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27 March , 2015

Revisiting The Caste Question
By Priyanka Dass Saharia

How is modern form of caste in contemporary times? Nicholas Dirks had argued on colonial power knowledge complexes instrumental in reifying it within bureaucratic structures and discourses. The various institutions of caste were used as tools to manage the divide and rule policies perpetuated by the British. The question then becomes as to what form did these changes take? In what ways did the imported modernity of colonialism changed the ‘registers’ of belief and social reality in India?

18 March , 2015

Doms In Varanasi Seek Justice Through Honorable Rehabilitation
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Domraj often come in mythologies and they continue to do the task of burning dead bodies at the Ghats and cleaning human excreta in the city. Most of the land meant for them is already occupied and big ghats have erupted on the bank. Nothing has changed for them. In fact, they reflect the criminal civilization which kept them subjugated for thousands of years and the independence that we got in 1947 has no meaning for them as the community remains untouchables among untouchables absolutely ostracized and thoroughly disenfranchised in the holy city

15 March , 2015

Kanshiram Declassed Ambedkarite Politics
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Understand Kanshiram's mantra that key to power come from the poor and they are vast and we need to change our perceptions and strengthen their struggle and leadership. We can not ask people to sacrifice their lives for 'leaders'. Those time have gone. Give space as you want elsewhere and provide a healing touch to people where community leaders have not yet reached

13 March , 2015

Government Clampdown On Dalit, Adivasi Protesters;
Dalit Woman Activists Dragged Inside Police Station

By National Dalit Movement for Justice

In a shocking incident, over 30 Dalit and Adivasi students and activists were arrested this afternoon from Shastri Bhavan in New Delhi when they demanded to meet the Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Smriti Irani, over unfair budgetary allocations in education of Dalit and Adivasi students. At the time of the arrest, the delegation, including N Paul Diwakar, well-known Dalit activist and general secretary of National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), were about to submit a Memorandum of Demands to the Minister asking for reallocation of funds. The activists were taken to Parliament Police station where another Dalit activist Beena Pallical was forcefully dragged taken inside the police station

03 September , 2014

Lynching: Public Celebration Of Painful Experience Of The Marginalised
By Kamalakar Duvvuru

The high caste tries to do anything, even lynching if it requires, to stop Dalits grow economically and educationally, so that the latter will never reach their level and challenge high caste supremacy. This is the underlying cause of some of the lynchings that have happened across India and of the real situation in educational institutions

19 February , 2014

Caste Society: A Pan-Africanist View In A Technologically Advanced 21 st Century
By Tsungai Chipato

As a foreigner when reading about Dalit history, I have marveled at the similarities between other disenfranchised ethnic groups such as mine; and that of Dr Ambedkar's . It became surprising to me, that the Dalit were not discussed as much as Black people were, especially since; for an ethnic group the Dalit had over 3 500 years of consistent subjugation in evidence

On Why Caste Based Reservation Is Necessary
By Umakant

With regards to the question as to how long should caste based reservation continue there can only be one answer. Until and unless the attributes of the caste system vanishes how could people belonging to different castes as arranged in an iniquitous relationship be treated equal. It is only the complete annihilation of the caste system that would justify the need for doing away with the caste based reservation. Those who believe in political democracy must also believe in social and economic democracy or else the goal of establishing an egalitarian society based on the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity would remain meaningless

08 February , 2014

Aam Admi And Dalits
By Rahul Sonpimple

The rhetoric of Aam Admi by AAP is limited only to urban upper caste-middle class. With such an exclusionary ideology and attitude, AAP and its leaders have already formed a Dalit-Bahujan hostile camp

17 December , 2013

The Crisis And Challenge Of Dalit-Bahujans
By Braj Ranjan Mani

There is no competing cultural vision from below for the mind and heart of India. Dalit-bahujans are still absent in the contest of ideas, policies and visions—the fundamentals on which democratic competition takes place. This paralysis of the mind is linked to their systemic cultural, intellectual and spiritual destruction. Without reference to history one cannot find even poor answers to the complex problems that keep them divided and demoralized, but the corruption and capitulation of the current dalit-OBC leadership has also aggravated the crisis. There is a burning need to renew and reconstruct an ideology—attempted in the past by Phule, Ambedkar and Periyar—that can pave the way to a broad-based unity for social reconstruction

18 July , 2013

Pabnava To Natham :Whatever Happened
To The Struggle For Annihilation Of Caste !

By Subhash Gatade

One feels that while fighting for justice for Ilavarsan and for justice in Pabnava case, it is high time that we deliberate on all these and related issues which are of key importance for the further evolution of the dalit movement

30 April , 2013

Paradesi : A Distortion Of The Political History Of Dalits
By Gouthama Siddarthan

A recent film which hit the screens in Tamilnadu " Paradesi, " a destitute wanderer literally in Tamil, for which the director Bala has been applauded by mainstream media, while some have gone to the extent of touting it as a world class film. We shall look upon critically whether the film deserves such kudos

03 April , 2013

To the Self-Obsessed Marxists And The Pseudo Ambedkarites
By Anand Teltumbde

I am the one who has never shown any iota of bhakti to Babasaheb Ambedkar unlike your tribe but sincerely followed his role model in excelling in whatever I did, in standing firm on the side of the oppressed masses, securing capability of analyzing the world around on behalf of them, and striving to the best of my capacity to fulfill Babasaheb Ambedkar’s dream of ‘liberty, equality, fraternity.’ You have insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar, you have insulted me, and you have insulted the sacred legacy of all those who struggled for human emancipation

10 February , 2013

Manual Scavenging, Caste And Policy
By Forum Against Manual Scavenging

Maila Mukti Yatra, a two month long national campaign against manual scavenging, came to an end on 31 January, 2013 . The campaign went around the whole nation, appealing to women and men engaged in manual scavenging to leave the inhuman practice. We, the Forum Against Manual Scavenging (FAMS), have followed their campaign closely and believe that the persistence of manual scavenging and the State's attempts to eradicate it must be looked at closely

06 December , 2012

Attack On Dalits Of Dharmapuri: A Fact Finding Report
By Dr Anand Teltumbde

The root cause for this incident needs to be located in the statements of Kudavatti J Guru and subsequent endorsements of PMK Supremo Ramdoss against the inter-caste marriages. These statements being unconstitutional, these persons should be charged for whipping inter-caste hatred and disharmony; instigating violence and criminal conspiracy under appropriate articles

29 November , 2012

Arguing History, Deciphering Untouchability
Book Review Dr.Narendra K. Arya

Review of Ramnarayan S. Rawa's book "Reconsidering Untouchability: Chamars and Dalit History in North India"

11 November , 2012

Dharmapuri 2012: Worse Than Kilvenmani
By Dr Anand Teltumbde

My friend Prof C Lakshmanan called me today from the ground zero in Dharmapuri narrating in his choked voice the horrific state of things in three villages - Natham, Anna Nagar and Kondampatti, where nearly 500 houses of Dalits were looted and burnt by the Vanniyar (an OBC caste) mob on 7 November

06 November , 2012

Eliminating Manual Scavenging Needs Honest Introspection
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Manual scavenging is a crime against humanity and yet the nation has failed to resolve it so far. It look that it does not attract us anymore and except for lip services we have left it to be resolved by the victims themselves. It is time for India to stand up together and resolve to eliminate this practice. Mere laws will not work as it needs greater social awakening and a movement against untouchability and caste system

19 October , 2012

The Imperative Need Of Caste Based Reservation For Ensuring Social Equity
By Dr. Iniyan Elango

This essay analyses why caste based representation (reservation) for backward castes and scheduled castes in education and employment is imperative for establishing social equity in a society ridden with the vertically graded bigotry of the caste system and why affluence cannot be a criterion to deny caste based reservation

09 October , 2012

Would Ekalavya Have Benefited From Reservation?
By Dr. Sylvia Karpagam

Ekalavya came up to the level of Arjun (and more) not because a system supported him. He came up entirely on merit (NO RESERVATION) but the system still broke him. It broke him by taking away the only thing he had (AND LOVED). This has happened for generations and it has broken people’s will and people’s self esteem

07 October , 2012

The Mad Flower-Man
By Dhiresh Moyong

If you visit his village you can still see him—‘Mad Flower-Man’ he is now called—sitting all day outside his house, waiting for Licha with the remains of the flower she had asked him for in his hands, hoping that one day she might come back so that her last wish can be fulfilled

14 September , 2012

Defying Manu, Bowing To Mammon: On The Silent Emergence of Dalit Capitalism
By Subhash Gatade

The debate being peddled around Dalit Capitalism by renowned Dalit intellectuals with due support from their friends in the media/establishment needs to be challenged and questioned not only because of it is devoid of any merit, shows ignorance of social dynamics in India, looks at capitalism with gratitude for enhancing freedom' and is an apologist for globalization – the latest modus operandi of capitalism'- but also because it is attempting to present a vulgarized image of Ambedkar

03 September , 2012

Cast Away Caste: Breaking New Grounds …
By Subhash Gatade

The left movement has often been criticized – and rightly so – for ignoring the social dimension of Indian reality and for its mechanical approach that attempts to reduce all social phenomena to the economic or the class dimension. It is high time that it sets its social agenda for the 21 st century

24 June , 2012

Punishment For Leading Struggle Against Land Grab:
Dalit Youth Tied To Railway Tracks, Legs Amputated In Dadri, UP

By Aslam Khan

On July 15, Tika Ram was among the youths from Ramgarh village in Dadri who attended the Convention on Bathani Tola in Delhi, and spoke of their struggle against the grab of land allocated to dalits by the gram pradhan Kuldeep Bhati. On July 20, Tika Ram was found on the railway tracks, his body mutilated and both legs severed. Doctors at the AIIMS Trauma Centre have had to further amputate his legs to save his life, which is still in danger. Meanwhile, four other youth leaders of the struggle against land grab have been jailed – on fabricated charges of shooting a girl

22 June , 2012

Yet Another Massacre of Dalit People In Andhra Pradesh
By Revolutionary Democratic Front

Four dalit people were hacked to death, and about 30 dalit men and women were critically injured in a well-orchestrated attack by Turpu Kapu backward caste brahmanical forces in Lakshimpeta village of Vangara block in Srikakulam District on 12 June 2012

21 June , 2012

Pakaha's Wait For Independent India's Constitution
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Story of how a dalit community in India ostracised

04 June , 2012

Amartya Sen's Imagined India
By Braj Ranjan Mani

Intellectual compromise of the best gives rise to the worst. Amartya Sen's sanitised, caste-blind perspective on social unfairness, Hinduism and Indian culture, despite the show of reason, eclecticism and inclusive sensibility, is a gross distortion of historical reality, and a classic example of the limitation—and danger—of elitist liberalism

02 June , 2012

Bathani Tola And The Cartoon Controversy
By Anand Teltumbde

Why has there been such a silence from dalit leaders over the Bathani Tola judgment acquitting all those accused of killing 21 dalits? At the same time, what explains their loud protests over the Ambedkar cartoons in the textbooks? Has the elevation of Ambedkar as an icon relegated the dalit leadership to a politics of empty symbolism? Is the issue of a lack of accountability in the judicial system towards dalits not more important than the hollow iconisation of Ambedkar?

06 May , 2012

Jai Bhim Comrade, A Soulful Song Of The Nowhere People
By Dr Anand Teltumbde

A Review of Jai Bhim Comrade, a documentary by Anand Patwardhan

04 May , 2012

Higher Education And Social Mobility Among MuslimsAnd Dalits In India ,
A Comparative Perspective In The Globalised Times 

By Mr. Ajmal khan

This paper is an attempt to see how globalisation has impacted the higher education of Muslims and Dalits in India in a comparative and historic perspective. Based on the different secondary data sets, it tries to show how Dalit community across India has utilised the process of globalisation and achieved educational and social mobility mobility higher than Muslim

03 May , 2012

Ambedkar And Media
By Ratna Mala

This article explores the newspaper initiatives of Ambedkar, study the representation of Ambedkar in media and recognize his views on media. The paper will discuss the data observed using desk research

18 April , 2012

BSP's Maya and Dalits in UP
By Anand Teltumbde

While Mayawati is all the way winner, the Dalits in this game have been the certain losers. The illusion of political power as the master key for their emancipation has proved a chimera. They better realize that their real emancipation lies in the radical change of the system and not in being playthings of someone within it

24 March , 2012

Urgent Redress Required in The Wake of
Another AIIMS Suicide

By Gurinder Singh Azad

On 3 March, Anil Kumar Meena, a tribal student Baran, Rajasthan, hung himself in hostel No. 6. The eldest amongst his siblings, Anil Kumar, was the son of a poor farmer. He scored 75% in Class XII and got second rank in the AIIMS entrance examination. However, his dream of becoming a doctor could not succeed in the unsupportive ambience of AIIMS

Pakistan: Dalits In Peril
By Chander Kumar

A brief overview of the condition of dalits in Pakistan

20 March , 2012

Andre Beteille’s Dream World: Caste Today
By Gail Omvedt

A recent article by Andre Beteille, “India's destiny not caste in stone” argues that caste in fact is dying down, that it lives on mostly in consciousness, and that this is a result of the manipulations of the media during elections. The piece shows that elite social scientists are living in a dream world of their own making

The Politics of Knowledge And Caste
By Braj Ranjan Mani

Brahmanism cannot be sent to jail; it can only be banished from our minds and hearts, replacing it with a better ideology. We cannot ban or banish a bad idea, it can only be buried by a better idea. The way to defeat bad books is to write good books

14 March , 2012

The Death Of Anil Meena
By Anoop Kumar

Suicides by Dalit and tribal students is a story of discrimination

17 February , 2012

Fact-finding Report On Caste-Violence
In Balangir, Odisha

By Fact Finding Team

A nine member team of students from JNU, Jamia Milia Islamia and Delhi University rvisited Balangir, Odisha where the entire Gandapara of Lathore village was gutted down to ashes on the 22nd January by a mob of more than 500 people

06 February , 2012

SC/STs And The State
In The Indian Constitution (PDF)

By Anand Teltumbde

62nd Republic Day Special Lecture at Dr BR Ambedkar Research and Extension Center, University of Mysore, Manasgangotri, Mysore

05 January , 2012

Rethinking Social Justice
By Yogendra Yadav

The first part of the article defends the assertion that the policies and politics of social justice have reached a dead end. It identifies five signs or characteristics of the current impasse of social justice. It then looks at how and why we have reached this impasse. This leads, finally, to some concrete proposals for a second wind of policies and politics of social justice. The essay proposes five directions for rethinking social justice

The Riddle Of Representation:
Issues in The Caste Census Debate

By Cynthia Stephen

The question is, will those who suppressed the fact of Dalits and OBCs backwardness succeed in keeping the veil over the numbers and let the riddle of representation continue into the 21 st century? Or will the veil be drawn aside, the numbers gathered and crunched and the long-neglected OBCs, and specially the OBC women of India finally get their rightful share and voice in the affairs of the nation?

31 December , 2011

Caste And Politics In Regard To Anna Hazare
By Gail Omvedt

Hazare is perhaps the major figure on the Indian political scene to have as his base such a traditionally run village. It is the internal secret of its politics – and it rests on the maintenance of the caste hierarchy. It is thus not accidental that Dalits (and many OBCs) are firmly opposed to the Lokpal

23 November , 2011

Total Muslim Reservation: A Lesson To learn
For SP, BSP & Congress

By Ashok Yadav

Equipped with Bihar experience the Pasmanda may spring surprise in the coming UP elections. Beware, SP, BSP and Congress!

01 November , 2011

Ever Suffering Dalits
By Rahul Kumar Balley

No doubt ,India is making progress by leaps and bounds in every sector but the condition of the Dalits in India is deteriorating day by day in the society

30 October , 2011

Killing Pallars To Propitiate Thevars
By Anand Teltumbde

A fact Finding Report on Police Firing at Paramakudi

23 October , 2011

A Rebuttal To S.Anad's Critque Of Periyar
By Dr. Iniyan Elango

A rebuttal to S.Anand's 2004 article on Periyar, "Iconoclast, Or Lost Idol?"

12 October , 2011

Butchery Of Dalits In Paramakudi
By Dr Anand Teltumbde

Summary of fact finding report by Centre for Protection of Civil Liberties on the killing of dalits in Paramakudi

24 September , 2011

Reservation In Private Sector:
A Legitimate Demand

By Rahul Kumar Balley

Liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation have eroded opportunities for SC/ST and marginalised people to retain the gains already achieved, what to talk about pacing with time and space. In this context the demand for reservation in private sector is a legitimate demand

31 August , 2011

Caste Discrimination And Dalit Rights
Over Natural Resources

By Goldy M. George

Caste discrimination and Dalit Rights over natural resources is one of the most complicated issues that the country is today faced with. Raising this issue would unfold the conspiracy of the upper caste rulers of this country to which they may be obliged to answer

24 August , 2011

Why Are Dalits Not Enthusiastic About
Anna’s Movement?

By Bhanwar Megwanshi

Babasaheb Ambedkar was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution, and so Dalits have an emotional attachment to the Constitution. If a movement sets itself above the Constitution and challenges democracy, a key pillar of the Constitution, Dalits will refuse to support it. That is why Dalits and other oppressed caste groups remain indifferent to Anna Hazare’s movement

In The Name Of The Cow: Banjaras
Targetted By Hindutva Forces

By Bhanwar Megwanshi

For several years now, across large parts of Rajasthan Hindutva activists have been targeting members of the Banjara community in the name of ‘cow-protection’. Scores of such incidents have been reported—more than 200 in the last decade

Bollywood In Transition For Marginalized
By Surendra Rote

The movie Arakshan extends platform of Hindi Cinema for marginalized to share their issues

19 August , 2011

Hindutva And The Dalit Question
By Bhanwar Meghvanshi

Of late, the RSS has been making a tremendous hue-and-cry about what it calls the ‘social assimilation’ (samarasta) of the various castes. The curious fact, however, is that it has no intention whatsoever of promoting the genuine ‘assimilation’ of, leave alone equality between, the various castes. A clear indication of its attitude to the caste question is that from the very beginning it has been strongly opposed to reservations or any other form of protective discrimination for Dalits, Adviasis, OBCs and religious minorities

Dignity Defiled: Law And Policies
For Manual Scavengers

By Sanjay Kumar Chaudhary

Dry latrines, which are cleaned by manual scavengers, still exist in public establishments and private houses in many parts of India, defying the mandatory provisions of law and morality. While the schemes and policies of the state have had some impact, they have failed to liberate and rehabilitate all the manual scavengers. For this, the approach and behavior of all concerned stake-holders, especially agencies of the state and the dominant castes/classes, have to change in order to serve Constitutional and human rights values

16 August , 2011

Public Hearing On Atrocities On Adivasis
And Dalits In Western Rajasthan

By Bhanwar Megwanshi

Oka Ram’s is not a voice in the wilderness. He speaks for thousands of Dalits and Adivasis in this far-flung corner of Rajasthan, who insist that they must fight for their dignity and rights. The public hearing marked a major turning point in that struggle

Sub-Classification Of Dalits: Law And Politics
By Sanjay Kumar Chaudhary

This article seeks to explore some aspects of ongoing debates among Dalits about the need for sub-classification of Scheduled Castes in the light of complaints of particular Dalit castes who feel that other castes have benefitted disproportionately from the reservation policy. It also critically looks at the Supreme Court judgment, delivered in 2004, with regard to the legality and constitutionality of the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes

08 August , 2011

Playing Foul With The Oppressed
By Dr Anand Teltumbde

The current instance of disowning its responsibility towards 13 lakh school students from these marginalised social groups goes beyond callousness; it reveals how the Maharashtra state government plays foul and un-scrupulous games with the oppressed

07 August , 2011

Dalits Denounce Anti-Secular Order Geared To Promoting Caste Hindu Hegemony
By Yoginder Sikand

The continued denial of SC status to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims makes a complete mockery of the Indian state’s much-vaunted claims of being democratic and secular

06 July, 2011

The Farce Of Bhimshakti And Shivshakti
By Dr Anand Teltumbde

The alliance between Ambedkarite Dalits and Shivsena is simply a big farce

13 June , 2011

Some Fundamental Issues in Anti-Caste Struggle
By Anand Teltumbde

The transcription of the Inaugural Speech delivered at the biannual conference of the Kula Nirmulan Porata Samiti in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh on 11 June 2011

02 May, 2011

The Colonised And The Damned
By Cynthia Stephen

It has long been the contention of the subalterns in Indian society – the Dalits, Adivasis and religious minorities, especially the Christians and Muslims who are also Dalits and Adivasis – that the Indian state, while theoretically set in a liberal secular frame, is actually functioning as a colonial power over the subaltern castes and classes

01 May, 2011

Celebrating Babasaheb Ambedkar In Lahore
By Dr Anand Teltumbde

Speech in the Ambedkar Day Seminar organized by Sir Ganga Ram Heritage Foundation in Pearl Continental, Lahore on 26. April, 2011

30 April, 2011

On Suicides of Dalit Students In
India's Premier Educational Institutions

By Insight Foundation

The disproportionate numbers of Dalit and Adivasi students committing suicides, especially, in premier institutions also points towards the kind of caste discrimination prevalent in these campuses

22 April, 2011

Crisis Of Ambedkarites And Future Challenges
By Anand Teltumbde

Ambedkar Memorial Lecture at Ambedkar Habba, Spoorthi Dham, in Bangalore on 14 April 2011

12 April, 2011

Justice Denied For The Dalit Girl
Thrown Into Fire By Upper Caste Men

By Madhu Chandra

A six year old little girl from dalit community in UP was tossed into the burning fire by the members from upper caste community in her village three years ago. Her pregnant mother who tried to rescue her was severly burnt and lost her mental balance due to the shock. But the court had closed the case as there were no witnesses to testify against the culprits

07 April, 2011

From The Underbelly Of Swarnim Gujarat
By Anand Teltumbde

Landmark collective take over of their own land by Dalits in Gujarat. In the Vav taluka itself 35 Dalit families would be benefitted by the ownership of over 150 acres

22 March, 2011

Muslim And Christian Dalits Victims Of
Religious Apartheid Sanctioned By The State

By Yoginder Sikand

In 1950 a Presidential order specified that no person professing any religion other than Hinduism would be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste. This patently anti-secular and grossly anti-democratic order was stiffly resisted by non-Hindu Dalits. In the face of strong protests, over the years the Indian state was compelled to extend Scheduled Caste status to Sikh and Buddhist Dalits. Yet, it continues to deny the same to Christian and Muslim and Dalits

21 March, 2011

Fatehpur's Balmikis Fight For Life
With Dignity And Honor

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Today nearly 6 villages voluntarily left the work of manual scavenging in Fatehpur and the campaign is growing

07 March, 2011

Dalit Capitalism And Pseudo Dalitism
By Anand Teltumbde

Let Dalit individuals become big bureaucrats, big bourgeoisie or any big gun, he or she cannot count much in the emancipation project of Dalit community, which lies only in thoroughgoing social transformation

10 February , 2011

U.P. Tops In Atrocities Against Dalits
By S.R.Darapuri

Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) has earned the dubious distinction of being a state where the highest numbers of atrocities have been committed against the Dalits (Scheduled Castes) for the last many years. It is in spite of the fact that this state is being ruled by a Dalit Chief Minister for the fourth time who is going to complete her fourth year in office. U.P. has the largest Dalit population in India numbering about 35.1 million and nearly 21.5% of total state population

Judiciary And Its Brahmanical Prejudices In India
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Two Judges of Supreme court recently, for the first time in our judicial history, had the courage to challenge the religious text of the Brahmanical order. In an order favoring tribal women’s land right violating which the powerful in the village termed her as witch and paraded her in the village

02 February , 2011

The Comet Of Social Revolution:
Bihar Lenin - Martyr Jagdeo Prasad

By Ashok Yadav

With every passing year the martyrdom of Jagdeo Prasad is becoming more and more solidified on the stone of time. His legacy of blending culture with politics and of uncompromising struggle against caste-based exploitation and oppression will continue to shine like lode star for the millions and millions of marginalized people of this country

25 December, 2010

Burning Of Two Dalit Girls Is The Lingering
Funeral Pyre Of The Rule Of Law

By Avinash Pandey Samar

The ghoulish killings of two Dalit girls in Moradabad, an industrial town not far away from the national capital Delhi, is yet another reminder of almost everyday recurrence of attacks on Dalit communities in India. They encompass, also the grim truth of the complete failure of the Indian state in containing, leave aside eradicating, violence committed against the Dalit communities

11November, 2010

Caste’ing Live Chitradurga’s Madigas And Nayakas
By Anand Teltumbde

Caste in India is a terrible thing. It can surface anywhere in a weirdest manner and forms. In the Chitradurga district of Karnataka, famed for the rule of Nayakas, the chieftain whose descendents have strangely found a place in the schedule for Tribes, prepared by the independent India to do them social justice, it still survives in its pristine glory

05 November, 2010

CasteAnd Caste-Based Discrimination Among
Indian Muslims - Part 4 -
Early Anti-Aryan Movements in India

By Masood Alam Falahi

Part 4 of Masood Alam Falahi's Urdu book Hindustan Mai Zat-Pat Aur Musalman (‘Casteism Among Muslims in India’)

04November, 2010

Caste and Caste-Based Discrimination
Among Indian Muslims - Part 3

The Impact of the Aryan Invasion of India
By Masood Alam Falahi

Part 3 of Masood Alam Falahi's Urdu book Hindustan Mai Zat-Pat Aur Musalman (‘Casteism Among Muslims in India’)

03 November, 2010

Caste And Caste-Based Discrimination
Among Indian Muslims - Part 2

Translated from Urdu by Yoginder Sikand

This is a translation of Dr. Fazlur Rahman Faridi's Introduction to Masood Alam Falahi's Urdu book Hindustan Mai Zat-Pat Aur Musalman -‘Casteism Among Muslims in India’

02 November, 2010

Caste And Caste-Based Discrimination
Among Indian Muslims - Part 1

By Masood Alam Falahi

A translation of the first part of Masood Alam Falahi's pioneering Urdu book titled Hindustan Mai Zat-Pat Aur Musalman (‘Casteism Among Muslims in India’)

27 October, 2010

An Open Letter To President Obama
By Ravikiran Shinde

Your mentor Martin Luther King Jr. visited India when Dr. Ambedkar was alive but met only the then prime minister Nehru and seems to have been kept in the dark about his civil rights counterpart in India and perhaps never came to know about him. Please do what MLK couldn’t. Get introduced to Dr. Ambedkar and his thoughts and contribution to India’s democratic system. This will definitely make your trip a worthwhile in the long run

28 September, 2010

The Stink Of Savanur
By Anand Teltumbde

On 20 July 2010, some manual scavengers of Savanur, a small town in Haveri district of north Karnataka performed a novel act in protest against their helplessness. They smeared themselves with human excreta in public before the municipal council office. The stink of it strangely attracted many, including Pramod Muthalik of the notorious Sriram Sene, the militant Hindutva outfit to the Bhangi Colony and thrown up numerous issues of consequence

10 September, 2010

Casteism Is Racism And India Should
Stop Interfering In ‘Internal Affairs’ Of Britain!

By Avinash Pandey Samar

Britain, in a major victory for the movement against caste based discrimination and atrocities, can soon declare caste prejudice unlawful under laws against racial discrimination becoming the first country of the world to do so

Nagpur Declaration On Untouchability
And Manual Scavenging

By People's Alliance Against Untouchability

“ People's Alliance Against Untouchability ” plea for and work towards “National alliance” of all civil societies organisations, academicians, institutes, unions, professionals, students and activists to end all forms of discrimination based on caste and dissent such as untouchability particularly with reference to manual scavenging and other unclean (allied) occupation

Reservations For Indian Muslims:
Conflicting Claims About Caste

By Yoginder Sikand

One of the reasons for the overall ‘backwardness’ of the Indian Muslims is undoubtedly the fact that the vast majority of the community are of ‘low’ caste origin. Further, in contrast to ‘Hindu’ Dalits, who have won crucial gains by mobilizing on the basis of caste, the Muslim ‘low’ castes have witnessed no such substantial caste-based mobilization for their rights

03 September, 2010

‘We Merely Want To Raise The Curtain'
By Mohd. Noor Hasan Azad & Khalid Anis Ansari

Mohammad Noor Hasan Azad , one of the founding members of the All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz, discusses the contemporary lower caste movement among Indian Muslims

02 September, 2010

Caste, Untouchability And Discrimination
Led To The Balaudi incident

Report of the fact finding team

A joint fact finding report by Dalit Mukti Morcha and PUCL Chhattisgarh

28 August, 2010

Caste Census And Indian Muslims
By Khalid Anis Ansar

A rejoinder to Abusaleh Shariff

14 August, 2010

Bhagwan Das As I Know Him
By S.R.Darapuri

An article on Bhagwan Das, an outstanding Ambedkarite, human rights activist, writer and a living legend

09 August, 2010

HC Verdict On Khairlanji:
Diluting The Design Justice

By Anand Teltumbde

While commuting the death sentence of the six convicts in the Khairlanji dalit killings case to imprisonment for 25 years, the high court did not think there was a caste angle or any planning or outraging modesty of women was involved in the crime. The whole episode reveals, in a microcosm, the character of the state vis-à-vis dalits

06 August, 2010

60 Years Of Constitutional Rights Denied To
20 Millions Indian Dalit Christians

By Madhu Chandra

A million dollar worth question in the minds of Indian Dalit Christians is “Will the Government of India take up Dalit Christian issue this time?” The Supreme Court of India has informed on February 16, 2010 in hearing of Dalit Christian reservation case that Government of India is considering implementing the recommendation of Misra Commission. The commission report has suggested to De-link Religion from Scheduled Caste and Dalits who, irrespective of their religion, suffer caste stigma and Scheduled Caste status to should be given all Dalits irrespective of their religions

29 July, 2010

Because Khairlanji Is Not
Just Another Murder Story!

By Avinash Pandey Samar

Khairlanji is a negation of the very idea of India and its democracy. It is an assault on the basic principles the country is based upon. It shows what kind of a decayed and deficient democracy we have evolved into

27 July, 2010

Elimination Of Manual Scavenging Should Be Made
The National Priority

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

India has failed to protect its own people. It has failed to implement the rule of law as far as manual scavenging is concerned. It is a national shame that the country is unable to eliminate it and that its children are still into this shameful practice. It is time it become our national priority and political parties and social movement takes the issue more seriously and not in symbolic way

24 July, 2010

Empowerment Strategies:
Private Reservations For Dalits

By Dr. K. Vidyasagar Reddy

The Dalits have been discriminated by those upper castes who were at the helm of affairs. It is only after a couple of decades of independence, that they were encouraged to use their constitutional rights. But then, they were denied any job opportunities in the private sector that was gaining strength over a period of time. Meanwhile, the demand for private reservation attracted the attention of policymakers in several states and the Central government

21 July, 2010

Khairlanji Verdict Expose Our National Concern
On Violence Against Dalits

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Khairlanji’s incident has proved that our courts have not yet sensitized to the Dalit cause

16 July, 2010

Kherlanji Verdict –What Next?
By Ravikiran Shinde

The Nagpur High Court bench’s verdict on Kherlanji of diluting the 6 culprits’ of death sentences given by Bhandara session court and refusal to accept it as caste based killings by removing the SC/ST Atrocity (PoA) act provisions proves one thing - There is no support for Dalits in any form. They incur Social Apathy, Police Apathy, Government Apathy, Media Apathy and now the Judicial Apathy

14 July, 2010

Counting Castes: Advantage Ruling Class
By Anand Teltumbde

Anand Teltumbde argues that counting caste can never benefit people; it benefits only the ruling classes

09 July, 2010

Dalit Woman Humiliated And Victimized
In Allahabad

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Her one eye is completely turned red at the moment as the upper caste goons threw slippers at her. The entire body bears the brunt of the brahmanical violence on July 3rd, 2010 at the Sheetalpur Tikari village under Tharwai police station in Allahabad. Her cloths were torn and the goons tried to pee on her mouth but the police kept her in the police station for 24 hours and try to deny anything like that happened

13 June, 2010

Who’s Afraid Of Caste Census?
By Kancha Ilaiah

Let all castes — not just OBCs — be counted for strengthening our democratic system. I know that even mine is a blind-spot theory but it may have the effect of an antidote

11 June, 2010

Whither Dalit Politics?
By Neerja Dasani

Reflections on Dalit identity and politics in the context of a documentary film festival held in Chennai called ‘Imaging Dalit Reality: Politics of Visual Representation’

24 May, 2010

Mr. Bachchan, Caste And Being An Indian First
By Joseph D’souza

According to Bollywood star Mr. Amitabh Bachchan being an Indian first means not to believe in caste. That could be one great definition of being an Indian first and putting India first. Yet when Mr. Bachchan told the census enumerators that he does not believe in caste and is an Indian first, did he unwittingly reveal the discomfiture the privileged castes feel in coming to terms with the caste issue in modern India?

10 May, 2010

Who Is Afraid Of Caste Census And Why?
By S.R.Darapuri I.P.S. (Retd)

Actually higher Castes are allergic to the Caste Census because it will expose their low numbers and the share of development and national wealth they have usurped at the cost of lower Castes. Their fear is further accentuated by the probable high number of OBCs who are bound to demand a greater share in services and benefits of development and national wealth. That is why higher Castes are afraid of Caste Census

10 May, 2010

Modi Vomits Caste Venom
By Dr. Anand Teltumbde

On 25 April 2010 Narendra Modi is reported to have observed while releasing his book Samajik Samrasata that Dalits were like mentally retarded children. Earlier, Modi had said that Valmiki community was involved in manual scavenging for a “spiritual experience”

07 May, 2010

Where Is Brahmeshwar Singh 'The Great'?
By Subhash Gatade

Myth of the Misuse of Laws meant for the protection of dalits and tribals

03 May, 2010

Manual Scavenging: Must Be Eradicated
Right Away

By Ram Puniyani

Manual Scavenging was officially supposed to have been banned in 1993 by the Government of India. Official lapses and apathy apart, the surveys by the activists working against this practice show that even now over 14 lakhs of scavengers are still suffering ignominy and nearly 95% of these workers are women

29 April, 2010

Interview: Iqbal Ahmad On Dalit-Muslim Unity
By Yoginder Sikand

Bangalore-based advocate Iqbal Ahmed Shariff is an activist associated with the Bahujan and Dalit-Muslim unity movements. Author of numerous books in Urdu, he was also the editor of the Urdu and Hindi Dalit Voice. In this interview he talks with Yoginder Sikand on a wide range of issues, including Dalit-Muslim unity and the problems of the Muslim leadership in India

25 April, 2010

Why No Dalit Personal Law?
By Prabhat Sharan

Recently in a seminar “Modernity, Tradition and Resistance in South Asia,” organized by Mumbai University, during an informal talk, a radical sociologist, Dr. Neshat Quaiser from Jamia Millia Islamia Central University, raised a startling proposition and a query. Dr. Quaiser’s proposition was that since Dalit community has always been outside the realm of Hindu fold and the Brahmanical structure, Dalits should have their own Personal Law since they have an independent identity

20 April, 2010

Pakistan's Dalits Demand Their Rights
By Zia Ur Rehman

Long accustomed to discrimination, Pakistan's Hindu Dalits are fighting a new form of harassment that is driving them from their ancestral villages in the Tharparkar District of Sindh. About 70 Dalit families have left to protest the growing incidence of kidnapping of their young women. The kidnapping typically leads to rape or forced conversion to Islam and marriage

 

15 April, 2010

Ambedkar’s Idea Of A Humanist India
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Ambedkarism is an idea for all democratic struggle who are fighting for social justice and support equality, liberty and fraternity. Let the tribes of Ambedkarites grow and work for social change and human rights. Let it reach on every nook and corner of the country to develop it as ‘Prabuddha Bharat’, as Baba Saheb had visualized so that people do not pick up guns to counter any hegemony but arguments to demolish historical myths of the ruling elite. It is the right moment in our history and we have to accept the challenge and use Ambedkar’s thought to develop counter culture of democracy, freedom and humanism

13 April, 2010

Mayawati’s Mega Service To The Nation
By Anand Teltumbde

Every other move of Mayawati has shattered the sanitized sensibility of middle India and left it gasping for the expression. It invariably ended, “Oh, it is too much!” Whether it is her mega memorials or her rallies, her style evokes stunning responses of this kind. The point to ponder is whether, beyond her deliberately designed-for-Dalit demeanour, there is anything essentially novel or unique. The answer would be in definite negative. Mayawati is essentially the product of the system and she represents it in full measure albeit in her inimitable way. Insofar as it appears excessive, it only helps us to see the system in its naked form

11 April, 2010

Dimensions Of The Revolution Against Casteism
A Preliminary PROUT Synthesis

The UN Human Rights Commission in October 2009 declared casteism as a form of human rights abuse and has begun the process of criminalizing casteism. However, this will not end casteism in South Asia. The UN can only create a little pressure internationally. To annihilate casteism (jati pranasha), an internal revolution is required

18 March, 2010

Sree Narayana Guru, The Left, And Chitralekha
By Joe.M.S.

In spite of the cultural specificities of northern Kerala where these atrocities were perpetrated on Chitralekha, I think a general study of the impact of Srinaraynism on the whole of Kerala may be of some help to analyse the increasing backward caste arrogance on Dalits. This is particularly so as the discourse on the assumed efficacy of SriNarayana Guru’s metier is invoked constantly by the civil society of Kerala, eternalising his importance in all spheres. So I think, a glance at the impact of his life and efforts can shed light on the of the constitution/ construction of modern Ezhava identity and the problems associated with it

17 February, 2010

Jayaram And Tamil: Some Scattered Thoughts
On The Anti-Black Mass Culture In Kerala

By Joe MS

The recent ‘jest ‘of film star Jayaram against the Tamil as black skinned , buffalo like and therefore less human has been taken as just a joke by the cultural scene of Kerala. Not only that sympathy was expressed for the poor victim that he is, inadvertently cracking an innocent joke and thereby exposing himself to the ire of ‘violent’ Tamil,even solidarity was expressed with the right to crack such jokes by the ’ordinary folks’. The latent ideological and cultural premises hidden behind this whole controversy needs to be enquired into to understand the reality

07 February, 2010

Three Idiots: A Film With A Message
By Dr. Shura Darapuri

The film “Three Idiots” is a great satire on the education system and the attitude of society. It tells us rote learning can be very harmful and why and how a casteistic eduactional system promotes it

19 January, 2010

Trade, Corporate Market And Indigenous People
By Goldy M. George

The Copenhagen drama is over. Nothing came out of it. It was predicted the same by many expert and many intellectuals, activists, professional experts kept a distance from this proscenium. But what is that concerns the ordinary people of this nation? How does market and market values related with people at large and particularly the Dalits, Adivasis and the exploited sections of Indian society? What is the correlation between trade, corporates, market and indigenous communities of this land who still have the noble quality of surviving on a minimum basis?

Dalit: Towards The Search For
Alternative Strategies

By Rajkumar

This paper argues for the need for some strategies that suits the emerging scenario in the given context of democratic space available in the Indian and the mass psychology. I try to portrait a frame of analysis for this argument which needs further debate and refinement at various circles and level

11 January, 2010

“Honouring Dalits With Blood”
By Pardeep Singh Attri

A look into the increase in the number of Khap Panchayat’s illegal decrees, ‘fatwas’ against Dalits

04 January, 2010

Salute To Women Liberator - Savitribai Phule-
On Birthday, 3rd January

By Pardeep Singh Attri

It is indeed a measure of the ruthlessness of elite-controlled knowledge-production that a figure as important as Savitribai Phule fails to find any mention in the history of modernIndia. Her life and struggle deserves to be appreciated by a wider spectrum, and made known to non-Marathi people as well

01 January, 2010

1st January, 1818: ‘The Battle Of Bhima Koregaon’
By Pardeep Singh Attri

January 1st 1818, when everyone around the world was busy in celebrating the ‘new year’, when everyone was in cheerful mood, but not for a small force of 500 untouchable soldiers were preparing them to for battleground. Who knows this battle is going to write future of ‘Brahmin Peshwa Baji Rao-II’? It wasn’t just another battle; it was a battle for self respect, esteem and against the supremacy of Manusmriti. This battle is important in history, as everyone know that after this battle rule of ‘Peshwa Rao’ ended

Tribal Rights
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

I can only wish if the tribal had their own Kanshi Ram who could have made them emerge as an independent entity and not look for messiahs. Dalits in India salute Kanshiram for this political contribution that he has made them an entity where they can stand at their own in this democratic polity. Tribal need political leaders who can stand at their own and fight their battle at their own and not look for imported messiahs. Once they have this, they will win the democratic battle and their own survival as their political class will not remain unaccountable as it seems today

28 December, 2009

Salute To The Indefatigable Spirit Of Struggle Of
Subedar Jasram

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Struggle of Subedar Jasram to get justice for over 150 landless Dalit families in Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar

22 December, 2009

Bhagat Singh On Dalit Question
By Ashok Yadav

Bhagat Singh's article ‘Achoot Samasya’ (The Untouchability Problem) is very important because we get glimpses of his revolutionary thoughts on this basic problem of Indian society. Now when in the post-mandal phase caste and dalit questions have acquired paramount importance in socio-political discourse it has become relevant to understand his thoughts on this question

17 December, 2009

Kerala's So Called Dalit Terror: How A Dalit Minister
Turns Against His Own Community

By B.R.P Bhaskar

Inquiries have revealed that Balan, who is himself a Dalit, turned down the proposal for a visit to Thoduve by a team headed by the chief minister, saying it was impractical. He termed the proposal for rehabilitation of the colony residents also as impractical. He effectively killed the proposal for an impartial inquiry into the police conduct by referred it to the DGP

16 December, 2009

Udit Raj's Fast For Reservation In Private Sector
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Udit Raj on fast unto death against non implementation of reservation in private sector

14 December, 2009

Savarna Terror Erupts In Kerala
By J Devika

Dalits are on the receiving end in Kerala, be it from the police, sangh parivar or the so called saviours of the downtrodden, Communist Party of India (Marxists)

10 December, 2009

How Long Casteism?
By Garda Ghista

The Times of India on December 7 reported that Dalits in Gujarat are banned from Hindu temples. Yet, they are Hindu, isn’t it? If they are banned from their own Hindu temples, then why on earth should they remain Hindus? Better they become Buddhist, Christian or Muslim. Tragically, even by converting to one of these other religions, they remain Dalits. We have here in India such a thing as Dalit Christians and upper caste Christians. Is it not mad? If I tell this to friends back in America, their jaws will drop in disbelief

08 December, 2009

The Legacy Of Criminal Tribes Act
In The Present Context

By Goldy M. George

How long the criminal tribes or denotified tribes are supposed to face the brute inhuman demeanour of the state and society? Do they have any rights of claiming to be citizens of this free nation? It is time to find answers to these persisting questions; or one has to turn to be a fatalist and keep dreaming of the day when everything would be fine automatically

05 December, 2009

Concepts Of Reservation
By Ashok Yadav

The creamy layer concept is nothing but a ploy to protect upper caste hegemony in job and education. It is not without reason that the BJP and the Congress like forces support the creamy layer concept. The democratic forces of India have yet to realise the importance of reservation in job and education to the SC/ST/OBC in their struggle for democratising the Indian polity

29 November, 2009

The Hindu: The Insensitivity Of A Sensitive Paper
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

In a November 27th write up by Praveen Swamy on Mumbai’s horrific incidents under headline ‘ where style has trumped substance’ has unnecessarily compared the issue of scavengers with police men

28 November, 2009

Uncivil Society, Apathetic Administration
Fact Finding Report issued by Nagrik Adhikar Manch and Yuva Samvad

The situation in the Gadarwara Sub Division of District.Narsinghpur (Madhya Pradesh) has been in a state of constant flux for the last 3-4 months. The Dalits living in the villages adjoining Gadarwara have been condemned to a life of fear and intimidation.Their human rights and dignity are being at stake

22 November, 2009

Encountering Ambedkar In Hungary
By Pardeep Attri

The Romas, a discriminated minority in Hungary, turn to Ambedkar and Buddhism in their quest for dignity and equality. Pardeep Attri journeys to Sajókaza and Budapest to find out how the Dalits and Romas connect

20 November, 2009

Ambedkar’s Lost Boys?
By Ajit Sahi

A dalit organisation in Kerala is accused of terrorist links

16 November, 2009

Feminism And Dalit Women In India
By Cynthia Stephen

Thus, Dalit women are slowly attempting to come to grips with their invisibility in the discourse, and are beginning not just to speak out, but also to theorise and build wider solidarities so as to earn the place, hitherto denied, under the sun

14 November, 2009

Understanding Existential Castes
Through Atrocity Metrics

By Anand Teltumbde

Brief of the paper “Understanding Existential Castes through Atrocity Metrics” presented at the seminar Caste in Contemporary India, Columbia University on 16 October 2009

19 October, 2009

UN Anti-Caste Charter: Annihilation Of Caste
By Ram Puniyani

Today sixty years after Independence and coming into being of Indian Constitution, the prevalence of untouchability and caste practices are a matter of shame for us. It is time we intensify our own efforts to eradicate it and join the global efforts to end this carry over from our past

14 October, 2009

Is It Not Time For The Minorities
To Become The Majority?

By Dr.K.Vidyasagar Reddy

Since the majority-Lower castes are found oppressed socially and otherwise at the hands of Upper castes, they wish to break the chains of Hinduism only to join the religious minorities of Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism as a larger entity. Since the idea is based on apprehensions of the marginalised communities, its implementation would certainly alter the social composition of the majority and minority notions. Ultimately, this larger entity would make them majority for political purpose that would ensure political power over a period of time

12 October, 2009

The Pointing Finger Of Babasaheb Ambedkar
By Dr. Shah Alam Khan

I am sure if he was alive today Ambedkar would have been pained to see the contemptible misuse of money in building parks and statues. Mayawati too needs to learn from this message of salvation and social elevation. Political power is temporary, social elevation permanent. Statues can be a way to display social arrival and arrogance but surely it would be better if the same money is used for genuine emancipation of the most depressed sections of the Indian society

08 October, 2009

Caste And Land : Message From
Chengara And Khagaria

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Both the Bihar and Kerala experience shows how the governments which are in power have used particular ideological formulations to build their own political empire and how they manipulate people’s sentiments. Such stories are emerging from everywhere and they will always happen as long as the movements are not democratic and their leaders embedded with a particular formulation dictate their fancies to the people. The condition of both the Dalits and Adivasis remain a matter of concern in all these states whether they come to power in the name of social justice or Marxism

19 August, 2009

Dalits And The Arts As An Intrument Of Repression
By Gauthama Siddharthan

If only we become aware of these evil designs in Art and Literary forms, identify them and understand their layers of covert interpretations and connotations and raise against these, taking all necessary initiatives to expose and destroy them we would be able to save ourselves and our suffering brethren from the cruel and bitter cultural onslaught that has been going on from time immemorial. Only then we can emerge as an emancipated and liberated wholesome human race

18 August, 2009

(De)Meritized Reservation
By Goldy M. George

Howsoever, unsatisfactory the results of the implementation may be, the importance of reservations from the Dalit viewpoint cannot be overemphasized. As could be evidenced by the organized private sector, where it would be difficult to find a Dalit employee

17 August, 2009

Rethinking The Dalit Muslim Movement
By Khalid Anis Ansari

All in all, the crux of the argument submitted here is that Pasmanda Movement (PM) needs to grow beyond quota politics and rethink its abnegation of the social/cultural/economic aspects of the movement. Along with its present accent on democratisation of the state it would do well to also consider the more far-reaching issue of the democratisation of society at large. PM needs to engage in a balancing act between the political and social. This will create the much desired synergy necessary for launching the libratory promise of PM on track

22 July, 2009

Rape As An Instrument Of Politics
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

What Rita Bahuguna said was not an outburst but a continuous assumption of our patriarchical political thought that does not want to address the root cause but use the incident for political purposes

17 July, 2009

Mayawati’s Idolization And The Questing Of
Dalit Emancipation

By S.R.Darapuri

The emancipation of dalits can be achieved not by installation of statues but by working out a Dalit development agenda and implementing it honestly. Instead of spending crores on the statues, establishing educational institutions, hospital, libraries and useful institutions in the name of Dalit icons will be a true honour and memorial to them

13 June, 2009

Caste And Democracy In India
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Only a modern democratic theory with republican ideas as envisioned by Dr Ambedkar can be their true emancipator otherwise, caste based identities are threatening basic Dalit unity in the country and it is fast becoming a self defeating exercise

28 May, 2009

Fire At Vienna Exposes Ugly Realities Of
Caste Discrimination In Punjab

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Punjab is burning. The Dalits are at the street. The government is seeking peace and every one is amused why the Dalits have taken to the street. Some are amused as why attack on Sant Niranjan Dass, head of Dera Guru Ravidas Sachkhand Balan and death of Sant Ramanand could spark such violent protest in Punjab. Unfortunately, they forget to understand the first question itself as why such Deras face attack by the fundamentalist Sikh groups. Is it because these Deras have provided a glimpse of hope and identity to a massive Dalit population in Punjab? Is it also not true that these Deras are also giving the upper caste Sikhs a run for their money and power?

Identity And Religious Conversion
By Tomichan Matheikal

Put an end to the discriminatory caste system. This would engender a sense of respectability among the adivasis and the lower castes. Then there would be no need for religious conversion as a means of attaining respectability. Give economic independence to the adivasis and the lower castes. This would put an end to the Maoist violence as well as the charm held out by poverty to Christian missionaries

02 April, 2009

Hypocrisy Of Brahminical And Mainstream
Feminist Movements

By Surendra Gopinath Rote

Mainstream feminist movement could focus on the livelihood issues of women. However, the point is not to feed the stomach only but it is question of self respect, dignity and of equal status which all denied by caste system. My question still stands there those feminist who worships Rama, Krishna, Shiva and Ganesh how could they become the emancipatory force for Dalit women or even for mainstream women?

04 March, 2009

Dalits In 'Hindu Rashtra'
By Subhash Gatade

All over Gujarat one finds thousands and thousands of boards put at prominent places by one of the affiliates of the Sangh Parivar that 'you are entering this or that locality of Hindu Rashtra' which is completely illegal and an open proclamation of 'secession' from the rest of the society

18 February, 2009

Rethinking Pasmanda Movement
By Khalid Anis Ansari

Pasmanda, a word of Persian origin, literally means 'those who have fallen behind', 'broken' or 'oppressed'. For our purposes here it refers to the 'dalit' and 'backward' caste Indian Muslims which constitute, according to most estimates, 85% of Muslim population and about 10% of India's population

07 February, 2009

Reservation In Faculty Recruitment,
Viva 'Academic Untouchability'?

By Subhash Gatade

The return of 'academic untouchability' with due sanction of the parliament and the further legitimisation it would provide to the 'merit' versus 'quota' debate need to be questioned and challenged uncompromisingly

 




 


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