Un petit repos

Having been hard at work for several days now, and several more to come, Mari & I sat down to watch the first few minutes of "Ghandi" this evening. The cast system in India was referenced early in the movie, and Mari mentioned an article he'd seen earlier today relating to this issue. I have heard that this system is still in use today, even with all the progress the country has been making in recent years. However, this article shows that, even if incomplete, real progress has been made.

Indiana University
Economist applauds decline of Indian caste system
Born an ‘untouchable,’ Narendra Jadhav earned degree at IU in ’80s

By Steve Hinnefeldshinnefeld@heraldt.com
June 27, 2007
From: http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2007/06/27/news.qp-8077134.sto?1182990424

India’s caste system was a “brilliantly administered scam” that allowed a small group to hoard society’s benefits at the expense of others for 3,500 years, Indian economist Narendra Jadhav said.

But the system is falling apart as India becomes a modern, democratic society, said Jadhav, who received a doctorate in economics from Indiana University in 1986. It’s no coincidence that India is becoming a global economic power as the social barriers of caste lose their power, he said.

“Today, the confidence of the rest of the world in India’s future is completely unprecedented,” he said. “And I don’t remember the Indian people ever being more confident in themselves than they are today.”

Jadhav speaks about caste from experience. He was born into the lowest caste, known as Dalits, or untouchables. His account of his family’s struggle to overcome the system has been been translated into French, German, Korean and Spanish and inspired a Hindi-language TV series.

First printed in the 1990s in his native Marathi language, the book was expanded and republished in English by Simon & Schuster in 2005 as “Untouchables: My Family’s Triumphant Journey Out of the Caste System in Modern India.”

Jadhav is vice chancellor of the University of Pune in Maharashtra, India. He heads the department of economic analysis and policy at the Reserve Bank of India and advised the executive director of the International Monetary Fund from 1998 to 2002.

He visited Bloomington this week for the first time since receiving his degree 21 years ago. The first thing he did, he said, was to telephone his wife from outside the tiny IU apartment where they lived with their infant son when Jadhav was a graduate student.

“This is the university that gave me the basic grounding to be a professional and also a good human being,” he said. “I owe so much to this university.”

Jadhav also met Tuesday with Michael McRobbie, the Indiana University president-elect, to discuss establishing partnerships between IU and the University of Pune. “We have made a very solid beginning,” he said.

In a session with reporters, Jadhav talked about how his family’s saga has struck a chord with people in different countries and cultures. “It’s a matter of great happiness,” he said.

Jadhav’s parents, as untouchables, were denied education and limited to jobs that involved the most difficult and demeaning physical labor. But with Indian independence and the efforts of Dalit activists such as B.R. Ambedkar, cracks started developing in the rigid caste system.

Jadhav said his father objected to the system, stood up to authority and urged his children to pursue education and overcome social obstacles. His daughter, born in Indiana while Jadhav taught at Depauw University in Greencastle, refuses to acknowledge even the psychological limits of the caste system.

“She is completely liberated,” he said. “She is a global citizen, and she feels that nothing can stop her.”

Jadhav said the system kept India from reaching its potential as a nation. Prior to its emergence as a global economic power in the past 15 years, he said, India had gone through 2,000 years of decline. While some Indians blamed colonialism, he said, “nonsense,” because England ruled India for just 150 years.

“What is the reason” for the decline? “The reason is the caste system,” he said.

Ghandi's legacy should live in each of us.

Je vis encore...

...but just not online. There's just too much in the next two weeks or so that I have to do relating to class. Sorry, but it has to happen if I'm going to get my work done for my class, which I'm sadly behind in due to missing 4 days last week due to church camp. I'll make it, but only if I leave certain things out for a bit, like my blog. :(

See you soon!

Biscuits

Two quick things before I abandon my use of the Internet for the next several days.

Please pray for me, Mr. M. (the male counselor - it's his first year) the kids, camp, weather, health, the outreach projects they'll be involved in, decisions, my homework to still get done, etc. I could go on and list many additional items, but I think that should give you an idea.

Due to my love and devotion to the Samoa cookie, I am obligated to pass on this review. Please visit. It was a laugh! The website is an original creation of a British man & his wife who, apparently, love cookies (biscuits in England) and tea perhaps even more than I.
Surprising, isn't it?

Well, I'm off to finish packing & head out. Please remember to pray!

Vacances

We're trying to decide what to do for a "vacation" this year. We were hoping to visit some friends in Charleston, but that is no longer possible: their move to their new home (not in Charleston) seems to be happening about two months earlier than expected. That's alright, that means they'll be closer.

Of course, we're wonderfully happy about that, but we're left with the question of where to go and what to do that would be relaxing and affordable (aka cheap). I'm sure this will take many discussions before anything is settled, but the dialogue has begun, at least. Our first thought was going to the Dunes. It's relatively close, probably in our budget, and I would still get to do my "beachy" things. Anyone have any other suggestions? Ideas are always welcome!! (Remember, it must be cheap! ^.^)

Vraiment?!

Yes, really. No, I'm not entirely sure I believe it either, yet there it exists, in print (sorta).

Modern-Day Martin Luther Nails 95 Comment Cards To IHOP Door

Yes, I laughed - out loud! That's why I'm sharing it with you, because we all need a laugh once in a while. What conviction, thought the man has way too much time on his hands. I'm seriously thinking about printing it out and framing it. Maybe it needs to go up on a wall in the youth trailer. That would get 'em. Sorry the article is a few days old. I just discovered it tonight. Had to share, though.

Found this one just now. This is really funny!

Banjo Player Sought In Hootenanny Spree

Yes, you read that right. I can't wait to tell my Pastor about this. He's a banjo player himself, y'know. Hmmm, I wonder if Beau-frère has had to deal with any of his shenanigans. Anyone from Boston have any first-hand accounts? I'd love to hear 'em!^.^

On y va

We're off. Or, sort of. There's so much to do during the summer, and somehow there never seems to be enough time. Oh, the warm days drag each hour out in a manner from which one would think they would never truly end. Yet, somehow, one beautiful evening after another slips away in front of your eyes, and I find myself asking how in the world I didn't manage to get my long list of to-do's accomplished. Perhaps I'm not ambitious enough. Perhaps my list is just too long.

I prefer the latter.

I found a hole in my brand new yellow-striped shirt just a moment ago. This is my first day wearing it, and I am certain that I did nothing which would ensue a small hole developing just below the short row of buttons. My first reaction is to try to take it back, but I'm not sure they would believe me. It's rather a let down, especially since I spent an hour yesterday tediously sewing up the spaces between the last 3 button so that the shirt didn't pull in a not-so-modest manner. I could take out the stitches; I'm sure no one would notice they'd been there for one whole day. What to do??