Shiv Shankar Das ( Continued from here) The promotion of Buddhist cultural symbols in public sphere by Mayawati led government is driven by the following three strong factors. 1. The Ideology of Kanshi Ram (1934-2006): Cultural Change is a Durable Change Kanshi Ram’s ideology to emancipate the Bahujan Samaj is very important to understand …
Buddhism and Politics in Uttar Pradesh: Recent Developments
Shiv Shankar Das Abstract: The present research note highlights the relationship and the reasons behind the association between the lower caste politics and Buddhism in Uttar Pradesh, the most populated state in India next only to China, United States, Brazil and Russia. There are three reasons behind this association. First, the currently ruling Bahujan Samaj Party’s founder …
Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal
[What is the ‘Dalit Prerna Sthal’? What is its purpose? Why was it built? The inscription shown in the picture above, displayed prominently in the ‘Rashtriya Dalit Smarak’ (picture below), provides many of the answers. We are publishing here the full text of the inscription for our readers. It was copied by hand, so some …
Interview of Manyawar Kanshi Ram ji
QUESTION: Why are you so hostile to all the national parties, especially the communists? KANSHI RAM: To my mind, all parties represent the forces of status quo. For us, politics is the politics of transformation. The existing parties are the reason for the status quo. That is why there has been no upward mobility …
The media and violence against women in ‘Maya’s UP’
Bhanu Pratap Singh [Why is every crime in Uttar Pradesh reported as happening in ‘Maya’s U.P’, while similar incidents in other states are not publicized as happening in ‘Sheila’s Delhi’ or ‘Reddy’s AP’? This article discusses the sordid casteist politics behind the media’s consistent negative coverage of ‘Maya’s UP’, and the Congress and other …
Dr. Suryakant Waghmore: Subalterns have a role in making of civil society
Dalit and Adivasi Students’ Portal (First published in the ‘Dalit and Adivasi Students’ Portal’ in 2010) Dr Suryakant Waghmore is an Assistant Professor, Centre for Social Justice and Governance, School of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. He has been recently awarded with his Doctorate degree from University of Edinburgh, Scotland …
The Durban dip can cleanse a billion sins
by Chandrabhan Prasad The Ganges is a monumental aqua-guard which has been cleansing Varna souls ever since the advent of their civilisation. A few Varna apologists describe the senseless Ganga dip as an act of “self-criticism”, where devotees officially confirm they have committed a sin.
Sub-Castes within the SC/ST
Dr. K. Jamanadas (First published in Dalit Voice in March 2000) This has reference to the article on rivalry of subcastes Madigas and Malas among the SCs, and a frank debate welcomed by our editor (Dalit Voice, vol.15, no.21). Our editor has welcomed the rivalry among the subcastes in these words: “There is nothing …
Kanshi Ram: Champion of the poor
Kanshi Ram will be remembered as someone who almost completely changed the rules of Indian politics over the last two decades. Few political analysts would disagree that his unique brand of social engineering and organisational skills succeeded in uniting India’s low caste Dalit community into a formidable political force in several states.