Ultimatum on Mandal Report
Madras:
Leaders participating in the two-day All-India Conference for the Protection of Scheduled Castes & Backward Classes here on Dec. 11 & 12, attended by over 10,000 people, declared an all-out war on Brahminism and urged the Govt. to announce the implementation of the Mandal Commission Report on Backward Classes before the forthcoming session of Parliament.
The Report of the Mandal Commission submitted to the Government over 2 years ago has almost been thrown to the wastepaper basket. The Commission has recommended 27% reservation to the OBCs forming 52% of the population. The conference resolution, moved by K. Veeramani, general secretary of the powerful Dravida Kazhagam, which hosted the conference, said there was no need for further discussion on the criteria adopted by the Mandal Commission to measure backwardness on the basis of caste. Karpuri Thakur, former Chief Minister of Bihar, was very clear when he said as long as a Brahmin was the Prime Minister, the Shudras, Untouchables and Tribals had no future. He wanted all the lower castes to join hands with minorities and declare a war on Brahminism. Dhanik Lal Mandal, Chandrajit Yadav, both former Union Ministers, said the angry OBCs would gherao Parliament if no action was taken on the Mandal Report. Yadav said he had organised AICC sessions too, but the Madras conference held at the historic Periyar Thidal was the biggest that he had seen. Over 500 delegates from different parts of the country attended the first-ever conference on the Mandal Report. On Dec. 11, the State Govt. declared holiday for the conference. The D. K. organised a mile long procession through the streets of Madras, on Dec12. The Conference was addressed by Karunanidhi, former Chief Minister of TN; Ram Vilas Paswan, Dalit MP; Abdul Samad, MP, president, TN Muslim League; V. T. Rajshekar, Editor, Dalit Voice; M. Kamalakannan of the Ambedkar Peoples Welfare Movement; and representatives of Christians, Dalits, Tribes, women and different caste leaders. K. Rajaram, Speaker of the TN Assembly, inaugurated the afternoon session on Dec. 11, which was addressed by D. P. Yadav, MP; N. D. Sundaravadivelu, ex-Vice Chancellor, Madras University; T. N. Ananthanayaki; Rama Aranganal; R. L. Gupta, M.P ., secretary, National Union of Back- ward Classes Federation; G. R. Edmund, Christian fishermen leader. Brahm Prakash, former Chief Minister of Delhi and the president of the National Union of Backward Classes, Delhi, who delivered the presidential address, denounced the Hindu scriptures and the caste system which reduced 80% of India’s population to the status of servants. Democracy was in danger because the 10% of the high castes who ruled India considered their interests above that of the country. He made it clear that though the backward classes movement was based on caste, it stood for destruction of caste. A new journal, Buniyadi Sangharsh, the organ of the National Union of the Backward Classes, was released on the occasion, carrying Periyar’s photo on the cover page.
