Shailaja Menon and N Sukumar “It takes years of “political, social, economic and human degradation to create a terrorist”. So “fighting terror can only succeed by rehumanising degraded societies, by undoing, one by one, the many individual acts of repression, obstruction, denial, marginalisation and autocracy.” ~ Rami Khouri, Jordan. Many eons ago, the Films …
After students, EFLU targets senior officials to cover up corruption
[Via Mohan Dharavath] We, the representatives of students’ organizations, have been raising our voice against irregularities and rampant corruption at EFL University time and again. In response, the EFL authorities have been issuing show cause notices to students from SC/ST/OBC and minority students to silence us by punitive actions. It is now the turn …
A Visit to Bhima Koregaon
Pradnya Mangala They cannot make history who forget history. ~ Dr. Ambedkar. History plays a very important role in a person’s life. To know our roots, we need to know our history, know where we belong, to make sense of our existence. The identities that we carry by virtue of being born in a …
Letter by trans men to Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Dear members of the expert committee on transgender issues set up by the MSJE, We would like to first of all thank the Ministry of Social Justice Empowerment for taking up the issue of trans people in the country. We would also like to appreciate the steps taken by the ministry to address the …
Polluted Minds and ‘God’s Own Country’
N Sukumar and Shailaja Menon One of Kerala’s enlightened souls, Sree Narayana Guru, had proclaimed, “One Caste, One Religion and One God” for mankind, thus ushering in a radical transformation of society. The state also witnessed momentous struggles to liberate society from the shackles of caste and untouchability. The Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924-25, a historic …
National Coalition on SCP TSP condemns PMO for blocking Dalit Adivasi Budget Bill
National Coalition on SCP TSP Legislation condemns the Prime Minster’s Office for deliberately blocking the Dalit Adivasi Budget Bill [Via Beena J Pallical] The national coalition on SCP TSP Legislation (NACSTL) strongly condemns the PMO’s blocking the Bill from being placed in the Cabinet and on to the Parliament. It is engaging in delay …
The Dilemma of an upwardly mobile, English speaking, Bengali Dalit woman
Drishadwati Bargi The rather long title could have been longer if it were to encapsulate the full range of the subjectivity of this scribe. It should have been “The dilemma of being an upwardly mobile, English speaking, Dalit Feminist and ideologue who is simultaneously a wannabe intellectual, a commodity fetishist and a person with …
Fast For Freedom: For Kashmiri Political Prisoners & Martyrs
Fast For Freedom: Return Our Political Prisoners, Return Our Martyrs’ Remains [via Huma Dar] For us, Azadi [independence] means not just to get rid of the foreign occupation of our beloved motherland but also to remove hunger, poverty, ignorance and disease, and to overcome economic and social deprivation [i.e., class and caste inequities]. One …
The Panther has breathed his last
Eminent Marathi poet Namdeo Dhasal passed away today (January 15th, 2014). This is the collective tribute of a group of Round Table India writers. ~ Here-in the distanceRevolution rumbles everywhereYou hear it? His poetry did not belong to the pages, for neat archiving in some anthology. It had trees, but they were leafless. It …