Meena Kandasamy writes a letter to Tehelka’s editor:
I WAS SHOCKED to see your magazine carry the abusive word “pariah” on the cover. Though it is common knowledge that the word passed into English from Tamil, it would have been better if you remembered that it is the name of a Tamil Dalit caste. Only because [...]
Archive for the 'Dalit' Category
A National Museum of History and Culture of Dalits
Published by April 30th, 2008 in Art, Culture, Dalit, History and Human Rights. 0 CommentsAniruddha Kulkarni says India needs to build a museum of Dalit history and culture:
But I do think some psychological displacement is at work when a magnificent Holocaust Memorial Museum, in which the criminals are not Americans, precedes a Washington institution of equivalent stature dedicated to the saga of national violence that is slavery and segregation…[...] [...]
Upliftthem re- produces an article on Dr. Ambedkar from Tehelka:
H.Mohan Kumar from Tehelka writes about the real revolutionary, who is the real revolutionary of India in the past 100 years. There is no one in India can claim or come close to the real Revolutionary who is shaping up and uplifting the ordinary Indians, that [...]
Conflicts of caste
Published by April 8th, 2008 in Caste, Cinema, Dalit, Democracy and Society. 0 CommentsOut-caste analyses the ‘portrayal of the conflicts of caste’ in a few Indian films and documentaries:
In Arohan we witness the continuing struggle, symbolic of the endless battle of the underprivileged and the landless, for justice. Parai reveals the status of Dalit population in India with the South Indian village Siruthondamadevi as a classic example. “An [...]
S.R.Nair thinks not. Unless, it turns more inclusive:
Politicians and leaders use the word inclusivity, started originally by welfare economists such as Amartya Sen, as a mere lip service. In fact the inclusivity was never there, whether economically or socially. The dalits are dalits and the poor turn poorer with casteism continues to be at the [...]
Poverty is a political issue
Published by March 27th, 2008 in Adivasi, Caste, Dalit, Development, Economy, Human Rights, Policy, Politics, Poverty and Religion. 0 CommentsAnalysing a paper published in the Economic and Political Weekly, John Samuel suggests poverty isn’t just about incomes, it is also about identities :
The notion of impoverisation (or the process of the active creation of poverty with in society or economy) needs to be seen in the context of social, economic and political inequality. Such [...]
Why is Modern India Vegetarian?
Published by March 24th, 2008 in Adivasi, Caste, Dalit, Economy, Food, Government, Policy, Poverty and Religion. 0 Comments41.9% of adults belonging to the ST and 38.4 % belonging to SCs have Chronic Energy Deficiency, while the pooled average of the nation is 34.8 %. Further, 62.7 % of the children born to Scheduled Caste parents are under-weight, 57.6 % are stunted, while among the other castes it the numbers are 53.1 % [...]
Naxalism and conventional politics
Published by March 18th, 2008 in Adivasi, Dalit, Democracy, Development, Government, Human Rights, Justice, Policy, Politics and Poverty. 0 CommentsGautam Sen says he doesn’t support Naxalism but he doesn’t seem to believe in the efficacy of ‘conventional politics’ either:
Despite these differences, my answer to my brother’s imprisonment is not the advocacy of violence. It is a waning and tenuous hope that perhaps the system does work, as Pai thinks it does. Perhaps my brother [...]
‘Creating’ history
Published by March 17th, 2008 in Caste, Dalit, Education, History, India and Politics. 0 CommentsPardeep examines how history is ‘created’ in India:
Brahmin scholars have ignored all the Dalit- Bahujan revolutionaries like Ayyankali from Kerala who fought for the poor Dalits rights. Birsa Munda – Tribal leader from Bihar, Mahatma Joytiba Phule – father of social revolution, EVR Periyar – Great revolutionary from Tamil Nadu, but where all these stands [...]
‘Gandhi’s spell’
Published by March 17th, 2008 in Activism, Adivasi, Caste, Dalit, History, Human Rights, Poetry and Women. 0 CommentsPremasri points to a growing campaign for land redistribution spearheaded by Dalit women in Andhra Pradesh:
Recognizing the the need to make their voices heard, dalit women in Andhra Pradesh are rising up and demanding their rights by filing applications for ownership of unused land. To date, over 25,000 applications have been filed by women in [...]
The lonely Mr.Paswan
Published by March 2nd, 2008 in Caste, Dalit, Politics, Religion and Secularism. 0 CommentsAdnan remembers Ram Vilas Paswan’s more assertive days:
In the 80s when anti-Muslim rhetoric was at its peak, Paswan was the only politician who countered rustic rabble-rousers like Uma Bharti, Mahant Awaidyanath, Kalyan Singh and their comparatively more ’suave’ hate-preachers like Lal Kishenchand Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, both on ground-level and in the parliament [...]
Another Betrayal of the Rural Poor?
Published by February 26th, 2008 in Caste, Dalit, Development, Economy, India and Poverty. 0 CommentsVB Rawat writes on the UPA’s flagship package for rural India, the NREGS, that seems to be floundering, as in this UP village.
Meanwhile, Rupchandrapur people are wondering whether they will be able to get their total amount or not. If for 14 days of work, an individual get Rs 400/- as per calculation of the [...]
More on the Gulabi gang
Published by February 23rd, 2008 in Activism, Adivasi, Caste, Dalit, Democracy, Feminism, Government, Justice and Patriarchy. 2 CommentsBecky B devotes some (much needed?) attention to the gang:
What is so amazing to me is the anomaly that the leader figure represents. Not only that one woman could be so unabiding to the expected norm, but also that she can mobilise hundreds of women to fight for her causes. As I said in my [...]
Rural Poor- Human Rights, Inhuman State?
Published by February 22nd, 2008 in Adivasi, Business, Caste, Community, Culture, Dalit, Democracy, Development, Environment, Human Rights, India, Justice, Policy, Poverty and Spotlight Series. 7 Comments[ This is Essay # 18 in our Spotlight Series. Click here for the archives.]
Rural Poor- Human Rights, Inhuman State?
Theory and Practice in a Liberal Democracy
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Rahul Banerjee
Over the past two years or so the normally un-newsworthy rural poor in India have time and again made the headlines with their vehement opposition to the forced acquisition [...]
Mayawati: saviour or spoiler?
Published by February 13th, 2008 in Caste, Dalit and Politics. 0 CommentsVinod Sharma wants the Congress to decide whether Mayawati is a ’spoiler’ or a ’saviour’:
In a larger sense, Mayawati is giving shape to the Mahatma’s dream. A Mayawati could simply not have risen in the Congress. Paradoxically, after stridently talking only about dalits, she is mutating into echoing the very soul of the Congress party [...]
Abuse of corporate email and abusive email
Published by February 11th, 2008 in Business, Caste, Culture, Dalit, Economy, Education, India, Policy, Prejudice, Religion and Society. 1 CommentArzan notices a ‘disturbing trend’ emerging in India: he’s convinced forwarded chain emails constitute abuse of corporate mail. He also thinks the MNCs which allow employees to abuse corporate email in this fashion can be sued for hurting the feelings of some sections:
The email contents are generally
A list of 12 reasons why men are better [...]
The subaltern cannot speak
Published by February 5th, 2008 in Caste, Dalit, Religion, Theory and Women. 15 CommentsAt Subaltern Studies, Kishore Buddha responding to Daipayan’s series of posts (we had linked to one of them earlier) on subalternity in India, offers his views on why Dalits cannot speak as long as they use religion as a basis for social formation:
Here I would like to turn to Gayatri Spivak, who informs us of [...]
Daipayan Halder tells you how different caste discrimination is in Bengal:
Most of those familiar with Kolkata —-and the bhadralok ethos it celebrates —- will tell you that in this city, atrocities based on caste bias are but stray incidents. Any display of caste discrimination is generally scoffed at and three decades of Left rule have, [...]
My India..My pride
Published by January 23rd, 2008 in Dalit, India, Media, Society and Women. 0 CommentsJane realizes it’s hard to retain her pride in India, despite everything the media does to help you retain it:
Particpating in media activism…I send spades of smses to the money making media, believing that my Yes or No sms would make an impact on my countries pride (which is highly unlikely).I dont mind sitting home [...]
Hindu-Muslim mythology from Aryavarta
Published by January 19th, 2008 in Caste, Dalit, India, Policy, Politics, Religion and Secularism. 7 CommentsThis is the best post I’ve read this year, and, perhaps, in a long time. For the first time, someone from the so-called left, secular intelligentsia in the country has chosen to handle these sacred ideas called ‘Hindu majority’ and ‘Muslim minority’ (and not observe them from a liberal distance), hold them upto the light [...]
Harbhajan banned: the masala is racist
Published by January 6th, 2008 in Cinema, Culture, Dalit, India, Media, Prejudice, Racism and Sports. 2 CommentsThe Indian cricket team these days seems to provide as much melodramatic entertainment as the film and television industry in the country, sometimes you suspect what you’re witnessing is a collaborative effort. The BCCI orchestrates the production, players play their roles on the field and off it (or on the field and on the sets), [...]
Meena Kandaswamy interviews Ruth Manorama, who has ‘contributed enormously to breaking the upper-class, upper-caste image of the women’s movement in India’:
“No, no, all women are the same. Women should not separate themselves.” This was the argument extended against me. And I would retort, “No, we are not separating anybody. We are only hailing from a [...]
Bhima Koregaon and 1857
Published by January 2nd, 2008 in Adivasi, Caste, Dalit, History and Human Rights. 0 CommentsJNU Dalits salute the Dalit martyrs of Bhima Koregaon:
As the world celebrates the New Year today, we take the opportunity to celebrate the190th anniversary of Battle of Bhima Koregaon fought on 1st January 1818, we salute the Dalit martyrs who fought courageously against the Peshwa Army. Simultaneously, the country is also celebrating the 150th anniversary [...]
Mukundan Menon, fighter
Published by December 18th, 2007 in Activism, Adivasi, Caste, Dalit, Democracy, Human Rights, Justice, Media and Politics. 0 CommentsChespeak mourns the passing away of veteran journalist and human rights activist, Mukundan C. Menon:
Mukundan’s professional life can be divided into three stages: the first , his days in Delhi in the most turbulent period of Emergency and its aftermath; then his life in Andhra Pradesh when the state was the inferno of Indian left [...]
The jholawallahs and the laptop wielders
Published by December 14th, 2007 in Activism, Dalit, Development and Poverty. 0 CommentsShantanu Dutta muses on what’s the right approach while working in the development sector- to rough it out by living among those whose lives are being developed or to regard it as just another profession:
Meanwhile, the voluntary sector has mostly gone professional. Yes, the jhola chaaps still exist but that exists in most cases more [...]
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