Thought

Annihilating caste

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by Bhalchandra Mungekar  B.R. Ambedkar’s passion for the abolition of untouchability and the eradication of caste is as relevant today as it was 75 years ago. THE Jat Pat Todak Mandal, a social reformist organisation of Lahore, had, in 1936, invited Dr B.R. Ambedkar to deliver the presidential address of its annual conference on the …

Atrocities

The ‘Death of Merit’ and a debate on caste discrimination in educational institutions

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[ A Round Table India report ] Hyderabad, Aug, 07, 2011: The National Dalit Forum organized a screening of the ‘Death of Merit’ documentaries by the Insight Foundation, followed by a discussion on the suicides of Dalit students in institutions of higher education and on caste discrimination in campuses, today in the morning at Dr. …

Thought

UP and ‘untruthful’ political players

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by Chandra Bhan Prasad Now that the Election Commission (EC) has decided to hold the UP Assembly polls in February, the accompanying trauma is all set to begin. Political parties will spend many sleepless nights while political analysts, in particular psephologists who seem to do brisk business via the electronic medium, will certainly also have …

Thought

Who’s afraid of caste census?

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— Kancha Ilaiah Ever since the Centre announced that it would collect data on various castes during the ongoing Census, the media has created a hue and cry saying that this would harm the nation and open a Pandora’s Box of caste conflicts. On the other hand, those who seek caste enumeration are of the …

Thought

Elite Responses: Constructing ‘Hinduism’

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by Gail Omvedt ( An excerpt from the chapter ‘Colonial Challenges, Indian Responses and Buddhist Revival‘ from the book ‘Buddhism in India: Challenging Brahmanism and Caste‘) The response of the Brahmanic elite to colonial challenges was to emphasise the question of foreign rule and regain independence. The challenge of industrialisation and India’s material backwardness was …

Features

On Jha’s Suicide Quote

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— Prabin Dhangada Majhi [ Prabin’s article is a response to senior journalist and editor Prem Shankar Jha’s comments in a 2007 CNBC discussion on reservations. The comments resurfaced again in online discussions over suicides of Dalit students in India’s elite educational institutions, recently. You’ll find some of Jha’s comments reproduced here . And you’ll …

Gender

A relentless crusader

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by Sudha Umashanker Ruth Manorama started her work with the urban poor in her youth; there has been no turning back ever since. She is the powerful voice of Dalit women today. Is it easy being a Dalit in India? And a woman at that? Have things changed for the better for the Dalits who …