1. A
s the freedom- founding
document Magna Carta
,signed at Runnymede on
June 15, 1215, turns 800
years, I wonder if I should
celebrate this occasion .
The legendary American President
Thomas Jefferson ( 1801 – 1809 ) said
once , “We hold these truths to be self-
evident… all men are created equal…
they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights.” One
of his finest successors in the White
House Abraham Lincoln (1861 –
1865) referenced in his Civil War
Gettysburg Address the historic
document’s dedication to a “new
nation, conceived in liberty.”
American civil rights activist Rev.
Martin Luther King ( 1929 – 1968) had
his heart in the Carta in his 1963 “I
Have a Dream” speech .
I find the realities of the world are
still too ugly to celebrate. The world
we live in is far is from its dream of
freedom. The affluence of the few
knows no bounds herein . Few states
and rulers care for the rights of the
common person . A majority of them
perpetuate the suppression of their
vast sections of humanity, women and
minorities, in particular . Fascists Adolf
Hitler and Benito Mussolini are long
dead but there have been too many of
their ideological descendants around
to torment the humanity under one
or the other pretext . Freedom is
in peril .
I find the so-called enlightened
international community cares a fig
even today if Sudanese President
Omar al-Bashir, a wanted man by the
International Criminal Court, visits
South Africa and is not arrested . Nor
does the international community
seem to care if an Egyptian activist
Hend Nafea, involved in the 2011
protests against the authoritarian
Mubarak regime ,is sentenced to life
in prison for ‘sabotage and terrorism’
after she shares her story with The
New York Times . Nor does the
community care if Egypt imprisons it
poets like Omar Hazek for ‘violating’ its
protest law.
I take a mental leave also when a
ruling Indian politician or his/her
bureaucratic- intellectual accomplice
brags ours is a great democracy. A
genuine democracy is supposed to
foster the multi-faced development of
all its citizens. I am afraid this is hardly
the reality of India even today .
According to the 2015 Food and
Agricultural Organization report, “ The
State of Food Insecurity in the World,”
our country tops the world’s hunger
list of nations with its 194 million
citizens denied of food. There have
been reports of the minorities--
Hindus or Muslims depending on
where they reside--- being victimized
with the state virtually looking the
other way.
Recently, some newspapers have
reported how Muslim citizens of India
have been denied accommodation in
certain Hindu majority areas. In its
recommendations in 2005 the
Rajinder Sachar Committee sought
the setting up of an Equal Opportunity
Commission to provide a legal
mechanism to address complaints
related to discrimination against
Muslims in matters such as housing .
But nothing meaningful has
happened so far. (“Endemic
discrimination,” The Hindu, May 29,
2015).
In her introduction to the legendary
B R Ambedkar’s work, “ Annihilation of
Caste” ( an annotated critical edition,
2014), the world famous writer
Arundhati Roy confirms the practice of
caste still continues much to the
detriment of a vast segment of our
Dalit population. This caste system
derives its sustenance from
Missing links in rise of Dalits
A democracy is supposed to foster the multi-faced development of all its
citizens. India’s record is hardly shining in the matter. Our country tops the
world’s hunger list of nations with its 194 million citizens denied of food.
The heinous practice of caste still continues much to the detriment of a vast
segment of our Dalit population, observes Jagdish N Singh .
July 2015 Power Politics 27
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Martin Luther King
B R Amedkar

2. Power Politics July 201528
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varnashram dharm . There are about
four thousand endogamous castes
and sub-castes(jatis ) divided into four
varnas --- Brahmin ( priets), Kshatriya
(warriors ), Vaishya ( traders ) and
Shudra ( servants)--- in Hindu society.
Outside these varnas are avarna or
ati-Shudra—divided into the
untouchables, the unseeables and the
unapproachable. Then in some castes
there are also exogamous groups
(gotras) to prevent any
in-breeding within.
The Buddhists , the 14 th century
Bhakti poet saints--- Cokhmala,
Ravidas, Kabir, Tukaram, Mira, Janabai,
the 19-20th centuries reformers ---
Jyotiba Phule, Pandita Ramabai, Swami
Achhutanand Harihar, Avyankali and
Sree Narayab Guru, Jyothee Thass and
his Sakya Buddhists, E V Ramasamy ‘
Periyar’, Jogendranath Mandal and
Babu Mangoo Ram all challenged the
system.
The most famous of the last
category B R Ambedkar argued : “
There will be outcastes as long as there
are castes. Nothing can emancipate
the outcaste except the destruction of
the caste system.” Some social
reformers have opposed the system in
their own ways. Mahatma Gandhi, for
instance, proposed an abolition of the
hierarchy between castes , the merger
of varans with avarnas and the
equality of all castes .
However, the system, Roy laments,
goes on . She says that “caste and
capitalism have blended into a
disquieting, unique alloy” Although
subordinated castes have become a
force to reckon, our “democracy itself
is being undermined in serious and
structural ways.” She says the reforms
introduced in the 1990s have led to “a
spectacular growth rate.” It has at the
same time led to “the concentration of
wealth in fewer hands”
She observes, “ Today India’s one
hundred richest people own assts
equivalent to one fourth of its
celebrated GDP. In a nation of 1.2
billion, more than 800 millions live on
less than Rs 30 a day. Giant
corporation virtually own and run the
country. Politicians and political
parties have begun to function as
subsidiary holdings of big business
houses.
Citing various authentic estimates,
Roy says that Dalits account for 15 per
cent of the national population today .
Vaishaya account for less than 2.7 per
cent . Brahmins account for about 3.5
per cent. But the latter two segments
still dominate the overall system .
Among India’s dollar billionaires,
seven out of ten are Vaishyas. Banias
have a firm hold on small trade in
cities and traditional rural money
lending across the country. Brahmins
hold as much as 70 per cent of
government jobs. All Supreme Court
Chief Justices between 1950 and 2000
were Brahmins. During the same
period 60 per cent of the associated
Jusitces in High Courts and lower
courts were Brahmins. Over 37.17
per cent of the Indian bureaucracy is
made up of Brahmins. Most of them
have occupied top posts.
Almost 90 per cent of the decision
makers in the English language print
media and 79 in television are from
the upper caste. Of them, 49 per cent
are Brahmins. Not one of them is
Dalit or Adivasi. Only four per cent
belong to castes designated as Shudra
and three per cent to Muslims ( 13.4
per cent of population) Of the four
most important English national
dailies, three are owned by Vaishyas
and one by a Brahmin family.
Reservation is the only opportunity
the Scheduled Casts have to break into
the mainstream. This too remains a far
cry . To be eligible for a government
job a Dalit needs to have completed
high school at least. Over 71.3 per cent
of them drop out before matriculation.
As a result In Central public sector
enterprise only 8.4 per cent of the A-
Grade officers belong to the Scheduled
Castes. Seventy per cent of Dalits are
still landless. In states like Punjab,
Bihar, , Haryana and Kerala this figure
is as high as 90 per cent. Over 1.3
million Dalits—mostly women—
continue to earn their living by
carrying baskets of human shits on
their heads. The Indian Railways is
one of the largest employers of
manual scavengers.
What a shame !
Arundhati Roy
E V Ramasamy ‘ Periyar’
Mahatma Gandhi

3. No client state
Relations between New Delhi
and Washington are on firm
footing today. Knowledgeable
sources say the two nations have a
joint statement on security in the
Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean.
During his recent trip to India ,
American Defense Secretary
Ashton Carter and Minister of
Defence Manohar Parrikar signed
a 10-year agreement to promote
defence cooperation. The two
nations will be developing a mobile
solar energy power source as well
as a lightweight suit to protect
against chemical and biological
weapons. They will build jet
engines and an aircraft carrier for
India.
The sources say Beijing has in
recent months created artificial
islands in the contested waters of
the South China Sea. The islands
house military weapons and a
runway for China’s largest aircraft.
Beijing has also attempted to deny
travel through these waters.
Washington’s new defense
guidelines with Japan, Vietnam and
elsewhere show it is trying to put
together a loose coalition of allies
and security partners ,including
India, Singapore, Philippines,
Indonesia and so on.
India has its own interests in the
South China Sea for navigation and
oil exploration. Beijing does not
want New Delhi to explore for oil
in the disputed areas of the South
China Sea. It has claimed almost
the entire sea. This is a difficult
proposition to accept . The South
China is a major shipping route . It
is having large oil and gas
reserves.
However, India cannot be a
client state to America (any power).
Since Nehru’s time Its strategy has
been to remain independent on
I wonder why the historic
1974 India-Bangladesh Land
Boundary Agreement (LBA)
between the legendary Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi and her
then Bangla counterpart Mujibur
Rahman been gathering dust for
such a long time. Former Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh had
signed the protocol for the LBA in
2011. His government did not
push it through Parliament.
External Affairs Minister Sushama
Swaraj deserves applause for
getting the Constitution
Amendment Bill on the LBA
unanimously passed in the
Lok Sabha and paving the
way to honour the historic deal .
Knowledgeable sources say
relations between New Delhi and
Dacca have improved a lot over
the last couple of years. Recently,
New Delhi abandoned its claims
on the disputed waters, nearly 80
per cent of which has now gone
to Bangladesh. During Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s Dacca
sojourn last month, he and his
Bangla counterpart Sheikh
Hasina signed the land border
agreement. As per the agreement
there will be an exchange of 162
enclaves — 111 from India and
51 from Bangladesh .
A series of agreements for
road, rail and port connectivity
and energy tie-ups were signed.
New Delhi and Dacca have agreed
to have zero tolerance against
extremism and to discuss the
sharing of waters of 54 common
rivers. A Bangladesh Mission wil
nowl be established in Guwahati
and an Indian Missions in Sylhet
and Khulna.
Indira Gandhi
Sushama Swaraj
American Defense Secretary
Ashton Carter with Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar
Honouring an historic pact
July 2015 Power Politics 29
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4. arrived at with their Chinese
counterparts. During Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's recent
Recently , Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Hua
Chunying said : "The Chinese
side holds a consistent and clear
position on the eastern section of
the China-India boundary…
Arunachal Pradesh is a part of
'Southern Tibet'. The Chinese
government does not recognise
'the McMahon Line', which is
illegal."
Knowledgeable source this is
unlikely to cause any serious
threat to peace in the region.
New Delhi and Beijing are likely
to adhere to the framework
Prime Ministers P V Narsimha
Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Friction unlikely
visit to China, New Delhi and
Beijing have reaffirmed their
commitment to a fair, reasonable
and mutually acceptable solution
to the boundary question by
pressing ahead with the process
of the special representatives'
meeting.
The sources say the Chinese
spokesman has also said in the
above statement that Beijing is
always “ready to work with the
Indian side to resolve the
boundary question through
friendly consultation at an early
date and create more favourable
conditions for the development
of the bilateral relations."P V Narsimha Rao
the world stage. New Delhi will
adhere to this . Since Indira Gandhi
New Delhi has diversified its
armament sources. Today it buys
defense equipment from the U.S.,
Russia and others. This is to
prevent the country from
becoming too dependent on any
single partner.
Message of co-existence
Come July 6 and the enlightened
international community will be
celebrating one of its special days – the
80 the birthday of His Holiness the
Dalai Lama . As part of this celebration
in New Delhi, the Bureau of His
Holiness the Dalai Lama has organized
at the India International Centre an
exhibition of photography, Thungka
paintings, video viewing on the life of
the Dalai Lama. On July 4 there will be
a panel discussion at the IIC . Director
of Tibet House (New Delhi) Geshe
Dorjee Damdu, India’s former Foreign
Secretary Shyam Saran, , former
Ambassador to the United States Lalit
Mansingh, former National Security
Advisor and Foreign Secretary
Shivshankar Menon and former Union
Minister Arun Shourie will be speaking
on the Dalai's contribution to
humanity .
Those who have followed the
spiritual and political discourse of the
Dalai Lama all these years already
know his is the philosophy of co-
existence based on non-violence,
middle path, secular
ethics and mutual development .
Today he does not seek independence
from China but genuine autonomy. He
thinks it is in the interest of both
Tibetans and the Chinese to live
together in the contemporary world.
I hope this birthday celebration
conveys a right message to this effect
across to Beijing and both Chinese
President Xi Jinping and His Holiness
will sit together to work out a
permanent solution to the long Sino-
Tibetan imbroglio. This is a must for an
atmosphere of peace and prosperity
to flourish in entire China, including
Tibet .
It is high time the two leaders did
not leave it to diplomats or high
officials any more. The go-between
officials have so far failed to solve the
problem. Some ultra-nationalist
communists in the mainland China
and reactionary orthodox Buddhists
and foreign funded pro-independence
activists on the Tibetan side seem to
have a vested interest in perpetuating
the status quo. This vicious
phenomenon has to be transcended
by the Tibetan spiritual-political
leadership and the Chinese
communist one for the sake of the
Tibetan masses at home and
living abroad .
Dalai Lama
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