Walter Fernandes

The middle class was roused to action by the rape of a 23-year old paramedical student in Delhi on 16th December 2012. Her death two weeks later on 29th December ended her trauma but left many questions unanswered. She died of multiple organ failure – physical and social. Her physical organs failed so did the social organs. The police failed, the politician failed, the State failed, her society failed, her culture failed, you and I failed. This short piece is an effort to analyse that failure and ask whether there is a way out of it.

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Dalit Camera: Through Un-Touchable Eyes

[Ravi Chandran, of the video news journal 'Dalit Camera: Through Un-Touchable Eyes', interviewed Dr K. Satyanarayana, Associate Professor, Department of Cultural Studies, English and Foreign Languages University (EFL-U) on Prof. Ashis Nandy's recent comments On Dalit Bahujans at the Jaipur Literature Festival. Here's the second and final part of the transcript of the interview.]

Continued from here.

K. Satyanarayana: No, one thing is the responses of the Dalits, publicly, I think, in the TV shows, you have 2-3 Dalit scholars (who) commented on this controversy. But also there are public statements by Dalit politicians and also (by the) National SC Commission Chairperson.

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Dalit Camera: Through Un-Touchable Eyes

[Ravi Chandran, of the video news journal 'Dalit Camera: Through Un-Touchable Eyes', interviewed Dr K. Satyanarayana, Associate Professor, Department of Cultural Studies, English and Foreign Languages University (EFL-U) on Prof. Ashis Nandy's recent comments On Dalit Bahujans at the Jaipur Literature Festival. Here's a part of the transcript of the interview.]

Dalit Camera: How do you see Ashis Nandy's comments, at the Jaipur Literary Festival, against SCs, STs and OBCs and the whole debate happening around it across the country?

K. Satyanarayana: Ravi, first, I'd like to thank Dalit Camera for giving me this space, because we don't have NDTV or CNN IBN or the whole newspaper world. We have this little space because of Dalit Camera so I thank you very much for giving me this space, to express some of my views on this controversy.

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Dr. N. Sukumar

Ashis Nandy's observations at the Jaipur Literary Festival have created a furore. Inadvertently, it has exposed the shallow foundations of our academic elite. Suddenly, the brahmanical lobby is forced to go on the defensive and is tying itself up in knots providing all kinds of explanations. The Ashis Nandy fan club has started online petitions over the issue of freedom of speech. For long, Nandy has been the poster boy of the liberal intelligentsia, pontificating about everything under the sun. He is supposedly a champion of the rights of the marginalized. "Over the years Ashis Nandy has affirmed the rights of marginalized groups and communities to assert and express themselves in their unique ways" (Online petition to the Govt of India, change.org). Even if Nandy is recognised to be a public intellectual by his academic coterie, nothing justifies his intellectual arrogance.

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Jyotsna Siddharth

Renowned sociologist, Ashis Nandy's comment at Jaipur Literature Festival that 'it is a fact, that most of the corrupt come from the OBCs, Scheduled castes and now increasingly certain tribes' once again reiterates the fact that casteism is very much prevalent in India. As India celebrated its 64th Republic Day on 26th January 2013, its saddening to see such remarks coming from the intelligentsia that plays a significant role in shaping society.

These remarks should not have surprised us as our academia also comes majorly from the upper castes, upper classes, and where schools and departments have been set up to study social exclusion but very little introspection has been done on a personal level. And for this very reason, it is rather important that we condemn casteist mindset of this kind, especially rooted in academia, so that the intelligentsia make efforts to provide a holistic progressive view on any issue than creating a colored image of their own stereotypes. As writers, academicians, scholars and students challenge patriarchal mindsets, casteist prejudices and classist nature of society, how do we forget that, coming from the same fabric of society, there is a need to challenge our own biases and stereotypes?

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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 the end. There is reliance on 'utilitarian' considerations in demanding castration; it is justified on the grounds that retributive punishment serves the overall happiness or welfare of society by deterring the accused from committing the crime again.

The debate on 'castration as punishment for rape' got populist attention and even given consideration to be included in criminal justice reforms by the ruling party. The moment the debate on 'castration' gathered attention in India, it was criticized for bringing back medieval notions of justice. This statement that castration is a medieval form of punishment requires more analysis. This article is an attempt to bring a historical perspective to the debate and argue against the historical insensitivity the debate has generated in recent times.

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