For An Informed Ambedkar Age
by Prakash Holayar, Chamarajanagar [Pronouncement of Court verdicts in cases pertaining to Dalit’s murders, massacres and atrocities often takes several years. In this article Prakash recounts the Badanavalu Caste Clashes and the final verdict; we invite writers to share their experience and memory of such caste clashes and participate in the documentation of delays and …
by Ajmal Kamal Premchand (1880 – 1936) can be counted as a sympathetic voice against caste discrimination, although in recent times the Dalit circles in India are reported to have severely criticized him for being less than sensitive to the miserable life of the lower castes in the rural North India. However, in his writings …
by Thavaseelan G [A former director of IIT Madras writes an essay which is featured in the Vision 2020 series of The Hindu Business Line. The title and the content reflects his racist, casteist and classist understanding of basic concepts of social justice, merit, testing, teaching and the responsibilities of a government funded teaching Institute. …
Karthik Navayan [Karthik Navayan was a member of a fact-finding team that visited Paramakudi town on 19th and 20th September, 2011, and interacted with the victims and also with the district officials in Ramanathapuram. This article contains his observations and analysis- Round Table India] On September 11th the police killed six among the several Dalits who …
Thamburaj Dharmaraj (part I) I came back to Madurai after wandering in and around Paramakudi for the past two days. I have never really experienced such a disappointment and helplessness in my life. The entire trip was disgusting. The way we construct our own history through oral and written sources as a political move …
Raza Rumi Obedience to hierarchies, conformity and identification with groups are central tenets of existing in Pakistan. [The relief operations after the recent floods in Sindh have revealed the extent to which man-made structures of stratification remain entrenched in Pakistani Society. We thank Raza Rumi for sharing this article outlining his views on …
by Ajmal Kamal [With excerpts in Urdu and Hindi scripts] [I] The historical division of society in South Asia on caste lines is now an acknowledged sociological, political and economic fact. However, caste as a literary or social discourse does not, for several reasons, form a part of the predominantly Muslim culture of Urdu. …
R. Ravi Kumar The debate on merit has once again come to the forefront with the movie ‘Aarakshan’. From various press clippings and debates on the movie one can come to the conclusion that the ‘Aarakshan’ team is much worried about the victimization of merit due to reservations for the disadvantaged groups. Though there …
Kuffir It was clear they wished to play down the enormity of the bloodbath from the beginning. First, they said two were killed. Then the figure became three, and five. And then six. Now they say: seven. Have you seen any pictures of any of the seven? Or were their names mentioned anywhere in …