Swapan Dasgupta
It may well be a case of crying "Wolf" prematurely but events over the past fortnight prompt the conclusion that the curtain is coming down rapidly on the Incredible India story.
Whichever way you look at it, the trends are ominous. In Rajasthan, the Gujjars are on the rampage demanding a more expedient reservation policy. The Vasundhara Raje Government is paying the price of stoking unreal expectations. In Punjab, the politics-induced sectarian clash between the Dera Sachcha Sauda and the Akal Takht has aroused fears of a revival of extremism. In Gujarat, there has been a fierce reaction by the Koli community to the rape and murder of two women. The incident has sullied the otherwise impressive track record of Narendra Modi and could influence the Assembly elections later this year. In Assam, the ULFA - emboldened by a compromised State Government-has turned its guns again on migrant Biharis.
In Chhattisgarh, the Maoists are back to massacring policemen. And in West Bengal, continuing violence in Nandigram and Singur has put the brakes on Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's reformist zeal.
Maybe, we shouldn't be alarmed. The vastness of India makes it possible for one half of the country to sleep in peace while the other half suffers nightmares. Turbulence and prosperity can well go hand in hand without upsetting the overall equilibrium. Why then should recent events prompt a sense of foreboding?
The anxiety stems from political portents. Last month's election results from Uttar Pradesh exposed the rot that is rapidly destroying the two national parties. It's bad enough for the Congress and BJP to perform as badly as they did. What is alarming is their reaction to defeat. The Congress, it would seem, has learnt absolutely nothing and is devoting all its attention to the ways and means of restoring the honour of the Crown Prince. The BJP, on its part, has spent the past fortnight evolving strategies that deflect attention from the colossal ineptitude of its leadership. The more the party falters, the more the ruling faction spends time scheming against imaginary enemies within.
The cumulative effect of this durbari politics - so reminiscent of declining empires - is certain to be felt in the General Election. As things stand, it is more than likely that neither the Congress nor the BJP (unless they miraculously enter into a post-election arrangement) will be in a position to be the decisive factor in Government formation at the Centre. The initiative is likely to pass into the hands of the Communists and sectional players such as the DMK and BSP. In the past decade, economic growth had been relatively insulated from politics. This cannot be guaranteed if the national parties become marginal and bit players start pulling in different directions. If the manner in which India's Sri Lanka policy is being held hostage to the DMK is any indication, even our foreign policy may become inchoate and subject to rival bidding.
In three years the UPA has triggered two undesirable shifts. First, in reopening the reservations issue to consolidate its minority vote, the Government has unleashed aspirations which can only be met through savage social disruption. The Gujjar disturbances in Rajasthan may be a portent of things to come. Second, by unleashing a wave of profligate and non-productive welfare schemes, the Government has diverted resources away from infrastructure - the building blocks of the future. At the same time, it has put economic populism back on the agenda. It now seems certain that a future coalition will manufacture yet more welfare schemes that will end up imposing an unacceptable burden on the productive sectors of the economy. The explosive blend of adventurism and instability could well nullify all the gains India has made in the past 15 years.
There are already early signs of a waning confidence in India's future. It is worth considering why the US is so anxious to get the nuclear deal over and done with before the autumn. Is it concerned about who will control India's nuclear assets in the future?
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Lives of Muslim minors worth more than of others?
Saturday June 16 2007 11:16 IST
ONGOLE: Taking cover under the existing lop-sided rules governing payment of compensation in case of deaths at the hands of the police or radicals/terrorists, claims with regard to Hindu minors are being ignored.
Both the State and the Central governments vie with each other in announcing compensation in the event of deaths of Muslim minors.
When two such - Mohammad Sameer and Athar Moinuddin - died, one in the Mecca Masjid blast and the other in the police firing that followed in Hyderabad recently, the State Government announced Rs 5 lakh as ex gratia and the Central Government gave an additional Rs 1 lakh each.
But the kin of child victims of Naxalite violence do not seem to be so fortunate.
Take the case of Chitirala Mahesh (16) of Gotlagattu village of Konakamitla mandal in Prakasam district. He died in the landmine blast triggered by the Maoists on 27 April 2005.
The blast targeted the then SP Mahesh Laddha. Ditto in the case of Kasimsetti Nagaraju (10) of Tammadapalli in Yerragondapalem mandal.
On May 26, the Naxals attacked alleged police informer I Narsareddy. While Reddy escaped, Nagaraju fell to the bullets.
While the kin of 54 victims of Naxal violence since 1989 in Prakasam district, all adults, were given ex gratia, the only minors - Mahesh and Nagaraju - were left out on the ground that there was no provision in the rule book.
In respect of both minors, neither the Maoists nor the government bothered in the least.
Since 1989, as many as 90 minors have fallen victim to Naxal violence and in no case have the kin of the deceased received compensation.
Prakasam district police have raised the issue of Mahesh and Nagaraju in many a forum and even the chief minister gave his approval.
But, since then, the file has been stuck in the General Administration Department.
âThese 90 minors are victims of terror just as the two who died in Mecca Masjid blast and the subsequent police firing. But why this discrimination?â asked a senior police official.
06-19-2007, 09:00 AM (This post was last modified: 06-19-2007, 09:01 AM by Bharatvarsh.)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->http://eenadu.net/panelhtml.asp?qrystr=htm/panel9.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If Telangana comes, then first chief minister will be a Dalit and assistant chief minister (upa mukhyamantri) will be Muslim said TRS leader KCR, he made the speech in old city of hyd (gist of it anyway).
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Modi's 'GIFT' can rival Mumbai
Indrani Roy Mitra in Ahmedabad | June 28, 2007 15:22 IST
Last Updated: June 28, 2007 15:36 IST
Call this Ahmedabad's reply to Mumbai or Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's repartee to his Maharashtrian counterpart Vilasrao Deshmukh's promise of a global financial hub.
Ahmedabad's Tagore Hall, popularly called Town Hall, witnessed inauguration of a plan to develop a financial services city consisting of an international financial city segment, domestic finance city sector, a technology park and an integrated township on Thursday. The project's foundation stone was laid by Modi in Gandhinagar on early Thursday morning marked by a bhoomi puja.
Right after Modi lit the project's inaugural lamp, IL&FS signed several memoranda with principle investors in the projects like Kotak Mahindra (committed to develop 300 acres of land), Chest Core (to design 2 million square foot of space), Punj Lyod (set to design 1 milion square foot of built-up space), and Fairwood Associates (to deal with 1 million square foot area), to name a few.
GIFT enjoys significant locational advantages in being situated near the capital city of Gandhinagar and in being only 12 km away from the international airport of Ahmedabad. Moreover, the flying time from India's commercial capital of Mumbai to Ahmedabad is just an hour.
In this project, worth Rs 3,000 crores (Rs 30 billion), Gujarat Urban Development Company Limited on behalf of the government of Gujarat is partnering with Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited. GUDC and IL&FS are promoting the project in public-private partnership mode through the joint venture company Gujarat Finance City Development Company Limited.
The project, with a built-up area of up to 25 million square foot will consist of offices (to take up 60 per cent of total space), residences (25 per cent of the total area), commercial buildings (11 per cent) and services sector (4 per cent).
The city promises to be equipped with an efficient transportation system besides possessing a fully integrated technology centre. As a financial hub, the city will target international financial services, which include offshore banking units, international financial services firms and back office processing centres.
In the domestic segment, the city plans to work in tandem with financial institutions, capital and commodity market players, investor organisations and associates and regulatory bodies.
The city's technology park hopes to see participation from ITes, BPOs, KPOs as well as educational support service providers.
"This financial hub will make Gujarat a combination of New York and California and will earn for itself the status of 'Chicago of Gujarat'", said Modi while delivering his keynote address at the Tagore Hall.
"This is a GIFT Gujarat wants to share with the rest of India," the chief minister said, adding, "The scheduled time of completion of the project's first phase (2010) appropriately coincides with the Golden Jubilee year of the state of Gujarat. Our state will show to the rest of India a new way of finance and living."
East China Architectural Development Institute (Ecadi) will undertake designing and developing GIFT. Ecadi is famous for developing the Chinese city of Shanghai.
<b>Goa govt collapses, Congress coalition minority</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Goa [Images] government collapsed as 2 MGP MLAs withdrew support along with an independent legislator Anil Salgaoncar. Congress woman MLA Victoria Fernandes resigned from the assembly too.
A new political formation led by BJP and supported by Maharashtra Gomantak Party, Save Goa Front, United Goans Democratic Party and an Independent will stake the claim to form the next government in the state.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--emo&:roll--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ROTFL.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ROTFL.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&:guitar--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/guitar.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='guitar.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Don't impose Prez rule: BJP </b>
Pioneer.com
Yogesh Vajpeyi | New Delhi
First credibility test for Pratibha coming up
Suspecting foul play by the Congress in Goa, the BJP has warned the Centre against any move to impose President's rule in the State.
"The Central Government should ensure that no vote-buying or horse-trading takes place to retain power. There should not be use of any malpractice. But in any case, the situation should not lead to the imposition of President's rule," BJP president Rajnath Singh said.
Singh's reaction to the ongoing political crisis in Goa was a clear indication that<b> if the Congress pressed for Central intervention in Goa, the BJP might project it as the first test of credibility for President Pratibha Patil</b>
The BJP chief's remarks late on Thursday evening followed the day's developments. Instead of proving his majority after the withdrawal of support to his Government by the Maharashtra Gomantak Party (MGP) and an Independent and the resignation of a Congress MLA on Wednesday night on the floor of the House, the Congress forced an adjournment till Monday.
"<b>If the Congress tries to impose President's rule, we expect Pratibha Patil to live up to the high ideals of Constitutional probity set by former President APJ Kalam," </b>BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday.
These apprehensions were echoed by the BJP's Goa in-charge Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who is camping in Panjim to monitor the fast changing situation.
"Chief Minister Kamat should have been asked to prove his majority on Thursday itself, failing which the Governor should have dismissed his Government," he said.
Kamat's claim that he still commands a majority has tended to substantiate the Opposition fears that the Congress was up to some hanky panky. "Given the party's past record we can expect anything from them," said a senior BJP leader,
A section in the party, however, felt that the Congress might be better advised not to press for Central intervention in Goa.
If the Congress tries to get President's rule imposed, this might further expose Pratibha Patil to charges of pliability, these BJP leaders pointed out.
This might prove counter-productive for the Congress as well as Patil in the back drop of the charges leveled against her in the media during the presidential campaign, they contended.
Talking to The Pioneer from Goa, Rudy said there was no justification for preventing the opposition alliance from forming the Government now that the Kamat Government had been reduced to a minority.
The BJP leader vehemently denied the Congress charge that the BJP had resorted to horse-trading to bring down the Kamat Government.
<b>"Congress MLA Victoria Fernandes resigned from the State Assembly because she was humiliated by the Congress party," he said, adding that "the MGP had contested the last Assembly election on an anti-Congress platform and it was natural for it to join a non-Congress combination."</b>
As for as the independent MLA from Sanvordem, Anil Salgaocar, Rudy pointed out that he was a leading industrialist and any suggestion that he could be bought was ridiculous.
The BJP-led political formation comprising MGP, United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP), Save Goa Front (SGF) and an independent legislator have organised themselves under the banner of Goa Democratic Alliance (GDA).
The Congress-led alliance has 19 legislators, including Speaker Pratapsingh Rane on their side while the GDA claims the support of 20 legislators in a House whose effective strength has been reduced to 39.
The BJP said that the Centre should guard against any horse-trading for power in Goa as the opposition led by the party sought a trial of strength in the House that has been adjourned till Monday.
"The Central Government should ensure that no vote-buying or horse-trading takes place to retain power. There should not be use of any malpractice," BJP chief Rajnath Singh said.
On its part, the BJP, he insisted, would not resort to any unconstitutional practice to wrest power. "But if we get the support of members (from outside), we will definitely prove our majority and form the Government," he told PTI.
"But in any case, the situation should not lead to the imposition of the President's rule," he added.
In Goa, the BJP-led opposition demanded dismissal of the Digambar Kamat ministry, reduced to a minority, and accused it of failure to pass financial demands in the House.
<b>BJP leader Manohar Parrikar is tipped to stake claim to form a new Government. </b>
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>BJP parades MLAs before Pratibha </b>
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
Seeks intervention for Parrikar as Goa CM
The BJP on Saturday took the political crisis in Goa to Rashtrapati Bhawan and paraded 20 MLAs supporting its claim of majority before President Pratibha Patil.Â
<b>Confronting Patil with her first test of impartiality after an acrimonious Presidential poll, they urged her "to carry forward the legacy of the high office you hold" and ensure that the floor test on Monday was not stalled.</b>
BJP president Rajnath Singh led the MLAs from Panaji and urged Patil to direct the Goa Governor to allow BJP Assembly leader Manohar Parrikar to form the Government. "The direction should be that the first agenda of the day is the trial of strength, which must be done in the presence of the observer and proceedings be videographed," Singh told reporters after meeting the President.
The BJP-led-Goa Democratic Alliance has claimed it had the numbers to form Government after the Digambar Kamat-led Congress Government was reduced to a minority.
Apart from 14 BJP MLAs, two Maharashtra Gomantak Party (MGP) legislators, two Save Goa Front MLAs, a United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) MLA, Independent Anil Salgaoncar also accompanied Singh to Rashtrapati Bhavan.
"The Kamat Government has been reduced to a minority and has skipped the sitting of the Assembly on Friday," Leader of Opposition in Goa assembly Manohar Parrikar told reporters after meeting Patil. Parrikar, who has been elected as leader of the GDA, also claimed support of Independent MLA Vishwajeet Rane, son of the Speaker and former Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane. "Vishwajeet has smsed me extending support to the BJP-led alliance," he said.
<b>Death of Democracy in India under UPA and PM Moron Singh</b>
<b>Congress-led Goa govt survives, wins trust vote</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Meanwhile, Congress leader, Shanta Ram Naik said, "It is the Speaker's prerogative to decide on the <b>voice vote </b>and he has taken a fair decision."
Before the trust vote, the Congress-NCP alliance had the support of only 19 MLAs in the 40-member Assembly.
The BJP on the other hand had 20 MLAs having inked a pact with MGP, Save Goa Front, United Goans Democratic Party and an independent
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BJP always get surprised at how often INC reacts with barely outside the norms modus operandi! Time for them to stop the Pandava act. How come their think tanks never think of the wild card events- low probability but high consequence events. These always trip the people from their set course.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Â <b>Sonia, PM are behind Goa conspiracy: BJP </b>
Pioneer.com
Yogesh Vajpeyi | New Delhi
Subvert process with help of pygmies in constitutional positions
Outraged by the blatant subversion of the Constitution in Goa, the BJP on Monday dubbed Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the principal authors of the "conspiracy" and vowed to fight it in the court, the legislature and the streets.Â
"In an Assembly of 40 members, a Government clinging to the support of a clear minority of 18 has been perpetuated because those who perpetrated this assault on democracy and the Constitution had the extra-constitutional support of Gandhi and Singh," Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley told mediapersons.
Jaitley, who is also a senior advocate in the Supreme Court, said that the Goa Speaker had no right to restrain three MLAs from voting only on the basis of purported disqualification petitions without adjudicating the matter.
The fact that he did not allow Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Manohar Parrikar even to raise a point of order in the State Assembly and cast his vote without a division to ascertain whether it was a tie itself demonstrated that the Speaker's action was mala fide, the BJP leader said.
<b>Alleging that the Congress president and the Prime Minister were the "real architects" of Monday's developments in the Goa Assembly, Jaitley said they had misused the agency of the Speaker for artificially and illegally barring three MLAs from voting in the trial of strength.</b>
<b>"The Speaker happens to be a former Chief Minister who is also an aspirant future Chief Minister. This is what happens when pygmies are entrusted with high constitutional offices,"</b> the BJP leader said.
He said Gandhi and Singh had been instrumental in "installing such individuals in Constitutional offices so that the Constitutional prerogative can be subverted."
<b>Jaitley said there was no provision in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution under which a Speaker could "restrain" a member of a legislature from exercising his rights.</b>
<b>"If he receives a complaint, he has to go through due process of law and seek a reply from the legislator concerned before taking any decision about his disqualification.</b>
Instead of adhering to the well settled principle of natural justice, Goa Speaker Rane went ahead and barred three MLAs from voting immediately after receiving the complaint," he said.
He was confident that Rane's action would be held unconstitutional. "The Speaker has institutionalised a Government without a mandate," Jaitley said, adding that the party would take stock of the situation and devise its future course of action soon.
While the party plans to knock on the doors of the judiciary without delay, it is also preparing to raise the issue in the Monsoon session of Parliament starting next month and launching a nation-wide movement to expos<b>e how the UPA Government had been consistently subverting the Constitution and other democratic institutions, Jaitley hinted</b>.
<b>"Similar tactics were adopted by the UPA Government in Jharkhand and Bihar. And the ruling alliance received slaps from the judiciary as well as the people for its misdeeds. What it did in Goa on Monday is bound to rebound on the Congress in the near future," </b>he asserted.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>A crime in Goa </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
This is assault on democracy
T the utterly shameless manner in which the Congress has subverted the Constitution and made a mockery of legislative rules in Goa with no other purpose than to retain power in that State by propping up a discredited Government that has lost majority support has not comes as a surprise. After coming to power at the head of a disparate coalition at the Centre in 2004,<b> the Congress has repeatedly short-circuited democratic norms - with the help of pliant Governors eager to please the party 'high command' - to prevent the BJP and its allies from coming to power in the States. </b>We need to recall the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly even before its newly-elected MLAs had been sworn in followed by the imposition of President's rule and the installation of a minority Government in Jharkhand despite the BJP and its allies having a clear majority to see Monday's happenings in Goa in the right perspective. Such is the Congress's craving for power that it can stoop to any level and take recourse to the foulest of means; if in the process democracy suffers a body blow and the Constitution is rendered meaningless, so be it. There is something in the Congress's genes that propels the party towards committing such gross misdeeds - which the party's drum-beaters later brazenly justify with a straight face - regardless of the consequences. In the past, the Supreme Court has on more than one occasion rebuked the Congress for subverting the Constitution to either grab or retain power in the States; the last time the Congress found its face blackened was when the Supreme Court held its imposition of President's rule on Bihar as unsupported by both logic and law. Before that, the Supreme Court had to intervene to unseat an illegitimate Government in Jharkhand. These are only two examples of the judiciary preventing the butchery of democracy by the Congress.
The Congress-led Government in Goa has clearly lost its majority which now vests in the BJP-led Goa Democratic Alliance. Constitutional propriety and the directive issued by Governor SC Jamir - who was instrumental in dislodging the BJP Government in that State earlier and replacing it with a Congress regime comprising turncoats - demanded that the Speaker should have ensured a proper vote on the floor of the Assembly to test the Government's strength before taking up any other issue. Instead, he first disallowed two MGP legislators, who are part of the BJP-led alliance, and a Congress MLA, whose resignation from the party has not yet been accepted, to participate in the confidence vote. In other words, he shifted the goal posts and then asked for a voice vote - rather than a division - which turned out to be a bogus exercise: Amid the din, the Speaker was heard declaring that he had voted for the Government. The proceedings should, in all fairness, be struck off the records if only to prevent other presiding officers from emulating this affront to the Constitution. <b>Mr Jamir can yet redeem himself by throwing the Speaker's report into the nearest wastepaper basket - its rightful resting place - and sacking the Kamat Government which deserves ignominy and more. By swearing in a BJP-led Goa Democratic Front Government, he will restore faith in democracy and prove that he is not entirely bereft of scruples. If this does not happen, the BJP and its allies must take the issue to the courts and make an example of the Congress's deceit. To allow the party to go unpunished for holding the Constitution in contempt would only further whet the appetite of those who don't believe in democracy.</b>
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Sources said that Congress could face a problem in court because the Tenth Schedule, under which the Speaker has taken the decision of interim disqualification, recognises only "legislature party" and not a political party. This means that under the Tenth Schedule, the two MGP MLAs are recognised as the party in the Assembly and not their larger political party. Sources said that Dhavlikar brothers, who would try to get a stay against disqualification from the high court, could contend on this basis that they were well within their right to withdraw support.
The term "defection", under the Anti-Defection Laws, is used only if one-third of the legislature party's MLAs cross over to the other side. In this case, the two MGP MLAs constitute 100 per cent of their legislature party in Goa. A senior Congress leader said: "Another aspect that could go against the party is the 'interim order'. This could raise doubts over the intentions of the Speaker."
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->BJP always get surprised at how often INC reacts with barely outside the norms modus operandi! Time for them to stop the Pandava act. How come their think tanks never think of the wild card events- low probability but high consequence events. These always trip the people from their set course.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
BJP should learn some tricks from Italian Mafia, to treat poison one should use poison.
Abuse of power by ruling party, breaking every single norm of civilized society.
Small local parties are not good for state or country. These small parties don't have vision except they are chasing money and power.
What we can say, people elect them?
Interesting ediorial in Deccan Chronicle, 1 Aug 2007. Looks like US has found its toehold in Hyderabad from an unlikely source. Telegana is now being recast a s caste conflict. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Dalit-Bahujans power Telangana demand
By Kancha Ilaiah
The question of a separate state of Telangana has been bothering the Central government for decades. The linguistic state of Vishalandhra was formed in 1956. The demand for a separate Telangana took birth right from the time the demand for a unified Telugu linguistic state started. Movements for Telangana arose and died, parties were formed; elections won and lost; leaders made and bought off.
<b>Recently, a group of teachers from Osmania and Kakatiya Universities organised a seminar to unravel the nature and characteristics of the Telangana parties and politicians, under the banner of Peopleâs Telangana Foundation.
The seminar was given direction exclusively by Dalit-Bahujan intellectuals and was supported by Dalit-Bahujan Non-Resident Indians, mostly living in the United States as first generation software and science graduates. </b>
<b>A nucleus of Dalit-Bahujan NRI network willing to work in the interest of the Dalit-Bahujan masses of Telangana is taking shape in the US as a separate force.</b> It has got divorced from the American Telugu Association (ATA) and Telugu Association of North America (TANA), as these organisations are led by Reddys and Kammas respectively. The other caste NRIs from Andhra Pradesh just work as appendages of these two caste groups.
These two US-based organisations fund their own caste leaders and maintain political contacts with them to further their own business interests.
<b>The separate Telangana NRI group formed under the leadership of the Reddys and Velamas started contributing to their own caste leaders working for the separate state of Telangana, with the TRS getting the biggest share. Telanganaâs Dalit-Bahujan NRIs realised that even on the Telangana issue, caste interests worked more seriously than regional interest. Hence, they too formed a Dalit-Bahujan nucleus in the US.</b>
The seminar issued a statement called "Agenda for Peopleâs Telangana." It is perhaps the single-most well drafted and authentic statement about Telanganaâs history and its caste, religious, cultural, economic and geographical structures. It says, "<b>Telangana has been primarily a territory of adivasis and nomads, pastorals and service castes, artisans and hide and skin workers."
It shows how this region was colonised and exploited by the Velama Doras and Reddy Patels who themselves were migrants. They were backward looking feudals who kept the region backward from within.
Then came the Kamma migrants and the local people were exploited economically, socially and culturally. Thus Telanganaâs Dalit-Bahujan masses are doubly exploited. </b>
The seminar also showed how the Brahmin migrants from Madras province formed the first intellectual force misrepresenting Telanganaâs culture, language and ethics, while at the same time serving the interests of the Muslim rulers, but not the Muslim masses. Some of them even adopted Muslim names or converted to Islam for the sake of wealth and power. These upper castes never allowed a quality education system to find a foothold in this region.
For Brahmins, Reddys and Velamas adoption of Muslim dress code, and even conversion were more of an economic question rather than a cultural one.
For the purpose of caste consolidation the Reddys started a Reddy hostel which became the centre of their caste organisation. All these three upper castes, established their own institutions where no space was given to the lower castes.
Another major issue that the document brings out is that Telinga (the earlier name of Telangana) lands were made cultivable by the lower castes. From Kapus to nomadic and semi-nomadic castes, these people participated in the process of cultivation, cattle rearing and economy building. But over time, the Brahmins, Reddys and Velamas occupied land and other resources of wealth with their caste and educational structures.
After the formation of Vishalandhra, Brahmin and Kamma migration started through sectors like education, employment, religion and cinema. The Brahmins, Reddys and Velamas of Telangana willingly colluded with Andhra upper castesâ modern exploitative economy.
A clear evidence of this is that not a single Brahmin, Reddy, Velama intellectual or social reformer emerged to challenge the coastal upper caste power. When Andhraisation of every sphere was taking place, consolidation of the upper castes took place within Telangana. Small positions of power and a good amount of wealth offered by the Andhra Brahmins, Reddys and Kammas made them dance to their tune. The real losers in the process were the productive castes.
But from the Eighties and the Nineties, when the first generation of educated representatives emerged from among the productive castes, much contesting literature challenging the Andhraisation process was produced.
The Telangana Brahmins, Reddys and Velamas could not produce even a fraction of that in their entire hegemonic life. This seminar is an evidence of this collective intellectual challenge.
It is known history that Burgula Ramakrishna Rao and Chenna Reddy sold Telanganaâs interests and mass sacrifice and even its cultural essence to become governor and chief minister. This happened with the connivance of the advanced castes of the region. No individual coming from an organised community does things totally at the level of the individual.
With the rise of Burgula Ramakrishna Rao the whole Brahmin community of the region benefited, as did the whole Reddy community with the rise of K.V. Ranga Reddy and M. Chenna Reddy.
Now is the turn of the Velamas. TRSâ Chandrashekhar Rao represents the Velamas. We have to wait and see what he does for Telanganaâs interest.
The conclusion of the seminar, however, is that he will also go the Burgula and Chenna Reddy way. If this happens, the three top communities will have every reason to laugh at the people of Telangana, not at the people of Andhra.
The seminar document says that the only alternative, therefore, is to build a Dalit-Bahujan peopleâs power base.
<b>'Jainism, Buddhism are not Hinduism's denominations'</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->STRIKING OUT: Governor has returned the Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2006; it was passed by the state Assembly during the monsoon session in September last year
FINDING it not in conformity with the concept of freedom of religion as embodied in Article 25 (1) of the Constitution, Governor Nawal Kishore Sharma has returned the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2006. The Bill was passed by the state Assembly during the monsoon session in September last year.
The governor has held that Jainism and Buddhism are recognised as religions rather than denominations of Hinduism, something that the Amendment Bill sought to convey.
..............
And they said...
Amit Shah Minister of State (Home)
"We will respond only after examining the Honourable Governor's response. The department would get the reasons for return legally and administratively examined before deciding on the next step."
Arjun Modhwadia Congress Leader of Opposition
"It's a vindication of our stand and proves malafides of this government. The Amendment was aimed at stroking confrontation in society and the Governor has upheld constitutional provisions by returning it."
<b>Cedric Prakash </b>Human rights activist
"We have protested against both the original Act and the amendment. It was draconian, anti-constitutional, and went against the freedom guaranteed both by our Constitution and the universal declaration of human rights. State should not have anything do with the individual's right to believe or even not believe, and that has been our stand."
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>As Pratibha ignores Goa MLAs' plea </b>
Pioneer.com
Navin Upadhyay | New Delhi
...GDA threatens to stage dharna at Rajghat
The change of guards at the Rashtrapati Bhavan has begun to pinch the Opposition. Gone are the days when the Opposition had easy access to the then President APJ Abdul Kalam. Now, seeking an appointment with President Pratibha Patil is turning out to be an uphill task for the Opposition leaders.
In an indication of this change, the members of the Goa Democratic Alliance (GDA), led by its chairman and independent MLA Anil Salgaocar, have so far not been granted an appointment with the President even though they knocked at the door of the Rashtrapati for three days in a row last week.
The GDA leaders arrived in New Delhi last week, met Home Minister Shivraj Patil, and are awaiting an elusive appointment with the President to seek her urgent intervention in Goa's political crisis.
The GDA members, 21 in all, including 14 BJP MLAs, two each from UGDP and MGP and Save Goa Front, and Anil Salgaoncar made request for an appointment with the President on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. But so far, there is no indication that the President was willing to hear their grievances against "murder of democracy" in Goa.
On the other hand, Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat was given an audience with the President within hours of his making a formal request. Sources said that Kamat placed a request for a meeting with Pratibha Patil on the evening of July 31, and he was invited at Rashtrapati Bhavan on the very next day.
<b>"It is unfortunate that the GDA leaders' request for meeting with the President has not been entertained," </b>said BJP leader and in-charge of Goa affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudi, adding, "the GDA leaders made three requests in three days, but got no response."
Asserting that Goa's political crisis needed urgent intervention by the President, Rudi pointed out that as long as former President APJ Abdul Kalam was in office, the door of Rashtrapati Bhavan were open even to the commoners.
"We feel aggrieved that an entire political delegation from a State has not been granted an audience by the President," he said.
<b>The President's indifference to the Opposition could compel the GDA leaders to go on an agitational path.</b> Sources said that GDA leaders were planning to sit on a dharna at Rajghat to draw the attention of the country towards the partisan attitude of the constitutional authorities towards the grievances of the Opposition.
Rudi said that even after GDA leaders met Goa Governor SC Jamir and Home Minister Shivraj Patil and presented irrefutable evidence about the illegality of Assembly Speaker Pratapsinh Rane's decision to restrain three MLAs from taking part in the floor test, so far they have not taken any step to investigate the matter.
<b>"It seems that the entire Government and its constitutional wings are hand in glove in committing the 'murder of democracy' in Goa," </b>Rudi said.Â
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