The legislators suggested that the state government needs to roll out schemes with hefty financial allocation to help the Maratha, Dalit and Muslim communities apart from allaying their fears about the change in the Constitution…reports Asian Lite News
NCP legislators at a meeting chaired by party chief Ajit Pawar on Thursday were told to step up outreach with the Muslim and Dalit communities and also increase communication with the politically influential Maratha community in the run-up to the state Assembly elections.
The instructions came following the party’s debacle in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections.
The legislators were also asked to take the farming community into confidence on the issues relating to onion, soybean, and cotton, which impacted the poll prospects of the MahaYuti (the BJP-NCP-Sena alliance) in the general elections. The NCP won one seat while the MahaYuti bagged 17 seats against the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)’s 30.
A senior party functionary said, “The legislators shared the factors that went against NCP nominees and also against the MahaYuti candidates. The anti-incumbency against sitting MPs and also against the Central government was one of the major factors. This apart, the MahaYuti nominees were hit badly due to the narrative set by the Opposition that the Constitution will be changed if BJP voted to power for the third time. Muslims, Dalits and tribals voted against the NCP and the MahaYuti in general. The protests over Maratha and OBC reservations created a divide between the two which went against the MahaYuti. The legislators pressed the need for corrective steps to avoid further damage in the Assembly polls.”
The legislators suggested that the state government needs to roll out schemes with hefty financial allocation to help the Maratha, Dalit and Muslim communities apart from allaying their fears about the change in the Constitution.
Meanwhile, at least six MLAs were absent from the meeting. However, the party claimed that all MLAs had informed the leadership about the reasons for their absence from the meeting.
The meeting was held amid speculations that a set of MLAs planning to switch to Sharad Pawar’s NCP. The meeting lasted for more than three hours as all MLAs were asked to explain their experiences of the recently held Lok Sabha elections and plans for the upcoming Assembly elections.
MLAs who were absent from the meeting include Sunil Tingre, Rajendra Shingne, Anna Bansode, Babandada Shinde, Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal and Minister Dharmarao Atram.
According to party spokesperson Umesh Patil, Shinde and Atram were ill while Shingne and Bansode had conveyed their inability to attend the meeting due to prior commitments. Zirwal is presently in Russia on an official tour. Tingre, who chose to not come in front of the media, was discussed during the Pune hit-and-run case.
Dalit women in Punjab shun caste vocations to knit a different life
It wasn’t easy for Gurmeet Kaur, a Dalit Sikh from Punjab, to smash the long legacy of caste-based discrimination. The 55-year-old, like many other Dalit women, worked at the homes and farms of upper-caste — Jat Sikhs…writes Arun Sharma and Sukhcharan Preet
But, in 2016, Gurmeet realised that this work was not her only destiny. Along with several other Dalit women of Sukhpura Mour village in Barnala district, she was able to break free from the shackles of caste vocations through knitting.
This knitting group in Sukhpura Mour comprises 18 women. Clothing companies in Ludhiana — a major hub of hosiery — place orders for sweaters with this group and provide them with wool. They are paid per sweater. The women divide work amongst themselves based on the availability of knitting machines.
At present, only seven women in the village of nearly 2400 have knitting machines while the rest sew the woolens. Women owning a machine get Rs 50 to Rs 60 per completed sweater. The ones without a machine help out in sewing the knitted pieces. They are paid Rs 15 to Rs 20 per piece.
While the women work within a framework of mutual understanding, they are not organised or registered as an SHG. A self-help group is eligible for many services from banks, including loans on low-interest rates. The group in the village instead easily avails loans from local money lenders and are able to repay them on time due to ample orders.
The group was founded by Saravpreet Kaur 15 years ago. A non-Dalit, she was married off at the age of 19 and witnessed extreme poverty. To make ends meet, the young woman decided to start a knitting business. With the help of her parents, she was able to procure a knitting machine by availing a loan of Rs 12,000 from a village moneylender.
Later, Saravpreet purchased another machine with her own money. Soon more women from marginalised backgrounds joined in. Today 13 out of 18 members in the group are Dalits. However, the women claim that there have been no tensions due to the caste composition of the group. The women in the village have almost forgotten their caste division and work together to earn a living.
Dalit women in Punjab shun caste vocations to knit a different life
When the group started 15 years ago, the women used to only knit sweaters for locals. Soon they came to know that the hosiery units from Ludhiana outsource work. These women then reached out to some of the units in Ludhiana and were initially given a small order, which they completed in time. Now they don’t require any marketing as they are directly connected with the factories in Ludhiana and get orders regularly.
Every few months, the women with machines visit units in Ludhiana, 70 km away, accompanied by their male relatives. They deliver the finished goods and are allotted a fresh quota of wool for new orders. The business thrives through the year, as big brands continue giving orders even during summers so that finished products can be stocked for winters.
Vandana Sharma, a senior fashion designer at Arora Knitfab, Ludhiana told 101Reporters that many units, plagued by labour issues, outsource this work to local women in different parts of Punjab. “This benefits both the manufacturing units as well as these women who are able to earn a living. This process also helps in empowering women financially,” added Sharma.
Sharma’s belief resonates with Gurmeet who, as a former domestic worker, earned Rs 2,500 per month. “My husband was a daily wager who used to earn nearly Rs 5,000. However, three years ago, he had to leave work due to his old age. Health issues, including my knee problems, further drained us, and I got a sewing job from two women who own knitting machines in our village,” said Gurmeet. Though she still cannot walk properly due to her bad knee, she now earns nearly Rs 8,000 per month.
Some women have also purchased knitting machines, costing almost Rs 25,000, through micro-financing companies operating in the area. During the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns, payment of these loans became a significant hurdle. There were very few orders from hosiery companies in Ludhiana.
Another member, Rani Kaur, 50, a Dalit woman from neighbouring Kothe Nimwale village, told 101Reporters that she purchased the knitting machine for Rs 22,000 two years ago. Like thousands of other Dalits in Punjab, she was an agricultural labourer before starting her own business. “I used to earn Rs 5,000 per month by working for nearly 10 hours on the landlord’s field. However, I now earn around Rs 18,000 on an average in a month. I also have two helpers who sew the knitted clothes. I pay them Rs 18 per piece,” said Rani.
During the lockdown, Rani said that she struggled to pay the loan she had taken from a local money lender for the knitting machine as there was no work and no income. “But, I somehow managed to surviv that period,” she added.
The pandemic has worsened the financial insecurities amongst Dalits, who comprise 32 per cent of the population in Punjab — the highest in any state. Dalit women, especially in the Malwa region of Punjab, where both Rani and Gurmeet live, have faced excessive discrimination for years. NGOs and organisations working for Dalit women have claimed that harassment at work is common for these women.
Meanwhile, an upper-caste Sikh, Saravpreet Kaur, believes that awareness and empowerment through work can end discrimination to a large extent. “We work as a group with no caste-based stratification. There are women, including Dalits, who own machines, and others who sew the parts of the clothing. Both go hand in hand, and one is incomplete without the other,” she said.
The group plans to buy more machines in the coming months and provide employment to others in the surrounding villages. “Getting a loan is easy. It is more difficult is to convince Dalit women that their life is beyond the fields and homes of landlords. Once they understand this, there would be no dearth of work and money for Dalit families,” said Rani Kaur.
HE Gaitri Issar Kumar, High Commissioner of India, paying respect to Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar on his 130th birth anniversary at India House in London
Dr. Ambedkar’s vision was of an India where the social system and economy would promote the full development of human potential and ensure a dignified existence for all citizens … reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
High Commission of India in London paid tribute to Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar on his 130th birth anniversary at India House. Babasaheb, as he was popularly known, was born on 14th April 1891, He was an academician, a leading figure in the national movement for a free India and a strong voice against untouchability.
HE Gaitri Issar Kumar, High Commissioner of India, paying respect to Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar on his 130th birth anniversary at India House in London
Bhimrao was born in the town and military cantonment of Mhow, which is now known as Dr. Ambedkar Nagar. He was the 14th and last child in a family that was considered untouchable at that time.
Growing up with few resources amidst adversity, Bhimrao was an excellent scholar who passed his matriculation exams and proceeded, as the first member of his caste, to attend college at the University of Bombay.
After obtaining a degree in Economics and Political Science, he took up employment in the State of Baroda. Soon the State of Baroda awarded him a three year scholarship for study in the USA, where he passed his MA in June 1915 in Economics, Sociology, History, Philosophy and Anthropology. Ambedkar then presented a thesis on Ancient Indian Commerce. His relentless thirst for knowledge led him to pursue two doctorates in Economics – both from the Columbia University and London School of Economics.
He was the first Indian to pursue a doctorate in economics abroad. Dr. Ambedkar made his early career as an economist, professor and lawyer and was also appointed Principal, Government Law College, Bombay.
Dr. Ambedkar became active in Indian politics and social reform, soon after his return to India. He called upon the socially and economically disadvantaged to educate, agitate and organise. He also led Satyagraha and published periodicals like Mook Nayak, Bahishkrit Bharat and Equality Janta. His book Annihilation of Caste has strongly criticised the caste system then prevalent in India. He has also written scholarly books on economics, society and politics.
In 1936, Dr. Ambedkar founded the Independent Labour Party and contested elections in Bombay in 1937 for the Central Legislative Assembly. After independence, he was invited to serve as the first Law Minister of India. He was also appointed as the Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, which was constituted to write India’s new constitution. In the drafting of the Constitution, Dr. Ambedkar was responsible for the inclusion of constitutional guarantees and protection of individual liberty, freedom of religion, civil liberties including universal franchise which were ahead of the times; and Dr. Ambedkar argued stridently for the rights of women. The Constitution, when finalised, was adopted on November 26, 1949 by the Constituent Assembly.
Dr. Ambedkar’s vision was of an India where the social system and economy would promote the full development of human potential and ensure a dignified existence for all citizens. For realisation of that, Dr. Ambedkar had played a crucial role in laying down the Directive Principles of State Policy, a unique feature of the Indian Constitution. The Principles mandate that the State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting a just social order. These principles lay the foundation for social democracy envisaged by Dr. Ambedkar as a way of life that recognises the union or trinity of literacy, equality and fraternity.
Dr. Ambedkar established the Finance Commission of India in 1951 and contributed to the forming of important policies in Revenue, Finance and Land Reforms. He considered Article 32 of the Indian Constitution, the Right to Constitutional Remedies, to be the very soul of the Constitution and the heart of it. He believed that the greatest safeguard for purity and fairness in elections was to establish an independent Election Commission.
HE Gaitri Issar Kumar, High Commissioner of India, paying respect to Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar on his 130th birth anniversary at India House in London
Similarly, he considered the Auditor General to be a key functionary who should have greater independence than even the judiciary. The Right to Information Act is, in fact, a modern day manifestation of Dr. Ambedkar’s commitment to building open, vibrant democratic institutions and strong constitutional methods.
Dr. Ambedkar was posthumously awarded India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna in 1990. Every year, his birth anniversary is celebrated as a public holiday in India. People celebrate his birthday as Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti. The Maharashtra Government has acquired the modest building in London at 10 King Henry Road, where Dr. Ambedkar lived during his days as a student. It was inaugurated as a museum by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in November 2015.
Dr. Ambedkar’s message from his address to the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949 is worth remembering:
“In addition to our old enemies in the form of castes and creeds, we are going to have many political parties with diverse and opposing political creeds. Will Indians place the country above their creed or will they place creed above country? I do not know. But this much is certain that if the parties place creed above country, our independence will be put in jeopardy a second time and probably be lost forever. This eventuality we must all resolutely guard against. We must be determined to defend our independence with the last drop of our blood.”
President, PM Join
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed on the need to imbibe his ideals in the conduct of each Indian.
“Tribute to Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, on his birth anniversary. He waged a lifelong struggle to create an equitable society. Today, by taking a lesson from his life and thoughts, we take a resolution to adopt his principles in our conduct,” President tweeted in Hindi.
The Prime Minister said that Babasaheb’s struggle to bring the deprived section into the mainstream will remain an example for generations to come.
Bowing to the great Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar on Ambedkar Jayanti, the Prime Minister tweeted, “His struggle to bring the deprived section into the mainstream will remain an example for generations to come”.
HE Gaitri Issar Kumar, High Commissioner of India, paying respect to Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar on his 130th birth anniversary at India House in LondonHE Gaitri Issar Kumar, High Commissioner of India, paying respect to Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar on his 130th birth anniversary at India House in London
