Translation by Lavanya Raj Bharathi An atrocity such as this continues unstopped, only in Tamilnadu. This atrocity is yet another example for how caste inequalities run strong and deep in the state’s soil, like the roots of the Banyan. On Wednesday, the Kayaththar panchayat (near Kovilpatti) committee meeting took place in the panchayat committee office. …
The Touch of Ambedkar (part II)
by Thamburaj Dharmaraj (Continued from The Touch of Ambedkar (Part I)) The shadow puppeteers’ mother tongue is not Tamil. Among themselves they speak a remote dialect of Marathi, which is their only communicative medium. To interact with others they use Tamil language. They claim their caste identity as ‘Mandikar’. The names of men of this …
The Touch of Ambedkar (part I)
by Thamburaj Dharmaraj The assignment is of performing the story of Ambedkar in a folk art form, shadow puppetry. Shadow puppet theatre is widely held in the southern districts of Tamilnadu. Though it is prevalent in most of the South Asian countries it is habitually getting ostracized in the villages and performance opportunity is on …
Campaign for Pasmanda Revolution
[This document elucidates the political programme of the Shoshit Samaj Dal, which is working chiefly to promote the cause of social justice, with specific emphasis on representation for the pasmanda sections, dalits and backward castes, among Muslims- Round Table India] Translation by Khalid Anis Ansari Shoshit Samaj Dal Campaign for Pasmanda Revolution Everyone …
‘Palimpsest of Ethnic Fundamentalism’
by Madhuri Xalxo [In his letter declining the Gandhi Foundation award, Dr Binayak Sen refers to the protest against the award nomination, and Madhuri Xalxo responds to it- Round Table India] “The original citation of the Gandhi International Peace Award when it came, was a surprise, as I on my own had never claimed to …
Durga ka Mithak aur Bahujan Sangharsh ki Gatha: a documentary
‘The myth of Durga and the saga of Bahujan resistance’ Bahujan Films This short documentary (posted at the end of this note) named ‘Durga ka Mithak aur Bahujan Sangharsh ki Yatra‘ has its genesis in the OBC students of the country’s premier university, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, asserting their right to redefine the brahminical …
Breaking caste: Love stories in Black Letters
by Rupesh Kumar Inter-caste marriage and its ramifications in a caste society are at once personal and political for me. As a Dalit man married to a Nair woman, that too in a Hindu style wedding, I am faced with a number of complex issues, including questions about my political stands, from dalits as well …
State Atrocities VS Oppressed Representation
Dinesh Maurya Earlier Forbesganj (Arariya, Bihar) and recently Nalanda (in Bihar) and Paramakudi (Tamil Nadu) are some examples of atrocities on the oppressed people directly involving the state machinery in the name of law and order. But before going into details, it is first necessary to know what does atrocity mean? The term atrocity, …
Indigenous technology of climate prediction among a Tamil Dalit community
by Thamburaj Dharmaraj Valluvar community is referred extensively in ancient Tamil literature as ‘masters of astronomical calculations as well as predictions based on that’. The author of the renowned classical Tamil text ‘Thirukkural’, Thiruvalluvar, is believed to be the offspring of this community. Though it has valid literary and historical evidences of being a literate …