Pardeep Attri (Pardeep had penned down this inspiring dream for the new year, but it is equally appropriate for the Republic Day– Round Table India) There is no nation of Indians in the real sense of the world; it is yet to be created. In believing we are a nation, we are cherishing a great …
Analyzing the ‘OBC-Minority’ Sub-Quota
Khalid Anis Ansari [I] The recent announcement of a 4.5% sub-quota for backward sections within minorities in the overall Central OBC quota by the UPA government on 22nd December, 2011 in the wake of elections in five states, including the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, has drawn in a number of reactions, some valid …
Caste atrocity in Lathor: Over 50 Dalit homes burnt by upper castes
Jadumanilion Boudha & Dhammachari Ratnakumar An incident involving a small boy led to horrific caste violence in Lathor, Balangir district of Odisha, leaving 50 Dalit families homeless and destitute. On January 22, 2012, at around 3.00pm, Ganesh Suna, a 9th class dalit boy went to a shop to buy a new shirt, which he …
Buddhism and Politics in Uttar Pradesh: Recent Developments (Part II)
Shiv Shankar Das ( Continued from here) The promotion of Buddhist cultural symbols in public sphere by Mayawati led government is driven by the following three strong factors. 1. The Ideology of Kanshi Ram (1934-2006): Cultural Change is a Durable Change Kanshi Ram’s ideology to emancipate the Bahujan Samaj is very important to understand …
“I am not a slave and don’t make me a slave”- Annan Pasupathi Pandian, a tribute
Ravi Chandran (With editorial suggestions from Kuffir) This article is an attempt to bring together information about the Dalit revolutionary leader Pasupathi Pandian, who was brutally murdered a couple of days ago (January 10, 2012). Since only bits and pieces of news material is available on him, I tried to gather some information from the …
Buddhism and Politics in Uttar Pradesh: Recent Developments
Shiv Shankar Das Abstract: The present research note highlights the relationship and the reasons behind the association between the lower caste politics and Buddhism in Uttar Pradesh, the most populated state in India next only to China, United States, Brazil and Russia. There are three reasons behind this association. First, the currently ruling Bahujan Samaj Party’s founder …
Of Laws, Cows and People’s Mutinies: Will the beef ban in BJP-ruled states fuel a new Mutiny?
Cynthia Stephen The Gau-Vansh Vadh Pratishedh (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak (Prohibition of slaughter of cow-progeny Bill) just passed in Madhya Pradesh empowers the government to prosecute any person found slaughtering a cow or even transporting the calf for the purpose of slaughter. Anyone found guilty of this act would face seven years of imprisonment and a …
4.5 Percent OBC Religious Minority Sub-quota: A Disservice To Secular Nationalism
Ashok Yadav 01. Overwhelming majority of population who have been discriminated against and oppressed on the basis of their caste identity since time immemorial and the history of bloody religious conflicts before, during and after independence in 1947 make social justice and secularism the two pillars on which the entire democratic structure of our …
Janlokpal bill: a brahmanic and patriarchal script (part 2)
Anu Ramdas Continued from here Myth making traditions are uncannily similar in wars and movements of the dominant classes, even before the enemy has been clearly identified, weapons get fashioned. That the JLB is a weapon against the national ‘enemy’ is very clear. But who is this enemy? In other words, who are the …