Nidhin Shobhana ‘Every Image embodies a way of seeing’ – John Berger. He enters the giant classroom in his crisp white short kurta, he walks with an ease which inspires pensive and fearful silence; he is fair-skinned, well-fed and tall, and he speaks clearly with authority. One of the most powerful images of our …
Life was beautiful, but…
A Dalit Student Ends his Life in University of Hyderabad Campus Chapparban Sajaudeen Nijamodeen (Shuja) Date: 24/11/2013 ‘Suicides on the campus are a failure of the system and steps that have been suggested in order to address the serious issues of the student community need our immediate attention’ ~ Registrar, University of Hyderabad. Mr. …
Dalit houses burnt & ransacked by Vanniyars
Joshua Isaac Dalits of Nadupatti colony have been facing atrocities committed by Vanniyars of Kariyampatti for some time. During October 2013, the Nadupatti colony Dalits left their houses and took shelter in a nearby hillock fearing attacks from Vanniyars following a temple festival dispute, where Dalit youth were attacked for wearing T-shirts with Ondiveeran’s …
State’s Apathy towards Caste Based Violence
Jyotsna Siddharth The grisly incident that took place a couple of months ago in Jind, Haryana is a stark reminder of the State’s antipathy towards Dalits, which continue to downplay their concerns, many years after the Prevention of Atrocity Act came into being. It bring us back to the debate as to what sort …
Drama of Elections in UoH: Reflections on Student Politics
Jadumani Mahanand The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it ~ Karl Marx. Aristotle says ‘man is by nature a social and political animal’, which means one cannot live without these two kinds of institutions. That is to say, if an individual wants to live apart …
Tsunduru says: ‘You just fight back’
Unnamati Syama Sundar [This graphic narrative on the Tsunduru massacre follows Syama Sundar’s earlier brilliant work on Karamchedu. Chunduru remains one of the biggest, and most vicious organized attacks on Dalits in independent India’s history. There are varied accounts of how many people were actually killed in the attack, and after the attack (due …
श्रद्धांजलि शब्द-संस्मरण – ओम प्रकाश वाल्मीकि जी को समर्पित
कैलाश वानखेड़े लेखक, कहानीकार, कवि एवं दलित चिंतक ओम प्रकाश वाल्मीकि जी के निधन पर लेखक कैलाश वानखेड़े द्वारा संकलित श्रद्धांजलि सन्देश जो कि फेसबुक पर लोगों ने वाल्मीकि जी को याद करते हुए लिखे. ~ मेरे पिताजी का देहांत 1 मार्च 1983 को हो गया था. मेरा जन्म 01-03-1973 का है, हिसांब लगा …
ओम प्रकाश वाल्मीकि: हिंदी साहित्य के स्तम्भ नहीं रहे
अनिता भारती दलित साहि्त्य के सशक्त हस्ताक्षर व वरिष्ठ लेखक ओमप्रकाश बाल्मीकि जी का आज सुबह परिनिर्वाण हो गया। वे पिछले एक साल से ‘बड़ी आंत की गंभीर बीमारी’ से जूझ रहे थे। उनका हिन्दी साहित्य और दलित साहित्य में उनके अवदान और उनकी लोकप्रियता का अंदाजा इसी बात से लगाया जा सकता …
River Islands in Assam: A Tale of Alienation and Belonging
Rafiul Alom Rahman A few weeks ago, I attended a panel discussion on competing identities in the northeast, where Kishalay Bhattacharjee, a reputed journalist and author, talked about the importance of story-telling. As a journalist who has been reporting from India’s northeast for so many years now, Kishalay’s words were more than news stories …