Nagesh Chaudhary On 8th September, 2012, a memorial lecture was organised in Mumbai under the auspices of ‘Adv. N L Belekar memorial lecture’ series. The speaker was ex-supreme court judge B.N. Srikrishna. The subject was ‘Concept of Equality under the Constitution’. J M Shah, chief justice of Bombay high court presided over the function. Three …
Caste and Caste-Based Discrimination among Indian Muslims – Part 3
Caste and Caste-Based Discrimination among Indian Muslims – Part 3: The Impact of the Aryan Invasion of India Continued from here. Masood Alam Falahi (Translated From Urdu by Yoginder Sikand for NewAgeIslam.com) (Part 3 of Masood Alam Falahi’s Urdu book Hindustan Mai Zat-Pat Aur Musalman (‘Casteism Among Muslims in India’)) ~ [Translator’s Note: This …
Dr Ambedkar and Engaged Buddhism
Dr. Bhalchandra Mungekar Introduction It must be mentioned in the beginning that, though Dr Ambedkar took oath in Yeola (in District Nasik of Maharashtra) in 1935 that, though ‘he was born a Hindu, he would not die a Hindu’, and he fulfilled his mission after nearly 21 years, by formally embracing Buddhism on 14th October, …
Caste in India
Gail Omvedt [Written in the year 2008] (A Reply to the Hindu Council of UK essay on “The Caste System”) * I owe thanks to Michael Witzel for his note citing Vedic references on caste and his careful reading of an earlier version of this essay. Introduction The essay submitted by the Hindu Council of …
The Self-creation of the Brahmans
Gail Omvedt [An excerpt from the chapter ‘The Background to Buddhism’ in her book, ‘Buddhism in India: Challenging Brahmanism and Caste’] Indian Brahmans as they have evolved over the centuries represent one of the most unique elites that any society has produced. They trace their origins back to Vedic times, where they were priests …
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 …