Adv Soniya A Gajbhiye A national emblem is the official seal of a sovereign state. On 26 January 1950, India had adopted its national emblem, which was an adaptation of Emperor Asoka’s Lion Capital at Sarnath. The original Lion Capital at Sarnath has four lions mounted back-to-back on a circular abacus. This circular abacus rests …
Some Animals Are More Equal: Article 14
Bobby Kunhu “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past” – George Orwell, 1984 “If a larger country oppresses a smaller country, I’ll stand with the smaller country. If the smaller country has majoritarian religion that oppresses minority religions, I’ll stand with minority religions. If the minority religion has …
What an year at University of Oxford taught me about South Asians
Sumeet Samos In October 2021, I joined the MSc in Modern South Asian Studies programme at the University of Oxford. Before leaving for Oxford, I did not know what to expect in the programme as well as in the university life. However, I had heard of Professor Rosalind O’ Hanlon and David Gellner working in …
Advocate Bhagwan Das and his book ‘Main Bhangi Hun’
Dhamma Darshan Nigam This article is an attempt, one, to bring Advocate Bhagwan Das’s already popular book ‘Main Bhangi Hun’ to the light one more time; two, to look at a few of the present problems of sanitation workers and contextualize them with what Das has argued in this book as contemporary; and three, to …
End Political Reservation
Dr Jas Simran Kehal It is said that if we can learn from our mistakes and not let them rob us of our boldness or hope, then we can grow. It was perhaps this boldness which emboldened Dr B R Ambedkar to vigorously pursue the cause of real political representation of the depressed classes after …
Why Are They Scared Of Periyar’s Statues?
Bodhi Ramteke Statues represent symbolic actions. They are responsible for more than just remembering history or culture. The process of installing a statue is one of many ways to demonstrate assertion against oppressors and reclaiming places that were denied in the Bramhanical social structure. Among oppressed communities, statues have played a significant role in increasing …
Žižek and Law: Life, Its Supremacy and Overdetermination
Umar Nizar In a televised debate in Australia, Žižek ’s vehement defense of Julian Assange was stymied by an opponent’s counter argument that some of Assange’s actions endangered the lives of US and allied personnel on the ground. Žižek ’s last stand, against this ultimate riposte, was that though it might have won the argument …
Periyar: The Man That He Was!
Gurinder Azad If anyone has left a rich legacy of aggressively challenging Brahmanism, it is our own Periyar. His full name was Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy Nayakar. Periyar means ‘great man’. Bahujan youth today express their aggression and restlessness against the Brahmanical system by sharing quotes of Periyar on social media, and strive to advance the …
Growing Up With Caste: Experiences Of Caste In Rural And Urban Kerala
Meera and Pranav Jeevan P ‘Mukkuva’ denotes ‘fisherman’ caste in Kerala, considered among Other Backward Castes (OBC) in the National list and Other Eligible Castes (OEC) in the State List. Most of this community is limited to coastal areas of the state, and engage in the occupation of fishing. Here, it was caste that determined …