The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : `Hyderabad declaration' adopted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 22, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

`Hyderabad declaration' adopted

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, NOV. 21. Legislators from the North East and some other States participated in a convention here on Sunday to adopt what they called "Hyderabad declaration," suggesting steps to ameliorate the condition of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and minorities.

The declaration to be announced on Monday would be referred to Parliament and the State legislatures for discussion, convenor of the convention and Janata Party MLA, Komireddy Ramulu, said.

He added that the document would be on the lines of the Bhopal declaration focussing on Dalits, which was discussed in an international symposium at Durban.

Abiding principle

Inaugurating the convention, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker, Charanjit Singh Atwal, said `educate, organise and agitate' should be the abiding principle of all movements for the uplift of the downtrodden. But, basic education was ruined knowingly with malafide intentions by ruling classes in the country.

Jogendra Kawade, MLC from Maharashtra, and national president of People's Republican Party, said the tribals were a little better than Dalits in the country as they were not affected by untouchability.

He said the SCs and STs traditionally did not occupy high executive posts in Maharashtra.

The poverty alleviation programmes mostly benefited the upper castes. MLAs from Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam, West Bengal and other States held a closed-door meeting to draft the declaration.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh