Sophia I entered the Delhi queer movement in my early 20s, as a complete outsider in terms of language, origin, race, class, and caste identity. I wanted to bring change to the status quo and challenge the existing caste and class hierarchy that pervaded the movement. I started my initiative and became a vocal …
Conceiving a New Public: Ambedkar on Universities
Asha Singh & Nidhin Donald Dr. B.R. Ambedkar conceptualizes education as a ‘vital need’ which helps us fight notions of ‘inescapable fate’ or ‘ascriptions of caste or religion’. He counted education as a socially inherited value which defines one’s access to power. Education was always a keyword, an indicator which he applied on issues of …
Chhatrapati Shahu’s Crusade against Untouchability
B. D. Khane [Shahu was born in 1874 as Yeshwantrao ghatge, elder son to Appasaheb Ghatge. he was adopted by Anandibai, widow of Maharaja Shivaji IV of Kolhapur in 1884. In 1891 Shahu married Lakshmibai Khanvikar who gave birth to four children. Shahu took responsibility of the State in 1894 and died on May …
Against all odds: Babasaheb Ambedkar’s prophetic warnings about communist China
Dr. Aniruddha Babar “Chinese ‘might be induced not to be hostile to us’. And why would that be? Because “I have some slight reputation with the leaders of Communist China because of the Medical Mission we had sent. I have corresponded with Mao Tse-Tung and other leaders in the past. This might help…”.[1] ~ Pandit …
Why I decided to be a Pasmanda activist
Razaul Haq Ansari To begin with, i want to say something about myself. I am Razaul Haq Ansari from Deoghar, Jharkhand, and was born in a middle class family of the Julaha (weaver) caste. I have completed my Bachelor of Technology from a private university in Greater Noida (NCR). I would like to share …
Govt. of India should send One Lakh SC ST youths abroad for Higher Education
Anshul Kumar Men sitting on the pinnacle of the palace “So, I went one day to Linlithgow and said, concerning the expense of education, “If you will not get angry, I want to ask a question. I am equal to fifty [high school] graduates, am I not?” He had to agree to that. Then …
The Reddy-BC combination and the prospects of Hindutva forces in Telangana: The Eatala Phenomenon
Prof K. Laxminarayana The official channel of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on 30th April aired the news of alleged encroachment upon assigned lands by Eatala Rajender’s family for their poultry business. The news came just after the voting for the municipal elections for Warangal district was completed. The timing indicates the vindictive political conspiracy …
Life of Bahujans in Brahminical Schools
Pranav Jeevan P Schools are one of the primary places where the functioning of caste is passed on to the next generation. Savarna kids are indoctrinated of their superiority and Bahujan kids are shown their place in the varna system here. The trauma they suffer at a very young age from school they carry …
Documenting Bahujan Musical Instruments
Dr. Chandraiah Gopani The book under review entitled ‘Mula Dhwani’ (Aboriginal Sound) is edited by Jayadhir Thirumal Rao and Guduru Manoja. This book was released in 2019, both in Telugu and English with the same title. In the absence of studies on Bahujan Musical Traditions, the book is a unique work in documenting more than …