Navayana attempts to erase Ambedkar from AoC

(A Round Table India report)

You must create a crisis by direct action against the customary code of conduct of the caste Hindus. The crisis will compel the caste Hindu to think and once he begins to think he will be more ready to change than they are otherwise likely to be. The great defect in the policy of least resistance and silent infiltration of rational ideas lies in this that they do not produce crisis. The direct action in respect of the Chowdar Tank at Mahad, the Kalaram Temple at Nasik and Guruvayur Temple in Malabar have done in a few days what million days of preaching by the reformers would never have done.

~ Babasaheb Ambedkar

On September 14th, a link from Verso Books was circulated on social media (Facebook). The link listed Arundhati Roy as co-author of B. R. Ambedkar’s text: Annihilation of Caste. It soon became evident that multiple websites had her listed either as primary author or co-author (in one case as the only author). It also revealed that the publisher’s (Navayana’s) own website carried Roy as co-author. All this resulted in an immediate protest from a wide range of individuals – a creation of a ‘crisis’ by ‘Direct Action’ that social media enables as a counter to the brahminical media.

Round Table India compiles the protest updates* to document one of the most energetic and spontaneous collective interventions against appropriation and blatant plagiarism. Though it led to Verso Books changing the wrong details on its website, there is yet to be a public statement of apology from either the publisher or the author. More than a week has gone by and amazon still retains Arundhati Roy as co-author.

For more on this debate and discussions on the colonization of anti-caste literature, please join: The Colonization of Ambedkar on Facebook.

Kuffir: Now are you sure they won’t say Sachin Tendulkar is the co-author of ‘Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis…’? Or that Chetan Bhagat authored ‘States and Minorities..’?

Atul Anand: There might be many scholars, journalists and intellectuals who think Roy is the author of AoC…and you think only Dr. Subramanian Swamy talks sh*t.

Dilip C Mandal: Sorry बोलिए अरुंधति राय.

इनकी मानें तो ‘एनहिलेशन ऑफ कास्ट’ किताब अरुंधति राय और बी. आर. आंबेडकर ने लिखी है.

अब ये न कहिए कि अमेजॉन वालों ने ऐसा कर दिया, हम क्या करें? अमेजॉन वालों को लेखक का नाम सपने में नहीं आता. आपने जो ई-मेल अमेजॉन को भेजा है, उसे चेक कीजिए. शर्म कीजिए. माफी मांगिए और करेक्शन कीजिए.

इस किताब के कवर में भी दुष्टता है. गांधी बड़े और आंबेडकर छोटे. भूमिका में अरुंधति बार-बार गांधी को लाती हैं. जबकि किताब में बाबा साहब ने मुश्किल से गांधी का जिक्र किया है.

अरुंधति अपने नाम से अपनी किताब बेचें. जो चाहें करें. लेकिन एनहिलेशन ऑफ कास्ट के साथ बदमाशी तो न करें.

Venkataraman Divakar: After the national market is saturated, the braminosie venture into international markets. Thanks for making us understand you brahmunists.

Raju Tai Gandhi: She must have walked with the comrades and listened to the grasshoppers. But co-authoring a book that she has recently “taken the trouble” to READ itself??? First she patronizes and then steals shamelessly. ये महिला तो चोर निकली. और हाँ, amazon इंडिया बड़ी ही चुतिया website है. It doesn’t allow user feedback for this particular item!

Ashwini Mishra: Annihilation of Caste was written by Ambedkar in 1936. Arundhati Roy was born in 1961.

So, she co-authored a book 25 years before she was born? Now that’s f***ing impressive.

Kuffir: A single shelf of dalitbahujan literature is worth the whole brahmin literature of India. Who needs brahmin introducers? They should start educating themselves first.

[Thanks, Macaulay, for writing that inspiring line.]

Anjali Rajoria: There are plagiarizers. And then there are co-authors who are celebrated for introducing that text to the world which has been kept alive by millions of unsung heroes over a span of 6 decades…

Rama Hansraj: 1. Who is the author of AoC? Answer: Arundhati Roy.
2. Who is the author of the Indian Constitution? Answer: Arundhati Roy. Arundhati Roy seems to be the new name of Ambedkar.

Pradnya Mangala: Merit criteria are not applicable to brahmeans? Or have they mastered all tricks of stealing and imposing themselves on the dalitbahujan masses?…Meritorious brahmeans, I must say!

James Michael: So Columbia University is as much home to her as Dantewada. I am sure Outlook will publish their annual Roy essay, this time titled “Hopping around in an Aircraft”, to give us a ringside view of global #brahmean radicalism.

Saadia Toor: It’s just hilarious – the more they try to deny charges of appropriation, the more the appropriation machine proves them wrong!

Bobby Kunhu: I just found out that Annihilation of Caste was co-authored by B. R. Ambedkar and Arundhati Roy and edited by S. Anand – recasting history – whatever gaffe that one attributes this to, it is unforgivable given that it is still being sold on those terms.

Kuffir: What is colonization of Ambedkar? The process of appropriation through which the ‘introducer’ of Dalit writing becomes the primary author, for instance.

James Michael: Verso is also a fiercely independent radical publisher…like Navayana, like The Hindu. Global capitalism would shiver in its knickers, if it were to confront their shuddhagraharas made of shuddhdesi ghee.

Lavanya Raj: A man spends his entire life working towards uplifting the masses of India from the clutches of Brahminism. He authors Annihilation of Caste. He struggles. Millions worship him. But then, decades later, a Booker prize winner and a self-proclaimed communist ‘introduces’ the already extremely well circulated Annihilation of Caste. And not only that, she calls herself the co-author of his work. If this was my research paper or even a masters’ research essay in Australia or anywhere in the world that respects original work, I would be accused of plagiarism. Arundhati Roy is the new face of Brahminism along with the publisher Anand Navayana.

James Michael: “Gandhi loomed over Ambedkar’s world in myriad and un-wonderful ways.”–Arundhati Roy

The cover of Verso Books’s edition of AoC is an exact representation of this particular statement made by Roy in her introduction to AoC. As far as I am concerned, the cover of AoC or any other book should represent the concerns of the author of that particular book and not that of the introducer. The fact that this is not the case as far as the Verso edition of AoC is concerned proves unambiguously what the publisher thinks about the status of the author of AoC. Even if one were to imagine that there was indeed a technical glitch while tagging the author and introducer on Amazon and elsewhere, one would need to make too huge a leap of imagination to think that the cover page also suffers from a similar glitch. And since the cover page appears in The Caravan magazine story as well, it is very clear whose imagination is at work behind its design. The vile brains behind this venture did indeed want the world to think that Arundhati Roy is the author of AoC. How else could Gandhi loom over Ambedkar on the cover page, when he hardly gets mentioned by the author of AoC? In short, the cover page is for Roy, the book is for Roy, the introduction is the book, and Ambedkar and AoC are mere appendices to a grand #brahmean design.

Akshay Pathak: Anyone even vaguely familiar with the ‘debate’ around the Roy-Iyengar project can figure out that this is not an isolated event:

– Even before the Navayana edition was released, Roy had declared her essay to be a ‘little book in itself’.

– All magazines, newspapers carried only excerpts of her essay. She was interviewed extensively (looking regal in her palace) when it was to be about AoC and Ambedkar.
– The NYT had openly declared it ‘the Gandhi book.’ Why? Who told them that? Why did the publisher or author not object if they found it erroneous?

– In the Navayana edition you had Arundhati Roy being given special mention as the author of the essay, while the section with AoC did not carry the name of its author, DrAmbedkar. Was that an oversight? Shall we blame Amazon for that?

– Anand Iyengar at the IHC book launch gleefully equated DrAmbedkar and Roy and expressed his pleasure at being ‘sandwiched’ between them.

This is not a ‘mistake’. This is not to be blamed on any technical glitch. This is no marketing tactic. This is clear and ruthless appropriation. And this is deliberate. For all the bhakts once again: can you produce a single counter to the arguments raised? And don’t distort it. The arguments came from a wide range of people. The issue of essentialism was created by you and has come to bite you back.

Dilip C Mandal: दिल्ली यूनिवर्सिटी के Dr. Kedar Kumar Mandal ने अचानक क्लेम करदिया है कि ‘God of Small Things’ उन्होंने लिखी है, जबकि मेरा एक पुराना स्टूडेंट कह रहा है यह उसकी किताब है और ‘एनहिलेशन ऑफ कास्ट’ को अपने.

अब ये न कहिए कि अमेजॉन वालोंने ऐसा करदिया, हम क्या करें? अमेजॉन वालों को लेखक का नाम सपने में नहीं आता. आपने जो ई-मेल अमेजॉन को भेजा है, उसे चेक कीजिए.शर्म कीजिए. माफी मांगिए और करेक्शन कीजिए.

इस किताब के कवर में भी दुष्टता है. गांधी बड़े और आंबेडकर छोटे. भूमिका में अरुंधति बार-बार गांधी को लाती हैं. जबकि किताब में बाबासाहब ने मुश्किल से गांधी का जिक्र किया है.

अरुंधति अपने नाम सेअपनी किताब बेचें. जो चाहें करें. लेकिन एनहिलेशन ऑफ कास्ट के साथ बदमाशी तो न करें.

Akshay Pathak: Dear white peoples: your ‘radical’ publisher has ordained Ms Roy as the co-author of AoC. There clearly is no limit to shamelessness.

Ajay Singh: When we see how brazenly the work of babasaheb (Annihilation of Caste) has been plagiarized by Arundhati the brahmin, we can guess how brazenly her forefathers might have plagiarized the Buddha’s great work of moral and practical teaching as parts of Gita etc.

Venkataraman Divakar: Now is the right time for a poll: how many of the savarnas and whites for whom the upanayana edition [of Aoc] was published really read the second part..and how many stopped with the introductory slokas?

Kuffir: Rupesh Kumar, your prediction has come true so early..Arundhati Roy is indeed the primary author!

Ashok Dusadh: जब मायावती ने गांधीजी पर सवाल उठाया था तो उस समय अरूंधती राय बच्ची थी इसलिये पता नहीं चला होगा बाबासाहब, दलित और गांधी का क्या मसला है. वह तो 2014 में अँखफोर हुई!!

Anjali Rajoria: A book that can be downloaded for free on internet, is available for less than Rs 50 in English & many other regional languages. A book that is distributed amongst dalitbahujan masses for free has been annotated and burdened with a ridiculous essay authored by Ms Roy that mentions much more about how Gandhi was a casteist and much less about what caste means, why it needs to be eradicated, what problems lower caste people suffer and how DrAmbedkar dedicated his entire life towards the aim of annihilation of caste…This stupid book costs Rs 525. And the focus has been on Gandhi because Gandhi is a famous figure worldwide and as I have mentioned, she has shrewdly sold her anti-capitalism yet again…

Anoop Kumar: Now they will say it was just a ‘technical fault’. No this was not a technical fault. This was your Project Roy always, you thieves..

Archana RajVir: Exact same technical error across multiple (technically unrelated ) websites..
#brahmean coincidence

Anantamati Pradnya: You mean to say you are technically challenged to rectify the errors that you intentionally made, you thieves!!!

Pradnya Mangala: You first need to rectify technical errors in your brains!

Anu Ramdas: Technical errors, factual errors from a publisher who placed himself on a pedestal so high so as to present an annotated version of Babasaheb’sAoC, and did it without referencing the bulk of dalitbahujan anti-caste writings. Because they are ‘meritless’ anti-caste thinkers and writers, unlike the scores of brahminical writers he has selectively chosen for his annotation schema– for their meritorious contribution to anti-caste thoughts ?!

This error is not an error, it is a mirror to the processes his team of academic climbers are engaged in. And we are committed to exposing and dismantling all those processes.

Anantamati Pradnya: There was a small passage about Babasaheb in my school history book. While explaining about that part my history teacher became emotional saying “Babasaheb was a great personality, a legend, but his followers never tried to understand him, they never praised him, they just take his name and earn money….” Further, she said “These panthers, can never understand what Manusmriti is that’s why they do tamasha of burning it down on 25th December. From the Dalit community only Babasaheb had a right to read and burn the Manusmriti, but he never burned it… Very few people know that he was inspired by Manu- and that was the reason why he converted to Buddhism, because Buddha was one of the Avatars of Vishnu…”

When contested, she said, she didn’t make up the story, it was all in her history book as well..

For centuries, such technical errors exist by default in their system. No wonder if Aunty Roy and Navayana Uncle also contribute to it…

Dinesh S Kapse Meshram: Want your name alongside Ambedkar’s? Start writing introductions for all his works.
#ARoy#Navayana.

James Michael: What’s that cover about? Dr A is poking at Gandhi’s heart? Sheesh!

Anoop Kumar: India and USA have old connections..you see. Ms Roy is not the first one to indicate towards this special relationship… Swami Vivekanand went to USA and spoke first about our ‘Virat Bharat’ being ‘Vishwa Guru’. And you see, just 120 years after that we are about to become one very soon..

Now Ms Roy goes there every 3-4 months to rid India of caste.

Dalits too need to go to US of A as speakers. Believe me, I am serious. I swear on everyone I have ever loved. Please think it over…please .

Leena Manimekalai: I read “Annihilation of Caste”(AoC) from a free downloaded pdf copy, when I was in my early twenties. Now Navayana asks me to buy it for 525 Rupees with an introduction by Roy. Navayana can sell Roy’s article but how can it steal the seminal text of Ambedkar? And now Navayana goes ahead and promotes AoC with Roy’s name as co-author?

How difficult are these questions to ask? Is common sense not enough?

Rajeev R. Singh: The original version, untouched by Roy
…… Soon it may not be possible to find the original !

Noel Didla: The caste and capitalistic privilege he used to elevate himself as a literary savior and the global iconic privilege Roy used to further her mindless literary perversions and pass off as the voice of the voiceless….

Anu Ramdas: Ms Roy claims she never encountered caste in a single school text book. She also claims she didn’t have a caste, class or religion, but out of the blue she has co-authored Annihilation of Caste.

Shakyamuni Chandal: She is voicelessness of the voiced. She silences us with her cacophony due to her celebrity status. She considers us powerless social media people in her arrogance. In the belief that she is brahmean and powerful and can do anything and inflict any insult on us without any consequence. She is misguided by her Anand.

Anu Ramdas: Want to tell all the stories of scientific plagiarism of the last decade. Now I can add the caste of those authors too. But the thing is, science is set up to detect plagiarism, it is always only a matter of time. This Roy-Navayana claims of authorship of AoC in multiple websites including the publisher’s own website, is also very much like science. Don’t ever mess with digital technology, it has a habit of unearthing all versions of the truth. And then, you can only gather your klan to stand by your acts and make them ask ‘what is the fuss about’. The rest of humanity, however, will re-examine India’s heritage of plagiarism and this writer’s and publisher’s role in it.

Wa Ajitov: The God of Small Things: The Annotated Critical Edition, Authors: Arundhati Roy and Wa Ajitov!

Kuffir: Why are all these brahmin/savarna PhDs across the world scrambling to support a non-graduate’s ‘scholarship’? Because the publisher and writer are brahmins.. But you’re not supposed to say that aloud. That would be ‘reductive crap’. But they will keep on talking about how ‘rightward’ you’re going just because you’re on the internet.. Stay in your jhuggis! That’ll please Arundhati Roys and Aruna Roys..Gudavarthy Ajays and Siriyavan Anands..

Sunija Muppathupara Vijayan: Oh!!! This co-authoring feels great!!!
PS: Just finished co-authoring with John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women.

Thanks: Ms. Roy & Co. for sharing her great invention of ‘co-authoring’ with poor dalits!

Dilip C Mandal: अगर आप बाबासाहब का टेक्स्ट और उनकी किताब का ब्रांड मिलावट के साथ अपने नाम से बेचने की कोशिश कर रही अरुंधति राय का विरोध करेंगे तो आप “हिंदुत्व के कट्टर समर्थक” हैं और “कॉरपोरेट के दलाल” तो आप हैं ही!! देसी-विदेशी बाजार की दुलारी लेखिका का विरोध करते हुए कृपया सतर्क रहें!!

अरुंधति राय न हुईं, विचार धारा का लिटमस टेस्ट हो गया!!

गरीबों, आदिवासियों और विस्थापितों के लिए बहादुरी से संघर्ष करते-करते अरुंधति राय अमेरिका और यूरोप का कितना ट्रिप लगा आई हैं, इसका किसीको अंदाजा है?

Asha Kowtal: Our struggles for freedom and dignity are inspired by our father and leader, Dr. B. R Ambedkar. In recent months we have witnessed a shameless robbery by the Roy-Navanyaproject which is an insult to our identity and our people.

Pradnya Mangala: It is not our obsession with Babasaheb Ambedkar…. it is a serious violation of ethics, morals, you morons!

Karthik Navayan Battula: In my view, Arundhati Roy and Anand Navayana are equally dangerous (sometimes more dangerous) as Narendra Modi is to the marginalised communities in this country.

Joby Mathew: Now the mission is completed: introduction, comparison, appropriation and colonization. You are one step ahead of Gandhi, Ms. Arundhati Roy! Such a unique creature! Anyway the ‘broadminded’ Dalit intellectuals would understand the real intention beyond her ‘Messiahhood’ now.

Abhijit Ujwala: I fear sooner or later, two more pieces titled “Height Of Small Things” and “Gandhi: The Man who influenced Ambedkar” will be available on Fekuzon.com….!
#Outrage

Anu Ramdas: Aspiring Indian academics (people trained to stick to facts!!) are rewriting authorship rules to accommodate Navayana-Roy lies. They even announce dalitbahujan have not ever seen books on amazon.com.

Abhijit Ujwala: Last night, I wrote ‘Scandals of Brahmanism’ co-authoring it with the recent messiah of Ambedkarites, Roy….!
#Outrage

Rupesh Kumar: God of Small Minds…..!

Kuffir: This is suddenly becoming a Yash Chopra/Karan Johar production, not a book launch.. Shooting in London, New York etc.. Switzerland mein do char gaanehonichahiye.. Budget is no problem.. Somebody has deep, deep pockets..

Ravindra Kumar Goliya: Plagiarism is a crime for us lesser mortals, meritless individuals…And it’s an art for meritorious Booker prize winners and “anti-caste” publishers…

Kuffir: Why was Arundhati Roy chosen to introduce AoC? Because she has ‘merit’ according to Navayana.. Yes, YFE logic.

Chetana Sawai: This is f****ng interesting. Roy is our new branded messiah under the banner of Navayana publications…How one can be so bad at copy paste… Late hai par latest hai..

Ashok Dusadh: The Annonated Critical Edition of Annihilation of Caste = The Doctor and the Saint written by Arundhati Roy, बूझे कि नहीं .अब Annihilation of Caste को बूझने से पहले The Doctor and the Saint पढ़ना होगा तभी Annihilation of Caste समझ में आयेगा !!

Parmit Chhasiya: It’s not Amazon’s fault, it’s called pure intellectual dishonesty of Arundhati Roy. It’s for pure profit. The publisher might have thought that Arundhati Roy’s name sells, Ambedkar’s does not in the UK (!) But it doesn’t make any sense. I have seen many book titles with introductions e.g. Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man: Christopher Hitchens; Plato’s Republic: Simon Blackburn; Marx’s Das Kapital: Francis Wheen. So why can’t its title be ‘Dr .Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste’ by Arundhati Roy, instead of her being listed as a co-author along with Ambedkar? It will be challenged soon as well as it will be considered Intellectual Property Theft by Roy.

Rajinder Barpagga: Arundhati Roy, you need to be booked under the offence of plagiarism for stealing the copyright of Dr BR Ambedkar’s book, Annihilation of Caste!

Sundeep Pattem: Arundhati Roy is now listed as a co-author, along with Dr. Ambedkar, of his seminal work ‘Annihilation of Caste’ on Amazon and other sites (even as the sole author on some). Not content with being a vainglorious ant riding an elephant after writing an introduction to AoC, she and her admirers seem to have gone the distance and lost all sense of shame and perspective. All that fame and such emptiness – pity!

Saswat Pattanayak: It’s not “Amazon’s fault” that Arundhati Roy has now become known as the author of Annihilation of Caste. Indeed, the publishers themselves, Navayana and VersoBooks, as well as their distributors: Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, and Indie Bound – all duly note Ms. Roy as the author (Powell’s mention Roy as the sole author).

And yet, it’s quite possible that this is not any of their fault either.
Savarna appropriation is not a fault. It’s the vitality of a caste society’s working, thriving system.

Kuffir: There hasn’t been a single coherent response to all the arguments on Round Table India except to say it is an attack on the brahmin duo of Navayana and Roy. If that is all that you understood, you’ve understood nothing of the original ‘Annihilation of Caste’ either.

Ankit Goti B Gautam: Arundhati Roy: a thriving testimony of how dangerous brahminism can be.

Kuffir: Once upon a time it was Max Mueller who revived interest in brahminism and gave undeserved respectability to sanskritic religious bakwas. Now max stink institute, Gottingen, seems to be majorly invested in reviving caste by propping up this Roy-Navayana brahmanic venture.. Shame.

Ankit Goti B Gautam: The cover of Arundhati Roy’s introduced version of AoC has the shadow of Gandhi engulfing Ambedkar.
#IRONY#Surrealism

Arvind Boudhh: Arundhati Roy is soon going to start a crash course: ‘how to claim others’ work/property/achievement as your own work/property/achievement’. The course will be conducted by Navayana Publications. Seats are limited. Grab the offer. Offer valid till stocks last.

Ankit Goti B Gautam: Intellectual dishonesty = Arundhati Roy. Implicit Plagiarism = Arundhati Roy. Intellectual Property Thief = Arundhati Roy

Nikhil Bagade: A few months ago Lawrence and Co., were trying to claim copyright over Marx’s writings. They have much to learn from Roy who has claimed Authorship instead!

Subodh Minto: ‘Annihilation of Caste’, thy name shalt be used to Glorify Brahmanic Domination. ‘ROY’al Paradox #ArundhatiRoy

Kuffir: September has a special significance in Indian history.. It was at the Second Round Table Conference held in September 1931 that Arundhati Roy, aided by AnandNavayana, unequivocally told Gandhi that he can’t speak for the depressed classes, only they can..

Atul Anand: Last year I co-authored a book called ‘Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media’ with Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky as a part of my college assignment. However I didn’t have any conversation with them but I assume that they are okay with my name on the book.

Dilip C Mandal: ईमानदारी का जमाना ही नहीं रहा.

‘एनीहिलेशन ऑफ कास्ट’ नाम से बेची जाने वाली इस किताब की रॉयल्टी कौन लेगा?बताया जा रहा है कि इसे अरुंधति राय और बी. आर. आंबेडकर ने मिलकर लिखा है. और कोई यह भी बताए कि इस किताब के कवर पर गांधी क्या कर रहे हैं? बाबासाहब की इस किताब से गांधी का क्या लेना-देना? मूल किताब में तीन-चार बार से ज्यादा गांधी का नाम भी नहीं है.

किसी भी चीज की हद होती है.

Gee Imaan Semmalar: Annihilation of caste by B.R Ambedkar and Arundhati Roy. If she gets the booker for this one, you think she will share prize money with him?

Sorry friends. Appropriating and colonising sounds too refined for what is going on here. Naming this text a “classic of Dalit literature” , claiming to co author etc.This is a caste atrocity and she should be charged with it.

Kiruba Munusamy: We have won! After my online legal notice, (received) reply from Navayana publishing house stating the author’s name of the book “Annihilation of Caste will be amended in 5 minutes…”

Kuffir: This is not the beginning, and nor will it end anytime soon. It will go on for generations. In universities across India and across the world, wherever caste is taught or touched upon, this narrative that Arundhati Roy is somehow responsible for all the wisdom in AoC will be propagated actively and spread very, very wide. This has been the way of caste for ages. This is the purpose of the Roy-Navayana venture.

The Hindu also covered the protests. From the report by Rahi Gaikwad:

When The Hindu reached Verso for a clarification by phone, it acknowledged the listing as a “mistake” and assured that it would be corrected on all websites, where the book was advertised.

In an email reply, Leo Hollis, editor at the Verso London office said, “These errors have resulted from a computer feed from our system to the U.S. Amazon information system. I fear that Amazon has inconsistencies which we will aim to rectify in the next 24 hours. We are publishing the Navayana edition of Annihilation of Caste by Ambedkar with an introduction from Roy. We have also acknowledged Mr. Anand as the editor. This is how the project was presented to us by Navayana and how we plan to proceed.”

Publisher Anand termed the listing “technical errors.” He said he was writing to the websites for correction.

~~~

The Amazon website accessed on September 23 still shows Arundhati Roy as co-author.