Dr. Hawaldar Bharti By the end of the second decade of the 21stcentury, the perception that the end of the Dalit movement is here seems to be getting stronger. It is observed that this conception about the decline of the Dalit movement is being spread. Likewise, the perception is spreading among the general public …
Pavsacha Nibandha: A tale of irony on the rains
JS Vinay The Marathi short film Pavsacha Nibandh, literally meaning essay on/of the rain was released on Zee5, an OTT platform in the month of July. It is directed by Nagraj Manjule, who is known for his successful films with strong and assertive themes like Fandry and Sairat. To begin with, I am not a …
Adivasis Are Not ‘Noble Savages’ – A Brief Reminder
Chhotelal Kumar The mainstream has always viewed Adivasis as ‘alien people’. In our common sense, they are ‘Noble Savages’ who live away from modern complexities in jungles. But while making such a point, we often forget to explore realities. The terming of Adivasis (who were classified as Scheduled Tribes during colonial times) as Noble Savages …
The Indian state and illusory healthcare for the Bahujans
Kuffir A few notes on the recent budget, and other events, to examine how they promote/subvert Babasaheb’s ideals of ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’. ~ One of Gaddar’s popular songs goes something like: India is a land of good fortune, There is no dearth of any (natural) wealth here, There are fields that yield golden …
The socialist in Dr. Ambedkar
Mrinal Kumar Socialism is a widely prevalent idea across the globe. Leaders saw the dream of a society where equality really exists and social production will go under the ownership of the government for public welfare. The world witnessed great socialists e.g. Karl Marx, Rosa Luxemburg and Friedrich Engels. Socialism became a global phenomenon by …
Extremely Backward Castes: Key to the Chair in Uttar Pradesh
Omprakash Mahato Right wing reliance on conventional politics in Uttar Pradesh Political gimmicks of political actors have certainly moulded the preferences of the voters in the past and continue to do so. With ongoing state assembly elections in Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, parties across the spectrum have come up with their manifestoes …
Caste and Disease
Dr Prerna There are many ways in which we can understand social maladies like caste system. Drawing an analogy with the biological concept of disease and components associated with it is one such way. What is the concept of disease? According to the Oxford English dictionary: ‘Disease is a condition of the body or some …
Gehraiyaan – A story of ‘Caste(less)’ characters
Neeraj Bunkar The movie Gehraiyaan is directed by Shakun Batra who has also written the script with Ayesha Devitre, Sumit Roy and Yash Sahai. The movie stars actors like Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Pandey, Dhairya Karva, Naseeruddin Shah, and Rajat Kapoor in the lead roles. Gehraiyaan has a lot of layers, subplots and …
How a minor incident in Tumakuru shows a pervasive caste mentality
Asim Siddiqui Recently an incident in Tumakuru created a stir on social media where a farmer was humiliated by a car salesman by judging his appearance. The farmer, Kempegowda, wanted to buy a pickup truck but the salesmen apparently ridiculed him by saying that you don’t look like you are having even 10 rupees …