04-10-2005, 10:33 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->No such hate crimes against any other ethnic, caste, religious or race group in India; not parsis, brahmins, sikhs, jains, buddhists, madrasis in Mumbai, banglas in Kolkota, etc. This is a silent war against a specific 'ethnic group'. The 'sustained occurences' over decades and 'the volume' makes it a non-state sponsored genocide.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Not long ago, in a conference, a western social scientist remarked that the rapid declines in fertility and mortality in many developing countries, far sooner than originally projected, although to be lauded will have negative repercussions. It means that western developed nations would no longer be interested in investing big money in population and developmental programs in these countries. Another scientist quipped amidst laughter that it also would mean loss of career opportunities for many demographers and population scientists in developed and developing countries who have made careers out of the population problems in developing countries, and that they would all have to find other "problems" to work on, such as HIV-AIDS, ethnic conflicts, etc. Although these observations were made light-heartedly, there is some truth to it.
The caste issue in India faces similar problems; it seems to have turned into a big political and economic farce in India, akin to the Black Supremacy movement in the US. The caste movement is no longer about reconciliation or improvments in the social or economic plight of the Dalits, and probably has never been in a very long time. Rather, there is big money and political power at stake for those NGOs and community leaders who claim to be working for the upliftment of these masses.
The NGOs, and self-proclaimed leaders and representatives of these socioeconomically backward communities that are supposed to helping to emancipate their communities are themselves interested in keeping the caste issue volatile, and perpetuating and sustaining the caste differences for their own political, economic or professional gains. And lest they lose this economic and political leverage, they make sure to bang their pots and pans, each time more loudly, to ensure that the world's attention is focused on the issue.
After all, if a war is over and peace declared, what happens to all the over-zealous generals? Well, the solution might be to ensure that the war is never over, or to start another war as soon as possible. It seems suspiciously that Pathmarajah is like that general who makes a life-time career out of a war and would be deeply disappointed if a peace-agreement was ever reached.
Not long ago, in a conference, a western social scientist remarked that the rapid declines in fertility and mortality in many developing countries, far sooner than originally projected, although to be lauded will have negative repercussions. It means that western developed nations would no longer be interested in investing big money in population and developmental programs in these countries. Another scientist quipped amidst laughter that it also would mean loss of career opportunities for many demographers and population scientists in developed and developing countries who have made careers out of the population problems in developing countries, and that they would all have to find other "problems" to work on, such as HIV-AIDS, ethnic conflicts, etc. Although these observations were made light-heartedly, there is some truth to it.
The caste issue in India faces similar problems; it seems to have turned into a big political and economic farce in India, akin to the Black Supremacy movement in the US. The caste movement is no longer about reconciliation or improvments in the social or economic plight of the Dalits, and probably has never been in a very long time. Rather, there is big money and political power at stake for those NGOs and community leaders who claim to be working for the upliftment of these masses.
The NGOs, and self-proclaimed leaders and representatives of these socioeconomically backward communities that are supposed to helping to emancipate their communities are themselves interested in keeping the caste issue volatile, and perpetuating and sustaining the caste differences for their own political, economic or professional gains. And lest they lose this economic and political leverage, they make sure to bang their pots and pans, each time more loudly, to ensure that the world's attention is focused on the issue.
After all, if a war is over and peace declared, what happens to all the over-zealous generals? Well, the solution might be to ensure that the war is never over, or to start another war as soon as possible. It seems suspiciously that Pathmarajah is like that general who makes a life-time career out of a war and would be deeply disappointed if a peace-agreement was ever reached.