[ad_1]
Names of children of Kanjar tribe in Bundi district were an attempt to escape social censure, thanks to de facto collective criminal profiling. Times are better now, and names are changing
BUNDI: Every time Meghalaya goes to polls, the Swedens, Thailands, Thursdays, Everydays, Venuses of the state hit headlines. But in the sweepstakes of voter names that catch attention, Rajasthan’s Ramnagar village in Bundi district may just be ahead- hicort, meaning high court, will vote when the state goes to polls on November 25, so will Collector, Rashtrapati and Rajyapal, and while Congress is fighting the polls as the incumbent party and Rajiv Gandhi is one of its icons, both Congress and Rajiv Gandhi will also vote in the elections.
Ramnagar is a small village – population 5,000 – about 10 km from Bundi district headquarters. Around 2,000 voters are from the Kanjar tribal community, the source of names such Rajyapal and Rajiv Gandhi.
But the genesis of these names is not quirky – there’s complex social history behind them. During the British rule, said Balak Das, a local Kanjar, “the Kanjars were notified as criminal tribe because some of its members’ involvement in crime and illegal activities.” The director of Adivasi Academy, Tejgarh, Gujarat, Dr Madan Meena, said post-independence, GOI had withdrawn the British era law that designated communities like Kanjar, Bhaat, Mongiya, Sansi as criminal tribes.
But post-independence, there was still de facto, if not de jure, collective criminal profiling. Local observers say while there were community members that broke the law, it was also the case that law enforcement viewed community members with the presumption of guilt.
It was to escape this social censure that many Kanjars took names that hid their community links. Many of these names were given in times when Doordarshan was the only media available to villagers, government, law enforcement loomed large in their lives and Congress was the most powerful political party. There used to be an IG and a SP and a Tehsildar in the voters list earlier, all are now deceased.
‘Rajiv Gandhi’, though, works in the village as MGNREGS worker with government job card. Collector is a 57-year-old voter, named so by his mother, goes the local lore, because she was “deeply impressed” by a Collector who paid the village a visit.
Times have changed, become better for Kanjars, and names have changed too. With access to internet and private TV stations and determined efforts by village leaders to improve the community’s image, names in recent years reflect larger local conventions.
There are around 650 students, boys and girls, studying in government primary and senior secondary schools in the village, and two locals were recruited as teachers. They are among seven government employees in the village.
Future Kanjar voters are unlikely to be named Rajyapal and Rashtrapati.
BUNDI: Every time Meghalaya goes to polls, the Swedens, Thailands, Thursdays, Everydays, Venuses of the state hit headlines. But in the sweepstakes of voter names that catch attention, Rajasthan’s Ramnagar village in Bundi district may just be ahead- hicort, meaning high court, will vote when the state goes to polls on November 25, so will Collector, Rashtrapati and Rajyapal, and while Congress is fighting the polls as the incumbent party and Rajiv Gandhi is one of its icons, both Congress and Rajiv Gandhi will also vote in the elections.
Ramnagar is a small village – population 5,000 – about 10 km from Bundi district headquarters. Around 2,000 voters are from the Kanjar tribal community, the source of names such Rajyapal and Rajiv Gandhi.
But the genesis of these names is not quirky – there’s complex social history behind them. During the British rule, said Balak Das, a local Kanjar, “the Kanjars were notified as criminal tribe because some of its members’ involvement in crime and illegal activities.” The director of Adivasi Academy, Tejgarh, Gujarat, Dr Madan Meena, said post-independence, GOI had withdrawn the British era law that designated communities like Kanjar, Bhaat, Mongiya, Sansi as criminal tribes.
But post-independence, there was still de facto, if not de jure, collective criminal profiling. Local observers say while there were community members that broke the law, it was also the case that law enforcement viewed community members with the presumption of guilt.
It was to escape this social censure that many Kanjars took names that hid their community links. Many of these names were given in times when Doordarshan was the only media available to villagers, government, law enforcement loomed large in their lives and Congress was the most powerful political party. There used to be an IG and a SP and a Tehsildar in the voters list earlier, all are now deceased.
‘Rajiv Gandhi’, though, works in the village as MGNREGS worker with government job card. Collector is a 57-year-old voter, named so by his mother, goes the local lore, because she was “deeply impressed” by a Collector who paid the village a visit.
Times have changed, become better for Kanjars, and names have changed too. With access to internet and private TV stations and determined efforts by village leaders to improve the community’s image, names in recent years reflect larger local conventions.
There are around 650 students, boys and girls, studying in government primary and senior secondary schools in the village, and two locals were recruited as teachers. They are among seven government employees in the village.
Future Kanjar voters are unlikely to be named Rajyapal and Rashtrapati.
[ad_2]
Source link
More Stories
Congress replaces Kamal Nath, names an OBC as Madhya Pradesh chief | India News
Fire breaks out in ITBP camp in Srinagar; none hurt | India News
Parliament Security: Co-villagers give clean chit to Lalit Jha, parents to move court | India News