Prashant Ingole Soon after the death of B.R. Ambedkar, the Republican Party of India (RPI), the party which he had imagined as the symbol of Dalit unity in order to achieve the political power, collapsed and fractured into the multiple factions. Dividing the Dalit politicians, the dominant political forces like Congress, Bhartiya Janata Party …
When I met Dr. Ambedkar at Columbia
Preshit Ambade When I was an undergraduate student, my friend and I often walked past Dr. Ambedkar’s statue located near our college. We paid homage and giggled, asking “where was he pointing to?”. He was pointing to the West! I would tell my friend that perhaps Dr. Ambedkar wants us to go to the …
On the 10 percent reservation policy
Dr. Ravichandran Bathran Old wine in a new bottle: the present reservation is nothing but a reservation policy exclusively for the upper caste Hindus. Protests demanding reservation and stalling the government’s day to day life has been a frequent affair in different states. As a response to these violent protests, the different state governments provided …
Neoorientalism and Scopophilia in the work of Mayank Austen `Sufi’
Umar Nizar The road to hell is paved with good intentions. With the rather misleading moniker `Sufi’, social media celebrity and Arundhati Roy groupie, Mayank Austen Soofi ambles around Delhi, chronicling the lives of the apparently destitute. This has earned him accolades in the form of invitations to the `Serendipity Arts Festival’ in Goa and …
Exploring the Narrative History and Experiences of Meghwal Community: An Ethnographic Study
Mayur Helia The Meghwal community has no written history as such. Everything is in the oral form. Through this research, I have understood that a major portion of their history is lost in this process of oral history. Also, there are multiple stories which have come up over a period of time. About the …
How Constitutional and Progressive is the 10% EWS legislation?
Round Table India A Discussion on the Constitutionality and Progressiveness of the EWS Quota for the so-called Upper Castes and the Repercussions for the SC/ST/OBC/Pasmanda Representation. On 25th February, 2019, at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh, Fort, Mumbai. Time: 6.00 pm to 9.00 pm. Where is the Data?Where is the Survey?Where is the Parliamentary …
Statement: Why we decided to leave Pinjra Tod
Via Shradha T K Lama and Sabah Maharaj Statement: Why we decided to leave Pinjra Tod “I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.” – Audre Lorde We …
Are Jignesh Mevani and his left allies ignorant of Ambedkarite politics?
Vinod Kumar Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was an economist, a fact which has been neglected by Indian academia, as well as not recognised by the left liberal intellectuals of this country. During the freedom movement, Ambedkar’s academic contribution was not only intellectual, but also a fight against the unjust colonial economic arrangement which was …
Rising Caste Based Inequality and Entrepreneurship Among Pasmanda Communities
Mohammad Imran In the last two decades, the term Pasmanda has been heavily discussed by Bahujan political scientists, especially when it comes to the democratic politics among Indian Muslims. Mobilisation based on the same term has demanded democratisation of intra-religious politics. Pasmanda mobilisation not only questioned the communal (binary) nature of political gathering but …