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Red Flag In "cool" San Francisco - Guest - 07-19-2005
Red Flag in "Cool" San Francisco
By Veera Vaishnava
Red Flag In "cool" San Francisco - Guest - 07-25-2005
Another People's Tribunal
Man they do touch all the "key red words" <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Public Tribunal Wants Full Affirmative Action Rights for Dalit Christians
MADURAI, INDIA
July 21, 2005
manglorean.com
Hindu Press International
A public tribunal has declared that the 16 million Dalit Christians in India should get their full Scheduled Caste rights ("reservations," a form of affirmative action in education and job opportunities) enjoyed by their Dalit counterparts of other minority religions. "It is necessary that the Christian Dalits are given the same benefits, aids and advantages, facilities and opportunities as are given to the Dalits of Hindu, Sikh and neo-Buddhist religions on the basis of the caste to which they belonged before conversion and which they are carrying even today," the tribunal said.
(HPI adds: The difference comes because Sikhs and Buddhists are considered "Hindus" for the purposes of these reservations in India's constitution.)
"The Dalit Christian People's Tribunal, after recording evidence - both oral and written - has come to the conclusion that it is highly unrealistic socially and as well as legally to make distinction between Dalits on the basis of religion," the judgment said. "It is also unfortunately a sad reality that the converts have carried their caste marks with them be it of higher caste or lower caste. As a result, all the religious communities in India today, except the Parsees, have an ingrained caste system prevalent in all spheres of life.
As many as 573 witnesses from the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and the Union Territory of Pondicherry registered at the public hearing. Hundreds of others witnessed the proceedings. The tribunal heard 20 persons, and took written depositions from others.
The public hearings were fully backed by <b> Catholic and Protestant Church leaders </b>, the organizers claimed. (HPI adds: Loss of reservations under the present laws is a prime obstacle to their conversion efforts.)
The presentation before the tribunal emphasized that the struggle was not for mere reservation in j obs and educational institutions in the public sector, advocate Mr. Arokia Doss. "This (reservation) is important. More important is human dignity and protection of law as equal citizens of India. Dalit Christians cannot fully participate even in the Panchayat Raj (local self-government at village level) and grassroots democracy structures from reserved constituencies even if they are the major group in the village or constituency. There are other areas of discrimination, including economic disempowerment," he said.
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Red Flag In "cool" San Francisco - Guest - 07-26-2005
xpost -
<b>JNU = CIIS</b>
madarsa = Marxist
secular education = Anthropology in PC and PoMo framework..
<!--emo&:lol:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->JNU doors reopen for madarsa pupils
New Delhi, July 25: The Jawaharlal Nehru University has taken back its controversial decision to reject admission to madarsa students.
The university administration said the decision, taken on Friday, was a âmistake and had also been âmisinterpretedâ. âWe have been admitting madarsa students for over 15 years. There has been no change in admission policy or procedure,â said Harjit Singh, JNUâs director of admissions.
Most, however, see the turnaround as a result of the demand of the powerful studentsâ and teachersâ unions to maintain the varsityâs âsecular imageâ.
An equivalence committee scans madarsa degrees of admission seekers every year to check if their education matches that of the Class XII degree. The committee is believed to have recommended this year that madarsa students be denied admission.
Several students from madarsas apply to JNU for religious studies and languages after having studied for a year in Aligarh Muslim University or Jamia Milia Islamia. This year, some were apparently told âto go backâ as their Amiliyat Fazeelat madarsa degrees âwere not adequateâ.
While some teachers and students feel todayâs announcement may have come too late to prevent JNUâs secular credentials from being tarnished, madarsa students heaved a sigh of relief.
âI am so relieved to find out that I can study here,â said Faiz-ur-Rehman, who has applied for the German studies undergraduate programme.
The madarsa students cannot fathom why the controversy arose at all. âWhen the departments we had applied to recommended us for admission, why should the equivalence committee suddenly find a problem?â asked Rehman.
Professor Kamal Mitra Chenoy, of the JNU Teachersâ Association, said: âIt is really sad that the students had to go through the trauma of not knowing if they were eligible to study here.â
He added: âThe equivalence committee never found problems with madarsa students before. JNUâs secular image has definitely been tainted.â
According to university officials, the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), which recognises all central and state boards, had this year written to them, advising them against accepting madarsa degrees. âThe AIU does not recognise madarsa education as equivalent to a 12th class degree. However, since AMU and Jamia are central universities of repute, we will accept their students,â said Singh.
The administration clarified that the initial decision to ban madarsa students was ânot due to political considerationsâ. âSecular education is the hallmark of JNU,â said acting studentsâ dean V.K. Jain.
www.telegraphindia.com/10...034965.asp <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->