by Abusaleh Shariff There is nothing in the Constitution which bars identification of beneficiaries of public programmes based on religion. Of late, there has been a debate on whether public programmes such as school education, scholarships, health-care delivery and access to microcredit can be targeted at beneficiaries based on religion; some consider this ‘unconstitutional’ and …
Upper caste uprising
By Chandra Bhan Prasad Hazare’s movement used symbols that were non-Dalit Recently, a foreign correspondent from a well-known publication wanted to know what I thought about Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement. He was accompanied by his Indian colleague. He had done his home work, and asked me to the point question. One of his question’s was …
Draft of Bahujan Lokpal Bill
TO BE INTRODUCED BEFORE THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF PARLIAMENT. By Dr.Udit Raj, (Chairman of All India Confederation of SC/ST Organizations). Other leaders included in the delegation are P. S Krishnan- Former IAS, Shabnam Hashmi- Anhed, Vinod Diwakar-Advocate, Joseph Dsouza, John Dayal-All India Christian Council, Prof. Ravi Varma Kumar- Former, Chairman, Karnataka, Backward Commission, Yusuf Ansari- Gen. Secy, Peace Party, Chandrapal Singh …
Bahujan Lokpal Bill: some suggestions
Dinesh Maurya [Presenting the Bahujan perspective i.e., the views of the SC/ST/OBC and religious minorities, on the proposed Lokpal legislation, the writer makes some useful suggestions to make the bill more inclusive- Round Table India] We want to submit some suggestions regarding the Government of India’s proposed Lokpal Bill. Like Anna’s Lokpal Bill, our …
Hindu, savarna, urban, elite media: an X-ray, CT Scan, ECG, MRI report
By Dilip Mandal As expected, large sections of the media, especially the Hindu (sorry, Hindi) newspapers have adopted the policy of turning a blind eye towards the ‘Save the Constitution’ rally led by Dr.Udit Raj held on 24th, August in Delhi. A few newspapers seemed to be merely going through the ritual of reporting it. …
Jan Lokpal or Janvirodhi Lokpal?
By People for Constitution, Democracy and Human Rights (PCDHR, Nagpur) Recent stir by Anna Hazare (Original name unknown/ Education unknown) & Co. for an Ombudsman for corruption in the name of Jan Lokpal is an ‘extra-constitutional method’, bypassing the Parliamentary process which is at the heart of Constitutional Democracy which ‘We the People’ of India …
Ambedkar’s way & Anna Hazare’s methods
By Sukhdeo Thorat Following Dr. Ambedkar’s example, Team Anna should use constitutional methods and enhance people’s faith in them. Otherwise it will convey the message that only coercive and unconstitutional methods work. A group of people, with placards showing Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, staged a demonstration in Delhi a few days ago against Anna Hazare’s proposals …
Aarakshan: Expression with Reservation
by Bobby Kunhu I have not watched Aarakshan. I am an unapologetic advocate of free speech. And I generally do not like writing about what I do not know. But then this piece is not about Aarakshan, but about dominant discussions about the movie from newsroom discussions to (English) newspaper headlines. And most of the …
Providing Justice to Tribals
The Constitution of India provides several safeguards and provisions to provide justice and welfare to tribals. The enactments of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 are major steps by the Government to provide justice …