From dattuagarwal at gmail.com Sun Apr 1 06:28:05 2007 From: dattuagarwal at gmail.com (Dattu Agarwal Agarwal) Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2007 06:28:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?=28no_subject=29?= Message-ID: <9545e7840703311758s35147721jbcbf3dfe5a952cc0@mail.gmail.com> Hi every body, i am in need of an information is there any NGO. by name Economic for health and education growth in Delhi? Are they giving any award such as Bharath sikshana ratna award? please inform. regards Dattu Agarwal. From christina112 at earthlink.net Sun Apr 1 22:15:22 2007 From: christina112 at earthlink.net (Christina McPhee) Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2007 09:45:22 -0700 Subject: [Reader-list] April 2007 on -empyre- : TechnoPanic: Terrors and Technologies Message-ID: <9E0EDF89-82FB-4039-B417-0A3115B591A1@earthlink.net> April 2007 on -empyre- soft-skinned space: TechnoPanic: Terrors and Technologies http://www.subtle.net/empyre with Horit Herman-Peled (IS), Brooke Singer (US), Paul Vanouse (US), and Sean Cubit (AU) moderated by Tim Murray (US) and Renate Ferro (US) From surveillance and mobile technologies to fears and public panic, the ambivalent attraction of technologies of terror shifts registers between post-cold war and post 9-11sensibilities, whether from international or cross-generational zones of engagement. We will discuss how panic, paranoia, critical resistance to, and appropriation of technologies of terror are mediated by the threat and fear of violence in the interlinked networks of mobile media, domestic space, and the public sphere. Please join this discussion -- subscribe at http://www.subtle.net/empyre Guest biographies: -------------------------------------------------------->Horit Herman- Peled (IS) is a media artist, theorist, and feminist activist in Tel Aviv, who teaches art and digital culture at the Art Institute, Oranim College, Israel. http://www.horit.com/ -------------------------------------------------------->Brook Singer US) is a Brooklyn-based digital media artist and arts organizer who lives in Brooklyn. A member of Preemptive Media, her most recent collaborations, both as an artist and curator, utilize wireless (Wi- Fi, mobile phone cameras, RFID) as tools for initiating discussion and positive system failures. She is Assistant Professor of New Media at SUNY Purchase. http://www.bsing.net/blog/ ------------------------------------------------------->Paul Vanouse (US) makes data collection devices that include polling and categorization (for interactive cinema), genetic experiments that undermine scientific constructions of identity, and temporary organizations that performatively critique institutionalization and corporatization. He teaches in the Art Dept. at the University of Buffalo (SUNY). -------------------------------------------------------->Sean Cubitt (AU) teaches media and communications at the University of Melbourne. Among his numerous books on cinema and new media are EcoMedia, The Cinema Effect, and Digital Aesthetics. Sean has curated numerous exhibitions and is Editor in Chief of the Leonardo Book Series for MIT Press. http://www.mediacomm.unimelb.edu.au/aboutus/staff/sean/ seanwriting/index.html moderators: Renate Ferro (US) conceptual artist, visiting Assistant Professor of Art, Cornell University, and Timothy Murray (US), curator, the Rose Golden Archive of New Media Art and Acting Director of the Society for the Humanities, Cornell University. Their most recent collaboration has involved Renate's installation "Panic Hits Home" for the The Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival in Marchl 2007. (FLEFF) is a one-week multimedia inter-arts extravaganza that reboots the environment and sustainability into a larger global conversation, embracing issues ranging from labor, war, health, disease, music, intellectual property, fine art, software, remix culture, economics, archives, AIDS, women’s rights, and human rights. This year’s festival will focus on new content streams: Maps and Memes, Metropoli, Panic Attacks, and Soundscaping. http://fleff2007.blogspot.com Subscribe for participation at: http://www.subtle.net/empyre/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------- From saraf83 at gmail.com Mon Apr 2 10:43:47 2007 From: saraf83 at gmail.com (aditi saraf) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 10:43:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Old Dog, New Tricks?: Rethinking Animal Activism in an Urban Context Message-ID: <672990b50704012213o79281c28l3bf9dca657ed386b@mail.gmail.com> Hello all, This is our first posting, spelling out some ideas we have started out with. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Santana Issar and Aditi Saraf Old Dog, New Tricks? Rethinking Animal Activism in an Urban Context With the achievement of the urban-scape as perhaps the zenith of human civilization - conceptualised as the passage from 'nature' to 'culture'- the same processes that have caused the ascendancy of the city have rendered animals virtually invisible in urban spaces. This, despite their overwhelming presence in the same. The curious thing about animals in the city is the perception that they are not really meant to be there… Human-animal relationships have been historically constituted in complex and intimate ways along the economic, the affective, the cultural and ritual, and the metaphoric. As these relationships become increasingly tenuous, it has been suggested that animals have been reconfigured in the urban imagination; as household pets – owned commodities supported by an ever-burgeoning industry - as objects of wonder and display in zoos and circuses, and, to put it rather crudely, as salami sandwich or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Our concerns are primarily twofold. Firstly, does this driving of a wedge between human lives and those of animals inform dominant notions of 'animal welfare'? To what extent does this divide affect the functioning of organizations and institutions that emerge around animal activism? For this purpose, the main unit of our study will be the animal welfare organization (AWO) in the city, whether state-supported, non-government or religious. The structure and function of these organizations, the demographic profile that they target and derive support from, the informal networks and mobilization strategies they adopt, and the normative space that they occupy within the spectrum of urban ideologies will be the main empirical focus of our study. The intention is to delineate a relationship between the theories of human-animal interaction in a post-industrial urban context and the practices of animal rescue and welfare, in the context our own urban jungle – Delhi. Our second concern arises from the ambivalence with which 'animal welfare' is commonly regarded - even by those who do not necessarily dislike animals – as a romanticized indulgence of the urban elite. Moreover, activities undertaken by animal welfare activists are often perceived to be inconsistent with human rights. Is animal welfare the pursuit of a privileged segment of urban society that can afford to gloss over human miseries? Or can the parameters of animal activism transcend the dichotomies of kindness/cruelty, vegetarians/meat-eaters, in order to encompass a more nuanced understanding of human-animal relationships? In the quest for the answer to the latter question, we will study forms of inter-species interaction in the urban environment that lie outside the dominant paradigms of ownership, care-taking and the spectacle of the zoo or the circus. Some of these forms may be manifest, for instance, in relationships between stray animals and homeless children, performing monkeys and their owners, livestock/labouring animals and their keepers, or in the ritual/cultural realm - for example, temple elephants and their mahouts, ghodis and their keepers, pigeon flyers and their birds. How should we perceive these relationships? What roles do such animals play – are they possessions, companions, cohabitants? What are the dynamics of co-dependency in such cases? How do they undercut the dominant notions of 'wild animals', 'pet animals', and animals-as-food that predominate in urban human-animal interactions? Do such forms articulate the notion of 'animal welfare' differently? The above constitutes a (rather loose) theoretical framework around which we hope to undertake research. However, only extensive fieldwork can provide this project focus and direction, as well as the confidence to make claims. Our research methodology and documentation will involve both the textual and visual, conducted through participant observation, interviews and questionnaires, photographic and video recording. Must the interests of animals be antithetical to those of humans? This is the question that has provided the moral impetus for this proposal. In our search for the answer, we have found little that addresses this particular problem, in this particular context. We hope to study and eventually derive innovative strategies of 'welfare' that will address the apparent incompatibilities between animal needs and human interests. We hope that our project will not only add to understanding urban ecology, but also enlarge and enrich the scope of animal activism in Delhi. From turbulence at turbulence.org Mon Apr 2 04:26:06 2007 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2007 18:56:06 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] UPGRADE! BOSTON: Cati Vaucelle + Yasmine Abbas Message-ID: <0306725B46A94F968A4AB6C9A803E11F@joPC> UPGRADE! BOSTON: Cati Vaucelle + Yasmine Abbas http://www.turbulence.org/upgrade/ WHEN: April 12, 7 pm WHERE: Art Interactive, 130 Bishop Allen Drive, at the corner of Prospect Street, Cambridge. Free parking in the lot on the corner or take the T to Central Square and walk 1 block. < Cati Vaucelle > http://www.turbulence.org/upgrade/archives/04_12_07CV.html Cati Vaucelle is a PhD student and research assistant at MIT Media Laboratory's Tangible Media group with Dr Hiroshi Ishii. She has degrees in Philosophy, Fine Arts, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Economics. Her current work examines the interdependencies of the virtual and the physical, and explores the fundamental differences between them. << Yasmine Abbas >> http://www.turbulence.org/upgrade/archives/04_12_07YA.html Yasmine Abbas holds a Master of Science in Architecture Studies (SMArchS 2001) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Doctor of Design (DDes 2006) from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. In 2005 she founded neo-nomad, a digital platform dedicated to design and mobility in the digital world. Abbas teaches at Northeastern University and Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston. <<< Up Next >>> May 3, 2007 "Technological Frontiers and the Limits of Nature: Networked Interventions" http://www.turbulence.org/upgrade/archives/05_03_07Cyberarts.html A panel discussion with Jane D. Marsching, Cary Peppermint and Brooke Singer; moderated by Shane Brennan. [Part of the 2007 Boston Cyberarts Festival.] Upgrade! Boston (http://www.turbulence.org/upgrade/about.html) is curated by Jo-Anne Green for Turbulence.org (http://turbulence.org) in partnership with Art Interactive (http://artinteractive.org). It is one of 24 nodes currently active in Upgrade! International (http://theupgrade.net), an emerging network of autonomous nodes united by art, technology, and a commitment to bridging cultural divides. If you would like to present your work or get involved, please email jo at turbulence.org. If you no longer wish to receive these notices, please reply to this email with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line. Jo-Anne Green, Co-Director New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.: http://new-radio.org New York: 917.548.7780 . Boston: 617.522.3856 Turbulence: http://turbulence.org New American Radio: http://somewhere.org Networked_Performance Blog: http://turbulence.org/blog Upgrade! Boston: http://turbulence.org/upgrade _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From burtoncleetus at yahoo.co.uk Mon Apr 2 10:48:21 2007 From: burtoncleetus at yahoo.co.uk (burton cleetus) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 06:18:21 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Protest (on April 1st) SC's stay on OBC reservationand brainstorm about how to furtherr Social Justice! In-Reply-To: <00b501c773a8$98fd1010$6401a8c0@ved6suqbkuh1sf> Message-ID: <20070402051821.51603.qmail@web27115.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Dear Vedprakash One of the most 'serious' objections raised by the SC with regard to the OBC reservation, is the regarding determination of the status of caste, for OBC reservation, based on the 1931 census. Yes the last census that gave any indication to the position of caste and their human development indices in india was the 1931 census. From 1881 to 1931 caste was an important criteria in the tabulation of the social position of the different sections of the sub-continent. However, the outbreak of the second world was in 1939, failed to the creation of an elaborate census in 1941. Hence the 1941 census cannot be used as an indication of any form of serious analysis. After independence, the new political and bureaucratic authorities of the "new" nation decided to do away with the idea of caste on any categorisation in census records. This was because Caste signified some thing derogatory in the new context. This complicated the whole enumeration process and thereby failed to arrive at any meaning ful analysis on the social condition of different caste groups in India. There is no analysis in census records from 1931 onwards does not mean that caste as a social category, and the disadvantages attached to caste dissapeared and an 'egalitarian system was established' after 1931. Are the lower castes to be blamed for not having a caste based enumeration after 1931. For them the idea of the new state to avoid the "category of caste" in census records closed any analysis on their social position. In a sense, for them, after independence, this shift was like from frying pan to fire! Burton Vedprakash Sharma wrote: it looks as if I went through the mail of a political leader. in my humble opinion, the SC has raised some very genuine objections. without a scientific analysis of the problem of reservation, one should not draw conclusions. we may have different views over it but the logic must prevail and the same should decide the criterion of the reservation. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Shivam Vij" To: "sarai list" Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2007 12:30 PM Subject: [Reader-list] Protest (on April 1st) SC's stay on OBC reservationand brainstorm about how to furtherr Social Justice! > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Satinath Choudhary > > Dear friends from Delhi and close by, > > I am sorry for this late call! However, Emergency situation created > by our upper caste Supreme Court does not give us the luxury of > planning with plenty of time in our hands. Let us meet this Sunday, > April 1st, 2007, at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, between 11 am to 1 pm, and > accomplish a number of objectives in one shot! > > (a) Demo on Sunday, April 1st, 2007, at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, > between 11 am to 1 pm against Supreme Court's stay OBC's reservation > in higher education; > > (b) Brainstorm about declaring the month of April as Social Justice > month. Social Justice month may attract participation and organizing > on the part of STs, OBCs, and minorities, not many of whom have been > organizing Ambedkar's birth anniversary; > > (c) Brainstorm about how to further the cause of social justice; > in particular, how to democratize the court, especially the Supreme > Autocratic Upper Caste. > > (d) Brainstorm about a bigger event by the end of April to further > the cause of social justice > > If you have any suggestion with regard to any of the above > mentioned things, please feel free to call me (at 9350041088) or write > to me at satichou2 at yahoo.com. > > Dalit Voice Silver Jubilee Celebration Committee, Delhi invites you > to join a daylong discussion and debate to mark the occasion of 25 > glorious years of Dalit Voice. Those of us who feel that Dalit Voice > has contributed immensely to develop a new dynamic Ambedkarite > movement would like to take this debate further. > > On April 8th, 2006, from 10 am to 5:30 pm, we all join hand to > facilitate Dalit Voice for its wonderful journey. The daylong > programme is organized at the Gandhi Peace Foundation, Deen Dayal > Upadhyay Marg, Near ITO, New Delhi. > > Dalit Voice Silver Jubilee Celebration Committee: Rajni Tilak, > Vidya Bhushan Rawat, Ashok Bharati, Satinath Choudhary, Abhimook > Nayak, > > Contacts: vbrawat at gmail.com, rajni.nacdor at gmail.com, satichou2 at yahoo.com > Telephone nos: 9871441261, 011-65902846, 22462528 (V.B.Rawat), > 9871514040 ( Rajni Tilak) and 9350041088 (Satinath). > > Regards, > Satinath > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: --------------------------------- New Yahoo! Mail is the ultimate force in competitive emailing. Find out more at the Yahoo! Mail Championships. Plus: play games and win prizes. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070402/8bc2e5ac/attachment.html From burtoncleetus at yahoo.co.uk Mon Apr 2 11:56:00 2007 From: burtoncleetus at yahoo.co.uk (burton cleetus) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 07:26:00 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Re: Protest (on April 1st) SC's stay on OBC reservationand brainstorm about how to furtherr Social Justice! Message-ID: <20070402062600.71109.qmail@web27115.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Dear Vedprakash One of the most serious objections raised by the SC with regard to OBC reservation, is the method of determining the status of caste based on 1931 census. Yes the last census that gave any indication to the position of caste and their human development indices in india was the 1931 census. From 1881 to 1931 caste was the basic criteria in the tabulation and analysis of the social position of the different sections of the sub-continent. The outbreak of the second world in 1939, limited the scope of tabulation of the 1941 census with no serious analysis or interpretation. After independence, the new political and bureaucratic authorities of the "new" nation decided to do away with the idea of caste on any categorisation in census records. This was because Caste seemed for them a derogatory term in the new context. Post independence enumeration details thereby complicated the whole census tables and thereby failed to arrive at any meaning ful analysis on the social condition of different caste groups in India. There is no analysis in census records from 1931 onwards does not mean that caste as a social category, with its accompanying social maladies have dissapeared and an 'egalitarian system was established' after 1931. For the lower castes the idea of the new state to avoid the "category of caste" in census records thereby closed any serious analysis on their social position. In a sense, for them, the new methodology was like being thrown from frying pan to fire! Burton ___________________________________________________________ > Vedprakash Sharma > wrote: > it looks as if I went through the mail of a > political leader. in my humble > opinion, the SC has raised some very genuine > objections. without a > scientific analysis of the problem of reservation, > one should not draw > conclusions. we may have different views over it but > the logic must prevail > and the same should decide the criterion of the > reservation. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Shivam Vij" > To: "sarai list" > Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2007 12:30 PM > Subject: [Reader-list] Protest (on April 1st) SC's > stay on OBC > reservationand brainstorm about how to furtherr > Social Justice! > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > From: Satinath Choudhary > > > > Dear friends from Delhi and close by, > > > > I am sorry for this late call! However, Emergency > situation created > > by our upper caste Supreme Court does not give us > the luxury of > > planning with plenty of time in our hands. Let us > meet this Sunday, > > April 1st, 2007, at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, between > 11 am to 1 pm, and > > accomplish a number of objectives in one shot! > > > > (a) Demo on Sunday, April 1st, 2007, at Jantar > Mantar, Delhi, > > between 11 am to 1 pm against Supreme Court's stay > OBC's reservation > > in higher education; > > > > (b) Brainstorm about declaring the month of April > as Social Justice > > month. Social Justice month may attract > participation and organizing > > on the part of STs, OBCs, and minorities, not many > of whom have been > > organizing Ambedkar's birth anniversary; > > > > (c) Brainstorm about how to further the cause of > social justice; > > in particular, how to democratize the court, > especially the Supreme > > Autocratic Upper Caste. > > > > (d) Brainstorm about a bigger event by the end of > April to further > > the cause of social justice > > > > If you have any suggestion with regard to any of > the above > > mentioned things, please feel free to call me (at > 9350041088) or write > > to me at satichou2 at yahoo.com. > > > > Dalit Voice Silver Jubilee Celebration Committee, > Delhi invites you > > to join a daylong discussion and debate to mark > the occasion of 25 > > glorious years of Dalit Voice. Those of us who > feel that Dalit Voice > > has contributed immensely to develop a new dynamic > Ambedkarite > > movement would like to take this debate further. > > > > On April 8th, 2006, from 10 am to 5:30 pm, we all > join hand to > > facilitate Dalit Voice for its wonderful journey. > The daylong > > programme is organized at the Gandhi Peace > Foundation, Deen Dayal > > Upadhyay Marg, Near ITO, New Delhi. > > > > Dalit Voice Silver Jubilee Celebration Committee: > Rajni Tilak, > > Vidya Bhushan Rawat, Ashok Bharati, Satinath > Choudhary, Abhimook > > Nayak, > > > > Contacts: vbrawat at gmail.com, > rajni.nacdor at gmail.com, satichou2 at yahoo.com > > Telephone nos: 9871441261, 011-65902846, 22462528 > (V.B.Rawat), > > 9871514040 ( Rajni Tilak) and 9350041088 > (Satinath). > > > > Regards, > > Satinath > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and > the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and > the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the > subject header. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > > > > --------------------------------- > New Yahoo! Mail is the ultimate force in > competitive emailing. Find out more at the Yahoo! > Mail Championships. Plus: play games and win prizes. ___________________________________________________________ All New Yahoo! Mail – Tired of unwanted email come-ons? Let our SpamGuard protect you. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Mon Apr 2 16:36:37 2007 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (videoCHANNEL) Date: Mon, 02 Apr 2007 13:06:37 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BAnnouncements=5D_Easter_feature?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=3A_Women_Directors_Cut_I?= Message-ID: <20070402130637.DC08D754.3DDC08A9@192.168.0.3> On occasion of Easter 2007, VideoChannel - video art project environments http://videochannel.newmediafest.org launches a series of bi-monthly shows featuring a young generation of female video/film artists/directors participating in VideoChannel, entitled: Women Directors Cut [WDC] --> These series, curated by Agricola de Cologne spotlight in the 1st edition following six film/video artists ---> Beatrice Allegranti (UK), Margerida Paiva (Portugal), Dana Levy (Israel), Elia Alba (Domenican Republic), Nancy Atakan (Turkey), Alla Girik & Oksana Shatalova (Kazakhstan) --> Make your virtual Easter walk and visit "Women Directors Cut - Edition I" on http://videochannel.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=108 ---------------------------------------- VideoChannel - video art project environments http://videochannel.newmediafest.org is a corporate part of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne http://www.nmartproject.net the experimental platform for art and New Media from Cologne/Germany ---------------------------------------- Required: the latest Flash plug-in, broad bandwidth Internet connection _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From info at kitabmahal.org Mon Apr 2 13:43:16 2007 From: info at kitabmahal.org (Kitabmahal, The Fourth Floor) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 10:13:16 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Dr Batra's Photography Exhibition at Kitab Mahal, Fort on 4th April 2007 Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070402/f3125b64/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From mail at shivamvij.com Mon Apr 2 19:50:44 2007 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 19:50:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Re: Protest (on April 1st) SC's stay on OBC reservationand brainstorm about how to furtherr Social Justice! In-Reply-To: <20070402062600.71109.qmail@web27115.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <20070402062600.71109.qmail@web27115.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <9c06aab30704020720q57e207bbrb8d567a6f1f05edf@mail.gmail.com> The discussion might benefit from a reading of the SC judgement: http://www.shivamvij.com/2007/04/full-text-of-the-judgement-staying-the-implementation-of-obc-reservations.html best s -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070402/53ad0cff/attachment.html From vedprakash.sharma at gmail.com Mon Apr 2 18:05:21 2007 From: vedprakash.sharma at gmail.com (Vedprakash Sharma) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 18:05:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] the reservation debate Message-ID: <006c01c77523$63042670$6401a8c0@ved6suqbkuh1sf> here is a posting from another list about the complex situation over the reservation policy of our government. Stoking the reservation fires There would seem to be no end to the reservations debate, with the Supreme Court's halting in its tracks what all the political parties together had crafted as a major social justice measure that struck a fair balance between the interests of different sections. What is surprising is that the court should have stayed the operation of the law so close to admission time, and that when the institutions were preparing to increase the number of seats over three years to provide for reservations. Over the years, a great deal of uncertainty has been introduced into the constitutional law on reservations by differing opinions handed down by different benches and a plethora of year to year stay orders. The strategies of various governments in resorting to constitutionally impermissible quotas and procedures and trying to sneak under the radars of the courts have only worsened the situation. In essence, under the new law, both the identification of the Other Backward Classes and the 27 per cent figure for reservations followed the earlier government order that reserved posts in government services on the basis of the Mandal Commission recommendations. A nine-member bench of the Supreme Court upheld that order. Yet this time round the court chose to question the validity of the use of the 1931 census as the basis and point to the absence of any new survey of backwardness as a major infirmity in the reservations system. It needs to be noted that in the census operations subsequent to 1931 caste-wise data were not gathered. The bench was on stronger ground, however, on the issue of the creamy layer that has not been excluded from the purview of reservations. This non-exclusion goes to the basic question of identification of a class as backward. For unless those who occupy constitutional positions such as Governors or are members of the all-India services or are professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and chartered accountants or are affluent and do not suffer social or educational disadvantages are excluded, a caste cannot be categorised as a backward class. It is also obvious that in a competitive environment if such advanced categories are provided reservations, they will crowd out the really backward among the OBCs. Indeed, no argument based on equity or fairness has been advanced in support of the reluctance of the State governments - and now the Centre - to exclude the creamy layer from reservations. Equally relevant is the issue of keeping out certain areas such as airline pilots, higher specialities in medicine or engineering or research, and the armed forces outside the scheme of reservations. The overall national interest would also require preserving certain institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Management as islands of excellence uncompromised by any other consideration. ****** Vedprakash Sharma Ph 011-32440078, M 09350158273 skype Id: ved1234 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070402/6a284ea5/attachment.html From ramanchima at gmail.com Mon Apr 2 23:07:11 2007 From: ramanchima at gmail.com (Raman Chima) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:07:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Internet Censorship and the Indian State - Sarai Independent Fellowship 2007 (First post) In-Reply-To: <9c06aab30703290226g77d0ac74t69a468473cea26bb@mail.gmail.com> References: <2fbb8fe0703280902y7eea070eh627d613d75a8588a@mail.gmail.com> <2fbb8fe0703290146hd70f665l3d47ef04c6142673@mail.gmail.com> <9c06aab30703290226g77d0ac74t69a468473cea26bb@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2fbb8fe0704021037q32f14761q84686e33899d5701@mail.gmail.com> Dear Shivam, Thanks for the link to the archive of your articles; I had come across several of them earlier but didn't have a comprehensive source for all of them. I've currently been examining the work of a Sarai fellowship report produced in 2004 by Ketan Tanna on Internet Censorhip in India, which has been quite useful in documenting data as to incidents of internet censorship up to that point such as the Kyunhun Yahoogroup blocking, the blocking of the online edition of Dawn and the net telephony related blocks put in place by VSNL before 2000 which were responsible for the case launched by Arun Mehta in the Delhi High Court. I'm also hoping to try and view obtain the video documentary submitted by Rudradeep Bhattacharjee under the 2006 Sarai-CSDS I-Fellowship programme on the subject of "Freedom in Cyberspace in the Context of India". If you'd be willing, I'd really like to view any material/information that you have with respect to the petition to ban Orkut in Maharashtra since that is something that I do want to examine in my project. I wanted to find some clear material on the subject, since press reports aren't too clear on the entire matter. I'm especially keen on getting the cause number for the actual petition. I already have found a comprehensive report prepared by a committee constituted by the Bombay High Court on the issue of Internet regulation with respect to the issue of obscenity thats quite interesting, since its a proper policy document prepared with regards to the subject under the aegis of a judicial authority. I'm still examining it to see how it envisages the role of the State in all of this, as well as whether there are any similar reports prepared by State agencies directly. As for State authorities regulating the Internet under the rationale of preventing cybercrime, I'm aiming to interview some of these individuals directly. I already have had some information on this with respect to the Bangalore Cybercrime Police Station, some of whose personnel I had met earlier with respect to a project that I had done on the issue of Obscenity law in India and the Internet. I'll be visiting them again after I've prepared a comprehensive list of questions and issues that need to be addressed when interviewing them. I'll be trying to interview personnel in the Department of Information Technology, Department of Telecom and the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) in New Delhi in June along with agencies such as the Delhi Police. If any of you have suggestion as to people and/or agencies that I should be focusing on studying in Bangalore or Delhi, I'll be quite happy to have your comments. Sincerely, Raman. On 3/29/07, Shivam Vij wrote: > > I'd be really > > interested in comments and ideas, especially with regards sources of > > information that any of you might think may be useful. > > Dear Raman, > > I have worked on internet censorship off and on. You can find some of > my articles here: http://del.icio.us/goalduniya/censorship > > There have been other Sarai Fellows in the past who have worked on the > subject but your proposal is a relief to me insofar as it seems to > want to go beyond what is already documented. > > A lot of the focus on internet censorship is shifting to Orkut. You > might want to consider Orkut in Maharashtra - Google says it has now > condescended to opening a direct line of communication with the Mumbai > Police. > > The first case against Orkut was filed by a law student like you > against I-Hate-India communities on Orkut, put up by Pakistanis. All > the media reported it, and some had the sense to search Orkut for > anti-Pak communities put up by Indians - and these outnumbered the > ones Pakistanis had put up against India! > > I searched Orkut for the petitioner's name and tracked him down. I > asked him: so what about anti-Pak communities? He said that if > Pakistan had appropriate law, Pakistanis are free to go to their > courts against Orkut. I couldn't believe it: the guy was just playing > with the bare acts. > > A lot of the reaction against this in the blogosphere was the typical > oh-we-are-becoming-China hysteria. Hopefully, the courts will throw > out these cases against Orkut. > > You may also want to consider difficult cases where users demand > censorship or some kind of moderation - identity theft for instance. > At some point cyber crime and internet censorship do come in conflict. > > best > shivam > From burtoncleetus at yahoo.co.uk Tue Apr 3 10:13:02 2007 From: burtoncleetus at yahoo.co.uk (burton cleetus) Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2007 05:43:02 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Protest (on April 1st) SC's stay on OBC reservationand brainstorm about how to furtherr Social Justice! In-Reply-To: <003401c7751f$4c8c0830$6401a8c0@ved6suqbkuh1sf> Message-ID: <113121.22587.qm@web27114.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Hi Vedprakash First of all i wish to state that i am not Satianath as you wrote, I am Burton . you say that the whole issue of reservation'is very complicated', there is nothing complicated or scientific about it. the only problem was that, the peculiar situation arose by a contigency that was necessitated by the II world war, which led the enumerators to drop a proper caste based census in 1941. This however became a precedent, or rather a reason to conveniently forget the issue of caste in census records from 1951. which ultimately led to a situation of this sort. You point out 'some sort of a contradiction, regarding the absence of caste based enumeration and the caste based politics' that emerged in the post independent india. i never mentioned the emergence of caste based politics, in my previous mail so that it has to contradict with what i said in my mail. After all these dont contradict, nor are they related to each other at all. they are two different issues. The only point that i was trying to raise was, should the mistake of omitting caste based enumeration from 1951 onwards, be a justification for further mistakes and denial of rights of the lower sections of the society? Burton --- Vedprakash Sharma wrote: > dear Satinath, > this is very complicated. on one side, Govt does not > wish to have a caste based survey, as you wrote, > "After independence, the new political and > bureaucratic authorities of the "new" nation decided > to do away with > the idea of caste on any categorization in census > records. This was because Caste signified some thing > derogatory in the new context. This complicated > the whole enumeration process and thereby failed to > arrive at any meaning full analysis on the social > condition of different caste groups in India." > and on the other hand, most of the political parties > play the vote bank politics. don't you think, both > the tendencies contradict each other? > ----- Original Message ----- > From: burton cleetus > To: Vedprakash Sharma ; reader-list at sarai.net > Sent: Monday, April 02, 2007 10:48 AM > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Protest (on April 1st) > SC's stay on OBC reservationand brainstorm about how > to furtherr Social Justice! > > > Dear Vedprakash > > One of the most 'serious' objections raised by the > SC with regard to the OBC reservation, is the > regarding determination of the status of caste, for > OBC reservation, based on the 1931 census. Yes the > last census that gave any indication to the position > of caste and their human development indices in > india was the 1931 census. From 1881 to 1931 caste > was an important criteria in the tabulation of the > social position of the different sections of the > sub-continent. However, the outbreak of the second > world was in 1939, failed to the creation of an > elaborate census in 1941. Hence the 1941 census > cannot be used as an indication of any form of > serious analysis. After independence, the new > political and bureaucratic authorities of the "new" > nation decided to do away with the idea of caste on > any categorisation in census records. This was > because Caste signified some thing derogatory in the > new context. This complicated the whole enumeration > process and thereby failed to arrive at any meaning > ful analysis on the social condition of different > caste groups in India. > > There is no analysis in census records from 1931 > onwards does not mean that caste as a social > category, and the disadvantages attached to caste > dissapeared and an 'egalitarian system was > established' after 1931. Are the lower castes to be > blamed for not having a caste based enumeration > after 1931. For them the idea of the new state to > avoid the "category of caste" in census records > closed any analysis on their social position. In a > sense, for them, after independence, this shift was > like from frying pan to fire! > > Burton > > Vedprakash Sharma > wrote: > it looks as if I went through the mail of a > political leader. in my humble > opinion, the SC has raised some very genuine > objections. without a > scientific analysis of the problem of > reservation, one should not draw > conclusions. we may have different views over it > but the logic must prevail > and the same should decide the criterion of the > reservation. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Shivam Vij" > To: "sarai list" > Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2007 12:30 PM > Subject: [Reader-list] Protest (on April 1st) > SC's stay on OBC > reservationand brainstorm about how to furtherr > Social Justice! > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > From: Satinath Choudhary > > > > Dear friends from Delhi and close by, > > > > I am sorry for this late call! However, > Emergency situation created > > by our upper caste Supreme Court does not give > us the luxury of > > planning with plenty of time in our hands. Let > us meet this Sunday, > > April 1st, 2007, at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, > between 11 am to 1 pm, and > > accomplish a number of objectives in one shot! > > > > (a) Demo on Sunday, April 1st, 2007, at Jantar > Mantar, Delhi, > > between 11 am to 1 pm against Supreme Court's > stay OBC's reservation > > in higher education; > > > > (b) Brainstorm about declaring the month of > April as Social Justice > > month. Social Justice month may attract > participation and organizing > > on the part of STs, OBCs, and minorities, not > many of whom have been > > organizing Ambedkar's birth anniversary; > > > > (c) Brainstorm about how to further the cause > of social justice; > > in particular, how to democratize the court, > especially the Supreme > > Autocratic Upper Caste. > > > > (d) Brainstorm about a bigger event by the end > of April to further > > the cause of social justice > > > > If you have any suggestion with regard to any > of the above > > mentioned things, please feel free to call me > (at 9350041088) or write > > to me at satichou2 at yahoo.com. > > > > Dalit Voice Silver Jubilee Celebration > Committee, Delhi invites you > > to join a daylong discussion and debate to > mark the occasion of 25 > > glorious years of Dalit Voice. Those of us who > feel that Dalit Voice > > has contributed immensely to develop a new > dynamic Ambedkarite > > movement would like to take this debate > further. > > > > On April 8th, 2006, from 10 am to 5:30 pm, we > all join hand to > > facilitate Dalit Voice for its wonderful > journey. The daylong > > programme is organized at the Gandhi Peace > Foundation, Deen Dayal > > Upadhyay Marg, Near ITO, New Delhi. > > > > Dalit Voice Silver Jubilee Celebration > Committee: Rajni Tilak, > > Vidya Bhushan Rawat, Ashok Bharati, Satinath > Choudhary, Abhimook > > Nayak, > > > > Contacts: vbrawat at gmail.com, > rajni.nacdor at gmail.com, satichou2 at yahoo.com > > Telephone nos: 9871441261, 011-65902846, > 22462528 (V.B.Rawat), > > 9871514040 ( Rajni Tilak) and 9350041088 > (Satinath). > > > > Regards, > > Satinath > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media > and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media > and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the > subject header. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > New Yahoo! Mail is the ultimate force in > competitive emailing. Find out more at the Yahoo! > Mail Championships. Plus: play games and win prizes. ___________________________________________________________ New Yahoo! Mail is the ultimate force in competitive emailing. Find out more at the Yahoo! Mail Championships. Plus: play games and win prizes. http://uk.rd.yahoo.com/evt=44106/*http://mail.yahoo.net/uk From kanouse at siu.edu Tue Apr 3 01:07:46 2007 From: kanouse at siu.edu (Sarah Kanouse) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 14:37:46 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Call for Participation: 2007 Global Fusion Conference Message-ID: <4E2BD12B-FA50-4A29-8AC5-262C310FA6D7@siu.edu> ++++++Please Forward+++++++++ Call for Participation: 2007 Global Fusion Conference: September 7-9, St Louis, USA Theme: Contested Intersections: publics, movements, institutions, the interface between media research, media arts, media industry professions and media activism. ANJALI MONTEIRO will be the Main Keynote Speaker. Dr Monteiro is an award-winning documentary film-maker and university professor of media studies at the Centre for Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Her keynote address will be “Spaces for Dialogue - Rethinking Critical Media Praxis in India,” or what it means for 'alternative' media praxis to engage with the new sites of contestation that have emerged in the wake of new media and communication technologies in an India that is neo-liberal, market- oriented and rapidly globalizing. PAUL MILLER, aka DJ Spooky, will be the second Keynote Speaker. His award-winning Rhythm Science (MIT Press) was named among the books of the year by The Guardian (UK). Miller will address how "sound" acts as an invisible theater where the distinctions between sound art, information, and digital production methods are viewed as tools for the creative spirit of the artist. Plenary round-tables will address video/film production, news and journalism, and advertising from these perspectives, all with an eye to how we teach communication. As usual, an international focus will be evident. Proposals for papers are encouraged to focus within this area, but may be on any communication-related topic. Paper proposals are due by April 30 to John Downing at downing.john at gmail.com. Abstracts of up to 250 words; plus name(s), affiliations, email addresses and telephone number(s) of author(s). More information will be posted at intervals on the Southern Illinois University, Global Media Research Center site: www.gmrc.siu.edu _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From iram at sarai.net Tue Apr 3 12:27:29 2007 From: iram at sarai.net (Iram Ghufran) Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2007 12:27:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Fwd: Invite for Film Screening on 6 April Message-ID: <4611FAD9.9090305@sarai.net> Subject: Invite for Film Screening on 6 April From: "sheba tejani" Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2007 12:08:04 +0530 To: reader-list at sarai.net =============================== Lesbians and Bisexuals in Action & Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan invite you to The release of the 10th issue of SCRIPTS, the Queer Zine published by LABIA Selected readings from this issue of SCRIPTS followed by discussion Screening of IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK 2 Directed by: Jane Anderson / Martha Coolidge / Anne Heche A film about 3 lesbian couples, 3 different decades, 3 different socio-political climates, all relevant to us today. on 6thApril, 2007 at 06:30 p.m. K. Dubash Marg, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 400 001 Tel.: +91 (22) 22 02 77 10 _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ranjanyumnam at gmail.com Tue Apr 3 13:34:14 2007 From: ranjanyumnam at gmail.com (Ranjan Yumnam) Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2007 13:34:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] HOW SATYAJIT RAY GOT FLOORED: 2ND IF POSTING Message-ID: There's an account related to me by Mr K. Ibohal Sharma, producer of the Manipuri feature film, Imagee Ningthem that got registered in my mind more than anything else he told me. It concerns the making of the film and how it went straight to international film festivals to a rapt audience and before an incredulous aficionados, critics and filmmakers in India. Among them was Satyajit Ray, who probably was not even aware of the existence of Manipuri cinema. When news about the Manipuri film being critically acclaimed at the Nante International Film Festival (in France) reached India, the reigning kings of the Indian cinema like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and others were shell-shocked. They had never heard of Aribam Shyam Sharma, the director of the film nor had they watched any Manipuri film of any consequence in their life. The Bengal Film Society eventually contacted the makers of the Imagee Ningthem to screen the film in Calcutta. "It was an honour for us. We stopped regular shows in Imphal so that we can take the reel to other cities from where requests have also come in for screenings," the octogenarian producer-cinematographer told me. Once in Calcutta, it was the turn of the Manipuri filmmakers to get shocked by the reaction of the audience. It was clear the audience didn't appreciate the film. The Manipuris didn't exactly expect a standing ovation, but they were also not prepared for boos and sneers from the Bengali crowd not used to the alien language and characters on the screen. "People disappeared from the hall faster than the blink of the eye, and those who remained were a handful of foreigners. "MK Binodini, the storywriter, who came with high hopes was literally reduced to tears and requested me to take her home," he recounted. But before they went back to the hotel to retire for the night, they decided to take a walk to the venue of the national film festival being held in the city just for the heck of it and in part to drown away their bitter experience at the theatre (Gorky Sadan). To their surprise they found out that their film was declared the best feature film in the national panorama. Tear of humiliation turned into tears of joy instantaneously. How did the doyens of the Indian cinema size up the film? "They watched through the film without saying anything and left without saying anything. They were clearly speechless," Mr Sharma recalled. The film was invited to participate in major international film festivals at New York and Tokyo. This was in 1982. In the same year, Imagee Ningthem won the Grand Prix at Nante International Film festival. Aribam Shyam Sharma had joined the international mainstream even before making it big in the national stage. His success story mirrors the trajectory of the evolution of the Manipuri Cinema. *************************** Ray's influence on early Manipuri cinema By Satyajit Ray, I don't mean the person and his works only. The New Wave cinema and the realism that was the hallmark of the Bengali cinema also had a deep impact on the form and content of the early Manipuri cinema. In fact, the first attempted Manipuri cinema, Mainu Pemcha, was a collaborative effort between Bengalis and the Manipuris. The film was based on a Manipuri play written by Ayekpam Shyamsunder Singh and translated by Bidal Das Panchotiya into Hindi. For reasons of commercial viability, the film had to be made not in the Manipuri language but in Hindi. This reflected the sad reality that still cripples the Manipuri film industry – which is the lack of a big market. A joint stock company was formed which was christened Shri Govindaji Film production and after raising the funds started shooting from 1948 till April 1949 at the Kali Studio in Calcutta. Directed by Jyoti Das, the cast included both Bengalis and Manipuri actors with the latter in numerical preponderance. After completing a substantial part of the film in Calcutta, they had to come back to Manipur as some scenes required shooting in Meitei Yumjao (traditional Manipuri house). An interesting thing happened in Manipur. The public who were already thrilled with the prospects of seeing their favourite play on the celluloid requested Biman Chatterjee (playing a Manipuri character in the film) to demonstrate his acting skills at the Rupmahal Theatre, which he obliged. Unfortunately the film could not be completed due to financial difficulties. In a last ditch attempt to revive the film, the producer approached the Manipuri Maharaja to support the film. The Maharajah was favourable to the idea but historical circumstances did not allow him to devote attention to the film. 1949 was a chaotic year coinciding with the end of the World War II, and for Manipur, the question of her political existence hanged in uncertainty. The question of whether the Kingdom of Manipur should join the Indian Union generated a lot of public debate with even the institution of monarchy perched precariously in the line of fire. It was a momentous era that triggered the insurgency movement over the issue of the legitimacy of the "annexation" of the Manipuri Kingdom into the Indian Union by Sardar Patel's "clever handling". The seventies assumed great significance in the history of Indian cinema. Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen pioneered the New wave cinema and changed the cinematic landscape of the Indian cinema. Mythologies and other formula films began to give way to socials. Shyam Benegal, MS Sathu, Basu Chatterjee, Kumar Sahni and others continued and took forward this tradition of filmmaking to greater heights. The Manipuri filmmakers, meanwhile, were burning with the ambition of carving out a niche for themselves. They were studying the new phenomenon so that they were not left behind. The film society movement took root in Manipur and got itself affiliated to Indian Federation of Film Societies which had its headquarters in Calcutta. After the botched attempt of Mainu Pemcha, K. Monomohan took upon himself the task of making the first Manipuri feature film – Matamgi Manipur (Today's Manipur). Like Mainu Pemcha, it was directed by a Bengali director, Devkumar Bose, son of the celebrated filmmaker Devki Kumar Bose. Adapted from a play Tirth Jatra written by by Arambam Samarendra, the film had an all-Manipuri cast, and it was in this sense a more indigenous venture than Mainu Pemcha. The film began shooting in December 3 1971 and was wrapped up in January 1972. Considering that it was the first experience for the Manipuri actors before the camera, they performed beyond expectations. This was proved when the two leading actors Rabindra Sharma and Y. Roma received the Rashtriya Chalchitra Purashkar, which is better known as the President Award. It must have been a record for any regional film industry for its first film experiment to be getting recognised in such a manner. "The Manipuris are natural artistes; they are gifted with the talent of arts, music and dance," writes RK Bidur, a founder member of the Manipur Cine Club and president of the Manipur's Film Critics Association, referring to the success of the Matamgee Manipur. ****************************** The 90s—the beginning of the end of celluloid era After a glorious history, celluloid era has effectively had its last appearance in 1998. The following is the list of the films that were made including the name of the director and producer during the period 1972-1998. Documentary films and VHS format movies are not included, as are the digital films that are the rage now. These will be dealt with in separate postings. Manipuri celluloid films Year Title Producer Director 1972 Matamgee Manipur, Karam Manmohan, Devkumar Bose 1972 Brojendrogee Luhongba, SN Chand, SN Chand 1974 Lamja Parsuram, G Narayan Sharma, A. Shyam Sharma 1974 Ngak-e-ko Nangse, Wangkhem Basanta, SN Chand 1976 Saphabi G Narayan, Sharma, A. Shyam Sharma 1979 Khuthang Lamjel, Thongam Haridas, GC Tongbra 1979 Olangthagee Wangmadasu, G Narayan Sharma, A. Shyam Sharma 1981 Imagee Ningthem, K Ibohal Sharma, A. Shyam Sharma 1981 Khonjel, M Nilamani, M Nilamani 1981 Wangma Wangma, Durlav, L Banka Sharma 1983 Sana Keithel, Thoudam Doren, MA Singh 1983 Paokhum Ama, Film Div. of India, A. Shyam Sharma 1984 Thaba, Khaidem Sakhi Devi, K Ibohal Sharma 1984 Langlen Thadoi, Khaidem Sakhi Devi, MA Singh 1984 Yairipok Thambalnu, H Gehendra, L Banka Sharma 1986 Iche Sakhi Thoudam Doren, MA Singh 1988 Kombirei, G Narayan Sharma, G Narayan Sharma 1990 Isanou, Gauhati Drsn, A Shyam Sharma 1990 Engallei, M Kumarjit, RK Kripa 1990 Paap, M Nilamani, M Nilamani 1992 Khonthang, Thoungamba, Oken Amakcham 1993 Sambal Wangma, Sobita, K Ibohal Sharma 1993 Thambal, Vishnu/Surjakanta, RK Kripa 1993 Madhavi, K Bhupendra, L Banka 1994 Mayophigee Macha, Thouyangba, Oken Amakcham 1995 Sanabi, NFDI/Drdrsn, A. Shyam Sharma 1995 Khamba Khamnu, Ch Shyamcharan, Ch Shyamcharan 1996 Kanaga Hinghouni, Chand Heisnam, Chand Heisnam/Vishwamitra 1997 Sanamanbi Sanarei, G Narayan Sharma, G Narayan Sharma 1997 Khamba Thoibi, M Nilamani, M Nilamani 1997 Chinglensana, Th. Binapani, Rajen Meitei 1997 Iraal Oirage, Chand Heisnam, Vishwamitra/Kishore Kr 1997 Yenningtha Amada, M Nilamani/Ashwini, M Nilamani/Ashwini Kr 1998 Amambasu Anganbani, Chand Heisnam, Vishwamitra/Kishore Kr 1998 Thawaigi Thawai, Thoungamba, Thoungamba/Thouyangba -- Regards, Ranjan Yumnam From ranjanyumnam at gmail.com Tue Apr 3 13:40:29 2007 From: ranjanyumnam at gmail.com (Ranjan Yumnam) Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2007 13:40:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] HOW SATYAJIT RAY GOT FLOORED: 2ND IF POSTING Message-ID: (If you wish to see the pictures accompanying this write-up, the same is also available at http://manipuri-cinema.blogspot.com ) How Satyajit Ray got floored… There's an account related to me by Mr K. Ibohal Sharma, producer of the Manipuri feature film, Imagee Ningthem that got registered in my mind more than anything else he told me. It concerns the making of the film and how it went straight to international film festivals to a rapt audience and before an incredulous aficionados, critics and filmmakers in India. Among them was Satyajit Ray, who probably was not even aware of the existence of Manipuri cinema. When news about the Manipuri film being critically acclaimed at the Nante International Film Festival (in France) reached India, the reigning kings of the Indian cinema like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and others were shell-shocked. They had never heard of Aribam Shyam Sharma, the director of the film nor had they watched any Manipuri film of any consequence in their life. The Bengal Film Society eventually contacted the makers of the Imagee Ningthem to screen the film in Calcutta. "It was an honour for us. We stopped regular shows in Imphal so that we can take the reel to other cities from where requests have also come in for screenings," the octogenarian producer-cinematographer told me. Once in Calcutta, it was the turn of the Manipuri filmmakers to get shocked by the reaction of the audience. It was clear the audience didn't appreciate the film. The Manipuris didn't exactly expect a standing ovation, but they were also not prepared for boos and sneers from the Bengali crowd not used to the alien language and characters on the screen. "People disappeared from the hall faster than the blink of the eye, and those who remained were a handful of foreigners. "MK Binodini, the storywriter, who came with high hopes was literally reduced to tears and requested me to take her home," he recounted. But before they went back to the hotel to retire for the night, they decided to take a walk to the venue of the national film festival being held in the city just for the heck of it and in part to drown away their bitter experience at the theatre (Gorky Sadan). To their surprise they found out that their film was declared the best feature film in the national panorama. Tear of humiliation turned into tears of joy instantaneously. How did the doyens of the Indian cinema size up the film? "They watched through the film without saying anything and left without saying anything. They were clearly speechless," Mr Sharma recalled. The film was invited to participate in major international film festivals at New York and Tokyo. This was in 1982. In the same year, Imagee Ningthem won the Grand Prix at Nante International Film festival. Aribam Shyam Sharma had joined the international mainstream even before making it big in the national stage. His success story mirrors the trajectory of the evolution of the Manipuri Cinema. *************************** Ray's influence on early Manipuri cinema By Satyajit Ray, I don't mean the person and his works only. The New Wave cinema and the realism that was the hallmark of the Bengali cinema also had a deep impact on the form and content of the early Manipuri cinema. In fact, the first attempted Manipuri cinema, Mainu Pemcha, was a collaborative effort between Bengalis and the Manipuris. The film was based on a Manipuri play written by Ayekpam Shyamsunder Singh and translated by Bidal Das Panchotiya into Hindi. For reasons of commercial viability, the film had to be made not in the Manipuri language but in Hindi. This reflected the sad reality that still cripples the Manipuri film industry – which is the lack of a big market. A joint stock company was formed which was christened Shri Govindaji Film production and after raising the funds started shooting from 1948 till April 1949 at the Kali Studio in Calcutta. Directed by Jyoti Das, the cast included both Bengalis and Manipuri actors with the latter in numerical preponderance. After completing a substantial part of the film in Calcutta, they had to come back to Manipur as some scenes required shooting in Meitei Yumjao (traditional Manipuri house). An interesting thing happened in Manipur. The public who were already thrilled with the prospects of seeing their favourite play on the celluloid requested Biman Chatterjee (playing a Manipuri character in the film) to demonstrate his acting skills at the Rupmahal Theatre, which he obliged. Unfortunately the film could not be completed due to financial difficulties. In a last ditch attempt to revive the film, the producer approached the Manipuri Maharaja to support the film. The Maharajah was favourable to the idea but historical circumstances did not allow him to devote attention to the film. 1949 was a chaotic year coinciding with the end of the World War II, and for Manipur, the question of her political existence hanged in uncertainty. The question of whether the Kingdom of Manipur should join the Indian Union generated a lot of public debate with even the institution of monarchy perched precariously in the line of fire. It was a momentous era that triggered the insurgency movement over the issue of the legitimacy of the "annexation" of the Manipuri Kingdom into the Indian Union by Sardar Patel's "clever handling". The seventies assumed great significance in the history of Indian cinema. Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen pioneered the New wave cinema and changed the cinematic landscape of the Indian cinema. Mythologies and other formula films began to give way to socials. Shyam Benegal, MS Sathu, Basu Chatterjee, Kumar Sahni and others continued and took forward this tradition of filmmaking to greater heights. The Manipuri filmmakers, meanwhile, were burning with the ambition of carving out a niche for themselves. They were studying the new phenomenon so that they were not left behind. The film society movement took root in Manipur and got itself affiliated to Indian Federation of Film Societies which had its headquarters in Calcutta. After the botched attempt of Mainu Pemcha, K. Monomohan took upon himself the task of making the first Manipuri feature film – Matamgi Manipur (Today's Manipur). Like Mainu Pemcha, it was directed by a Bengali director, Devkumar Bose, son of the celebrated filmmaker Devki Kumar Bose. Adapted from a play Tirth Jatra written by by Arambam Samarendra, the film had an all-Manipuri cast, and it was in this sense a more indigenous venture than Mainu Pemcha. The film began shooting in December 3 1971 and was wrapped up in January 1972. Considering that it was the first experience for the Manipuri actors before the camera, they performed beyond expectations. This was proved when the two leading actors Rabindra Sharma and Y. Roma received the Rashtriya Chalchitra Purashkar, which is better known as the President Award. It must have been a record for any regional film industry for its first film experiment to be getting recognised in such a manner. "The Manipuris are natural artistes; they are gifted with the talent of arts, music and dance," writes RK Bidur, a founder member of the Manipur Cine Club and president of the Manipur's Film Critics Association, referring to the success of the Matamgee Manipur. ****************************** The 90s—the beginning of the end of celluloid era After a glorious history, celluloid era has effectively had its last appearance in 1998. The following is the list of the films that were made including the name of the director and producer during the period 1972-1998. Documentary films and VHS format movies are not included, as are the digital films that are the rage now. These will be dealt with in separate postings. Manipuri celluloid films Year Title Producer Director 1972 Matamgee Manipur, Karam Manmohan, Devkumar Bose 1972 Brojendrogee Luhongba, SN Chand, SN Chand 1974 Lamja Parsuram, G Narayan Sharma, A. Shyam Sharma 1974 Ngak-e-ko Nangse, Wangkhem Basanta, SN Chand 1976 Saphabi G Narayan, Sharma, A. Shyam Sharma 1979 Khuthang Lamjel, Thongam Haridas, GC Tongbra 1979 Olangthagee Wangmadasu, G Narayan Sharma, A. Shyam Sharma 1981 Imagee Ningthem, K Ibohal Sharma, A. Shyam Sharma 1981 Khonjel, M Nilamani, M Nilamani 1981 Wangma Wangma, Durlav, L Banka Sharma 1983 Sana Keithel, Thoudam Doren, MA Singh 1983 Paokhum Ama, Film Div. of India, A. Shyam Sharma 1984 Thaba, Khaidem Sakhi Devi, K Ibohal Sharma 1984 Langlen Thadoi, Khaidem Sakhi Devi, MA Singh 1984 Yairipok Thambalnu, H Gehendra, L Banka Sharma 1986 Iche Sakhi Thoudam Doren, MA Singh 1988 Kombirei, G Narayan Sharma, G Narayan Sharma 1990 Isanou, Gauhati Drsn, A Shyam Sharma 1990 Engallei, M Kumarjit, RK Kripa 1990 Paap, M Nilamani, M Nilamani 1992 Khonthang, Thoungamba, Oken Amakcham 1993 Sambal Wangma, Sobita, K Ibohal Sharma 1993 Thambal, Vishnu/Surjakanta, RK Kripa 1993 Madhavi, K Bhupendra, L Banka 1994 Mayophigee Macha, Thouyangba, Oken Amakcham 1995 Sanabi, NFDI/Drdrsn, A. Shyam Sharma 1995 Khamba Khamnu, Ch Shyamcharan, Ch Shyamcharan 1996 Kanaga Hinghouni, Chand Heisnam, Chand Heisnam/Vishwamitra 1997 Sanamanbi Sanarei, G Narayan Sharma, G Narayan Sharma 1997 Khamba Thoibi, M Nilamani, M Nilamani 1997 Chinglensana, Th. Binapani, Rajen Meitei 1997 Iraal Oirage, Chand Heisnam, Vishwamitra/Kishore Kr 1997 Yenningtha Amada, M Nilamani/Ashwini, M Nilamani/Ashwini Kr 1998 Amambasu Anganbani, Chand Heisnam, Vishwamitra/Kishore Kr 1998 Thawaigi Thawai, Thoungamba, Thoungamba/Thouyangba -- Regards, Ranjan Yumnam From avinashcold at gmail.com Tue Apr 3 12:36:13 2007 From: avinashcold at gmail.com (Avinash Kumar) Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2007 12:36:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] documentary film " INDIA UNTOUCHED- Stories of a People Apart" Message-ID: NAZARIYA DRISHTI-NATARANI FILM CLUB * * Invites you to the premiere of Stalin K's new documentary film *"* *INDIA* *UNTOUCHED-* Stories of a People Apart*"* * * On 14th April, 2007 at 8:15pm Natarani, Usmanpura, Ahmedabad Please call Gaurang @ 98799-19549 and book your free passes. * * * * *INDIA** UNTOUCHED- **Stories of a People Apart * 110 minutes. Hindi, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalm with English sub-titles *Directed by Stalin K., Produced by Drishti, Presented by Navsarjan * "INDIA UNTOUCHED-Stories of a People Apart" is perhaps the most comprehensive look at Untouchability ever undertaken on film. Director Stalin K. spent four years traveling the length and breadth of the country to expose the continued oppression of 'Dalits,' the 'broken people' who suffer under a 4000 year-old religious system. The film introduces leading Benares scholars who interpret Hindu scriptures to mean that Dalits 'have no right' to education, and Rajput farmers who proudly proclaim that no Dalit may sit in their presence, and that the police must seek their permission before pursuing cases of atrocities. The film captures many 'firsts-on-film,' such as Dalits being forced to dismount from their cycles and remove their shoes when in the upper caste part of the village. It exposes the continuation of caste practices and Untouchability in Sikhism, Christianity and Islam, and even amongst the communists in Kerala. Dalits themselves are not let off the hook: within Dalits, sub-castes practice Untouchability on the 'lower' sub-castes, and a Harijan boy refuses to drink water from a Valmiki boy. The viewer hears that Untouchability is an urban phenomenon as well, inflicted upon a leading medical surgeon and in such hallowed institutions as JNU, where a Brahmin boy builds a partition so as not to look upon his Dalit roommate in the early morning. A section on how newspaper matrimonial columns are divided according to caste presents urban Indians with an uncomfortable truth: marriage is the leading perpetuator of caste in India. But the film highlights signs of hope, too: the powerful tradition of Dalit drumming is used to call people to the struggle, and a young Dalit girl holds her head high after pulling water from her village well for the first time in her life. Spanning eight states and four religions, this film will make it impossible for anyone to deny that Untouchability continues to be practiced in India. *Directed by Stalin K:* Stalin K. is a human rights activist and award-winning documentary filmmaker. In recent years, he has become known for his pioneering 'participatory media' work with urban and rural communities, in which local people produce their own videos and radio programs as an empowerment tool. He is the Co-Founder of DRISHTI- Media, Arts and Human Rights, Convener of the Community Radio Forum-India, and the India Director of Video Volunteers. He is a renowned public speaker and has lectured or taught at over 20 institutions ranging from the National Institute of Design and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in India, to New York University and Stanford and Berkeley in the US. 'INDIA UNTOUCHED' is Stalin's second film on the issue of caste—his earlier film 'Lesser Humans,' on manual scavenging, won the Silver Conch at the Mumbai International Film Festival and the Excellence Award at Earth Vision Film Festival, Tokyo, and helped to bring international attention to the issue of caste. *Produced by DRISHTI-Media, Arts and Human Rights: *DRISHTI is a leading media and human rights organization in India, with program areas of community radio, campaign design, documentary filmmaking, street theatre, participatory video, community arts and youth activism. Drishti has produced over 25 films on development issues, designed over a dozen rights-based campaigns, and conducted over 300 training workshops with more than 100 NGOs. Drishti's films are used by more than 1000 groups around the world, and the organization is a leading proponent of community radio, having set up one of the most renowned and successful community radio programs in the country. *Presented by Navsarjan Trust: *Navsarjan Trust, a leading Dalit human rights organization, works in over 3000 villages in Gujarat. Its mission is to eradicate Untouchability through legal remedies and struggles against forced occupations such as manual scavenging, and by ensuring Dalits' access to education and livelihood. Navsarjan's Founder, Martin Macwan, was the recipient of the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Award for Human Rights. He has led the Dalit struggle at an international level as the Convener of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, when he led a delegation of 200 Dalit activists to the World Conference against Racism in South Africa -- In Peace, Gaurang Drishti Media,Arts & Human Rights 103, Anandhari Towers, Sandeshpress Road, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad. India.38854 www.drishtimedia.org Tel : 91-79-26851235 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070403/b2c328ee/attachment.html From zigzackly at gmail.com Wed Apr 4 02:55:06 2007 From: zigzackly at gmail.com (peter griffin) Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2007 02:55:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Host not found - Hari Kunzru on internet censorship Message-ID: <4d145a50704031425x71f7d3feraa77983c7df6fc90@mail.gmail.com> Host not found Dissidents must be protected from internet censorship, argues Hari Kunzru in an essay for a PEN anthology, Another Sky. http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/politicsphilosophyandsociety/story/0,,2046857,00.html An extract: Social panic about terrorism and paedophilia means that there is strong public support in most western democracies for mandatory state access to private communications. In the permanent state of pseudo-war under which we now live, interior ministers constantly remind us that civil liberties must be balanced against the exigencies of security. Technologies such as strong encryption and anonymous remailing must, they tell us, be kept out of the hands of the public. Employment of such technologies must constitute reasonable cause for surveillance. Encryption keys must be handed over on demand. Local ISPs must be forced to surrender data when required, preferably through real-time automated "black box" monitors, connected to their systems. Monitoring of voice and data traffic by the US (and perhaps, one day, by China) must be facilitated. The list goes on. Unfortunately for us complacent beneficiaries of liberal democracy there is a paradox at work here. The technologies that provide anonymity to the paedophile and the terrorist also protect the political dissident and the whistle-blower. The encryption that impedes government surveillance of its citizens is also vital to the global banking system - an interesting area where corporate and state interests are in direct opposition. [via Ethan Zuckerman's bookmarks: http://del.icio.us/ethanz] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070404/8b388b98/attachment.html From info at kitabmahal.org Tue Apr 3 17:10:15 2007 From: info at kitabmahal.org (Kitabmahal, The Fourth Floor) Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2007 13:40:15 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Ganesh Gohain's Temple of the Future painting and sculptures exhibition at Kitab Mahal, Fort Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070403/9650a8cd/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From aasim27 at yahoo.co.in Wed Apr 4 13:48:09 2007 From: aasim27 at yahoo.co.in (aasim khan) Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2007 09:18:09 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Contact of Mr. Arijit Gupta Message-ID: <116380.99582.qm@web8702.mail.in.yahoo.com> DEare all A friend is trying to find Mr. Arijit Gupta's contact. He made a documentary with PSBT in 2002 , ' The Last Mughals'. Please write back asap if anyone has his contact. Or if anyone has a contact of the last mughal's hyderabad line. Its urgent. Thx Aasim.Here is a brief I got from her. Arijeet Gupta... made a film on the Hyderabad descendents of Zafar in 2002 ... the film was funded by PSBT and Prasar Bharti.... Arijeet is the Executive Producer & Filmmaker of KREATIONS. Formerly he was Senior Business Correspondent Times Of India Group. He was involved in producing business, corporate feature stories for reputed channels including CNBC Business News, NBC Asia. __________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Answers: Share what you know. Learn something new http://in.answers.yahoo.com/ From mail at shivamvij.com Wed Apr 4 18:22:11 2007 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2007 18:22:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A critique of the SC stay Message-ID: <9c06aab30704040552s7a1c6df2m7180cff23cec9834@mail.gmail.com> SC's Stay of Mandal II: A Rejoinder By V Venkatesan http://lawandotherthings.blogspot.com/2007/04/scs-stay-of-mandal-ii-rejoinder.html 1. Did the Court decide the case on merits? Ans: My interest in the interim order is on how elaborate the Bench has been on the question of stay. It is pointless to "elaborately consider the contentions of the petitioners and the government" and then conclude in paragraph 18 that "the issues need deeper consideration in the background of their legal and social importance." Now let us consider how the Court considered the stay issue. Their only concern is this: "What may have been relevant in 1931 Census may have some relevance but cannot be the determinative factor." The Central Government's counter-affidavit shows how flawed this concern is. The 1931 Census was not the basis for identification of OBC castes. The GOI's OBC lists include castes which are common to both the Mandal and the States' lists. In other words, Mandal list alone is not sufficient. In effect, it is the states' lists which have been accepted by the Central Govt. The states' lists have undergone the tests of judicial scrutiny in many cases, and have not been struck down for want of uptodate data. The court prima facie assumes that inclusion of castes in the OBC list has been mechanical, and done without adequate relevant data. This is a wrong assumption. The inclusion of castes has been going on for many years in various States, on a variety of criteria. The Mandal Commission followed its own criteria, (not on the basis of 1931 census) including representation from the claimant castes, field visits by the Members, and the States' lists. Now, it is possible that some castes in the lists ceased to be socially and educationally backward, and there could have been mistakes and imperfections while including certain castes, as it could happen in a gigantic exercise like this. Even if there is a caste census, it could happen. That is why the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993 set up in pursuance of the Indra Sawhney judgment, provides a mechanism to rectify such aberrations. Anyone aggrieved with these lists, could approach the Commission stating the facts, and the nature of the complaint, with documentary evidence, if any for inclusion or exclusion. The Commission's advice in this regard is binding on the Government. For this, one need not wait for 10 years. The Act also envisages once in a 10-years revision of the lists. This was complied with in 2003, when the Commission advised the Government after a revision, that there was no scope for excluding any classes from the list as the reservation was only introduced very recently after the implementation in services in 1993. In the case of educational institutions, it had not even started. So the question of revision did not arise. Strangely, the Court did not at all fault the petitioners for not using this grievance redressal mechanism under the NCBC Act. All these are to be found in the counter-argument. But for strange reasons, the Court did not address these issues at all in its judgment. Is it a case of selective consideration "on merits"? I am unable to convince myself that it is a case of the Court hearing it on merits. Even if it had heard it on merits, I am unable to understand why the questions of balance of convenience and presumption of constitutionality are irrelevant. "Elaborate" order, ipso facto, cannot suggest that it was heard on merits. Did the Court seriously go into the merits or non-merits of stay? Instead, it raised extraneous issues like data collection and creamy layer, (on which it was not convinced itself, as it admitted there is need for detailed hearing), and on the basis of their superficial understanding (not even is there any prima facie finding), it proceeds to grant a partial stay. 2. Is there data to back up the OBC reservation? Ans: Instead of asking the Government this question, the Court must have asked the petitioners, to show that specific inclusions of castes in the OBC list were without any data, and this was not seriously examined by the NCBC, when they complained to it. The petitioners are apparently lazy to carry out such an exercise themselves, and therefore, suggested a fresh survey. The Court cites ASG as saying in a different context that there is need for periodical identification of the backward citizens and for this purpose the need for survey of entire population on the basis of an acceptable mechanism. The Court does not want to admit that such an acceptable mechanism already exists in the form of the NCBC, which is entrusted with the task of revision, if necessary. The NCBC only found this revision exercise premature in 2003. If someone is aggrieved with this decision, they can challenge it, rebut it by proving that many castes in the OBC list had ceased to be socially and educationally backward. Again, the court has only come to the aid of the petitioners' lazyness. On the contrary, imagine what could happen if the GOI follows the suggestion, carries out a survey, periodically identifies more backward citizens, only to show that the number of SEBC requiring reservation is much more than what was earlier believed to be. The Court is only opening a Pandora's Box. Here, I would like to correct Mr.Vivek Reddy. The court did not say that the Act is unconstitutional as of today. It is not even sure of this; that is why it has adjourned the case to August for a detailed hearing, clearly showing that its elaborate hearing for the interim stay is not at all sufficient. If the government comes up with fresh evidence, and the Court upholds the Act, will it then compensate the OBCs who lost one academic year, because of its faulty stay of S.6 of the Act? 3. The illogical data logic: My point in raising the issue of governance coming to a standstill is to show how illogical the requirement of data collection is. Will anyone suggest data collection to show that the SCs and STs continue to be deprived or that the castes listed as SCs and STs still fulfil the criteria for their inclusion? After all, if things can change in the case of SCBCs, it could happen in the case of SCs and STs also. I understand SCs and STs suffer from centuries of historical injustice, and therefore, must be treated on a different plane. But the line of argument can be the same, without overlooking this essential difference. Why should we assume that the Govt. did not satisfy any objective social criterion before treating a caste as backward. I agree specific instances of abuse of power can always be exposed and there is a legitimate remedy and a process under the NCBC Act. But why should we throw the baby with the bathwater? To put it differently, can Mr.Vivek Reddy as an example, demonstrate what sort of hard data could be convincing to show that the currently listed OBCs are SEBCs. The very inclusion of these castes in the lists carries with it a history of social and educational backwardness – if not a history of discrimination and deprivation as the SCs and STs – as documented by their representations to the Government, demands etc. I fail to understand how such data could be meaningful and convincing through data collection organized in terms of national surveys or censuses. Considering the backwardness and poverty level, it would not be surprising if the people fudge facts, or make spurious claims about their backwardness. The result would not only be confusing, but disastrous. Just one instance will explain. The reservations were first introduced in 1902 and 1921 respectively in princely states of Kolhapur and Mysore, in response to the local movements against existing caste based monopoly. Those princely states did not go about collecting data, but responded immediately to the demands, in order to prevent social unrest. Similarly, if the modern-day governments instinctively, and by way of impulse and formal and informal studies consider a caste as backward, such consideration can be largely respected, with due regard to a few exceptions, which can be tackled through the NCBC Act. It is naïve to believe that large-scale surveys, which the Court has in mind, would be able to help us have fool-proof OBC lists. Mr.Reddy himself agrees that the question of overall OBC population is not directly relevant when it comes to educational institutions. Does he not agree that the Court is essentially mistaken when it cites different figures of OBC population, as given by different agencies to underline its data-quest? In my view, surveys conducted on a large scale are not the answer to determine whether a caste is SEBC. The answer has to be found in anthropology and sociology, not in statistics. 4. Why I feel the 'stay' is unjustfied? Ans: I would like to draw attention to an important case decided in 2000 by the Supreme Court. It is Bhavesh D. Parish & Others v. Union of India and Another. In this case, the Court makes an important distinction between statutes having a bearing on economic policy and those which do not similarly impinge on economic policy. It cites the Supreme Court's observations in R. K. Garg v. Union of India 1982 (1) SCR 947 at 969 to support this distinction. It says: "When considering an application for staying the operation of a piece of legislation, and that to pertaining to economic reform or change then the courts must bear in mind that unless the provision is manifestly unjust or glaringly unconstitutional, the courts must show judicial restraint in staying the applicability of the same. Merely because a statute comes up for examination and some arguablepoint is raised, which persuades the courts to consider the controversy,the legislative will should not normally be put under suspension pending such consideration. It is now well-settled that there is always apresumption in favour of the constitutional validity of any legislation,unless the same is set-aside after final hearing and, therefore, thetendency to grant stay of legislation relating to economic reform, at the interim stage, cannot be understood. The system of checks and balances has to be utilised in a balanced manner with the primary objective of accelerating economic growth rather than suspending its growth by doubting its constitutional efficacy at the threshold itself. While the courts should not abrogate its duty of granting interim injunctions where necessary, equally important is the need to ensure that the judicial discretion does not abrogate from the function of weighing the overwhelming public interest in favour of the continuing operation ofa fiscal statute or a piece of economic reform legislation, till on amature consideration at the final hearing, it is found to beunconstitutional. It is, therefore, necessary to sound a word of cautionagainst intervening at the interlocutory stage in matters of economicreforms and fiscal statutes." In my view, this special treatment extended to economic legislations by the Supreme Court is not at all convincing. But I would tend to believe that the logic underlying this judgment applies with equal force to the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2007. To sum up, did the SC conclude that S.6 of the C.E.I.(RA) Act, 2007 was manifestly unjust and glaringly unconstitutional? The court was not sure, that was why it has adjourned the case for a detailed hearing. Hence, the stay was apparently unjustified. From jeebesh at sarai.net Thu Apr 5 11:05:17 2007 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh Bagchi) Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2007 11:05:17 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: workers newsletter from gurgaon, india References: <20070405043208.23584.qmail@web27815.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: An excellent newsletter about working lives in the huge production region that surrounds the capital. a must read. best jeebesh Begin forwarded message: > From: gurgaon workers news > Date: 5 April 2007 10:02:08 AM GMT+05:30 > To: gurgaon_workers_news at yahoo.co.uk > Subject: workers newsletter from gurgaon, india > > Gurgaon Workers News - Newsletter 2 (April 2007) > > Dear friends, > > the following newsletter from Gurgaon is also meant as a proposal > to people in the wider NCR area to meet on a regular basis in order > to discuss local workers' struggle related issues. Particularly the > industrial areas in the South of Delhi have turned into a > production location of global capital. We find a similar > composition of capital and work-force, e.g. in the export zones in > southern Vietnam and China or in the maquiladoras at the US-Mexican > border-area. In all these boom patches a new generation of workers > has entered the scene and with them new forms and aspirations of > workers' struggles. The aim of a regular meeting would be to > understand the net of productive units, the circulation of the work- > force, the first signs of antagonism. This would include: to > analyse the production chains and contractor pools and bring the > info back to workers; to re-capitulate some of the recent struggles > in the area and to keep an open eye for (often sub-terrainian) > forms of workers' unrest; to relate the local situation to similar > developments in other regions and to try to form some links. All > this cannot be an academic exercise, final aim would be to develop > a proletarian analysis together with workers in the area, to share > the experiences made at work or in struggle, e.g. by publishing a > regular leaftlet in Hindi and to provide practical support in times > of unrest. If you are interested in such kind of meeting, please > drop us an e-mail... Gurgaon Workers News - Newsletter 2 (April > 2007) > > Gurgaon in Haryana is presented as the shining India, a symbol of > capitalist success promising a better life for everyone behind the > gateway of development. At first glance the office towers and > shopping malls reflect this chimera and even the front facades of > the garment factories look like three star hotels. Behind the > facade, behind the factory walls and in the side streets of the > industrial areas thousands of workers keep the rat-race going, > producing cars and scooters for the middle-classes which end up in > the traffic jam on the new highway between Delhi and Gurgaon. > Thousands of young middle class people lose time, energy and > academic aspirations on night-shifts in call centres, selling > credits to working-class people in the US or pre-paid electricity > schemes to the poor in the UK. Next door thousands of rural-migrant > workers uprooted by the agrarian crisis stitch and sew for export, > competing with their angry brothers and sisters in Bangladesh or > Vietnam. And the rat-race will not stop, at the outskirts of > Gurgaon Indias biggest Special Economic Zone is in the making. The > following newsletter documents some of the developments in and > around this miserable boom region. If you want to get to know more > about working and struggling in Gurgaon, if you want more info > about or even contribute to this project, please have a go at: > > www.gurgaonworkersnews.wordpress.com > gurgaon_workers_news at yahoo.co.uk > > For this and following newsletters we want to introduce four > different categories of texts which should make it easier to trace > back certain developments. > > 1) Proletarian Experiences - > Daily life stories and reports from a workers' perspective > 2) Collective Action - > Reports on proletarian struggles in the area > 3) According to Plan - > General information on the development of the region, certain > company policies > 4) About the Project - > Up-Dates on Gurgaon Workers News > > Most of the texts in this issue display the dark-side of the boom. > A deeper analysis of the more hopeful recent struggles of temp > workers at Hero Honda, Honda Manesar (HMSI), Delphi and the dynamic > work-force composition within the new industrial areas is still to > come. > > 1) Proletarian Experiences > > Death and Development - > Short news on industrial accidents, road deaths, bomb alarms, > serial killings and other achievements of development in Gurgaon > and on its highways. > > Factory and Police Station - > Recent story by metal worker from Faridabad, told to FMS. > > Exploitation and the Law - > Short glimpses of current conditions in various Faridabad > factories, in the shadow of the official labour law (March 2007 > issue of FMS) > > Glossary - > Glossary on welfare policies, wages and prices. > > 2) Collective Action > > Pressline Worker - > Example of small but sucessful industrial action, trying to avoid > the lock-out trap. > > Bicycle-Rikshaws and Strike at Liberty Shoe factory - > Short chat with former Liberty Shoe worker and short news on last > industrial dispute at Liberty Shoe factory, Haryana. > > Commuter Riot - > Fear on the highways, stress on the railways. Proletarian commuters > causing a riot at Faridabad Old Station. From October 2006 issue of > Faridabad Majdoor Samaachar (FMS). > > Techy Wage Increase - > Unsuccessful attempt of wage increase by Gurgaon Call Centre Workers > > 3) According to Plan > > Not yet special enough: Special Economic Zones, Part One - > Economy times two in Gurgaon, short summary of recent newspaper > articles on the planned SEZ. > > Corporate Watch - > Recent news on multi-national companies in Gurgaon. > > 4) About the Project > > Short Presentation of Gurgaon Workers News > > 1) Proletarian Experiences > > Death and Development > > Capitalist development kills in many ways. On 14th of March 2007 > several peasants in Nandigram, West Bengal are shot dead protesting > against being displaced for a SEZ. In Singur people get killed > because they resist the construction of a Tata car factory. Once > the car factory is running, the production creates more victims. > Suzuki Maruti in Gurgaon has outsourced most of the dangerous sheet- > metal work to work-shops and slum production-units in Faridabad. > The blood now flows outside the companies premises, union sources > estimate that daily over a dozen fingers are mutilated in the work- > shops. On 14th of March 2007, while peasants are shot at in > Nandigram, three workers in Gurgaon die and six get injured at > Evergreen Plywood Limited factory when a boiler explodes. Technical > failure. The enforcement of (automobile) industries, the production > and the product are fatal. On 12th of March 2007 a young man dies > on the new Gurgaon-Delhi highway. He is the twelfth, other sources > say the seventeenth person who got killed on this short 15 to 20 km > stretch of the NH8 during the last 50 days. In the period between > 2003 and 2006 over 1,500 people got injured on highway. The highway > and the double lane street beneath it cuts old and new Gurgaon in > half and there is hardly safe way to get from one side to the > other. Foot-crossings are not part of the supply-chain. Main reason > for the construction of the highway: supply of the Gurgaon call > centres with thousands of workers from Delhi, just-in-time supply > of Maruti, Hero Honda and HMSI with parts, easy travelling for the > upper management and high-speed drive-way to Gurgaon's shopping- > malls. Wealth on display attracts people wanting to shine in its > halo and people wanting to shine in its purgatory. The shopping- > malls on the road between Delhi and Gurgaon are packed with tens of > thousands of consumers every day and monthly tens of thousands run > onto the street in panic, scared by bomb alarms, the last time on > 16th of March 2007. Development is brutal and causes brutalisation. > In February 2007 the chapter of a serial killing is legally closed. > During the time between January and April 2006 a group of taxi > drivers killed 20 people travelling between Delhi and Gurgaon, most > of them local workers. They robbed a total of 60,000 Rs, this is > 3,000 Rs for a life. > > The following reports are translated from Hindi, published in > Faridabad Majdoor Samaachaar (FMS). FMS is a monthly independent > workers newspaper, about 5,000 copies are distributed in Faridabad > and beyond. The newspaper exists since the early 1980s, it is free. > Workers are encouraged to contribute with their thoughts and > experiences. If you want to get in touch: > Majdoor Library > Autopin Jhuggi, NIT > Faridabad - 121001 > > Factory and Police Station > (FMS no.225, March 2007) > MG Export Worker > The factory located on plot 108, sector 24 produces steel and > aluminium kitchen utensils and decorative pieces for export. The > factory employs 67 people who receive ESI and PF (see Glossary), > out of which 20 are staff (see Glossary), the rest permanent > (manual) workers. Additionally 235 casual workers (see Glossary) > work inside the plant, currently their number is low compared to > other times. Even after two or two and a half years of constant > employment for the company they remain casual workers, they do not > have ESI and PF. MG Export runs two 12-hours shift, but after one > day of 12-hour shift the next day you have to work during day and > night. The shift would start at 8 am in the morning and end at 4:30 > pm the next day. This is a 36 and a half hours shift. When it comes > to working-times the company makes no difference between permanent > and casual workers. You might be a permanent or a casual, the > payment for overtime is only at the normal rate (although legally > it should be paid double). > On Sundays the factory is made to seem closed, but actually > production is on from 7 am to 3:30 pm. On Sundays workers have to > keep their bicycles inside the plant. In sector 24 there are three > other factories which appear to be closed at night, but MG Export > uses them for night-shift. Workers are sent to night-shift from > factory on plot 108 to plot 305, plot 329... In order to hide > production there are all kind of legal and illegal papers. Finished > products ready for export were first sent to Faridabad sector 59, > now they are sent to Daadri in Uttar Pradesh. > MG Export pays the helpers 1,900 Rs per month, the operators get > 2,300 Rs (see Glossary). On pay day workers and white-collar > workers have to sign unofficial documents. Two or three days after > having received the wage people have to sign the official register > which says that the wage is according to the minimum wage defined > by the Haryana government, which would be 2,485 Rs or more, > according to wage category. The overtime is not even documented on > the unofficial papers. > On the 15th of Febuary 2007 the chairman and managing director of > MG Export were on rounds in the factory from 1 pm to 4 pm. During > this time the sahib started to kick a power press worker for a > minor fault. In front of all workers the sahib slapped-beat-kicked. > The people who started working at 8 am on the 15th of February were > supposed to work till 4:30 pm on the 16th. The press operators left > the factory on the 15th of February at 8 pm. There are twelve power > press machines in the factory and they all stood still from 8 pm to > 9:30 pm. The management called workers from the second shift at > their homes, but in the night of the 15th only three power press > were running. > On the 16th of February the power press operators gathered on a > nearby square instead of coming to the factory. The head foreman > went there and at 9:30 am the workers were brought back in the > factory. The press operators started to work. Three hours later the > company called the police inside the plant. Two police men took > four workers from the press shop to Mujesar police station. Two > workers were sent back to the factory and the other two were told > to be charged with theft... Those two police men who had come to > the factory had taken twelve metal bowls to the station themselves. > One of the workers who was held in the station was the worker who > had been beaten by the sahib, the other one was his friend. The > police threatened and scared these workers untill in the evening > they made them sign their resignation from the company and the > police asked the company to settle the accounts of the workers. > From the final payment the police men took 500 Rs each from the > workers. > > The laws are for exploitation and there is freedom to exploit > beyond the law > (FMS no. 225, March 2007) > The law: wages for a month of work have to be paid by the 7th to > 10th of the subsequent month; the daily working-time is eight > hours, the maximum overtime allowed is 50 hours in three month; > overtime has to be paid by double rate; the minimum monthly wage > defined by the government of Haryana for an unskilled helper-worker > is: 2, 484.28 Rs; this is based on an eight hours day and four days > off per month; the extra dearness allowance DA (see Glossary) for > January 2007 has not been announced yet, this is at the beginning > of March 2007; the labour department declares that they have not > received any information yet about the speech of the Chief Minister > announcing the introduction of a minimum wage of 3,510 Rs. > - Essar Steel Worker: > The factory on plot 10 is located in the Industrial Area, it runs > two shifts of 12 hours each. The overtime is paid at single rate. > The helpers get 1,950 Rs and the operators between 3,500 and 4,000 > Rs. The employer does not give ESI and PF. - CMI Worker: The > factory on plot 71 is in sector 6. Now, on 17th of Febuary workers > might receive the wages for last December. The production is > booming, the permanent workers are forced to work 16 hours. The > workers hired through contractors are driven to work 36 to 40 hours > at a stretch and often fall ill because of that. The overtime > payment is at single rate. - Mahawir Die Casters Worker: > The factory on plot no.153, located in sector 24 runs two 12 hours > shifts, 30 days per month. Overtime is paid at single rate. The > helpers hired through conractors get 2,000 Rs per month. - Galaxsy > Instruments Worker: > On plot no.2, sector 27 C, the helpers hired through contractors > get 2,100 Rs per month. The shift starts at 8 am and finishs at > 5:30 pm. Even the permane nt workers do not receive overtime > payment for the nine and a half hours shift. - Inotech Engineering > Worker: > 12/6 Mathura Road, Gurukul. The wage of the casual workers is 2,400 > Rs, there is neither ESI and PF. The shift starts at 8 am and > finishs at 10:30 pm. Overtime is paid at single rate. - Dalaal Auto > worker: > Plot no.262, sector 25. The factory runs two 12 hours shift, the > overtime is paid at single rate. - JBM Worker: > Plot no.133, sector 24. Less than 10 per cent of the work-force are > permanent workers, more than 90 per cent are hired through three > different contractors. The 50 to 60 permanent workers work two > shifts of 8:30 hours each. In the filing, welding, cleaning, > packing department 200 workers work on one shift, from 7:30 am to 9 > pm, sometimes till 10 pm or even 1 am. In the press shop 300 people > work and in the axle department 150 workers, on two shifts. From > 7:30 am to 7 pm or 8 pm to 6 am. There is work on Sundays, too. > Overtime is paid at single rate. JBM supplies Eicher, Maruti, Hero > Honda. - Sangita Industries Worker: > Plot no.55, Industrial Area. The helpers in the factory get 2,150 > Rs, but no ESI or PF. Daily working time is 12 hours. Overtime is > paid at single rate. Four to five days wages get siphoned off > before wages are paid. If you ask them about it they say that the > wage office is in the companies factory in sector 24, "so what > could we do about it". Threatening takes place, but whoever keeps > on asking again and again will finally receive their money. - Venus > Metal Industries Worker: > Plot 262, sector 24. Out of the 600 workers employed in the factory > ten per cent are permanent, ten per cent are casual and eighty per > cent are hired through contractors. In the press shop, the paint > shop and the tool room they run two shifts. There is only little > overtime. In the welding, assembly and packing department there is > only one shift, from 8:30 in the morning to 9 in the night. During > the twelve and a half hours shift they would not even give you a > cup of tea. Overtime is paid at single rate. There is hardly any > space in the factory. In the paint shop there is no exhaust fan and > there is no space for putting up a fan. The heat of the paint shop > enters the press shop, as well. This condition gets worse during > summer. There is no canteen and there is no space to make meals. > Venus Metal supplies Maruti, Hero Honda and others. - Shivalik > Global Worker: > 12/6 Mathura Road. The workers directly employed by the company > received their January wage on 21st and 22nd of February. The > workers hired through contractors have not received their January > wage, and today is the 24th of February. - High Tech Worker: > 20/6 Mathura Road. Out of the 40 workers directly employed by the > company about four or five have ESI and PF. The workers hired > through six different contractors have no ESI and PF. Whenever an > official comes for inspection to the plant they are pushed outside > the factory. The helpers get 2,000 Rs per month. Working-time is 12 > hours and overtime is paid at single rate. Per month 100 Rs out of > 500 Rs wage is siphoned off. When you leave the job they rarely pay > your outstanding wages. The contractors push and threaten and tend > to delay the wage payment. The January wage has not been given yet, > on 19th of February. - Escorts Worker: > The permanent workers have received the annual statutory bonus > (minimum one month wage) in October on Divali, but after half of > February has already passed, the casual workers did not receive it. > For any little fault casual workers are kicked out the factory. And > in order to get hired the casual workers have to give the company > officers a bribe of 500 Rs. - Vaibav Engineering Worker: > Plot no.63, sector 24. There are eight permanents and 120 casual > workers in the plant. The wage of the casual helpers is 1,650 Rs, > ESI or PF is not covered. There are two shifts, each twelve hours. > Overtime is paid at single rate. - SPL Worker: > Plot no.47-48, sector 6. The workers employed through contractors > get 90 to 115 Rs per twelve hours shift. The wages of January have > not been paid yet, on 22nd of February. - Clutch Auto Worker: > 12/4 Mathura Road. The 500 casual workers have not received their > January wages, on 20th of February 2007. - Orient Fan Worker: > Plot no.59, sector 6. On 14th of February in the tool room and > press shop factory of the company a manager and supervisor together > beat up two casual workers. - Unique Engineering Worker: > 20/3 Mathura Road, Northern Complex, plot no. 5/6. The workers have > neither ESI nor PF. > > Glossary > > Wages and Prices > Exchange Rate > Minimum Wage > ESI > PF > DA > VRS > Staff > Contract Workers > Casual Workers > Workers hired through contractors > > Wages and Prices: > When we hear that a cleaner in a call centre in Gurgaon, an > industrial worker in Faridabad or a Riksha-Driver in Delhi earns > 2,000 Rs for a 70 hours week, which is about the average normal > workers wage, we have to bear in mind that they often came from > West Bengal, Bihar or other remote place in order to get this job. > In order to put 2,000 Rs into a daily context here are some prices > of (daily) goods and services. > - Monthly rent for a small room in Gurgaon (without kitchen), > toilet and bathroom shared by five families: 1,300 Rs > - Monthly rent for a small room in new building in central Gurgaon, > single toilet and bathroom: 4,500 Rs > - Half a kilo red lentils on the local market: 25 Rs > - Kilo rice on local market: 14 Rs > - Bus ticket to nearest bigger bus stop in South Delhi: 14 Rs > - One hour internet in a cafe: 20 Rs > - Starbucks Coffee in Shopping Mall: 30 Rs > - Faulty shirt on Faridabad local market: 40 Rs > - Single gas cooker plus new 2 litre gas cylinder: 720 Rs > - Second-hand bicycle: 600 to 1,000 Rs > - Two simple steel pots: 250 Rs > - One litre Diesel: 30 Rs > - Start package pre-paid mobile phone (without the phone) 300 Rs > - Phone call to other mobile phones: 1 Rs > - One month mobile phone flate rate: 1,500 Rs > - Compaq LapTop: 50,000 Rs > - Flight Delhi to London: 28,000 Rs > - Ford Fiesta: 587,000 Rs > - Two-Bedroom Appartment in Gurgaon: 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 Rs > - The minimum dowry poor worker have to pay for the marriage of > their daughter: 30,000 Rs > > Exchange Rate: > 1 US-Dollar = 43 Rs (March 2007) > 1 Euro = 57 Rs (March 2007) > > Minimum Wage: > Offficial minimum wage in Haryana in March 2007 is about 2,500 Rs > per month for an unskilled worker, based on a 8 hours day and 4 > days off per month. > > ESI (Employee's State Insurance): > Introduced in 1948, meant to secure employee in case of illness, > long-term sickness, industrial accidents and to provide medical > facilities (ESI Hospitals) to insured people. Officially the law is > applicable to Factories employing 10 or more people. Employers > would have to contribute with 4.75 percent of the wage paid to the > worker, the employee 1.75 percent of their wage. Officially casual > workers or workers hired through contractors who work in the > factory (even if it is for construction, maintenance or cleaning > work on the premises) are entitled to ESI, as well. Self-employment > is often used to undermine ESI payment. > > PF (Employee's Provident Fund): > Introduced in 1952, meant to provide a pension to workers. > Officially applicable to all companies employing more than 20 > people. Official retirement age is 58 years. Given that most of the > casual workers belong to the regular work-force of a factory, they > are entitled to the Provident Fund, as well. So are workers > employed by contractors. If workers receive neither PF nor ESI they > also do not show up in the official documents, meaning that > officially they do not exist. > > DA (Dearness Allowance): > An inflation compensation. Each three to six months the state > government checks the general price development and accordingly > pays an allowance on top of wages. > VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme): > Often rather unvoluntary scheme to ged rid off permanent workers. > Particularly the VRS at Maruti in Gurgaon made this clear, when 35 > years old were sent in early retirement. Staff > In India staff includes managers, supervisors, security personnell > and white-collar workers. > > Contract Workers > Workers hired for a specific performance, paid for the performance. > > Casual Workers > Workers hired by the company for a limited period of time. > > Workers hired through contractors > Similar to temporary workers, meaning that they work (often for > long periods) in one company, but are officially employed by a > contractor from whom they also receive their wages. Are supposed to > be made permanent after 240 days of continous employment in the > company, according to the law. A lot of companies only have a > licence for employing workers in auxilliary departments, such as > canteen or cleaning. Companies usually find ways to get around > these legal restrictions, e.g. workers services are terminated on > the 239th day to avoid workers reaching eligibility criteria to > become permanent. > > DC > Deputy Commissioner, Head of the District Administration > > SP > Superintendent of Police, Head of the District Police > > 2) Collective Action > > Pressline Worker > > Given that a lot of industrial actions in the Faridabad and Gurgaon > area end up in a lock-out and are often used by the employer to > replace permanent and/or contract workers, the following short > example shows that workers have to develop different kinds of > collective actions. Particularly after the lock-out and repression > at Honda Manesar (HMSI) in July 2005 a lot of workers, mainly those > on contract basis, have learnt their lessons. Most of the struggles > after the HMSI lock-out were short factory occupations (Hero Honda > and Shivam Autotech in May 2006, Honda Manesar HMSI in December 2006). > > (FMS no. 216, June 2006) > Plot no. 262 -D, sector 24. In order to get better wages and > working clothes and so on, us 30 permanent workers neither took a > banner into our hands nor got engaged neither in a tool down strike > nor in a walk out strike. We undertook other steps in order to > effect production. The production level came down to 25 to 30 per > cent. As a reaction the company locked us out on 16th of January > 2006. On our own complaint to the labour department the company > made the excuse that construction work was going on inside the > premises and that for the workers attendance will be marked. After > fifteen days a three-year contract is agreed on: 500 Rs annual wage > increase, shoes, working clothes, soap is provided by the company, > annualy three days tour, and for all who worked for the company for > five - ten years a service award of 1,500 - 3,000 Rs. The full wage > for the fifteen days that we were kept outside the factory was > given. But still the company pays the ten casual workers only 1,800 > to 2,000 Rs and they do not have ESI and PF. > > Liberty Shoes, Strike and Cycle Rikshas > > Silaam is from West Bengal, he came to Gurgaon about two years ago, > in spring 2005. He first worked at Liberty Shoes in Haryana, he did > a lot of overtime, earned about 3,000 Rs per month. He says that he > did not like the work, the control. About a half year ago he bought > a cycle riksha. He now has regular customers, for example two women > from Maruti Vihar who work in Call Centres. He cycles them every > day. His monthly income is 5,000 Rs now, although it is unclear > whether he has to pay back a loan for the riksha. If you want to > lease a riksha, and this is what most of the riksha-valla do, you > have to pay the owner 25 Rs per day. This is the big deal for all > those who think that you can save the world by handing out micro- > credits: give people a 20,000 Rs credit and they can be their own > employer. The riksha then becomes the mill-stone around their self- > empowered necks, while waiting with dozens of other small > entrepreneurs at street corners, fighting over passengers to > transport, not being able to go back to their village, because > invested capital has to be moved. The alternative? Staying at > Liberty Shoes stitching for nothing? The following news item on the > last strike at Liberty Shoes show that conditions there are bad, > but that at least there is a possibility of collective response. > 26th of June 2006 > Over 30 people, including policemen, were injured after the Haryana > Police resorted to lathicharge on hundreds of protesting workers of > Liberty Footwear who had blocked National Highway No 1 near > Gharaunda on Monday afternoon. Police officials said that they had > to resort to lathicharge after the workers pelted stones at them > and refused to lift the blockade. About six policemen sustained > injuries in the stone pelting, they said. Many of the workers, > including women, were detained to clear the highway that had > remained blocked for over three hours, leading to nearly 10- > kilometre-long queues of stranded vehicles on either side of the > industrial town of Gharaunda. > 28th of June 2006 > Nearly 3,500 of Liberty Shoes' 4,000 employees went on a strike on > Tuesday after about 50 of them were injured on Monday in a police > lathi charge near the company's Karnal plant in Haryana while > protesting against low wages. Low salaries and lack of bonus have > been the bone of contention between the two sides for the last nine- > ten months. According to Dilawar Singh, union leader, Liberty > Workers Union, "The company has not paid any bonus in the last one > and a half years after reducing it from 20% to 10%. There hasn't > been any major hike in salary as well for many years. The > management raised the salary from Rs 1,600 to Rs 2,300 over a > period of 10 years. The management also misbehaves with the > employees quite often." > The company has about 4,000 employees working in its three units > based at Kutail, Gharonda and Karnal. Employees of the two units at > Kutail and Gharonda boycotted work on Tuesday and only 15-20 > employees turned out in Karnal plant which has about 500 employees. > Liberty, though, seems confident of meeting its production targets > despite the strike. "The employees at these three units had been > producing very less since the last 6 months and keeping in mind > their lackadaisical attitude we have increased our production in > Uttaranchal unit by 30-40% by adding two more lines to it. We have > about 170 employees there but the target is easily achieved due to > major outsourcing of component part. There will be shortage of the > products but we are hopeful to cover the losses soon," said Bansal. > The company also plans to set up 3 new units in Uttaranchal and Ponta. > The company workers say they will return to work only if their > colleagues are released from jail and all false cases imposed on > them are withdrawn. The Liberty Shoes workers have been in protest > mode for the last three days ever since eight of their leaders were > arrested by the police after a clash with two senior officials of > the company who were reportedly seriously hurt. > > Riot at Old Station, Faridabad > (FMS no.220, October 2006) > > A daily commuter: The 7:55 am Mathura Shuttle towards Delhi, the > 8:15 am Ballabhgarh train and the 8:35 am Palwal Shuttle haven't > reached New Town Station yet, and it is already 8:35 am. The > platform is packed with commuters. The Ballbhagarh train arrives > New Station at 8:40 am, there is a fair bit of pushing and punching > and quite a lot of people miss the train. The train has half > reached platform number one of Old Station when people stop the > train and force the driver to get off. After the front wind screen > and the headlight are smashed people start breaking the windows of > the waggons, the passengers get off the train and join in pelting > stones. At Old Station about 20,000 daily commuters are crammed > together. The front screen window of a freight train engine which > stands in the station gets broken, too. The Capital Express (posh > train conecting state and national capital) from Mumbai towards > Delhi stops at the outer signal. A crowd smashing the signals > arrive at the Capital Express and start to break the windows. A > Minister of Home of the central government is on the Capital > Express, as well. The police is there, but what can ten to twenty > police men do once there is such a crowd? If they would use their > clubs, they would get beaten up themselves. The DC (see Glossary) > and SP (dito) from Faridabad and the Railway SP and a heavy police > force arrives and the situation turns back to normal. > Between 6:30 am and 9:30 am there are nine local trains which carry > 100,000 daily commuters from as far as Agra to the factories, > offices, shops and other work places in Faridabad and Delhi. More > and more people get stuffed into the local trains. The situation is > so bad that there is not even space left to stand.There are between > 500 to 700 people in one waggon! People who hang outside the train > often get hit by signals. Often people get seriously injured while > trying to get on or off the train. And an eight hours working day > easily turns into a twelve to fourteen hours day. The Railway > department often stop local trains while giving green lights to > freight trains and express trains. In consequence a half an hour > local train journey can extend to one or even one and a half hours. > Reprimands for coming late you can get everywhere, factories often > refuse people who arrive late access and send them back. Only > yesterday night the local train which was to reach Okhla at 8:10 pm > had been cancelled. After a long time in limbo the Malwa Express to > Jammu was turned into a local train. In order to clear the way for > the Capital Express the local train stopped for ten minutes in > Tugalkabad and then 20 mintes at Old Station in order to clear the > way for the Southern Express. The local train would have arrived > New Station an 8:45 pm, the Malwa arrived finally at 10 pm. Under > these conditions commuters will always be in a state of tension. > > Techy Wage increase attempt at Convergys in Gurgaon > > Already older news item (August 2005) from major call centre > service provider Covergys in Gurgaon. > "Not satisfied with their earnings, some BPO employees feel they > can outsmart technology and earn bonuses for themselves. Some > employees at Convergys were sacked because they managed to 'create' > fake favourable ratings apparently from customers of SBC Yahoo, a > popular ISP in the USA who have outsourced customer services to > Convergys. The employees created new email IDs in the name of SBC > Yahoo customers they were handling, sent a positive feedback to > their company from this email ID and also updated this email ID > temporarily on the customer's database in their system. > Apparently this was discovered when Convergys noted unusual > patterns of excellent ratings for some employees. On pinging, it > was found that these feedback forms had been originating from an > Indian server (used by Convergys, Gurgaon) rather than from the US > servers from where they actually should have come. Customers were > also asked to verify if they had actually given such feedback. > Possibility is not ruled out that these executives even asked for > passwords from customers under the pretext of solving their > problems. But Raman Roy, the former CEO of Wipro's BPO operations, > says almost no one can access passwords unless customers themselves > disclose the same. "But it's possible if one has a strong > understanding of technology. If these kids could manage that, then > they are wasting their talents in a BPO," he adds. But money seems > to have been the greatest lure for such employees, as an excellent > rating can get them bonuses of up to Rs 4,000 a week". > You can read more about Convergys and the Gurgaon call centre world > in newsletter no.1. > > 3) According to Plan > > Not yet special enough: Special Economic Zones, Part One > > The following is a summary of recent newspaper articles concerning > the planning of a SEZ in Gurgaon area. This can only be a first > step towards a more general understanding of the capital and class > composition in the area and the general process of urbanisation. > The main questions concerning the bigger picture are: > - What kind of industries are concentrated in Gurgaon, how are they > intertwined locally and beyond? > - What is the role of the state and private development companies > in the expansion process? > - In which way is the village economy and agricultural surrounding > important for the expansion and for the local labour market? > - What are the general movements on the labour market? We have to > avoid to get hooked on the different legal forms of exploitation, > e.g. by demonizing Special Economic Zones or the impact of foreign > direct investment and creating illusions about the workers' > friendlyness of the public sector or of 'homegrown capital'. > Nevertheless it makes a difference for the conditions or workers' > struggles whether they are exploited in a (public sector) school or > an (export) textile mill. Recent uprisings in Vietnam, the Southern > China and Bangladesh have shown that particularly in the export > zones a young and uninstitutionalized workers' movement appears on > the stage. This is not because there the working conditions are > particularly bad or exploitation relatively worse, often the > opposite is true when we compare it to the conditions in older or > small scale industries in the respective countries. The erruptions > are more due to the fact that these workers know about their > potential power: they see their generation united by similar > experiences (migration), they know about the importance of their > work (export), there is no incorporated (union) institution which > would have an interest to sell them out and they know that due to > the generalisation of conditions their struggle will very likely > spark off chain reactions of discontent. In Gurgaon area we have > some similar features: spacial concentration of industries, > importance of export and multi-national companies ( e.g. 75 per > cent of all Japanese FDI in India flow to the area), a young > migrant work-force, most of them on contracts, meaning that they > have worked in various factories in the area. The SEZ might > intensify this concentration process. Right after taking over the > Congress-led Haryana government decided in June 2005 to set up the > SEZ in a private-public cooperation. The main developer is the > private company Reliance Industries Ltd., the company also holds 90 > percent of the shares of the project. Reliance Ltd. started as a > company in the chemical sector and became huge by attracting small > share-holders and riding the late 80s stock-market boom. Nowadays > Reliance is in chemicals, communications, energy sector, real > estate and others. In cooperation with the Haryana State Industrial > and Infrastructure Development Corporation they plan to set up a > 25,000 acre SEZ, which would be the largest SEZ in India. It is > supposed to provide a cargo airport and a 2,000-megawatt power > plant. Officially the numbers of created future jobs in the SEZ > vary quite a bit: the Haryana political leaders speak about the > creation of 500,000 jobs, Reliances Industries Ltd. about 200,000. > The actual industrial composition is still unclear. Just from > scanning recent news items it seems that apart from IT, textile and > automobile industries the trend goes towards bio-tech and > pharmaceutical industries and companies manufacturing for the > "green energy sector" (wind turbines, solar-energy, bio-fuels). > Confusingly enough there are two more SEZ announced in the Gurgaon > area, one by Rockman Projects, a multi-service SEZ, and one by > Orient Craft, a textile hub. Rockman Projects anounces that as of > December 2006, the land has been fully acquired in Gurgaon. The SEZ > will be spread over 1,615 hectares and will also be located on > National Highway 8. Orient Craft announced to set up a 750-acre > SEZ, which is supposed to employ 30,000 people once finished. In > the official Masterplan 2021 a total of 4,570 hectar is allocated > to Special Economic Zones. > Clear is the trend to develop industrial land in Manesar, a small > town in the south of Gurgaon, about 20 to 30 km down the highway. > Official term for the outcome is Industrial Model Town-Ship (IMT). > The Haryana government already announced a bulk of tax exemptions > for companies which would settle in the IMT. After Honda HMSI > opened their plant on the green field, also Maruti Suzuki set-up > the new plant there, with various bigger suppliers in tow. > According to the governmental Gurgaon-Manesar Masterplan 2021 about > 700 hectars of land was converted into industrial area. About the > development of the SEZ first critical voices appear, e.g. of the > Sampuran Kranti Manch, stating that Reliance Ltd. is more > interested in the land acquisition for planning golf courses and > Disney theme parks than in creating jobs. Compared to the situation > in Singur or Nandigram the farmers seem to be less resistant to the > selling of their land,