Prime Minister Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley will be president of the Mahabodhi society, a Buddhist organisation based in India. Lyonchhoen accepted the post after an invitation from the society was handed over yesterday by a delegation. The prime minister will assume the post in 2010 for three years.
The prime minister said the offer was an honour for him and the people of Bhutan. He also said he would do his best to further the cause of the Buddhadharma during his presidency.
The honorary post will require the prime minister to preside over the organisation’s annual general conferences. The first general conference that will be chaired by the prime minister will be held in Bodh Gaya in September next year.
In September 2008, the organisation amended its constitution and passed a rule that only persons born Buddhist would be eligible to serve as president. Most members proposed that the prime minister of Bhutan be named as the new president.
The organisation’s delegation, led by general secretary, Venerable Dr Rewatha Thera, said that, because the prime minister has many other important responsibilities, the organisation expected him only to preside over the annual meetings.
The Mahabodhi society was founded in Sri Lanka in 1891, to encourage Buddhist studies in India and abroad. It is also involved in restoring and maintaining Buddhist shrines in Bodh Gaya, Varanasi and Kushinara, along with providing various social services and infrastructural facilities for pilgrims visiting these sites.
By Gyalsten K Dorji
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
No more collection of birthday funds: Mayawati
Lucknow, Aug 27: In a surprise move, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Thursday told her partymen to stop collecting funds for her birthday celebrations with immediate effect.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) boss had made it a practice to observe her birthday - Jan 15 - with much fanfare for which huge collections were made well in advance. She was born in 1956. Her birthday was significantly described as "arthik sahyog diwas (economic support day)". Addressing the concluding session of her two-day party national executive meet, that drew BSP leaders from different parts of the country, she stated here Thursday evening, "The practice of fund collection on my birthday is being done away with and there should be no raising of funds from my next birthday."
Mayawati had earlier justified the collection drive on her birthdays by declaring,"My party is not a party supported by industrial houses and affluent businessmen like the Congress and Samajwadi Party. Therefore it has been an established practice in our party to collect funds on both mine and the party founder Kanshi Ram's birthday."
In order to build up the party kitty, Mayawati announced a hike in the membership fee from Rs.20 to Rs.40 and declared the launch of a special membership drive from Jan 1 to March 31 next year. According to the party constitution, the membership fee is revised after gap of every five years.
The BSP boss also trained her guns at the Congress-led UPA government at the centre for the "unprecedented rise in prices of essential commodities" and announced a nation wide dharna and street demonstrations "to expose the anti-people and pro-capitalist policies of the union government".
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) boss had made it a practice to observe her birthday - Jan 15 - with much fanfare for which huge collections were made well in advance. She was born in 1956. Her birthday was significantly described as "arthik sahyog diwas (economic support day)". Addressing the concluding session of her two-day party national executive meet, that drew BSP leaders from different parts of the country, she stated here Thursday evening, "The practice of fund collection on my birthday is being done away with and there should be no raising of funds from my next birthday."
Mayawati had earlier justified the collection drive on her birthdays by declaring,"My party is not a party supported by industrial houses and affluent businessmen like the Congress and Samajwadi Party. Therefore it has been an established practice in our party to collect funds on both mine and the party founder Kanshi Ram's birthday."
In order to build up the party kitty, Mayawati announced a hike in the membership fee from Rs.20 to Rs.40 and declared the launch of a special membership drive from Jan 1 to March 31 next year. According to the party constitution, the membership fee is revised after gap of every five years.
The BSP boss also trained her guns at the Congress-led UPA government at the centre for the "unprecedented rise in prices of essential commodities" and announced a nation wide dharna and street demonstrations "to expose the anti-people and pro-capitalist policies of the union government".
Mayawati elected as BSP chief again
Lucknow, Aug 27 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, the undisputed leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), was Thursday elected as party president for another three-year term here.
The election took place at a two-day meeting of the BSP national executive that concluded at the chief minister's official residence here. Among those who attended the meeting were party functionaries from more than a dozen states. This would be Mayawati's second term as president - a mantle conferred on her by her mentor and BSP founder Kanshi Ram in 2006. After his death, she emerged as the party supremo. Mayawati is currently doing her fourth stint as chief minister of India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. While addressing party leaders, MPs and legislators from states, Mayawati referred to upcoming assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra.
The election took place at a two-day meeting of the BSP national executive that concluded at the chief minister's official residence here. Among those who attended the meeting were party functionaries from more than a dozen states. This would be Mayawati's second term as president - a mantle conferred on her by her mentor and BSP founder Kanshi Ram in 2006. After his death, she emerged as the party supremo. Mayawati is currently doing her fourth stint as chief minister of India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. While addressing party leaders, MPs and legislators from states, Mayawati referred to upcoming assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
BSP to reward 'good' workers
LUCKNOW: Chief minister and BSP supremo Mayawati has convened a meeting of party office bearers, legislators and members of parliament to discuss the strategy for the forthcoming bypolls in the state and assembly elections in Haryana. Names of candidates for byelections in 11 assembly and one parliamentary constituency in UP may also be finalised in the meeting. According to party leaders, Cabinet expansion could also be done by BSP supremo before bypolls to reward those who worked hard to ensure victory in the byelections held for four assembly seats recently in state and keeping to impress the voters in the 11 assembly constituencies, byelections for which are likely to be held in October this year. The victory in the recent bypolls came as a breather for the party after Lok Sabha debacle. Maya has changed her strategy after defeat in Lok Sabha elections. She is now focussing more on her core dalit vote bank and is involving grass root party worker in campaigning instead of `high profile' leaders. According to sources, for bypolls Maya has decided to field Shiv Prasad Yadav from Bharthana, Mushafir Singh Chauhan from Mughalsarai, Dheeraj Prasad from Puwayan, Sandeep Bansal from Lucknow West, Kailash Shahu from Jhansi, Dasrath Chauhan from Haisenarbazar, Rajendra Patel from Kolasala, Chandrabhadra Singh from Isauli, Swami Prasad Maurya from Padrauna and Suman Kushwaha from Lalitpur.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Medvedev vows to support Russian Buddhists
Moscow: President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday vowed to support the Russian Buddhists in reviving their traditions and spreading the preaching of Lord Buddha
among its followers.
Medvedev, who became the second head of state in the country's history to visit the main Buddhist Ivolga Monastery in Siberian republic of Buryatia, was warmly welcomed by the spiritual leader of the Russian Buddhists Pandito Hambo Lama Damba Ayushev and his disciples. A Christian by birth, Medvedev said, "All the traditional religions of Russia will be supported by the authorities in spite of financial difficulties." Earlier, Medvedev had visited Moscow's Jama Masjid to meet with the Islamic leaders of the country. "My visit to you is one more proof that the development of relations between the state and traditional faiths is on the right track," Medvedev said in his televised statement. He said that his decision to introduce basic religious education in the schools and creation of posts of priests into the armed forces has been backed by all the religious communities.
courtsy : Zee news
among its followers.
Medvedev, who became the second head of state in the country's history to visit the main Buddhist Ivolga Monastery in Siberian republic of Buryatia, was warmly welcomed by the spiritual leader of the Russian Buddhists Pandito Hambo Lama Damba Ayushev and his disciples. A Christian by birth, Medvedev said, "All the traditional religions of Russia will be supported by the authorities in spite of financial difficulties." Earlier, Medvedev had visited Moscow's Jama Masjid to meet with the Islamic leaders of the country. "My visit to you is one more proof that the development of relations between the state and traditional faiths is on the right track," Medvedev said in his televised statement. He said that his decision to introduce basic religious education in the schools and creation of posts of priests into the armed forces has been backed by all the religious communities.
courtsy : Zee news
Saturday, August 22, 2009
It's BSP again....
LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) made a comeback wresting two seats from SP and one from BJP, in by-elections results declared on Friday. The Samajwadi Party and Congress failed to win any seats, while Ajit Singh’s RLD managed to win the fourth seat. Mayawati’s BSP won Malihabad (Lucknow), Vidhuna (Kanpur Dehat) and Moradabad (Central) seats, while Rashtriya Lok Dal retained Morena (Moradabad). The Congress candidate lost deposit in two places but finished second and third, respectively, in the other two other seats. SP was placed third in Malihabad constituency, which falls in rural Lucknow. Winners of all four seats in the 2007 assembly elections had defected to BSP recently, necessitating by-elections. BSP wrested Malihabad and Vidhuna seats from SP and Moradabad-central seat from BJP. The Morena (Moradabad) seat was with Rashtriya Lok Dal which the party managed to retain. Ajit Singh’s RLD fought the Morena seat in alliance with BJP. What would be worrying for Samajwadi Party is its failure to win even one of the four seats to which by-polls were held. It held two (Malihabad and Vidhuna) of these seats in the 2007 assembly elections but could not retain either of the two seats. In Malihabad, Gauri Shankar as SP candidate had won in 2007 but after his recent death his son Siddhartha Shankar won on the BSP ticket. Likewise, former assembly speaker Dhani Ram Verma had won on SP ticket in 2007 and had fielded his son Mahesh Verma who won the Vidhuna seat for BSP. The Congress’ stunning performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls was not reflected
Thursday, August 20, 2009
A BBC documentary concludes Jesus studied Buddhism
A BBC documentary Investigates the possibility of whether or not Jesus spent his youth in India then returned to preach from the knowledge he acquired in India.
The Bible is silent on Jesus' life from age 12 to age 30. Though there is a glimpse of his life revealed in Psalm 69.
The BBC documentary concludes that Jesus studied Buddhism in India.
Watch the documentary, then let me know what you think.
This documentary inspired from the book Jesus Lost years in India by Edward Martin.
The Bible is silent on Jesus' life from age 12 to age 30. Though there is a glimpse of his life revealed in Psalm 69.
The BBC documentary concludes that Jesus studied Buddhism in India.
Watch the documentary, then let me know what you think.
This documentary inspired from the book Jesus Lost years in India by Edward Martin.
Church mourns India’s first dalit prelate
HYDERABAD, India : Church and political leaders were among the more than 20,000 mourners at the funeral of India’s first dalit bishop on Aug. 18 in Andhra Pradesh state.Bishop John Mulagada of Eluru died on Aug. 16 while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Vijayawada, a major town in the southern Indian state. He had been suffering from cancer, diabetes and paralysis, and had undergone heart surgery several years ago.The archbishop, 71, belonged to the dalit community (former “untouchables” in the Indian caste system) and had headed Eluru diocese for more than 32 years as its first bishop.Fransalian Archbishop Mariadas Kagithapu of Visakhapatnam led the funeral Mass at St. Xavier’s Grounds in Eluru. Archbishop Marampudi Joji of Hyderabad conducted the last rites.More than 700 priests and about 1,500 nuns attended the funeral.“His death is a big loss for the poor and marginalized,” said Archbishop Joji, head of the Catholic Church in Andhra Pradesh.Archbishop Joji described Bishop Mulagada as the “people’s prelate” because he was so approachable. “People could meet him without an appointment.” The late prelate was also known as “the bishop of shrines” as he helped build several Marian shrines in the state, Archbishop Joji added.Bishop Mulagada was born in 1937 near Visakhapatnam, a harbor town. His parents died when he was a child, and his aunt and grandfather brought him up.He was ordained a priest in 1965 for Visakhapatnam, which was a diocese then. He served many parishes there before being appointed bishop of Eluru in 1977. Eluru was formed out of Vijayawada diocese.Archbishop Joji said Bishop Mulagada had helped promote social awareness and literacy through the Andhra Pradesh Social Service Society of which he was chairperson for more than two decades.He also helped rebuild houses in the coastal areas of the diocese, which are prone to natural calamities such as cyclones and floods.Bishop Mulagada “was the first Telugu bishop,” said Jesuit Father Elango Arulanandam, who has worked in the state for decades. Telugu is the official language of Andhra Pradesh.Father Arulanandam told UCA News that the late prelate had promoted education among his people, who are mostly dalit. “He opened schools and parishes to help his people educationally and spiritually,” he added.Courtesy : UCAN
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Works on full swing to complete Sakyamuni project by 2010
SE-GANGTOK, August 5: The installation of the 130 feet tall Buddha Statue for Sakyamuni project at Rabong in South Sikkim is expected to take one more year with architects and sculptors working dedicatedly at the base camp of Sangkhola near Singtam in East Sikkim.The statue of Lord Buddha is being designed in a sitting position at a height of 95 feet. The total height of the statue will reach up to 130 feet after adding the base and throne making the statue on of the tallest Buddha statue in the world.During a visit to the Sangkhola camp, the media team found architects and sculptors engaged with various components of the upcoming statue.For the last two years, twenty persons engaged for the statue have been working for over 12 hours daily to complete the statue expected to be completed and installed at Rabong within the next 12 months.Out of these workers, eight are from Jaigoan and twelve from Kathmandu.Krishna Khati, a metal worker at the construction site at Sanghkhola said that the statue with an aluminum bronze alloy steel frame will weigh over 57 tons after its completion.After assembling the whole statue, the structure will again be dismantled into pre-fabricated sizes and shape for a smooth transfer to Rabong where it will be installed.It may be recalled that the work on the 130 feet Buddha statue project started in 2006, the year which marked the 2550th birth anniversary of Lord Gautama Buddha.The State government in a policy decision had decided to observe the birth anniversary throughout the year in Sikkim and as part of the celebrations, an initiative was being taken by the people of Rabong to construct and install a large statue of Lord Buddha and eco -garden to commemorate the event.Slated to be a landmark in Sikkim’s unique effort in uniting tourism and religion, the project has Chief Minister Pawan Chamling as its chief patron.Former urban development minister DD Bhutia is overseeing the project as its patron.The Sakyamuni project in Rabong covers an area of 22.4 acres with its own eco-garden, tourist amenities along with the giant Buddha statue.The project has already received international attention much in advance with thirteen relics of Lord Buddha from 13 different countries being handed over to the Sakyamuni project last year in November.The relics were handed over for the Sakyamuni project at the new Karma Thekchenling monastery at the Mane Chokerling complex at Rabong by the team of Thai monks led by the Venerable Jamnian Chonsakhorn Seelasettho, the chief of priests of the Thai monastery leading the delegation.The relics had been offered by Somdet Phra Nyanasaamvara, the 19th Supreme patriarch of the kingdom of Thailand.Following the request, a high Thai priest Venerable Phra Kristada of Bangkok had agreed to be the representative of the Sakyamuni project for securing the most precious relics from all the neighbouring Buddhist countries. The relics have been offered from Thailand, Burma, Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, Laos, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Buddhist temples in California, Germany, Lumbini in Nepal and Bodhgaya in India for the Sakyamuni project.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Sonia's Dalit love is just the drama, says BSP
LUCKNOW: Sonia Gandhi's visit to Dalit hamlets in her constituency during the three-day visit has raised the heckles of chief minister Mayawati. As the congress president continued to mingle with the segment during the second day of her Rae Bareli tour, BSP retaliated by issuing a four-page stinker slamming Sonia for duping Dalits with `a show of fake concern and sympathy'. Whatever she is doing in Rae Bareli amounts to nothing but vile cheating of these gullible masses, the release stated. It also ridiculed Sonia for emulating her son Rahul in this regard. So far this put on act was confined to her son alone, but now, it seems, his mother too has joined in the drama. The Gandhi/Nehru family comes down to their constituencies only for picnics and fun (sair sapata aur picnic), the release stated, terming their gestures `like dining with Dalits, sitting on a broken cot or taking in their lap Dalit children' a `rajnitik nautanki'. "If Gandhis were genuine, they could have launched projects, schemes and special packages to promote Dalit welfare. Sonia Gandhi, has been misleading people of Rae Bareli for years. Rae Bareli has always been represented by the Gandhi family and Congress party has governed the country for maximum number of years. However, if Rae Bareli remains backward the blame would entirely go to the same family" the release stated. "Sonia also needs to explain why all industrial units in the family constituency were closed since years and also what efforts she made to revive them. Why has the average income of the constituency not registered any increase and why its literacy level is below the national average? The Gandhi family benefited by rising to the prime ministerial chair all due to the support of Rae Bareli, but the masses remain just where they were ", the release went on to charge Gandhis with emotionally exploiting the scheduled caste and tribe for their own selfish end. "The Gandhis avowed concern for Dalit is nothing but a charade they don't want Dalits to live with self respect. And this is the reason why, when Mayawati sets up statues and parks to commemorate the memory of Dalit icons, the Gandhis deride it as a wasteful expenditure, the statement read. It then eulogised the CM for her sincerity in the direction. In contrast BSP supremo Mayawati has launched special schemes like Ambedkar Gram Vikas Yojana to empower Dalits. The villages short listed thus have all the essential amenities that would mark a drastic improvement in the standard of living of the class. Mayawati has also initiated reservation in the private sector including reservation up to Rs five lakh in private contracts, the release pointed out. The statement also criticised the Centre for being non-serious about the special package for Bundelkhand and Purvanchal which has a sizable Dalit population. If Sonia Gandhi is as great a Dalit sympathiser as she poses she must build pressure on the government to clear the project with immediate effect, stated the release.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Senior cops to be responsible for law and order: Mayawati
LUCKNOW: Chief minister Mayawati on Tuesday brought about some radical changes in the state police set-up and functioning by creating an additional director general (ADG) Law & Order - II and announcing that instead of cops at police station level, the senior officials would be held responsible for poor performance. The decisions came during her six-hour-long marathon meeting held on Monday with the top officials of the state home and police department convened to review the law and order and crime in the state. On creation of the new post of ADG LO II, Mayawati said that Uttar Pradesh happens to be the largest and the most populous state in the country and hence it was difficult for only one ADG LO to supervise the force on day-to-day basis. She not only announced creation of the new post but also declared the name of senior IPS AK Jain as the first incumbent to the new post. Jain was posted as Inspector general (IG) Lucknow range apart from heading the CM security unit. He was promoted to the post of ADG on Monday and decorated with the new post within the next 24 hours. Addressing the senior bureaucrats from the home and police department, Mayawati also announced changes in routine punishment process for poor performers. The CM pointed out that every time deterioration was noticed at the crime front, the general practice was to punish the police station staff for its failure to perform. "But from now on, in order to make the senior officials more accountable towards their duty, punishment will be awarded to the district police chief and his subsequent bosses instead of the police station staff," Mayawati is learnt to have said during the review meeting. At the top level, the principal secretary home along with the DGP and both the ADGs (Law & Order) would be held responsible for the crime situation in the state. In order to send the message down the line, the CM directed the senior police officials right from the principal secretary home and director general of police to the district police chief to be present for another review meeting at Lucknow on Wednesday. Cabinet secretary and additional cabinet secretary have also been directed to attend the meeting. Acknowledging the efforts of the state police in containing crime, Mayawati said any negligence at the law & order and crime front would not be tolerated at any cost. "The government is committed to the upliftment of the under-privileged, deprived and down trodden sections of the society. So all out efforts have to be made to ensure this agenda," Mayawati further said. With the CM talking tough, the police officials were now nervous about the Wednesday's review meeting where performance of the officials was expected to be assessed at the individual level.
Can't teach the people to respect Mahatma : SC
New Delhi : The Supreme Court said on Monday it doesn't have powers to teach people to show respect to Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation.
The court stated this when a lawyer, Ravikant, sought action against Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, a Dalit leader, for allegedly describing the Mahatma as natakbaz.
When Ravikant wanted a notice to be issued to the Bahujan Samaj Party chief, besides guidelines for showing respect to national leaders, a bench headed by chief justice KG Balakrishnan observed that it was not within the court's scope. But the court hastened to add that it agreed with what he said. The bench advised him to go to an "appropriate forum".
Ravikant argued that Mayawati's remarks against the Mahatma amounted to violation of "fundamental duty".
She had made the derogatory references to give an impression that Gandhi was not sincere in his efforts for the uplift of Dalits, he added.
Even Mayawati's mentor, the late Kanshi Ram, had made similar references and BSP workers had vandalised Rajghat, the samadhi of the Mahatma, some years back, he said.
The court stated this when a lawyer, Ravikant, sought action against Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, a Dalit leader, for allegedly describing the Mahatma as natakbaz.
When Ravikant wanted a notice to be issued to the Bahujan Samaj Party chief, besides guidelines for showing respect to national leaders, a bench headed by chief justice KG Balakrishnan observed that it was not within the court's scope. But the court hastened to add that it agreed with what he said. The bench advised him to go to an "appropriate forum".
Ravikant argued that Mayawati's remarks against the Mahatma amounted to violation of "fundamental duty".
She had made the derogatory references to give an impression that Gandhi was not sincere in his efforts for the uplift of Dalits, he added.
Even Mayawati's mentor, the late Kanshi Ram, had made similar references and BSP workers had vandalised Rajghat, the samadhi of the Mahatma, some years back, he said.
SC permits 50% quota to SC/ST's, OBC's in UP
New Delhi, 11 Aug 09 : The Supreme Court cleared the decks for implementation of the Uttar Pradesh government order dated July 22 providing 50% reservation to SC/STs and OBCs in admission to vocational and technical courses in the state.A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan vacated the stay granted by the Allahabad High Court last week against the decision of the Mayawati government to provide 50% reservation in admission to educational institutions including private, unaided professional colleges.The apex court also made it clear that the state government can implement its order of providing quota for SC/STs and OBCs.The Court also issued notices to the respondents who had filed a PIL in the High Court against the decision of the state government.According to the petitioner State and UP Technical University, the decision of the government was in conformity with the decision of the Supreme Court dated July 17, 2009 through which the validity of 50% reservation had been upheld.The UP government informed that 11,383 OBC candidates and 786 SC candidates, besides over 200 ST candidates, had already been given admission and 70% of the counseling has already been completed.The government had also pleaded that the entire admission process for the academic session 2009-10 shall be derailed if the High Court order is not stayed.
"No Dalit or Adivasi among top 300 journalists"…….
By Ashish Jeevne
Hindu upper caste men, who are barely 8 per cent of the country’s population, have a majority share of 71 per cent among top media professionals in the country. The findings are based on a survey of the social background of 315 key decisionmakers from 37 “national” media organisations (up to 10 from each) based in Delhi. The survey was carried out by volunteers of Media Study Group between May 30 and June 3 this year. It was designed and executed by Anil Chamaria, freelance journalist, and Jitendra Kumar, independent researcher, from Media Study Group, and Yogendra Yadav, senior fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS).
Muslims, who are 13 per cent of the population, are under-represented at the decisionmakers level with only 3 per cent. In the English electronic media, in fact, there are none.
Christians, who make up 2 per cent of the country’s population, are absent in the Hindi print media.
“Twice born” Hindus (or, dwijas) comprising Brahmins, Kayasthas, Rajputs, Vaishyas and Khatris are about 16 per cent of India’s population, but they are 86 per cent of the key media, decisionmakers in the survey. Brahmins (including Bhumihars and Tyagis) alone, constitute 49 per cent of the key media personnel. Hindu OBCs who are 34 per cent of the country’s population are only 4 per cent of the top media personnel, Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes who constitute 16 per cent and 8 per cent respectively of the country’s population are absent from the list of key media personnel.
Brahmins (including Bhumihars and Tyagis) dominate the national media. The dominance is severe in the case of Hindi print, where they occupy 59 per cent positions. In one Hindi newspaper all the top 10 slots are occupied by Brahmins. In English electronic, Hindi electronic and English print, the share is 52 per cent, 49 per cent, and 44 per cent respectively.
OBCs are the least in the English print with only 1 per cent.
The newspapers and news magazines surveyed were Hindustan Times, the Times of India, the Economic Times, the Hindu, the Indian Express, the Financial Express, India Today, Outlook, Outlook (Hindi), Dainik Hindustan, Navbharat Times, Jansatta, India Today (Hindi), Rashtriya Sahara, and Dainik Jagaran.
The television channels studied were NDTV 24×7, NDTV Profit, NDTV India, Star News, CNBC, CNBC AWAZ, CNN-IBN, Sahara Samay, Times Now, S-1, Janmat, Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, DD News, Zee News, and IBN-7. The other news establishments were PTI, PTI Bhasha, UNI, Univarta, ANI, and BBC Radio Hindi. The researchers did not have any data about decisionmakers in All India Radio, the Pioneer, and Tehelka.
ASHISH JIWANE
BAMCEF MIDDLE EAST CO-ORDINATOR
BAMCEF INTERNATIONAL NETWORK
(INTERNATIONAL WING OF BAMCEF)
visit us at www.bamcef.org
Hindu upper caste men, who are barely 8 per cent of the country’s population, have a majority share of 71 per cent among top media professionals in the country. The findings are based on a survey of the social background of 315 key decisionmakers from 37 “national” media organisations (up to 10 from each) based in Delhi. The survey was carried out by volunteers of Media Study Group between May 30 and June 3 this year. It was designed and executed by Anil Chamaria, freelance journalist, and Jitendra Kumar, independent researcher, from Media Study Group, and Yogendra Yadav, senior fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS).
Muslims, who are 13 per cent of the population, are under-represented at the decisionmakers level with only 3 per cent. In the English electronic media, in fact, there are none.
Christians, who make up 2 per cent of the country’s population, are absent in the Hindi print media.
“Twice born” Hindus (or, dwijas) comprising Brahmins, Kayasthas, Rajputs, Vaishyas and Khatris are about 16 per cent of India’s population, but they are 86 per cent of the key media, decisionmakers in the survey. Brahmins (including Bhumihars and Tyagis) alone, constitute 49 per cent of the key media personnel. Hindu OBCs who are 34 per cent of the country’s population are only 4 per cent of the top media personnel, Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes who constitute 16 per cent and 8 per cent respectively of the country’s population are absent from the list of key media personnel.
Brahmins (including Bhumihars and Tyagis) dominate the national media. The dominance is severe in the case of Hindi print, where they occupy 59 per cent positions. In one Hindi newspaper all the top 10 slots are occupied by Brahmins. In English electronic, Hindi electronic and English print, the share is 52 per cent, 49 per cent, and 44 per cent respectively.
OBCs are the least in the English print with only 1 per cent.
The newspapers and news magazines surveyed were Hindustan Times, the Times of India, the Economic Times, the Hindu, the Indian Express, the Financial Express, India Today, Outlook, Outlook (Hindi), Dainik Hindustan, Navbharat Times, Jansatta, India Today (Hindi), Rashtriya Sahara, and Dainik Jagaran.
The television channels studied were NDTV 24×7, NDTV Profit, NDTV India, Star News, CNBC, CNBC AWAZ, CNN-IBN, Sahara Samay, Times Now, S-1, Janmat, Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, DD News, Zee News, and IBN-7. The other news establishments were PTI, PTI Bhasha, UNI, Univarta, ANI, and BBC Radio Hindi. The researchers did not have any data about decisionmakers in All India Radio, the Pioneer, and Tehelka.
ASHISH JIWANE
BAMCEF MIDDLE EAST CO-ORDINATOR
BAMCEF INTERNATIONAL NETWORK
(INTERNATIONAL WING OF BAMCEF)
visit us at www.bamcef.org
Buddhist canon preserved on 9500 brass plates
A MONK in Yangon has launched a project to inscribe the entire text of the Theravada Buddhist canon onto brass plates in the Myanmar language, following the completion of a seven-year effort to do the same in the Pali language.
The project is being lead by the Venerable Bhaddanta Nyana from Shwe Kyin Monastery in Bahan township, who held a ceremony in May to honour the donors and workers who helped realise the completion of the Pali version.
He started working on the Myanmar language version the following month.
“Making a copy of the Buddhist canon in Myanmar language will benefit those who are not familiar with Pali, so they can learn the higher discourses of the Buddha’s teachings,” the Venerable Bhaddanta Nyana said.
The Buddhist canon, known in Pali at the Tipitaka (three baskets), consists of three books that form the doctrinal foundation of Theravada Buddhism: the Vinaya Pitaka (rules of conduct for monks), Sutta Pitaka (central discourses of Theravada Buddhism) and Abhidhamma Pitaka (abstract philosophical treatises).
The project to inscribe the Pali version of the Tipitaka onto brass plates was started in 2003 by a team of artisans under the supervision of the Venerable Bhaddanta Nyana.
Each of the Tipitaka’s 40 volumes took one month to craft and required more than 200 plates, for a total of 9628 plates. Each brass plate measures 16 inches high and 8 inches wide.
“We had more than 5600 donors, and the entire cost of the project was K2.3 billion. It took seven years to complete because it’s hard work to inscribe text onto brass plates, and it was also hard to collect funds and brass,” the Venerable Bhaddanta Nyana said.
He said he hoped the cost of finishing the Myanmar-language project would not be much higher than the Pali version.
“The costs of brass and labour are increasing yearly but I want to finish the project because I believe we are blessed by the Dhamma and we will succeed. I appreciate the well-wishers who are contributing to our work. It is a long road, but I believe it will help maintain the Theravada Buddhist doctrines for future generations,” he said.
The Venerable Bhaddanta Nyana said that while it was useful to preserve the Tipitaka on digital media such as DVDs, brass plates would be longer-lasting.
“The brass plates are heavy and they require storage space, but I prefer the old ways of making things because they last longer,” he said.
He said that after the Myanmar-language version of the project was complete, he would embark on a new project to inscribe an English-language version of the canon onto brass plates.
“I would also like to build a pitaka library where we can store the large number the brass plates so Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike can study the texts in one place,” he said.
The Venerable Bhaddanta Nyana invited anyone who is interested in contributing funds to the project to call 548-805 or 09-51-95206 in Yangon, or visit the monastery on Komin Kochin Street in Bahan township.
The project is being lead by the Venerable Bhaddanta Nyana from Shwe Kyin Monastery in Bahan township, who held a ceremony in May to honour the donors and workers who helped realise the completion of the Pali version.
He started working on the Myanmar language version the following month.
“Making a copy of the Buddhist canon in Myanmar language will benefit those who are not familiar with Pali, so they can learn the higher discourses of the Buddha’s teachings,” the Venerable Bhaddanta Nyana said.
The Buddhist canon, known in Pali at the Tipitaka (three baskets), consists of three books that form the doctrinal foundation of Theravada Buddhism: the Vinaya Pitaka (rules of conduct for monks), Sutta Pitaka (central discourses of Theravada Buddhism) and Abhidhamma Pitaka (abstract philosophical treatises).
The project to inscribe the Pali version of the Tipitaka onto brass plates was started in 2003 by a team of artisans under the supervision of the Venerable Bhaddanta Nyana.
Each of the Tipitaka’s 40 volumes took one month to craft and required more than 200 plates, for a total of 9628 plates. Each brass plate measures 16 inches high and 8 inches wide.
“We had more than 5600 donors, and the entire cost of the project was K2.3 billion. It took seven years to complete because it’s hard work to inscribe text onto brass plates, and it was also hard to collect funds and brass,” the Venerable Bhaddanta Nyana said.
He said he hoped the cost of finishing the Myanmar-language project would not be much higher than the Pali version.
“The costs of brass and labour are increasing yearly but I want to finish the project because I believe we are blessed by the Dhamma and we will succeed. I appreciate the well-wishers who are contributing to our work. It is a long road, but I believe it will help maintain the Theravada Buddhist doctrines for future generations,” he said.
The Venerable Bhaddanta Nyana said that while it was useful to preserve the Tipitaka on digital media such as DVDs, brass plates would be longer-lasting.
“The brass plates are heavy and they require storage space, but I prefer the old ways of making things because they last longer,” he said.
He said that after the Myanmar-language version of the project was complete, he would embark on a new project to inscribe an English-language version of the canon onto brass plates.
“I would also like to build a pitaka library where we can store the large number the brass plates so Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike can study the texts in one place,” he said.
The Venerable Bhaddanta Nyana invited anyone who is interested in contributing funds to the project to call 548-805 or 09-51-95206 in Yangon, or visit the monastery on Komin Kochin Street in Bahan township.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
‘Dalits are Victim of Atrocities Every 20 Minutes’
Udupi, Aug 9: The district Dalita Sangarsha Samiti (DSS) organized a seminar on ‘Freedom for higher castes and untouchable India’ at Hotel Kidiyoor here on Sunday August 9. Eminent intellectual Shiva Sundar inaugurated the seminar.
Speaking on the occasion, Shiva Sundar said that a dalit becomes a victim of atrocities every 20 minutes in the nation and many of such atrocities are being reported from states such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab. The national media is in the grip of higher caste Indians who don’t unravel the truth behind such incidents. Kailanj incident that happened in Maharashtra in the recent past deserves to be studied for further introspection, he said. Veteran intellectual Sanjeev Balkur presided. Mangalore University department of History lecturer Barkur Uday also spoke on the occasion. DSS district convener Jayan Malpe delivered the introductory address. Saraswati welcomed the gathering and Dinakar Bengre compered the programme.
Speaking on the occasion, Shiva Sundar said that a dalit becomes a victim of atrocities every 20 minutes in the nation and many of such atrocities are being reported from states such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab. The national media is in the grip of higher caste Indians who don’t unravel the truth behind such incidents. Kailanj incident that happened in Maharashtra in the recent past deserves to be studied for further introspection, he said. Veteran intellectual Sanjeev Balkur presided. Mangalore University department of History lecturer Barkur Uday also spoke on the occasion. DSS district convener Jayan Malpe delivered the introductory address. Saraswati welcomed the gathering and Dinakar Bengre compered the programme.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Buddhism wins The Best Religion In The World award
The Geneva-based International Coalition for the Advancement of Religious and Spirituality (ICARUS) has bestowed "The Best Religion in the World" award this year on the Buddhist Community.
This special award was voted on by an international round table of more than 200 religious leaders from every part of the spiritual spectrum. It was fascinating to note that many religious leaders voted for Buddhism rather than their own religion although Buddhists actually make up a tiny minority of ICARUS membership. Here are the comments by four voting members: Director of Research for ICARUS Jonna Hult, said "It wasn't a surprise to me that Buddhism won Best Religion in the World, because we could find literally not one single instance of a war fought in the name of Buddhism, in contrast to every other religion that seems to keep a gun in the closet just in case God makes a mistake. We were hard pressed to even find a Buddhist that had ever been in an army.
These people practise what they preach to an extent we simply could not document with any other spiritual tradition." Tribune de Geneve
This special award was voted on by an international round table of more than 200 religious leaders from every part of the spiritual spectrum. It was fascinating to note that many religious leaders voted for Buddhism rather than their own religion although Buddhists actually make up a tiny minority of ICARUS membership. Here are the comments by four voting members: Director of Research for ICARUS Jonna Hult, said "It wasn't a surprise to me that Buddhism won Best Religion in the World, because we could find literally not one single instance of a war fought in the name of Buddhism, in contrast to every other religion that seems to keep a gun in the closet just in case God makes a mistake. We were hard pressed to even find a Buddhist that had ever been in an army.
These people practise what they preach to an extent we simply could not document with any other spiritual tradition." Tribune de Geneve
Friday, August 7, 2009
Economic assistance to weaker sections: Mayawati
Lucknow : Uttar Pradesh Government will provide economic assistance to people belonging to backward classes, weaker sections, minorities and poor people of upper castes, Chief Minister Mayawati said.Keeping this in view, arrangements had been made to provide monetary help to educationally, socially and economically backward sections, she said.The CM made the announcement recently while reviewing progress of various welfare schemes being implemented by the Backward Classes Welfare Department.Directing officers to distribute scholarship among students of the backward classes, Maywati said a sum of Rs 83,933.78 lakh had been arranged for this purpose this year. As many as 1,90,58,236 students would be beneficiaries.Rs 716.52 lakh had been allocated to construct 14 hostels during 2009-10 to provide housing facilities to poor students of backward classes.The government had raised the limit of creamy layer to Rs 5 lakh, making a large number of students beneficiaries.
Elephant row a conspiracy:BSP
Lucknow: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has said the controversy over its election symbol, elephant, had been raked up by opposition parties with vested interests.
In a release on Wednesday, party general secretary Satish Chandra Misra said it was a "political conspiracy". However, opposition leaders continue to lambaste the BSP on the issue.
Misra was reacting to the notice issued to the BSP by the Election Commission (EC) which is looking into a petition about the Mayawati government allegedly misusing government money to put up statues of elephants. The BSP has been asked to reply by August 12.
"In Indian culture, elephants have been a symbol of welcome and good luck for ages," Misra said. "The statues of elephants installed in parks and memorials in Uttar Pradesh are different from the elephant depicted in the party's election symbol," he said.
Misra pointed out that the trunks of the elephants in the statues were curled up in the air as a form of salutation or greeting, while the trunk of the elephant in the party's election symbol was hanging towards the ground. "We have made our position clear in this regard to EC earlier also," he said.
"Opposition parties threatened by the BSP's increasing popularity and power have fuelled this controversy for cheap publicity. The BSP is not the least affected by such tactics."
Misra said "Elephant Parks" had been constructed at several places in UP in previous regimes as well. "Statues of elephants saluting visitors at the gates of Raj Bhavans, Rashtrapati Bhavan and several temples across the country have never evoked controversy... it's a ridiculous issue being raked up unnecessarily," he said.
Misra also pointed out that other parties had erected museums, memorials and mausoleums in memory of their leaders. "But when we build memorials, opposition leaders start having problems... it amounts to disrespect to the great Dalit and backward leaders in whose memory the BSP is building memorials," he said.
Misra said the Mayawati government had been giving out bicycles to poor girl students. "But no one ever raised any objection, saying the cycle is the Samajwadi Party's election symbol," he quipped.
SP leader Shivpal Singh told reporters the Mayawati government was squandering funds on putting up elephant statues when she should be concentrating on drought relief. "The BSP's recognition as a national party should be withdrawn immediately," he said. He has demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged misuse of funds for building parks and memorials.
Congress leader Vivek Singh said funds from central schemes were being used for building parks and memorials and installing statues. "At a time when farmers are committing suicides, all Mayawati can think of is putting up her own statues and those of elephants... hundreds of crores of government funds are being used to popularise a party."
In a release on Wednesday, party general secretary Satish Chandra Misra said it was a "political conspiracy". However, opposition leaders continue to lambaste the BSP on the issue.
Misra was reacting to the notice issued to the BSP by the Election Commission (EC) which is looking into a petition about the Mayawati government allegedly misusing government money to put up statues of elephants. The BSP has been asked to reply by August 12.
"In Indian culture, elephants have been a symbol of welcome and good luck for ages," Misra said. "The statues of elephants installed in parks and memorials in Uttar Pradesh are different from the elephant depicted in the party's election symbol," he said.
Misra pointed out that the trunks of the elephants in the statues were curled up in the air as a form of salutation or greeting, while the trunk of the elephant in the party's election symbol was hanging towards the ground. "We have made our position clear in this regard to EC earlier also," he said.
"Opposition parties threatened by the BSP's increasing popularity and power have fuelled this controversy for cheap publicity. The BSP is not the least affected by such tactics."
Misra said "Elephant Parks" had been constructed at several places in UP in previous regimes as well. "Statues of elephants saluting visitors at the gates of Raj Bhavans, Rashtrapati Bhavan and several temples across the country have never evoked controversy... it's a ridiculous issue being raked up unnecessarily," he said.
Misra also pointed out that other parties had erected museums, memorials and mausoleums in memory of their leaders. "But when we build memorials, opposition leaders start having problems... it amounts to disrespect to the great Dalit and backward leaders in whose memory the BSP is building memorials," he said.
Misra said the Mayawati government had been giving out bicycles to poor girl students. "But no one ever raised any objection, saying the cycle is the Samajwadi Party's election symbol," he quipped.
SP leader Shivpal Singh told reporters the Mayawati government was squandering funds on putting up elephant statues when she should be concentrating on drought relief. "The BSP's recognition as a national party should be withdrawn immediately," he said. He has demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged misuse of funds for building parks and memorials.
Congress leader Vivek Singh said funds from central schemes were being used for building parks and memorials and installing statues. "At a time when farmers are committing suicides, all Mayawati can think of is putting up her own statues and those of elephants... hundreds of crores of government funds are being used to popularise a party."
Seminar on Dalit welfare in Udipi, Karnataka
Seminar on Dalit welfare
Udupi: The Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) will conduct a seminar titled “Khairlanji”, which will focus on matters such as status as well as issues facing the Dalit community in the country, here on August 9.
In a press release here on Wednesday, DSS district convener Jayan Malpe said four members belonging to the Dalit community were beaten to death by “caste” Hindus at Khairlanji village in Maharashtra in 2006. This showed that “barbarism and cruelty” against the Dalit community still prevailed in the country. “Khairlanji” was not just the story of a village but the story of the Dalit people as well, he added. ‘Necessary’
It had become necessary to understand the headway being made by various progressive movements and to formulate steps to be taken to prevent caste atrocities. It was also necessary to understand the caste system and its influence on democracy, civil society and the media. All these issues would be discussed at the seminar.
Writer Shivasundar will inaugurate the event
Udupi: The Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) will conduct a seminar titled “Khairlanji”, which will focus on matters such as status as well as issues facing the Dalit community in the country, here on August 9.
In a press release here on Wednesday, DSS district convener Jayan Malpe said four members belonging to the Dalit community were beaten to death by “caste” Hindus at Khairlanji village in Maharashtra in 2006. This showed that “barbarism and cruelty” against the Dalit community still prevailed in the country. “Khairlanji” was not just the story of a village but the story of the Dalit people as well, he added. ‘Necessary’
It had become necessary to understand the headway being made by various progressive movements and to formulate steps to be taken to prevent caste atrocities. It was also necessary to understand the caste system and its influence on democracy, civil society and the media. All these issues would be discussed at the seminar.
Writer Shivasundar will inaugurate the event
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Indian Dalits hate Mohandas Gandhi. Why?
by Moin Ansari
Why do India’s Dalits hate Gandhi? By Thomas C. Mountain
In India, supposedly the world’s largest democracy, the leadership of the rapidly growing Dalit movement have nothing good to say about Mohandas K. Gandhi. To be honest, Gandhi is actually one of the most hated Indian leaders in the hierarchy of those considered enemies of India’s Dalits or “untouchables” by the leadership of India’s Dalits.
Many have questioned how could I dare say such a thing? In reply I urge people outside of India to try and keep in mind my role as the messenger in this matter. I am the publisher of the Ambedkar Journal, founded in 1996, which was the first publication on the Internet to address the Dalit question from the Dalits’ viewpoint. My co-editor is M. Gopinath, who includes in his c.v. being managing editor of the Dalit Voice newspaper and then going on to found Times of Bahujan, national newspaper of the Bahujan Samaj Party, India’s Dalit party and India’s youngest and third largest national. The founding president of the Ambedkar Journal was Dr. Velu Annamalai, the first Dalit in history to achieve a Ph.d in Engineering. My work with the Dalit movement in India started in 1991 and I have been serving as one of the messengers to those outside of India from the Dalit leaders who are in the very rapid process of organizing India’s Dalits into a national movement. The Dalit leadership I work with received many tens of millions of votes in the last national election in India.
With that out of the way, lets get back to the 850 million-person question, why do Dalits hate M.K. Gandhi?
To start, Gandhi was a so-called “high caste”. High castes represent at small minority in India, some 10-15 percent of the population, yet dominate Indian society in much the same way whites ruled South Africa during the official period of Apartheid. Dalits often use the phrase Apartheid in India when speaking about their problems.
The Indian Constitution was authored by Gandhi’s main critic and political opponent, Dr. Ambedkar, for whom our journal is named and the first Dalit in history to receive an education (if you have never heard of Dr. Ambedkar I would urge you to try and keep an open mind about what I am saying for it is a bit like me talking to you about the founding of the USA when you have never heard of Thomas Jefferson).
Most readers are familiar with Gandhi’s great hunger strike against the so called Poona Pact in 1933. The matter which Gandhi was protesting, nearly unto death at that, was the inclusion in the draft Indian Constitution, proposed by the British, that reserved the right of Dalits to elect their own leaders. Dr. Ambedkar, with his degree in law from Cambridge, had been chosen by the British to write the new constitution for India. Having spent his life overcoming caste-based discrimination, Dr. Ambedkar had come to the conclusion that the only way Dalits could improve their lives is if they had the exclusive right to vote for their leaders, that a portion or reserved section of all elected positions were only for Dalits and only Dalits could vote for these reserved positions.
Gandhi was determined to prevent this and went on hunger strike to change this article in the draft constitution. After many communal riots, where tens of thousands of Dalits were slaughtered, and with a leap in such violence predicted if Gandhi died, Dr. Ambedkar agreed, with Gandhi on his death bed, to give up the Dalits right to exclusively elect their own leaders and Gandhi ended his hunger strike.
Later, on his own death bed, Dr. Ambedkar would say this was the biggest mistake in his life, that if he had to do it all over again, he would refuse to give up Dalit only representation, even if it meant Gandhi’s death.
As history has shown, life for the overwhelming majority of Dalits in India has changed little since the arrival of Indian independence over 50 years ago. The laws written into the Indian Constitution by Dr. Ambedkar, many patterned after the laws introduced into the former Confederate or slave states in the USA during reconstruction after the Civil War to protect the freed black Americans, have never been enforced by the high caste dominated Indian court system and legislatures. A tiny fraction of the “quotas” or reservations for Dalits in education and government jobs have been filled. Dalits are still discriminated against in all aspect of life in India’s 650,000 villages, despite laws specifically outlawing such acts. Dalits are the victims of economic embargos, denial of basic human rights such as access to drinking water, use of public facilities and education and even entry to Hindu temples.
To this day, most Indians still believe, and this includes a majority of Dalits, that Dalits are being punished by God for sins in a previous life. Under the religious codes of Hinduism, a Dalit’s only hope is to be a good servant of the high castes and upon death and rebirth they will be reincarnated in a high caste. This is called varna in Sanskrit, the language of the original Aryans who imposed Hinduism on India beginning some 3,500 years ago. Interestingly, the word “varna” translates literally into the word “color” from Sanskrit.
This is one of the golden rules of Dalit liberation, that varna means color, and that Hinduism is a form of racially based oppression and as such is the equivalent of Apartheid in India. Dalits feel that if they had the right to elect their own leaders they would have been able to start challenging the domination of the high castes in Indian society and would have begun the long walk to freedom so to speak. They blame Gandhi and his hunger strike for preventing this.
So there it is, in as few words as possible, why in today’s India the leaders of India’s Dalits hate M.K. Gandhi.
This is, of course, an oversimplification. India’s social problems remain the most pressing in the world and a few paragraphs are not going to really explain matters to anyone’s satisfaction. The word Dalit and the movement of a crushed and broken people, the “untouchables” of India, are just beginning to become known to most of the people concerned about human rights in the world. As Dalits organize themselves and begin to challenge caste-based rule in India, it behooves all people of good conscience to start to find out what the Dalits and their leadership are fighting for. A good place to start is with M.K. Gandhi and why he is so hated by Dalits in India.
Thomas C. Mountain is the publisher of the Ambedkar Journal on India’s Dalits, founded in 1996. His writing has been featured in Dalit publications across India, including the Dalit Voice and the Times of Bahujan as well as on the front pages of the mainstream, high caste owned, Indian press. He would recommend viewing of the film “Bandit Queen” as the best example of life for women and Dalits in India’s villages, which is the story of the life of the late, brutally murdered, Phoolan Devi, of whose international defense committee Thomas C. Mountain was a founding member. He can be reached at tmountain@hawaii.rr.com. Online Journal, Email Online Journal Editor source: Pakistan daily
Why do India’s Dalits hate Gandhi? By Thomas C. Mountain
In India, supposedly the world’s largest democracy, the leadership of the rapidly growing Dalit movement have nothing good to say about Mohandas K. Gandhi. To be honest, Gandhi is actually one of the most hated Indian leaders in the hierarchy of those considered enemies of India’s Dalits or “untouchables” by the leadership of India’s Dalits.
Many have questioned how could I dare say such a thing? In reply I urge people outside of India to try and keep in mind my role as the messenger in this matter. I am the publisher of the Ambedkar Journal, founded in 1996, which was the first publication on the Internet to address the Dalit question from the Dalits’ viewpoint. My co-editor is M. Gopinath, who includes in his c.v. being managing editor of the Dalit Voice newspaper and then going on to found Times of Bahujan, national newspaper of the Bahujan Samaj Party, India’s Dalit party and India’s youngest and third largest national. The founding president of the Ambedkar Journal was Dr. Velu Annamalai, the first Dalit in history to achieve a Ph.d in Engineering. My work with the Dalit movement in India started in 1991 and I have been serving as one of the messengers to those outside of India from the Dalit leaders who are in the very rapid process of organizing India’s Dalits into a national movement. The Dalit leadership I work with received many tens of millions of votes in the last national election in India.
With that out of the way, lets get back to the 850 million-person question, why do Dalits hate M.K. Gandhi?
To start, Gandhi was a so-called “high caste”. High castes represent at small minority in India, some 10-15 percent of the population, yet dominate Indian society in much the same way whites ruled South Africa during the official period of Apartheid. Dalits often use the phrase Apartheid in India when speaking about their problems.
The Indian Constitution was authored by Gandhi’s main critic and political opponent, Dr. Ambedkar, for whom our journal is named and the first Dalit in history to receive an education (if you have never heard of Dr. Ambedkar I would urge you to try and keep an open mind about what I am saying for it is a bit like me talking to you about the founding of the USA when you have never heard of Thomas Jefferson).
Most readers are familiar with Gandhi’s great hunger strike against the so called Poona Pact in 1933. The matter which Gandhi was protesting, nearly unto death at that, was the inclusion in the draft Indian Constitution, proposed by the British, that reserved the right of Dalits to elect their own leaders. Dr. Ambedkar, with his degree in law from Cambridge, had been chosen by the British to write the new constitution for India. Having spent his life overcoming caste-based discrimination, Dr. Ambedkar had come to the conclusion that the only way Dalits could improve their lives is if they had the exclusive right to vote for their leaders, that a portion or reserved section of all elected positions were only for Dalits and only Dalits could vote for these reserved positions.
Gandhi was determined to prevent this and went on hunger strike to change this article in the draft constitution. After many communal riots, where tens of thousands of Dalits were slaughtered, and with a leap in such violence predicted if Gandhi died, Dr. Ambedkar agreed, with Gandhi on his death bed, to give up the Dalits right to exclusively elect their own leaders and Gandhi ended his hunger strike.
Later, on his own death bed, Dr. Ambedkar would say this was the biggest mistake in his life, that if he had to do it all over again, he would refuse to give up Dalit only representation, even if it meant Gandhi’s death.
As history has shown, life for the overwhelming majority of Dalits in India has changed little since the arrival of Indian independence over 50 years ago. The laws written into the Indian Constitution by Dr. Ambedkar, many patterned after the laws introduced into the former Confederate or slave states in the USA during reconstruction after the Civil War to protect the freed black Americans, have never been enforced by the high caste dominated Indian court system and legislatures. A tiny fraction of the “quotas” or reservations for Dalits in education and government jobs have been filled. Dalits are still discriminated against in all aspect of life in India’s 650,000 villages, despite laws specifically outlawing such acts. Dalits are the victims of economic embargos, denial of basic human rights such as access to drinking water, use of public facilities and education and even entry to Hindu temples.
To this day, most Indians still believe, and this includes a majority of Dalits, that Dalits are being punished by God for sins in a previous life. Under the religious codes of Hinduism, a Dalit’s only hope is to be a good servant of the high castes and upon death and rebirth they will be reincarnated in a high caste. This is called varna in Sanskrit, the language of the original Aryans who imposed Hinduism on India beginning some 3,500 years ago. Interestingly, the word “varna” translates literally into the word “color” from Sanskrit.
This is one of the golden rules of Dalit liberation, that varna means color, and that Hinduism is a form of racially based oppression and as such is the equivalent of Apartheid in India. Dalits feel that if they had the right to elect their own leaders they would have been able to start challenging the domination of the high castes in Indian society and would have begun the long walk to freedom so to speak. They blame Gandhi and his hunger strike for preventing this.
So there it is, in as few words as possible, why in today’s India the leaders of India’s Dalits hate M.K. Gandhi.
This is, of course, an oversimplification. India’s social problems remain the most pressing in the world and a few paragraphs are not going to really explain matters to anyone’s satisfaction. The word Dalit and the movement of a crushed and broken people, the “untouchables” of India, are just beginning to become known to most of the people concerned about human rights in the world. As Dalits organize themselves and begin to challenge caste-based rule in India, it behooves all people of good conscience to start to find out what the Dalits and their leadership are fighting for. A good place to start is with M.K. Gandhi and why he is so hated by Dalits in India.
Thomas C. Mountain is the publisher of the Ambedkar Journal on India’s Dalits, founded in 1996. His writing has been featured in Dalit publications across India, including the Dalit Voice and the Times of Bahujan as well as on the front pages of the mainstream, high caste owned, Indian press. He would recommend viewing of the film “Bandit Queen” as the best example of life for women and Dalits in India’s villages, which is the story of the life of the late, brutally murdered, Phoolan Devi, of whose international defense committee Thomas C. Mountain was a founding member. He can be reached at tmountain@hawaii.rr.com. Online Journal, Email Online Journal Editor source: Pakistan daily
Buddhism is fastest-growing religion in English jails
Martin Beckford : Although adherents to the Eastern faith believe in peace and the sanctity of life, almost all of the Buddhists behind bars in this country are serving lengthy sentences for serious crimes such as violence and sex offences.
Some jails and secure hospitals including Broadmoor have opened shrines known as Buddha Groves in their grounds, and there is a nationwide network of chaplains to cater for the growing population.
It is claimed that most of the Buddhists in jail converted after their conviction, and chose it over other religions because its emphasis on meditation helps them cope with being locked up.
Supporters of Buddhist criminals say they also believe the spiritual development they gain in prison will help them once they are released, and prevent them from re-offending.
Lord Avebury, a Liberal Democrat peer who is the patron of Angulimala, the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy Organisation, told The Daily Telegraph: "The numbers are quite remarkable. I think one of the reasons is that they convert to Buddhism in prison – it's a reasonable hypothesis that they become interested when inside.
"I think it does enable people to come to terms with their situation. Buddhism gets people away from the idea of material ambitions, and if people are in prison they can't go for those goals anyway.
"You do have more time to reflect and meditate in jail, and get away from the idea of self."
He went on: "My inclination would be to say it must help people after they leave jail. The whole idea of Buddhism is not to cause harm to anybody, and the person who persists in their faith is likely to be totally recast in their life and must be less likely to re-offend."
Lord Avebury said the care offered by the network of Buddhist prison chaplains, who are supported by the Prison Service, would also have encouraged many prisoners to convert, in addition to the existence of shrines in the jail grounds.
"We have an annual celebration at Spring Hill [an open prison in Buckinghamshire where the first Buddha Grove was built]. That's a remarkable place, it's extremely peaceful. Staff go there to meditate as well as prisoners."
Official figures show Britain's 149,157 Buddhists – who believe in gaining spiritual knowledge about the true nature of life and do not worship gods – make up just 0.26 of the general population .
In 1997 there were only 226 Buddhists in prisons in England and Wales, but by the end of June 2008 that figure had risen by 669 per cent to reach 1,737 – 2 per cent of the 79,734 prison population.
The vast majority, 1,194, were white and most were over 30. Only 78 were female.
Detailed statistics published by the Ministry of Justice show that almost all were serving long sentences. In total, 621 were serving terms of four years or more, while a further 521 had been given indeterminate sentences.
The rate of growth in the Buddhist jail population outstrips that of Muslims, whose numbers have more than doubled from 3,681 to 9,795 over the past 11 years.
Christians remain the best represented group behind bars, with 41,839 worshippers, while those declaring themselves to have no religion, or atheist or agnostic views, now stand at 27,710.
Atheists make up 1 per cent of the prison population for the first time this year, with 570 declared adherents to the view that there is definitely no God.
Just 220 prisoners said they were Jewish – fewer than the 366 recorded Pagans, 340 Rastafarians and 230 Jehovah's Witnesses. There are also 37 members of the Salvation Army in jail.
A Prison Service spokesman said: "The Prison Service recognises the positive role faith can play in the lives and rehabilitation of prisoners, and is committed to enabling prisoners of all faiths to practise their religion.
"Each prison has a multi-faith chaplaincy team to meet the religious and pastoral needs of prisoners and staff. Teams include chaplains and volunteers from a wide range of religions and denominations."
Population in English and Welsh prisons by religion in June 2008
No religion 26,626
Church of England 23,039
Roman Catholic 14,296
Muslim 9,795
Buddhist 1,737
Sikh 648
Atheist 570
Agnostic 514
Hindu 434
Pagan 366
Rastafarian 340
Jehovah's Witness 230
Jewish 220
Scientology 3
Source: Ministry of Justice
Some jails and secure hospitals including Broadmoor have opened shrines known as Buddha Groves in their grounds, and there is a nationwide network of chaplains to cater for the growing population.
It is claimed that most of the Buddhists in jail converted after their conviction, and chose it over other religions because its emphasis on meditation helps them cope with being locked up.
Supporters of Buddhist criminals say they also believe the spiritual development they gain in prison will help them once they are released, and prevent them from re-offending.
Lord Avebury, a Liberal Democrat peer who is the patron of Angulimala, the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy Organisation, told The Daily Telegraph: "The numbers are quite remarkable. I think one of the reasons is that they convert to Buddhism in prison – it's a reasonable hypothesis that they become interested when inside.
"I think it does enable people to come to terms with their situation. Buddhism gets people away from the idea of material ambitions, and if people are in prison they can't go for those goals anyway.
"You do have more time to reflect and meditate in jail, and get away from the idea of self."
He went on: "My inclination would be to say it must help people after they leave jail. The whole idea of Buddhism is not to cause harm to anybody, and the person who persists in their faith is likely to be totally recast in their life and must be less likely to re-offend."
Lord Avebury said the care offered by the network of Buddhist prison chaplains, who are supported by the Prison Service, would also have encouraged many prisoners to convert, in addition to the existence of shrines in the jail grounds.
"We have an annual celebration at Spring Hill [an open prison in Buckinghamshire where the first Buddha Grove was built]. That's a remarkable place, it's extremely peaceful. Staff go there to meditate as well as prisoners."
Official figures show Britain's 149,157 Buddhists – who believe in gaining spiritual knowledge about the true nature of life and do not worship gods – make up just 0.26 of the general population .
In 1997 there were only 226 Buddhists in prisons in England and Wales, but by the end of June 2008 that figure had risen by 669 per cent to reach 1,737 – 2 per cent of the 79,734 prison population.
The vast majority, 1,194, were white and most were over 30. Only 78 were female.
Detailed statistics published by the Ministry of Justice show that almost all were serving long sentences. In total, 621 were serving terms of four years or more, while a further 521 had been given indeterminate sentences.
The rate of growth in the Buddhist jail population outstrips that of Muslims, whose numbers have more than doubled from 3,681 to 9,795 over the past 11 years.
Christians remain the best represented group behind bars, with 41,839 worshippers, while those declaring themselves to have no religion, or atheist or agnostic views, now stand at 27,710.
Atheists make up 1 per cent of the prison population for the first time this year, with 570 declared adherents to the view that there is definitely no God.
Just 220 prisoners said they were Jewish – fewer than the 366 recorded Pagans, 340 Rastafarians and 230 Jehovah's Witnesses. There are also 37 members of the Salvation Army in jail.
A Prison Service spokesman said: "The Prison Service recognises the positive role faith can play in the lives and rehabilitation of prisoners, and is committed to enabling prisoners of all faiths to practise their religion.
"Each prison has a multi-faith chaplaincy team to meet the religious and pastoral needs of prisoners and staff. Teams include chaplains and volunteers from a wide range of religions and denominations."
Population in English and Welsh prisons by religion in June 2008
No religion 26,626
Church of England 23,039
Roman Catholic 14,296
Muslim 9,795
Buddhist 1,737
Sikh 648
Atheist 570
Agnostic 514
Hindu 434
Pagan 366
Rastafarian 340
Jehovah's Witness 230
Jewish 220
Scientology 3
Source: Ministry of Justice
Works on full swing to complete Sakyamuni project by 2010
SE-GANGTOK, August 5: The installation of the 130 feet tall Buddha Statue for Sakyamuni project at Rabong in South Sikkim is expected to take one more year with architects and sculptors working dedicatedly at the base camp of Sangkhola near Singtam in East Sikkim.The statue of Lord Buddha is being designed in a sitting position at a height of 95 feet. The total height of the statue will reach up to 130 feet after adding the base and throne making the statue on of the tallest Buddha statue in the world.During a visit to the Sangkhola camp, the media team found architects and sculptors engaged with various components of the upcoming statue.For the last two years, twenty persons engaged for the statue have been working for over 12 hours daily to complete the statue expected to be completed and installed at Rabong within the next 12 months.Out of these workers, eight are from Jaigoan and twelve from Kathmandu.Krishna Khati, a metal worker at the construction site at Sanghkhola said that the statue with an aluminum bronze alloy steel frame will weigh over 57 tons after its completion.After assembling the whole statue, the structure will again be dismantled into pre-fabricated sizes and shape for a smooth transfer to Rabong where it will be installed.It may be recalled that the work on the 130 feet Buddha statue project started in 2006, the year which marked the 2550th birth anniversary of Lord Gautama Buddha.The State government in a policy decision had decided to observe the birth anniversary throughout the year in Sikkim and as part of the celebrations, an initiative was being taken by the people of Rabong to construct and install a large statue of Lord Buddha and eco -garden to commemorate the event.Slated to be a landmark in Sikkim’s unique effort in uniting tourism and religion, the project has Chief Minister Pawan Chamling as its chief patron.Former urban development minister DD Bhutia is overseeing the project as its patron.The Sakyamuni project in Rabong covers an area of 22.4 acres with its own eco-garden, tourist amenities along with the giant Buddha statue.The project has already received international attention much in advance with thirteen relics of Lord Buddha from 13 different countries being handed over to the Sakyamuni project last year in November.The relics were handed over for the Sakyamuni project at the new Karma Thekchenling monastery at the Mane Chokerling complex at Rabong by the team of Thai monks led by the Venerable Jamnian Chonsakhorn Seelasettho, the chief of priests of the Thai monastery leading the delegation.The relics had been offered by Somdet Phra Nyanasaamvara, the 19th Supreme patriarch of the kingdom of Thailand.Following the request, a high Thai priest Venerable Phra Kristada of Bangkok had agreed to be the representative of the Sakyamuni project for securing the most precious relics from all the neighbouring Buddhist countries. The relics have been offered from Thailand, Burma, Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, Laos, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Buddhist temples in California, Germany, Lumbini in Nepal and Bodhgaya in India for the Sakyamuni project.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Buddha's birthplace facing major environmental threat: Experts
Lumbini (Nepal) Lord Buddha's birthplace is being polluted by noise and heavy industry, environmentalists have warned.
According to the New York Daily News, at least eight cement factories are in operation on a main road linking Lumbini in Nepal with the nearest city of Bhairahawam.Air and noise pollution from stone crushers operating on both sides of a 14-mile stretch of road known as the "peace corridor" also has the locals worried.member of Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhist organisation promoting peace in Nepal, was quoted as saying that the "government should take care to preserve this place. They should take initiatives and get involved in projects to make Lumbini free of pollution and noise."Lumbini was nominated as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1997 and is one of the four pivotal places in the life of Buddha, the others being Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya and Sarnath in India.The Lumbini Development Trust is planning to ban the use of plastics and other polluting materials in the area and also wants to plant local species of trees and preserve the existing egetation to protect the environment.
According to the New York Daily News, at least eight cement factories are in operation on a main road linking Lumbini in Nepal with the nearest city of Bhairahawam.Air and noise pollution from stone crushers operating on both sides of a 14-mile stretch of road known as the "peace corridor" also has the locals worried.member of Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhist organisation promoting peace in Nepal, was quoted as saying that the "government should take care to preserve this place. They should take initiatives and get involved in projects to make Lumbini free of pollution and noise."Lumbini was nominated as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1997 and is one of the four pivotal places in the life of Buddha, the others being Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya and Sarnath in India.The Lumbini Development Trust is planning to ban the use of plastics and other polluting materials in the area and also wants to plant local species of trees and preserve the existing egetation to protect the environment.
Round-table on SC, ST Act organised
HYDERABAD: A round-table on ‘SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act—20 years experience’ organised by Dalit Sthree Sakthi here on Sunday called upon the dalit leadership to unitedly strive for the implementation of the law.
According to Jhansi Geddam, convener, the round-table made several suggestions, including reference of all cases registered under the Act to the sessions courts constituted for the purpose for their expeditious disposal.
The round-table named senior advocate Bojja Tarakam as president of the Dalit Leaders’ Forum for publicising the recommendations. Justice K. Ramaswamy, former Supreme Court judge, School Education Minister D.M.Varaprasada Rao were among the speakers.
V. Elisha, director, National SC Commission, and representatives of Dalit Bahujana Front, Saakshi, National Dalit Forum, among others attended
According to Jhansi Geddam, convener, the round-table made several suggestions, including reference of all cases registered under the Act to the sessions courts constituted for the purpose for their expeditious disposal.
The round-table named senior advocate Bojja Tarakam as president of the Dalit Leaders’ Forum for publicising the recommendations. Justice K. Ramaswamy, former Supreme Court judge, School Education Minister D.M.Varaprasada Rao were among the speakers.
V. Elisha, director, National SC Commission, and representatives of Dalit Bahujana Front, Saakshi, National Dalit Forum, among others attended
Dalits discriminated against in schools: study
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A study conducted under the banner of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in November 2006 had reported that children hailing from Dalit colonies in the city were discriminated against in schools.
The research, carried out by the Technical Support Group of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development in Erode and Akkulam colonies in the district, also reported continuing segregation of Dalit students in certain schools in the State.
The research conducted through extensive grassroots-level interviews and group discussions with students revealed that many hailing from Dalit communities were teased by their classmates about their low social standing. The two colonies had a high percentage of the Scheduled Caste population.
Sindhu (not her real name), a former student from the Akkulam colony, narrated how her classmates taunted her saying she was the daughter of a ‘servant.’ She studied up to class X in a government school in the locality. “Some of them used to tease me saying that I came from a colony. I felt ashamed to say that I lived in a colony,” she said.
According to her, even teachers discriminated against Dalit students in school. “Some teachers ignored us deliberately during lectures. Only students who studied well were asked to read out lessons in the class,” said Sindhu adding that she had never been asked by her English teacher to read out any lesson in class. The students identified English and Mathematics as among the most difficult subjects to learn.No private tuitions
Financial difficulties faced by their families prevented the children from taking private tuitions unlike their affluent classmates.
As a result, most children who hailed from the colony either failed to clear the class X examination or discontinued their studies earlier, the study said.
Bindu (name changed), a class X dropout who is currently working as a garden cleaner at the Akkulam tourist village, described her school days as “very painful.” She had to do all the household chores along with that of her neighbours before and after school hours. “At the school, I did not receive any support from the teachers. Only well-off students got attention at government schools,” she said.
Bindu said the environment at home matters a lot in a child’s education. “Owing to frequent fights between my parents at nights, I could hardly study at home,” she said. Her two brothers too dropped out of school before class X.
Most of the men in the locality work as casual labourers, while women work as domestic help in affluent neighbourhoods. The study observed that the community as a whole was not interested in educating their children. As per the 1991 census, the literacy rate of Dalits in the State stood at 79.66 per cent.
The research is part of a series of case studies on education conducted by the group among children living in urban slums in various parts of the country.
The research, carried out by the Technical Support Group of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development in Erode and Akkulam colonies in the district, also reported continuing segregation of Dalit students in certain schools in the State.
The research conducted through extensive grassroots-level interviews and group discussions with students revealed that many hailing from Dalit communities were teased by their classmates about their low social standing. The two colonies had a high percentage of the Scheduled Caste population.
Sindhu (not her real name), a former student from the Akkulam colony, narrated how her classmates taunted her saying she was the daughter of a ‘servant.’ She studied up to class X in a government school in the locality. “Some of them used to tease me saying that I came from a colony. I felt ashamed to say that I lived in a colony,” she said.
According to her, even teachers discriminated against Dalit students in school. “Some teachers ignored us deliberately during lectures. Only students who studied well were asked to read out lessons in the class,” said Sindhu adding that she had never been asked by her English teacher to read out any lesson in class. The students identified English and Mathematics as among the most difficult subjects to learn.No private tuitions
Financial difficulties faced by their families prevented the children from taking private tuitions unlike their affluent classmates.
As a result, most children who hailed from the colony either failed to clear the class X examination or discontinued their studies earlier, the study said.
Bindu (name changed), a class X dropout who is currently working as a garden cleaner at the Akkulam tourist village, described her school days as “very painful.” She had to do all the household chores along with that of her neighbours before and after school hours. “At the school, I did not receive any support from the teachers. Only well-off students got attention at government schools,” she said.
Bindu said the environment at home matters a lot in a child’s education. “Owing to frequent fights between my parents at nights, I could hardly study at home,” she said. Her two brothers too dropped out of school before class X.
Most of the men in the locality work as casual labourers, while women work as domestic help in affluent neighbourhoods. The study observed that the community as a whole was not interested in educating their children. As per the 1991 census, the literacy rate of Dalits in the State stood at 79.66 per cent.
The research is part of a series of case studies on education conducted by the group among children living in urban slums in various parts of the country.
Foreign Buddhist delegation met SL president.
Most Ven. Sudham Sudhammo Thero, the executive assistant abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Thailand and the President of the Buddhist Federation of Australia, and his delegation visited Temple Trees on 22nd of July.
Buddhist delegation thanked President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the meeting for giving opportunity to researches Utilize Ola-leave manuscripts around the country in searching original teachings of the Buddha, as well as protect Dhamma in preserving teaching of Buddha in digital form which will last longer than in Ola-leave manuscripts. Ven. Rambukwelle Dhammarakkitha, Ven. Vatinapaha Somarathana and the Minister Laxman Yapa Abegunawardana also were present on the occasion.
Buddhist delegation thanked President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the meeting for giving opportunity to researches Utilize Ola-leave manuscripts around the country in searching original teachings of the Buddha, as well as protect Dhamma in preserving teaching of Buddha in digital form which will last longer than in Ola-leave manuscripts. Ven. Rambukwelle Dhammarakkitha, Ven. Vatinapaha Somarathana and the Minister Laxman Yapa Abegunawardana also were present on the occasion.
Do Sikhs have ‘dalits’
By Mehru Jaffer Vienna
Sikhs are still struggling to cope with the bloody violence inside a place of worship in Austria
Dr Avtar Singh Seth, 73, first heard about the Ravidasis only a few weeks ago. On May 25, the retired medical doctor was woken up by a telephone call from an old friend in Australia. "My friend wanted to know if I was safe? He had heard that a Sikh was shot dead in Vienna... that many Sikhs were wounded. I got out of bed and found out what had happened. I was worried if this was an incident of hate crime by Austrians against Indians," he said about the May 24 murder and mayhem at a Vienna place of worship of the Dera Sach Khand sect who are devotees of Ravidas, a 14th century 'progressive' Indian saint and reformer.
According to Som Dev, 45, head of Vienna's Ravidasi Gurughar, there are 250 Ravidasis in the city. He works as a taxi driver. He came to Vienna 17 years ago from a village in Punjab's Jalandhar district. "At first I attended sermons at the Sikh Gurdwara. In 2005, the Ravidas Gurughar was opened and we pray here now. I still attend special ceremonies at the Sikh Gurdwaras. I have nothing against my Sikh brothers but I am a Ravidasi and not a Sikh," said Som Dev.
The Sunday sermon at the Ravidasi Gurughar on May 24 was special because Guru Niranjan Das , 67, head of the Dera Sach Khand sect, was visiting from India together with Ramanand Das, 56, the second in command. The sermon by Ramanand was interrupted when someone from the audience fired a gun and knives began to fly around the room.
In the mayhem, both Niranjan and Ramanand were wounded including other members of the congregation. An eyewitness confessed that the prayer meeting attended by women and children was converted within minutes into a battlefield and blood was sprayed everywhere. The police arrested six suspected attackers immediately.
While Ramanand succumbed to his wounds the same evening, Niranjan Das recuperated at a Vienna hospital after a serious operation for a week before he returned on June 3 to India together with the remains of Ramanand in a private plane sent here by the Punjab government.
"This is the first time that I heard of the Ravidasi sect," said Dr Seth at his picturesque home in the hills about 65 km from Vienna on the Austrian Hungarian border. Dr Seth is perhaps the first Sikh who came to Vienna in 1955 to study medicine here.
There were about seven students in all of Vienna at that time and Diwali was celebrated at a local hotel. Ceremonies were performed, when necessary, at home. Vienna was the cheapest place to study. It cost Rs 450 per month in England, Rs 350 in Germany and only Rs 250 in Vienna, a city that was ruined by the last world war. There was no bathroom where Dr. Seth stayed as a student and for years he used the public baths.
Almost two decades later, the population of people of Indian origin swelled when some 3,500 Indians expelled from Uganda found asylum in Austria. Some Sikhs were part of this large group of newly arrived Indians.
In 1975, there was talk of building the first Gurdwara here. Dr Seth had graduated to an official general practitioner in an Austrian province. He was chosen the first president of the Sri Guru Nanak Satsang Sabha. "I resigned after a year. I no longer felt inspired," said Dr Seth who hangs a huge photograph of the Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) in his home which he shares with Sylvia, his Austrian wife. Their two sons live and work in Switzerland.
Dr Seth does not visit the Gurdwara in Vienna. He is not religious but very traditional. He points out that idol worship is forbidden to Sikhs. He finds it strange that some Sikhs hang pictures of Bhindranwale beside those of revered Sikh Gurus today.
Dalits are the followers of Ravidas here as well as in India. The conflict originates from the fact that mostly landless Dalit Sikhs in India are still intensely exploited and humiliated by the 'landed and Jat Sikhs' with daily discrimination, low wages, bonded labour and even a ban on their entry inside Gurdwaras. Dalits are now collectively resisting this and asserting their rights, and following new cults is integral to this assertion.
Dr Seth wonders if the rising affluence of the Dalits in Austria is responsible for the rivalry between Sikhs and the Ravidasis here. "It is all about money. Donations collected during a sermon by well known gurus often add up to many euros. This may cause envy and bad blood," speculates Dr Seth who nurses precious memories of his childhood in Amritsar.
After the bloodbath during the partition of Punjab in 1947 had subsided, he remembers visiting the Golden Temple - and not only to pray. "Around the temple there was a attractive community life. I went there almost every day to listen to stories told by wise men. We met our friends and played there. There was mouth watering food offered to us for free and I was happy to break bricks to help to broaden the pavement on the northern flank of the temple," reminisces Dr Seth who feels that today he is unable to practice being a better Sikh among Austrians. "Many Sikhs are hot headed and lack religious education," he regrets.
Source: Hard News
Sikhs are still struggling to cope with the bloody violence inside a place of worship in Austria
Dr Avtar Singh Seth, 73, first heard about the Ravidasis only a few weeks ago. On May 25, the retired medical doctor was woken up by a telephone call from an old friend in Australia. "My friend wanted to know if I was safe? He had heard that a Sikh was shot dead in Vienna... that many Sikhs were wounded. I got out of bed and found out what had happened. I was worried if this was an incident of hate crime by Austrians against Indians," he said about the May 24 murder and mayhem at a Vienna place of worship of the Dera Sach Khand sect who are devotees of Ravidas, a 14th century 'progressive' Indian saint and reformer.
According to Som Dev, 45, head of Vienna's Ravidasi Gurughar, there are 250 Ravidasis in the city. He works as a taxi driver. He came to Vienna 17 years ago from a village in Punjab's Jalandhar district. "At first I attended sermons at the Sikh Gurdwara. In 2005, the Ravidas Gurughar was opened and we pray here now. I still attend special ceremonies at the Sikh Gurdwaras. I have nothing against my Sikh brothers but I am a Ravidasi and not a Sikh," said Som Dev.
The Sunday sermon at the Ravidasi Gurughar on May 24 was special because Guru Niranjan Das , 67, head of the Dera Sach Khand sect, was visiting from India together with Ramanand Das, 56, the second in command. The sermon by Ramanand was interrupted when someone from the audience fired a gun and knives began to fly around the room.
In the mayhem, both Niranjan and Ramanand were wounded including other members of the congregation. An eyewitness confessed that the prayer meeting attended by women and children was converted within minutes into a battlefield and blood was sprayed everywhere. The police arrested six suspected attackers immediately.
While Ramanand succumbed to his wounds the same evening, Niranjan Das recuperated at a Vienna hospital after a serious operation for a week before he returned on June 3 to India together with the remains of Ramanand in a private plane sent here by the Punjab government.
"This is the first time that I heard of the Ravidasi sect," said Dr Seth at his picturesque home in the hills about 65 km from Vienna on the Austrian Hungarian border. Dr Seth is perhaps the first Sikh who came to Vienna in 1955 to study medicine here.
There were about seven students in all of Vienna at that time and Diwali was celebrated at a local hotel. Ceremonies were performed, when necessary, at home. Vienna was the cheapest place to study. It cost Rs 450 per month in England, Rs 350 in Germany and only Rs 250 in Vienna, a city that was ruined by the last world war. There was no bathroom where Dr. Seth stayed as a student and for years he used the public baths.
Almost two decades later, the population of people of Indian origin swelled when some 3,500 Indians expelled from Uganda found asylum in Austria. Some Sikhs were part of this large group of newly arrived Indians.
In 1975, there was talk of building the first Gurdwara here. Dr Seth had graduated to an official general practitioner in an Austrian province. He was chosen the first president of the Sri Guru Nanak Satsang Sabha. "I resigned after a year. I no longer felt inspired," said Dr Seth who hangs a huge photograph of the Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) in his home which he shares with Sylvia, his Austrian wife. Their two sons live and work in Switzerland.
Dr Seth does not visit the Gurdwara in Vienna. He is not religious but very traditional. He points out that idol worship is forbidden to Sikhs. He finds it strange that some Sikhs hang pictures of Bhindranwale beside those of revered Sikh Gurus today.
Dalits are the followers of Ravidas here as well as in India. The conflict originates from the fact that mostly landless Dalit Sikhs in India are still intensely exploited and humiliated by the 'landed and Jat Sikhs' with daily discrimination, low wages, bonded labour and even a ban on their entry inside Gurdwaras. Dalits are now collectively resisting this and asserting their rights, and following new cults is integral to this assertion.
Dr Seth wonders if the rising affluence of the Dalits in Austria is responsible for the rivalry between Sikhs and the Ravidasis here. "It is all about money. Donations collected during a sermon by well known gurus often add up to many euros. This may cause envy and bad blood," speculates Dr Seth who nurses precious memories of his childhood in Amritsar.
After the bloodbath during the partition of Punjab in 1947 had subsided, he remembers visiting the Golden Temple - and not only to pray. "Around the temple there was a attractive community life. I went there almost every day to listen to stories told by wise men. We met our friends and played there. There was mouth watering food offered to us for free and I was happy to break bricks to help to broaden the pavement on the northern flank of the temple," reminisces Dr Seth who feels that today he is unable to practice being a better Sikh among Austrians. "Many Sikhs are hot headed and lack religious education," he regrets.
Source: Hard News
Assistance to NGOs for welfare of dalit community
LOK SABHA
The Grant-in-aid released to NGOs for various projects under the scheme of "Grant-in-aid to Voluntary Organizations working for Scheduled Castes" during the last 3 years is as under:-
Year
No. of NGOs
Amount released
2006-07
336
Rs. 29.01 Crore
2007-08
349
Rs. 30.95 Crore
2008-09
266
Rs. 21.50 Crore
Release of grant-in-aid is based on the inspection reports of the NGOs and on the recommendations of the Multi-Disciplinary Grant-in-aid Committees of the respective State Governments. Inspections, wherever necessary, are also conducted by the officials of this Ministry. Evaluation studies are conducted from time to time to assess the impact of the working of the NGOs under the scheme.
Funds are allocated under various schemes of the Ministry and through Apex Corporations for Educational and Economic Development of Scheduled Castes. These are as under:-
Educational Development
I. Pre-Matric Scholarship for the Children of those engaged in unclean ocupations.
II. Post-Matric Scholarship for SC Students.
III. Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojana.
IV. Scholarship Scheme of Top Class Education for SCs
V. Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship.
VI. National Overseas Scholarships for SCs
Economic Development
i. Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers
ii. Free Coaching for SC and OBC Students.
iii. Special Central Assistance for Scheduled Castes Sub Plan.
iv. Assistance for skill development and self-employment through the National Scheduled Castes Finance & Development Corporation & the National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation.
This information was given by Shri D. Napolean, the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha yesterday.
*****
The Grant-in-aid released to NGOs for various projects under the scheme of "Grant-in-aid to Voluntary Organizations working for Scheduled Castes" during the last 3 years is as under:-
Year
No. of NGOs
Amount released
2006-07
336
Rs. 29.01 Crore
2007-08
349
Rs. 30.95 Crore
2008-09
266
Rs. 21.50 Crore
Release of grant-in-aid is based on the inspection reports of the NGOs and on the recommendations of the Multi-Disciplinary Grant-in-aid Committees of the respective State Governments. Inspections, wherever necessary, are also conducted by the officials of this Ministry. Evaluation studies are conducted from time to time to assess the impact of the working of the NGOs under the scheme.
Funds are allocated under various schemes of the Ministry and through Apex Corporations for Educational and Economic Development of Scheduled Castes. These are as under:-
Educational Development
I. Pre-Matric Scholarship for the Children of those engaged in unclean ocupations.
II. Post-Matric Scholarship for SC Students.
III. Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojana.
IV. Scholarship Scheme of Top Class Education for SCs
V. Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship.
VI. National Overseas Scholarships for SCs
Economic Development
i. Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers
ii. Free Coaching for SC and OBC Students.
iii. Special Central Assistance for Scheduled Castes Sub Plan.
iv. Assistance for skill development and self-employment through the National Scheduled Castes Finance & Development Corporation & the National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation.
This information was given by Shri D. Napolean, the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha yesterday.
*****
Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik wins Berlin contest
Bhubaneswar (IANS): Orissa based sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik was on Monday announced as the winner of the people's choice award at the world championship held in Berlin last month for his 15-feet-high image of Lord Buddha.
Mr. Pattnaik, who hails from Orissa's beach city of Puri is the first Indian to win the contest.
Last year he had won the jury prize in the same contest in Berlin for his sculpture that showed the famous polar bear Knut, which lives in the Berlin Zoo.
"The people's choice award that I have won this time is the most prestigious award which is decided on the basis of votes given by the audience," Mr. Pattnaik said over phone from his home.
Mr. Pattnaik has participated in more than 39 international sand sculpture festivals and competitions and won several prizes.
MR. Pattnaik, who figured in the Limca Book of Records in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 editions for his work, will also find place in the 2009 edition for winning the United Sand Festivals (USF) World Double Championship held June 5.
Mr. Pattnaik, who hails from Orissa's beach city of Puri is the first Indian to win the contest.
Last year he had won the jury prize in the same contest in Berlin for his sculpture that showed the famous polar bear Knut, which lives in the Berlin Zoo.
"The people's choice award that I have won this time is the most prestigious award which is decided on the basis of votes given by the audience," Mr. Pattnaik said over phone from his home.
Mr. Pattnaik has participated in more than 39 international sand sculpture festivals and competitions and won several prizes.
MR. Pattnaik, who figured in the Limca Book of Records in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 editions for his work, will also find place in the 2009 edition for winning the United Sand Festivals (USF) World Double Championship held June 5.
Dalits of Bangladesh
Badal Das' dream is quite simple. He hopes that unlike every member of his family for centuries, Kwaran Das, his eight-year-old son, will grow up to be someone other than a sweeper. Among his three sons Kwaran is the only one studying in a school run by Chittagong City Corporation. Badal Das is a Dalit, a member of the so-called "untouchable" caste that sits at the very bottom of the traditional Hindu society.There are about 3.5 million "untouchable" sweepers all over Bangladesh who clean government offices, hospitals, educational institutions, different private and non-government offices and roads under the city corporations of the country. Their history can be traced back to the colonial era when their ancestors were brought to Bangladesh from Hyderabad (India) by the British rulers to perform manual work. Still today the community's first language remains Telugu and Hindi. Their attire, food habits, culture, methods of worship and almost everything is different from the other Hindus and obviously from the other people of Bangladesh. Members of the Dalit community lead an inhuman and sub-standard life amid unbearable sufferings and serious uncertainty. Belonging to the lowest caste they are not treated as human beings. With every passing day the security of government jobs have also decreased as no man in future would be appointed as sweeper without having a Class eight certificate. "My son is not so hopeful of being a City Corporation sweeper as he doesn't have the Class eight certificate", says Ratan Das, a sweeper in Chittagong. "He never went to school."There are 300 million Dalits in South Asia. In India, Dalits have recently made considerable progress in terms of poverty reduction, access to jobs and in securing power. But in Bangladesh the Dalits have a much lower public profile and no political power. For all the discrimination they face, Dalits say that the Bangladeshi authorities do not officially recognize that Dalits even exist. "They say everybody is equal. But nothing is equal," says Badal Das, "We are discriminated in every sphere of our lives".
Humaira Fatema
Humaira Fatema
Nalanda village wins Tourism Award 2009
BENGALURU — Nepura in Nalanda district of Bihar bagged the Tourism Award-2009. The award was given by a private channel for women empowerment by way of tourism.
The award ceremony, held at a posh hotel in Bengaluru (Bangalore) on Thursday, was attended by Joint Secretary, Bihar Tourism.
In a message, the chief guest at the function, Union Tourism Minister Kumari Shailaja conveyed, “This is indeed a commendable initiative and we all know the tremendous opportunity that Buddhist circuit presents for Indian tourism.”
Nalanda and Buddhist circuit offers immense potential for rural tourism in Bihar, she said emphasising “more such initiatives for women participation for sustainable livelihood from tourism.”
This for the first time a community initiative has brought Bihar on national tourism map. This prestigious project under the UNDP and Ministry of Tourism was implemented by a Patna-based NGO, Adithi.
Located between the famous places Nalanda and Rajgir Town of Bihar, this small village is famous for weaving. There are about 250 families in this village, out of which 50 practice weaving. It is said that out of the three Mango Grooves of the Nalanda University, one of the Grooves is situated here. And it is here where Lord Mahavira and Gautam Buddha stayed.
In fact, it is so believed that Nepura is the first place where the Lord Buddha gave his first preaching. It is also considered the first major social reform movement. Lord Buddha, Lord Mahavira and Sanjaya has many followers from this village
The award ceremony, held at a posh hotel in Bengaluru (Bangalore) on Thursday, was attended by Joint Secretary, Bihar Tourism.
In a message, the chief guest at the function, Union Tourism Minister Kumari Shailaja conveyed, “This is indeed a commendable initiative and we all know the tremendous opportunity that Buddhist circuit presents for Indian tourism.”
Nalanda and Buddhist circuit offers immense potential for rural tourism in Bihar, she said emphasising “more such initiatives for women participation for sustainable livelihood from tourism.”
This for the first time a community initiative has brought Bihar on national tourism map. This prestigious project under the UNDP and Ministry of Tourism was implemented by a Patna-based NGO, Adithi.
Located between the famous places Nalanda and Rajgir Town of Bihar, this small village is famous for weaving. There are about 250 families in this village, out of which 50 practice weaving. It is said that out of the three Mango Grooves of the Nalanda University, one of the Grooves is situated here. And it is here where Lord Mahavira and Gautam Buddha stayed.
In fact, it is so believed that Nepura is the first place where the Lord Buddha gave his first preaching. It is also considered the first major social reform movement. Lord Buddha, Lord Mahavira and Sanjaya has many followers from this village
Dalit Christians to get SC status soon
New Delhi: The long-pending demand of Dalit Christians of the country would be accepted soon as Union government is going to provide Scheduled Caste status to them.
It is learnt that Union law minister, Mr Veerappa Moily is keen to settle this long pending issue very shortly. He is working overtime with his officials to settle the demand of Dalit Christians. Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and UPA chairman Mrs Sonia Gandhi are also interested to see this issue settled once and for all.
After providing SC status to Dalit Christians of the country, they would be entitled for all the benefits reserved for schedule caste people.
Sources say that Moily has recently assured the delegation of National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC) that the UPA government would not take much time to provide SC status to Dalit Christians. Welcoming the decision of government, eminent Christian scholar and writer RV Smith said that in villages Dalits Christians are still not allowed into some areas where the upper caste population lives. They are offered menial labour, and most of the time not paid for it. At tea shops there are separate utensils for us just like for Hindu Dalits.
Statistics show that more than 70% of the Christians in India are Dalits. When Christian missionaries began their work in India in the decades before Independence, their promise of equal treatment and opportunity for all castes became the prime reason for Dalits - who find themselves at the socio-economic lowest rung of Hinduism’s hierarchy - to embrace the missionary message. But as is now well documented, conversion offered no escape from caste prejudices.
Now the population may worship Maria instead of Maariamma (a manifestation of goddess Kaali) but the discrimination continued. Conversion to Christianity did not automatically bring equal treatment, says Y Marisamy, Convener of Dalit Christian Federation (DCF).
It is learnt that Union law minister, Mr Veerappa Moily is keen to settle this long pending issue very shortly. He is working overtime with his officials to settle the demand of Dalit Christians. Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and UPA chairman Mrs Sonia Gandhi are also interested to see this issue settled once and for all.
After providing SC status to Dalit Christians of the country, they would be entitled for all the benefits reserved for schedule caste people.
Sources say that Moily has recently assured the delegation of National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC) that the UPA government would not take much time to provide SC status to Dalit Christians. Welcoming the decision of government, eminent Christian scholar and writer RV Smith said that in villages Dalits Christians are still not allowed into some areas where the upper caste population lives. They are offered menial labour, and most of the time not paid for it. At tea shops there are separate utensils for us just like for Hindu Dalits.
Statistics show that more than 70% of the Christians in India are Dalits. When Christian missionaries began their work in India in the decades before Independence, their promise of equal treatment and opportunity for all castes became the prime reason for Dalits - who find themselves at the socio-economic lowest rung of Hinduism’s hierarchy - to embrace the missionary message. But as is now well documented, conversion offered no escape from caste prejudices.
Now the population may worship Maria instead of Maariamma (a manifestation of goddess Kaali) but the discrimination continued. Conversion to Christianity did not automatically bring equal treatment, says Y Marisamy, Convener of Dalit Christian Federation (DCF).
Dalit Christians to get SC status soon
New Delhi: The long-pending demand of Dalit Christians of the country would be accepted soon as Union government is going to provide Scheduled Caste status to them.
It is learnt that Union law minister, Mr Veerappa Moily is keen to settle this long pending issue very shortly. He is working overtime with his officials to settle the demand of Dalit Christians. Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and UPA chairman Mrs Sonia Gandhi are also interested to see this issue settled once and for all.
After providing SC status to Dalit Christians of the country, they would be entitled for all the benefits reserved for schedule caste people.
Sources say that Moily has recently assured the delegation of National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC) that the UPA government would not take much time to provide SC status to Dalit Christians. Welcoming the decision of government, eminent Christian scholar and writer RV Smith said that in villages Dalits Christians are still not allowed into some areas where the upper caste population lives. They are offered menial labour, and most of the time not paid for it. At tea shops there are separate utensils for us just like for Hindu Dalits.
Statistics show that more than 70% of the Christians in India are Dalits. When Christian missionaries began their work in India in the decades before Independence, their promise of equal treatment and opportunity for all castes became the prime reason for Dalits - who find themselves at the socio-economic lowest rung of Hinduism’s hierarchy - to embrace the missionary message. But as is now well documented, conversion offered no escape from caste prejudices.
Now the population may worship Maria instead of Maariamma (a manifestation of goddess Kaali) but the discrimination continued. Conversion to Christianity did not automatically bring equal treatment, says Y Marisamy, Convener of Dalit Christian Federation (DCF).
It is learnt that Union law minister, Mr Veerappa Moily is keen to settle this long pending issue very shortly. He is working overtime with his officials to settle the demand of Dalit Christians. Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and UPA chairman Mrs Sonia Gandhi are also interested to see this issue settled once and for all.
After providing SC status to Dalit Christians of the country, they would be entitled for all the benefits reserved for schedule caste people.
Sources say that Moily has recently assured the delegation of National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC) that the UPA government would not take much time to provide SC status to Dalit Christians. Welcoming the decision of government, eminent Christian scholar and writer RV Smith said that in villages Dalits Christians are still not allowed into some areas where the upper caste population lives. They are offered menial labour, and most of the time not paid for it. At tea shops there are separate utensils for us just like for Hindu Dalits.
Statistics show that more than 70% of the Christians in India are Dalits. When Christian missionaries began their work in India in the decades before Independence, their promise of equal treatment and opportunity for all castes became the prime reason for Dalits - who find themselves at the socio-economic lowest rung of Hinduism’s hierarchy - to embrace the missionary message. But as is now well documented, conversion offered no escape from caste prejudices.
Now the population may worship Maria instead of Maariamma (a manifestation of goddess Kaali) but the discrimination continued. Conversion to Christianity did not automatically bring equal treatment, says Y Marisamy, Convener of Dalit Christian Federation (DCF).
Mayawati baulks at Centre’s Bundelkhand authority idea
LUCKNOW: The battle between Mayawati and Rahul Gandhi for drought prone Bundelkhand region is set for some more acrimony, with the UP chief minister calling the initiative to set up a centrally-controlled Bundelkhand Development Authority against the federal structure and constitutional provisions with a motive to impose an indirect central administration in the state. Shooting of another letter to the prime minister on the second consecutive day, Ms Mayawati said that some media reports suggest that the inter-state Bundelkhand Development Authority/Council has already been constituted despite seeking any approval from the state, which was against constitutional provisions that defines Centre-state relationship. Ms Mayawati has said that indulging in politics over the condition of people in Bundelkhand was unfortunate and setting up the authority was aimed at curtailing the role of the state government in the region. She pointed out that special packages have been sanctioned in the past for areas like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Vidharbha etc but they were never under the direct control of the central government, as is being said about the Bundelkhand Development Authority. She said that the administrative mechanism of Uttar Pradesh could effectively tackle the problems related to the region’s development and any comparison with North-Eastern Council was not warranted. The chief minister in the letter asked the prime minister to sanction a special area incentive package for Bundelkhand and also a Rs 80,000 crore package. Cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh, while detailing the contents of the letter written by the chief minister, said he has not yet received any communication regarding the constitution of the authority/council. The proposal to set up an authority first came up after a delegation of MPs from the Bundelkhand region falling in both UP and MP, led by Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding a comprehensive package for the region’s development, which saw Ms Mayawati shooting letter to the prime minister. Besides the tussle over cornering the credit for any special funds that may come for the region both Congress and BSP are locked in a fierce battle to capture the region electorally. The Bundelkhand region has traditionally been a BSP stronghold which started showing signs of breach during the recent Lok Sabha elections. Mr Gandhi had started touring the area extensively in 2008 highlighting the lack of development in the region as well as the drought conditions.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
NU gets Rs 16cr UGC grants
NAGPUR: Here is some good news for Nagpur University that is grappling with a funds crunch and lacklustre attitude of top bosses.The University Grant Comission has sanctioned Rs 16.35 crore of the Rs 41 crore demanded under university’s eleventh five-year plan. The apex body for higher education had delayed the release of funds by two years. The UGC has also approved three posts each of professors and readers and 35 posts of lecturers. The posts will get salary grants from UGC for the first five years and then from the state government. According to vice-chancellor SN Pathan, the funds received under eleventh plan are four times higher than in tenth five-year plan. Of the total, Rs 11.60 crore have been sanctioned as general funds and another Rs 4.81 crore for merged schemes. The tenth plan gave only Rs 4.42 crore. Under the merged schemes, Rs 46.50 lakh will be given for improvement of university’s health centre which is in a pathetic condition. Now, the UGC has also allotted a doctor and two nurses for the centre. Another Rs 30 lakh were received for constructing a full-fledged Buddhist study centre, Rs 20 lakh for faculty rest house, Rs 45 lakh for girls' hostel, Rs 35 lakh for a boys' hostel and Rs 10 lakh for computer training centre. The master of education (MEd) and physical departments have received combined grants of Rs 1.10 crore along with posts of one reader and three lecturers. The UGC has sanctioned Rs 3.50 lakh for establishing a separate department for commerce faculty. Posts of a reader and two lecturers were also granted for the department. The university received apex body's nod for setting up department of biology and molecular engineering at a cost of Rs 70 lakh along with one reader and two lecturers' posts. Another Rs 10 lakh were sanctioned for nanotechnology that will be combined with physics department. Moreover, Rs 30 lakh were given for a swimming pool and Rs 5 lakh for conference hall in humanities department. The UGC has also provided Rs 50 lakh as first instalment for construction of the university's new administrative in the campus on Amravati road at a total cost of almost Rs 20 crore.
Bihar Dalit girl stripped naked in classroom
A class III girl student from Dalit community studying in a government middle school was stripped naked in the presence of the school teacher by some boys of the same school in Bihar, according to a late-reaching report.
The incident which relates to an upgraded middle school in Mohanpur block of Samastipur district took place on July 25 but came to light when the Dalit girls stopped attending the schools.
Later, the angry villagers reported the matter to the Divisional Commissioner, Darbhanga Dr Rana Avadhesh who ordered for a through probe.
“We found the incident true during the inquiry and have recommended for stern action against the school principal and disciplinary action against the accused boy students”, said a police official who conducted the probe said wishing not to be quoted. He is not authorized to talk to the Press.
This is the third incident of stripping of females in the last one fortnight in Bihar. Earlier, a woman had been stripped in the streets of Patna while in Sitamarhi, a Dalit woman had been stripped by some upper caste members when her goat strayed into their field.
The incident which relates to an upgraded middle school in Mohanpur block of Samastipur district took place on July 25 but came to light when the Dalit girls stopped attending the schools.
Later, the angry villagers reported the matter to the Divisional Commissioner, Darbhanga Dr Rana Avadhesh who ordered for a through probe.
“We found the incident true during the inquiry and have recommended for stern action against the school principal and disciplinary action against the accused boy students”, said a police official who conducted the probe said wishing not to be quoted. He is not authorized to talk to the Press.
This is the third incident of stripping of females in the last one fortnight in Bihar. Earlier, a woman had been stripped in the streets of Patna while in Sitamarhi, a Dalit woman had been stripped by some upper caste members when her goat strayed into their field.
Unesco, archaeology dept urged to save Buddhist stupa
TAXILA: Officials of the regional department of archeology and museums have urged the Unesco and federal department of archaeology to save the Buddhist stupa and monastery from the illegal digging and excavations.
The request was made after the two officials of the federal department of archaeology and museums sub-regional office, Taxila, found illegal excavation and theft of the ancient artifacts from the Buddhist monastery.
In a report submitted to highups of Ministry of Culture, the officials said the stupa and the monastery had been badly damaged by the excavator s digging the sites with heavy equipment.
‘And, most probably they have also taken away two or three small statues of Buddha,’ the officials reported.
The officials said if the proper excavations under official patronage were carried out, it would not only help to preserve the cultural heritage but also promote tourism in this area where researchers, students of archeology, tourists and scholars from across the world come to visit the ancient civilisation.
It has been learnt that the police were informed by the local people about illegal digging and excavations and a police party reached the spot but did not stop the illegal activity.Also, the sub-divisional police officer and SHO Hazro also reached the site and arrested 15 diggers but freed all of them after two hours without taking any legal action against them.
The report said SHO Hazro police station had misguided officials of the archeology department and did not tell the exact location where illegal digging was being done by the land grabbers.
They said the police were protecting the illegal diggers and asked the police highups to take action against those officials responsible for this situation.
When contacted, Muhammad Bhadur Khan, deputy director federal department of archaeology and museums, confirmed the massive destruction of the Buddhist site. He said a report of the illegal digging by influential mafia in league with the police had been submitted to the department headquarters and police authorities.
He strongly advocated for the preservation of the site from the illegal diggers who, he said, were bent on destroying the national heritage
The request was made after the two officials of the federal department of archaeology and museums sub-regional office, Taxila, found illegal excavation and theft of the ancient artifacts from the Buddhist monastery.
In a report submitted to highups of Ministry of Culture, the officials said the stupa and the monastery had been badly damaged by the excavator s digging the sites with heavy equipment.
‘And, most probably they have also taken away two or three small statues of Buddha,’ the officials reported.
The officials said if the proper excavations under official patronage were carried out, it would not only help to preserve the cultural heritage but also promote tourism in this area where researchers, students of archeology, tourists and scholars from across the world come to visit the ancient civilisation.
It has been learnt that the police were informed by the local people about illegal digging and excavations and a police party reached the spot but did not stop the illegal activity.Also, the sub-divisional police officer and SHO Hazro also reached the site and arrested 15 diggers but freed all of them after two hours without taking any legal action against them.
The report said SHO Hazro police station had misguided officials of the archeology department and did not tell the exact location where illegal digging was being done by the land grabbers.
They said the police were protecting the illegal diggers and asked the police highups to take action against those officials responsible for this situation.
When contacted, Muhammad Bhadur Khan, deputy director federal department of archaeology and museums, confirmed the massive destruction of the Buddhist site. He said a report of the illegal digging by influential mafia in league with the police had been submitted to the department headquarters and police authorities.
He strongly advocated for the preservation of the site from the illegal diggers who, he said, were bent on destroying the national heritage
High level Chinese Buddhist delegation to visit Sri Lanka
The Most Venerable Shi Yie Chang, Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China who is also the Chief Abbot of the Lingguang Temple in Beijing, will lead a 102-member Buddhist delegation to Sri Lanka from August 2 to 9, 2009.
The visit is organized to enhance the bilateral Buddhist cultural relations of over 1,000 years between China and Sri Lanka.
This would be the second visit to Sri Lanka by the Lingguang Temple which coincides with the 'Kandy Esala Perahera'. The first visit was in 2007 which was initiated by President Mahinda Rajapaksa during his State Visit to China. President Rajapaksa was accompanied by a high level Buddhist delegation from Sri Lanka in 2007 where they gifted a stone replica of Samadhi Statue in Anuradhapura, to the Lingguang Temple. The visiting delegation includes the most senior Theras held in high esteem in China and officials from China Buddhist Association, the umbrella organization for Buddhist activities in the country. The delegation will witness the Randoli Pageant on August 5 and will also tour Kandy, Dambulla, Sigiriya rock fortress, Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya, Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, a Dutch Fort and a Catholic Church in Negombo.
The delegation will also pay courtesy calls on President Rajapaksa, the Most Venerable Maha Nayaka Theras of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters and other Buddhist leaders of Sri Lanka. The visit is coordinated by the Sri Lanka Embassy in Beijing together with the Foreign Ministry in Colombo and the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy.
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The visit is organized to enhance the bilateral Buddhist cultural relations of over 1,000 years between China and Sri Lanka.
This would be the second visit to Sri Lanka by the Lingguang Temple which coincides with the 'Kandy Esala Perahera'. The first visit was in 2007 which was initiated by President Mahinda Rajapaksa during his State Visit to China. President Rajapaksa was accompanied by a high level Buddhist delegation from Sri Lanka in 2007 where they gifted a stone replica of Samadhi Statue in Anuradhapura, to the Lingguang Temple. The visiting delegation includes the most senior Theras held in high esteem in China and officials from China Buddhist Association, the umbrella organization for Buddhist activities in the country. The delegation will witness the Randoli Pageant on August 5 and will also tour Kandy, Dambulla, Sigiriya rock fortress, Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya, Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, a Dutch Fort and a Catholic Church in Negombo.
The delegation will also pay courtesy calls on President Rajapaksa, the Most Venerable Maha Nayaka Theras of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters and other Buddhist leaders of Sri Lanka. The visit is coordinated by the Sri Lanka Embassy in Beijing together with the Foreign Ministry in Colombo and the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy.
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