Dr Jas Simran Singh Kehal ‘Epidemiology is like a bikini; what is revealed is interesting; what is concealed is critical’. This statement by Peter Duesberg, a cancer epidemiologist, at the time of corona virus disease (COVID-19) pandemic carries significance if we take into account gender, social, economic and demographic inequities in India. With about 500,000 …
3 Cs – Corona, Caste and the Country
Arvind Boudhh The outbreak of the COVID-19 has caused havoc globally and different countries have taken different measures to curb the spread, and to treat the infected people. The deadly virus in a way has revealed the gory truth about the governments’ priorities and the extents to which they can go to meet these priorities. …
COVID19, a big disaster in the making
Khalid Anis Ansari (Round Table India is doing a series to put together the Bahujan perspective on the Coronavirus pandemic) Anu Ramdas: What are your deepest concerns about the ability of Pasmandas to cope with this pandemic in India? Khalid Anis Ansari: First of all, when we use the category ‘Pasmanda’, it is not a …
Open Letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Date: 27th March 2020 The Honorable Chief Minister,Government of Maharashtra Subject: Regarding the safety of nomadic tribal communities during the Covid-19 pandemic. In light of the scenario resulting from the current global pandemic, Honorable Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi have taken decisions which have been welcomed and followed by …
Memoirs: Minor, Forgotten and Erased Lives
KK Baburaj If I were to write about Wayanad at some point, I had already noted in my mind that it would start with evoking ‘Memoirs’ by Pablo Neruda. After watching films by the African filmmaker, Mahamat Saleh Haroun, I observed that the landscapes in them appeared so much like those in Wayanad. However, …
The Meteoric Rise of L. Murugan, the new BJP Chief of Tamil Nadu
Keerthi Nathan The past week, BJP unit of Tamil Nadu was suddenly brimming with a lot of activity after being dormant for a few months. Mr. L. Murugan had been appointed the President of the BJP State unit of TN much to everyone’s surprise. Mr. L. Murugan is also the Vice Chairman of the National …
Chithralekha: An Icon of Resistance
Carmel Christy K J The road gets narrower as you go to Chithralekha’s grandmother’s house where she used to live at the rear end of the village in Edat, Kannur in Kerala. The road ends at her house and there is no way to go further. Dalit houses at the end of the village is …
Stairs and rails…
Anu Ramdas ‘Sir, do you want me to call an ambulance?’ Incoherent response. ‘Sir, you cannot be sleeping here.’ The man wakes up, gathers his bag and blanket and is led out of the railway station by the policeman. The time was 6.45 am, temperature around 30F. People sleeping in the railway stations and …
Palasa 1978: A Bahujan resistance against caste supremacy
Shiva Thrishul The film speaks about Bahujan resistance against the dominance of caste feudal lords across generations in a town in Andhra Pradesh. The enslavement of the Bahujan bodies for the political gains of privileged castes, upper-caste exploitation of the Bahujan labour force, the abuse of Bahujan muscle power, deceptive and treacherous nature of the …