Jawahar Lal Nehru: A Real Story

At the very beginning of his book,'The Nehru Dynasty',Astrologer K.N. Rao mentions the names of Jawaharlal's father and grandfather. Jawaharlal's father was believed to be Motilal and Motilal's father was one Gangadhar Nehru.
We all know that Jawaharlal's only daughter was Indira Priyadarshini Nehru; Kamala Nehru was her mother, who died in Switzerland of tuberculosis. She was totally against Indira's proposed marriage with Feroze.

Why? No one tells us that!

Now, who is this Feroze? We are told by many that he was the son of the family grocer. The grocer supplied wines, etc.. to Anand Bhavan (previously known as Ishrat Manzil)

What was the family grocer's name?

One frequently hears that Rajiv Gandhi's grandfather was Pandit Nehru. But then we all know that everyone has two grandfathers, the paternal and the maternal grandfathers.
In fact, the paternal grandfather is deemed to be the more important grandfather in most societies.

Why is it then, nowhere, we find Rajiv Gandhi's paternal grandfather' s name? It appears that the reason is simply. Rajiv Gandhi's paternal grandfather was a Muslim gentleman from the Junagadh area of Gujarat .

This Muslim grocer by the name of Nawab Khan, had married a Parsi woman after converting her to Islam.
This is the source where from the myth of Rajiv being a Parsi was derived. Rajiv's father Feroze, was Feroze Khan before he married Indira, against Kamala Nehru's wishes.
Feroze's mother's family name was Ghandy, often associated with Parsis and this was changed to Gandhi, sometime before his wedding with Indira, by an affidavit.
The fact of the matter is that (and this fact can be found in many writings) Indira was very lonely. Chased out of the Shantiniketan University by Guru Dev Rabindranath himself for misdemeanour, the lonely girl was all by herself, while father Jawaharlal was busy with politics, pretty women and illicit sex, the mother was in hospital.
Feroze Khan, the grocer's son was then in England and he was quite sympathetic to Indira and soon enough she changed her religion, became a Muslim woman and married Feroze Khan in a London mosque.

Nehru was not happy, Kamala was dead already or dying. The news of this marriage eventually reached Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (better known as Mahatma Gandhi) .
andhi urgently called Nehru and practically ordered him to ask the young man to change his name from Khan to Gandhi. It had nothing to do with change of religion, from Islam to Hinduism for instance. It was just a case of a change of name by an affidavit. And so Feroze Khan became Feroze Gandhi.

The surprising thing is that the apostle of truth, the old man soon to be declared India 's Mahatma and the 'Father of the Nation' didn't mention this game of his in the famous book, 'My Experiments with Truth'. Why?

When they returned to India , a mock 'Vedic marriage' was instituted for public consumption.
On this subject, writes M.O. Mathai (a long-time Private Secretary of Nehru) in his renowned (but now suppressed by the GOI! ) 'Reminiscences of the Nehru Age' on page 94, second paragraph: ' For some inexplicable reason, Nehru allowed the marriage to be performed according to Vedic rites in 1942. An inter-religious and inter-caste marriage under Vedic rites at that time was not valid in law. To be legal, it had to be a civil marriage .'

It's a known fact that after Rajiv's birth Indira and Feroze lived separately, but they were not divorced. Feroze used to harass Nehru frequently for money and also interfere in Nehru's political activities. Nehru got fed up and left instructions not to allow him into the Prime Minister's residence Trimurthi Bhavan.

Mathai writes that the death of Feroze came as a relief to Nehru and Indira. The death of Feroze in 1960 before he could consolidate his own political forces, is itself a mystery. Feroze had even planned to remarry.

Those who try to keep tabs on our leaders in spite of all the suppressions and deliberate misinformation, are aware of the fact that the second son of Indira (or Mrs .Feroze Khan) known as Sanjay Gandhi was not the son of Feroze. He was the son of another Muslim gentleman, Mohammad Yunus.

Here in passing, we might mention that the second son was originally named Sanjiv. It rhymed with Rajiv, the elder brother's name. It was changed to Sanjay when he was arrested by the British police in England and his passport impounded, for having stolen a car.
Krishna Menon was then India 's High Commissioner in London . He offered to issue another passport to the felon who changed his name to Sanjay. Incidentally, Sanjay's marriage with the Sikh girl Menaka (now they call her Maneka for Indira Gandhi found the name of mythological Lord Indra's Court dancer rather offensive !!) took place quite surprisingly in Mohammad Yunus's house in New Delhi
The marriage with Menaka who was a model (She had model for Bombay Dyeing wearing just a towel) was not so ordinary either. Sanjay was notorious in getting unwed young women pregnant. Menaka too was rendered pregnant by Sanjay.

It was then that her father, Colonel Anand, threatened Sanjay with dire consequences if he did not marry her daughter and that did the trick.

Sanjay married Menaka. It was widely reported in Delhi at the time that Mohammad Yunus was unhappy at the marriage of Sanjay with Menaka. Apparently he had wanted to get him married with a Muslim girl of his choice. It was Mohammad Yunus who cried the most when Sanjay died in the plane accident.

In Yunus's book, 'Persons, Passions & Politics' one discovers that baby Sanjay had been circumcised following Islamic custom, although the reason stated was phimosis. It was always believed that Sanjay used to blackmail Indira Gandhi and due to this she used to turn a blind eye when Sanjay Gandhi started to run the country as though it were his personal freedom.. Was he black mailing her with the secret of who his real father was? When the news of Sanjay's death reached Indira Gandhi, the first thing she wanted to know was about the bunch of keys which Sanjay had with him.

Nehru was no less a player in producing bastards. At least one case is very graphically described by M.O. Mathai in his 'Reminiscences of the Nehru Age', page 206.

Mathai writes:
'In the autumn of 1948 a young woman from Benares arrived in New Delhi as a sanyasini named Shraddha Mata (an assumed and not a real name). She was a Sanskrit scholar well versed in the ancient Indian scriptures and mythology. People, including MPs, thronged to her to hear her discourses. One day S.D. Upadhyaya, Nehru's old employee, brought a letter in Hindi from Shraddha Mata. Nehru gave her an interview in the PM's house. As she departed, I noticed (Mathai is speaking here) that she was young, shapely and beautiful. Meetings of Nehru with her became rather frequent, mostly after he finished his work at night. During one of Nehru's visits to Lucknow , Shraddha Mata turned up there and Upadhyaya brought a letter from her as usual. Nehru sent her the reply and she visited Nehru at midnight...' Suddenly Shraddha Mata disappeared.

In November 1949 a convent in Bangalore sent a decent looking person to Delhi with a bundle of letters. He said that a young woman from northern India arrived at the convent a few months ago and gave birth to a baby boy. She refused to divulge her name or give any particulars about herself. She left the convent as soon as she was well enough to move out but left the child behind.

She however forgot to take with her a small cloth bundle in which, among other things, several letters in Hindi were found. The Mother Superior, who was a foreigner, had the letters examined and was told they were from the Prime Minister.

The person who brought the letters surrendered them...'I (Mathai) made discreet inquiries repeatedly about the boy but failed to get a clue about his whereabouts. Convents in such matters are extremely tight-lipped and secretive.

Had I succeeded in locating the boy, I would have adopted him. He must have grown up as a Catholic Christian blissfully ignorant of who his father was.'

Coming back to Rajiv Gandhi, we all know now that he changed his so called Parsi religion to become a Catholic to marry Sania Maino of Turin , Italy . Rajiv became Roberto. His daughter's name is Bianca and son's name is Raul. Quite cleverly the same names are presented to the people of India as Priyanka and Rahul.

What is amazing is the extent of our people's ignorance in such matters. The press conference that Rajiv Gandhi gave in London after taking over as Prime minister of India was very informative. In this press conference, Rajiv boasted that he was NOT a Hindu but a Parsi. Mind you, speaking of the Parsi religion, he had no Parsi ancestor at all. His grandmother (father's mother) had turned Muslim after having abandoned the Parsi religion to marry Nawab Khan.

It is the western press that waged a blitz of misinformation on behalf of Rajiv. From the New York Times to the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post, the big guns raised Rajiv to heaven. The children's encyclopaedias recorded that Rajiv was a qualified Mechanical Engineer from the revered University of Cambridge . No doubt US kids are among the most misinformed in the world today! The reality is that in all three years of his tenure at that University Rajiv had not passed a single exam. He had therefore to leave Cambridge without a certificate.

Sonia too had the same benevolent treatment. She was stated to be a student in Cambridge . Such a description is calculated to mislead Indians. She was a student in Cambridge all right, but not of the University of Cambridge , but of one of those fly by night language schools where foreign students come to learn English. Sonia was working as an 'au pair' girl in Cambridge and trying to learn English at the same time. And surprise of surprises, Rajiv was even cremated as per Vedic rites in full view of India's public.
This is the Nehru dynasty that India worships and now a foreigner leads a prestigious national party because of just one qualification being married into the Nehru family. Maneka Gandhi, though Indian, herself is being accepted by the non-Congress parties not because she was a former model or an animal lover, but for her links to the Nehru family.

Saying that an Italian (or any foreigner) should not lead India will amount to narrow mindedness, but if Sania Maino (now Sonia) had served India like, say, Mother Teresa or Annie Besant, i.e. in any wayon her own rights, then all Indians should be proud of her just as how proud we are of Mother Teresa.

OR
Saying that any other party which comes to rule India is better is again equally worse.

The point is Indians who nominate the people to stand in these elections; and the people who vote their rulers (i.e. the authorities) must know that truth eventually come out some day. Don't allow the famous land of India (our motherland) to be looked down by others

KASHMIRIYAT : What Exactly Is That?

Kashmir is again a hot spot. On the roads of Srinagar CRPF jawans are shooting dead the Kashmiri youth and when the CRPF jawan is put at bay, he is getting mercilessly lynched by Kashmiri youths. On the screen of TV, we are daily observing scores of Kashmiri teen agers hurling stones at our security forces. Those stones have become a highly potent murderous weapon, much worse than guns and bombs. Army had to be called in. So, in Kashmir PEACE is now elusive. Mother India will keep on bleeding white from this vicious wound called Kashmir.

Even amidst this painful process, something else can't be overlooked. The central minister and Congress leader Mani Shankar Ayer is clearly blaming the security forces on TV screen. He is telling that CRPF should exercise more restraint while dealing with the teen agers. The secretary of his home ministry on the other hand states that CRPF is exercising utmost restraint. Is this a mere dichotomy of thinking or is it a double standard pandering to a sinister political design? It is not clear as to what is the real opinion of the central Govt. albeit it's de facto controller Madam Sonia Gandhi. Mufti, Jeelani, Gilani, Yasin and the likes are always castigating the security forces. The real perpetrators of this conspiracy from Pakistan are however fully relishing this.

Investigation has revealed that the militant organizations in Pakistan are funding this whole activity of stone throwing demonstrations. This fund is channeled by ISI and this infamous body is the de facto controller of Govt. of Pakistan. Their sinister plan is gradually moving towards a total success and that needs to be thwarted by any means.

After the Jihadist attack in Mumbai on 26/11/ 2008, Govt. of India showed some apparently angry stance regarding their dialogue with Pakistan. That period of utter hypocrisy is now over. Again period of dialogue has set in. Pakistan as usual is adhering to Ayub Khan's policy of 'Thousand Cuts'. Sometimes this manifestation is in the form of Grenade or AK 47 in the hands of Kassav, sometimes it is in the form of stone throwing Kashmiri Adolescents.

After every dialogue, all the Pakistani leaders are harping on only one point. That is Kashmir. Kashmir is the main problem. Once the Kashmir problem gets solved, India Pakistan friendship would be a cakewalk. However, history from immemorial has proved that subjugation to appeasement leads to further Islamic expansionism and in lieu of a mitigator it acts as a catalyst aggravator. This very same idea of Pakistani leaders gets echoed by the extremist, secessionist leaders of Kashmir. A perfect resonance between these secessionist and Pakistani leaders.

So, we need to contemplate on Kashmir. What is the main problem revolving around Kashmir? Before we get into this main problem, let us highlight some important facts about Kashmir.

The name of the state is Jammu & Kashmir, '' J & K" in short. It is a Muslim majority state. The inhabitants of this state can buy land in any other Indian state, can permanently settle there and carry out any commercial activity. But, on the contrary, no Indian citizen from any other state, not even the President and Prime Minister of India can buy an iota of land in Kashmir. Indian constitution has conferred this special provision for Kashmir. This is known as article 370.This only applicable to the state of J & K and not for any other state in India. Be patient, my dear reader. More is yet to come. All citizens of India are Indian citizens but for Kashmir the case is different. There principle of Dual citizenship applies. Indian citizenship as well as State Citizenship. This later is completely under the jurisdiction of the state. That is a state subject. So, J & K STATE CONFERS THIS CITIZENSHIP, not the central govt., not the home ministry, not the election commission of India. This dual citizenship is protected by section 370.This is the very article for abrogation of which Shyama Prasaad Mukherjee sacrificed his life---' Ek Nishan' , 'Ek Bidhan', 'Ek Pradhan', i.e. --- One Flag, One Constitution, One Head.

Owing to this article lakhs of Hindu lead a cursed life in J&K.

After partition of India in 1947, Manmohan Singh & Advani fled from Pakistan (or rather hounded out) and became Prime Minister and Home Minister of India. But Hindu and Sikh refugees who settled in J& K became Indian citizens but could not get state citizenship. They are entitled to vote in the parliamentary election of India but not lucky enough to exercise their franchise for the state assembly. This is the contribution of article 370. There are more to consume, my dear reader. No law passed in the parliament of India can be put in force in J&K unless and until the same gets passed in the state legislative assembly. So, this is a country within another country, a state within another state, a federal structure within a federal structure. The person, the chief architect of this wonderful arrangement is tragically a Kashmiri Brahmin, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU by name. An irony of fate! A real irony! His lust and affinity for a British lady has cost the country such a terrible price, a nightmare, a cancerous malignant growth, a gangrenous wound.

It is not only this article 370. It is not only this vexing issue of ' country within a country'. This state is just a parasite for rest of India. Rice, wheat, sugar salt, pulse----and all other essential items have to be provided to the state at a huge subsidy. Many other facilities and amenities are provided to the state at the cost of rest of India. Kashmir is just a sucking needle from the economic blood stream of India.

Even after so much of appeasement, Kashmir could not be won over. To keep Kashmir within India and make it an integral part thereof, more than half a million of Indian soldiers and security forces are deployed over there. We are presenting them rice, wheat and every sort of material and financial support. In return, they do present us back 3.5 lakhs HINDU REFUGEES and every week minimum 5 corpses of Indian soldiers.

Now, let me disclose what the real problem of Kashmir is! They say, I mean the Kashmiri Muslims say that Kashmir is a special place. It is the real heaven on the earth. Nature (in their doctrine-- Allahtala) has prepared it with special touch. The soil, water, climate, environment---everything is distinct here, very different from India. So, the culture of Kashmir as a whole is different from the culture of rest of India. They have named this culture as Kashmiriyat. This culture is priceless, very soft and tender and touchy and can be trampled by anything exogeneous. So, this special culture has to be preserved at any cost and for that purpose freedom for Kashmir is a must. Azad Kashmir is a must. The inference is very simple, Kashmiris are not Indians, they are a different nation. My dear reader--" Are you not hearing the Echo of Jinnah's demands in this?”

One section of them is of the opinion that Kashmir be snatched away from India and ceded to Pakistan. Therein lays total satisfaction of their soul. However, imperialist India is just not letting it happen. So, at least, autonomy is needed to preserve this 'Kashmiriyat'.

Let us now delve into what this Kashmiriyat actually stands for. If the special climate or atmosphere imparts some special characteristics to the populace over there, then those traits would be shared by one and all over there irrespective of their language or religion. Those characteristics are collectively known as the culture of that place and the older the inhabitants stay there over generations the more deep rooted the culture would get inculcated.

History tells us already as to who are living in Kashmir from the yore, who have an older lineage? The Hindus or the Muslims. Kashmir has been named after the great sage Kshyap. During the period of Kashyap Muni, Muslims were neither in Kashmir nor anywhere else on the earth. The very age-old pilgrimage in Kashmir is Amarnath where God Shiva narrated Goddess Parvati the theory of immortality. Even today lakhs of Hindus pay pilgrimage to Amarnath. Were the Muslims present at that time when these anecdotes were in place or when this pilgrimage started? Who composed and created those anecdotes? Were they not Hindus? The old history of Kashmir 'Rajtarangini' was written by the great historian Kalhan. Were the Muslims present then? Amarnath is situated in the district of Anantnag. Is this Anantnag not referred to in the Vedas and Purans? Has this Anantnag got any reference in Koran and Hadees? Is Anantnag outside the purview of Kashmiri culture? These so called proponents of Kashmiriyat have changed the name of Anantnag and have written everywhere instead 'Islamabad'. So, Islamabad is now a part of Kashmiriyat. In the history of Kashmir --- which is older 'Anantnag' or 'Islamabad'?

In Srinagar, on the banks of Dal Lake high atop the hill lies the old temple of Shankaracharya. In Punch Bura Amarnath temple, in Jammu the world famous Vaishnodevi, Raghunath temple, Kheerbhavani temple etc. date back more than thousand years. Vedic hymns are chanted in these temples over thousand years. These are part and parcel of Kashmiri culture; these are embedded in Kashmiri culture over thousands of years. Stepping these aside and ignoring these basic tenets of Kashmiri culture, the proponents of Kashmiriyat are emphasizing on beard, phase cap, veil, namaj, azan, nara-e-takdir etc. which have descended much later into the soils of Kashmir.

If Kashmiri culture is so dependent on climatic pleasure or topographic serene beauty, then why the sons of soil of Kashmir from time immemorial, the HINDUS, were tortured psychologically and physically and ultimately kicked out of Kashmir? Why more than three thousand temples in Kashmir were reduced to rubbles? If Kashmiriyat be an exclusive cultural identity, then why the proponents of Kashmiriyat are so hand in glove with the Pakistanis? Why the Kashmiri youth get terrorist training in militant camps in Pakistan and bomb innocent Indian citizens in Delhi and other places? Is it Kashmiriyat?

Yes, my dear friend, this is exactly what so called Kashmiriyat stands for. This name is a big hoax, an out and out bluff, a deception, a chicanery. I repeat this is but a master bluff. If you peel off the cover, you would come to know its true identity. This is but PURE ISLAMIYAT. True to the tradition of pure Islamiyat, the non-Muslims are hunted out there. That is the reason why the original sons of the soil, Kashmiri Pandits find no place in their ancestral home and hearth. Over more than 20 years, they are stacked in refugee camps in Delhi and Jammu. Kashmiriyat is a mask for Islamiyat. Time is now ripe to expose the true nature of Kashmiriyat to the entire world.

The way Islamiyat is breeding terror all over the world, perpetrating communal frenzy over all hues of Non-Muslims in all its ramifications as and when the situation suits to their evil, sinister spirit. The same way this proponent of Islamiyat in the guise of Kashmiriyat is bleeding Kashmir white. If they are appeased further, they would turn or at least attempt to turn the rest of India the same way. We just can't allow this to happen. We have to resist this sinister design emanating from Islamiyat by all means. We can't afford to allow India to go Kashmir way; we have to Indianize Kashmir.

In order to attain the above goal, we need to make bare the mask of Kashmiriyat which is but hard core Islamiyat. We need to deal with the Islamiyat with an iron fist. We need a non-hypocrite political approach, a transparent outlook and firm determination. It is the iron will that will carry us through and absence of which will make our enemies triumphant and long cherished dream of Islamiyat will come true.

Our clear cut guidelines will be as follows:-

* To annul all special rights and privileges for J&K.

* To abrogate article 370 without any further delay

*The retired army personnel from all over India should settle in Kashmir.

*To change the demography of Kashmir.

*Those who speak of cessation should be put behind the bar.

*All Pakistani agents should be put to death.

* To rehabilitate all Kashmiri Pundits. (3.5 lakhs of them are already in refugee camps).

* To reconstruct all destroyed temples at the hands of these Jihadists. (More than 3000 destroyed).

*To arm all Hindus in Kashmir valley at Govt. initiative.

Our Shyama Prasad Mukherjee made a supreme sacrifice at the altar of motherland to fight out the separatist and divisive forces in Kashmir. We shall never and never allow his sacred blood to go waste. Kashmir named under the great Kashyap Muni, Kashmir that beholds Amarnath, Kashmir that beholds Anantnag was, is and shall be an integral part of India

Shame of India: Dinhata

Dinhata is a small town in the district of Coochbehar, West Bengal and from the incident that took place in this town on December 6, 2009, regarding the visit of Peyarada (the nickname of Hussein Muhammad Ersad, the ex-military dictator and the President of Bangladesh; literally means ‘beloved elder brother’), it seemed that the Hindus of this place, or rather of the entire state of West Bengal, have lost their rationality and common sense. It seemed that there was not a single soul who could see the truth. Dinhata is the native place of Peyarada, who went to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after partition in 1947, and on Dec 6, last year, he returned to Dinhata after 34 years. He is now 79 and will be 80 on Feb 1, 2010. It appeared that the Hindus of Dinhata were far more eager to greet their Peyarada than Peyarada was to meet the people of his place of birth.

A report appeared in the December 7, 2009 edition of Dainik Statesman, a Kolkata based Bengali daily, said, “Escorted by tight security, the son of the town entered his native place amidst greetings by thousand hilarious Hindus. As soon as he got out of the car, he was encircled by the reporters. Before the crowd of onlookers, their dear Peyarada moved towards his ancestral home, while the crowd continued showering their good wishes and shouting slogans. A stage was set up at the entrance of the house where Ershad received the greetings from the crowd and replied his good wishes to them.” The reporter Subhas Mandal of the Dainik Statesman continued his idiotic narration – “In the heavily crowded press conference, dear Peyarada, the glorious son of Dinhata, the ex-President of Bangladesh, said that he would continue his efforts to build up a close and friendly relation between India and Bangladesh.

It has been mentioned above that this dear Peyarada, the son of Dinhata, is no other than Hussain Muhammad Ershad, the ex-army chief, the military dictator and the President of Bangladesh. His ancestral house is still standing there in Dinhata, though he was born on February 1, 1930 in his maternal uncle’s house in Rangpur, in the undivided Bengal. He spent his childhood in Dinhata and passed the Matriculation Examination from a Dinhata school. Later on, in the wake of partition and creation of Pakistan in 1947, his family decided to move to the holy land of Pakistan, a Dar-ul-Islam as muhajir leaving India, a dar-ul-harb. The Hindus of Diahata do not have sufficient grey matter in their brains to understand the Muslim psyche of H M Ershad and his family that considers the call of Islam far more precious than the call of the motherland. It should be mentioned here that the ex-military general and ex-president of Pakistan Musherof Hussain is also a muhajir in Pakistan.

It is now well known that the war at Kargil was one of the most treacherous back-stabbing inflicted by Musharraf against India. Similarly the educated and conscious people of the world are also acquainted with the treachery misdeeds committed by H M Ershad againstIndia, particularly against the Hindus. But it seems that there is not a single Hindu in Dinhata who is aware of those treacherous activities of Ershad. One should recall that the Indian soldiers, by their blood, earned freedom for the people of Bangladesh from the clutch of Pakistanin 1970. But it was the dear Peyarada or H M Ershad of Dinhata, who after assuming the office of president of Bangladesh in 1988, made Islam the state religion of the country and thus by the stroke of the pen, converted the entire Hindu population of Bangladesh into second grade citizens, deprived them of minimum civic rights and turned them into targets of religious persecution and victims of the fanatic majority Muslims. In other words, the entire Hindu community of Bangladesh has been degraded to the status of Dhimmis. So, it is extremely ridiculous when that culprit says that he is trying to improve relation between India and Bangladesh. If this culprit is projected as a pride of Dinhata, then Dinhata is a shame for India.

In this context, another aspect of vital importance should be pointed out here. In 1947, Ershad alone went to East Pakistan, while his brothers and others relatives stayed back in India and his properties were protected by the Indian Constitution. On the contrary, the millions of Hindus who were fallen victims of severe religious persecution and ethnic cleansing and were compelled to leave East Pakistan (and today’s Bangladesh) to save their lives, their properties were declared ‘enemy properties’ by the government of Pakistan and grabbed by the Muslims of East Pakistan or Bangladesh. Even the other members of a Hindu household, one of whom had shifted to India, were designated as enemies of the government and properties confiscated. In most of the cases, they had to sell their properties in throw away price and come to India to save their lives and the honour of their women. So, the Hindus, who were compelled to leave East Pakistan or Bangladesh, were treated as enemies but H M Ershad, who left India for the sake of Islam, is being treated as the ‘son of the soil of Dinhata’, ‘dear Peyarada’ and the ‘pride of Dinhata’.

It really amazing that most of the Hindus of Dinhata, who are gleefully celebrating the visit of Ershad to Dinhata, had come to India as refugees after being kicked out ofEast Pakistan or Bangladesh. Following Shibaprasad Roy, these people are severely running short of common sense and it seems that even God Almighty shall not be able to prevent them from turning refugee again. It is a shame that the Hindu refugees of Dinhata, who came to Indiaafter losing their properties to the Muslims, are now performing the sacred task of protecting the properties of Muslims like H M Ershad.

According to a press report, Udayan Guha, the son of Kamal Guha, a leader of the Forward Bloc, the political party founded by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, sought the blessings of Ershad by touching his feet (a Hindu style to paying respect), on the occasion. In fact, this Kamal Guha & Co are extremely dishonest politicians and they are utilizing the name of patriotic personality of Netaji to gain political mileage in one hand and, on the other, collaborating with the traitor and treacherous Communists, who once described Netaji as quisling ofJapan and a dog of Tojo, to taste the honey of power. These hypocrites display the photograph of Netaji to pay their sham respect to him and at the same time have handed over the Forward Bloc Party to the enemies of the nation like Kalimuddin Shams and others. In this context, one should recall that these treacherous Muslim political leaders like Kalimuddin Shams helped millions of illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators getting ration cards so that their names could be enlisted in the voters’ list. In other words, turning the illegal Bangladeshi infiltrations into legal citizens of India.

One should also recall that Robin Ghosh, another leader of the Forward Bloc and the MLA from the Uluberia constituency, in another occasion, stopped the Mumbai Express with a mob of 5000 Muslims and released 100 Bangladeshi infiltrators who were being brought to Kolkata by the Maharastra police and set them free. It seems that there is no law in the country to impede these outrageous activities of Kamal Guha, Robin Ghosh and co and courts and legal system of this country exists only to harass the members of the patriotic Hindu organizations. The reader should also recall that, in another occasion, this Kamal Guha and his goons snatched away the microphone of Manomohan Roy, a social worker of RSS, who was holding a meeting at Dinhata to arouse public awareness about the danger of Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators at Dinhata. From the above narrations it becomes evident that the political party called the Forward Bloc is at present has been turned into an organization to blacken the name of Netaji and is causing much more harm to the Hindus than the infamous Indian Union of Muslim League. So it is not difficult to understand why Udayan Guha, the son of Kamal Guha would play fuss with H M Ershad at Dinhata.

But what is more astonishing is the behaviour of the common Hindus of Dinhata. Neither they raised any slogan like ‘Down with H M Ershad’ and nor they tried to throw a shoe to him. No one, during the over crowded press conference, asked him – “What motivated you to declare Islam as the state religion of Bangladesh and thus turning a seemingly secular country into a country of mediaeval Islamic fanaticism?” Nobody asked him – “You came to power as a military dictator and consequently declared yourself the President of Bangladesh. So you assumed the office of the President of Bangladesh through an undemocratic process, and hence you had no moral or ethical right to alter the constitution of Bangladesh. Then how could you take such a step that reduced the status of Bangladeshi Hindus to dhimmis? And how many years it would take for Bangladesh to redress your misdeed? Or could ever be possible to reverse that pernicious act?”

We may now turn to another aspect of the report that appeared in press. It has been reported that Ershad came to Dinhata with his 9-year-old son Eric. It has been pointed out above that Ershad is running 79 years 9 months and hence his son Eric was born when he was more that 70 years old. So it becomes evident that he has served Islam faithfully, in swelling the Muslim population up to the age of 70. This reflects his personal contribution to step up the Muslim population, the effort that has raised the same to 34.54 per cent in Dinhata block (both 1 and 2), 24.24 per cent in the Coochbihar district and 75.00 per cent in the adjacent district of Dhubri inAssam. One should also note that the above estimates are according to the Census Report of 2001 and today these figures have become still higher. The Hindus of Dinhata should ask this pertinent question to themselves – “How long they will be able to live at Dinhata?”

It is a pity for the inhabitants of the West Bengal. They are offering flower bouquet, sweets and respect (by touching his feet) to a fanatic Muslim leader, a military dictator who has reduced the Hindus of a neighbouring country to second grade citizens. And at the same time, they are showering hatred and pushing out a writer of the same country who is fighting for the human rights for the Hindus of that country. The name of that great lady is Taslima Nasrin. So, there is no other way but to appreciate this secularism and one should say, “Glory, to the progressiveness of the Hindus of West Bengal and glory to their secularism”. So far, this secularism has been the other name of hypocrisy, but from the behavioral pattern of the Hindus of Dinhata, one should conclude that the said secularism has turned into a disease. So, one should write sick-ularism in stead of secularism. This has become a dreaded disease like AIDS and every sane person must keep a distance from these sick-ularists to avoid a contamination. Anyone contaminated with this disease is destined to die. So, people should be protected against this dreaded ailment. This is a kind of rabies that takes away one’s conscience and moral sense, and deludes one of his memories causing severe amnesia. It makes one to forget even serious events like raping of his mother, his wife and his sisters. So, to save the Hindu society, there is no other way but to identify and isolate these sick-ulars infected with this dreaded disease.

We may now delve into the matter a bit to seek a correct reply to the question – “Why the Hindus of Dinhata did behave so foolishly in greeting their dear Peyarada, a staunch enemy of the Hindus?” The reader may recall that the recent Assembly Election in the state of Jharkhand, the result was indecisive. No single party got simple majority required to form a government. At this moment of crisis, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supported the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the political party led by Sibu Soren, and formed a coalition government. This Sibu Soren, once regarded as the teacher and guide of the tribal people, was later on convicted in several cases of political murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, but ultimately acquitted by the Supreme Court. In 1992, he was also convicted of taking bribe from the then Congress Prime Minister Narasimha Rao for extending his support and thus saving Rao’s government from an imminent collapse.

These facts and figures were more than enough to identify Sibu Soren as one of the most dishonest and criminal politicians of the country. At that time, BJP was too vocal against him and aroused nationwide condemnation. But now, the same BJP came forward to support him and form a coalition government with him, as mentioned above. The incident had inspired the political observers of India to paint BJP as an immoral, power-hungry and opportunist party. Though the allegations were correct, we should not raise my fingers towards BJP. Had BJP refrained from supporting JMM, would there been an honest government come up in Jharkhand? Perhaps not. Another immoral party would have come forward to help Sibu Soren. When all the political parties are dishonest and immoral, there is little chance for setting up an honest and moral government in any state, including Jharkhand.

We may look into the matter from a different viewpoint. Definitely, Sibu Soren was corrupt and dishonest and hence one might have declined to support him on that ground. But what is about the 18 MLAs, who had won election as candidates of JMM? Were all of them corrupt and deserve to be isolated? Even if one said that, as they had been guided and led by Sibu Soren, they were also immoral and dishonest, then what he would have said about the large number of voters who had voted them to win the election? Would it have been proper to paint these voters as immoral and corrupt and disown them? To keep the image of a party clean, BJP might have avoided to form the government with JMM. But what should have been its attitude towards this large number of voters?

Here lies the role of a truly nationalist and patriotic political party. The role of a political party is to educate the common people about politics based on principles of ethics, morality and patriotism, or to make the masses conscious about true and value based politics for achieving real good for the country and its people. During the British Raj, great patriotic leaders like Lokamanya Tilak, Madanmohan Malavya, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bepin Chandra Pal, S N Banerji, Sri Aurovindo, C R Das and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose tried their best to promote politics based on moral, ethical and patriotic principles. At that time, though the people were less educated, these honest leaders could implant the basic ideas of moral and ethical politics into the people with their influence.

But after independence, India began its journey on the road of Nehruvian politics based on top to toe hypocrisy, unbridled greed for power, cunningness, Himalayan lack of patriotism, false internationalism and lack of nationalism, revengefulness to the political opponents, fulfillment of personal ambition at the cost of national interest and so on and so forth. It is needless to say that the conspiracy involving M K Gandhi and the British Governor General Mountbatten was responsible for putting such a hypocrite and immoral person like Jawaharlal Nehru at the helm of this country which ultimately led to the ruin of the value based politics in the country. It is also true that to save the nation from the grip of this degraded and unpatriotic politics, Dr Shyama Prasad Mookherji and Dr B R Ambedkar resigned from the Nehru Cabinet and the former had to sacrifice his life in mysterious situation in Kashimir. (Many believe that the Prime Minister Nehru, to get rid of his most prominent political opponent, plotted a conspiracy with Shaikh Abdullah and assassinated Dr Mookherji).

Later on, guided by the same motive, farsighted Guruji Golwalkar, along with Shyama Prasad, Pundit Deendayal Upadhyay and Prof Balraj Madhok, formed the new political party called Bharatiya Janasangh. Steered by the farsight of Guruji, enriched with the goodwill of RSS and under the able leadership of Shyama Prasad, this new party looked for not only to contest election and acquire political power for the well-being of the nation, but also to inculcate sense of true politics free from evils among the masses and inspire in them deep love for the motherland and patriotism, and turning them into good citizens fit to carry out sacred national duties. So long, Pundit Deendayal Upadhyay was alive, the party was following the desired path. But after his assassination in 1968, the party got grossly derailed from original ideology and completely lost under the new name Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It abandoned the difficult task of educating the common people the politics of patriotism and took up the path of petty conspiratorial politics of compromise and gaining political power. So, at present one finds little difference between the Indian National Congress of Gandhi and Nehru and BJP. Most shamefully, its leaders have relinquished the path high ideals and doing politics only for personal benefit and making money.

As a result of these developments, there is not a single organization in today’s India that can teach the people of this country the things like patriotism, national duty, in addition to what is good and what is bad for the country and who is a friend and who is foe of the nation. Once upon a time, the people of this country regarded the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as an organization of this kind. But today, it has been so much engrossed in ongoing politics, being controlled by BJP, that it has completely lost its past glory. People today cannot trust RSS as an organization that is above the petty politics of grabbing political power.

Now, we may try to make the two ends meet. We have began with the most idiotic, ignorant and stupid behaviour, the people (or the Hindus) of Dinhata had displayed on the occasion of the visit of H M Ershad at that town. From the discussion given above, it is not difficult for the reader to understand that severe lack of political consciousness, lack to grasp the role of politics of National interest had played its role behind the aforementioned stupid behaviour of the people of Dinhata. Most importantly, who will take the responsibility of educating the masses in these aspects?

For an individual, who is little bit conscious about the goings on the country, it is not difficult to notice that media, including newspapers or television channels, has emerged as the patron of today’s system of education, may it be bad or disgraceful. People becomes conscious and forms their opinion only about those issues that are focused by the media. While the issues, though of extreme national importance, ignored by the media, people remains in the dark bout those issues. And hence they are not redressed. One should understand that the media is there not to discuss ethics but to do business, make money and thus survive stiff competition. One should also notice that, it is the skill of the media that leads the culprits of the Jessica Lal murder case to escape conviction. It is the similar skill that drags the Ruchika rape case through decades. It is also the underhand game of media leading to suspension of the Commissioner of Police of Kolkata Police in the Rezwanur suicide case and it is the insidious role of the media that motivates the government to release the dreaded terrorist Masud Azahar from Kashmir jail.

Furthermore, it is the Indian media that had once projected a sparingly educated airplane operator into a great leader to make him the Prime Minister and later on turned his widow, an Italian waitress, into a top national leader. At present, the same media is busy in turning the uneducated son of that Italian lady into a national leader of exception. On the contrary, this media is consciously suppressing the affairs of the courageous Bangladeshi lady who has launched a total war, at the risk of her life, against the most inhuman and barbaric creed called Islam. This mischievous act of the media is keeping the people of this country unaware about the heroic contributions of that Bangladeshi lady Taslima Nasrin and thus keeping them incapable to shower their sympathy and good wishes to her.

Who are running this media business? Not the highly qualified editors, or the Board of Editor, or the highly educated journalists. Like any other business, it is being run by the owners, proprietors or the Board or Directors. These are the people, who decide which piece of information is to be highlighted and which is to be suppressed, and thus guide the opinion formation of common masses. How many are they? At most 200 or so! So, public opinion, public sentiment, or in other words, the consciousness of the hoi polloi could be guided in a desired direction, if these 200 media owners could be purchased. Hence, it becomes evident that money, both domestic and foreign, is playing the ultimate role in guiding 1.12 billion people of this country, guiding their political consciousness and views.

So, there is none to educate and guide the people of this country in the right direction. As a result, corrupt political leaders like N D Tewari, Sibu Soren, Lalu Jadav, Rajib Pratap Rudy, Babubhai Kataria etc. are contesting and winning elections, and consequently forming governments. This environment of corrupt politics, lack of correct political education and lack of able leadership are influencing the people of this country, including the people of Dinhata, to behave in the most stupid and ignorant way. The existing legal system may convict and punish some offender politicians, but it cannot take up the job of educating the people. In fact, there is no short cut path to educate the masses. However, someone has to come forward and take up this responsibility.

Justice System

In India today we witness crimes being committed, but there is no criminal! During the first half of 2006, India’s justice delivery system was put in the dock and adjudged guilty. In a series of high-profile cases, the criminals have not been brought to book and there is widespread perception that the system has not delivered. Indeed, there is a near total failure of the system.

Witnesses who turn hostile have now become a regular feature, clearly pointing to the role of money and muscle-power. It seems that the effects of money and influence extend beyond the witnesses. Often, the accused are the kin of politicians and other powerful people.

A combination of shoddy investigation, poor prosecution, sheer inefficiency, corrupt authorities and general insensitivity in the society have ensured that the criminals go scot-free.

The impression seems to have grown amongst the well connected that they can get away with anything. Sadly, they seem to be right. It is difficult to recall an instance of anyone from the power-class being convicted - despite dozens of cases of corruption, rape, rioting and even murder.

The police - by and large - are willing recipients, as is much of the bureaucracy and politicians. As a result, the law and law-enforcers are neither feared nor respected.

India’s judiciary has, for long, been respected for its independence, erudition, and vision. The highest court has delivered many landmark judgments and has sometimes been a more powerful voice of the people than their elected representatives. Yet, the overall system is so overburdened, its arteries so clogged, that its heart is in danger.

Cases that linger for a decade or more - thanks to endless adjournments, transfers, vacations and procedural flaws - make courts the place to delay justice rather than to seek it. Add bribery, threats, false cases and hostile witnesses, and what you get is a mockery of justice. Little wonder, then, that those who can take the law into their own hands do so.

A number of reports and commissions have made some excellent recommendations for desperately needed police reform. However, the absence of people’s pressure has made it easy for politicians with vested interests to scuttle any reform.

Meanwhile, those whose voices carry weight with the government have focused on all other aspects - from privatisation and economic reform, to FDI and labour reform - but not on the pressing need for radical reform of the justice system.

The corporate world - and, indeed, all of the educated India - must realise that if there is one show-stopper for an economy on the roll, one deterrent to investment and one storm to end their shining party, it is social upheaval.

If over 160 districts in the country are “Naxal-affected”, at least part of this growing spread of violent armed action is due to the perceived lack of a fair and equitable justice system. The answer to Naxalism is social and economic justice, not merely more police forces.

1984 violence against Sikhs, forced exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir and their genocide, intrusion of foreigners in North East and sufferings of natives are some manifestation of the system not being made accountable. It is time we woke up.

India's shame

AT NAND NAGRI in New Delhi, at a toilet complex that is cleaned manually twice a day.

`SHAMEFUL', `degrading', `dehumanising', `disgusting', `obnoxious', `abhorrent', a `blot on humanity' - these are some of the words used to describe `manual scavenging', which in plain language means people lifting human excreta with their hands and carrying the load on their heads, hips or shoulders. If they are lucky, they get to use a wagon.

Over the years books have been written, committees and commissions have been set up, laws have been enacted and crores of rupees have been spent to eradicate manual scavenging. But even after six decades of Independence, India continues to dehumanise, degrade and shame the most vulnerable amongst us. Governments in several States have denied in court the existence of manual scavengers despite evidence to the contrary.

In 2002-03, the Union Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment admitted the existence of 6.76 lakh people who lift human excreta for a living and the presence of 92 lakh dry latrines, spread across 21 States and Union Territories. However, when the Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA), along with individual scavengers and organisations which are working for the cause, filed a petition in the Supreme Court in 2003, most States hotly denied having scavengers and claimed that most of them had been rehabilitated in alternative professions. It took three years and strong admonishments from the apex court for the States to respond. Most of them submitted affidavits claiming that no dry latrines exist and, therefore, no manual scavenging exists. Since then, several affidavits and counter-affidavits have been filed.

Bezwada Wilson, national convener of the SKA, says the problem is not about identifying, educating or providing alternatives. The problem is one of attitude. "No reliable data are available. We have conducted sample surveys with our limited resources and we estimate that there could be as many as 13 lakh manual scavengers in the country," he says.

The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrine (Prohibition) Act was passed in 1993. Says Wilson: "It took another decade for some States to adopt it. Some States refuse to adopt the law, saying that they don't have any manual scavengers, despite evidence to the contrary, while some States adopted the law only after the SKA went to the Supreme Court. How can you solve a problem unless you first admit that a problem exists?"

A Frontline investigation found that the state of denial extends to the national capital. The affidavit filed by the Delhi government in the Supreme Court has accused the petitioners of levelling "bad allegations against answering respondent without verifying facts". On a visit to Nand Nagri near Shahdara in the National Capital Region in order to verify, Frontline met Meena, who is a volunteer with the SKA and has been working as a manual scavenger since she was nine.

Says Meena, who is in her mid-twenties: "I remember the first time I had to carry a basketful on my head. I slipped and fell into the gutter. No one would come to pick me up because the basket was so dirty and I was covered with filth. I sat there, howling, until another woman scavenger arrived. She hosed me down and took me home. But that day I felt like the most unfortunate child in the whole world."

According to her, there could be anywhere between 100 and 150 families in that suburb working as manual scavengers. "There is Rampur, Seemapuri, Tarpur, Kachipura, Ashoknagar, Seva Dham; in Seva Dham people go into open fields around their kuchcha houses. But afterwards, they make you clean that open space also," she says. "Many people just dig a hole in the ground and hang jute mats around it. Then they call people from our community to clean up."

SANDEEP SAXENA 

In the scavengers' colony.

Meena somehow managed to stay in school until she cleared her secondary level examinations, but education brought little change. "This is what we've been doing for generations and nobody gives us other work. In fact, my mother was married to my father based upon the fact that he lived in a busy, crowded area and there was that much more to carry."

Meena's husband Mukesh works in a community toilet near their shack in Nand Nagri. Mukesh wanted to apply for a government sweeper's post, like his father, but could not. "They ask for Rs.50,000 in bribes for a government job. At best, I could hope for occasional work, where I get Rs.100 on a daily-wage basis, but the policeman takes his cut," he says. "Finally, I cleaned this public toilet, which was run by the MCD [Municipal Corporation of Delhi] until last year. Now, it is in private hands. There is no water to clean the toilet, incidentally. I fill my bucket with water from the open gutter outside." He adds that many people simply squat outside the toilet, instead of sitting on the commode; the safai karamchari is left to clean up.

Meena's mother Sharada cleans most of the private dry latrines in the area. She says: "There are about 10 dry latrines now. I get Rs.10 per house. Many houses have got pucca latrines now. But the way they are constructed, the sewage comes from a pipe into the open gutter below. And we have to clean this gutter. On many days the gutter overflows with excreta and when there isn't enough water to wash it away, it accumulates and dries. My husband sweeps it into a corner and I lift it out of the gutter using two pieces of plastic and put it into a basket."

Sharada's current grouse is that her basket is broken. A new one costs around Rs.70, which she cannot afford. So she has hired a rickshaw-cart, which she pulls herself. She piles it with both garbage and gutter-filth, which she later sorts to pick out anything with resale value.

Even Mahatma Gandhi's Gujarat has not learnt to clean its own toilets. There are about 55,000 scavengers in Gujarat, according to the Navsarjan Trust, which has been leading the movement in the State. Its founder, Martin Macwan, believes that it is impossible to determine correctly the size of the problem because people refuse access to their homes. "We can know only about those employed with the government, local civic bodies or panchayats. The estimates are based on the population of Balmikis, the kind of work they engage in, and sample surveys," he says. "The State government does nothing except allocate money. The scavengers are made to believe that this is their work and they cannot do anything else, so they don't want to talk about it."

Clearly, State governments are not going to talk about it either, if they can help it. Haryana and Punjab claim they have no manual scavengers. However, visits to localities in the two States showed that they had not only failed in their commitment to eradicate manual scavenging but also lied to the Supreme Court.

SANDEEP SAXENA 

Clearing garbage and sewage on a cart she has hired.

At Sanoli Road, a locality in Panipat town in Haryana, Frontline saw at least five dry latrines and met three scavengers. Bhagwati, who lives in Deha basti, has spent her whole life doing precisely the task the civic authorities deny the existence of - cleaning dry latrines manually. She says that she carries narak (hell, in Hindi). "I have been doing this ever since I can remember. My mother did it, my sister did it and I am doing it." The only saving grace, according to Bhagwati, is that there is no lack of water in the area. "As it is, my hands and feet and waist get marked by the `narak'. At least, I can bathe after work," she says.

Bala, 35, lives in what is commonly known as Balmiki basti in Panipat town and has been cleaning dry latrines in some of the houses in the area for the past 18 years. She would gladly stop doing it now if only she had an alternative. "Who wants to lift other people's filth? But I am forced to because we're so poor. No household gives me more than Rs.15-20," she says.

However, as far as the State government is concerned, people like Bhagwati and Bala do not exist. Its affidavit filed this year in the Supreme Court claims that until 1992 there were 2.02 lakh dry latrines but these were phased out and not a single one remains. It also claims that the Rs.18.36 crores received from the Centre was used up for training and rehabilitation, that 15,739 scavengers were rehabilitated and that "Haryana is a scavenger-free State".

Punjab has a similar take. The State government conducted a survey in 1992 after the Centre launched the National Scheme for Liberation and Rehabilitation of Scavengers and their dependants. The scheme, which was to be implemented by the States, enabled beneficiaries to get vocational training and be settled in alternative professions. It also provided households below the poverty line an 80 per cent subsidy to build flush latrines.

At that time, Punjab identified 12,444 scavenger families. In the affidavit filed in the Supreme Court this year the State claimed: "Since banks were not providing timely loans to the beneficiaries, the Punjab Scheduled Castes Land Development and Finance Corporation also started disbursing loans to them under its own scheme to avoid hardship to this class. The pace of the scheme was very slow as scavengers were not coming forward to avail the loan under this scheme; therefore, fresh survey for identification of scavengers was got conducted (sic) through Deputy Commissioners in all the districts of the State. As a result, only 531 scavengers were identified."

K. ANANTHAN 

IN COIMBATORE, TAMIL Nadu, going down to clear a choked drain with minimum equipment.

How this statistical miracle occurred is anybody's guess. Of the 531 people identified, the State claimed that 389 "rehabilitated on their own and remaining 142 scavengers have been rehabilitated by the Corporation". Most of them are women and that they are "on their own" is clear to them.

Subhash Desawar, State convener of the SKA, told Frontline that in Samrala town, in relatively prosperous Ludhiana district, he could recall readily the names of 20 women. "Incidentally, this is the home town of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president. We also have evidence of manual scavenging in Patiala, the constituency of the Chief Minister," he says.

Most of the women got into this work only after marriage. Shanti, 70, began cleaning dry latrines about 20 years ago. "Many have been converted to flush latrines, especially after the SKA people came with cameras. Those people whose homes had dry latrines got frightened and were ashamed, so many of them converted," she says. "But there are a few left. We get Rs.20 from each house, and sometimes leftover food."

Amarwati, another senior citizen, has been cleaning dry latrines for as long as she can remember. She says: "I don't like it. I have studied till the 4th standard. I can read newspapers, novels and can write a bit. But there was no option. It seems I have done this forever. I didn't let my daughter do it, but I have no alternative for myself."

At least 15 women confirmed that they clean dry latrines and that they have not got any help from the authorities. They had not heard of any government scheme to train and rehabilitate them, no civic official had approached them with an offer of loans, and, until the SKA intervention they were neither included in any survey nor asked to stop doing their work.

Another major hurdle to the eradication of scavenging is the Railways. The tracks have to be cleaned manually since coaches have the `open discharge' system, and most stations are not equipped with concretised platforms that would allow waste to be washed away with jets of water. In their response to the Supreme Court, the railways cited lack of money. The Railways claim that a proposal to fit fully sealed latrines is "under consideration" and "various technologies shall be tried out", but refuse to set themselves a deadline to end the present practice.

Challenges ahead

In the 13 years since the passing of the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrine (Prohibition) Act there has not been a single prosecution; the Act stipulates imprisonment up to a year and fines up to Rs.2,000 or both. "The law is more like a scheme; it has no teeth. The powers rest with the sanitary inspector or the Collector, while the worker himself cannot file a case," says Wilson. "Workers who clean open gutters, manholes and septic tanks, who are exposed to great risks, are not covered by the Act. Also, though the States have adopted the Act, most have not adopted the rules and regulations along with it."

While the government has made attempts through various schemes offering loans and subsidies, setting up the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis and the National Safai Karamchari Financing and Development Corporation, they have not succeeded.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in its affidavit, claims that 1.56 lakh people were trained and 4.08 lakh were rehabilitated until 2002, and that Rs.712.14 crores have been released to the States. It also says that there were only about four lakh scavengers in 1989, conveniently omitting to mention more recent statistics.

COURTESY: ADI THAMIZH AR PERAVAI SAXENA 

In the same city, a public facility that is cleaned manually.

The Social Justice Ministry, at different points of time, offered five different sets of figures, as stated in the Ninth Report of the Public Accounts Committee. For instance, the number of scavengers identified in Assam went up threefold between 1997 and 1999.

Interestingly, an audit of the National Scheme for Liberation and Rehabilitation of Scavengers for the period 1992 to 2002 by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) threw up a maze of conflicting data. In fact, the CAG report on the audit said the Rs.600-crore grant given by the Centre to the States had "gone, literally, down the latrine". The latest scheme is a National Action Plan for the Total Eradication of Manual Scavenging by 2007, under which the responsibility for liberation and rehabilitation has been shifted to the Ministry of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation, which is the nodal Ministry to deal with the issue.

However, the Centre cannot resolve this problem alone, for `sanitation' is a State subject and manual scavenging is, finally, a sanitation issue and, more importantly, a health issue.

The SKA petition had mentioned a study by the Environmental Sanitation Institute, Gandhi Ashram, which said the majority of scavengers suffered from anaemia, diarrhoea and vomiting.

Besides, 62 per cent of them had respiratory diseases, 32 per cent had skin diseases, 42 per cent had jaundice and 23 per cent had trachoma, leading to blindness. Many died of carbon monoxide poisoning while cleaning septic tanks, it said.

Any public health official would agree that septic tanks themselves are a health hazard. Sewage and storm-water drains often mix, and the effluent flows into the local river. Open gutters are another menace, making whole populations vulnerable to malaria, dengue, gastroenteritis, hepatitis and many other diseases.

SANDEEP SAXENA 

Meena, a manual scavenger, at home with family in Nand Nagri.

Unfortunately, government and municipal authorities tend to ignore sanitation because it does not bring the voters' wrath upon their heads as urgently as, say, water and power supply. It takes a plague, as it did in Surat, to make them sit up and smell the sewage.

As far as the primary issue of dry latrines is concerned, there is no way of countering it other than the demolition of all existing units.

Uttaranchal, in fact, may have inadvertently struck the nail on the head when it filed an affidavit saying, "as long as dry latrines remain in existence, the scavengers to clean the same will also remain".

source: Frontline