all those to be affected, just not the landowners. And the opinion of the local inhabitants, just not limited to the patch of land to be acquired, must be heard and heeded on the environmental, and social, impacts of the acquisition for the specified purpose. Sukla Re: [indiathinkersnet] New Rules on SEZ: Nandigram Effects Vow! Wonderfull! Regi -------------- [7] From: Abhiyya 2006 <abhiyya@yahoo.com> Date: Sun Apr 8, 2007 Subject: Save Afzal Guru Campaign TORTURE, LIES AND SHOW TRIALS: INDIA??S ??? WAR ON TERROR?? A meeting and book launch in support of the Save Afzal Guru Campaign Speakers: Amrit Wilson (Save Afzal Guru Campaign) Deepak Gupta (Campaign Against Criminalising Communities CAMPACC) and Guest Speaker Moazzam Begg Thursday 12 April 6.30pm Conway Hall Red Lion Square London WC1 (nearest tube Holborn) Afzal Guru is a Kashmiri currently detained in India ??s notorious Tihar jail and facing a death sentence. He is accused of involvement in the attack on the Indian Parliament five years ago. He faces hanging although: There is no direct evidence against him and he is known not to have injured or harmed anyone The Courts have found that the investigating agencies deliberately fabricated evidence and forged documents against him and others accused Afzal Guru was denied an opportunity to defend himself ?? he did not even have a lawyer Moazzam Begg is one of nine Britons detained at Guantanamo - imprisoned for a crime he did not commit and whose precise nature has never been determined. He is the author of ???Enemy Combatant ?? a British Muslim??s journey to Guantanamo and back??. ???Patriotism in the time of terror - Framing Geelani, Hanging Afzal?? Bibliophile (2007) examines the cases of those accused of the attack on the Indian Parliament. The author, Nandita Haksar, is a well-known human rights lawyer and activist now representing Afzal. The attack on the Indian parliament The Indian parliament was attacked by five men on December 13 2001. They were killed by the security forces, but even today their identity remains a mystery. Three other men, who according to the police masterminded the attack, have also not been found. However, on 14 and 15 December 2001, the investigating agencies together with the Special Cell of the Delhi Police picked up four persons, all Kashmiris, and charged them with the offence of conspiring to attack the parliament under India ??s notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). After a nationwide campaign for a fair trial, two of them, Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani and Navjot Sandhu, who was jailed along with her newborn baby, have been acquitted of all charges, a third, the husband of Navjot Sandhu, has had his death sentence converted to ten years in prison. But the fourth, Afzal Guru, was due to be hanged on October 20, 2006. A stay on his execution has been obtained by the Save Afzal Campaign through a Mercy Petition to the President of India. But he is still facing a death sentence. Torture and Forced Confession In the Special Cell of the Delhi police Afzal was kept naked for two days and beaten mercilessly ?? once by a man who later appeared as a prosecution witness; police officers urinated in his mouth saying ???This is the way you can break your Roza(fast)??. After he was tortured he was handcuffed and made to sit on a chair and forced to ???confess?? at a media conference. But television broadcasts did not show the handcuffs and did not show the men who tortured and humiliated him. For details about how he was treated by security forces in Kashmir before he came to Delhi see his wife Tabassum??s letter: http://justiceforaf zalguru. org/ background/ tabassum. html Since October last year Afzal has been waiting for the results of a Mercy Petition. Even after enormous efforts by his campaign he is being denied basic rights in prison ?? he is not allowed to go out of doors for even half an hour of sunlight and the Red Cross who have access to Kashmiri prisoners have not been allowed to visit him. SAVE AFZAL GURU! SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION AT: http://www.petition online.com/ CMAG/petition. html Organised by South Asia Solidarity Group sasg@southasiasolid arity.org Tel. 0781 498 3105 Supported by Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) With Regards Abi ------------- |
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