Godhra: Those convicted of rape and murder in the 2002 post-Godhra riots Bilkis Bano case walk out of the Godhra sub-jail after the Gujarat government allowed their release under the remission policy. , photo Credit: –
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How relevant is caste and is there discrimination based on caste in India? Stop for a moment and try to answer these questions. There are many who think that caste is, or should be, irrelevant to understanding and governing India. Caste-based reservation is a particularly vexing topic, as many feel that the policy is giving people unfair opportunities. This sentiment has a strong expression on social media, where people make derogatory comments about those being empowered through caste-based reservations in education and employment.
Caste is also very relevant when someone is accused of a crime of political nature, it turns out. In three recent instances, caste was used as a defense for or by the accused. some culprits in bilkis bano case There are “Brahmins” with good ‘Sanskar’ or values in the 2002 Gujarat riots and it is possible that they were targeted because of their past family activities, a BJP MLA who was part of State Government Panel recommended that Exemption to all 11 people found guiltyWhere is it?
Some convicts in Bilkis Bano case are ‘well mannered Brahmins’: Gujarat BJP MLA
The Tyagi community in western UP has rallied behind Shrikant Tyagi, who is accused of assaulting and abusing a fellow woman living in a posh Noida society. The Yogi government in the state had taken tough measures against the BJP politician after a video purportedly showed him assaulting a woman. Now, a bunch of Tyagis think that the action against him was disproportionate to the crime and want “justice” for him!
Tyagi Srikkanth wants justice for his family
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia addressing the media in New Delhi. , Photo credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
The most bizarre case of caste as a defense came from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is accused of corruption in opening liquor shops in the national capital. The CBI has opened a case against him and many others. Neither he nor you have said anything about the allegations; However, Mr. Sisodia’s main counter-argument was that he was a Rajput, and a descendant of Maharana Pratap, no less! This is from someone who made a political career out of claiming to be an aam aadmi – the common man. Sisodia tweeted in Hindi, “My answer to BJP – I am a descendant of Maharana Pratap and a Rajput.”
Excise Policy Case | Sisodia claims BJP has offered to close all cases if I join the party
Is this kind of bias prevalent in the administration of justice in India? In the Bilkis Bano case, the opinion on Brahmins was given by an MLA who was part of the committee that decided to release the accused.
A BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh lost his position in the party for his less benevolent attitude towards Brahmins. The BJP’s Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader Pritam Singh Lodhi reportedly said that Brahmins exploit poor people – in far more provocative terms. Once the video of his speech became controversial, he offered to apologize to the community and even lay his head at their feet. But the BJP expelled them, and Mr. Lodhi, whose community is numerically significant, is now mobilizing them against the party.
BJP is finding it difficult to strike a balance in Madhya Pradesh
In neighboring Uttar Pradesh, the BJP this week invoked the memory of party leader Kalyan Singh, who belonged to the OBC Lodh caste.
Adityanath unveils Kalyan Singh’s statue as BJP pushes for OBC connect
According to Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale, one way to reduce friction between castes is by promoting inter-marriage. “There is a need to promote inter-caste marriages at a higher level to bring equality in the society,” he said.
Promote inter-caste marriages to ensure equality: Athawale
I would put in a different category the defense of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is facing allegations of allotting mining leases to himself. I am the son of a tribal and fear is not in the DNA of a tribal. I will keep fighting till the last drop of blood in my body,” he said, even as he faced the prospect of disqualification as an MLA.
Will fight till the last drop of blood: Hemant Soren
Tribal communities are looped into the modern industrial economy in which money is transacted on unequal terms. Around the world, despite the expansion of mining, dams and industry, indigenous peoples have been excluded from their land and access to common natural resources. They protested, but were mostly helpless against the march of the industrial economy. The political structures that took shape among them demanded a more equal share in the modern economy and nation. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, which Soren now heads, was one of those that demanded a separate state for the tribal communities. He made his dream come true in 2000. His association with the modern economy and power structure made him vulnerable to modern laws, which he had little knowledge to deal with. In other words, the cash economy and the modern legal system make tribals unequal partners in order. A tribal who has been living in the forest for generations may one day criminalize his routine, or some part of it. It is this fundamental mismatch that puts Mr. Soren in the predicament he is in. The nexus between money and politics is managed through multiple layers of plausible deniability. Politicians from disadvantaged social groups and politicians who entered higher levels of power relatively recently may not be adept at it. They can act shamelessly. Mr. Soren is accused of allotting the mine to himself. In the words of Mr. Sisodia, Rajputs do not do such things.