Feminism arose as a counterpose to patriarchy. Dalit feminism can presuppose both Dalit patriarchy and ‘Brahmin’ feminism. Before we venture into defining Dalit patriarchy we must be clear about what patriarchy is and how does it sustain. Sans theoretical sophistication, patriarchy is a social institution benefiting men and harmful to women. Counterposing this, feminism is an ideology/movement that stands for[Read More…]
Adolescence or teenage is that critical phase when one transitions from childhood to adulthood. It is marked by important biological changes and the onset of puberty. This ‘growing up’ is also about experiencing the joys and challenges of youth. However, for many girls especially those living in rural India, growing up in patriarchal socio-cultural set ups also signifies the[Read More…]
The political left, and much of mainstream feminism, is characterized by an analysis of how systems and institutions shape our choices, a critique of capitalist media, and a commitment to a scientific/materialist worldview. But when faced with radical feminism’s compelling critiques of patriarchy, leftists and many feminists routinely abandon those principles. Radical feminist critiques of prostitution, pornography, and transgender ideology[Read More…]
Unjust social system that subordinates, discriminates or is oppressive to women.The society is where men hold the control and make all the rules and women stay home and care for the kids. Especially in India, Patriarchy is a socially-constructed system where males have primary power. I think it affects many aspects of life, from political leadership, business management, religious institutions,[Read More…]
Of late, I am coming across on the strange discussion on “ Dalit Patriarchy “ . I see a lot of confusion around this concept and this write up tries to delve deeper into the validity, rationality and viability of the concept on the established principles of creating an ideology. Feminism is considered as- “ the advocacy of women’s rights on[Read More…]
A particular scene in Paatal Lok, which is a series in Amazon Prime used a racist and a sexist remark on a Khasi woman calling her a “Nepali whore” (in Hindi). This was followed by uproar and petitions from Nepalies across India demanding to mute that particular line followed by an apology for the same[i]. This recent incident further triggers[Read More…]
“It seemed that there was a need for a book that laid out the problem of patriarchy in plain language.” (Robert Jensen) While we’ve never met in person, Robert Jensen and I have known each other (in that internet kind of way) for decades. We have friends in common, often wrote on similar topics for the same websites, and even[Read More…]
Each year on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is commemorated. A commemoration in essence is an opportunity to reflect on the challenges, prove that progress can be made and celebrate victories. It is also a reminder of the obligations and the responsibility we all must own at both the private and the public[Read More…]
The Indian women farmer, almost never publicly acknowledged, reviled by superstition and patriarchy, and increasingly troubled by entrenched social and cultural mores and taboos bears the real burden of farm labour. Nearly 98 million Indian women have agricultural jobs, but around 63% of them, or 61.6 million women, are agricultural labourers, dependent on the farms of others, according to 2011[Read More…]
Nikita Azad is back with #HappyToBleed campaign once again. Last year, on November 21, 2015, #HappyToBleed campaign was launched as a counter attack against the sexist statement given by Devaswom chief Prayar Gopalakrishnan who had stated that women will be allowed to enter the famous Sabarimala temple in Kerala only after a machine to “check the purity of women”. Countercurrents.org[Read More…]
When a marriage is no longer sacrosanct, can assisting in getting a divorce be called profane?
Recently, I was tagged on Facebook to participate in something called the “80s Music Challenge.” I excitedly agreed but such social media shenanigans did not come without an ugly lesson. You see, when I contemplated which songs to post, I encountered many that contained horribly insensitive and misogynistic lyrics — by performers like Public Enemy, Van Halen, Beastie Boys, Ice[Read More…]
Over the last decade, a shift in approach towards domestic violence has taken place and several legal reforms have been directed to assist the survivors. The Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence Act is one of such law that has been enacted in the year 2005 to provide civil remedies to the survivors besides criminalizing domestic violence. While these legal[Read More…]
In a rule of law jurisdiction, the story of a victim of gang rape being raped by the same accused against whom court proceedings continue, might be outlandish. But, in India today, these are the common stories that confront anyone willing to see reality: A Dalit gang rape survivor has allegedly been gang raped again by the same five accused[Read More…]
There was a small news item in the Times of India dated 3rd July, 2016.It related to Bhopal .It read , ” 3 peons breach MPs-2 child norm ,sacked.” It stated that they were removed from service at Damoh District Court as the year long enquiry determined that they had more than two children.It went to to say that more peons would[Read More…]
The allegations came recently in newspapers that two transsexuals are brutally attacked by the police in Kochi. This is the current situation of transgender life in Kerala albeit the existence of the transgender policy the state triumphs. They are being faced discrimination continuously in various forms. Apropos to this incident the allegation is charged against those who should actually assure[Read More…]
Over the years, I’ve written a fair amount of autobiographical pieces but it’s only recently that I’ve begun to re-explore some of these episodes from a more critical, radical perspective. With that in mind, to follow is yet another revised memoir-of-sorts. Even though I grew up in a “tough” neighborhood and trained myself in hand-to-hand combat, I’ve never been eager[Read More…]
Hilary Wainwright, of the Transnational Institute and co-editor of Red Pepper magazine, made a lasting impression on the Commons Transition/P2P Foundation team with her panel presentation at the recent Commons Collaborative Economies event in Barcelona. During her presentation, Wainwright shared her insights on the hidden commons of care. “Women have been creating a Commons for a long time: the domestic[Read More…]
What the Women and Child Development Minister Ms. Maneka Gandhi, admitted on the floor of the Lok Sabha was startling, between 2012 and 2014, around 25,000 women either committed suicide or were killed due to dowry harassment; this vindicates the claim of women’s movement in India. Taunts, mental and physical abuse and ultimate death by murder or ‘forced-to-commit-suicide’ is an open fact of the Indian society
By J Nigam and Shalu Nigam Mature men and some women in mysterious black coats, a weary face listening, though with little attention, to these two segments arguing, fighting, abusing and shouting, and an allegorical lady justice with blindfolds balancing some scales- that’s a courtroom in my eyes as a four year old child! Though I had barely opened my[Read More…]
Being female in this world means having been robbed of the potential for human choice by men who love to hate us. One does not make choices in freedom. Instead, one conforms in body type and behavior and values to become an object of male sexual desire, which requires an abandonment of a wide-ranging capacity for choice… Andrea Dworkin[Read More…]
On achieving independence in 1947, it was expected and believed that India will become a nation wherein there will be no place for any kind of seclusion, exclusion and suppression in the name of caste, religion, sex or language. With the same objective, the founding fathers of our nation gave us a Constitution which guarantees the values of equality, equity[Read More…]
Punjab is a predominantly patriarchal agrarian society . Men head the family and women playing a subordinate role . Sikhism and Hinduism are the major religions , with Muslims and Christians as Minorties . What are Punjabis thoughts on Sex , Sexuality , Transgender and Homosexuality ? Punjabi people are deeply religious and religion dictates sexual attitudes . Kam /[Read More…]
A communal organization derives its ideology, base and support from religion and tradition, that is, from the past or the existing social order, and functions as a bridge between religion and politics. Tradition is the continuation of the ‘glorious past’ as perceived, and projected, by the ideologies of such organizations, which may or may not bear any resemblance to historical[Read More…]
There is a fine line between prevention and normalisation of any entity. When an event manifests itself through the acceptance of society , passively as an everyday occurrence or something that is unavoidable, it already is nurturing a dysfunctional repressed violent idea. One of the celebrated deviant normalcy in the Indian society is that of a Rape. What imparts it[Read More…]
By Shobha Aggarwal & Dr. P.S. Sahni “If there are two daughters born in the home, and the third child born is also a daughter, then she is told, now I want a son, so get another wife. Even if the fault is with the man, the entire burden of the fault is on the woman’s head, and so our[Read More…]
There is a long history of social critics and progressive thinkers offering critiques of human society. Among those who are better known, Karl Marx offered a critique of capitalism, anarchists have critiqued the state, Mohandas K. Gandhi offered a critique of industrial society, Sigmund Freud and Herbert Marcuse offered critiques of civilization, and feminists have critiqued patriarchy. In addition, critiques[Read More…]
Farm Reform Act Far from Farmers 
Punjab Bandh: Masses of Punjab write a new chapter in resistance against farm reform bills 
“The Future We Choose”: A Call for Action 
Preserving the human experiment through one of history’s darkest periods 
Assange’s Sixteenth Day at the Old Bailey: Special Administrative Measures, Unreliable Assurances and Espionage 
Boundless Dying Trees 
‘Round Midnight 
Lounging through Lucknow Lore 
Fight over the Mediterranean: France’s Proxy War and the Budding Turkish-Russian Alliance 
Case Against Cancel Culture 
The Mobster-in-Chief : Will the November Election Be Decided in the Streets? 
Searching for Mahatma 
Haathras Atrocity: Savarna Men Must Speak Up Now! 
Slash & Burn 
More than 1 million – Covid-19 death toll worldwide 
Why India needs a rural uprising 
Bt Cotton in India is a GMO Template for a ‘monumental irreversible catastrophe’ 
China’s Belt and Road pinpoints fundamental issues of our times 
Political Deprivation of Muslims in Bihar 
New Silk Road and the Asian Century: India, China and the Empire 
Language Policy in India is meant to facilitate promotion and imposition of Hindi, and for narrow interests as in Kashmir now 
Assange’s Fifteenth Day at the Old Bailey: Solitary Confinement and Parlous Health Care 
Story of a Collective Healing – Reflections on the time at a first-line Covid Care Centre in Kerala 
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961: Analysis 
Police Brutality And US Imperialism In Colombia 
American Justice Means Different Things To Black, Brown and White Races 
Today’s Anxious Workers Could Do With A Kedar Das 
Speak against the caste violence against Dalits 
Covidtopia – COVID-19 as Utopia 
Gender Literacy 
Reclaiming Freedom from the Edge 
Release Prashant Kanojia 
Rally against fascism and attacks on the rights of farmers under Modi held in Canada 
Dissenting Voices and the Revolutionary Legacy of Bhagat Singh 
Was Mughal Rule the period of India’s Slavery? 
Moving away from Petitions and Webinars – Protest and Activism Beyond Digital Jantar-Mantars 
My Feelings Before, During and After a 21 Day Water Fast 
Sangh’s Hindu Rashtra : A Threat to India and Indians 
How To Counter The Hindutva Project? 
What to Do When the World is on Fire 
This article is based on the 25th Chandrashekar Memorial Lecture delivered on 20 September 2020. The original lecture was delivered in Hindi and the event was organized by Punashcha, the Indian People’s Theater Association (IPTA) and Koshish. Friends, comrades gathered here; I am very honoured to be invited to deliver the Chandrashekhar Memorial Lecture this year but I cannot say[Read More…]
