Défense des populations civiles non combattantes, lutte contre les nationalismes, syndicalisme ouvrier...
USA
SOUTH
END PRESS (Books)
Asian American Feminists Breathe Fire
In Dragon
Ladies, prominent Asian American women writers, artists, and activists
seize the power of their unique political perspective and cultural background
to articulate an Asian American feminist politics and to transform the
landscape of race, class, and gender in the United States.
AUTHOR
EVENTS- 2006
NEWS-Around South End Press
Labor and Class
Politics
STRIKE
! by Jeremy
Brecher
Poor
workers' unions, rebuildings labor from below
by Vanessa Tait
Workers
of the world undermined, american labor's role in U.S. foreign policy
by Beth Sims
Power on the
job, the legal rigths of working people
by Michael Yates
Women transforming
the banana unions of Latin America by Dana
Frank
Between labor
and capital by Pat Walker
The crisis in
the working class and some arguments for a new labor movements by
John Mc Dermott
Detroit : I
do mind Dying, a study in urban revolution
by Dan Georgakas and Marvin Surkin
Disposable
domestics, immigrant women workers in the global factory
by Grace Chang
Hard-Pressed
in the Heartland, the hormel strike and the future of the labor movement
by Peter Rachleff
BELGIQUE
Communiqués
de l'Union des Progressistes Juifs de Belgique (UPJB)
L'agression
israélienne dans la Bande de Gaza by UPJB
Assassinat
de Cheikh Ahmed Yassine by UPJB
Sharon...l'extrême
droite maintenue au pouvoir by UPJB
Contre
la criminalisation de la solidarité by UPJB
IRAK
Rappels historiques
Linked222 renouvelle son opposoition à
l'armement des communistes ouvriers irakiens
Communiqué-divergence
"opposition à l'armement du communisme-ouvrier en Irak"
par Christian Pose (20/4/2005, révisé le 23/07/2005 voir
la note 1 en bas de page)
"L'information de l'engagement du communisme-ouvrier irakien sur
la voie militaire radicale pour un renversement de l'actuel régime
irakien, régime que je ne cautionnerai bien entendu jamais, et
tel que présenté par le CLI dans son manifeste et sa déclaration
de formation, m'est apparue après réflexion, inappropriée.
A dire vrai, je serais tenté de ne pas partager le choix stratégique
militaire à venir, une attaque menée par les travailleurs
armés dans le sillage du commandement du CLI, du PCOI et des forces
politiques militaires de gauche alliées.
Cela me paraît un choix criticable même si une structure communiste
ouvrière historique irakienne existe, une orientation tactiquement
trop radicale ou inadaptée au contexte actuel. Le choix de Thoma
Hamid (membre du comité central du parti communiste-ouvrier irakien),
il y a quelques mois, de ne pas entrer dans le jeu de la lutte armée
à Baghdad, et c'était la position du comité central
à l'époque, ce n'est pas si loin, consistait à ne
pas entrer tête baissée dans la cible et le jeu mis en place
par les oppresseurs publiques et clandestins, le nationalisme, l'occupation
militaire de la coalition, l'islam politique, le capitalisme. Cela me
semblait et me semble toujours une brillante position.
Une Armée Rouge, selon les termes de Khasro Saya dans "Quelle
lutte armée en Irak ?" puisque c'est probablement ce qui sera,
ne me semble pas aujourd'hui le plus opportun ou le plus judicieux des
choix en terme de stratégie..."
Le
premier mai, jour de soutien à l’armement des travailleurs
irakiens, Solidarité Irak 29 avril
2006
"Tout autour du monde, une guerre féroce est menée
contre les travailleurs. Les producteurs de la richesse et les créateurs
de la vie sont non seulement plongés dans des conditions d’esclavage,
mais forcés d’engager une dure lutte pour la survie. Des
Etats-Unis jusqu’à la France, du Royaume-Uni jusqu’à
la Chine et des puits d’huile du golfe persique aux mines d’or
d’Afrique du Sud, malgrè de colossales avancées dans
tous les domaines, les travailleurs doivent se battre au jour le jour
pour leurs droits démocratiques, pour défendre leurs acquis
conquis cinquante ans plus tôt et pour fixer leurs salaires assez
hauts pour se maintenir vivants. Ils doivent se tenir prêts, constamment,
à se battre contre l’attaque féroce du capital et
des capitalistes.
Cepandant, la lutte pluriséculaire de générations
de travailleurs, et leurs droits acquis durement, empêchent au système
capitaliste de révéler son essence brutale et sanglante.
En France, en Angleterre et même en Amérique, des millions
de travailleurs mécontents font face aux attaques des capitalistes,
les contrecarrent et posent des jalons pour imposer leurs revendications.
L’état de préparation au combat des travailleurs d’Europe
et d’Amérique n’autorise pas Bush, Blair et les autres
leaders bourgeois à révéler leur vraie brutalité.
Malgrè les évidents projets anti-ouvriers de ces Etats "démocratiques"
pour leur propre pays, ce n’est pas principalement dans les rues
de New York ou de Londres et contre les travailleurs immigrés ou
retraités, mais dans les ghettos de Baghdad, Falluja, Ramadi et
dans les prisons d’Abu Ghuraib et de Bassora que la vraie nature
anti-humaine de ces états est la plus éclatante.
La guerre U.S. a ruiné la société irakienne. En attaquant
l’Irak, Bush et Blair ont fait chuter des millions de personnes
de ce pays dans un vrai enfer. Il est rare qu’un jour passe sans
que quelques horribles événements et massacres aient lieu
dans ce pays. Par les destructions qu’elle a causé et par
sa politique inhumaine de division de la société irakienne
selon les frontières ethniques et sectaires, la guerre U.S. a transformé
l’Irak en un champ pour la bataille brutale qui oppose les gangs
et les milices sectaires et ethnocentriques. En plus de la possibilité
de tomber victimes des balles des forces U.S. et britanniques, les travailleurs
irakiens doivent faire face non seulement aux attaques de leurs employeurs
et de l’état, mais aussi à celles des groupes criminels
de l’islamisme et de l’ethnocentrisme. Les usines, les routes
pour aller et venir au travail, sont de vrais champs de bataille, où
de nombreux travailleurs perdent la vie tous les jours.
Face à cette dangereuse situation, les travailleurs irakiens ont
recours aux armes. Prendre les armes est la seule voie pour se défendre
et pour survivre. Pour se libérer, mais aussi pour se maintenir
vivants, les travailleurs ont besoin de prendre les armes. Pour libérer
la société irakienne de l’occupation, de la guerre,
des meurtres et du terrorisme, pour reconstruire la société
civile dans ce pays, les travailleurs ont besoin de leurs propres forces
armées indépendantes.
Le parti communiste-ouvrier d’Irak tâche d’armer les
travailleurs, et d’établir l’armée du prolétariat
irakien. Le Congrès des Libertés en Irak, qui lutte pour
en finir avec l’occupation et pour la société civile,
est notre outil pour armer les travailleurs et pour qu’ils aillent
de l’avant.
Travailleurs et amis de la liberté partout dans le monde !
Le 1er Mai est le jour pour commencer à établir les forces
militaires indépendantes des travailleurs irakiens. Faisons du
1er mai, tout autour du monde, un jour de solidarité et d’aide
à l’établissement de l’armée prolétarienne
en Irak. Aujourd’hui, vous pouvez matérialiser votre soutien
humain et de classe en soutenant l’effort pour forger cette armée.
Vos slogans et vos cris contre l’occupation de l’Irak ne peuvent
rien changer si ils ne renforcent pas les forces armées des travailleurs
d’Irak. En défense de la vie et des droits des travailleurs
irakiens, soutenez et donnez des fonds pour construire l’armée
prolétarienne en Irak. Soutenez et rejoignez le Congrès
des Libertés en Irak.
- Vive le premier mai, le jour de solidarité internationale
de la classe ouvrière !
- En avant pour construire l’Armée Prolétarienne
en Irak !
- Longue vie au Congres des Libertés en Irak !
- Parti Communiste-ouvrier d’Irak - organisation à l’étranger
25 Avril 2006..."
Rappels historiques
Une
constitution contre les femmes by Giuliana Sgrena
Une
constitution inhumaine pour les femmes by Yanar Mohammed
Un
projet de Constitution critiqué
Manifeste
du Congrès des Libertés en Irak (CLI) by ASI
Déclaration
de formation du Congrès des Libertés en Irak (CLI)
by ASI
Une
brêve histoire du Parti Communiste des Travailleurs
Janvier 2004, rappel:un réseau syndical pour l'Irak
Resistance
sociale:la Fédération des Conseils Ouvriers et Sybdicats
en Irak
Communisme
armé et lutte armée en Irak, guérilla ou résistance
armée de masse by Toma Hamid
L'extrême
gauche internationale ne sait pas agir autrement qu'en groupe de pression
vis-à-vis de la "Résistance" irakienne by Toma Hamid
Irak,
luttes ouvrières contre farce électorale et répression
patronale
by Alexandre
Luttes
des chômeurs et chômeurs en Irak by Nico
Bulletins ASI (Association Solidarité Irak)
Interview
de Thikra Faisal militante du Comité d'organisation étudiant
de Bassorah entretien réalisé
par Nicolas Dessaux (Yokohama/Japon, 2 août 2005)
Après
une grêve victorieuse, création d'un Conseil Ouvrier,
bulletin n°8 (pdf)
Une guerre
réprimée dans le sang, bulletin n°7 (pdf)
Non à
l'assaut contre Falloujah ! , bulletin n°6 (pdf)
"Des
syndicats résistent", interview d'Amjad Al-Jawhari (ASI)
Menace
sur les militants de la FSCOI à Sharaban (Bagdad) (ASI)
"Qui
défend les ouvriers en IRAK ?" by Houzan Mahmoud
Temoignage
de Mithal Kadem détenue 3 mois à Abu Ghrib (ASI)
ITALIE
TPP
Fondation
Internationale Lelio Basso pour le Droit et la Libération des Peuples
(sentences) by TPP
CHILI
Puro Chile, La mémoire
du peuple by Robinson Rojas
Los generales asesinos
se contradicen by R. Rojas
Notes and papers
by R. Rojas
Mapuche
Documentation Center
JAPON
Japanese
Lawyers International Solidarity Association - JALISA 2006
Million Worker March
(MWM)
THE
CORPORATION (film)
The Corporation explores the nature and spectacular rise of the dominant
institution of our time.
Japanese
Lawyers Internatinal Solidarity Association (JALISA) Appeal by 1200 lawyers
in opposition to attacking Iraq
ANTI-WAR.JP
Reports
Anti-war.JP
Asia
people and social movements call to action by Indymedia Japan
PHILIPINES
Focus
on the Global South
HIV/AIDS,
Big Pharma by Walden Bello (Bangkok,07/2004)
Multilateral
Punishment, the Philipines in the WTO, 1995-2003 by Walden
Bello
INDE
Résistance indienne et discrimination
Hindutva
and the Dalit-Bahuyans : Dangerous Portents
by Yoginder Sikand
United
Nations Mechanisms and the Liberation of Dalits
by Yogesh Varhade
India,
2004, The Digitization of Fascist Feudalism
by Aseem Shrivastava (www.sacw.net)
Threatned
Existence: A Feminist Analysis of The Genocide in Gujarat, report
by the International Inititaive for Justice (IIJ, SACW-2003)
The
search for Social Ethic by Romila Thapar
Romila
Thapar: History and Contemporary Politics in India (SACW)
SEMINAR (July,2004,
India)
····
Soutien à la nouvelle histoire (sociale) Japonaise
REREADING JAPANESE HISTORY
Yoshihiko
Amino's Contentious History : Emperor and Outcastes in Medieval by
Brett Johnson
Yoshihiko
Amino, spécialiste du Moyen-Age Japonais by P.F. Souyri
Excerpts
from Rereading Japanese History
by Amino Yoshihiko, translated by Alan Christy
Ideas of Geographical
Space in the Age of "Manyoshu"
by E. Simonova-Goudzenko
Influence of Yoshihiko Amino on Modern Art
Anime and Historical
Inversion in Miyazaki Hayao's Princess Mononoke by John A.Tucker (08.2003)
Takashi Murakami
by Mako Wakosa
COREE
Seoul
international labor film and video festival by Labor
News Production
Statement and action plan of the Asian Regional Trade Union Solidarity
(KCTU)Focus
A history of the
Globalisation Movements
We
are evrerywhere
"Let
There Be No More Deaths of Workers !"
In 2003, the following is a list of workers who have sacrified their lives
(self-immolation, hanging) on behalf of the labor movement : January 9,
2003 to october 23, 2003 : Bae Dalho, Lee Hyunjoong, Park Dongjoong, Kim
Jooik, Kwak Jaegyu, Lee Yongseok, Lee Haenam
"Do
not kill any more"
It had been less than a week since Kim Joo-Ik, President of Hanjin Heavy
Industries Union committed self-immolation, that Lee Hae-Nam, President
of Sewon Tech Union (affiliated to the Korean Metal Workers Federation)
also attempted to burn himself to death. Lee Hae-Nam lies in a hospital,
in a very critical condition.
"Another
worker driven to his death in Korea"
On the morning of 17th of October, Kim Joo-Ik, President of the Hanjin
Heavy Industries Union, was found dead on top of a crane within the factory
grounds in Pusan, Korea. He had hung himself in the early hours, on the
129th day of a one-man sit-down demonstration on top of the 45 meter apparatus.
He had started the demonstration on the 11th of June to protest against
the company's policies toward the workers.
"Workers'
Blood Decorates the Gold Nobel Peace Medal"
"Strategy
paper on the anti-neoliberal / anti-WTO plans"
(State Railway Workers's Union of Thaïland)
For Thailand, the labor movement has been fighting against privatization
since 1997. That year, Thailand faced the most serious economic crisis.
The government opened free money market, which caused unemployment over
3 million people. More than 50, 000 companies were closed down. This kind
of issue indicated that globalization only means to hurt, harm and exploit
the workers.
"Joint
Struggle Headquaters Against Daewoo Motor"
April 10th, the riot policemen of the Kim Dae-jung Government attacked
the workers very forcibly. They just requested in front of the factory
that they enter the worker's office. In the process, a lot of workers
were hurted very severely. A lot of blood were spreaded on the street
by the police's violence. More details are as follows.10, April, Daewoo
Motor workers were brutally attacked by the police and bloodily injured.
"News
From Paris, Kim Woo-choong Arrest Squad"
'Kim Woo-choong Arrest Squad' the first daily activity which arrests Kim
Woo-joong and censures suppression for the laborers of Kim Dae-joong's
government
"We
Oppose the POSCO's attack on the Anti-POSCO Homepage"
(Labornet in South Korea)
Jinbonet (Korean Progressive Network) and Nodongnet (Labornet in South
Korea) protest against application for a provisional injunction of the
Anti-POSCO Homepage (http://antiposco.nodong.net) by Pohang Iron &
Steel Co.Ltd. (POSCO). POSCO asserts that the design of Anti-POSCO
homepage violates the copyright of its own homepage: (http://www.posco.co.kr).
However, we assert that POSCO applies the copyright in too broad terms,
and thereby attacks the freedom of expression on the web.
"Protest
Mail To President of POSCO"
(Walden Asset Management, Ethical Funds & Socially Responsible Investments)
We are writing on behalf of our clients who own 7,000 shares in Pohang
Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. (POSCO) to express concern about POSCO'
treatment of former workers of Sammi Specialty Steel Co. (Sammi). A letter
written by Geeta Aiyer,President Walden Asset Management
Walden Asset Management to Mr. Sang-Boo Yoo Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, Pohang Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.
Statement
and Action Plan of the Asian Regional Trade Union Solidarity Conference
The globalisation and regionalizing trends of capitalism provide capital with the right to restructure in the interest of higher profitability, while leveling down the security, working standards, and wages of workers. The repression of democratic Trade Unions has been globalised in the interests of economic liberalization, export processing zones, bi-lateral and regional free trade agreements, and the WTO. |
Abolition de la peine de mort : une opportunité historique, Amnesty International demande aux membres de la Commission permanente sur le droit et la justice de la 17e Assemblée nationale de voter le projet de loi spécial sur l’abolition de la peine de mort, qui prévoit l’abolition de la peine de mort en République de Corée (Corée du Sud).
"Irene Khan's Speech at the WEF 2003"
Amnesty International has been attending the World Economic Forum for the past four years. Last year in New York, the Forum was overshadowed by security concerns following 9/11. These concerns far from dissipating have deepened, with the threat of military attacks against Iraq. To that has been added a gloomy economic climate and a stream of US corporate scandals and misdemeanours, which has sapped the confidence and complacency of corporate leaders...
"Taking stock : Corporate Social Responsability and human rights"
Taking stock: Corporate social responsibility and human rights, Irene Khan, Secretary-General, Amnesty International, Statement delivered at "PUBLIC EYE ON DAVOS", Friday 24th January 2003,
...Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak to you today at the Public Eye on Davos. This is a very important forum. By its very title, this gathering acts as a reminder to the world leaders attending the World Economic Forum that international civil society is watching them. This community wants action, not words; it wants progress, not pronouncements. And it wants corporate accountability, not public relations.!!...
"Business and Human Rights : Toward legal accountability"
Speech delivered by David Petrasek,, ; Senior Director of Policy, Amnesty International, "Public Eye on Davos", 23 January 2003, Over the past decade companies have begun to look seriously at human rights issues. Some companies - often under pressure from the public - have adopted policies in relation to human rights. Hundreds of companies have joined the UN's Global Compact and thus committed themselves to human rights principles.
Call for action against the, Hong-Kong WTO Ministerial Conference
(14 -18 December 2005)
For the ten years that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has existed, people have been forced to face the disruption of their everyday lives. Its single global market agenda poses a great threat to the diversities of the world. Every country is now facing deregulation of its constitution and laws to comply with WTO requirements. Expansion of monopolies and corporate control through privatization means that access to water, land, seeds, forests, natural resources and energy is a constant struggle for the poor of the world.
A History of the Globalisation Movement
From the Zapatista Uprising in Chiapas on January 1st, 1994 to the protests against the WTO, the IMF, World Bank, G8, FTAA/ ALCA and other events in Seattle, Prague, Genoa, Buenos Aires, etc.: With this directory, we want to start a collective history of this movement of movements up until 2003. ...
We Are Everywhere
We are every where is filled with beautiful photos from across the globe collected and archived over the years by photographers and activists from diverse backgrounds. The lost art of the photo essay has been revived and inspirational images of resistance have been compiled to create an interwoven visual declaration against capitalism and for life. In this section you will find a small sample of pictures found throughout the book. ...
RAPPELS ET SOLIDARITE INTERNATIONALE
(population civile non combattante, lutte contre les nationalismes, études
et résistances)
• FOCUS ON THE GLOBAL SOUTH (Philippines)
What happens when
you run a country like a corporation: A primer on Thailand’s political
crisis, Monday, 06 March 2006, By Alec Bamford and Chanida Chanyapate
Thailand’s progressive and democratic civil society has joined calls
for the ouster of the Prime Minister. Nothing unusual about that,
until you realize that alongside the NGOs, academics and grassroots organizations
are a bankrupt ex-crony, a born-again soldier-cum-politician-cum-guru
and his outcast Buddhist sect, one of the most devout, ascetic and nationalistic
of the mainstream monks, and even a previous military dictator who was
himself hounded from office 14 years ago.
The Bush-Manmohan
Nuclear Compact – heightening insecurities in South Asia and beyond.
Monday, 13 March 2006, By Varsha Rajan Berry
The Manmohan Singh Government keen to get into the US scheme, with
little regard for the traditional principles of non-alignment on which
India’s foreign policy has hitherto been based. This deal has wide-ranging
ramifications; in the realm of geo-politics, third world solidarity and
trade and development.
'State of Emergency
in the Philippines' : BACK TO THE FUTURE,
Friday, 03 March 2006,By Herbert Docena
“An Army of the People” That something interesting and unusual
is taking place in Venezuela first really struck me when, in response
to a sarcastic comment about an anti-war meeting of the 2006 World Social
Forum taking place in an Air Force base, a member of the audience rose
and, in the best pedagogical manner, told us foreigners, “Look,
what we have here in Venezuela is not a regular army but an army of the
people.” Venezuela is undergoing, if not a revolution, a process
of radical change, and the military is right in the center of it.
How could this been happening, many skeptics ask, when the military, especially
in Latin America, is usually an agent of the status quo? Others,
less skeptical, ask: Is Venezuela the exception, or is it the wave of
the future?
CHINE, OMC
ET MONDIALISATION : AU-DELA DES CHIFFRES DE LA CROISSANCE
Monday, 13 March 2006, Par Dorothy Guerrero
Peu avant Noël Pékin a rendu public les chiffres revus de
son PIB (produit intérieur brut) 2004, suscitant ainsi un vif émoi
au sein de la communauté internationale et renvoyant sans attendre
les économistes à leurs feuilles de calcul afin qu’ils
reconsidèrent les prévisions concernant la date à
laquelle la Chine dépassera les Etats-unis pour devenir la première
économie mondiale. Il existe un écart de 17% entre le revenu
national brut tel qu’il a été annoncé par le
gouvernement chinois , soit 1 650 milliards de dollars, et le nouveau,
dont le montant s’élève à 2 000 milliards
de dollars. Ce nouveau résultat porte d’importantes conséquences
: l’économie de la Chine est bien plus avancée qu’on
ne le pensait ; elle se situe déjà au quatrième rang
des plus grandes puissances économiques mondiales, ce qui représente
une progression de deux places depuis le dernier classement où
elle occupait la sixième position.
• A.N.S.W.E.R.
Response
to Bush press-conference
FBI
Out of Puerto Rico!, Stop Attacks on the Pro-Independence Movement !
The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition denounces the FBI's most recent wave of repression
against the pro-independence movement of Puerto Rico. On February 10,
the FBI raided homes and at least one workplace of independence activists,
seizing belongings and information, in clear violation of their civil
and human rights. FBI agents attacked and pepper sprayed the crowd that
gathered outside these sites, which included journalists. Just four days
later, on February 14, the FBI followed up with a series of arrests of
five people for painting a mural depicting the criminality of the FBI.
Crucial
Moment for the Cuban Five, The Five's Appeals to Be Heard, in Oral Arguments
on Tuesday
The Cuban Five political prisoners, who have already served seven and
a half years in U.S. prisons, due to their unjust convictions
and sentences, will have their appeals heard in oral arguments before
an "en banc" hearing, in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals,
on February 14.
ANSWER
Coalition : All Out for April 29 in New York City !
End Occupation from Iraq to Palestine, to Haiti, and Everywhere!, Fight
for workers rights, civil rights and civil liberties - unite against racism
In recent weeks the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition has been in the final stages
for planning a national demonstration in Washington DC on April 29, 2006.
This action was to follow the local and regional demonstrations for March
18-19 and youth and student actions scheduled on March 20 on
the 3rd anniversary of the criminal bombing, invasion and occupation of
Iraq.
Spring and Summer of protest
and resistance (2004)
• US LABOR AGAINST THE WAR
Support the labor movement
in Iraq
Holt
Labor Library (labor studies and radical history)
• SOUTIEN A LA CAUSE DALIT, INTERNATIONAL DALIT HUMAN RIGHTS (India)
Human rights
of Dalit - The need for international attention
(16/17.09.2000)
The International Conference on Dalit Human Rights organised by VOD International
at Shri Guru Ravidass Community Centre at 28 Carlyle Road, Manor Park,
London, in association with the Dalit Solidarity Network UK and the communities
of Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha, Bhagwan Valmiki Welfare Trust and the Ambedkarite
organisations in UK, has appealed to the United Nations and Government
of India to take steps to stop atrocities against Dalits (the Untouchables)
in India. The Conference has appealed to the international community to
intervene immediately to stop all kinds of Human Rights violations particularly
those faced by Dalits in India. To this effect, the Conference has adopted
a declaration called ‘London Declaration’, which forms part
of this short report.
Education,
the only key to Dalit Progress
by Dr.BhalChandra Mungekar (vice-chancelor of University of Mumbaï)
“The backward classes have come to realize that after all education
is the greatest material benefit for which they can fight. We may
forego material benefits, we may forego material benefits of civilization,
but we cannot forego our right and opportunities to reap the benefit of
the highest education to the fullest extent. That the importance
of this question from the point of view of the backward classes who have
just realized that without education their existence is not safe.”
Dr.Ambedkar
Dalit
Women In India
by Dr.J. Muthumary (Center for Advenced in Botony University of Madras)
There are about 250 million Dalits in India. There is meagre improvement
in the socio-economic condition of dalits in the past 50 years.
Which that is not enough when compared to non-dalits. Of course, much
more needs to be done. The urgent need is to have a national sample
survey on dalits. Every fourth Indian is a dalit. There is
no proper survey to give the correct number of dalit women in India.
They are generally scattered in villages and they are not a monogamous
group. About 75% of dalits live below poverty line.
International
Development Aid : Addressing Dalit Issues
by Leo Bashyam (Head of Asia Team Christian Aid)
The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the quantum of foreign
aid contributed to Indian development and the role played by International
non-Governmental development aid agencies and Bi-lateral and Multi-lateral
agencies in this area. The paper also explains the role played by Indian
non-Governmental organisations in the poverty alleviation programme. The
paper then examines some of the drawbacks in their aid programme with
special reference to Dalit cause and makes some recommendations to address
these drawbacks.
1st
World Dalit Convention, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (10/11.10.1998)
We the dalits of different parts of the world assembled here in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, on 10th & 11th October 1998 for the First World
Convention, do hereby solemly and sincerely declare that we dedicate ourselves
wholly for the blessed unity of Dalit community throughout the world and
would solidly stand united to struggle relentlessly for better and brighter
future, dignity and respect of Dalits and other down-trodden communities.
International
Journal of Dalit Studies (IJDS)
Research Journal. Though informal, but it was a strongly felt need that
some concrete steps must be taken in this direction. In the last few months
a number of things have been discussed between Raju Kamble, Dr. L.N.Berwa,
Dr. Anand Teltumbde, Ms.Rajni Tilak, and Myself. During the informal discussion,
it was felt that this Research Journal must have International Orientation,
and we must take concrete steps towards this. Therefore, consensus emerged
that the idea of the research journal be translated into reality. Therefore,
the first step was to name this journal as International Journal of Dalit
Studies. So far, this process remained informal, and everything was discussed
as the interests of few-concerned Dalits. This is the first formal draft
for bringing out the International Journal of Dalit Studies. This draft
is presented for the consideration of Dalit Community as a whole.
United Nations Mechanisms
and the Liberation of Dalits
by Yogesh Varhade
AMBEDKAR CENTER FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE (ACJP) had the privilege of participating
in many ground breaking meetings of different UN bodies like Treaty Body
Committees, working groups under Sub Commission and World Conferences
on Human Rights, Social Summit, Women's Rights etc. organized by UN during
the last ten years. Two Ambedkarite activists namely Dr. Berwa and Mr.
Bhagwan Das brought dalit issue in earlier meetings of UN Commission on
Human Rights and Women's issues by Ruth Manorama group and minorites issues
by Mr. Henry Thiagaraj
Working Paper on
Discrimination on the Basis of Work and Descent : Call for Submissions
In August 2000, the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection
of Human Rights passed a resolution on ‘Discrimination on the basis
of work and descent’. In using the formulation ‘Discrimination
on the basis of work and descent’, the Sub-Commission was referring
to the central features of the phenomenon of caste-based discrimination.
The Sub-Commission noted that discrimination of this type has historically
been a feature of societies in different regions of the world and has
affected a significant proportion overall of the world's population, acknowledged
that some governments have taken constitutional, legislative and administrative
measures to abolish practices of discrimination based on work and descent,
but expressed its concern at the persistence of discrimination based on
work and descent.
U.N.Prepcom for
WCAR (World Conference Against Racism) and Dalit Traitors
by Yogesh Varhade,
prsdt. Ambedkar Centre for Justice and Peace (Geneva,1.5.2000)
As our saviour, one and only liberator, Babasaheb, Dr. B.R.Ambedkar said
" Our battle is for Justice, reclaiming the human personality...Justice
is on our side. We are bound to succeed." Let us have a faith in
our strength and unity. There is a need for more Dalit Groups to work
in International Arena with firm belief in our cause and commitment till
we succeed.
• Rappel documentaire historique et juridique
SECTION 1 : December 9, 1946 to July 31, 1947, Resolution Regarding Aims
and Objects
Dr.
Ambedkar : the principal architect of the constitution of India
(from Dr. Ambedkar's entry into the Constituent Assembly to the presentation
ofthe Draft of the Indian Constitution to the Constituent Assembly)
After the end of the Second World War in 1945, the question of India's
freedom assumed priority. The British Government sent three-men delegation
to India to suggest the ways and means for the smooth transfer of power.
This delegation, called Cabinet Mission, announced on 16 March 1946 its
proposals in which, it was suggested that a Constituent Assembly be set
up to frame a Constitution for the future governance of India.
Accordingly elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in which members were elected
by the Provincial Legislative Assemblies. Dr. Ambedkar, having failed
to get elected from Bombay due to Congress opposition, managed to enter
the Constituent Assembly through the Bengal Assembly with the support
of Jogendranath Mandal and other Scheduled Caste members.
The Constituent Assembly started its work of framing free India's Constitution
on 9th December 1946. In all 296 members were entitled to take part in
the inaugural session. But only 207 attended, the absentees were mainly
the Muslim League members who had boycotted the Constituent Assembly.
Economic
Thoughts
ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY
- By Bhimrao R. Ambedkar Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements
of the degree of Master of Arts May 15,1915
- THE EVOLUTION OF PROVINCIAL FINANCE IN BRITISH INDIA A STUDY IN THE
PROVINCIAL DECENTRALISATION OF IMPERIAL FINANCE
- This Thesis was been submited to the Columbia University for Doctarate
(Ph.D.)
- THE PROBLEM OF THE RUPEE: ITS ORIGIN AND ITS SOLUTION (HISTORY OF INDIAN
CURRENCY & BANKING)
- This Thesis was been submited to the London School of Economics for
Doctor of Science (D.sc.)
- SMALL HOLDINGS IN INDIA AND THEIR REMEDIES
- Published : Journel of the Indian Economic Society
- STATEMENT OF EVIDENCE TO THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON INDIAN CURRENCY
- THE PRESENT PROBLEM IN INDIAN CURRENCY - I
- THE PRESENT PROBLEM IN INDIAN CURRENCY - II
- REVIEW: CURRENCY AND EXCHANGES
- REVIEW REPORT OF THE TAXATION ENQUIRY COMMITTEE, 1926
- ANCIENT INDIAN COMMERCE
- COMMERCIAL RELATIONS OF INDIA IN THE MIDDLE AGES OR THE RISE OF ISLAM
- SPEECHES ON BUDGETS IN MUMBAI LEGISLATURE
Dr.
Ambedkar in the Indian Parliament (1947/1951)
- NOVEMBER 20, 1947 TO MARCH 31, 1949
- FEBRUARY 3, 1950 TO APRIL 20, 1950
- AUGUST 1, 1950 TO DECEMBER 22, 1950
- FEBRUARY 9, 1951 TO APRIL 21, 1951
- FEBRUARY 9, 1951 TO APRIL 21, 1951
Ambedkar
and communism
by Dr.K.Jamanades
This has a reference to an article by Research Scholars, Kong Fan and
Li Shen, published in "Studies in World Religions" #4, 1983,
by Kong Fan and Li Shen tr. by P. Barry.
The issues created by the authors are not new. They have been raised time
and again and not only in Indian context, but in World context they have
been already answered by authorities like Dr. Ambedkar.
The authors expound two theories, that views of Marx, Lenin and Mao are
opposed to religion. They feel that only Marx has given scientific explanation
of religion, and that it is "Religion is the Opium of the people".
Authors say that "It can not lead people who suffer difficulties
to overcome the difficulties. It only allows them to anesthetize themselves,
thereby, Religion changes material struggle into a kind of spiritual comfort.
It transforms real needs to hopes of an illusory world." The authors
apparently equate religion with God, and feel that as Science has disproved
the existence of God, and as so called religious ethics comes from the
will of God, it has no meaning.
Secondly, they believe only Marxism holds that, ultimately, rooting out
private ownership will remove all evil. They lament that though Socialism
has brought liberation of masses, still people believe in religion. This
is because of legacy of feudalism, influence of capitalism, imperialism,
beurocratism.
Lastly they outline the line of action not only for their own country
but for the whole world. They feel the Communist party of China thinks
it necessary to form a united front with "patriotic religious believers
to oppose the reactionary forces at home and abroad and to carry out socialist
revolution and modernization". ..
• WELCOME TO DALITINDIA (essais/articles)
Hindutva
and the Dalit-Bahujans : Dangerous Portents
by Yoginder Sikand (sSc Social Study Circle, 26.02.2004)
Hindutva, the unique Indian form of Indian fascism, is the modern incarnation
of Brahminism. Although it projects itself as the defender of the ‘Hindu’
community against imagined ‘enemies’, such as Muslims and
Christians, it is actually premised on an unrelenting hostility towards
the vast majority of the so-called ‘Hindus’ themselves —
Dalits, Shudras and tribals. The very basis of what is today called Hinduism
is the caste system, which is specifically geared to preserving and promoting
‘upper’ caste hegemony that is based on the systematic exploitation
and oppression of the so-called ‘lower’ castes.
Poverty alleviation
and income generating schemes for SC&ST, OBC Minorities and Women
by Manohara Prasad (25.08.2003)
he Govt claims that Poverty Alleviation Programmes have been strengthened.
More Funds have been provided to generate Additional Employment, create
Productive Assets, impart Technical and Entrepreneurial Skills.
These are expected to encourage Self-Employment, increase Jobs, reduce
unemployment and raise the Income Levels of the Poor. However Govt
is silent about plugging the holes in the system. There is no realistic
account of the leakages and diversion of funds, mis-utilisation and non-utilisation,
or surrender of funds and corruption.
Dalit Politics
in Contemporary India
by Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, MP, India (4.11.2003)
Dalits are the marginalised People. They are the Weaker Sections
of India. Today, the SC&ST Dalits are at the core of the Weaker
Sections of India. Seen from any perspective, Dalits as Baba Saheb
Dr BR Ambedkar had said, are the Broken People. It is nearly fifty
years since Baba Saheb said this. And they still remain as Broken
People, even in the Twenty-first Century World.
Current scenario,
Problems and Programmes for youth belonging to weakers sections
(with special reference to Dalit Youth) by Manohara Prasad (11.08.2003)
Nation and Society exist for People. It is not the other way.
People make the Society, and constitute the Nation. Therefore, the
Problems of People should be attended to and resolved. In a Respectable
Nation and Civilised Society, there can not be any Weaker Sections.
And none should be allowed to suffer indignities, or die out of hunger
and wants.
Dr. Babasaheb
Ambedkar, the man who made all the difference & B.R. Ambedkar' contribution
to Buddhist Education in India
by Nishikant Waghmare (22.11.2002)
"Noble is your aim and sublime and glorious is your mission. Blessed
are those who are awakened to their duty to those among whom they are
born. Glory to those who devote their time, talents and their all to the
amelioration of slavery. Glory to those who would reap their
struggle for the liberation of the enslaved in spite of heavy odds, car
pine humiliation, storms and dangers till the downtrodden secure their
Human Rights." - Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Dr.B.R.Ambedkar.
My experience
about discrimination on basis of caste
by Raj Kumar
About 14 years ago, my brother and I accompanied with my mother were searching
for a house for rent. We found one such house in Shahganj Area in Agra,
UP. We have got fixed rent amount, date of shifting in the rented House.
After agreeing on these, the Owner of the House (to be given on rent)
asked my brother which caste we belonged to. My brother had answered the
question that we are Vermas. Then he was dissatisfied with the Verma surname
which is being adopted by many castes. Then, he asked clearly what kind
of Vermas we were. Then we replied that we were Jatavs (a Dalit caste).
As soon as this Jatav word he listened this word, he refused to give the
House to us on rent.
Caste
discrimination is racism and more, say academists, jurists and civil society
groups at Delhi conference
(Durban conference must discuss caste issue, 12.05.2001)
A group of 40 academicians, jurists, and representatives of NGOs and Civil
society organisations, mostly from Dalit communities, who met at a one
day conference in the Indian Social Institute, New Delhi, on 7th May 2001
have denounced the Indian subcontinent's caste system as `worse than racism'.
Globalisation
(19.09.2001)
Globalisation is one thing ! And Privatisation is another! Globalisation
could have many dimensions, and mean different things to different people in
different places at different times ! One may Welcome it depending what
the Globalisation means to them, or what their Globalisation stands for them !
But Privatisation is never good ! Yes, it is never never good, except for
four!....
A Comprehensive
Outline For The Development Of Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (15.06.2001)
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the country today are more than
200 million, and form nearly 16% and *% of the population. This equals
the population of the two Super Powers. But, such a large group of people
still live in misery, abject poverty, and in inhuman deprivations as marginalized
people living invariably outside the society almost everywhere in the
country.
Law and Exploitation
(18.09.2001)
The basic Problem of Humanity is Exploitation of man by man. Rarely
are such exploitations confined to individuals. Such confined incidents
of exploitation of an individual by another individual are a distinct
class by themselves. They are individual aberrations, or skewed
actions by individuals who have themselves become the aberrations of the
society. They come under the Law and Order Problems of the Society,
where individuals' Rights and Privileges or Properties have been violated
or appropriated by the other.
Constitution
review : a conspiracy to sabotage reservation
by R.Anirudhan, General Secretary, Keralat Dalit Sahithya Academy (30.09.2001)
The ongoing controversial constitution review drama is deliberately being staged
with an object of toppling the safeguards of Dalit Bahujans as guaranteed as
reservation in the constitution by the father of the Indian constitution, Baba
Sahib Dr.B.R.Ambedkar. The consultation papers on fundamental rights issued
for eliciting public opinion by the Advisory Panel on fundamental rights reveal
the conspiracy intact. These papers seek immediate intervention from the
beneficiaries of the existing constitutional protections. Under the guise
of strengthening the fundamental rights, the commission has been proceeding
with some hidden agenda to sabotage the reservation policies guaranteed in the
constitution...
COMPLAINTS FOR DALIT HARASSMENT (Dalitindia)
Letters from our dalit brother / sisters who are in government services.
They talk the same endless stories of antiDalit mindset of their colleagues,
which are affecting their carriers badly in spite of their best services
offered to their office.
Subrata Majumdar,
mental and physical harassment
Being an employee of Life Insurance Corp. of India /Br.Beliaghata under K.M.D.O-1,
I can’t help writing to inform you something about my mental as
well as physical harassment both inside and outside the office premise by a
few staffs namely: Mr.Debasish Roy,Mr Atin Maitra and Mr.Ujjal Mitra.
I Manickya Rao,
problem and discrimination
...The Criminal Court did not find Manikya Rao responsible for the Accident,
and he was reinstated into Service on 19th September 1980. But,
a Court of Enquiry by the Railways into the incident held Manikya Rao
guilty, and removed him from Service wef 18th June 1981.
Raju, problem and discrimination
... Allotted to South Central Railway, Secunderabad, after the UPSC Recruitment,
and Training. Was Transferred to different Posts within South Central
Railway. Denied promotions beyond Senior Scale. Was abruptly
transferred out of South Central Railway,..
Dr. RK Nayak, problem
and discrimination
...Dr Nayak retired as Secretary. After he demitted his Office,
and handed over the charge on Superannuation, a Charge Sheet was served
on him at his residence. This to disgrace him on some trumped up
charges, and to deny him getting any posting after retirement...
N Manohara Prasad,
problem and discrimination
... Instead of sanctioning the scheduled Leave, an Order for Transfer
to Calcutta issued by end April 1983. That, just after a period
of little over one year, though others with more than 11 years of service
were still in the Directorate. ..
Mata Prasad, problem
and discrimination
Proceeded on Leave due to some urgent personal reasons. Though it
was less than 45 days, another dominant caste official was posted in his
place. He had to remain without any posting, for many months, as
his post had been deliberately filled, and there was no place for him...
R.Vasant, problem
and discrimination
SUSPECTED : To stall his Promotions to higher levels, as his work
and performance had been appreciated by his superiors.
Manickam, problem
and discrimination
SUSPECTED : To stop his further promotions, being a Christian SC
Dalit. Further he was known for mobilising, organising and helping
SCs&STs, both in their work in Office, and for socio-economic Development
in their lives outside.
Mr.Jasjit Singh, problem
and discrimination
Under the impact of Caste System, no hindu is ready to listen my aweful
story. I have been subjected to unwanted humiliation, torture and victimisation
as I dared to make exposure of corruption in the Indian bureaucracy.
Mr.Sampangi, probleme
and discrimination
Selected for Posting as Joint Secretary to the Govt of India. Posting
was duly approved. But not picked up by any Ministry/ Secretary/
Minister for more than three years, till the date of his Superannuation.
Was allowed to retire, without getting the posting of Joint Secretary.
Mrs TS Kalanjali,
problem and discrimination
Selected, as the Zonal Manager of South Zone Office at Bangalore, in 1990.
Deliberately down-graded as ad-hoc Dy Manager in-charge. Replaced by an
Asst Manager, while on a visit to Chundur, Andhra Pradesh where Dalits were
massacred...
• SOUTIEN A LA NOUVELLE HISTOIRE INDIENNE ET DISSIDENCE
THE SOUTH ASIA CITIZENS WEB (India/France)
The Foreign Exchange
of Hate
(IDRF/India Development and Relief Fund and the American Funding of Hinduvta,
2002)
The IDRF (India Development and Relief Fund) was set up as a tax-exempt, non-profit
organization in 1989 under the provisions of section 501(c)(3) of the tax code.
Its official, self-stated purpose is to raise money for organizations in India
“assisting in rural development, tribal welfare, and urban poor.” [8]
According to its tax filings, the IDRF raised $ 3.8 million in the year 2000,
of which it disbursed $1.7 million in ‘relief and development work.’ [9]
The IDRF has claimed time and again that it has no connections with the Sangh
Parivar. In response to a recent magazine article highlighting some of the links [10],
the IDRF issued a statement denying the connection[11], “It [the IDRF]
is not affiliated to any group, 'ism', ideology political party.” During
an exchange on the online portal Sulekha.com, the Vice-President of the IDRF
wrote, ”There is no relation between VHP/RSS and IDRF. Fullpoint." [12]
However, a closer scrutiny of the projects that the IDRF funds, of the IDRF
itself, of the affiliations of its office-bearers, and of the organizations
that support it and raise funds for it, reveals that the IDRF is fully linked
with the Sangh Parivar and the Hindutva movement in India. This segment of the
report will outline:
a) the institutional links between the IDRF and the RSS and its affiliates
in India ;
b) the links between the IDRF and RSS in terms of the overlaps in personnel,
and
c) the links between the IDRF and the US affiliates of the RSS. (extrait
du chapitre 3)
Growing Up Extreme :
On the Peculiary Vicious Fanatacism of (Indian) Expatriates
by Shashi Tharoor (Washington Post/SACW)
... The strident chauvinism of these American Hindus is, after all, only
one more installment in a long saga of zeal abroad for radicalism at home.
We have already had expatriate Sikhs pouring money, weapons and organizational
skills into the cause of a "pure" (tobacco-free and barberless)
"Khalistan"; Irish Americans supporting, willfully or otherwise,
IRA terrorism in Northern Ireland; Jaffna Tamils in England financing
the murderous drive for Eelam in Sri Lanka; and lobbying groups of American
Jewry propounding positions on Palestinian issues that are far less accommodating
than those of the Israeli government itself.
India, 2004 :
The Digititization of Fascist Feudalism
(a corrective for public amnesia on the eve of General Elections) by Aseem
Shrivastava (14.04.2004)
We the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a
Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic and to secure to all its citizens :
Justice, social, economic and political; Liberty of thought, expression, belief,
faith and worship ; Equality of status and of opportunity ; and to promote among
them all Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and
integrity of the Nation; in our constituent assembly this twenty-sixth day of
November, 1949, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution."
(Preamble to the Constitution of India)...
...Fascist feudalism
In comparison with the West, India can only be described accurately as a semi-industrial,
semi-capitalist society where feudalism survives. Thus it is no surprise to
note that Indian fascism is a unique species. While drawing on the essentials
of the Nazi legacy and enmeshing itself with Neo-liberal globalization, it has
put its money on something which is peculiarly Indian in todayís world,
in that it is fundamentally feudal. It is the reality of fascist feudalism that
one has to reckon with today.
I wrote a while ago about the lifestyles of the Indian elites being, even in
absolute terms, more luxurious than any in the world. One of the facts that
facilitates this is that in no comparable country in the world are capitalism
and feudalism both so well-entrenched...
SEMINAR (India)
The
search for a social ethic
by Romila Thapar (Professor Emeritus of History, Jawahal Nehru University / JNU, Delhi)
Two groups which today are demanding participation in power are the Dalits
and women. The marginalisation and oppression of both Dalits and women
was inherent in the traditional institutions and norms of many aspects
of earlier Indian society. The democratic solution of making equality
more feasible and opening up opportunities to the marginalised should
have taken the form of a programme of radical change: conceding their
participation in power and extending facilities to them through initiating
compulsory education and professional training, providing health care
and social welfare.
The
Limits of nationalism
by Summit Sarkar (Professor, Department of History, Delhi University)
TO start with the obvious: history, described famously by E.H. Carr many years
ago as the ever-changing dialogue of the present with the past, is necessarily
being ‘rewritten’ all the time. The immediate issues that have given
this question great topicality and high media profile need not be rehearsed
again. Briefly, they relate to the current state-backed Hindutva drive to ‘rewrite’
history through an onslaught on established historiography.
I would like rather to look first at a more basic question, about possible
criteria for distinguishing between less and more valid versions of the
past. Complications have arisen here through today’s widespread
relativistic moods, ever suspicious of vestiges of outdated ‘positivism’
and illicit assumptions of ‘facticity’ in any expression of
preference.
Community
sentiment and the teaching of history
by Rajeev Bhargava (Professor, Department of Political Science, Delhi
University)
ISTORIANS have long come to terms with the bogus absolutist claims of
‘scientific’ history. No one any longer contends that the
teaching of history is free of choice and judgement of selection, omission
and deletion. All historical knowledge is necessarily partial and incomplete.
Our past goes further back than we can tell, is connected to the pasts
of countless others and reveals itself variously from different vantage
points never available simultaneously to us.
History and the domain of the popular
by Partha Chatterjee (Director, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences,
Kolkata)
EW ways of history writing? To answer that question, we need to consider what
are the old ways of writing history that we have with us today. Have they served
their purpose? Are they really antiquated?
Professional history writing by accredited members of the academy –
that is to say, historians based in university history departments or
in specialized research institutions – was established in India
as the most reliable, authorized and ‘proper’ form of historical
scholarship during the course of the 20th century. A full history of this
process of the professionalization of history writing in India has not
been written yet. But it appears to go hand in hand with the emergence,
in the early decades of the 20th century, of a generation of university
educated Indians who trained themselves in the modern methods of archival
and archaeological research developed in Europe and applied those methods
to the study of Indian history. ..
Nationalisms
and the writing of environmental histories
by K.Sivaramakrishnan (Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director,
S.Asia Centre, Jackson School of International Studies, University of
washington, USA)
Indian environmental history has participated in many of the twists and turns
taken by this debate. It has also provided the lead occasionally in nudging
discussions in more intellectually rewarding directions. An early preoccupation
with colonialism as a watershed in environmental history has yielded to more
nuanced analyses in studies from different parts of the country. These works
show how the control of land, water, forests and wildlife varied across regions,
and did not follow a clear developmental trajectory. Struggles over natural
resources, we now know, reflected the opportunities and limitations created
by a longer history of socioeconomic change in which colonial interventions
were but one, if influential, dimension.
• SOUTIEN A LA ZENKOKU SUIHEISHA, THE BURAKU ANTI-DISCRIMINATION MOVEMENT
(Japan)
Declaration
of Human Rigths in JAPAN : TOKUSHU BURAKUMIN !
(Throughout the Country : Unite!
The caste-like system of Buraku discrimination in Japan has persisted
for centuries. It remains a problem till today. Buraku Japanese during
the early 20th century started to organize to fight for their rights.
In 1922 they founded in Kyoto the National Levelers' Association (Zenkoku
Suiheisha) whose main objective is to eradicate Buraku discrimination.
At the founding assembly of the association on March 3, 1922, the Suiheisha
Declaration was adopted. It is regarded as Japan's first declaration of
human rights.
Developping
Solidarity Between the Suiheisha and the Hyongpyongsa to Ensure Human
Rights in EAST ASIA into the 21st Century
(Study Tour to South Korea)
The Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute (BLHRRI) organized
a study tour to the Republic of Korea as one of the commemorative projects
for the BLHRRI’s 35th anniversary in order to celebrate the 80th
anniversary of the founding of the Hyongpyongsa. (1) The Hyongpyongsa
is an organization that was formed in Chinju to liberate the Paekjung,
a group in Korea that faced discrimination. More than 40 people from a
wide variety of backgrounds participated in the tour, which was conducted
from the 23rd through 28th of April...
What is Buraku Question
?
ETUDES HISTORIQUES GENERALES - JAPON
• The BlackShip & Samuraï...
Lecture on Post-War
Generation
by Shigeru Miyagawa, MIT
Prior to the war with the U.S., Japan had attacked and occupied vast areas
of Asia. Many Asian countries were at one time a colony of a western power,
and the Japanese "played Oriental vs. Occidental," justifying
aggression as "Asian solidarity" (John Dower, War without mercy).
The propaganda they put forth was to form the "Greater East Asia
Co-prosperity Sphere," and liberate East Asia from the invasion of
oppression of the west (ibid). Despite this appearance of solidarity and
equality among Asians, the Japanese held that they were the "master
race" (Yamato) -- the leading race in Asia. This led, for example,
to the illegal annexation and colonialization of Korea, 1910-1945...
The
Day of Infamy II... Executive Order 9066 II ?
by Shigeru Miyagawa
In the wake of Pearl Harbor, the worst single act of racism spearheaded
by our own government against Americans took place. On 19 February 1942,
two and a half months after the attack, President Roosevelt signed Executive
Order 9066, which authorized the U.S. Army to EVACUATE people of Japanese
descent from areas bordering the Pacific Ocean (my emphasis). This resulted
in over 100,000 such people, mostly Americans born in America, to be incarcerated
in camps in places such as Arkansas, Arizona, and Utah. These Americans,
young and old, were leading normal American lives in San Francisco, Los
Angeles, Seattle, and other places "bordering the Pacific Ocean."..
Two
Worlds Touch
by E.Karagianis (Shigeru Miyagawa's CD ROM Helps Kids Cope With Bi Cultural
Identity, Starfestival program)
..."You walked out a door or walked down a street, and people stood and
stared. It was overt discrimination, and it was terrible," Miyagawa says.
"As a child you wonder, what am I doing wrong?"After drifting a few
semesters in college, he transferred to a university in Tokyo, longing for acceptance.
But because he had developed American mannerisms and speech, he says, "the
Japanese did not accept me as Japanese.
"It was probably the single, most painful realization of my identity.
I had my hopes up that returning to Japan would cure all the pain of the
past. It was just a further reminder that I was not American, and I was
not Japanese. I was neither, and I was both."..
Rethinking
Culture,
interview with John Dower, MIT (JPRI, Chalmers Johnson, Steven C. Clemons,
G.S. Fukushima...)
When I began doing history in the 1960s and 1970s, mainstream scholarship
tended to rely on official documents and the letters, diaries, and memoirs
of influential men. Such resources are invaluable, particularly where
they involve materials that were originally confidential. But it became
increasingly clear that this approach excluded the experiences of the
majority of peoples everywhere — not merely the dispossessed, but
non-elites in general. And it neglected the visceral and irrational forces
that also drive people and politics. ..Events of the 1960s and early '70s
were decisive. With Watergate and the Nixon tapes, for example, we saw
how men of power actually talked and acted in private. It was unvarnished,
crude, cynical, intemperate — a stark contrast to the public record
that commonly emerges in memoranda and memoirs. With the civil rights
movement, we were awakened to the discrepancies between the professed
ideals of democracy and equality and the realities of race and power.
And this, of course, was conjoined with the atrocious war in Indochina,
where the so-called best and brightest trapped all of us in their hubris.
The sheer blood lust of those years — the ability to kill literally
millions of far-away people in the name of freedom and democracy —
laid bare a world that formal documents alone are insufficient to deal
with...
Connecting
Cultures, Bringing Americans and Japanese Together,
John Dower
Dower studies modern Japan and US-Japanese relations, and he bases his
research not only on official documents and the writings of famous people,
but also on popular culture — such as everyday language, photographs
and films, letters to the editor, cartoons and songs. “The lives
of ordinary people matter not only because they are the greater part of
human experience,” says Dower, “but also because by knowing
what they say and experience we gain a richer, more accurate understanding
of the great as well as the small currents of history.”
BlackShip & Samuraï
by John Dower & Shigeru Miyagawa
On July 8, 1853, residents of feudal Japan beheld an astonishing sight –
foreign warships entering their harbor under a cloud of black smoke. Commodore
Matthew Perry had arrived to force the long-secluded country to open its doors.
• New Japanese History of Buddhism : Violence, Nationalism & War crimes
Zen at War, Meditating
on War and Guilt, Zen Says
It's Sorry by Allan M.Jalon
To many Americans, Zen Buddhists primarily devote themselves to discovering
inner serenity and social peace. But Zen has had strong ties to militarism
? indeed so strong, that the leaders of one of the largest denominations
in Japan have remorsefully compared their former religious fanaticism
during Japan's brutal expansionism in the 1930's and 40's to today's murderously
militant Islamists. The unexpected apology for wartime complicity by the
leaders of Myoshin-ji, the headquarters temple of one of Japan's main
Zen sects, was issued 16 days after 9/11, which gave it a particular resonance.
Zen Holy War A
Book review
by Josh Baran
"If ordered to march: tramp, tramp or shoot: bang, bang. This is the manifestation
of the highest wisdom of enlightenment. The unity of Zen and war ... extends
to the farthest reaches of the holy war now under way."
Zen Master Harada Daiun Sogaku - 1939
"Warriors who sacrifice their lives for the emperor will not die. They
will live forever. Truly they should be called gods and Buddhas for whom there
is no life or death. Where there is absolute loyalty there is no life or death."
Lieutenant Colonel Sugimoto Goro
Zen at War is a courageous and exhaustively researched book by Brian Victoria,
a western Soto Zen priest and instructor at the University of Auckland.
Victoria reveals the inside story of the Japanese Zen establishment's
dedicated support of the imperial war machine from the late 1800's through
World War II. He chronicles in detail how prominent Zen leaders perverted
the Buddhist teaching to encourage blind obedience, mindless killing,
and total devotion to the emperor. The consequences were catastrophic
and the impact can still be felt today.
Zen at War reviewed
by Fabio Rambelli (pdf)
Zen at war
by B.Victoria, reviewed by David Loy
The wartime complicity of Zen institutions is hardly news to scholars
of Japanese religion, but this is the first study in English to present
detailed evidence and address the important issues at length. A few years
ago Rude Awakenings (ed. Heisig and Maraldo) provided a potpourri of essays
on Kyoto School nationalism which offered contradictory opinions of its
founding fathers impossible for a nonspecialist to adjudicate. Zen at
War is a more accessible overview that focuses primarily on institutional
Buddhism, especially Zen, from 1868 to the present day. During this period
the relationships between Zen Buddhism and the state's military aggression
were in their "most exaggerated form", but Victoria claims that
makes it all the better a test of Zen's social ethics. It is a test that
Japanese Zen failed, and arguably continues to fail, for the issue of
wartime responsibility is still largely ignored. Since many western Zen
teachers today were themselves students of figures discussed in this book,
it has come as a shock to many Zen communities outside Japan. As Victoria
admits at the end, it raises many more questions than it answers; those
questions can no longer be overlooked.
Engaged Buddhism
: A Skeleton in the Closet
by Brian Victoria
...in 1889, Buddhist leaders from all of Japan's major sects joined to create
the "United Movement for Revering the Emperor and Worshipping the Buddha"
(Sonno Hoobutsu Daidoodan). The organization's prospectus described its purpose
as follows:
The goal of this organization is to preserve the prosperity of the Imperial
Household and increase the power of Buddhism. The result will be the perfection
of the well-being of the Great Empire of Japan... The time-honored spiritual
foundation of our empire is the Imperial Household and Buddhism. The independence
and stability of our empire cannot be maintained if so much as the slightest
injury is inflicted upon it. How can true patriots not be inspired and
aroused to defend against such injury? (quoted in Victoria, 1997:18).
Japan's Buddhist leaders also established Buddhist "missions" in China,
some as early as 1876. The Japanese government supported these efforts; for,
as a pan-Asian religion, Buddhism was seen as a useful tool in promoting the
unity of East Asian peoples under Japanese hegemony. In addition, Japan's Buddhist
leaders maintained that Buddhism in China and the rest of Asia was backward,
passive, and indifferent to social needs while Japanese Mahaayaana Buddhism
was activist, socially engaged, and scientific, in short, the world's only "true"
Buddhism. Thus it was their duty to bring Japan's true Buddhism to the benighted
peoples of Asia and even the West, whether the latter wanted it or not..
The Burakumin :
The Complicity of Japanese Buddhism in Oppression and an Opportunity for
Liberation by Leslie D.Alldritt, Northand College Ashland, Wisconsin
In an issue of the Buraku Liberation News, an English-language bimonthly publication
of the Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute(44), the question
of Buddhism and discrimination was taken up in the section entitled “Buraku
Problem Q & A.” The question was, “Is Buddhism free from Buraku
discrimination?” What follows is part of the response to the question:
There is a tradition that people carve a religious name for the dead on the
face of a tomb as a sign of worship. That is a practice for many Buddhist religious
organizations. The name for the dead is Kaimyo, posthumous Kaimyo is given by
a Buddhist priest and is recorded in a post-memorial-notebook at the temple
the dead belonged to. Of late, it was discovered that discriminatory names and
characters in the notebooks and on the faces of the tombs exist. These were
given by Buddhist priests to the dead who were of Buraku origin. The names include
the characters for beast, humble, ignoble, servant and many other kinds of derogatory
expressions. Upon the disclosure, Buddhist organizations started to widely investigate
notebooks and tombs in response to the requests of the BLL [Buraku Liberation
League]. They found discriminatory Kaimyo, at many Buddhist sects in most parts
of Japan. While the majority seems to have given a long time ago, there are
some names given even since the 1940’s.(45)
Such discriminatory practice is an indication that Buddhism has historically
contributed to burakumin oppression...
The Buraku problem
and the Japan Communist Party, Tokyo
(Trad.Ian Laidlaw, 9.08.200)
...Regarding the Buraku problem from within the kôryo, while analysing
various domestic and foreign affairs, and asking in what way we talk about
the Buraku problem, please record that, with regard to the so called Buraku
problem, we are continually trying to bring about national fusion.
We are making an effort to create national fusion for [solving] the Buraku
problem. In other words, it is possible to bring about a solution
by mixing with each other within the Japanese race. Incorporating
solidarity fusion more into this fusion, there is a possible solution
by including this. It can be solved. This is one view of how
the Buraku problem can be solved. With regard to why that has arisen,
the fact is that the Buraku problem, the Liberation League [BLL] are conducting
mistaken regulations. Originally, the Buraku problem was a problem
of fellow nationals within the Japanese nation, or the Japanese ethnic
group. It is not an ethnicity problem where people came from somewhere
else and were separated, as a so called foreign ethnic group issue.
It is a problem within the one ethnic group, or a problem of the formation
of the class system that divided the same Japanese people during the formation
of the feudal society, [which occurred] about 300 or 400 years ago...
The historical Transformation of Poverty, Discrimination, and Urban Policy
in Japanese City : The Case of OSAKA
by Toshsio Mizuuchi (pdf)
Buraku
Mondai (problem) in Japan : Historical and Modern Perspectives and Directions
for the Future
by Emily A.Su-lan Reber (Harvad Human Rights Journal, Spring 1999)
Japan’s Tokugawa Period status system, in which the position of
the outcast was fixed, was based on the prior medieval status system of
Japan. Under the supremacy of the shogunate and the shogunate’s
family were essentially five classes: the samurai (warriors), farmers,
artisan-craftsmen, merchants and the outcasts—variously known as
eta and hinin, now called burakumin. “It was during the Tokugawa
feudal regime, beginning in the 17th century, when warrior-administrators
came into power, that the [predecessors of] burakumin were legally stigmatized
as outcasts.” [25] Although people could be relegated to the status
of outcast by committing a crime or violating society’s regulations,
the reverse became impossible. Even descendants of outcasts who came to
work in traditionally non-outcast occupations, such as farming and fishing,
could not escape the status prescribed by heredity. [26]...
