Anti-caste campaign launched as Gujarat rural schools "display" caste, sub-caste of children on notice boards

In a stark revelation, several rural schools in Gujarat have begun to display their notice boards with castes and sub-castes represented in the schools. Alleging this is how the rural schools in Gujarat are splurging public money, well-known Dalit rights activist, Martin Macwan has told Counterview, "I have seen this in several schools. It is a new trend. This should be reversed."
Macwan significantly said this on the sidelines of a function organized by a school run by the Dalit rights NGO Navsarjan Trust, the NGO founded by him, launched the "No caste, No plastics" campaign on Sunday. The schools is situated 80 kilomtres west of Ahmedabad, and the function was meant to seek people's support contribution in order to propagate the "no-caste" concept.
A unique school where caste discrimination is an anathema and children are taught why it should be shed, Macwan told the audience, "While the Gujarat government has sought people's support in its 'no plastics' campaign, we believe that it is incomplete without the slogan 'no caste, no plastics'."
Situated in Limbdi taluka of Surendranagar district on the highway connecting Ahmedabad and Rajkot, the children at the school uniquely wore Aam Aadmi Party-type "No caste, No plastics" Gandhi topi. The function was held to mark the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar, father of Indian constitution, which falls on April 14. Children of classes fifth to eighth study here.
Mainly consisting Dalit and OBC children, the venue of the school had several bills on display with tens of slogans painted by children on the "No caste" theme. The participants, who included well-known Gandhian activist Indukumar Jani, were called upon to tick the slogans which they liked the most. "The OBC parents, mostly Bharwads, were initially reluctant, but found this school to be more useful for their children, hence decided to admit them here". said Macwan.
"We believe that those who are interested in learning should pay for what they study, one reason why we decided to take Rs 750 per month from the children who come here to study. We are a residential school, one reason why the amount mostly goes into the payment of meals". Macwan said.
"Our expenses per child are Rs 1,300, plus we must improve infrastructure facilities in order to begin new classes. Hence the need to collect funds from different sections of society", Macwan said. "We are glad that we are getting good response." As the function drew to a close, participants rushed to donate funds to the school and its campaig.n
The campaign saw children speaking from the stage exhorting audience, which included social workers, parents and other relatives of the students, to shed caste, which they said was the main bane of the rural life in Gujarat. "Unless you remove untouchability and caste discrimination, social fabric will remove divided", said Vijay, a student who took the centre-stage.
A play staged on the occasion gave the message that today's politician's chair had four legs -- casteism, communalism, corruption and violence. Another play was staged in the memory of Savitriben Phule, well-known school teacher who brought education to rural women in Maharashtra. Later on, the participants at the function -- which was held to mark the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar -- tasted food prepared by the children for lunch.

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Adani Group a key player in Indo-Israel defence cooperation: Tel Aviv daily

Said to be one of the most influential Israeli dailies, "Haaretz" (literally: News of the Land) has identified the Adani Group—known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—as one of the key Indian business houses engaged in defence cooperation with Israel. Pointing out that India supplied the Israeli military with Hermes 900 drones, the daily reported that this advanced aerial vehicle came off “the production line in a factory set up in Hyderabad, as part of the cooperation between the Israeli Elbit and India's Adani Group.”

Environmental concern? Global NGO leads campaign urging banks to cut ties with Odisha steel project

A decade after the withdrawal of the South Korean multinational POSCO from Odisha following large-scale protests, questions remain about whether India-based JSW Steel, which took over the project, can successfully revive the 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) steel plant and coal-fired power plant. POSCO initiated the project in 2005 but exited in 2017 due to sustained local opposition.

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.

Search This Blog