Dr. Laxmi N. Berwa, 7700-Old Branch Avenue, Suite C-101, Clinton, MD-20735, USA: On June 5, 1997, A Congressmen Burton and Condit introduced Bill number HR 1802 in the US Congress (House of Representatives) to suspend US aid to India “unless the President certifies to Congress that the Govt. of India has taken certain steps to prevent human rights abuses in India”. (This Bill is called the “Human Rights in India Act”). The Bill became necessary because of serious human rights abuses in India.
- Tens of thousands of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, are being held without charge or trial under special or preventive detention laws.
- The special and preventive detention laws most frequently cited by human rights organizations are the TADA of 1987, the National Security Act of 1980, the Armed Forces (Punjab and Chandigarh) Special Powers Act of 1983, the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act of 1990, and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act of 1978.
- Although TADA expired in March 1995, it continues to hold prisoners under it.
- Many victims come from underprivileged and vulnerable sectors of society in India, particularly the Scheduled Castes and Tribes. The Dalit, or “Black Untouchables®, have also been victims of wide- spread human rights abuses.
- The Govt. of India does not permit citizens of India who are critical of the govt. to travel abroad and return to India and this includes the case of V.T. Rajshekar, Editor of Dalit Voice and a noted Indian journalist and writer, whose passport was impounded in 1986.
In all 18 prominent cases have been cited by the US Congress. Congressman Dan Burton has been a very outspoken critic of human rights issues, especially in India. I know many in the Indian community who follow Y the Indian govt.’s line that call him an “India-basher”. The Indian Govt. has been illegally funding motley to the election of many US Congressmen through their stooges in the Indian community and one of them is now in jail. The FBI itself is investigating the clandestine activity of the Indian Embassy here for interfering in US elections. There is heavy lobbying by the upper caste Indians in the US to fund US Representatives through an organization called “US Congressmen India Caucus”. I wonder how the Indian Govt. would have reacted if the CIA was actually involved in the Indian elections. The Indian Human Rights Commission is like a toothless tiger. One of the most popular and celebrated cases is of V.T. Rajshekar, the Editor of India’s oldest and largest journal of persecuted minorities in India. His passport has not been released in spite of a letter signed by 50 US Congressmen to the then Prime Minister, Deve Gowda. I urge that his passport be released immediately, otherwise, they will face the wrath of the international community. Who needs this kind of oppressive government? Is this a democracy in India? India claims to the world that we are the largest democracy in the world and about to celebrate the 50th anniversary of India’s independence but we still have the same king/queen bureaucracy, British law. The only thing that is different is we can’t blame a White man for these criminal activities of state- sponsored terrorism. Under these circumstances, the people who are victims of this oppression have every right to claim their sovereignty. What right does one group have to rule over the other group without a mutual consent? Let us not forget that India has a long history of being a slave. Nation, not so because of outsiders but more ‘so from insiders. Wil somebody listen to this advice?
Saleem Mashed, PO Box 2056, Jeddah – 21451, Saudi Arabia: I read Dalit Voice accidentally because t can’t find it at any newspaper stand. I suggest you make DV an international magazine by writing something about all the suppressed communities of the world. And do not heed much about Israelites, they are not lesser venomous.
S.R. Talukder, Delhi- 110 091: On June 14, 1997, an interesting ad appeared in the Times of India, seeking nominations for “Dr. Ambedkar Gaurav Samman” from the Director, Department of Culture, Uttar Pradesh Govt., Lucknow. Generally, awards and rewards go to Sharma’s, Pandey’s, Mukherjees, Tiwari’s etc. Even the “Dr. Ambedkar Award” is not an exception. But the UP ad is an exception. The first requirement of the nominee is that he must be an original inhabitant of India, that is, he must be a minivan of India. So, the alien Aryan cheats are not even entitled to file their nominations for this award. Because, they are not the uninvests of India. This type of identification and exclusion of our oppressors and the looters of the wealth of this country is a must for our survival and I would rate this decision of the present UP Govt. as the boldest of all decisions it has taken during its last three months tenure. I suggest, the next step should be to create posts for Ambedkar National Professors With a fixed salary of Rs. 5,000 a month for life. Only the uninvests will be entitled for such posts. That will be the holy starting milestone of “Ambedkar Era”.
P.C. Narayanan Kutty, Pulleparambil House, Thenar (PO), Parali, Palakkad – 678 616: Saritha (12), a 7th standard Dalit student at the AUP School, Mathur, worked for Rukmini Amma. On June 3, 1997 she was found dead and Rukmini was sitting beside the body unmoved. The body was partly burnt. Lt was a planned murder. The police arrested Murali, a relative of Rukmini, and the investigation is going on. But the murderers being upper castes are highly influential and they are trying to make Saritha’s death as suicide.
Rai Haran Das, BSP leader, PO Talbagicha, Kharagpur, WB: Congratulations for launching a war against the MCP’s in Parliament. “Educated” people must be made conscious of their duties. Merely helping with financial schemes won’t serve any purpose.
Neerav Patel, 4-Hemang Park, Vejalpur, Ahmedabad 380 051: Each issue of Dalit Voice carries a tirade against something or somebody, be it Hindu nazi “national® toilet papers, time-pass Wala fashionable feminists, cunning environmentalists, Brahmana Jati Party, Manu wadi Marxists, high caste priests or mullahs denying equal rights to Dalit Christians and Backward Caste Muslims, world human rights organisations not ready to recognise Dalits as “persecuted nationalities denied human rights®, egalitarian religions like Islam, Christianity, Sikhism getting caste-contaminated, incompetent and inefficient Dalit leadership of different political parties, hegemony of the White Aryan race, irresponsible and immature ways of the Dalit activists. I could go on listing many more such groups/sections/ institutions/ individuals against whom you have rightly waged a war. Only a most honest, committed, intelligent, sensitive humanitarian activist can have the courage to fight such a vast spectrum of odds and evils. We Dalits of India owe you a great gratitude for having preferred crucifixion for our sake. This praise is not intended to flatter you, for I know missionaries like you have a historic role to play and you have no time to enjoy such backwash, encumbered as you are with greater tasks to perform in a time-bound schedule. Years of exploitation and injustice to be put an end to, and you are determined to punish them by the end of 2000 and usher in the “Era of Dr. Ambedkar”. You want people to act or react but never sit silent and suffer. You will provoke them through your bitter and ruthless criticism, for act or react they must and that too efficiently. You will not spare even the veterans for their minor slips, for I know you will not like their slips showing. Alibhai Patel is a dedicated social activist here and his story on the nazi Athavale (DV June 1, 1997) was more important and could have been written with more care.
Baldev Singh, E-190, E-Block, Ranjit Avenue, Amritsar, Punjab – 143 001: I am amazed at the ignorance of Mrs. Sangat, Madras (DV June 16, 1997), about the caste of Sikh gurus. They were not Banias put Khatris (Kshatriyas). But they were the first to denounce the caste system and considered every human being equal. The present-day Sikhs who believe in caste system do not deserve to be called Sikhs. BSP chief Kanchi Ram has high regard for Sikh gurus’ teachings and equality in Khalsa society.
Saran Singh, IAS (retd.), Editor: “The Sikh Review”, Suite No. 116-Karnani Mansion, 25A-Park Street, Calcutta – 700 016: Ms. Sangat (DV June 16, 1997) is right in contending that the upper caste rulers and media in India have made Sikhism the target of their attack “in a phased and planned way”. But she over- reaches her argument in asserting that Sikhs were swallowed by this Brahminical demon” – as she calls them. “Operation Blue Star”, far from being symbolic of the “cumulative blunder” of the Sikh leadership, was in fact the culmination of a long-term plan that India’s ruling class had formulated at the time India gained “independence” after the partition (1947). It is also blasphemous to insinuate, as Ms Sangat has done, that the Sikh gurus were Hindu Banias, Guru Nanak, born in the Kshatriya clan, in early childhood denounced the caste system by word and deed, and the succeeding Gurus ceaselessly endeavoured for equality and upliftment of the downtrodden – until the emergence of the Khalsa fraternity in the historic Amrit ceremony in 1699 AD under Guru Gobind Singh’s leadership.
K.B. Ram, Rajkamal, 1-CH-13, Sector-1, Jawahar Nagar, Jaipur, Rajasthan – 302 004: Not only Manu but the Hindu religion itself is anti-national because it divides the entire population of the country into “high* and “low” and creates enmity between them and make them fight among themselves, such as Ekalavya, Shambu Sudra, Jains, Buddhists, Muslims and Sikhs. The theft of statues in Jain temples, killing of Bodh Bhikkhus and confiscating and Hindu sing Bodh Vihar’s including Maha Bihar of Bodh Gaya, demolishing Babri Masjid and killing Muslims in communal riots, rampant corruption by upper castes in authority and the last but not the least atrocities of various kinds by BSO on “low castes”. The Hindu religion had caused its people to surrender to the foreigners for over thousand years as it created L disability in the divided population to rule its own country. It should be banned by law or its caste system abolished by Parliament to save the country.
Vinod Kumar Bharati, Advocate, 340-Bichhiya Jungle Tulshiram, Gorakhpur, UP – 273 014: I have been so much influenced by your writings. I am just 33 years and unmarried and wish to remain like this to devote my whole life for the Dalit liberation, but solely under your guidance.
First, make yourself a successful lawyer through hard work, study and service of the Bahujan’s. The missionary work we suggest is for reach our literature for all corners of UP. You may also arrange its translation 1o Hindi Such a work Wilf make the sieves aware of their slavery and once This is done the slaves will themselves revolve. That will be a great contribution from you – EDITOR,
Aayakar Karma Chari Kalyan Mandal, Bombay, Income Tax Office, Matru Mandir, Tardeo Rd., Bombay – 400 007: We request you to participate in our silver jubilee function on Sept. 11, 1997.
Manjoor Gopalan, Surabhi, Kanak Kary PO, Kottayam – 686 632: This has ref. to the Letters by K.N. Kuttan, advocate, and Lajja Raj, Judl. Magistrate (Retd.) (DV June 16, ’97). Soon after the Mayavati Govt. took over in UP, steps had been taken to implement the 14-point plan formulated by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar covering all priority areas such as housing, water and power supply etc. She has taken stern action to implement job, reservation among the weaker sections. As a result, A of which in the 67 districts of UP 45 had Collectors and Superintendents of Police from the weaker sections. In all, 137 IAS officers and equal number of IPS officers out of the total of 550 belonged to the oppressed classes. Leaders from the deprived classes had been admitted to the govt. so as to enable them to help their own people sincerely. The newly-created five districts have been given the names close to the hearts of Dalits. BSP chief Kanchi Ram said that the BSP-BJP alliance was only a temporary one. He also said “six years” development would be completed by the Mayavati Govt. within the stipulated period of six months. BSP would not hesitate to join hands with any party to protect the interests of the Bahujan Samaj. Those who allege that her alliance is “shameful” or “opportunist” is ill-informed and prejudiced.
Subhash Kumar, 240-C, Pocket-A, Mayur Vihar Phase-Il, Delhi- 110 091: A proposal (Economic Times June 11, ’97) is being prepared by the Ministry of Welfare regarding quota for Christians, involving two strategies. One, to allocate the Dalit Christian community a separate 0.5% quota (as yet unclaimed from the total reservation quota of 50% set by the Supreme Court. And two, work at some kind of “understanding” or trade-off between the SC/ST community and Dalit Christian community for sharing a 1% quota from the SC/ST’s total share of 22.5%. In return, the Welfare Ministry has suggested that SC/ ST community be allocated a quota in educational institutions being run by the Christians. The above proposal is not acceptable to SC/ST and Christian communities because this is neither in the interest of SC/ST nor Christians. So, we must oppose the govt. move. Christians must get reservation separately in proportion to their population.
L.R. Balley, Bheem Patrika Publications, Jalandhar – 144 003: Arun Shourie, after publication of my book Shori Ka Shor, has come to senses. In his article in the Hindi daily, Punjab Kesri, (16-5-1997) he has admitted: “Dr. Ambedkar played important role in framing the Constitution. Now, he has started attacking the book, Buddha and His Dhamma. His intention is not yet clear.
G. Gopala Rao, Bhim avaram – 534 208: This is with ref. to the article of Valjibhai Patel of Ahmedabad (DV June 1, ’97 p.15) on the Hindu nazi Pandurang Athavale. I request our Dalit brothers at Ahmedabad to file a criminal case against Pandurang Athavale, and the publishers in the Gujarat High Court under the provisions of the “Untouchability Offence Act [Sections 7 (1), a to d, section 10 & 12], because he is preaching untouchability, through his writings, against the Constitution.
A.R. Hakim, Bombay: Elections to panchayats and other local bodies (or any other bodies) held on the basis of unrestricted reservations for women, violates our Constitution to the extent that they pertain to those other than the SC/ST/BCs. This is because under the Constitution only SC/STs and such other socially and educationally Backward Classes of citizens, who have been traditionally suffering discriminations and continue to suffer degradations, poverty, misery and backwardness similar to those of the SC/STs, alone are eligible for reservations. Those who are better off are not at all entitled to any type of reservations and their elections, if challenged in the court, are liable to be struck down as violative of various clauses of the Constitution. Besides, the extent of all reservations cannot exceed 50% of the total seats. Sufficient case law already exists in the matter. Reservations for women will have to conform to the constitutionally intended limits and cannot transgress these limits, without inviting judicial intervention or judicial review. The basic features of the Constitution cannot be altered or distorted to the detriment of the constitutionally intended beneficiaries of reservation. Associations, or individuals working in public interest or in the interests of the SC/ST/BCs should note this. Gross violations of the Constitution through unqualified reservations for women, have already taken place and continue to take place on a massive scale all over the country, particularly in respect of elections to the panchayats and municipalities. The Supreme Court or any of the High Courts could Suo moto intervene in the matter.
S. Haq, Patna: Within a kilometre distance, there are 20 Hindu temples and all constructed on illegal or occupied, encroached tend. The Hindustan (16.6.97) (Hindi / Patna edition) has an article, Bharatracher Se Perthes Kise, by Dr. Wishwanath Tripathi, who made this disclosure in his own area, Dilshad Garden. If this is so, we can imagine the number of such temples all over India. How filthy the Aryan upper castes are? How dare they blame Muslims saying they built Babri Masjid upon the birth place of others? Aryans are masters in converting lie into truth.
Abhijit Roy, 931-Jawpur Rd., Calcutta – 700 074: I often find you praising Laloo Prasad Yadav. in the Times of India, New Deti (March 17, ’97), he says he is a Gandhi an. In the past his rath carried Gandhi’s picture. But you are a bitter critique of Gandhi. We are really confused. In Bihar, the Dalit position has not improved compared to the other states. Gandhi and Gandhis are the enemies of Dalits and all over India Dalits are fighting these two. But you support Laloo. Is this not a contradiction?
Abhijit’s anew reader – not even two years old. And hence all these doubts, Laloo Prasad is a vote politician whose behaviour will be different from that of an honest intellectual like Babasaheb who can fake an uncompromising stand. We can’t come for a conclusion on Laloo Just because he praised Gandhi, the Enemy No.1 of Untouchables. Is he fighting our principal enemy – Brahminism – or not? The way the Brahminical forces are atter his blood and Laloo fighting the whole world single-handed should surely make him the daring of the Bahujan’s. He deserves our full support – EDITOR.
G.M. Abul Hussain, 24-Barracks Road, Madras – 600 003: There was a bomb blast at the Hindu Munn ani headquarters here on the April 14, 1995. Apart from damage to the building, the plats claimed one dead. I The Hindu (April 15, ’97) called it a “suicide bomb” and said the victim was a Muslim. S.M. Pasha, Editor of Murjan, wrote to the Hindu seeking explanation. When the body was torn apart and was mutilated beyond recognition, how the genital alone remained intact from which it could be known that the penis was circumcised? The Hindu replied saying that the report was based on the police statement. But the Police Commissioner denied that he had issued any such statement. Pasha then wrote an article, ” Journalistic Mischief”, in his Murjan on the subject. in June 1997, the All-India Jihad Committee announced that it would claim the body of the said victim of the blast and bury it as per the Islamic rites, as the victim was a Muslim. He filed a petition before a city court praying that the police be restrained from handing over the body of the said victim to the Jihad Committee to bury it as per Islamic rites under the impression that the victim was a Muslim. The case came up on the June 12, 1997.
Elias Peerzada, 157-Sheriff Devji Street, Masjid Bunder, Bombay – 400 003: As my subscription ceased long back, I am out of touch with DV for long. I intend to join your movement actively.
It is because of such part-time patriots like Elias, our circulation is not going up. Such Aliases are in hundreds. They don’t discontinue DV subscription for any other reasons excel their part-time interest in our work, only a sustained interest in revolution can bring about revolution – EDITOR.
S. Bablu, Islamic Library, Senapati, Sambalpur, Orissa: I am badly in need of your books because they are so enlightening and powerful. I have collected some subscriptions from Dalits for Hindi DV. After I spoke to Dalits /BCs and Muslims quite a number of them are eager to meet you when you come o Bhubaneswar on July 13. An Oriya daily, Prajatantra, is carrying on a tirade against Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Muslims. Arun Shourie through his articles is spreading hatred. The newspaper’s that carry the rubbish of Shourie do not publish our criticism. This is the state of India’s “free press”. This BJP pet dog must be given a fitting lesson.
M.H. Jawahirullah, 36-Thacker Street, Parasail- wakame, Madras – 600 084: We have established Unnerve News Service to disseminate the news of the Tamil Nadu’s persecuted community throughout India. This is the true story behind the “seizure of explosives” from two Muslim youths at Kodu Guiyu here recently. The police arrested two Muslim youths who were wanted for the last 3 years by CBI, CBCID and the police at Kodungaiyur, a suburb of Madras. The TN police is being praised for having captured the fugitives. The media gave wide coverage of the news with pictures of the articles seized, said to be very powerful, deadly explosives. The seized articles give a different picture. But the list does not include “explosives” seized. Yes, indeed they have been seized. But what was seized from the two Muslim youths are much less than those seized from the assassins of Palani Baba, and still less than the haul from Hindu nazis at Tambaram and Madhavaram outside Madras recently. The same police did not bring to light the 22 powerful weapons seized from those who murdered Palani Baba, held in high esteem and regard by the Muslims. This clearly proves the anti- Muslim attitude of the Tamil Nadu police. Soon after the capture of the two Muslim youths, the police raided the offices of the various Muslim organisations. But despite the fact that the assassins of Palani Baba belong to RSS and lethal explosives and detonating devices were seized from them, none of the offices of RSS and Hindu Munn ani was ever raided. The explosives seized from Tambaram and Madhavaram are so far the largest ever to be captured in the country. Still, none of the offices of RSS and Hindu Munn ani were raided. The Tamil Nadu police want to project the Muslims as hereditary criminals and thereby protect the Hindutva terrorists.
M. Ansari, Badoni, Varanasi: This refers to Letter of N. G. Das wanting to sell his “unique photo” of Netaji Subhash and in the same way Prof. Tahir Hussain asking you to arrange sale of pearls with word “Allah” inscribed. My suggestion to both is DV and its Editor are short of hands and funds and selling is not their job. However, both the persons may advertise in DV at least 1/4 or 1/2 pages and place their matter and its price before the readers with photos. And further, they must pay for the ads.
Sharad Yadav, MP, President, National Union of Backward Classes, SC/ST & Minorities, 9-Akbar Road, New Delhi – 110 011: The 8th national convention of NUBC will be held on July 6, 1997 at 9 A.M. at South Avenue MPs Club, New Delhi. It will form a separate women’s wing to fight for the separate reservation for the Backward Caste women in Parliament and state legislatures.
