8/3/2019 Kaloji - the peoples poet

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7OPINIONTUESDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2011

News Updates

Chinas topsearch engine

Baidu Inc of-fered a glimpse of itsupcoming mobile op-erating system andlaunched a mobile ap-plication platformaimed at bolstering

its presence in the increasingly competitive mobile webmarket. The platform, named Baidu Yi, will enablethird-party application developers to create apps suchas games, maps and other tools that they can distributein a similar way to Apple Incs App store, according toa Reuters report.Baidu Yi is modelled on Googles Android mobile oper-ating system and will be rolled out to mobile devices inthe future. The company also launched its new home-page that will add four features, including social net-working functions. However, Baidu CEO Robin Li wasquoted as saying the new homepage could have a neg-ative impact on its revenue by requiring users to regis-ter a Baidu account, reducing traffic on the site. Thenew homepage, with more links and content, could alsoaffect loading speed. We dont know how negative itwill be, Li said in an interview with Internet portal So-huIT. No matter how big the loss would be, this rep-resents the future of the industry. If we dont do it,

others might; if we dont do it now, you might be forcedto do it in the future; instead of waiting for others topush you, we would rather take the initiative. Baiducurrently has around 200 million registered users, Lisaid.Baidu has built on its dominance of Chinas search

market significantly since Googles high-profile exit lastyear citing hacking and censorship concerns, and nowhas an over 80 per cent market share. Baidus Nasdaq-listed shares are up nearly 50 per cent so far this year,giving it a market value of around $50 billion.The com-pany has also been aggressively diversifying into e-commerce, online video and online travel to bolstergrowth and increase competitiveness. An array of Chi-nese Internet firms and telco gear makers havelaunched self-developed smartphones in order to gaina foothold in a market still dominated by traditionalhandsets and lower-end second-generation phones. Alibaba Group, Chinas largest e-commerce firm,launched a smartphone running its own mobile oper-ating system in late July that will feature cloud-basedapplications and Internet search. Huawei Technologiessimilarly launched its cloud computing smartphones inAugust, and Sina Corp recently rolled out a line ofsmartphones catering to users of its microbloggingservice Weibo.

BY BIJOYETADAS

For six years she could not take a shower alone.He watched her shower. When she came home,he searched her intimate parts for signs of infi-

delity. Her husband sexually assaulted her, harassingher economically and emotionally, day in and day out,she said, wiping away tears. "He did everything to me,"said Olga, who was born in Honduras and asked thather full name not be used to protect her privacy. Shecan speak little English and is undocumented in theUnited States.Clenching her fist, she said she was scared of being

deported and was petrified of her abuser. She foundherself locked in a labyrinth of helplessness.Olga was too ashamed to share her story with anyone.

Then she mustered the courage to approach DorisAlleyene, a domestic violence advocate at the SouthEnd Community Health Center in Boston.Alleyene, who also works at Casa Myrna Vazquez, anearby domestic violence agency, said she helped Olgaobtain a restraining order against her husband, a U.S.

citizen. Now, she said, she is teasing out Olga'strauma, assisting her to reconstruct her life "as a freeperson." Immigrant women - including those who areundocumented and refugees - are more vulnerable todomestic violence and face steep hurdles when theyseek help, said Isa Woldeguiorguis, policy and systemsadvocacy director at Jane Doe Inc., a Boston-basedgroup that works to reduce domestic violence.In Massachusetts, approximately one-in-four immi-

grant women is a victim of some form of domestic vio-lence, said Richard Chacon, executive director of theMassachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants.In the general Massachusetts population, there was

a three-fold increase in domestic violence-relatedhomicides between 2005 and 2007, according to a re-port published by Jane Doe Inc.These statistics were enough to alarm the Massachu-

setts Office of Health and Human Services into releas-ing a public health advisory on domestic violence in2008. Still, new data from Jane Doe Inc. indicates thatdomestic violence cases continue unabated. BetweenOctober 2008 and September 2009, 15 women, fivemen and three children were killed in cases involvingdomestic violence in Massachusetts. Statistics fromother parts of the country continue to paint a bleak pic-ture for immigrant women, advocates say.

In New York City, 51 per cent of intimate partnerhomicide victims are foreign-born, according to a 2004report by the New York City Department of Healthand Mental Hygiene.Sixty per cent of immigrant Korean women nationally

were battered by their husbands, according to the Na-tional Institute of Justice and the Atlanta-based Cen-ters for Disease Control and Prevention.But Alleyene said the statistics don't tell the whole

story. "We are reporting on those who step up and

speak. What about those who don't do it because oftheir culture, because they are afraid? There are manyuntold stories." Of course, awareness building - espe-cially through walks and protests - is a tool that thevarious organisations working with immigrant womenhave used to highlight the increase in domestic vio-lence. For example, Saheli, a Boston-based group thatworks to end abuse among South Asian women, peri-odically organises 'Walk Against Domestic Violence'.Many events are also scheduled during the DomesticViolence Awareness Month in October every year.

The goal is to send a message to immigrant womenwho are afraid to seek help, because of language andcultural barriers, "that there is help out there," saidRita Shah, who is on Saheli's board of directors.

There is also relief available for immigrant womenunder the Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA,which was enacted in 1994, informed Hisham A. Leil,an attorney at Western Massachusetts Legal Servicein Springfield, Mass.Battered immigrant women, including undocumented

women, may petition for U-visas, which grant legal

residency for themselves and their children withoutthe knowledge of the abuser. Victims of physical ormental abuse and aggravated assault can also requesta work permit under VAWA.However, because of misinformation among victims

as well as administrators of shelters, many women areunaware of their rights and benefits, Leil added.Among undocumented women there is also the peren-nial fear of deportation, he said.According to Paulette, a domestic violence survivorwho also asked that her full name not be used to pro-tect her privacy, immigrant women are scared of theirabuser and often do not speak up because they fear fortheir safety. "He is fighting with you and if you take aphone and go call the police, he is going to kill you,"she said, her voice becoming indignant.At the same time, the victims are wary of the policebecause they are frightened the police will report themto immigration officials, she added.The fear of deportation and social stigma are forever

etched in their minds, said Paulette, who was born inHaiti.She now volunteers at the Association of Haitian

Women in Boston, based in Dorchester, Mass. Today,she goads other women to speak up against abuse,learn English, get a job and seek freedom. WFS

Women seek freedom

from abuse

Immigrant women are scaredof their abuser and often do notspeak up because they fear for

their safety. "He is fightingwith you and if you take a

phone and go call the police, heis going to kill you," she said,

her voice becoming indignant.

Glimpse of Chinasnew mobile OS

PARMOD KUMAR

The legal fraternity is divided on themanner in which the Gujarat Gov-ernor's discretionary powers have

been interpreted in the appointment ofretired judge R.A. Mehta as the State'sLokayukta.Last week, the Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP) disrupted parliamentary proceed-ings on two days, seeking recall of Gover-nor Kamla Beniwal over the appointmentof Mehta as the State's anti-corruptionombudsman.The Aug 25 appointment by Beniwal

has been resisted by Gujarat Chief Min-ister Narendra Modi. He has accusedMehta of being "biased and prejudiced"against the government, and questionedhis capacity to act independently as theLokayukta.The chief minister has also contended

that the Governor has eroded the credi-bility of the institution of Lokayukta.Supreme Court counsel and former

Madhya Pradesh advocate-generalAnoop Chaudhary felt that the Governorcould act independently under the Gu- jarat Lokayukta Act in the exercise ofdiscretionary powers.Senior counsel M.N. Krishnamani con-

tended that Section 3 of the GujaratLokayukta Act, which provides for theappointment of Lokayukta by the Gover-nor, is unconstitutional as it is ultra viresof Article 163 of the Constitution.While agreeing that Section 3 of the Act

does not expressly say that the Governorwill appoint the Lokayukta on the recom-mendation of the State Cabinet, Krishna-mani said that the expression "governor"in the section should be inferred to meanthe chief minister or the Cabinet. He saidthat construing the section to mean thatthe Governor could act independent ofthe State government would run counterto clause (1) of Article 163 of the Consti-tution.

The clause reads: "There shall be acouncil of ministers with the chief minis-ter at the head to aid and advise the Gov-ernor in the exercise of his functions,except in so far as he is by or under thisConstitution required to exercise hisfunctions or any of them in his discre-tion."Krishnamani said that no statute could

survive if it was contrary to the mandateof the Constitution.Chaudhary disagreed. He said that the

apex court had held in several mattersthat there could be situations in whichthe Governor could act independentlywithout the aid and advice of the councilof ministers.He said that in the case of the Gujarat

Lokayukta, the statute itself was explicitthat the Governor would make the ap-pointment in consultation with the highcourt chief justice and the leader of the

Opposition. According to Chaudhary, thefact that Modi wrote a letter to Chief Jus-tice S.J. Mukhopadhaya, objecting to thelatter recommending Mehta for theLokayukta, clearly showed that he was inthe know and even tried to amend theGujarat Lokayukta Act to take away thepowers of the Governor.The senior counsel wondered how BJP

leaders could reconcile their action of firstmoving the high court and then stallingparliamentary proceedings on the issue.He said that if the legality of the Gover-nor's action was in question, it had to besettled legally.Noted jurist and Jan Lokpal Bill draft-

ing committee member PrashantBhushan said that the entire course ofevents went to show that Modi was notinclined to submit his actions for scrutinyby an independent authority.Bhushan said that for seven and a half

years, Modi had not allowed the appoint-ment of a Lokayukta, and now that it wasbeing done, he was trying to frustrate theefforts by making it a political issue.

Gujarat Lokayuktadivides Jurists

Warangal con-

jures up visionsof the mighty

Kakatiya Empire. Oneof the great men pro-duced by this capital ofthat empire was Padma Vibhushan PrajakaviKaloji Narayana Rao;not an individual but aninstitution. Popularlyknown as Prajakavi

(Peoples Poet), he was not only a great poet butalso a great social activist who had alwaysfought for the cause of the downtrodden. Hewas a pioneer of the renaissance movement in

Telangana during 1930s and 1940s. He foughtagainst the autocratic rule of the 7th NizamMir Osman Ali Khan who was the king of Hy-derabad State from 1913 to 1948. Kaloji wassent to prison several times for participating inthe freedom struggle. A man of high principlesand a non- conformist, he, during the freedomstruggle and later, Kaloji had always taken ananti-establishment stand. He never aspired forany positions of power in the government orelsewhere.Born to a Maharashtrian father and Kan-

nadiga mother at a place in Karnataka on 9thSeptember, 1914, Kalojis parents migrated toWarangal. They lived for some time atMadikonda, a nearby village, and then shiftedto Warangal proper. Kaloji was a two-year- oldchild when his father Ranga Rao shifted fromMaharashtra to Warangal. Kalojis elderbrother was Rameshwar Rao, who too was a so-cial activist and a popular Urdu poet. ElderKaloji, as he was known in Warangal, used towrite poetry in Urdu under the pen- nameSHAD. He was responsible for bringing upKaloji and, because of his patronage, Kalojigrew into a social activist and a great poet.

Since his college days, Kaloji had participatedin social activities and social reforms. After tak-ing his law degree from Osmania Univeersity,he never practised as a lawyer. His heart wasalways in movements for freedom and the well-being of society. He joined the pioneers of thosedays, like Madapati Hanumanth Rao,Suravaram Prathap Reddy, Gadicherla HariSarvotham Rao, Kodati Narayana Rao, ValtiKota Alwar Swamy, Ravi Narayana Reddy andmany others who led the great renaissancemovement. Thus Kaloji was one of the forerun-ners instrumental in bringing revolutionarymovements like Andhra Mahasabha, Grandha-laya Udyamam, Telangana Peasants ArmedStruggle, etc. Though Kaloji welcomed the for-mation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956 as it broughtall the Telugu-speaking people together, verysoon he was disillusioned by the merger ofTelangana with other Telugu-speaking regionsof coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. His disil-lusionment turned to indignation when all theagreements for safeguarding the interests ofTelangana were violated by the powers that be.The culture and language of Telangana people

were insulted at every juncture by the rich peo-ple of Coastal Andhra. Kaloji was convincedthat people of Telangana were subjected to in-calculable insults, injustices and discriminationin every field by rulers from coastal districts. Sohe plunged into the separate Telangana move-ment spearheaded by the Telangana RashtraSamithi during the late 1990s. It is a pity thathe breathed his last on 13th November 2002without seeing his cherished dream of a sepa-rate Telangana State being fulfilled.Kaloji will be remembered by posterity as a

great poet. His poetry had always evoked achord in the hearts of common readers. He ti-tled his first anthology of poems Nagodava(difficult to find an exact English equivalent of

the word; but My Agony or My Concern mayconvey its nearest meaning) which was pub-lished in 1953. While releasing this book atAlampur in Mahaboobnagar district, MahakaviSri Sri said; Kalojis poems reflect the silenthearts of the people of Telangana. It is not theagony of Kaloji alone as the title of the bookconveys but the agony of all the people. Kalojiis the poet of all Telugu-speaking people.Kalojis diction was very simple and clear. The

message goes straight into the heart of thereader. If at all any comparison has to be made,he can be compared to another great peoplespoet Vemana.For Kaloji, his poetry and life were never dif-

ferent. His poetry was born of his life. He livedhis poetry. He did not write poetry to pleasescholars and connoisseurs of literature. Whenone goes through his poems, the message wouldimmediately sink into his heart and mind. Hewould identify himself with the ideas and themessage conveyed. This spontaneous identifi-cation of common people with Kalojis poemsmade Kajoji a true peoples poet orPrajakavi.He wrote a mini poem onJayaprakash Narayan.

It runs somewhat like this:Birth is hisDeath is hisBut his entire life is countrys.

In another mini poem, he says :To think that there wont be sunrise is pes-simism,To think that there wont be sunset is bad opti-mism.

In one of his long poems, he says:Terrible hunger is at one placeLot of food is at another placeOne more quote from one of his poems:A simple drop of inkThat makes millions to think said Byron.

But is it true?I have poured drums of ink

But there seems to be no thinking in anybody

Not only in his poems but in his conversationsand speeches also, Kaloji used to deliver somegolden words. He used to tell his audience that

in every individual there is a pigmy and a giantand he will be moving from first to second ; wedont know where he will end.He used to quote his favourite French writer

Romaine Rolland who, it seems, said: Every

nation creates a myth for itself and will be afterit for centuries without knowing that it is amyth.During his last days, Kaloji was closelyassociated with revolutionary leftists. Somepeople were given to understand that Kalojiwas a Communist.During those days, Kaloji put a pointblank

question to me when I took him in my vehicleto drop him at his residence: Naveen! do youthink I am a Communist? he asked. I said: NoI dont think you are a Communist, sir Thenwho do you think I am? he again asked. Ithink you are a liberal democrat, sir I said.You are correct, he said patting my back. Ihad had the privilege of observing him fromclose quarters since my college days.Everybody knows that he was honoured with

Padma Vibhushan. But many may not knowwhy such a great award was bestowed on him.The citation simply says: This award is pre-sented to Kaloji Narayana Rao for his personalqualities. Kaloji may be a great social activistand a great poet. But more than anything else,he was a great human being as the citationrightly says.

Kaloji: the peoples poetVIGNETTES OF LIFE

The 97th birth Anniversary of Kaloji falls onSeptember 9

For Kaloji, his poetry andlife were never different. Hispoetry was born of his life.He lived his poetry. He did

not write poetry to pleasescholars and connoisseurs

of literature.

Young women seek freedom from life-controlling issues.

Narendra Modi Kamla Beniwal