Dalit Freedom Network Canada

February 1, 2010

We are truly grateful for all that has been accomplished through our caring partners in Canada during the past year. We were able to fund three new schools in 2009, and equip them with fresh drinking water, generators, desks, and basic amenities. In addition, 332 new children were sponsored bringing our total to 1,457 Dalit children.

One of the highlights of this past year has been the graduation of our first class of Grade 10 students. DFN Canada Director, Sherry Bailey, was there and personally witnessed this historic event and saw firsthand the effectiveness of our Good Shepherd School program. How exciting that there are now 90 Dalit schools across India and that each year there will be children graduating, who for many years were denied an English education. How rewarding to hear young boys and girls who live in pipes and mud huts declare that they want to be a teacher, a doctor, or civil engineer; now this door of hope is real possibility.

January 25, 2010

At this year’s Jaipur Literature Festival, as India commemorates 60 years of being a Republic on 26 January 2010, the focus is on Dalit writing. The panel discussion on Outcaste: The Search for Public Conscience featured S. Anand, publisher of Navayana which focuses on dalit literature, P.Sivakami, novelist and political activist from Chennai; Omprakash Valmiki, author of the bestselling Joothan; and Kancha Ilaiah author of the best-selling Why I am Not a Hindu. Chairing the session, S Anand said that despite the Constitution being piloted by Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, a Dalit and one of the architects of modern India, Dalits seem to hardly figure in sectors where there is no affirmative action. Consequently, beyond representation in jobs in the government sector (which too is begrudged to them) and in politics, they continue to be shunned in the realms of culture, literature and the arts. Invoking Ambedkar`s 1952 speech, Anand wanted the speakers to examine the “absence of public conscience”, especially among the Hindus.

Ilaiah said the caste system made the brahmins, kshatriyas and vaishyas caste-proud and they therefore did not believe in introspection since they believe dalits and sudras have no right to write forget even speak. The Hindu public has no conscience, he said. Valmiki said that there`s segreagation in every village in India, and the dalits are forced to live in ghettoes to the West of the village or near gutters. Caste envelopes every aspect of life in everyday India. Valmiki said even in Rajasthan today dalits face discrimination. In the vilage Chakwara in Rajasthan, after dalits managed to gain access to the lake, the caste Hindus started defecating there and polluting it, Anand pointed out. Sivakami said that upper caste Hindus have only a caste conscience and not a public conscience; they lack a human conscience. All the writers agreed that there was no reason they would call themselves Hindu since Hinduism offered them no dignity or respect. Valmiki earlier said that it was wonderful that the DSC Jaipur literature festival in its fifth year has welcomed dalit writers.

(Click here to view the full article)

January 18, 2010

The NDG Good Shepherd School is located in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In only its second year of operation, the school now has 124 students — Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

The school building is almost finished and the painters are white washing the building and the electrical work is going on. The Manager of the school is very confident that the children will move from the small rented house to the new building in the 3rd week of January 2010. The new building has a total of 7 classrooms and 2 rooms which will be used as the offices and vocational training.

Thank you Canada friends for making this school a reality!

January 11, 2010

One of the great tragedies of India are the slums in almost every major city where Dalits and Low Caste people live in the most desperate conditions imaginable.

One of these slum centers with a population of 150,000 people is in the city of Hyderabad.

Even though these slum people live in utter hopelessness with no prospect of change, caring Indian Nationals and concerned friends in Canada have opened a great door of hope through our Good Shepherd Slum School.

Follow the travel report with our DFN staff members, Jon & Suzi Livingstone, over the next four weeks as they guide us through slum life, and meet some of the children whose lives and future have been changed through the gift of sponsorship and education and they can now dare to dream.

CLICK HERE to see the updates.

You can change the life of a Dalit child by a gift of educational sponsorship.

January 4, 2009

We look forward to seeing you at Vancouver’s Mission Fest 2010!
When: January 8, 9 & 10
Where: Broadway Church; 2700 East Broadway Vancouver
Booth#: BG0066

Dalit Freedom Network Seminars:
Empowering Dalit Women – Saturday January 9th @ 11:00AM (Broadway Room 108)
India’s women, even among the high castes, face extreme discrimination and exploitation. Dalit women are sometimes described as “Dalits among Dalits.” Today Dalit women in India are discovering Jesus and the God who created them. They are being empowered by vocational training and teachings that serve to change their lives forever.

The Dalits: An Educational Revolution – Sunday January 10th @ 1:00PM (Broadway Room 108)
Dalit students stood with beaming faces as a crowd of 1,000 people applauded their accomplishment of completing their Grade 10 education. One graduate is the son of a washer women, another has been rescued from child labour. An educational revolution is happening amongst Dalit young people today.

For more information visit: http://www.missionsfestvancouver.ca/

December 28, 2009

India’s Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has re-nominated Dr John Dayal, Secretary General, All India Christian Council, an advocacy voice in India for the rights of the Dalit people, to be a member of the reconstituted National Integration Council. The nomination was conveyed in a letter by Home Minister P Chidambaram on 4th December 2009. The NIC had been created by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. The Prime Minister is the chairman of the NIC.

In his letter of acceptance, Dr Dayal said “The people of India and the Christian community in particular, continue to have great hopes in the NIC in ensuring and strengthening communal harmony and national integrity. Frequent meetings of the NIC will give us opportunity to brief the government on the ground situation and on our fears, hopes and aspirations. We hope the NIC and its members will be consulted in the formulation of such laws as the Bills to set up the Equal Opportunity Commission, Preventing Communal violence, and similar legislation.”

December 21, 2009

Our goal of providing three village schools for 2009 is near completion!
Only $26,000 is required to complete our third school.

We invite you to be a part of this exciting project. You can change their lives – one child at a time.

Click here for more information, or to donate to School Construction

December 14, 2009

Fun Family Phonics has had their second series of seminars in four locations across India.

-Muriel and Jack spent 6.5 hours in total this year visiting classrooms from Kindergarten to Class Two levels. They observed 14 more classrooms this year and recorded their observations. Their observations both this year and last have been most helpful in developing books and materials adapted to current Indian styles and methods of teaching and learning for their primary students.
-Over 100 practising teachers attended their two day in-service seminars.
-37 prospective teachers were also included from the Teacher Training Institute in Hyderabad
-Teachers were very appreciative of Muriel’s newly produced Student Text/Workbook for Standard I level classrooms. This was a highlight feature of this year’s training sessions.
-Muriel has promised to write three more Student Text Workbooks for implementation in the next school year (June 2010).
-The Education Leadership Team in Hyderabad laid plans for more Fun Family Phonics teacher training workshops in November 2010.
-The Leadership Team meeting agreed to move beyond the pilot project stage to system wide adoption of Fun Family Phonics for the Good Shepherd Schools.

There was great enthusiasum by the teachers to receive this special teaching method.

December 7, 2009

What motivates two young professionals from North Vancouver to quit their jobs and take up the cause of the Dalits of India?

Jon & Suzi Livingstone are an ordinary young couple with an extraordinary heart for the downtrodden, and believe they can make a difference.

They have recently joined the staff of DFN Canada and over the next four months will be visiting our projects in India. You can travel with them on their exciting journey, and experience the sites and sounds of India, as they visit our Good Shepherd Schools and Dalit villages.

Be sure and read their blog: http://livingstone.dalitfreedom.net

November 30, 2009

While congratulating the author, Dr. Alana said, “I am delighted to release such profound and revolutionary book, which predicts the future of my people and Dalit Bahujans at large, who have been classified as outcastes and untouchable by Brahminical hierarchies and kept under socio-political, socio-economic, socio-religion and socio-educational oppression for last 3000 years. Kancha’s ideology will create a welcome debate and discussion in the coming decade on these important issues of true freedom for Dalit Bahujans.”

Research scholars, students, civil society members, social workers, politicians, Dalit activists, and journalists — both national and international — attended the book launch and joined the two hour panel discussion. Mr. Yogendra Makwana, Former Home Minister of Gujarat state, chaired the discussion. Panelists included: Prof. Gail Omvedt, an American-born scholar, sociologist, and human rights activist who is an Indian citizen; Dr. Joseph D’souza, International President of the Dalit Freedom Network; Dr. Udit Raj, National Chairman of the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations; Prof. Valerian Rodrigues, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi; and Mr. Vivek Mehra, Managing Director of Sage Publications.

Dr. Joseph D’souza, in his panel discussion remarks, said, “Kancha’s book, “Post-Hindu India” is the greatest 21st century challenge to the Brahminical portion of Hindu society. It rationally questions and respectfully reveals the caste apartheid facing untouchables, outcastes and the oppressed majority of India.”

In his remarks, Professor Kancha Ilaiah said, “Any religion that says all human beings, men and women are created by God equally is a spiritual democracy. Hinduism says all human beings — men and women — are not equally created. They were born unequal, live unequal, and die unequal. I call this spiritual fascism.”

Professor Dr. Kancha Ilaiah teaches in the Department of Political Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad. He won the prestigious London Institute of South Asia (LISA) Award for 2008 for his book “Why I am Not a Hindu” and has provided expert testimony to commissions in India and abroad about the Dalit Bahujan struggle.

Madhu. Chandra, Media In-charge
Published November 26, 2009