Translated by Gail Omvedt and Bharat Patankar Well. These days the farmers have to subsist on a bit of leftover bhakri with some red chutney for breakfast; at noon fresh bhakris with some cooked balls of lentils or weak sauce of spiced lentils; at night some jawar or corn granules soaked in clear dal juice; in between, occasionally …
Buddhism and Politics in Uttar Pradesh: Recent Developments
Shiv Shankar Das Abstract: The present research note highlights the relationship and the reasons behind the association between the lower caste politics and Buddhism in Uttar Pradesh, the most populated state in India next only to China, United States, Brazil and Russia. There are three reasons behind this association. First, the currently ruling Bahujan Samaj Party’s founder …
Jotirao Phule: Shetkaryaca Asud (Introduction)
Translated by Gail Omvedt and Bharat Patankar A brief introduction to Phule: Jotirao Phule (1827-1890) is considered a founder not only of the anti-caste movement; in Maharashtra he is also looked upon as father of the farmers’ movement, the women’s movement, and a bahujan-oriented environmental movement. He was born in a Mali (gardener jati) …
Rotting food
Gail Omvedt India’s food is rotting. The greatest harvest of foodgrains in the country’s history is beginning to waste away in storage, eaten by rodents and insects, spoiled by moisture. Some of it, for want of storage space, is sitting in the open, exposed to the late monsoon rains. Estimated losses of foodgrains, according to …