— Jason Keith Fernandes A couple of days ago, an interview, of the part-time Goa resident author Amitav Ghosh, with Lila Azam Zanganeh for the magazine Guernica created something of a storm of outrage. Ghosh had suggested in the course of conversation, that ‘one of the wonderfully liberating things about India; [is that] it lets …
Who’s afraid of caste census?
— 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 …
Elite Responses: Constructing ‘Hinduism’
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 …
On Jha’s Suicide Quote
— 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 …
A relentless crusader
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 …
Notes and beats of misrepresentation in Malayalam films
by Rupesh Kumar Indian films mass mediate stereotypical images of marginalized communities like dalits and adivasis; something that is rarely challenged by anyone. The producers are almost invariably savarna/dominant caste males. The candid display of the film makers’ enormous illiteracy about the history, culture and politics of adivasi and dalits cannot be countered with the …
Religion: Untouchable Lincoln
“Hinduism is not a religion; it is a disease.” One of the few men who have risen from the malodorous sink which is below the lowest caste of India is Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, No. 1 Untouchable. This plump, cheery, bespectacled man of no caste, whose very shadow would outrage high-caste Hindus, managed to get …
Cow and culture
by Kancha Ilaiah They killed five Dalits for skinning a cow… At least now the whole nation must stand up against this kind of spiritual and political nationalism. IS A cow’s life worthier than that of five Dalits? The Dalits have had to pay an enormous price — of remaining untouchables — for removing carcasses …
History of Karamchedu and what actually happened ?
Kathi Padma Rao Written on 26th Anniversary of the Karamchedu massacre (on July 17th, 1985 ) in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh. Karamchedu village is located 7 km off from Chirala in Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh State. The village was a big Panchayat with 16 wards. Kammas, the landlord community, lived in eight …