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 …
Caste And Hinduism
Gail Omvedt (Written in November 2003) M V Nadkarni’s recent article “Is Caste System Intrinsic to Hinduism?: Demolishing a Myth”, (EPW, November 8, 2003) comes as a follow-up to his earlier article “Ethics and Relevance of Conversions: A Critical Assessment of Religious and Social Dimensions in a Gandhian Perspective” (Januay 18). Both articles show the fundamental stamp of Hindutva ideology, …
Dalit Blood Taints Modi’s Claims
Anand Teltumbde (From ‘Dalit Rights‘ blog) During the state sponsored carnage of Muslims in 2002, Dalits in Gujarat were unduly defamed having performed the role of foot soldiers of the Hindutva forces. These were stray incidents in Ahmedabad wherein Dalits were spotted in the crowds that attacked Muslims but there were several other instances that …
‘Brahmins do not have the right to call themselves Indians!’
(This interview was published in January, 2001, in Rediff.com) Dr Kancha Ilaiah, associate professor of political science at Hyderabad’s Osmania University, is known for his fierce attacks on Hindu religious and political leaders. In 1996, his first book Why I am not a Hindu was accused of inflaming communal passions. Last month, he published another …
A black stone among white marbles
Kancha Ilaiah I am among the millions who live a life without a birthday. October 5, 1952 is what my school recorded as my birthday; beyond this, I am as yet unclear of it all. As I retire this month from Osmania University, where I studied, researched and taught over a period of 38 years, …
Ambedkar and the Left
Gail Omvedt (From her blog ‘seeking begumpura‘) An article by Anand Telbumbde, “Not Red versus Blue” has been recently arousing controversy. Dalits have attacked it. In attempting to “mediate” between Ambedkarites and Leftists, Teltumbe according to many has fallen into the trap of turning Ambedkar into a semi-Marxist. In fact, Teltumbe does distort Ambedkar in …
A Life Lived Well, and Lessons Thereof
Braj Ranjan Mani Jotirao Phule, and his wife Savitribai, declared war on brahmanic-casteist culture and religion. This Maharashtrian couple presented the first major anti-caste ideology and led a mass activism against the ascriptive norms and values. Their distinct brand of socio-cultural radicalism was based on uniting all the oppressed, whom they would call stree-shudra-atishudra. (Literally, …
It’s Not Red Vs Blue
Anand Teltumbde Ambedkar was more about class than caste, but the Left won’t see it that way India is a land of paradoxes. But no paradox may be as consequential as the divergent histories of the Dalit and the Communist movements. Both were born around the same time, spoke for or against the same issues, …
More of the Same in the Global India
Braj Ranjan Mani The tyranny of capitalism in India cannot be grasped, let alone resisted, in isolation from its wider social context. Capitalism is far more dangerous in India than in the Euro-America because of the culture and economics of caste. Today, India (after China and the US) has the world’s third largest middle class …