Amarnath Sandipamu

In 1991, Chiranjeevi acted in a film called Gang Leader. The summer release was a box office sensation in Telugu cinema. Within a year, it got remade in Hindi as Aaj ka Goonda Raaj. Almost three decades later, in 2020, the film and its star seem more relevant than ever before. Despite having faint memories of movies I had seen before this one, Gang Leader was the film that woke me up to storytelling, capacity of entertainment and film form.

Recently, a series of unusual events triggered a contemplation that made me revisit my childhood, memories fascinated by cinema and my practice as a filmmaker today. It mirrored certain harsh truths about life that, over time, many of us may have accepted as normal state of affairs. For me, due to my love for Chiranjeevi and moving images, it shook things closer to home. Let me share how.

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ಪಿತೃಪ್ರಭುತ್ವ, ಸ್ತ್ರೀವಾದ ಮತ್ತು ಬಹುಜನ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು

ಜೂಪಕ ಸುಬದ್ರ

ನಾನು ಇಂದು ಮಾತನಾಡಲಿರುವ ವಿಷಯ ‘ಪಿತೃಪ್ರಭುತ್ವ, ಸ್ತ್ರೀವಾದ ಮತ್ತು ಬಹುಜನ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು’. ಸ್ತ್ರೀವಾದವು ಸ್ತ್ರೀವಾದಿಗಳ ಪ್ರಕಾರ,  ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು ಮತ್ತು ಪುರುಷರ ನಡುವಿನ ಸಮಾನತೆಗಾಗಿ. ಅವರು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ, ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು ಒಂದೇ, ನಮ್ಮ ನಡುವೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸಗಳಿಲ್ಲ, ಗೋಡೆಗಳಿಲ್ಲ. ನಾವೆಲ್ಲರೂ ಪಿತೃಪ್ರಭುತ್ವವನ್ನು ಎದುರಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ. ಆ ಪಿತೃಪ್ರಭುತ್ವ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಒಂದೇ. ಬಹುಜನ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು, ಎಂಬಿಸಿ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು, ಆದಿವಾಸಿ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು, ದಲಿತ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು ಇದನ್ನು ಒಪ್ಪುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಅವರ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗಳು ಒಂದೇ ಆಗಿರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಈ ಜಾತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಬುಡಕಟ್ಟುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪಿತೃಪ್ರಭುತ್ವ ಒಂದೇ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಇದು ವಿವಿಧ ರೀತಿಯದ್ದಾಗಿದೆ. ಅವರ ಪಿತೃಪ್ರಭುತ್ವವು ನಮ್ಮಿಂದ ಭಿನ್ನವಾಗಿದೆ. ಅವರು ಶ್ರಮ ಜೀವನದ  ಹೊರಗೆ ಅಸ್ತಿತ್ವದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ, ನಾವು ಶ್ರಮ ಜೀವನದ ಒಳಗೆ ವಾಸಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ.

ನೀವು ಪುರುಷ-ಮಹಿಳೆ ಸಮಾನತೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತನಾಡಿದರೆ, ಜಾತಿ ವಿನಾಶವಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಅದು ಹೇಗೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯ? ಪುರುಷ-ಮಹಿಳೆ ಸಮಾನತೆ, ಇತರ ಶ್ರೇಣಿಕರಣಗಳ ಕಣ್ಮರೆ ಜಾತಿ ವಿನಾಶ  ಆದಾಗ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. . ಆದರೆ ನೀವು ಪುರುಷರು ಮತ್ತು ಮಹಿಳೆಯರ ನಡುವಿನ ಸಮಾನತೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಮಾತನಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೆ, ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ ಉದ್ಭವಿಸುತ್ತದೆ: ನೀವು ಯಾವ ಪುರುಷರು ಮತ್ತು ಯಾವ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತನಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರಿ? ಕಾರ್ಮಿಕ ಶಕ್ತಿಗಳಾಗಿ (ದಲಿತ, ಆದಿವಾಸಿ, ಎಂಬಿಸಿ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು) ಶ್ರಮಿಸುವ,  ಬೆವರಿನ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರಾದ ನಾವು ಸಮಾನ ಸಂಬಂಧದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದೇವೆ.

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Pramod Sagar

Each one of us carries some identity; identity is something that bears a close similarity to who or what a person is. This concept of identity might be improper to use the problem is not with the identity, but the label which is attached to a person which is also commonly called a tag. Remember identity keeps on changing and it is based on the rationale of the person, but the tag is just a label that has no real connotation and is based merely on the prejudices of a person. A tag is a mark of whether you have a quality or not, in a simple way TAG is the BRAND that makes qualitative and valuable differences even with no other, intrinsic quality to influence or attract others. In this regard, someone saying Tag is the symbol of quality of its own name. This is absolutely right and of no doubt in the case of products which we are made, used, bought and sold. When we talk about the social system in India we can see the tag in the form of Casteism. Some use the caste tag to show and assert their superiority and domination.

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ಕಾಂಚಾ ಐಲಯ್ಯ ಶೆಪರ್ಡ್ 

ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ: ಮಂಜುನಾಥ ನರಗುಂದ

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Umar Nizar

The brutal murder of P. Jeyaraj and his son Beniks in police custody in Sathankulam in Tamil Nadu invokes the Nirbhaya case in its brutality, the only difference in this case being that the perpetrators were policemen. The atrocious and horrific nature of the torture and the brutalities inflicted upon the victims have terrorized most people into a subdued silence. Such psychotic violence goes beyond the pathology of sadistic policemen and has its roots in historic caste and gender based violence. The historical memory of such brutalities goes far back into the ancient past of southern India, refuting received notions of progressivism as well as those of a glorious golden age.

Insertion of stakes and such implements into bodily orifices (impalement) was historically practised in Kerala and Tamil Nadu as an extreme form of punishment. The public nature of the execution and its almost demoniacal violation of the human corpus, were oriented towards scalding the collective psyche of that community upon which it was inflicted. PK Balakrishnan in his 'Jathivyavasthayum Kerala Charitravum' (Caste System and the History of Kerala) gives a graphic account of impalement as it was practised in Kerala. It was mostly directed at those subalterns accused of amorous indiscretions, breaking caste laws of miscegenation. Jeyamohan, a Tamil-Malayalam writer also has delved into the practice of impalement as it existed in Kerala. The victims of impalement later came to be venerated in the form of hero stones and the like. This remains an aspect of hero stone worship in south India that has been seldom studied.

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Anu Ramdas

Sometime back, I was looking for the translation of the Oriya Mahabharata written by the Shudra saint-poet Saraladasa. Eager to post an excerpt centered on Sarala's Ganga on The Shared Mirror, I was busy combining library and internet searches, when I got sidetracked by a poem penned by none other than the brahmin poet, Banabhatta.

I am now in love with this brahmin poet.

No, not really, but I was far from bored with what I found, as I usually am with brahmanized/mainstream literature. Though the poem contains no mention of caste, it still is fascinating stuff. Such rare articulation, beautifully illuminating the fear and anxiety of the colonizer, with just a few lyrical lines, Bana develops a blueprint for the demonization of the natives; a textual instrument for his descendants to perpetually fine-tune. For, colonization rarely means the extinction of the colonized, it usually means the complex business of having the native remain in a constant state as the 'other'. And caste is all about the other, isn't it?

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Chitrangada Choudhury, Aniket Aga

On 18 March 2015, near the Barwadih block office in Jharkhand's Latehar district, a group of about 60 Adivasi men publicly defecated on copies of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government's bill to amend the 2013 Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act. The bill sought to weaken the hard-won and long overdue safeguards of social impact assessment and informed consent to acquisition. It was a throwback to when state and industry could forcibly displace rural—especially Adivasi—communities, and acquire their land and common property resources.

The protest at Barwadih, organized by the National Campaign on Adivasi Rights, got the mainstream media to briefly focus on Adivasi dispossession. The campaign's Abhay Flavian Xaxa, a young sociologist, Oraon Adivasi activist, and writer, had also organised a march against the bill the previous day in his native village Jashpur, in Chhattisgarh, which unfolded under heavy police presence and scant media attention. In Barwadih, Xaxa countered the charge of 'uncivility':

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ಸ್ತ್ರೀವಾದವು ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣವಾದ - ಭಾಗ ೩ - ಕೊನೆಯ ಭಾಗ

ಅನು ರಾಮದಾಸ್

ಇದು ‘ಸ್ತ್ರೀ ವಾದವು ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣವಾದ’ ಎಂಬ ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ ಭಾಷಣದ ಲೇಖನವಾಗಿದೆ

ಸ್ತ್ರೀವಾದವು ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣವಾದ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುವಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ತಪ್ಪಾಗಿದ್ದೇನೆ ಎಂದು ನೋಡಲು ನಾವೆಲ್ಲರೂ ಬಳಸಬೇಕಾದ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳು ಈ ಕೆಳಗಿನಂತಿವೆ. ನಿಮಗೆ ಬೇಕಿರುವ ಎಲ್ಲ ಸಾಧನಗಳನ್ನು ಇಟ್ಟಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಇದನೆಲ್ಲ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ನೀವು ಹೇಳಬಹುದು - ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಈ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿಗೆ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಉತ್ತರಗಳು ಸಕಾರಾತ್ಮಕ ಅಥವಾ ನಕಾರಾತ್ಮಕವಾಗಿ ಹೊರಬಂದರೂ , ಅಂತಿಮ ಫಲಿತಾಂಶವೆಂದರೆ ಸ್ತ್ರೀವಾದವು ಪ್ರಗತಿಪರವಾಗಿದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣವಾದವು ಹಿಂದುಳಿದದ್ದಾಗಿದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಎರಡನ್ನೂ ಸಮೀಕರಿಸಲಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಎನ್ನುವುದು.

ಸೈದ್ಧಾಂತಿಕವಾಗಿ, ನಾನು ಯಾರನ್ನಾದರೂ ಮನವೊಲಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಯಶಸ್ವಿಯಾದರೂ ಅಥವಾ ಯಾರೂ ನನ್ನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಚರ್ಚೆ ಮಾಡಲು ತಲೆಕೆಡಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳದಿರಬಹುದು, ಅವರು ಹೊರಗೆ ಬಂದು ನೀವು ಅಸಂಬದ್ಧ ಮಾತನಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರಿ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳದಿರಬಹುದು ಮತ್ತು ಈ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳು ಅವರಿಗೆ ಕ್ಲಿಷ್ಟವಾಗಿರಬಹುದು , ಹೀಗಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ನಾನು ಹೇಳಿರುವುದನ್ನು ಬೆಂಬಲಿಸಲು ದೃಡವಾದ ಸಾಕ್ಷ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಒದಗಿಸಬೇಕು.

ಸ್ತ್ರೀವಾದವು ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾನಿಲಯ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊರ ಹೊಮ್ಮುವ ಒಂದು ಉತ್ಪನ್ನವೆಂದು ನಾನು ಹೇಳಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ಇದನ್ನು ವ್ಯಾಪಕ ಸ್ತ್ರೀವಾದಿ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದೊಡನೆ ಸಮರ್ಪಿತ ಮನೋಭಾವದಿಂದ ತೊಡಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ನಾನು ಹೇಗೆ ಒಂದು ಸಾಕ್ಷ್ಯವನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಬೇಕು?

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Veewon Thokchom

With the release of the Bollywood movie "Axone" directed by Nicholas Kharkonger, a debate on racism has been ignited. Though the movie could not have been worse than it is when it comes to racism, it at least has sparked off a discourse on racism faced by "Northeast" yellow people in Indian metropolitan cities. And this is the moment that we have to seize. A dialogue on not the movie in particular but racism at large in this country; a talk on race and colour – brown and yellow.

 As a starting point to this dialogue, it is essential to state that one need not have to believe in the objective existence of race to be able to enquire the social, political and cultural relevance of the "idea of race." The question of race needs our attention to have a firm grasp on how race is socially and discursively constructed to maintain a structurally hegemonic relationship between people. Talking about race is not enforcing racial difference but it rather seeks to critique the oppressive relations that come along with relationships amongst races. It is also important to note that the usage of the colour code, i.e. brown and yellow, is equally important to decipher the complex nature of race and racism, just as how the usage of the word "black" became popular in the United States during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 60s.

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Omprakash Mahato

There are social scientists who develop their views on caste through textual means, attending conferences and seminars, observing society from a distance etc. While reading textbooks is the conventional way, some scholars tend to develop their 'theories' from watching Bollywood movies, reading newspapers,viewing newsroom studios debates, discussing and debating with research scholars while sitting in their chambers, all within the physical comfort of their home that many of us can't afford.

There are others, the 'common' people, who understand caste and class through the 'general' debate about merit and perceptions manufactured in tea-stalls, pan-shops talking about the link between reservation and corruption. Separated from all these, exist the marginalized, the oppressed, the dalit-bahujans, the first generation learners in academic institutions, who articulate caste and class consciousness through their lived experience. The liberals exploit their caste privilege, publish academic articles and are in competition to establish themselves as anti-caste thinkers in the western academia. However, they fail to acknowledge the existence of caste discrimination that they do in Indian Universities like JNU, DU, Jadavpur University, Presidency College and other academic institutions. This is why it becomes necessary to lay out the 'poverty of philosophy' within liberals in understanding anti-caste politics.

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Pradnya Jadhav 

(Round Table India commiserates with the family that lost father and son to coronavirus within a span of fifteen days. We wish other members of the family who are affected a speedy recovery.) 

As we stepped inside, the first thing we heard was a sound of something bursting like a firecracker, but there were several other things to notice within the next few moments and we forgot to search for what sound it was. We got busy seeing the inside of the premise.

Our curiosity to know about the sound's origin was because of the many thoughts about that place.

So neat and clean, trees standing tall, flowers and benches making you feel calm; it was not less than a park-like site. An arrangement of that kind in such places is feasible only when the local municipal ward member has the will to do it and donors share their contributions. But, someone has to take the responsibility to maintain it upto such standards, and is that possible without putting in constant labour?

(During happier times with Rama Kaka's daughters and grandson)

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സിന്ധു മരിയ നെപ്പോളിയൻ

(SAVARI and Round Table India are doing a series to put together the Bahujan perspective on the Coronavirus pandemic)

[The conversation was recorded on April 17, 2020] 

രാകേഷ് റാം എസ്: സിന്ധു മാധ്യമ പ്രവർത്തകയായി ജോലി ചെയ്തിട്ടുണ്ട്. കമ്മ്യൂണിക്കേഷൻസ് ആണ് പഠിച്ചത്. ആ അനുഭവത്തിന്റെ പശ്ചാത്തലത്തിൽ, കോവിഡ്-19 പകർച്ചവ്യാധിയുടെ പ്രതിരോധത്തിൽ കേരളത്തിലെ മാധ്യമങ്ങളുടെ ഇടപെടലിനെ പറ്റിയാണ് ചോദ്യം. ലോക്ഡൗൺ കാരണം ഏറ്റവും കൂടുതൽ ബുദ്ധിമുട്ട് അനുഭവിക്കുന്ന വിഭാഗങ്ങളുടെ പ്രശ്നങ്ങൾ പുറത്തു കൊണ്ടുവരാൻ മാധ്യമങ്ങൾ ശ്രദ്ധ കാണിച്ചില്ല എന്നാണ് എനിക്ക് തോന്നിയിട്ടുള്ളത്. അതിനെപ്പറ്റി സിന്ധുവിന് എന്താണ് തോന്നുന്നത്?

സിന്ധു മരിയ നെപ്പോളിയൻ: ലോക്ഡൗൺ ആയതിനു ശേഷം എല്ലാവരും വീട്ടിൽ ആണ്. സോഷ്യൽ മീഡിയയുടെ ഒപ്പം തന്നെ എല്ലാ ദിവസവും ഏതെങ്കിലും വാർത്ത കാണുന്നവരും അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പത്രം വായിക്കുന്നവരും ആയിരിക്കും മിക്കവാറും പേർ. ഈയൊരു പ്രതിസന്ധി ഘട്ടത്തെ കൈകാര്യം ചെയ്യാൻ വേണ്ട പക്വത മാധ്യമങ്ങളുടെ ഭാഗത്തു നിന്ന് ഏറെക്കുറേ ഉണ്ടായിട്ടുള്ളതായാണ് എനിക്ക് തോന്നിയത്. ദേശീയ മാധ്യമങ്ങളും മറ്റും പലപ്പോഴും തെറ്റായ വാർത്തകൾ കൊടുത്തതൊക്കെ നമ്മൾ കണ്ടു. ഇവിടെ അത്രയും മോശപ്പെട്ട നിലവാരത്തിലേക്ക് മാധ്യമങ്ങൾ പോയില്ല. ചില വാർത്താ ചാനലുകളിൽ ഓരോ ബുള്ളറ്റിന് മുമ്പും അതിന് ശേഷവും ബ്രേക്ക് ദി ചെയിൻ കാമ്പയിനുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട വിവരങ്ങൾ നൽകുന്ന രീതി കണ്ടിരുന്നു. അത്തരത്തിലുള്ള ഒരു പങ്കാളിത്തം മാധ്യമങ്ങളുടെ ഭാഗത്തു നിന്നുണ്ടായെന്നു വേണം പറയാൻ.

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