Bobby Kunhu I was approached on behalf of a Dalit woman friend who is planning to contest the upcoming local body elections in Tamil Nadu from a general constituency and was being misled that a) a reserved category person cannot contest from a general constituency and b) that if she does contest from a general …
Hands off my rights!
Nourin N K Hands off my rights! Like the damaged headlight Of my neighbour’s rickshaw, At first, My country flickered In deadly saffron, Was it a warning? Are we all dead? No! No! No! I see a living ghost, Hovering over Hopeless future. Gates closed, crowds gathered, But you are still too weak to …
On caste and Kannada activism
Redant I want to examine the discourses that have emerged in the wake of Karnataka state government’s decision to establish a Sanskrit university on a 100-acre plot in Magadi close to Bengaluru at a cost of Rs. 320 crores.[i] While the decision to set up this campus was taken by BJP government headed by …
Religion and Dalits: Learning from Black Americans
Chanchal Kumar Before we come to the question of religion, we must first contend with the issue concerning our knowledge of history. History as a means to self-definition and a way to place ourselves in society and the larger world. Religion and history (by which we mean not just knowing our past but also …
Muslimophobia, Misogyny and Muslimah
Bobby Kunhu “Just as Muslims have the right to argue that the hijab is not religiously mandated, they should also have the right to argue that it is religiously mandated” Shadi Hamid, The Right to Choose to Wear (or not) Hijab If there is one thing uniform about the history of humankind across geographies, it is the …
With Love
G. Sasi With Love, Soumini, You said that black is beautiful Poets have sung it Then, How did the black people get humiliated? We are not the ones who suck blood and sweat We are melting… The blazing sun and the burning earth are not tending us Mother, There is no space for the black …
Vulgarization of Subaltern Culture
Dr. Y. Srinivasa Rao In India, while classical arts are for the rich and international audiences, and are practiced by the upper castes for fame, name and prestige, subaltern arts are for the rural population and practiced by the subalterns for livelihood and survival. Upper castes ascribed the ability to reserving everything that had …
Political hues of Freedom of Speech!
Bobby Kunhu “State propaganda, when supported by the educated classes and when no deviation is permitted from it, can have a big effect. It was a lesson learned by Hitler and many others, and it has been pursued to this day.” ― Noam Chomsky, Media Control:The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda I have always been a vocal advocate …
Beauty, like the economy, is determined by politics
Dr Amritpal Kaur Women have gained many legal and reproductive rights, as well as more freedom to pursue higher education and enter previously male dominated professions through a long, hard and honourable struggle. The more legal and material obstacles women have broken through, the more severe and heavy the backlash, in the form of detrimental …