Asian Human Rights Commission Statement There is no doubt that security to life and property is a fundamental right of every Indian. It is equally the duty of the state to protect it. The safety of a nation is directly proportionate to the collective notion of security of every citizen of that country. The single …
Rich Heritage of Punjabi Dalit Literature and its Exclusion from Histories
Prof. Raj Kumar Hans Exploring histories of Dalit literature in different languages of India is to encounter the deserts of neglects, silences and exclusions. The ‘Progressive Punjab’ is no exception to this sub-continental reality despite claims that Brahmanical ideology and its resultant social structures had considerably weakened in the Punjab due to the impact …
New Delhi Journal; A Call to the Downtrodden: Break Down the Door
Barbara Crossette [From The New York Times archives] A brown washcloth in hand to mop his brow under the fiery Indian sun, Kanshi Ram stepped up to the microphones to start a revolution. Tens of thousands of India’s most disadvantaged people – the poor, the powerless, the untouchables – sat along the capital’s stately …
New Delhi Journal; Prophet for the Humble: Will They Inherit India?
Steven R. Weisman [From The New York Times archives] Anyone who finishes third in a local election in India can usually start thinking about retirement. But the recent third-place showing in a parliamentary race by Kanshi Ram, a fiery champion of the rights of untouchables and other low castes, was strong enough to shake …
Immanuel Segaran: A Living Legacy
Translated from Tamil by Cynthia Stephen and Rajendran Prabhakar The life of Immanuel Segaran (1924-1957) continues to inspire the younger generations of those who struggle for justice and equality in Southern Tamil Nadu, especially those from the still oppressed Dalit community of the region. His memories are kept alive in the stories of …
History, community and identity: an interpretation of Dalibai
by Rajshree Dhali In recent years there has been a qualitative and progressive change in Dalit consciousness. This has resulted in Dalit assertion. Apart from mobilizing masses for political power, Dalits are now trying to reconstruct Dalit culture, literature and history so that they can claim for their identities. The present article intends to trace …
11 Supreme Court verdict on harassment of tribal woman
It was believed at one time that Dravidians were the original inhabitants of India. That view has since been considerably modified. Now the generally accepted belief is that the pre-Dravidian aborigines, that is, the ancestors of the present tribals or Adivasis (Scheduled Tribes), were the original inhabitants.
Muslim-Catholic dialogue in India: Is caste the main problem?
Jason Keith Fernandes Introduction Sharing his experiences on Christian-Muslim dialogue in the March ’09 issue of Jivan, Fr Paul Jackson was unusually reticent on the challenges that face the Catholic aspirant on this route. To say that this route is a path of thorns would not be an exaggeration, since there are quite a …
Caste-based discrimination and bonded labour
(Excerpted from the Human Rights Watch report ‘Small change: Bonded Child Labor in India’s Silk Industry’) Bonded labor in India is not just an economic issue but a social issue linked with caste. Unless we associate bonded labor with caste, we won’t understand bonded labor, and we won’t find a solution. ~ Kiran Kamal …