Pranveer Bharti On 8 December 1991, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, the last General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of the USSR, was in Moscow when the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Union Treaty at Belovezhskaya Pushcha, declaring the USSR ceased to exist and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States. It was the …
Kerala’s Right Wing Atheism And Caste Blindness
Arjun C “Dr. Ambedkar didn’t talk about atheism, it’s because atheism is so easily absorbed by Brahminism in India. Atheists in India do not get rid of brahminical hierarchy and caste conditioning” ~ Prof. Gail Omvedt I am often reminded of this quote while watching speeches of many popular atheists from Kerala. The rise of …
Siddaramaiah: ‘They created the caste system and then they ask us, Why reservation?’
Siddaramaiah This is a translation of a speech made by Mr. Siddaramaiah on the topic of caste, reservation and EWS quota. The video link was shared on his Facebook page on 26, June 2022. They ask, “more, how many years of reservation?” After 72 years, even now we don’t have representation equal to our proportion …
De-Casteing Love: Pa Ranjith’s ‘Natchathiram Nagargiradhu’
Jitendra Suna Separation of love and Indian cinema is an impossible task. On one hand, our society abhors love; on the other hand, Indian cinema exploits the conditions of lovelessness that exist in our society. A critical study of 2013 on the judgement of various rape cases in seven district courts of Delhi by Rukmini …
Dr. Gail Omvedt: A scholar who links theory to the fight for change
Sampat Desai Reconstruction of the world is the basic function of philosophy; philosophy should not spend time analyzing the origin of the world. Dr. Gail Omvedt used the above principle and contributed significantly to this theory. She gave a new insight to the research field putting forth a new theoretical framework with special reference to …
Contextualising Manu as a ‘hireling’: A Critical Analysis of Chapter VII in the Manusmriti
Somnath Pati “It has an affirmation of life, a triumphing, agreeable sensation in life, and that to draw up a lawbook such as Manu means to permit oneself to get the upper hand, to become perfect, to be ambitious of the highest art of living.” – Friedrich Nietzsche (attributed) Finding Manu’s verses “inspiring” and acting …
Equality is not established by just making symbols
Vikas Parasram Meshram Even after 75 years of independence, Dalits are being subjected to horrific atrocities in the country. Such incidents happen every day. According to the information provided by the government in Parliament, 1,29,000 cases of atrocities against Dalits were reported in the country during the years 2018-2020, with Uttar Pradesh having the highest …
Two poems by Meera
Meera This freedom is not ours In a tank in Mahad, Long back, he fought- Not for the stale water, But for us, to be seen- As humans. The tank is still there, Stale and filled with moss, Like your eyes- jaundiced, With the moss of manusmriti! Another boy was killed- For the …
Covid-19 And Caste Stigma: From Bahujan Women’s Standpoint
Manoj Madame Source: Migrant workers and their families walking home during the first lockdown. (PTI 2020) Covid-19 and Caste stigma: From Bahujan Women’s Standpoint The entire world has been suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic since the virus broke out in China in October 2019. And most health professionals have suggested maintaining social distance and physical …