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ON RECORD Punjab’s Dalit women: Between exclusion and control |
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PROFILE
REFLECTIONS DIVERSITIES —
DELHI LETTER
KASHMIR DIARY
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ON RECORD OMAR Abdullah, former Union Minister of State for External Affairs, took over as president of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference from his father, Dr Farooq Abdullah, in June 2002. The 32-year-old Omar was elected from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency for two consecutive terms. He unsuccessfully contested from Ganderbal Assembly seat in the last elections. Ganderbal was represented by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah ever since 1977. After a good innings at the Centre as a Union Minister, he wants to be in the State Assembly. He speaks to The Tribune in an exclusive interview at Srinagar. Excerpts: Q: How do you look at the ensuing Lok Sabha elections? A: It gives us an opportunity to present our case to the people once again. It is also a rare occurrence, after two decades, in the NC’s history that we are fighting general elections as an Opposition party. Q: Autonomy being the main plank in the last elections, how will it help resolve the Kashmir problem? A: We paid the price for not being forceful on this issue in the last Assembly elections. However, the NChas the only credible roadmap than any other political party within Jammu and Kashmir, for a resolution of the internal dimension of the Kashmir problem. Nobody has come forward with a clear road map of what the dialogue with theCentre would involve, where the ultimate solution might lie, what the Hurriyat’s and the coalition government's road map is for this internal solution? In such a situation, the NChas the courage to come forward with a proposal. We received certain amount of criticism, particularly from Jammu region, for our slogan of greater autonomy. Even then we believe that if you do not discuss autonomy, you land up discussing Azadi. Therefore, it is better to discuss autonomy. Q: What is the external dimension of the Kashmir problem? A: Autonomy being for the internal dimension of the issue, its external dimension has to be discussed by all the three parties — India, Pakistan and the people of Jammu and Kashmir on both sides of the LoC. For too long dialogues have not taken place. I think it is for the first time that two dialogues are taking place simultaneously, one between India and Pakistan, and the other that the Centre is attempting to talk to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Our party has always been for involving the people of Jammu and Kashmir ever since the times of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who had this as his stated position. Q: How about your relations wit the NDA? What is your opinion about Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s leadership? A: The NDA government’s performance has been fairly good. I had my political compulsions to snap the NC’s ties with it. I have great respect for Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other colleagues. It was a decent relationship for three years that I spent with them. Nobody else has the capability of holding together such a large alliance, and the way Mr Vajpayee has tackled tricky issues like the Mandir, Article 370, common civil code etc. But sometimes certain problems arise when they raise divisive issues. The feel-good factor, however, exists in the newspapers. It pertains only to the middle class, and to what extent it is found in the rural areas, is yet to be seen. The government is taking undue credit for this, even as the bases of development have been laid down by the Congress, and financial strength offered by Manmohan Singh. Similarly, the whole India is not shining. It might be in towns, but there are immense problems of unemployment, sufferings through drought and starvation in the villages. Q: What about Mrs Sonia Gandhi? A: For us the Congress is an Opposition party like the BJP or the PDP. I cannot say what they have offered to Jammu and Kashmir, but most of the problems in our state have been due to the inconsistency in the Congress. Nothing should ban Sonia Gandhi from becoming the Prime Minister, if her party so decides. She is as good an Indian as Mr Vajpayee. Legally there is no difference and has right to be the Prime Minister. That in any case depends upon the voters. Q: What is your opinion on the composite Indo-Pak dialogue? A: This time it seems that the government has learnt a lesson. It is good that things are moving. However, one is not sure what would happen to the most important issues like that of Jammu and Kashmir, because neither of the two sides is willing to move away from its stated positions. There is only a hope as well-begun is half done. Q: Do you appreciate the APHC-Centre talks? A: These talks could not be held during the NC government, as the NC was unwilling to divide the Hurriyat Conference between hardliners and moderates. This process started by the Centre is more damaging than beneficial to the people of Jammu and Kashmir because this divide is not going to help. Out of five, one has dropped out of the dialogue process, and another is faced with the crisis of party at his back. We are left with only three, of whom only Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is a grassroot leader with a commanding base. Then who is representing whom and what is being discussed? What are they asking for the future of Kashmiris? We are at least clear that we want internal autonomy. Are they asking Mr Advani to give Azadi or merging Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan? What is Delhi's road map? When the Prime Minister says "Naya Sawal Uthay Hein, Naya Jawab Hongay", what are they looking at? Are they willing to reconsider the autonomy resolution? Something they will have to give. There is also the question of structure of this dialogue. Some groups talk to the Deputy Prime Minister, while others talk to Mr N.N. Vohra. If five people can talk to the Centre, we have also certain standing with 28 members in the Assembly. The dialogue must be at one level, either at the level of the Dy PM or a representative like Mr Vohra. Q: Are you optimistic about the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service? A: I haven't seen a bus going to Muzaffarabad as yet. There is not a single word from the leadership of either India or Pakistan on how to resolve the most tricky issue. The issue did not figure in the meeting between the two Prime Ministers and not even at the recent secretary-level talks. The Chief minister's visit to Uri to look for different sites is useless, as the bus is not ready as yet. Under what documents would the Kashmiris travel across the LoC? The moment a Kashmiri travels to PoK on an Indian passport and Pak visa, he in turn accepts the sovereignty of PoK by Pakistan, and vice versa. That fundamentally alters the structure of any dialogue. The National Conference has been at
the forefront of the movement to open the Muzaffarabad road since the
1960s. At that time, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was branded as a
Pakistani and accused of exploiting the local sentiments. Today they
believe it is in the national interest, and that is duplicity. But,
certain fundamental questions need to be addressed. |
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Punjab’s Dalit women: Between exclusion and control PUNJAB is often portrayed as a relatively egalitarian and gender-just society as juxtaposed to the Brahminical Hindu society of the Hindi heartland. Such an impression emanates from the absence of textual moorings to the caste and gender inequalities in Sikhism. It is the general impression that imparts significance to the questions of gender and caste and traffic between the two. Significantly, though scholarship in Punjab has exhibited disposition in exploring the intercourse between caste and gender, the implications of the latter for Dalit women find rare attention. This is a modest endeavour to map out the position of Dalit women in Punjab as conditioned by transaction between gender and caste. Dalits constitute more than 28 per cent of total population of Punjab. However, as elsewhere, they do not constitute a homogeneous group, as differences of religion, (sub-) caste, and class divide them. Though as a community, they are underprivileged compared to the general population, a small but significant section among them, mainly in Doaba region, vie with the dominant groups. In cities like Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Boota Mandi, etc, a large number of Dalits constitute entrepreneurial class, as they own large and small surgical and leather industry. Moreover, groups like Ad-dharmi, Ramdasias have also been benefited from the state’s enabling measures. Dalits, largely from Doaba region, have also migrated to Gulf countries. In addition, their sense of self-respect has been shaped by the availability of cultural resources in the form of Ad-dharm movement and Sikhism in colonial period and Dera Sacha-Soda and Radha Saomi in the post-colonial period. All these transformations in the Dalit community (or communities) have significant implications for Dalit women. The issue in question is: Does the relatively improved conditions of Dalits also enable Dalit women? This can be taken up at two levels. First at the level of developmental statistics and secondly at the level of everyday life where gender and caste-based exclusion can be seen operating. Figures on the literacy rate among Dalit women (the most preliminary indicator of inclusion in India) show that, in 1991, the literacy rate among Dalit women in Punjab was 31.03 per cent, much lower than the rate among Dalit men (49.82 per cent) and women (50.41 per cent). Thus, Dalit women lag behind others in literacy. Even among Dalit women, there is disparity between literacy rate among rural Dalit women (29.90 per cent) and urban Dalit women (38.41 per cent). Similarly, the proportion of Dalit girls at higher levels of education is significantly thin. According to the NSSO survey (July 1987 to June 1988), for every 1,000 Dalit women in rural Punjab, 176 were literate up to the primary level, 22 up to the middle, 18 up to the secondary and only one up to the graduate level and above. Sex ratio is another important indicator of gender discrimination. Punjab has the poorest sex ratio (882 as against the national average of 927, 1991 Census). Among Dalit population in Punjab, it is 873, less than the overall sex ratio in Punjab. Dalit women have not been the direct beneficiaries of affirmative actions of the state. Even after 50 years, their presence in the white-collar jobs is more or less invisible. They constitute a major chunk of the labour force. Land ownership among Dalits in Punjab is insignificant. Consequently, Dalit women have to work in the fields belonging to other caste groups. According to 1991 Census, only 3.07 per cent Dalit women were main workers. However, the percentage of marginal workers among Dalit women was 25.09 per cent as against 0.18 per cent among Dalit male marginal workers. However, very less proportion of them have been shown as main workers in the Census report. In fact, the Green Revolution has different results for Dalit women agricultural labourers compared to their men counterparts. During this period, the female participation in the workforce was reduced to 1.18 per cent. Women have remained within their traditional jobs and better jobs have gone to men. The manual jobs that were once performed by women have been mechanised and have been taken up by men. Consequently, Dalit female worker’s jobs are increasingly being shifted form the formal to informal and low-waged work. Two most important occupations of Dalit women are either agricultural labourers or cleaning the cattle-shed in the homestead of rich landowners. While men are paid Rs 70-80 as daily wages, women workers get Rs 40-60. Punjabi culture celebrates masculinity. It is visible in the folk songs and popular proverbs. Dalits seems to be replicating these tendencies found in the dominant culture. Attempts to redefine their cultural self either through the adoption of Sikhism or through movement like Ad-dharm have not elevated the position of Dalit women. Nor did the improvement in economic status necessarily emancipate them. In some cases, it brings new restraints. Whereas the poor rural Dalit women are still burdened in both public and private spheres, “new” Dalit women of “Dalit middle class” are pulled out of public sphere and hence controlled. We came across many incidents where Dalit men who had migrated abroad
ostensibly remarried there, leaving their women behind. In recent times, reports of college-going Dalit girls “eloping” with Jat or upper caste boys have been ample. Though male elders in Dalit families are not against their girls getting higher education, they talk of moral and sexual disciplining of them. A great number of them feel that Jats and upper caste boys do not marry their girls. Rather they sexually exploit them. Hence one can see the interaction of the caste and gender operating in controlling Dalit women. The sexuality of Dalit women becomes the site “available to be exploited” by the upper caste males and “to be controlled” by Dalit males. The writer’s modest attempt to understand the position of Dalit women in Punjab — which is in no way a homogeneous category — tends to suggest that where as they remain excluded from the benefits of development, improvement in their men’s status has often led to their control due to reworking of interaction between caste and
gender. The writer is a Ph. D Scholar in the Centre for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi |
PROFILE Najma was a worried person by December, 2003, as her term in Rajya Sabha was coming to an end in six months. The buzz in Congress circles was that Sonia may not give her a fifth consecutive term. Bigwigs in the Congress too were opposed to her re-nomination as Deputy Chairperson. Having sensed the lurking danger, she began cultivating the BJP leadership. Her rapport with the Prime Minister brought the reward. She was made Chairperson of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. Najma’s strained relations with Sonia Gandhi came to the fore when she accused the Congress President of “humiliating” her and said remorsefully, “I have been subjected to humiliation of all kinds over the years”. True, she has been sidelined all these years and sources close to her attributed this to the “ignorance and arrogance” of the leadership. Regrettably, this has become the culture of the present-day Congress. Like all politicians, Najma too is ambitious and wants to go up the ladder. She even made a bid to contest for Vice-President’s post and sought the support of the CPI (M) in West Bengal. She is India’s well-known face in the Arab world and enjoys excellent rapport with almost all the top leaders of the Middle East so much so that she has come to be known as India’s unofficial “ambassador of goodwill” to the Arab world. As the leader of a goodwill delegation to Iraq in September 2001, she met President Saddam Hussain in Baghdad and delivered a message from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Najma’s career peaked in 1999 when she was made a life-time President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and became the first women to head the IPU, representing 145 countries across the world. Her experience as the Presiding Officer of the Rajya Sabha was an asset in dealing with IPU matters. Born in Bhopal, Najma is the grand-niece of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. She fondly recalls her visits to Maulana’s ministerial residence in Delhi during her summer vacation. As a girl, she saw political issues discussed in early fifties. In 1988 when the text of Maulana Azad’s autobiography, “India Wins Freedom”, was published, Najma, claiming to be his rightful heir, was in the limelight. The book contained 30 unpublished pages which had raised controversy. The manuscript of this book was handed over to Orient Longman by the late Prof Humayun Kabir (Maulana’s Secretary) in September 1958, seven months after Maulana’s sudden death. Najma took the lead in organising his centenary with gusto. Najma was married to a well-to-do family of Heptullas in Bombay in 1966. She was, at that time, a research student, doing social work and evincing keen interest in Congress politics. A post-graduate in Zoology and a Ph D in Cardiac Anatomy, Najma was a Senior Scientific Fellow with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) before joining politics. Her political career began in Mumbai where she became General Secretary of and Vice-President of the Bombay Pradesh Congress Committee. |
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REFLECTIONS I was a speaker on the subject of “Putting passion to work” on my recent visit back home (to India). I had agreed to make a presentation on this as it is a subject straight from my heart. It was also very challenging for me to put it all together, in a manner, which was practical as well as conceptual. The audience was to comprise professionals in human resource development and other fields of management. I did my research to update myself on the theoretical concepts and then relate them to my experiences. I let the subject sink deep in me so that it could mature through reflective thinking. I than sat down to write my slides almost on the last day (including using the two hours at the airport due to a delayed flight). This is what was presented. “Bringing passion to work” means giving to work and our duties our total selves. It also implies that we ask ourselves the most important question: Who am I? What are my priorities? What kind of person am I? This is the “who” in me, which goes to the “what” — which is my work — and my responsibilities. My understanding is that the “person as a whole” goes to the place of work and either influences or gets influenced. Either one changes the situations and responses or becomes a part of the “what”, which may be of any kind, shade or grade. But the key factor is the “who” in the person in relation to the place or responsibilities, i.e. the “what”. The need for motivational training has come of age. There is a huge amount of relearning going on all over the world. The concept of success too is being redefined. In a recent international conference in the US, titled “Spirit at work”, attended by the world’s leading CEOs, the audience listened with rapt attention to what His Holiness, the Dalai Lama or S.N. Goenka or the Brahmakumaris had to say. The delegates were seen yearning for nourishment of the soul. Material acquisitions could not provide them that, which is why they were at the conference. Today’s bestsellers are books and music, which inspire, motivate, train, enable internal growth and instill harmony. The bottom line is that the person as a whole comes to work and the whole person goes home. The person in the individual is not divisible. The good and the evil within a person go along like his shadow. This is the reality to be understood as a law of nature. Therefore, the key is people. It is not the total quality of the product but the total quality of the people, before anything else. Wherever there are quality people, quality result will flow, just as where there is a quality product without quality people, the product quality will disappear sooner or later. This too is another fundamental law of management. In today’s world of professional skills, it is not the lack of information or knowledge but the lack of ability, which is the real concern. And ability does not come without the four Ds: (a) Desire; (b) Direction; (c) Dedication and (d) Discipline. All these Ds make the wholeness for the desired
results.
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DIVERSITIES —
DELHI LETTER FIRST things first. Talk of the changing world order and on Feb 25 at the reception hosted on the National Day of Kuwait by its Charge d’ Affaires Al -Duraini (the new Ambassador of Kuwait to India is yet to arrive here), there was a surprise. Iraq’s diplomatic representative in India Adday O-Al-Sakab was one of the guests. Looking rather self-conscious, whilst entering the Kuwaiti embassy (venue for this reception), his presence did surprisemost guests. Perhaps, after a very long time that an Iraqi diplomat was seen in the Kuwaiti embassy premises. Also stands out the fact that this middle-aged diplomat has lately seen several turns and twists in diplomacy — Adday was posted in the Iraqi embassy here as Counsellor when overnight the then Iraqi Ambassador to India Saleh Mukhtar was transferred to Vietnam. Though Adday didn’t get upgraded to ambassadorship, he was the senior most Iraqi diplomat. Throughout the United States’ aggression into Iraq, he continued to criticise it in various fora, especially in the interviews he had given. After the fall of Iraq at the hands of the US coalition forces, he didn’t return to Baghdad but continues to stay here and manage the affairs at his country’s embassy. Naipaul attends
Khushwant’s do Naipauls arrived late and wife Nadira blamed New Delhi’s traffic snarls for the delay. And with that there was no time for talks to turn political. Naipaul, anyway, doesn’t talk much and, like a sensible husband who wants no snarls (in the marriage flow, that is), lets the wife do the talking. Or maybe, he is one of those who believes in saving energy to talk only on political platforms. Sahitya Akademi
awards Sahitya Akademi awards were presented midweek. Poet and president of the Poetry Society of India, J.P. Das, hosted a lovely dinner for some of the awardees at the Press Club of India. The list of the guests is long, but prominent faces were that of Sahitya Akademi Chairperson Gopi Chand Narang, Editor of “Indian Literature” Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee, Hindi writer Kamleshwar and Oriya academic Jatindra Mohan Mohanty who won this year’s award for his collection of essays. Let me not forget to mention about two well known women poets present — Sujata Mathai and Sunita Jain. This year, Jain was conferred Padma Shri for her contribution to Hindi poetry and there’s this interesting aspect to her. Last year, she retired from the Dept. of English, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. Yet, she is one of the best known Hindi poets of the country. Yash Chopra for
West Asia? After having been spotted at receptions hosted by West Asian countries, there’s been talk of Yash Chopra toying or say more than toying with the idea of shooting his next filmi venture in one of the West Asian
countries. |
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KASHMIR DIARY ONE should have expected it, given the experience of the past 15 years of violence, and yet the unsettling events of the past fortnight came as a surprise. The peace process has not, at least yet, been derailed but all kinds of impediments are turning up on the track. Nor is it the usual suspects — the cynical warmongers among the bureaucrats and generals in Islamabad and New Delhi. Those trying to trip up peace are the men with the guns, on both sides of the battle, right here in Kashmir. Their pernicious influence focused first on Hurriyat leader Fazl-ul Haq Qureshi, one of the most sincere, God-fearing men one could find anywhere. Being the sort of man he is, Qureshi has never accepted any kind of security at his residence. A simple single-story structure of bare bricks, it stands on a generally lonely street in a northern suburb of the city, the high wall of a school compound stretching the length of the street on the other side. Nor have I ever found the door locked when I have dropped in unannounced to meet him — although that is always a long shot. He is generally away, at the mosque or visiting a bereaved family or doing what he can to help someone in need. It must have been easy therefore for the two young men who walked into his house brandishing pistols a fortnight ago. Since Qureshi was not at home, they threatened his children, holding a pistol to the head of one while they announced that they would all be killed if he did not withdraw from the peace talks. Qureshi was forced to announce his withdrawal from the Hurriyat team that had begun negotiations last month with Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani. Clearly, some at least of the various militants in the valley do not want the peace process to go forward. There are two possible reasons. The first is that the powers that be in Pakistan do not want a Kashmiri group — particularly the faction of the Hurriyat that it does not favour — to come to an agreement with the Government of India without Pakistan at the table. The second is that some of the militant commanders are unwilling to give up the jihad against India at the behest of the Pakistan government, which many of them think have sold out the Kashmiri cause. The militants could defy instructions from the ISI brass for at least a while, although the ISI has a whip hand, not least because of the communication network and supply lines that it coordinates. On the other hand, evidence turned up over the past fortnight that elements in the Indian forces too are chary to let go of this war. The sort of human rights abuses that have come to light indicate that some at least of the Army’s field commanders have chosen to ride roughshod over local sentiments at a time when they must surely know how vital it is for the peace process that they restrain themselves. Their behaviour is particularly remarkable in light of the fact that they have been kept under tight rein over the past couple of years. The Hurriyat Conference was already under pressure over these human rights abuses when Qureshi withdrew from the talks. Just the day before Qureshi’s announcement, several speakers at a meeting of the Hurriyat’s General Council, on which all the 26 member groups are represented, had pressed strongly for the Hurriyat to abandon the talks. The fact that Hurriyat Chairman Abbas Ansari delayed for more than a week and then announced only that the team would not attend the meeting scheduled for mid-March indicates how eager the Hurriyat’s senior leaders are to move forward. His announcement was virtually forced by the continuance of custody deaths during that week. Some members of the General Council told me after that meeting that they were convinced that the Indian “agencies” wanted to scuttle the peace process in order to protect the vast powers and funding that they have under the special laws in force in Kashmir. They believe that the Army too is chary of giving up the tremendous clout it has in the disturbed situation. If indeed the men with guns on both sides of this terrible violence do not want it to end, the governments of India and Pakistan as well as the Kashmiri groups that are trying to negotiate peace will have to be extremely cautious as they try to move forward over the next few
months.
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Worship of the Personal God is recommended as the easier way open to all, the weak and the lowly, the illiterate and the ignorant. The sacrifice of love is not so difficult as the tuning of the will to the Divine purpose or ascetic discipline or the strenuous effort of thinking. — Dr Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan in The Bhagavad Gita A complete surrender in the spirit of friendship is enjoined upon us as helping in all circumstances, especially in spiritual growth, and therefore the Bhagavad Gita has given explicit direction to be of the same mind with the Divine, to be always devout and devoutly moving in worship and similar activities. — Shri Adi Shankaracharya By hearing the word The foul-mouthed are filled with pious praise. — Guru Nanak Love and Ahimsa are matchless in their effect. — Mahatma Gandhi The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein. — Psalms |
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by Ehsan Fazili
AS Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson, Najma Heptullah has been the most visible face over the years. She is seen on TV in varying moods as she conducted the proceedings of the House. She was, however, not so visible in the Congress party. Since Sonia Gandhi took over the reins; the gulf between the two widened. Sonia was made to believe that she is not reliable as she had managed to get close to V. P. Singh when he was the Prime Minister, remained in the good books of P.V. Narasimha Rao and now charmed (as Congress leaders say) Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Her equation with Rajiv Gandhi was cordial but the young Prime Minister did not take her very seriously. Her distant relationship with Maulana Abul Kalam Azad helped and Rajiv Gandhi approved her candidature for the post of Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha in 1985. Najma was 45 then and Rajiv Gandhi headed a government having the largest-ever majority in the Lok Sabha. Impressed by her academic background and her association with the Congress in Maharashtra, Indira Gandhi gave her the first break and got her elected to Rajya Sabha as far back as 1980. 
Last weekend, it was one of those evenings at Khushwant Singh’s Sujan Singh Park home where a do was organised. Nobody seemed in a mood to move on and Singh was in one of those indulgent moods. The sitting-cum-dining room seemed overflowing with guests — Sir V.S. Naipaul and wife Nadira, Kishwar Ahluwalia and her lord Meghnad Desai, Pawan Varma and wife Renu, Rita Bhim Singh, Tarun Tejpal and spouse Getan, Bubbles Charanjeet Singh, Mark Tully, Bhai Chand Patel and many more.