Discrimination against different communities such as Sikhs, Christians, and Muslims is rampant in India and it’s spreading like plague. No doctor can cure this disease, and no miracle cure is possible. Different types of discrimination are prevalent in India such as religious discrimination, racism, nationality, social status etc. The Sikhs are discriminated on racial, linguistic and religious lines.
Of the major threats to Sikhism is that Hinduism wants to engulf it in its fold as it has already done the same to Buddhism and Jainism. The movement of annihilation of the minorities is going on in India with complete support of Indian government. The theological principles, the articles of faith, the way of life, rites and rituals etc of the Sikhs are altogether different from those of the Hindus. In Sikhism every one has the equal right whereas Hindus believe in caste system.
Sikhism does not have a clergy class as it considers this as a gateway to corruption. According to Sikh’s Holy book Guru Granth Sahib, “All the people have one base”. (Guru Granth Sahib P.83).In Hinduism, the worship of idols of the mythological gods and goddesses has great importance, but Sikhism rejects it altogether and prohibits it. “Those who worship stones are ignorant and foolish”. (Guru Granth Sahib p. 556)
Even the British government considered the Sikhs a separate nation. In the 1940’s the British Parliament declared unequivocally that after the British quit India, there are three distinct peoples, i.e. Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims who are the legitimate heirs to the sovereignty of India, and whatever these three “nations” agree to, the British will accept their decision before they quit India. But the Indian government always mistrusted them and exploited them. On 10th October 1947, less than two months of India's independence a secret circular by the Punjab Governor, Sir Chandu Lal Trivedi, declared that Sikhs are a criminal tribe and threat to peace and that the activities of Sikhs should be kept under watch.
Nehru and Gandhi, urging the Sikhs to join India, made a commitment that no constitution of India would be framed unless it was acceptable to the Sikhs. Even the Indian constitution farmed and adopted in 1950, did not recognize Sikhs as a separate identity and considers them Hindus with long hair. Due to this the Sikh representatives had rejected and refused to give their assent to it. In 2005 the Indian Supreme Court, said, “ if the argument for recognising every religious group within the broad Hindu religion as separate religious minority was accepted and such tendencies were encouraged, ‘the whole country, which is already under class and social conflicts due to various divisive forces, will further face divisions on the basis of religious diversities. A claim by one group of citizens would lead to a similar claim by another group and conflict and strife would ensue.”
The Indian government tried to undermine Punjabi, the language of Sikhs, several times. In 1951 census Hindi was preferred over Punjabi. The ruling Congress party issued an advertisement in newspapers asking non-Sikh residents of Punjab to return to Hindi as their mother tongue, even though Punjabi had been their mother tongue since ages. Almost all the Punjabi speaking Hindus declared Hindi as their mother tongue during the census of India in 1951 and 1961. Similarly, the Congress government even opposed the formation of Punjabi State in total contrast to the commitment to demarcate India on a linguistic basis made by the Congress party in 1929, 1946 and 1947.
The Hindus burnt the Sikh religious literature several times and committed the acts of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and the Gurdwaras on the behest of government. To quote a few instances from history, in 1983, the State Reserve Police and the Central Reserve Police were directed by the government to attack Gurdwaras on the slightest pretext. During the year, Gurdwara Sahib Sisganj, Delhi, Gurdwara Imli Sahib, Indore, Gurdwara Sahib, Churu, Rajasthan, Gurdwara Sahib Chandokalan, Haryana and Gurdwara Sahib, Chowk Mehta, Amritsar were attacked. In June 1984, on the orders of the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Golden Temple and 37 other Gurdwaras were attacked by all sections of the Indian Armed Forces and other security agencies, killing thousands of Sikhs, desecrating the holy premises, vandalizing heritage records and artifacts. During the attack on Golden Temple, the Sikh Reference Library was vandalized by the Indian Armed Forces and the looted material has not been returned to this day.
After the attack on Golden Temple, Baat Cheet the Indian Army Gazette No. 153, 1984 published, “Any knowledge of Amritdharis, who are dangerous people and pledged to commit murders, arson and acts of terrorism, should immediately be brought the notice of authorities. These people might appear harmless from outside but they are basically committed to terrorism. In the interest of all of us their identity and whereabouts must always be disclosed”. In November, 1984, Sikhs were attacked in 87 towns and cities in 'secular' India. According to estimates by human rights organizations at least 10,000 Sikhs were virtually butchered or burnt alive. Officially, 3,700 Sikhs were killed in a matter of 48 hours. More than 200,000 Sikhs rendered homeless. More than 358 Gurdwaras were desecrated and destroyed. Justifying this official pogrom against the Sikhs, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi shamelessly proclaimed, “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.” Since 1986, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been debarred from officially entering Punjab for documenting human rights violations. This ban still continues.
Apart from above mentioned atrocities, efforts were made from time to time to damage the economy of Punjab, especially Sikhs. In this context, in 1966 the Punjab Reorganization Act was passed. Sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Panjab Reorganisation Act placed the irrigation and hydel-power projects of the Panjab geographically in Himachal Pradesh. These provisions also gave exclusive overall control of these projects to the Central government. It was in total contravention of Article 246 of the Indian constitution and universally accepted riparian principles. Similarly, as the Punjab and Sind Bank was understood to be the bank of Sikhs and Punjabis, when the bank reached the zenith of its glory, in 1980, the bank was nationalized and brought under the direct control of the government of India.
Sikhs faced racial discrimination even in the Indian Armed Forces. In 1971 the Defence Ministry under Jagjivan Ram, took a policy decision, to recruit army personnel on the basis of population rather than merit. Due to which the percentage of Sikh participation in the Indian Armed Forces was gradually reduced to a meager 2 percent. Similarly, the government compelled Sikh officers, both in the Defence and Civil services to renounce their Sikh identity (i.e. Kesh and Kirpan) if they desired promotions and possible retention in their services.
Repressive laws were introduced to harm Sikh community. In 1987, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 was passed. This act violated all norms of criminal jurisprudence. Every safeguard guaranteed by the Constitution, all international standards of human rights laid-down by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were violated by this Act, even though India is a signatory to both these declarations. The Sikhs suffered the consequences of TADA. Thousands of Sikh youth were detained, tortured, and killed both in Panjab and in other Indian states. In 1988, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi introduced the 59th amendment to the constitution of India, withdrawing the right to life of the people of Punjab and enabling more discriminatory laws against Punjab. In 1991, Brigadier Sinha of the Indian Army publicly declared that the only way to subvert the culture of the Sikhs was to rape and humiliates Sikh women. On 6 September, 1995, human rights activist, Jaswant Singh Khalra, who had unearthed gross human rights abuses in the district of Amritsar about individuals who had disappeared involuntarily was tortured and killed extrajudicially. On 20 March 2000, coinciding with the visit of US President, Bill Clinton, 35 young Sikhs were killed in Chittisingpura, Kashmir by state vigilantes. This has been proved without doubt but the state has not taken any action so far. In the year 2007, while the blasphemous activities of Sirsa dera chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim have been allowed to continue, in complete violation of legal provisions, sedition charges have been foisted against Sikh leaders.
The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs "worse than genocide." According to a report by the Movement against State Repression (MASR), 52,268 Sikhs are being held as political prisoners in India without charge or trial. Twenty-five years after the massacre of thousands of Sikhs in India the country's government has failed to bring to justice those responsible. Sikhs ruled an independent and sovereign Punjab from 1710 to 1716 and again from 1765 to 1849 and were recognized by most of the countries of the world at that time. No Sikh representative has ever signed the Indian constitution. Indian rulers should understand one thing that persecution can not annihilate the Sikhs and they will never become Hindus even if they are denied their due rights. There is a need that Indian government must respect the minority rights and stop its brutalities and atrocities against them. Otherwise the saying of Franklin D. Roosevelt that “No democracy can long survive which does not accept as fundamental to its very existence the recognition of the rights of minorities” would come true of India.
Sep 29, 2009
Aug 27, 2009
International Seminar on Adivasi/ST Communities in India: Development and Change
PIB
Vice President inaugurates International Seminar on “Adivasi/ST Communities in India: Development and Change”
ALIGNING OUR DEVELOPMENT NEEDS WITH ADIVASI RIGHTS AND ENHANCING THEIR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR – VICE PRESIDENT
The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that the reality is unpalatable and the data speaks for itself. Compared to other sections of our society, the tribal population has the lowest Human Development Index. Delivering inaugural address at the International Seminar on “Adivasi/ST Communities in India: Development and Change” organized by the Institute for Human Development here today, he said that the literacy rate of the Schedule Tribes (STs) at 47.1 in the 2001 Census is far below the national literacy rate of 64.84. Tribal children suffer from high drop out rates and low female literacy. They also have high infant mortality rates and malnutrition as compared to other population groups.
He expressed his concern that STs suffer from geographical and social exclusion, high poverty rates and lack of access to appropriate administrative and judicial mechanisms. Low level of infra-structural endowments and growing gap in infrastructure creation in tribal areas, as compared to the rest of India, has further diminished prospects for progress. For the 85 million Scheduled Tribes in India, the struggle to retain their identities and seek empowerment through our Constitutional framework has not yielded commensurate outcomes.
The Vice President opined that the Forest Rights Act of 2006 represents an important step in attempting to reverse the marginalisation of our tribal people. It gives legislative teeth to the Constitutional provisions for protection and development of Scheduled Tribes, provides them a level playing field and casts tribal rights in a new matrix based on community control and customary access. It acknowledges the immense hardship caused to the Scheduled Tribes due to insecurity of tenurial and access rights and forced relocation due to State development interventions. Quick implementation of the provisions of this Act by various State Governments would go a long way in realising the vision of our Founding Fathers and ensuring that economic development and social progress is inclusive.
Following is the text of the Vice President’s inaugural address:
“It gives me great pleasure to inaugurate this international seminar organised by the Institute for Human Development. The choice of the theme is appropriate. It covers a range of issues of local, national and global importance relating to the well-being of Adivasi communities in India.
A look at recent history provides a perspective. The political, social and cultural heterogeneity of India was amply reflected in the deliberations of the Constituent Assembly. The Objectives Resolution was tabled by Jawaharlal Nehru in December 1946. It sought to secure social, economic and political justice, equality of status, of opportunity, and before the law to all the people and promised adequate safeguards for minorities, backward and tribal areas, and depressed and other backward classes. The contours of the debate were quantified by Jaipal Singh of Chotanagpur who, speaking on behalf of, as he put it, “millions of unknown hordes… unrecognised warriors of freedom, the original people of India who have variously been known as backward tribes, primitive tribes, criminal tribes and everything else”, supported the Resolution.
Jaipal Singh also gave vent to long standing grievances and articulated the problem candidly:
“If there is any group of Indian people that has been shabbily treated it is my people. They have been disgracefully treated, neglected for the last 6,000 years. This Resolution is not going to teach Adibasis democracy. You cannot teach democracy to the tribal people; you have to learn democratic ways from them. They are the most democratic people on earth. What my people require is not adequate safeguards… We do not ask for any special protection. We want to be treated like every other Indian….The whole history of my people is one of continuous exploitation and dispossession by the non-aboriginals of India punctuated by rebellions and disorder, and yet I take Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru at his word. I take you all at your word that now we are going to start a new chapter, a new chapter of Independent India where there is equality of opportunity, where no one would be neglected.”
Six decades later, a few questions need to be answered:
1. Has the experience of six decades been different from that of the earlier millennia and have Adivasis been treated with greater attention and justice?
2. Have Adivasis been afforded the equality of opportunity?
The reality is unpalatable and the data speaks for itself. Compared to other sections of our society, the tribal population has the lowest Human Development Index. The literacy rate of the STs at 47.1 in the 2001 Census is far below the national literacy rate of 64.84. Tribal children suffer from high drop out rates and low female literacy. They also have high infant mortality rates and malnutrition as compared to other population groups. They suffer from geographical and social exclusion, high poverty rates and lack of access to appropriate administrative and judicial mechanisms. Low level of infrastructural endowments and growing gap in infrastructure creation in tribal areas, as compared to the rest of India, has further diminished prospects for progress.
For the 85 million Scheduled Tribes in India, the struggle to retain their identities and seek empowerment through our Constitutional framework has not yielded commensurate outcomes. I therefore wish to highlight a few points for the consideration of this audience:
First, over 80 per cent of the Scheduled Tribes population works in the primary sector, with 45 per cent of them being cultivators and 37 per cent being agricultural labourers. Land thus represents the most important source of livelihood, emotional attachment and social stability in tribal communities. It is critical for cultivation horticulture, forestry and animal husbandry. The Draft National Tribal Policy testifies to it and notes that “alienation of tribal land is the single most important cause of pauperisation of tribals, rendering their vulnerable economic situation more precarious.”
The Forest Rights Act of 2006 represents an important step in attempting to reverse the marginalisation of our tribal people. It gives legislative teeth to the Constitutional provisions for protection and development of Scheduled Tribes, provides them a level playing field and casts tribal rights in a new matrix based on community control and customary access. It acknowledges the immense hardship caused to the Scheduled Tribes due to insecurity of tenurial and access rights and forced relocation due to State development interventions. Quick implementation of the provisions of this Act by various State Governments would go a long way in realising the vision of our Founding Fathers and ensuring that economic development and social progress is inclusive.
Second, the Constitution of India provides specific social, economic and political guarantees to the Scheduled Tribes. In the social dimension, these are covered under Articles 14, 15(4), 16(4), 16(4 A), 338 (A) and 339 (1). The economic provisions are covered under Article 46, 275(1) and 335. The political provisions are very elaborate and are spelt out in Article 244 and 5th and 6th Schedules of the Constitution, as also in Articles 330, 332, and 243 (D).
The extent to which the Constitutional provisions have been implemented and the normative guarantees translated into policy are a matter of ongoing debate. Civil society groups and activists have pointed out the manner in which the application of the Indian Forest Act 1927 and The Land Acquisition Act 1894 has caused marginalisation and hardship to the Adivasis. They also note that 5th Schedule provisions to prevent application of such laws to Scheduled Areas had not been invoked.
Third, in comparison to other disadvantaged communities and groups, the Adivasis have been less effective in constituting themselves as a Pan-Indian interest group and in articulating their grievances through the formal political system. This could partly be attributed to lack of national homogeneity in the context and mechanisms that have led to the exclusion and oppression of the Adivasis. Geographical dispersion of the Adivasis and lack of iconic leadership with a national appeal also prevents effective political mobilisation. To a lesser extent, our education system and our media are also to blame for the lower profile accorded to the predicament of Indian tribes.
Fourth, the development paradigm of independent India has led to, in the words of the Draft National Tribal Policy, tribal communities witnessing “their habitats and homelands fragmented, their cultures disrupted, their communities shattered, the monetary compensation which tribal communities are not equipped to handle slipping out of their hands, turning them from owners of the resources and well-knit contented communities to individual wage earners in the urban conglomerates with uncertain futures and threatened existence”.
Across the nation gigantic industrial, power, irrigation and mining projects representing the current development paradigm of independent Adivasi protests against land acquisition and displacement. Aligning our development needs with Adivasi rights and enhancing their Human Development Index is the need of the hour. This is also essential to prevent violent manifestations of discontent and unrest in our tribal areas emanating from exclusion and alienation.
Fifth, it is lost sight of that many Adivasis straddle multiple dimensions of deprivation and vulnerability. Besides being Scheduled Tribes, many of the Adivasis are also religious and linguistic minorities. It is very important that the protections afforded by the Constitution to the religious and linguistic minorities be fully made available to tribal communities that qualify.
I hope this seminar would act as a powerful tool for public advocacy on the extent of deprivation of Adivasis in the country and means to address them. I am confident that your deliberations would be immensely helpful for formulating policies conducive to Adivasi development.
Vice President inaugurates International Seminar on “Adivasi/ST Communities in India: Development and Change”
ALIGNING OUR DEVELOPMENT NEEDS WITH ADIVASI RIGHTS AND ENHANCING THEIR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR – VICE PRESIDENT
The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that the reality is unpalatable and the data speaks for itself. Compared to other sections of our society, the tribal population has the lowest Human Development Index. Delivering inaugural address at the International Seminar on “Adivasi/ST Communities in India: Development and Change” organized by the Institute for Human Development here today, he said that the literacy rate of the Schedule Tribes (STs) at 47.1 in the 2001 Census is far below the national literacy rate of 64.84. Tribal children suffer from high drop out rates and low female literacy. They also have high infant mortality rates and malnutrition as compared to other population groups.
He expressed his concern that STs suffer from geographical and social exclusion, high poverty rates and lack of access to appropriate administrative and judicial mechanisms. Low level of infra-structural endowments and growing gap in infrastructure creation in tribal areas, as compared to the rest of India, has further diminished prospects for progress. For the 85 million Scheduled Tribes in India, the struggle to retain their identities and seek empowerment through our Constitutional framework has not yielded commensurate outcomes.
The Vice President opined that the Forest Rights Act of 2006 represents an important step in attempting to reverse the marginalisation of our tribal people. It gives legislative teeth to the Constitutional provisions for protection and development of Scheduled Tribes, provides them a level playing field and casts tribal rights in a new matrix based on community control and customary access. It acknowledges the immense hardship caused to the Scheduled Tribes due to insecurity of tenurial and access rights and forced relocation due to State development interventions. Quick implementation of the provisions of this Act by various State Governments would go a long way in realising the vision of our Founding Fathers and ensuring that economic development and social progress is inclusive.
Following is the text of the Vice President’s inaugural address:
“It gives me great pleasure to inaugurate this international seminar organised by the Institute for Human Development. The choice of the theme is appropriate. It covers a range of issues of local, national and global importance relating to the well-being of Adivasi communities in India.
A look at recent history provides a perspective. The political, social and cultural heterogeneity of India was amply reflected in the deliberations of the Constituent Assembly. The Objectives Resolution was tabled by Jawaharlal Nehru in December 1946. It sought to secure social, economic and political justice, equality of status, of opportunity, and before the law to all the people and promised adequate safeguards for minorities, backward and tribal areas, and depressed and other backward classes. The contours of the debate were quantified by Jaipal Singh of Chotanagpur who, speaking on behalf of, as he put it, “millions of unknown hordes… unrecognised warriors of freedom, the original people of India who have variously been known as backward tribes, primitive tribes, criminal tribes and everything else”, supported the Resolution.
Jaipal Singh also gave vent to long standing grievances and articulated the problem candidly:
“If there is any group of Indian people that has been shabbily treated it is my people. They have been disgracefully treated, neglected for the last 6,000 years. This Resolution is not going to teach Adibasis democracy. You cannot teach democracy to the tribal people; you have to learn democratic ways from them. They are the most democratic people on earth. What my people require is not adequate safeguards… We do not ask for any special protection. We want to be treated like every other Indian….The whole history of my people is one of continuous exploitation and dispossession by the non-aboriginals of India punctuated by rebellions and disorder, and yet I take Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru at his word. I take you all at your word that now we are going to start a new chapter, a new chapter of Independent India where there is equality of opportunity, where no one would be neglected.”
Six decades later, a few questions need to be answered:
1. Has the experience of six decades been different from that of the earlier millennia and have Adivasis been treated with greater attention and justice?
2. Have Adivasis been afforded the equality of opportunity?
The reality is unpalatable and the data speaks for itself. Compared to other sections of our society, the tribal population has the lowest Human Development Index. The literacy rate of the STs at 47.1 in the 2001 Census is far below the national literacy rate of 64.84. Tribal children suffer from high drop out rates and low female literacy. They also have high infant mortality rates and malnutrition as compared to other population groups. They suffer from geographical and social exclusion, high poverty rates and lack of access to appropriate administrative and judicial mechanisms. Low level of infrastructural endowments and growing gap in infrastructure creation in tribal areas, as compared to the rest of India, has further diminished prospects for progress.
For the 85 million Scheduled Tribes in India, the struggle to retain their identities and seek empowerment through our Constitutional framework has not yielded commensurate outcomes. I therefore wish to highlight a few points for the consideration of this audience:
First, over 80 per cent of the Scheduled Tribes population works in the primary sector, with 45 per cent of them being cultivators and 37 per cent being agricultural labourers. Land thus represents the most important source of livelihood, emotional attachment and social stability in tribal communities. It is critical for cultivation horticulture, forestry and animal husbandry. The Draft National Tribal Policy testifies to it and notes that “alienation of tribal land is the single most important cause of pauperisation of tribals, rendering their vulnerable economic situation more precarious.”
The Forest Rights Act of 2006 represents an important step in attempting to reverse the marginalisation of our tribal people. It gives legislative teeth to the Constitutional provisions for protection and development of Scheduled Tribes, provides them a level playing field and casts tribal rights in a new matrix based on community control and customary access. It acknowledges the immense hardship caused to the Scheduled Tribes due to insecurity of tenurial and access rights and forced relocation due to State development interventions. Quick implementation of the provisions of this Act by various State Governments would go a long way in realising the vision of our Founding Fathers and ensuring that economic development and social progress is inclusive.
Second, the Constitution of India provides specific social, economic and political guarantees to the Scheduled Tribes. In the social dimension, these are covered under Articles 14, 15(4), 16(4), 16(4 A), 338 (A) and 339 (1). The economic provisions are covered under Article 46, 275(1) and 335. The political provisions are very elaborate and are spelt out in Article 244 and 5th and 6th Schedules of the Constitution, as also in Articles 330, 332, and 243 (D).
The extent to which the Constitutional provisions have been implemented and the normative guarantees translated into policy are a matter of ongoing debate. Civil society groups and activists have pointed out the manner in which the application of the Indian Forest Act 1927 and The Land Acquisition Act 1894 has caused marginalisation and hardship to the Adivasis. They also note that 5th Schedule provisions to prevent application of such laws to Scheduled Areas had not been invoked.
Third, in comparison to other disadvantaged communities and groups, the Adivasis have been less effective in constituting themselves as a Pan-Indian interest group and in articulating their grievances through the formal political system. This could partly be attributed to lack of national homogeneity in the context and mechanisms that have led to the exclusion and oppression of the Adivasis. Geographical dispersion of the Adivasis and lack of iconic leadership with a national appeal also prevents effective political mobilisation. To a lesser extent, our education system and our media are also to blame for the lower profile accorded to the predicament of Indian tribes.
Fourth, the development paradigm of independent India has led to, in the words of the Draft National Tribal Policy, tribal communities witnessing “their habitats and homelands fragmented, their cultures disrupted, their communities shattered, the monetary compensation which tribal communities are not equipped to handle slipping out of their hands, turning them from owners of the resources and well-knit contented communities to individual wage earners in the urban conglomerates with uncertain futures and threatened existence”.
Across the nation gigantic industrial, power, irrigation and mining projects representing the current development paradigm of independent Adivasi protests against land acquisition and displacement. Aligning our development needs with Adivasi rights and enhancing their Human Development Index is the need of the hour. This is also essential to prevent violent manifestations of discontent and unrest in our tribal areas emanating from exclusion and alienation.
Fifth, it is lost sight of that many Adivasis straddle multiple dimensions of deprivation and vulnerability. Besides being Scheduled Tribes, many of the Adivasis are also religious and linguistic minorities. It is very important that the protections afforded by the Constitution to the religious and linguistic minorities be fully made available to tribal communities that qualify.
I hope this seminar would act as a powerful tool for public advocacy on the extent of deprivation of Adivasis in the country and means to address them. I am confident that your deliberations would be immensely helpful for formulating policies conducive to Adivasi development.
Aug 1, 2009
Nilekanai Spots Data Source For National ID Cards
JAYATI GHOSE
New Delhi, July 15:
PAN card holders and individuals with household gas connections will be part of the initial database of the national ID card project.
Nandan Nilekani, chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, plans to use “people data” that already exist with government authorities.
The Unique Identification Authority of India has the mandate of assigning every Indian with an exclusive identification number.
Nilekani had recently met petroleum minister Murli Deora on using the database with public sector oil companies.
“Oil sector data is a huge resource as the companies distribute petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene to individuals, which can be used to accomplish the task (of building a database) in hand,” Nilekani said.
The former co-founder of Infosys, who will take charge on July 20, will meet income tax officials over the next few days to procure the details of PAN card holders.
Sources said the Election Commission’s list of voters and census figures would be considered for the database.
New Delhi, July 15:
PAN card holders and individuals with household gas connections will be part of the initial database of the national ID card project.
Nandan Nilekani, chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, plans to use “people data” that already exist with government authorities.
The Unique Identification Authority of India has the mandate of assigning every Indian with an exclusive identification number.
Nilekani had recently met petroleum minister Murli Deora on using the database with public sector oil companies.
“Oil sector data is a huge resource as the companies distribute petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene to individuals, which can be used to accomplish the task (of building a database) in hand,” Nilekani said.
The former co-founder of Infosys, who will take charge on July 20, will meet income tax officials over the next few days to procure the details of PAN card holders.
Sources said the Election Commission’s list of voters and census figures would be considered for the database.
No decision on I-cards in rest of country: Maken
New Delhi, Jul 28 (PTI)
Government today said it was yet to take a decision on issuing identity cards to usual residents in the rest of the country.
Based on the experience of the pilot project on Multi- purpose National Identity Card, the government has proposed to create a National Population Register (NPR) in the country along with 2011 census, Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
For the NPR, details on specific characteristics of each individual shall be collected along with photographs and finger biometrics of all those who are 18 years of age and above, he said.
"The scheme for coastal areas envisages identity cards to be given to all the usual residents who are 18 years of age and above," Maken said.
Government today said it was yet to take a decision on issuing identity cards to usual residents in the rest of the country.
Based on the experience of the pilot project on Multi- purpose National Identity Card, the government has proposed to create a National Population Register (NPR) in the country along with 2011 census, Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
For the NPR, details on specific characteristics of each individual shall be collected along with photographs and finger biometrics of all those who are 18 years of age and above, he said.
"The scheme for coastal areas envisages identity cards to be given to all the usual residents who are 18 years of age and above," Maken said.
census report on MSME sector soon
New Delhi, July 31 (PTI) A census report on the micro, small and medium enterprises in the country, identifying strengths and weaknesses of the sector, will be released soon, a senior government official said today.
"We have conducted a census (for MSMEs) and we are expecting the results very soon," MSME Secretary Dinesh Rai said at function organised by AIMA here.
The sector employs about 420 lakh people and contributes around 40 per cent to both the country's industrial output exports.
The report would also provide information on production, raw material, employment, exports, assets, plant and machinery, products and services, net worth, loan taken by enterprises and outstanding debt, besides assessing the sick units under each category.
Rai said the report would be of a great help to the government in chalking out policies for the sector, which has taken a hit due to the ongoing global economic crisis.
"We have conducted a census (for MSMEs) and we are expecting the results very soon," MSME Secretary Dinesh Rai said at function organised by AIMA here.
The sector employs about 420 lakh people and contributes around 40 per cent to both the country's industrial output exports.
The report would also provide information on production, raw material, employment, exports, assets, plant and machinery, products and services, net worth, loan taken by enterprises and outstanding debt, besides assessing the sick units under each category.
Rai said the report would be of a great help to the government in chalking out policies for the sector, which has taken a hit due to the ongoing global economic crisis.
Jul 24, 2009
Nilekani starts work on unique identity for every Indian
New Delhi (IANS): Nandan Nilekani took charge as the chairman of the Unique Identification Database Authority of India Thursday and started work on the government's ambitious project to provide a single identity number and card to each of the country's 1.17 billion people.
Mr. Nilekani, who met with reporters briefly after assuming office at Yojana Bhavan, the headquarters of the Planning Commission here, said the main task of the authority would be to create a database that will help in issuing unique identity cards.
“This will be a nationwide system of authentication,” said the 54-year-old co-founder of Infosys Technologies, who was personally selected by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to head the project with the rank of a cabinet minister.
“Identity is important for everyone, especially for the poor. Getting an identity is a tough job. We will provide a database of residents. We will have a very simple database in biometrics. We will only have very basic information,” he said.
Mr. Nilekani said that the authority will not issue the biometric cards itself -- but the database it is creating will help government agencies to undertake that task.
The main purpose of the project, he said, was to avert the need for multiple proofs of identity for citizens while availing any government service, or for private needs like opening bank accounts or seeking telephone connections.
It is also expected to enhance national security by helping to identify illegal aliens.
Mr. Nilekani has already met Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, seeking their support for the project.
Over the next few weeks, he intends to create the requisite administrative infrastructure to deal with the ambitious project. “We will pick up talent from both government and outside. We will also have biometric experts and others for security and identity management,” he said.
Mr. Nilekani, who met with reporters briefly after assuming office at Yojana Bhavan, the headquarters of the Planning Commission here, said the main task of the authority would be to create a database that will help in issuing unique identity cards.
“This will be a nationwide system of authentication,” said the 54-year-old co-founder of Infosys Technologies, who was personally selected by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to head the project with the rank of a cabinet minister.
“Identity is important for everyone, especially for the poor. Getting an identity is a tough job. We will provide a database of residents. We will have a very simple database in biometrics. We will only have very basic information,” he said.
Mr. Nilekani said that the authority will not issue the biometric cards itself -- but the database it is creating will help government agencies to undertake that task.
The main purpose of the project, he said, was to avert the need for multiple proofs of identity for citizens while availing any government service, or for private needs like opening bank accounts or seeking telephone connections.
It is also expected to enhance national security by helping to identify illegal aliens.
Mr. Nilekani has already met Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, seeking their support for the project.
Over the next few weeks, he intends to create the requisite administrative infrastructure to deal with the ambitious project. “We will pick up talent from both government and outside. We will also have biometric experts and others for security and identity management,” he said.
Jul 23, 2009
Forced Conversions to Hinduism
Forced Conversions to Hinduism
-Mahavir Sanglikar
Hinduism is being forced on the followers of Non-Vedic religions like Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. The people forcing it do not tell you to go to Hindu temples or perform rituals, but they just change your religious identity. They write your religion as Hindu wherever possible.
All this starts right from the admission of the pregnant woman to the maternity home. When the registration process goes on, the clerk writes her religion as Hindu, without asking her or her relatives accompanying her. For these clerks, if the woman is not a Muslim or Christian, then she is a Hindu. After the birth of the child, the doctor issues a birth certificate mentioning the child’s religion as a Hindu. For the parents, the religion is not important at that time as they are in heaven. They do not take pain even for reading it. But thereafter, whenever they see the birth certificate, they find that their child is converted to Hinduism.
Same thing happens in the school while the admission of the child. The parents do not know that here also their child is growing as a Hindu. They realize it only when the student gets a ‘School Leaving Certificate’ from the school. It mentions the religion of the student as Hindu-Sikh or Hindu-Punjabi in case of Sikhs, Hindu-Jain in case of Jains and Hindu-Buddhist in case of Buddhists. Sometimes it mentions just ‘Hindu’. So the School Leaving Certificate is actually Certificate of Religious Conversion to Hinduism.
The most stupid thing in these School Leaving Certificates is that there is no standardized format for it. One school mentions ‘Religion and caste’, other mentions ‘Race and religion’, another mentions ‘Race and caste’. Who knows about race? But many schools have a ‘Race’ column on the leaving certificate. It is there because it was there while British rule. Change is not acceptable.
Now let us speak about the census. On every tenth year, the Census Commission of India counts the people of
The population of Hindus in
Mahavir Sanglikar is a scholar of socio-religious history, blogger and a freelance writer. You can meet him at:
www.censusindianews.blogspot.com
Jul 21, 2009
NGOs work to include nomadic tribes in 2011 census
Sarang Dastane
PUNE: Despite being Indian citizens by birth, nomadic and denotified communities in the country do not have any constitutional rights. But all this may change with the 2011 population census as a city-based NGO is trying to spread awareness among tribe members of the benefits of joining the "mainstream".
A large section of these communities has remained out of census list for last 60 years as they are not registered as primary residents. However, if all goes as planned, the nomadic and denotified communities of the state may enrol their names in the population census after the 1931 census.
City-based NGO ECONET took a step ahead in this regard on Saturday when it conducted a workshop for representatives of nomadic and denotified communities. The workshop was organised to guide these communities towards making a conscious and well-informed decision and make them aware of the census procedures.
The workshop was organised jointly by the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics and ECONET.
"Representatives from as many as 12 districts of the state participated in the workshop and will now educate the members of their respective communities. We hope that such workshops will help these communities become a part of the mainstream and enable them to enjoy their constitutional rights," said Krishna Srinivasan of ECONET.
Elaborating on the need for the members of these communities to enrol themselves as primary residents, Krishna said, "Nomadic and denotified communities have been facing peculiar problems because they are not a part of the census and hence have no identity cards or citizenship rights. They have no ration cards, voters' identity cards and caste certificates. Also, the NT-DNT communities are not included in our constitutional schedules. Therefore, we, and various other NGOs and forums, are working towards ensuring that all these communities enrol for the 2011 census." He added that the participating community members have been briefed to give proper information about their mother tongue at the time of census. "This will help in identifying areas with nomadic and denotified tribes," he said.
"The last community-wise census of these tribes was done in 1931, and since then only projections have been used to arrive at an estimate of their population. There are 42-44 different nomadic tribes in Maharashtra, with a lot of diversity even within the community. These communities constitute 9 to 12 per cent of the state's population," added Krishna.
An official from the census department said, "We request people to remain present at their houses during the census time period. It will be difficult for the officials to register people, if they remain absent from their homes."
The word Nomadic Tribes refers to the people, who were forced to live a wandering life by the Indian Caste System. The Nomadic and Denotified Tribes constitutes of about 60 million in India, out of which about five million lives in Maharashtra. There are 313 Nomadic Tribes and 198 Denotified Tribes.
Tribals Demand for Adivasi Religion Code in Census
Ranchi, July 17:
Tribals, who have so far been counted as Hindus in the census, have united to press the Centre for an Adivasi Religion Code.
They have threatened non co-operation with census survey, conducted by the Centre after every two years, if their demand is not met.
Under the leadership of tribal ideologue and former vice-chancellor of Ranchi University Ram Dayal Munda, tribal organisations of the state had held several meetings with their counterparts in the northeast to come to a consensus that could describe their religious practice. They have decided to name their religion Adivasi Dharam.
They have decided to stage a demonstration in front of Raj Bhavan on July 21 and a similar dharna near Parliament in New Delhi on July 29.
“Not only the tribals of the state but across the country have joined hands demanding a separate column for us in the census. When Christians, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs, whose individual population in the country is not more than 2.5 crore, have different columns in the census then tribals with over 10 crore population deserve a separate identity,” said Deo Kumar Dhan, the co-ordinator of Jharkhand Paharaja Mahasamiti. Hitherto, the tribals have been counted under the Hindu column.
“We have been asking for it for the past three years,” said Shiva Kachchap, the vice president of Ranchi Mahanagar Prarthana Sabha.
He said the tribals could not be counted in the Census as Hindus as had been done by the government in last decades because they follow a different religion from the Hindus.
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