Shy of inquiry into privilege, social media posts flaunt antiquated attitudes to caste, reservations Rahi Gaikwad We are all to some extent the prisoners of our upbringing.-PD James (Death in Holy Orders) If anyone has any doubts about how the virus of caste has mutated into a 21st century variant in the minds of upper …
Karnan : A powerful cinematic projection of Dalit Assertion and Anger
Vidyasagar “He did not hit us because we vandalized the bus. No, he hit us because we stood tall. He hit me because I, Maadasamy’s son, was named Duryodanan.” ~ (Dialogue from Karnan) Karnan is a Tamil language film which was recently released on Amazon Prime. Karnan is the second movie directed by the Periyerum Perumal …
Prabuddha Bharat cover page – Special edition for Mahatma Phule’s Death Anniversary
Vinay Shende The following is the English translation of the famous Cover Page of Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Weekly called Prabuddha Bharat. It was published on 1st of December,1956. It was a special edition for Mahatma Jyotiba Phule’s death anniversary. The translation has been done part by part and each part’s picture is shown for better understanding. …
Unfinished legacy of Dr Ambedkar and the Plight of the Oppressed in South Asia
Hemangi Kadlak [A Speech on the Occasion of 130th Birth Anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.] Jai Bhim, First of all, I would like to thank the Ambedkar Society for South Asia for inviting me as a speaker for this webinar to celebrate the 130th birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar. Today’s webinar topic is the ‘Unfinished …
How to write anti-caste solidarity texts
Dr. Murali Shanmugavelan Ensure that “Dalit” appears as a prefix whenever the victim is mentioned. The phrase “Dalit victim” helps your readers understand the difference between Dalits and humans. If your text is about (Dalit) rape, murder, or other gruesome violence, make sure you include the name and picture of the already-traumatised person in the …
Do ideas of Phule-Shahu-Ambedkar matter anymore?
Shailesh Narwade Jayanti, for many, is merely a celebration of the birth anniversaries of socio-political thinkers who were instrumental in bringing social change of which our generation is a beneficiary. Some people see it as an occasion to eulogize and recollect the contributions of these great leaders. Though these modes of celebrating and remembering …
Poverty of Philosophy within Liberals in Understanding Anti-Caste Politics
Omprakash Mahato There are social scientists who develop their views on caste through textual means, attending conferences and seminars, observing society from a distance etc. While reading textbooks is the conventional way, some scholars tend to develop their ‘theories’ from watching Bollywood movies, reading newspapers,viewing newsroom studios debates, discussing and debating with research scholars …
The need to revisit conversion as a tool for fighting caste
Srutheesh Kannadi The issue of caste faced by Dalits is too complex to explain in the context of post-colonial modernity. The structural existence of caste has attained much flexibility and transformed into the behaviour of an amoeba where it appears to not follow any pre-defined principles. This illusion of caste made it invisible but at …
The Future of ‘Dravidian Studies’
Karthick R M MSS Pandian was an exemplary Tamil scholar, but more importantly, he was a Dravidian scholar. What I mean by ‘Dravidian’ here does not denote an individual belonging to a region, ethnicity, nation or culture, but a way of socio-political thinking that lays emphasis on social justice, proportional representation, a form of …