In the movie Swades Shah Rukh Khan says when asked about whether India is the best country in this world compared to others ,” I dont think that India is the best country in this world, but we have the ability, we have the resources” and for that to happen each and every person has [...]
Archive for the 'Caste' Category
Demystifying India….
Published by December 30th, 2009 in Caste, Children, Corruption, Culture, Development, Education, Gender & Sexuality and Government. 0 CommentsBant Singh’s struggle for justice
Published by December 8th, 2009 in Caste, Justice, Law and order, Violence and Women. 2 Comments“What would you do, if you were a lower caste Dalit farmer living in Punjab and your minor daughter was raped by a group of influential upper-caste men?”. Find out more about Bant Singh and the ‘retributions’ for his standing up for justice:
A phone call to “retrieve his body” actually found him barely alive but [...]
The United Front of Left and Right
Published by October 26th, 2009 in Caste, Dalit, Media and Politics. 1 CommentThe Varkala Murder case (in Kerala State) and the Police relating it to a Dalit organization have once again exposed the mindset of mainstream media, mainstream Left and extreme Right. The interesting thing is that the Left and Right (CPM and Shiv Sena) allegedly join hands along with Police to hunt down the Dalits in [...]
Janabai, poet for all times
Published by October 17th, 2009 in Caste, Language, Literature, Poetry, Prejudice and Women. 2 CommentsJanabai shares dais with her contemporaries Sant Dynaeshwar and Sant Namdev – poet saints of Maharastra. Her 300 odd abhangs have become part of Namdev’s repertoire of devotional songs to Lord Vittal. Here is one where the Lord Vittal works alongside her. These are not household chores as is usually described for a housemaid. This [...]
Justifying reservations
Published by October 15th, 2009 in Adivasi, Caste, Dalit, Democracy, Human Rights, India, Justice, Politics and Society. 2 CommentsWinnowed argues for caste-based reservations:
In my opinion, purely caste-based reservations do perpetuate caste divisions in the short term. However, they also uplift untouchable and backward castes, to a large extent, though it is at the expense of the upper castes. If (social and economic) upliftment of the lower castes is the sole objective behind reservations, [...]
Remembering K.Balagopal
Published by October 14th, 2009 in Activism, Adivasi, Capitalism, Caste, Dalit, Democracy, Development, Feminism, Human Rights, Justice, Politics and Poverty. 4 CommentsA site dedicated to the memory of human rights activist Balagopal who passed away recently.
Anand Teltumbde recalls his association with his ‘dearest friend and comrade’:
I knew Balagopal since 1980s and admired him for his sharp intellect and deep commitment to human rights. Not many in the movement knew that he was a brilliant mathematician and [...]
‘Quality’ and Inclusion
Published by October 12th, 2009 in Adivasi, Caste, Dalit, Education, Politics, Prejudice and Theory. 0 CommentsRama ponders on ‘Quality’ and its western / imperial / colonial, or Brahminical / Manuvadi biases. Very interesting post.
The sociologist, Andre Beteille, delivered a lecture in Calcutta in March which I attended.
He touched upon academic quality versus inclusion (e.g. through reservation or affirmative action), and said quality need not be compromised. At the end of [...]
R.I.P. Dr.Balagopal
Published by October 10th, 2009 in Adivasi, Capitalism, Caste, Dalit, Democracy, Development, Government, Human Rights, India, Justice, Policy, Politics, Poverty and Violence. 0 CommentsAditya pays tributes:
A relentless crusader for human rights for three decades now, Andhra Pradesh HC lawyer Balagopal has fought cases from extra-judicial killings of political dissenters to atrocities against Dalits and women. And he has often suffered personal attacks for his efforts, by the police and others shamed by his exposes. But he has never [...]
Anoop Kumarat Insight Young Voices Blog, my new favourite blog, rips into Ramachandra Guha.
He writes, “India has some of the oldest universities outside of the Western world. There were no Chinese or African universities when the universities of Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras were established in 1857. Where, for much of their history, European universities were [...]
Shahbano Aliani’s article is enlightening.
It appears that caste is the elephant in the room. Everyone knows its there, but no one wants to talk about it, let alone address. As Haris Gazdar puts it, “The public silencing on caste contrasts with an obsession with it in private dealings and transactions.”
The Pakistani caste system has developed [...]
The story of Thathri
Published by July 26th, 2009 in Caste, Gender & Sexuality and Society. 0 CommentsPritish Nandy in a recent article in Times of India calls Indian anime porn star Savita Bhabhi as a symbol of Indian women’s liberation. But you don’t need to dig into comics to find a woman who used her sexuality to fight against an unjust system and oppression. Maddy tells the story of Kuriyedathu Thathri [...]
Mayawati statues
Published by July 12th, 2009 in Caste, Dalit, Development, Economy, Government, India and Politics. 7 CommentsWhile Ranjeet ‘praises’ Mayawati for installing statues in UP and has some more suggestions for her,
1) You also remove existing statues of un-important people like Gandhiji etc and install your own huge ones (I mean statues) there.
2) Why not also introduce an entire chapter in the history books of school children dedicated to you?
Aditi Phadnis [...]
Silence and resistance
Published by June 25th, 2009 in Caste, Dalit, Feminism, Gender & Sexuality, History, Human Rights, Patriarchy, Politics, Prejudice, Violence and Women. 0 CommentsAnu explains that silence doesn’t mean the absence of resistance:
This on the face of it seems like pretty sound explanation, so with a magic wand if we push the upper caste down the ladder, upper caste men lose their ‘manhood’ when their women are appropriated and humiliated, right? Any caste that finds itself at the [...]
Equal Opportunity Commission
Published by June 24th, 2009 in Activism, Adivasi, Caste, Dalit, Policy, Prejudice and Religion. 0 CommentsTarunabh, of the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion, writes to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, to further the public debate on equality of opportunities.
Seems to me more like an attempt to start a private, exclusive debate among a select group of elites in the academia, lawmakers and the enforcers, among others.
Lohia and the ‘People’s Movement Left’
Published by June 18th, 2009 in Activism, Capitalism, Caste, Democracy, Development, Economy, History, Politics, Science & Technology and Theory. 0 CommentsAmit Basole evaluates Lohia in a ‘time of crisis’ in the Indian left movements:
Along with the question of Eurocentrism, the question of the type of economic development was Lohia’s most fundamental theoretical challenge to Marxism. Marxists have been by and large unwilling to confront the possibility that industrialism and not capitalism may be the primary [...]
K.P.Girija ponders on merit:
Equality always deflects from diversity. One can’t be equal by being different from the prevailing social norms; one needs to disown certain cultural differences at least temporarily in order to be equal. In this way, equality (though indirectly) demands a kind of homogeneity which makes the promise of equality hollow and unattainable. [...]
The same little featherheads?
Published by June 15th, 2009 in Caste, Democracy, Policy, Politics and Women. 0 CommentsSneha Krishnan finds the debate on women’s reservations ‘immensely entertaining to watch’:
The debate on reservation for women, as most constitutional debates in India, is as old as the tome itself. In 1949, however, the Assembly’s female members rallied against this move, saying that women in India had never demanded special privileges. Ironically, the only voice [...]
The other side of every stand
Published by June 13th, 2009 in Caste, History, India and Politics. 0 CommentsMircea says the historian in India today has few options:
One can always be a card-carrying communalist, writing textbooks about Muslim invasions and finding a safe home in the arms of the BJP. One can be a righteous leftist going on about protest and resistance while the backyard burns from Naxalite murders and bombs. Or, one [...]
More MPs from St.Stephens?
Published by June 9th, 2009 in Caste, Dalit, Democracy, Policy, Politics and Women. 0 CommentsFrom social point of view, from the view of representativeness this is the worst parliament in the last few decades (it is a painful realization. There are 20 odd MPs who have passed out from St Stephen, delhi!. Surely we are back to 1960s). Frankly this blogger saw it coming, when they were making hullabaloo [...]
Quota for women
Published by June 5th, 2009 in Caste, Democracy, Patriarchy, Policy, Politics and Women. 0 CommentsThe debate has just started, and I hope it picks up.
Sunny likes the idea of reservations for women in parliament. Churumuri offers a nice picture of poison to Sharad Yadav. The blogger seems, like Mr.Yadav, ‘unwilling to concede, comprehend or come to terms’ with what those who hold opposing points of view are talking about. [...]
Sacred threads and knots
Published by June 4th, 2009 in Caste, Patriarchy, Religion and Women. 4 CommentsVidya revisits the the rights of women in ‘the golden sanatana scheme of things’:
While it is very convenient to blame invading cultures and encounters with them as possible reasons for denial of education in Medieval India this does not tell the complete story. The fact remains is that the exceptions were far and few and [...]
‘Us’ and ‘Vais’ in the North East
Published by June 3rd, 2009 in Adivasi, Caste, Dalit, India, North East, Prejudice and Racism. 5 CommentsParitosh Chakma says ‘racial discrimination’ thrives within the North East too:
Outsiders (meaning of course long-nose plains people) are called “vais” in Mizoram. “Vai” is a Mizo word and the term is used in contempt towards the people who look “different” from “us” in Mizoram. The people of Mizoram may contest my claim but I have [...]
Attacks on Indian students in Australia
Published by May 30th, 2009 in Caste, Education, Indiaspora, Prejudice, Racism, Violence and World. 173 CommentsSome bloggers seem to think they’re racially motivated.
Sanjeev Sabhlok, in a long detailed post, disagrees:
I agree that more can be done to ensure the safety of Indian students. But I am personally outraged at the unsolicited allegation being made about Australian racism by the Indian Foreign Minister (and India’s High Commissioner as well). This amounts [...]
Why the Green Revolution wasn’t such a blessing
Published by May 28th, 2009 in Caste, Dalit, Development, Economy, History, Indiaspora, Politics, Prejudice, Religion and Violence. 0 CommentsVidya Bhushan Rawat looks at the roots of the current conflict in Punjab:
Problem is in our perception about Punjab as a casteless society where Sikhism grew. The fact is that inspite of great preaching in the Guru Granth Saheb and their own sacrifices, the leadership that emerged in Punjab is upper caste dominated feudal Sikhs. [...]
Violence in Vienna
Published by May 27th, 2009 in Caste, Dalit, History, Indiaspora, Prejudice and Religion. 1 CommentAmardeep Singh reflects on the violence in Vienna and tries to ‘imagine a narrative that led to these events’:
Then, when a new temple opens, many of the heterodox members of the congregation jump at the chance for a different kind of experience. The new temple is run by heterodox Ravidasias, who do things slightly differently [...]
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