The Bahujan Samaj Party is not the media's darling. Mayawati doesn't make for pretty pictures and is known for her caustic remarks. So the shutterbugs keep away. Behenji has done away with political stereotypes shunning khadi in favor of garish silk kurtas and heavy gold jewelry, perhaps an assertion that she too has arrived.
Interacting with the party workers so far has been a daunting task. Nobody confirms anything, nobody leaks news. Everything is guarded. But considering it is an alternative for the people who are frustrated with the way things are, and say they might just go with the elephant this time, the party is an emerging power front. In Delhi, they are fighting all seven seats alone. This was a piece done for the Indian Express on the party's dark horse Haji Dilshad Ali who is contesting in North East Delhi, where migrant population is dominant and Muslims are in large numbers. This is the original draft. An edited version was published in the Indian Express on April 1, 2009.
Chinki Sinha
New Delhi, March 31, 2009
In the narrow alleyways of Kabir Nagar in North East Delhi, where mountains of garbage are a common sight, and houses stand neck to neck jostling for breathing space, the BSP office is abuzz with activity at all hours.
Community elders, party workers and those seeking favors keep filtering in and out of the glass doors that are plastered with posters of Mayawati and the BSP's North East candidate Haji Dilshad. It is here that they are counting on the Muslims to help them claim the seat.
Dilshad Ali is the party’s dark horse who contested the Assembly elections last year from Babarpur constituency and garnered around 28,000 votes.
In Delhi, BSP is the only party to give three Muslim candidates tickets - Haji Yunus from the East Delhi, Haji Dilshad from the North-east Delhi and Mustkeem Ahmed (Billo) from the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat.
On Dec. 9, 2008, the party high command cleared Dilshad Ali’s name for candidacy in the area, and ever since then, he has been working with about 1,200 party workers to make sure the BSP emerges as the third option for the community that is frustrated with the state of things.
What also helps is that the Congress and the BJP both have not pitched Muslim candidates from the area. So there will be no cutting into the votes, Dilshad Ali says.
In fact Varun Gandhi’s comments on the community has come at the right time for the party in the area. Betrayal rings in the comments, Anno Netani, another party worker
says.
"No Muslim will vote for the BJP here," she said.
For the Muslims, it is Haji’s name that is reassuring. It is almost as if asserting their presence through Dilshad Ali.
“You know Muslims are like the tezpatta in Biryani, only for flavour.
We are only vote banks,” Mohd. Nasir, who is also Dilshad Ali’s driver, said. “He is from our community. He knows.”
While the party's ideology of an inclusive society where the minorities and the oppressed will be given a chance is at the core, the party is making the most of the local issues this election season.
The top of the agenda is the graveyard that caters to the Muslims in Mustafabad, Kabir Nagar, and Babarpur. It has no boundary and heaps of garbage surround it and dogs sniff around the graves. For the local Muslims, it is an emotional issue and the party is only too willing to use it in the campaign.
While the BSP has no manifesto, the party workers say it is the idea of the “Samtamulak Samaj Vyavastha” that will get them the votes.
For months now the bhaichara samitis, a core program of the BSP’s modus operandi, has been functional in the area, holding meetings and bringing people together. There are around 10-12 bhaichara samitis in one Vidhan Sabha.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Gurjjars pledge vote to the BSP in South Delhi
Covering the Bahujan Samaj Party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections is not an easy task. The party has a centralized power structure where Mayawati controls all communication. Talk to any party worker and you would hit the wall. But it has been fun nonetheless.
After days of making phone calls and getting kicked out of the BSP office (We were asked to call a number where the guy is never available and they wouldn't even let us peep inside through the cracks to look at the building), on Saturday, although it took me a bumpy auto ride to Kabir Nagar, I met some of the party workers. On Sunday, it was the Gurjjar Mahapanchayat and it was fun being the only woman there. This is the original version of the story that was filed for the Indian Express and was published March 30. The edited version did away with most of the color and descriptions I had spent hours gathering. But Behenji truly is a phenomenon.
Chinki Sinha
New Delhi, March 29, 2009
One by one, the Gurjjar village pradhans walked on to the dais Sunday
morning at the Gurjjar Mahapanchayat at the BSP’s Chattarpur office and
exhorted their community to support the Bahujan Samaj Party candidate
from South Delhi Kanwar Singh Tanwar, who is contesting the Lok Sabha
elections.
If Tanwar fails, it would be an insult to the biradari
elders, they said.
Representatives of at least 36 villages that fall under the South
Delhi constituency and are located on the outskirts of the city
attended the event that is also the party’s first such meeting before
the Lok Sabha elections. Many more such panchayats would be organized
as the election date nears. The area has about 70 villages in its
fold, party members said.
Delhi goes to polls on May 7.
While the BJP too has pitched Ramesh Bidhuri, another Gurjjar, from
South Delhi seat, Tanwar, 49, who also contested the Chattarpur Vidhan
Sabha seat in the Assembly elections last year and lost, is confident
that the social engineering done by the party high command that has
made inroads into the communities by holding bhaichara samiti meetings
throughout will ensure the seat is his.
Each pradhan who had come to the sprawling lawns in the Fatehpur Beri, where Tanwar lives, said it was a matter of pride that behenji
had given the ticket to a Gurjjar from Chattarpur and all members of
the family and community should cast their ballot in his favor or else
it will be against the authority of the sarpanch who is also the word
of God for his community.
“Pancho ke faisle ko Parmeshwar bhi nahi badal sakta. The BJP has
betrayed us in Rajasthan where 70 of our people died. The Congress
government let it go. Now it is time to decide and we are with
Tanwar,” a pradhan said on the stage.
The community would vote en masse, the pradhans said.
Delhi has about 10 percent Gurjjars and leaders are upset that the
congress has never given tickets to any community member except for
Rajesh Pilot.
“They have made promises but have gone back on those,” Tanwar said.
While the panchayat was primarily Gurjjar, community leaders from the
Jatavs and Muslims too were present. Recently, Parvesh Sharma, a Jat
candidate was denied ticket by the BJP which led to huge protests. For
the BSP, it is an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed, party members
said.
Jatav community elder Raj Kumar said he had 25,000 Jatav votes behind him.
“He is a good candidate,” he said. “He has been doing charity and we
want a good leader.”
Another influential community worker, Riyasat Ali, who said he was
denied a ticket by the BJP years ago when he worked for the party in
Mehrauli, joined the BSP a couple of years ago. In Mehrauli alone,
there are more than 7,000 Muslims and they would vote en masse for
Tanwar, he said.
“This party is about Sarva Samaj. We support Tanwar,” Ali said.
The Gujjar vote could be critical in the upcoming elections as there
are more than two lakh Gurjjars in the constituency and dominant among
those are the Lohiyas (two villages), Ambavatas (one village), and
Tanwars (8 villages) gotras are throwing their weight behind Tanwar,
who was also the richest candidate worth more than Rs. 150 crores to
file the nomination papers in the Vidhan Sabha elections.
“The BJP’s stronghold is in only two villages,” Tanwar said.
Tanwar’s name was announced within the party cadres as early as last
December and preparations have been on in full swing since then.
Bhaichara committies have been mobilizing castes groups in order to
make woo those that are outside the party’s core base vote bank.
Tanwar was a Congress supporter for many years before he joined BSP
around two-and-a-half years ago. A businessman, who is into real
estate, he owns fancy cars too.
For years now, Tanwar has been distributing free water in Chattarpur
area where water shortage has been an issue for decades. He also gives
pension of Rs. 500 to around 2,000 poor widows in the area besides
running a mobile dispensary in far flung villages. All this is under
the Narayani Devi Charitable Trust run by him.
The mobile dispensary, which the proud party workers emphasize is
air-conditioned, was parked on one side of the ground, evidently on
display for those who came.
The fight will be tough in Chhattarpur that has traditionally voted
for the Congress. Tanwar being a Gurjjar can add a third dimension to
the BSP's traditional vote bank of Dalit and Muslim voters who
together with the Gurjjars make up for a large chunk of the voters.
There are around 3 lakh Scheduled Caste and Dalit population in
addition to 75,000 baniyas, 90,000 Muslims and two lakh Gurjjars in the
area. Other Assembly constituency seats like Ambedkar Nagar and Deoli
are dominated by the Jatavs. That could affect the election results this time, party members
said.
However, with all the talk on development in the villages including
laying sewage lines and doing away with Section 81 that is responsible
for demolition of houses on farms outside the village borders, the
party is tight-lipped about reservations for the Gurjjar community.
Mayawati has promised an increase in the overall quota for STs to
include both Gurjjars and Meenas. But that means a dent in the share of
the scheduled castes as the reservation is capped at 22.5 percent.
“We are not giving any commitments. Behenji has said she will give
reservation to upper castes but we will see,” Tanwar said. “We want
development in the villages.”
But a few Gujjars that had come to the panchayat have hopes running high.
Prakash Lohiya, who is a community elder from Ghittorni, said he was
hopeful that Behenji will give reservation in government jobs to
Gurjjars.
“They follow the Sarva Samaj model. Right now, they are not in power.
If they get to power with our support, they will do it,” he said.
For the Gurjjars, an alliance with Brahmins and other communities that
the BSP has lately been wooing will help in broadening their
negotiating powers.
The party is also highlighting the fact that a Gurjjar who lives in the
area and understands the local issues well has been given a ticket by
the BSP.
As one pradhan put it “We are indebted to Behenji for giving a local,
Tanwar, a ticket. Now let’s push him to victory. Don’t betray the
community as the elders have decided.”
Meanwhile, the crowd of approximately 6,000 nodded and clapped.
After days of making phone calls and getting kicked out of the BSP office (We were asked to call a number where the guy is never available and they wouldn't even let us peep inside through the cracks to look at the building), on Saturday, although it took me a bumpy auto ride to Kabir Nagar, I met some of the party workers. On Sunday, it was the Gurjjar Mahapanchayat and it was fun being the only woman there. This is the original version of the story that was filed for the Indian Express and was published March 30. The edited version did away with most of the color and descriptions I had spent hours gathering. But Behenji truly is a phenomenon.
Chinki Sinha
New Delhi, March 29, 2009
One by one, the Gurjjar village pradhans walked on to the dais Sunday
morning at the Gurjjar Mahapanchayat at the BSP’s Chattarpur office and
exhorted their community to support the Bahujan Samaj Party candidate
from South Delhi Kanwar Singh Tanwar, who is contesting the Lok Sabha
elections.
If Tanwar fails, it would be an insult to the biradari
elders, they said.
Representatives of at least 36 villages that fall under the South
Delhi constituency and are located on the outskirts of the city
attended the event that is also the party’s first such meeting before
the Lok Sabha elections. Many more such panchayats would be organized
as the election date nears. The area has about 70 villages in its
fold, party members said.
Delhi goes to polls on May 7.
While the BJP too has pitched Ramesh Bidhuri, another Gurjjar, from
South Delhi seat, Tanwar, 49, who also contested the Chattarpur Vidhan
Sabha seat in the Assembly elections last year and lost, is confident
that the social engineering done by the party high command that has
made inroads into the communities by holding bhaichara samiti meetings
throughout will ensure the seat is his.
Each pradhan who had come to the sprawling lawns in the Fatehpur Beri, where Tanwar lives, said it was a matter of pride that behenji
had given the ticket to a Gurjjar from Chattarpur and all members of
the family and community should cast their ballot in his favor or else
it will be against the authority of the sarpanch who is also the word
of God for his community.
“Pancho ke faisle ko Parmeshwar bhi nahi badal sakta. The BJP has
betrayed us in Rajasthan where 70 of our people died. The Congress
government let it go. Now it is time to decide and we are with
Tanwar,” a pradhan said on the stage.
The community would vote en masse, the pradhans said.
Delhi has about 10 percent Gurjjars and leaders are upset that the
congress has never given tickets to any community member except for
Rajesh Pilot.
“They have made promises but have gone back on those,” Tanwar said.
While the panchayat was primarily Gurjjar, community leaders from the
Jatavs and Muslims too were present. Recently, Parvesh Sharma, a Jat
candidate was denied ticket by the BJP which led to huge protests. For
the BSP, it is an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed, party members
said.
Jatav community elder Raj Kumar said he had 25,000 Jatav votes behind him.
“He is a good candidate,” he said. “He has been doing charity and we
want a good leader.”
Another influential community worker, Riyasat Ali, who said he was
denied a ticket by the BJP years ago when he worked for the party in
Mehrauli, joined the BSP a couple of years ago. In Mehrauli alone,
there are more than 7,000 Muslims and they would vote en masse for
Tanwar, he said.
“This party is about Sarva Samaj. We support Tanwar,” Ali said.
The Gujjar vote could be critical in the upcoming elections as there
are more than two lakh Gurjjars in the constituency and dominant among
those are the Lohiyas (two villages), Ambavatas (one village), and
Tanwars (8 villages) gotras are throwing their weight behind Tanwar,
who was also the richest candidate worth more than Rs. 150 crores to
file the nomination papers in the Vidhan Sabha elections.
“The BJP’s stronghold is in only two villages,” Tanwar said.
Tanwar’s name was announced within the party cadres as early as last
December and preparations have been on in full swing since then.
Bhaichara committies have been mobilizing castes groups in order to
make woo those that are outside the party’s core base vote bank.
Tanwar was a Congress supporter for many years before he joined BSP
around two-and-a-half years ago. A businessman, who is into real
estate, he owns fancy cars too.
For years now, Tanwar has been distributing free water in Chattarpur
area where water shortage has been an issue for decades. He also gives
pension of Rs. 500 to around 2,000 poor widows in the area besides
running a mobile dispensary in far flung villages. All this is under
the Narayani Devi Charitable Trust run by him.
The mobile dispensary, which the proud party workers emphasize is
air-conditioned, was parked on one side of the ground, evidently on
display for those who came.
The fight will be tough in Chhattarpur that has traditionally voted
for the Congress. Tanwar being a Gurjjar can add a third dimension to
the BSP's traditional vote bank of Dalit and Muslim voters who
together with the Gurjjars make up for a large chunk of the voters.
There are around 3 lakh Scheduled Caste and Dalit population in
addition to 75,000 baniyas, 90,000 Muslims and two lakh Gurjjars in the
area. Other Assembly constituency seats like Ambedkar Nagar and Deoli
are dominated by the Jatavs. That could affect the election results this time, party members
said.
However, with all the talk on development in the villages including
laying sewage lines and doing away with Section 81 that is responsible
for demolition of houses on farms outside the village borders, the
party is tight-lipped about reservations for the Gurjjar community.
Mayawati has promised an increase in the overall quota for STs to
include both Gurjjars and Meenas. But that means a dent in the share of
the scheduled castes as the reservation is capped at 22.5 percent.
“We are not giving any commitments. Behenji has said she will give
reservation to upper castes but we will see,” Tanwar said. “We want
development in the villages.”
But a few Gujjars that had come to the panchayat have hopes running high.
Prakash Lohiya, who is a community elder from Ghittorni, said he was
hopeful that Behenji will give reservation in government jobs to
Gurjjars.
“They follow the Sarva Samaj model. Right now, they are not in power.
If they get to power with our support, they will do it,” he said.
For the Gurjjars, an alliance with Brahmins and other communities that
the BSP has lately been wooing will help in broadening their
negotiating powers.
The party is also highlighting the fact that a Gurjjar who lives in the
area and understands the local issues well has been given a ticket by
the BSP.
As one pradhan put it “We are indebted to Behenji for giving a local,
Tanwar, a ticket. Now let’s push him to victory. Don’t betray the
community as the elders have decided.”
Meanwhile, the crowd of approximately 6,000 nodded and clapped.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Urdu-medium students struggle with their plight yet again
An edited version appeared in the Indian Express on March 9, 2009.
Chinki Sinha
New Delhi, March 7, 2009
Daniya Alvi, 17, doesn’t want to fall through the gaps. A Class 12th
student at the Jama Masjid SKV No. 2 school, her CBSE board exams
results is her only ticket out of the squalor of her life.
In the family’s one-room tenement, Alvi studies through the night
sitting against a kitchen wall, the only space available, translating
from Hindi to Urdu from borrowed textbooks and struggling with tough
words as most of her other classmates who are taking the CBSE board exams this year.
“It’s very difficult but we have no other choice. One textbook (NCERT)
didn’t come this year,” she said.
With Urdu-medium schools lagging behind in terms of pass percentage
typically because of lack of textbooks, teachers for science and
maths, and lack of infrastructure, it is students like Alvi who suffer
the most.
While the government has taken initiatives this year like giving funds
to Urdu-medium schools, most of which are clustered in the Walled
City, and coordinating with the Urdu Academy that can help translate
the question banks, it may just not be enough.
Education Secretary Rina Ray said she expected the results to be
better this time. If not 100 percent, it should at least hover around
90 percent, she said.
But Ray is cautiously optimistic. The problems plaguing the
Urdu-medium schools are far too many to be addressed in one go.
“We have told them we will provide the funds, teachers, anything. We
are not trying our best to help the schools,” she said.
In the past, results have improved but the improvement has come in
spurts and hasn’t been consistent across the schools in the city.
For long, the pass percentage rates in the city for Urdu-medium
schools have fluctuated between 30 to 70 percent.
Because children come from poor households, there are chances the
family may use the money given for textbooks for other things and the
government therefore authorized schools to buy books from the market
and stock them in the library so students can borrow during exams,
officials said.
“We have given them options. We have told them to photocopy books,
question banks, anything. We want to help,” Ray said.
But those efforts may still fall short of bringing these schools and
students up to the standards. Most students are first-generation
learners and come from low-income families. For many students,
attending school is a passport to a better life but given the state of
affairs, it may remain a dream. These students can’t afford private
tuitions, often work after school, and depend entirely upon the school
and the teachers to help them cope with the curriculum.
After Alvi’s father went through a heart surgery last year, it has
been an uphill battle for the family. Alvi had to help out with family
finances and she started taking tuitions for four hours everyday
bringing home around Rs. 1,500 so the family could survive.
But she has continued to attend school and wants to go on to college
and eventually become a teacher. She had wanted to study science but
her school didn’t have the science stream and she could not have
afforded private tuitions anyways, she said.
Up until the day before her board exams began, Alvi was spending hours
teaching other children prepare for their exams.
“That took away a lot of my time and I am worried about the results
now,” she said.
Alvi, who lives in a joint family in an old house in Kala Mahal that
is teeming with family members with little children running in and out
of the house, visitors flocking every now and then, and loads of house
work, scored 75 percent in her Class 10 exams. Her family,
particularly her mother Ruby Anwar, wants her to be independent so she
doesn’t have to suffer the fate of so many Muslim women who dropped
out of school.
“We had to struggle a lot to keep her in school. We are very proud of
her,” she said.
Firoz Bakht Ahmed, a commentator on social and educational issues,
said the despite government efforts this year, Urdu-medium schools,
around 12 of which are run by government, have lagged behind. These
schools have often functioned in makeshift tents and have had no
teachers for certain subjects for years. Besides, there is always the
non-availability of textbooks.
In history, only one textbook was available in the markets this year,
according to Atika, a Class 12 student at one of the Urdu-medium
schools.
“We had to read in Hindi, then translate and then write the exams in
Urdu. It is a lot of effort,” she said.
In 2008, the overall pass rate in Urdu medium schools in Delhi was 67
per cent , according to Bakht who runs Friends For Education, an NGO.
“It is a huge problem and the only solution I see is introducing Urdu
as a language in all schools rather than having Urdu-medium schools,”
he said. “There’s no point because at the university level, there is
no Urdu-medium colleges.”
Teachers at Urdu-medium schools often face an uphill task when it
comes to teaching. They often translate from Hindi or English in class
to help students.
Mudassir Jahan, a teacher at the Jama Masjid SKV no. 2, said a lot of
time in wasted in trying to translate material from Hindi because
textbooks are just not available.
“Even in political science, we had to translate this year,” she said.
“And to add to it, there are always vacancies in schools because there
are not enough teachers. We have to do so much at our own level
because there is no other option.”
The school has had a 100 percent pass percentage rate but then it is
only one of the few schools to boast of such an impressive result.
Others have languished with dropout rates going up.
Many Urdu medium schools have principals and teachers who are from
English or Hindi medium schools but were transferred to Urdu-medium
schools in a reshuffling experiment a couple of years ago. The logic
was to have Muslim teachers go to Urdu-medium schools but where then
it didn’t take into account whether teachers knew Urdu or not. It was
taken for granted, some teachers said.
Jahan has never learnt Urdu formally. She was transferred to the
school in the Jama Masjid area as part of the transfers that was meant
to fill the gap of non-availability of teachers in these schools.
But because she had studied Urdu at home, she was able to cope with
her new responsibilities, she said.
Urdu is also the city’s second language, Punjabi being the first.
Urdu-medium schools have attracted students because these are in areas
where the minority population is high and most parents do not want to
send their girls far to attend school.
But hopes are running high this year again.
As Alvi continues with her preparation, she is also hoping to get some
scholarship. If not, she might just have to drop one year and apply
again if she can avail of the Ladli Scheme of the Delhi government.
And, as her parents and teachers put it, if she does fall through, it
is the system that is to be blamed and not her.
Chinki Sinha
New Delhi, March 7, 2009
Daniya Alvi, 17, doesn’t want to fall through the gaps. A Class 12th
student at the Jama Masjid SKV No. 2 school, her CBSE board exams
results is her only ticket out of the squalor of her life.
In the family’s one-room tenement, Alvi studies through the night
sitting against a kitchen wall, the only space available, translating
from Hindi to Urdu from borrowed textbooks and struggling with tough
words as most of her other classmates who are taking the CBSE board exams this year.
“It’s very difficult but we have no other choice. One textbook (NCERT)
didn’t come this year,” she said.
With Urdu-medium schools lagging behind in terms of pass percentage
typically because of lack of textbooks, teachers for science and
maths, and lack of infrastructure, it is students like Alvi who suffer
the most.
While the government has taken initiatives this year like giving funds
to Urdu-medium schools, most of which are clustered in the Walled
City, and coordinating with the Urdu Academy that can help translate
the question banks, it may just not be enough.
Education Secretary Rina Ray said she expected the results to be
better this time. If not 100 percent, it should at least hover around
90 percent, she said.
But Ray is cautiously optimistic. The problems plaguing the
Urdu-medium schools are far too many to be addressed in one go.
“We have told them we will provide the funds, teachers, anything. We
are not trying our best to help the schools,” she said.
In the past, results have improved but the improvement has come in
spurts and hasn’t been consistent across the schools in the city.
For long, the pass percentage rates in the city for Urdu-medium
schools have fluctuated between 30 to 70 percent.
Because children come from poor households, there are chances the
family may use the money given for textbooks for other things and the
government therefore authorized schools to buy books from the market
and stock them in the library so students can borrow during exams,
officials said.
“We have given them options. We have told them to photocopy books,
question banks, anything. We want to help,” Ray said.
But those efforts may still fall short of bringing these schools and
students up to the standards. Most students are first-generation
learners and come from low-income families. For many students,
attending school is a passport to a better life but given the state of
affairs, it may remain a dream. These students can’t afford private
tuitions, often work after school, and depend entirely upon the school
and the teachers to help them cope with the curriculum.
After Alvi’s father went through a heart surgery last year, it has
been an uphill battle for the family. Alvi had to help out with family
finances and she started taking tuitions for four hours everyday
bringing home around Rs. 1,500 so the family could survive.
But she has continued to attend school and wants to go on to college
and eventually become a teacher. She had wanted to study science but
her school didn’t have the science stream and she could not have
afforded private tuitions anyways, she said.
Up until the day before her board exams began, Alvi was spending hours
teaching other children prepare for their exams.
“That took away a lot of my time and I am worried about the results
now,” she said.
Alvi, who lives in a joint family in an old house in Kala Mahal that
is teeming with family members with little children running in and out
of the house, visitors flocking every now and then, and loads of house
work, scored 75 percent in her Class 10 exams. Her family,
particularly her mother Ruby Anwar, wants her to be independent so she
doesn’t have to suffer the fate of so many Muslim women who dropped
out of school.
“We had to struggle a lot to keep her in school. We are very proud of
her,” she said.
Firoz Bakht Ahmed, a commentator on social and educational issues,
said the despite government efforts this year, Urdu-medium schools,
around 12 of which are run by government, have lagged behind. These
schools have often functioned in makeshift tents and have had no
teachers for certain subjects for years. Besides, there is always the
non-availability of textbooks.
In history, only one textbook was available in the markets this year,
according to Atika, a Class 12 student at one of the Urdu-medium
schools.
“We had to read in Hindi, then translate and then write the exams in
Urdu. It is a lot of effort,” she said.
In 2008, the overall pass rate in Urdu medium schools in Delhi was 67
per cent , according to Bakht who runs Friends For Education, an NGO.
“It is a huge problem and the only solution I see is introducing Urdu
as a language in all schools rather than having Urdu-medium schools,”
he said. “There’s no point because at the university level, there is
no Urdu-medium colleges.”
Teachers at Urdu-medium schools often face an uphill task when it
comes to teaching. They often translate from Hindi or English in class
to help students.
Mudassir Jahan, a teacher at the Jama Masjid SKV no. 2, said a lot of
time in wasted in trying to translate material from Hindi because
textbooks are just not available.
“Even in political science, we had to translate this year,” she said.
“And to add to it, there are always vacancies in schools because there
are not enough teachers. We have to do so much at our own level
because there is no other option.”
The school has had a 100 percent pass percentage rate but then it is
only one of the few schools to boast of such an impressive result.
Others have languished with dropout rates going up.
Many Urdu medium schools have principals and teachers who are from
English or Hindi medium schools but were transferred to Urdu-medium
schools in a reshuffling experiment a couple of years ago. The logic
was to have Muslim teachers go to Urdu-medium schools but where then
it didn’t take into account whether teachers knew Urdu or not. It was
taken for granted, some teachers said.
Jahan has never learnt Urdu formally. She was transferred to the
school in the Jama Masjid area as part of the transfers that was meant
to fill the gap of non-availability of teachers in these schools.
But because she had studied Urdu at home, she was able to cope with
her new responsibilities, she said.
Urdu is also the city’s second language, Punjabi being the first.
Urdu-medium schools have attracted students because these are in areas
where the minority population is high and most parents do not want to
send their girls far to attend school.
But hopes are running high this year again.
As Alvi continues with her preparation, she is also hoping to get some
scholarship. If not, she might just have to drop one year and apply
again if she can avail of the Ladli Scheme of the Delhi government.
And, as her parents and teachers put it, if she does fall through, it
is the system that is to be blamed and not her.
Separate public toilets for transgender in Chennai sparks debate
This was filed for the Indian Express and an edited version appeared on March 9, 2009. In my own interactions with the transgender community, I have come across divided opinion on the toilet issue.
Chennai's decision to build separate toilets for transgender
discriminatory: transgenders
Chinki Sinha
New Delhi, March 7, 2009
For many in the transgender community, the Chennai Municipal
Corporation’s decision to build separate public toilets for them will
create toilet apartheid more than anything else.
The government, when it announced the scheme last month, intended to
extend recognition to the community through the construction of
separate toilets and to ease friction with others who may not like to
use the same toilets as the transgender people.
This comes close on the heels of many programs for the transgender
community in Tamil Nadu including the creation of welfare boards,
voter identification cards and ration cards. The state government has
also recently announced it will help homeless transgender find
accommodation and has allocated Rs. 1 crore for group housing project
for the community.
But this time around, the government may not have struck a chord with
those in the community.
Aasha Bharathi, president of the Tamil Nadu Aravanigal Association,
said this would create more isolation for the community. The members
often want to be identified as females and would like to use the
toilets meant for women. This would lead to more acceptance and
integration, she said.
“I don’t agree with it. We want to mingle with the mainstream. And we
don’t want ourselves to be separated like this,” she said. “Using
separate toilets will open great way for discrimination. We want to be
considered as females. In our hearts, we are women.”
According to the government sources, three toilets, which will have
both male and female urinals for those that have yet to undergo the
sex correction surgery and those that have fully transitioned,
respectively, will be constructed as part of a pilot project in south
and central Chennai. Each such toilet is estimated to cost between Rs.
12-15 lakhs and Rs. 45 lakhs have been earmarked for
the scheme in the budget. Construction will begin after the elections
and depending on the response, more such toilets will be built,
Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said.
“This was announced in the budget and we have identified areas where
the transgender population is high. We are trying different concepts
and in our meetings, women have said that they won’t like the toilets
if the transgender people use those,” Lakhoni said. “It is extending
recognition of the community and mainstreaming them.”
Lakhoni said a survey was done and about 99 percent said they didn’t
want the transgender people to use the same toilets as they did, which
is why the government thought of building separate toilets for the
community.
The announcement was made in the council meeting in Ripon Buildings.
The first toilet for the transgender community would be built in
Saidapet where it will cater to those living in Kothamedu, Theedeer
Nagar and Athuma Nagar. With this, Chennai is also trying to set an
example for other cities, where rights of the sexual minority still
have a long way to go. There are more than 30,000 transgender people
in Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu is the first state in the country and one of the only few
places in the world that recognizes the transgender community as a
separate sex. Since 2005, it has implemented several welfare schemes
for the transgender community including free sex correction operations
for those willing to go for a surgical operation to help them change
their sex.
All over the world, the toilet issue has generated widespread debate
with some backing separate toilets for the transsexual people and
others calling it a discriminatory policy decision.
In Thailand, the Kamphaeng School in Si Sa Ket, in northeastern
Thailand opened separate toilet facilities to accommodate hundreds of
transgender students last year. Many transgender people have said they
have been groped and harassed in the toilets meant for the men.
Ideally, they would like to use the women’s toilets because that’s how
they identify themselves.
But Rose Venkatesan, India’s first television transgender host who
anchors Ippadikku Rose, disagrees.
She said she this at least recognizes the dichotomy of gender and is a
good start.
“One of the most basic needs is the issue of the toilets and it is a
big problem for the transsexual people because not all of them maybe
surgically operated upon. It is a good
idea but in the long run, I see a society where there is no difference
and all use the same toilets,” she said.
Venkatesan herself uses the women’s toilets. She had issues with the
toilet when she was transitioning from male to female but then given
her celebrity status, she found acceptance quickly, she said.
But she questioned the viability of such a scheme.
“Transsexual people are spread out throughout cities. It is not going to
be economically viable for the city to have so many spearate toilets,”
Venkatesan said. “The ultimate solution would be to spread awareness
about the transsexual people.”
Dr. Lakshmibai, of the Tamil Nadu AIDS Initiative, an NGO that works
with more than 15,000 transsexual people in the state, said she
denounced such a measure which would only reverse what the government
has been trying to achieve – mainstreaming the sexual minorities..
“On one hand, we are trying to make them get accepted as women, we are
trying to mainstream them and you create more isolation. If they have
to use separate toilets, there is more chances of them getting
victimized,” she said.
She said she would protest the move at a meeting of the transgender
association on March 12.
Elsewhere, activists have called it a good move, one that understands
the needs of the community.
Other states, including Delhi and Maharashtra, do not compare well to
Tamil Nadu. “Leave aside separate toilets, they haven’t even extended
voting rights to them,” Ashok Row Kavi, an Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender activist based in Delhi, said.
Chennai's decision to build separate toilets for transgender
discriminatory: transgenders
Chinki Sinha
New Delhi, March 7, 2009
For many in the transgender community, the Chennai Municipal
Corporation’s decision to build separate public toilets for them will
create toilet apartheid more than anything else.
The government, when it announced the scheme last month, intended to
extend recognition to the community through the construction of
separate toilets and to ease friction with others who may not like to
use the same toilets as the transgender people.
This comes close on the heels of many programs for the transgender
community in Tamil Nadu including the creation of welfare boards,
voter identification cards and ration cards. The state government has
also recently announced it will help homeless transgender find
accommodation and has allocated Rs. 1 crore for group housing project
for the community.
But this time around, the government may not have struck a chord with
those in the community.
Aasha Bharathi, president of the Tamil Nadu Aravanigal Association,
said this would create more isolation for the community. The members
often want to be identified as females and would like to use the
toilets meant for women. This would lead to more acceptance and
integration, she said.
“I don’t agree with it. We want to mingle with the mainstream. And we
don’t want ourselves to be separated like this,” she said. “Using
separate toilets will open great way for discrimination. We want to be
considered as females. In our hearts, we are women.”
According to the government sources, three toilets, which will have
both male and female urinals for those that have yet to undergo the
sex correction surgery and those that have fully transitioned,
respectively, will be constructed as part of a pilot project in south
and central Chennai. Each such toilet is estimated to cost between Rs.
12-15 lakhs and Rs. 45 lakhs have been earmarked for
the scheme in the budget. Construction will begin after the elections
and depending on the response, more such toilets will be built,
Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said.
“This was announced in the budget and we have identified areas where
the transgender population is high. We are trying different concepts
and in our meetings, women have said that they won’t like the toilets
if the transgender people use those,” Lakhoni said. “It is extending
recognition of the community and mainstreaming them.”
Lakhoni said a survey was done and about 99 percent said they didn’t
want the transgender people to use the same toilets as they did, which
is why the government thought of building separate toilets for the
community.
The announcement was made in the council meeting in Ripon Buildings.
The first toilet for the transgender community would be built in
Saidapet where it will cater to those living in Kothamedu, Theedeer
Nagar and Athuma Nagar. With this, Chennai is also trying to set an
example for other cities, where rights of the sexual minority still
have a long way to go. There are more than 30,000 transgender people
in Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu is the first state in the country and one of the only few
places in the world that recognizes the transgender community as a
separate sex. Since 2005, it has implemented several welfare schemes
for the transgender community including free sex correction operations
for those willing to go for a surgical operation to help them change
their sex.
All over the world, the toilet issue has generated widespread debate
with some backing separate toilets for the transsexual people and
others calling it a discriminatory policy decision.
In Thailand, the Kamphaeng School in Si Sa Ket, in northeastern
Thailand opened separate toilet facilities to accommodate hundreds of
transgender students last year. Many transgender people have said they
have been groped and harassed in the toilets meant for the men.
Ideally, they would like to use the women’s toilets because that’s how
they identify themselves.
But Rose Venkatesan, India’s first television transgender host who
anchors Ippadikku Rose, disagrees.
She said she this at least recognizes the dichotomy of gender and is a
good start.
“One of the most basic needs is the issue of the toilets and it is a
big problem for the transsexual people because not all of them maybe
surgically operated upon. It is a good
idea but in the long run, I see a society where there is no difference
and all use the same toilets,” she said.
Venkatesan herself uses the women’s toilets. She had issues with the
toilet when she was transitioning from male to female but then given
her celebrity status, she found acceptance quickly, she said.
But she questioned the viability of such a scheme.
“Transsexual people are spread out throughout cities. It is not going to
be economically viable for the city to have so many spearate toilets,”
Venkatesan said. “The ultimate solution would be to spread awareness
about the transsexual people.”
Dr. Lakshmibai, of the Tamil Nadu AIDS Initiative, an NGO that works
with more than 15,000 transsexual people in the state, said she
denounced such a measure which would only reverse what the government
has been trying to achieve – mainstreaming the sexual minorities..
“On one hand, we are trying to make them get accepted as women, we are
trying to mainstream them and you create more isolation. If they have
to use separate toilets, there is more chances of them getting
victimized,” she said.
She said she would protest the move at a meeting of the transgender
association on March 12.
Elsewhere, activists have called it a good move, one that understands
the needs of the community.
Other states, including Delhi and Maharashtra, do not compare well to
Tamil Nadu. “Leave aside separate toilets, they haven’t even extended
voting rights to them,” Ashok Row Kavi, an Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender activist based in Delhi, said.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Is religion beyond media scrutiny?
This was an interesting panel discussion on one of the big debates of our times. And edited version appeared in the Indian Express on March 3, 2009.
Chinki Sinha
New Delhi, March 2, 2009
When Basavaraj Swami had published “Merciful Mohamed” with pictorial
representation of Prophet Mohamed in Suddi Moola on Feb. 15, little
did he anticipate it would lead to a mob situation where thousands
would vandalize his office property alleging he had insulted the
Muslims.
Swami, the editor, printed an apology following the protests and the outrage but was
booked under Section 295 (A), which states that ‘deliberate and
malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by
insulting its religion or religious beliefs’ are punishable by law. He
spent one night in jail.
“I didn’t think it would invite such an outrage. It was a small story
on the kindness of the Prophet meant for children and we decided to
illustrate it. Had I known it would invite protests, I would have
refrained,” Swami said.
Swami was speaking at a panel discussion “Is religion beyond media
scrutiny?” organized by the Foundation of Media Professionals on
Monday at the India International Center.
Chapter 42, verse 11 of the Koran says "[Allah is] the originator of
the heavens and the earth... [there is] nothing like a likeness of
Him."
Muslims therefore feel that Allah cannot be captured in an image and
his beauty and grandeur is beyond human imagination. Thus an attempt
to portray him is seen as an insult to Allah and Mohamed.
He was joined by BV Seetaraman, the managing director and chairman of
Chitra Publications that also publishes Karavali Ale, the evening
newspaper that allegedly got into trouble with the Sangh Parivar after
it wrote against the communal politics being practiced in Mangalore,
and Ravindra Kumar, the editor of The Statesman, who had to surrender
to the police in Kolkata over outrage after he ran a column “Why
Should I respect these oppressive religions?” by Johann Hari in the
Independent, a UK-based newspaper.
Kumar said after there no protests in London, which has a 14 percent
Muslim population, after the column was published, he decided to carry
it in The Statesman. But such censorship from the religious groups
wasn’t anticipated and he decided to surrender to the police because
it was a law and order situation in the city.
“No religion is beyond media scrutiny,” he said at the discussion.
“There was no malicious intent.”
Seetaraman, who had numerous FIRs lodged against him by individuals
who took umbrage to his position against the religious right, it was
worse. He was brought to the court handcuffed, he said.
“Curbs on media is a sad thing,” he said. “We were critical of the
government. Government cooked up cases against me. Rationalist
thinking is what the constitution ordains us to do. But we are halted
in the exercise of it.”
A couple of years ago Seetaraman had written against a procession by
Jain leaders in the nude.
“By law, nudity is prohibited,” he said. “We were critical of it. But
we got into trouble. Media should have the right to scrutinize
religion.”
But while these editors were arrested under what they termed a
draconian provision of the law, a few others at the panel discussion
including Pioneer’s Chandan Mitra said because the country is so
volatile politically and everything is linked to religion, media must
exercise self-restraint.
Mitra, who is also a lawmaker, said freedom must not degenerate into license.
“Whether 295 (A) should be diluted, my immediate answer would be
‘no’,” he said.
The debate whether religion is beyond the bounds of the media is an
old one. In India, there have been instances of communal violence
after newspapers or other media have used their discretion in running
stories or images that have either incited the masses or angered
religious parties. Some have highlighted the freedom of expression
from where the media derives its freedom and defense, while others
have argued that one man’s freedom ends at the point it starts to hurt
other’s sentiments.
Media people have long indicated that newspaper or television space is
the forum for ideas and debate on such issues and as long as there is
no malicious intent, such freedom should not be curbed. And right to
criticize religion is being doused by religious censors that have
rewritten the rules. In India, barring one publication, none carried
the Prophet Mohamed cartoons that led to huge riots across the world
after a Danish newspaper Jyllends-Posten published those.
But as Swami put it, repealing Section 295 (A) is not the solution.
Editors and journalists will continue to bear the brunt of
politically-motivated individuals and continue to be booked under law,
he said.
“It doesn’t matter what law is used. We will still be targets of the
state’s high-handedness,” he said.
Justice JS Verma, who too was present along with Nandita Das, Madhu
Kishwar and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, said media and judiciary were
powerful institutions and needed to exercise self-restrain because
their actions had far-reaching ramifications.
“If you are powerful, you should be circumspect,” he said.
Two editors had been the victims of Muslim fundamentalists who carried
out mass protests and Maulana Khan, who is known for his moderate
views, said Islam doesn’t prohibit scrutiny and absolutely does not
condone any form of violence.
But the media can criticize religion only when it has studied it, he said.
“Simply being a journalist is not enough to scrutinize Islam,” he
said. “The question is whether your scrutiny is valid.”
But actor Nandita Das put it in perspective when she said as a victim
of religious extremism when objections were raised when she was part
of the film Water, which had to be later shot in Sri Lanka, she would
rather have people discuss and debate it in the public space rather
than being scared but then those voices should represent the diversity
and not just the extremists.
“You know Gods can protect themselves. We don’t need to protect them,”
she said. “When we only invite right-wing voices, it is dangerous.
People are being squashed in the middle.”
Chinki Sinha
New Delhi, March 2, 2009
When Basavaraj Swami had published “Merciful Mohamed” with pictorial
representation of Prophet Mohamed in Suddi Moola on Feb. 15, little
did he anticipate it would lead to a mob situation where thousands
would vandalize his office property alleging he had insulted the
Muslims.
Swami, the editor, printed an apology following the protests and the outrage but was
booked under Section 295 (A), which states that ‘deliberate and
malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by
insulting its religion or religious beliefs’ are punishable by law. He
spent one night in jail.
“I didn’t think it would invite such an outrage. It was a small story
on the kindness of the Prophet meant for children and we decided to
illustrate it. Had I known it would invite protests, I would have
refrained,” Swami said.
Swami was speaking at a panel discussion “Is religion beyond media
scrutiny?” organized by the Foundation of Media Professionals on
Monday at the India International Center.
Chapter 42, verse 11 of the Koran says "[Allah is] the originator of
the heavens and the earth... [there is] nothing like a likeness of
Him."
Muslims therefore feel that Allah cannot be captured in an image and
his beauty and grandeur is beyond human imagination. Thus an attempt
to portray him is seen as an insult to Allah and Mohamed.
He was joined by BV Seetaraman, the managing director and chairman of
Chitra Publications that also publishes Karavali Ale, the evening
newspaper that allegedly got into trouble with the Sangh Parivar after
it wrote against the communal politics being practiced in Mangalore,
and Ravindra Kumar, the editor of The Statesman, who had to surrender
to the police in Kolkata over outrage after he ran a column “Why
Should I respect these oppressive religions?” by Johann Hari in the
Independent, a UK-based newspaper.
Kumar said after there no protests in London, which has a 14 percent
Muslim population, after the column was published, he decided to carry
it in The Statesman. But such censorship from the religious groups
wasn’t anticipated and he decided to surrender to the police because
it was a law and order situation in the city.
“No religion is beyond media scrutiny,” he said at the discussion.
“There was no malicious intent.”
Seetaraman, who had numerous FIRs lodged against him by individuals
who took umbrage to his position against the religious right, it was
worse. He was brought to the court handcuffed, he said.
“Curbs on media is a sad thing,” he said. “We were critical of the
government. Government cooked up cases against me. Rationalist
thinking is what the constitution ordains us to do. But we are halted
in the exercise of it.”
A couple of years ago Seetaraman had written against a procession by
Jain leaders in the nude.
“By law, nudity is prohibited,” he said. “We were critical of it. But
we got into trouble. Media should have the right to scrutinize
religion.”
But while these editors were arrested under what they termed a
draconian provision of the law, a few others at the panel discussion
including Pioneer’s Chandan Mitra said because the country is so
volatile politically and everything is linked to religion, media must
exercise self-restraint.
Mitra, who is also a lawmaker, said freedom must not degenerate into license.
“Whether 295 (A) should be diluted, my immediate answer would be
‘no’,” he said.
The debate whether religion is beyond the bounds of the media is an
old one. In India, there have been instances of communal violence
after newspapers or other media have used their discretion in running
stories or images that have either incited the masses or angered
religious parties. Some have highlighted the freedom of expression
from where the media derives its freedom and defense, while others
have argued that one man’s freedom ends at the point it starts to hurt
other’s sentiments.
Media people have long indicated that newspaper or television space is
the forum for ideas and debate on such issues and as long as there is
no malicious intent, such freedom should not be curbed. And right to
criticize religion is being doused by religious censors that have
rewritten the rules. In India, barring one publication, none carried
the Prophet Mohamed cartoons that led to huge riots across the world
after a Danish newspaper Jyllends-Posten published those.
But as Swami put it, repealing Section 295 (A) is not the solution.
Editors and journalists will continue to bear the brunt of
politically-motivated individuals and continue to be booked under law,
he said.
“It doesn’t matter what law is used. We will still be targets of the
state’s high-handedness,” he said.
Justice JS Verma, who too was present along with Nandita Das, Madhu
Kishwar and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, said media and judiciary were
powerful institutions and needed to exercise self-restrain because
their actions had far-reaching ramifications.
“If you are powerful, you should be circumspect,” he said.
Two editors had been the victims of Muslim fundamentalists who carried
out mass protests and Maulana Khan, who is known for his moderate
views, said Islam doesn’t prohibit scrutiny and absolutely does not
condone any form of violence.
But the media can criticize religion only when it has studied it, he said.
“Simply being a journalist is not enough to scrutinize Islam,” he
said. “The question is whether your scrutiny is valid.”
But actor Nandita Das put it in perspective when she said as a victim
of religious extremism when objections were raised when she was part
of the film Water, which had to be later shot in Sri Lanka, she would
rather have people discuss and debate it in the public space rather
than being scared but then those voices should represent the diversity
and not just the extremists.
“You know Gods can protect themselves. We don’t need to protect them,”
she said. “When we only invite right-wing voices, it is dangerous.
People are being squashed in the middle.”
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