Sophy Joseph “There should be maximum punishment to the rapists, death penalty or castration” This incantation got huge endorsement from political parties, civil society organizations, the middle class and some activists from India and abroad during the aftermath of the insensate Delhi gang rape incident and subsequent death of ‘Nirbhaya’ who fought to survive till …
Fresh Bout of Caste Violence within Muslims in Allahpur
(This is the English version of the press-note circulated by the All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz (AIPMM). Translated by Khalid Anis Ansari) In a village in Bihar’s East Champaran district the lives of the poor Muslims belonging to backward castes has been under continuous threat from the dominant caste Muslims for the last seven …
Caste and Caste-Based Discrimination among Indian Muslims – Part 10

Caste and Caste-Based Discrimination among Indian Muslims – Part 10: Transformations in the Colonial Period Continued from here. Masood Alam Falahi (Translated by Yoginder Sikand for NewAgeIslam.com) [Part 10 of Masood Alam Falahi‘s Urdu book Hindustan Mai Zat-Pat Aur Musalman (‘Casteism Among Muslims in India’)] ~ Caste and Religion With the onset of British …
The murder of a Dalit girl and the silence over it

Ravi Chandran (This article talks about the alleged murder of a Paraiyar girl, Gogila, by her family because of her love marriage with an Arunthathiyar boy, Karthikeyan, in a village in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu. Apart from a small report in Junior Vikatan, the Tamil magazine, there has been absolute silence in the media …
Triumph of the spirit over injustice

P. Dayanandan Sixty years ago I learned to write Tamil alphabet on sand, in a remote Dalit village. It was at Bertram Hall, Loyola College, that I wrote my TOEFL (English test) in 1970 before I went on a Fulbright Scholarship to study in the US. It was a great privilege indeed to participate in this celebration …
Caste and Caste-Based Discrimination among Indian Muslims – Part 4

Caste and Caste-Based Discrimination among Indian Muslims – Part 4: Early Anti-Aryan Movements in India Continued from here. Masood Alam Falahi (Translated From Urdu by Yoginder Sikand, for NewAgeIslam.com) [Part 4 of Masood Alam Falahi‘s Urdu book Hindustan Mai Zat-Pat Aur Musalman (‘Casteism Among Muslims in India‘)] ~ It is a law of nature …
Hindutva and ethnicity

Gail Omvedt (First published in February 2003) The antagonism to conversion rests on an ideological foundation which takes ethnicity, that is a presumed community of blood and heritage, as central. IN 1996, during a six-month employment in Bhubaneshwar, fascinated by the beauty and antiquity of the area, I travelled with friends to Konarak and to …
“I am not a slave and don’t make me a slave”- Annan Pasupathi Pandian, a tribute

Ravi Chandran (With editorial suggestions from Kuffir) This article is an attempt to bring together information about the Dalit revolutionary leader Pasupathi Pandian, who was brutally murdered a couple of days ago (January 10, 2012). Since only bits and pieces of news material is available on him, I tried to gather some information from the …
Why reservation is necessary

Sukhadeo Thorat WITH a rapid scaling down of our tiny public sector due to privatisation and increasing withdrawal of the state under the impact of liberalisation, serious concern has been expressed about the fate of the present public sector reservation policy. Because of indirect and backdoor de-reservation, there is a growing demand for some sort …