Comments on Oxford India Anthology of Tamil Dalit Writing (Part II) Continued from here. P. Dayanandan (Paper presented on 10th April, 2012 on the occasion of the release of the Oxford India Anthology of Tamil Dalit Writing) • In this Anthology M. C. Rajah makes reference to the claim that ‘disabilities of ‘untouchables’ spring from deep-rooted …
Buddhism as a social, democratic doctrine: a liberation ideology
Karthik Navayan In 1935, while addressing the Yeola Conversion Conference, Dr. BR Ambedkar declared ‘I am born a Hindu. I couldn’t help it, but I solemnly assure you that I will not die a Hindu’. He said: ‘Hindu civilsation.. is a diabolical contrivance to suppress and enslave humanity’. It was created by Brahminical parasites to …
Freedom, dignity, happiness, or simply, life!
Comments on Oxford India Anthology of Tamil Dalit Writing (Part I) P. Dayanandan (Paper presented on 10th April, 2012 on the occasion of the release of the Oxford India Anthology of Tamil Dalit Writing) • I congratulate Ravikumar, Azhagarsan and Mini for bringing Dalit thoughts to English language readers at large. A quick look at Ravi’s …
The open eyed Buddha and Dr. Ambedkar
(Excerpt from a recent article by Dr. Yashwant Manohar in the Marathi daily ‘Sakal’. Thanks, Gouri Patwardhan, for the translation– Round Table India) Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar had a special interest in painting. He loved seeing paintings and really wanted to be able to draw well. He learned to draw from B R Madilagekar. He bought …
The caste cauldron of Maharashtra (Part II)
(Report first published in November 2003) Continued from here. Violence against Dalits in Marathwada A Report by the Fact Finding Team comprising Dr. Anand Teltumbde, Akram Siddiqui, Subodh More, Hashim Mohamma November 2003 Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR), Mumbai 2. Murti incident Murti is a relatively bigger village with a population of about …
Dr Ambedkar and Engaged Buddhism
Dr. Bhalchandra Mungekar Introduction It must be mentioned in the beginning that, though Dr Ambedkar took oath in Yeola (in District Nasik of Maharashtra) in 1935 that, though ‘he was born a Hindu, he would not die a Hindu’, and he fulfilled his mission after nearly 21 years, by formally embracing Buddhism on 14th October, …
The caste cauldron of Maharashtra (Part I)
(Report first published in November 2003) Violence against Dalits in Marathwada A Report by the Fact Finding Team comprising Dr. Anand Teltumbde Akram Siddiqui Subodh More Hashim Mohamma November 2003 Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR), Mumbai ~~~ Introduction In recent months a series of incidents of killings and violence against Dalits in Marathwada …
Mayawati: Caste Anxieties and Patriarchal Fears
Continued from here. Her roofless abode gives her a clear view of the fields and the village she guards over. She is my paternal family’s deity, revered as a force of nature as are the scores of female gods of the Shudra, Atishudra and Adivasi cultures. Her free spirited nature echoes the attitude …
Women played a major role in Dr. Ambedkar’s movement: Baby Kamble
[This is the second part of excerpts from an interview with Baby Kamble conducted by Maya Pandit, originally published as part of the English version of her autobiography (‘The Prisons We Broke’)] Continued from here. How did you think of writing your autobiography? (Laughs.) It so happened that I used to sit in the …