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Hans India
15 hours ago
- Hans India
Yogandhra organised at Ramnarayanam
Vizianagaram: As part of the State government's initiative to promote yoga in tourism places, Yogandhra programme was organised on Friday at Ramnarayanam, a spiritual tourist center in Vijayanagaram district. Minister Kondapalli Srinivas, district Collector Dr BR Ambedkar, and Joint Collector S Sethumadhavan, along with around 1,500 government officials, staff, health workers, and locals have attended the programme. The participants formed Ram Dhanush (bow) shape near the feet of Ramnarayanam temple and performed yoga asanas. Minister Srinivas said that yoga is a great asset passed down to us by our ancestors, and the Yoga Andhra program aims to create awareness about yoga among people. The programme was organised by the district administration and was a grand success, with participants from various walks of life coming together to promote yoga and wellness.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Over 6,900 PMAY houses remain unfinished in Vizianagaram district
VISAKHAPATNAM: Of the nearly 11,000 houses sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana ( PMAY ) several years ago, only 41% have been completed in Vizianagaram district , with 6,924 houses yet to be finished. Despite the govt sanctioning additional funds for housing construction, several beneficiaries have not come forward to build their homes. Officials suspect that some beneficiaries are not participating because they already own a house. Vizianagaram district collector Dr BR Ambedkar said that the list of such individuals should be verified by visiting each household, and a report with supporting evidence should be submitted within two days. The houses sanctioned to such individuals will be cancelled, the collector clarified. The collector conducted a review meeting on the progress of housing in the district at the collectorate. Speaking on this occasion, Dr Ambedkar questioned the slow progress in housing completion in Bobbili and Vizianagaram urban areas. Officials explained that the delay was partly due to a lack of water supply and theft of borewells, and that letters have been sent to the municipal commissioners regarding this. The collector ordered that action be taken to ensure all borewells become operational within two days. He also directed that door-to-door awareness campaigns be conducted regarding the additional financial support being provided by the govt. Daily targets should be set to speed up the work, and weekly reviews will be conducted going forward. He instructed that the 4,096 newly submitted applications for house sites be verified. "Another 2,500 manually submitted applications should be coordinated with the respective tahsildars to verify eligibility. Housing should be provided to everyone and that the list of beneficiaries sanctioned under the PM Janman schemes should also be verified," added Dr Ambedkar.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Caste census could further strengthen the dominant OBCs
Written by Viplov Wingkar The central government's decision to enumerate caste in the upcoming Census has invoked much excitement, with both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress heralding it as a transformative moment. The prevailing assumption across the political spectrum is that it will usher in a new era of politics. This optimism is not just misplaced but naïve. Of course, there is a possibility for emancipatory politics — but there are other factors as well. One possible impact of the caste enumeration exercise will be the further empowerment of the locally dominant OBC castes, without forging a pan-Indian OBC alliance. The caste census could end up fuelling a politics of convenience, and it may worsen the atmosphere for more vulnerable castes, especially the Dalits. B R Ambedkar, in Annihilation of Caste, laid bare a truth about Indian society and politics: Every caste is a self-conscious entity, its identity forged in opposition to others, devoid of fraternal bonds. This is what makes caste a labyrinth of hierarchies within hierarchies, and ensures that alliances across castes are brittle at best. Consider the Dalits and Adivasis, whose shared experience of marginalisation and numerical strength — roughly 25 per cent of India's population — should, in theory, make them a formidable anti-caste force. Yet there is hardly any pan-Indian Dalit-Adivasi unity today, thanks to sub-caste rivalries, cultural gaps, and regional loyalties. Despite their shared oppression and strong independent mobilisation, the Chamars of Uttar Pradesh and the Mahars of Maharashtra rarely come together to represent a united political voice. They seldom even agree on what the broad strategy for the Dalit movement should be. How, then, could we expect the OBCs — a sprawling category encompassing hundreds of castes — to transcend these divides? On the other hand, by quantifying the numerical strength of OBCs, the Census might embolden dominant castes, who are usually the numerically dominant ones. These groups have already leveraged Mandal politics since the 1990s to secure power at the state level, with their ascendancy often coming at the expense of smaller OBC castes and their lower-caste counterparts. Moreover, they have failed to build a broader political narrative, focusing instead on region-specific political interests. It is hard to find a Kurmi-led organisation in Patna allying with a Yadav-dominated bloc in Lucknow. The father of sociology, Ibn Khaldun, discusses the concept of asabiyyah, or social solidarity. According to him, this type of cohesive bonding progresses from the barbaric stage (fragmented) to the highest civilised stage, with each smaller unit of cohesion being replaced by a broader one. Each caste's inherent exclusivity undermines the kind of social cohesion required for an OBC or Bahujan alliance — asabiyyah exists today at the level of individual castes, not yet diluted enough to be superseded by higher forms of cohesion. The optimism surrounding the caste census hinges on another flawed assumption: that we are unable to eradicate caste inequalities because we lack data. This assumption is naïve. History shows that data does not inherently translate into mobilisation. The global working class, for instance, is exhaustively documented — from Marx's Capital to modern ILO reports — yet a unified proletarian movement remains a mirage. In India, the Periodic Labour Force Survey reveals stark inequalities, but the working class languishes, fragmented by caste, trade, nationality, and region. Similarly, the caste census may mirror OBC realities but will not automatically forge a broader coalition. As Antonio Gramsci might argue, political consciousness requires organic intellectuals and sustained organisation — not mere numbers on a page. However, Indian intellectuals today still follow the framework of the Lohiaite style of caste politics. This model has no doubt been reasonably successful, but we must also ask whether it is suited for post-enumeration caste politics. Socialist parties, from the RJD to the BSP, mostly rely on stitching together a bare-minimum coalition of castes that will get them a stake in governance. In such coalitions, the fewer the number of partners, the more convenient it is to claim more. Is there any feasible alternative to this politics of convenience? Another question we must contemplate is: What will be left for the Dalits if the dominant OBC communities are further politically strengthened? The conflict between the Dwijas and Shudras has not brought much relief to Dalits. When it comes to Dalit atrocities, states like Tamil Nadu — long ruled by non-Brahmin parties — are no better than Brahmin-ruled states. Bihar, one of the crucial centres of OBC politics, is not great for Dalits either. It was the Mahagathbandhan government, not the NDA, which released Anand Mohan, the former MP convicted for the mob lynching of Dalit IAS officer Krishnaiah. Socialist politics led by OBCs have achieved great victories. It would be better if OBC leaders also fought for the rights of other lower castes. Stronger cohesion should be the response to prevalent caste inequality. Caste enumeration might jeopardise these possibilities by binding leaders to their specific castes and interests. The writer is an assistant professor of philosophy at B K Birla College (Autonomous), Kalyan
Time of India
5 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Vizianagaram attracts Rs 20 crore in CSR funding for various works
Visakhapatnam: Vizianagaram district administration has attracted about Rs 20 crore in CSR (corporate social responsibility) funding from various private and govt organisations in the past few days due to its proactive measures. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Collector Dr BR Ambedkar said that the Axis Bank will provide Rs 15 crore for the development of 40 water tanks in the district. The selected 40 tanks in the Nellimarla, Garividi, Gurla, and Merakamudidam mandals within the Champavathi river basin will be dredged, their embankments strengthened, plantations carried out, and check dams constructed. Similarly, the nuclear power corporation of India has sanctioned Rs 1 crore for medical equipment at the medical college. The company has also approved Rs 54.5 lakh for additional classrooms in govt schools in Nadipalli and Chintapalli villages of Pusapatirega mandal. Bharat Dynamics Limited has sanctioned Rs 1 crore for classroom projects in 37 govt schools, Rs 14.5 lakh for basic amenities in social welfare hostels, and Rs 7.16 lakh for medical equipment at Gajapathinagaram area hospital. Power Grid Corporation has donated a generator to the blood bank run by the Indian Red Cross Society. The district collector stated that these funds will contribute significantly to the development of education, healthcare, and social welfare sectors in the district.
India Today
6 days ago
- India Today
Man vandalises and spits on Ambedkar's statue in Punjab, arrested
A man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly vandalising and spitting on a statue of Dalit icon Dr BR Ambedkar, making derogatory remarks and attempting to damage a replica of the Constitution near the statue in Punjab's Hoshiarpur, police accused, Jagdeep Singh Matharu, allegedly climbed the stairs leading to the statue with a cloth wrapped around his head, police said, citing the FIR. Matharu allegedly spat multiple times on the statue, shouted that he came to break it, and claimed he did not accept Dr Ambedkar or the Constitution, the FIR man then allegedly took out a metallic needle, which is generally used to tuck hair under turbans, from his cloth and began scraping at the replica of the Constitution, which was made of cement and other construction materials, it said. The accused's actions drew the attention of bystanders, who rushed to the spot and overpowered him before any further damage could be were questioning the suspect about the intention behind his police registered an FIR against the accused under sections 299 (deliberate act intended to outrage religious feelings), 302 (uttering words deliberately to hurt religious feelings), 351(1) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), and Section 3(1)(x) (act of corrupting or fouling water sources commonly used by members of the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. advertisement Police urged people to avoid spreading rumours as appropriate action was being taken as per Town police station Sub-Inspector Gursahib Singh said the FIR was registered based on the complaint of Sukhdev Singh, secretary of Punjab's Bahujan Samaj Party investigation into the matter is underway.(with inputs from PTI) IN THIS STORY#Punjab
