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WELFARE AND
DEVELOPMENT OF SC&ST DALITS WITHIN AND OUTSIDE*
N Manohara Prasad**
Dear Friends, here I am not going to discuss something new,
but only talk what you and I, and in fact all others know very well, but have
failed to take serious note of, and make some in depth analysis. Therefore, all I want to Discuss
now with you, are the daily facts of life that you and I experience, and had
come across all through our lives. Mind
you, these we will continue to experience in the days to come.
SC&ST Dalits as We all
know, are the most Marginalised Neglected and Exploited Society in this Nation,
perhaps the Whole World today. We come the last in Education, Landholding, Industries, Other
Assets, Riches, Wealth, Leadership, etc.
In fact, We have been always exploited, that
too historically over the ages, generations after generations. The
Fear today is that this woeful
Compare our Lots with the Development of the Nation,
Growth of the brahmins and
other DCHs, and the multifaceted spectacular
Developments of some Backward Classes! Why then are We
relatively more Backward? The Answer is
not that others had not helped us
more or not helped us at all at Crucial
Moments, but because We never thought
about these any time! We never bothered
about our brothers and sisters, beyond the immediate Families. Definitely, not at all about the Community
and Society! On the other hand We are so Selfish that We not only tend to Corner most of
the Benefits for ourselves, but also re very active often times in Blocking the
benefits from flowing to others! We have
not even taken our Times off, to Rest Pause and Consolidate. We are
individually Proud and Arrogant to be at a Distant
from others of our own Communities.
We don’t hesitate to cheat, rob, tell lies, and mislead our Friends and
neighbours, and at times our own benefactors.
Sadly, We see these days many
cases of our SC&ST Dalit Friends biting the Hands
that Feed or Fed them. Net Result, We
are not only still Weak, Dependant and are easy Targets of Attack and
Discrimination, but find ourselves friendless and succour less when in Trouble
or t times of need, or after Retirement.
For, Good Things in Life Occur,
not out of Individual Efforts, but as a Result of Group Activities! And We still have
not formed Productive and Development Groups around us anywhere!
We have Chosen as Topic today and
for Discussion here, Welfare and
Development of SC&ST Dalits within and outside. Within and Outside of What? WITHIN AND OUTSIDE OF ANY UNIT, We may like
to Take. For
Example, One Can Take the Institution of Marriage, Family, School, College,
University, Office, Govt, Politics, Village, Town, City, Metropolis, State,
Country, and what not – even Abroad. We
must examine and explore the Conditions and Status of SC&ST Dalits therein.
Often we find them a Prison, where We are
Trapped in and still Exploited. In fact We are getting increasingly more Exploited.
In
We had presented a Strange Picture of Unity and
Solidarity, amidst all Scenes of
For our Liberation, and to Escape
Rural Oppression and the
We and our illiterate but
Conscious Forefathers, always wanted and were looking for Opportunities and
Avenues to throw out the Yokes of brahmanic Social
Slavery, and the (DCHs) Dominant caste hindus’ unspeakable inhuman criminal Feudal
Oppressions. They were for all practical
purposes more wise realistic and very shrewd.
All that had now Gone. We appear to have sold our Conscience and Pledged our Liberties and
MARRIAGES
As We had found, here
everything is unrealistic and abnormal.
Here, today Marriages are also abnormal.
Here our educated and well employed, best placed, better groomed, good
mannered, well built, decently behaved Sons and Daughters, Sisters and Brothers
are today virtually grabbed by others, our Oppressors. The Same Thing Happens with our Leaders and
Rich People. That, not
for mating procreation and making a Family; but for other materialistic
Reasons. They take place today,
only because others, to be specific our otherwise arrogant unreasonable
Oppressors, want to avoid Dowry for their Daughters, or ensure better Future
for their Children! So they hesitate
not, and shamelessly swindle away our family benefits, take out our advantages,
end our dreams, and rob our Community Development. Thus, they want to put all possible hurdles
in our Growth and Social Welfare. They
are out to Rob the better Lives of not only our Families and other Children,
but are determined to block the Potential Marriage Alliances of our Communities
Prospective Girls and Boys of Marriageable Age.
SOME CASE STUDIES
Dear Friends, here I dare to list
out as Example some Case Studies. They
are only Samples. And I had deliberately
picked up, the Cases of some well-known personalities, so that you can identify
them and empathise with them. That I do,
only for a better understanding, and drive home forcibly in your minds, what I
want to Tell you are Problems now- a-days!
There are no other Intentions.
Definitely not to Insult, or Spill the Beans or Family Details about
some VIP, or someone otherwise important.
And what I am going to Say or all Open Knowledge, and are
easily verifiable. Here I now go, and
narrate some details of a Few Sample Cases –
1.
Mr Selvaraj
IAS(TN) Retd, hails from a
Poor SC Dalit of Pallar
Community in deep Southern Tamil Nadu. It is worthwhile for all those interested in
the Development of SC&ST Dalits, to Note that Pallar Community of Tamil Nadu,
was perhaps the First One to Wake Up to the never ending and ongoing Atrocities
against SC&ST Dalits. They built up the necessary guts to physically
Fight the DCHs(Dominant caste hindus) deliberate
Atrocities and wanton Violences against SC&ST Dalits. And most
importantly, it is the Second One, in Raising Village Funds for many Social
Purposes for Common Good including Supporting and financing Emerging Good
Community and Local Leaders, and to fight Community Cases in Courts etc.
In the pre-Independence Days’
erstwhile Untouchable Community of Nadars of Tamil Nadu began Financing their
Community Individuals to establish Petty Shops, Provision Shops, and all Types
of Start Small Businesses. And the Pallars began the Practice of Creating Community Funds in
most Villages, and in the Towns and Cities where they had migrated.
Mr Selva Raj
was a pretty Senior Officer in Tamil Nadu. He held many crucial and important Positions
like Chairman, Port Trust of
2.
Mr Subramani
comes from the once Powerful SC Dalit Basin, Kolar Gold Fields of the erstwhile
The Two Sons of Mr Subramani, their School Friends and other Boys used to Play in the Streets around.
There was a School drop out amongst them, who lived with his Parents and
younger Sister in a Rented House in the Area.
That Boy at times took home his Friends.
Carefully he cultivated friendship between his young Sister and Subramani’s stupid first Son. And the Girl quickly hooked him up and he
fell flat for her completely. He forced
his father to arrange the Marriage with that useless DCH Girl, herself a drop
out. After the Marriage, she quietly
moved into the Family, and then created a Rift to move out into a big rented
out building, and brought her brother and parents to live with her. She carefully kept Mr Subramani
out of the Family. She did not allow her
husband – Mr Subramaniyam’s Son to attend or care or
even visit Mr Subramani, when he had a big Heart
Problem, and had to undergo By-Pass Surgery.
Mr Subramani, on hiss Return from the Hospital
also, after his By-Pass Heart Surgery, had to manage his food with the help of
his Orderly and Servants. Meanwhile, she
coaxed her husband to arrange a Job, for her good-for-nothing brother in some
BPO Company. Her Parents subsequently
moved out to her Brother’s Place, and started the practice of coming now and
then to live in her place quite often
Mr Subramani’s
Second Son went Abroad for his Master’s Study. Soon after that, She
forced her Husband to Patch up with his Father.
She then coaxed her husband to ask Mr Subramani
to build, or allow them to build an Accommodation separately for their own
personal use, in the Open Terrace on the Top of Mr Subramani’s
Residence. And she then, quietly Moved into that First Floor Accommodation, with the Ulterior
Motive and Ultimate Idea of taking over, the entire Complex after Mr Subramani, with the Second Son being away in America, and
unlikely to comeback ever to India, for Living in Madras. Thus, these days Mr Subramani
Lives in the Ground Floor, getting his Meals cooked by Servants. He Shares his Food with Friends, and She Lives
comfortably in the First Floor, with her henpecked husband firmly under control
in her tightly clenched fist. She is now
very happy with a domesticated husband, own house, child and a Dog, with her
Parents coming to Stay with her Quite Often.
And all the while, poor old Mr Subramaniam
lives alone in the Ground Floor, taking good care and Guard of her First Floor
Flat. In addition he Walks
daily her heavy Dog. And, I had not seen
any day or even on a single Occasion, either She or
her Husband, visiting him with or sending any Food – not even some cooked
Vegetables or any side-dish or any other Eatables to him as a Special
Item. All the while Mr Subramani takes full care of everything. Poor Old Man!
Even in case of an Heart Attack – day or night,
there is no one to take care of him, call for a Doctor or rush him to an
Hospital, or even to any near-by Nursing Home
3.
Mr P Venkatachalam and Mrs Jyothi Venkatachalam of Egmore, Madras was a well-known
Couple then. Theirs was a Great SC Dalit Family, in the whole of South then, and Madras
Presidency. They were known for PV
Sauce, Pickles and Condiments. They
reportedly owned Ships and Traded across the Seas. They were very Rich, and Reportedly
owned large Properties in
The Venkatachalams had Two
Sons and One Daughter. Sadly all the
three Children were picked up by other rich families from DCH Communities, and all the Businesses
and Properties of Venkatachalams were conveniently
and easily Swallowed by others, who deliberately married the three
Children. And now, no one Remembers anyone of their
Children, or even Perhaps the Names of Venkatachalams
and their Trademark Business of PV
Sauce& Condiments
4.
Sardar Buta Singh, a SC Dalit from Punjab, is a Senior Politician. Once he was known for helping SC&ST Dalits even out of the Way.
That, reportedly till Mrs Indira Gandhi pulled
him up for that. He Started
his Political Activism perhaps as an Akali and or a Communist. And he slowly grew up to become a MP, then
into Congress to become a Deputy Minister and ultimately Reached the Heights of
his Political Career, in Rajiv Gandhi’s Govt, and
became the full Home Minister of India.
He had reportedly accumulated large Wealth and Riches. He has Three Children – Two Sons, followed by
a Beautiful Daughter. But all of them
are useless, and could never make any mark in spite all the Support, almost
blind unquestioned backing of their Powerful Father
The Children of Sardar Buta Singh are lost to the Community, as they had all
married into DCH Families. His Sons
picked up wrong Friends in Sports Fields, and Cricket Grounds. The First Boy ultimately married the Sister
of a small time Ranji Cricketer, from a very poor
Family belonging to some Business Community of Refugees from West Punjab of
Pakistan. The Second Son similarly
married across SC&ST Dalit Circles. He Perhaps was a
little sensible that he married a good looking Daughter of a Pilot from the Air
Force, perhaps in the middle Rank of Wing Commander. And she belongs to a brahmin family
To add to the embarrassment of Sardar, and to Crown all the Problems created by his Sons,
his Daughter married a Crook. Shamefully
he was a Clerk, dismissed by her Father, from his own personal Residential
Office. He then went on to work as a
Counter Salesman in a nearby Video Parlour.
And he comes from a very poor dirty cheap brahmin family, and he is a very greedy crooked fellow. Now all the Wealth and Riches of the great Sardar Buta Singh, former Home
Minister of India from a SC Dalit Origin, is in the
Greedy Hands of all other cheap caste hindus and
their families and friends
Not Satisfied
with all these, both his two Sons,
Daughter, Son-in-Law, Daughters-in-Law, and their other Relatives Friends and
other Hangers-on descended on the
5.
Mr G Venkatswamy, a SC Dalit Labour
Leader of
Mr Venkatswamy was
encouraged into Business perhaps by XXXX the then Minister of State for
Industries under Mrs Gandhi. He Took the
Agency of getting stocking and selling Asbestos Sheets. Slowly he started Manufacturing Distributing
Stocking and Selling them all over the Country. This Business now is being Managed
by his Second Son, a Doctor by Education, but a Business Man for all Practical
Purposes. Mr Venkatswamy’s Family is now Worth nearly hundred Crores. All of these are now in the hands of the brahmins
In the End, I will like to Caution
and Warn you!
Don’t Go Away Feeling that, the Problems in Marriages take place only
when others Grab our Educated Boys and Girls, for
their Stupid Children who are Failures.
The Problems also arise, when our Boys and Girls go Astray,
or We Allow them to Slip out. You must
Recognise here a Dangerous Development, or Phenomenon! That is, many of our Boys, and at times Girls
also are on the lookout for, and they Seek fair
skinned, talkative Girls. And they
easily fall for, and go abegging behind arrogant
Girls of brahmin and other
DCH Communities.
These Problems arise when our Boys and Girls Strangely
and Stupidly seek out Girls and Boys of brahmin and
other DCH Communities, to satisfy an unsubstantiated Complex or a sort of Ego. Sadly they land up with only mischievous
loose Girls and wayward Boys of other Communities. These end up in big mess,
and in any case a Great and Total Loss for our Communities. The same thing Happens with our Senior
Officials, Party Leaders, Political Bigwigs, and Political Executives in the Govts. For, We Fail
to Keep Watch on them, a Critical Eye or Question them in Time.
FAMILY
Family is like a Pair of Animal Drawn Cart. There must be good Coordination, if not Perfect Understanding between the Two. If not, the Cart will go one way or the other,
but not Straight to Reach the Destination or
Destinations. So is the Case with the
Family. Families are like the Twin Draft
Cart, but with a Clear Difference or Distinction. They are generally without a separate Driver
to Guide and Control. They have multiple
Goals and many Targets! If there are
Differences between the Man and Wife, Problems Crop Up. Sometimes the Homes Cease
to be the
The Underlying Reasons for Problems in our Families may
be –
1)
Non-Cooperation between Couples
2)
Ego and Arrogance with one or the other, or both
3)
Cultural Mismatches and Differences between the Married Couples
4)
Natural Differences in Upbringing of the Couples in their Parental Homes
5)
Undisciplined Behaviour on the Part of One or Both, and not being
Amenable to Reason or inability to think Rationally or even Logically
6)
Now Worried about Neighbours’ Opinions, and Ridicules by others in the
Surroundings
The Net Result of Problems in our Families is –
1.
One becomes Unwanted within the Family, but for Money and Earnings or
Bank Balances
2.
Man and Wife not in Talking Terms for Days Together, or Weeks Months and
even Years
3.
Politics or Problems in the Bed Room or in the Bed itself
4.
Wife does not Answer properly, or even allow the Man to Touch her
5.
Taking Sides with the Children, and allowing them to Play Politics
between the Man and Wife, thus Spoiling Peace in the Family and Ultimately the
Future and Lives of the Children themselves
6.
the Woman Speaks about the Problems within the Family to everyone – Tom
Dick and Harry, also Marie Jane and Jill
7.
the Woman Confides and Shares her Family Matters with almost everyone –
the neighbours, friends, visitors to the home, and even in Market Places,
rendering the Husband, Children, Family and Herself into a big Laughing Stock
8.
Man Comes to know about the Problems and even Basic Information about
Wife and the Children, sadly from Friends Neighbours and Others
9.
the Woman becomes the Wife of everyone else other than the Man, that she
can Share Secrets with others and Criticise or Complain about the Man in the
House, his Parents Siblings and other Relations, and also about the Children
These Problems rightly may not be
new. And in fact, these may also exist
in other Communities. But We need not be Worried about them. For the others who had been always exploiting
us and creating many Problems for Us are neither our
Concern or of our Interest!
SOME CASE STUDIES
Before I start with the Case
Studies, let me tell you Two Stories – one from this Country, and another from
Abroad. Friends, let me make it Clear that though I pick up these Stories and Case Examples,
all of them Stand for both erring Men and Women. You can always replace the Man in them with a
Woman, and substitute the Man in the Place of Woman. I implore you to Collect
many such Stories and Case Studies for Reference and Examination in Future!
Now let us examine the Two
Stories! First, the Story from within this
Country –
1.
There lived once a bully. He used
to regularly go into a nearby forest to waylay and Rob Passers by and
Travellers. He sincerely supported his parents brothers sisters wife children and other members of
his Family with the loot! Once he
waylaid an old individual. When he tried
to rob hi the old man said that what he was doing was evil and sin. He replied that he had to do that to support
and maintain his family. The old man
asked as to whether his family members and his own wife will share his sin, and
would ever partake the wages of his sins. Taken aback by this type of Question, the
bully Replied – Why not? After all I am Robbing the Travellers and
Passers-by to feed and maintain them.
Therefore they will share my sins and the wages of the sins if ever
any! The old man said that he doubts it,
and advised him to ask his family members.
Concerned, the bully went home, gave his loot to his Family Members, and
asked them silently – I am robbing people to Feed You all. If that is sin, and there are any Wages for
the Sin ever, will you all share them with me?
For that, all his Family Members including his Wife said – Why should We
Share your Sin? Feeding us is your Duty
and Responsibility! Therefore our Role
ends there. And we are not concerned how
you provide for us. If you commit Sins
to feed us, that is yours, and We are not
concerned. Upset with that type of
reply, the bully left his practice of Robbing
others. And so the story goes on further
…
2.
And now the Story from Abroad.
Once there lived a poor Villager with his terrible Woman. She harassed him no end! The poor Villager earned his lively wood by
Collecting Wood in the
The Wood cutter returned home to
see his wife. That,
after some years since he left the Village. As he reached his Village many People asked
him as to where he had been, and told him how they missed him all those
years. He was very touched by their Kind
Words. He felt that his wife would be
very sad, and would definitely go wild with joy on seeing him return home! So he hurried Home, and went in with full of
Expectations and Love! The moment he
entered the House, there was his Wife very stiff and indifferent as usual. On seeing him enter, she shouted at him, even
before he could sit, and asked him – Why have you taken all the time? Where are the Chopped Woods I asked for the
Fire? Go into the backyard and get them!
– She yelled at him. Shocked, he went
out into the backyard for the last time, and into the World, never to Return back!
What are the Lessons from these Stories? Friends what do We
learn and Understand from them?
Many of these Problems arise, when
our Boys, and sometimes our Girls Marry brahmin
and other arrogant DCH Girls or Boys, as the case may be. But many more similar or other types of Problems
in the Families arise, even in arranged Marriages within the SC&ST Dalit Circles. That
is due to Cultural Mismatches and Family Differences, or Problems in the
Childhood or in the way they are Groomed Up, or the happenings in their Family
Circles.
There are many such interesting
Examples, which are Perfect Case Studies.
COMMUNITY
DISCRIMINATIONS
ATROCITIES
DISASTERS AND CALAMITIES – Natural or Man Made; or
Carnages, Attacks Pogroms and other Violences
– N Manohara
Prasad**
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* A Draft Note of Discussion in Bangalore University, Gnaana Bharathi, Dr Ambedkar Centre, Bangalore, by Mr N Manohara
Prasad
**Mr N Manohara Prasad, was the First Director of Dr Ambedkar Foundation, New Delhi, Established by Govt of
India in 1992, as Part of Dr Ambedkar Centenary
1991-92, Celebrated during the Years of 1990-93 under Mr VP Singh PM and Mr Ram
Vilas Paswan Labour and Welfare Minister, GoI 1990-91; Mr Chandrasekhar, Caretaker PM and Suman, Minister of State for Labour and Welfare, GoI 1991-92; Mr Narasimha Rao, PM and Mr Sita Ram Kesari, Welfare Minister, GoI
1992-96
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