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. …
An Open Letter To Arundhati Roy
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. …
Jotirao Phule: Shetkaryaca Asud (Part 6)
Translated by Gail Omvedt and Bharat Patankar Chapter 3 How the Arya Brahmans arrived from Iran and the prior condition of the Shudra peasants; and how the current government constantly levies all kinds of new taxes on the farmers in order to provide whatever pay and pensions their employees want; and how the farmers have been forced into …
Jotirao Phule: Shetkaryaca Asud (Part 5)
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 …
Jotirao Phule: Shetkaryaca Asud (Part 4)
Translated by Gail Omvedt and Bharat Patankar Chapter 2 Since the white government bureaucrats are mostly in a stupor due to their life of luxury, they have no way of getting any information about the true condition of the farmers, and their overall carelessness allows Brahman employees to dominate all the government departments. Between the two, the farmers …
Jotirao Phule: Shetkaryaca Asud (Part 3)
Translated by Gail Omvedt and Bharat Patankar After that, if some rare combination of sacred events come, the Bhat Brahmans lead so many well-off farmers to Nashik, Wai and other places of pilgrimage and extort large amounts of wealth from them on the pretence of religious donations, wheedling at least one coin from all the …
Jotirao Phule: Shetkaryaca Asud (Part 2)
Translated by Gail Omvedt and Bharat Patankar Chapter 1 Due to the dominance of the selfish Bhat-Brahmans in all government departments, they have been able to so deceive the ignorant farmers with the sham of their self-interested religion that they have no resources left to send their tiny children to school, and even those who …