The ‘as though’ folks In India, we have the oppressor caste folks Whose language is a bit hard to understand Let us configure this language In a way that makes sense. This is the language of the ‘As though’ Oppressor caste folks act as though they care As though they understand vulnerabilities very …
Rape, Reckoning, and Resistance: Confronting Caste Power and Silence in India
Somnath Pati The horrific incident of rape and murder of a resident doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital has sent shockwaves across the nation, intensifying public discourse around the topic of ‘rape.’ As commentators and observers—ranging from public intellectuals to common citizens—engage more deeply with this issue, some have even gone so far …
Woman – a Caste
Kshipra When I transfer food from my plate to our house help’s, I ask him to place his plate on the floor. My upper-caste father says our women must not hand anything to lower-caste men, fearing our skins might ignite sparks in our minds and genitals. A few months ago, my hands …
Expanding Dewey’s Part of the Dewey-Ambedkar Story
Scott R. Stroud The relationship between Bhimrao Ambedkar, anti-caste thinker and activist, and John Dewey, his teacher at Columbia University, is significant and unique. Ambedkar sat in three of Dewey’s courses while he was studying at Columbia University and kept up with the American thinker’s philosophical evolution over the following four decades largely through collecting …
Academic Dishonesty of Shashi Tharoor Towards Dr BR Ambedkar’s Scholarship
Jyoti Bania & Ashok Danavath Shashi Tharoor is the fox that Malcolm X warned of Shashi Tharoor, a Nair liberal, member of the Indian Parliament (MP) and author of many books made many inaccurate, controversial and contradictory comments in a recent talk on Ambedkar: The Quest for Equality held on June 13, 2023, at Selwyn …
Caste and Urban Marginalization: Exploring the Dynamics through the Lens of ‘Kaala’
Ajinkya Sanjay Khandizod Urbanization and Slum Growth Urbanization has exploded in Indian metropolises over the last few decades. The urbanization degree worldwide is around 57%, whereas in India, it is 34%. According to the U.N. report on World Urbanization Prospects 2018, cities’ population will double by 2050. Between 2014-2018, the slum percentage increased from 23% …
Unmasking the Myth of “Neutral” Tech
Pranav Jeevan P There is a popular myth that technology is neutral, but in reality, technology reinforces the hierarchical and exploitative power relations of the societies that create and use it. Throughout history, technological advancements have been deeply intertwined with acts of genocide, apartheid, and the exploitation of people. From the colonial era, where technological …
English as a Tool of Liberation for Dalits in India
Anjali Shreshth In April 2010, the Dalit members of Banka, a remote village in the Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh in northern India, inaugurated a unique temple. The temple was symbolic not because of a mythical history attached to it but rather because it was symbolic of the reclaiming of agency—social and political—by the …
On Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’
Chanchal Kumar Origin the film released in India some time back. After watching the much anticipated movie (twice) here are some of my haphazard jottings and observations. Introduction To begin with, I’m sure Origin will renew discussions amongst movie-goers and audiences around the theme of caste and how it connects the dots of oppression around …