‘Social change needed to eradicate untouchability’

The book was the Tamil translation of the English work ‘Obamas of America and Dalits of India’ by the same author.

Social change is the need of the hour for eradicating untouchability, which continues to play havoc with the country , said speakers at a function to release the Tamil book titled ‘Amerikkavin Obamakkalum and Indiavin Dalithukalum’ written by senior Left leader and author D.Gnaniah.

The function was brought up by the Tiruchi-based Samooga Sinthanai Uyirpiyakkam in the city on Thursday.

T

he book was the Tamil translation of the English work ‘Obamas of America and Dalits of India’ by the same author.

The book was a comparison of heinous practices of slavery in America and untouchability on the basis of caste system in India.

Untouchability has been plaguing our society for many years. While slavery in America was an offshoot of an exploitative economic order, the caste system in India has social and religious dimensions .

The unrelenting battles launched and sacrifices made by leaders and social reformers like Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Malcolm X, against slavery and racial discrimination for decades together paved way for Obama to become the first black President of the United States.

The caste system and discrimination in the name of caste has taken deep roots in the country and could not be done away with despite leaders like Ambedkar, Periyar, Singaravelar waging a grim battle.

In both the countries, the fight against caste oppression was waged through peaceful, constitutional and democratic means, the book explained.

M.Selvaraj, convener of the Samooga Sinthanai Uyirpiyakkam, who released the book, said that he did not agree with the author that cultural revolution will be able to put an end to caste oppression in Indian society. 

Only a class struggle-an integrated struggle combining political, ideological and economical aspects-will bring about change.

People should have social outlook to check issues like honour killing, Mr.Selvaraj added.

Ravikumar, former MLA and general secretary of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, who received the first copy, said that all right thinking individuals should take along Marx and Ambedkar together while dealing with social issues.

He regretted that Ambedkar has not been accepted in full and there is an urgent need for the Left and Dalits to come together.

Mr.Gnaniah in his acceptance speech regretted that every issue, whether a minor or a major, is viewed in a casteist perspective and this should be done away with.

The government should enact a law preventing marriage within the same caste as this will go a long way in checking this trend, he added.

S.Kamaraj presided over the function.

Bhubaneswar : 19 Odia kids rescued from Tamil Nadu home

BHUBANESWAR: As many as 19 children from Orrisa were rescued from illegal confinement from a children's home in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday night. The development came five days after the rescue of 18 kids from Kanyakumari district in the south Indian state, raising the total number of those saved so far to 37.

A four-member team from Odisha is camping in Tamil Nadu to bring back all the rescued children, director of social welfare (Odisha) Sujata R Karthikeyan said. They will probably arrive in Orrisa either on Thursday or Friday, after all formalities are completed there, she added.


The DSW told TOI on Wednesday that the 19 children could be rescued because of a tip-off from those freed earlier. The government is yet to zero in on the exact cause behind the trafficking and its route.

"The children told our team members that seven more kids were stuck in the home near Coimbatore from where they were shifted to the church in Kanyakumari district. The team alerted the district administration, which raided the home at Mettupalayam and saved 19 children. According to our information, it is being run by one Blessing Trust," Karthikeyan said.

"The 19 children are now in custody of the child welfare committee of Coimbatore. They will join the 18 children rescued earlier at the authorized home Saranalayam near Tirunelveli before being brought to Odisha," the DSW said. The children are mainly from Gajapati and Rayagada districts, she said.

The government is investigating whether these children were purchased or sent by their poor parents on the genuine belief that they will get better upbringing. But in any case, the trafficking is illegal and follow up will be done so that once returned, these children are not trafficked again, the DSW said.

Social Problems in India

There are many social issues in India that are being ignored to a certain extent, resulting in these serious problems becoming rather dominant ones that threaten the peaceful existence of our country. One of the most serious one among these is the problem of HIV and drug abuse. Owing to the increased awareness regarding substitute drugs for conventional ones like cannabis and heroin. The most popular prescription drug that has been doing the rounds these days is opiate pethidine. Most of the youngsters who are drug addicts, and can't find a regular supply of the conventional drugs start with cannabis and then move on to such prescription drugs due to the easy availability of the latter. This social cause is increasingly becoming an alarming area of concern.

In the north eastern states, sharing syringes is the new 'weapon' for infections. Close to 1.7% of the country's HIV infections are caused due to sharing these needles, up from 0.9% some time back. Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh have also joined the ranks as the new sources for injecting drugs, and are thus potentially life threatening areas as far as HIV being one of the social problems in India is concerned. As per the UNAIDS 2009 report, HIV prevalence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia can be as high as 70% among those who inject drugs. This has resulted in public health experts asking the government to lift the bans on drugs like methadone and buprenorphine, which are used as vital ingredients of the substitution maintenance therapy at de addiction centres, so as to save the maximum number of lives that can be saved.

The next area of concern in terms of social issues is gender bias in health. Over the past decade, the government has launched the National Rural Health Mission with the sole intention of rectifying rural inequality in terms of health. A majority of these schemes and programmes are exceptionally planned and meticulously detailed out at the initial stage, but fall flat at the execution level. Local communities are supposedly empowered regarding public health, and health plans are required to be drawn by each village by health committees within their respective Panchayats. However, the Panchayati Raj, the fountain-head of grass roots democracy, is one of the chief sources of the social problems in India, and has a reputation of manipulating the authority given to it and putting it to wrong use. Even though the caste and religion biases have been considerably done away with in recent times, the bias against women across all castes and religion is still prevalent. Right from the figures of the sex ratio in India, once can see that right from the infant stage, a female is considered as some kind of a stigma on the family, and this thinking continues till adulthood and old age. Also, women are conditioned to silently put up with this kind of behaviour because there seems no reprieve in the society in which they live. Even in terms of diseases, when a woman and man suffer from the same predicament, and the treatment is an expensive one, the man would always get preference over the latter.

In order to evolve as a developed country, it is necessary that we take care of these social problems and resolve them at the earliest, so that the society can indeed be a fair and impartial one.

Girls, Women and Poverty

Systematic discrimination against girls and women in the world’s poorest countries will prevent the United Nations from meeting its goals to reduce poverty. Girls and women were more likely to be poor, hungry, illiterate or sick than boys and men. According to Action Aid which produced the report in South Asia women are getting a shrinking share of income as the economy grows. Amid growing concern that the millennium development goals set by UN for 2015 will not be met, Action Aid said a focus on women was vital to put the international community back on track.

Racism

Racism is the belief that characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict and war, and even during economic downturns.

Racism is also a very touchy subject for some people, as issues concerning free speech and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights come into play. Some people argue that talking about supporting racial discrimination and prejudice is just words and that free speech should allow such views to be aired without restriction. Others point out that these words can lead to some very dire and serious consequences (the Nazi government policies being one example).

Racism in Asia

In Cambodia, there has been a strong anti-Vietnamese sentiment.
In Indonesia there has been a lot of violence against the affluent Chinese population who have been blamed for economic problems that have plagued the country in recent years.

As noted by Wikipedia in an article on racism, “until 2003, Malaysia enforced discriminatory laws limiting access to university education for Chinese students who are citizens by birth of Malaysia, and many other laws explicitly favoring bumiputras (Malays) remain in force.”In India, there has long been discrimination against what is considered the lowest class in Hinduism, the Dalits, or untouchables, as well as sectarian and religious violence. Although it has been outlawed by the Indian Constitution, the caste system was a way to structure inequality into the system itself. And while outlawed, the social barriers it creates is still prevalent in rural areas where most Indians live. It also features in the view of Hindu extremists and traditionalists.
At various times, there have also been tensions between different religious groups, such as Hindus and Muslims with both sides having their fair share of extremists. While this is not racism, technically — as people of all classes are of the same race — the prejudice that had come with the caste system is quite similar to what is seen with racism.

Flood situation worsens in Assam

Guwahati: Torrential rains in Assam have led to worsening of the flood situation with villages and farmland in many districts under water and reports of two more deaths taking the toll to 10. Official sources today said that incessant rain since last night has inundated many localities and main roads. One person was killed due to landslide in Shantipur area this morning.

Free medicines for all from October

NEW DELHI: India's ambitious policy to provide free medicines to all patients attending a government health facility across the country will be rolled out from October. For more details, visit http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Free-medicines-for-all-from-October/articleshow/14347633.cms

SOME FACTS

1) According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”Source 4

2) Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

3) Infectious diseases continue to blight the lives of the poor across the world. An estimated 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, with 3 million deaths in 2004. Every year there are 350–500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities: Africa accounts for 90 percent of malarial deaths and African children account for over 80 percent of malaria victims worldwide.

NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN THE WORLD
2.2 billion

NUMBER IN POVERTY
1 billion (every second child)

SHELTER, SAFE WATER AND HEALTH

For the 1.9 billion children from the developing world, there are:

640 million without adequate shelter (1 in 3)
400 million with no access to safe water (1 in 5)
270 million with no access to health services (1 in 7)

CHILDREN OUT OF EDUCATION WORLDWIDE
121 million

SURVIVAL FOR CHILDREN

Worldwide,

10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (same as children population in France, Germany, Greece and Italy)
1.4 million die each year from lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation

HEALTH OF CHILDREN

Worldwide,

2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized
15 million children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS (similar to the total children population in Germany or United Kingdom) 
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