Jadumanilion Boudha & Dhammachari Ratnakumar An incident involving a small boy led to horrific caste violence in Lathor, Balangir district of Odisha, leaving 50 Dalit families homeless and destitute. On January 22, 2012, at around 3.00pm, Ganesh Suna, a 9th class dalit boy went to a shop to buy a new shirt, which he …
Alienation, consciousness and assertion: an interpretation of Oriya Dalit narrative
by Raj Kumar Abstract The objective of this paper is to discuss the historical context of the emergence of a new literary genre called “Oriya Dalit literature” which reflected the growing identity, awareness and consciousness of the Oriya Dalits during the colonial period and post-independence days. Although there was no literary genre distinctively known as …
More than leaders, voters need to mend their ways
Dr. Udit Raj Nearly a decade ago, it was considered to be in the domain of politicians to provide transparency in politics but now it is no more like that. It is a fact that corruption started from the top and percolated to the lower levels and gradually the public also became a part and …
Nationalists versus people of India?
Chandra Bhan Prasad (First published in October 2001) My Dalit scholar friend HL Dushad keeps coming up with ideas. This time he suggested, “The ultra-nationalist forces, the Left parivar and the Sangh should dissolve into their original Varna identities. That way, the people of India could fight them.” I asked, “Just what has got you …
Buddhism and Politics in Uttar Pradesh: Recent Developments (Part II)
Shiv Shankar Das ( Continued from here) The promotion of Buddhist cultural symbols in public sphere by Mayawati led government is driven by the following three strong factors. 1. The Ideology of Kanshi Ram (1934-2006): Cultural Change is a Durable Change Kanshi Ram’s ideology to emancipate the Bahujan Samaj is very important to understand …
Power of touch
Gopal Guru (First published in December 2006) The concept of untouchability travels from rural locations to the cities. CAN categories of understanding be divided on the basis of spatiality? The answer to this question could be given in the affirmative. By and large, it is true that the scholars working on Indian society and …
“I am not a slave and don’t make me a slave”- Annan Pasupathi Pandian, a tribute
Ravi Chandran (With editorial suggestions from Kuffir) This article is an attempt to bring together information about the Dalit revolutionary leader Pasupathi Pandian, who was brutally murdered a couple of days ago (January 10, 2012). Since only bits and pieces of news material is available on him, I tried to gather some information from the …
Buddhism and Politics in Uttar Pradesh: Recent Developments
Shiv Shankar Das Abstract: The present research note highlights the relationship and the reasons behind the association between the lower caste politics and Buddhism in Uttar Pradesh, the most populated state in India next only to China, United States, Brazil and Russia. There are three reasons behind this association. First, the currently ruling Bahujan Samaj Party’s founder …
Please Sign Petition to Install Dr .B.R. Ambedkar portraits in all Courts and all Police Stations in India
Please sign the following petition at the ipetitions site, here. ~~~~~ To Mr. Salman Khurshid Minister of Law and Justice, 4th Floor, A-Wing, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi-110 001 Subject: Install Dr .B.R. Ambedkar portraits in Supreme Court, all Benches of High Courts, all Lower Courts and all Police Stations in India