Dalit boy killed for writing poem to upper caste girl

In a recent example of India’s horrific caste system, a 16-year-old Dalit school boy died after he was thrashed almost unconscious in front of other students by an upper caste teacher for writing a poem to an upper caste girl. He was also beaten by family members of the girl the next day, found semi-conscious and taken to hospital where he later died.

Local leaders have sought an inquiry into the incident as the police appear to be siding with the upper caste girl’s family and the teacher.

MeriNews | Read the Full Story

The class ceiling

A gulf still divides India’s wealthy gated communities and the slums that protect and serve them, writes Somini Sengupta.

Hamilton Court is a gated community for the moneyed middle classes. Within its stone walled boundary are a private school, health clinic and fitness club. A small army of security guards patrols its groomed lawns, ensuring the outside world does not intrude.

India has always had its upper classes, as well as legions of the world’s very poor. But today a landscape dotted with Hamilton Courts, pressed up against the slums that serve them, has underscored more than ever the stark gulf between those worlds, raising uncomfortable questions for a democratically elected government about whether India can enable all its citizens to scale the golden ladders of the new economy.

“Things have gotten better for the lucky class,” Dr Chand, 36, said as she made lunch in her apartment overlooking the shanty town.

India’s 17 years of economic change have widened the gap between rich and poor. More than a quarter of the population lives below the official poverty line, subsisting on roughly $US1 ($1.04) a day; one in four city dwellers lives on less than 50 cents a day; and nearly half of all children are malnourished.

At the same time, the ranks of dollar millionaires have swelled to 100,000, and the Indian middle class – though notoriously hard to define and still small – is expanding.

SMH | Read the Full Story

Uttar Pradesh is not Somalia – or is it?

Two year old Sahabuddin

Two-year-old Sahabuddin died of starvation on May 31, 2008, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The state is India’s second most backward, with corruption undermining its pledge to eradicate poverty and provide healthcare for its people. (Photo/PVCHR-India)

The government of Uttar Pradesh in India has a clear mandate and vision to protect its children. With more than 100 projects commissioned by the State’s child development agency and a few million dollars spent each year, one would expect the State’s children do be as healthy as well cared-for children elsewhere in the world. At least they must not die from acute malnutrition.

Yet, in reality, children do die from malnutrition in Uttar Pradesh. The latest was two-year-old Sahabuddin, who died May 31, 2008. He lived with his parents in Dhannipur village in Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh. His parents were too poor to feed Sahabuddin – he weighed only six kilograms when he died. This is Grade III malnutrition, a condition that the world hears of in places like Somalia.

In the Somali Democratic Republic, however, there is no functioning government, there is a high rate of inflation and the country has faced a series of civil wars followed by a war with neighboring Ethiopia that has destroyed whatever little infrastructure that country had. In these conditions – coupled with the harsh African weather that bakes the land as strong as concrete making it unfit for cultivation – starvation, malnutrition and death from starvation are inevitable.

The state of Uttar Pradesh is not so. It has a democratically elected government. It has ministers and secretaries who travel around the state in the name of governance in expensive air-conditioned vehicles. The state government has a woman chief minister at its helm, who has vowed to eradicate discrimination and poverty in the state.

UPI AsiaOnline | Bijo Francis | Link

L’Arche de Dolanji funds 220 meals daily

Toward the end of 2007 we were extremely worried that the children’s food funding was ending in February 2008 and that we hadn’t been able to find a sponsor. Then a miracle occurred: A visitor from France (Edith) told a French association, L’Arche de Dolanji, about us and after much correspondence and a visit to BSS, L’Arche de Dolanji decided to begin sponsoring a daily meal for all 220 children from March 2008.

L’Arche de Dolanji told us this is a long term commitment for them which is very exciting as it give us the ability to focus on other aspects of the children’s growth and welfare.

These meals are are extremely important for the children’s ability to learn and remain healthy. This is a wonderful gift, and we thank you L’Arche de Dolanji, from the bottom of our hearts.

Amistad Intl: A Benefit for Buddha’s Smile School

A Benefit for Buddha's Smile School

Concerts and Art Auction in New York City for India’s Neediest Children

In one of the poorest parts of India, there’s a school that provides an education, meals and perhaps the only encouragement 220 students have ever had. Along with coursework, the school provides medical care, clothing, and food—often the children’s only meal of the day. It’s a school that will make the difference between aspiring to be doctors, lawyers and statesmen, or starvation, prostitution and early death. It’s immensely important to the fragile welfare of local children, and is entirely dependent on charitable contributions to survive.

The first concert and silent art auction is on
Saturday June 7th
the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
58 Seventh Avenue in Park Slope
at 7:00 p.m.

The second concert and silent art auction is on
Friday June 13th
the Society of Illustrators
128 East 63rd Street
at 7:00 p.m.

Performers include a mix of world, jazz, rock, and contemporary classical musicians, including such New York luminaries as Margaret Leng Tan, Hui Cox, Beth Levin, Stephanie Griffin, Christine Perea, Ana Milosavlevic, Ben Robison, Katie Down, Judy Tint, Bob Lampell, Masha Lankovsky, Uli Geissendoerfer, Ben Yarmolinsky, Ivan Rubenstein-Gillis, Brian Thompson, Julieanne Klein, Emily Howard, and others.

Artists include Joe Ciardiello, Bruce Waldman, Betsy & Ted Lewin, Michael Sloan, Rebecca Allen, Sara Varon, Jacqui Morgan, Frances Jetter, Joan Chiverton, Al Pels, Paul Jervis, Laura McCallum, Elizabeth Jordan, Margaret Noel, Jim Spanfeller and many more.

Tickets are $20. To reserve tickets, or if you’d like to donate art or perform,
email buddhabenefit@yahoo.com.

If you can’t attend, but want to make a tax-deductible donation, click here and specify that your donation is for Buddha’s Smile School. Every penny donated through Amistad goes to Buddha’s Smile School (with the exception of fees Amistad must pay for credit card donations, so please donate by check if possible).

Amistad International website | Link

Fourteen Students Graduate in 2008

Exciting times at Buddha’s Smile School!
The first group of graduates have completed their elementary school education at BSS and are now ready to move on to the government middle school, and ultimately, we hope, to University.

All 14 students, five of whom are featured in our June 2008 newsletter, are extraordinary kids. In spite of working hard to help support their families during off-school hours, they have all excelled in their studies and have become role models for the younger BSS students. –» meet all 14 students

HOW IT ALL WORKS

After leaving their new schools, graduates will return daily to BSS for tutoring and encouragement. This will help them with the demands of higher education and hopefully help them to break away from a life of poverty and begging forever.

It is important to ensure continued support for graduating students and so we have set up a dedicated 2008 Student Scholarship Fund to help our 2008 graduates maintain their education under our supervision.

GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Each year a separate Scholarship fund will be set up and managed by BSS. It will not only provide for graduate students’ further education but other daily needs, like tutoring, books, clothes, food, medical, and in some cases, accommodation.

Our 2008 Graduate Scholarship Fund needs additional sponsors. If you can help please send us an email

BSS: THE KEY TO A BETTER LIFE

Five years ago BSS was just an empty block of land. Today, through the help and sponsorship of many people as well as the love, hard work and financial support of Rajan, Sukdhev and the family, BSS has grown into an established school providing a comprehensive education for 220 underprivileged children.

BSS gives these Untouchable (Dalit) children hope and encouragement for a brighter future by opening their minds and stimulating their innate creativity. BSS teaches them to think critically, to question everything and to learn the ways of the great thinkers and humanitarians.

–» Meet all 14 students

School principal accused of abusing Dalit student

April 14th, 2008 School principal accused of abusing Dalit student: In his complaint to the police, Prem Narayan alleged that when he approached the institute for admission on March 28, he was asked to pay Rs.45,000 as donation. On expressing his inability to pay the amount, he was asked to come the next day. When he returned to the institute, the principal humiliated him by allegedly hurling casteist abuses. Thaindian News | Read the Full Story |