Q&A - `Gandhi was obsessed with sex ­while preaching celibacy to others'
A controversy has erupted in Britain over the proposed second statue of Gandhiji in London, this one in Parliament Square. Kusoom Vadgama, the doughty 82-year-old historian and former `Gandhi worshipper', tells Bachi Karkaria why she is leading the fight brigade against the statue.

You have reportedly opposed the statue because of Gandhi's `debasement of women' by his experiments with sexual selfcontrol.

Men in position of power take advantage of their status. They have no qualms about abusing minors or women. All his life Gandhi was obsessed with sex ­while preaching celibacy to others. No one challenged him. He was the nation's `untouchable' hero, his iconic status eclipsed all his wrong doings. The protest against yet another statue of his in London, just two miles from the one in Tavistock Square, is a perfect opportunity to speak the truth about this other people's Mahatma.

What angers you most about this known truth?
Gandhi never made a secret of sleeping naked with his greatgrand daughter and the wife of his great-grand son. It may have been his way of testing his control over his sexual drive, but these women were used as guinea pigs. If he had used other adult women, it would have been nothing more than interesting gossip. But Gandhi chose a teenage blood relation and a great-grand-daughter-in-law for his sexual whims. I have no fear or hesitation in telling the truth about him. Ironically , it was he who instilled in me the mantra of `satyameva jayate'.

With his place in global iconography, will your voice be heeded? Gandhi's darker side was ignored but never forgotten. Now, the brutal gang rape of Nirbhaya, and horrendous sexual crimes everywhere have brought into deep focus the helplessness of women; opened wounds of the indignity of being used. Yes, at a different level, but just as humiliatingly . The world has changed. For women, personal freedom and self respect come before the freedom of the country and national leaders, however important or influential.

But Gandhiji did give a great deal of space to women in the freedom struggle. For them it was a personal liberation.

Yes Gandhi mobilised the women of India. One of the reasons for his success was that his political rallies were called prayer meetings. Women attended in thousands not only to listen to him but also to have the `darshan' of the saintly man.

Earlier, you too `worshipped Gandhi'.

Kusoom Vadgama

He was my God inNairobi,Kenya, where both myparentsweredeeply involvedin India's free dom movement.

In school, i stud ied the gloryand great ness of the British Empire, but spent all my time outside in protest marches and dawn processions, ordering the British out of India. I even shouted `Jai Hind' to the English school teacher, and thought I'd be expelled.

Why have you pitched for a statue of Dadabhai Naoroji instead?
The Indian diaspora needs a role model for all the positive values of Indo-British relations. Dadabhai Naoroji, Britain's first Indian MP elected in1892, deserves to be in Parliament Square. He was a a great supporter of the suffragettes who campaigned for Home Rule for Ireland. He represented the culture and spirit of India in Britain as no other Indian did. He was much loved and respected by Jinnah and Gandhi.
He also happened to be the first Indian to represent the first Indian trading company in London in 1855 ­ and the first professor of Gujarati in London University .

Source: The Times of India dt 16-8-14

Breaking caste barriers.

Dalits in Kolar welcomed into homes of upper castes

Known for its large population of Dalits, Kolar district is set to witness a different kind of social reform movement. It employs a traditional event — ‘Grihapravesha’ — to eradicate untouchability, which is rampant in the region.

The Dalits have been facing inhuman social conditions here. Even six decades after Independence, they are not allowed into public places such as temples. In spite of Kolar being a reserved Lok Sabha constituency, it has not been possible to remove the curse of untouchability.

Undivided Kolar witnessed a number of heinous incidents: killing of Dalits by caste Hindus, the Kambalapalli incident being the most horrific among them. Seven people were burnt alive at the village.

Persistent efforts by organisations such as the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) notwithstanding, the curse still continues. The majority of Dalits here are landless farm labourers and workers engaged in cleaning towns and cities.

Of late, a social activities centre, Arivu (meaning awareness), founded by G. Shivappa, a lecturer with Government College for Women in Kolar, has been working on a novel means of creating awareness against untouchability, and making possible the entry of people from other castes into the houses of upper caste people. Titled ‘Grihapravesha’, the programme began with allowing Dalits to enter the house of Tatwapada singer, the late Gattappaswamy, Mr. Shivappa’s father. Hundreds of Dalits from nine villages in Mulbagal taluk entered the house on the occasion of his seventh death anniversary.

Arivu plans to carry out the campaign under the slogan ‘Ellarigoo pravesha, Dalitarigoo pravesha’ (Entry for all, Entry for Dalits too) at different panchayat centres every Sunday, Mr. Shivappa told The Hinduon Thursday.

A special programme is being organised on Friday to coincide with Independence Day celebrations at Hebbani. The Constitution will be taken out in the procession to uphold the secular aspirations of the country.

Source: The Hindu dt 15-8-14

Mulayam proposes, Mayawati disposes

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav proposed and Mayawati disposed, making clear that there was no chance of larger backward class unity to stop a resurgent BJP in UP like Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar have done in Bihar.

Following up on the suggestion of RJD chief Lalu Prasad that SP and BSP join hands, the Yadav chieftain told reporters on Wednesday, “If Lalu takes the initiative, I don't have any issues in joining hands.“ But no sooner did he float the possibility than BSP supremo Mayawati blew up. “Whenever SP government comes to power, crime, communal violence, rape and dacoity reach their peak. It is the character of this party and if incidents of this nature do not take place, then this party will be finished,“ Mayawati said. She added “Therefore, keeping all these things in mind, there is no question of joining hands with SP and fighting elections together.“ She expressed confidence that BSP would come to power on its own and accused SP of an understanding with BJP to instigate religious riots in Uttar Pradesh.

Source: The Times of India dt 14-8-14

College retracts invite to Dalit activist after ABVP threat.

Sheetal Sathe was arrested on charges of backing Naxal activities

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has forced St. Xavier’s College here to retract an invitation extended to Dalit activist and singer Sheetal Sathe. Ms. Sathe was arrested in April 2013 for allegedly supporting Naxal activities and later granted bail.

She was invited by the organisers of St. Xavier’s annual festival, ‘Malhar’, to participate in a panel discussion on ‘The invisibility of caste’ on Thursday. With the ABVP threatening to disrupt the festival if she was allowed to attend, the organisers withdrew the invitation on Wednesday.

An ABVP delegation visited the college a few days ago and warned both the management and the students against inviting Ms. Sathe. “She is an anti-national. Such people should be barred from entering colleges because they will influence the youth. If the college sticks to its stand, we will close down Malhar,” Yadunath Deshpande, ABVP’s Mumbai organisational secretary, told The Hindu.

Clamping down on such programmes was “in the national interest,” he claimed.

Ms. Sathe is a member of the Pune-based radical cultural group Kabir Kala Manch.

RTE ADMISSIONS UP 50% THIS YEAR.

Enrolment Under Act Crosses 75% In Chennai

The number of RTEadmissions in TamilNadu has gone upfrom 49,864 in 2013-14 to 74,127 this year, announced school education minister K C Veeramani in the current Assembly session. This is nearly a 50% jump over the last year.Officials in charge of RTE admissions said Chennai and Coimbatore were the big contributors. In Chennai the increase was around 78%, and 70% of the target was reached.
Officials and child rights activists said that the increase in numbers was encouraging, and attributed it to increased awareness campaigns in target areas and regular threats issued to schools warning them against turning away children from underprivileged backgrounds seeking admission under the 25% reservation clause of the Right To Free and Compulsory Education Act.
A Subramaniam, inspector of matriculation schools in Chennai, said, “ Awareness campaigns did a lot to increase admissions. We forwarded applications to schools, and ensured that applications were converted into seats.“
This year several private non-profit organisations like Becoming I Foundation jumped in to do their bit. Supraja Narayanaswamy , Chennai head of the organisation, said they set up a helpline and helped get admission for around 50 children. “We held awareness campaigns in central and north Chennai, where people had no idea about the Act and that they could benefit from it,“ she said. Volunteers visited schools in the locality and educated them about the provisions of the RTE Act.
Schools were initially reluctant to take students under the 25% reservation clause this year, because they did not receive reimbursements for admissions made in previous years. This was overcome after school education secretary D Sabitha and director of matriculation schools R Pitchai held talks with school heads, assuring them of the refund.
“They told us that they would be allocating around Rs25 crore for reimbursements. We felt reassured when they put a figure to the claim, because we felt some effort was being taken to address our problems. Earlier we were left hanging,“ said the correspondent of a private matriculation school.
Not all are convinced. Child rights activist A Narayanan said, “Everybody has diluted the Act -state government, courts.
There is no meaning in talking about enrolment because the state has allowed all sections of society to benefit.“ Apart from other caste (OC) students, children from any other community , including OBC and SC/ST, can get admission under the state rules. Even children from OC communities can seek admission if their annual income is below Rs2 lakh. “So, it is neither enabling nor empowering the underprivileged,“ he said.

Source: The Times of Inida dt 21-7-14

Dalit woman beaten to death by non-dalit husband, in-laws.

A 28-year-old dalit woman was beaten to death and buried by her non-dalit husband and in-laws at a village near Bhuvanagiri in Cuddalore district. The murder took place on June 3 but it came to light recently. Police on Saturday exhumed the body and sent it for postmortem.Police said P Seetha of Aathivarahantham village and Saravanan got married on May 5 after a brief courtship despite strong objections from Saravanan’s family. The couple started living in Keerapalayam. But the relationship turned sour after the marriage and Seetha started complaining of abuse by her husband and in-laws.
Seetha went missing on June 3. Her parents, after failing to get details about her whereabouts from Saravanan, lodged a complaint with the Bhuvanagiri police on July 8.
On July 16, Saravanan surrendered before the Panruti judicial magistrate and confessed to murdering his wife
with the help of his mother Selvi, sister Sakunthala and brother-in-law Venkatesan.Police arrested Selvi, Sakunthala and Venkatesan on July 17 and produced them before a local court which remanded them in judicial custody. Preliminary inquiries revealed that Seetha, who was invited by Saravanan to his parents’ house in Kadavacheri, was beaten to death by him, his mother, sister and brotherin-law. They later set her body on fire and buried it near their house, police said.
Various dalit rights organisations, condemning the brutal murder, have demanded that the district police book all the accused under the SC/ ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. The activists also demanded that the postmortem be videographed.
Source: The Times of india dt 20-7-14

Woman killed by husband, in-laws

A 28-year-old dalit woman was beaten to death and buried by her non-dalit husband and in-laws at a village near Bhuvanagiri in Cuddalore district. The murder took place on June 3 but it came to light recently. Police on Saturday exhumed the body and sent it for postmortem.

Police said P Seetha of Aathivarahantham village and Saravanan got married on May 5 after a brief courtship despite strong objections from Saravanan’s family. The couple started living in Keerapalayam. But the relationship turned sour after the marriage and Seetha started complaining of abuse by her husband and in-laws.

Seetha went missing on June 3. Her parents, after failing to get details about her whereabouts from Saravanan, lodged a complaint with the Bhuvanagiri police on July 8.

On July 16, Saravanan surrendered before the Panruti judicial magistrate and confessed to murdering his wife

with the help of his mother Selvi, sister Sakunthala and brother-in-law Venkatesan.

Police arrested Selvi, Sakunthala and Venkatesan on July 17 and produced them before a local court which remanded them in judicial custody. Preliminary inquiries revealed that Seetha, who was invited by Saravanan to his parents’ house in Kadavacheri, was beaten to death by him, his mother, sister and brotherin-law. They later set her body on fire and buried it near their house, police said.

Various dalit rights organisations, condemning the brutal murder, have demanded that the district police book all the accused under the SC/ ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. The activists also demanded that the postmortem be videographed.

Source: The Times of India dt 20-7-14