Thought

Krishna and Narmada

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by Gail Omvedt THE KOYNA, built high in Satara district of the Sahyadris on one of the major tributaries of the Krishna, is a big dam, a ”major irrigation project” in the terminology of the Indian Government. Its reservoir has a storage capacity of 98 tmcft and the dam generates over 900 MW of electricity. …

Thought

An Open Letter To Arundhati Roy

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by Gail Omvedt Dear Arundhati, I’m sorry to have to write a critical letter to you. I very much liked The God of Small Things. I also appreciated your intervention on the nuclear issue. I was impressed on reading in Indian Express that you had decided to donate some royalties to the Dalit Sahitya Academy. …

Features

Maintained by the State (VII: 133)

no freedom with caste

  Anu Ramdas This extract is from the book Dharmatheertha, No Freedom with Caste, The Menace of Hindu Imperialism, edited by G. Aloysius: It is clear therefore that the motive of the priests in forming an exclusive caste was not any consideration of a religious or spiritual or racial nature but one of sheer greed for …

Dalitbahujan Renaissance

Jotirao Phule: Shetkaryaca Asud (Part 5)

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Translated by Gail Omvedt and Bharat Patankar Both the money-eating government employees who harass the farmers and the completely illiterate farmers who give them bribes out of their dependence get legal punishment. If the cost of the police investigation is born by the bhakri-eating fearful weaponless ruined farmers along with the Bhat Phadke who organized attacks against the unarmed …