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DSS stages semi-nude protest in Gulbarga The members of Dalit Sangarsh Samithi (Mavalli Shankar Group) today held a semi-nude procession in the City, demanding the State Government to withdraw the orders of reversion issued to a number of Dalit engineers recently. The semi-nude protest was held at all district headquarters today. It may be recalled that after the December 1, 2000, judgment of the Supreme Court with reference to reservation in promotions in the Badeppanavar case, the State Government had reverted the promotions given to many of the Dalit engineers in the Public Works and Irrigation Departments. This was done to accommodate the engineers of general category, who were earlier denied promotions, and consequently were promoted in the background of the Supreme Court directions. Thereby, opposing the reversion of promotions of the Dalit engineers, and demanding the withdrawal of the orders, the Dalit Sangarsh Samithi members, under the leadership of its State Organising Convenor Shivayogi Kollur, held a semi-nude procession in the City against the State Government. The Dalits, who had gathered in a large number, removed their shirts, and began their protest procession from the Ambedkar Statue at the Jagat Chowk near here. The procession, which was taken out amidst tight police security, wound its way to the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Chowk, and going to the Mini-Vidhana Soudha, staged a protest there. Addressing the protesters, Mr Kollur warned the State Government that the Dalits formed the decisive votes in a majority of the constituencies in the State, and warned the State Government to be careful. Even though the Dalits had kept lot of hopes on the Congress and had thought that their community would benefit from the Congress rule, yet, the Congress rule had become a bane for the Dalits, he said. After the Congress came to power, attacks and harassment on the Dalits in the State had increased, he added. "Right from the Kambalpalli massacre to the nude parading of a Dalit woman in Bellary, the attacks have continued," he added. He charged that the State Government had not implemented the December 1, 2000, Supreme Court judgment properly, and had also failed in representing the case properly keeping in mind the interests of the Dalits here. "Nowhere in the Badeppnavar case had the Supreme Court stated that the promotions given to the Dalits should be reverted. But, the State Government had resorted to this," he added on this occasion here. Even though Chief Minister S M Krishna had assured earlier that there would be no reversions, yet the State Government had done so, he said. He warned that if the State Government does not concede to its demands, then a State-level semi-nude protest would be held in Bangalore on November 7. Dalit Sangarsh Samithi leaders Hanumanth Yelasangi, Datttreya Ikalki, Sharanappa Herur, Bheemrai Hosmani, Siddram Chincholi, and others participated in today's protest held here.
The Telegraph (india) Intimidation is no friend of logic. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were never known for logic, simply because intimidation is the only mode of communication they know. This time their aggression is being directed at scheduled caste and scheduled tribes organizations, of which about one million members have decided to convert to Buddhism on November 4. Absurdly enough, the sangh parivar brothers have decided that this is a Christian conspiracy. In these days of terrorism and mutual accusations of religious fundamentalism, nobody seems to be able to dismiss this insanity with the derision it deserves. Instead, security arrangements for the Dalit leaders are being talked about in advance. However meaningless, the threats promise violence. It is impossible to say what the sangh parivar's aggression is directed at. On the one hand, it may be conversion itself, and not just conversion to Christianity as it had claimed so far. The trouble is that the parivar has sagely reiterated that Buddhism, together with Sikhism and Jainism, is part of the "larger family" of Hinduism. Therefore, the determined effort to pass the planned conversions off as a "Christian conspiracy". Buddhism as a target is just not appetizing enough. It would also seem that the sangh parivar would like to keep its hostility towards religious freedom a secret. On the other hand, its threatening attitude towards the Dalits inescapably throws up the issue of casteism, precisely the kind of hierarchy the Dalits hope to escape by conversion. Such a suspicion is inevitable, given the complete muddleheadedness of the sangh parivar's rhetoric. In its excitement, it has completely overlooked the greatest contradiction in its ideological stance. Given the situation in the world today, making a bogey out of Christianity puts it, willy-nilly, on the side of another minority community which is really not its favourite. The VHP and the RSS were never known for their sense of changing times. Total ignorance has been their hallmark. The sangh parivar's backward-looking attitude and lack of realism have resulted in its gradual distance from the Bharatiya Janata Party in spite of the umbilical link between them. It is a pity that the RSS and the VHP have to be thought of at all, every time they raise a hue and cry, because of the violence and disruption they represent. All they pose is a problem of law and order
Caste, religion and BMP poll will decide the next police chief What the law-abiding citizens of Bangalore need or want from their police commissioner is entirely irrelevant. The politicians will decide who will suit their purpose best. With the present City Police Commissioner Mr T Madiyal all set to be promoted to Director General of Police rank on October 31, the question “Who will be the next commissioner” is being asked more and more. As of Tuesday night, the leader in the race for the prestigious post is Additional Director General (Administration) S Mariswamy, from the 1972 batch of the IPS, who belongs to the same community(Dalit) as Home minister Mallikarjun M Kharge. He is also close to the ruling party, being the son-in-law of late senior Congress leader and Kerala governor B Rachaiah. Mr Mariswamy has a clean image and also has the advantage of being a son of the soil. Having served as the Home Secretary before being posted to the police headquarters on Nrupathunga Road, Mr Mariswamy enjoys a good rapport with those trodding the corridors of Vidhana Soudha. Mr K R Srinivasan (IPS-1972), on the other hand, is backed by Chief minister S M Krishna’s coterie. He was the man who shuttled between Bangalore and Chennai during the Rajkumar kidnap crisis, ferrying audio cassettes containing ransom and other demands of Veerappan made to the Tamil Nadu government. Mr Srinivasan is supposed to be a “straight forward officer’’, but he has a number of qualities which are not regarded with favour by the Indian Police Service, the Union home ministry and the centre’s Department of Personnel. If Mr Srinivasan’s appointment is queered by the home minister’s lobby, Mr Krishna would like to opt for Mr Hmar Tsombe Sangliana (1967), who is well known in the city as well as in the state. The additional advantage for the chief minister in opting for Mr Sangliana is supposed to be that, as a non-local, he could be more amenable to political advice in the performance of his duties than either of his colleagues mentioned above. Sources say that Mr Sangliana has the backing of 7, Race Course Road, New Delhi, perhaps because of ethnic and religious affinities. It is also a matter of record that Mr Sangliana impressed late prime minister, Indira Gandhi, when he was a superintendent of police, and she was contesting MP by-elections from Chikmagalur. Another probable is Mr M D Singh, who is presently holding charge of law and order. Though he is said to be capable of changing the image of the City police, he is not a hot favourite among politicians due to his “tough cop” image and “don’t give a damn attitude”. It is the government’s privilege to select whom it wants, out of the 12 officers currently in the rank of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP). Those in this list include Mr S K Bannerjee (1968), Mr S N Borkar (1974), Mr Y Seeladhari Rao ( 1969), Mr B N P Albuquerque (1969), Mr B S Sial (1971-now on deputation to the Intelligence Bureau), Mr S Bhaskar Rao(1973), Mr R Srikumar (1973) and Dr Ajai Kumar Singh ( 1974). According to sources, Mr Srikumar may well turn out to be the dark horse in the race. Having served in the Central Bureau of Investigation for several years, he is said to be a man of integrity and a good investigator. Though Dr Ajai Kumar Singh’s name is also doing the rounds, he is the juniormost of the ADGs. Political realities lead to the belief that the man selected will be the person most able to influence the forthcoming BMP elections. But the poll code of conduct may come in the way and Mr Madiyal is likely to be asked to continue as the commissioner until the BMP election on November 11 is over. *Leader in the race: Additional Director General (Administration) S Mariswamy. Hails from Home Minister Kharge’s community *Hot favourites: Mr K R Srinivasan, emissary during Raj kidnap crisis. Backed by S M Krishna’s coterie Mr Hmar Tsombe Sangliana. Has Sonia’s backing *Probables: Mr M D Singh with a “don’t give a damn attitude” and Dr Ajai Kumar Singh *Dark horse: Mr R Srikumar |