February 4764Esinsindus excluded from jobs quotaIn a divisive move, the government has indicated it intends to reject the proposal of the Babar Commission to reserve 20% of public sector jobs for Esinsindus (OOC: Africans/Jamaicans) and members of the disadvantaged Untouchable and Adivasi (OOC: tribal) Rajutti (OOC: Indian) castes. Instead, it intends to forge ahead with a
plan to reserve 5% of public sector jobs for Untouchables and Adivasis only.
Untouchables and Adivasis collectively make up about 10% of the population but hold only 2% of public sector jobs, so hopefully stand to gain from the 5% quota. However, Esinsindus, who also face social and economic disadvantage in Malivia, make up 37% of the population but hold only 8% of public sector jobs, and will not receive any additional help from the new scheme. Some employment experts fear that if anything, the new quota may further squeeze Esinsindus out of jobs, since they are largely competing with Untouchables and Adivasis for the same low skilled, low paid roles.
President Patanjali Ganapuli has justified excluding Esinsindus from the quota by arguing that "for cultural reasons, Esinsindus are reluctant to work and accept the discipline of the workplace, and this is the reason they are under-represented in the public sector," claiming "it is impossible to find any real statistical evidence that they are actually being discriminated against in any significant way". Liberal commentators have roundly denounced these comments.
Part of the political motivation for the move is likely to be the fear the President and his supporters have long had of an alliance of solidarity forming between the Esinsindus and lower caste Rajuttis. Signals of such an alliance had been appearing, particularly with the formation of the Social Justice Foundation, a cross-community organisation campaigning for civil rights and equality; the Reformed Hosian Church, which has pointedly challenged caste and racial divisions; and the recent release of
The Uprising, a popular historical movie about Rajuttis and Esinsindus joining together to fight against their Luthori overlords of the East Artania Company. Ganapuli is believed to be hoping that by placating lower caste Rajuttis, he will be able to encourage them to identify more with the rest of the Rajutti community and less with the similarly disadvantaged Esinsindus.
Not all Rajuttis are happy with the new quota, though. Protests are taking place this week at the University of Modalin, organised by higher caste Rajuttis who feel their future prospects are being endangered by giving "special treatment" to those lower down the caste hierarchy.
Government targets Hosian proselytisers with controversial legislationPresident Ganapuli is attempting to spearhead
controversial legislation through the Lok Sabha which would make it a criminal offence to "to convert a person from their religious faith through the use of force, inducement or dishonest means". Civil rights groups fear this is aimed squarely at Hosian (OOC: Christian) missionaries attempting to convert Gerajans (OOC: Hindus) to Hosianism. Hosians frequently face accusations, more often than not unfounded, that they are coercing or bribing Gerajans to convert. Malivia's judiciary is famously dominated by conservative-minded Gerajans, which raises doubts about how much of a fair chance Hosians will be given to defend themselves when such charges are brought against them.
Rameshwar Kulkarni of the Reformed Hosian Church has fiercely denied his organisation has played any role in coercing or bribing Gerajans to convert, stating:
Means of conversion like that are completely alien to our beliefs and our ethics. For conversion to be real and meaningful, it has to come from the heart - there is no other way. It is true that we provide support for the poor, but we always offer this as a gift. There are no conditions attached. If the person we are helping does not want to talk about religion, we always respect that.
Higher caste Rajuttis shun Grace Project foodIt is being reported that in the village of Odanthurai, many families - including many poor and hungry ones - are refusing gifts of food from the Reformed Hosian Church's
Grace Project because the food has been prepared by people lower down the caste hierarchy than themselves. In Rajutti Gerajan culture, there is a stigma against eating food that has been handled by people from lower castes. In particular, there is a great fear that food touched by Untouchables and Adivasis is "impure" and "spiritually contaminating", and Brahmins (the highest caste), especially, are reluctant to eat anything unless it has been prepared by other Brahmins.
Rameshwar Kulkarni, the Church's lead missionary in Odanthurai, has commented:
Well, I am prepared to speak openly about this: it depresses and frustrates me incredibly that caste is such a barrier in this society, to the extent that it can even determine whether a hungry person will agree to eat food or not. This is a distortion of the wonderful plan God has for us.
There are mixed views amongst my colleagues about how we should deal with this. Some say it is a matter of principle that we should never cater to caste prejudices. And I do understand that view. Others say that we need to reach out to people where they are, rather than where we wish they were, and that it would become much easier to engage with this community if we only used Brahmin caterers. One can argue this different ways and there is perhaps no easy answer. We are going to be writing to our spiritual leader, John Benton in Likatonia, to seek his advice.
Cow vigilantes lynch suspected cow traffickers at the Hobrazian borderGau Raksha Paltan (Cow Protection Organisation), Malivia's notorious cow vigilante group, has claimed responsibility for the murder of 3 Hobrazians and 2 Esinsindu Malivians in Walkaunar Pradesh, not far from the border with Hobrazia. In a statement, the groups said:
The Esinsindus were selling cows to Hobrazians to be murdered for meat. Five of those involved have now paid the price. Be warned: THOSE WHO DISRESPECT HOLY MOTHER COW WILL BE PUNISHED FOR THEIR CRIMES.
Transporting cows from Malivia to other countries to be slaughtered is not technically a criminal offence in Malivia, although it is deeply frowned upon by most Rajuttis.
The government has condemned the lynchings, although cynics point out that nobody from Gau Raksha Paltan has been arrested since the Rajutti National Party came to power, despite a number of incidents having taken place. Minister for Cows Satyender Ahluwalia has, however, promised to look in to introducing a complete ban on cows being transported abroad.