This is a statement issued by Indian Trans, Intersex and Gender Nonconforming (T/IS/GNC) individuals & groups in response to the Kinnar Akhada’s call for a Ram temple at the Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya. This statement is being issued with the deepest sense of anguish, concern and condemnation at this call, which is bound to …
Cricket, Nationalism and Virat Kohli’s Remark
Vinod Kumar The recent remark of Virat Kohli in response to a cricket loving fan to “leave India” has sparked a debate, and it must be seen as a matter of concern. It is important to take his remark seriously for the purpose of analyzing cricket and the nation. There is a need to …
Only Manuwadi Hindutva gang can burn Indian Constitution
Jadumani Mahanand The first ‘fundamental duty’ of the Indian Constitution states: To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem. Even though the fundamental duties are non-justiciable, the burning of the Indian constitution could be called as ‘anti-national’*, because it’s the Constitution which formally legitimises …
Ambedkar and his many images
Dhamma Darshan Nigam We Dalits, we Ambedkarites, again and again, need to remember what Babasaheb Ambedkar means to us. We shall never get sidetracked from the path and vision which Ambedkar gave to us. ‘Annihilation of Caste’ is the principle which lays a foundation for a society based on equality and justice, and also …
Neither the “anonymous complaints” nor the “threats of arrests” are new for me: Degree Prasad Chouhan
Degree Prasad Chouhan The state is continuously trying to establish a fake connection between naxals and me. I have been targeted by the state and non-state actors because of my sustained activism and my work against the feudal society, where the marginalized communities are suppressed and evicted, deprived of their human rights. This is …
Why Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd’s Writing Matters?
Akash Kumar Rawat & Prashant Ingole Introduction Recently, the Standing Committee for Academic Affairs of Delhi University had proposed to remove Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd’s books–Why I am not a Hindu: A Shudra Critique of Hindutva Philosophy, Culture and Political Economy (2005), God as a Political Philosopher: Buddha’s Challenge to Brahminism (2001) and Post-Hindu India: …
‘Merit’ is Constructed via Coaching Centres: Anoop Kumar
Anoop Kumar This is the transcript of his speech at the Fourth International Dr. Ambedkar Convention 2018, at the Matsumoto Juchiro & Dr. B. R. Ambedkar International Convention, Japan, in October 2018. It was transcribed by Vinay Shende. Thank you very much. Jai Bhim and Good Morning to All. My name is Anoop and …
Arrest that Shook the System
Kunal Dhande “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little …
Epistemic Battles in Academia: The Semiotics of Knowledge Production
Dr. N. Sukumar The ancient world considered land as the paramount resource and wars were waged to capture more territories. For the industrialized societies, capital was the source of sustenance but in the modern era, privilege and power based on knowledge is the magic mantra, the currency of socio-economic relations. As Churchill once observed, …