For An Informed Ambedkar Age
Translation by Lavanya Raj Bharathi An atrocity such as this continues unstopped, only in Tamilnadu. This atrocity is yet another example for how caste inequalities run strong and deep in the state’s soil, like the roots of the Banyan. On Wednesday, the Kayaththar panchayat (near Kovilpatti) committee meeting took place in the panchayat committee office. …
Kancha Ilaiah Team Anna has been arrogant and self-righteous ever since it launched the Jan Lokpal movement. Its Jantar Mantar hungerstrike yielded quick results, as the Congress government itself gave the team a boost by constituting a committee to draft a bill and by including five members from the team in it. Among them was …
Prof. Raj Kumar Hans Exploring histories of Dalit literature in different languages of India is to encounter the deserts of neglects, silences and exclusions. The ‘Progressive Punjab’ is no exception to this sub-continental reality despite claims that Brahmanical ideology and its resultant social structures had considerably weakened in the Punjab due to the impact …
by Thamburaj Dharmaraj (Continued from The Touch of Ambedkar (Part I)) The shadow puppeteers’ mother tongue is not Tamil. Among themselves they speak a remote dialect of Marathi, which is their only communicative medium. To interact with others they use Tamil language. They claim their caste identity as ‘Mandikar’. The names of men of this …
by Thamburaj Dharmaraj The assignment is of performing the story of Ambedkar in a folk art form, shadow puppetry. Shadow puppet theatre is widely held in the southern districts of Tamilnadu. Though it is prevalent in most of the South Asian countries it is habitually getting ostracized in the villages and performance opportunity is on …
Karukku enabled me to build my confidence and hope, Bama Faustina tells Tulsi Badrinath. Excerpts from a conversation. In Karukku you described yourself thus ‘I am like a bird whose wings were broken’. Twenty years later, in the second edition of the English translation, you describe yourself as ‘a falcon that treads the air, high …
Gail Omvedt [An excerpt from the chapter ‘The Background to Buddhism’ in her book, ‘Buddhism in India: Challenging Brahmanism and Caste’] Indian Brahmans as they have evolved over the centuries represent one of the most unique elites that any society has produced. They trace their origins back to Vedic times, where they were priests …
[This document elucidates the political programme of the Shoshit Samaj Dal, which is working chiefly to promote the cause of social justice, with specific emphasis on representation for the pasmanda sections, dalits and backward castes, among Muslims- Round Table India] Translation by Khalid Anis Ansari Shoshit Samaj Dal Campaign for Pasmanda Revolution Everyone …
by Madhuri Xalxo [In his letter declining the Gandhi Foundation award, Dr Binayak Sen refers to the protest against the award nomination, and Madhuri Xalxo responds to it- Round Table India] “The original citation of the Gandhi International Peace Award when it came, was a surprise, as I on my own had never claimed to …