THE GUJJARS REVOLT- ALREADY 41 KILLED

Not mentioned in the European press is the riot of the Gujjars, taking already the dimensions of a civil war.
What are Gujjars and what is the reason of the agitation?
In medieval times the Gujjars mainly living in the North- West of India where nomads, a section of them switched to agriculture. Now they are a large and political influential group. In the caste system of India they are OBC’s. What they want is to be downgraded to ST’s
To understand that you have to get familiar with the Indian cast system and the way the government tries to compensate the racist and discriminatingly practices, which can only be compared with the apartheid policy in earlier days in South- Africa and Nazism in Germany, with the difference that is this case the discrimination is not coming from the government but from the population.
THE CASTES
SC: These communities are the lowest in the caste hierarchy and called Dalits (the English called them untouchables)
ST: Originally people living in the forest or on the hills, isolated from modern life, but are not necessarily socially backward.
OBC: comprise the middle castes in the Hindi hierarchy.
Upper castes are not listed here.
For each of the undercastes the government has foreseen quotas. That means that for a governmental job e.g. at least 10% should be ST.
What are the Gujjar fighting for: The Gujjars get job reservations under the OBC quota. Now they are seeking reservation under the ST quota. This the Gujjars believe, would improve their job prospects. The demand of the Gujjars is fuelled by the success of the Meenas, another large community, granted ST status in 1956.


The protest activities consist mainly out of sit- in, blockage of the train tracks and destroying of the rails. Road blocking and putting cars and trucks on fire. The police react with lathi charges but sometimes has to use weapons to defend themselves (I hope). The agitators claim that the police fired unprovoked

INDOCRINATION, SMOOTH ADAPTATION OR BRAINWASH

Obviously the original family education is not sufficient anymore to make Hindi wifes behave like Hindi wives : A special school in Madhya Pradesh actually trains women to become ideal, obedient and submissive wives and daughters-in-law. Though it has many takers, it has drawn the ire of social activists and women's organisations.
Founded already in 1987, the Manju Sanskar Kendra in Bhopal teaches young women the art of being good wives by serving their husbands and in-laws, and thereby preventing splits in the family.
"The primary aim of the Kendra is to prevent Indian families from breaking up under the pressures it faces nowadays," says Bhau Ayaldas Hemnani, the founder and director of the rather unique school.
It offers a three-month course that stresses on the importance of "Indian culture" and the woman adjusting to her new family after marriage. While students spend the first month learning Sikh and Hindu scriptures, the second month has lessons in naturopathy and the third is entirely dedicated to domestic life.
"We teach women how to serve their husbands and win laurels and how to behave with in-laws. We also tell them to be tolerant while adjusting to their new home," Hemnani told IANS.

Chandna Arora of the All India Women's Council, says: "Thousands of women are doused with kerosene and set on fire by their greedy husbands and their families. Most of these dowry-related deaths are passed off as kitchen accidents. How will they resist dowry or other domestic abuse?"

Contrary to one's expectations, the centre is very popular with over 4,500 having graduated from it so far.

Says Sudha, another student: "The school not only teaches us to be polite and obedient towards our in-laws and the husband but also teaches us cooking, sewing and daily prayers without any fees.

"It tells us that these are the basic essentials an Indian girl must learn before marriage, regardless of whether she is a working woman or chooses to be a housewife."

Hemnani believes the education imparted by his school will go a long way in preserving the Indian joint family system - now being fast replaced by nuclear families, especially in metros.
"The joint family will remain intact if you imbibe Indian 'sanskars' (values) from our great religious books," he stresses.
The students not only listen to lectures instilled with religious and marital wisdom but are also taught devotional songs and practice household chores.
Shelly, however, maintains that girls should instead be taught to resist greed and violence on the part of in-laws. "Official figures show that the number of women killed by their in-laws over dowry is rising by the day, despite it being illegal," she points out.
An ideal Indian wife, according to Hemani, should have four virtues - obedience, a healthy lifestyle, be loved by her husband and attached to the household.
"A new bride is generally expected to win the hearts of all by her work and submission and we prepare her for that," asserts the director.
And it sure seems to have brainwashed many young minds. Said Bandana Raizada: "I'm confident that after this course, I shall not commit any mistake in my in-laws' house."

No comment, I just like to remind that India has one of the lowest divorce rates worldwide, therefore also has the highest suicide rate for women worldwide. But we should not forget that only one generation ago, some catholic educational institutes had the same goal as mentioned above.

The text out of Hindian Times