PaRCha - JNU - AISA - 2008 ID-4731
.
~ .
.. .
-, -'G-n·.the Oc~a.ssj~n'· of" N~vayaoa's _~L~unch Of Anand Teltur~nbq~'s I' Book ."~h~i~lan"Hi ~ Strange _and B.1tter Crop"_· -.
i". .
_ .
The ~ealit.es Of c·a~te.
.
_ Atrocaties: In The Marror Of. . . K hairlanji.
An·ahd Teltu.mbde .
Noted ThinKer and The author of 11 Khairl-anji:A Strange and Bitter Crop'' .
Satya SagarIndependent Journalist .
17 Oct.OS (tonight) God~vari_Mess 9.30 p.m. .
Mo-re than 60 years of independence in India has not meant freedom from an exploitative Brahminical caste hierarchy. Casteism is still deeply entrenched in our socie-ty, taking on various forms, from exclusion and discrimination to the most gruesome and barbaric incidents of atrocities. The shocking incident of the rape of a dalit woman and her daughter in .
-~tiair~anjii ahd the subsequent pubHc lynching of her entire family shot to prominence, but the unfortunate fact remains th~t Kha,ir.lanJi -is nar.diy an aberration. Caste·based discrimination and caste atrocities are a chilling reality in every part of the country. .
Most shamefully, educational institutions, where one is supposed to learn and internalize new and progressive values, -also reve~l-this entrenched casteist mentality. We have seen how SC students inAIIMS are subjected to segregation, caste .abuse and victimization; In our own campus, we have seen how casteism is prevalent. abetted not just by some sectJons of the student community but also by the JNU administration. .
During the last year alone, we have seen casteism rear its ugly head time and again. We have had to struggle against incidents of gross caste~based academic discrimination and under-grading. In some centres, the administration has tried to throw out SQ/ST students on spurious grounds, or stall the financial assistance they are entitled to. During the-past year, the student cornp1unity had to wage a robust struggle for ensuring OBC reservations, even though this was legally man-dat~. W~ h_ave .,.$een for ourselves how the JNU administration time and again did everything possible to scuttle the .
·implementation of OBC reservations in JNU. .
For th" e past few days, as the JNUSU,elections approach, the YFE has been living up to the expectations we have of them. Arousing themse,lves from a deep and long slumber, they have woken up only to bring out a series of casteist pamphlets. We are well-acquainted with YFE's casteist politics, having seen their single minded agenda of opposing not just reservation, but any small step towards social equality. .
At a timewhen we ne-ed to remember Khairlanji, and intensify our struggle against casteism in all its forms, the YFE is busy desperately trying to whip up casteist frenzy. A few days back, the YFE brought out a pamphlet which made a ridiculous argument that oppression by Brahminism is purely "symbolic" since they are in a numerical minority! The entire pamphlet was a shameless attempt to pit OBCs and dalits, both victims of the Brahminical caste order, against each other and divide a united opposi-tion against the exploitative Brahminical caste hierarchy. .
t;"iowever hard the YFE might try to project itself as the messiahs and true well-wishers of the dalits, 'h!e will not forget their true colours.Two years back, they brought out a venomous pamphlet in JNU (12 June 2006) calling all those who av~il of reservations (at that time, only the SC/ST/PH quotas were in place) "thieves" and "inferior mortals" who deserved to be thrown out of JNU. They have openly insulted dalits by sweeping roads and cleaning shoes to protest against reservations and other attempts to ensure social equity. The YFE cannot tool us into believing they care for social equality and dalit assertion. .
Coming back to the supposed "benignnand "symbolic'' nature of oppression by Brahminism; we would like to give some examples of this lJbenignity". This is what one of the core texts of Brahminism, the Manu Smriti, has to prescribe: .
ulfhe [a Sudra] arrogantly teaches Brahmins their duty, the King shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth and into his ears ... a low-caste man, who tries to place himself on the same seat with a man ofa high caste, shall be branded on the hip and be banished, or (the King) shall cause his buttock to be gashed." .
Such horrendous prescriptions formed the backbone of the Brahminical caste order, which stratified sdciety and brutally suppre.ssed those who tried to break its shackles. Raising the question of whom exactly carries out brutal caste atrocities hides and sidelines the real problem of the inherent discriminatory, violent and exploitative nature of Brahminical caste hierarchy. .
The Khalr!anji incident is an indicator of the extreme brutality and intolerance that is unleashed against any attempt of upward mobility by the victims of our exploitative caste order. AI SA appeals to the student community to attend a public meeting tonight (17th Oct) at Godavari mess, at 9.30 pm on "The Realities Of Caste Atrocities: In The Mirror Of Khairlanjl", which is being organized on the occasion of the launch of Anand Teltumbde's book "Khairlanji:AStrange and Sitter Crop". Tonight's meeting will give us an opportunity to meet the author Anand Teltumbde, a noted dalit thinker of our times, and debate the many dimensions of the realities of caste oppression today, of which Khairlanji has become a telling motif. .
Awadhesh, President, AISA. JNU Suchcta De, Gen. Secy AISA, JNU .
-.
.
.
PaRCha - JNU - AISA - 2008 ID-4731
.
~ .
.. .
-, -'G-n·.the Oc~a.ssj~n'· of" N~vayaoa's _~L~unch Of Anand Teltur~nbq~'s I' Book ."~h~i~lan"Hi ~ Strange _and B.1tter Crop"_· -.
i". .
_ .
The ~ealit.es Of c·a~te.
.
_ Atrocaties: In The Marror Of. . . K hairlanji.
An·ahd Teltu.mbde .
Noted ThinKer and The author of 11 Khairl-anji:A Strange and Bitter Crop'' .
Satya SagarIndependent Journalist .
17 Oct.OS (tonight) God~vari_Mess 9.30 p.m. .
Mo-re than 60 years of independence in India has not meant freedom from an exploitative Brahminical caste hierarchy. Casteism is still deeply entrenched in our socie-ty, taking on various forms, from exclusion and discrimination to the most gruesome and barbaric incidents of atrocities. The shocking incident of the rape of a dalit woman and her daughter in .
-~tiair~anjii ahd the subsequent pubHc lynching of her entire family shot to prominence, but the unfortunate fact remains th~t Kha,ir.lanJi -is nar.diy an aberration. Caste·based discrimination and caste atrocities are a chilling reality in every part of the country. .
Most shamefully, educational institutions, where one is supposed to learn and internalize new and progressive values, -also reve~l-this entrenched casteist mentality. We have seen how SC students inAIIMS are subjected to segregation, caste .abuse and victimization; In our own campus, we have seen how casteism is prevalent. abetted not just by some sectJons of the student community but also by the JNU administration. .
During the last year alone, we have seen casteism rear its ugly head time and again. We have had to struggle against incidents of gross caste~based academic discrimination and under-grading. In some centres, the administration has tried to throw out SQ/ST students on spurious grounds, or stall the financial assistance they are entitled to. During the-past year, the student cornp1unity had to wage a robust struggle for ensuring OBC reservations, even though this was legally man-dat~. W~ h_ave .,.$een for ourselves how the JNU administration time and again did everything possible to scuttle the .
·implementation of OBC reservations in JNU. .
For th" e past few days, as the JNUSU,elections approach, the YFE has been living up to the expectations we have of them. Arousing themse,lves from a deep and long slumber, they have woken up only to bring out a series of casteist pamphlets. We are well-acquainted with YFE's casteist politics, having seen their single minded agenda of opposing not just reservation, but any small step towards social equality. .
At a timewhen we ne-ed to remember Khairlanji, and intensify our struggle against casteism in all its forms, the YFE is busy desperately trying to whip up casteist frenzy. A few days back, the YFE brought out a pamphlet which made a ridiculous argument that oppression by Brahminism is purely "symbolic" since they are in a numerical minority! The entire pamphlet was a shameless attempt to pit OBCs and dalits, both victims of the Brahminical caste order, against each other and divide a united opposi-tion against the exploitative Brahminical caste hierarchy. .
t;"iowever hard the YFE might try to project itself as the messiahs and true well-wishers of the dalits, 'h!e will not forget their true colours.Two years back, they brought out a venomous pamphlet in JNU (12 June 2006) calling all those who av~il of reservations (at that time, only the SC/ST/PH quotas were in place) "thieves" and "inferior mortals" who deserved to be thrown out of JNU. They have openly insulted dalits by sweeping roads and cleaning shoes to protest against reservations and other attempts to ensure social equity. The YFE cannot tool us into believing they care for social equality and dalit assertion. .
Coming back to the supposed "benignnand "symbolic'' nature of oppression by Brahminism; we would like to give some examples of this lJbenignity". This is what one of the core texts of Brahminism, the Manu Smriti, has to prescribe: .
ulfhe [a Sudra] arrogantly teaches Brahmins their duty, the King shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth and into his ears ... a low-caste man, who tries to place himself on the same seat with a man ofa high caste, shall be branded on the hip and be banished, or (the King) shall cause his buttock to be gashed." .
Such horrendous prescriptions formed the backbone of the Brahminical caste order, which stratified sdciety and brutally suppre.ssed those who tried to break its shackles. Raising the question of whom exactly carries out brutal caste atrocities hides and sidelines the real problem of the inherent discriminatory, violent and exploitative nature of Brahminical caste hierarchy. .
The Khalr!anji incident is an indicator of the extreme brutality and intolerance that is unleashed against any attempt of upward mobility by the victims of our exploitative caste order. AI SA appeals to the student community to attend a public meeting tonight (17th Oct) at Godavari mess, at 9.30 pm on "The Realities Of Caste Atrocities: In The Mirror Of Khairlanjl", which is being organized on the occasion of the launch of Anand Teltumbde's book "Khairlanji:AStrange and Sitter Crop". Tonight's meeting will give us an opportunity to meet the author Anand Teltumbde, a noted dalit thinker of our times, and debate the many dimensions of the realities of caste oppression today, of which Khairlanji has become a telling motif. .
Awadhesh, President, AISA. JNU Suchcta De, Gen. Secy AISA, JNU .
-.
.
.